Shockwave (Calendar Men: Mr. May) by D.L. Jackson Read Free Book Online Page A

exact opposite of everything his instincts advised him to do. Her leave me alone vibe didn’t seem to sink in. When she’d said his name, the way Tanner fell off her lips, the expression on her face, made him want to pull her into his arms and show her everything would be okay. He’d wanted to make her pain better.
    Tanner broke the kiss and lifted her chin with his thumb. “I’m sorry.”
    “For what?” She turned away, but he wasn’t about to let her hide. Tanner brought her gaze back to his.
    “For taking advantage, treating you like shit—being a jerk. Should I go on?”
    She sighed. “Can we start over?”
    “Yeah. My name is Tanner North. I’ve never dated a redhead, but I think I might change my ways since I met this really hot one. I love Italian food, watching the stars, and reading romance to ladies in the nursing home, and if you haven’t had anything to eat yet, I’d like to take you out for a pizza.”
    “I haven’t, and I am starving. Can you give me a minute to change into something else first?” She blushed a deep red and looked away. Could she be reliving the supply closet and the heavy petting? The front of his pants grew tight. She glanced down and, for the millionth time, turned a lovely shade of scarlet. Yeah, he sported wood, and he didn’t care if she knew how badly he wanted her.
    “Take as long as you want.” He smiled and headed for the door, stopping to glance back. She gave him a weak smile and fiddled with her shirt. What would hearing what she had to say hurt? A gut feeling told him what she wanted was more important than he’d first believed. “We’ll talk over dinner about the photo shoot you mentioned. Not saying I’m onboard, but I’ll hear you out. Sound okay?”
    She nodded. He shut the door and leaned against the wall, again, to wait.
     
    ***
     
    Lannie wore a green sweater and a pair of blue jeans; faded, loved, they molded to her curves, accentuating her voluptuous figure. She didn’t look like a slob, but she also didn’t look like she wanted to seduce him. Yeah, she had her agenda, and he could only guess what.
    She wouldn’t look at him while they waited for their pizza and, anytime he managed to catch her eye, she turned a shade of burgundy and began to play with the wrapper from her straw. Twisting, rolling, folding, everything but turning the paper into an origami crane.
    “Something bothering you?” He grabbed her hand.
    “I...no.” She pulled away. “You said you would hear me out?”
    “Yes.”
    “I’m trying to get a job, one I need, and the man doing the hiring has more or less told me if I can’t get you for this calendar shoot, I won’t get the position.” She looked up. “I had no idea you’d be here. I drove straight from the interview to see my grandmother. That’s the truth and I know what it looks like. If you did agree, the calendar they’re putting together would be for a good cause, to raise money for wounded veterans.”
    “So, I wouldn’t have to pose naked, would I?”
    “Oh, no.” She flushed pink again, the color reaching the tips of her ears. “Not at all, but I’m sure they’d like you to show a little chest.” Her face got even darker, and she looked down, breaking eye contact.
    He grasped her hand again, and when she tried to pull away, he wouldn’t let her. “Tell me what’s got you frazzled here.”
    “I’d rather not say.”
    He fought the smile tugging on his lips. “About our time in the closet?”
    She sucked in a breath. “No. Yes. Maybe.”
    “Did the ladies say something...?”
    “No!” She grabbed her ice water and began to chug it like she’d been in the desert for a month.
    He eyed her. Yeah, they’d said something. Which brought him full circle back to the mysterious bag she’d claimed held an arts and crafts project. First chance he had, he’d pull what she’d stashed out of the closet and see what Lannie Sawyer had to hide. “Easy on that stuff. I don’t want you buzzing