#BlackFriday: Clayne Goes Shopping by Paige Tyler

Black Friday.2014Black Friday is here and we’re discussing the season with Paige Tyler’s Clayne from Her Lone Wolf.

Leaving him was impossible…
It took everything she had for FBI Special Agent Danica Beckett to walk away from the man she loved. But if she wants to save his life, she has to keep her distance. Now, with a killer on the loose and the stakes higher than ever before, the Department of Covert Ops is forcing these former lovers into an uneasy alliance…whether they like it or not.

Seeing her again is even worse…
The last thing Clayne Buchanan wants is to be shackled to the woman who broke his heart. She gets under his skin in a way no one ever has and makes him want things he has no right to anymore. All he has to do is suffer through this case and he can be free of her for good. But when Clayne finds out why Danica left in the first place, everything he’s tried to bury comes roaring back-and there’s no way this wolf shifter is going to let her get away this time.

Make sure you stick around to the end and earn another entry into the Black Friday $50 Amazon giftcard giveaway.
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Clayne Goes Christmas Shopping

PTyler-Her Lone WolfThank you so much for having me on your site, Jackie! When you asked if I’d like to take part in the holiday-themed event centered around Black Friday, I jumped at the chance. And I knew exactly which character I wanted to feature—wolf shifter Clayne Buchanan, hero from HER LONE WOLF (X-OPS 2). This fun, little story is part of a trio of stories called an X-OPS Christmas. You can find the other two stories, The X-OPS Christmas Party and Clayne and Danica’s First Christmas on my website

Hope you’ll check them out! And hope everyone loves Clayne Goes Shopping!

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Clayne Buchanan felt like a salmon swimming upstream against a raging river as he pushed his way through the crowded mall. He’d never seen this many people in one place. The Metro wasn’t even this bad during rush hour. He’d let loose a growl more than once as some a-hole stepped on his foot or shoved him aside to get where they were going. But he kept his cool. His fiancée Danica Beckett had told him that was something she’d like him to work on, so he was—for her sake. Christmas lights twinkled at him mockingly from the decorations, as if saying, “Good luck with that.”

Clayne wasn’t usually big about Christmas, or presents. But now that Danica was back in his life, he wasn’t going to miss a chance to show her how much he appreciated her. If that meant getting up bright and early and going to the mall the day after Thanksgiving while Danica put in a couple hours at the FBI, that was okay with him.

Of course, if he’d known so many people would be at the mall, he would have shopped online. The only problem with that was that he didn’t know what he wanted to buy Danica. Which was why he was here. Hopefully, something would catch his eye.

He bit back another growl as two women with shopping bags stuffed to capacity headed straight for him, silently challenging him to a game of chicken. Any other time, he would have stood his ground like the wolf shifter he was, but today he beat a hasty retreat into the closest store—an upscale women’s clothing shop.

It was almost as packed inside the store, but since he was already here, he might as well see what they had. He wandered around, looking for something to buy Danica, but all he found were lots of things he had no interest in. Perfume that would cover up her natural delectable scent, earrings that didn’t fit his woman’s style, and a big, fluffy fur coat that she’d never be caught dead in.

He was about to venture into the sea of piranha outside the store again when he came to a shelf with sweaters. Danica was always saying she was chilly when they hung out in the apartment, even when he turned up the heat. But that was only because she never let him turn up the heat as much as he wanted to. She insisted she didn’t want him to be uncomfortable.

“Is there something I can help you with?”

Clayne looked up—then down—to see a petite older woman with white hair standing beside him, a smile on her lined face. How the hell could she be so pleasant in this madness? If he worked here, he would have ripped off a few heads already.

“Is it always this crowded in the mall?” he asked. “This is insane.”

The woman laughed. “We’re always crowded on Black Friday.”

Clayne frowned. “Black Friday? Is that like a holiday or something?”

If it was, Danica had never mentioned it to him.

The woman stared at him like he’d just sprouted horns—or fangs and claws. He glanced down at his hands to make sure he hadn’t shifted without knowing it.

“Not officially,” she said. “But it is officially the start of the holiday shopping season. It’s the biggest sales day of the year.”

Clayne grunted and looked around. “I guess so.”

The elderly woman smiled again. “So, is there anything I can help you with?”

He gestured at the shelf. “I’m looking for a sweater for my fiancée.”

The woman nodded as if that was an excellent idea. “Are you leaning more toward a cardigan or a pullover?”

Clayne didn’t have a clue what the difference was. It must have shown on his face because the woman reached out and picked up a grey sweater off the stack. She shook it out and held it up.

“Do you think she’d be want a pullover like this, or a cardigan she can throw on over her clothes when she’s chilly?”

So that was the difference between a pullover and a cardigan. Huh. Clearly the saleswoman knew her stuff.

“The cardigan,” he said, then added. “In blue.”

Blue was Danica’s favorite color.

The woman smiled, quickly folding the grey sweater like some kind of machine and putting it back, then picking up a blue sweater from the table beside the first one and holding it up.

“Perfect.” All he had to do was pay for it and he could finally get out of this crowded mall. “I’ll take it.”

The saleswoman blinked. “Don’t you want to decide what kind of wool you want?”

Clayne knew he was going to sound stupid, but he asked anyway. “There’s more than one kind of wool?”

“Of course.” The woman looked at him like she felt sorry for him. “There’s merino and cashmere. Then there’s angora—which is actually from a rabbit and not to be confused with mohair, which is from the Angora goat.”

