His Old-Fashioned Love (Old-Fashioned Series) (10 page)

Smack! His hand landed on her bottom, setting her off. She arched back, crying out as her whole body shuddered with pleasure. Brax withdrew his hand, rubbing her back soothingly until she settled with a satisfied sigh.

He shifted her off
his lap, setting her on the bed. Immediately, she felt the loss of having him close, but held herself back from reaching for him.

“I’ll get you a glass of water,” he said suddenly, striding quickly into the bathroom.

Brax
braced himself against the sink, peering at himself in the mirror. What the fuck was he thinking? He hadn’t been, apparently. This entire night had been one big fuck-up after another—confronting Mason, coming here tonight, spanking Holly. Pleasuring her.

He’d been a fool to think he could keep this platonic, that they were just two friends having a few dates. Neither of them were casual sort of people.

Brax didn’t just go around spanking women. Well, not outside the club. And when he was at the club, he knew those subs and they all knew the rules. There was usually negotiation, discussion, and never any expectation that things would go beyond the club.

With Holly.
God. He’d really fucked things up. He cared about her deeply. He wouldn’t be so upset with her if he didn’t. He had come here to give her a good scolding, not to spank her. Not to give her pleasure.

Not
to fall more deeply for her.

He ran his hand over his face. He looked like shit and he felt even worse. What he’d just done
wasn’t something he took lightly. He had barely even kissed Holly. Damn, she was hot. She’d come so beautifully.

He adjusted himself
, his cock pressing painfully against his jeans. It would be so easy to go back in there and take her, make love to her.

But he
shouldn’t pull them further into something that could go nowhere. It wouldn’t be fair for either of them.

He steeled himself. He hated this, hated that he was about to go back in the
re and cause her pain. More pain. He should feel guilty about spanking her, and yet if it meant she thought twice the next time she went to do something that dumb and dangerous… Except who would be there to follow through if she did?

His discipline meant nothing if they didn’t have a committed relationship. Holly was impulsive, especially when it came to looking out for others. She needed someone to look out for her, to put her first.

“Brax?” she called out, a note
of vulnerability in her voice.

“Why don’t you get into your pajamas, sweetheart,” he called back.

“Okay.”

End things now, before you both get too deep
.

Turning, he walked back into the bedroom, worried that it might just be too late.

Holly lay on her side, her bottom throbbing. Strangely enough, although it had hurt far more than she’d thought, she was more aroused than she’d ever been.

Did that make her a masochist? Did she get turned on by pain? She bit her lip, feeling confused. She should ask Brax. Yet she was hesitant—slightly embarrassed. She’d felt so vulnerable over his knee, bared from the waist down. She wished Brax would hurry back and reassure her, hold her. She didn’t like feeling this way—in doubt, worried.

Brax walked in and she smiled up at him, her
grin fading as he stared down at her seriously. He sat on the bed beside her and she scooted back a little to give him room.

“How you feeling?” he asked her, reaching out a hand to touch her before snatching it back at the last minute.

Holly frowned. She had a bad feeling about this.

“Sore.” She grimaced, reaching back with one hand to rub her bottom.

He grinned slightly. “That was the idea.”

“Brax?”

“Yeah?”

“Just spit it out.”

He stared down at her, his gray eyes sad but firm. “I’m sorry, sweetheart.”

She raised her brows. “You’re sorry you spanked me?”

“Yes. I had no right to do that. We’re not in a relationship. You’re not my submissive or my
girlfriend.”

Each word stabbed her in the stomach. No, she wasn’t. She wasn’t anything.

She moved further back. He narrowed his gaze but didn’t say anything.

“What are you saying?”

“I’m saying that I shouldn’t have come here tonight, I definitely shouldn’t have spanked you and I’m sorry for overstepping the bounds of our friendship.”

“And that
’s all we are—friends.”

Holly
just couldn’t let him leave without dragging every painful word out, without making completely certain that she understood. Seemed she really was a bit of a masochist.

