HazardsDare (13 page)

Looking down at his cup, he saw Jax was right. The cup was
ruined. At some point, he’d finished the coffee and couldn’t remember drinking
it.

“What would you do if Gabriel, Sawyer and I wanted to take
Avery to bed? What if they wanted an orgy?”

“I’d probably knock all of your heads together and shove
something hard and nasty up your asses for touching Avery without my
permission.”

Jax grinned mischievously. “Don’t tease. You know how I like
sex, hard and nasty.”

“That’s all you’ve known since Niko and Gemma died, Jaxon.
You hide out up here in your playhouse and dungeons, knowing the subs you train
are only a temporary diversion so that you can tempt their Doms to switch and
prove you can top anyone you want.”

“Sometimes even Doms like to give control over to someone
else. When that happens, I’m the one they switch for.”

“My point is, you hide here taking on multiple lovers, but
you won’t let yourself fall in love again.”

“Gemma and Niko were my partners. What are the chances
another pair is waiting and able to handle my demons?”

“You’ll never know if you don’t try. They loved you. I’d
think they’d want you to move on with your life.”

“We’re not talking about my love life anyway. You’re my best
friend. You arrived this morning looking happier than I’ve seen you in years.
Avery’s good for you. Don’t do her the disservice of comparing her to your
bitch of an ex-wife or your mom.”

“To her credit, my mother tried to stay with my dad for as
long as she could. He drove her into the arms of other men with his constant
travels. It’s a wonder four of us were born among the chaos.”

“You turned out pretty good. It was you back in high school
who took on the whole football team when they’d bullied me. It was you who beat
the fuck out of your sister’s rapist. You’re the one who’s donating a ton of
money to help autistic kids get the education they need.”

“I’m not a saint, bro. I did what any brother should do for
his sister. She was fifteen. The fucker deserved the beating I’d handed down.
You’d better believe I’d be there for her again if Robert ever lifted a hand to
her.”

“Chloe’s husband is a nice guy.”

“He is. They’re a good couple. It’s safe to say it’s Eric
I’m worried about.”

“Why?”

“He’s having an affair. If Angie finds out, she’ll be
devastated.”

“Wouldn’t anyone?”

“Yes. When you live it, knowing someone you loved and
pledged your life to turned to another person for whatever it was you couldn’t
give them, sex, companionship, children, it’s crushing.”

Jax put his mostly eaten doughnut aside, his eyes boring
into Hazard’s. “Have you told Red yet?”

“Told her what?”

“That you did something stupid before graduating from
college.”

“Marianne and I were engaged and she didn’t want children. I
sure as hell didn’t want a child of mine to feel like they were unwanted or a
mistake the way my parents made me feel growing up. Having a vasectomy made
sense at the time.”

“Your parents sucked as a couple. That’s true. Not all
marriages are like theirs…or yours for that matter. What if Red wants kids when
you two get married? Some vasectomies are reversible.”

“Slow down, Jaxon Wynter, marriage would ruin us. I like
things the way they are, free and open.”

“I was hoping to be your best man again.”

“Tell you what,” Hazard said. “When you fall in love and get
married, we’ll have a double wedding.”

“Don’t make that kind of statement. I’m sure as hell not
looking to replace my partners, but if the right partners or just one person is
waiting for me, I’ll be open to them.”

“Can you be satisfied with one man or one woman?”

Jax thought about it as he nibbled on his doughnut,
swallowing it down with coffee.

“I could if I loved them enough,” he finally said.

“Would you be happy?”

“I’d try. I still think you should give Red a chance. She’s
a sweetheart, isn’t she?”

“She is. Incredibly, talking to her is as easy for me as it
is when I talk to you or a teammate. You’re changing the subject.”

“And you like her,” Jax said, continuing on his topic. “You
admitted as much.”

“I’ve got a crush on my lover, nothing wrong with that.”

“Then don’t crush her heart. You do, you won’t have to worry
about her brother or her brother’s friends. I’ll beat the tar out of you.”

“You would,” Hazard said. “Thanks for the talk. I needed
it.”

“Anytime,” Jax replied. “One thing before we get started on
the windows.”

“Are you really going to make me climb ladders to clean the
windows?”

