Do Me
Irresistible Husband Series
Sheryl Lister
About Do Me
Staring forty in the face, Braxton Harper is accustomed to having everything in his life fall into its precise place. Only he hasn't found that special one and he refuses to settle for anything less than a woman who is his perfect match. The moment Londyn Grant dances into his life, Braxton is convinced he's found her. Kiss by sizzling kiss, the sexy doctor slowly lets her guard down. Now, if she'd only let him into her heart...
Londyn knows heartbreak. By day, the psychologist counsels others, but she has yet to find a way to heal her own heart. The last thing she wants is another relationship. However, sensual and sensitive Braxton tempts her to open up and, for the first time in her life, she's letting passion rule. But it's going to take a little therapeutic intervention—in and out of the bedroom—to get Londyn to see that this time she's found the real thing.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Do Me Copyright © 2020 by Sheryl Lister
ISBN: 978-1-7338670-6-1
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Editor: Paulette Nunlee 5 Star Proofing
Design: Sweet ’N Spicy Designs
For My Irresistible Husband
Acknowledgments
My Heavenly Father, thank you for my life and for loving me better than I can love myself.
To my husband, Lance, you will always be my #1 hero!
To my children, family and friends, thank you for your
continued support. I appreciate and love you!
To my author sisters, Sharon C. Cooper and Delaney Diamond. Thanks for the ride! We definitely have to do it again.
Thank you to all the readers who have supported and encouraged me. I couldn’t do this without you.
Dear Reader
Dear Reader ~
Have you ever wondered what if? This series started with that question and I enjoyed writing Braxton and Londyn’s journey to finding love. While Braxton is ready to become that irresistible husband, London needs a little more encouragement. Think he can convince her? Hmm… I look forward to hearing your thoughts.
Love & Blessings!
Sheryl
[email protected]
www.sheryllister.com
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Epilogue
About the Author
Also by Sheryl Lister
Chapter 1
“You guys are idiots. Axel, you’re too withdrawn and emotionally unavailable to women. Though you make jokes, it’s probably because of how your engagement ended. Braxton, you’re waiting for a perfect woman. She doesn’t exist because no one is perfect. If you stopped being so picky, you might find someone.” She stared at her brother, Colton. “And you, my dear brother, are the most self-centered man to walk the face of the earth. You guys are never getting married until you make some changes.” She shook her head and walked off.
A perfect woman? Braxton Harper drained the rest of his beer and trained his attention on the TV mounted on the wall behind the bar showing an NBA game. From his seat at the far end of the bar near the server’s station, he had a good view. After a long day, he just wanted to enjoy a Friday evening with his buddies. And he wasn’t looking for a perfect woman. Hell, as of late, he hadn’t been looking for any woman. He shot a look at his two best friends, Colton Eubanks and Axel Becker. The three men had met years ago while playing in a basketball league and had grown close since then. They usually met weekly to catch up at the Double Trouble Bar that investment banker, Colton and his sister Dani co-owned. Tonight, however, Braxton thought the name quite appropriate. Colton’s sister, Dani had designated herself the resident relationship expert and was, yet again, telling them all the reasons why they hadn’t found a woman to settle down with and marry. Valentine’s Day had passed a week ago and tonight, she was in rare form. Once again, he tried to focus on the score rather than Dani’s voice. Of course, that didn’t work because she made a point of singling them out.
She’d also called Braxton picky. His mother had said the same thing. Just because he liked order and control in his life didn’t make him picky. He thought of it more as being selective. It made sense for him to wait for the right woman rather than waste his time dating the wrong one. He could count on one hand the number of women he’d gone out with in the past six months and still have fingers left over. Not one of them had elicited an emotion other than friendship, at best. Braxton shifted in his seat. “So, she’s a little more…passionate tonight. What happened?”
Axel lifted his glass. “Passionate is putting it mildly.” The badass corporate attorney had a big heart when it came to humanitarian causes, but not so much with women after his last breakup.
“Dani is just being her usual self,” Colton said, waving a hand. “Don’t let her get to you. I don’t.”
He tried hard to dismiss her comment, but the questions nagged at him. Why couldn’t he find the right woman? He was staring forty in the face and had never once experienced any of the deep emotions associated with love. In his twenties, it had been all about the sex for him, but even those encounters fell flat. When he reached his thirties, his relationships had lasted a little longer and became more about friendship and camaraderie, but, again, something just didn’t click. He had yet to meet the one woman who stimulated him on every level. Cole’s voice cut into his thoughts.
“You want to shoot around tomorrow?”
“I have to attend my cousin’s wedding.” And he wasn’t looking forward to going. At the last three family weddings, his mother had made a point of letting every woman in earshot know he was single. He expected more of the same tomorrow. If there had been any way to opt out, he would have done it in a heartbeat.
