JAXON (The Caine Brothers Book 4) (12 page)

Dude stood at the edge of the stage, towering over everyone on the dance floor, looking out over the crowd for him. He wore a stupid grin.

“Go,” Lily said, turning to face him. “Sing something for me.”

She leaned up on her toes and kissed his cheek, offering him a supportive smile that gave him the confidence he needed to leave her in the crowd and head for the small stage.

He slipped into rock star mode, but tamped it into low gear. Shaking hands with the lead singer, he said, “I’m Jaxon. What’s your name?”

“Randy. It’s cool you’re here.”

Jaxon snorted. “Bullshit, man. It sucks that some big rock star’s jumping into the middle of your show. But you can blame Sasquatch over there.” Jaxon jerked his thumb and glared at Dude. Dude grinned and give them a thumbs-up.

“No problem, man. We’re happy to have you here. Fame by association,” Randy said.

Jaxon laughed. “Okay. How about this? You know any Stevie Ray Vaughn or Hank Williams? Any classic will work.”

“Sure.”

“Okay. Pick something and give me a guitar. I’ll sing through the bridge and then you take over.”

Randy beamed his pleasure. “Works for me.”

The band handed Jaxon a guitar and a microphone, and he turned to face the crowd.

“Hey everyone. Are you having a good time?”

Lily watched as Jaxon worked out details with the band, then he stepped on stage and the change was electric, like he unpacked a different persona—he switched on the charm, rolled out the dimples, and radiated sexy energy.

He asked the crowd if they were having a good time. Everybody cheered.

“I’m Jaxon Caine. You may have heard of my band, Raising Caine?”

The cheers turned into whistles and roars of approval.

“Awesome. Listen, I’m here tonight with someone, so I’ll do this one song for you. But after that, I’ll leave you in the capable hands of Tooth and Nail here.”

More whoops and cheers.

Jaxon secured the mic in the stand, counted down, and started an opening guitar riff of some classic country rock song before launching into the lyrics. Lily had been peripherally aware of Raising Caine and that they were a popular band. It was difficult to miss their music on the radio. But she’d never really paid them special attention, until she and Jaxon had sung together in her pickup the other night. She’d been impressed by his talent and enthusiasm. His guard had been down and he’d been genuine, not taking anything seriously, just singing with joy.

Now, the professional had come out to play; poised, controlled—even when he seemed to let loose—and scary talented. The crowd danced and sang along and loved him. He gave them exactly what he’d told her he wanted to give people—an oasis of joy in their lives. She couldn’t help but be impressed, and touched.

In the time she’d known him—the time they’d spent together—he’d been the opposite of what he implied his celebrity life had always been. Rather than shallow and self-absorbed, he’d been sweet, smart, kind, and generous.

He was also the exact opposite of all the men she’d ever dated, and she liked him. A lot.

Jaxon sang for a while then the song shifted to an instrumental bridge and Jaxon took a step back from the mic while he played. A minute later the lead singer of Tooth and Nail stepped up and took over while Jaxon stayed in the background.

When the song ended, the crowd roared approval.

Jaxon grabbed the mic again. “Thank you, and thanks to Tooth and Nail for being such good sports. You guys are great. Now, I’m going to go enjoy my evening. You all do the same, okay?”

He shook hands with the lead singer then hopped off the stage and scanned the crowd. When he saw her, he waved her over.

While she worked her way through the people, Jaxon signed a few autographs, but when she reached him, he pulled her to him, wrapping an arm around her waist.

“Okay, folks, I’m gonna head out now. Thanks for being here. Enjoy the rest of your night.”

He guided her to their table, left a hundred dollar bill in the folder with their tab, then led her to the door. His urgency infected her, but she had no idea why they were in such a hurry to leave.

“Slow down, Jaxon,” she said, trying not to trip over her wedge heels.

By this time they’d reached the parking lot. “Sorry,” he said, slowing his pace. “I didn’t want to get ambushed by a huge crowd wanting autographs when the night should be about Tooth and Nail, not about me. I’ll be giving Dude a load of shit for doing that.”

