January (Calendar Girl #1) Anthology Anthology (98 page)
Read January (Calendar Girl #1) Anthology Anthology Online
Authors: Audrey Carlan
A note sat jammed at the bottom of the box. I opened it.
Mia,
You forgot your key. It opens a lot more than a door. One day I hope you’ll use it.
~Wes
With purpose, I pulled out my keys to Suzi and my apartment and attached the surfboard and key to Wes’s house. His intention couldn’t be any clearer. If I wanted to come back to him, I would need to be ready to give him my heart because I already had his.
Mia’s journey is continued in
Calendar Girl: February
. Keep reading for an excerpt.
Excerpt from February: Calendar Girl (Book 2)
The twisted and rusted iron gates clanged loudly together as the driver pulled them down, locking them in place. He hadn’t uttered a word other than, “You Mia?” when I came down the escalator at Portland International Airport baggage claim. I figured it was safe to follow him since he had a sign with my full name on it and Aunt Millie told me to expect a giant lumberjack of a man to drive me to my next client. The giant part was no joke and it wasn’t his height. Guy stood only a couple inches taller than me but what he made up for in length he made up for in width. Reminded me of a pro wrestler or one of those beefy body builders.
Once the elevator made it to floor ten it came to a screeching, grinding halt, jolting me into Paul Bunion’s baby brother. He was a solid wall, didn’t even flinch when I bumped into him, just grunted like an animal. The giant doors opened and Bunion pulled open the gates and ushered me into what seemed to be an open warehouse. The rafters and piping were visible and no less than fifty feet above the concrete floor. People were milling around everywhere, half of them naked.
What the fuck did I get myself into?
Cameras were clicking, lighting units were being moved around on wheeled carts as I stood in the entryway attempting to take it all in. Bunion set my bag off to a side wall and pointed to a man crouched down, a camera glued to his face. “Mr. Dubois,” he grumbled then abruptly turned around and entered the elevator we just exited leaving me to fend for myself.
“Man of few words,” I let a slow breath leave my too full lungs. I didn’t know what to do. Should I sit off to the side and wait for someone to approach me, hopefully not the naked men and women scattered around, or should I bug the guy busily taking pictures of something I couldn’t quite see.
Instead of waiting I decided to take a better stock of my surroundings and walked around. The room was an open loft, but not a home. Rickety windows lined the walls on the right, some opened from the bottom out, others closed tight. Looked like it took a crank to open them, which I found incredible cool and retro. Naked and half naked women passed by me, sizing me up as they moved in front of giant white canvases. They weren’t really modeling they were just standing next to them, loosely holding a pose attendants were perfecting with subtle shifts of an elbow here, moving a foot there. Then the attendant would back up and take a single photo and start over again. Tiny movements again, then another picture. It was downright weird.
I moved over to another area where there was a couple, naked laying on a huge white canvas. Had to be at least ten by ten feet in size. Then an attendant again, all wearing black, which was incredibly clichéd, climbed up a small ladder that had a platform directly over their bodies. Then he methodically poured what looked to be bright blue paint over every inch of their bodies.
“Don’t move!” he screamed. “We’ll have to start all over and Mr. Dubois won’t be pleased,” he said tightly. The couple stayed in a naked clinch. The female models hands were wrapped around the males head as if she were about to kiss him. His arms were around her, one on her ass holding a leg over his hip, the other cupping the back of her head.
Paint dripped down their legs and fell into globs on the canvas. “Still,” the man warned. I was so fascinated by the inner workings of the odd scene in front of me I didn’t hear a person walk up behind me until my hair was swept off my neck.
“Perfection,” I heard whispered against my ear before a soft kiss hit the bare skin of where my shoulder and neck meet.
I shuffled back, not realizing where I was going, just trying to get away from the stranger touching me when I bumped into something behind me. Before I could turn, my boot caught the edge of the canvas and I went toppling into the platform which held the irritated guy with the paint. Then, utter chaos ensued. The man holding the bucket whet tumbling forward, blue sticky paint flew out of the can into a fan of color before splashing down to the canvas and tarp protecting the concrete.
The couple beneath must of saw the fall coming because the man rolled hot naked chick, as if he’d been trained in combat services with the armed forces, avoiding the attendant, being doused with more paint, and the platform narrowly missed falling on top of them. Me on the other hand, I wasn’t so lucky.
When I fell backward, my other heel went through the thick canvas and stuck, whereas my body curved around the opposite direction. I screamed out as my ankle twisted painfully and I landed ass over tit into blue paint and torn canvas.
“Sweet Jesus,” the man I tried to get away from stepped into the mess and pulled me up by the armpits. His yellow brown eyes were mesmerizing and worried. Small lines fell at the edges of each eye proving he was a good decade older. Sandy brown hair with twinges of russet gold and red streaked through in natural highlights along his scalp was pulled tight into a small bun at the back of his head. A sculpted jaw and full lips were rimmed with perfectly trimmed facial hair. I’d never dated a man with a beard, but standing in front of this man, strong arms holding me close to a very tall and muscular frame, I couldn’t fathom why I never had. He was drop dead gorgeous. Reminded me Ben Affleck only way hotter.