Axel chuckled. “Lots of single women attend weddings. Who knows, you might find your Mrs. Right. If you’re not being too picky, that is.”
Braxton grunted. “I doubt it. And I’m not picky. I’m selective. I have no problem holding out until I find the right one.” He decided they needed a subject change and the three men spent the remainder of the evening discussing everything except women and marriage.
By the time he made it home, Braxton was more than a little exhausted. As a computer network architect, he’d worked overtime almost every day that week to design layouts for three clients after the other architect at the company had to take an emergency leave. Next week, he’d be meeting with doctors in a medical practice who wanted to upgrade their current system. He blew out a long breath. It’s going to be another long week. It took him less than fifteen minutes to shower and climb into bed, but hours more to fall asleep.
Braxton felt like he’d just closed his eyes when he heard the insistent buzzing of his cell phone. Blindly reaching for it on the nightstand, he cracked one eye open and groaned when he saw his mother’s name on the display. “Hey, Mom.”
“Hi, baby. You’re coming to the wedding today, right?”
He rolled onto his back and sighed. “Yes, Mom. M
y answer hasn’t changed since the last three calls this week.”
“It’s just that your Aunt Charlene would be crushed if you weren’t there.”
More like his mother would be crushed because she wouldn’t be able to embarrass him like she had at the last few family weddings. “And before you say it, I know it starts at two and I won’t be late.”
She laughed. “Well, it doesn’t hurt to make sure you have the details.”
A smile curved his lips. He couldn’t stay irritated with her for long. “Oh, and Mom, please promise me you won’t stand up in the middle of the reception and announce that I’m not married.”
“Does this mean you’re bringing a date?” she asked excitedly.
“No, it does not.”
“Well then I don’t know why—.”
“Promise me, Mom,” he said. When Zerlina Harper had her mind made up about something, nothing anyone said could change it.
Her heavy sigh came through the line. “Oh, alright.”
“Thank you. I’ll see you later.”
“Bye, baby.”
Braxton disconnected, tossed the phone aside, burrowed beneath the covers, and closed his eyes. It was only nine, which meant he’d gotten four whole hours of sleep. However, after dozing on and off for two hours, he gave up. He hadn’t been able to get what Dani said out of his mind. Swinging his legs over the side of the bed, he sat up and tried to recall his last date. It had been before Thanksgiving—so about four months. It had been even longer since the last time he’d had sex with a woman. Strangely, he hadn’t missed that as much as he did the companionship.
Deciding he’d analyzed his life enough, Braxton dressed and went to work out downstairs in the room he’d set up as a home gym. He thought about going for a run, but nixed the idea when he saw the temperatures had only risen to the forties.
Hours later, he sat in the reception hall trying to stay out of his mother’s line of sight. During the ceremony, he’d seen her point him out to at least two women he knew were not family members. So far, she’d held to her promise. He checked his watch and wondered how long he had to be there. The bride and groom hadn’t arrived from the photo shoot, and he still had dinner and all the formalities to get through. Rising to his feet, Braxton walked over to the bar and ordered a Jack and Coke. He turned with the glass to his lips and froze when he saw his mother heading in his direction with a woman.
“Braxton, there you are. This is Alana. I was telling her that you work with computers and she mentioned hers was having some trouble.”
Alana smiled flirtatiously up at him. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Braxton. Your mother has told me so much about you and how well you’re doing at your company.”
“Nice to meet you.” He shot his mother a quick frown.
“Maybe you can come over to my place and help me figure out what’s wrong with my computer.”
His mother smiled expectantly.
“Actually, I don’t work directly with computers, but I’m sure if you call the tech department of your computer brand, they can better assist you. Excuse me.” Braxton walked off without waiting for a response and didn’t stop until he was standing outside on the balcony overlooking the hotel’s garden. He gulped the drink. The woman looked pretty enough, but the moment she mentioned him “doing well,” warning bells went off in his head. She couldn’t have been more obvious that she had dollar signs in her eyes. After a few minutes, he went back to his table. Thankfully, the only women he encountered until they served dinner were his aunts and cousins, so he relaxed and started to enjoy himself.
His enjoyment turned out to be short-lived. As soon as dinner ended, his mother escorted two more women over. He politely discouraged any conversation. Braxton scowled at his mother as she walked away in a huff, muttering about her hard-to-please son.
A few minutes later, his older sister, Debra, passed by the table. “Mom said stop frowning, so Aunt Barbara won’t think you’re not having a good time.”
“I’m not having a good time,” he said tersely. “Mom keeps parading these women over here like we’re at a Miss America contest.”
Debra burst out laughing. “Sorry, baby bro. You know she just wants you to find that special woman. Then there’s that whole grandchild thing. Jared and I are done, so that just leaves you. And since you’ll be turning forty at the end of the month, you might want to pick up the pace.” She had a fifteen-year-old daughter and a twelve-year-old son.
