“By the way, congrats to the Griffins for making it to the playoffs,” Sawyer said to Hazard. “Y’all have my support.”
The way Sawyer talked and dressed didn’t remind Avery of a former FBI agent. Then again, she’d only ever seen FBI agents as they were portrayed in movies or on TV.
“Please join us for dessert, Sawyer,” she invited after the waiter brought the platters of goodies and a pot of chocolate mixed with a little bit of caramel.
“If you insist,” he agreed, moving off to claim a chair and sitting down at the T of the table. “That does look good.”
“I’ll make sure my caterer brings chocolate fondue or a fountain to the party Wednesday,” Jaxon stated.
“What party?” Sawyer asked.
“The one at my mountain house in honor of Avery’s virgin visit to Dare,” Jaxon answered as he stuck a long fondue fork into a marshmallow and dipped it into the chocolate sauce. “She’s Trevor’s girlfriend, we need to make her feel welcome.”
“About time for you to get serious about someone,” Sawyer responded.
“Avery’s great. She’s changed my mind in many ways about relationships.”
Avery spoke up for herself. “And Hazard changed mine.”
Sawyer focused on Avery. His eyes were intense, studying. “How long have you known each other?”
“My brother, Alexander, is his agent. Hazard and I met when my father was in the hospital for kidney failure. But he’s always been my favorite football player. I was hoping he’d come to Alexander and Ryan’s wedding so I could get to know him better.”
“Thank you, baby,” Hazard said. “You know why I couldn’t come. I was camping with the men you see here.”
“You mentioned the camping trip.”
“That’s right, Trevor told us Alexander Grant donated a kidney to save your father’s life,” Sawyer added. “It was very brave of him.”
“My brother’s a hero. I’ve looked up to him my whole life. Just don’t let him know. It’ll go to his fat head.”
“Alex Grant’s a powerful man,” Gabriel said. “Even I’ve heard of him in my circles. He’s not one to cross. You concerned that might be a problem when he finds out you’re hooking up with his sister?”
“I’ll admit it, he can make a grown man nervous, but I’m not worried. When Avery’s ready, we’ll talk to him like reasonable adults. The one thing I won’t let him do is intimidate me with his friends or his husband.”
It was possibly the nicest thing he’d said to her thus far. “Whoa, gentlemen, I think I’ve got a huge crush on my guy here. If we don’t start eating dessert, I might eat him.”
Four sets of eyes homed in on her, Hazard’s the hottest.
“Go right ahead, Red,” Jaxon tempted. “We’ll cover for you.”
“There’s nothing hotter than watching a hot couple having sex,” Gabriel claimed.
“Come on now, you guys are joking,” Avery said, not sure if they were.
“I’ve a long coat,” Sawyer joined in, winking at her. “We can always use it as a veil or something.”
“And here I thought you were the nice guy among the four of you,” Avery said, chuckling despite her embarrassment.
“Don’t let his quiet demeanor fool you,” Gabriel supplied. “He’s the one you should watch out for.”
“Should I remind you that it’s me who keeps the vultures at bay when you want privacy in this town?” Sawyer asked. “That it’s me who calls you up to let you know some news van is staking out your lake house to find out if you want me to run them off or give them a story?”
“No need,” Gabriel said. “I know you keep the peace in Dare. You’re a good cop. The FBI must regret letting you leave to start up a town.”
“Ah ha,” Avery exclaimed. “I figured it out. Gabriel, Sawyer and Jaxon are three of investors in Dare, Nevada.”
“Astute as always,” Hazard complimented.
“But who’s the fourth investor?” she asked, extremely curious and at ease with the men now.
“My grandfather,” Sawyer admitted while twirling a Rice Krispies treat in the chocolate. “He was a direct descendant of Darius Hamilton, the founding father of the Dare silver mine and boomtown.”
“Amazing,” Avery said. “What happened to your grandfather, Sawyer?”
