The Nanny (The Fabulous Dalton Boys Book 1) Read online

  His lips swallowed her gasp of pain, and he held her still over him, hoping her body would quickly acclimate to his invasion.

  Ashley pulled her lips from his, resting her forehead on his shoulder as she took huge gulps of air. "This feels so weird," she finally said.

  He forced a laugh. "Weird good or weird bad?" Please say it's good. He so desperately needed to move inside her, it was taking everything inside him not to flip her to her back and begin thrusting. He had to wait until she was ready, though. He needed tonight to be as good for her as he knew it would be for him.

  "Good, I think. At first it hurt, but now, I just kind of feel full."

  He moved a little, watching her face for any sign of pain.

  "I like that. Do it again!" Ashley grinned at him, surprised that it actually felt good to her.

  He flipped her then, driving them both to completion.

  Afterward, they lay together, her head on his chest. Her fingers didn't stop moving over his shoulder, his chest, his stomach. When they started to trail lower, he caught them. "I think you've had enough of that for one night."

  She pouted. "Are you sure?"

  He laughed. "I am. Let me just hold you." As much as he wanted to make love with her again, he didn't want to risk hurting her, and she was just too new to sexual play.

  She closed her eyes, keeping her hands still. "My aunt is going to kill me for marrying you," she blurted out.

  "Why?"

  She shrugged, snuggling down more. "She thinks you and your brothers are trouble." And sex on a stick.

  "And what do you think?" He hated the idea of coming between her and her family.

  "I think if you do that to me every night, I won't care how much trouble you are." She sighed, her eyes closing contentedly.

  He held her as she fell asleep, his eyes open and staring at the ceiling. They had to fix their reputation. For Ashley, and for the baby. For all of them.

  Chapter Eight

  Ashley woke up and instantly knew who she was with and what had happened. Normally, she came awake slowly, struggling to remember where she was and why. When she woke, she saw Barrett watching her. "I was just about to wake you. We need to get back to Texas."

  She sighed. "I wish we had more time."

  He pressed a kiss to her forehead. "I guess I could call in a temporary nanny, but I'd rather meet someone before I left her with Baby Dalton."

  "Brady."

  "Brady?" He looked confused.

  She rolled to her side, pulling the sheet off the bed with her and wrapping it around her like a toga. "Just trying out new names to see what feels right. Not Brady." She turned around and grinned at him. "Maybe you should cover up."

  He laughed. "You stole my cover!"

  "Get dressed. I have to make sure Brook didn't kill my baby."

  Barrett rolled out of bed. Her baby. They'd been married for less than twenty-four hours, and already Baby Dalton was already her baby. He liked that.

  *****

  When they got back to the house, Ashley hurried straight back to see Brooklyn who had tangled hair and red-rimmed eyes. She whispered, "Thank you for the nightgown."

  Brook nodded. Ashley barely listened to the conversation around her, in a hurry to get her baby back where he belonged in Barrett's wing of the house. As she carried him off she was mumbling names under her breath. "Tanner, Kai, Cody, Hunter...No, none of those names suit you. We need something just right."

  Shortly before lunchtime, Barrett came in and announced they were grilling out by the pool. Ashley shrugged. "I can deal with that." She changed into her bathing suit and fixed Baby Dalton a bottle, carrying him out to the pool with her. She sat in a lounger and fed him while talking to Brooklyn softly.

  "Girl, we need to do a bachelorette party for you." Brooklyn looked so excited by the prospect, it frightened Ashley. What would the other woman think was a good idea for a bachelorette party?

  Ashley shook her head adamantly. "I'm already married. What's the point?"

  "It'll be fun! Does it need to have more of a point than that?"

  Ashley frowned. "I guess not..."

  The boys tossed a ball around, and when Kalee arrived, she seemed very unhappy about Barrett and Ashley getting married.

  Finally she settled on a lounger near Ashley and Brooklyn, looking put out. "Those boys can't do anything normally, can they?"

