Nice and Easy: Boys of the Big Easy book three Read online

  “Just working to get my image of you in a French maid’s costume out of my head.”

  Lexi felt her mouth drop open. So he had been thinking inappropriate thoughts. Yes. “Do you realize you just said that out loud?”

  Then he grinned. And she wanted to go straight to the costume shop.

  Role-playing with Caleb? Having him give her dirty commands as her boss while she played his maid? Or the employee he was punishing for embezzling money from the company? Or the college professor who was going to make her “earn” her A? Or the sexy firefighter who wanted repayment for saving her kitten from a tree? Or the hot single dad who had a special benefits package for his babysitter? Okay, that one was even closer to reality. And all she could think was, Yes, please.

  “I—”

  Suddenly Jack came running and jumped on Caleb. Shay tumbled into Lexi and she had to drop her pen to catch the girl. They were both making monkey noises and Jack climbed up to sit on Caleb’s shoulder.

  “Monkey attack?” Lexi asked, laughing as Shay “ooh-ooh-ahh-ahh-ed” in her ear.

  “From Boston!” Shay announced.

  Caleb chuckled as Jack climbed all over him like he was a tree. “Brazil, baby girl.”

  Shay nodded, scratching under her arm like she’d seen the apes at the zoo. “Brazil.”

  Caleb grabbed Jack and swung him down to the floor and started tickling him.

  Jack shrieked and wiggled. “Help! Shay!”

  Shay jumped off of Lexi and hopped over the table and onto her uncle’s back.

  “Ack! Double monkey attack!” Caleb said. “Help me, Lex!”

  Laughing, Lexi crawled around the edge of the coffee table and reached for Jack. She pulled him away from Caleb, who promptly flipped Shay off his back and reached for one of the throw pillows on the couch. Lexi pulled Jack’s shirt up and blew a raspberry on his belly while Caleb bopped Shay on the butt with the pillow.

  Both kids were laughing so hard they couldn’t talk. Lexi reached for a pillow as well. They were the perfect size for a kid-level pillow fight. But as she stretched, she felt someone whop her butt with a pillow. She looked over her shoulder. Caleb still held the pillow. And he didn’t look apologetic. Or like it had been an accident.

  She lifted an eyebrow. “Really?”

  “I just want to be sure that you know I am a friend who definitely wants to play with you.”

  Lexi turned on her knees to face him. “You also said that out loud.”

  The kids had grabbed pillows and were now bopping each other and still making loud monkey noises.

  Caleb nodded. “Yep,” he said, under their noise. “You need to know that me pulling back last night had nothing to do with not wanting to play with you. Or you being good at…the game.”

  Lexi felt that down-deep clench again at the huskiness in his voice.

  “What did it have to do with?”

  “The drunk and exhausted thing,” he reminded her.

  She nodded. “Right.”

  “And that I’ve got some power over you.”

  She froze at that. She stared at him. “Excuse me?”

  He did. Kind of. But she didn’t realize that he really acknowledged that.

  “I’m older than you. I give you a lot of things. I help you out a lot.”

  She tried to say something, but she had no idea what to say.

  “You feel indebted to me.”

  Again, she tried to make a sound. And couldn’t.

  “And, you respond to me bossing you around.”

  Her eyes couldn’t go any wider.

  “So I have to be careful with you.”

  “You better be careful,” she finally muttered.

  He gave her a cocky grin. “I’m right.”

  He was. About the bossing thing. And the influence thing. But he did not have to be careful with her. And if he couldn’t tie her up and make her scream, well, this wouldn’t work out.

  Probably.

  She really wanted him to tie her up and make her scream—in the good way, of course—but he was still Caleb. And he still had Shay. And she still wanted this family for real. For good.

  Dammit.

  “You’re careful with me because I always seem in over my head and because I need your help all the time.” What would he think if she told him that she often let him help her because she knew how much he loved doing it?

  “I’m careful with you because it doesn’t take much for me to influence you.”

