Through the doorway he could see Zoey, looking both innocent and sexy in her pale pink silk nightie. It was a short thing, riding several inches above her knee. The baby doll style sleepwear had a cream lace covering her breasts, with just a tiny bit of pink silk for added coverage. It hugged her body perfect, and as she bent over to take the English muffins out of the oven, it gave him a tantalizing view of her thong-clad backside.
Bradley stifled a groan and ignored the aching of his groin as he forced himself to focus. Lifting his hand to his mouth, he faked a cough to announce his presence. Zoey turned to look at him quickly, a smile wide on her beautiful face.
“Good morning!” She practically sang, sitting two plates of his favorite breakfast dish on the small kitchen table. “I remembered that you liked eggs benedict so I made you some. There’s coffee and fruit too!”
“Wow,” Bradley breathed, taking in the beautiful spread of food. “This looks amazing Zoey, thank you.” As soon as he sat down Zoey was at his side, pouring coffee into his cup for him and even adding the two spoonfuls of sugar.
“It’s absolutely not a problem,” she assured him, taking a seat close to his. “I like to cook. I’m not too great at cleaning, but I’ll get better at it I’m sure.” As the two enjoyed their breakfast, Zoey asked him about his day and what he had planned. He told her his schedule and as he did, he couldn’t help but feel a tad surreal about the entire moment.
In a perfect world, this would be the best girlfriend moment. Fresh breakfast, engaging conversation, and then a short but passionate kiss before he went off to the office to bring home the bread. He was so wrapped up in thinking about it that he had completely spaced on what he had been telling Zoey.
“I’m sorry, what was that?” Bradley asked, looking up into her eyes. It was a mistake and a big one. In them he saw her kindness, her appreciation, and her eagerness to please him. It was tormenting his moral compass, and he didn’t like it.
“I just asked if you were feeling okay. You stopped talking midsentence and started staring off into the distance,” Zoey told him. Concerned, she reached out and squeezed his hand.
“I did? Shit. I’m sorry honey. I guess I just got caught up in my thoughts. I’m fine, really. But if I don’t leave now I’m going to be late for my appointment.” As he stood up to go, Zoey rushed up to hug him, her tight body wrapping around him affectionately. It drove him wild, and he had to once again lock his jaw to stifle the groan of sexual agony.
“I’ll see you tonight,” he said curtly, practically running for the garage door.
After he left, Zoey began to clean up the dishes of the meal, and let her mind wonder to all the places it wanted to go. She had seen the desire in Bradley’s eyes the moment he stepped into the kitchen, and she couldn’t deny that she felt it too. Even though he was fifteen years than her, he was still an incredibly sexy older man. In her dreams the night before she had been in passionate love with him, and they had ravaged each other in bed until neither could walk.
It had aroused her so much that upon waking up she let her hand disappear between her legs and pleasure herself to the thought of the possibility. She knew it wasn’t proper or befitting for her to have thoughts like that about her ‘father’ figure, but she didn’t care about proper anymore. After all, where had it gotten her? Estranged parents, loss of boyfriend, and loss of job. What was the point of propriety when all it brought to her was agony?
CHAPTER 5
Bradley rubbed the bridge of his nose, hoping that it would take the pain of his headache away. His morning meeting had been fine. Everything had gone according to plan and for a while he completely forgot about the gorgeous barely clad woman that had served him breakfast that morning. At lunch, he had met with his secretaries and confirmed a few appointments for next week. His next payoff was scheduled for three days from then, and according to Hillary, the accountant, it was going to a big fat juicy one.
Then after lunch everything went down hill. Zoey’s company gave him the runaround on the phone for over an hour. It was a common trick used in the corporate world. If you made some wait long enough, they would simply go away. But in this particular case Bradley just couldn’t bring himself to hang up the phone. Zoey’s case was slowly starting to become an obsession, and after some light digging while he was on hold, he began to understand why.