  Brook shrugged. "I think it's romantic. And I also think we need to take Ashley out for a bachelorette party. I bet she's never been to LaBare. She's been in Texas less than two weeks."

  Ashley frowned. "What's LaBare?"

  Brook and Kalee's eyes met. "We have to," Kalee said. "Tonight, while Barrett is still so totally in love with her, he'll let her go and take care of the baby himself."

  Ashley shook her head. "Whatever you two are thinking, it's not a good idea. I'm not doing it." She had no idea what LaBare was, and she really didn't even want to know. She wasn't going anywhere with those two.

  Kalee got up and walked to Barrett. "We're taking Ashley out tonight for a bachelorette party. You're watching the baby."

  Barrett frowned. "I just got married, and you're stealing my wife away?" He didn't want to go to bed alone the day after he got married.

  "You got married and risked your entire family by doing so. You knew I wouldn't like it, didn't you?"

  He sighed. "Yeah. So?"

  "So you can let her go out with us."

  "Fine. When are you leaving?"

  "It'll take us a couple of hours to get there, so I'd say about six. We'll be back after midnight, so don't wait up."

  Barrett laughed. "You really don't think I'm going to wait up for my new wife? You're crazy."

  Kalee waved at him over her shoulder, walking back to the other girls. "We're all set. He's taking care of the baby tonight."

  "But where are you taking me?" Ashley asked one last time, frustrated.

  "Just dress up."

  *****

  Ashley grumbled the whole time she got ready to leave in her tiny room. She hadn't had time yet to transfer her things into Barrett's room. She pulled on another of her new sundresses and a pair of sandals, hoping it would be appropriate for whatever Kalee and Brook had in mind. Moreover she hoped that whatever Kalee and Brook had in mind would be appropriate. She was more than a little nervous.

  When she heard a knock on her door, she looked in the mirror one last time and opened it, expecting to find Kalee or Brook waiting for her. Instead it was Barrett. He stepped into her room quickly and pulled the door shut behind him, locking it. "I'm going to miss you tonight," he told her, pulling her into his arms. He wouldn't stop her from going, because he knew she needed to have female friends, but he wanted to.

  "I don't want to go! I told the girls, and they're just not listening to me. I'm sure they want to do something wild, crazy, and debauched, and I just don't like that kind of thing. I'm a stick in the mud."

  He kissed her. "I don't see you as a stick in the mud. I'm not worried about it. Have a good time with them. If it gets too out of hand, tell them you want to come home!"

  She frowned. "I'd rather stay here with my husband." She stroked her hands up his shoulders, enjoying the feel of his muscles through his shirt. Standing on tiptoe, she kissed him softly. "We can have so much fun without them."

  Barrett laughed, holding her close. "And we will have fun without them. As soon as you get home."

  "But the baby!" She would come up with any excuse she could to keep from going.

  "It's Saturday. I'll take care of him." He kissed her passionately, pulling her tight against him, his hips grinding into hers. "I'll miss you, though. So much."

  She sighed, wishing he would tell her not to go, so she would have an excuse. "Fine. I'll go."

  She jerked away from him at the knock on the door, feeling as if they'd been caught doing something naughty. He laughed. "We're married now."

  "I know. I'll get used to it." She opened the door, and both girls were st
anding waiting for her.

  "Get your purse," Brooklyn told her.

  Ashley sighed, grabbing her purse and feeling like she was going to her doom. Just as she was about to leave, Barrett grabbed her hand and caught her to him for one last searing kiss.

  "Oh, get a room!" Brook complained. "It's time to go."

  Ashley's eyes met Barrett's one last time before she headed for the door. She didn't say she wished she was staying home again, but she did. Oh, how she wished she was staying home.

  She followed the other girls out front and she got into the backseat of Kalee's car. "I want it to be known I'm doing this under protest."

  Brook sighed. "Get a grip. You can ride Barrett all night when we get home. For now, you're going to have fun."

  Ashley blushed as she settled back against the seat, buckling up. "Where are we going anyway?"

  Brook turned around and looked at Ashley. "We told you. LaBare."

