Ava smiled. “And that was before Ryder placed his sticky ice-cream covered hands on her designer jeans. I hope Tom isn’t too mad at Frankie—you know what she’s like when she thinks someone in her family is being picked on.”
Frankie could be as fiercely protective as any of her brothers when someone she loved was threatened.
“Oh, Ava, why didn’t you say something?” He felt terrible. It was his job to take care of his family—not hurt them.
Ava looked up at him with a soft smile. “Because you cared about her enough to bring her home with you. She’s the first girlfriend of yours I’ve ever met and I didn’t want to cause trouble between you.” She shrugged. “I figured you would see through her I’m-so-sweet-sugar-won’t-melt-in-my-mouth attitude.”
Problem was, he hadn’t. Not really. Laurel had been the one who had broken it off. Not that he’d been all that upset about it. He’d grown tired of listening to her list of complaints and the list had been growing by the day.
“Ava, honey, come here.” Brax stood and crooked a finger, settling her onto his seat on the sofa. He sat across from her on the coffee table. “You should have told me. If someone, especially someone I bring into your home, is ever disrespectful or rude I want you to come straight to me. Understand?”
“But this is your home,” she insisted, looking upset. “It will always be your family home. You should feel free to bring home whoever you want.”
She worried at her lower lip. Guilt stabbed Brax.
“This is your home, too,” Heath said from the doorway. All three brothers looked up in relief. “And no one has the right to talk down to you or hurt you here.”
He stepped forward and grabbing Ava’s hand, pulled her up into his embrace. “And baby, you should have come to me about this, don’t you think?”
“It was just a few snide comments—nothing to get upset about,” Ava protested. “Really, the way you guys act, you’d think she slapped me around or something.”
Heath narrowed his gaze, staring at Brax over his wife’s shoulder. “If it upsets you then it upsets us. Next time anything like this happens, I want you to come to me straight away, understand?” He patted her bottom.
Ava sighed and slumped against her large husband. “I understand. You know, I’m feeling kind of tired myself.”
Heath kissed her forehead. “Go and have a nap. I’ll watch Jaron.”
“Thanks,” she said with a smile, kissing him quickly before leaving the room. Heath watched her leave before turning to Brax. Instantly his face morphed from indulgent to furious. “You going to take care of this?”
Brax nodded. “Don’t worry. Laurel will never come back here.” He should have known better than to get into a relationship right now. He simply didn’t have the time to devote to building a relationship. He needed to focus all his efforts on building his construction business. At the moment, he had little to offer a woman. His house was small and rundown, he worked sixteen hour days and when he wasn’t working, he was trying to tidy up his land. No, he needed to get his priorities in order.
Tom walked into the room. “Did you hear what that—” He came to a slamming stop as he saw Jaron still in the room, “…lovely woman… said to Ava and Frankie?”
“I was just telling Heath I’d take care of it, Tom.”
Tom scowled. “I think it would be better if you just stayed away from her. Got to say, I came down hard on Frankie when I first heard what she was calling Laurel behind her back. Feeling damn bad about that now.”
Heath snorted. “You’ve gone soft since she gave birth to the twins. Frankie and Ava should have come to us immediately and you know it.”
Tom raised a brow. “Oh yeah, and what did you have to say to Ava?”
“I gave her a stern talking to,” Heath replied.
“Really stern, it was,” Cam teased. “I was shaking in my boots.”
Heath growled and the others laughed. Except Brax. He didn’t feel like laughing. He felt sick.
He had failed to realize the viper beneath Laurel’s sweet facade. What did that say about his judgment? Even worse, he’d been more than Laurel’s boyfriend, he’d been her Dom. A good Dom should know his sub inside and out. And he hadn’t known Laurel at all.
“Don’t beat yourself up, Brax,” Tom said as he sat in an armchair. “The girls are capable of defending themselves. It’s not as though Frankie is without her claws.”