When he was finally connected to the legal department all he got was an answering machine that could generate appointments for people to come in in person to discuss whatever issues they may have with the company. Annoyed, Bradley set the appointment for eleven the next morning and went back to digging. There wasn’t much, but he had just begun to look for dirt. He knew that if he was given more time he would find something odd, something not quite right about the company, and then they would be in the money faster than a bee went to honey.
“Bradley,” Jill whispered, knocking softly on his door. His secretary looked at him from the entryway, concerned.
“It’s nearly seven o’clock. What are you still doing here?”
It was a good question, one that he didn’t have an answer to. He had given up on digging over an hour ago. Had he really just been sitting at his desk rubbing the bridge of his nose for an entire sixty minutes.
“Lost track of time I guess,” he answered, lifting his head. “What about you? Why are you still here? Didn’t you have to pick Tommy up from practice at five?”
As if on cue, the little blonde haired boy popped his head out from around the corner, giving Bradley a toothy grin.
“Hi Mr. B,” the little boy greeted, waving at him. He still had on his soccer gear, including the cleats that Bradley had given to him for Christmas the past year.
“Hey buddy,” Bradley responded, waving back.
“I forgot my wallet in my desk,” Jill explained, putting her hand on her son’s back. “So we just came back real quick to grab it. I saw that your lights were on and I just wanted to make sure that you were okay.”
Bradley nodded his head and stood up. With nothing else to do at the moment he might as well head out himself. “I’m good, just have a headache. Got the runaround today. Give me a minute and I’ll walk you two to your car.” Bradley gathered up his things and thought about why he couldn’t fall for a woman like Jill. She was nice, smart, age appropriate, and had a great kid. There was just no spark in her eyes, not like Zoey’s.
He blushed at the thought and forced it out of his head. “Ready?” He flicked the lights off to his office as Tommy gave him a thumbs up, and together they all headed towards the elevator. On the way down Tommy told him about his practice and his excitement to get home.
“Mom promised if I got an A on my last spelling test I would get mac and cheese,” he explained, grinning widely. “She always makes me eat that organic stuff. It’s gross, but she says it’s good for me.”
“It is good for you,” Bradley agreed. He smiled at Jill as she mouthed the words ‘thank you’ to him.
At their cars they called goodbye to one another and Bradley finally began his journey home. He was tired and hungry, and as he closed the distance between himself and Zoey, he thought about her more and more. The only problem was, any time he thought of her now all he saw was that pert little ass in the air, begging to be spanked and massaged.
~
Zoey felt a wave of sadness as she knocked on Bradley’s bedroom door, afraid that he wouldn’t answer. He had barely looked at or spoken to her at dinner, and as soon as he was done eating he had bolted from his chair, claiming he had work to do in his study. She hadn’t seen him the rest of the night, even after she had cleaned up the kitchen again and took his clean laundry up to his room. She was worried that she had done something wrong. If she had, she wanted to fix it, and fast.
“Yeah?” Bradley called gruffly from the other side of the door. His tone was abrasive, and it made Zoey wince.
“May I come in?” She asked, her voice soft and persuasive. Several seconds ticked by before sh
e heard the lock click open, and Bradley appeared at the door.
“What is it?” He asked, sounding more annoyed than ever.
“Did I- did I do something wrong?” Zoey asked, taken aback. “I thought I was doing everything that you asked?”
Her question and tone of voice cut directly into Bradley’s heart, and he immediately softened. He gave her an apologetic glance, and moved to let her come into his room. She took a seat on his bed and looked up at him, still wanting an answer.
“Is there something wrong? You can tell me if there is. I don’t mind constructive criticism. Really, it helps me in the long run! Did you not like dinner?”
Bradley shook his head, not sure at all how to approach the subject of his admittedly wondering eyes. “No, it’s not that at all. The chicken cordon bleu was amazing really, and thank you so much for taking my shirts to the dry cleaners. That was really nice of you. I guess, well, it’s just that I haven’t had a woman in the house in a long time. It’s nice, don’t get me wrong, but it’s usually women that I’m dating that are this close to me. Not an ex’s daughter.”
