“Try it on the wall, then if you’re satisfied, commit to the gallon, or perhaps even a five gallon can if you’re wanting to use the same color in any of the other rooms.”
He’s too young for you, Amanda, my conscience all but screamed as visions of my dream came back to me—particularly where he’d stroked his long, thick cock with those long-fingered, callused hands. Heat raced up my neck, making my cheeks hot.
My gaze shifted down over his chest and settled in the vicinity of his crotch.
I released the breath and to my horror, it sounded like a sigh, which I quickly coughed to cover.
“Could I get a cup of coffee?” he asked, causing me to rip my gaze back to his. “I could smell it from outside.”
God, I’d been checking out his package, and he’d caught me right in the act. How humiliating!
“Sure,” I said, grabbing a mug from the cabinet and filling it with the too-strong coffee. Seriously, I needed to pull it together.
“Hey, are you going to sit and talk all day, or am I gonna get some help here?” Toby shouted from the back porch, and for once I was grateful for the interruption.
Brax shook his head. “Listen to him. You’d think I was on his payroll.”
Laughing nervously, I handed him the coffee, hoping he didn’t notice my trembling hand. “He’s always been a bit impatient.”
“I’ll be right out,” Brax called over his shoulder. “I’m lucky to have him during the demolition stage. Two hands are better than one. Well, in this case, three sets of hands are better than one.”
I leaned back against the counter. He stared at me for a heart-stopping moment, saying nothing, just staring, and then he walked toward me slowly. My heart pounded with every step that brought him closer. His clean, manly scent permeated my senses and I actually took a step back before I realized I had nowhere else to go.
He reached out, his arm rubbing against mine as he leaned over me. Man, he smelled delicious, his scent and his masculine energy surrounding me. A second later he stepped back, an apple in his hand. “Do you mind? I didn’t get breakfast.”
My throat was so tight; all I could do was nod.
There was a light in his eyes that made me wonder if he knew exactly what he was doing. That he wanted to make me squirm. In the past few days, we’d gotten closer. Our conversations were easy and yet never too personal. It had been more about the different things we liked or didn’t like and nothing about our past relationships. Thank God for that.
“I better get to work,” he said, his gaze slipping to my chest for a split second. “Let’s make sure what few items you do have on the countertops are removed. There’s space on the workbench in the garage to put things.”
“Okay,” I said, my voice coming out in a high squeak. Had I just imagined him checking me out? “I’ll get to clearing the counter.” Putting on some upbeat music, I set to clearing out the kitchen and had it finished in minutes since almost everything was still in boxes.
Because the boys were still busy unloading items, I opened the sample cans of paint and took out a brush, painting a stripe on the wall.
I glanced up to find Toby beside me. “Looks pink to me.”
Brax stood in the doorway. “The granite you picked out is a touch yellow.”
Damn, it had been my favorite of the three. Plus, I had paid seven bucks for that sample, too.
“You could always use it in the bedroom if you really like it,” Brax suggested.
Day one of the actual renovation and already I was failing at home improvement. “I should have brought you with me, Brax.”
“Hey, no worries.” He gave my hand a squeeze. “You can use it in another room.”
As always, with even the slightest contact, I got excited.
He dropped my hand and I crossed my arms, focusing on the wall color. Now that the paint had started to dry, I could see what Toby meant about the pink.
“Try another,” Toby said, stepping back, waiting to shoot me down again, no doubt.
Under the steady eyes of both men, I painted two more stripes.
“Hmmm…” Toby clearly wasn’t liking any of the choices.
“The one on the right looks too gray to me. What do you think, Brax?”
Brax hesitated. It was obvious he didn’t want to hurt my feelings. “Do you remember the quartz countertop that had the pieces of mirror in it that you picked out for the guest bath?”
“The one that was mostly white?” I said, resting the paint brush on the can’s lid.
“Yeah. Maybe we could go with that color in the bathroom. That way we’re mixing it up a bit.”
