Stepping Into The Spotlight ((Gabriel))

[Kellyn Ellison H3]

“Kaitlin, come and get your hair done!” Kellyn grimaced at the unfamiliar name before obeying her agent with a grin. Jamison was more nervous about this photo shoot then he had been about her first five ones and, although Kellyn herself was a little bit nervous, she was positively calm and collected when standing next to her agent. When Kellyn sat down and felt her stylist start fussing with her hair once more, the face that stared back at her from her reflection in the mirror was hers but with enough differences for people to not connect Kellyn and Kaitlin. The potion that she had downed about four hours ago was wearing off but her agent placed the vial in front of her before she could turn her head to search for him and irritate the stylist. Kellyn stared down at the colourless potion wordlessly before tipping the liquid into her mouth. It burnt her throat slightly and she could feel her hair lengthening to waist length again. The mirror showed her that the brown of her hair was now a brilliant blonde. She no longer looked like a miniature version of her mother but more like the blonde Ellison line she was descended from. Another potion, this one green, and her eyes were no longer hazel but rather green with just a few flecks of the hazel colour that she was accustomed to seeing when she saw her reflection. Yet another potion and her skin was paler. Kellyn instantly missed her tan. “Kaitlin,” someone called her and Kellyn arched an eyebrow at her stylist, received a nod and was immediately at the other end of the room with an obliging smile.

Kellyn lived to please when she was involved in the world of models, photographers and agents. Kaitlin wasn’t much different but she had perfected the arrogant air and cocky smile that separated her two selves from each other even further. Kellyn’s friends had become Kaitlin’s connections in the world of harsh lights and backstabbing beauties but the men and women who treated Kellyn as a little sister and knew about her secret were content to indulge her and help her. Not every model who knew Kellyn knew about her secret; only five of them were counted loyal enough to her to be informed without fear of betrayal. But those who didn’t know took their cue from those who did know and, though some of them regarded her with wariness as if wondering just how far she would rise, most of them treated her with an uninterested kindness.

“It’s a shoot about the original sin and then that’s the end for you today,” Jamison told her, his arm around Kellyn’s shoulders as he steered her towards her shoot. “You know, Eve eating the apple and all that biblical stuff.” Kellyn suppressed a grin when her agent rolled his eyes. He had an on-again off-again relationship with her mother that had been going on even before her parents had married each other and had started again after the divorce so she had grown up around him and knew that he thought of religion with wary amusement. The fact that he hadn’t been struck down by a vengeful god was something Jamison probably took as a small victory. “The clothes for the shoot have been misplaced somehow,” Tessa, Jamison’s assistant, informed them nervously. “Both hers and Gabriel’s,” the redhead clarified when the older man scowled at her irritably. “Not our fault then; that’s always good.” Kellyn spoke up amusedly, trying to lighten the mood helpfully, but received a gentle push to her shoulder for her efforts.

“Go on, Kaitlin, and amuse yourself somewhere while I try to track down whoever is in charge of the clothing. Your popularity is rising but you’re too new to be anything more than a mostly unknown yet beautiful model in a crowd of beautiful people. Every shoot is important and I’m not letting some careless idiots mess this one up,” Jamison tugged on a now-blonde curl light-heartedly before striding off, swearing under his breath. Kellyn smiled lazily as she took a seat slightly away from where stylists and make-up artists were trying to get models ready for either the shoot she was involved in or one of the many others happening in the building. The image of Kaitlin that she had built in her mind was never nervous and Kellyn was too far into her Kaitlin persona to feel, say or do anything that Kaitlin wouldn’t. Then again, perhaps not, as Kellyn was quite sure that Kaitlin wouldn’t become nervous at the sight of Gabriel Graas sauntering towards her. It wasn’t the ultimate test – Kellyn had passed that days ago when she had held out a manicured hand to one of her oldest friends, smiled politely and introduced herself under a different name than the one she knew her as – but it was still a test and Kellyn was quickly starting to realise that she absolutely hated tests. If only she had never met him, Kellyn complained mentally, then she wouldn’t worry about being discovered even though she knew it wasn’t likely.

