Jaxson's Angel (2 page)

"I wanted to thank you for inviting me," she said when she'd reached the back of the boat.
Inviting her?
"I just got in and stopped by the house to drop off my things."

"Um . . . all right."
Crap
, Colton had invited his agent down for the week, but the punk hadn't mentioned her being so hot.
Best behavior? Not likely! This one's got my name written all over her
.

"It really is beautiful here. I've never been to the beach before." She looked a little nervous now. Well of course she did; she thought he was Colton and his reception of her wasn't that of a long-time friend.

"I'm Jaxson," he blurted, extending his hand in greeting when all he really wanted to do was smack his own forehead.
Real smooth, bonehead.

Her eyes rounded, and he got a good look at their lovely turquoise color before they narrowed. She laughed at him and wagged her finger. "You had me going there for a minute, Colton. It's not nice to play tricks on me after all that flight time." She shuddered. "I forgot how much I hated flying, but it's a long drive from Minnesota."

"Why don't you come onto the boat? I've got to clean up a bit before I call it a day, and you could keep me company if you’d like," he suggested. If she didn't want to believe him about his not being Colton, that wasn't his fault. His brother would be back soon enough and then she wouldn't have a choice.

What he didn't know, however, was what his brother's feelings toward the woman were. Maybe Colton hadn't mentioned her attractiveness because she was already spoken for. He held out his hand to help her step down onto the deck, and felt a sizzling jolt of awareness flash through him as they made contact.

If the way she quickly took her hand back and rubbed it on her thigh was any indication, she'd felt it too. His poor wolf noticed as well and was suddenly behaving like an excited puppy, bouncing around and thumping his tail in excitement. Oh, he liked this female just fine.

Deciding to go for broke and just take a chance, Jaxson asked, "So, would you like to have dinner with me tonight? I could fill you in on some things to see while you're in town." She stalled for a minute, which had him thinking that maybe she and Colton weren't an item, but her delayed response could also be building up to a brush-off.

Just when he was about to redouble his efforts, she lifted one delicate shoulder and replied, "Sure. I wasn't planning to do anything tonight anyway." She glanced around the boat for a moment before asking, "Is there anything I can help you with?"

"Nah, Colton will be back in just a few, so we'll be out of here before you know it." Jaxson gave her a playful wink before going about his cleaning.

"Ha, ha."

"Sweetheart, you know I'm really not kidding, right? Colton and I are twins. And you now have a date with his brother." Jaxson beamed a smile at her and watched as her confusion gave way to astonishment. Sure enough, Colton was making his way down the dock, and she'd finally realized there were indeed two of them.

"But . . ."

"I know, I know. It's hardly fair having two handsome devils in the same town, but we just can't seem to leave." To his relief, she laughed, and the sound was music to his ears.

"You must be the clown of the pair," she accused.

"Now why would you say that?" He winked before greeting his brother. "We have a stowaway, Colt! Think she can swim?"

* * * *

Angel gasped. Colton's brother was a terrible flirt and a rascal, but his playfulness was so honest and free she found herself liking him instantly.

"You never told her about your extremely good looking older brother?" His theatrics were amusing as he clutched his chest and staggered for effect.

"You're only older by two minutes, and that's hardly worth bragging about. Unless you like to tell people how I shoved you out of my way. Now, do I need to make apologies for your behavior?" Colton asked while stepping onto the boat. "Has he been behaving, Angel?"

"Yes, he's been just fine," she assured him. That small smile playing at the corners of his mouth was so cute, and she wanted nothing more than to be the one who coaxed the rest of that smile to the surface.

"So fine, in fact, I've got a date with this lovely young lady tonight." Jaxson waggled his eyebrows at Colton and was snatched away from her side and thrust into the cabin of the boat. "Be right back, Angel," he called from inside, and Angel couldn’t help but grin at the two.

"I need to have a word with him. I'm sorry about this." Colton ran his fingers through his dark blond hair, obviously worried about the impression his brother had made on her.

"No, it's fine, really. I think he's sweet."

"Sweet?"

