NIX (Daring the Kane Brothers) Read online

  “I don’t blame you.” Nix’s head nods as if he knows about my cousin. “When I watched Becca come out of Lexi, well, it’s not something I’d be standing in line to sign myself up for either. But you’re young, twenty-three, four?”

  “Six, I’m twenty-six.”

  His eyes search my face. “You look younger.”

  “Thanks? How old are you?” I know the answer. Like many other things about Nix Kane, I looked it up. He’s twenty-nine.

  “I’ll be thirty in a few months.”

  May 15th, yeah. I know his birthday as well. “Really?” I falsely exclaim as it’s what he’s likely used to hearing. He’s a hot daddy. “You look a lot younger too.” I sit back, and acute eyes follow my every movement. I like the attention. My body settles against the soft cushion, taking his eyes with me. “Lexi? That’s Becca’s mom’s name?”

  “Yes.”

  “And Nix? It’s short for?”

  “Nickel.”

  “Like penny, dime, quarter, that kind of Nickel?” I know that as well, but I must keep the conversation going. Otherwise, I might give in to the urge I have to strip my clothes off and give them to him to fold. No, not really, but I assume watching him tend to my clothing would be sexy. Dammit! I need to stop thinking about such things! Sex with Nix Kane will lead to nothing. I’m aware of his reputation, to the fact he hasn’t had a serious relationship since Lexi left him; not to mention, his number one girl is sleeping upstairs. I admire him for that, his daughter being his main priority. Why else would he still be single? Unless, he’s still in love with Lexi. Or worse, what if he’s waiting for her to come back to him?

  “Yes, the currency kind.” He smiles. “What about you? Any nicknames?”

  “My friend Allie, ah, she calls me Bizzy short for busy bee.” I smile with the thought of my dear friend. I miss her so much. “I’m a workaholic.”

  “Yeah, I bet the theater and your day job keep you busy. Any siblings?”

  “No siblings. I only have my doting parents, but they’re in Boston.”

  “Boston? I thought you moved here from Miami?”

  “That’s right.” I push a few strands of hair behind my ear. “I move around a lot for my job.”

  “Travel agent?”

  “Yes, and traveling is all part of the job.” I laugh. “The company I work for has locations throughout the States.”

  “What company is that, again?” He spies me from the corner of his eye. I get the sense he’s testing me.

  I sit up straight. “Travelites.”

  “Ah, yes.” He nods.

  “Hey, do you want to play a game?” I suggest, trying to change the subject from boring work talk.

  “Sure.” He smiles as if he’s used to the question. “Let’s see, I have Operation, Trouble, or Pie Face, although, now that I think about it, I don’t have any whipped cream.”

  “Whipped cream?”

  “Oh yeah, you stick your face in this circle and hope the hand in front of you that’s full of whipped cream doesn’t smack you in the face.”

  “You’re kidding me.” I laugh. “You and Becca play it?”

  He grimaces, his eyebrows flicking up. “Yeah, and now that I think about it, we can’t play it, not without her, because she’ll kick my ass. How about a grown-up game?”

  “I don’t know how to play poker.” I blurt out the lie. It’s my uncle Rick’s choice of cards, and when he’d babysit, we’d play it, but I’m no good at the game.

  “How about dare or consequence?”

  “You mean truth or dare?”

  “Sort of, but there’s no choice for truth. If you decline the dare, you go straight to the consequence. It’s a high school game we played around here.”

  My head shifts a little to the left. “Sounds a little risky.” I nibble my bottom lip. “Can I go first?”

  “Absolutely.” A crafty smile curls the side of his mouth.

  “Okay.” I glance around his house, and while I didn’t want the game to lead to anything sexual, I can’t stop myself. “I dare you to guess which part of my body you think has never been kissed?”

  “Okay.” He rubs his hands together. “Just to clarify, what part I think and what part hasn’t been?”

  “Is there a difference?”

  “Yes, what I think is my imagination wishing it hasn’t been, but what hasn’t been is simply the truth.”

  “Just pick a part.” I laugh.