  "I don't know what that is!" Ashley protested. It must be popular in the area for both of the girls to have automatically known what it was, though.

  Kalee looked at her in the rearview mirror. "You'll have fun. Don't worry. We'll make sure of it."

  As they drove, Kalee asked the other two questions about themselves. Ashley answered, feeling like she'd lived an incredibly sheltered life compared to the other two. When they finally pulled up in front of a small building in Dallas, they got out as Kalee arranged for valet parking.

  Ashley sucked in a surprised breath as they walked inside. "No way! I don't belong here!" The small room they were in held nothing crazy, but the posters on the wall around the desk made it clear what kind of place this was.

  Brook rolled her eyes. "We're paying for her, because she's the bride."

  The woman nodded, taking money from Kalee and Brooklyn. Kalee handed Ashley an envelope. "Tip money."

  Ashley opened the envelope and saw a stack of one dollar bills. "Barrett wouldn't be happy if he knew I was here."

  Brooklyn laughed. "Barrett would be shocked if he thought we took you anywhere else. This is the place to go in North Texas for bachelorette parties."

  They walked into the main room, and she shook her head, already she was seeing things she knew she shouldn't be seeing. Every table had a man in almost nothing gyrating to the music. She wrinkled her nose. This was not her idea of a good time.

  They sat at the table the hostess took them too, a round one off to the side with a man already dancing atop it. Brook started making catcalls and whistling immediately, making the dancer do more outlandish things. She hurried around the table to climb onto some steps, putting her hands all over the stripper.

  Ashley's eyes widened. "She's touching him!" she hissed at Kalee. "Is that allowed?"

  Kalee grinned and nodded. "Not only allowed but expected here."

  Ashley sighed. She hoped no one expected her to touch one of the men. They were either covered in some kind of oil or sweat, and she really didn't care to find out which one.

  As she looked around her, she was surprised by what she saw. She'd have expected it to be loud obnoxious women, and there were many of those, but there were a few who made her sad. A group of women sat in the middle, and they tipped each of the men in turn to dance for them, touching them. One woman seemed to go from man to man, giving them a dollar or two each just to hug her.

  Ashley sipped her Coke slowly as she observed everything, realizing that even though the place was billed with having a party atmosphere, and it did to some extent, the underlying loneliness and sadness of some of the women permeated the whole club.

  She suddenly wished she had her aunt's business cards, because she wanted to pass them out, telling women they didn't have to pay strange, naked men for hugs. Her aunt could find them all matches.

  She couldn't help but wonder how long a person needed to be alone before they felt the need to go somewhere and pay someone for human touch.

  After an hour or so of Ashley sitting, drinking her Coke and not really participating, Brooklyn grabbed her hand and pulled her over to the pedestal where women stood to touch the strippers. She gave the man who was on their table a few ones, and nodded at Ashley. He was a different man than the one there at first, his chest and arms covered in tattoos. It was not something Ashley had ever found attractive, and she did her best not to wrinkle her nose at him. She carefully averted her eyes from the boxer briefs he was wearing, not really wanting to see or think about what was inside them. At least this guy was wearing more than some of them.

  She didn't want to be rude, so she stood there in front of him, watching him dance. He wore knee protectors and danced on his knees in front of her for a minute, finally taking her hand and bringing it to his chest. At first she couldn't figure out why his body felt strange, and then she realized he had razor stubble on his chest. He must shave the hair there. She didn't want to know that about this man.

  He leaned forward and shouted in her ear, over the loud music, "What's your name, baby?"

  "Ashley."

  "Are you having a good time tonight?"

  She frowned. How was she supposed to answer that? "It's interesting," she said, and it was. She felt like she was getting a crash course in human nature whether she wanted it or not.

  He laughed. "This isn't your kind of place. Your friends drag you in?"

  She nodded. "Yes! I eloped yesterday, and don't feel like I should be touching another man's chest. I want to be home with my husband!"

  "I can understand that. But does your husband have muscles like mine?"