Clayne felt like he was in a foreign country. He didn’t understand a word she’d just said. “Okay, let’s make this easy. What kind of wool do you think I should get?”

The smile returned to the woman’s face. “Cashmere.” She set down the cardigan in her hand, then walked around the table and picked up another blue sweater that looked exactly like the one she’d just had. “Your fiancée is going to love this.”

Clayne reached for the sweater, more than ready to go, but the woman pulled it away, a reproving look on her face. “You don’t even know if it’s the right size.”

Clayne bit back a growl. Crap. He’d never thought of that. How the hell was he supposed to know what size Danica wore? He’d taken off her clothes plenty of times, but he sure as hell wasn’t interested in checking out the tags in them. Not when he could check out her perfect naked body instead.

He looked around the crowded store, finally pointing to a woman on the far side of the store. “Her size, but a little taller.”

The sales lady regarded the woman he’d pointed out with a professional eye. Then she dug through the stack of cashmere sweaters until she came up with the one she wanted.

Clayne grabbed the sweater, thanking the woman before she could come up with another question he couldn’t answer, then making a beeline for the register.

While he could have done without the crowds, he couldn’t help smiling at the idea of Danica opening his present on Christmas Day. The more he thought about it, the better he felt. He even smiled as he stepped around people not bright enough to get out of his way as he headed for the mall exit. Maybe this shopping thing was more fun than he thought.

Halfway to the exit, Clayne stopped and did a double take in front of a display window showing off a lingerie-draped mannequin. He glanced at the name of the store—Victoria’s Secret. Even he’d heard of this place. He looked at the mannequin again. Danica would look amazing in those red little pieces of nothing. But even better than the thought of seeing her in the sexy bra and panties was the idea of her excitedly opening another box at Christmas to see what he’d gotten her.

He stood in the doorway, eyeing the mob of shoppers in the store. Did he really want go in there with all those crazy people? But then an image of Danica tearing into a colorfully wrapped box filled his head. He took a deep breath and strode into the store before he could change his mind, only to come to a grinding halt once he got inside.

Clayne looked around, stunned at all the sexy lingerie around him, and imagining Danica in every single naughty article of clothing he saw. For the first time since he’d gotten to the mall, he grinned.

This Black Friday shopping thing was pretty damn cool. And Christmas Day was going to be even better.

* * * * *

Clayne Buchanan’s next adventure: wrapping presents.

But that’s a whole ‘nother story!

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Don’t forget to check out the other two stories in the X-OPS Christmas Trio.
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Meet Paige Tyler!

Paige Tyler is a USA Today Bestselling Author of sexy, romantic fiction. She and her very own military hero (also known as her husband) live on the beautiful Florida coast with their adorable fur baby (also known as their dog). Paige graduated with a degree in education, but decided to pursue her passion and write books about hunky alpha males and the kickbutt heroines who fall in love with them.

Paige TylerContact Info: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Google+ | Tsu | GoodReads | Amazon | Pinterest | Newsletter

Want to purchase Paige’s novels?
X-Ops

  1. Her Perfect Mate
  2. Her Lone Wolf
  3. Her Secret Agent
  4. Her Wild Hero (May 5, 2015)

Hungry Like The Wolf (Special Wolf Alpha Team #1) (Jan 6, 2015)
Animal Attraction
Just Right (The Sexy Tale of Goldie and the Three Werebears)
Vampire 101
Protective Custody
Librarian by Day
Ride of Her Life
Seducing Officer Barlow

Please help spread the word: Tweet: Celebrate the chaos of #BlackFriday with #holiday #stories & #contests by 26+ authors @LiteraryEscapis (Nov28-Dec24) http://wp.me/p3SIUp-bGF
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Contest Details

Thank you Paige for taking part in Literary Escapism’s Black Friday!

Here is your daily question: What should Danica get Clayne for Christmas? Remember, you must answer the question in order to be entered in all LE contests.

Have you checked out the other Black Friday contests yet? Check out the Master List to see all the Black Friday giveaways. To enter the main contest, don’t forget to leave a comment below. All Black Friday contests will remain open until December 31st. All giveaways are subject to LE’s Giveaway Policy.

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About Jackie 3282 Articles
I am a 30-something SAHM with two adorable boys and a supportive husband who is very tolerant of my reading addiction. I love to read and easily go through about a dozen books a month – well I did before I had kids. Now, not so much. After my first son was born, I began to take my hobby of reviewing a little more serious and started Literary Escapism to help with my sanity. I love to discuss the fabulous novels I’ve read and meeting all the wonderful people in the book blogging community has been amazing.

17 Comments

  1. Fun story!!! I’ve got this book on my kindle waiting for my Christmas vacation :) Glad to know that everything works out! Danica should get Clayne a giftcard to the nearest big sporting goods store. Thanks for sharing!

  2. Thank so much for having me, Jackie! :)

    Kay – Clayne would love that! :)

    Erin – Yay! So glad you enjoyed the Christmas story! And Clayne would make good use of the gift card! Let me know how you like HER LONE WOLF! :)

    *hugs*
    Paige

  3. The story was a lot of fun to read and I like how he really considered what to buy her. My suggestion for a gift would be a mountain lodge trip.

  4. Wolfy thinks Danica should give Clayne a giftcard or a big box of Omaha Steaks! :-). Meat is always a great gift for a Wolf…

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