Wilde Forever (Wilde Women Book 1) (29 page)

Admitting she was wildly attracted to Jax had been the easy part. It was the whole, ‘what happens in six weeks and am I grown-up enough to handle a relationship’ that was wrecking her brain.

Jax was washing up and putting Brynn’s house back in order after a long morning of heavy work on the bathroom project. She was going to be surprised at how far along he was when she got home. The once tiny powder room and sewing nook had been blown out to create one pretty large space that he’d framed out and drywalled in short order. He had a bunch of tile samples for her to look at and an idea for the corner shower he wanted to discuss, but other than that, it was a fairly straightforward remodel.

Checking his watch every five minutes, he was anxious for time to speed up so he could get to the part of the day he was looking forward to the most; when Brynn stepped off the train and he could see for himself that she was in one piece after her sibling bacchanal in the city. She’d surprised the holy fuck out of him with her drunk texting Saturday night.

On the one hand he was thrilled and seriously pleased that she’d so obviously been thinking about him while they were apart. What didn’t make him all that happy though was knowing she and Rhiann had gone off on their foolish own, drinking God knows what, who knew where, in a city that was hardly a safe place for two ladies without a strong male back-up to keep any potential fuckery at bay.

The distinct sound of a vehicle pulling into the driveway interrupted his thoughts. Sounded like one of those growling penis-envy sports cars that invariably ended up being driven by some pretentious piece of shit who’d check himself in the mirror before exiting the car.

Fuck
. When had he turned into such a judgmental, cynical motherfucker?
Oh yeah, right.
That would be when he volunteered to leave his comfortable, privileged life behind and get his ass routinely shot at in a bloody fucking war that most people forgot was being fought in their name.

Heading for the front door, he swung it open and stepped out onto the porch as the candy apple red sports car with the tinted windows and shiny wheel covers came to a halt. Just as he’d imagined, when the driver door opened and the car’s occupant emerged, he was every inch the fucking poster boy for ‘Pretentious Asshole Weekly’.

“Oh, fantastic,” Jax muttered.
This oughta be rich.

He had to bite back a laugh when the pompous little fucker masquerading as a hipster hid behind a pair of dark sunglasses dressed in skinny pants and a goddamn skintight sweater with a stupid fucking scarf around his neck who was sporting a frickin’ goatee approached.

“Can I help you?” Jax barked. He made sure to use a tone that suggested this asshole, whoever he was, state his business before he became target practice.

The guy never so much as slowed his roll, just continued prancing forward like he owned the fucking place. Climbing the porch stairs he removed the sunglasses at the last moment and tried to intimidate Jax with a know-it-all sneer.
As if
, he thought.

“Where’s Brynn,” the tight-assed prancing fucker asked.

“Depends on who the fuck is asking,” Jax bit out, glaring at the stranger with a black look.

“None of your goddamn business,” came the ill-mannered reply.

It was a macho pissing contest at its most absurd. Jax was less than thrilled.

“Well, since I’m standing here with a key and you’re doing the asking, I’d say it’s plenty of my business.” This preening asshole, whoever he was, had instantly rubbed Jax the wrong way.

“
Pfft
.” The scarf-wearing stranger eyed him with clear disdain. “I’m here to see Brynn on family business.”

Jax raised an eyebrow but otherwise didn’t move a muscle, effectively blocking the obnoxious jerk face challenging him from making any further progress toward the front door. “Is that so?”

Next thing he knew, the passenger door opened on the ridiculous penis-car and another fucktard emerged, only this one looked like he’d just stepped out of a J. Crew catalog, right down to the laughable sweater tied oh-so-perfectly around his neck.
Who the fuck dressed like that in real life,
he wondered.

“Is there a problem Seth?” the guy challenged as he also made his way onto the porch. “Who the hell are you?” he asked Jax.

“Okay,” Jax sneered, “for those of us just getting in on the conversation, I would be a friend of Brynn’s asking who the fuck
you two
are and the only one here with a key to the house.”

“A friend of Brynn’s you say?” the second stranger gritted out as he imperiously checked Jax out from head to toe.

Delivering a snarling glare, Jax growled, “Like what you see, boys?” The insinuation that the two men played for the home team hung heavily in the air.

Sweater Man clearly didn’t like the implication being thrown in his face but that didn’t stop him from extending a hand. “This is Seth Colton. He’s Brynn’s cousin,” the dickwad said with a nod at goatee boy.

Jax didn’t accept the outstretched hand—just stood his ground and put off a menacing vibe that neither would be able to miss. “And you are?”

Delivering a perfectly unctuous toothy smile he smoothly replied, “I’m Roger Ellis.” When Jax didn’t react to his name he added, “Brynn’s husband.”

Oh Jesus fucking Christ.
Not what Jax expected to hear at all.

“You mean, ex-husband don’t you? The anal prober?” He thoroughly enjoyed the look of discomfort and shock on the guy’s face. He recovered quickly though.

“Ah, I see Brynn’s been running her bitchy mouth. She always was one for hyperbole. Now I remember why I dumped her snotty ice queen ass.”

Jax stiffened at the man’s offensive words. A line had most definitely been crossed, and he was having none of it. Lowering his voice to a menacing warning he told both men, “Where I come from we don’t talk about our women in such terms.”

Goatee Boy found his testicles and jumped right in. “And where would that be? Where you come from that is. I don’t recall hearing that my cousin was involved with anyone.”

