Perfect Strangers

by Abby Gale

  “I got my first tattoo when I was sixteen and by the age of twenty, all my tattoos were in their places except this one. Also, I had piercings on my eyebrow, my lip, my tongue, and my earlobe. I looked like a rebel, even though I was so successful in college. I was the best, but even my teachers were drawing an invisible line between me and them. Then, I graduated from college, started to apply for jobs and each of them went great till the interviews. They were so impressed with my file, inviting me to an interview, but the moment they saw me, everything changed. I don’t even remember how many times I’ve been rejected,” he told me. I couldn’t even think of how hard it must have been for him. Even though I was rejected for five positions, my experiences were never this judgmental.

  “I’m so sorry you’ve been through this,” I whispered.

  “All in the past now. Anyway… as a final chance, I applied for the only job I could find. It was in a small company… not even a company, it was like a small office. There was a boss, Mark Hopkins, he was an old man, and two other employees. The office was like storage space –no windows, lots of corners, it was always dark. I hated that place, but I didn’t hate working there,” I heard the smile in his voice.

  “Wait… lots of corners? No windows? Is this the reason why you decorated your company building the way it is?” I looked him in the eye, feeling a sudden urge to kiss away his fears.

  “Smart little thing, aren’t you?” he snorted, but stopped me from asking any more question by saying, “Do you want to hear the rest of the story?”

  “Yep, go on. You still didn’t say anything about the tattoo,” I said, resting my head back on his chest.

  “I gave my file to Mark Hopkins and he hired me on the spot, even before checking my file. I was shocked, because in reality I didn’t have any hope of getting the job. I questioned him and he said, ‘When I hire someone, I look inside, because at the end, that’s what matters’. I thought he was talking about the file, but he said he saw what he needed to see in my eyes. That touched me in a way and I worked long hours, without any time off for him. The company grew bigger, but he spent that money on his employees only, not himself… not even for a new office. I worked for him for a year and by the end of that year, I had a hundred thousand dollars in my bank account and a name people wanted on their projects. Mark Hopkins helped me that day, gave me my career,” he said, his voice was raspy, with emotions, I assumed.

  “Such a good and motivating story… wow… but I still have one question.”

  “Ask.”

  “Why the hell did you get it tattooed just above your dick for fuck’s sake?!” I asked and he laughed so hard at one point he started to make some weird noises, I couldn’t help but join him.

  When he got his breathing under control, “God! You’re something else Melody Crown… I haven’t thought about it like that… it was my most intimate memory, I think. I didn’t let myself forget it and I-” he stopped in the middle of his sentence. Curious, I lift myself up on my elbows, looking at him with questions in my eyes.

  He swallowed, “And I didn’t tell this story to anyone,” he said, eyes intense, making me blush without reason.

  “So… this was the most intimate place I could get it tattooed, I think,” he shrugged, distancing himself from me… emotionally.

  “Is this why you hired me?” I whispered, getting his attention back on me, “Because you saw I was hopeless, too? Because you saw I needed this job?” I added.

  “Yes… and no,” he sighed after thinking a few seconds. I waited for him to continue and he did.

  “I read your file and you really deserved that position… even better than that position. I wanted to give you, an inexperienced newly grad, a chance… so on that point, yes. But also no… because the moment you came into my office, the moment I learned you were my stepsister, I wanted you. I wanted to have you… even though this was so foreign to me –wanting the same woman again, but you being forbidden… just turned me on more,” he rasped.

  “Pervert,” I teased.

  Pulling me on top of him, he said, “You like it,” before thrusting his already hard cock between my legs, making me want him again like a true sex addict…

  But I was an addict. Only, my addiction wasn’t sex. My addiction was him… that was scaring me and I had no idea what to do about that.

  I woke up alone in his bed. Putting a t-shirt on, I searched for Kellan. He was in the kitchen, preparing breakfast. He seemed deep in thought, didn’t even notice I was here.