[Gabriel Graas S4]

“Gabriel!” Turning around Gabriel smiled at the sight of an old friend striding towards him. “Ceri, gorgeous as always,” Gabriel stated with a fond smile, hugging the woman as she kissed his cheek. Even though she was 6 years older than he, they had became fast friends over years – maybe because they were both cold, distant and arrogant -and produced a number of popular pictures together. For a reason, as Ceri with her waist long black curls, almond jade eyes, toned skin, and 187cm height was a remarkable woman. Irish, African, and Asian blood mixed in her to produce a stunning vision. Ceri laughed lowly as they fell into a companionable step next to each other, Ceri dabbing her face with a white towel. “Here for the sin shoot? I just finished portraying jealousy,” Ceri stated, twirling to show off her green dress, with its neck-line plunging up to her belly-button, but kept decent with a number of silver hooks, as the shimmering skirt flowed around shapely thighs. “And you will make a whole lot of girls jealous once they see the posters,” Gabriel responded easily, making Ceri laugh her throaty laughter again, “But yes, I’m in the original sin shoot with Kaitlin Ellison. Who better for it than the Fallen Angel Gabriel?”

Gabriel threw an absent-minded nod to the young assistant holding the door open for them as they reached his set. “She’s a pretty girl,” Ceri murmured softly, slipping an arm around Gabriel’s neck and leaning closer as they both threw a glance towards the young blonde newcomer to the world of modeling. “All of them are pretty,” Gabriel countered, making Ceri laugh again as she agreed. “Well, we’ll see how it goes. Something for her to think about,” Ceri murmured, as she threw her arms around Gabriel’s neck and gave her a smacking kiss on his lips, which left Gabriel smirking. He knew as well as everyone else that Ceri, for the utter despair of males all around the globe, preferred women. “Ta-ta,” and after wiping her lipstick off from Gabriel’s lips she was gone again. His own agent – a stern middle-aged woman with thinly pursued lips and prematurely graying hair in a tight bun, wearing a light grey business-suit and a red tie – stepped closer to him, a frown firmly settled on her face. “The outfits are missing, chico,” she informed him curtly, long red nails tapping irritably on the note in her hand. Gabriel merely shrugged at the information as he arched his eye-brows: “I’m wearing a pair of their hand-made jeans from the latest issue and the top is from them as well. If the outfit was misplaced, then with my clothes things should be good enough.” The answer seemed to satisfy Valerie, as she nodded and turned her attention back to her notes drawing a tick on them as she stormed away, throwing over her shoulder that the shoot was to start in 20.

A finger lazily looped into the belt hoop of his jeans, Gabriel turned his attention back to the model he was going to work with today and headed over, taking her in on the way. She was a pretty girl, Gabriel admitted mentally as he stopped before the girl and offered her a quite friendly smirk. “Kaitlin Ellison,” Gabriel reached out his hand, shaking the girl’s hand briefly but firmly, “I’m Gabriel Graas.” He preferred to be on neutral terms with all the models and photographers, make-up artists, stylists and everyone else he worked it. It was only professional to greet the people who would make part of the photo happen. “Let’s hope it will be a pleasant and quick enough shot. Don’t worry about calling for a break if you’re starting to faint, in the light before the camera it gets sweltering in no time,” Gabriel informed the girl curtly, having seen beginning models faint during shoots more than once. Hearing his name being called, Gabriel looked up and after a brief nod to Kaitlin made his way over to his stylist, stopping only once on the way, to quickly shake hands with the photographer as well.