"Well, yeah. But, listen, if it's too weird for me to go on a date with your brother then just say the word." Angel watched as Colton seemed to consider what she'd said.

"Let me talk to him. We'll be right back, just make yourself comfortable."

"No problem."

Colton disappeared into the boat's small cabin and shut the door. She could just make out the murmur of voices beyond the door, but refused to eavesdrop on their private conversation. Instead, she began to look around the boat. It was a fairly good-sized vessel. The captain's chair was situated on a higher deck, but she decided against exploring there due to the fact her sandals had heels. She'd hate to fall and make a fool of herself in front of these two.

And what a pair they made. Both men were nicely built, in a very lean athletic way. They each had the same dark blond hair, and light blue eyes that twinkled with laughter. It was such a relief to meet two men who seemed to have such free spirits. This alone was a nice contrast to the stuck-up businessmen who roamed the city. She felt more open and free since she'd arrived just a few short hours ago.

"Well, hello there."

The deep voice startled Angel and she turned to see a man standing on the dock, gazing at her with unmistakable lust in his eyes. "Um…hello." She wasn't sure if this was a friend of Colton or Jaxson, so she tried to be polite when all she really wanted to do was ask him to leave.

"The name's Bud." He hooked his thumb, using it to point at his chest as he introduced himself. And what a dirty chest it was. He was covered in sweat and what appeared to be blood, perhaps from cleaning fish. His head was shaved smooth, leaving the top a shiny pink from too much time in the sun, and his beady little brown eyes bore down on her with a disturbing intensity. "What's your name, sweetness?"

"A-Angel." Oh man, she only stuttered when she was nervous, and the guy was definitely making her nervous. Her instincts were screaming at her to flee. This man looked like trouble with a capital T.

He laughed. "I always said those two must have an angel watching out for them, but I never thought it was true." He made a crude gesture by adjusting the front of his pants before smiling at her. "Why don't you come on over to my boat and watch after me for a while?"

Of all the nerve! Well, the funny thing about her stutter was the fact that it only showed up when she was nervous, or scared, but not when she was mad. And boy was this Neanderthal pushing her buttons. "I don't think so. You, sir, are a disgusting excuse for a man," she sneered, happy to give her anger the small outlet.

"Why you little . . ."

"Bud." The man froze on the dock and stared with wide eyes behind Angel.

Colton and Jaxson had come back out and, while she wasn't sure which brother had spoken the man's name, there was no misinterpreting the fact these three men did
not
get along.

"Why don't you take your sorry, drunk hide back to your boat and sleep it off before you get yourself into more trouble than you can handle?" Colton warned. Beside him, Jaxson looked positively livid. She could have sworn she even heard a low growl coming from his direction.

A growl?

* * * *

Jaxson was so ticked off, confused, and scared he couldn't do much more than stare at Angel in an attempt to make sure she was okay. His inner wolf desperately needed to see that she was whole and unharmed, or the beast would undoubtedly tear Bud apart.

He and Colton had just been in a nasty little debate over whether or not he should actually be taking Angel out on a date, when he suddenly felt her fear…
felt
, not
smelled
. That was the sign of a bonding, the first way for his kind to recognize their destined mates. Jaxson had only heard of the intense emotional bond mates possessed and now he was experiencing the beginnings of his own. It was absolutely amazing, feeling what she was feeling. He only wished the emotion hadn't been fear.

Colton hadn't understood at first why Jaxson had insisted something was wrong with Angel, but as soon as they opened the cabin door, the scent of fear hit them first, followed directly by alcohol and lust. It seemed ol' Bud was looking for another tourist to warm his bed.

Judging by the looks Colton was casting between himself and Angel, Jaxson was pretty sure he'd come to the realization a bonding had begun. He even looked a little relieved…at least until Bud issued his parting slur.

"I'll see you around sometime, sweetheart. These boys can't hold up to what a real man like me can give ya." Bud gave Angel one last lingering look before lumbering down to his own vessel.

The trio stood in silence for a moment, no one seeming too sure about what to say.

Jaxson was the first to speak. "Are you all right?"

