She looked at him with such longing in her eyes it made his heart thump wildly. C’mon baby, say the words I needed to hear. Her elegant hands were drawing designs on his chest. He hoped they were hearts, but he couldn’t be sure. Jax understood her reluctance but that didn’t mean he was happy about it.
“In all honesty, Brynn—I’d love nothing more than to have a baby with you. Fuck. A dozen of the little rug rats if that’s what you want. Just don’t want to force your hand if you’re not ready. Seems like a shitty thing to do.”
“I’m in over my head with you, I just know it, sir.”
He had to laugh at her deliberate taunt. Yeah. He’d be her sir. She might think that would give him some sort of magic power over her, but all it really meant was that he’d earned her surrender. What the hell was better than that? Oh right. Brynn heavy with his child. Shit this was complicated.
Jax didn’t know how to proceed when she lay under him so passively, their bodies still joined. He should probably get used to how easily she surprised him ‘cause a shockwave rolled through him when she pouted so prettily and told him, “You’ll be a wonderful father.” Holy fuck. Where the hell had that come from?
He kissed her gently and asked, “You know this because…?”
Brynn’s fingers feathered through his hair, and she sighed. “I know this because of the way you take care of me after we…you know.” She was blushing. The woman had awakened him with play so sensual and erotic that he’d exploded in her mouth. The blush reminded him she was a virtual innocent in the bedroom. This was probably not the best time to tell her about his encounter with Roger the Anal Probe but a voice in his head was telling him that holding anything back was only going to feed into her insecurities. Waiting for a better moment was just plain dumb.
“I’ve told you baby. You belong to me. I’ll always take care of you. Always put your needs first. That’s the way I’m built and I make no bones about it. If that makes me potential daddy material, I’ll gladly take it.” He liked the smile that shone in her eyes. Might as well throw down with the rest and see how she reacted.
“Um, Brynn. There’s something I need to tell you.” The last thing he expected was the cold fear radiating off her body. Fuck. She really was terrified of what opening up to him meant.
“Do I need to sit up and compose myself, Jax?”
He had an instant answer at the ready. “Not unless your fertile imagination thinks I’d ever do or say anything to intentionally upset you. Do you, love? Is that what all this hemming and hawing is about? Are you waiting for me to fuck up?”
Her answer was just as instant and easily as heartfelt and straightforward, thank god. “No. I trust you completely. Sorry. Reflex.”
“Good. Here it is honey. Try not to freak out though, okay?” If her eyes got any bigger they’d fall out of her damn head. “Yesterday was kind of a wild ride, huh?” She nodded but said nothing.
“The thing is, something happened here at the house long before you got home and we had our little…whatever the fuck that was.” Jax cleared his throat and looked directly into her eyes. “You had a couple of visitors.”
“What?” she snapped. He could feel her emotions reeling all over the place. “Who?” Before he could get another syllable out she came back with, “Who the fuck came here, Jax?”
Whoa. This wasn’t the first time he sensed a rather serious undercurrent of tension coming off her. Something wasn’t right in her world. Why hadn’t he realized that when the pieces started falling into place. Her cousin and ex-husband showing up here out of the blue wasn’t a coincidence.
“Easy baby,” he husked. “Just keep breathing.” When she nodded and did as he asked, Jax continued. Carefully. “Penis envy car pulled up.” Right away he saw the alarm bells start to crash in her head. “Some fucktard calling himself Seth Colton.” Her eyes narrowed into dangerous slits. He hoped she never looked at him like that.
“What the fuck did that asshole want?” she hissed
“Well, he said he wanted to talk to you about family business.” Jax counted to ten in his head and let that part sink in. “He wasn’t alone Brynn.”
“Oh fuck!” she hollered. “Was my Nana with him?” Hmmmm. Another piece of the puzzle for Jax to ponder.
“Uh, no. But I’m thinking by your reaction that when you hear who it was you’re going to go ballistic. Just remember, babe…I’m still inside you so no sudden moves, okay?”
