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

home and make it right. That hadn’t happened. She’d only come home to bury her father, and John—in a moment of weakness—had forgotten himself, forgotten his patience, and then let her slip through his hands. When she’d left again, it forced him to readjust his thinking. She needed more time. Eleven years more time, it seemed. If he’d known that back then…
    John looked down at her and his pulse pounded as all the blood in his body rushed south. If he’d known, he still would have let her go, but he’d have given her more than a taste of what she was leaving behind.
    Trudy pushed one stray curl behind her ear, revealing the golden skin there and making him lick his lips in anticipation. She was home now. That was all that mattered.
    “We need to talk,” he repeated softly, reaching for the first bulging piece of luggage.
    “About what?” Trudy’s voice was low, and she wasn’t looking him in the eye. “You said he needed me. I’m here. Is it more than a broken leg, John? Is he sick and not telling me?”
    The guilt and worry threaded through those words made him swear silently at himself. Some part of him had known she would think that, and hadn’t cared. Whatever it took to get her to come. Was he a bastard for putting her through that?
    “Bruises and a clean break,” he assured her. “That isn’t the problem.”
    Trudy bit her lip and John held back a groan. “Is it money, then? Mr. Giese said Jefferson made a deal with him. Are we selling off the land now or something? Are things that bad?”
    John bristled. “ No .” Not even close. He’d worked his ass off to ensure that the G&J became a self-sustaining success. That despite the current state of the economy, she would never lose her family’s land. Didn’t she read any of Jefferson’s productivity reports? He knew they were copied to her email. He’d made sure of it.
    And speaking of the Gieses, what the hell had Tommy seen of Trudy that was so scandalous? He had a sudden desire to beat the little snot down until he found out.
    “Then what?” Trudy finally looked up at him in frustration. “Stop being so damned monosyllabic and tell me, John. Why did you bring me here?”
    If that wasn’t a loaded question…
    There was more than one reason, most of them she wasn’t ready for and some he wasn’t ready to admit. But there was one that had been a good enough excuse to send that email. “Your brother auditioned for a show. They’re calling it The Real Fall Guys. They’ll be flying him to Los Angeles as soon as his cast is off.”
    John tried not to smile at the adorable expression of shock on her face. When her lips parted, he had to restrain himself from leaning down to kiss her. God, she was a sight for sore eyes. All sweet curves and warm, golden skin, her brown eyes flecked with green and framed by thick lashes that he wanted to feel leaving a trail of butterfly light kisses on his skin as she kissed her way down his body. The purple streaks in her hair were new, but they didn’t diminish her natural beauty. They revealed the wild streak he’d always known was in her. The need to rebel. To do something forbidden.
    He wanted to be the one she did it with.
    She’d said something. He knew because she’d placed her hands on her hips and was glaring as she waited for a response. “What?”
    “That was my question,” she grumbled. “What the hell are you talking about? What kind of show? Jefferson never mentioned anything to me about an audition.” A frown furrowed her brow. “Tommy said he was showing off for the cam—The Real Fall Guys? As in stunt men? As in a reality show? Did my brother break his leg while auditioning for a reality show?”
    John nodded.
    She swore in Spanish. That meant she was really upset. Would she swear at him like that when she was begging him to let her come? John’s erection pressed uncomfortably against his zipper, demanding release.
    Trudy was still talking. “That’s why he’s making