His Old-Fashioned Love (Old-Fashioned Series) (3 page)

Derrick raised his sunglasses, those brown eyes piercing deep into her mind. “And just what
would you know about spanking subs?” he drawled.

Holly glanced down at her feet before forcing herself to meet his gaze. “Not much.”

He continued to stare at her until she squirmed.

“Do you really think I don’t know what sort of clubs you go to?” she questioned him.

“Is that so?” he queried slowly.

Great, she knew that look. He was not happy. Well, what did he expect? They basically lived together. She’d known
for a long time about the BDSM clubs that he visited. Matt had told her in a fit of jealously one day, when he was trying to scare her away from Derrick.

What
Matt hadn’t known was that he’d only stirred her curiosity. She might be a bit of a dinosaur because she wouldn’t put out on a first date, but she was no prude.

Holly
adored romance novels, especially those that included spanking. Sweet and sensuous or downright dirty, she loved them all. Something she’d never told Matt. How do you tell your husband that you wanted him to tie you up and spank you? That the thought of being put over his knee was arousing. You didn’t, not when said husband thought his brother was a sicko who needed help.

A vehicle drov
e up the road, sending clouds of dust in its wake. Holly sighed in relief.

“
He’s here,” she said unnecessarily as a large black truck pulled up. It looked like it had seen better days. There was a large dent in the side, accompanied by a series of scratches.

S
he completely forgot about the truck as a truly gorgeous man stepped out. His long legs were encased in dark denim. A green t-shirt molded against his thick biceps. She bit back her groan. He reached into his truck and grabbed a cowboy hat, placing it on his dark head before moving towards them in a smooth, firm stride.

Oh sugar.

“Jamieson,” Derrick greeted him, reaching out to shake his hand.

“
Call me Brax.” Even his voice was sexy, low and husky. “Sorry if I’m a bit late.”

“Not at all. We decided to come out a bit early. Call me Derrick. This is my assistant, Holly.”

Brax turned his attention on her, his stormy gray gaze moving slowly over her body. She broke out in goose bumps despite the heat. Swallowing heavily, she tried to moisten her parched mouth.

Brax’s full lips curled up into a small smile, making the lines around his eyes crinkle. Holly forced h
erself to pay attention and shook his hand as he offered it. He squeezed her hand.

“
Holly, nice to meet you.”

“
You too,” she murmured, quickly snatching back her hand and ignoring the look Derrick sent her. The feel of Brax’s skin against hers had slivers of desire slipping along her skin.

Wow. This
man should come with a warning
—touching may cause self-combustion.

Yeah, like
anyone would heed that warning.

“Right, have you studied
the plans? Shall we walk around the site as we map it out?” Derrick asked, turning the conversation towards business. Holly followed along behind them, trying to regain her senses, even as her gaze kept straying to Brax’s tight, hot ass.

Oh sugar
.

“
Holly? Holly?”

“
What?” She glanced up at Derrick guiltily, realizing that both men were staring at her.

Derrick was frowning while Brax grinned.

“Are you feeling okay?” Derrick asked.

Drat. Think of something to say.

“Fine, ahh, just a slight headache.”

“Hmm, we haven’t had much sleep,” Derrick commented. She blushed as she realized how that must sound to Brax, who was watching them both with interest.

“What say we finish this up tonight?” Derrick asked. “I’ll take Holly back to the
hotel in Lilyvale so she can relax. Are you doing anything for dinner?”

“
I’ve got no plans. Sounds like a good idea to me,” Brax said easily, before Holly could speak. “You’re staying at Braemark Hotel in Lilyvale? How about I meet you at O’Reilly’s at seven?”

Derrick nodded and took her elbow, leading her away. “Great, see you then.”

*****

Holly knew she was
being silly, but she couldn’t seem to stop herself. This was a business dinner, not a date. There was no reason for her to fuss over her appearance. Yet she wanted to look pretty.

For Brax.

She knew she wasn’t beautiful, but with a bit of makeup and the right sort of clothes she could be attractive. She bet Brax had women falling all over him constantly, so she needed to make sure she didn’t make a fool of herself.

But surely there was nothing wrong in dressing up a bit.

After they’d left Brax this morning, Derrick had brought her straight back to the hotel with an order to rest, which she felt a bit guilty over. Still, the headache excuse had come in handy when Derrick tried to bring up their earlier conversation about submissives.

Holly knew she had no right prying into Derrick’s private life. So she had taken the coward’s way out and retreated to her hotel room. She desperately needed some time to collect her wits before seeing Brax again. She felt sure that she had acted like a silly sixteen year old with her first crush
earlier.

A knock sounded on her hotel room door and she walked over, letting Derrick in. He ran his gaze ove
r her.

“
You look gorgeous, Holly.”

“
Thanks.”

The form-fitting jeans made her legs look longer and thinner. She hardly wore them, though, because she couldn’t fit her brace on underneath them. However, she’d be all right moving around for a few hours without the brace that she had to wear most of the time.

H
er sparkling black top showed off her best assets—her breasts. For years she’d dieted and kept herself to a size four, because that had been what Matt had wanted.

But now, t
wo years later, she was a size ten and she loved her new curves.

“
Are you feeling all right now?” Derrick asked, coming over to place his cool palm on her forehead.

“
Yes, thank you,” she said, stepping back and grabbing her purse. “It was just a headache. I’m fine. Are we going to walk?”

