JAXON (The Caine Brothers Book 4)

by Margaret Madigan

  “Mm-hmm. You have to admit, you’re very intense. When was the last time you went out and had fun?”

  “Well, I don’t know. Summer and I had dinner and drinks a while ago.”

  He raised a skeptical brow at her. “At her restaurant?”

  “No. It was a different restaurant.”

  He chuckled. “That’s not going out and having fun. Tonight, you and I are going out and I’m going to show you how to let loose and enjoy life.”

  “That’s not really necessary.”

  “Yeah, actually, it is. Trust me.”

  That evening, after spending the day out in the garden and then sorting, cleaning, packaging, and labeling the rest of the food from the dumpster raid, Jaxon escorted Lily out to his car. She wore a bohemian summer dress in white and red floral print. Although it fell below her knees, it buttoned from bottom to top and she’d left the buttons open to her knees, like a slit. The thin straps and plunging neck of the fitted bodice had him jazzed for an evening of watching her dance and imagining her beautiful body under his. It was like carrying a holiday gift around with him and savoring the anticipation of opening it later.

  “So where are we going?” Lily asked as she belted into her seat.

  “A place called The Outpost. It’s owned by the Huntsmen motorcycle club.”

  Her raised brows projected her skepticism. “We’re going to a biker bar?”

  He reached over and patted her knee as he drove. “Don’t worry. My brother’s their president. They’re all about issues like women’s shelters and domestic violence. Anything that has to do with protecting women and kids. Trust me, you’ll like them.”

  “Okay, but you said we were going out to have fun?”

  “It’s not just a dark, dirty biker bar. They have the best cheeseburgers in Houston, and there’s a live band tonight, so we can dance and hear some good music.”

  “Well, if they have the best cheeseburgers. By all means.”

  She grinned and he laughed and they drove in companionable silence the rest of the way. He’d called the bar to ask about music and if there were any other events going on. He’d toyed with calling Xander and letting him know they were coming, but the last thing he needed was his older brother hanging over his shoulder gloating about Jaxon out on a date. That shit would spread like wildfire among the rest of his brothers and before he knew what had happened they’d all be there giving him crap. So he hadn’t called. If Xander showed up, fine, if not, even better. As a husband and father, hopefully he’d stay home with his family.

  Jaxon pulled into the full parking lot and counted himself lucky to get a parking space. A lot of the spaces were filled with bikes, but cars and pickups filled over half.

  “Popular place,” Lily said.

  Inside, people filled the space. The band hadn’t taken the stage yet, but music played from the sound system. Most of all, the air smelled so good it made his stomach rumble—something between burger, bacon, fries, and ribs.

  “Oh my God, that smells good,” Lily said.

  “Right?”

  They selected a table and a waitress with a perky smile and bouncy ponytail showed up with menus. “Can I get drinks for you?”

  “I’ll take a Shiner,” Jaxon said.

  “Riesling, please,” Lily said.

  While the waitress went off to get drinks, they looked at the menu. “I don’t really need this,” Jaxon said. “Bacon cheeseburger and fries.”

  He closed the menu and slapped it onto the table.

  “Me, too.”

  “You can’t eat all that.”

  “Are you calling me a lightweight?”

  He laughed and held his hands up in surrender. “Never. I’ve learned my lesson about insulting you.”

  The waitress brought their drinks and they ordered their burgers. She’d hardly walked away when some huge thing blocked the light for an instant before Jaxon realized it was just Dude in his peripheral vision.

  “Jaxon, my man,” Dude said, offering his hand to shake.

  Jaxon stood and shook Dude’s hand. “Hey, Bigfoot,” Jaxon said. Dude slapped him on the shoulder and almost sent him tumbling. Damn, the guy was enormous.

  Dude grabbed one of the chairs at their table, spun it, and sat backwards on it. “Very funny Music Man.”

  Jaxon took a seat. “This is my friend, Lily. Lily, this is Dude. He’s my brother’s friend.”

  Dude snorted. “Friend, huh? You’ve got a lot of friends, Jaxon.”

  He frowned and shot him a warning glare. “Dude…”

  “Don’t worry, Jaxon,” Lily said. “I’m not under any illusions about your history. And yes…um…Dude. We are friends. It’s nice to meet you, by the way.”