Bless his heart, he was trying to make me feel better.
“Okay, so I’ll buy a gallon of that, but now I have nothing for the rest of the house and kitchen.” I felt deflated. Maybe I’d just buy white paint and call it good.
“We can head up to the store and take another look. Do you mind?” Brax asked Toby, who shook his head. “Hey, I’m on your dime. Just remember, I’m paid by the hour.”
“Make yourself useful then,” Brax said, grabbing a sledgehammer and handing it to him. “That is, unless Amanda wants to take the first swing.”
He didn’t need to ask me twice. I grabbed the sledgehammer and hit an upper cabinet with little result. After a few more tries, I was both embarrassed and a little ticked off.
“Here,” Brax said, sliding in behind me and putting his hands on either side of mine on the sledgehammer. There wasn’t an inch of the front of his body that didn’t touch the back of mine. “You ready?”
I nodded, imagining the cabinet was Ross’s face.
With one swing, we sent the side of the cabinet flying off. It was exhilarating, and after a few more practice swings with Brax, he let me go so I could continue.
I think he was a little shocked by how into the destruction I was, and my brother loved it, actually egging me on and pulling pieces apart and tossing them out the back door so I could get another go at it.
Within ten minutes, we had the kitchen cabinets and counters in pieces and I was completely out of breath. “That was fun,” I said, looking around in satisfaction and imagining what it would look like soon.
Toby slung the sledgehammer over his shoulder, looking winded but satisfied. “Why don’t you guys take off and get the paint and I’ll clean up here.”
Neither of us argued.
Brax and I went to a little hardware store where the friendly owner went out of his way to help us. “What are you attracted to?” he asked, and I glanced at him with a smile. Now that was a loaded question.
I gravitated toward the beiges.
“Don’t be afraid to try something new and different from what you’re normally used to,” Brax said. The tone of his voice wasn’t the only thing that caught me off-guard. The way he watched me, with an I-dare-you expression, made me wonder if we were still talking about paint.
I’d always wanted to go with a darker paint color in my bedroom, but Ross had said it would be too depressing. To me, I liked feeling closed in when it came to my master bedroom. I know some people loved light and bright, but at least in my bedroom, I wanted a more intimate feel. Something rich and elegant. I reached for a cocoa color and hesitated.
“Don’t second-guess yourself,” he said, and I snagged the color card off of the sample wall. “Now let’s pick out the kitchen and living room. I’m going to suggest going with something consistent throughout the rooms since we’re opening up the kitchen into the living area. We want the color to give fluidity throughout the house. Makes for a nicer flow that way.”
In five minutes, I had committed to a main house color and even picked out a card for an exterior color, just in case I had enough money left over from the interior renovation to paint the outside.
Brax opened up the passenger side door and helped me in before he went about putting the paint into the bed of the truck. I watched him on the side mirror. Ross had never been a Mr. Fix-it. Ever. If he needed somethin
g done, he hired someone to do it for him. It was refreshing to be around a man who was okay with getting his hands dirty.
Settling into the driver’s seat, Brax looked at me with a smile. “You did it.”
“Once again with your help,” I said, feeling happy with my choices. “Thank you. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
He reached out and touched my hand, his fingers grazing my thigh. “My pleasure. You just wait until your house is finished. You won’t regret the time and effort you put into it.”
My mouth went dry as I watched him watch me. “I’m excited.”
He started the truck and we sat in silence for the mile-long drive. When we arrived at the house, the Dumpster had been dropped off and Toby was on the porch, talking to a lady with an edgy bob. “Oh my God, it’s Kara,” I said under my breath. She had put on at least twenty pounds since the last time I’d seen her. Dressed in a black blouse and blue jeans tucked into knee-high boots, she looked stylish and really happy.
“I come bearing gifts,” she said, reaching for an apple crisp that had been on the porch railing.
