“Oh, I didn’t mean my brother wasn’t cute. He’s really a great guy, but he can be a stuffed shirt and very rigid.” I pull out my phone and the picture I use for his caller ID,
“Hot damn! That’s your brother?”
“Mads, I think we need to meet him,” Addison flips my phone to Madison, and she arches her brow, checking out my brother.
“Madison isn’t meeting him yet,” I growl. Never in my life have I ever been jealous of Tanner, but now I’m starting to get pissed at the guy like he did something, and brother’s not even here.
“Emmitt, are you jealous?” Addison grins from ear to ear.
“Hell yeah. I love the guy, but I’m not letting him steal my girl.” I slide my arm around Madison’s shoulder, giving her a squeeze.
She pulls back slightly to look up at me. “Your girl?”
“Yep. You heard me right, beautiful.”
“I think you’re crazy.” She shakes her head, and yet she doesn’t move out of my arms.
“I just might be. I never thought so before I met you.”
“Well, I’m a bit loopy right now.” That I can see, and I’m eating up the way she’s staring at me like she’s just as attracted to me as I am of her. “You’re sexy, Emmitt. Grrr…like really sexy. I want your lips on mine.”
“As wonderful as that sounds, I don’t want an audience, and I sure as hell want you sober when I kiss you for the first time.” I brush my thumb across her chin. She’s so beautiful that I can’t take my eyes off her. Her long blonde hair with lowlights add to those magnificent blues that are getting sleepy.
“Pity.” She twists her lips and closes her eyes, resting her head on my shoulder.
“Thankfully, we’ll be home before you start jumping his bones.”
Madison lifts her head and glares at her friend. “Shut it. It’s all your fault.”
“It’s cool. Make me your maid of honor, and we’ll be square.”
“Deal,” I tell her, answering for my woman. The thought, even teasing, is tempting and delightful to hear coming from their lips.
“Hey, that’s my choice.”
“As long as I get to be the groom.” The driver keeps stealing glances through the rearview mirror. This time I see a smirk on his face.
“We’ll see. I haven’t met this brother of yours.”
I glare at her smiling face, giving her a stern warning, “Keep that up, and you never will.”
“We’re finally here,” Addison sighs loudly, rolling her eyes. Digging into my pocket, I pull out my wallet and pay for the cab to the protest of Madison.
“What? Did you think I came to cop a free ride? It’s time to go.”
“I’ll carry her. Can you take my camera bag?” I ask Addison.
“Sure.”
Chapter 3
Emmitt
I help the girls into their apartment, carrying my treasure all the way up and setting her down on the large, fluffy grey sofa. She bounces gently, looking adorably small in the massive couch. She lifts her sultry gaze to me, and it’s as if she can feel the lust pouring off of me. Fuck, I could just climb on top of her and fuck her brains out right there.
I try to calm down, but my dick likes the image of her under me. A cough comes from behind me, and it’s probably because I’m staring at Madison like I could eat her up. I need a picture of her like this—for my eyes only.
Addison carried my camera and case for me thankfully because that shit was in the way, but now I want it.
“So, do you want to stay for lunch?” Madison asks. She looks like she’s about to fall asleep, probably from the medicine, but I still want to stay. No, I need to stay. My heart aches when I think about leaving, which I will have to do in a couple of hours. I have a lot of work to do, and it needs to be done by tonight.
“Sure. What do you girls want to eat?” I don’t want to go anywhere, so whatever I can do to prolong the day with Madison works for me.
“We planned to get breakfast at the diner off Lakeshore, but you know how that went.” She pointed to her sprained ankle. Damn, taking a good look at it, I can see why they took her to the hospital. The joint is the size of a tennis ball. My poor woman is going to need a lot of tender loving care, and I’m the one for the job.
“I understand. So breakfast? Huck Finn’s is right here. How about I pick up a couple of breakfast platters?”
“You’d do that?”
