MrBigStuff-epub (11 page)

Jefferson was leaning on his elbow watching her sleep. He’d been doing it for the better part of an hour, telling himself it was because he’d never seen a woman sleep so peacefully before. Most women
wanted
men to think they slept like this. That they slumbered in sweet repose, waiting to be kissed, then woke up to perfect hair and sparkling eyes with their makeup on and smudge free.

They never did, and that was okay with him. It was comforting to see a sexy vixen hog the covers or hear a quiet woman snore. God knew no one was perfect. He chuckled silently. In sleep, at least, Caroline Aaron seemed to be the exception. She was an unconscious princess from some damn fairytale. There might as well be butterflies and birds fluttering over her head.

It was fucking adorable.

He had it bad. He knew it. He’d been halfway gone from the day his sister had brought her home. Every minute he spent with her only made it worse. He was also kicking himself five ways from Sunday because he’d lost control. Twice. That last time… When she’d passed out his heart nearly stopped. He couldn’t stop thinking he’d hurt her. He’d gotten the rope off, rubbed her arms and picked her up to get her into the shower before she’d opened her eyes.

She liked it.

She’d told him as much, and the way she responded to the things they’d done together seemed to verify her words. Caroline liked to play rough. She loved it.

God knew he did as well. Seeing her bound like that, seeing the marks on her body and the ecstatic expression on her face gave him more pleasure than any sex he could recall. Unless it was sex with her. Just the memory of that made him want to wake her up for another round.

She’d fainted. He needed to let her rest. He needed to close his damn eyes and join her, but his mind wouldn’t shut down.

He thought about her aunt. She’d told him, he knew, to let him know she understood what it was like to lose someone. To let him know he could talk to her about his mother.

He grimaced. She never wanted him to call her that—her name was Jennifer.

It was obvious life had been hard on Jennifer Estevez-Adams, but she was still pretty. She still looked like the woman he’d known when he was a child. When he’d seen her at his front door he’d been so damn happy he nearly embarrassed himself. She’d smiled and hugged him and it was as if she never left.

She didn’t share every detail of her life since she’d left her family in La Grange, but she told him enough. She wanted to change, she said. She wanted a second chance to be their mother and when she asked for his help, he hadn’t hesitated.

Matt Adams had let her go, hadn’t fought for her. Instead he’d spent the rest of his life drinking himself to sleep and showing more affection to Loco the truck than his children. But Jefferson wasn’t a quitter. He didn’t fall. He didn’t fail. And he wouldn’t give up on her.

He hadn’t told Trudy that Jennifer was staying with him while she cleaned up her act, even though they talked on a regular basis. He hated himself for that, but Jennifer had begged him not to. She’d told him the next time she saw her daughter she wanted to be ready. He’d been careful to protect her from the photographers who always seemed to show up when he went out. She’d said she didn’t mind, had even told him how excited and proud she was to be his mother, but he knew they would find out who she was. What she’d done. Instead of allowing that to happen, he’d told her the media attention was for the show and it would only be for a few months.

When he wasn’t scheduled to make an appearance with whatever date the producers hung on his arm for the night, he’d been with her. Jennifer made him the spicy enchiladas he used to love and the pecan pralines he’d always steal from the kitchen, and they’d popped popcorn and watched old movies.

They’d talked about the good memories when Trudy was a baby and Jefferson was Jennifer’s favorite son. She reminisced about the first time he’d ridden a horse and how she’d known, even then, that he was meant for big things. They talked about Trudy’s wedding, and Jennifer had cried, hoping she could be there to see her baby girl find happiness.

For a few months Jefferson had hoped. But then Jennifer got restless. She started wondering if he was ashamed of her now that he was “a big star”. She’d been in movies too, she’d told him. People said she was beautiful. He knew what kind of movies she was referring to. He couldn’t seem to make her understand that he was doing it for her.

Then one day he’d come home and one of his neighbors was standing in their yard waiting for him. He said a van had pulled up and a few unsavory looking men had come and taken some furniture and a woman with them.

