Fearless
| Fearless | |
| Cheryl Douglas | |
| (2012) | |
| Rating: | ★★★★☆ |
Product Description
Lexi Brooks has overcome adversity to build a successful real estate business that will allow her to live life on her terms. She envisions travel, fun, and excitement, not marriage, kids, and commitment. But will Trey's sexy bodyguard, Josh, throw a wrench into her plans?
Being a cop has taught Josh Cooper to take calculated risks, but he's tired of living with the daily threat of danger. He's ready to settle down with someone who wants to be a step-mother to his two teenage sons. Too bad Lexi isn't that woman. She's sexy, smart, head-strong, and they're totally in sync in the bedroom, but she isn't willing to settle into a life of domestic bliss. Or is she?
Fearless
Book Two in the Nashville Night Series
Cheryl Douglas
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, including photocopying, graphic, electronic, mechanical, taping, recording, sharing, or by any information retrieval system without the express written permission of the author and / or publisher. Exceptions include brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
Persons, places and other entities represented in this book are deemed to be fictitious. They are not intended to represent actual places or entities currently or previously in existence or any person living or dead. This work is the product of the author’s imagination.
Any and all inquiries to the author of this book should be directed to
[email protected]
.
Copyright © 2011 Cheryl Douglas
Dedication
To my son,
who taught me the meaning of
unconditional love.
“I want you, Josh.” Lexi Brooks slipped a hotel key card into his breast pocket and licked her full lips. “We’re both single, consenting adults. Why not have a little fun tonight?”
Josh Cooper had a million reasons why giving into temptation would be a bad idea, but when she looked at him like that, he couldn’t remember a single one. “Lexi, you’re my boss’s sister-in-law. Not to mention the fact that Trey and Sierra are two of my best friends.”
She shrugged her shoulders and pressed her body against his as the band started playing another ballad. “So what’s your point?”
The laughter died in his throat as he watched her toss the mass of golden-blond waves over her shoulders, showing off a strapless gown that stretched to contain her full breasts.
“We’re both in the wedding party. I think it would be in poor taste to leave early, don’t you?”
Her blue eyes danced with amusement. “I’m not worried. Trey’s been waiting for this night for five long years.” She inclined her head toward the couple in question. “Don’t you think he’s dying to get my sister alone?”
She whispered the last words suggestively and the blood pounding through his head rushed south. “You know this is a bad idea, Lexi.”
She flattened her stomach against his arousal and grinned. “Why’s that?”
“It might make things awkward between us.”
She threw her head back and laughed, treating him to a long expanse of bare neck. “I have a feeling it would be anything but awkward, Josh.”
He groaned when she ground her hips against him. “You know what I mean. We’re friends and I don’t wanna mess with that.”
She drew her bottom lip between her teeth. “I’m not worried; are you?”
He knew he should be worried; her proposition was dangerous. He had spent most of his life living on the edge. Maybe one more walk on the wild side wouldn’t hurt. No, thinking like that would interfere with the future he had spent the last several years planning. He had laid a solid foundation, now it was time to follow through. “I’m sorry, Lexi...”
She glared at him. “You can’t be serious. You’re turning me down?”
“It’s not because I’m not attracted to you.” She could feel his arousal; she knew she was turning him inside out. “It’s just that I’m not looking for a one-night stand. I’m looking for a real relationship. You know that.”
She held her hand up. “Don’t even go there. You know I don’t do relationships, Josh. I’m just looking for a little fun.” She looked around at the other men on the dance floor. “And I’d prefer it be someone I know instead of an anonymous stranger.”
He grabbed her upper arms. “Are you saying if I turn you down that you’re going to sleep with someone else tonight?”
She extracted the key card from his pocket. “You leave me no choice, Josh. A girl can’t survive on sex toys and fantasies.”
He clenched his jaw in frustration. He was a cop who’d moved through the ranks quickly because he was able to read people, tell when they were bluffing. Unless he was out of practice, she was dead serious. “I can’t let you do that.”
She flattened her palms against his chest, pushing him away. “Just watch me.”
Josh had spent a lifetime developing self-control, both personally and professionally, and he had to muster every shred of his hard-fought discipline to watch her walk away. He clenched his fists and headed for the bar. “Double shot of Jack Daniels,” he told the bartender. Drinking wasn’t part of his strategy, but sticking to his carefully laid out plan was getting more difficult by the minute.
Trey’s best friend and manager, Luc Spencer, stepped up to the bar beside him. His eyes followed Josh’s to the dance floor. “Now that is one sexy lady.”
Josh grunted as he watched Lexi slip into the arms of another man. The guy was too slick. Too handsome, too well dressed, too damn interested in picking up where he’d left off.
“It looked like you two were getting pretty close on the dance floor. Did you say something to piss her off?” Luc asked.
