Brother's Best Friend (Contemporary Romance Box Set)

by Katy Kaylee

  “Ready?” he asked, getting behind the wheel.

  “I am,” I answered nervously. Being alone with him was difficult.

  “Do you want to stop for coffee?”

  “Sure, please,” I replied.

  We whipped through a McDonald’s drive-thru, getting a couple of coffees and some fries before heading out. We headed north. The scenery was beautiful. Lots of crystal-blue lakes and thick forests. I could feel myself relaxing the farther north we drove.

  “This reminds me of Germany,” he said after we’d been traveling in silence for a while.

  “Germany?” I asked, having no reference considering I’d never left the country.

  “I rode the train from Paris to Berlin one year when I was doing a series of fashion shows in Europe. It was a surprise to find how much the scenery there looked like the Midwest. It reminded me of home.”

  I nodded. “I see. Well, no, I don’t see. I’ve never been to Europe or Hawaii or anywhere.”

  “That’s too bad. If you stay on board with the company, you’ll see the world. Once this line launches, we’ll have to have a tour, promoting the brand and putting on shows. You would be a part of that,” he said.

  I couldn’t hide my excitement. It was a dream. I never imagined being able to travel the world. I had thought about it, but never thought it would happen, at least not before I was retired.

  “We’ll have to see,” I said, not committing to anything.

  “See? See about what?”

  “You know what. I’m not sure it’s a great idea for us to travel together,” I told him bluntly.

  He scoffed. “You’re traveling with me now.”

  “Not like that, going through airports and stuff like that. I know about your reputation.”

  He scowled at me. “My reputation?”

  “Your reputation for being rebellious and a bit of a troublemaker. Are you even allowed to go to some of those countries? Aren’t you banned?” I asked him.

  He chuckled “No.”

  “I saw an article that said you were arrested for jumping into a fountain while you were totally smashed.”

  He nodded his head. “I did that.”

  “And what about mooning the crowds from the balcony of your hotel room in Italy?” I asked, almost hoping it was just a fabricated story.

  His laugh was all the answer I needed. “Yep, did that.”

  I groaned. “What about the fights in the bars?” I asked hesitantly.

  “Yep. Did that. Several times.”

  He was obviously proud of his antics. He didn’t seem the least bit ashamed or sorry for what he had done. I wasn’t sure if that was good or bad. “Wow.”

  “I’m flattered.”

  “By?” I asked.

  “You’ve been following my career.”

  I looked out the window, hoping to hide the embarrassment I knew would be written all over my face. “It’s not that I followed, but I do watch TV and I do read online news. Your antics tended to be in the headlines on slow news day.”

  I wasn’t about to admit I had googled his name almost daily to see what he was doing. I needed to choose my words more carefully. I didn’t want to inflate his ego any more than necessary by letting him know I had checked up on him often. Hanging out with Jax was messing with my brain. I was saying and doing things I wouldn’t normally. He was worming his way back into my life.

  “You keep telling yourself that,” he said in a smug tone.

  I inwardly groaned, hating that he’d busted me. I had to be more careful. I had to keep my guard up. I would not let him back into my life just so he could stomp all over my heart again. I would have liked to think he changed, but I doubted it. There was nothing stopping him from going out on another smear campaign.

  Although, I knew I’d given him pleasure. I knew he liked the sex between us. I had felt it, heard it, seen it with my own eyes. Despite knowing he liked it, I didn’t trust him not to turn on me. If I did quit, he’d probably run around telling everyone I quit because he turned me down. He’d make me the laughingstock in the industry, just like he’d done at school.

  Yes, I was going to watch my step with him. I was going to enforce the boundaries I had established. Rather, I had tried to establish. I knew what they were, I just needed to be a little more dedicated. I couldn’t let him into my heart. I couldn’t let him weasel his way in. I turned my head to look at his profile. Dangit! Why did he have to be so handsome? That little crook in his nose was sexy. It was kind of satisfying to know I had done that. Satisfying and a little irritating. That crook in his nose had made him one of the sexiest men in the world. He didn’t deserve that kind of title.