“I hope we’re still friends,” Brax said. “
I understand if you’re angry with me, but I hope we can keep the friendship we’ve been growing. As attracted as I am to you, Holly, we still can’t be anything more. Nothing has changed.”

He reached out to brush
a lock of hair off her forehead. Holly flinched back, away from him.

His gaze darkened with pain as he dropped his hand.
“I’m sorry about tonight, sweetheart. I took things further than I should have. It’s best we just stop this now, before either of us gets in too deep. You’re so beautiful and sweet and you deserve so much more than me.”

He turned away and walked out the door, shutting it behind him.

Holly stared after him, completely shocked. What the hell had just happened? He’d decided to stop things before they both got in too deep?

Well, too fucking late. She’d
fallen for him, even knowing he wasn’t ready for a relationship. Her heart had gotten involved.

She’d have been willing to compromise on a number of things to be with him, to see where this thing
between them was going. Didn’t they at least owe it to themselves to see what it could be before getting worried about things like where they lived?

“Asshole,” she muttered, tears running down her face. She really thought that they could have had something—and he wasn’t even willing to try.

Growling with frustration, Brax pushed away the blue print he’d been trying to study for the past hour. He couldn’t concentrate. Every ten minutes, he was up, checking for Holly, hoping to see her car. He moved out of the trailer he used as an office, pulling his hat on.

Yesterday, i
n a bid to distract himself from thinking about Holly, he’d headed out to Heath’s place. He kept his horse there, having nowhere to stable him on his property. Once he had more cash coming in he’d be able to put up proper fencing and shelter.

But u
ntil the business was more established he wouldn’t draw a bigger wage. So it would take a few years for him to make improvements on his place. Holly would be shocked if she saw the tiny house he lived in. She was used to nicer things and he just couldn’t provide them.

Where the hell was she?

It was nearly lunchtime and he hadn’t seen or heard from her. If she was all right, then she should have at least had the professional courtesy to call him and tell him that she wouldn’t be in today.

H
e took off his hat and wiped the sweat from his brow. Looking up, he noticed Joshua walking towards him.

“Have you heard from Holly?” he growled at the
younger man. He knew he was acting like a bear with a sore paw but couldn’t help it. His crew was definitely giving him a wide berth today.

Joshua sent him a wary look.
“Ahh, yeah, she’s working from the hotel today.”

Brax frowned. “Well, she could have let me know.”

“She said she text you.”

Brax grabbed his phone, opening it. “Damn, crappy reception,” he muttered.

Joshua nodded. “Thank God we have the landline. Otherwise I’d never get anything done. Some days I get great reception, others it’s completely hopeless.”

Brax just nodded, wandering away. Finally, his phone showed two bars and a series of beeps came through. He scrolled through them, looking for Holly’s name.

Working from hotel today. Won’t be in
.

His frown deepened. He hated text messaging, so much could be misconstrued and it felt so impersonal. Yet, Holly had the ability to
infuse warmth in her texts; he could usually hear her friendly voice in them.

Not this time.

Well, he’d wanted space.

So why was this horrible, churning feeling in his gut telling h
im he was doing the wrong thing?

*****

Holly walked around the main street of Lilyvale, peering in windows. She was trying to distract herself. She had spent most of the morning moping and then all afternoon trying to catch up on her work. None of it worked, she was still feeling sorry for herself. Finally, knowing that she needed to stretch her leg, she’d grabbed her purse and taken off for a walk.

It was early evening and most of the shops were closing down.

“Good evening,
Mr Duggan,” she called out in a friendly tone.

The old man turned, scowling. “Maybe for some.”

“Mr Duggan, I wonder if you’d care to have dinner with me?” she asked as he locked the door to his shop.

He stilled, turning to look at her, his bushy eyebrows lowering over his eyes as he peered at her suspiciously.

“What?” he barked.

“My treat.”
She really couldn’t be alone tonight; her thoughts were driving her nuts.

