January (Calendar Girl #1) Anthology Anthology (84 page)

I want you both to know that the time I shared with the two of you was truly lovely. Seeing your relationship progress into something long-lasting is inspiring.

Thank you for letting me be a part of your life.

~ Mia

I folded up the letter and put it in the envelope and asked Rachel to mail it for me. This time I didn’t escape while they were sleeping and allowed the two of them to take me to the airport. It was the least I could do after they’d come to my rescue and taken care of me the past week and a half.

We said our goodbyes and promised to keep in touch as usual. So far, it had been very easy to keep in touch with the new friends I’d made. Maybe because I didn’t have any other friends besides Maddy and Ginelle back home.

When I pushed the airplane seat back, I thought about the past month. From matchmaking, to sexting and wicked hot dreams, to covert business deals, and helping third-world countries, Canadian nymphos, and being attacked, it had been one helluva month. Through it all, I learned three things that wouldn’t stop burning through my mind.

First, Wes was my goddamned kryptonite, and I needed to be careful to protect myself if I was going to make it through another six months. Second, never judge a book by its cover, even when they come in drop dead sexy suits with political stature and unlimited assets. And third, friends are the family you choose, and I had the best friends and family on the planet.

Yep, life was strange, but I was living it to the fullest. Taking each day as it came and experiencing as much as possible. Accepting the good, the bad, and even the ugly in stride because it was all part of the process. Just like my tattoo says, I had to
trust the journey
.

And my journey was taking me to a mocha-skinned hip-hop artist named Anton Santiago to make a music video. They say white men can’t jump; well, this white chick can’t dance. July should prove interesting.

Mia’s journey continues in July (Calendar Girl).

Excerpt from July Calendar Girl (Book 7)

Heather had given me all of fifteen minutes to freshen up before she was taking me down to meet Anton. I jumped in the shower, washed off the day’s travel grime and spotted the outfit she laid out. Outfit was too strong a description. What was sitting on the bed for me was a scrap of fabric, a pair of booty shorts and stilettos that crisscrossed up the entire length of my calf to the knee. I slid on the shorts and checked the hemline in the mirror. A swath of ass cheek was clearly visible to any discerning eye. Fuck me. Turning to the front the shorts were cut so high the lining of the pocket stuck out the bottom. The tank was cute. It was blousy, tied together by two thin ribbons at each shoulder. Closing my eyes I counted to ten and gave myself a pep talk.

You can do this Mia.

Just over a month ago you were traipsing around in a bikini with Tai and the modeling team. This is actually more clothing than that. Plus, you’re not here for your stellar morals in decency, you’re here to look hot and be a love interest in a rock video. Er, a hip hop video. A groan slipped out of my mouth as I pulled my hair up into a ponytail. It felt like a million degrees or maybe my own internal temperature had hit a hundred.

Breathing slowly through my nose and out my mouth I stood and walked out to the living space. Heather was there taking a call. Her eyes took in my outfit from the tip of my toes to my hair. When she got to my head an ugly frown marred her face. Never taking her ear off the phone she moved to me, tugged on the hair tie and let the thick locks of hair tumble around my shoulders. “Better,” she whispered while fluffing it this way and that. Then she snapped her fingers and walked to the door.

“Did you just fucking snap at me?” The easy comradery that we’d had in the car ride from the airport to here was blown to bits.

Heather had the good grace to look chagrinned. “Sorry,” she mouthed. “Yes Anton, I’ve got her now.” The words held irritation as if it was a physical thing you could toss up in the air and catch on a whim.  “We’ll meet you in the dance room. Yes, five minutes.”

“Mia, I’m sorry. He gets me all twisted in a knot. Unfortunately, he’s on a bit of tear. Didn’t mean to be rude. Apparently the backup dancers sucked, couldn’t move if they had bees in their underpants.”

I tried to chuckle with her but couldn’t really pull it off. Dread ricocheted down each rib to land heavily in my gut. He would most certainly not be happy when he found out this white girl could not dance.  At least I was safe in the knowledge that there were no take-backsies. He paid the fee regardless of if I could dance. That was not part of my portfolio and I’d never claimed it to be.

The elevator opened to a hallway where glass walls spanned the entire length from wall to wall. The lights were off in the room, black lights were flickering and spotlights shone down on several figures, bodies writhing to the obscenely loud beat. A man in jogging shorts and a t-shirt clapped out beats and called numbers to the dancer in what I think were placements for their feet or hands but I couldn’t be sure.

Heather brought me in to stand to the side. That’s when I got my first good look at Anton Santiago. Taking in his sleek, muscled form, my mouth went dry, the room around me seemed to throb like a heartbeat as he slowly walked forward. Each beat of the music accentuating the movement of his shoulders, one in front of the other twisting his hips along to each hit. His body was covered in slick sweat, from the protruding collar bone, over square pecks and down the highway that was one helluva toned abdomen. Not only was he cut, his body just screamed hold me, touch me, put your naked form all over mine.

