Table of Contents
Epilogue
Copyright
Want To Be In The Know?
Gavin
Cole
Daddy’s Brat
Landon Rockwell
Contents
Copyright
Want To Be In The Know?
1. Gavin
2. Cole
3. Gavin
4. Cole
5. Gavin
6. Epilogue
Copyright © 2017 by Landon Rockwell
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.
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Want To Be In The Know?
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Gavin
There’s nothing sexier than a tight, toned body.
But that kind of body usually doesn’t belong to your best friend’s dad. Which is why, when I see Cole Dunn misted with sweat as he curls enormous dumbbells, I instantly know I’m in big trouble.
Veins bulge from his ripped biceps as he hoists the weights up and down, slick sweat dripping down his back as he grunts with each curl. Cole’s got his shirt off and he’s wearing gray sweatpants that hug his chiseled ass like a second skin.
Holy shit, he is way hotter than I ever realized.
I swallow, wanting to announce my presence, but feeling like an intruder. And I guess in a way I am an intruder. After all, I’m in the guy’s house and he doesn’t even know I’m here. I quickly glance at my cell phone to see if Jayson has answered any of my texts, and there’s nothing back from my best friend.
Fucking Jayson. He was supposed to meet me here.
“Hello? Can I help you with something?”
The deep, commanding voice cuts through my rambling thoughts and I look up from my phone, feeling guilty even though I haven’t done anything wrong. Cole Dunn is still holding those ridiculously heavy dumbbells and staring at me with a slightly accusatory expression on his face.
“Oh, yeah. Sorry, Mr. Dunn,” I say, shouldering my backpack and trying on a smile. “Jayson was supposed to meet me here.”
“Here? In the pool house?” Cole replies, brow furrowing. He walks to a large rack and drops the weights into it with a heavy clang.
This is getting awkward. I silently curse Jayson for flaking out and putting me in this position. “Well, he told me that’s where I’d be staying.”
Cole Dunn takes a deep breath, his back muscles flexing as he turns and faces me again. “Staying?” Then his gaze shifts to my backpack. He folds his arms and frowns. “Jayson never mentioned that he was having a friend over this weekend.”
My stomach drops and my cheeks flame with embarrassment. “Actually, Mr. Dunn, um…”
“Spit it out, Gavin.”
I shake my head. “I should just go. Sorry I interrupted your workout, let Jayson know I came by?” I turn to leave, feeling heat in my face and frustration in my belly. This wasn’t how things were supposed to go.
When I told Jayson that I’d gotten into a blowout with my own father, he’d said I could come and stay with him and his dad for the summer. I’d assumed he would be here to meet me, and I’d even been dumb enough to believe that he’d have mentioned me to his father.
Now, I don’t know where the hell I’m going to go. I suppose I could scrap for a cheap motel for a week or two, but then I’d be flat ass broke. I finally got my degree but I still don’t have a job or even a lead on one, and the little money I do have needs to last...
The one place I know I’m not going is back home to my parents’ house with my tail stuffed between my legs.
I’d rather sleep on the street.
As I exit the pool house, I hear Jayson’s dad call out my name.
I turn back and he’s walking towards me, rounding the corner. He’s closer now, and I can see his perfectly tan skin, his dark eyes, his thick head of jet black hair. Everything about him is perfect, and he still has no shirt on.
“Gavin, hold on a second. Tell me what’s going on. Jayson bailed on you?”
“Do you know where he is? I’ve been texting him all morning.”
“Jayson almost never tells me where he goes,” Cole replies, with a hint of disappointment that reminds me of how my best friend often makes me feel. Jayson can make you feel like the most important person in the world one moment, and the next it’s like you don’t even exist.
“Well, he was supposed to meet me here and help me get settled in. For the summer.”
“The summer?”
“Ummm….yeah. I figured you’d okayed it. I wouldn’t have come otherwise.”
“Well, I definitely didn’t okay it. Were you planning on paying rent?”
I hesitate. Rent? This guy must be out of his fucking mind. He’s a multi-millionaire with a ten-bedroom house, a giant Olympic-sized pool, a hot tub, and a pool house that’s way nicer than my parents’ entire colonial.
But he wants me to pay rent for the summer?
“Jayson didn’t mention that.”
“Jayson doesn’t mention a lot of things,” Cole says, stepping forward. He looks me up and down. “It’s either paying rent or working it off. Manual labor.”
“I guess I could do some things around the house if you need it…”
Suddenly, he breaks into a wry half-smile. “Relax, Gavin. You’ve always been way too uptight for your own good. I’m just messing with you. Of course you can stay here.”
I feel my shoulders drop subtly. In part, because I have a place to stay. But also, because there’s a part of me that likes knowing I have Cole’s approval right now. “Are you sure? Because it’s really not a big deal. I-”
“Don’t make me say the same thing twice. Then I really might change my mind,” he says. His gaze shifts to my bags. “Light traveler? Must be nice to be young and not have any real responsibilities yet.”
I feel my eyes narrow. “I’m twenty-two. All grown up by most scientific standards,” I reply.
