JAXON (The Caine Brothers Book 4) by Margaret Madigan Read Free Book Online Page B

celebrity had scared her away, or she’d figured given who he was she could take advantage and he wouldn’t care. He deserved either. But if he’d been a normal guy, not a famous rock star, would she have stayed in his bed overnight? Would he have awakened to her adoring smile? Snuggled her close to him?
    Throwing the cover off and sitting on the edge of the bed, he shoved those thoughts aside. He didn’t even know if he wanted those things, but somehow after Lily, they seemed more important because sex with Lily had been more than just sex. He’d done “just sex” a lot and afterwards, he had no desire to see any of the women again or wake up in bed with them.
    Which had been the primary motivation for the retreat in the first place. He needed to get away from the “lifestyle” and get back to his roots or basics or wherever the hell his muse felt most at home. His conscience approved of that choice. Yet only one day in and he couldn’t even keep his promise to stay away from women.
    Hopefully Lily would forgive him. He’d given her something she’d never had before, but should have. Technically, she’d asked him to do it, so really he’d just done her a favor. If he treated the whole situation in that context, maybe it wouldn’t affect the rest of the time he spent there at the estate. At least that’s how he rationalized it. He liked it there so far, and he liked Lily. He didn’t want to have messed that up.
    He strolled into the bathroom, hopeful everything would be back on track and he could start the relaxing, refreshing part of being on retreat.
    After showering, he went looking for Lily. He headed back downstairs and found coffee brewing in the kitchen, but no Lily. His stomach growled, but he didn’t want to go to the effort of cooking, so he dug around for sandwich-making supplies and grabbed a cup of coffee. The quiet made him twitchy and uneasy. He wasn’t used to being alone, especially in a place as enormous as this house. Even growing up in something similar, it had been filled with brothers and friends and never silent or lonely. Knowing Lily had to be somewhere on the estate compelled him to search for her.
    With sandwich and coffee in hand, he wandered the first floor, peeking into rooms and calling for Lily, finding no evidence of her anywhere on the main floor. In the foyer he had three choices—the east wing where he’d come from, out the front door, or the west wing where she’d said her room was and he shouldn’t bother himself with.
    “West wing it is, then,” he said, heading for the stairs.
    Again, every room looked the same. He about gave up, but then he passed a closed door. Retracing a couple of steps, he stopped in front of it and knocked.
    “Lily?”
    No answer. He shoved the last of the sandwich in his mouth, then used his free hand to grab hold of the knob. He turned it and opened the door. What he encountered on the other side startled him. Like a lush oasis in an endless desert, Lily’s bedroom was a breath of fresh air. She’d transformed it from the sea of sameness in the rest of the house into a cozy reflection of herself.
    Turquoise walls brought the room to life. A quilt in shades of fuchsia, green, yellow, and white, transformed the dark wood bedframe from stark to rich. She’d made the bed, neat and tidy exactly as he’d expect of her. Orange and white throw pillows accented the cover, but so did a handful of stuffed animals.
    Jaxon stepped into the room, drawn by the desire to know Lily through her private space. He’d had a taste of her body, but he craved a hint of Lily as a person. Maybe, if he was lucky, they could be friends.
    Two dark wood chairs with yellow cushions, and a chocolate brown couch with turquoise piping arranged adjacent to a marble fireplace formed a chic sitting area. She’d tossed a handful of magazines on the coffee table.
    Tipping his head to read the covers, he discovered Lily’s reading material consisted primarily of