  She wasn’t sure she’d put it quite that way. I want you to tell me not to wear panties while I dust the house. And to be sure to bend over a lot. And to use the arm of this couch for something other than propping up to watch TV. Okay, so the French maid costume thing maybe needed to get bumped up her Want-To-Do list. But she wasn’t sure he was influencing her. She just wanted him to boss her around. “You think…you influence me?”

  “I do.”

  There was a screech from one of the kids, who were only a few feet away, but Lexi couldn’t pull her eyes from Caleb’s face. If the screeching got louder or kept going, she’d look over there. She waited for a heartbeat. The next second there were two loud giggles and Lexi’s full attention was back on Caleb in an instant.

  “Give me an example.” Maybe they were actually talking about the same thing.

  He gave a soft chuckle. “I talked you into a new car seat for Jack. I talked you into using a new salad dressing.”

  Yeah, that wasn’t the direction her thoughts had gone. Or the direction she’d hoped his thoughts had gone. “Car seats and salad dressing?” She rolled her eyes. “Really?”

  “I told you that I thought you looked beautiful in red and you wore red the next time I saw you.”

  She felt a flush of embarrassment. She hadn’t thought he’d noticed. Well, she’d thought he might notice she looked nice, but not that she’d done it on purpose. “So?”

  “I told you that I loved pistachio pudding. You made me a dessert with pistachio pudding two nights later.”

  “Because I’m nice.”

  “Because you love to please me.”

  Okay that sounded more like what she’d been thinking. And hoping he was thinking. That sounded a lot more—she swallowed hard—submissive.

  And damn if there wasn’t a streak of that in her. As surprised as she had been to realize it.

  Lexi felt her cheeks get warm. He said it with such confidence, watching her face, knowing that he was right no matter what she said. And he clearly liked it. Which made her pulse race.

  “You’re a good guy. We make each other’s lives better. Easier. And you’re older and have more experience than I do, so of course I listen to you.”

  “You love to please me,” he repeated. He leaned closer. “You light up when I thank you or when I say you did something well.”

  She took a deep, shaky breath. None of this should be sexy. But…it so was. It had been when it had just been in her own thoughts, but now hearing that he realized it, hearing him talk about it, was making her feel very hot and squirmy. “I like you, Caleb. I respect you. You’re nice to me, so I’m nice to you.”

  There was a loud, “No!” from Jack just then and Lexi glanced over. But Shay was already handing him back the stuffed dog. Lexi watched as he tucked it into the driver’s seat of the huge fire truck, then brought her attention back to the hot, intense man in front of her.

  “Austin and Gabe and Logan and Bea and Addison and Dana and Corey…they’re all nice to you,” Caleb said, continuing their conversation as if nothing was happening in the playroom.

  And nothing really was. Nothing that needed their full attention or presence, anyway.

  Lexi wet her lips. “And I’m nice to them, too.”

  “You don’t light up for them, Lex.” He paused. “You don’t wear red for them.”

  And in the midst of the heat—and yes, hope—that this all inspired, she also felt a little mortified. He knew all of this. He knew how she felt about him. That she wanted
him. And he’d still pulled back last night. “You’re kind of an ass sometimes, you know that?” she asked.

  “Yeah,” he agreed. “But not last night. I was a good guy last night. I couldn’t… influence you last night.”

  “Because I was drunk.”

  “Yes. And because I had you in that bed for a lot of reasons besides sex.”

  Hearing Caleb saying the word sex did funny things—nice funny things—to her stomach. “Wha—” She swallowed hard. “What do you mean?”

  “You were in that bed because you needed a place to sleep. You were tired and drunk. I needed you in that bed because I needed you to be safe. And close to me.”

  “And sex couldn’t be a part of that?” she asked softly. Partly because the kids were there, but also because she had lost her breath.

