“I’ll see you tomorrow mom, text me your address,” she reminded her again, before hanging up.
Jolie lay there with her face turned up at the ceiling. She already felt like that desperate urge to go back to Brandon’s penthouse was leaving her. Her mother’s voice was just the cure she needed. She rolled over and buried her face into the mountain of pillows and tried to take in deep breaths to stabilize herself. Nothing seemed to be working. She was still thinking about him; she was still thinking about how he had teased her nipples and her clit. How good he had made her feel.
Jolie told herself that she needed to go to Boston. She needed to spend some time with her mother to remind herself of the kind of life she didn’t want for herself. Her mother had set the right examples; she had made Jolie see what happened when you fell for the wrong man. And Jolie wanted to avoid just that. She didn’t want to fall for Brandon Calloway.
Chapter 8
Brandon woke up with a dull ache at the back of his head. He hadn’t left his suite since Jo went running out of it the previous evening, and he couldn’t stop thinking about her.
Whatever way he wanted to shape this thing, the truth was that he had been unfaithful to his wife. Even though they hadn’t actually had sex, whatever they did was bad enough.
But every time he thought about Jo, and the way she had shuddered in his arms, how sweet her pussy had tasted…Brandon realized he was growing hard between the sheets.
He jumped out of bed and went in for a cold shower. That worked for a few minutes, till he was thinking of her again. She was delicate and small in his hands, her breasts were firm and small and he wished he had ripped that dress apart. He had wanted to see her breasts, taste her nipples…his eyes fell on her panty.
He’d fished it off the floor after she left and now it was lying tucked in under his pillow. He felt sick. He had fallen asleep surrounded by her musky earthy scent and now, even though he’d showered, he could taste her, smell her…
She was right in running away, he thought. Sleeping with him would have caused nothing but trouble for her. He should have stayed away from her, he shouldn’t have gotten her tangled up in his life.
Brandon wasn’t even eager to go down and check the guest register. He already knew what he would see; that Jo had already checked out. He didn’t even know her last name, and he made up his mind to not find out. The farther away he stayed from her, the better it was for Jo.
He changed into comfortable clothes and sat down in front of his laptop, hoping that he could get some work done. Nothing was helping. All he could do was think about her, and how close he had come to having her. His cock was still throbbing in his pants, still protesting. He ran a distressed hand through his hair and drew in some quick deep breaths.
It wasn’t just about sex, and the problem was that he knew it. He knew that he was attracted to her and not just to her body. He wished he had met her four months ago, before he met Alice. Alice!
The thought of his new wife sent chills down his spine.
He needed to be with her. He needed to go back to Boston and try and build a life with her. Maybe that’s what the cure was. Maybe all he needed was to remind himself of the life he had committed himself to, three months ago. But for a few moments, as hard as Brandon tried, he couldn’t recall Alice’s face.
Chapter 9
Jolie stood outside the red brick townhouse in the most upscale neighborhood in Boston. She blinked as she stared at the massive mansion, and then checked the address again. This was definitely the address that her mother had sent her.
She was still standing at the gate, when the front door burst open and she saw her mother rushing down the porch steps and down the driveway towards her. Her mother had a driveway! Her mother had a manicured garden and her very own rose bushes!
“Jolie! Honey! Yuhoo!” her mom’s arms were flailing as she waved at her, rushing towards the wrought iron doubles gates. She pulled it open and jumped at her, wrapping her short arms around her daughter.
She even smelt nicer than she ever had before.
“Mom! I’m in shock!” Jolie couldn’t control the giddy surprise in her voice, as her mother held her at arm’s length now.
“What did I tell you? This one is a prized catch. Come in, honey, you look fabulous,” her mom led the way and Jolie followed. She only had one small bag to carry, which she had packed for the resort and it hung from her shoulder now.
As she followed her mother, she tried to assess her as quickly as she could.