  “The Caine brothers are falling fast,” Dude said, shaking his head. He must not have believed their ‘friend’ story. “Half of them are gone. Don’t tell me you’ve fallen under this pretty lady’s spell.”

  Jaxon let that sink in for a moment. Had he fallen under her spell? Sure, she was gorgeous in a nerdy sort of way with her copper hair, and freckles, and hazel eyes. And he loved the way her body responded to his. But beyond that, she was plucky, sassy, smart, determined, and kind—all qualities he admired and that turned him on intellectually and emotionally.

  Dude took Lily’s hand in his and lifted it to his lips to kiss, although Jaxon couldn’t really tell through Dude’s huge beard and mustache.

  Lily offered him a polite little smile, and pulled her hand back. Jaxon bit his lip to keep from grinning. She pretty much dismissed a man nobody dismissed. He was too big to dismiss. But the concern in her eyes as she turned to look at Jaxon caught his attention.

  “You didn’t tell me your brothers had died.”

  “Died?”

  Dude snorted then guffawed. “Not died. Married. Though if it was me, I’d maybe rather die than get married.”

  Lily turned a studied gaze on him. “You think so now,” she said. “But someday you’ll meet the right woman and you’ll be a fool for her.”

  Her second feat of the evening was to strike Dude silent. He just stared at her with an open mouth like he meant to say something but couldn’t figure out what.

  He finally collected himself and said, “Well, on that note, I’ve gotta go. You going to sing tonight?”

  “No. I’m just here for dinner and maybe some dancing,” Jaxon said.

  “Huh. Too bad. Good to meet you Lily. See you Jaxon. Don’t be a stranger.”

  As Dude took off, the waitress brought their burgers. An enormous handmade patty on a firm bun with all the toppings and dripping with warm cheese, along with a mountain of hand-cut fries. His mouth watered just looking at it.

  “Okay, if this thing tastes as good as it looks, I’ll admit, you’re right. Best cheeseburger in Houston,” Lily said.

  Jaxon removed the pick holding the burger together and squished it down as best he could, then picked it up to take a bite. But when he looked across the table, Lily had her fork and knife out ready to carve into it.

  “No,” he said. “You don’t eat a burger with silverware. Get in there and grab it with both hands.”

  She scrunched her face like he’d asked her to grab a handful of mud, or worms, or shit. “It’s so messy.”

  “That’s part of the appeal.”

  He shoved the burger as far into his mouth as it would go, then bit down, filling his tastebuds with greasy, meaty, cheesy goodness.

  He groaned and closed his eyes as he savored the bite. Her snicker brought his attention back to her. She’d managed to sort of smash it down and picked it up, but couldn’t figure out how to approach it. Finally, she took a half-effective bite. Condiments mixed with meat juice dripped down her chin and a ring of onion plunked onto her plate.

  But she groaned just like he had as she chewed and swallowed. “Oh my god. That is amazing,” she said, wiping her face with a napkin.

  While they focused on eating, the conversation died, but the band took the stage a
nd started tuning up.

  As Lily smeared a fry in ketchup, she said, “So how many brothers do you have? Dude said half your brothers had fallen like there were a lot of them.”

  “There are,” Jaxon said. “I’m the fourth of six. My three older brothers have married in the last couple of years.”

  “So tell me about them.”

  “My brothers? Why?”

  She shrugged and popped a fry in her mouth. “Just making conversation. I don’t really know anything about you or your family.”

  Jaxon sighed. “They’re a bunch of crazy assholes. Dad’s a retired billionaire real estate developer on his fourth marriage. My brothers and I have three mothers between us. Hunter’s the oldest. He took over the family business. Xander’s a biker. Damian’s a SEAL. Colton’s an MMA fighter, and Bishop’s the youngest. He’s a bear to deal with and prefers to live like a hermit.”

  “That’s quite a bunch.”

  “What about you?”

  “Very boring comparatively. Dad and Mom are both university professors—economics and history respectively. I have a big sister who’s a lawyer. That’s it.”

  “There were many times growing up when I would have killed for boring.”

