JAXON (The Caine Brothers Book 4) Read online

  He frowned, his fork halfway between the plate and his mouth. “I didn’t shut down.”

  “Oh, please. You totally brushed me off. You said music’s your life, but when I asked you about it, you pushed me away.”

  He used the fork to gesture as he talked. “True. I did say music is my life. But you asked me about being a rock star, not about music. There’s a huge difference.”

  “Okay, you’re right. So tell me about the music.”

  She sipped wine while she watched emotions war on his face. At first, the mention of music seemed to make him happy. A peaceful bliss flit across his features, followed quickly by tension and fear before he clamped it all down.

  “I’ve been writing and singing and playing since I was a kid. I can’t remember ever wanting to do anything else. Music sustains my soul. It’s what keeps me alive, makes life worth living. At least it always has been.”

  He broke eye contact and looked down at his plate, stabbing a defenseless ravioli with more force than necessary.

  Something must have happened that forced him to add the qualifier at the end of his comment. At least it always had been. What did that mean? She wanted to ask, but didn’t feel like she knew him well enough, and his attitude certainly didn’t invite deeper conversation.

  “How’s that different from being a rock star?”

  He looked up at her again and the change to his expression was breathtaking. Suddenly, a charming, charismatic, provocative celebrity sat across from her, a sexy glint in his eyes, and a delicious grin on his face—showcasing those irresistible dimples.

  “Being a rock star is pretty fucking amazing. People pay money to pack an auditorium to watch you get on stage and sing and dance. It’s the most euphoric experience ever.”

  She lifted an eyebrow. She could just imagine how much it stroked his ego. “Mm-hmm.”

  He considered her for a moment, those blue eyes piercing her composure. “You know that feeling you get when you help people?”

  She blinked, taken aback. “Yes. But what I do is…” How could she say what she did was more relevant and had more impact and meaning without sounding like a pretentious asshole?

  “More important?”

  “Well, I don’t know.”

  He snorted. “Okay, helping to ensure people eat is very important, yes. But what would a world without music be like? Music connects people, it feeds the soul, it breeds creativity and intellectual curiosity. If nothing else, it gives people a break from the stress of their lives—even if that stress is trying to figure out where their next meal is coming from. It renews our strength and determination. All the perks of being a rock star are just extras—fun extras, but still extras. But I’d still make music, even if I wasn’t a rock star.”

  He held her gaze for a moment, that bit of honesty floating between them. She had to admit, he’d impressed her with his conviction. She’d assumed him to be nothing more than a shallow celebrity. Discovering he had some depth made it both terrifying and exciting to try to seduce him. Terrifying, because some lightweight celeb wouldn’t be tempting in any way other than physically. It was easy to keep things impersonal if she thought of him as a pretty boytoy she could use for an orgasm or two and then leave behind. Discovering he had a heart and things that were important to him, it became difficult to see him in that light. It also made him a lot more tempting because although she really wanted some good old-fashioned sex, she also couldn’t resist a man with depth.

  Before she lost her nerve, she said, “So, how about dessert?”

  CHAPTER 5

  “What’s for dessert?” Jaxon asked.

  Lily looked up at him from under ginger lashes, a coy smile on her lips, and Jaxon knew what he wanted for dessert—a big helping of Lily.

  A part of him was disappointed she’d come on to him after knowing him only a few hours. It further proved to him what he assumed to be his overall value, at least in the female public eye. Not that he’d done anything to discourage his reputation. He completely deserved it. He shouldn’t be surprised when a beautiful woman threw herself at him. Only now, he regretted it.

  “Well, I guess that depends on what you like,” Lily said.

  His cock twitched. It knew what he liked. Right now it was a feisty little redhead with perky tits.

  “Look, Lily,” he said. Putting a mental lid on his libido, he stood and headed for the sink to clear his plate. But when he turned to complete his thought, she stood right behind him. An earthy floral scent drifted from her heated skin.

  “Hm?” she said, leaning into him and running a finger down his chest.