At his car he unlocked and held the door for her, then circled the car and climbed in his side.

“That’s okay. I think it’s wonderful you care about Tooth and Nail like that.”

“I remember what it’s like to be that band. It’s been a while, but we all have to start somewhere, and it’s these kind of gigs that make a difference.” He started the car and pulled out of the parking space. “If we’d been playing a gig and some superstar came along I’d be happy to be associated with him, but I’d also feel like he stole our spotlight.”

“Makes sense.”

“Plus, they were pretty good. Maybe I’ll ask them to open for us at our next concert.”

They pulled out into traffic, and the shadows of night time wrapped around Lily and the car and Jaxon to turn it into their own secret place. The inside of the car smelled like Jaxon—a combination of his cologne, the leather of the seats, and the mixed up scents of regular use like faded sweat and fast food. Sorting the things in her head, they sounded gross, but it humanized him again despite the expensive car and the celebrity close call.

“Where are we going?” Lily asked.

“No idea. Just kind of driving to drive right now. I like night driving. The darkness and lights and night people are a completely different world than daytime.”

“You know what sounds good?”

“What?”

“A chocolate milkshake.”

The brake lights of the car in front of them illuminated Jaxon’s face, bathing it in red light. “We can do that. I know a good place.”

He drove them through the city streets in no hurry.

“You live in Houston?” Lily asked.

“I do. When I’m not on the road. You want to see my place?”

“Yes.”

They pulled into the drive-through of a fifties-themed burger place and ordered two large chocolate milkshakes before pulling back out into traffic. The shakes were thick, cold, and richly chocolatey.

“This is perfect,” Lily said. She slurped her shake and hummed a happy sound.

Jaxon chuckled. “Watching you suck on that thing is turning me on. That sound only makes it worse.”

High on a lovely evening of fabulous food, dancing, music, and chocolate, Lily shot Jaxon some flirty side eye, then said, “What, you mean this sound?” She followed with a more provocative, throaty version of the sound she’d just made.

Jaxon’s smile faltered and he swallowed hard. He fidgeted in his seat. “Yeah. That’s the one.”

Lily reached across the space between them to push his hair back a bit, mostly just for the excuse to touch him. She traced the curve of his ear, sifted her fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck where it was soft and warm, then contrasted that by caressing the back of her hand over the bristled stubble of his jaw. The muscles twitched under her hand as he leaned into her touch.

The energy in the car mounted, suddenly thick with desire. Lily watched Jaxon reach down to his groin to adjust himself. His hard-on strained against his jeans and a sudden memory of it, with its fat, engorged veins erect against his belly popped into her head and her insides throbbed with a shocking, greedy desire to have him inside her.

“Are we almost there?” she asked, her voice a husky whisper in the confines of the car. She almost didn’t recognize it herself.

“Yes.”

They’d arrived downtown where Jaxon pulled into a parking structure. They didn’t speak, but the air vibrated with anticipation and unspoken promises. Lily’s skin hummed for Jaxon’s touch. She wanted to be naked with him, feel his body against hers, on top of hers, inside hers. She squirmed in her seat, unable to sit still and wait patiently.

“Park already,” she said.

“Hush. I need to focus on driving. If you don’t sit your ass still I’m going to be dizzy from the blood rushing to my dick.”

He pulled the car into a numbered space, and shut it off. He threw off his seatbelt, then wrapped his hand around her neck and pulled her into a kiss. There was nothing gentle about it, which suited Lily fine since it took all her willpower not to tear his clothes off right there in the car.

He broke the kiss and opened his door. “Come on.”

His voice was an urgent command rather than a casual suggestion. Lily hopped out of the car and Jaxon met her, grabbing her hand and lacing his fingers through hers, before urging her to the elevator.

As they rode the elevator upstairs, Jaxon didn’t touch her or look at her, but the air between them sizzled. It took willpower not to whimper her need.

The elevator dinged and came to a halt, the doors opening onto a hallway of brick walls and hardwood floors.

Jaxon dragged her down the hall, fumbled with unlocking a door, then pulled her inside, slamming the door behind them.