“I didn’t mean to frighten you. I just, saw you standing there and your beauty was far beyond the likes of any mere model. I had to press my lips against your golden skin. You must be
My Mia
.”
Purchase February: Calendar Girl (Book 2) today!
Books and Coming Soon by Audrey Carlan
The Falling Series
Angel Falling
London Falling
Justice Falling
Trinity Trilogy
Body (Book 1)
Mind (Book 2)
Soul (Book 3 - Estimated Release 3/2015)
Calendar Girl Serial
(A twelve month serial. New installments will be released every month throughout 2015)
January (Book 1)
February (Book 2 - Estimated Release 2/2015)
March (Book 3 - Estimated Release 3/2015)
April (Book 4 - Estimated Release 4/2015)
May (Book 5 - Estimated Release 5/2015)
June (Book 6 - Estimated Release 6/2015)
July (Book 7 - Estimated Release 7/2015)
August (Book 8 - Estimated Release 8/2015)
September (Book 9 - Estimated Release 9/2015)
October (Book 10 - Estimated Release 10/2015)
November (Book 11 - Estimated Release 11/2015)
December (Book 12 - Estimated Release 12/2015)
Acknowledgements
To my critique partner,
Sarah Saunders
, for giving Mia her name and helping me make her a bad ass! There’s a lot of you in our girl and I love it!
To my editor
Ekatarina Sayanova
with Red Quill Editing, LLC, you rocked this just as I expected you would. Thank you for making me a better writer. You need reliable, professional edits without worrying about the editor changing your voice, contact Red Quill. (www.redquillediting.net)
Any author knows they aren’t worth their weight unless their story is backed by badass betas. I have the best!
Ginelle Blanch
- This book is dedicated to you because you’ve been with me since the beginning, never complained, always shared your support and busted out your betas efficiently and blown my mind every time with the crazy screw up you find. You have an incredible eye for detail. Thank you.
Jeananna Goodall
- The woman who reads everything I write
before
I’ve even given it a second read through. I adore you. You make me want to write and believe that I will make it in this industry. Thank you for always giving me hope.
Anita Shofner
- My present and past tense QUEEN…you prevent my characters from traveling time. Thank you, Angel.
To
Give Me Books
and
Kylie McDermott
for spreading this book far and wide into the virtual stratosphere…I owe you! Thank you to you and all your girls but especially my dream team Beth Cranford, Missy Borucki, and Devlynn Ihlenfeld. You ladies read my books and share your honest opinions and always find beauty in them. BESOS ladies!
About Audrey Carlan
Audrey Carlan lives in the sunny California Valley two hours away from the city, the beach, the mountains and the precious … the vineyards. She has been married to the love of her life for over a decade and has two young children that live up to their title of “Monster Madness” on daily basis. When she’s not writing wickedly hot romances, doing yoga, or sipping wine with her “soul sisters”, three incredibly different and unique voices in her life, she can be found with her nose stuck in book or her Kindle. A hot, smutty, romantic book to be exact!
Any and all feedback is greatly appreciated and feeds the soul. You can contact Audrey below:
Email:
[email protected]
Facebook:
www.facebook.com/AuthorAudreyCarlan
Website:
www.audreycarlan.com
Twitter: @AudreyCarlan
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7831156.Audrey_Carlan
Table of Contents
Excerpt from February: Calendar Girl (Book 2)
Books and Coming Soon by Audrey Carlan
February: Calendar Girl
Book 2
By Audrey Carlan
Text copyright © 2015 Audrey Carlan
ISBN Electronic
ISBN-10: 0-9909143-6-4
ISBN-13: 978-0-9909143-6-5
All Rights Reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned or distributed in any printed or electronic format without expressed permission by the author.
Dedication
Jeananna Goodall
One year ago, I released my first novel.
Since the first one, you’ve been my cheerleader,
beta reader, and number one fan.
Now, I’m honored to call you my friend.
You love my characters as if they were your own,
and keep me connected to them emotionally.
You have many gifts and talents,
I’m so grateful you share them with me.
Love and light.
Chapter 1
The twisted and rusted iron gates of the ancient elevator clanged loudly together as the driver pulled them down, locking them in place. He hadn’t uttered a word other than, “You Mia?” when I came down the escalator at Seattle -Tacoma International Airport baggage claim. I figured it was safe to follow him since he had a sign with my full name on it, and Aunt Millie told me to expect a giant lumberjack of a man to drive me to my next client. The giant part was no joke, and it wasn’t his height. The guy stood only a couple inches taller than me, but what he lacked in height, he made up for in width. Reminded me of a pro wrestler or one of those beefy body builders.
Once the elevator made it to the tenth floor, it came to a screeching, grinding halt, jolting me into Paul Bunion’s baby brother. He was a solid wall, didn’t even flinch when I bumped into him, just grunted like an animal. The giant doors opened and Bunion pulled open the gates and ushered me into what seemed to be an open warehouse. The rafters and piping were visible and no less than thirty feet above the concrete floor. People were milling around everywhere, half of them naked.
