Brendon (Alluring Indulgence #8)(50)
Author: Nicole Edwards

Of course yesterday he had taken off work a couple of hours early and convinced Cheyenne to accompany him to the mall. She had agreed as long as he promised there weren’t any surprise parties in her future. He’d assured her that was a one-time deal and he really had wanted her to go with him. She’d donned her disguise and they’d ventured out in search of a birthday present for Sawyer. Luckily, it hadn’t been difficult for him to pick something out and when they were finished, he took her to dinner.

Now he was on his way to her house to pick her up.

When he pulled into her driveway behind her truck, he peered up at the porch, half expecting her to be sitting there. She wasn’t though, which meant she was probably still getting ready. The days were getting longer with summer approaching and the sun was slowly descending behind the house, leaving plenty of light.

After he knocked on the door, he checked the knob, finding it unlocked. Stepping inside, he called out for her and earned a “I’ll be just a minute” in return.

“Mind if I go upstairs and see what they’ve done?” he hollered in the direction of the downstairs guest room.

“Not at all.”

With her approval, he ventured up the stairs, flipping on lights as he went. He was happy to see they’d make some significant progress. The walls had been moved where Cheyenne had requested extra closet space and the bathroom was completely gutted. In one of the extra bedrooms, he noticed there were rolls of new carpet, which would eventually cover the hardwood floors that had been uncovered. He recalled Kylie being a tad disappointed that the wood floors weren’t in good enough shape to salvage, but Cheyenne had seemed content going with carpet anyway.

After checking each window, ensuring they were secured and locked, Brendon made his way back downstairs, just in time to see Cheyenne emerge from the bedroom.

Holy. Fuck.

He came to an abrupt halt on the last step as he took in the intoxicatingly beautiful woman standing before him in a sexy little cream-colored dress paired with boots. Her hair was pulled up on top of her head, a few strands hanging down had been curled. She looked … Damn.

“Aren’t you gonna say somethin’?” Cheyenne asked.

“I would if I could get my brain to work,” he admitted, still admiring her. “Holy shit.” Cheyenne’s sweet chuckle made his dick hard. Okay, so maybe it wasn’t just her chuckle that had his little head outthinking his big head, but still. “I think I know why they call you the West Texas Princess,” he muttered.

Moving closer, Brendon inhaled her sexy scent and studied her face. She didn’t have on much makeup, but she didn’t need it, either. She was beautiful exactly like that.

“Thank you,” she answered. “I think.”

“I’m not good with words,” he informed her. “I wish I was.”

Taking her hands, Brendon leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. What he’d intended to be a simple peck turned into an inferno within seconds and he found himself pulling her against him, doing his damnedest not to wrinkle her.

When he pulled back, her eyes were glazed, her face flush, and he wished like hell they could simply skip the party. He wanted to get his hands on her. All fucking over her.

“You don’t look too bad yourself, camo boy.”

It was a casual shindig, but Brendon had managed to put on a pair of good jeans and a black button-down. He’d shaved for the occasion and also grabbed his black Stetson on the way out the door. Other than that, he was pretty sure he looked the same as he did every day. Granted, it didn’t matter what he looked like, he was pretty sure everyone’s eyes were going to be on Cheyenne anyway. His would be, that was for damn sure.

“Are you ready?” she asked and he forced his gaze up to meet hers.

“As I’ll ever be.”

“I got the gifts wrapped,” she told him, nodding toward two small boxes sitting on the breakfast bar in the kitchen. He noticed a stack of envelopes sitting beside the boxes, one of them open and a piece of paper sticking out. It wasn’t that he was trying to be nosey, but there was one word that caught his attention: stalker.

Knowing she was waiting for him, he tore his gaze away, making a mental note to check out the letter later, or at least question her about it. Brendon retrieved the gifts, gave the back door a cursory glance to ensure it was locked, and then met her at the front door.

A few minutes later, they were in his truck on the way to the resort.

“Have you heard anything from your Sniper One friend?” Cheyenne asked when they were halfway to the resort.

Brendon glanced over at her. He had heard from Z, but he hadn’t intended to tell her the news until later. There were a shit ton of questions he wanted to ask her, most of them based on information that Z had given him, but he knew now was not the right time to get into that discussion. Especially not after having seen the letter on her bar.