He’d almost called the police, thinking the worst. Or what he thought was the worst. He would have if she hadn’t left a note. She’d taken a few of his credit cards, his father’s watch and for some reason, the dining room set that he was now going to have to replace. She said it was the least he owed her after forcing her to put up with being a veritable prisoner in his house for so long.

I thought you’d be smart enough to listen to me and take the movie, but you’re just like your father. You want to control me and force me to be something I’m not. You’ll go home to that backwards town and make barbecue sauce and I will be the mother of nobody special. I won’t go back to being no one. I deserve more.

He should have called Trudy. He should never have let Jennifer in. He’d spent a few days studying whiskey bottles and trying to forget what a sucker he’d been, suddenly seeing his father in a whole new light. Matt Adams wasn’t perfect, but it wasn’t his fault that his wife had left. She was always going to leave. In hindsight that was easy to spot. No amount of love or attention could change who a person was at their core.

Jefferson might have lost himself to self-pity, but then Caroline jumped into his pool and saved him. Had it only been yesterday that she’d come back into his life? That she’d wrapped his wound and healed his hurt and let him find a kind of pleasure in her arms he never knew existed?

She was the one who deserved more.

He shook off his morbid thoughts when he saw her lips twitch. She frowned, shifted in the bed and started speaking with her eyes still closed. “You don’t think it’s a little creepy watching somebody while they sleep?”

Jefferson smiled. “You wish I was watching you.”

She chuckled, her lashes fluttering open sleepily. “How long have I been asleep?”

“About an hour.”

She frowned again. “I’m sorry. I was dreaming about us.”

“Really? What were we doing?”

“We were in a scary forest of glowing violet wands and vicious rope vines, searching for a way out. I saw a light so we ran toward it. There was a door. It was a cold door, almost frozen. When you opened it, I knew we were safe and that everything was going to be okay.”

“Why?”

“Cheesecake.”

He snorted, studying her playful expression. “You want cheesecake don’t you?”

“Mmm-hmm.” She pulled the covers up to hide her smile. “It’s in the refrigerator. I’d get up but I’m frail and weak and I might faint and nap again.” She winked. “If you go get it I’ll share it with you.”

“How can I resist an offer like that?” He leaned down to kiss her, loving the way she instantly responded.

When he lifted his head her eyes were wide and dark. “Why would you try to resist?” she joked softly. “It’s really good cheesecake.”

As he walked to the kitchen he had the strangest sensation he was about to fall.

Hell.

Chapter Eight

Trudy waited until John took Jefferson outside after dinner before she cornered Caroline. “When were you going to tell me?”

“What?” Caroline took a step back, grabbing a plate and moving toward the sink. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Trudy joined her at the sink to make sure Caroline caught her look of disbelief. “You and Jefferson is what I’m talking about. Showing up as the date of the fan favorite to the live finale while I watched from home is what I’m talking about. Sending me smiling text messages with wedding details but not calling to tell me a single story about the club for two weeks is what I’m talking about.” She stopped short. “Oh my God, has this been going on for that long? Don’t you think that’s mandatory best friend information?”

Caroline shrugged, unable to stop her cheeks from heating. “I believe there’s an exception if said best friend is the sister of the man you’re…” What? Submitting to? Having wild, dirty marathon sex sessions with? Dating? Falling for? “Seeing,” she finished weakly.

“You might have a point,” Trudy conceded, sucking in her lower lip. “I mean, it would be weird and twisted if I wanted details since my brother is involved, wouldn’t it?”

They both stared at each other in silence for less than a minute before Trudy grabbed her arm playfully. “I want details, damn it! Just skip the X-rated parts so I don’t need therapy.”

That made Caroline laugh. “If I skip those, we might not have anything to talk about.”

“Oh God.” Trudy let her go to bury her face in her hands, then peeked through her fingers. “Therapy it is. Spill it. It
is
your turn.”

“I’m not sure where to start.” She went to pour herself a cup of coffee, stalling for time.

“Well you don’t have to go all the way back to the cowboy hat and heels caper. Been there. Accidentally saw that.”

