Big Bad John (Bigger in Texas Series) Read Online Free

now after more than a decade of distance, three doomed relationships and years of experience at the club.
    At nineteen, hell, even at twenty-one, she’d been too innocent to understand the way he made her feel. All she’d known was he was dangerous. That she had the desire to give him whatever he wanted. That despite her urge to run, if he’d told her to stay for him …
    But he hadn’t.
    He was watching her with those intense light-blue eyes, squinting to study her beneath the blazing afternoon sun. She wondered what he saw. Other than the subtle indigo highlights she’d rebelliously added to a few of her thick brown curls last week, and the tattoo that could only be seen when her pants were down, she hadn’t changed that much.
    Don’t kid yourself, your breasts aren’t nineteen anymore. Everything has changed.
    “Trouble?” Caroline’s voice made Trudy stiffen in shock. She’d forgotten they weren’t alone.  “Oh, I do love that. Please tell me that was her nickname in high school. I know that’s what I’d call her. In fact, I’m kicking myself for not thinking of it first.”
    She stuck out her hand and Trudy watched John’s large palm engulf her small, elegantly manicured fingers politely. “I’m Caroline Aaron, by the way. You must be Big John.”
    One of John’s sandy brown eyebrows rose and he glanced at Trudy again. Caroline laughed. “We ran into a sweet old man and his son down the road while we were in nothing but our unmentionables. It was all very scandalous, I’m afraid. He was the one who mentioned your name.”
    Trudy noticed John’s lips tighten when Caroline mentioned the unmentionables. “The Gieses? What happened? What did Tommy say?”
    “He was rude, if that’s what you’re wondering.” Caroline nodded, her hand leaving his to fan at her face. “Do you think we could take this conversation inside? I believe I could be close to having a fit of the vapors. Isn’t that what happens this far south? Well, now I understand why.”
    Trudy sucked her lips, holding back her smile at the bewildered expression on John’s face as he nodded. “Sure.” He turned to snare Trudy’s gaze. “Trudy and I will bring in the bags.”
    He wanted to speak to her alone. She could see it in his eyes.
    When Caroline glanced her way, Trudy nodded. “That door leads to the kitchen, and there’s a guest bathroom right beside it. Make yourself at home, freshen up and get cooled off. I’ll be right behind you.”
    Caroline’s nod was hesitant, but the idea of a bathroom and more air conditioning seemed to motivate her. She reached inside the car for her large purse and turned to walk toward the house, her shorts clinging to her perfect backside in a way that demanded admiration.
    Trudy looked up at John through her lashes, certain he would be distracted by the view. But he wasn’t looking at Caroline. His beautiful eyes were heated as they unmistakably focused on Trudy’s breasts. On the V-neck of her T-shirt, which was decorated with classic pin-up girls posing with their curves on display.
    “John?”
    His jaw tensed. “Trudy?” he mocked softly. “We need to talk.”
     

 

Chapter Two
     
    She was back. It was about damn time. Being this close to her, near enough that he could reach out and grab hold, was making it hard for him to believe he’d managed to wait this long. 
    John was a patient man. Life was hard and long, but with careful determination, even the lightest breeze could eventually wear down a mountainside. At least, that was what he’d come to believe, and that was the way he’d tried to live his life, with restraint and patience. The way a man with his size and history had to live.
    Until he met the one woman who could apparently out-stubborn him—Gertrude Estevez Adams.
    When she left all those years ago, he’d never imagined the move would be permanent. She’d had words with her father, but he’d bet that as soon as the California lights dimmed, she’d come