Free Cherishing You (Thirsty Hearts Book 3) by Kris Jayne Page B

do your own handyman work?” She attempted to sound less incredulous than she was. He probably had staff on call for that sort of thing. Shannon realized suddenly that she had no idea how or where Jonah lived.
    “Don’t look that surprised. Although, no, I don’t do my own handyman work. I’m still a handy man,” he smirked.
    “Who’s getting all this handy work? Do you have a stable of women calling you to their houses?”
    Jonah chuckled. “No. Nothing so seedy. I volunteer with Habitat for Humanity. There’s a neighborhood in Southeast Dallas where we’ve renovated a handful of houses. Most of them have been in the painting stage of late,” Jonah replied, dipping his roller in the tray of pale golden paint and making an “X” on the wall, then filling it in.
    More charity, Shannon thought. She wondered if that’s how he saw her. She slapped her roller on the wall, flinging a small spray of paint on her face.
    “Careful. If you put too much up, it’ll drip. Here. Get that off before it dries.”
    Jonah grabbed a damp rag from the rim of a small bucket of water. He strode toward her and swept the cloth over her cheekbone. Then, he slid a few strands of her hair between his fingertips.
    “You got some in your hair, too. You’ll be a mess by the end of today if you don’t watch out,” he warned with a smile and a wink.
    His fingers never touched her skin, but the pressure from his quick wipe and the brief tug on her hair created hot points of sensation. His platinum eyes bored into her. He combed his fingers loosely through her hair.
    “It’s nothing a hot shower can’t fix. Now get back to work,” she commanded, winking back at him.
    Flirting with him was an inevitable mistake. No matter how sweet or helpful he was, he lived out of her reach. She had no way of repaying him except the one way a powerful man ever expected to be repaid by a woman.
    Shannon chased the idea of starting something up with Jonah around in her head like a cat jumping at laser pointer. The thought captivated her, but she had no hope of getting what she wanted. That she wanted anything at all disappointed her. She didn’t need the distraction of a man—especially not one like Jonah.
    He stepped back and picked up his roller, continuing to sweep it across the wall in a steady pattern of overlapping squares. Shannon watched his progress. He hadn’t lied. He was a good painter.
    “You know, when I met you, you told me you were a bad boy, and I didn’t believe you. Now, you’re telling me that you do all this charity work. You’re not making a great case for your bad boy rep,” Shannon pointed out.
    “I’m a bad boy with a heart of gold. All I need is a chance to show it.”
    “Your bad boy self or your heart of gold?”
    “Either one,” Jonah grumbled as he bent over to pick up more paint on his brush.
    “Well, you’re showing your heart of gold today. I appreciate you coming over and all. Didn’t you have to work today?”
    “I guess. I’ve put in a lot of hours lately. No one minds if I take the afternoon off every once in a while.”
    “Do you like what you do?”
    “Not especially. It’s a living. My father likes the idea of grooming me. Most of the people who work for us like having me as a buffer between them and my father. I’m like Switzerland or a DMZ.”
    “A DMZ?” Shannon crunched her brow, not understanding.
    “Demilitarized zone. When two factions are at war, sometimes they create one as a precursor to peace, or at least a de-escalation of war. My father drives people hard.”
    “You keep saying that you don’t like it. You should quit. Why do something you hate?”
    “I don’t hate it. I just don’t love it,” Jonah equivocated.
    “What would you do instead?”
    “I’ve thought about using my skills in finance for good instead of evil. Doing community development work full-time. I’m involved in fundraising for community initiatives now. It’s the upside of having access to