Leaning his hands on the back of the make-up chair Gabriel slightly leaned over, letting the make-up artist dab at his face to make sure it wouldn’t shine, as his stylist set to work on attaching his wings. It probably looked more gruesome as it really was, Gabriel pondered lazily. His wings looked so real on photos, because they were real. The upper layer of his skin was sliced lightly – it never bled – and with complex spells the wings were grown out of it. It wasn’t any more painful as if someone had injected something. Using his hands to spread out his wings – collecting them was easier as he just needed to push his elbows slightly back – Gabriel made sure they worked well enough, while making small talk with the women working on him, asking about the stylists date and the make-up artists’ kids. The call that they were starting in a minute caught his attention and with a heart-melting grin to both women, Gabriel headed towards the background prepared for the set – a green tree on a grassy slope and the canvas of blue sky behind it. Real and fake mixed together in such a way that no one would question later. Standing at the edge of the site as assistants added final touches to the scene, Gabriel threw a quick glance at Kaitlin to see him talking to a man, her agent probably. Averting his attention back to the scene, Gabriel absently accepted the shiny red apple handed to him as he started imaging possible poses while waiting for the photographers signal to get to position.

[Kellyn Ellison H3]

Kellyn drummed her nails against the seat of her chair, tapping in rhythm to a tune that was playing in her head, as she watched the model representing pride. Clad in a purple dress that was almost short enough to have her reprimanded for indecency, the dark-haired woman kissed the photographers cheek sweetly before heading over to take a seat next to Kellyn. “Ezzie. Call me Ez or I’ll hex you,” the woman threatened playfully and Kellyn grinned, shaking hands and noting that Ez had a firm grip. The woman practically oozed pride so it was no wonder that she had been chosen to portray that particular sin. “Kaitlin Ellison,” Kellyn responded smoothly, arching a startled eyebrow at the older woman’s ‘oh’ of recognition. “The original sin kid. I’ve heard about you,” Ez explained simply. “My agent is friends with yours and she told me that Jami was psyched to get this shoot for his newest kid. There’s lots of publicity for this sort of stuff – with lots of models all in one place, see? – and it can be hard to integrate a newbie into this kind of shoot because of all the pressure. Everything has to be perfect all the time.” Kellyn must have started to look slightly worried because Ez laughed and patted her hand cheerfully. “You’ll do just fine, Kait. Jamison wouldn’t have pushed to get you in here unless he had faith in you. And you’re shooting with Gabriel Graas. Not only is he cute but he’s nicer than some of the arrogant old-timers you’ll find hovering around here. Like me.” With one last smirk, Ez pushed away from her chair and strode away to answer her agents inquiries.

Ez left and was almost instantly replaced by Gabriel. Kellyn mentally raised an eyebrow, wondering good-naturedly why she was so popular today. “I do hope that I’m smart enough to avoid fainting,” Kellyn murmured to herself with a light smirk as she watched Gabriel leave. Jamison always took care to place a cooling charm on her and the rest of his models before she stepped in front of the cameras and constantly reminded her to just shoot a direct look to him if she felt that it was wearing off due to the sweltering heat of the lights and he would renew it from the sidelines. “Your nervousness is starting to show, sweetheart,” a male voice murmured into her ear from behind. Kellyn laughed and jumped from her chair to hug the boy eagerly as she recognised the voice instantly, her face lighting up with an excited smile. “Kaden! You said that you wouldn’t be able to come by because Lea wanted to see her boyfriend for more than ten minutes for the first time in almost a month. Why are you here?” Jamison’s son smiled lazily, twirling her around once before bringing her to his side with an arm around her shoulders as they started walking. “I promised to see your first shoot and I broke that promise so I figured Lea would understand me being a bit late. She’s too clingy lately anyway.” The red-haired nineteen year old grimaced discontentedly and Kellyn rolled her eyes, settling against Kaden’s side easily. Her surrogate older brother was an insatiable flirt but he had been even worse before he had met Lea and their relationship had started. But when Lea started pushing for more commitment, Kaden started looking elsewhere. All of them – Kaden, Lea, Kellyn, Jamison and anyone else who knew them – knew that Kaden wasn’t in love with Lea but they also knew that he was fond of her and so he wouldn’t break her heart by breaking up with her until he realised finally that affection wouldn’t just transform into love.