  Ashley looked at his body, which was well sculpted, but she had to admit, Barrett's was better. "His are bigger."

  He looked at her, stunned for a moment, before he laughed. "Well, you should be home with him then, not groping me."

  "That's what I think!"

  He leaned forward and kissed her cheek at the end of his dance. "Go home to your husband." He stood back up and continued dancing, and Ashley smiled. His words were wise.

  She walked over and sat back down between the other two. "He told me I should go home to my husband," she told Kalee.

  Kalee nodded. "This wasn't the right place to bring you. Come on." She grabbed her purse, and taking Brooklyn's arm, dragged the girl to the exit. "We're done," she explained as soon as they got to the outer room where it was quieter. "Ashley's not enjoying this."

  Brooklyn nodded, slipping her arm around Ashley. "I should have known better." She looked back toward the table. "I forgot my purse."

  Kalee sighed. "I'll go get it. You get the car." She handed Brooklyn her ticket for the valet and hurried back into the main room.

  Brook studied Ashley for a moment. "Are you hungry?"

  Ashley thought about it for a moment, and then nodded. "I'm really hungry. I hadn't even realized."

  "Let's talk Kalee into stopping, and we' have a nice dinner instead. That's what we should have done to begin with." Brook hugged Ashley. "I'm really sorry we brought you somewhere that made you uncomfortable."

  Ashley shrugged. "It was a learning experience. That place is really sad!"

  "It is? I thought it was fun!"

  "Did you notice all those women who were running around paying for dances, just so they could get hugs from the men?"

  Brook's eyes widened and she shook her head. "No one really did that, did they?" She'd obviously been so wrapped up having a good time herself, she hadn't noticed the other women.

  "Several of them. One woman paid for lap dances with every single man there. I wanted to give my aunt's business cards out to everyone."

  Kalee came up behind the other two. "What does your aunt do?"

  Ashley excitedly explained her aunt's business concept. "Well, she's a psychologist and has a counseling practice, but a while back, she came up with this brilliant idea for a business. She actually matches people up and introduces them at the altar. She does hours and hours of interviews and psychological tests. They've all worked out so far."

  They all go
t into the car and Kalee drove from the parking lot. "Are you kidding me? People actually agree to that?"

  "Yes, and it's awesome! I seriously thought about being one of her clients, but I guess there's no need now."

  Brook snorted from the front seat. "I can't see Barrett agreeing to something like that. I never would have thought he'd be the type to elope." She shrugged. "Of the three he always seemed to be the boring one, you know? Emotions always in check. He never got into fights at school, never got caught under the bleachers making out with the cheerleaders. I think the baby's mother is probably the only woman he's ever been with."

  Ashley knew better than that, but she was glad to hear that Barrett had told her the truth about himself. "He needed a mother for Bradley. It's not like he has feelings for me at all."

  "Bradley?" Kalee asked. "Is there another baby I don't know about?" She sounded panicked at the idea.

  "No," Ashley said. "He's agreed to change the baby's name, and I'm trying out different things, seeing what sounds right. Not Bradley. I want something a little different, but not stupid. You know?" She frowned, wishing she could come up with the perfect name.

  "Not like Dalton Dalton Dalton, you mean?" Brook asked.

  "Exactly."

  They ended up pulling into a little truck stop not far outside of Dalton to eat. It was getting late, a bit after midnight, and most things were closed.

  Once they were sitting, the waitress came over. "What can I get you to drink?" she asked.

  Ashley looked up and read her nametag, and her heart stuck in her throat. She was almost certain this was the baby's mother. "I'll just have a Coke."

  Once the other two had placed their orders and MaryBeth had headed back to the kitchen, she leaned forward. "I think that's Baby David's mama."

  Kalee turned and looked. "We've got to play this cool," she told Ashley. "Don't say anything about the Daltons or the baby. We don't want a scene here."

  Ashley nodded, but Brook pouted. "She needs someone to say something about what she named that baby. She may have been mad at Barrett, but that baby didn't deserve to suffer for it."