“There’s no way I’m making it to the house before you. Take my key and I’ll meet you there,” Brian says as he slaps his keys in my hands and goes back to sending an email.
“It’s fine. I can stay,” I say, looking down at the set of keys.
“There’s no point in both of us having to wait on the builder. My dad should be here any second and he’s going to give me the plans. I’ll be fifteen minutes behind you, tops. That will give you enough time to say hey to Sage and settle in.”
I feel the grumble of complaint climb up my throat and he holds up his hand to stop me.
“You’re not getting a hotel. My place has more than enough bedrooms, and it will give us a chance to go over work stuff this weekend.”
“I said one night.” I can’t keep the irritation out of my voice.
“No, you agreed to come to my family Thanksgiving dinner for one night. You’re staying at my place until Sunday.”
I clench my teeth and feel my jaw pop. I want to protest, but he’s right. I just thought I could get him to agree that it was only one night and it would be my excuse to get out of there. It’s not that I don’t appreciate his hospitality, but I don’t like being anyone’s charity case.
“Stop doing that or you’re going to break a tooth,” he says, not looking up from his screen.
“I have work I could be doing, too.”
“And you can do that as soon as you get to my place. Sage will have the Wi-Fi password and you can kick back until I get there. Dinner tonight is at seven. I’ll come swing by and get the two of you and then we can go out to eat. We can have an early night tonight and then go to my parents’ in the morning.”
“I thought you said fifteen minutes?” I correct, and he shrugs.
“I’ll be there as quick as I can.”
Again, he doesn’t look up and I sigh. It’s no use because I’m not getting out of this and I regret ever answering him honestly when he asked me if I had plans for the holiday. Next time I’m going to lie and make up a family member.
When I was young I used to pretend my imaginary family spent holidays traveling the world. It was one way to escape the foster family’s house I was stuck in. I remember one Christmas sitting in my room and closing my eyes as I imagined a ski trip in Europe. I even opened the window to make it cold, but as soon as my foster mom found out she yelled at me for wasting the heat and made me give my one present to another kid. I don’t like to think back on the time before I got out of there, but now I really could go to Europe for Christmas if I wanted. I’ve gotten used to being alone and maybe it would be nice by myself.
“Later,” I say as I tuck the keys in my pocket and walk out of the office.
Brian hasn’t told me much about his mom and his sister. I’ve met his dad several times through work, but the company I run with Brian is separate to the one he has with his dad. I met Brian a few years ago when he wanted help running part of his company. I develop software and manage data for several companies across the United States. Brian needed someone to take over that aspect of his job so that he could grow. When I stepped in it was only meant to be temporary, but it only took a couple of years of his constant nagging and I’ve signed on full time. He and his dad manage a ton of industrial properties and warehouses, but his dad mostly manages them while we travel. I can do my job from anywhere, but Brian likes me to be with him as much as possible. I think he knows I’d end up living in a cabin in the woods hundreds of miles from anywhere if he let me. The bastard just loves to nag.
I hail a cab and give him the address of the penthouse, hoping the traffic this time of day isn’t too bad. I’ve never been to his place, but we travel a lot and haven’t been this close to his family in a while. He’s mentioned his sister only a handful of times, and the way he talks about her makes me think she’s skittish. It’s nothing in particular he’s ever said, but I get the impression she’s really young and unattractive. I’ve never seen a picture of her and he’s never said her age, but anytime he’s brought her up it’s always to talk about how she’s not ready to be in the world and that she’s got a nice personality. To me that’s code for sweet and homely. I’m not looking forward to making small talk with a kid.
“Take the tunnel,” I bark at the driver, who looks at me in the rearview before he rolls his eyes.
I wait for him to say something, but he puts his blinker on and does as I ask. I sit back and feel the throb behind my eyes and wonder if a headache is beginning to form. The last thing I want to do is have to meet his weirdo sister when I just want to face plant into a mattress and sleep for a week.
The last data update is scheduled for next month at the end of the quarter, and the system isn’t ready for it. I need to do some coding and test it out, and that’s going to eat up hours of my time. I don’t have time to make nice and eat turkey with his family, but Brian has been good to me and I owe him this much.
When the cab pulls up outside the building, I hand over some cash and grab my duffel bag next to me along with my messenger bag carrying my computers. I don’t have much in the way of clothes, but I do have three laptops that I’ll need over the weekend.
I walk inside and the doorman is there to greet me. Thankfully Brian remembered to put me on the guest list and he sends me up the elevator. I use the key for the penthouse floor and take it all the way up. When I get there there’s a small foyer with a single door and I knock on it. I can hear music on the other side of it and I knock again a little louder. When there’s no answer I grumble as I take out the key again and put it in the lock. If his sister is inside listening to this shit, I’m going to have to find a nice way to tell her to turn that crap down. I can already tell this was a mistake.
The door opens and I step inside, but no one is there. The place is nice, but I don’t take time to look around it as I glare up at the speakers in the ceiling where the holiday music is coming from.
“It’s Thanksgiving not Christmas,” I complain as I turn around to close the door behind me.
In the distance I hear a phone ring followed by footsteps. Somewhere behind me I hear a gasp and I turn around to explain to Brian’s sister who I am. I’m annoyed and irritated as my eyes scan the room to find what can’t possibly be Brian’s sister standing before me.
“Fuck,” I whisper as the goddess wet dreams are made of looks at me with her lips formed in a perfect O.