No, his sister could be hell on wheels. But that didn’t make him feel much better.
“Want to go hunting tomorrow?” Kent asked, obviously trying to change the subject. “We have to head back home the day after.”
Brax nodded. “Sounds good. I’ve got some paperwork to do but then I’ll come after.”
“Seems like all you do is work.” Cam stared at him from worried eyes. “You know what they say about all work and no play.”
“Yeah, they say that’s the way you pay your bills.”
“I thought the construction business was doing well?” Heath asked. “You guys seem to be gaining a good reputation. Are Sloan and Case working as hard as you are?”
Brax might be thirty-one, but he’d always be their baby brother. It made him even more determined to be a success. To show them that he could do this.
He had to do this.
“They are. We’re trying to do as much work as we can ourselves. Once we can hire more people we’ll have more free time.” He hoped. Some mornings he could barely roll out of bed because he was so exhausted and sore from the work. He knew his two business partners suffered through the same.
“You know, I was talking to Roarke the other day,” Tom said. “An old friend of his just bought a section of land outside Lilyvale. Name’s Derrick Ashdown. Apparently he’s going to build some sort of large resort complex.”
“Yeah?” Brax leaned back, looking at Tom with interest. This was the sort of job he and his partners needed. “He probably has his own crew in mind.”
“I don’t know; Roarke said he was considering taking bids from locals. Roarke mentioned your name to him.”
Brax knew Roarke, but not well. However, he was a good friend of Tom’s and he had a lot of connections.
“Worth thinking about anyway,” Tom said.
If it did work out, it could be the break he’d been looking for.
*****
“You sure you want to build a resort in the middle of nowhere?” Holly asked, looking around at the huge section of land.
“It’s hardly the middle of nowhere, love,” Derrick chided, looking like he’d just stepped out of a fashion magazine. She didn’t know how he did it. He was only wearing jeans and a shirt, yet he looked pristine. She, on the other hand, was already growing hot and bothered. Her slacks were wrinkled and her sleeveless white shirt had a mark on the front. She had no idea how she’d managed that.
“Lilyvale is only a ten-minute drive away, and it’s another twenty minutes to Waco.”
She raised a brow. “Interesting names. Have you decided what to call this place? Rosewater? Dahliadream?”
“Dahliadream? Really?” His lips quirked up into a grin. “So tell me what you think about this guy, Brax Jamieson?”
Holly thought back through the file of information she’d collected on Jamieson. “Young—by far the youngest contender. Hasn’t been in construction long, but he and his partners have a bit of experience between them. Good reputation.” Hopefully Jamieson turned out to be a better option than Phil Jones, who they’d met with yesterday. He’d been a bit too full of himself.
“Roarke thinks quite highly of him,” Derrick said, leaning back against their hired Jeep.
She raised her brows. “Just because he’s good at spanking subs doesn’t make him a good builder.”
Oh hell, she didn’t just say that.
Derrick raised his sunglasses, those brown eyes piercing deep into her mind. “And just what would you know about spanking subs?” he drawled.
Holly glanced down at h
er feet before forcing herself to meet his gaze. “Not much.”
He continued to stare at her until she squirmed.
“Do you really think I don’t know what sort of clubs you go to?” she questioned him.
“Is that so?” he queried slowly.
Great, she knew that look. He was not happy. Well, what did he expect? They basically lived together. She’d known for a long time about the BDSM clubs that he visited. Matt had told her in a fit of jealously one day, when he was trying to scare her away from Derrick.
What Matt hadn’t known was that he’d only stirred her curiosity. She might be a bit of a dinosaur because she wouldn’t put out on a first date, but she was no prude.
Holly adored romance novels, especially those that included spanking. Sweet and sensuous or downright dirty, she loved them all. Something she’d never told Matt. How do you tell your husband that you wanted him to tie you up and spank you? That the thought of being put over his knee was arousing. You didn’t, not when said husband thought his brother was a sicko who needed help.