Angel gifted him with a small smile, and replied, "I'm fine, and very glad the two of you came out when you did."

"We are too," Colton assured her. "Bud can be a nuisance on a good day, but you should definitely steer clear of him. He's not the nicest guy around here."

"Trust me, I got that loud and clear, but I'm fine, I promise."

Angel was repeating her previous reply, no doubt seeing the concern in Jaxson's eyes, the same concern that was burning inside him. Bud was a hazard to the female population, and one that he would gladly rid the world of, but sadly his moral compass never dipped far enough south to allow him to consider that possibility for too long.

"So where are you taking her for dinner?" Colton asked, clearly looking to ease the tension hanging over the group.

"Well, she looks so pretty, I think maybe over to the Grand Marlin." He turned to Angel and explained, "It's one of the nicer places on the beach."

"I'm pretty easy going, so there's no need to get fancy on my account. I'm fine with burgers and fries. Actually a nice, low-key place sounds pretty good right now if you're okay with that."

"If you want, we can go down to Peg Leg Pete's. It's a family style restaurant down the beach a ways. There's a little canal running behind it and some people will just dock their boats and come up to eat. It's mostly outdoor seating but there's a cover on the deck so you won't be sitting directly in the sun." He was feeling his nerves begin to flutter in his stomach now. She was his mate, his
soul
mate, so he really didn't want to risk pushing her too fast and scaring her off. "I could take you down to the beach as well. It's pretty calm today, actually. There hasn’t been much rain lately."

"That sounds nice." And again, she smiled. "Would you like to come, Colton?" Jaxson felt a little bad for hijacking Angel when she'd originally come to visit with Colton . . . but only a little.

"Nah, you guys go on ahead. I'll finish up here and check the schedule for tomorrow."

"Are you sure?" Angel asked, "I don't want to interfere with any of your plans. I just came by to thank you for letting me stay in the beach-house and to let you know I'm thinking of opening my own agency."

* * * *

"Really?" Colton looked like he wanted to ask more, but just smiled instead. "You don't need to talk business while you're on vacation. Just go and have a good time with Jaxson tonight, and we'll hang out some tomorrow. It's his morning to run the charter, and then I'll take the afternoon trip." He smiled and gave her a small shrug. "Between the two of us, you should be able to have an escort for whatever you'd like to do."

Angel was unable to hide her gratitude and quickly hugged Colton before turning to do the same to Jaxson. When he wrapped his arms around her she got the same little zing of feeling all the way down to her toes. It was pretty odd, but she couldn't say she minded it. She'd never been so attracted to a man in her life, but how awkward would it be if she began to date the brother of her only client; his twin no less?

Jaxson had the strangest look in his eyes when she pulled back. Did he feel the same thing?

"I'm looking forward to having dinner with you, but how about you give me an hour so I can shower and change. You could hang out here with Colton if you'd like, or I can meet you somewhere." He was gathering his hat and water bottle as he spoke.

"That's fine. There are a few shops across the street I wouldn't mind roaming through, so I'll head over there in a little bit. Let me give you my number and you can call me when you're ready." Angel quickly entered her number into his cell and watched as Jaxson made his way down the dock. Oh, but the man looked just as good from behind as he did from the front.

"He really likes you," Colton announced, drawing her attention back to him. "I've never seen him this subdued around a woman before."

"Subdued?"

"Yeah, he usually lays it on pretty thick with the ladies. He's a regular Casanova, but with you he seems to have a deeper interest." Colton began shifting on his feet, his nervousness visible for all to see. "I don't want things to get weird between us in our working relationship if this doesn't work out, but I'll understand if it does. What happens between the two of you is your business, but I don't want to see either of you hurt."

"Colton, I don't think you'll have to worry. I'm a big girl, and I don't know what it is about your brother, but I find myself genuinely attracted to him. When we touch it's almost like…" Angel felt herself blush and shook her head. "I'm sure you don't want to hear this." She'd die of embarrassment if he asked her to explain. "I'll just go explore the shops until I hear from Jaxson."