  “Good morning,” I murmured, wrapping my arms around his naked torso, putting kisses from his one shoulder to the other.

  I felt complete when I was near him, something inside me was coming to the edge of bursting whenever his eyes touched mine. He turned to face me, lifting me on the counter.

  “They’re inviting us for dinner,” he said, playing with the end of my hair, twirling it around his finger.

  “Who?”

  “Your mother and Brad.”

  “So… do you want to go?” I whispered.

  “No… but we will. They wanted to congratulate us on working together. Also, your mother wanted to meet me and I can’t postpone it any longer,” he sighed.

  “Why are you calling him Brad? What did he do that you can’t forgive him?” I whispered, afraid of his reaction.

  His eyes turned steel, his jaw became tense as soon as my question dropped from my lips. He closed his eyes, breathing deeply before answering me, “He chose alcohol over his family. He ruined what was so good, once. He ruined their marriage, my childhood, my trust in people. He was a failure of a husband, and a father.”

  I gasped at the hate that spilling through his words, “Is that why you don’t drink?” I whispered.

  “Yes… and I never will,” he said tersely, but he nuzzled my neck before continuing more softly, “Let’s have our breakfast. I want to fuck you again before we go. I won’t be able to stand being there otherwise.”

  “Okay,” I whisper-moaned.

  *****

  “Will it be awkward that we rode in the same car?” I asked as we stopped in front of our parents’ house. Feeling nervous and unsure of what to do in this situation.

  “Why would it be? We’re working in the same place,” he shrugged.

  Nodding, I got out of the car and walked toward the door, but Kellan stopped me with his hand wrapped around my wrist.

  “Melody… I don’t care if these people learn that we’re fucking each other, okay? I don’t give a fuck about anyone’s opinion. I do what I want, when I want, how I want, got it? If they learn I’m fucking my stepsister, so let them know. If they frown upon us for what we’re doing, they can fuck themselves. Is it clear enough?” he hissed.

  “Yes. I know you don’t give a fuck about what people think, but I care, Kellan. That is my mom in that house. I want her to be proud of me so I want her to hear this from me when it is the right time,” I said to him, as softly as possible.

  “Do you think time will ever be right to tell your mom that you’re fucking your step-brother?” he snorted.

  “Is that all?! Are we just fucking?” I hissed at him, feeling hurt.

  His eyes got distant, his face became stoic, “Let’s get inside. They might have heard the car, you don’t want them to get suspicious of anything, right?” he said, walking past me.

  My mom opened the door before I could answer Kellan, “Kellan, Mel… come in, come in,” she waved us in.

  “Kellan, it’s so great to finally meet you in person. I’m Georgiana. I’ve heard so many things about you. How handsome you are,” my mom couldn’t hide her excitement even a bit.

  “Thanks, Georgiana. Nice to meet you,” he kindly replied and tried not to cringe when my mom hugged him really tight.

  Kellan and Brad didn’t say a word to each other, even though I saw several times Brad was about to say something but changed his mind. During the dinner the tension became more palpable. Kellan’s hand was moving closer to my panties u
nder the table, I knew it was his way of distracting himself. I sipped my wine, to hide my blushing when his fingers got under my panties.

  My mom cleared her throat, “Thanks a lot for hiring Mel, Kellan. It makes me happy she is working for you and earning experience, like a real family.”

  I coughed roughly, grabbing a tissue, trying not to move a lot and reveal Kellan’s hand that was still keep petting my pussy.

  He was a freak!

  “Are you okay, baby?” my mom asked.

  “Yeah, Mom… wrong pipe,” I managed to say, trying to close my thighs but it only increased the feel of his hand.

  “I knew you’d be a good team together. Both great minds,” Brad said, causing Kellan to tense beside me.

  “Like you know anything about me,” he snapped.

