Bad Boy Rebound

by J. A. Templeton

  It was nice to look up at a man versus being eye-level for a change.

  “Are we ready?” Brax asked, his gaze shifting over me slowly.

  “I’m ready if you are.”

  “Then let’s go.”

  I sat in the backseat of Brax’s truck while my mom sat shotgun. She yammered on excitedly about her thoughts about the renovation. I had second thoughts about having her here, because apparently she had an opinion about every detail of my house.

  A few times Brax would meet my gaze in the rearview mirror and we’d share a smile. Last night, I had slept like a baby for the first time in months, and I hadn’t been haunted by nightmares of Ross and Candace. Energized about my future, I focused my attention on being smart about the renovation. I set my DVR to record home improvement shows, especially since I needed to help Brax throughout the process.

  Before I knew it, we were at the cabinet store. Brax opened the door and actually took my hand to help me out of the truck.

  I suppose I hadn’t expected him to be such a gentleman.

  My mom led the charge into the store, scanning the entire floor.

  A tall redhead with overtanned skin and a skintight dress had been helping an elderly couple when we walked in, but she quickly handed them off to a paunchy salesman when she saw us. Or rather, when she saw Brax.

  She barely made eye contact with me or my mom. “Brax, how are you?”

  “I’m good, thank you, Kimber.”

  Kimber? I bit the inside of my lip as Brax made the introductions.

  When Kimber made no move to shake mine or my mom’s hand, I just forced a smile. I could already tell that this was going to be a long day.

  “Why don’t you start by telling me what you’re looking for?” Even her voice had a flirty tone.

  My mother immediately jumped in, throwing in words like craftsman and traditional, along with mid-century charm.

  Kimber looked amused as her gaze shifted between my mother and me. I knew better than to interrupt my mother when she was on a roll though, and if Kimber continued staring at her that way, she would get an earful from Mom.

  “Alrighty then. Let’s start, shall we?” Kimber said, motioning for us to follow as she walked in a hip swaying movement that set my teeth on edge.

  To Brax’s credit, he didn’t seem distracted by the sight. In fact, he seemed a hundred percent focused on shopping as he stopped by a cabinet and ran his hand over the surface before moving on.

  After fifteen minutes of Kimber telling us what was officially “in style” and what wasn’t, she finally acknowledged my presence. “What are you looking for?”

  Faced with so many different options, I felt a little overwhelmed. “I like darker colors versus lighter.”

  “Could you be more precise?” Kimber blurted. Though she wore a serious expression, there was a hint of arrogant amusement in her eyes.

  My mom lifted a brow and opened her mouth, no doubt to come back with a smartass quip.

  I quickly slid my hand around her elbow and leaned in. “What do you think, Mom?”

  She glanced at me. “You said you liked the craftsman look, and I think it would work well in your home.”

  “Very good,” Kimber said, and she ushered us over to a set of cabinets that didn’t do much for me.

  As Kimber continued to talk to us like we were ten, my mom started to get irritated. She didn’t hide when she was pissed, either. Her facial expressions gave away what she was thinking.

  The rambling Kimber wasn’t getting it though. Not that she’d made more than two seconds of eye contact with anyone but Brax since we entered Cabinet World. After making yet another round of the store, my mind was scrambled by all the choices.

  “What do you think?” Brax asked me, and all eyes turned toward me.

  “I like the idea of dark cabinets and light colored countertops, like you suggested.”

  “Brax has excellent taste,” Kimber quipped.

  “Yes, he does,” I replied with a sugary sweet smile.

  Mom gave me a wink.

  Kimber’s brow elevated an inch, and it seemed like for the first time since our arrival, she was noticing me…

  “We can take a few sample choices back to your place,” Brax said. “That will give you a better idea of what it will look like in the actual room.”

  “Three maximum,” Kimber responded, wagging a finger at him and giving a laugh for good measure.

  Brax flashed her a smile. “I know the rules.”

  “And I know where you live.” The last was said under her breath, but we all heard it.