This is a woman, not some plain Jane shy little girl who doesn’t know anything about the world. The blonde bombshell staring at me like I’d fuck her bare on her brother’s couch is nobody sister. She’s hips and legs and soft curves of sex. She doesn’t have a family or friends or anyone else except me, because what I’m seeing right now is all fucking mine.
“Oh god,” she says as she quickly grabs the edges of her robe and pulls it closed. I can see the rosy red stain her cheeks as embarrassment clings to her like silk with static.
“Don’t,” I command, and the word is out of my mouth before I can stop it. I don’t want her to cover up what I was enjoying, and I’m not done getting my fill. “Open it,” I say as I point at her robe and wave it away.
Her fingers tremble with hesitation and the excitement running through my veins is unapparelled. I’ve never felt such a rush before in my life, and walking into this place and seeing a woman like her has made me insane. I would never ask a woman to do this for me, but one look at this beauty and all the blood my brain should be using is rushing straight to my cock.
For all I know she could be Brian’s girlfriend that he’s never mentioned before and this could ruin everything we’ve build. But a woman like this one is what makes kingdoms crumble. She looks like she belongs on the cover of a 1950s pinup magazine with a centerfold dedicated to her lush body.
“A-are you Jensen?” My name coming out of her mouth sounds like honey dripping between her thighs and I want to lick it up. I bet her pussy tastes as sweet as she looks.
“I said open it up.” My mouth is in charge right now because the only thought I have is seeing what I walked in on. It’s been seconds since she took away the hottest sight I’ve ever laid eyes on and I’m desperate for it already.
Her hands play with the edge of the silky robe, letting the material part just a bit. I watch in wonder and imagine what it feels like against her skin. For a moment I have a vision of rubbing baby oil over her tits and down her stomach. I want to slick her body up before I get on top of her and make a mess. I want her blonde hair wet with sweat while I dig my fingers into it and force my way between her legs. Every inch of her is sex and I want to take her rough. She has no right to look at me with those soft doe eyes while her lips pout like she wishes a cock was between then.
Suddenly the phone in my jacket blares to life and I have to blink a few times to realize I need to answer it. It’s the thing that snaps her out of her own daydream and she once again cinches her robe tight. She locks away her precious secrets behind the robe and I grip the phone so tightly I feel it creak in protest.
“Excuse me,” she mumbles, and before I can open my mouth to say a word she’s gone from the room.
I curse as I look down at my phone and see I’ve missed a call from Brian. I go to call him back, but his text comes through immediately.
Brian: Sage isn’t answering her phone. Are you there yet?
I’m irritated he’s checking up on her so quickly. I’m here, she has nothing to worry about. Or maybe now that I’m here she has everything to fear. I fire off a quick text to him so that he’ll shut up.
Me: Yeah, she’s here. All good.
I tuck my phone back in my pocket and roughly run my hand over my face. What the fuck am I doing? I’ve lost all sense of self at the sight of her. I might be a crotchety bastard, but I’m not an animal. At least I didn’t think so before I laid eyes on her.
The music stops and silence falls over the house. The scent of cinnamon and sugar has me drawing near the kitchen. When I walk in I see trays of cookies laid out on the counter and I can’t help myself. My stomach rumbles as I grab one and take a bite. The flavor is so buttery that it melts in my mouth and suddenly I’m pissed off again at how good it tastes. She shouldn’t be allowed in the kitchen if her food tastes like sex, too.
At the sound of shoes behind me I turn around and there she is again. The goddamn siren that’s calling me to my death is wrapped in a white sweater dress that hugs every thick inch of her body. She’s got on boots with heels that give her a little bit of height, but somehow I prefer her barefoot and in her panties.
“Hey there, I didn’t get a chance to introduce myself,” she says breezily like I wasn’t just looking at her silk-covered pussy five minutes ago. “I’m Sage.” She holds out her hand and I stare at it like it might bite me. If only.
This is the moment when I should be polite and act like I’ve got some sense of decorum. We can pretend that the incident in the living room never happened and I can find a quiet place to jerk off tonight thinking about it. This is my opportunity to be a gentleman.
Too bad for Sage I’m no such thing.
I grab her hand and pull her against me as her eyes widen. My hand slips around her lower back and I press her body to mine as I lean down closer to her.
“I’m Jensen, but you already knew that, didn’t you, bombshell?” I lick my lips and taste the warm cookie still on them, leaning in closer to her. “You can pretend that it never happened, but I’ll be dead and gone before the memory of you leaves my mind.”
I trace the edge of her jaw with my knuckle and the sound of her breath catching in her throat makes me cocky. There’s no way she’s forgetting that either. This is Brian’s sister and there are lines between friends that should never be crossed, but right now none of that matters. Not while I feel the softness between her legs against my dick. I’ve made up my mind to fuck her against the wall just when I hear the sound of keys in the front door.
“This isn’t over,” I vow, looking into her hazel eyes right before I release her and take a step back.
The front door opens and in bursts a smiling Brian.
“Oh man, I’ve been dreaming of these all day,” he says, walking past me and straight to the cookies. I keep my eyes locked on Sage as he rambles on about introductions and getting ready for dinner. “Do you want to grab your stuff and I’ll show you the guest room?”
I nod as he walks down the hallway, and I grab my bag from the living room where I dropped it. When I walk by Sage, I wink at her and I’m rewarded with another blush as she bites her lip.
This woman is going to be the one to break me. I can feel it.