“She thinks that I’m dating one of the other models,” Kaden admitted after a second, his mouth twisted into an unhappy scowl. “She doesn’t understand why you never answer her when she says ‘I love you’,” Kellyn countered easily. “But if she doesn’t understand that you’re always faithful to your girlfriend, if not in word since you’re always flirting with people then certainly in deed because you’ve never kissed another girl while having a girlfriend.” Jamison approached and both Kellyn and Kaden instantly wore identical innocent smiles as they faced the older man. Jamison simply shook his head, signalling that he didn’t want to know. The three of them and Kellyn’s mother resembled a happy family in all the ways that counted except a permanent relationship between the two adults. Kaden was like her brother and Jamison was practically her father. “We’ve found you a dress,” Jamison informed her, his stormy expression telling Kellyn that she probably wouldn’t like it. “It’s not what you’re supposed to be wearing but it’ll suit well enough since the original dress has gone missing.”

“Hell no!” Kaden exploded angrily upon seeing his ‘little sister’ step out of the dressing room. The dress was dull silver – representing the innocence that Eve tarnished by eating the apple, Jamison explained as he eyed his son warily as if expecting him to push Kellyn back into the dressing room and order her to get changed into something else – and loose enough that Kellyn didn’t feel self-conscious. The length and the front of the dress was probably Kaden’s main objection to her wearing it and Kellyn didn’t like it much herself but she merely lifted one shoulder in an elegant shrug, staring at Kaden as if daring him to object again. “Stay professional, right? It’s just for this shoot and I solemnly promise that at no point will Gabriel behave inappropriately towards me. There are more beautiful models than me.” The neckline of the dress didn’t dip as low as some of the dresses Kellyn had seen today and, at the very least, it was laced loosely to stop it from simply flapping open. Kaden subsided into a murderous silence and Kellyn rolled her eyes, pressing a kiss to his cheek and standing still long enough to have the cooling charm cast on her before walking over to the edge of the set with Jamison. “He’ll get over it,” the man assured her sincerely. “Kaden’s always been protective of you though, you know that. Now get your head into the shoot and forget about him because he didn’t exist in the Garden of Eden. God probably would’ve kicked him out for being such a hypocrite – have you seen the way his girlfriends dress?” Kellyn finally broke into a laugh, pushing away the idea that Kaden was mad at her for speaking up against him as she settled back into the persona of Kaitlin again. Cool, calm, collected. Pretty, professional and damn near perfect because she would accept nothing less.

[Gabriel Graas S4]

“You’ll be posing in your own outfit,” Valerie said stepping next to Gabriel and critically eyeing his outfit, “I suppose I should thank the heavens you had common sense to wear the company’s clothes today anyway. A replacement dress was sent for Kaitlin. Silver.” Valerie made a disapproving noise down at her throat. “Silver makes you think of money, riches, wealth, arrogant aristocrats. White is the tone of innocence, and silver is hardly the same as white! Doesn’t matter. Not our outfit.” Valeria pursued her lips as she critically looked Gabriel over, before giving him a light nod, “Go on then. Let’s get this shoot over and done with. At least I know that you won’t cause problems on the set there. Remember, 5 minute break in every 20 minutes, I already reminded your photographer as well.” Gabriel smiled calmly through his agent’s rant, having heard similar talks as well, as he calmly stepped forward and onto the set. He would have no trouble remembering to take breaks. Unlike many other models, Gabriel didn’t use cooling charms on himself. He didn’t wear make-up, he didn’t have his pictures modified afterwards, if he wore shackles, then they were real heavy shackles hanging from his wrists during the shoot. Even the wings were real and not just an illusion on his back, but rather a fusion charm to get them attached to his skin. He sold what was real, himself, his arrogance – the real deal. And occasionally cooling charms shimmered on the pictures, requiring additional editing. It was easy editing job, but it was something Gabriel’s reputation of selling the original reality couldn’t handle.

