HazardsDare

by Frances Stockton

  Going around to the passenger side of the SUV, he opened the door and picked up a paper sack with fresh doughnuts and two giant takeout cups of black coffee from the floorboard of the SUV. The front door to Jaxon Wynter’s sprawling mountain house opened and closed as Hazard straightened up.

  Managing not to drop anything, he turned to see Jax rushing toward him, wearing torn jeans and a white tee shirt. Jax was usually better dressed than he was today.

  He’d long ago opted for a metrosexual style to make people wonder if he was straight or gay. His white-blond hair was pulled back into a ponytail, revealing his plethora of ear piercings.

  Looking beyond Jax to the house, Hazard noticed the cathedral-sized A-frame window reflected a spectacular view of Hamilton Lake located deep in a valley.

  The house had once belonged to Darius Hamilton, the original founder of Dare Silver Mines and the once-defunct boomtown. At the time Jax discovered what had originally been a log cabin while hiking in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, it was in ruins.

  Now it was grand and captured the essence of the mountainous region. It was close enough to the main town to be reached in forty-five minutes to an hour, depending upon the time of day and year, and far enough away for Jax to remain secluded when he needed it.

  “Morning, bud,” Hazard greeted. They were an odd pair, but they’d known each other from childhood and their friendship was solid.

  “Mornin’, lover boy,” Jax replied, grinning wide. “Don’t even try to deny it. You got laid. I can see it on your face. Get in here and tell.”

  “Tsk tsk, Jax, you know the code. Going for the casual homeowner look today, I see?”

  “Fuck the code and what I’m wearing,” Jax groused, waving it off. “We’re far enough outside the town limits to talk like men.”

  “Since when do we gossip about women like we did in high school?”

  “Since Red walked into our club and rendered you fighting-bull mad whenever another guy dared to look at her,” he answered.

  Jax came up and grabbed the coffees. “Thanks for breakfast.”

  “You’re welcome. It’s the least I could do since I’m late.”

  “And why were you late? Let me guess, you were sexing up Red.” Jax was like a dog with a bone. He’d gnaw on little bits of information until he got to the marrow.

  “You know where I was,” Hazard answered.

  “As did anyone else at the club watching the two of you interact. For a second there, it seemed like you were a breath away from laying her out across your table. Hell, I’d have joined you. Bet dollars to doughnuts she’s adventurous enough for the two of us.”

  Fighting off the jealousy that’d plagued him after he’d seen that box of condoms, Hazard followed his longtime friend to the kitchen. The house was easily the size of a mansion, complete with eight bedrooms, six bathrooms, a clubroom and multiple play rooms and dungeons that would make any self-respecting Dom come in his leathers.

  Apparently, the books that made Jaxon’s alter ego as Ransom Hunter famous continued to pay him well. Combined with royalties, reissued publications of the books and multiple foreign printing editions Jax’s literary agent had negotiated with a Hollywood director and producer about making them into a movie franchise.

  When the movies hit the theaters, Jax stood to make a helluva a lot of money. But Jax’s love was writing, not Hollywood, and unfortunate circumstances had laid a huge shit-brick on his life, causing him to get a major case of writer’s block.

  It was why he’d moved away from Los Angeles in order to find his voice again. And why Jax had joined forces with illusionist Gabriel Krystiyan and former FBI agent turned security specialist and Chief of Police Sawyer Hamilton to buy a ghost town.

  Each man had their reasons for wanting to leave the spotlight that their careers placed on them.

  Gabriel Krystiyan needed to get away from the pressures of being a headliner in Vegas. His illusions were taking the world by storm now, but his stint as a stripper in an all-male show when he was younger had caused people to assume he was either gay or a man-whore.

  Hazard knew for a fact that Gabriel wasn’t gay. Dancing had paid the bills. Given that Gabriel didn’t come from money the way Sawyer Hamilton did, those early days helped make him a household name.

  Sawyer wasn’t famous like Gabriel, but his family’s fancy jewelry store chain was. Not wanting to sell silver jewelry like his brothers and sisters, Sawyer joined the FBI. A case involving a serial killer ten times worse than Ted Bundy hardened him, forcing him to retreat to Dare, Nevada, to recover.

