Touch Me by Christie Ridgway Read Free Book Online Page A

wall above it was a calendar from the year before, the photo showing a well-oiled brunette Amazon in nothing but a glittery G-string. She reclined on the hood of a sports car, her impossibly big naked boobs pointing toward the sky and one hand under the elastic of her panties.
    Eww , Rose thought.
    Payne made a sound of disgust and ripped the offending item off the wall and tossed it in the nearby trash.
    Then he rummaged around the stacks on the desk. He pulled something free of them and in a minute he’d fastened another calendar in place of the old one. It was for the current year.
    A blonde Amazon, skin the color and sheen of a roasted Thanksgiving turkey, reclined on the hood of a sports car, her impossibly big naked boobs pointing toward the sky. Both hands were beneath the triangle of her sequined scrap of underwear.
    “That’s better,” Payne said with a nod. He slid her a look. “Gotta keep up-to-date.”
    She refused to respond by word, deed, or even expression. Instead, she checked her watch. “You have two hours. Then it’s time to take you home for a nap.”
    His mouth firmed into an unhappy line. She ignored it. “I’ll just sit over here while you do your thing,” she said, pointing to a tattered couch. Closer, she reconsidered. The stains on the upholstery were more than a little off-putting.
    “Wait,” Payne yanked his sweatshirt over his head, the T-shirt beneath riding up with the movement.
    Rose looked away from his ab muscles, still well-defined despite the pink scar running down the center of his torso.
    Crossing to her, he tossed the outer garment onto the cushions. “It’s clean.”
    She situated herself on the gray cotton that was warm and smelled of him. “Such a gentleman,” she told him in sweet tones and pulled her phone and earbuds from her purse. Without another glance, she inserted the headphones and closed her eyes.
    It was why she shrieked when warm fingers skimmed her cheek and yanked one device free.
    “Let me know when you get to the good part,” Payne said, his face much, much too close. His lips had a wicked curve to them and his blue eyes flashed bright. “Like when the duke’s latest expedition causes him to launch his canoe up the tunnel of love.”
    The remark made her want to laugh and her skin was still tingling from his touch, so she glared at him instead and snatched the earbud back, reinserted it, closed her eyes again. His own laugh came over the sound of the narrator’s voice.
    When he stroked her cheek once more, she had to dig her fingernails into her palms to remind herself not to react. Damn him! He was just too expert at this—his good looks, teasing voice, light touch all making it so easy for him to invoke a sexual response.
    He didn’t need a thriving business or even a quasi-clean one…one crooked finger and women would give him everything he ever wanted or needed.
    A short time later, the manager showed up, a skinny, nervous guy who seemed eager-to-please. But he was apparently new and clicked around on the computer and aimlessly shuffled papers as Payne peppered him with questions.
    After a while, Rose needed fresh air and she wandered out to the car cemetery where the weeds grew out of rusty, propped-open hoods. As she walked among the vehicles, she stepped over broken beer bottles, the occasional disintegrating rubber flip flop, and more used condoms than she wanted to think about.
    Were couples copulating on the ripped and moldy back seats?
    The idea prompted her to dig out the bottle of hand sanitizer from her purse and slather the gel on her hands.
    Her head was down, but still, Payne must move like a cat because she didn’t hear him come up behind her until he placed a cold bottle of water against the side of her arm. She jumped and swung around to face him.
    “Didn’t mean to scare you,” he said.
    “This is a perfect place for ghosts.”
    “I don’t want to guess at their cause of death.” Grimacing, he kicked dirt over the