Read Dawn Autumn for Free Online Page B

don’t you hire models?”
    He waited a moment. “Actually, I was hoping you’d volunteer.”
    “Me? I’d make a terrible model! Trust me, I do not look like that.” She gestured to one of the tall, slim women with a killer attitude. Granted, they all wore adequate clothing, but they had a poise she’d never possessed in her lifetime.
    “I’d like to do some of you posed with your guitar. Think of how your red Fender would look against a moonscape. I want some of you playing, too. Eyes closed, head bent, listening to the music...you have a passion I’d like to capture on canvas. I’ll even give you a royalty on every painting sold. Ten percent.” He told her how much he made on his paintings.
    Jay’s jaw dropped. “H-how much?” It was a fortune. “What do you do with your money?”
    He shrugged. “I invest it. I haven’t needed it for anything yet.”
    Overwhelmed, she shook her head. He had a fortune, plenty of time, and he never went anywhere, never did anything. What wouldn’t she do if she had that kind of income? For starters, she’d get a nicer apartment.
    Mistaking her head shaking for a no, Fred said quickly, “Twenty percent, including royalties from reproductions.”
    Purpose crystallized in her heart. Taking his hand, Jay said firmly, “Show me your bedroom, Fred.” Spying a doorway, she made for it, unwilling to wait for him.
    His mouth opened, but no words came out. She actually had to drag him to the door. “Jay...I wasn’t expecting this.”
    His room was hardly a fashion statement—his naked mattress lay on the floor, covered with a single striped blanket. A solitary pillow, lumpy and devoid of a case, was carelessly tossed in the center. Jay snorted at it and stared at the pile of clothes on the bottom of his closet. Well, what had she expected to find? She kicked the pile thoughtfully, then bent and picked up a pair of black leather pants. Another kick unearthed a pair of boots, which joined the growing pile.
    “What are you doing?” Fred asked suspiciously as she knelt down to poke around in the pile, examining and tossing aside garments.
    “Saving you from sexual exile for the rest of your natural life,” she muttered under her breath, too low for him to make out. She spied the vest he’d been wearing last night and sighed with relief. At least she hadn‘t imagined it. Picking up the heavy armbands that had been tossed on top, she asked distractedly, “Are these real gold? Nah, they can’t be. Aha!” She grabbed a black t-shirt from the pile and shoved it at Fred. “This will work.”
    Fred frowned. “This is not a good idea.”
    Jay firmed her jaw and stood her ground. “You are not a geek, Fred. If I’m going to work with you, I want you to look like you’re not a geek. You can afford jeans and t-shirts. You don’t have to shop at a thrift store. And for goodness sake, lose the glasses. I’ll go with you to pick a new style if you like, but those brown things have got to go.” She glanced in his closet to see if there was anything else worth commenting on, and then saw his hat. She pounced on it, sidled around him, and then warily backed out the door just in case he made a grab for it.
    “What are you doing?” he asked, bewildered.
    “I’m going to burn this,” she said defiantly.
    Too late, he saw the danger. “Wait! Stop, Jay!”
    Spying an open window, she darted for it, bouncing on his couch as she dropped it outside. A second too late, his arm curled around her waist, the other making a grab for her hand. He missed.
    His arm tightened around her waist as he growled her name.
    “I’m not sorry. Can’t make me be,” she said breathlessly, unwilling to repent.
    His hand found the skin between her shirt and jeans, slipping effortlessly underneath to spread his hand over the warm skin. His mouth nuzzled against her neck. “No? Are we taking odds on it?”
    Heat spread from the site of contact to swirl giddily in Jay’s head. “Maybe not.”
    For a