by Lia Lee
“Son?”
“I’m sorry. I haven’t. Cara’s had such a hard time at school and—”
“If you let me take care of it, I’ll make Senator Callahan’s daughter and the senator both very sorry she ever started messing with a Sanderson.”
“No. No threats.” Yet. “I’ve got a meeting soon with him and the administration. I don’t want random blackmail or underhanded brake cutting to happen to them.”
“Oh, Son, I’d never have someone’s brakes cut. That’s sloppy.”
Brent swallowed hard. He was pretty sure those words weren’t a joke. “Anyway, what were you thinking for the fundraiser? We could do an auction again. That went well three years ago.”
“No and no. I’ve already spent three months planning a masquerade ball. I’ve heard they’ve come back in style for the rich and bored due to some popular book series or some nonsense like that, but we can roll with that momentum. The invitations will go out next week, and we’ve booked the Westin ballroom already.”
“Then why are we having this conversation? And drawing precious time away from my darling little studio?”
His father smiled, a look that would make shark’s nervous. “You mean, besides my desire to spend some quality father-son time together?”
“Yes, because it always goes so well for us.”
“I think that you need to seriously try dating again.”
“You do know that Nadia, my last blind date, is now a happily married lesbian, right?” As embarrassing as it had been for Brent, it felt good to throw that back in the old man’s face.
“True. I seem to have a radar for the wrong type of woman to suit you.”
“Understatement.”
“But,” Donald said, standing and starting to pace, “Cara means the world to me, and she’s growing up without a mother. My son should have a woman of standing to match his own. You will bring a date to the first annual masquerade ball in a few months, and she will be part of the cream of San Diego society. That’s a requirement, or you won’t be allowed through the door.”
“You’re going to call security on me?”
His father paused and stroked the goatee on his chin slowly. Thoughtfully. Never a good sign. “I’ll have security bar you from the door, yes. You need to find a suitable wife. I’ve been too patient—”
“I’d hardly say that.”
“For me, I’ve held off because Cara was younger and needed so much more attention and because you’ve fought me so hard. But this ends. She needs a mother at home now that she’ll be a teenager, and she needs someone who can give her the help we can’t when girls like that Callahan bitch torment her.”
Brent wanted to point out that Jessica was doing just fine in that department, but he bit his tongue. That would just send his father off asking even more uncomfortable questions than Carl’s. Hell, the old bastard had practically rubbed Jess’s face in it the minute she’d met him. The last thing Brent wanted was that all-knowing smirk and wretched double entendres from his father’s lips. No, he couldn’t admit that Jessica was already doing just fine as a mother figure for Cara because, the truth was, Jessica was just the sitter. This was a fling, but it could never go anywhere or become a match.
No matter how much he wished things could be different.
After all, his disastrous fight with Carl was just a warm-up for the cataclysm that awaited him if Allen ever found out. His close friend was a good man, but if Allen did learn about the affair, then Brent’s body would be buried somewhere out in the desert with nothing but an old, bleached cow skull as a marker.
Just as any father would do.
He’d do worse if Cara were in the same situation, so he’d harbor no ill will to Allen if this should ever come to light.
“Son?” His father asked, waving his hand in front of Brent’s face. “Do we have an understanding?”
“Yes, Father.”
“Good, make sure your date is a woman of sophistication and class, someone we can all be proud of. I’ve heard lovely things about Katherine Daniels of the Wi-Fi giant, Contact 360. She went to MIT, I believe.”
Brent sighed. “I’ll look her up. Now, I feel like crap, and maybe a hot shower and a change of clothes will help me perk up before Cara gets home. Dad.”
“Of course.” His father parted out of his way, that damn grin still on his face.
You’ve won for now, but I’m never going to be the perfect cookie-cutter VP for you. Not ever.
***
After a hot shower, during which his attention strayed far too often to the silky feel of Jessica’s skin and the sweet hint of honey and mint on her lips, Brent rested on his bed in a pair of jeans and T-shirt. Two shitty confrontations in a row certainly left him feeling sick, even if he wasn’t. Maybe today, they’d do something easy. Cecile usually cooked, but he could ask her to hold off, and they could be regular people and just order takeout.
He bet Cara would like that. Bonus, it would make his father furious, what with all his haughty aspirations. Donald J. Sanderson did not do finger foods.
His phone buzzed, and he hesitated for just a second when he saw it was from Jessica. She hadn’t needed to babysit today since Cara was doing some after-school tech work for the play and would be perfectly supervised until Alex picked her up. Still, it was good to hear from Jessica at any time. No matter what gloomy pall Carl had cast over everything.
He was grateful that Jessica wasn’t the type to demand a lot of texting. He’d much prefer to hear her sexy voice in his ear.
“Hello,” he said warmly.
“I just wanted to, um, see how everything was going with Cara.”
“Did you? She’s not even home from school yet.”
“Well, maybe…”
“Why don’t you tell me what you’ve been doing all day? What will you be doing with your free time tonight?”
“Hmm… I went out to work at a coffee shop this morning and had lunch with a friend from school. I might go see a movie tonight.”