A vehicle drove up the road, sending clouds of dust in its wake. Holly sighed in relief.
“He’s here,” she said unnecessarily as a large black truck pulled up. It looked like it had seen better days. There was a large dent in the side, accompanied by a series of scratches.
She completely forgot about the truck as a truly gorgeous man stepped out. His long legs were encased in dark denim. A green t-shirt molded against his thick biceps. She bit back her groan. He reached into his truck and grabbed a cowboy hat, placing it on his dark head before moving towards them in a smooth, firm stride.
Oh sugar.
“Jamieson,” Derrick greeted him, reaching out to shake his hand.
“Call me Brax.” Even his voice was sexy, low and husky. “Sorry if I’m a bit late.”
“Not at all. We decided to come out a bit early. Call me Derrick. This is my assistant, Holly.”
Brax turned his attention on her, his stormy gray gaze moving slowly over her body. She broke out in goose bumps despite the heat. Swallowing heavily, she tried to moisten her parched mouth.
Brax’s full lips curled up into a small smile, making the lines around his eyes crinkle. Holly forced herself to pay attention and shook his hand as he offered it. He squeezed her hand.
“Holly, nice to meet you.”
“You too,” she murmured, quickly snatching back her hand and ignoring the look Derrick sent her. The feel of Brax’s skin against hers had slivers of desire slipping along her skin.
Wow. This man should come with a warning—touching may cause self-combustion.
Yeah, like anyone would heed that warning.
“Right, have you studied the plans? Shall we walk around the site as we map it out?” Derrick asked, turning the conversation towards business. Holly followed along behind them, trying to regain her senses, even as her gaze kept straying to Brax’s tight, hot ass.
Oh sugar.
“Holly? Holly?”
“What?” She glanced up at Derrick guiltily, realizing that both men were staring at her.
Derrick was frowning while Brax grinned.
“Are you feeling okay?” Derrick asked.
Drat. Think of something to say.
“Fine, ahh, just a slight headache.”
“Hmm, we haven’t had much sleep,” Derrick commented. She blushed as she realized how that must sound to Brax, who was watching them both with interest.
“What say we finish this up tonight?” Derrick asked. “I’ll take Holly back to the hotel in Lilyvale so she can relax. Are you doing anything for dinner?”
“I’ve got no plans. Sounds like a good idea to me,” Brax said easily, before Holly could speak. “You’re staying at Braemark Hotel in Lilyvale? How about I meet you at O’Reilly’s at seven?”
Derrick nodded and took her elbow, leading her away. “Great, see you then.”
*****
Holly knew she was being silly, but she couldn’t seem to stop herself. This was a business dinner, not a date. There was no reason for her to fuss over her appearance. Yet she wanted to look pretty.
For Brax.
She knew she wasn’t beautiful, but with a bit of makeup and the right sort of clothes she could be attractive. She bet Brax had women falling all over him constantly, so she needed to make sure she didn’t make a fool of herself.
But surely there was nothing wrong in dressing up a bit.
After they’d left Brax this morning, Derrick had brought her straight back to the hotel with an order to rest, which she felt a bit guilty over. Still, the headache excuse had come in handy when Derrick tried to bring up their earlier conversation about submissives.
Holly knew she had no right prying into Derrick’s private life. So she had taken the coward’s way out and retreated to her hotel room. She desperately needed some time to collect her wits before seeing Brax again. She felt sure that she had acted like a silly sixteen year old with her first crush earlier.
A knock sounded on her hotel room door and she walked over, letting Derrick in. He ran his gaze over her.
“You look gorgeous, Holly.”
“Thanks.”
The form-fitting jeans made her legs look longer and thinner. She hardly wore them, though, because she couldn’t fit her brace on underneath them. However, she’d be all right moving around for a few hours without the brace that she had to wear most of the time.