  “Of course I know you, Kellan. You’re my son and I’m so proud of the man you’ve become,” Brad continued, I wished he stopped because I knew this would only make Kellan angrier.

  “Proud? You have no right to be proud of anything about me. You can be proud of something you’ve worked for. You weren’t even there when I became this man! So stop acting like a good father, you’re not fooling me!” he burst out.

  “Kellan,” I whispered, but he already stood up from his chair.

  “Georgiana, sorry for ruining this night for you. I have no problem with you. Thank you for the great dinner and your warm welcome. But I need to go now,” Kellan said to my mom, turning his gaze to me, “Do you want to stay, Melody?”

  I could sense the pain behind his eyes, even though he looked so cold about all this. He needed me… or maybe I only wanted to think he did.

  “It would be great if you can drive me home,” I said, giving my mom an apologetic look. She gave me a nod and we said our goodbyes. It hurt me how Brad looked at his son… I wished I knew what was between them in detail.

  We drove in silence for awhile, I didn’t ask where we were going when he passed the turn-off to my house. He turned toward his house, stopped the car and walked to my side. Without a word he lifted me in his arms, carrying me to his home, toward the pool inside the house. Feeling the tension of his body, I didn’t say anything, let him do what he needed to do. He finally put me on the floor near the pool.

  “Strip,” he rasped. I did as I was told when he made quick work of his own clothes. This was never getting old, seeing him naked, in all his tattooed and pierced glory. His beauty was so dangerous, so breath-taking it was hard to not fall for him… not only the beauty of his body, but also the beauty of his soul, even though he did everything in his power to hide it.

  I was already aroused when he got into the pool and extended his hand to help me. I reached out my hand to caress his face when he wrapped his arms under my ass to keep my head above the water, our hips in line. But he got away from my touch, “Don’t. I can’t take it now,” he said through his teeth.

  He turned me, my back to his front, placing me on his feet, “This will be rough… I need you to take it, can you do that for me?” he whispered, peppering kisses to the length of my neck.

  “Give me your all… I’m here for you, I will always be here for you,” I whispered, not even sure whether he heard me.

  The first thrust was bliss, but the rest… bliss didn’t even cover it, the feeling was exquisite… like I could feel his pain, anger, desperation, lust in my bones… like we were one.

  But then he did something I had never thought he would, he stopped, turned me to face him and kissed the hell out of me. When our lips separated, I saw his soul in his grey eyes… for the first time I saw his bare soul, the child in it. He was in pain, alone, sad… and scared. I didn’t know what he was scared of, but I caressed his face, his hair, and covered his face with my kisses as I pulled him closer to me.

  When our bodies joined together again, I couldn’t take my eyes away from his.

  In that moment, I knew I was in deep trouble…

  In that moment, I knew I would do anything for this man… even risk myself getting hurt for him.

  Finally, it was time for the meeting. I was so excited and nervous even though we were ready. Kellan and I worked on the project and its presentation the entire weekend. Troy from the finance department was with us in the conference room most of the time with the financial part of the project. Also, lots of people were on Kellan’s floor, running around to get everything ready just the way he wanted.

  After our drafts were done, Kellan made some people from different departments come to work on Sunday. Brian from IT started to work on the 3D presentation the designers made ready for him to show at the right time and he was still where we last left him since Sunday. I wasn’t sure if he ever moved from his place to be honest. Nicole helped me so much with cushion choosing, she was taking care of stocks in the company and had a great eye on her, she made the right shots for what I had in mind for the interior design cushions. We really got along well with her.

  Pacing in the conference room, I was touching, checking everything before the clients came.

  “Melody,” I heard Kellan’s voice behind me. He put his hands on my shoulder, rubbing my tense muscles into submission under his strong hands.

  “Everything looks great. We did great, as a team. Now, keep calm, put that sweet smile on your face and straighten your back,” he told me.

  I closed my eyes, took a deep breath and lifted my chin up with confidence. Smiling up at him, “You’re really a good boss,” I whispered.