“Is that so? Well, today, I had the joy of suffering a round of verbal fisticuffs with my father. Over a charity event, of all things.”
“Is he going to set you up with another lesbian?”
“No, this time I get to pick my own lesbian.”
“I can set you up. As long as you’re allowed to bring someone with multiple piercings and pink hair.”
“That might be frowned upon.” Brent decided to change the subject before walking off the cliff of whether or not Jessica was all right with him dating other women, even for show. It wasn’t something he was interested in, not now. Of course, he couldn’t go but so far with Jessica in public, could he? No, best to keep the conversation steered to other topics. “So, how are you tonight?”
“Tired,” she replied honestly. “I just got out of a hot bubble bath because I’ve been studying some class notes for finals and my shoulders are fried.”
“I bet that was fun,” he said, slamming his flat palm against his forehead when he realized how bad that sounded.
Jessica, for her part, shocked the hell out of him by answering in a low, sultry tone, “It would have been more fun with you.”
Brent leaned back on his bed where he’d settled after his own shower and tucked the phone under his chin. Something deep down in his bones said he might want his hands free for the rest of the conversation. “I have the same feeling about you, honestly, babe.”
There was a soft chuckle on the other end of the line, and when she spoke again, her voice was a bit more sober, mature: “I… You know I don’t even say things like that, not to anyone.”
“I don’t mind. I know that things are happening fast between us, and we’re not sure exactly how it all looks or will work out. I don’t want you to feel any pressure, Jessica. If you just wanted a little flirty banter over the phone, then it’s all it has to be,” he replied.
“What if I want more?”
The soft hesitance of her question made the blood rush
directly to his cock. He wanted everything about Jessica, always had, and the fact she was really asking him to lead her through something as intimate at phone sex had his balls filling with need and arousal.
“You do?” he said, his own voice going into a low bass register from its usual baritone. Reaching down, he let his hand stray over the silky fabric of his boxers. If she heated their banter up any, he’d be ready to put hand on flesh. “Then can I ask what you’re wearing now?”
“Nothing super sexy, just a pink cami and a pair of girl boxers. They do have little hearts on them.”
Brent chuckled. “And how tight is that tank top you’re wearing? Do you have a bra on underneath?”
“No, and it’s an old camisole from high school, so it’s definitely tight.”
“Are your nipples standing up under the fabric?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Will you touch yourself for me, sweetheart?”
There was a sharp inhale of breath on the other line. “What?”
“Do you want to play with your nipples for me?”
A pause for just a beat longer than he hoped and then Jessica’s voice again, a bit unsteady but clear and loud on the other end: “Yes, I just… I’ve never done this before.”
He hadn’t ever either. It hadn’t been anything LeeAnne had been into, and he’d had such long, lonely years since her death. “Me either.”
Incredulity colored her voice. “But you’re this rich, worldly guy. I assumed you’d done everything.”
“I haven’t been part of the mile-high club either. I’ve never had sex on a roller coaster.”
“People do that?”
“Or strapped to a rocket ship.”
She chuckled. “Okay, I get it. Maybe I expected a bit too much wild stuff out of you.”
“I did have a fun youth; I don’t pretend to deny that. I dated widely before LeeAnne and Cara, and all the family responsibilities came along. But you don’t have to assume that just because I’m older.”
“Or a powerful producer,” she added.
“Or that as well – that I’ve always done everything too or that your experiences don’t count. They do, Jessica.”
“Thanks,” she breathed out again. “Okay, so I derailed this to serious territory. I believe you wanted me to touch my nipples, didn’t you?”
“I’d love that, babe,” he said. This time, his hand slipped through the slit in his boxers and to the hard shaft of his cock. It wasn’t as good as it would have been with Jessica’s soft, delicate fingers gripping him, but it would have to do. “So, are you touching yourself yet?”
She was breathing raggedly when she answered, “Yes.”
“How are you doing it?”
“I… I’m rubbing them between my thumb and forefinger. They’re getting so hard and rigid for you.”
She mewled a little on the other end, and Brent wasn’t sure if she’d even realized she’d done it. The sound went straight through him, like pouring extra fire into his already overheated veins. He grabbed a bottle of lube from his nightstand and squirted a bit over his cock. The delightful friction of his hand – God how he wished it was hers – over his dick soon followed.
“What else do you want to do, sweetheart? Where else do you want to touch yourself?”
“I’m wet.”
“Good, then can you put a couple fingers in your pussy for me, baby. I’d love to hear about you doing that.”
There was a slight pause, then the muffled sound of fabric rustling on the other end. He assumed she was getting comfortable. Then, her voice again, her beautiful, angelic voice: “God, it feels so good. I’m entering down there.”
“How wet are you?”
“So slick, so ready for you.”
His own rhythm on his cock increased, a rapid pace that had him breathing like he was running a marathon. Brent gulped in a deep breath of air. “Good, sweetheart, now keep stroking your nipples with your other hand. You’re ready for me, aren’t you? You can imagine it’s my cock in that slick, tight channel of yours, can’t you?”
“God, yes!”
