as she opened her shoulders to face him, pulling one leg up on the bench seat so that her knee bumped into his thigh. A gentle caress. Barely there but enough to get her heart pounding.
“Where’s he live?”
Her mind clouded with the image of Blake reaching to touch her, smoothing his strong fingers over her thigh. His work-hardened hands opening her jeans and unbuttoning her blouse, caressing her bare skin…
“Jaxi, where does he live?” Blake demanded.
She shook her head and lifted her gaze from his hands. What the hell were they talking about again? “Who?”
“This Royce guy.”
The urge to giggle rose, and she beat it down unmercifully. Acting like a teenager wasn’t the impression she wanted to project right now. “Don’t worry about Royce. He’s a nice enough guy but I’m not interested in him.”
She adjusted her leg casually, rubbing his thigh again.
Blake changed gears, his leg shifting away from hers. “Well, you let me know if he gives you any trouble, alright?”
She leaned toward him slightly, letting her body soften, letting her desire for him show in her eyes and the tone of her voice. “Now why would you do that? You’re not my father to watch over me and save me from the big bad wolves.” Come on, Blake, make a move. She was sure she’d seen signs of his attraction, but the man was damn stubborn. Whatever held him back was driving her up the wall.
“No, I’m not your father, but I’ve thought about you a lot lately. I haven’t been taking care of you as well as I did before you began college classes. I’m going to work on that, Jaxi. You need someone to watch out for you.”
Hope rose in her heart. Was he coming around? Maybe his earlier anger was because he felt responsible for her and wanted more?
Then he dumped cold water on her dreams as he reached to pat her knee gently. Playfully. As far from a lover’s caress as possible. “You’re a good girl, and you deserve to be cared for. I’m going to be the best big brother you could ever have.” With a final squeeze to her knee, he turned up the radio, and his strong hands thumped the wheel in time with the song, a peculiar pinched smile on his face.
Jaxi stared at him slack-jawed, her body and mind both reeling as she tried to understand what he’d just said.
He’d gone insane.
A big brother? Like hell that’s what she needed. If he wanted to care for her, it wouldn’t be as a big boy reluctantly playing house with a little girl. Making mud pies good-naturedly when he would prefer to be anywhere else. They’d done that already, years ago. It was time to shake things up, to show Blake she was no little girl and he was definitely not her big brother.
She’d told Jesse earlier she played to win. The game started now in earnest, and Blake wasn’t going to know what hit him.
Chapter Six
The testosterone in the room was driving her crazy.
Jaxi dipped her hands into the sink and tested the water, turning her face away to hide the smile that rose unbidden as Jesse and Joel scrambled to impress her. They carried in dirty plates, scraping and cleaning the few leftovers into the slop buckets for the animals. They were well trained—Marion Coleman had never let any of her boys slack off, in or out of the house. Jaxi turned to the stack of hand washing and began.
If it hadn’t been for the other chores, and helping Marion, she bet she wouldn’t even be here now. Between the guys’ skills at batching it, and the fact the twins would occasionally be home on weekends from school, there were a lot of hands around.
Just not enough when you added Marion’s work to the list.
“You sure can cook up a storm.” Joel nudged her hip lightly to get her to step aside as he rinsed one of the large roasters in the second sink.
“How come you seem to know how much to prepare to have enough for us all? You’ve only got three in your family.” Jesse stacked plates in the dishwasher, standing to flash her a grin. “And for
“Where’s he live?”
Her mind clouded with the image of Blake reaching to touch her, smoothing his strong fingers over her thigh. His work-hardened hands opening her jeans and unbuttoning her blouse, caressing her bare skin…
“Jaxi, where does he live?” Blake demanded.
She shook her head and lifted her gaze from his hands. What the hell were they talking about again? “Who?”
“This Royce guy.”
The urge to giggle rose, and she beat it down unmercifully. Acting like a teenager wasn’t the impression she wanted to project right now. “Don’t worry about Royce. He’s a nice enough guy but I’m not interested in him.”
She adjusted her leg casually, rubbing his thigh again.
Blake changed gears, his leg shifting away from hers. “Well, you let me know if he gives you any trouble, alright?”
She leaned toward him slightly, letting her body soften, letting her desire for him show in her eyes and the tone of her voice. “Now why would you do that? You’re not my father to watch over me and save me from the big bad wolves.” Come on, Blake, make a move. She was sure she’d seen signs of his attraction, but the man was damn stubborn. Whatever held him back was driving her up the wall.
“No, I’m not your father, but I’ve thought about you a lot lately. I haven’t been taking care of you as well as I did before you began college classes. I’m going to work on that, Jaxi. You need someone to watch out for you.”
Hope rose in her heart. Was he coming around? Maybe his earlier anger was because he felt responsible for her and wanted more?
Then he dumped cold water on her dreams as he reached to pat her knee gently. Playfully. As far from a lover’s caress as possible. “You’re a good girl, and you deserve to be cared for. I’m going to be the best big brother you could ever have.” With a final squeeze to her knee, he turned up the radio, and his strong hands thumped the wheel in time with the song, a peculiar pinched smile on his face.
Jaxi stared at him slack-jawed, her body and mind both reeling as she tried to understand what he’d just said.
He’d gone insane.
A big brother? Like hell that’s what she needed. If he wanted to care for her, it wouldn’t be as a big boy reluctantly playing house with a little girl. Making mud pies good-naturedly when he would prefer to be anywhere else. They’d done that already, years ago. It was time to shake things up, to show Blake she was no little girl and he was definitely not her big brother.
She’d told Jesse earlier she played to win. The game started now in earnest, and Blake wasn’t going to know what hit him.
Chapter Six
The testosterone in the room was driving her crazy.
Jaxi dipped her hands into the sink and tested the water, turning her face away to hide the smile that rose unbidden as Jesse and Joel scrambled to impress her. They carried in dirty plates, scraping and cleaning the few leftovers into the slop buckets for the animals. They were well trained—Marion Coleman had never let any of her boys slack off, in or out of the house. Jaxi turned to the stack of hand washing and began.
If it hadn’t been for the other chores, and helping Marion, she bet she wouldn’t even be here now. Between the guys’ skills at batching it, and the fact the twins would occasionally be home on weekends from school, there were a lot of hands around.
Just not enough when you added Marion’s work to the list.
“You sure can cook up a storm.” Joel nudged her hip lightly to get her to step aside as he rinsed one of the large roasters in the second sink.
“How come you seem to know how much to prepare to have enough for us all? You’ve only got three in your family.” Jesse stacked plates in the dishwasher, standing to flash her a grin. “And for
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