“He passed away from natural causes about last year. Old buzzard was cranky at times, but he was a decent man who loved horses, the Sierra Nevada Mountains and his ranch. That’s where I live when I’m not at the station house.”
“I’m so very sorry. I hope you’ll tell me more about him and the history of Dare.”
“Be glad to, Avery,” Sawyer agreed, sending her a warm smile that made Hazard lean forward and glower at his friend.
“Careful with the flirting, cop,” Hazard reminded.
“Jealous much?” Sawyer countered.
“Not when I know I’m the one Avery’s going home with tonight.”
“There is that to consider,” Sawyer granted. “Fine, no flirting.”
“You’ll bring a date Wednesday night, won’t you, Sawyer?” Jaxon asked. “Last I heard, you went to the movies with Lily Carver.”
“Lily’s a sweetheart, but we’re primarily friends. I might see if she’s free or ask someone else,” Sawyer said, thinking on it. “The problem with small towns, Avery, is the gossip. Two people go on a date and everyone speculates when we’ll be getting married.”
“And I thought this place prided itself on a code of silence,” she responded.
“It does. But we’ve our gossips, our nosy neighbors, our troublemakers and our high school students itching to move on to bigger and grander cities.”
“There’s nothing like feeling at home in a small town, though.”
“True,” Sawyer agreed. “I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else. Sometimes, however, the days get long and the nights get lonely when I’m out on that ranch.”
“What kind of ranch?” she questioned.
“My grandfather raised Appaloosas and quarter horses. When I left the FBI, I needed to retreat from a lot of things that I can’t name. Learning to take care of the horses and running the ranch became my outlet.”
Sawyer didn’t say the ranch saved his life. He didn’t have to. He had a certain look in his eyes that said he’d come face-to-face with the worst of humanity more times than any person should have to endure.
“How did you all decide to buy a town?” she asked, wanting to change the subject.
“On a camping trip, Jaxon told us that the town was going up for auction and faced demolition,” Sawyer answered. “We agreed to buy it and rebuild it into what it is today.”
“That’s incredible,” Avery told him. “My brother has bought or invested into several businesses. The one thing he’s never done is buy a whole town and turn it into a mini-mecca like Dare.”
“I have the feeling you’ll become a regular in this town. You should bring your brother sometime,” Sawyer admitted.
“I certainly hope to return and plan to tell Alexander and my brother-in-law all about my stay.”
“You can count on coming back, baby,” Hazard promised, offering a chocolate-dipped strawberry on a two-pronged fork. She bit into the fruit. It was almost as delicious as his kisses.
“A toast then,” Jaxon suggested, lifting his wineglass.
The waiter had left a soda for Sawyer, who raised the glass along with everyone else.
“What are we toasting to?” Gabriel asked.
“To Red and new friendships,” Jaxon answered.
“I like that,” she said. “Toast to good friends and great men.”
They tapped glasses, drank and continued feasting on delicious chocolate fondue and tasty fruit and treats. After the platters were empty, Sawyer and Gabriel excused themselves.
Hazard stood up, looked at Avery and grinned. “Baby, I’m going to escort them out and stop in the men’s room. Be back in a few, okay?”
“I’ll be fine
with Jaxon.”
“Yes, you will,” Jaxon promised, scooting in close enough to Avery for their thighs to touch.
She wore a classic little black dress and black pumps. Her hair was still smooth after running her flatiron through it for a little touchup and she felt particularly pretty tonight.
“Be sure to keep your hands to yourself, Jax,” Hazard warned before leaving.
“I’ll be good.” Jaxon proved his hands were on the table and Hazard walked off to say goodbye to his other friends. “At last, we can talk privately.”
“I’m not going to do anything that would hurt Hazard,” Avery told him.
“I can see that. I like you, Red. Does Trevor know how you feel?”
“What do you mean?”
“You’re in love with him.”
“I’ve a crush. He knows that. We’re new together as a couple, if we can be called that yet. If I rush into this, it’ll scare him off.”