“I want to spend time getting to know you, Madison. What’s the big deal? I didn’t bring my car, but I don’t mind walking. It’s only like three blocks away from here.”
“Well, that sounds great to me,” Addison says. I’m betting they want to converse about me in private, and that’s fine as long as Addison doesn’t try to talk her out of seeing me. “Do you need money?”
“No, I got this.” I’m not going to tell her that I’m loaded and that I’m just squirreling money away. My phone rings before I walk out the door, and both girls look at me, wondering who it is, so I answer, “Hello, Mom.”
I look at both women as I listen to her whine. We have a strained relationship, but I love her even if she pushes me to the edge of sanity. “Where are you? I thought you’d be home by now. I have an appointment, and I need to borrow your car.”
“Why can’t you use yours?” I question. She has a fucking brand new Mercedes courtesy of the last husband who died a few months back.
“I got a boot on it this morning—if you must know.” I can just see her rolling her eyes over the phone. It’s moments like these that I find I’m the adult dealing with a teenager.
“A boot? For what?”
“Parking tickets. I shouldn’t have to park on the street in the first place. I think your asshole ex-stepfather has someone following me around to cause me misery, or maybe it’s his son.”
“You can borrow the car, but next time you say something shitty about Tanner, you can forget it.” I forget that I’m not alone. She pisses me off any time she talks bad about my stepbrother. Tanner’s a freaking wonderful guy who has some emotionally stunted issues.
“Fine. I don’t need it, but you need to come home soon, so you can drive me around.”
I have to remind her that she’s not my boss and my home isn’t hers. I almost lost it the day she made herself a key. I had the locks changed and never let her near my set again. “I’m not going to be at my place any time soon. Bye.”
I might look like a dick, but the woman will push and push and push until she gets what she wants. It’s how she’s gotten husband after husband. “Sorry, she’s something else,” I apologize when I see both girls staring at me with questions in their eyes.
“She doesn’t like your stepbrother?” Addison asks.
“No, she doesn’t. How did you know? Could you hear her?”
“No. You said your brother’s name, and his picture was attached to the caller ID.”
“Oh, duh. Yeah. Sorry. We don’t get to pick our parents, but we love them anyway, right?” Madison says with a shrug.
“Madison has awesome parents. They may not have a fortune, but they give her everything they can.”
I could see Madison dozing off. “Then I can’t wait to meet them. Let me go get breakfast before she passes out.”
“Good.”
The walk is quicker than I expect, but the place is packed. Luckily, I get a waitress who is so glad that it’s a takeout order. For a bigger tip, I tell her if she could rush it. After getting the food in less than fifteen minutes, I drop down a hundred dollar tip and walk back to Madison’s apartment. The building isn’t bad, but there’s nothing here in terms of security, and the block isn’t great. Addison opens the door, and my sweet girl is smiling up at me from her perch on the sofa. “I’ve got the food.”
Setting the containers down on the coffee table, I sit on the edge of the sofa in front of Madison, so I can get her situated. “Thank you, my stomach is grumbling for a meal,” she sighs, rubbing her flat abs. I drop my head and put my ear to h
er stomach.
“Yep. That monster is practically roaring.”
“God, you both are pretty adorable. Still, quit the teenage flirting, I don’t want to have to muscle down my food,” she garbles out already chewing her pancakes.
“Shut it, jerk.”
“Do you want some orange juice or milk, Emmitt?”
“Some milk would be good. Thanks, Addison.” As soon as she leaves, I turn to Madison and say, “Your roommate is nice.” Madison has suddenly gotten quiet, biting her lip. Have I gone too far? Pushing too much? I’d kill myself if I pushed her away. “You know, if you don’t want me to stay, I can go. I know I’m being pushy.”
“No, please don’t go,” she says, grabbing onto my shirt. Her dainty fingers lightly graze my forearms, sending pleasure up my arm and to the rest of me.