  “Jesus,” my mom said, loud enough for the entire store to hear.

  I picked out samples of all items and stood back as Brax filled out the contractor information.

  I didn’t know Brax well enough to assume he didn’t revel in the attention, but it was like he didn’t see it. He was nice to everyone—cordial, but not overly flirtatious in any way…despite the fact that our salesperson had done everything to get his attention, going so far as to do a toe touch as she reached for a lower cabinet.

  Brax had seemed unaffected by her efforts, and I was relieved.

  Why was I so relieved?

  He’d been incredibly nice to me, and I know he had to be aware of what had happened between me and Ross. I know he said we were like family and that’s why his bid had been ridiculously low.

  No doubt everyone in the small town knew my story by now and knew that I’d arrived home. My inbox was slammed with social networking requests, one from my best friend from high school, Kara, who had gotten pregnant the summer before she was supposed to leave for college. I’d seen her the first few times I’d returned home, but after she’d become pregnant with her second child, it seemed like our conversation had consisted of toddlers and newborns, two topics I knew nothing about. The days of me talking about our favorite indie bands and boyfriends had gone away, and we’d found ourselves living very different lives.

  With time our friendship had evaporated, mostly due to my busy life. Maybe I needed to respond to the request. Lord knows I could use a friend now, so I might just reach out to her.

  “You want to stop and get a bite to eat before you get to work?” Mom asked, and of course, I agreed.

  I was relieved when our waitress was a middle-aged lady. However, even she wasn’t immune to Brax’s charm. “Nice ink,” she said, giving him a few lingering stares.

  “We’re so thankful to you, Brax, for doing this work for Amanda,” Mom said, squeezing his hand across the table.

  “It’s my pleasure,” Brax said, flashing his dimples, looking pleased by Mom’s acknowledgement.

  “I bet you could talk miss skintight dress at Cabinet World down a bit if you flash those dimples at her,” Mom muttered under her breath. “I swear, some women have no shame.”

  “Mom!” I exclaimed, not sure whether to elbow her or laugh.

  “I already got the contractor discount,” Brax said.

  Leaning in close, my mom motioned for Brax to do the same. “I bet you can get more than that.”

  I sat up straighter and reached for my iced tea.

  “I’m not interested,” Brax said, shaking his head, though he had a smile on his face.

  Mom added four packs of sugar to her coffee. “So, speaking of girls, Toby was telling me about you dating this girl Heather. How long did you date?”

  I was suddenly all ears.

  Brax’s complexion suddenly changed. “Not long. Maybe a month or two.”

  She whistled under her breath. “That’s a long-term relationship for you.”

  Removing the straw from his soda, he took a drink. Our gazes met and held. If he thought I was going to deter her from asking more questions, he was going to be sorely disappointed.

  He shifted in his seat. “I suppose it is.”

  “What went wrong?” I asked.

  Brax looked surprised I had chimed in. “It just didn’t work out.”

  “What a bu
llshit answer,” Mom said, shaking her head.

  Brax looked even more surprised by her outburst. By his expression, I had to assume she had never talked to him this way before.

  “A bit clingy, was she?” Mom persisted. She didn’t look like she was going to let up on the topic any time soon, and I certainly wasn’t going to stop her. Brax looked like he wanted to be anywhere but here.

  “You could say that,” he managed to say with a forced smile.

  Mom rolled her eyes. “What is with the women you date—they all lose their minds a bit.”

  He looked a little embarrassed by the statement and shrugged. “I don’t know.”

  “You’re too young to be serious anyway,” she tossed back at him. I marveled at how she so conveniently changed the topic, particularly since Toby was sixteen when he got together with Marie, his girlfriend. I pointed that out to her, which she deflected with a wave of her hand. “But that’s a rarity and we all know it.”

  I unfolded the napkin and set it on my lap. “You and Dad met when you were fifteen.”

  “Again, a rarity,” she quipped.

  I understood where she was coming from. I had met Ross at nineteen and I thought we’d be together forever.