  She sipped from her water glass, then asked. “What about your band?”

  “What about it?”

  “What’s it like to do what you do?”

  Jaxon took a moment before answering, swallowing down the rest of his beer. He’d been happy to separate himself from the band and his rock star life while on this retreat because it had given him the chance to unwind and find a more genuine self. To be vulnerable without judgment; although Lily had been plenty judgmental about his lifestyle, which only reinforced the need for the retreat in the first place. The only time his rock star life had intruded into his retreat had been singing along to the radio in the car. But ultimately, he’d have to go back whether his muse returned or not.

  “I can’t complain about my life. I get to do what I love—make music and make people happy. Sometimes being famous is a pain in the ass, but performing is a powerful rush when you’re on stage in a giant stadium full of people, all of you lost in the same music communing in something you all love.”

  As if on cue, the band launched into their first set, a kind of country rock. They were pretty good and he found himself distracted while he sank into it, letting it wash over him.

  “I’d never thought of it that way, actually,” Lily said. “Do you write your own songs?”

  He had to scoot over to the chair Dude had been sitting in so they could continue the conversation and hear each other over the music.

  “Yeah.” He didn’t want to talk about his muse. It might jinx things.

  “You don’t sound very excited about that part.”

  He fidgeted in his chair. “It’s a long story. What about you? How’d you get started in activism?”

  He wasn’t comfortable talking about writing. At least not yet.

  “In college. I worked at a restaurant to earn some extra income, and I was shocked by the amount of food we threw away every day. I started paying attention to other places I saw food wasted, and then places where people needed food but didn’t have it. It escalated from there.”

  “Did you finish college?”

  “I have a degree in economics, like my dad. It bored the living bejeebus out of me, but convinced my uncle to let me manage the estate. It allows me to do the things I want to do, like serve on boards of charities and go dumpster diving.”

  Her grin lit up her face. Her eyes sparkle. She seemed pleasantly happy, leading him to believe she was, indeed, a lightweight when it came to alcohol.

  “The people of Houston are lucky to have you,” he said. “Do you want to dance?”

  “I’d love to.”

  Others had already had the same idea and cluttered the dance floor. He led Lily by the hand into the midst of them. He loved being in the middle of a concert crowd. Nothing brought people together like a common love of music, and to be among of all that shared love and excitement fed his soul. While he and Lily danced, he did two things; he kept his hands on her—either holding her hands, or touching her arms, her hips, or anywhere that allowed him to stay anchored to her; and he closed his eyes to allow the music and energy of the crowd to wash over him and renew him. Music had always been home.

  They danced through two songs before he opened his eyes and focused on Lily. She twirled and laughed, and he couldn’t believe how much luck had to have happened to throw them together. He wouldn’t even change the pepper-spray to the face if it meant not meeting her. He couldn’t remember feeling so alive and grounded, and like the world had purpose and meaning again as opposed to slogging from one city to another in a bubble of car-airport-car-hotel-car-venue-party-car-hotel-car-airport-repeat.

  Lily broke that cycle and woke him up. She’d also crawled into his heart and made herself at home.

  Was this what his brothers had felt? This sneaking suspicion that this woman meant something? Had him by both the balls and the heart?

  Her chest glistened with sweat, and her hair bobbed as she bounced to the beat. He took her hand and spun her, pulling her back against him. Wrapping his hands around her waist, he rested his palm low on her abdomen and had the overwhelming urge to reach down between her legs, but he’d save that for later. Until then, having her body move against his got his blood up. Desire sizzled in his veins.

  He leaned down to kiss her neck. Some deep animal part of him wanted to sink his teeth into her—not break the skin, just sting a little. Claim what was his.

  Then the music faded and rather than transition to the next song everything paused. Jaxon looked up to spot Dude talking to the band. A cold shiver ran down his spine. Dude wouldn’t dare…

  “I understand we have a celebrity in the crowd,” the lead singer said.

  “Fuck,” Jaxon said.

  Lily twisted her head to look back at him. “What?”

  “I think Dude just outed me.”

  “Jaxon Caine, are you out there somewhere?” the guy asked.

  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?”

  CHAPTER 10

  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.”