“Then, I’ll stay. So tell me, what just happened?”
“Do you like her, like her?”
“Sweetheart, I saw both of you at the same time, and I haven’t stopped wanting to be with you. I’m not interested in her at all. She’s entertaining, but I’ve met funny people before. I’m about to kiss you if you keep frowning.” She gives me a super grimace, pouting.
I lean in to kiss her, but I remember that she’s on meds, so I reluctantly stop myself. Sitting straight up, I cut my breakfast sausage in half to take my mind off her sweet syrupy lips. After swallowing a bite, I ask, “How old are you?”
“I’m twenty. You?”
“I’m twenty-six.”
She nods, taking it in that I’m technically a lot older than her. I hope she’s not too put off by it. Addison comes back into the room with two glasses of milk. “I’ll give you two a few minutes alone. I need a shower.”
Madison takes a drink and then sets it down. “So, do you always do racing events?”
“No, one of my clients connected me with another client who wanted more publicity and shots, so I have to send him the images tonight.”
“Is photography still a big business?”
“Are you saying, am I struggling for money?” She blushes, but it’s a fair question. After all, I plan on knocking her up, so it’s good to know if she can depend on me.
She shrugs. “No, but I’ve never actually met a professional photographer.”
“It’s a harder business than it used to be. I still make great money, but it’s not my only source of income.”
Her eyes sparkle, and then she says, “What is that? Do you get in front of the camera?”
Now it’s my turn to blush. Fuck, the way she looks at me, I want to break the last bit of control and take her on the sofa. “No. Investments.”
“Oh.”
“What’s the ‘oh’ for?”
“Nothing. It’s just you seem to be so worldly compared to me.”
“You make it sound like it’s a bad thing.”
“I’m just temp while I go to school.”
“That’s not just. What are you going to school for?”
“I still haven’t figured it out. I’m in my second full year and haven’t found anything I’m passionate about.”
“But you’re still going?”
“I can’t disappoint my parents.”
“So you’ll stay in school, waste money, and hope that you figure it out? Sorry, I don’t mean to come off like a dick.”
“No, no. It’s a fair question. Well, it’s just I’m the first to go to college in my family, and I don’t want to disappoint them.”
“It’s not for everyone. Maybe you could do some sort of trade school if traditional degrees don’t interest you. What do you do for fun besides run?”
“I read.”
“And when you’re not working or reading?” I’m trying to get more out of her because I’m greedy for anything she’ll tell me. I should be patient because she’s had a rough day, but I can’t seem to get enough of hearing her voice.
“She babysits,” Addison says, peeking her head through the doorway.
“I only babysit one kid.” She glares at her friend, who rejoins us. I slide my hand in Madison’s, intertwining our fingers. I don’t want her to feel the slightest bit jealous because she has nothing to be jealous about.
“Oh, and do you like it?” I don’t think she should take up being a nanny or anything, but the idea of her caring for our children is extremely promising. Damn, my dick hardens at the image of her holding our baby, while the next one rounds out her belly. That would make for a fantastic photo.
“I do, but that’s just because he’s adorable and sweet.” I bet we’d make a ton of beautiful babies together.
“The dad’s not bad eye candy, either.” Addison winks, making me growl.
“I’m starting not to like you,” I grit out.
“Eh, Mads tells me that all the time. Like me or not, I’m not changing, so ha!” She sticks her tongue out at both of us.
My thoughts are still on the hot dad she mentioned. “So, when do you babysit again?” I want to get a look at this guy and find out what his intentions are toward my woman. There better not be any because I’ll fuck him up.
“Tomorrow, but the doctors want me to stay off my feet.”
“I don’t have anything to do tomorrow, I can come over and help.”
“You’d do that?”
“If it means I get to spend more time with you? Hell, yes.”
“You are too perfect, Mister,” she yawns. Her eyes begin to get heavy. She should be resting, so despite wanting to stay with her all day, I think it’s best I get going.