“Hey, Kara,” Brax said, giving her a welcoming side hug. “You look amazing.”
“Brax,” she said, beaming from ear to ear. “You’re too kind.” Her gaze shifted over him from head to toe and back again.
Subtlety had never been her strong suit.
“Did you bring the kids?” I asked.
She frowned. “Uh, no. They’re having a play-date with grandma, so I thought I’d drop by since I heard you’d returned home. I sent you a few social media requests, but apparently you’re trying to leave everyone in suspense. Trust me, I’ve been stalking you.”
“Sorry, I just…” I trailed off, not knowing how to respond.
“I get it. You’re home and no doubt overwhelmed,” she remarked, flashing a tight smile. “Nice place, by the way.”
Kara had never been the kind to blow smoke up anyone’s ass, so I knew she was being sincere. “Thanks. It will be even better when we’re done.”
“Well, we’d better get back to work,” Toby said, snatching the apple crisp off the railing. “Nice to see you, Kara. Tell Marcus I said hello.”
“I will,” she replied, watching Brax and Toby walk into the house. The second the door shut behind them, she turned to me. “You lucky bitch.”
Oh my God, I had missed her. This was the Kara I remembered. The girl who said it like it was, who sugar-coated nothing. If you didn’t want to know the truth, then you didn’t ask her. “What?” I asked innocently.
“What do you mean, what?” She shook her head. “Brax Mitchell is your contractor. Talk about the ultimate eye-candy.”
I smiled. “He’s my brother’s best friend, Kara.”
“And?” Her brows lifted all the way to her hairline. “I’m happily married, and I would definitely use Brax as my hall pass any day.”
A hall pass was a person you could have a no-strings-attached overnighter with, and your significant other couldn’t get mad about it. “Don’t most people use celebrities for a hall pass?”
“Well, Brax is a local celebrity.”
I offered her a seat in one of the two resin chairs I had pulled out of my parents’ shed. “What do you mean?”
She sat down, and I hoped she’d stay on topic.
“First off, where do I start? The boy is drop-dead gorgeous, and rumor has it…” she leaned toward me. “He’s hung like a horse. Seriously, Jenna Cartright said he’s nine inches long and as thick as her wrist.”
I glanced at my wrist, and my thighs instantly tightened. “I’m sure she’s exaggerating.”
“If it’s bogus, then why is it that every girl he’s slept with says the same thing—that he’s well-hung and he knows how to use what God gave him?”
Great, as if I wasn’t already fantasizing about him in my dreams. Now I was toast.
I glanced over my shoulder at the large window. I could see the boys pulling up the flooring. I turned back to Kara. “So what do you know about his ex?”
“Which one? The bikini barista chick?”
“Is she the latest?” I asked, hoping Brax and Toby couldn’t hear us.
She nodded. “Pretty girl, but the second she got her hooks in Brax, she went all stalker on him. She followed him around town and would park outside his house at night. Just weird shit. Stuff you don’t want to do, especially in a new relationship.”
I could feel my cheeks growing warm. “Was he being unfaithful?”
“Not that I know of…but I’ll be honest—Brax isn’t known for commitment. About the time any girl gets serious, he puts the brakes on fast. My warning to anyone interested in him would be to just enjoy the ride and expect nothing. He’s a heartbreaker, that one. Always has been and always will be. That’s part of his appeal, I think. Girls can’t seem to hold onto him. He’s the quintessential bad boy who is impossible to tie down.” She breathed a sigh. “What’s not to love about that?”
I’d had my heart broken, so there was a lot I didn’t like about hearing that Brax had a track record when it came to women. “So basically he’s the one-night-stand kind of guy.”
She nodded. “Yep, and therefore—the perfect hall pass.”
I laughed at that.
“And you have him underfoot for how long?”
“Six weeks to two months.”