He threw back half of the glass of amber liquid and waited for the welcome burn before responding. “Yeah, I said no.”
Luc shook his head and tapped his ear as though he were trying to clear a stubborn blockage. “I’m sorry, did I hear you right? You said you turned her down?”
Josh nodded before emptying his glass. He tapped the heavy crystal against the bar top and beckoned to the bartender. “You heard me right, man.”
“Uh, have you noticed the woman looks like a freakin’ swimsuit model?”
Josh chuckled. “Believe me, I’ve noticed.”
Luc held his empty beer bottle up to the bartender. “You’re not the only one who’s noticed. Every guy in the place has been checking her out all day. I can’t believe you turned her down.”
Luc muttered his thanks to the bartender as he claimed another bottle. “What’s the deal, man? Are you quitting women?”
Josh rolled his eyes. “Hardly. I’m just looking for a specific type of woman.”
Luc laughed. “I guess gorgeous, smart, sexy, and fiercely independent doesn’t fit the bill, huh?”
“Man, I’ve been livin’ the bachelor life ever since my divorce. That was almost ten years ago. I’m getting tired of it.”
“So you do want to get married again?”
“Yeah.” He traced his finger around the rim of the glass. “I made a lot of mistakes with Ashley, but I was so damn young when we got married. Not to mention the fact that I was a cop, SWAT, no less. That meant always being on call, anytime, day or night. It wasn’t easy on her or my boys. That’s why I took the job as Trey’s head of security when he offered. I was ready for a change, ready for some stability in my life.”
“Your twins must be what, fifteen or sixteen now?” Luc asked, tipping the bottle to his lips.
“Yeah, they’re sixteen this month.” He sighed. “I wish I’d been there more while they were growing up. Every other weekend just wasn’t enough.”
Luc slapped him on the back. “Hell, from everything I’ve heard, your boys idolize you, man. One wants to be a cop and the other a martial arts instructor, right?”
Josh smiled. “Yeah, Jay’s working on his black belt in karate now.”
Luc nodded. “Cool, how long before he’s a third degree black belt like his old man?”
Josh laughed. “It’ll be a few more years.” His boys were the best thing that ever happened to him. His time with them just reinforced the fact that he was ready to try again. He wanted another chance to be the kind of husband and father he should have been the first time around.
Luc scanned the crowd. “Just the fact that your kids wanna be like you says a lot about the kind of father you are, Josh. You shouldn’t be so hard on yourself.”
Josh raised an eyebrow. “Sounds like you’re speaking from experience? You’ve never really talked about your parents or your childhood.”
“My parents were pretty self-absorbed. My dad was a career politician, and let’s just say he cared a hell of a lot more about getting the votes than he did about his family.”
“I’m sorry, Luc. That must have been rough.”
He shrugged his shoulders. “That’s life, right? Taught me not to make the same mistakes they made.”
“Does that mean you have no interest in getting married or having a family?”
“Hell no.”
“What about Marisa?”
Marisa Turner was Trey’s younger sister and made no secret of the fact that Luc was the only man for her. Josh learned that the hard way.
Luc shot him a look. “I should be asking you that question. I walked into Jimmy’s bar a few months back and you were there with my ex-girlfriend. Got to admit, I wanted to kick your ass that night.”
Josh laughed. “So why didn’t you?”
“Might have somethin’ to do with the fact that I would have been flat on my back inside a minute.” He raised the bottle to his lips. “Don’t think I didn’t think about it though.”
“I was outta line, man. I’m sorry.” He tapped his glass against his friend’s bottle. “You had every right to kick my ass.”
“Forgiven and forgotten, buddy. Tell me, how did you and Marisa hook up that night?” Luc asked.
Josh followed Luc’s eyes. He was watching Marisa. She was laughing and talking to a man who looked like he would be more than willing to take her up on any proposition she might be inclined to make tonight. Poor bastard. Luc still had it bad for his ex.
“We were both there with Trey. He wanted to leave early and asked me to make sure Marisa got home. We just started talking, and she told me it was over between you two because you couldn’t make a commitment. She said she was ready to get married, settle down. It seemed like we might be looking for the same thing, ya know? Anyways, it became pretty obvious after a few dates that it wasn’t going anywhere. We decided we’re better off as friends.”
“I don’t know why the hell she’s so obsessed with the idea of getting married.” He shuddered. “Man, that’s just not for me; I’d be miserable.”
“It may not be my place to say this, but you look pretty miserable right now.”
He glanced back at Marisa and sighed. “I’m not gonna lie. I love her, but I can’t give her what she wants.”
Josh nodded toward the man who was now dancing with Marisa. “Maybe he can.”
“Are you trying to piss me off?”
“Just trying to keep you from making a mistake, buddy.”