  17

  Jax

  I parked in the small parking lot outside the hotel. It was charming, in an old Victorian way. It wasn’t the Ritz, but it did seem quaint. I looked over at Penny, wanting to get a read on her first impression of the place.

  “Well?” I asked.

  “It’s definitely rustic. I’ve never been leaf-peeping, but I have always imagined this is what one of those Victorian hotels look like.”

  I laughed, nodding my head. “I think those are a little more updated than this. Let’s go get our rooms,” I said, not letting on I knew we were getting a single room.

  I knew it was devious, but I wanted her, and I was willing to do a little lying to have her. I had booked the hotel last week. Then, Saturday happened, and I realized I wanted her. I called the hotel and asked if they had additional rooms. I was told yes, and I promptly asked the woman to lie and say they didn’t when I showed up on Friday. I wanted to share a room with Penny. It was sneaky, and she would kill me if she ever found out.

  We walked into the lobby of the hotel. Lobby was an overstatement. It was a small area with an ancient vending machine in the corner and two old orange chairs that had seen better days. I walked up to the counter and saw no one there. I slapped my hand on the bell, looking over at Penny, who had a skeptical look on her face.

  “It had really good reviews,” I assured her.

  She smiled. “Of course.”

  A middle-aged woman, thick around the middle and wearing glasses, came out of a small door. “Good afternoon. Checking in?”

  “My name is Jax Michaels. I have a reservation for two rooms,” I lied easily.

  The woman looked at me, and I realized she put the name with the face. “Oh, yes, let me check here.”

  She opened a spiral notebook instead of using a computer to check my reservation. It was like we had walked through the front door and landed in 1982.

  “I’m so sorry, Mr. Michaels, but we are booked solid. I only have you down for one room,” she said nervously.

  I looked at Penny, who was scowling. “The parking lot was empty. How are you booked?”

  “A lot of people take cabs here,” the woman answered.

  “We’ll take the room,” I answered quickly.

  Penny looked at me, suspicion in her eyes. “Fine,” she said through tight lips.

  The woman cleared her throat and handed me an actual key with a keychain. “Thank you.”

  She quickly told us where our room was. I walked back to the car and grabbed our luggage. Penny was waiting for me in the lobby, looking around the place with a look on her face that said she wasn’t sure about it. I understood the feeling. I was having reservations myself.

  “I’m surprised this place is full. I was told it was typically very quiet in the off-season,” I said.

  “Yeah, odd,” she murmured.

  “I did get the biggest room in the place. There will be plenty of room for both of us. I’ll sleep on the sofa—assuming there is one,” I realized.

  She glared at me. “You better not try anything. I only agreed to come with you because I wanted to see the location.”

  I held up a hand as we stood in front of the door to our room. “I will be the perfect gentleman, Scout’s honor.”

  She rolled her eyes. “That’ll be the day.”
/>
  I slid the key in the lock and turned it, praying the room wasn’t as ugly as the lobby had been. I pushed open the door, gesturing for Penny to go in first. We both stood in the entryway staring at the sight before us.

  “Wow,” I mumbled taking in the furnishings that were older than I was.

  “That’s one word,” she said dryly. “This is the biggest room?”

  “I can’t imagine what the average room is. What is that?” I gasped, looking at the heart-shaped hot tub in front of the fireplace.

  “Are you kidding me?” Penny spun around and glared at me with her hands on her hips. “Did you plan this?”

  I shook my head. “Hell no. That is tacky. I have a lot more game than that.”

  I put the two suitcases near the queen bed that looked way too small. There were two chairs with no cushions on the seat positioned next to a table that looked like it had been made with logs sawed in half. The room was hideous. It was not the kind of room one got when they were trying to impress a woman. At least, it wasn’t the kind of room I got. I doubted there was champagne chilling anywhere.

