A minute later her phone lit up with his reply.
‘Hey right back atcha. Glad you like what you see.’
‘How did you manage all of that by yourself?’
‘Didn’t,’ he replied. ‘Had help.’
‘What? Who?’ she quickly typed.
There was a good long pause before he answered. ‘You eaten yet? Wait. Of course you haven’t. Why don’t you come to the loft and I’ll fill you in on the project. Made a pot of chili. Willing to share if you’re nice.’
‘Bite me,’ she texted back.
‘Open to negotiation,’ he answered. ‘Get your ass in gear and say that to my face.’
She couldn’t help but smile. Jackson Merrill was a lot of things; not the least among them a great guy she found easy to talk to. He was also complex and intense in a way that sent chills up and down her spine. Having sex with the handsome wolf had definitely been the wild card in their unusual relationship.
Wait a minute. Had sex? Who the hell was she kidding? Truth was, Brynn had fucked him with wild abandon just one night after he’d taken command of her body and brought her to a shuddering climax. On the goddamn kitchen table. Pretending both of those things hadn’t happened was useless. Especially when her inner wanton was begging for more. He’d surprised the shit out of her last night when, angry and demanding that she be smarter about her personal safety, he’d threatened her with a spanking if she didn’t give in to his insistence that she lock her damn doors. Part of her had been shocked but another part had trembled on his lap when he’d pushed her dress up and exposed her backside.
Brynn had been defiant and pissed off right up till the moment when she heard vulnerability and a good dose of anxiety in his voice when he’d growled at her to ‘not make him do it.’ She surrendered so fast it stunned her. Something about the anguish coming off him in waves got to her.
While the idea of Jax Merrill spanking her was more than just a little titillating, she didn’t want it to be in anger and clearly, neither did he. A part of her she didn’t know all that well wanted to comfort the big man on whose lap she lay, but he’d put up a wall after her capitulation that she had no choice but to respect. Something was up with him but what she didn’t know. Exploring a sexual dalliance with a guy, any guy, wasn’t exactly something she’d ever done before. It wasn’t like sex was ever a big part of her life to begin with. Roger had been a selfish asshole in bed and since her husband was the only real experience she had when it came to comparisons, a man like Jax who came off as an accomplished lover opened her up in ways she hadn’t expected. He was also complicated and if she was reading him right, slightly banged up and damaged from his time in the military.
Well, she thought with a shake of her head that sent blond curls cascading around her shoulders when she removed a hair tie, be that as it may. Theirs was a temporary arrangement. In six weeks he’d be gone, once the work on the house was complete, and she had bigger fish to fry. Right then and there Brynn realized she knew very little about him except for the meager background info he’d shared so far. Maybe he had a girlfriend stashed away wherever he called home base. Nah, he wasn’t the type to mess around, she was sure of that, and he’d admitted that he wasn’t married. But that didn’t mean his life was a blank page either. Maybe she should take the time to get to know him better—would make their crazy sexual escapades much easier to categorize.
JAX HAD A HEADACHE. ONE of those motherfucking thumpers that had the ability to bring him to his knees. It had started last night when Brynn taunted him and messed with his head about locking her doors. Her defiance was like a master key, opening up the tightly closed box where he kept all the messy emotions and impulses that followed him home from the war.
“Fucking women,” he muttered in the silence. Why did they find it so goddamn necessary to constantly try to prove they could handle anything and everything without male input? What was the big fucking deal anyway? Didn’t mean they were weak or any less ball busting or independent. He was just showing an interest in her safety after all. It wasn’t like he was trying to take over her whole damn life.
His inner voice chose that moment to laugh like hell. Of course he wanted to take over her life. That was the problem where Brynn was concerned. Take over? Yeah. Dominate the fucking shit out of her? Hell yeah. Cherish and spoil her rotten? Well, there was that too, a new and previously unrealized impulse that was more than messing with his shit. Especially since she all but had a stop sign flashing on her forehead. She might be willing to get naked with him, but he was pretty damn sure it stopped there for her. Fuck.
