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

  But should she be paying her own rent and stuff? Well, yeah. Probably.

  “Lex?”

  She realized her thoughts had been spinning. A combination of schnapps and…okay, mostly schnapps. And maybe the crash after an ER shift full of adrenaline. She shook her head. “Nothing. I don’t need anything else.” Caleb would have everything she and Jack needed. As always.

  Caleb gave her a long look, but finally said, “Okay. Get in the truck.”

  Maybe she should pretend that she was only doing this because he was insisting. But why? She wanted to go to Caleb’s. He wanted her there. She and Jack were there so much of the time anyway and she loved being at his house. Going home with Caleb tonight made sense.

  Besides, she didn’t want to be alone.

  She was good at a lot of things, but being alone was not one of them.

  Okay, that wasn’t entirely true. She was good at it. She had a lot of practice, after all. But she hated it. Now that she knew what it felt like to belong to a group, being alone was depressing.

  She’d spent a lot of time alone as a kid. It had always been just Lexi and her mom. Always. Her dad had never been around. He knew about her but he’d been a tourist, in town for—cliché as it was—Mardi Gras. He’d gone home to Wyoming, of all places, long before Amber even knew she was pregnant. She’d let him know, but had told him he didn’t have to do anything or give her anything. So he hadn’t.

  That meant Amber had needed to work two jobs—one with her social work degree and one as a waitress—to support them. Which left Lexi on her own a lot. They’d had neighbors who checked on her and who she could go to for anything she needed, but a lot of the time it was just Lexi hanging out by herself. She’d been fine. But she’d been lonely. And jealous of the people who had families. Who sat around and ate dinner together every night and watched TV together and talked about their days. Who made plans for the weekend and holidays. She’d had friends, for sure, but she couldn’t be at their dinner tables every night or crashing their family outings every weekend.

  But now she had the support group that shared the highs and lows and celebrated and cried together, and work friends—a team that did difficult, horrible, and amazing things together—and Caleb and Shay. And hell yeah, given the chance to live with Caleb and Shay, she’d take it.

  Lexi looked up at Caleb. The guy who saved her time and again. “Thank you,” she said softly. Sincerely.

  There was a long moment where neither of them did or said anything.

  Then, Caleb muttered, “Dammit, Lex.” He reached up with both hands and cupped her face. “Why didn’t you tell me about everything?”

  She stared up at him. He’d never touched her like this. He’d never looked at her so…intently.

  “We’re okay,” she said softly. She was exhausted and feeling sheepish about her aversion to total independence, but she had the instinctive need to reassure Caleb. She reached up and gripped his wrists. “We’re good. And even better now.”

  He stared down at her, his jaw tight. Then he gave her a nod, dropped his hands, and stepped back.

  Lexi took a deep breath. Damn. This guy did something to her. His protectiveness had been a turn-on since the first time he’d said, I’m going to take a look at your car. I don’t want you driving it until we know it’s not gonna let you down.

  It was that “we” he’d thrown in there. As if suddenly her problems were his. And the bit about wanting to be sure she was safe. And just the confident way he’d approached her and said he was going to take care of things. He didn’t ask if he could look at her car. He’d told her was going to. And that had set the stage for their relationship.

  It didn’t take a shrink to figure out that it was because she’d never had a protective male in her life.

  Of course, Caleb’s big hands and thick biceps that bunched while he worked on her car were part of the attraction, too.

  Caleb pulled the truck door open. Then his hands went to her waist and he lifted her up and into the seat.

  Her eyes were still wide as he slammed the door, rounded the front of the truck and got in. He’d never actually put her someplace before. Hell, they barely touched. Her hugging him earlier had been a first. Their hands brushed sometimes when they were passing kids or supplies back and forth. Sometimes they passed close by one another in the hallway. But they didn’t even sit next to each other at support group. It was like they purposefully kept space between them. Maintained a professional-ish distance.