  A cute smile was about to form on his face, but he schooled his expression when the investors came in. They were four people: one woman, her assistant, a lawyer, and a finance manager. The head of the project was Stephanie Yorks, giving us professional smiles, I noticed she was hard to impress. But they wanted to work with Hawke Architecture, I reminded myself, Don’t let her intimidate you.

  “Miss Yorks, gentlemen… please meet Miss Crown. She is a very talented architect who helped me a lot in this project. She is also the creator of the interior design for the building you wanted,” Kellan introduced me to them.

  I couldn’t believe he introduced me as an architect instead of an assistant. I felt my cheeks heat up as appreciation grew inside me.

  “Brian, we can start,” he said and started to explain the design of the buildings. I was trying to absorb his style, the way he talked, the way he made eye contact, his confidence. Aside from being deathly attractive, he had that charismatic intelligence… the more he talked the more he captivated you, hypnotized you.

  “I like the idea. To be honest, I was expecting you to use a musical instrument for the building, like most of the other companies offered us before we came to you. This is new, but the design will only be seen if you look at it from above, right? Don’t you think it will be boring?” Miss Yorks asked.

  “The shape of the clefs will be seen easily the moment you walk into the area. Because the buildings will be skewed, starting from the bottom, the building will raise up slowly. Brian, can you show Miss Yorks in 3D please,” Kellan answered her without breaking a sweat.

  Everyone seemed impressed when they saw how it would look. I felt proud.

  “What about the colors?” Miss Yorks asked this time.

  “I want Miss Crown to answer your question on that. You should hear how she expresses it. I was impressed with the way she put it,” Kellan said, holding my hand to put me in his place, at the center of attention. He sat in my chair, giving me a nod with an intense stare that turned my insides to jelly.

  “Thanks, Mr. Hawke. About the colors, we’re planning on using soft and basic colors outside of the buildings, but expressive, bright colors for the interior. Let me explain why, these clefs are the starters for every masterpiece, every song we know –from Twinkle Twinkle Little Star to 9th Symphony of Beethoven. These are basics of music yet the magic happens inside, when you follow those notes… so we want to create magic, differences inside the buildings. Like every different student, every different musical piece, the interior wi
ll be different, colorful and bright,” I explained, holding my breath for them to give me a reaction.

  Seconds passed slower…

  I was on the verge of heart attack…

  Finally, Miss Yorks opened her mouth to speak, “I love the idea. But I want to see how you plan on making it colorful, different and bright,” she demanded, using exactly my adjectives.

  “Sure… Brian… please,” I gave him a nod, sighing in relief.

  I continued to explain my design to them, loving their growing interest with every little detail I shared. Miss Yorks fell in love with the idea of covering walls with the notes of classical pieces.

  When I was done, Miss Yorks as well as her co-workers were smiling. Everyone was happy that she was satisfied with our designs.

  “Working with you was a great decision, Mr. Hawke. And I’m glad we have you on board with us Miss Crown. I’m impressed with how well you understood our passion for music and how well you teamed up music and architecture. You are a good team,” she praised us before leaving.

  “Thank you, Miss Yorks,” I told her when Kellan didn’t say anything. There was a frown in his face after her words, like they confused him. He put distance between the world and himself again.

  I knew that look… and I was afraid that it would affect us.

  “Congratulations!” Becca wrapped her arms around me the moment I stepped inside.

  “Thank you,” I managed to say despite her bear-hug. There were some balloons in the living room.

  “I know you said you didn’t want to go out to celebrate, but you didn’t say anything about celebrating at home,” she shrugged, showing me wine bottles that were waiting for us to take care of them.

  “You’re the best. Let me change my clothes,” I blew her a kiss and went to my room. When I was back in the living room, I saw Becca had already started streaming Prison Break from Netflix.

  “Tell me you made pizza, too,” I asked.