“Thanks for the reminder.” She really didn’t know where to begin. The last two weeks had been intense. She and Jefferson had hardly left each other’s side for more than a few hours at a time. Both seemed to feel possessive over what they’d found with each other, unwilling to take a single moment for granted. Or leave a sexual whim unfulfilled. But it was more than sex now. At least, it was for her.

He’d come with her to her father’s house several times, much to David Aaron’s delight, and listened for hours to the stories her dad told about his life behind the scenes. He’d even done some chores for Sylvie and helped her father finish his wedding present for Trudy.

She shivered and cupped her hands around the warm mug. He’d come with her to the club where she’d met his sister all those years ago, not to play but to watch. He’d only had one condition, that her partners were women. Since they were more often than not, Caroline readily agreed.

Her two talented friends, Dawn and Casey, had chained her to a Saint Andrew’s Cross and gone to great lengths to get her attention, but the man watching her being touched and tickled and whipped from the shadows was the only one she could see.

After the scene he’d held her in his lap on one of the corner couches, comforting and caressing her as people she’d known for years came by to greet them. Many knew Trudy too and were invited to her wedding in La Grange. When they realized who Jefferson was, they’d sent Caroline wicked smiles and made a few comments that made her feel like a deviant friend…and a little bit of a cougar.

It had bothered her more than she wanted to admit until Jefferson had walked her to the car later that night. He’d thrown her in the backseat and given her five brain-boggling orgasms before he was willing to start the car. By the time he was done, all her doubts were forgotten.

When he had to rehearse for the finale, she would work, and late at night, when they were both too exhausted to move, they’d lie in bed together and talk. Those were some of her favorite times.

“Why do I feel like you’re having the best part of this conversation with yourself?” Trudy’s voice interrupted her memories. “Is it serious? Is he going back to California with you after the wedding?”

She turned to look into her friend’s worried expression. “Yes…and I don’t know. We haven’t talked about it. It’s only been two weeks.”

Two of the best weeks of her life.

Trudy reached out to take her hand. “Well, hell, hon. I fell for John in less time than that.”

“Two weeks and more than a decade,” Caroline corrected, desperately wanting to change the subject. The last thing she needed to be reminded of was the two-week deal John and Trudy had made. The one that had led to their wedding. “Jefferson and I never had any time limits and we didn’t have a long history of pining and yearning. That is what they say down here, isn’t it?” She forced a laugh. “There’s no comparison. We shouldn’t be talking about me anyway. I’m just the maid of honor. The legendary wedding of Trouble and the Big Bad is less than a week away.”

Trudy shook her head, dismissing her words. “Yes, yes. I’ll be bursting out of my wedding dress, I feel like I’m going to be sick every five minutes and I cry every ten. We can talk about that later. I won’t be distracted.”

Caroline frowned. Her enviable breasts
were
looking more enviable than usual, but sick and crying? “Are you having second thoughts? Do I need to smuggle you back to California in my suitcase? Just say the word and it’s done.”

Trudy started to laugh but it instantly turned into a sob. “No! I want this wedding. I’ve never been so happy in my life, damn it. I was just waiting until the wedding night to tell John I was pregnant. I wasn’t going to tell you unless you told me about you and Jefferson, but I have to tell someone.”

Everything made sense now. Caroline glanced out the window to make sure the men were still sitting by the pond outside, then she took Trudy out of the kitchen and headed for her bedroom. “Girl-talk time.”

They curled up together on the bed and whispered their secrets. Trudy had just found out a few days ago, and she’d wanted to call Caroline right away but she was still in shock. “I’m not even sure how to bring it up to him. All these people descending for the wedding, and since the show the demand for Troublemaker has been insane—we’ve even had to hire a few new people. Diego was
not
happy about that. Not to mention the new house he’s determined to build. John has a lot on his plate.”

“Are you kidding me?” Caroline chided. “You told me yourself he started making plans for the new place as soon as you mentioned children. I predict Big Bad bliss. How can you doubt it?”