“Tell me Jax. Do it quickly. Like tearing off a Band-Aid. I’ll be okay if you just tell me.”
“Right,” he nodded. “Okay. Here it is. He had Roger Ellis with him.”
Her body jolted with such force he groaned. “Oh my fucking God! They were together? Shit. Shit.” Her fingers were digging into his skin.
It took her a good minute and a half to start breathing normally again. Whatever was going on, her cousin and ex-husband being together wasn’t a good thing.
“What did you tell them?” she asked quietly.
“Actually, I told them both to fuck off and that if they wanted to talk to you, they’d have to go through me first. They’ll think twice before attempting to come here again. Pussies. Scared the living shit out of both of ‘em.”
The last thing he expected was for her to smile. Then the smile became a grin and the grin eventually became a laugh. “I’ll just bet you did,” she said gleefully while throwing her arms around his neck. “Thank you, Jax. Thank you soooo much.”
“This would be the perfect opportunity to drive home the point about watching out for you, my love. I knew whatever they were up to was no good. Care to tell me about it?”
“Yeah. I will. Just not now, okay? Have to think and besides, it’s time for me to crawl down to the bakery and get my day started. If I can walk that is.”
“Right. The bakery,” he murmured. “Shower first and then I’ll walk you down if you promise to load me up on sticky buns and coffee. Got a couple of hours to kill before my team gets here.”
“Carry me?” she asked with a saucy quirk to her lips.
“Fuck yeah,” he growled. “Whatever you want baby.”
“I was just kidding,” she giggled. “I think my legs still work.”
Jax slid from her intimate embrace and came to his feet at the side of the bed. She sat up and swung her legs toward the floor but he quickly bent and hoisted her over his shoulder as she squealed with surprise.
“I thought you wanted me to carry you?” he chuckled.
“Well yeah. But I envisioned something a bit more romantic than caveman style.”
He smacked her ass good and stomped from the bedroom down the hallway to the bathroom. “Be good woman or I’ll spank your ass just for the hell of it.”
She screamed with laughter. “Oooooh, I’m scared now!”
Dropping her on her feet, he made sure she was steady then went about getting the shower running. When she stepped over the side of the old tub he caught sight of dark smudges on the insides of her thighs. He let out a string of self-castigating curses that startled her.
“I was too rough with you,” he finally muttered.
Stepping into the tub with her he pulled the shower curtain and immediately set about washing her body. He had her place her hands on the front wall of the shower so the water cascaded down her back while he quickly and efficiently rubbed a shower pouf that he squirted a huge glob of her bodywash into all over her from neck to toes. The whole time he pretty much muttered out loud about the small shower and how he couldn’t wait to give her a fancy en suite that they could share together. When he finished with her body he had her lean against him so he could wash her hair, which he did with such somber reverence that the simple act felt almost scared.
Helping her out of the tub he told her to get dressed while he showered but before she moved away, Brynn stepped close and kissed him sweetly.
“What was that for?” he asked.
“You were rough, yeah. But I loved every second of it. Don’t pussy ou
t on me sir over a couple of bruises.”
“Get dressed woman before I pull you back in this shower and find out if we can both survive some acrobatics that this crappy old tub won’t make easy.”
They walked the path to the bakery as the sun was making its way into the horizon. It was so early that dew sparkled on the grass and the chirping of the birds could be heard but nothing else. He held her hand and reveled in the simple sweet gesture of possessiveness.
“Did I tell you,” she asked. “I’ve taken on a couple of folks from the college. It’s a mentor thing.”
He was more than a little surprised to learn this. Maybe she was ready to start living and not just work. The thought warmed him.
“They start today. I’m nervous,” she admitted with an adorable self-conscious shrug. “I came by this naturally, the bakery thing I mean. Nobody ever taught me the ropes. I’ve pretty much been making it all up as I go along. Hope I don’t disappoint them.”
“Hell, babe. You’ll be fine. They’re lucky to have you. Does this mean once you’ve got them in the rhythm of how you do things that you won’t have to work so hard?”