  “Have you spoken to Sawyer today?” Hazard asked. He hadn’t known Sawyer or Gabriel before he invested in the Truth or Dare Club, but they quickly became friends.

  Every Fourth of July weekend, Hazard and the three primary investors in Dare took off to parts unknown and drowned their sorrows. The fourth investor had been Sawyer’s grandfather, who’d owned a Nevadan ranch that raised Appaloosas and quarter horses. Sadly, his grandfather died a year ago and handed down the ranch to his grandson in his will. Now Sawyer divided his time between chief of police duties and running the ranch.

  “No, but I expect he’ll be at the club tonight. Why?” Jax asked, kicking out a barstool for Hazard to take a seat.

  Sitting down, Hazard looked around. He did like the earthy, simplistic feel of the mountain house, yet Jaxon had managed to revamp the kitchen into something chefs would envy.

  “Remember the guy at the club who hit on Avery?”

  “Sure,” Jax answered, sitting across from Hazard on the other side of the breakfast counter that was straight out of the Old West. “There’s really no reason to worry about him coming between you and Red, Trev. The guy’s gay.”

  “How do you know?” Picking up a cup of coffee from the scarred breakfast bar that was as old as the town of Dare and refurbished, Hazard took a generous sip.

  “He came in shortly before your set started. Flirted with me, even left a card with his cell number on it. The guy rubbed me the wrong way. I couldn’t fathom why he made a beeline for Red and I was glad she turned him down cold. After you two left, he met up with that ballplayer hiding out in Dare.”

  “Billy Grainger,” Hazard said.

  “Yeah, those two were into each other. Was like watching seedy gay porn. Bouncer asked them to take the grope-fest private. What’s the problem?”

  “I don’t know. Something about John bothers Avery. We saw him and Billy making out on the street. At first, she thought he’d been staring at us.”

  “Do you want me to get Sawyer to check him out and make sure he’s not some asshole out for a news story?”

  “Yes. Avery’s father is a former senator. To say the man’s powerful is an understatement. She’s only recently gotten out of the public spotlight that her daddy’s career put on her and she came here for some R and R that won’t make headline news. If John’s spying on Avery, I want to know why.”

  “I’ll call Sawyer. Can’t say I blame John for finding Red attractive, my man. She was putting off sexy vibes that no man, gay, straight or bi, could ignore. Fortunately for you, they were all aimed in your direction, lucky fucker.”

  “What kind of talk is that from an author who knows how to make women stop reading to masturbate?”

  “Say that again, please?”

  “Avery reads your books, man, so do her friends back in Massachusetts. One has a crush on you.”

  “If she’s as sexy as Red, I might need to visit Boston sometime soon.”

  “Some live in the Salem–Danvers area too. Do you really want to know about Eve? Are you going to take up writing again and get out of the funk you’ve been in for two years now?”

  “I’m not sure there’s anyone who can get me to write again. It has to happen on its own. If not, I’m fine with that. I’ve been asked to write adapted screenplays of my books. I’m using the winter to make a decision.”

  “It should be you, Jax. They’re your books, your stories. Women l
ove them. Fuck, men do too. How the hell did you learn to write for both sexes?”

  “Fucking both sexes was the place to start. I’ve mastered the needs and fantasies of men and women and meet them through words on a page. So when are you bringing Red to me for training?”

  Hazard shook his head no. “Calm down with the D/s talk. Avery’s not submissive. She’s recently shaken off an asshole of an almost fiancé. She wants to be free to explore life, specifically sex.”

  “And you’re the right person for the job, is that it?”

  “Sure. Why not? I’m not involved with anyone. She’s not.”

  “Aren’t you forgetting something? You two are involved with each other.”

  Jax took out a freshly baked doughnut covered in chocolate and peanut butter. Dare’s bakery created unusual concoctions when it came to pastries, cakes, cupcakes and bread.