  “I guess there’s one good thing about having such easy access to a tub,” she said with a sweet smile.

  I was instantly intrigued. “Oh yeah?”

  “If you try to seduce me, I’ll drown you.”

  My mouth dropped open. “Not cool.”

  She giggled, taking a deep breath and shaking her head. “All right, well, let’s get out those notes and do what we came to do. Maybe we can get done early and get back to civilization.”

  If I had my way, that wasn’t going to happen. There was a white card on the table. I picked it up, quickly read it, and burst into laughter. “Guess what?”

  “I’m afraid to ask.”

  “There’s room service.”

  She wrinkled her nose. “Seriously?”

  I nodded. “It’s actually the restaurant that is on the other side of the hotel. We’re set.”

  “I suppose,” she muttered, taking a seat in one of the chairs, her laptop already open.

  We spent the next hour going over the notes for the campaign. I heard a sound and looked up from the tablet. “Was that your stomach?” I asked.

  She grimaced. “Sorry. I didn’t have time for breakfast.”

  “Why didn’t you say something? We can order room service.”

  “That sounds amazing. I’m starving.”

  I quickly reviewed the slim offerings from the restaurant and ordered the baked chicken and a couple of bottles of wine. We put away the work and waited for the food to be delivered.

  “This room might work for our backdrop,” I teased.

  She scoffed. “If you want vintage eighties, this would definitely work. Maybe we can get a shot of you in that hot tub.”

  “I could pose on that bed with that awesome orange bedspread,” I joked.

  “And the chairs. I think my grandmother had these chairs,” she added.

  There was a knock on the door, announcing our food had arrived. I got up, paid the young kid, and carried it in. With our glasses of wine filled, we dug into the food that was remarkably good. We’d finished close to a bottle by the time we were done eating. I could tell by her giggles and my own easy laughter that we both had a good buzz going.

  “Take a pic of this. I have to show Dakota this room, and I’m going to give Carolina hell for even sending me this location as an option,” I said.

  Penny got to her feet, giggling as she pulled out her phone and took a few pictures of the room before turning the camera on me. “Smile,” she said.

  I made a goofy face, a combination of sultry and ridiculous. “Tub,” I said, getting up and jumping in the empty tub. I pulled off my shirt and leaned back, giving the illusion I was naked.

  Penny was laughing as she took pictures from different angles while I pulled a series of funny faces. It felt good to laugh. I’d laughed over the years but not the freeing happiness I felt in that moment with her. I felt like a youthful, twenty-year-old again. I climbed out of the tub and walked to the bed, flopping down on it and rolling to my side, with my head propped up on my hand.

  “Oh lord, this looks like a bad porn shoot,” she said, bursting into laughter as she took the pictures.

  She got close, the phone close to my face. “Close-up.”

  I stuck out my tongue, earning a burst of laughter from her. I grabbed her wrist and pulled her toward me as I rolled to my back. She collapsed on top of me, her face close enough to mine to kiss. I took advantage of the opportunity and kissed her. She kissed me back before rolling off me and sitting up.

  “Where are you going?” I pouted.

  “We shouldn’t be doing this.”

  “Baby, this is the only thing we should be doing,” I said, sitting up and grabbing her around the waist, pulling her back down with me.

  I kissed her again, only to have her tiny hand push against my bare chest. “No. We’re here for business. Not pleasure.”

  “I like pleasure. My business is your pleasure. I’m going to make you climax over and over, at least six times,” I promised her.

  “Jax, we can’t do that.”

  I slid my fingertips over her arm, making my way down to the hem of the sweater she was wearing. I slid my hand under, touching her flesh and feeling the gooseflesh pop up. I leaned down to kiss her, testing the waters. She didn’t slap me away. My hand kept sliding up until I ran into the underwire of her bra. My mouth worked over hers, keeping her distracted while I reached around and unhooked her bra in back.