  “Hmmm … there are so many to choose from.” He squints at me, his eyes cascading over my body. “Let’s see.” He rises from the sofa and holds out his hand. “Stand up.”

  I allow myself to be lifted by the mere touch of his fingertips. As he walks around me, my knees slightly shake. His hand slips from mine until the tips of his fingers gently rest on mine, leaving us connected. He moves closer to my aroused body, stopping behind me. His warm breath on my shoulder. I shiver with excitement, wondering what he might do next.

  “I’m sure you’ve been kissed here?” His lips brush the exposed flesh between my neck and collarbone.

  “Yes,” I breathe out, feeling that nonexistent but powerful tug between my legs, the kind a man you’ve fantasized about for the past few weeks can create with just a few soft breathy strokes.

  “And here?” His warm, experienced mouth floats, dropping airy kisses upon my heated skin.

  “Uh-huh…” I bite my bottom lip. His fingers slip from me, only to reconnect with a strong grip to the side of my thigh at the hem of my above-the-knee skirt.

  “Hmm …” His chest presses forward, his large body cradling my back, and a firm hand moves down and around to the back of my naked knee. “Here?” He tickles the virginal spot. “Have you ever had a man’s lips touch you here?”

  “No,” I say, not completely convinced the word came out from my dry mouth. I stare straight at the fireplace, afraid to say anything, fearful the teasing might stop or, worse, proceed.

  My silence slides his hand back up my leg, along my tight, burning thigh. “My turn,” he whispers into my ear. “I dare you to ask me to touch you.” His finger slips under the lacy edge of my panties and slowly runs along the hemline. “Right here.”

  “What about…Bec…Becca?” The concern barely comes out in a whisper.

  “Don’t worry about her. The second stair from the top creaks, so we’ll hear her way before we see her.”

  “Oh.” I swallow, sensing the release of my anticipation and excitement to the very place he wants me to ask him to touch. “And tell me, if I decline this dare, what’s my consequence?”

  “I do it anyway.” His finger breaks past the edge of my panties. “I was just being polite by providing you the opportunity to ask for what you want.” His probing tip glides past the slit covering the heat of me. An arm comes around my belly, and he pulls me against him while he presses deep inside me.

  A moan of pleasure leaks from my lips. I clamp my hands on his muscular arm and beg for more, throbbing from the intrusive invasion of his hot, forceful touch between my legs. He secures me into position with his strong hold around my belly, then his finger withdraws from me.

  “What do you want, Payton?” The tip of his finger slides over the hood of my clit. “I’ll give you one more opportunity to ask for it,” he huskily rasps into my ear, his touch now moving in a torturous circular motion over my sensitive nub. “Would you like that?”

  Numb everywhere minus the one spot receiving his wicked attention, I take a deep breath, unable to find my voice. Fuck, he’s good at bending a woman’s will.

  “Or do you prefer the consequence? Is that what you want?” His finger thrusts back inside me. “Tell me, beneath those shy blue eyes and that sweet voice, is there a naughty woman hiding?” He pushes farther into me. “Who doesn’t want me to be polite?”

  “Nix.” I gasp, ready to defend the good girl in me, but the more he speaks, the more his finger penetrates me, the further I fall into the naughty girl category. Hell, the things I want him to do
to me…

  Creak…Creak…

  Everything stops, Nix’s probing finger, the creak of the floorboard, and my heart. “Becca!” I hear in a tone I’ve heard from my own father. “It’s late. Go back to bed.”

  I step forward, but he jerks me back to him. With him behind me, I can’t see his expression, but I feel the unstoppable sexual tension between us.

  “Becca!”

  “I want to get a drink of water,” she yells.

  “Go back to bed. I’ll bring it up in a minute.”

  It goes quiet for a few long seconds; the silence enhances the heat of his breath on my neck, the fullness of his finger deep within my body, and the helplessness I feel in the hands of Nix Kane while his child stands a floor and a few stairs away.

  “Is Payton still here?” Becca finally breaks the silence.

  “Yes. I’m still here, but your dad and I were just saying good night.” I press forward, and this time, he lets me go. My insides shrivel back into place as our bodies detach.

