Marisa Chenery Read Online Free Page A

it. They did get along well. And he actually enjoyed talking to her. Maybe the two months wouldn’t be as bad as he thought. There really wasn’t any chance he’d fall in love with her. He didn’t think he was capable of feeling that emotion, after what had happened to him with the girl in France. The only one who had a chance of getting hurt at the end of this was Chyna, though the thought of it didn’t sit too well with Jaxon.
    He picked up Chyna’s wineglass and downed its contents before he grabbed his empty one and stood. Jaxon headed for the kitchen to put both glasses in the dishwasher. That chore done, he walked to the wing where his bedroom was. He’d change into a t-shirt and head out for a bit of hunting. He might as well since he was used to staying up most of the night anyway. And with Chyna gone early, there were too many hours to kill before he’d be tired enough to go to bed.
    * * * * *
     
    Chyna blindly reached for her alarm clock as it went off the next morning. She hated getting woken up by the damn thing. In fact, she hated to have to get up early, period. She groaned when her finger hit the button that silenced the vile thing.
    She stretched, then rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. It was going to be another mundane day of work and coming home to an empty apartment to watch TV until she had to go to bed.
    As Chyna sat up, she remembered it wasn’t going to be more of the same old, same old. Jaxon would be coming over for dinner. She threw back the covers as a smile spread across her face. There was actually something to look forward to.
    Instead of dragging her ass as she normally did on a work morning, Chyna had a shower, dressed and ate a quick breakfast of toast and tea in record time. Before leaving, she put the roast beef she’d put into the fridge to thaw overnight into the oven and set the timer to have it come on while she was at work. When she arrived home at the end of the day it should be done.
    Chyna arrived at work, her steps still light, and saw Joy standing at the reception desk. She smiled at the other woman as she drew closer. “Waiting for me, are you?” she asked with a chuckle.
    “Of course,” Joy said in return. “You know I want to hear how your hot date went last night.”
    Chyna came around the desk, stowed her purse and sat in her chair, turning in Joy’s direction. “It was good.”
    “So Jaxon didn’t turn out to be a loser who was only after one thing?”
    “Well, he’s definitely not a loser. The man is rich. As for the last thing, he was only after one thing.”
    “Crap. I’m sorry he ended up being a dud.”
    “It’s not as bad as it sounds. He may have originally only planned on a one-night stand, but I managed to change his mind about it. I got him to promise he’d stay with me for two months.”
    Joy eyed her. “And after they’re up, what then? You’re going to just let him walk away?”
    “If it looks as if he’s the one for me, no.”
    “Does he know that?”
    “Of course not. I wouldn’t have gotten two months if I told him. The man has never done a relationship. I’ll have to convince him that he’ll be happier in one, with me. There’s something about him that draws me. I think about not fighting to keep him and I feel as if I’d be giving up something really good. I know, it’s weird.”
    Joy shook her head. “I don’t know, Chyna. I think you might be setting yourself up for some major heartache. A lot of guys don’t like women trying to change them. It could blow up in your face.”
    Chyna blew out a breath. “The logical side of me knows that, but the rest of me doesn’t want to listen. I really like Jaxon. I had to try something. At first, I planned to leave him and never see him again, but then I came up with the idea of giving him a time limit. Two months should give me plenty of opportunities to get Jaxon to come around.”
    “And what exactly do you have in mind?”
    “I haven’t quite figured it all out yet,