Authors: Vanessa Devereaux
Chapter Five
Brady’s
thighs still ached. Abby had given him quite the workout. She had an energy
he’d never seen in a shifter before. He knew she was hinting to be his date for
Ash and Chloe’s upcoming wedding. She had, after all, been his guest at Liam
and Lucy’s, but he was keeping his options open. He looked at the invitation
that sat on his desk at his home. He’d sent an RSVP for two. He’d like to ask
Jenna, but she might get the wrong idea. Might get it into her head, as all
females did, that they were dating. Brady hadn’t done that for a long time. Not
since he’d gotten his heart broken, trampled on, and destroyed. And after six
months of feeling sorry for himself, he’d decided it hadn’t been such a bad
thing to happen.
In his misery and
inability to sleep, he’d worked harder, and been more focused than ever before.
He’d been more successful, too, and yes, earned himself a fortune in the
process.
Seeing
the numbers on his bank account increase daily had made him realize having a
woman in his life had actually held him back. Since then, he’d never really
dated again. He had sex often, because what shifter could go without that?
However, he’d always made it clear to whoever he fucked that it was a pleasure-only
pursuit. If he ever felt they were starting to get the gooey feeling of romance
or even broody when their mating cycle grew closer, he said goodbye to them.
Brady
brushed his hair back. Jenna’s place was about a thirty minute drive, so he had
to get a move on. He put his coat on and pulled on his gloves. She’d been right
about the weather forecast. A wind had picked up late afternoon, dropping the
temperature by a good twenty degrees. He walked through the kitchen and out
into the garage. As he opened the door, a swirl of snow made its way inside.
If
he was any judge, it was going to be a frigid night. Something warm to drink
and a hot female in his bed were what he needed. He got in the car and backed
out. He closed the garage door and turned on the CD player.
Snow
fell in front of the highlights. Luckily for him, he had four wheel drive
because he’d chosen to live out of town and up in the northern mountain area.
Glacier National Park wasn’t far away and neither were the condo and houses
Walsh Enterprises was building. Well, they were until the officials stepped in
and halted work. The area in question was now to his left. It was going to be
beautiful. Ash and Chloe didn’t know that he was gifting them one of the houses.
Not a condo like Ash had placed a deposit on, but a house and yard where Sophie
would be able to play. His spirit child. It was an honor for a shifter to be
chosen as Spirit Guardian. He’d never been asked before, and he’d accepted
without hesitation. Ash and Chloe would be able to take good care of Sophie,
but nevertheless, Brady was going to see that she never wanted for anything.
Both Ash and Chloe had agreed that Sophie
should be raised as a shifter, and not a human, and that made him more than
happy. He’d fallen for the little girl the first time he’d seen her at the
Starlight Café. His ringing phone had woken her and made her cry.
He
turned onto the main road and decided to call Jenna to let her know he should
be with her in about ten minutes.
“Call
Jenna Paxton,” he said, pressing the button on his steering wheel.
“Hi
Brady Walsh,” she said.
Sometimes
he hated caller ID. There were no more surprises left in the world.
“Just
to let you know, I’m just approaching Kalispell and will be with you in eight
minutes.”
“Eight
minutes. Not five or ten, but eight,” she said.
He
smiled. He received a lot of sarcasm about his perfectionism.
“It’s
five minutes now, and I suppose I could keep talking until I get to your door.”
“No,
you can’t. I have to finish putting my make-up on. I’m not as punctual as you
are and I’m running late.”
“I’ll
let you go then. I hope you’re wearing the garter belt and stockings.”
“Guess
you’ll have to wait and see.”
Brady
pressed the button to end the call. He was suddenly hard just mentioning those
items of clothing. Were they clothing or underwear? Either way, his pulse raced
and blood rushed to his dick.
****
Jenna
didn’t really want to get out of Brady’s car. It was warm and the leather seats
were heated. He’d turned them on before she’d even gotten in.
The music had been dreamy. His aftershave
clung to the air. However, they had a party to go to and hopefully inside the
venue would be just as warm and snuggly as the vehicle.
Brady
opened the door for her. She exited, regretting that she’d done exactly what
he’d asked and gone ahead and worn the garter belt and stockings. A cold draft
traveled up underneath her dress. She hoped the pay-off would be good. Sex with
Brady had been off the charts and she wanted some more. Hopefully she’d be
rewarded at some point tonight.
She’d
never been to The Lodge before. It was a beautiful setting with the snow
falling and the exterior lights twinkling.
In the spring and summer it was probably even more spectacular with the
lake close by. Perfect for an outdoor wedding. If one was thinking of that sort
of thing.
Brady
put his hand on the small of her back and guided her toward the front entrance.
He opened the door back and lots of people were already inside milling about talking
and drinking.
“Guess
you don’t know anyone besides Ash and Chloe,” said Brady.
“No,
but they must have lots of friends and family,” said Jenna. She’d never seen so
many people packed into a place.
“Yes,
we’re a large community.”
“Community.”
“Well,
that’s how we like to think of ourselves,” he added. “We’re very close knit and
look after one another. Come on, let’s get some drinks and I’ll start
introducing you.”
Jenna
saw Ash and then spotted Chloe holding Sophie who was dressed in a pink dress
with matching leggings.
Ash
waved and took Chloe’s arm as they headed their way.
“Look
at how Sophie’s grown,” said Jenna.
“Oh
yeah, she’s growing by leaps and bounds,” said Chloe.
Brady
tickled her under the chin which made the baby girl giggle.
“Is
someone getting a tooth?” asked Brady.
“Yep,
first one and she lets us know about it,” said Ash.