Going to the door of the converted garage, he leaned against the frame and waited for her to appear in the shadows. Nighttime was coming earlier and earlier as the seasons changed and try as he might to rationalize that her walking the couple of hundred feet between the house and where he stood was no big deal, he couldn’t stop the compulsion to make sure she made it safely. What if she tripped? Or got hit by an asteroid?
Holy God. Fuck my damn life, he thought. This was what she’d reduced him to. If anything happened to her it’d gut him. Permanently. They’d known each other for exactly four days and before he even knew what the hell was happening, she’d gotten to him. Big time. That damn inner voice was being a bit more direct by claiming loud and clear that she was his. His in that knight in shining armor way that frankly, scared the fucking crap out of him.
He calmed instantly and some of the thumping headache eased off the minute he caught sight of her. Relief flooded his system when he saw her turn and lock the back door before she skipped down the steps of the porch and headed toward the garage. Straight to him. Where she fucking belonged. Okay, that thought definitely rattled his cage.
Halfway between the house and where he stood she stopped and looked up at the sky. Twilight was upon them but she was clearly visible. He smiled when she threw her arms wide and twirled around with her head thrown back like some ancient goddess of old dancing under the moonlit sky. The laugh he kept inside, but the sudden hardening of his dick was another thing altogether. When she was less than twenty feet away, she waved, and he would have sworn she was glowing from the way her eyes lit up.
“It’s a full moon tonight,” she chirped as he opened the door to let her in. “I just love the way it looks so huge in the sky when it first appears. Gives me the chills,” she giggled, wrapping her arms around her body for emphasis.
He didn’t know why or where the thought came from to begin with, but he blurted out, “Baghdad at night when the only light was from the moon was pretty impressive. Almost made you forget what a fucking shithole you were in.”
Brynn blinked at him, surprised by his response. “Wow. I never thought of it that way. Guess no matter where we are or what situation we’re in, the moon is always there watching.”
Now that the box was unlocked and creaking open, he couldn’t stop the flashflood of memories that came rushing at him.
Looking up, as he held the door open he told her, “I used to look at the moon when it was high in the sky and think that it connected me to my other life. The one at home where people weren’t being blown up every damn day and where doing something as innocuous as moon watching wasn’t an invitation to get your ass shot by some insurgent with good eyes.”
She looked at him and nodded as if she understood. He felt her hand touch his waist as she slid by and had to squeeze his eyes shut for a second to get control. It was the first time in years that he felt anything at all that resembled actual need for the simple touch of another when he was having one of his moments.
His reverie was broken when she laughed and declared, “Whoa. Something smells like heaven!” Watching her rush into the galley kitchen and lift the lid on the pot of chili he’d thrown together lightened his mood considerably. When her stomach growled loudly she giggled and smirked.
“Feed me sir, before I have to do you bodily harm.”
Sir? God. She was fucking –A –adorable. Only Brynn would be so clueless a
s to not realize how provocative such a simple expression was to a man like him.
“Back away woman,” he growled teasingly. “Don’t mess with my culinary seduction. I have a plan in place in case you hadn’t noticed, so go park your butt at the table and mind your damn manners.”
The grin she shot at him when she sat down made the rest of his headache vanish instantly.
“Oooooh. Got ulterior motives, do we?”
He laughed and raised an eyebrow at her. “Call me sir again, and you’ll find out.”
“Hmmmm,” she smirked. “I thought ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ were the magic words.”
Jax leaned over her where she sat and locked his eyes with hers. “Please comes later. After the sir. Thank you is a given. Understood?”
She blushed and bit her lip in the surprisingly innocent way she had that reminded him flirting wasn’t her strong suit. As always, the thought only made his sex surge and tighten. Yeah. She was his. Now all he had to do was let her in and hope his demons didn’t scare her the fuck away.
Whenever he got physically close to her, the woman became a textbook case in female arousal. Her nipples puckered beautifully, she blushed, and her breathing changed. When he saw the flash and the inevitable dilation of her pupils, Jax knew he had her in the palm of his hand. From there it wouldn’t take much to get her panties off. True to form, she pulled a defensive maneuver and did a complete about-face in the conversation.