“For an intelligent woman, I’d think you’d have figured out by now that you’re special to him. He sees you as more than a friend and way more than a lover. You’re his girl.”
“The two of you talked while washing the windows, didn’t you?”
“Don’t get mad at him. Sometimes men need to iron things out and I’ve known him since grade school. He’s been my champion when most kids would have turned their backs. There’s little I wouldn’t do for him.”
“He mentioned the two of you grew up together.”
“You know about Marianne?”
“Yes,” she said, hearing the venom in her own voice. “It’s a sure bet that if I ever meet her, she’ll find out that Grants don’t let anyone get away with hurting our family.”
“Ouch, glad I’m not in your sights.”
“You’re a friend. I’d defend you just as much.”
“Since we are friends, listen to me when I tell you Trevor hasn’t committed himself to a woman since his divorce. And he already has with you.”
“Don’t you think it’s a little too soon to talk about commitment?”
“He’s warning us off you. He’s committed. He might let Gabriel, Sawyer and I flirt or dance with you. Anything further we might want, he’s going to call a halt.”
“By further you mean sex,” she concluded.
“None of us are immune to the temptation of three-ways,” Jaxon answered.
“I know, he told me about his.”
“That’s important. Somehow, you changed my best friend when it comes to his dating life. He doesn’t look at you like a man who’s willing to share his lovers anymore.”
“How does he look at me?”
“Like he loves you and is afraid you’ll use it against him.”
“I’d never do that. I care about him, Jaxon. He deserves to love and be loved without fear or reservation.”
“One thing, Red, don’t lie. Don’t smother him. Above all, don’t two-time him. That’s a sure trip to broken hearts-ville for both of you.”
“There’s no danger of either. His ex-wife cheated on him, I’m sure of it.”
“She did. He didn’t. Some would say he was loyal to a fault, but it’s a trait he’s never shaken. Before Marianne, he was a horn-dog, after he started up with her, he didn’t look at another girl. He went away to college, stayed faithful.”
“That’s what I thought. No need to worry. Hazard’s my guy. I intend to keep him and protect him from women like Marianne.”
“You do that, you’ll have him for a long time,” Jaxon assured. “So tell me, how badly will your brother trounce Trevor when he finds out about you two?”
“Alexander will not lay one hand on him, I swear it.”
“What about the Maddox brothers and Alex’s husband?”
“They look out for me like they would a sister. Doc is family now. I adore him and love how he takes care of Alexander. Only if I needed them would they interfere.”
“That’s a relief. I don’t have to round up my friends to kick their collective asses if they threatened to do bodily harm to my friend. We understand each other?”
“We do.”
Hazard returned to the table. “How about we head on over to the club so Jax can play mixologist? I need to meet up with the house band for tonight’s set. After the set, we’ll head to the theater. Sound good?”
“Sounds great,” Avery agreed.
Jaxon stood up to let Avery scoot out of the booth. Hazard’s arm quickly settled at her waist to escort her next door. Jaxon brought up the rear…and she refused to laugh when he teasingly commented about the way her ass looked tonight.
Flirtatious as he could be, Jaxon Wynter was also Hazard’s best friend. No matter what, Jaxon would be there for him and vice versa. If the Dare investors ever came to Massachusetts, she suspected they’d actually get along very well with her friends there.
After she and Ryan worked on Alexander and taught him that she was capable of having a normal, healthy sex life with the man she loved, she hoped there wouldn’t be any misunderstandings between her friends in Dare and in New England.
Oh dear, she’d gone and done it. She’d fallen in love.
Chapter Eight
Hazard entertained a packed Truth or Dare Club with a surprising rock-and-roll set and ended with some current country hits that really made his voice resonate with the crowd.
Avery took a seat at the bar, where she was certain Jaxon kept an eye out for her. It was really nice to know she had friends looking out for her, since she was new to Dare.
But she was no longer concerned about John Redman. She was curious as to why he’d taken an interest in her when all the signs pointed to John being gay. For certain, she was glad that whatever her intentions had been when arriving in Dare had swiftly turned to Hazard.