The photographers stern look hit Gabriel the moment he stepped onto the set. “Shirt off and where are your shackles?” Sara demanded, placing one of her hands not holding a camera on her quite formidable hip. “This is the original sin. The angel wasn’t fallen until after the apple had been eaten, thereby no shackles yet. And I’m posing with a minor. Besides you don’t want me to take off my shirt currently anyway,” Gabriel told her with a cocky grin. She was one of the best and one of Gabriel’s favourite photographers, so they were on quite friendly terms. It had been Valerie’s demand probably that she take the time to portkey back to the country from China, where she was currently doing a series, and take the original sin shoot. Perhaps as a thank you, because Gabriel’s parents had invited her to the celebration of their wedding anniversary at the island they were renting for the occasion. “Gabriel, not again. You’re a model, start taking care of yourself,” Sara groaned, moving surprisingly quickly for her weight as she crossed the distance between them and pull his shirt up from his chest. Gabriel peered down at the purple-blue-black bruise stretching merrily overly half of his side and chuckled as the photographer groaned loudly. “Gabriel the Fallen Angel is a model who cares for himself,” Gabriel correct Sara merrily, as he tugged his shirt back into place, “Gabriel Cadrian Graas, however, has 3 rowdy brothers, two mischievous sisters, a werewolf of a father and a mother who likes to keep us all on our toes. Besides Damon had a girl and her three relatives over this week. I’m not going to stop living my life due to one shoot.”

“You’re incorrigible, boy. I can’t turn my back for one moment, before you already rush to roll down a hill or fall from a horse or whatever you did,” Sara complained loudly, making her way back over to her cameras, “Now where’s that girl. Ah, there you are.” Sara grasped Kaitlin’s face in her palms as she started off her regular lecture she gave to all new models she worked with about work ethics (“be nice and I’ll be nice to you”), smiling (“flirt with the camera, but don’t show me your toothpaste”), posing (“be charming, but not cheap”), and who she was (“Sara Marcus, one of the biggest names in photographers history you’ll ever work with. Big being the keyword here”). And she was correct on all four accounts. There was a fine line between seduction and cheap, and only those who distinguished between them got to the top. And Sara was big with her clearly overweight body, even though she stood at a clear 2 meters/ 6 feet. But she was fantastic at what she did. And Kaitlin looked good enough for a beginner. The dress didn’t look as bad as Valerie had made out to be, and the girl herself looked calm enough.

As Sara finally let the girl go and he made her way over, Gabriel smiled absently at the girl, as he held out his hand, the one not holding an apple. “Don’t believe anything I tell you during a shoot, outside of it, querida, or I’ll break your heart,” Gabriel told the girl quietly, twirling her around and wrapping his arms around her waste, as he smiled over her shoulder to the camera. A flash of a picture and Gabriel raised the apple before Kaitlin, letting her take hold of it with both of her hands as well, before the next flash of a picture shone. Even if Gabriel found himself suddenly thinking why he had called her ‘querida’. He always called every girl – except his mom, sisters, and friends with who he had clearly platonic relationships – darling. It was an innocent enough endearment and it kept him from making the mistake of mixing up girl’s names. But he had never used the Italian version of the word before. Deciding that it didn’t require mulling over, Gabriel cocked an eye-brow at the camera and offered the apple to Kaitlin as she turned around.

[Kellyn Ellison H3]