Pain seared through Zoey’s heart as she heard his excuse. “I’m not my mother’s daughter any more that I’m yours Bradley. I mean come on, from the couple days that we’ve spent together you should be able to see that she and I are nothing alike. Hell, we don’t even look similar. I take after my dad. And in case you forgot, I grew up! I’m not a little girl anymore. I’m a woman, my own woman.”
“You’re right,” Bradley soothed, walking over to place his hands on his shoulders. “I’m sorry. It’s just-okay, the truth is that I saw your um, your ass this morning, and it was so- well it was amazing if I’m being honest, and I’ve been thinking about it, and you, practically all day, and I feel guilty about it because I watched you grow up, like a father does a daughter. But now I want you, like a man wants a woman, and I feel perverted about it.”
His confession shocked Zoey, but she couldn’t pretend that she wasn’t pleased about it. She had always found Bradley handsome, and now that she was a woman and he had divorced her mother, there was no longer anything creepy about it. Standing up, she took a couple steps closer until she was standing toe to toe with him.
“I like you too,” she whispered, boldly placing her palm on his chest. “And I don’t feel perverted about it. If anything I feel relief. Today is the first time in a while that I haven’t thought about the awkward position Zack has put me in, and it has been great.”
“Really?” Bradley breathed, feeling excitement course through him. He watched as Zoey nodded her head slowly up and down. “Then, this is okay,” he asked, his tone switching from awkward and insecure to sounding seductive and sure of himself. His voice slid across Zoey’s ears like silk and she felt a shiver go down her spine as she listened to him.”
“Really okay,” she assured him. Leaning in, Zoey felt Bradley’s arms close around her and she knew that he was giving in to his desires as much as she was. She moaned in pleasure as she tasted his lips on hers, and melted further into his chest. He tasted of peppermint and white wine, a surprisingly delicious combination that she suddenly craved more of. Parting her lips, she allowed Bradley’s tongue to dart inside her mouth. He found her tongue and seduced it with his own.
Beneath her dress Zoey could feel her nipples tightening and rubbing against the cups of her bra. Her clothes felt too tight and her skin felt itchy. She wanted to be naked, and to have her way with Bradley right then and there in his bed. When he pulled away from she gasped in agony, not ready to be separated from such a warm and comforting space.
“Wait Zoey, wait,” Bradley breathed, trying his best to use the head on his shoulders and the one between his legs. However, as he looked down at her all he could feel was wanting. Her eyes, big and full of lust were staring up at him, begging him not to stop. If he wasn’t looking to them then he was staring at her lips. Those two soft, plump pink pillows that were now glossed over and bruised from his intense kissing. “God, that felt good.” Groaning in decisiveness, he pulled her back into her arms and once again brought his lips down on hers.
He could feel Zoey’s fingertips shakily working at the buttons of his shirt until she made a hole big enough to wear she could slip her hands inside and run her fingertips over the smooth muscle of his chest. Her touch was so soft and sensual that it drove him crazy. In the heat of the moment, he grabbed both sides of the opening of his shirt and yanked hard, sending buttons flying all over the room.
“Touch me,” he moaned, grabbing her wrists and placing her palms on his chest.
“Only if you touch me too,” she moaned back, moving away just enough so that she could pull her dress up and over her head.
Bradley groaned and looked at her beautiful well cared for body in admiration. She had a small frame, but just enough curves to make her look like a goddess. Her breasts, heavy and held high, were wrapped in a white bra with blue lace. Her matching hip huggers teased him and he wondered if she had worn them in hopes of him seeing her without her clothes on. After all he had known and dated many women, and matching underwear was absolutely not something that that occurred every day.
That very thought though stopped him in his tracks. If she wanted him to see her naked then this was all pre meditated. Suspicion snuck into his mind, and he took a step back.
“What’s wrong?” She asked, confused. Everything was going so well, then as soon as she removed her dress bam, he stopped. She knew he liked the way he looked. He just told her that he did.