He raises a brow and chuckles. “Well, by real world standards you’re still just a kid. Still need plenty of guidance, with a ton of unchartered territory ahead for you,” he says.
I shrug my shoulders. “Maybe so. I guess I can’t change my age. I can only control what I can control, Mr. Dunn,” I say, this time with a hint of defiance in my tone.
Cole walks right up to me and bites down on his lower lip. I can’t tell if I just went too far. His gaze rakes my entire body from head to toes, causing my internal body temperature to increase at least three degrees.
And I don’t like it.
“Want to know the first step in becoming a real man?” he asks.
I swallow, but I’m determined to hold my gaze steady with his. “Sure, I guess.”
I swear his eyes just twitched after the words left my mouth.
“The first step, son, is to call me by my first name.”
“Cole,” I say overly softly. “Cole,” I say louder this time, as though I need to practice saying his one-fucking-syllable name in order to get it right.
He shakes his head. “Good boy. You’re on your way now, son.”
Why does he keep calling me son? He has a son. And I have a father. But something about the way he does this has my stomach doing cartwheels.
He walks over to a digital panel and punches in a code. Two large glass doors open automatically, making way for the lavish outdoor in-ground pool that’s connected to this building.
Cole looks at me and winks, and then starts to pul
l his skin-tight sweatpants down over his hips. Instinctively, I look away. “Relax, Gavin. I’m wearing a suit.”
I turn to face him and my breath instantly hitches in my chest. Fucking almighty god. He’s wearing an ultra low rise red bikini. For a moment, I literally cannot take my eyes off his package.
If it’s that big already, I can only imagine what happens when he get’s turned on.
I open my bag and pretend to be looking for something. “Heads up,” he says, hurling something black and silky towards my chest. The athlete in me reacts, dropping my backpack to the floor in order to make the catch with one hand. “Nice catch.”
I hold up the flimsy piece of fabric. “You want me to clean the windows in this place?” I joke.
He chuckles. “Funny, but no. Put it on. We’re going for a swim.”
“Seriously?”
He doesn’t flinch, then he looks down at the thin black swimsuit in my hand. “It’s time for your second lesson in becoming a real man,” he says. He unclips a gold watch from his wrist and sets it down on a shelf. “You ask too many questions. No great men ever espouses the need to ask a ton of questions in order to be successful in life,” he says.
I hold up the bikini. “So now I can’t even just learn how to be a regular man, I have to learn how to be a great man,” I reply.
“Doesn’t every man want to be great?”
I can’t stop a grin from forming. “Maybe I really should just get a motel,” I say.
He smirks, knowing full well I’m full of shit. “Suit yourself,” he says, turning his back to me and making his way towards his pool.
The man must be close to forty. He had Jayson as a teenager. But watching every chiseled muscle in his body flex as he executes a near-perfect swan dive into the deep end of his pool has me questioning whether or not he's even human.
Shit. As though I have no say in the matter, I find myself scrambling to put the thong-like swimsuit on while Cole Dunn swims the length of his pool underwater. I turn quickly to look at myself in the mirror, covered only in a black swimsuit that’s barely large enough to keep my junk covered up.
My mind stops working entirely as I dive into the pool. The water is crystal clear, the temperature perfect, and there’s no hint of chlorine.
“Time to earn your keep,” Cole says, under-handing me a mini water basketball.
I snatch the ball with three fingers. “I get the sense I'll never earn enough in your eyes,” I say sarcastically.
Cole’s eyes flicker. His gaze drops to my waistline. I feel naked, mostly because I pretty much am. “You certainly don’t lack potential in terms of manhood, I’ll say that.”
I feel my cheeks flame red. Which is ridiculous, because Jayson's dad is straight. And, well, he’s Mr. Dunn. “So how do I earn my keep?” I say, redirecting the conversation and wishing the I could disappear from this pool right now.
And yet somehow not wanting to be anywhere else in the world.
Cole points to the pool basketball hoop on the edge of the pool, set up near a jacuzzi that looks more like a Rolls Royce than an actual hot tub. “All you have to do is win. We play up to ten, win by two. You win, you stay here for the summer. You lose…” his voice trails off, and I swear he’s fighting back a devilish smirk.
“And what happens if you throw out your back and we have to end the game early. That’s a win for me, right?” I tease.
Cole wades through the water until he’s just inches from my face. I feel a wave of heat return to my neck and cheeks. “I get stronger every year, Gavin. I’d worry about your own lower lumbar if I were you.”
Our eyes lock for a long, hard second. And for a short moment, at most, I feel almost relaxed around this man. The moment dies as he holds out his hand. “A gesture of sportsmanship,” he says.
I look down at his hand and stupidly reach out to return the shake. Our hands linger for longer than they should, and I feel something I shouldn’t have felt. Wouldn’t be the first time my mind has played tricks on me.
My trance is broken as Cole’s other hand comes out of nowhere and swats the ball out of my hand, snatching it from my possession and rushing to the hoop with it. Before I can react, he leaps out of the water and three-sixty dunks the ball into the red, white and blue net. Every wet muscle in his neck, shoulders, and back ripples and glistens under the sun.
