by Dale Mayer
But Jenna was laughing. “Maybe and maybe not. So let’s go over what you are going to do.”
And that was when Tania realized she was getting a camera.
She couldn’t stop the smile that broke free, the relieved laughter that rippled throughout the room. “Oh, my God. You should have said something in the beginning.” She laughed and laughed.
When she could stop the giggles, only the odd hiccupping laugh still escaping, she realized Jenna had a wry smile on her face. Kane wore a thundercloud.
“I’m glad this isn’t quite as impossible as you’d first been afraid it was,” Jenna said gently.
And that, of course, had been the crux of the issue. Settling down and realizing she’d let her fears completely override rational thought here, Tania relaxed.
She loved photography, and of course, Jenna knew that. They’d discussed it several times. She wasn’t sure why or how, or if the sensation was real or just another mirage she put up in her world to make something doable, but being behind a camera put distance between her and a situation. Gave her a buffer from the uncomfortable, the too-intense insights, and the world at large.
It gave her a sense of security. Of safety.
Jenna was seriously bright to have done this. And that relief was something that let Tania sit down and let herself settle inside. She was safe. This wasn’t going to be something that was super scary. Super intimate. In fact, she had to wonder if it would do anything for her at all. But her mind immediately clutched at the straw offered and said she could deal with the other stuff later. Down the road, like in ten years’ time.
“Okay. I’m really going to love this project.” Her mind wandered through the camera gear she’d brought with her, wondering what to use first. It all depended on what they had to photograph. And then another tidbit fell into place. “That’s why you told me to be sure to bring my camera gear, isn’t it?”
“Yes, it is.” Jenna nodded, but she didn’t look at Tania. Instead, she kept her gaze on Kane.
Realizing she’d been awash in her own satisfaction and joy at what she would be doing, she’d put no thought to Kane’s role in all of this. It’s not like she needed him to carry stuff. It was all small, and she’d been packing her gear for a long time.
She frowned as she took in the hard gaze between Jenna and Kane.
And realized she’d missed something.
“Uhm, what’s going on?” She studied the tick on Kane’s jaw and realized instead of a blow-up, he’d gone super quiet. In her dad’s case, that meant he was seriously pissed. She winced. Kane was going to have a monster of a headache after this. Clenching his jaw, his neck was corded, and as her gaze slipped down his chest, she realized his fists were almost white at the knuckles.
“Jenna?” No one could miss the signals in the room right now. She cleared her throat and tried again. “Maybe you could tell me what Kane and I are going to photograph?”
Kane, his voice like silken steel, answered instead. “Go ahead, Jenna.” His voice deepened dangerously. “Tell us.”
Shit. Tania’s gaze raced from the one so furious she couldn’t believe he was holding back to Jenna, who sat calmly, returning his stare in apparent unconcern. But Jenna was no fool; everyone knew you didn’t turn your back on a dangerous animal.
And right now Kane was one hell of a dangerous animal.
“Why don’t you tell her, if you think you know,” Jenna said smoothly.
“Kane?” Tania wanted this tension to break. Even tensile strength had a breaking point.
“It’s not what you’re going to photograph,” he snapped. “It’s who.”
Tania didn’t understand, but at the approving curl on Jenna’s lips, she figured Kane just got the favorite student award.
“Who am I supposed to photograph?” she asked, bewildered.
“Me.”
* * *
Kane closed the door to his room with a very controlled click. He stood stock-still and let the anger ripple through him. He didn’t dare let loose or there’d be a hole in the door. He splayed his fingers wide with as much force as he could manage. When the tension finally drained, he relaxed slightly. Then he took several steps toward the bed, where he threw himself down on the cushy surface. He leaned his head back and groaned out loud.
“What the hell am I doing here?” He could blame his brother for this damn session, but that wasn’t fair. Sure, Jerry had pushed and prodded to get Kane to sign up, and it had been a good idea initially. Sounded like just what he needed. He’d been nursing that grudge of his for far too long.
Time to move on before he screwed up other relationships.
He groaned again, lifting both hands and scrubbing his face. He only had an hour’s lunch break. Everyone had split immediately after their meetings with Jenna, taking off for their own silent spaces. He needed food, but he’d needed space and time to regroup more. He could do a stupid camera project with Tania.
So what if she took a picture of him? Big deal.