“Trouble has entered the building. And in a skirt short enough to make me wonder if she thinks she’s playing Lust in this shoot,” Tessa murmured directly into Kellyn’s ear quietly as she stepped beside her, her distaste written on her face plainly. Kellyn followed the older woman’s gaze obediently and laughed harshly when she saw the black-haired woman hovering by the entrance, looking around helplessly. Kellyn couldn’t understand why Lea was here – Kaden wasn’t even a part of the sin photo shoot; he was just here to check how Kellyn was holding up and he hadn’t told Lea about it anyway – but she sighed and frowned at Tessa unhappily. Neither of them liked Lea, although they had made the effort to be nice to Kaden’s girlfriend. Lea just wasn’t easy to get along with and she had never tried to hide the fact that she felt threatened by the closeness between Kellyn and Kaden. “You shouldn’t talk about her like that,” she scolded insincerely before flashing a wicked grin. “Not where people can overhear anyway. Kaden won’t care what you say about Lea but he’ll pretend to be offended, you know that. And Jamison will be truly disappointed in us. He likes to pretend that we’re above gossiping.” Both girls laughed, their heads bent together secretively. Tessa was one of Jamison’s many cousins as well as his assistant and she and Kellyn had spent many summers together while Jamison and Kellyn’s mother worked and flirted together. The two of them and Kaden had made many bets about when their relatives were going to finally get together for good but it hadn’t happened yet. Maybe it never would. Her mother had always made it clear that she had no intentions of marrying again after the disaster that her first marriage had been.

“I was sorry to hear about your stepmother though,” Tessa added tentatively. Kellyn’s eyes shuttered instantly, her expression cool and distant. Rachel Ellison, née Weretonne, had never treated her stepdaughter with much kindness and they had both been glad when Allison had came back to get custody of her daughter. This lifestyle suited both mother and daughter and it was never more obvious than when they were working. “I wasn’t,” Kellyn replied short-temperedly before stepping into place to greet the photographer, her eyes softening momentarily when Tessa looked shocked by her words. It was always hard for people to remember that Kellyn hadn’t always been as sweet as people thought she was. When she had first gone to live with her mother, she had been sulky and feeling neglected and used to disapproval from everyone. Allison had rectified the damage that Rachel had done to Kellyn after some effort but there wasn’t a single part of her that harboured affection for her stepmother. There was understanding and hurt and regret, but not affection. She knew Sara Marcus by reputation and had met her briefly as Kellyn since her mother worked with her often but Kaitlin had never worked with Sara before. It was always strange and slightly hurtful to see the half-formed glint of recognition cross someone’s face when they looked at Kellyn and saw Kaitlin instead. It wasn’t exactly that she wanted her secret to be discovered, Kellyn concluded, but she would quite like the reassurance that someone knew her well enough and cared enough to see her lurking beneath the blond hair and green eyes. It wasn’t even as if it was a wonderful disguise, Kellyn complained silently. She looked almost exactly like her cousins on her father’s side. All the potion did was bring out her recessive genes and make them dominant for a while so that, instead of looking like a smaller copy of her mother, she resembled her father and his family.

“I don’t believe anything that models tell me unless they’re telling me that they’re self-centred and vain,” Kellyn responded bitingly. “And yes, those adjectives apply to me too.” How interesting. Did the potion bring out recessive unfriendly genes too? Certainly Ashlyn had never struck her as being a friendly person and she was a typical Ellison in looks. Kellyn wondered idly as she fell into the well-known rhythm of playing to the camera. She had seen so many photo shoots and done enough that it was second-nature to her now. She had done some with her mother during her childhood, ones that had been done under her real name, but her mother had been the main focus so the fame hadn’t really extended to Kellyn. And there had been times when the models were taking their breaks and the photographers had allowed her younger self to play at being a model. This had been Kellyn’s life for so many years that the people who didn’t know Kaitlin was the same person as Kellyn were surprised by the way she felt so at ease in front of a camera. She was a newcomer; there were people who thought that she had no right to be so comfortable in a new environment.