She’d put on some weight, but it didn’t surprise Jolie; she had clearly settled down in the comforts of her lavish new lifestyle. Her clothes were fancy labels, which Jolie had clocked immediately, and her blond extensions and long manicured nails were perfectly done up. Even her dressing sense had changed. She had never known her mother to wear anything other than garishly bright colors and cleavage revealing blouses. Now she was wearing dark slacks and a long fawn kaftan. It would have cost her new husband a fortune, but at least she was beginning to look the part of a trophy wife.
“You’re in luck honey, Bran called to say he’s arriving in an hour,” her mom said as she threw the front door of her house open.
“Bran?” Jolie said, as she stepped in, immediately struck by the crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling of the foyer.
“Yes, my husband, Brandon,” she said, as she led Jolie towards the living room.
“Brandon?” the name had struck her ears like a whip and she stopped in her tracks. This had to be some evil coincidence; that her mother’s new husband shared his name with the man Jolie nearly slept with the previous night. This had to be some kind of cruel way of the Universe to remind her of her shame.
“I knew you would know him. Everybody knows him!” her mom turned at the living room door, her eyes sparkling with pride as she looked at her daughter with her chin jutting up.
“Brandon Calloway, the hotelier, and he’s such a hunk!” she said and whipped around to show her into the living room.
Jolie remained standing where she was, feeling the ground reverberating under her feet. For a moment she thought that the chandelier was going to unhinge from the ceiling and come crashing down on her. She couldn’t even hear her mother speaking anymore. All she could hear was his name, floating in the air…taunting her that she had her new stepfather’s tongue lapping at her pussy just the night before.
Chapter 10
Brandon didn’t have a key to the new house yet, so he had to ring the bell. Despite having two meetings set up for the following day in DC, he had decided to cancel those and return to Alice. He knew he was doing this purely out of guilt, but he had to do something to absolve himself of his desire for Jo.
Alice opened the door herself, her face was flushed and she looked excited.
“Bran! Guess who’s come to visit!” Alice said, throwing her arms around his neck. When she hugged him, he felt his whole body stiffen. He couldn’t stop himself from comparing her to Jo.
She stepped away from him, beaming still and Brandon realized that he found her voice annoying. He hadn’t noticed this about her before, or had he? Was he only allowing himself to think about it now?
“My daughter. She’s come down to see us. The moment she heard of the wedding and the house…she said she had to come and see it for herself!” Alice was still talking in her screechy voice and leading the way towards the living room.
Brandon gritted his teeth as he draped his coat on the hanger by the door. The last thing he wanted today, was being forced to make small talk with Alice’s daughter, whom he had never met before.
“Bran!” Alice screeched from the living room and he took in a deep breath and walked to the door.
“Meet my daughter, Jolie,” Alice gushed and clapped her hands excitedly like a toddler.
Brandon remained at the door, as his wife’s body shifted and he laid eyes on her daughter for the first time. For a moment, he thought he was going crazy and he was imagining it. But wh
en he saw Jo’s face, and the look of confusion and nervousness on it, he knew this wasn’t a dream. She wasn’t thrilled to see him.
“Jolie, go on, give your new stepfather a hug, honey,” Alice urged her daughter, standing by and watching the two of them staring at each other.
It was Jo…with her luscious red hair flowing behind her shoulders. Her dark jeans shaping her long legs perfectly, and she was wearing a red silk blouse with a V neck that teased him. He had those breasts in his hands, he knew what her pussy tasted like. Brandon was stuck to the spot.
“Go on, Bran!” Alice’s voice split through the air and he had no other choice but to step towards Jo.
“Hello, Jolie,” he said, holding her fiery gaze. Their bodies were inches apart again, but, this time, under very different circumstances. She looked like she would have given her arm to be anywhere else but in this room.
“Hello, Brandon. It’s nice to meet you,” she said and they shook hands, instead of hugging as Alice had suggested.