  In spite of the fact they were basically co-parenting their children.

  It was a weird relationship, that was for sure.

  He slid behind the wheel. “We’ll talk about everything tomorrow. But you’re not coming back here, you got that?”

  And that professional-ish distance was really important. Because him talking to her in that protective, firm, I’m-in-charge voice made her nipples hard.

  It was really too bad that she was exhausted and drunk and had only a fuzzy memory of how it felt to be pressed up against all that hot hardness.

  Lexi sighed and put her head back and let her eyes slide shut. “Okay,” she told him.

  It felt good just to keep her eyes closed and let Caleb take care of things. It always felt good. It had become a very easy habit over the past two years. Because she wasn’t an idiot. If a big, hot guy wanted to take care of her and actually got pleasure himself from doing it, why would she fight it?

  Oh yeah, the being-a-burden thing.

  Okay, so there might be one wrinkle in the perfection of living together twenty-four-seven.

  The next thing she knew, she was being lifted out of the truck.

  She recognized the arms holding her immediately. Actually, she recognized the smell of the man attached to the arms holding her.

  “Hey,” she protested weakly. “I can walk.” But she didn’t want to. She wanted him to hold her and carry her just like this. Maybe forever.

  “Uh-huh, I know.”

  His low voice rumbled against her ear. And she might have snuggled a little closer to it. “Where’re Jack and Shay?”

  “In bed. I took them in first.”

  She’d apparently slept through the stop at Bea’s to pick the kids up. “Are they asleep?”

  “Yep.”

  “Oh, good.” Now that she’d closed her eyes, she wasn’t so sure she ever wanted to open them again.

  She felt him push the front door open, and the smell of his house hit her. She loved that smell. It was so familiar, so comforting. She felt so safe here.

  Yeah, well, this sugary cloud around her brain was really nice.

  “You’re so hot,” she told him as he started across the foyer, presumably toward the stairs.

  He coughed, the sound loud against her ear. “Thanks?”

  She wiggled, kicking her shoes off. They hit the hardwood floor with two thunks. Then she took her arm from around his neck and reached for her top. She was suddenly burning up. She stripped it off and let it drop.

  “Uh, Lex?” He’d stopped walking.

  “Yeah?” She pried her eyes open, focusing on his chin. And his beard. She reached up and ran her hand over it. It was softer than she’d expected and she gave a little sigh as every part of her body said, We want to rub against that, too!

  “Lex.” His voice sounded strangled now.

  She looked up at his eyes, her hand still on his jaw. “Yeah?”

  “What are you doing?”

  “Feeling your beard.”

  “Why?”

  “I’ve always wanted to. And it’s right here.”

  He stared down at her and Lexi met his gaze. Damn, he was gorgeous. And big.

  She felt the shift as he started up the stairs, but didn’t look away from him.

  “I could get used to this,” she said.

  She felt his arms stiffen. “What?”

  “You carrying me up to bed.”

  He hit his toe on the next step up and he pitched forward. His arms tight
ened around and her arm went around his neck. He recovered his balance quickly, though, and finished the steps without another incident, but Lexi could have sworn he was moving faster now.

  And the heat soaking into her from his body intensified.

  “You’re really hot.” She reached for the bottom of her tank and stripped it up and off.

  Just as she was tossing it away, she felt Caleb’s hold under her knees drop away and her feet swung to the ground.

  She wobbled slightly as he stepped back, just one hand on her upper arm.

  “Stop.” His voice sounded really funny now.

  She frowned at him. “I’m hot, Caleb.” She unbuttoned her shorts and pushed them to the floor. “I have to cool off.” She kicked the shorts away.

  Caleb sucked in a quick breath, then turned her by the shoulders and nudged her toward the bed in the guest room. “You need to go to bed.”

  Yeah, that sounded like a good idea. But he’d turned her so fast that she needed a second to stay upright as her head swirled. She gripped the edge of the doorframe.