All his nerves were tingling when she answered him, his balls were tightening against his body. He wouldn’t last long, but with Jessica, he wasn’t surprised. She was such a surprise, such a muse that kept driving him.
“I wish you were here, Jess… Wish I had your arms wrapped around my neck… Wish I could smell the lilac perfume you’re always wearing. You’re so beautiful.”
“Wish you were here, too… Wish I felt your stubble across my cheek… Wish I had you inside of me.”
“Soon enough,” he promised. Now all his nerves were sizzling, as if he’d been struck by a huge bolt of lightning, as if he were alive for the first time in so long. Drops of precum seeped from the head of his cock, and he bucked his hips against his hand.
Not long now…
“I need you,” she said. “I want you so badly.”
“Want you too. Fuck yourself with your hand the way you want me to fuck you, just as fast, baby.”
She moaned, and her breathing was a staccato beat after that. “I’m coming!” she screamed not long after. “Oh God, Brent, it feels so good.”
Knowing now that the woman he cared about was satisfied, Brent stopped resisting his own climax. An orgasm swept over him, and it was like being lit up by twenty thousand volts. He came fast, an intense sensation, also hitting him like a freight train. He shivered and leaned back against his pillow.
“That was amazing, thank you, sweetheart.”
“I… Thank you,” she said, her voice small and meek again. “I swear I’ve never done anything like that before.”
“Me either, but I’d like to do that again.”
“Me too.”
He chuckled and sighed. “Good night, babe. I know I’ll be having one.”
Chapter Nine
Jessica
A few days later, once she came back from a late study group, Jessica was dealing with such heady feelings. She hadn’t been able to rest or sleep much. All her thoughts were of Brent, and, honestly, why wouldn’t they be?
After coming back from the zoo, and dinner, and… what had happened in the limo… and last night over the phone, Jessica was reeling. She was sore. Both from walking so much during the day, and in a good way after that sexy call. Even as she walked up to her apartment, she could feel his large, strong hand inside her. Little twitches fluttered between her legs, aftershocks of her first really intense orgasms. Never before had she ever felt so utterly undone, like she might fall to the floor the moment she stepped inside her living room and literally fall to pieces.
Instead, she just fell onto the sofa, bonelessly, and let out a deep sigh. For a long moment, she just lay there, her head spinning with wine and possibilities. From the way Brent talked, he was interested in more than just a fling. Did that make a difference? Could they move forward, without doing harm to Cara?
Jessica could only think of the scent of him, of how his hands moved over her body so expertly. She’d never been with a man like this before. She was a bit embarrassed by it, even though she was barely drinking age and knew others went longer, for far less reason, without experiencing sex with another person. In her case, it had nothing to do with ideology or religion and everything to do with opportunity and the lack thereof. Not a lot of chances to have a torrid affair in a library.
Well, that wasn’t exactly true. She knew there was a corner in the university library where people went to fool around. Jessica just hadn’t met anyone she was willing to make those moves with. It was easier with Brent, somehow. He was both experienced and willing, reassuring and dangerous.
It was easy to want him. So hard to tell him no.
***
On Monday, Jessica was restless. After spending most of her weekend with Brent, she felt the separation from him acutely. Also, she wouldn’t be coming over to spend time with Cara today, since the girl had school activities planned, so she took her laptop to the caf�
� around the corner to plan out things to do with Cara and review her lemur research.
Just as she was adding a few outdoor games to her list, her barista brought over her latte.
“Hey, Curly Sue.”
Jessica looked up and laughed. The barista, with her severe undercut, the top of which was dyed pink, sat in the chair next to her.
“Long time no latte,” Dana said. “How did the end of your semester turn out?”
“Ugh.” Jessica shook her head. “It was an avalanche of projects.”
“Same. I had to get approval on my senior project by the end of the semester, but since my aunt died and I had to go home to help her kids, I missed the deadline by a mile.”
“That sucks.”
Dana shrugged. “Dr. Wharton was pretty understanding. It’s nice to have teachers who understand school isn’t the only thing on our shoulders.”
“True. I hope I don’t have to test how my professors feel about things. They weren’t too impressed that I couldn’t land a summer internship.” Jessica picked up her latte and wrapped her fingers around the mug. “I recently landed an internship starting in the fall though. I’m really excited. It’s such an amazing opportunity, even if I have to wait.”
Dana rubbed her fingers around the piercings at the top of her left ear. “There you go. That’ll show them.”
“Tell me more about your project.” Jessica paused. “Unless you have to get back to work?”
“I kind of do. But I can hang in about an hour, if you want.”
“That’s good. I can finish up what I’m working on here, and then we can do lunch.”
An hour later, Jessica had compiled a decent-sized list of options for Cara and reread a few recent articles in the area of primatology, so Jessica and Dana packed up their things and walked down the street to find someplace for lunch. As they walked, Dana explained in detail the art installation she was planning to assemble at the university gallery, and Jessica did her best to comprehend what her friend would be doing and how it was art. Jessica had to admit she was very literal in the sense of art appreciation, but at least with Dana, she knew for a fact that the girl wasn’t pulling her audience’s leg.