Her sparkling black top showed off her best assets—her breasts. For years she’d dieted and kept herself to a size four, because that had been what Matt had wanted.
But now, two years later, she was a size ten and she loved her new curves.
“Are you feeling all right now?” Derrick asked, coming over to place his cool palm on her forehead.
“Yes, thank you,” she said, stepping back and grabbing her purse. “It was just a headache. I’m fine. Are we going to walk?”
He nodded. “It’s a nice night. Take a light jacket though.”
Holly grabbed the red leather jacket she had ready.
“Got your key?”
“Yep.” She slipped her hand into the elbow he offered as he shut the door behind them and led her out onto the street. The hotel was small, about twenty-five rooms, but it was the only hotel in town.
They walked along, chatting quietly until they reached O’Reilly’s. Derrick held the door open for her, ushering her in.
Brax stood as they entered, waving them over to the corner booth.
“Good to see you again,” he said with a smile. “Have a seat. Can I get you both a drink?”
Derrick helped her into the booth. “Yes, thanks. Whiskey for me and orange juice for Holly.”
Brax turned away and Holly worked desperately hard not to stare at that delicious ass.
Brax ordered the drinks and leaned back against the bar to wait, discreetly looking over at the gorgeous woman sitting by Derrick Ashdown. He wondered what was going on between the two of them. They were clearly too close to be just employer and employee. Were they sleeping together? Ashdown didn’t seem like the kind of man to put up with his woman checking out another man’s ass, though, the way Holly had been this morning.
His cock hardened as he swallowed heavily. He needed to get himself under control. There were more important things right now than a pretty woman. Like getting this contract.
He paid for the drinks, then worked his way back to the booth.
Damn she was beautiful, though, with her shoulder-length dark-brown hair, those sparkling blue eyes and olive skin. When she laughed she put her whole body into it. And what a body—the woman had curves that made him long to put his hands on her hips and kiss his way across her full breasts.
Get yourself under control, man.
“So you both live in Houston?” he asked them.
Holly nodded. “Yes, we’ve been there for about… ” she turned to Derrick, a cute frown on her face, “a year now?”
Derrick smil
ed at her, leaning back in the seat. “That seems about right. We moved there from New York.”
Brax suddenly felt like the dumbass cowboy. Hell, he’d never been farther away than San Antonio. He’d never really had the urge to travel. He was happy just being close to his family and working in his business.
This is good, he told himself. It showed him how different he and Holly were. She was obviously used to a faster pace. They would have nothing in common. His idea of a night out was a steak dinner and maybe a movie. She probably enjoyed champagne and ballet.
She was way out of his league. No, it was best Brax steer clear of the temptation Holly posed.
Look, don’t touch.
“And you, Brax?” Holly asked. “Where do you live?”
“I have a small spread about ten minutes away, just out of Waco. But I grew up on a ranch about thirty miles from here.”
“Ahh, a real cowboy then?” she teased. Damn, she was beautiful when she smiled—it lit up her whole face.
“You bet, ma’am,” he said, tipping an imaginary hat. Stop flirting, he told himself sternly, forcing his mind onto business.
By the end of the night, Brax was exhausted from trying to ignore his attraction to Holly.
He held open the door for Holly who smiled back over her shoulder at him, causing his heart to skip a beat. Suddenly she stumbled and he lunged forward to grab her, grasping her waist and pulling her back against him.
“Oh,” she gasped. “Thank you.”
Brax held her, loving the feel of her soft body against his, reluctantly letting her go when it was obvious she had her balance back.
“Are you okay?” he asked with a frown. She hadn’t drunk anything and her shoes were flat. He looked down at the ground—there was nothing there to cause her to trip.
“Ahh, yeah,” she said with an embarrassed laugh, taking the arm Derrick held out to her. “Just clumsy.”
Brax eyed her as she and Derrick stepped forward. “You’re limping. You hurt yourself.”
His Old-Fashioned Love (Old-Fashioned Series) Page 2