Thorn's Challenge - Brenda Jackson [31]
“Today was my day off. I wasn’t doing anything special so I thought I would come and check things out. I had lunch at Chase’s place, and when I asked about you, he told me where you were.”
Thorn nodded. He just bet his brother was happy to give her any information about him that she wanted. They would do anything to get him out of his foul mood. But what surprised him was that Tara had asked Chase about him. Thorn wondered if perhaps she had sought him out about anything in particular. He sighed, deciding he would find out soon enough.
“All right, Mr. Westmoreland, I’m ready to start shooting again,” Lois said, recapturing his attention.
He slid his gaze from Tara’s to Lois’s. “Okay,” he said, ready to get the photo session over with. “Let your camera roll.”
Tara’s breath got lodged in her throat as she watched Thorn before the camera. He looked magnificent.
Thorn and his motorcycle.
Together they were a natural, and she knew that he would be the highlight in any woman’s calendar as Mr. July. In a month that was known to be hot anyway, he would definitely make things explosive.
She should have her head examined even for being here. She had known that today was the day for Thorn’s photo session and when Chase had mentioned just where it would be, she couldn’t help being pulled to this place to seek him out. On the drive over she kept asking herself why she needed to see him, but she hadn’t come up with an answer.
“That’s right, Mr. Westmoreland, give me another one of those sexy smiles for the camera. That’s it. Just think about all those women who’ll be looking at you on that calendar and panting. I’m sure some of them will even find a way to contact you. You’ll certainly have your pick of any of them,” Lois said, as she moved around in front of Thorn and snapped picture after picture.
Tara frowned. The photographer’s words didn’t sit too well with her. Just the thought of other women contacting Thorn after seeing the calendar bothered her. It shouldn’t have. She met his gaze and saw he was watching her intently. Had he read the displeasure on her face when the photographer had mentioned other women?
She sighed deeply, getting aggravated with herself. What Thorn did with his free time did not concern her. At least it shouldn’t, but it did.
“Okay, that’s it, Mr. Westmoreland. You were a wonderful subject to capture on film and I can’t wait for the calendar to come out. I know it will be a huge success and will benefit Kids’ World greatly.”
Lois then added. “And not to impose but I have a friend who asked me to give you her phone number. She is a huge fan of yours and would love to get together with you some time. She’s a flight attendant who usually attends Bike Week in Daytona each year and was wondering if perhaps—”
“Thanks, but I’m not interested,” Thorn said, getting off his bike. He didn’t even glance at the surprised look on Lois’s face when he walked toward Tara. “I have all the woman I need right here.”
Thorn saw surprise in Tara’s face just seconds before he leaned down and kissed her in a full open-mouth caress that left no one guessing about their relationship. At least no one other than Tara.
“Oops, sorry,” Lois said when Thorn released Tara’s mouth from his. “I didn’t know the two of you were an item, Dr. Matthews.” She smiled apologetically. “I assumed you had dropped by as a member of the committee to see how things were going. Besides, from everything I’d always heard or read, Thorn Westmoreland has never made a claim on any woman,” she said, chuckling. “Evidently, I’m wrong.”
Before Tara could open her mouth, the one that had just been thoroughly kissed by Thorn, to tell Lois that she had not been wrong and had misread things, Thorn spoke up.
“Yeah, you were wrong because I’m definitely staking a claim on this woman.”
Tara raised a brow and decided that now was not the time or the place to set Thorn straight. No man staked