  “I was worked up last night, Lex. Really worked up. Because of how much I needed you to be safe, because of how much I had to assure myself that you were okay with your mom gone, and that I could still take care of you. Because of how mad I was that you didn’t tell me about everything.” He gave her a pointed look. “And I knew that I could influence you into just about anything. And I wanted to. I wanted you to need me in a way you never had. So I had to pull back. I didn’t want my frustration and fear to be the reason for getting you to say and do all the things I want you to say and do. That’s not how it’s going to be when that happens.”

  Holy. Crap.

  Lexi felt hot. And wet. “When that happens?” she asked, keying in on that one word.

  “Yeah. When.”

  “You’re pretty sure of yourself.” But if she lit up when she saw him and he’d noticed just how influential he was with her, then yeah, he should be sure.

  Everything he said was true. She did listen to his opinions more than the others. She did love it when he was pleased with her. It was pathetic. But true. And it was something she’d never experienced before.

  “I am sure,” he agreed.

  She took a deep breath and then asked, “So, how’s it going to be?”

  “All about pleasure. All about giving you exactly what you need. All about taking care of you,” he said, his voice gruff.

  Well, holy damn, that sounded all right to her. “All about me? What about you?”

  “Oh, darlin’.” He gave her a slow smile that went straight to her core. “When it’s about taking care of you, it is about me. Haven’t you realized that?”

  She did know that taking care of her made him happy. It gave him something. She hadn’t really thought about how that might translate to sex, though.

  Now she wasn’t sure she’d be able to stop thinking about it.

  “It won’t be about fear or frustration or exhaustion or intoxication,” he said.

  That was fair. Neither of them had really been at their best last night. “Okay,” she said. “You’re forgiven.”

  That seemed to take him by surprise. But he gave a low chuckle that made heat scoot through her belly.

  “Thanks.”

  She took a deep breath, feeling completely overwhelmed. Which made sense considering she and Caleb were talking about having sex. With each other.

  God, she couldn’t wait.

  If it actually happened.

  Because what she wanted from him was going to push him out of his comfort zone.

  Caleb’s worldview really was all about taking care of her. Protecting her. Tying her up, making her do dirty things, maybe even spanking her—a little shiver of desire went through her—was going to be at odds with all of that. With how he usually treated her. With how he thought of her.

  But he wanted to make her happy. He wanted to give her what she needed. And this was what she needed. Caleb being completely dominant, telling her what to do, taking charge, and taking his pleasure from her.

  She took another shaky breath. She wanted to be everything he wanted. To show him that he was everything she needed.

  She cleared her throat. “This might really…rock our boats,” she told him. This was going to change everything.

  “It might,” Caleb agreed. “Then again, some things are worth getting a little…wet for.”

  Wow. She felt her cheeks heat. She was no shy innocent but Caleb had simply never talked to her like this. It was taking a little getting used to. And some things, like slow sexy drawls, were impossible not to get wet for. She blew out a breath.

  “But,” he added, “all of this means you’re in charge.”

  That jerked her thoughts away from the fuzzy handcuffs Santa had given her at the support group’s after-hours Christmas party. She frowned. “What do you mean?”

  “Because of my influence over you, you’re going to have to be the instigator of whatever happens.”

  She had not been expecting that. “But…really?”

  “Believe me, it’s going to be hard on me,” he said. “I’m pretty used to calling the shots. If I think something needs to happen, I just bust in and make it happen.”

  She couldn’t argue with that. Caleb had a natural dominant streak.

  “And,” he said, his drawl lengthening slightly. “I really like the effect I have on you.”

  Dammit, she blushed deeper. She’d known that he was aware of her crush, but she hadn’t realized just how many details he’d picked up.

  “But because of that,” he said, “you have to be the one to make whatever happens…happen.”

  Wait, what? That was not at all what she wanted. He had to do this. He had to take charge. He had to be in control. She wanted him telling her to strip, to bend over, to get on her knees…

  She got where he was coming from. Appreciated it on some level. He didn’t want to use his influence over her to maybe make her do something she didn’t want to do.

  But she wanted him to take charge here.