“That’s the plan,” she said as she squeezed his hand. “Will get my dad off my back too.”
When they stepped on to the flagstone patio behind the bakery, Jax grabbed her, fisted his hand in her still damp locks pulling her body flush with his and kissed her madly. When he finally let her go he noticed her lips were puffy and had the look of a woman who’d been…well, doing what she’d been doing.
He smirked at her knowingly when she swiped her thumb on some saliva at the corners of her mouth and stuck her tongue out at him.
“Think that’ll hold you all day or do I have to come down here at lunchtime?”
She laughed as she unlocked the back door and turned on the lights that illuminated the gleaming kitchen. “Depends on what you have planned for lunchtime,” she told him silkily as her dimples made a cameo. Fuck. He liked when she lightened up and teased him.
“Well, babe. I’ll be hungry and you definitely have something I’d like to eat so, there’s that.”
She barked a laugh. “You’ll be losing your sir privileges with any more comments like that.”
He gave her an innocent butter-wouldn’t-melt-in-his-mouth leer and said, “What? You cutting me off already from those sinful buns? That’s hardly fair.”
“Sinful buns my ass,” she giggled. “Go make yourself useful and turn on one of the tearoom coffee pots while I start preheating and see what needs to be done.”
Before he left her to whatever the hell it was that she did every day, Jax couldn’t help but tease her one last time. “I suppose you’ll be texting your sister at some point?”
Brynn seemed surprised by the question but nodded and said, “Probably. Why?”
This time he didn’t bother with the innocent look going straight for a full-on lecherous smirk. “Make sure to let her know you got your wish and gave the Butt Whacker a memorable blow job that will keep him hard and aching for you the rest of the day.”
He laughed like bloody hell at the dumbfounded expression on her face. “Babe,” he growled. “Your thumb is quite the eloquent drunk texter. Next time, read that shit when you sober up—before you hit delete!”
BRYNN WAS SO BUSY THROUGHOUT the day she hardly had any time to stop and think. Terry and Sue had been fast learners, quickly picking up on her foibles and how she wanted things done. Even Amy had been on her game, immediately bringing Brynn up to speed with the goings on in the tearoom on Monday.
Technically, the bakery didn’t operate that day, but Amy ran things in the tearoom with an eye to offering special group times for everything from a ladies quilting circle to a magic club and once a month for the vets to come and hang out. Giving back to the community was a huge part of Brynn’s personal philosophy and was reflected in her overall business plan. She also donated items coming up on their sell by date to the county food bank and a local church that had an active homeless outreach program.
Working straight through the day, a moment of calm finally appeared, long enough to go and relax in the Baron’s Tea Room, brew a proper cup of tea, and collapse in her favorite chair—the one that faced the fireplace and offered an unobstructed view of the outdoor garden. Besides the kitchen, it was one of what she liked to call her situational Zen spots.
Of course, true to form, finding time to relax and actually emptying her brain long enough to do just that were two separate things. No matter how tired she got, being busy and engaged was the only way Brynn knew how to function. She really didn’t do well with downtime. Never had. Being driven was her modus operandi. She also most certainly didn’t have a Pinterest board full of fantasy vacation destinations though she did have a special soft spot for the beauty of North Carolina’s Outer Banks. She and her sisters were forever plotting ways for them to all vacation there together, but so far, it had never happened. It occurred to Brynn that with Rhiann showing signs of city burn-out and now that she had found some help for the bakery, maybe it was time to force the issue. Only thing that would make it perfect would be if Charlie would come back from Italy.
Whoa. Was she actually contemplating taking time off? What the hell was this? The Twilight Zone? Snorting good naturedly at the self-mocking comeback, Brynn had a moment to ponder how the events of a single week in a person’s life could so drastically alter everything; from routines to thoughts to dreams. Hell, her ‘men are more trouble than they’re worth’ mantra had been tossed to the floor so room could be made in her bed for one particular man who was changing the narrative just with his existence.