  With Brax looking more nervous and uncomfortable by the second, I decided to have mercy on him and change the subject. “So how long do you think the remodel will take?”

  He straightened and seemed to do the math in his head. “Six weeks to two months.”

  Having Brax Mitchell underfoot for two months excited me, and I hoped he couldn’t see how thrilled I was.

  The waitress set our food down, and I picked at the salad. Brax had ordered a cheeseburger with all the fixings, and I wished I had done the same. From the second Ross had broken up with me, I knew I had issues with the way I looked, something I had never suffered from before. Things that had never bothered me about my body before now seemed to balloon out of proportion. I hated that I’d lost a lot of my self-confidence.

  I was going to work on that though. I wanted to be the new improved Amanda.

  Brax’s cell phone rang. He glanced at the phone’s screen and winced.

  My mom snorted. “Let me guess…”

  “I better take this.” He stood up and excused himself from the table.

  “Mom, you need to stop grilling him.”

  She frowned like she had no idea what I was talking about. “What? He’s like my bonus son. Toby said this latest girlfriend, this Heather, had seemed like a keeper at first, but things turned south fast.”

  “South, like how?”

  “Clingy. Stalkerish. I mean, look at the boy. He has no idea how beautiful he really is, and it makes girls go a bit psycho,” Mom said, twirling her finger near her temple, the universal sign for crazy.

  I’ve had a few less-than-stellar moments after Ross and I had broken up when I’d driven by his work a few times, so I didn’t say a word.

  Mom glanced in the direction that Brax had gone, then reached over and snagged a few French fries from his plate.

  “Hey, I saw that,” Brax said, sliding back into the booth.

  “Girlfriend problems?” I asked, surprised at the jealousy coursing through me. Heather would no doubt be gorgeous…and young. Like nineteen. Maybe even still in high school.

  “She’s my ex, and I have no plans on getting back together with her.” He unscrewed the ketchup bottle and poured a large amount on his plate. It was pretty clear he was finished discussing Heather.

  Mom sat up straight, her gaze shifting between me and Brax. “One day both of you will find the right partners. Just wait and see.”

  CHAPTER 4

  Brax watched me with that devilish grin that made my blood warm. “Age is just a number,” he said, walking toward me in that animal-like stride I loved. He lifted me onto the kitchen counter, stepped between my thighs, and kissed me senseless.

  I wrapped my legs around his waist, feeling the length of his deliciously thick cock against my heated center. “You want this?” he asked, unbuttoning his low riding jeans so slowly I wanted to scream. He unleashed his rigid length, his strong fingers curling around the impressive cock. His green eyes darkened as he rolled his thumb over the plum-sized head.

  He kissed me hard, pulling my shirt up and making quick work of my bra. He stepped away for only a second, flung the clothing aside, then unbuttoned my shorts. A heartbeat later, my shorts and panties went the way of my shirt and bra and I was being lifted onto his throbbing cock.

  A buzzing sounded in my ear. With a start, I woke, my heart pumping wildly, my body coiled tight.

  Oh my God, no! Why hadn’t I slept for one more minute? At least until I experienced the heady feeling of deep penetration, or better yet, a climax.

  With a heavy sigh, I hit the snooze button.

  It was an hour before dawn. My bedroom was still shrouded in darkness. I had wanted to get up early this morning to work out before Brax got here for day one of the renovations. I also wanted to look nice without looking like I was trying too hard. I mean, what did a girl wear during a renovation if she wanted to look good for her smokin’ hot contractor…who she was having sex dreams about?

  Even now my heart still pounded like mad…and my body throbbed with need as images from my dream came back to taunt me. For the past three days, Brax had been my constant companion as we ran from one home improvement store to another, picking out items for every facet of the house. It had been both exciting and exhilarating, as well as one hell of an education. I’m glad I had his help. He’d stood back and let me pick out what appealed to me, and sometimes he nudged me in the right direction when I was getting off course based on our original discussion.

  I’m sure all that togetherness was the reason he’d been in my dreams.