Then why was he damn near shaking? It’s as if he were stressed to the max. And if that was the case, why? He’d been fine first thing this morning. Fine since he’d arrived. He’d been disdainful as the process started. It gave him that bit of buffer in case he started to feel too involved, or they got too dangerously close to his own hurts.
It was easier to come to something like this if he kept himself separate from the others. And of course, the therapist’s purpose was to stop him from that disconnect. He didn’t know when he’d started to feel a fine edge of anger or bitterness to put more distance between them, but it was somewhere around the time he noticed Tania flinching away from him. This morning, she’d damned near crawled into Robin’s lap.
It made for a tough few hours when every time he shifted, he felt her response like a scared rabbit. He’d wanted to reassure her he wasn’t planning on hitting her or hitting on her. But he’d known that would have made it all worse.
It was too bad.
She was tiny, delicate-featured, and curvy. He hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her. Then with every breath he took, he was intimately aware of her reaction – just as she was aware of his every action.
To have that level of awareness with someone…someone who was terrified of him…was just wrong. No… he pulled that thought. He hadn’t gotten the impression that she was terrified of him…she didn’t know him. He was a stranger to her. It was more that she was terrified of what he represented.
His mind played with that.
What did he represent? Maleness. Strength. Power. He’d caught her gaze on his biceps. His thighs. He studied his arms; he kept in shape, worked out, had a stocky build. No one would ever call him a toothpick, that was for sure.
From any other woman, he’d take her glances as interest. And there could be a touch of that here, but he knew it wasn’t the main part. Given they were in therapy, chances were good she’d been beaten up by someone bigger and stronger than her and most likely someone like himself – male.
And that made it tough to sit beside her.
Because he didn’t have the same issues. At least not over sex. He was interested. Then again, he was male, so of course he was interested.
He grinned, his good humor restored. It would be a cold day in Hell before any healthy male wasn’t interested in Tinkerbelle.
But to put the two of them together for hours on end was just asking for trouble. He wasn’t sure he could stay calm and cool around her like she needed him to be, and he didn’t want to terrorize her by blowing up in front of her.
She didn’t need that.
He just didn’t know what she did need. And it was none of his business. That was for Jenna to sort out. He needed to tell her privately to forget about this project.
Feeling better, he hopped up to his feet, prepared to go down to the restaurant for a quick bite, when it hit him. He was making a big deal over nothing.
This was a class project, just a few hours when he had to be in
control. Calm. Detached. Even cop-like would work. He was a cop. He was just back finishing his degree so he could move up the ranks.
She could take a few pictures he’d learn a little patience, and he could go home.
Feeling better, he ran down the stairs, hoping to get a bite to eat after all.
Surprisingly, his appetite had returned.
SKIN is available!
Dear reader,
Thank you for reading the free preview of SKIN. I hope Tania and Kane’s story interests you. The full story is out! If you’d like to read about other books I’ve written, please turn the page.
Cheers,
Dale Mayer
Touched by Death
Adult RS/thriller
Get this book at Amazon.
Death had touched anthropologist Jade Hansen in Haiti once before, costing her an unborn child and perhaps her very sanity.
A year later, determined to face her own issues, she returns to Haiti with a mortuary team to recover the bodies of an American family from a mass grave. Visiting his brother after the quake, independent contractor Dane Carter puts his life on hold to help the sleepy town of Jacmel rebuild. But he finds it hard to like his brother’s pregnant wife or her family. He wants to go home, until he meets Jade – and realizes what’s missing in his own life. When the mortuary team begins work, it’s as if malevolence has been released from the earth. Instead of laying her ghosts to rest, Jade finds herself confronting death and terror again.
And the man who unexpectedly awakens her heart – is right in the middle of it all.
By Death Series
Touched by Death – Part 1 – FREE
Touched by Death – Part 2
Touched by Death – Parts 1&2
Haunted by Death
Chilled by Death
Vampire in Denial
This is book 1 of the Family Blood Ties Saga
Get this book at Amazon.
Blood doesn’t just make her who she is…it also makes her what she is.
Like being a sixteen-year-old vampire isn’t hard enough, Tessa’s throwback human genes make her an outcast among her relatives. But try as she might, she can’t get a handle on the vampire lifestyle and all the…blood.
Turning her back on the vamp world, she embraces the human teenage lifestyle—high school, peer pressure and finding a boyfriend. Jared manages to stir something in her blood. He’s smart and fun and oh, so cute. But Tessa’s dream of a having the perfect boyfriend turns into a nightmare when vampires attack the movie theatre and kidnap her date.