“Oh my God, if I were you, I would stretch out this motherfucking renovation for the entire summer. And hot days are coming, so he’ll most likely be shirtless the majority of the time.” She released a heavy sigh. “I can envision it now—sweat dripping down that chiseled six-pack of his. Be sure to snap some candids for me, will you?”
I heard Toby cuss loudly from inside.
Her eyes widened, and I stood up. “I’d better get back in there and help out. Part of the deal was I had to pitch in right alongside them.”
“I wish!” She stood and swung her purse over her shoulder. “Yeah, I suppose I better go get the brats.”
“Bring them by sometime. I’d love to see them.”
“I live over off of Horseshoe Lake. You know the little cul-de-sac?”
“Yeah, Jake Livingston lived on the corner.”
“I’m the brick house, dead center.” She leaned in and gave me a hug. “Oh, and give me your phone.”
I handed it to her and she typed in her contact information. “Text me photos. I want at least one candid a day please. Preferably shirtless and maybe one of your brother, too. Looks like he finally filled out.”
“How is Marcus?” I couldn’t help but ask.
She grinned. “Amazing. Honestly, I’m a lucky girl.”
I envied her. I did. She had two children, a husband, and was living a life I had dreamed about for years. A life that seemed out of reach to me right now. Hopefully one day though.
“I’ll let you go,” she said, tossing her keys in the air. “Now remember those candid shots, and for the love of God, will you accept my social media requests already?”
I nodded and waited for her to get into her car before I returned to the house to find my bathroom had been gutted. Brax was on a stepladder, reaching above his head, unscrewing the dated light fixture. He was shirtless. I swallowed hard and tried not to let my gaze linger beneath the band of his shorts. A nearly impossible feat, especially because of the exaggerated V marking a path, a virtual arrow to that part of his anatomy.
His apparently famously well-endowed anatomy, and the boy knew how to use what God had given him.
“Looks good,” I said, pulling my gaze from his tight stomach and huge package.
“Ready to paint?”
“Sure.” My voice cracked, so I nodded.
“I heard you out there giggling with Kara,” Toby said. He was also shirtless, and I was a bit stunned to see my brother had a toned build.
“You have a tattoo?” I asked, shocked to see the panther on Toby’s right shoulder. “When did you get it?”
“My eighteenth
birthday.” He brushed his hand over the tattoo.
I took a closer look. “Nice work. Does Mom know?”
“Yeah, you know Mom. You can’t hide anything from her.”
When I’d left for college, Mom had made sure to let me know she’d disown me if I came home with a tattoo. “I can’t believe she approved of it.”
“I didn’t say approved of it.” Toby untied his bandanna, brushed his long bangs back, and retied it. “There just wasn’t anything she could do since I was eighteen.”
Brax laughed, obviously knowing something I didn’t. “She did threaten to take you to a laser doctor to get it removed.”
Toby opened a gallon of paint. “She got over it though. Just like she gets over everything.”
“Thank goodness for that,” I said, my gaze once again sliding to Brax. He was shredded. Not an ounce of body fat on him. Did he even work out? In the days we’d been hanging out, he hadn’t gone to the gym. “It was nice seeing Kara again. It’s been a long time.”
Toby dipped the roller into the paint. “Yeah, and you could use a friend now that you’re back.”
“Thanks, asshole,” I said, hitting him in the shoulder.
He rubbed his arm. “You know what I mean.”
“Yeah, you’re afraid I’ll become a cat lady in my old lady house.”
“Something like that,” he said with a smug smile.
“That will never happen,” Brax said, his stare intense. “You’re too beautiful to be single for long.”
CHAPTER 5
Amanda
We had been at it for three days straight, and I loved the changes I had seen in my little house. It was amazing how tearing out the wall between the kitchen and living room had really opened it up, and although we had only just begun, I could imagine the end result pretty easily.
I had just finished painting the master bathroom and was rinsing out the paint tin when Brax walked into the backyard.
Bad Boy Rebound Page 4