  “Lex—”

  “Just give me a second,” she said crossly. She took a couple of breaths and forced her eyes to stay open. Finally feeling stable—or at least stable-ish—she started toward the bed. But she drifted a little to the left before she felt Caleb move in behind her, guiding her to the mattress. The damned bed was really tall. She knew that the thick foam mattress was why she felt like she was sleeping on a cloud on top of a bunch of cotton on top of a mound of whipped cream. But it wasn’t easy to get into.

  She put one knee up and pulled herself onto it from the bottom. She heard Caleb groan behind her, but she didn’t look back. So he was a little annoyed by her right now. So she was drunk and stumbling and she probably shouldn’t have touched his beard. Or taken her clothes off. But it wasn’t like he was going to do anything. She’d been wanting him to do something for a long time, but nothing pushed him over that edge. Not her wearing see-through tops or short shorts or licking ice cream sensually from a spoon or sitting on hot Santa’s lap at the Christmas party or pulling red furry handcuffs out of the box from said Santa. Nothing shook Caleb. Either he had amazing willpower, or he wasn’t attracted to her.

  She didn’t like that second answer, so she’d convinced herself that he considered her a really good friend and didn’t want to mess that up. She could respect that. And it was far better than thinking that he just didn’t find her sexy.

  Lexi pulled the comforter back and slid in against the cool sheets.

  She sighed as her head hit the pillow. She really fucking loved the pillows in here. Clouds on top of…something else amazingly soft.

  “There’s water and ibuprofen on the bedside table,” Caleb said from the foot of the bed. “You should take those before you fall back to sleep.”

  “Okay,” she mumbled, burrowing further into the pillow.

  A second passed. “Lex. Take the ibuprofen.”

  “I will.” She let out a long sigh. She loved staying here.

  “Lexi.”

  She didn’t answer him that time. It was late. She needed to sleep.

  She felt the mattress shift a second later as he sat down next to her. “Lex, sit up. Take this stuff.”

  “I’m okay.”

  “I really want you to. It will help tomorrow.”

  “You’re always taking care of me.”

  “Yep. Always.”

  “Sorry about that,” she mumbled.

  He didn’t say anything for a second, but then she felt him tuck her hair behind her ear. “Please don’t be sorry for that.”

  “I just—” Her lips were dry and when she tried to wet them, her tongue felt dry, too. Fine, she’d drink some water. She pushed herself up to sitting, the comforter slipping down. She made her eyes open.

  And she realized that Caleb was right there. Again. Right in front of her. Only inches away. Close enough to smell. Close enough to feel the heat from his body. Which made it ironic that her nipples tightened like they’d been hit by a cold draft. She could have stroked his beard again. She wanted to stroke his beard again. Instead, she just looked at him.

  But he didn’t notice. Because he was looking at her breasts.

  She was only in her bra and panties now, so of course he was looking at her breasts. If he was sitting there without a shirt on she definitely would have been looking at his chest. And she didn’t have one single urge to cover up. She had pretty great breasts, as a matter of fact, and having Caleb looking her like that was…awesome. She was sure he’d noticed them before. They were one of her best assets and they were, okay, more than a handful. Even for Caleb. But he’d never let on that he’d noticed them before. He always looked her directly in the eye. Which was nice, of course. Of course. But the thing about knowing, and being mostly in love with, a guy who would look at your eyes versus your pretty-great-size-Ds when you talked, was that you kind of wanted him to look down once in a while, too.

  She reached for the water bottle on the side table, her eyes still on him, feeling the comforter slip down even further. But, because of the eyes-still-on-him thing—and maybe the too-much-schnapps thing—she bumped the bottle with her hand and it started to fall.

  Caleb leaned forward quickly to grab it.

  Which brought his chest within inches of hers. And his mouth within inches of hers. The hand he was leaning on, next to her hip, made the mattress dip even further and she tilted toward him. Her hand went to his shoulder to keep from tipping over. And they both froze.