Just that handshake was enough. The touch of their hands sent shockwaves down his body. For the first time in his life, Brandon felt like he had lost complete control of himself. Despite the fact that Alice was standing right there, in the same room as them, he wanted to pull Jo into his arms.
“The news must have been very surprising to you,” he managed to say and she stared back at him, her pupils barely even moving.
“Yes, I’m still in shock. I didn’t know mom had remarried before I called her last night,” she was quick to say, and Brandon noticed how desperate she was to tell him that she had no idea. He nodded his head, and she tugged her hand away from his grasp.
“I was hoping that I would get to meet Alice’s daughter soon,” he said and he watched her gulp.
“And now you have!” Alice snapped through the moment and rushed towards her daughter to try and pull her into a hug. He watched as Jo struggled in her mother’s arms, averting her eyes away from him.
“We haven’t seen each other in two years! This girl works too hard, you know,” Alice cooed, pinching Jo’s cheeks together like she was a little girl.
Jo managed to escape her mother’s grip and she walked around to the back of the couch, in an attempt to put as much distance between herself and Brandon as she could.
“Mom, I’d like you to show me to the spare room now, please,” she said, keeping her face firmly turned away from him.
Brandon could feel his mind racing. Just when he thought he would never see her again, that he could start afresh with Alice…here she was, right there in front of him.
“Okay, I’ll show you upstairs so you can settle in,” Alice said, already leading the way out of the living room.
“I’m not going to settle in. I’m not staying. I just want to freshen up before I leave,” she said and he caught her cheeks flushing.
“Really?” Alice turned to face her daughter, and pouted her lips. Jolie glared back at her mother and Brandon clenched his jaws.
“No, you should stay. Spend some time with your mother. If my presence here makes you uncomfortable, I’ll leave,” he said and both the women turned to look at him.
“That’s silly! Why would you make Jolie uncomfortable?” Alice whipped around to look at her daughter with crossed brows. Brandon saw a streak of Alice’s short temper, he got a taster of the kind of mother she might have been to Jolie. She was the kind of woman who liked to get her way.
“Jolie? Is Bran making you uncomfortable?” Alice’s voice had hardened and she was glaring at her daughter now, shooting daggers from her eyes. Jolie looked at her mother and then at Brandon again, and a half-hearted smile formed on her face.
“No, of course not. Sure, I’ll stay. Maybe just a couple of days,” she said and Alice clapped her hands again; her good mood returning quickly.
“Come upstairs with me, honey. I’ll take you to your room,” Alice said and for a few moments, after she had left, Jolie and Brandon were alone in the living room again. But she said nothing, she just walked away without giving him a second look.
Chapter 11
They were sitting across from each other at the dining table. Jolie fiddled with the cutlery in front of her, and her toes were flexed in her shoes. Their housekeeper was serving them their five course meal and they were already in their second. Other than her mom, neither of them had spoken much.
Jolie still couldn’t believe that she was sitting in front of him again.
“Are you still working at the magazine?” her mom interrupted her thoughts and Jolie turned to her, still feeling like she was in some kind of cruel nightmare. Most of her food remained untouched on her plate.
“Yes, I’m still there mom,” she said and noticed the way Brandon kept stealing glances at her. He was sitting beside her mom, who was leaning purposely towards her husband, trying to make it clear to her daughter that they were in a loving relationship.
Jolie on the other hand, had received a first-hand demonstration of how loving that relationship actually was.
Despite how sick the situation was making her feel, seeing Brandon again had knocked the breath right out of her. Try as she might, she still couldn’t bring herself to hate him. The man who had cheated on her mother…
“I’ve flipped through the magazine, it’s too high fashion for me. Who knows? Now I might be able to actually afford some of the things you people write about,” her mom said and threw back her head and laughed. Jolie’s eyes met Brandon’s briefly, and he dragged his gaze away to look at his wife.