  “For now we are. I like her, Jax. She’s fun and impulsive, but not irresponsible. For too long she’s been inundated with responsibility. Last night she said she wanted us to be fuck buddies. Basically, we’re friends who have sex.”

  “And you’re good with the whole friends who happen to fuck each other concept?”

  “If it’s what she wants.”

  “Then you won’t mind when I ask her to dance tonight?”

  “You’re welcome to. Dancing’s not usually my thing. I’ll be on stage anyway. Although it’s a bit weird, being that Avery’s friend has a thing for you.”

  “My chances of meeting this friend of hers are small. When winter hits in full force up on this mountain, I’m going to put the town, the club, sex, everything on hold until spring. What if I want more from Red? You gonna break my face open?”

  “Her name’s Avery.”

  “To me, she’s always going to be Red. That dress she wore last night was killer, not to mention the shoes. I’d love to see her long legs slung over your shoulders or feel them around my hips. Bet she’s a little firecracker.”

  Jax feasted on his doughnut. Hazard had eaten with Avery. He wasn’t hungry.

  He refused to acknowledge that the gut-wrenching kick to the gonads his best friend was delivering had spoiled what was left of his appetite. All he could do was drink his coffee and hope he didn’t turn Jax into a jigsaw puzzle.

  “She came to Dare looking to break free of the good girl image she’d projected as Senator Grant’s daughter. Double-teaming her would scare the fuck out of her, Jax.”

  “We’ve shared women before, Trev. How do you know Red wouldn’t welcome the chance to let go?”

  “I know Avery,” he claimed.

  But how well did he really know her? He hated himself for being jealous and they’d agreed to screw the rules of a conventional relationship.

  Last night, if they’d met up with Jaxon outside the club, it was a possibility Hazard would have coaxed her into a three-way. That’d been before they’d gotten to her hotel room and became lovers. This morning, the rules had changed.

  “Here’s the deal, Jax. No matter how many times we fucked, Avery and I couldn’t get enough of each other. Not once since I met her months ago have I wanted to stay with one woman the whole night through. Hell, since meeting Avery, I didn’t fuck the last three women I’d gone out with when I could have.”

  “The plot thickens. You knew Red before now.”

  “Her brother’s my agent.”

  “Whoa, now there’s a man I wouldn’t want to go up against. I don’t know Alexander Grant personally yet. From what you’ve told me, I’d guess he’s a hard-ass.”

  “That’s an understatement. His husband and friends are another story. Collectively, they could all turn me into dog food.”

  “How tough can a few guys be? You are a linebacker for one of the best teams in pro football today. You know how to tackle and sideline people.”

  “I’d never take what I can do on the field into a fight. That wouldn’t be fair.”

  “What do you want, Alex and his cohorts to beat the snot out of you?”

  “Might be what I deserve,” Hazard admitted.

  “Trevor, just because you’re fucking an attractive woman doesn’t mean you’re doing anything wrong. You like her, right?”

  “I do.”

  “She likes you?”

  “Yes, she does.”

  “Then what’s the problem?”

  “She came here for a week of spa treatments and a little holiday romance if the opportunity came up. I happened to fit the bill. Who knows…if I wasn’t in the club, she might have chosen you.”

  “As much as I wish that was so, her eyes were practically on you the whole time. You’re the man she wants. Go for it and enjoy the time you have.”

  “We agreed on a week. This morning we’ve hinted to each other we want more.”

  “If I could have Niko and Gemma back for one more day, I’d move heaven and earth to make it happen. Don’t worry about tomorrow, Trev. Take each day that you have with Avery and be happy. If you do, you might turn a week into a lifetime. If you don’t, you could miss the love of your life.”

  “Now hold on there, no one’s talking love here.”

  “Aren’t we? When I mentioned the two of us sexing up Red, you squeezed your coffee cup so hard, you crushed it.”

  Looking down at his cup, he saw Jax was right. The cup was ruined. At some point, he’d finished the coffee and couldn’t remember drinking it.

  “What would you do if Gabriel, Sawyer and I wanted to take Avery to bed? What if they wanted an orgy?”