“One to zero. Better get on board quick, Gavin,” he says, tossing me the ball.
I palm the ball and hold it out, taunting him with it. He goes to swat the ball out of my hand, but this time I’m ready for his tactics, especially now that I know how fucking quick this man can move.
I make my move, wanting to show him up as I try to spin and slide past his hip. His warm hand slides across my stomach and over the top of my ass. Heat shoots down my spine, but I try not to think about it as I rush to the hoop and dunk the ball. The question lingers though…
Is it me, or did it almost feel as though he was caressing me with that hand of his?
“One to one, all tied up now. Need me to go a little easier on you?” I say.
He reaches out his palm, his gorgeous eyes staring me down as though he wants to eat me. Somehow, I never noticed my best friend's dad was this hot, but I always knew he was intense. I guess really successful men like Cole Dunn have to be. "That would be a huge mistake on your part. My advice to you, go hard. Real hard. Don’t ever get complacent. That way, you won’t have any regrets when I school you,” he says.
Shit, the way his eyes flickered when he told me to go hard. My dick starts to move in this tiny little speedo. And that’s a major problem, especially in this ultra clear water. I quickly try to distract myself, try to forget the way that word, hard, sounded as it rolled off his tongue. “Okay, hard it is,” I say almost accidentally.
I swear he just smirked, again, which doesn't make sense.
Because I'm one hundred percent sure that Jayson's father is straight. He's the same man who was married to a woman my whole life growing up and coming over here to hang with Jayson. He’s also the same man, since him and Jayson's mom got divorced, who's known for being one of Boston's hottest, straight bachelors.
Just focus on the stupid game, I tell myself.
But there’s a part of me, deep inside, that wonders… Sure, maybe we are playing a game, only it’s not pool basketball.
Cole starts to walk forward with the ball, his strong legs parting the water like it’s not even there. I move towards him, determined to stop him from scoring again. But the closer I get, the more my heart starts to race. He leaps out of the water for a jump shot, and I leap with him, raising my hand up to try and block his shot. As the ball releases from his long, thick fingers, I find myself shifting my gaze to lock eyes with him. I completely forget about his shot, and Cole seems to too.
We both land back down on our feet, only I stumble immediately and fall towards him. He reaches out and catches me, his warm palms on my ribs.
I’m either going to pass the fuck out, or do something far worse. I look up at him, his eyes brooding as water drips from his dark bangs. His strong, masculine cheekbones are taunting my senses.
Then I glance down at his hands, both of them still on my warm, wet flesh. “I think I’m okay now,” is all I can manage to say.
His hands wrap slightly around my back, nudging me towards him just another inch or two. My body feels like it’s on fire, like things are moving so fast and I’m not even sure where they’re moving to. I see Cole bite down on his lip again, and then move towards my mouth just slightly…
This can't be real, it just can't.
Cole Dunn is the dictionary definition of straight, with his picture right under it. And he has no reason whatsoever to think I'm not straight myself.
So then why is every molecule in my body telling me this man wants to kiss me?
No. No fucking way.
But then I see him staring at me, still. What kind of straight guy would stare at another guy this long? I lick my lips,
feeling my nipples tighten. Whoa, he’s hot. I’m hard as a rock right now and he’s just millimeters away from me. Some part of me suddenly stopped caring that maybe I’m about to make a complete fool of myself right now.
Because I’ve never wanted to feel someone’s lips on mine as badly as I do in this very moment.
Even though I’m fully aware that I should put an immediate end to this, my body has a plan of its own. I start to lean forward, attempting to meet him halfway.
I get so close to him that I can feel heat pouring from his lips and I can practically taste something minty and beautiful that's emanating from his mouth.
I can also feel my dick continuing to grow, and I don’t dare look down.
And then he suddenly pulls away, clearing his throat. “Shit, what time is it?” he says, looking back toward the house.
My heart is pounding and I instantly feel sick, as if I was just slapped across the face. I’ve blown it. He’s not fucking gay, and I just made him deeply uncomfortable.
I try to cobble together a sentence to alleviate the awkwardness. “Sorry, I--”
But then everything comes to a screeching halt as a voice calls out from the pool house. “Dad?”
It’s Jayson, finally here, and he’s either come at the perfect time, or the absolute worst time.
Cole swallows, his body tightens. He backs up several more steps, his eyes scanning the pool. Then suddenly, he hops out of the pool, his movements perfectly casual and deliberate as he grabs a towel and dries himself off. I let out a deep breath, wondering what even just happened.
And if what I think just happened even happened at all.
I get out of the pool and dry off just as Jayson comes out through the pool house. ”Looks like you've already been making yourself at home, Gav,” my best friend says with a wide grin.
I feel tears starting to form behind my eyes and blink them away. Do not fucking cry right now.
No matter what.
“Happy summer, brother," I say to Jayson with a forced smile.
Daddy's Brat Page 1