  “Okay, good night, Payton,” Becca’s young voice calls from the top of the stairs.

  “Good night.” I adjust my skirt, looking at the stairway until I hear the click of her door. “Well, I think that’s my cue to go.” My smile slips away the moment my eyes meet Nix. The hunger, the need to have him this very second, all that necessity is over his gorgeous face. Holy shit! It’s like he’s hitting my insides with a spotlight, lighting everything up and making me feel him everywhere, letting me know he sees all of me, all parts good and bad, and he still wants me.

  I shake my head and shift my eyes to the floor.

  It’s a spell. The same one he probably used on all the other girls. He might’ve loved Becca’s mom, but I get the sense he’s lost the ability to find those feelings again. My mom always says that love isn’t a fickle thing. It surrenders to very few and commits to even fewer. I can’t confirm or deny because I’ve never been in love. At least, not the kind of love that left me willing to sacrifice myself for another human being, but I’m sure Nix Kane has been loved like that.

  “I better get going.” Eyes fixed on the floor, I walk over to the coffee table, pick up my purse, and pull it over my shoulder. “Thanks for the pizza and entertainment.” I laugh, intending to sway my eyes casually by him, but I’m pulled back by his returning stare.

  “Ya know, this isn’t over with.” He smiles.

  “For tonight, it is.” I smile back, feeling a sense of control return to me as I walk out the door.

  CHAPTER TEN

  I get to my parents’ backyard and make a beeline for my little sister. I haven’t seen her in months, but Becca makes it to her before me. I’m detoured by Maggie, Crash’s estranged wife. I haven’t talked to the girl in years. So, of course, I stop for a quick hello and hug. Damn, Crash is a lucky man. Gangly legged, little Maggie Mae from down the street has grown into a beautiful woman. The green look in her eyes gone, replaced by experience and maturity. It happens to the best of us.

  After the niceties, I turn to my sis and kid. “Hey Becca, let me get in there, so I can give your aunt a hug.” I engulf my daughter and sister into my arms.

  “Hey, Nix.” Lulu squeezes me tight. It’s the kind of hug someone gives who loves you no matter what. She follows that loving embrace with a chaste kiss on my cheek. “How have ya guys been?” She pulls away, setting Becca back on her feet.

  “Good!” I smile, loving that my kid forgets she’s six sometimes. Breaks my heart, though, that she’s getting too big for some people to hold.

  “Daddy’s got a girlfriend.” Becca spews out real fast like she’s in a race. “She came over last night and had some pizza, and me and Daddy sang to her and …”

  “Okay!” I scoop Becca up and toss her over my shoulder, dismissing the raised eyebrows from Lulu, her boyfriend, Zeke, his brother, Jax, and Lulu’s friend from Manhattan, Emmie who appears to be Jax’s girlfriend by the way he’s got his arms around her pregnant belly. “Let’s go find Grandma and Grandpa.”

  “Wait!” Lulu stops my attempt at an escape. “Who’s this girl you sang to?”

  “Look.” I point with a partially opened mouth. “It’s Jaggs and Crash. Wonder how that’s going to go over with your friend Maggie?”

  “Shit!” Lulu’s hand fists. She and Maggie have been friends for years. Lulu must’ve invited Maggie over for Token’s birthday party, but now that Crash is here, shit is going to hit the fan. Especially, because Crash brought his sexy sidekick, Jaggs, with him. If you didn’t know any better, you’d think the two were fucking. Even though he continues to deny it. Still, I’m not sure how the whole look of him and Jaggs is gonna go over with Crash’s estranged wife, Maggie.

  All I know is Lulu won’t leave her friend alone to defend herself, and I’m right. My little sis points a finger at me. “We’re gonna talk about this later.”

  “Sure.” I wink, sticking around for a few minutes until Crash and Maggie start to go at it, at which time, I carry my daughter into the house to see my parents.

  “Oh good, you’re here. Can you look at your dad’s laptop?” Ma smiles. Standing at the kitchen island, she holds up a bowl of fresh peaches. Becca grabs a piece of the fruit and jumps up on stool.