Fixing the prancing queen with a harsh look Jax bit out, “That would be the Old Dominion state of Virginia by way of Baghdad, motherfuckers.”

Yeah, that got their attention. “And as for who Brynn’s involved with, I’m venturing a guess that it’s none of your goddamn business.
Either of you
. Just a reminder,” he taunted as he drew the front door key from his pocket. “Me. The badass with the key. You. Asking stupid-ass questions that anyone who knew Brynn would have the answers for.”

Jax knew he was stretching a bit with that comment because for all he knew, Brynn was in regular touch with one or both of these guys, but he didn’t give a shit. Best they both understand from the get-go that he was very much in the picture and that he didn’t like either of them one little bit. He’d deal with the fallout, if there were any, later.

Goatee Boy and Sweater Man exchanged a tense look but wisely backed away before Jax gave them a reason to run. Quickly scurrying off the porch with their questionable tails between their undoubtedly waxed legs, one of them, he didn’t note who, hastily said, “Tell Brynn we were here.” And with that they climbed in their ridiculously ostentatious ride and made fast tracks away from Wilde House.

T
HERE WAS NOTHING LIKE HAVING all the saliva in your mouth harvested by a voracious tongue that swooped in and stopped at nothing practically the second her feet hit the floor in the train terminal.

“Mmmmm, just as delicious as I remember,” Jax murmured when he finally released her. “You look tired,” he added as he took the overnight bag from her hand and placed a hand on her arm to guide her through the throng of afternoon commuters.

Brynn had to smile. He had a way of getting right to the heart of things that appealed to her. Not a lot of bullshit chatter.

“I am kind of beat,” she told him while scurrying along at his side, dodging the occasional inconsiderate asshole plowing through the crowd like battering rams on feet. “New York, y’know? Has a way of sucking the life right out of a person. Too many people and they all seem to be in a hurry. It’s exhausting.”

“Well, you’re home now,” he chided with a friendly nudge. “C’mon lady. Let’s get you out of here. I think you’ve earned a foot massage and perfect cup of tea.”

He hoisted her into the cab of his F150 so she didn’t have to fuss with the dress she’d worn. It was as if he knew without her saying anything that a definite panty-flashing wardrobe malfunction was inevitable should she try to navigate the running board on his big truck. Amusement flashed on Brynn’s face when he reached across her lap and buckled the seatbelt. She could get used to being taken care of this way.

It took a few minutes to get clear of the traffic surrounding the train station and on the road heading home. In the close confines of the truck, she was drowning in sensory input, especially the scent of the man with the big hands gripping the steering wheel. He smelled like…h
mmm
. What the hell was that smell? Soap and water for sure but also something tangy like cinnamon with a good dose of manliness. When she spied the pack of Big Red in the cup holder, the cinnamon scent made sense. No wonder he liked her sticky buns so much. The distinctive spice that she imported for the recipe was a big part of their appeal.

“How’d the meeting go, babe?” he inquired.

She no longer cringed at the casual endearment. Maybe because it seemed so natural coming out of his mouth. She could tell he liked calling her by the simple pet names that were a big part of her thawing response to such things. She’d never been anyone’s baby much less, love. Made her feel all tingly inside.

“It was interesting, that’s for sure,” she told him matter-of-factly. “But I had to take a pass. Just wasn’t my cup of tea. And besides, got enough on my plate as it is.”

He nodded at her comment but didn’t say anything else for a good two minutes. She wondered what he was thinking.

“How about Rhiann? She doing okay? It’s cool that she’s so close and you get to spend time with her.”

Brynn scoffed with a gigglesnort. “Yeah, right! No one can lead me down the path to perdition faster than Rhi can.” She thought for a moment then asked, “You have a brother, right? Where’s he? And now that I’m thinking about it, do you have somewhere you consider home base?”

He chuckled. “Know all too well about Perdition Road. I swear my brother Caleb fucking lives there. He’s in Europe at the moment. Think race cars, Formula One stuff. Long story, that one. Miss him like a fucking toothache. As for home base—don’t really have one. Because I travel so much for business, it’s been mostly short term rentals or my parents’ house in Virginia. I’m looking at a property in Maryland on the Chesapeake that I’d like to build a house on. Kind of like being near the water even if only for vacations.”

Brynn instantly regretted asking the question. Hearing the reminder that he traveled for business made her uneasy. It wasn’t exactly calming to think that when he was finished at Wilde House he’d been hitting the road to God knows where for his next project. She admired his work ethic and the way he talked about what he did in Zen terms but she couldn’t help but squirm, thinking about the complications such a life would bring to a relationship.

It felt comforting and reassuring to be home
, she thought the second Wilde House came into view. Having a home base meant everything to Brynn although along with that relaxing thought was a cascade of anxieties when she remembered the predicament she was facing with her grandmother’s iron fisted grip on the property.

“I went shopping while you were gone. How do you feel about some rotisserie chicken and a big salad for dinner?”

They walked up the porch steps together, but it was Jax who got to the door first and unlocked it, holding it wide for her to enter.

Brynn couldn’t help the little teasing dig she threw at him as she passed by. “What happened to the foot massage,” she pouted. A yelp of surprise burst out of her when he gave her ass a good swat.

“One foot massage and as promised a cup of tea, coming right up. But first, go check out your new bathroom and let me know what you think.” Hoisting her bag up he said, “I’ll run this upstairs while you look around.”