  Placing his hands on her shoulders, he moved her back a step. He had no idea what had come over her. They’d been having a nice conversation, then suddenly she’d become a predator. A sexy little vixen, but in an awkward trying-too-hard kind of way.

  “Look, Lily,” he started again. “I’m, um, flattered by your attention, but…” Something in the back of his head couldn’t believe he’d turn a woman away. He’d never done it before. The thing in his head was aghast. It tried to argue. But he shut it down.

  “Oh my God.” She interrupted him, covering her face with her hands. “I’ll just go crawl in a hole and die now. Excuse me.”

  She took a couple of steps toward the kitchen exit, but he grabbed her elbow before she could leave and held her in place.

  “What’s this all about?” He asked.

  “You’re going to make my embarrassment worse by asking that?” She looked up at him, her hazel eyes round and scared like a rabbit. He raised his eyebrows in a silent question. “Fine. I guess I deserve it,” she said. She took a deep breath and squared her shoulders, then looked him in the eye. “I recently broke up a relationship. My friend Summer—you met her earlier—told me I date boring, stuffy men and that I should have a fling with someone sexy because I deserve it. When you showed up, she might have suggested you were a good candidate. And now I feel like a complete idiot, so I’m going to go hide in my room forever.”

  “Oh no you don’t,” Jaxon said. It intrigued him that this fascinating woman had a history of choosing boring men, and that she’d consider him for a fling on the wild side. It stroked his ego which only underscored how shallow he’d become. The realization gave him pause. “Why didn’t you just tell me?”

  She rolled her eyes at him, which made him laugh.

  “How would that conversation go, exactly?” she asked. “Hi Jaxon, nice to meet you. I just left a boring man who didn’t care if I ever had an orgasm, would you be willing to give me one?”

  They both froze. She looked like a deer in the headlights, but Jaxon tried to absorb what she’d said.

  “Are you telling me you’ve never had an orgasm?”

  “That really wasn’t the point.”

  “Well that’s what I got out of it.”

  She pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. “If you must know, I’ve never had an orgasm during sex. Now, can we please end this humiliating conversation?”

  “But you’ve had sex, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “Like, with multiple guys?”

  “Not at the same time.”

  He chuckled. “That’s not what I meant.”

  “Yes, I’ve had more than one partner in my lifetime.”

  “And none of them cared enough about you to be sure you were satisfied?”

  She cocked her head and her expression said she hadn’t even thought about it like that. “I guess not.”

  “Well, then,” Jaxon said. “It’s about damn time.”

  He scooped her off her feet and flung her over his shoulder as he headed out of the kitchen. What kind of man pounded away on a woman until he was done but didn’t have the courtesy to make sure she came? Jesus. Where had she found these douchebags?

  “Jaxon!” she squealed. She wriggled in his grasp, kicking and beating on his back—though without a lot of conviction. It made him dizzy with wanting her.

  “Hmm?”r />
  “What are you doing?” she asked.

  “A favor.” He located the stairs and started climbing. “If you don’t stop squirming, I may have to spank you.” He’d meant it as a tease, but the instant he said it, desire to do it shot straight to his balls. What sounds would she make if he spanked her? Would she squeal some more? Would she be indignant?

  She stopped wiggling. “You wouldn’t,” she whispered.

  “I would.”

  He’d reached the top of the stairs, but walking with a huge boner squeezed into his jeans wasn’t an easy thing. For a moment, as he hurried down the hall, his guilty conscience attempted to remind him of his oath of abstinence. But he didn’t do this for himself. This was a public service. A necessary, long overdue service.

  It took a couple of false starts, but he finally found his room and once inside, he tossed her off his shoulder onto the bed. She grunted a surprised little oof sound, and the skirt of her dress flipped up over her belly leaving her panties and thighs exposed. Her eyes were wide and round as she tried to push her dress back down.

  “Nuh uh,” he said.

  “I’m not so sure this is a great idea.”