  The bottle hit the table and rolled to the floor, but neither of them moved.

  She was suddenly not at all tired. And feeling pretty sober.

  Lexi could feel Caleb’s breath on her lips, and his bunched muscles under her palm were hot and hard. She stared at his mouth. He stared at hers. And she decided that if he wasn’t going to look at her breasts, looking at her mouth like he was starving and she was a grilled BLT—his favorite food in the world—was just fine with her.

  Being compared, even in her own head, to a grilled BLT might not seem sexy, but in her mind, it so was. Caleb devoured those sandwiches. He’d do almost anything for one. He made sexy moaning sounds when he first tasted them. And he’d proclaimed that hers were the best he’d ever tasted. Yeah, put that way, along with the schnapps still coating her brain, it was strangely sexy.

  “Caleb.”

  She watched his pupils dilate and his jaw clench.

  Her hand went to the front of his shirt and she bunched it in her fists, watching his eyes. He didn’t try to stop her. Then she tugged, urging him forward.

  And he came, the hand next to her hip pressing into the mattress as she tipped her head to one side.

  Their lips touched. Softly. Briefly. But she felt it all the way to her bones. Heat, want, relief. She suddenly had to have more. She made a little almost-a-sob sound and licked her tongue along his lower lip.

  “Lex.”

  Her name was more of a groan than a word. It was the sexiest thing she’d ever heard.

  “Caleb,” she breathed.

  Then the next groan became the sexiest thing she’d ever heard. It was a combination of hunger and resignation, and she felt like he’d just set her nerve endings on fire.

  Suddenly, Caleb’s hand came up to cup the back of her head, his fingers diving into her hair. And he took over.

  His mouth opened over hers and his tongue stroked deep and hot. Every glide of his tongue felt as though he was running a finger over her clit. Some were firmer, some softer, some longer, some shorter, and her need ratcheted up with each one.

  She ran her hands over his chest to his shoulders and up the sides of his neck, loving the hard muscles and the heat under her palms. Then she slid her hands down his sides to the bottom of his shirt. She slipped her hands underneath, moaning as she met hot, bare skin. He sucked in a quick breath and she smiled against his lips, loving having an effect on him.

  And suddenly she was on her back and
Caleb was moving over her. Her hands slid to his back, the muscles there bunching as he braced himself above her, still kissing her like it was his job. Instinctively, she slid her legs apart and he settled between them. The comforter was between them, but she felt him hard and hot and deliciously heavy against her. The feel of his cock pressed against her made her ache. She’d done that to him. She’d made him hard. Hallelujah.

  Lexi shifted, trying to get the comforter lower, wiggling against him. He groaned and pressed into her, making her clit throb even with her panties, the comforter, and his clothes between them.

  Two years of wanting him were coming together and she felt like if he pressed just a little harder and she moved her hips just a certain way, she could come like this.

  “Caleb.”

  His mouth trailed from hers to her throat and down to her collarbone. He cupped her breast, the silk of her bra the only barrier, and she arched into his hand. His thumb rubbed over her nipple and she felt her desire winding tighter.

  “God, you’re gorgeous.”

  She pried her eyes open at his gruff words. The heat in his eyes as he stared down at her, his thumb and finger plucking at her nipple through her bra, made the ache between her legs intensify times ten. “You feel so good,” she said, her voice barely a whisper.

  He looked down at her breast and watched his fingers play with her. Then, thank god, he peeled the cup down, exposing her nipple.

  “Holy fuck, Lex,” he said reverently. He plucked at the hard tip again, rolling it between his thumb and finger.

  She lifted her hips, pressing against him harder, needing relief for the ache that was building.

  Then he lowered his mouth and sucked on her and she cried out. Her hand came up to the back of his head and she tipped her pelvis, needing pressure and friction. She ground against him as he sucked. She was so, so close. “Please, Caleb, please.”