“I think that you should leave for now,” Bradley suggested, taking another step backwards.
Hurt, Zoey didn’t reply or try to figure out what was going on. Instead, she grabbed her dress and darted for the door. If he didn’t want to be with her that way then she was sure as hell not going to force him.
CHAPTER 6
For the next few days Bradley absorbed himself in his work, and didn’t even try to talk to Zoey. She seemed more than content to stay out of his way and he was glad for that. He had no idea what to say to her or even begin to describe why he was feeling what he was feeling.
When he saw her there, standing in nothing but her matching bra and panties, a switch had went off inside of him. Anger, confusion, and contempt all filled him, and he had no idea why. After all, she had no reason to try to trap him. Had he not promised her all those years ago that she could come to him for help? And now he was doing exactly that, so why was he suddenly so suspicious of her?
Deep down he knew it was because he couldn’t understand why she would want him. He was older than her, fifteen years to be precise, and a career driven man. The reason why he hadn’t had a girlfriend then or many times before was because he was married to his job. He knew that about himself, and didn’t mind that fact at all. After all, his job was what paid for his nice house, his fancy clothes, and the good, nutritional food that Zoey made for him.
Bradley knew what he looked like, and he knew that as far as appearances went, he was a pretty handsome guy. He kept his body neat and in check at all times. At least once a day he was at the gym for an hour, either running or lifting weights. He had seen what a life of at desk stasis could do to a man’s body, and he was not ready for that yet. Most of the men in his firm had tires around their bellies and balding hair, thanks to their bad diets.
Being as busy as they were, he understood that they probably didn’t have time to pay attention to their diet. However, Bradley had worked his ass off to get to partner level in his late twenties. It was part of the reason why his marriage with Zoey’s mother didn’t work out. She wanted him home with her all the time, and he was hardly ever there. Then, when he started showing up for Zoey’s games and recitals, she had started getting jealous.
Bradley realized how off track with his work he was getting and forced his mind to come back to the present. He knew that he was only stalling to do more work on Zoey’s case, but if he wanted to get her out of the house he would have to do it, an
d soon too. Though she may be a confusion to him at the moment, she was still wrongfully fired, and she deserved justice for that. Cracking his knuckles, he picked up his phone and punched in the appropriate numbers.
~
Zoey stared down at her sliced hard-boiled egg. It looked sad sitting on the plate all alone, but ever since her fight with Bradley she just hadn’t felt hungry. She wanted him to talk to her. Sure, he still said please and thank you at the dinner table as he was fixing his plate. But he always ate in his room or in his study, and when he was done he would simply leave his plate and glass outside of his doorway for her to collect, just like a hired maid. It hurt her feelings, but then again, he had warned her that she had to work for her keep.
She missed sharing meals with him. It was something she had come to look forward as soon as it started, even though they’d only done so a couple times. It was her hope that by dining together she would get to know who Bradley was now. Yes, she knew that he was a successful, handsome lawyer, but what else was he? What did he like? Dislike? Did he still like to take the occasional toke of weed like he had when she was younger, or had he moved on to harder drugs? Maybe he didn’t do drugs at all. Did he go out to bars and pick up women or did they just throw themselves at him? If she had to guess, she would say the latter. He was absolute stud, and how he managed to be single was beyond her.
Getting up, Zoey walked with her plate in her hands and took it to the trash. She slid the remnants of her snack into the black garbage bag and rinsed off her plate. When she was done, she walked upstairs to her room and pulled out her favorite blue dress. Enough was enough, she decided. She would throw on her favorite dress, add a little red lipstick, and cook them a meal. If he tried to walk away with his plate she would just stop him. No talking? Fine then, no eating.
She had no idea what had gotten into him, but she was done being upset about it. Whether he liked it or not, they were going to talk about their feelings and figure out what to do about them together. And if he wouldn’t, well, then she would just have to find another place to go and hope for the best there.
Romance: Luther's Property Page 66