  He gave her his best rock star smile, then doubled down and pulled off his t-shirt. By the way she swallowed hard and her eyes roamed his torso and painfully tight erection, he figured she’d changed her mind.

  He unbuckled his belt and opened his jeans, just to give his cock some space, then crawled over the top of her.

  “This is a very good idea,” he said.

  She nodded, then whispered. “Yes.”

  Her tongue flicked out to wet her bottom lip, and he had to taste her. He leaned down to lick the same lip, then traced the rest of her mouth with his tongue before kissing her. She tilted her head up to meet his kiss, making a needy little whimpering sound when their lips met.

  He kissed her thoroughly before moving to kiss her neck and like a flower opening for the sun, she dropped her head to the side opening her neck to him. He kissed under her ear, over her thundering artery, nibbled her collar bone—which caused her to shiver—then kissed her chest finally getting to the place he’d wanted to be from the start of the evening.

  Taking the string that tied the neckline of her dress in his teeth, he glanced up at her face. She watched him, a little bemused. He waggled his brows at her, then pulled on the string very slowly. After the bow came undone, he buried his face in her cleavage, loosening the dress as he did.

  She smelled warm and earthy, and like wildflowers, which comforted him in a way that forced something in the back of his brain to panic. Her scent also turned him the fuck on.

  He opened the top of her dress, revealing a lacy yellow bra he could see right through. It amused him that her underthings matched her dress. She definitely struck him as that compulsive.

  Her pretty pink nipples stood to attention. He licked one through the lace and she sucked in a hissing breath. When he flicked the other one with his tongue, she let the breath out on a long moan. His cock jerked against his zipper. It wanted out.

  Leaning back on his heels, he took a moment to appreciate her disheveled beauty. Copper hair in disarray, lids heavy with desire, puffy-kissed lips, her dress open at the top and pushed up from the bottom. She was stunning.

  He rested his hands on her ankles and slowly slid his fingers up the outsides of her legs. Shiver bumps dotted her skin as he continued up over the swell of her hips, the indent of her waist, her ribs, and up over her arms pushing the dress as he went. She raised her arms over her head, allowing him to remove the dress so she lay before him in just her bra and panties—both yellow lace.

  “Turn,” he said.

  She shifted to her side and he undid the bra, slipping it off her shoulder as he pushed her onto her back again, then removing it completely, leaving her lovely breasts bared to him. His balls felt full and heavy just looking at her.

  “Shouldn’t we turn off the lights?” she asked, moving to cross her arms over her chest.

  He stopped her. “Are you kidding? I want to see every inch of you. And I want to watch your face when I make you come for the first time.”

  “I’ve come before.”

  “Only by yourself, right?”

  A dainty blush stained her cheeks. “Yes.”

  “Well, then. I’ll get to be the first to see your face when you come.”

  Something possessive in his gut staked a claim at being the first. The word mine might have flit through his mind, but he did a mental pfft and dismissed it.

  He hooked his thumbs into her panties and worked them down slowly, watching her face as he did. She held his gaze, but bit her lip. Her flush deepened when he flung the panties over his shoulder and finally allowed himself to glance down at her pussy before she demurely closed her legs.

  Ginger, pink, and wet for him. Holy. Shit. So beautiful. And not just her pussy, but all of her slender, willing, shy body laid out for him, and her big, round trusting eyes watching his every move.

  He suddenly felt both the weight of responsibility to give her a spine-tingling orgasm, but also to be the kind of man who didn’t dismiss her as unimportant or treat her like something to be used and tossed aside. He’d been guilty enough of that kind of behavior in the past, though to be fair the women who’d shared his bed had wanted to be there for their own reasons—bragging rights, mostly—so there had always been mutual understanding, and he made sure every woman he had sex with had walked away satisfied. That was just common courtesy—something he’d learned from older brothers when he started to be sexually active.

  “Um,” she said, glancing down at his groin then back up. “Your pants look a little tight.”