  “What’s wrong with it?” I drop Token’s birthday card on the counter. Can’t come to a Kane birthday party without a card for the guest of honor. It’s the admission fee.

  “I don’t know.” She pauses and looks at Becca. “Do you want me to cut that for you?” After my daughter shakes her head, Ma turns back to me. “It keeps freezing or something.”

  “Where is he?”

  “I sent him to the store. He’ll be back in a few minutes.”

  “Okay, I’ll go take a look at it.”

  “Daddy has a girlfriend. Her name’s Payton. She’s real pretty and smart, and she…”

  Dammit! I halt three steps on my way into Dad’s office. “Becca!”

  “Nickel Kane,” my mother says in a tone that confirms I’m not getting off that easily.

  I glance over my shoulder. “She’s a friend. That’s it.”

  “One he invited over to his house?” Token walks in and grabs a peach from the bowl. He takes a bite, grinning at me the whole time. Shit starter!

  Harley pulls up a stool and sits next to Becca, not making eye contact with me. I don’t blame her for staying out of it.

  “You had this woman at your house?” Ma perks up, her eyes flashing to Becca. Yeah, we had “the talk” after Ma picked me up at the motel butt-ass naked. Well, there was the sheet I snagged off the motel room bed before they kicked me out. All the way home, Ma lectured me about being a single dad, sleeping around, and how it’d affect Becca. It’s the reason I started my “no women” rule, but then Payton walked in my life, and that rule was quickly turned down by dick, among other things attached to my person.

  “Payton is just a friend.” I attempt to convince Ma.

  “Payton.” Token turns to Harley. “Isn’t that the girl from the gym?”

  Amidst a conversation with Becca about who plays a better Jasmine in Aladdin, Harley nods her head at Token.

  “She works at the theater with Harley too,” Becca chimes in. “And I like that lady, Angelica. She does the best Jasmine,” she finishes the debate with Harley.

  “Really?” Token points a half-eaten peach at me. “And how’d you meet her?”

  “At Crash’s shop.” I take a step toward him, caution lights signaling in my head.

  “Oh.” He looks back at Harley. “Did you send her there?”

  “Not me. We never talked about Crash’s shop.”

  “Huh.” Token shrugs.

  “Grandma,” Becca breaks into the conversation again. “Can we make whipped cream for the peaches?”

  Ma wags a finger at me. “We’re not done here.” Then she smiles at Becca, switching from her stern mom tone to her sweet grandma one. “Absolutely. Get the creamer from the fridge and I’ll get the mixer.”

&
nbsp; Closer now than I’d like to be to my annoying bro, Token leans his shoulder against mine. “Is this the same chick you went dumpster diving for?”

  I scowl at him.

  “Ah, didn’t you hear me? Let me say it a little louder, then.” His neck stretches as he glances at Ma and Becca. “IS SHE the—”

  “Her number,” I rush out. “I was looking for her phone number. She left her credit card at my house.” I cross my arms over my chest. “I wanted to get it back to her.”

  “So she’s been at your house more than once? Wow, dude.” My bro’s face goes from jovial to serious. He strokes his beard, lowering his voice. “That’s a first. She must be something special.”

  “The first time was by chance. I met her at Crash’s, gave her a ride to work while her car was in the shop. On the way there, I had to stop by the house to get something for Becca. Payton used the bathroom, her purse dropped, and shit fell out. That’s how the card—” I look at Harley, recalling what Crash said the morning I called for Payton’s number. “Hey, how’d you meet Payton? Was it at Token’s gym?” Harley nods. “How long ago?”

  “I don’t know.” Her shoulder lifts. “A couple of months ago.”

  “And you got her into the theater?”

  “Yeah, she mentioned she worked with costumes before back in, ah …” The corner of her mouth crinkles.

  “Boston?”

  “Yeah, that’s it!” Harley snaps her fingers. “Massachusetts, oh, wait, that’s wrong. She said she’s from Brookline, Massachusetts. I remember because my friend Jinny who works at the theater is from there too.”

  Lulu enters the kitchen with her crew. Ma pops her head up from the counter. “Where’s Maggie? I thought you invited her?”