[Gabriel Graas S4]

Gabriel yawned and leaned lazily against the wall. If he had a watch, he would have checked to see how much longer. He wanted to be back home with his family. Snicker at mom holding both dad’s and Rister’s ears in a vice grip, the two of them bent down awkwardly, as mom lectured them. To go racing with Leandra and Damon, take the horse out, teach Layla to play poker. Family, company, fresh air, home. He wanted to be there, not sweating his behind off before cameras. Even if he would be also getting his fair share of teasing Gabriel added mentally with a smirk even as he closed his eyes and let his head lean back slightly, almost subconsciously letting it shift into the most attractive pose. So when heels clicked his way and a feminine voice requested to be directed, Gabriel merely waved his hand towards most of the set in a careless dismissal, not even bothering to open his eyes. A huff of pure irritation and he was left alone again until Sara’s loud voice commandeered him to concentrate again. But his irritation soothed out of him as he stepped on the set. The bright lights blinding him from everything outside the set, the buzz and clicks of the cameras, the heat, the tension. Sometimes he wondered if he loved it too much. Maybe he gave too much of himself away to cameras and the work and the heat. On the set, it sometimes felt as if he worked for the heat. For the heavy chains holding his wrist and binding his waist, for the murmurs of the photographers, for the languid shifts of his body that made on attractive, the lazy stillness of the moment. He could be irritated and a jerk before and after the shoot and even during breaks. But when he stood before the camera, he put forth his very best work.

“Hmm,” was all the comment Gabriel offered in response to Kaitlyn’s relatively snappy comment, looking from below lowered lashes to Kaitlyn, even as he dropped to one knee before her. For a moment he just regarded her. She was pretty. He admitted that freely, but there were many people that were pretty. Just as he was handsome, but he wasn’t the only handsome fellow around. He was just so overhyped, girls taught he was something more extraordinary. And he flirted with the camera and she felt comfortable before it. But she considered it a work. She didn’t strive for the heat and the tension and she was relieved to get off the set later, Gabriel would be willing to bet a lot of on that. Whereas he would be tired and sweaty and glad to be home, but he wouldn’t be glad over having to step off the set. She was a model. But it wasn’t the choice of the life-time for her. Not in the way she stood there now. Offering the apple – would anyone notice if he ate it afterwards? – Gabriel offered his most enchanting smile to Kaitlyn, “A smart notion outside the set, but pure idiocy on it.” Gabriel brought his other hand up as well, resting it lightly on Kaitlyn’s hip, pulling her an inch closer, before Sara’s camera flashed again. “Now don’t frown, you’ll ruin the picture,” Gabriel turned his head slightly towards the camera, all the while giving a playful pout at the girl, hearing the camera click, “But a good model is also a good actor. And on the set, for the picture to work you got to believe every seductive word I offer you, querida. Hook, line, and sinker. If you’re that secure in yourself, it shouldn’t be hard to think someone is worshipping you. Can’t create charm without getting anything back.” “Really? And here I thought all the hordes of girls were doing the work, while you picked and chose,” a calm voice cut in and Gabriel laughed, even as he turned his head.

“This is where the self-centered part kicks in,” Gabriel told Kaitlyn in a mock-whisper, standing and turning to step off the set without a glance back at the young model. “Morgana,” Gabriel slung his arm lazily around the girl’s shoulders, kissing the top of his head, “What are…” The click of the camera sounded and Gabriel wheeled around on spot, looking ready to murder. “Gabriel no,” her agent was racing towards him from the other side of the room, Sara Marcus was hefting her body on the way, and the make-up artists that always worked with him were also racing forward as well as Sara’s personal assistant. The young rookie lowered the camera and looked surprised at all the commotion as Gabriel took a menacing step forward him, the wolf his family crest showed off pouring out of his very soul. “Gabriel, don’t, it’s not worth it. I’ll make sure he’ll never work as a photographer again,” his agent called. But Gabriel was a Graas too as he swiftly dodged the grasping hands and with relatively much pleasure slammed his fist twice into the poor kids face, his other hand ripping the camera from the kid. “Gabriel, please. At least let me do it,” Sara Marcus pleaded, one hand expectantly reached out, the other positioned on her formidable hip. Gabriel threw a despising glance at the kid, who was helplessly trying to stop the blood flowing from his nose. Well, both his aim and the strength packed behind it had worked. Tossing the camera at Sara Marcus, Gabriel observed with a curled lip as the photographer sighed before smashing the camera into the floor and stepping on it, before grounding it into pieces under her heel. “I supposed we should be glad you weren’t wearing chains this time,” Valerie muttered moodily, as she picked up Gabriel’s hand and inspected his knuckles for any damage. Suppressing the urge to growl, Gabriel squeezed the woman’s hand for a moment, before retreating to where Morgana was standing quite tensely during the whole event. On movie when developed magically and a clearing spell cast on it, Morgana’s werewolf part might flash through at times. Valerie knew. Sara had been the one who had discovered it so she knew the reason behind Gabriel’s fury as well.