He nodded
. “It’s a nice night. Take a light jacket though.”

Holly grabbed the
red leather jacket she had ready.

“
Got your key?”

“Yep.” She slipped her hand into the elbow he offered as he shut the door behind them and led her out onto the street. The hotel was small, about twenty-five rooms, but
it was the only hotel in town.

They walked along, chatting quietly until they reached O’Reilly’s. Derrick held the door open for her, ushering her in.

Brax stood as they entered, waving them over to the corner booth.

“Good to see you again,” he said with a smile. “Have a seat. Can I get you both a drink?”

Derrick helped her into the booth.
“Yes, thanks. Whiskey for me and orange juice for Holly.”

Brax turned away and Holly worked desperately hard not to stare at that delicious ass.

Brax ordered the drinks and leaned back against the bar to wait, discreetly looking over at the gorgeous woman sitting by Derrick Ashdown. He wondered what was going on between the two of them. They were clearly too close to be just employer and employee. Were they sleeping together? Ashdown didn’t seem like the kind of man to put up with his woman checking out another man’s ass, though, the way Holly had been this morning.

H
is cock hardened as he swallowed heavily. He needed to get himself under control. There were more important things right now than a pretty woman. Like getting this contract.

He paid for the drinks, then w
orked his way back to the booth.

Damn she was beautiful, though, with her shoulder-length dark-brown hair, those sparkling blue eyes and olive skin. When she laughed she put her whole body into it. And what a body—the woman had curves that made him long to put his hands on her hips and kiss his way across her full breasts.

Get yourself under control, man.

“So you both live in Houston?” he asked them.

Holly nodded. “Yes, we’ve been there for about… ” she turned to Derrick, a cute frown on her face, “a year now?”

Derrick smiled at her, leaning back in the seat.
“That seems about right. We moved there from New York.”

Brax suddenly felt like the dumbass cowboy
. Hell, he’d never been farther away than San Antonio. He’d never really had the urge to travel. He was happy just being close to his family and working in his business.

This i
s good,
he told himself. It showed him how different he and Holly were. She was obviously used to a faster pace. They would have nothing in common. His idea of a night out was a steak dinner and maybe a movie. She probably enjoyed champagne and ballet.

S
he was way out of his league. No, it was best Brax steer clear of the temptation Holly posed.

Look, don’t touch.

“And you, Brax?” Holly asked. “Where do you live?”

“
I have a small spread about ten minutes away, just out of Waco. But I grew up on a ranch about thirty miles from here.”

“
Ahh, a real cowboy then?” she teased. Damn, she was beautiful when she smiled—it lit up her whole face.

“
You bet, ma’am,” he said, tipping an imaginary hat.
Stop flirting,
he told himself sternly, forcing his mind onto business.

By the end of the night, Brax
was exhausted from trying to ignore his attraction to Holly.

He
held open the door for Holly who smiled back over her shoulder at him, causing his heart to skip a beat. Suddenly she stumbled and he lunged forward to grab her, grasping her waist and pulling her back against him.

“
Oh,” she gasped. “Thank you.”

Brax held her, loving the feel of her soft body against his, reluctantly letting her go when it was obvious she had her balance back.

“Are you okay?” he asked with a frown. She hadn’t drunk anything and her shoes were flat. He looked down at the ground—there was nothing there to cause her to trip.

“Ahh, yeah,” she said with an embarrassed laugh, taking the arm Derrick held out to her. “Just clumsy.”

Brax eyed her as she and Derrick stepped forward. “You’re limping. You hurt yourself.”

She and Derrick shared a look he couldn’t decipher. Not meeting his gaze, sh
e blushed slightly. “Old injury; I’m fine.”

Brax raised his brows at Derrick who nodded in agreement.

“Can you walk back, love?” Derrick asked. Brax’s stomach dropped at the endearment. No way did you call your employee
love
.

“
I’ll be fine.”

“
My truck is close. I’ll drop you both off,” he offered.

“
I’ll be fine. I just sat for too long,” Holly replied stubbornly.

“
It’s on my way.”

“
Thank you,” Derrick told him, keeping hold of Holly’s arm as Brax turned towards his truck.

Holly sighed, but didn’t protest further.
Just as well,
Brax thought. He was ready to pick her up and haul her to his truck. He didn’t like the idea of her hurting. Damn, he’d only just met this woman. What was he thinking? He had no claim on her.

Getting involved in a relationship didn’t f
actor into his plan right now. In a few years, when his business was more profitable he would begin looking for a woman who wanted the same things he did, a family, a quiet life, someone who would willingly submit to him.

He firmly believed that women could do
anything; they were strong, smart and truly amazing. But he needed to know that his woman would look to him to take care of her, to protect her. He would never be the sort of husband who could just sit back and stay out of things.

“
Well, who do we have here?” a deep voice drawled.

Shit.

Brax unlocked his truck with a beep, before turning to look at Mason Philips and his two brothers, Dave and Eddy. They were standing about ten feet away. Mason was a big man; his shoulders were wide and thick with muscle that was starting to turn to fat. His hands were clenched into huge fists as he glared at Brax, his hatred clear to see.

“
Mason,” he greeted the other man, keeping his voice deliberately cool and disinterested. It wouldn’t take much to prod the other man into a full-blown rage.

“
Thought we told you to never come around Lilyvale again?”