Free JAXON (The Caine Brothers Book 4) by Margaret Madigan

good.
    He couldn’t have been happier that not one person recognized him. Nobody swamped him asking for autographs, or tagged along behind him like a spontaneous entourage. He couldn’t believe how freeing it was to be invisible.
    “Ready to go?” Lily met him at the front of the garden where he sat on a bench waiting for her.
    “You’re done already?” he asked. “How did it go?”
    She beamed at him. “It went great. I did like you said and just chatted with them and it worked perfectly.”
    “Good.”
    “Wow. You stink,” she said, waving her hand in front of her nose.
    He grinned. “This was your idea.”
    They headed for the car, Lily keeping her distance. “You can’t get in my car smelling like that.”
    “It’s just an old truck. Why does it matter?”
    “Because that smell will linger way past the time you’re gone.”
    “So what am I supposed to do, strip down?”
    She raised her brows and bit her bottom lip. He couldn’t tell if that meant he’d shocked her, or if she liked the idea. It sounded good to him, until he reminded himself sworn off women.
    “Or you could just ride in the back.”
    “That’s not safe, is it? I think I’d rather sit naked in the cab.”
    She rolled her eyes. “You wouldn’t have to be naked. Just shirt and shorts.”
    He stripped off his shirt. “Works for me.”
    “Whoa,” she said, holding out a hand to stop him. “Just sit in the back.”
    “Nope,” he said, undoing the button and zipper on his shorts. “It’s a long drive back to the estate. I’m not sitting in the back the whole way. It’ll be lonely and unsafe.”
    She made a pained sighing sound, then said, “Fine. Put your stinky shoes and clothes in the tool box in the back. Keep your skivvies on.”
    “What if I’m not wearing any?”
    “I…” The look on her face suggested first surprise and confusion, then evolved into a sexy consideration of the fact he might be commando under his shorts. Unfortunately, that made his cock twitch. He ignored it.
    “I’m kidding. I’m wearing underwear.”
    She harrumphed at him then headed for the driver’s side as he stripped out of his shoes and shorts, dumping everything into the big silver tool box thing in the back of her truck.
    He climbed into the cab next to her, wearing only his socks and boxers. She glanced at him, her eyes roaming his body, before swallowing hard and turning away. He chuckled, but her eyes on him and his obvious effect on her caused unwelcome backlash as his cock inflated.
    She started the truck and pulled into traffic. She sat rigid, staring a determined hole into the windshield, refusing to look at him. They sat in tense silence halfway back to the estate. During that time, he tried not to imagine what she was thinking. Finally, he couldn’t take it anymore.
    “You’re ignoring me,” he said. “It’s kind of awkward.”
    “I’m not ignoring you. I’m concentrating on driving.”
    He snorted. “Right. It’s an intense job.”
    “You’re mostly naked. I’m respecting your privacy.”
    “Couldn’t keep your eyes off my nakedness last night.”
    “Oh my God,” she mumbled.
    “You say that a lot.”
    “I’m at a loss for other words. I thought you’d sworn off women?”
    “I have.”
    “Except for last night.”
    “It was an interruption. I’m back to it now.”
    “But you’re flirting with me.”
    “You’re different.” The words popped out of his mouth before he could stop them. Before he knew what he meant. How was she different? He’d ended up at a place where all women seemed interchangeable, so he’d sworn off them. No sex for a while. No going through women like they were disposable. But Lily wasn’t the kind of woman he normally got exposed to, setting her apart.
    She finally took her eyes off the road and glanced at him, confusion knitting her brows. “How am I different?”
    “Well…” Anything he said at that point could be taken the wrong way. If he told her she was