“That dress has been taunting me all night,” he said.

“You don’t like it?”

“I want it off you. All those buttons. I’ve been mentally undoing them all fucking night.”

Lily fingered the top button, undoing it with casual slowness revealing an inch more of her cleavage. “You mean these buttons?”

With his gaze glued to the movement of her fingers, she made slow work of undoing the buttons as she looked around his place. The potency of the desire between them increased with every moment, building and building in a delicious wave.

She took a few steps away from the door. Brick and glass dominated the space with a stunning view of downtown.

“Lily. What are you doing?”

“Prolonging.”

“You’ve become quite a flirt, you know?”

She opened another button. By now she’d progressed below her breasts.

“You’re overdressed. You’d better hurry if you want to catch up,” she said.

She passed between a cream-colored leather couch and a breakfast bar. He hadn’t turned on the lights when they entered, so the only illumination came from the city and the moon.

Jaxon wasted no time shucking his shirt. Her heart stuttered at the sight of his bare chest. Again. She’d seen naked men before, but none of them had the same effect on her. Maybe it was because Jaxon cared enough when he was naked to be sure she had fun, too. Maybe it was just because he cared. But every time she saw him—with our without clothes—her heart swelled.

She opened a couple more buttons.

Then he undid his belt and pants and shucked those, too.

Lord, what a glorious specimen.

She slipped the straps of her dress off her shoulders and let it pool at her feet, followed quickly by her panties until they both stood naked in his dark loft.

“Jesus, Lily,” Jaxon said, closing the space between them. “You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met.”

A frisson of something exciting slipped down her spine.

He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, then leaned in to kiss her, his erection nudging her belly. She reached between them to stroke it, one then two long, slow caresses, drawing a deep, rumbling growl from Jaxon.

He broke their kiss and before she knew what had happened, he took her hand in his and spun her, driving her toward the large glass window overlooking the city.

“Put your hands on the window,” he said.

With one hand on her hip he pulled her ass backwards while using his other hand to bend her at the waist. If she didn’t want to fall flat on her face, she had to brace herself on the window.

He leaned over her back, guiding his erection to slide it into her wet folds, but not inside her just yet. He kissed her shoulders, her ribs down one side, across the small of her back, then back up the other side, all the while her skin coming alive with tingling impatience. When he reached around underneath and tweaked first one nipple and then the other she gasped and then moaned as her core clenched at the thing it wanted, just out of reach.

“You’re driving me crazy,” she said.

“Good. I want you to come with the whole city before you.”

All the glass and city lights exposed her to the world while still hidden by the darkness of the loft. Anyone who even had a vantage to see inside wouldn’t see much in the dark shadows. On the other hand, she did have pale skin that came just short of glowing in the dark. At the moment, though, she didn’t care. He’d driven her to the point of discarding inhibitions. All she wanted was to be one with him.

The tear of a foil packet invited heat to pool between her legs. Who knew sounds could be such a turn-on?

His body moved away from hers for a moment and then he guided himself to her opening. She arched her back to give him better access. When he slid inside and held himself there, filling her, she stayed still enjoying the moment—her body charged, aroused, tense, on the verge. Then he pulled back and thrust and she let go of thought and allowed herself to experience the slow build, the gasping, the grasping, whimpering, moaning. Then as the first hint of her climax curled in her core she pushed back harder, thrust for thrust until the orgasm unfurled and she erupted in a million splintered bits with the entire city of Houston as witness.

Jaxon plunged in hard, one more time, and came as she floated down from her heights, his hands gripping her hips tightly to drive himself in as deeply as possible.

***

Jaxon woke the next morning with Lily in his arms, in his bed. Her ginger hair tumbled over the pillow in a sleep-mess and sparkled in the morning sunshine. For a weird, frozen moment in time it felt like seeing her there for the first time but also like she’d always been there and always would be.

With the back of his fingers, he caressed her cheek then swept strands of hair off her face to tuck them behind her ear. He traced freckles from her ear down her jaw like connecting the dots of a constellation. It took his breath away that a woman so beautiful inside and out found him worthy of her attention.