“Of course,” he said, in a quiet and courteous voice and Jolie watched, with her stomach turning as her mother leaned towards her husband and planted a long wet kiss on his cheek.
Jolie had to grip her fork tightly, to stop herself from screaming. That’s what she wanted to do. She wanted to scream till her throat was chaffed and her lungs were completely empty of air. And she couldn’t even blame him. Brandon was being attentive to his wife and the perfect host to her.
“Which magazine do you work for, Jolie?” he asked her then, laying special emphasis on her full name. As though calling her that might change what had already happened between them.
“Dot,” she replied bluntly, keeping her eyes on the plate. She wondered if her mother had any idea that there was a tension in the room. A sexual tension. That Jolie’s body was trembling with desire for the man her mother had married.
“I’ve heard of it. You guys do a stellar job. A lot of my friends’ wives swear by it,” Brandon said, as he popped a carefully cut piece of steak into his mouth.
Hearing him praise the magazine, made Jolie’s cheeks flush and she gulped down wine from the glass beside her. When she looked up, she caught Brandon’s eyes on her again, watching her drink.
“Maybe I’ll start swearing by it too. Fill my closets with those gorgeous clothes and jewelry,” her mom said, and turned to her husband and pouted. Jolie watched as Brandon forced himself to smile at his wife and then continued to eat.
They ate in silence for some time longer, till the third course was brought in. Then he rested his cutlery on his plate and pushed his chair back.
“What’s the matter?” her mom turned to him, looking aghast.
“I’m full. The dinner was lovely, Alice. I think I’m going to go set up my study now,” Brandon said and then stood up from his chair. Jolie felt her throat run dry. The whole time that he was sitting there, she had tried to avoid his eyes. Now that he was going to leave the room, she was desperate for him to stay. She didn’t even know what she wanted.
“Okay, honey, you go ahead. We girls will chat,” her mom said and Brandon smiled at her, before turning to Jolie.
“I might retire right after, so I’ll see you girls in the morning. Goodnight, Jolie,” he said and without waiting for a response, he had left the dining room.
Jolie felt like the food had turned to rubber in her mouth. She couldn’t taste it anymore. All she wished for was her mom to disappear, so that she could ju
st scream in peace. Get it all out of her system.
“Isn’t he a handsome devil? He hasn’t fully moved in yet, he has to travel so often for work. But his only criteria for the new house was that there should be a big private study for himself,” her mom was speaking again and Jolie tried to concentrate on the words.
“Why did he say he’ll see you in the morning? Won’t he see you tonight?” Jolie blurted out, and immediately turned her face to her plate. She didn’t want her mother to see the tension in her eyes.
Her mother laughed nervously, searching for the right words to use.
“Oh, it’s just a silly thing. He has his own bedroom in the house. He said that we both need our privacy, and since he’s rarely ever here, I didn’t mind. It doesn’t really affect our sex life of course!” her mother was laughing and Jolie felt the back of her neck burn up. The last thing she wanted to hear was a testimony from her mother, regarding their sex life. And from the fidgety expression on her face, Jolie had a feeling that the testimony was untrue. It definitely affected their sex life.
She couldn’t help but feel a small sense of victory, a guilty pleasure at that, and she tried to wash it down with some more wine.
Chapter 12
Brandon had barely managed to set up his study in the past hour and a half that he had been in there. His trunks of books lay open by the door and now he had settled himself behind his large oak desk. A half-drunk glass of Single Malt swirled in his hand, as he tried to iron out the thoughts in his head.
Jo was in the same house as him. She was his new step daughter. Everything had happened so fast, that he didn’t have the time to think. Now, that he had a quiet hour and a half to himself, he still couldn’t come up with a solution.
What was he supposed to do? He should have left the moment he saw her in their living room, but he couldn’t. He couldn’t tear himself away from her. The burning attraction between them was still going strong. He still wanted her.
Unwrap Me Daddy_A Holiday Romance Page 42