“Yes. Don’t worry, big guy, I’ll be there to keep you safe.”

“Great, I feel better already.”

“Don’t knock being friends with your lover, Trevor. Ever
think that there are two sides to the L-word you avoid like the plague?”

“Not sure I’m following.”

“The L-word, love, needs more than lust to make it grow. It
requires friendship, trust, communication. I had that with Gemma and Niko. I
realized it only after they were gone. They made me laugh and cry and kept me
sane while meeting deadlines. Niko’s skill as a lover chased away my torrid
past.”

“Your past is what it is and best left there.”

“I know that now. Thanks to Gemma, I learned to create
beauty out of words. Her artistry was brilliant.”

“You could be on to something. I do like Avery a lot. If
someone hurt her, I’d take on the entire Army and the Maddox brothers to make
sure she was safe.”

“Who are the Maddox brothers?”

“They’re the muscle Alexander Grant would use if he needed
it, not to mention his husband. Ryan’s quiet and sharp and probably the
deadliest when riled.”

“Hmm, the Maddox boys sound promising. You’ll have to
introduce me sometime. Any chance they’re gay or bi?”

“Not that I could tell. Keep in mind I’ve only interacted
with Ethan and Taran during a telethon that Phalen’s wife arranged and again at
Dallas McKay’s wedding. Phalen’s former Special Ops. His wife Cassie is a
knockout. Ethan would have damaged my face if he’d had the chance.”

“Why’s that?”

“I was paired with Morgan Everhart in Dallas’ wedding.
Morgan and I have kept in touch. Less often now that she and Ethan are
married.”

“Jealousy can be the downfall of many good men. I’ll have to
keep that in mind tonight. If Red’s wearing something sexy again, I might risk
the pummeling you’d give me. I can’t resist flirting with a pretty woman when
the chance presents itself.”

“If Avery’s dressed in something sexy, it’ll be for me, not
you.”

“Exactly,” Jax declared, standing up and clearing away the
remains of his doughnut. “Let’s get this cleaning thing started. I don’t want
you to be away from your lady friend too long.”

“Me either,” Hazard said, already wondering if she was
wrapped up in chocolate.

Standing up, he watched Jax head toward the massive laundry
room that doubled as a cleaning supply pantry. All the while, he couldn’t stop
thinking about what Jaxon said.

He already liked Avery a helluva lot. If like turned into
something more substantial, maybe that wasn’t such a bad thing.

When he’d been with Marianne, he really had loved her. She’d
smelled so good the first time he’d talked to her in the hallway in the twelfth
grade. But he’d been blinded by male hormones and a pretty face, ignoring all
the warnings that Jaxon and his friends had given as to her true nature.

He’d not known that she’d been a so-called mean girl who
felt entitled to her popularity because her parents indulged her every whim and
fancy. They’d been extremely wealthy and considered anyone beneath their
economic level as second-class citizens.

Hazard might never know why Marianne had turned her
attention to him. He wasn’t born with a silver spoon in his mouth and was a bit
of a rebel in her parents’ eyes, but he’d had pro scouts attending his games as
soon as he made the varsity football team.

After he and Marianne became a certified item, she’d been on
the homecoming court, senior class president, head cheerleader and won a beauty
pageant disguised as a scholarship to attend modeling school. They’d been prom
king and queen.

Sex had been fantastic after the first couple of tries.
She’d been a virgin and he’d always felt like a rat for breaking her hymen, but
she hadn’t balked or cried or shown any disdain.

They’d gotten engaged during his sophomore year at UNLV, but
they didn’t marry until after he’d signed with his first agent and team.
Marriage turned out to be miserable, for both of them.

He’d tried to be a good husband. But he hadn’t known how
many tears would be shed, on both of their parts, or how much it’d destroyed
him to know another man had been in his bed more than once, before and after
they’d married.

After their divorce, she’d moved in with one of her lovers,
married him and had a child. Hazard cried when he’d heard the news. Not because
he didn’t think she should be happy in the life she wanted, but because he’d
gotten a vasectomy as a show of faith in their relationship.

Jaxon was right. He’d done something utterly stupid, ruining
any chance of having children someday. Before meeting Avery, concerning himself
with a future that included a family hadn’t mattered.