“So, you going to explain how so much work got done at the house or do I have to get mean and force it out of you?”
“Ah. Mean, is it? How mean?” He liked teasing her. She didn’t know how to react when he fueled their flirts with suggestive comments.
“Shut up,” she chuckled. “I’m not that good at being all cocky so cut me a break and just tell me what’s going on.”
“No problem.” He grinned. “Best to let me handle the cocky thing anyway.” The mocking leer he sent her way hit straight on. No surprise there. He was a crack marksman after all.
She shook her head and rolled her eyes. “Food and an explanation, please. Um, sir.”
Yeah. There wasn’t anything he could do but laugh at her insolence. She was playing with fire and didn’t even know it.
Bringing the pot of chili to the table, he dropped it on the rustic wood surface and ladled a huge scoop into one of the stoneware bowls he found in the cupboard. Pushing it at her he instructed, “Eat,” then scooped up an even bigger ladleful for his bowl.
Cradling the unusual bowl in her hands she took a deep breath and groaned. “Oh God. This smells soooo good Jax.” She was three bites in before she backed off from inhaling the spicy dish. “Anyone ever tell you what a great cook you are?”
He shrugged. “This is nothing, Brynn. Maybe if you’re a good girl,” he said spearing her with a pointed look, “I’ll make you my world famous lemon garlic chicken wings. They put that run-of-the-mill Buffalo Wing bullshit to shame.”
“Really?” she asked with a wary smile. “I’d like that but what exactly constitutes being a good girl? Don’t know if that shoes fits.”
Good girl. Bad girl. Brynn Wilde was an intoxicating blend of both. After downing a huge spoonful of the chili he sat back and looked at her.
“I can make that shoe fit, baby.” Her eyes instantly lifted to his when he placed a good dollop of taunt on the ‘baby’.
“Mmmmm. I just bet you could,” she mumbled. “My sister Charlie made these bowls herself.”
Ah yes. Another conversational redirect. Clearly he was hitting close to home and Brynn wasn’t in her comfort zone.
“Is that so? Talented girl if some of the artwork littered all around is any indication.” He meant it too. The most amazing mini-mural was painted on the bathroom wall of what looked like an English countryside. He’d noticed it while he was shaving at the sink as it reflected in the mirror from the wall behind him. Made him feel like he was actually in the charming scenery. Clever placement and damn good artistry.
“Okay. So enough with the idle chitchat. Talk to me about the project. I’m a visual learner so what I see gets my mind running wild. I’m so glad you suggested opening up those walls and making a larger, more practical space. You said you had help though and I’m curious what that means.”
He snorted. “Yeah. Help would be a foreign concept to you, huh?” Jax’s head snapped back when she fixed him with a fierce smirk. Whoa. Touched a nerve.
“Well, as it happens Mr. Smarty Pants, I took on two people in the mentor program at the community college.” She wrinkled her nose and stuck her tongue at him in a hilariously bratty way. “So there,” she jeered as she picked up her bowl, cradled it, and shoveled an overflowing spoonful of chili into her mouth for emphasis.
“Good girl,” he jested. “Glad to hear it.” She glared at him with laughter and mischief in her eyes.
“Your turn,” she said as a glob of chili and a smile dangled on the corner of her lips. Jax reached across the table and swiped the dribble of chili, bringing his thumb to his mouth where he sucked it off while never looking away from her face.
When it came time to explain how he’d gotten so much done on the project, he chose his words carefully and simply put them out there with little embellishment.
“Stopped by the local V.F.W. post and hooked up with a couple of vets who were either out of work or under-employed.” There was a fuck ton more he could say but he didn’t, preferring to let that information sink in and then see what kind of comments she made.