Jax. Mmmmm. Sipping the tea, her mind wrapped around what was happening between them—or at least tried to. Truth was, she didn’t have enough experience in relationship dynamics to really understand much of anything where he was concerned. Add to that her issues that she had to admit were numerous enough to require an entire moving van to lug around and his difficult past and she was so far into unchartered waters that she was forgetting how to swim.
He hadn’t appeared to poke her and get her all riled up at lunchtime, which was definitely a good thing. She had to admit she liked sparring with him, but right now, she needed some space to get her mindful ducks in a row. Brynn rested her head on the high, overstuffed wing of the easy chair, crossed her legs, and with the warmth of the tea mug clutched in her hand, stared out the window.
“Is that my lovely granddaughter curled up like a kitten in a pool of sunlight?”
Brynn was all sixes and sevens as she spun toward the sound of the familiar voice, almost spilling her tea in the process. There, in all her Bohemian glory, looking like a chic cosmic beauty queen draped in deep purple and pink with her magnificent grey haired piled in carefully-styled haphazard disarray upon her head, stood the woman who was creating havoc in Brynn’s normally staid life.
“Nana?” Brynn wheezed, shocked and disoriented to find her grandmother approaching her in the tearoom.
Nana leaned over to kiss Brynn on the top of her head, murmuring quietly in that sotto voce way she had, “I love what you’ve done with this place sweetheart. Gramps would be tickled to see the transformation.”
With the flourish of an experienced grand dame, Brynn’s surprise visitor sank into the matching wing chair set close to her own, threw off her wrap, and dropped an attention getting Vuitton satchel on the wood floor with a thud. Jesus, you’d think she was reliving her Broadway debut, Brynn thought in a none-too-charitable way.
The alarm bells began clanging in Brynn’s head. There had to be a reason for this command performance and right that second, she was plotting all sorts of paybacks for anyone who knew her grandmother was planning on a face-to-face when Brynn least expected it. Shit.
“What brings you to this neck of the woods, Nana?” She heard the waspish tone in her voice and inwardly cringed. The raised eyebrow and sardonic expression on her grandmother’s face instantly shamed her. No matter what was causing
her ill temper, this was her father’s mother, a woman who had loved her and been deeply involved in her life and the lives of her sisters. Forgetting her manners was a blow to Brynn’s composure.
“Sorry,” she quickly muttered, coming to her feet and bending to give the old woman a dutiful kiss on the cheek. “You surprised me. May I get you something to drink? Would you like a piece of cake? I made a German chocolate sheet earlier. From your recipe,” she added with a small smile.
Brynn’s change of tone and deferential approach instantly brought a twinkle to the woman’s eyes. She hadn’t been a Broadway and West End bright light for no reason, something her granddaughters found endlessly fascinating when they were growing up. Nana Wilde was a lot of things and among them was an acclaimed actress who knew how to play to an audience.
“Coffee would be lovely, child. None of that watered down infusion of bark and twigs you like so much,” she added with a sly grin. “And yes, of course to a sliver of cake. Not too much now, you know I’m watching my figure.”
Brynn snorted a loving giggle at her choice of words, all the upset and tension between them forgotten, as she swiftly bent and gave Nana a hug. “Still making the other sex work for it, I suppose?”
“Of course!” Nana chuckled. “Next time you deem to visit the City of Brotherly Love, I’ll introduce you to Arthur Henry. If he behaves himself a bit longer I may even let him think he’s my beau.”
“Hold that thought,” Brynn drawled with a smirk before scurrying away to get them each a slice of cake. By the time she came back carrying a tray with elegant mismatched china dishes and two slices of her decadent chocolate masterpiece, she found Amy gushing over her grandmother who was no doubt regaling the assistant with one of her outrageous stories from her younger, carefree days when her star shone bright and all the world was at her feet. Amy was, in two words, a huge fan.
Wilde Forever (Wilde Women Book 1) Page 26