Now, correcting his mistake wasn’t possible unless it could
be surgically reversed. At the time of his vasectomy, he’d asked the urologist
about the chances and the doctor performed the procedure with more probability
of reversal. It wasn’t a guarantee, but it was there nonetheless.

As much as he’d thought love would be enough to sustain a
relationship, he could look back and see that he’d never really liked Marianne.
They’d never been friends. Pretty as she was on the surface, he’d been thinking
entirely with his dick.

It’d only been one night and he was already addicted to fucking
Avery Grant. If it was possible to love, like and be in lust with the same
woman, there was a chance he’d found her.

He didn’t know if he was thinking of forever here. He
honestly didn’t at this point. It was too soon. But he wasn’t going to let his
rotten marriage spoil what he could have with Avery.

And right about now, Avery was getting rubbed down, petted
and pampered in chocolate wraps and probably smelled like a goddess. He sure as
hell would like to find out.

“Trev, if you don’t lose the boner, I’m hosing you off
outside,” Jaxon warned, turning around and pointing out the truth.

Fuck! He thought of Avery and he’d gone full-mast in the
blink of an eye.

“Sorry. Let me duck into the bathroom. No way can I climb a
ladder right now.”

“It’s times like this when I wish you were bi. I’d take care
of it for you,” Jax confessed. “I’ve seen you in action, Red’s a lucky woman.”

“I’ll always love you, but I’m not turning bi for you.”

Getting his ass in gear, Hazard closed himself off in the
first-floor bathroom. Splashing his face with cold water and thinking about
scrubbing windows helped distract him enough to lose his erection.

He returned to the kitchen, where Jax was dumping vinegar
into a bucket of hot water. “What, no Windex?” he asked.

“My mama always cleaned her windows with vinegar. Left them
spotless,” Jax said.

“Are you really going to close yourself off from the world,
even sex, for the winter?”

“After the Griffins win the championship, yeah,” Jax
answered.

“What if we lose?”

“Then you and Red can join me and we’ll commiserate
together.”

“Ha, fat chance, buddy. I’m not letting you tie up my girl
and fuck my ass while I’m fucking her. I’m not a bottom kind of guy and Avery’s
not a submissive.”

“You underestimate my powers of seduction.”

“Do I?”

“Yes. Sometimes submissives come to me because their vanilla
partners can’t meet their needs. Most of the time, I train them for their
Dominant partners. When I’m done, their relationship is solid and they
understand that the dynamics of BDSM involves more than whips and chains.”

“You take a whip to Avery, I will bury you.”

Jaxon stopped what he was doing and looked back. “Are you
aware of how protective you are of her? If not, you need to record yourself and
hit playback.”

“BDSM doesn’t do it for me, Jax. I doubt it’d get Avery off
either. She’s the one who matters right now.”

Again Jaxon smiled as if he knew something Hazard didn’t.
“How much you want to bet she’d like a little bondage? You’re not a Dom. But
you forget I’ve seen you tie up a woman and get her off. Being the top dog gets
you horny as hell.”

“You’ve seen more than you should admit to. Shut the fuck up
or you can wash your own windows.”

“Your secrets are safe with me.”

Hazard believed him. If he didn’t, he wouldn’t have
maintained their friendship all these years. He’d been Jaxon’s champion when
everyone else abandoned or bullied him due to his mother’s business and the
question of who his father was.

Only Saraphina Wynter had known the truth, but Alzheimer’s
had caused her to forget much of her past as the madam of a legalized Nevadan
brothel and the identity of Jaxon’s father.

If he needed it, Hazard would fund an investigation, except
Jaxon needed to concentrate on his mother’s health care. Saraphina was at the
point where she needed to be in a group home and receive round-the-clock care
and supervision. It was very sad to know the woman who’d become a second mother
to Hazard had declined so rapidly.

“Hey, Trev, let’s put those linebacker muscles of yours to
work,” Jaxon teased.

“All right, all right,” Hazard said, following his friend.

Jaxon carried the bucket and a handful of old rags to the
great room. A ladder was already in place. It was one of those multipurpose
A-frame deals that had substance and strength.