“Why would you want to do that? You trying to make me change my mind about the resort, because I won’t.”

“Not at all,” she said easily. “But I find its rather lonely eating by myself. You would be doing me a big favor.”

He grumbled under his breath for a moment.

“Come on now, I promise I won’t even mention the resort. You wouldn’t leave me to eat on my own, would you?”

“Well, I suppose
,” he said, feigning reluctance. But if she had read him right he was as lonely as she was. “If you need the company.”

“I do.”

*****

Holly was surprised by how much she was enjoying herself.
Mr Duggan, whose first name was Lester, was actually an interesting man. He’d fought for his country in Vietnam, been a decorated soldier and now he just wanted some peace and quiet to live out his last years. The last thing he wanted was a whole lot of tourists invading his quiet town.

Understanding his reasons for not wanting the resort to go ahead, she reached across and grabbed his hand, squeezing it.

“Thank you for having dinner with me,” she told him with a smile.

He snorted. “Young girl like you shouldn’t be stuck here having dinner with me.”

“Well, I happen to have enjoyed myself. I’m just going to go to the ladies room. I’ll be back in a moment.”

He waved her off. “Take your time. I’m in no rush.”

Holly walked towards the toilets, which were down a long passage at the back of the building. She used the toilet then washed her hands, staring at herself. Soon she would have to go back to her hotel room. Alone. With too much time to think.

He hadn’t called her. Hadn’t text her. Hadn’t come to see her.

This was ridiculous. He wanted to be friends. She wanted more. She wanted Brax. But there was no way she was going to make a fool of herself over him any longer. She’d thought to change his mind and she’d failed. It was time to move on. If space is what he wanted, it’s what he would get.

“Where’s my money?”

She stilled at the familiar voice. Where was it coming fro
m? For a moment, she thought someone was in the toilets with her, but all three stalls were empty.

“You haven’t finished
the job yet,” another voice replied, this one quieter and also vaguely familiar.

Holly looked up
. A long, thin window ran along the length of the bathroom. It was currently open.

“I did everything you said. It’s not my fault they don’t scare easy. What else do you want me to do?”

Suddenly, she recognized the first voice. Mason Philips. She needed to see him to be sure, though. Moving into the stall closest to the outside wall, she lowered the toilet lid carefully then climbed on top to peer out the narrow window. She peered to her left where two large men stood in the dark alley.

“You’ll get paid when they’
ve shut down the site and not a minute before,” the other man said quietly. “You need to up your game. I want Brax Jamieson gone.”

The
other man was smaller. He had his back to her and his head was covered in a hat. His husky voice was quiet, but she was sure that she had heard his voice before.

She strained to hear more.

“Then you’ll get your money. Don’t forget, we’re both getting what we want. Brax Jamieson off the Ashdown job and preferably ruined.”

Holly put her hand over her mouth to hold back her gasp of shock.

“Yeah, all right, all right,” Mason replied peevishly. “I’ll get the job done.”

“Make sure you do.”

Both men turned and walked away. Holly would have loved to catch a glimpse of the other man, but she’d never make it outside in time. She lowered herself carefully off the toilet then sat on it, breathing deep. Her whole body shook.

Who was that other guy? Why would he want to ruin Brax? Should she tell Brax? But what did she really have to
tell him? She didn’t know who the other man was. The one person who did know was Mason Philips and he wouldn’t tell. If she told Brax, he’d go after Philips again. The last time he’d done that it had nearly ended in disaster. She didn’t want to risk Brax getting hurt.

No, s
he needed to figure out who the other man was and then she could go to the Sheriff or Derrick. But what would Mason do next? How could she stop him?

She
needed to keep an eye on him. Starting tonight. Except there was that promise she’d made to Brax. But this was business, that promise had been personal. She was Ashdown Industries representative, she had to do this.

That was her story, anyway, and she’d stick to it.

Mind made up, she moved from the bathroom.