Sara Marcus had headed off to lecture the kid and for a moment Gabriel and Morgana listened to her, two heads of similar pitch-black heads leaned against each other in a wordless comforting gesture. (“The rules are drilled into your head every single time you step on the set.” “But…” “You were told that both you and Maddy would get 5 free minutes to practice with Gabriel after the shoot. You get the whole time now, Maddy, get an extra roll. And not to shoot when not told otherwise…” “They…” “Do you want to end up like Michel Gruber? Who? Exactly my point. A no one.” “Why…” “No ONE[/u] takes pictures of Gabriel’s sisters, no matter how gorgeous they look. Now get out of ere. The security will help you stop bleeding. Valerie will sort things out with you after the shoot. You’ll be lucky if you won’t be sued.”) “So how come you’re frequenting my set?” Gabriel asked Morgana conversationally, the cold flare in his eyes the only sign that something had been off. “The Ellisons didn’t bring swimming-wear. Mom told me to pick it up so you wouldn’t get the blame. She figured you’d know the sizes and fits best,” Morgana explained, even as Gabriel threw his head back and howled with truly mirthful laughter, “I get to pick up bikinis for Ashlyn Swallow? Maybe we should pick up some bikinis with a thong, just for Damon.” “Mom also asked me to remind you that if you don’t behave, she’ll tell Ashlyn you guessed all of their measurements.” “In a fully professional way. Come on, there’s always some around. Give me a minute. Something blue for Ashlyn perhaps…”

Gabriel tilted his head and narrowed his eyes pensively for a moment, before shifting through the racks of cloths. A simple and most classical bikini cut of Ashlyn that would suit her eyes, if he was right. And Gabriel was sure he was. “Get Leandra’s anklet to go with it,” Gabriel murmured, tossing the outfit to Morgana, followed by simple black swimming pants and a mere “for Keegan”. “For Alexis. Hum. Not even sure. Something subdued but more flirty than Ashlyn,” Gabriel muttered, tossing a cool shade of green suit at Morgana a few moments later. A one-piece, even if the cut over legs was higher than on Ashlyn’s bikini bottoms and the back was left open by 5 cm’s below waist-line in a teasing hint. “For Layla something bolder. Modest, classy, youthful, strong,” Gabriel murmured to herself, taking a couple of minutes more than he had with the previous outfits before selecting a one-piece in a dusky rusty-red with strong squared bronze-coloured accents. Unique outfit that would suit the girl, in his opinion. “Just show Valerie what I took and you’ll be good to know,” he informed Morgana, who accepted the outfits with a slightly amused smile, before waving at Gabriel and making her way over to Valerie. “I do apologize for the mess, Sara,” Gabriel murmured as he stopped next to the photographer who had already resumed her position behind the numerous cameras. “You’re a good kid, Gabriel,” Sara told him seriously, even as he fished out the dark copies from the now ruined camera and nodded at Gabriel in a silent affirmation that she would handle it later, “Now get out there and look so bloody hot that even I would want to rip off those tight clothes, skinny boy, and jump your bones like no one has ever had before.” Gabriel laughed and stepped back onto the set, slipping back into the seducing angel persona without any effort. The Gabriel on the photos was the real thing after all. “So what do I need to do to get your soul, querida?” Gabriel purred softly to Kaitlyn, even as hell to a knee before her again, catching one of her hands between both of his and the apple.