  Her stomach clenched. Would he even be able to take charge with her? Could he say things like suck my cock to her? Could he restrain her? Could he pinch her nipples hard enough or spank her ass or deny her an orgasm because prolonging the pleasure would make it even better?

  She knew the answer.

  No. Caleb wouldn’t deny her anything. If he tied her up and she begged him to make her come, he would. And yeah, it sounded ridiculous for her to worry about that. But there it was.

  “Okay, so, we’re on the same page there.” She pushed up from the floor, unable to help the swirl of satisfaction when she saw his eyes track down her bare legs. “And now, I need to head to the s-t-o-r-e for a couple of things.”

  “You’re going like that?” he asked, blatantly checking her out as she crossed the room, still in his shirt.

  She shook her head. “Heading up to take a shower.”

  “Am I going to get my shirt back?” Caleb asked.

  She let her gaze wander over his shoulders, chest, and abs. Damn, she really wanted a chance to get her mouth and hands on all of that.

  “Sure.” She stripped the shirt off and tossed it to him. Then she turned on her heel, in only her shorts and bra, and headed for the stairs.

  Caleb was certain that Lexi could hear Jack’s tantrum even in the upstairs bathroom.

  But she was sure taking her sweet time getting back down here.

  She, obviously, knew that Jack wasn’t actually being tortured—despite the sounds he was making—but she could come check.

  Caleb propped a shoulder against the arched opening between the living room and the foyer where Jack was currently pounding out his frustrations over the injustices in the world on the wood floor. Caleb took a bite of the banana he held as he watched the little boy. Jack was a pretty easygoing kid most of the time but…he was two. There were just moments where he was an unreasonable monster.

  Caleb’s post in the doorway let him keep Shay in sight where she was coloring at the coffee table—with the three colors Lexi had requested but that Caleb had needed to remind her of—while also keeping his eye on Jack. He always watched the tantrums, making sure the kids didn’t hurt themsel
ves. Or any of his belongings. But he didn’t try to talk them out of whatever was pissing them off. Anymore. In his experience, once a toddler had decided that everything sucked, you just had to wait them out.

  Five minutes—that felt like five weeks—later Caleb heard footsteps on the stairs. He supposed maybe Lexi’s hair dryer had given her some reprieve from the noise. But now she was on her way down. Caleb suddenly frowned at Jack as it occurred to him that this might be bad. What if Lexi didn’t appreciate Caleb’s approach to dealing with her son’s tantrums?

  He swallowed and straightened away from the doorway as her legs came into view. It also occurred to him that this was maybe the first time he’d been concerned that Lexi might be displeased with him. That was interesting. But honest. In the time they’d known each other, they didn’t spend a lot of time one-on-one and when they did, it was almost always situations where Caleb looked pretty good. He was fixing something or hauling something or delivering something or telling a story or offering advice at the support group. He wasn’t bragging when he said that he gave pretty good advice. It was always easier to be objective about someone else’s parenting than your own. At the same time, he knew that Lexi liked hearing about Jack and Shay from his perspective, and yeah, maybe he chose the stories he shared and the questions he asked in order to show her that he was doing a good job and really cared.

  Huh. It hadn’t occurred to him that he’d been trying to impress her until that moment. When she was about to come upon her child prostrate on the floor, sobbing as if his last friend had just left him, while Caleb watched on. Eating a banana.

  She came down the stairs, stopping on the last step, and looked down at her son. Then she sighed, crossed the foyer, and stepped over Jack without a comment.

  She stopped in front of Caleb. “Wow. What’s that about?”

  She didn’t look concerned. Or angry. Caleb gave her a grimace. “I wouldn’t unwrap the string cheese he brought me from your purse.”

  One of her eyebrows lifted. “Oh?”

  “It was a tampon.”

  Now both brows went up. “Oh.”

  “Yeah.”

  Then she grinned. “He freaked out on me the other day because he broke his cracker and I wouldn’t put it back together.”