“I think it’s time for you to take a nap. I have to go, but I’ll help you to bed.” I stand and then scoop her up in my arms before she can begin to protest.
“Damn, you’re strong.”
“Thanks, babe, but you’re light as a feather.” She’s slender with ample curves, but I’m twice her size, so I easily carry her into the room Addison leads us to without saying a word. She pulls back the covers for me, and I tuck my woman in.
“I hate to do this, but I really should get going. I have to get some work done for this event. I’m sure that they’re waiting for the first shots.”
“You promise to come back?”
“Damn right. I have a lot I want to do to you,” I growl, kissing her forehead. Quickly, I leave the room, stealing another glance only when I’m just outside her bedroom door. I want to go back in there and lay down with her. My phone buzzes, and I bet it’s my mother again. I pull it out as I grab my camera bag. Ignoring the call, I tuck it back in. I’ll call her later. I don’t have the patience for that woman.
When I get back to my condo, it’s after three. With the traffic and the train being crowded, it takes me a lot longer than I like getting back. Immediately, I boot up my computer and upload the file. Most of the photos I update in Adobe Lightroom, making them pop with the perfect amount of sunshine to color ratio. There are about two dozen photos I keep from the rest. They’re all the ones I took of Madison. As beautiful as she is, I don’t want to share her with the rest of the world. She’s mine.
Chapter 4
Madison
The next morning, I shoot up into a seated position because the pain in my foot is excruciating. I turn, looking for my phone, and that’s when I see a bottle of water and my pills. I pop one and then drink it down until the bottle is empty. I drop my head back on the pillow and groan.
As I think about yesterday and the events that unfolded, Addison bursts through the door. “Ah, you’re finally up. I brought you a peace offering. I’m really sorry about your foot.”
“It’s okay. It’s not like you tripped me.” The bastard that tripped me was myself. I’d been so busy thinking about the guy on the platform that I wasn’t paying attention to my surroundings. Someone else stepped on me, but the initial fall was all on me.
“Well, if I didn’t make you go…”
I cut her off because even after everything that happened, I still feel like I won yesterday. “Then, I would have never met Emmitt.
”
“Emmitt, who?” She tilts her head and scrunches her brow.
“The guy who was here all day.”
Her eyes widen and then narrow. She presses her hand to my forehead, looking for a temperature. I don’t feel feverish at all, so she steps back and purses her lips. “Um…no one was here but us two. Damn, you must have had one hell of a dream.”
“Are you freaking serious?” It felt so real.
“Dude, they did load you up on meds.” I can’t believe it. Could I have been that wasted on the drugs that I made up the whole thing?
“Now, tell me about this Emmitt guy you dreamed about. Was he at least hot?”
“Do tell,” Emmitt says from the door.
“Addison, you’re such an asshole.” I swing my pillow at her, slapping it across her arm and the back of her head.
“I know, but you love me anyway. I’m going to entertain myself out there.” She pops off my bed, skipping out of the room, snatching a piece of bacon from Emmitt’s hand.
“So did you spend the night, or did you come back?” I can’t even remember what happened after I passed out.
“I came back. I had to get some of the photos off to the event sponsor. How are you feeling?”
“It hurts a lot more today, but I just took the meds they gave me.”
“Good. Are you hungry?”
“What time is it?”
“It’s ten-thirty.”
“Shoot, I’m supposed to babysit.”
"Your roommate already spoke to them. They called to cancel because the wife is sick. Strange, both of you forgot to mention her yesterday." He narrows his eyes at me with a bemused smirk on his handsome scruffy face. Wow, the change from smooth babyface to the five o’clock shadow is super sexy on him.
"She was trying to get you worked up, and I was curious how you'd react."
"Did I pass the test?" He runs his fingers over my hand and up my wrist. It takes everything not to give in to his touch. I want to drag him down and kiss him until we’re both panting.
Picture Perfect Obsession Page 2