  When my hand came back around to the front of her chest, she arched into my touch. I continued kissing her while I slid her shirt higher, exposing her breasts. I pulled my mouth away from hers and lowered it to her hard nipple. She groaned when my mouth closed over her. While I distracted her with my mouth on her breast, I managed to push her shirt up and over her head. The bra went with it. I was halfway to having her naked.

  “Jax,” she breathed.

  Before she could protest, I slid my body up hers, covering her mouth with mine and pressing my chest against her own. When I felt her hands sliding over my rib cage, her short nails scraping over my flesh, I nearly shouted for joy. I had her. She was into it. I didn’t stop on my quest to give her multiple orgasms. I had been dying for the opportunity to have her all to myself in a place I could take my time with her. I had the weekend, and I wasn’t going to squander a single minute.

  “Ready for the first one?” I asked.

  “First one?” she moaned, her hands moving through my hair.

  “The first orgasm,” I told her, slamming my mouth over hers as I worked at the buttons on her jeans.

  I managed to get them undone and pushed them down her hips. She eagerly lifted her butt off the bed, making it easier for me to get the jeans off. I left her little black panties on. I wanted to tear them from her body again. I knew she liked it the first time.

  I slid my mouth over her jaw, moving to her neck and suckling. Her hands were running up and down my back as she whimpered and moaned. I pinched one of her nipples between my thumb and forefinger while I sucked on her neck. Her back arched, her head going back and opening up her neck for my exploration. I pinched and teased, suckling and nibbling at her flesh. I could tell she was close to her first orgasm, and I was only getting started. I hadn’t even gotten to the apex at her legs. That would be orgasms two and three, I thought to myself.

  Her breathing changed and the nails in my back intensified as she rolled through the first orgasm. I didn’t stop my assault on her body with my tongue. I was going to keep her in a climax for hours, until she was begging me for mercy.

  18

  Penny

  I believed him when he said he was going to give me so much pleasure I was left begging for mercy. I was already close to that point. His fingers had slid inside my body and dragged out another powerful orgasm shortly after the first. Now, his tongue was making lazy circles over my breasts.

  “Jax,
” I breathed, more than ready to have him inside me.

  He’d taken off his jeans and was completely naked over the top of me. I could feel his heavy erection hanging between my thighs. I wanted him to fill me and give me that final bit of completion. The orgasms had been great, but I needed him inside me.

  “Not yet. I’m not through with your body yet,” he whispered.

  I opened my eyes and looked down my body. Jax’s face was over my navel. I knew what he was going to do. I suddenly had flashbacks to that first night. I remembered how good it had felt and wasn’t sure I could handle that much pleasure just then.

  “You can’t,” I whimpered, when he slid farther down my body.

  His broad shoulders nudged my thighs open, putting his mouth within an inch of my sweet spot. “Oh, sweet heavens,” I whimpered when the first touch of breath washed over my nether lips.

  “Indeed. Sweet, sweet heavens,” he growled, the deep sound of his voice vibrating over me and reigniting the nerves that were still tingling from the last orgasm.

  His tongue pushed inside me, lapping over my clit and sending jolts of fire through my body. He continued to work me with his tongue, his fingers spreading me at my very core, making room for his tongue to push inside. Then it was a finger joining his tongue. I couldn’t take the pleasure. My body was pushed beyond its endurance. I screamed out; the volcanic orgasm completely consumed me. I gasped and slapped at the bed, fighting to stay conscious as blackness swirled and stars erupted behind my eyes.

  Jax’s mouth covered mine, a slow kiss before he covered my body with his, the pressure exactly what I needed to find peace again. He slowly pushed himself inside me, filling me completely. He didn’t move. He rained small kisses over my forehead and cheeks. It was sweet and intimate and absolutely perfect. Jax was making me fall for him. I couldn’t fall for him. He was danger.

  But he felt so good and so right. I moaned, slow, low and long. He moved his body, nothing fast or jerky like usual. It was a slow glide that was doing more for my arousal than the hard and fast I thought I liked best.