  I glanced at the closed door as my fingers crept over the soft skin of my belly and down to the elastic waistband of my panties. I peeked at the door again, almost expecting it to fling open at any moment and for Brax to walk in.

  My other hand cupped my breast through the cotton t-shirt, my fingers rubbing over a sensitive nipple. I bit my bottom lip and closed my eyes, envisioning Brax like he’d been in the dream, naked before me, his long thick cock straining against his belly.

  Thighs falling open, I brushed my fingers over my clit, circling it once, twice, again and again. My breathing increased, growing more ragged with each stroke. I pinched my nipple, the pleasure/pain intensifying the ache between my thighs. Imagining Brax sliding inside me, I lifted my hips, my fingers pressing harder, faster. I released a throaty moan as my body rocked, tightening, pulsing with a climax.

  Once the orgasm ebbed, I dropped my hands back to my sides and stared at the ceiling. Brax Mitchell would be in my house everyday for the next forty-five days.

  It would either be the fastest or slowest forty-five days of my life.

  Keeping my thoughts focused on my future and as far away from the naughty dream as possible, I took a shower and threw on a pair of snug shorts and a halter tank top. Summers in Washington have always been amazing, a nice contrast to the sweltering days in Arizona.

  A good thing the summers were mild, especially since I didn’t have air-conditioning. My dad had picked up two fans from the hardware store last night, showing me the different settings and once again acting like I was still a teenager.

  Secretly, I kind of enjoyed the fawning over. I could tell he was excited to have me home.

  Making my way to the kitchen, I put the coffee on and leaned against the counter, staring out the kitchen window where my elderly neighbor chatted with the mailman.

  The majority of my neighbors were older than me and had been living in the same homes for decades.

  And Brax Mitchell lived nearby.

  Stop thinking about him! I ran my hand down my face as flashes of the naughty dream came back to me.

  It was going to be a very long day.

  Pouring myself a cup of coffee, I set the carafe back on the unit to con
tinue brewing and turned around. I had to stifle the scream that rose to my throat.

  Willing my pounding heart to slow down, I opened the door for Brax, who was standing outside.

  “Sorry,” he said, laughing softly under his breath. “I rang the doorbell a couple of times but there was no answer, so I thought I’d go ahead and unload some items. If it’s okay, I’d like to keep them by the shed. That way, it won’t be so appealing to thieves.”

  My face felt flushed. If he only knew about the dream or the fact that I’d masturbated while thinking about his six-foot-two inches of hotness.

  “Sorry, I must have been drying my hair.”

  “Looks nice,” he said, and I smiled, pleased by the simple compliment.

  I tightened my grip on the mug and tried to ignore how turned on I was. It was a difficult thing to do when Brax was wearing black cargo shorts and a black tank top that clung to his impressive pecs and rock-hard abdomen, where a six-pack was defined against the tight fabric.

  “Just a heads up, a Dumpster is going to be delivered by noon.” Brax nodded toward the front. “I’ve requested for it to be set in the driveway, furthest away from the door.”

  “That’s fine.” I tried my best to focus on the task at hand. “What’s on the schedule today?”

  “Demo. I thought you’d like it. I even brought an extra sledgehammer.”

  “Sweet,” I said, savoring the thought of being able to take out my aggression on the house.

  “We’ll move the fridge out onto the back patio, so if you could get busy unloading the items, we’ll do that.”

  “That’s easy,” I said, opening the door and removing the gallon of milk and a bottle of ketchup and mustard. “I’ve been eating at my folks since I arrived.” I stopped short, opened the freezer, and grabbed the box of corndogs. “Okay, that’s it.”

  He smirked, but refrained from commenting about my lack of food. “What about paint samples? Did you get a chance to drop by the hardware store yesterday afternoon?”

  Paint had been the one item he hadn’t held my hand through, and I had stood in front of the paint section at the hardware store for thirty minutes, picking out every shade of beige under the sun. I tried to keep the neutral color palate in mind and focused on three shades.