JAXON (The Caine Brothers Book 4) Read Online Free Page A

Jaxon excluded, of course. The first man after him.
    “Not the first one, but maybe the first sexy one,” Summer said. She placed a hand on Lily’s shoulder and looked her in the eye, kindness softening her features. “You work so hard at helping other people. Instead of trying so hard to find the guy who checks all your ‘perfect man’ boxes on paper, maybe you need to just do something for yourself.”
    Lily harrumphed her doubt. “It’s not like I have a lot of experience with men. I wouldn’t know how to have a fling.”
    Before Summer could answer, the sound of the front door opening drew their attention. Jaxon stood barefoot on the porch wearing only jeans, the end of a white t-shirt tucked into the waistband, the rest of it dangling down his leg, for later use. Gorgeous didn’t begin to describe him. The redness and swelling had disappeared. His wavy dark blonde hair fell to his shoulders still damp from the shower, a few days’ dark scruff dusted his square jaw, and when he saw them and smiled, dimples framed his lips.
    And then there was his body.
    A wicked chuckle nearby broke the spell. “Ask and ye shall receive,” Summer said.
    Lily cleared her throat and tore her eyes from Jaxon. “Hush.”
    “ This is your uncle’s house guest?” Summer asked.
    “Yes.”
    “He is h-o-t, hot. I’d totally do him for fun.”
    “Well, he’s a houseguest.”
    “And that precludes having sex with him?”
    “That and my conscience.”
    “Pfft.” Summer waved away Lily’s conscience as if it meant nothing.
    “Ladies.” Jaxon waved from the porch, an air of casual grace about the way he moved.
    “Hi,” Summer said. She waved and headed for the porch. Lily followed along behind, helpless to stop the scene from playing out. “I’m Summer Trevino.” Summer offered her hand to shake.
    Before Summer made things a lot worse, Lily stepped in and said, “While you were in the shower…”
    Summer made an amused snorting sound. “In the shower?”
    “Never mind,” Lily said. She had no desire to recount the entire incident. It would only prolong this incident, and refresh her guilt. “While you were in the shower, I spoke to my uncle. He confirmed your manager, Mike, had called and asked if you could stay for a while. We had words about forgetting to tell me and how it would have prevented the earlier situation. I’m sorry again, Mr. Caine.”
    Jaxon shot them one of those dimple-grins again and something twitched in Lily’s belly. “Mr. Caine’s awfully formal. Just call me Jaxon.”
    “Wait,” Summer said. “You’re Jaxon Caine? From Raising Caine?”
    His grin got bigger, but something about it seemed fake. Sure, charm oozed from every pore, but it came across as artificial. Or forced. She might have been wrong, but she caught a tiny hint of panic flash in his eyes.
    “I am.” He took Summer’s hand to shake, but then leaned in as if he had a secret to tell her. “But I’m here for a retreat, so don’t tell anyone, okay?”
    Summer patted his hand. “No problem, handsome. As long as you do me a favor.”
    She shot Lily a conspiratorial look that drove Lily’s stomach to drop into a chasm of humiliated fear. She jumped in to prevent disaster. “Summer, you can’t be asking him for favors. He probably gets that all the time. Leave the poor man alone.”
    The poor man in question watched the exchange with a bemused smirk on his face, but he seemed to be grateful that Lily had saved him from having to dodge a favor. If he only knew what favor he’d dodged. If nothing else, Lily was certainly grateful.
    “At the very least, you’re welcome to come be my guest at the restaurant,” Summer said.
    “Restaurant?”
    Summer pointed to the side of the van that said Houston Fresh and sported her restaurant logo. “My place. You’ll love it.”
    “I look forward to it.” Jaxon said.
    “Okay, we’re going to finish loading up this produce, Lily said. “Be right back.”
    Lily grabbed