Once again, Tessa finds herself torn between the human world and the vampire one. Will blood own out? Can she make peace with who she is as well as what?
Warning: This book ends with a cliffhanger! Book 2 picks up where this book ends.
Family Blood Ties Series
Vampire in Denial – FREE
Vampire in Distress
Vampire in Design
Vampire in Deceit
Vampire in Defiance
Vampire in Conflict
Vampire in Chaos
Vampire in Crisis
Family Blood Ties 3in1
Sian’s Solution – A Family Blood Ties Short Story
Broken Protocols
Get this book at Amazon.
Dani’s been through a year of hell…
Just as it’s getting better, she’s tossed forward through time with her orange Persian cat, Charmin Marvin, clutched in her arms. They’re dropped into a few centuries into the future. There’s nothing she can do to stop it, and it’s impossible to go back.
And then it gets worse…
A year of government regulation is easing, and Levi Blackburn is feeling back in control. If he can keep his reckless brother in check, everything will be perfect. But while he’s been protecting Milo from the government, Milo’s been busy working on a present for him…
The present is Dani, only she comes with a snarky cat who suddenly starts talking…and doesn’t know when to shut up.
In an age where breaking protocols have severe consequences, things go wrong, putting them all in danger…
Charmin Marvin Romantic Comedy Series
Broken Protocols
Broken Protocols 2
Broken Protocols 3
Broken Protocols 3.5
Broken Protocols 1-3
About the Author
Dale Mayer is a USA Today bestselling author best known for her Psychic Visions and Family Blood Ties series. Her contemporary romances are raw and full of passion and emotion (Second Chances, SKIN), her thrillers will keep you guessing (By Death series), and her romantic comedies will keep you giggling (It’s a Dog’s Life and Charmin Marvin Romantic Comedy series).
She honors the stories that come to her – and some of them are crazy and break all the rules and cross multiple genres!
To go with her fiction, she also writes nonfiction in many different fields with books available on resume writing, companion gardening and the US mortgage system. She has recently published her Career Essentials Series. All her books are available in print and ebook format.
Connect with Dale Mayer Online
Dale’s Website – www.dalemayer.com
Twitter – @DaleMayer
Facebook – facebook.com/DaleMayer.author
Also by Dale Mayer
Published Adult Books:
Psychic Vision Series
Tuesday’s Child – FREE
Hide’n Go Seek
Maddy’s Floor
Garden of Sorrow
Knock, Knock…
Rare Find
Eyes to the Soul
Now You See Her
Psychic Visions 3in1
By Death Series
Touched by Death – Part 1 – FREE
Touched by Death – Part 2
Touched by Death – Parts 1&2
Haunted by Death
Chilled by Death
Second Chances…at Love Series
Second Chances – Part 1 – FREE
Second Chances – Part 2
Second Chances – complete book (Parts 1 & 2)
Charmin Marvin Romantic Comedy Series
Broken Protocols
Broken Protocols 2
Broken Protocols 3
Broken Protocols 3.5
Broken Protocols 1-3
Broken and… Mending
Skin
Scars
Scales (of Justice)
Glory
Genesis
Tori
Celeste
Biker Blues
Biker Blues: Morgan, Part 1
Biker Blues: Morgan, Part 2
Biker Blues: Morgan, Part 3
Collections
Dare to Be You…
Dare to Love…
Dare to be Strong…
RomanceX3
Standalone Novellas
It’s a Dog’s Life
Riana’s Revenge
Published Young Adult Books:
Family Blood Ties Series
Vampire in Denial – FREE
Vampire in Distress
Vampire in Design
Vampire in Deceit
Vampire in Defiance
Vampire in Conflict
Vampire in Chaos
Vampire in Crisis
Family Blood Ties 3in1
Sian’s Solution – A Family Blood Ties Short Story
Design series
Dangerous Designs – FREE
Deadly Designs
Darkest Designs
Design Series Trilogy
Standalone
In Cassie’s Corner
Gem Stone (a Gemma Stone Mystery)
Time Thieves
Published Non-Fiction Books:
Career Essentials
Career Essentials: The Résumé
Career Essentials: The Cover Letter
Career Essentials: The Interview
Career Essentials: 3 in 1
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