“I’m
so happy that she’s finally yours,” said Jenna.
“We
couldn’t have done it without you,” said Chloe.
“Just
doing my job.”
“Well,
we better go mingle, but we’ll definitely catch up with you again later,” said
Ash.
Brady
waved to a few people and then a couple with a little girl stood next to them
while they were waiting for their drinks.
“Jenna
Paxton, this is Christopher and Lilly Renner, and their daughter Kaitlin.”
“I’m
pleased to meet you,” said Jenna first shaking Christopher hand and then Lilly’s
“Daddy,
let’s go and get ice cream,” said Kaitlin, pulling on her father’s arm.
“Sweet
tooth calls,” said Christopher, waving goodbye and leaving Lilly on her own.
“When
are you due?” asked Jenna, pointing to her bump.
“Not
until spring,” said Lilly.
“Lilly
has her own cleaning company,” said Brady. “In fact, I’ve given her the
contract for the new condo and townhouses.”
“And
now all I have to do is find more cleaners as I can’t do much myself these
days.”
“If
I hear of anyone needing a job, I’ll be sure to tell them,” said Jenna.
“That
would be great. Brady has my number. And I suppose I should go and find my
husband and daughter before he lets her eat too much. Nice meeting you, Jenna.”
“You
too.”
“Hi
Brady.”
A
tall dark man approached them. With him was another woman with yet another
bump.
“Jenna
Paxton, this is Nick and Ava.”
“Pleased
to meet you,” said Ava.
“Jenna
is the person to thank for all the work that’s been done on Sophie’s adoption,”
said Brady.
“That’s
great. I think Ash looks very happy with his ready-made family,” said Nick.
“Speaking
of which,” said Brady, pointing to Ava.
Ava
rubbed her bump.
“Is
this your first baby?” asked Jenna.
“No.
Actually I have grown up son from a previous relationship. He’s spending
Christmas with us and he’ll bringing his new girlfriend so I can’t wait to see
them both.”
“Could
we have everyone’s attention please?” said Ash.
Everyone
quieted. “Thank you so much for coming here on this cold and snowy evening to
help us celebrate becoming the official parents of Sophie Ann McWilliams.”
Everyone
cheered and clapped.
Ash
raised his hand. “I want to thank my cousin Bear and his wife Hannah for
agreeing to be her godparents. And to Sophie’s Spirit Guardian, Brady Walsh,
for his more than generous trust fund he’s set up for her. And last but not
least, we owe a huge thank you and our gratitude to Jenna Paxton who not only
got Chloe out of a much of trouble…”
Ash
turned to her and pulled a face and she pulled one back.
“But also for making this whole adoption process go without a hitch. Would you
four come up here and take a bow?”
Brady
put his hand on the small of Jenna’s back as he allowed her to walk ahead of him
up to the front of the room.
Jenna
hugged Chloe, and then Ash. Hannah took Sophie and kissed her.
“Can
we get a photo of all of us together?” said Ash.
“You
want me to snap some shots for you?” asked a man, grabbing the camera.
The six of them moved closer and put their arms
around each other. Despite Ash and Bear being tall, Brady towered above them by
a few inches.
“Thanks
Dane,” said Ash, taking the camera back.
“Once
again, thank you for coming tonight. Load up on food and drink because there’s
plenty of it. The next time we’re all gathered here will be for my wedding to
Chloe on New Year’s Eve,” said Ash.
Jenna
dabbed her eyes. Being the career-oriented woman she was, she never thought of
herself as a romantic, but something about those two young people made her
believe in love and happily ever after.
****
As
he drove home, Brady recalled how he’d noticed the tears in Jenna’s eyes just
after they’d all had their photo taken, after Ash had reminded everyone about
his upcoming nuptials.
The
last thing he needed was to get involved in a woman with romance in her heart
and matrimony on her mind.
Maybe he
should just drop her back home and call it a night. However, he was Brady Walsh,
and when he had desires which needed to be met, he went on instinct while
common sense flew out of the window. Not the best quality for a guy who had a
billion dollar empire, but she was his first human and she fascinated him way
too much to call it an evening. The sides of her coat drifted apart, and even
in the dim light of the car, he could see the outline of the stockings and
garter. He definitely wasn’t dropping her at home now and wasting his gift.
“You
haven’t seen my office, have you?” he asked. They were getting close to it. He
had something in mind. Yes, his fantasy to play out. He guessed she’d enjoy it
too.
“No,
I haven’t.”
“You
want to stop by? I can show you around. I have a well-stocked bar.”
“I
can’t say no to that.”
Brady
indicted left and turned into the parking lot. He pressed a remote control button
on his steering wheel. The garage door opened up underneath the building.
“Wow,
you don’t even have to even get wet and cold like the rest of us,” she said.
“Main
thing is, I don’t have to scrape snow and ice off my car.”
“Yeah,
I hate that, especially first thing in the mornings.”
He
turned off the ignition and flicked a switch from inside the car that powered
the lights to the door that led directly to his office.
“Very
high tech and spoiled, if I might say so,” she said, exiting of the car.
He
was the first to admit he loved his gadgets and toys. One of the perks of
working hard. He opened the door and encouraged her to go ahead of him.
He followed behind and then reached in front
of her to open the next door. He flicked on the light.
“Oh
my, this looks better than my home.”
He
spent a lot of time here and he liked it to feel like a home with the couch and
big screen TV. He even had his own bathroom and shower. And a pull out bed.
He’d only used it once, and that had been last month when he’d been wheeling
and dealing so much he was too damn worn out to drag his ass home.