*****

A few hours later, feeling defeated, she drove back to the hotel. She was so tired her eyes felt gritty and it took every ounce of concentration she had to keep herself awake. No wonder, it was now four in the morning. She’d been watching Mason Philips’ house all night, wanting to catch him out. But he had obviously been peacefully sleeping while she had been holed up in her cold car, struggling to keep herself awake.

She park
ed and climbed out of the car. Limping slowly, her leg stiff and sore from spending too long cramped in one position, she made her way to her room. Only to nearly stumble over Brax who was slumped the floor outside her door, sleeping.

Quickly, she took a step back to stop herself from tripping over him, putting all her weight on her sore leg. A low whimper of pain passed through her lips.

Brax opened his eyes, staring up at her.

“Brax!” she said in a harsh whisper
as she leaned against the wall. “What are you doing here?”

She really, really didn’t h
ave the energy to deal with him right now. Brax quickly stood and grasped her around the waist.

“Are you okay?”
he asked.

“No, I’m not. You scared the living daylights out of me.”

“You’re in pain,” he accused. “Is it your leg?”

She bit back a
smart remark. Pain and fatigue was making her short-tempered. But snapping at Brax wasn’t going to get her into bed any quicker.

“Brax, I’m tired, I’m in pain and you just gave me a hell of a fright. Please, just go home and leave me be.”

He shook his head and stepped back slightly. “I can’t. Give me your key. I want to talk to you.”

Sighing, she rubbed her temple, feeling a headache developing. “
Fine, but make it quick.” Reaching into her bag she pulled out her key and handed it to him. He unlocked her door then stepped back to allow her to go in first.

As
Holly took a step forward her leg caved beneath her, a huge cramp hitting her, seizing her leg and stealing her breath.

“Come on, baby. Breathe through it. That’s the way.”

Brax picked her up, holding her cuddled against his chest as though she was precious. He laid her on the bed. Her whole being focussed in on the pain as she reached down, trying to ease the cramp.

Her hands were brushed gently away as he
stripped her pants off and removed the brace. Then large hands dug into her leg. Agony engulfed her. Holly bit her lip, forcing herself to keep quiet, although low whimpers escaped her lips.

“Oh, oh.”

“Easy, sweetheart. Breathe through it. There you go.”

F
inally, the pain lessened, allowing her to open her eyes.

“Better?” he asked, his gaze filled with concern.

She nodded, so exhausted she could barely see straight.

“I’m going to get
some pain pills and the heating pad. Do you need anything else?” His gaze was so caring it made her ache for what she couldn’t have. She shook her head, closing her eyes. She didn’t even have the energy to remain angry at him.

“Okay, sweetheart, let’s get you into bed.”

Lifting her up gently, he bundled into bed, placing the heating pad around her leg. She swallowed the pills he gave her obediently.

Brax sat beside her, running his hand over her head.

“What are you doing here, Brax?” she asked. Why didn’t he just leave her alone?

His hand stilled but she didn’t open her eyes. She d
idn’t want to see him right now. She wasn’t strong enough to hide her feelings for him. The last thing she wanted was to let him know how much he had hurt her.

“I was worried
when you didn’t come in today. I tried calling you a couple of times and your phone went straight to voicemail. So I decided to come here and wait for you. It’s nearly five in the morning, where have you been?”

“Out having mad monkey sex,” she replied.

Silence stretched out and she opened her eyes with a sigh. “I turned my phone off when I went to dinner with Mr Duggan and I forgot to turn it back on. Where I’ve been is none of your business, Brax. I’m a big girl and you’re not responsible for me. Now, please, I’m exhausted and so must you be. Go home.”

His face grew stubborn, but his eyes grew dark with worry. She should tell him about the conversation she’d overheard. Keeping quiet about this because she was hurt was foolish. She opened her mouth to tell him everything when he stood with a scowl.

“It’s not safe
for you to be out this late and you need your sleep. Tell whoever you were with that they need to get you home at a decent hour. You have a job to do. I’ll expect you there tomorrow.”