Free CALLIE (The Naughty Ones Book 1) by Kristina Weaver Page A

belong together.
    “So? Dude, I was thinking friends with benefits or a quick one, two maybe, but she’s got her eye on a ring.”
    “Once again, so? Look, fuck face, the woman is a keeper and you knew that the moment you looked at her. Don’t go getting cold balls now just because you’re scared of a little commitment.”
    What a dick. What I wouldn’t give to have my Callie breathing wedding bells down my neck right now. It galls me, clear to my egotistical soul, that for once in my life instead of fending off a woman and telling her the score, I’m scrambling to catch her while she flips me the bird.
    Freddie’s throat bobs with a swallow and I watch him go pale just as Woody sidles over and falls into a chair, raising his hand for the server to bring him his usual midweek drink.
    “What are we talking about, gents?”
    Woody’s green eyes are curious as I sit back and grin at Freddie, giving him the floor. One thing we all know about Brentwood Jones is that he does not cotton to treating woman with anything less than awed adoration.
    The man loves all females, of every shape, size, and race. While he’s not any less of a hound dog than the rest of us, he never, ever treats a woman without respect. I’ve met women he’s slept with and cut loose and each and every single one of them still coos over his ass and gushes with affection.
    I think Woody has a superpower that he acquired from being raised by six older sisters and a lunatic parents.
    Freddie pulls at his tie and loosens the top button of his shirt before leaning back and throwing Woody a pleading look.
    “Luci, man. She’s gone all nuts on me. We were doing great a week into our…our acquaintance, and then all of a sudden she starts eyeing the prize, man.”
    Woody’s drink arrives, along with the steak and potato I ordered earlier, and we all dig in before he desides to speak.
    “One thing, Fred. You don’t hurt her. If you can’t take the heat, you tell her that it’s you who’s fucked up and walk. Don’t string her along and make her feel like she’s too blame for your shit. I like Luci and the rest of Callie’s girls. They’re good people.”
    I took this one with me when I bearded the lion’s den and went to meet Elsa Landry and the other lunatics that make up Callie’s family. To say that Woody was right at home between all those women and the two queens who are her fathers is an understatement.
    The fool had them fawning all over his ass in seconds flat while I was left to dodge Elsa’s cane and snide set-downs before she understood that I was in this for the win.
    “I like her too, Wood, but I just started seeing her and…shit, she wants more.”
    Freddie is not one for commitment. The man has huge trust issues that none of us quite understand, even after years of friendship, but he’s not a bad guy. A flirt and a dog, but harmless.
    Most women understand who and what he is from the outset, but I saw Luci’s reaction to him in the kitchen weeks ago, and I knew she’d been hooked by the bad boy’s smile.
    There isn’t a chance in hell that she will come out of this without getting hurt, and I hate that. I like Luci, too. She’s sweet and smart and she’s in my corner.
    “Fine. Just stay away from her then. Now on to more important, pressing matters. Callie’s being a pain in the ass.”
    Woody snorts and pushes his empty plate away as the server refreshes our drinks.
    “Can you blame her? Dude, I would have nailed you in the nuts if I were her. The fact that you’re relatively unscathed thus far is a miracle.”
    “It wasn’t my fault! I would never have allowed that shit to happen to her if I’d woken up beside her. Fuck, Wood, have you seen the woman? If I’d been there the morning after, I’d have tied her to the Goddamn bed and kept her there till she agreed to be mine.”
    I know a good thing when I see it, hence my fucked-up attitude when I saw her and thought she was someone else’s.
    “Jack, you’ve