She surprised the shit out of him when she set her bowl down and murmured, “Jax. I’m so glad you did that.” The emotion lacing her voice warmed him, as did the supportive gleam in her eyes. “We have a lot of veterans around here who could use the help. Once a month they have a get together at the Tea Room. Amy sets it up actually.” She smiled. “I can always count on them to devour whatever bakery items are leftover when they come by.”
Well, color him surprised as fuck. She had a soft spot for his brother and sister vets. She’d never know how close she came to being ravished right then and there. On the table. On the floor. Against the counter. Didn’t fucking matter. Her reaction couldn’t have pleased him more.
“We can revisit the budget if need be. Hire all the vets you need. I’ve absolutely no problem with that.”
“Won’t be necessary,” Jax muttered. This time it was him who was searching for an easy conversational pivot.
Brynn’s eyes narrowed and she stared at him with the intensity of a laser beam. “And why won’t that be necessary may I ask?”
He stood up and walked his empty bowl over to the sink. Keeping his back to her replied, “Because I pay them out of pocket.”
“Jackson Merrill, you come back here and sit down.”
Every muscle in his body tightened when he turned to face her. “Let it go Brynn.”
Her expression made him think of angry hornets looking for something to attack after their nest had been poked. “Uh, excuse me but I so will not let it go. Dammit Jax. You’re using your fee to cover their salaries, aren’t you?” She jumped up from the table and threw her napkin down, making a beeline straight for him.
He felt trapped by his own stupidity. Should have just agreed with her, blown a bunch of sunshine up her skirt, and no one would have been the wiser, he thought a little too late. Why the hell he opened up his mouth with what came next was beyond him.
“Actually, if you look closer at the budget, you’ll see that I didn’t take a fee for the project.”
Holy fuckballz. Her face morphed into an angry scowl as she crossed her arms over her chest and stood with her feet shoulder width apart looking for all the world like she was ready to drop kick him at any moment.
“What. The. Fuck?” she hollered. Next thing he knew she was waving her arms like a crazy person and pacing back and forth with heavy thudding steps.
“Nope. Absolutely not. I won’t have it. I’m not some poor little girly girl in need of a rescue
. I take care of my own shit, thank you very much.”
Hmmm. He learned a lot about her with those angry words. He already knew she was driven and conscientious. Apparently, anything that smacked of being taken care of was on the no go list.
“Settle down Brynn. I’m very much aware that as you say, you take care of your own shit but first of all, I’m here as a favor to my father who by his own admission is doing your dad a proper. Plus, letting me stay here is payment enough.”
“Don’t care. I don’t like it. Helping the vets is one thing but doing a freebie when it’s not called for well, it makes me….. shit. I don’t know what it makes me.”
Jax sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. She wanted control. He needed control. Fuck. What a pair they made. Getting into a verbal tug-of-war over something stupid was a deflection from what was really going on.
‘Babe,” he began tentatively. Her eyes flashed and he bit back a sheepish grin. It was so damn easy to get her worked up that it was funny. “Hate to burst your bubble but the fact is—” He rolled a shoulder and stood a bit taller. “I’ve got more money than I know what to do with.” She looked at him with clear skepticism but didn’t jump down his throat. Not yet anyway.
“Sit down Brynn. I think it’s time we had a talk about the fucking elephant in the room.”
He reached for her hand and held on tight, pulling her along on reluctant feet until she begrudgingly flopped on the sofa and pouted with the body language of a bratty princess.
“If this is about, well…you know,” she began, “I don’t really want to talk about it.” She crossed one leg over the other as her foot started a nervous shake that set the sofa vibrating.
“Tough shit,” he barked as he sat down and gave her body a distinct shove to make room for him. Flinging his arm along the back of the sofa he effectively caged her in with his presence.
“I knew the minute I laid eyes on you Brynn Wilde that you were going to be trouble. Nobody with such a sweet ass and a mouth that begs to be kissed who has a chip as big as the one you carry on your shoulders could possibly be a good thing for a guy like me. But the thing is babe,” he ran his fingers along the back of her shoulder, “you’re turning out to be a blessing in disguise.”
Wilde Forever (Wilde Women Book 1) Page 15