  He chuckled. “They are. You think I should take them off?”

  A timid smile formed at the corners of her mouth. “Yes, please.”

  Jesus. He about came just from adorable overload. He’d never experienced anything like her bashful sexiness. Out on the road, women threw themselves at him like starving jackals. He’d had no experience with someone like Lily who knew who he was, but still treated him like a normal person. She didn’t care if he was a rock god, or a mailman. She’d look at him the same either way.

  Backing off the bed, he stood in front of her and pulled out his wallet. He fished for a condom and waved it suggestively at her, waggling an eyebrow as he did. After tossing it on the bed beside her, he shoved his jeans and boxers off. They slid down his legs and he kicked them away. Lily leaned up on her elbows and watched the whole procedure, and when his cock sprang out hard as a rock and at full attention she gasped and her eyes went wide. He tried really hard not to chuckle at her response. It did a lot for his ego even knowing she couldn’t have seen a lot of cocks in her time, so probably didn’t have a lot of experience in the way of comparison. He imagined the few boring boyfriends she’d had sex with had done it in the dark and partially clothed, so she’d never really had a chance to explore male anatomy. Still, her look of awe puffed his chest with pride.

  He took a step toward the bed.

  Her gaze shot up to meet his, anticipation in her eyes. “Can I touch it?”

  “Please, do.”

  She sat up onto her knees and leaned forward, reaching out a tentative hand to trace a finger up the veins on the underside. It stood straight up again against his belly, presenting itself proudly to her. Her light touch caused it to twitch.

  “I feel your pulse in it.”

  “Mm-hmm.” He had no words. Maybe it hadn’t been a good idea to invite her to touch. He held onto his control, but not without difficulty. When she swirled her finger around the head, he closed his eyes and groaned.

  His eyes sprang open, though, at the hot wetness of her tongue on the end of it. “What are you doing?”

  “I wanted to taste you.”

  “Fuck, Lily. If you do that I’ll lose it right now and ruin the whole thing.”

  Her lips turn down into a little pout, and a crease formed between her brows. �
�Sorry. I just want to explore.”

  “Later. This is all about you.”

  He took her hand in his and kissed the pads of each finger in turn, then lowered her to her back.

  Starting again with her lips, he kissed her until she sighed, then worked down her neck and chest to her breasts. Those, he worshiped with his fingers and tongue until she moaned and writhed beneath him. Finally, he reached down to touch her and her legs fell open for him without so much as a nudge. His fingers found her nicely swollen and wet.

  “Jaxon,” she said, her voice a breathy plea as she thrust her hips up into his hand.

  God, she was the most beautiful, uninhibited thing he’d ever seen, lost in the joy of the moment. His cock ached to be inside her.

  “Ready?” he asked, and leaned down to kiss her forehead.

  “Yes. I think…” she whispered, her hips wiggling, seeking. “I think I feel it.”

  Shit. He grabbed the condom, tore the package open with his teeth, and rolled that fucker on faster than he ever had before.

  “Hang on sweetheart. I want to enjoy this from the inside.”

  He climbed on top of her, suspending himself above her and nudging his tip to her opening. She whined a needy sound and thrust upward just as he thrust down inside her. She gasped and it ended on a low growl that made him twitch inside her. Damn.

  His rhythm started slow, but he picked up pace quickly as her moans and writhing accelerated. He leaned down and flicked each nipple with his tongue and she made a keening sound just as the very first tremble of her orgasm took hold of him.

  He watched her face as she came, thrusting harder as she did. She threw her head back, squeezed her eyes shut, grabbed handfuls of bedding, wrapped her legs tight around his ass to hold him in place—triggering his own orgasm deep in his balls—and cried out the most glorious orgasmic wail he’d ever heard. He came hard as her muscles clutched at him from the inside.

  Once she’d spent herself, she relaxed and beamed at him. “Wow,” she said, her voice both reverent and filled with joy.

  Jaxon couldn’t have been more proud. “Damn right, wow.”