He scowled at her. “If she keeps pushing, I’m going to turn into a monk.”
She shook her head, bent, kissed his cheek and patted it. “See you later.”
Braxton leaned back in his chair. Maybe he could get his dad to talk to his mother. Something had to change. And soon. Otherwise, he was going to start boycotting all the family gatherings. They announced the garter toss and his mother’s gaze trained on him. He had no intention of catching a garter or anything else and snuck out a side door until a shout went up. He poked his head in the door in time to see the groom’s best man catch it. Smiling, he stepped back into the room and noticed his mother talking to another woman and pointing toward him. She’d kept her promise about not shouting it across the room, but had found another way to do the same thing. Braxton groaned. Not again.
“Uncle B, come dance with me.”
He glanced over his shoulder and smiled at his niece, Tonya. “Absolutely. Let’s show these folks how it’s done.” He extended his hand.
Tonya giggled. “You’re the best uncle ever!” She took his hand and pulled him onto the dance floor.
He’d dance with her all evening if it helped him dodge his mother.
Ugh! I hate weddings. Londyn Grant moved back as far as the crowded dance floor allowed, but it still didn’t create enough space between her and her dance partner. The mixture of cologne, smoke and alcohol was enough to make her nauseous. She couldn’t believe she was the only one from the office here. Her coworkers—all five of them—had backed out of attending the wedding at the last minute, citing one reason or another and leaving Londyn as the only attendee at their administrative assistant’s daughter’s nuptials. Her sole reason for accepting the invitation had been because she had counted on having her two male colleagues to create a buffer between her and the constant flow of wannabee suitors. She had declined several of the celebrations over the past year because she’d begun feel to like prey in a nightclub, as if she wore a neon sign posted on her forehead that read, single and lonely. Okay, so that might have been the truth, but since her disastrous relationship ended a couple of years ago, she’d crossed men off her list. She’d take loneliness over a broken heart any day.
Another song came on and the man raised his hands in the air and did a spin move. Londyn took advantage, and while he had his back turned, snuck off the dance floor. Fanning herself, she headed to the bar for something cool. Out of her periphery she noticed a man dancing with a teen. Her steps slowed and she stood transfixed by his movements. He seemed to be enjoying himself, if the smile on his face was any indication. Tall, rich, brown skin with close-cropped dark hair, a beard riding his jaw like a shadow—giving his handsome face a dangerous edge—and a smile that would probably make the strongest sister weak. He’d discarded his suit jacket and even in the white dress shirt, she could tell he had a fabulous body. Yeah. Sexy. Londyn shook herself. What am I doing? No men, she reminded herself as she continued to her destination.
Minutes later, Corinne came toward her with a wide grin befitting a proud mother of the bride. “Oh, Londyn, thank you for coming.” They shared a quick hug.
“It was a beautiful ceremony and they look so happy.” She’d spoken with the bride and groom briefly to offer congratulations.
“Wasn’t it? I’m so excited for them. My baby girl has married into a wonderful family. They’re all so warm and friendly. Have you had a chance to meet some of our family?” She winked at Londyn and whispered conspiratorially, “Quite a few of these handsome devils are single from
what I understand. My nephew just moved here from Florida. He’s joining a law practice here. I could introduce y—”
“No,” Londyn said quickly. She forced a smile. “I mean, I’ll just mingle for a while, if you don’t mind.” She didn’t do matchmaking, either. “I’ll probably only stay a little longer.”
“Okay, but let me know if you change your mind.”
She wanted to tell the woman she didn’t plan to change her mind in this century or the next, but kept the comment to herself.
“I’d better go. My sister needs something. If I don’t talk to you before you leave, I’ll see you on Monday.” Corinne rushed off.
Thank goodness,” Londyn muttered. She went back to her assigned table and sipped her ginger ale while the party continued in full swing. The DJ played a mixture of old and new school songs that had everyone either up on the floor or bobbing their heads in their seats. This was how she had envisioned her own wedding—full of love, laughter and the promise of forever. Tears burned her eyes and the old sadness bubbled up inside her, but she forced it back down. She refused to shed another tear over her ex. The jerk.
She continued to scan the room, smiling at a senior couple out on the dance floor grooving to Usher’s “Yeah!” Eventually, everyone relinquished the floor to them and let out a series of whoops when the woman did a little shimmy.
“Go, Grandma!” a woman called out.
Everyone around the room had gotten into the action, except the man she’d seen dancing earlier. He sat a table with a heavy scowl lining his face. She wondered why. Maybe she wasn’t the only one who hated weddings. Curiosity got the better of her —as a psychologist, she had an interest in human behavior—and she found herself crossing the spacious ballroom to his table.
Do Me (Irresistible Husband) Page 1