With him, she was safe. And even though the two of them had jumped in bed so quickly, she would not have taken such a drastic step with a stranger.
The moment Hazard’s eyes landed on her, she’d known he was singing to her, that he wanted her. She could only hope she hadn’t come across as too desperate or caused him to feel as if she was pushing him into a relationship too quickly.
Rather than drinking too much tonight, Avery chose soda water with lime. By the time the set was over, she was anxious to move on to the magic show. Jaxon told her Gabriel’s shows were an hour long and he did two a night.
Hazard came up after helping the band clear the stage. “Mind if I have some of that?” he asked, pointing to her water. Tonight he’d chosen to wear a pair of dark-charcoal slacks, a gray shirt and a black suit coat.
Though he’d performed onstage with the band, he’d dressed nicely because they were on a date. She absolutely loved the way he looked tonight, classically handsome, clean-shaven, his hair pulled back so she could appreciate his features.
“Please do, you were amazing,” she complimented, handing over the glass.
“Thanks,” he said, taking a long drink. “Now I can kiss you properly.”
He placed the glass on the counter, focused completely on her and took her face in his hands. In front of everyone, he leaned in nice and close, kissing her.
If she weren’t sitting, she’d have melted right to the floor. His tenderness swept her away, taking her heart by storm. Rather than fighting against the storm, she went with it by wrapping her arms around his waist and hanging on to him until he was finished.
He didn’t draw back for several wonderful minutes. It wasn’t until his best friend coughed nearby that Hazard dropped first one then his second hand and nibbled on her bottom lip before breaking apart.
“Missed you, baby,” he whispered.
“I missed you too,” she said, her heart still pounding and knees still melting.
“You two need a room,” Jaxon interrupted. “Oh, wait, you have a room, which you’ve been locked away in for the better part of a day and a half and I wasn’t invited for one little peek.”
“We’re not going to apologize,” Avery said. “You
’d want to do more than watch.”
“No use denying it. There’s nothing better than making a sex sandwich, especially if you’re the filling in the middle,” he admitted without qualm, though he did lower his voice.
“You’d have better odds at winning big on roulette,” Hazard said.
“How about we play strip poker then?” Jaxon suggested.
“I’d play if you’re the one who ends up naked,” Avery admitted. She’d like to see Jaxon Wynter naked. “Believe it or not, I happen to be a good poker player.”
She’d bet house odds that underneath his metrosexual clothes was a body women and men would want to feast on equally. There was something sexually magnetic about Jaxon with his pale blond and black-streaked hair and violet eyes that were as beautiful as a starlet’s.
“Red, all you ever need to do to see me naked is ask.” Jaxon’s manner was so strong and dominant, she immediately imagined him wielding a whip or paddle or chaining a submissive or several of them to his will.
Jaxon Wynter wasn’t just an alpha male, he was a Master.
She knew it then as strongly as she knew the Maddox brothers embraced the dominant role in the BDSM lifestyle. The same could be said of her brother and brother-in-law, as neither tried to hide their collars when they were relaxing at home and off work.
Then again, it was best not to go there. What Alexander and Doc did in the privacy of their home was between them.
Of course, she did have the knowledge that Jaxon’s mountain house possessed rooms reminiscent of Druid Creek Castle during members-only weekends or Celtic holidays. Alexander would never permit her to stay at the castle for any other purpose than a relaxing stay in the B&B or an exquisite meal in the five-star restaurant or trendy English pub.
She understood that it was best for her not to press her brother on that issue. He would not bend. But he’d never have to find out if she were to let Hazard help her scratch off another fantasy from her bucket list, being bound and spanked by her alpha lover for being naughty.
The only man she’d trust to do that was Hazard. She’d learned enough since moving to New England about BDSM to know that there was a very real difference between a Dominant and an alpha male and she had no interest in embracing a D/s relationship in all facets of her sex life.
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