  “I’d probably knock all of your heads together and shove something hard and nasty up your asses for touching Avery without my permission.”

  Jax grinned mischievously. “Don’t tease. You know how I like sex, hard and nasty.”

  “That’s all you’ve known since Niko and Gemma died, Jaxon. You hide out up here in your playhouse and dungeons, knowing the subs you train are only a temporary diversion so that you can tempt their Doms to switch and prove you can top anyone you want.”

  “Sometimes even Doms like to give control over to someone else. When that happens, I’m the one they switch for.”

  “My point is, you hide here taking on multiple lovers, but you won’t let yourself fall in love again.”

  “Gemma and Niko were my partners. What are the chances another pair is waiting and able to handle my demons?”

  “You’ll never know if you don’t try. They loved you. I’d think they’d want you to move on with your life.”

  “We’re not talking about my love life anyway. You’re my best friend. You arrived this morning looking happier than I’ve seen you in years. Avery’s good for you. Don’t do her the disservice of comparing her to your bitch of an ex-wife or your mom.”

  “To her credit, my mother tried to stay with my dad for as long as she could. He drove her into the arms of other men with his constant travels. It’s a wonder four of us were born among the chaos.”

  “You turned out pretty good. It was you back in high school who took on the whole football team when they’d bullied me. It was you who beat the fuck out of your sister’s rapist. You’re the one who’s donating a ton of money to help autistic kids get the education they need.”

  “I’m not a saint, bro. I did what any brother should do for his sister. She was fifteen. The fucker deserved the beating I’d handed down. You’d better believe I’d be there for her again if Robert ever lifted a hand to her.”

  “Chloe’s husband is a nice guy.”

  “He is. They’re a good couple. It’s safe to say it’s Eric I’m worried about.”

  “Why?”

  “He’s having an affair. If Angie finds out, she’ll be devastated.”

  “Wouldn’t anyone?”

  “Yes. When you live it, knowing someone you loved and pledged your life to turned to another person for whatever it was you couldn’t give them, sex, companionship, children, it’s crushing.”

  Jax put his mostly eaten doughnut aside, his eyes boring int
o Hazard’s. “Have you told Red yet?”

  “Told her what?”

  “That you did something stupid before graduating from college.”

  “Marianne and I were engaged and she didn’t want children. I sure as hell didn’t want a child of mine to feel like they were unwanted or a mistake the way my parents made me feel growing up. Having a vasectomy made sense at the time.”

  “Your parents sucked as a couple. That’s true. Not all marriages are like theirs…or yours for that matter. What if Red wants kids when you two get married? Some vasectomies are reversible.”

  “Slow down, Jaxon Wynter, marriage would ruin us. I like things the way they are, free and open.”

  “I was hoping to be your best man again.”

  “Tell you what,” Hazard said. “When you fall in love and get married, we’ll have a double wedding.”

  “Don’t make that kind of statement. I’m sure as hell not looking to replace my partners, but if the right partners or just one person is waiting for me, I’ll be open to them.”

  “Can you be satisfied with one man or one woman?”

  Jax thought about it as he nibbled on his doughnut, swallowing it down with coffee.

  “I could if I loved them enough,” he finally said.

  “Would you be happy?”

  “I’d try. I still think you should give Red a chance. She’s a sweetheart, isn’t she?”

  “She is. Incredibly, talking to her is as easy for me as it is when I talk to you or a teammate. You’re changing the subject.”

  “And you like her,” Jax said, continuing on his topic. “You admitted as much.”

  “I’ve got a crush on my lover, nothing wrong with that.”

  “Then don’t crush her heart. You do, you won’t have to worry about her brother or her brother’s friends. I’ll beat the tar out of you.”

  “You would,” Hazard said. “Thanks for the talk. I needed it.”

  “Anytime,” Jax replied. “One thing before we get started on the windows.”

  “Are you really going to make me climb ladders to clean the windows?”

  “Yes. Don’t worry, big guy, I’ll be there to keep you safe.”

  “Great, I feel better already.”