He spun around, the back-up dancers mimicking the move, and then he hit the floor….with his body. He did a series of pushups to the beat, then one-handed, the muscles in his forearms bulging delectably, he did another but with an added roll of his hips as if he was humping the ground. Sweet mother…I wanted to shimmy over there and lay down so he could practice that move on a living, breathing, hot-blooded woman. And I was hot. So fucking hot. I fanned myself as I watched his body twist, turn, and catapult into the air onto his feet where he repeated the hip roll, pelvic thrust to the sexiest lyrics.

“Ride it baby, ride…
  **body roll**

“With me, I’ll go all night…” **thrust**

“Let me do you right…” **body roll**

“And ride it baby, ride…” **thrust**

His large hand cupped his manhood, tugging up while his body arched into the air. He looked like a golden-brown god who’d just finished pounding his dream girl and was checking the status of his weapon before going back into a sex-driven battle.

The music came to an abrupt halt. “Okay guys, that’s enough for the day. Anton, we good,” the guy in shorts called out.

Anton didn’t say a word, just offered one cool as a cucumber chin lift. A gaggle of girls clamored up to him with water and a towel. “Oh Anton, you were amazing. So sexy.”

He stopped a few feet in front of me, eyes never leaving mine. Green to green. His blazing, mine turned way the fuck on. “Leave me.”

“But, I thought after rehearsal we were going to have fun?” the two girls clamored for his attention.

His brows furrowed. “Anton don’t do repeats.
Vete al carajo
,” he said and with a fluttering of his hand shooed them away. By the grimace and sadness on their faces, whatever he said could not have been good. Later I found out it meant “fuck off”.

“
Lucita
,” he licked his lips in that way a man does that literally makes your spine tingle and your core
clench
. Yes, he made my pussy clench by a single lip lick. “Now that you’re here, whatever shall we do with you?” His Puerto Rican accent did crazy things to my senses as his eyes scanned me from head to toe again. He may as well have reached out a hand and trailed it all along my skin for how much I felt that look.

Those green orbs glazed over with what could only be seen as pure, carnal, lust. We stood there, eyes locked on one another as we had a visual silent war with one another. Nostrils flared, eyes squinted and finally I spoke.

“You could feed me. I’m starved.” I said and Heather who apparently was standing a lot closer than I thought snorted with laughter breaking the tension between me and the Latin Lov-ah. Now, seeing him in front of me, it made all kinds of sense where he got that name. 

His head cut to hers. “Sorry, Anton,” she said and looked away, failing to hide the smile on her face. 

Anton held his hand out to me. “Mia, let’s fill you up.” The way he said those words literally made me think of a hundred other completely inappropriate things besides food. I licked my lips and smacked my chops. 

“Yes, lets.”

Continued in July Calendar Girl. Available now for purchase.

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)

Calendar Girl Serial

(A twelve month serial. New installments will be released every month throughout 2015)

January (Book 1)

February (Book 2)

March (Book 3)

April (Book 4)

May (Book 5)

June (Book 6)

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)

The Indulgence Box Set
- (Release 6/30/2015)

“A million words of romance” box set that has something for everyone. Fifteen best-selling authors with fifteen
full length
novels all compiled together to give every romance reader something they are looking for.

Acknowledgements

To my editor
Ekatarina Sayanova
 with
Red Quill Editing, LLC
, you and
Rebecca Cartee
cracked me up through this edit. Your edits were on point, professional, and layered with funny comments that put a huge smile on my face. Each and every time you get into the story and comment on something that’s not an edit I do a mental fist pump! I feel as though I’ve hit the Jackpot with Red Quill. Thank you. Red Quill Editing, LLC is presently accepting new clients. (www.redquillediting.net)

To my extraordinarily talented personal assistant
Heather White (aka The Goddess)
, you have no possible idea how much I appreciate and adore you. Every day I smack myself and think…I can’t believe this incredible human being has committed to assisting me. ME! Humbles me each and every day. Love always doll-face.

Any author knows they aren’t worth their weight unless their story is backed by badass betas. I have the best!

Jeananna Goodall
- Sometimes it’s hard to express how much I care about you and what you think about my stories. It’s as though if you like them, I can rest easy that the masses will too. You’re my reader extraordinaire and I love you lady!

Ginelle Blanch
- This is the 12th story you’ve beta read for me. Amazing right? To know I have you in my corner make me feel like I can take on any challenging story and know that you’re going to be there to make sure I don’t put out a subpar product. Since the beginning it seemed as if you picked up on my style and know exactly how to dig into my problem areas so that I’m learning from you in the process. Thank you honey. I’m truly bless to have you as part of my beta team.

Anita Shofner
- Since I know English Language and Usage is your
thang
, I’m always excited to fix all your little errors. You find interesting ones that I would have NEVER found on my own, mostly because I made the error after the editors and didn’t know it was wrong. I’m so happy I have you on my team to make sure even the small errors are found. Thank you for making me that much better.

To
Sarah Saunders
, you are there when I need you and that’s all that matters to me. Thank you dear friend.

Thank you to the ladies at
Give Me Books
and
Kylie McDermott
for spreading this book far and wide into the virtual social world! They do amazing release day blitz and are very affordable. Look them up on Facebook.

To the Audrey Carlan Street Team of wicked hot Angels, together we change the world. One book at a time. BESOS-4-LIFE lovely ladies.