Biting my tongue, I turned and left the room. I took the stairs two at a time. After another long day, I wanted to lay down and relax. When I passed Ashley’s closed bedroom door, I thought briefly about knocking, but I kept moving down the hall. Once in my room, I locked the door behind me. The room looked the same as I remembered it.
Without a second thought, I took off my shirt and pants. The sun continued to set outside as I climbed onto the luxury bed that lived up to its name. I put my hands behind my head and closed my eyes as the mattress conformed itself to my body. Ashley accusing me of being a conformist bothered me more than I liked. Why do I let her get to me? I wondered.
Three
Ashley
When I got upstairs in my room, I locked the door to the hallway but not the bathroom one. I hoped that Josh would knock and come to visit as he had done many times when we were growing up. We had talked about everything with me lying in bed and him on the floor, both of us looking up at the ceiling. Before I laid down, I checked my email on the MacBook Air on my desk.
To my surprise, I had another message from the woman helping me find my birth parents. I opened the mail without sitting down. My eyes widened in surprise as I leaned over the back of my chair and read the message. She had dug up an address in New Orleans where the book containing my past might be located. Even better, she had already reached out to the owners of the property.
I walked back over to my bed and laid down. If they had suffered through Katrina, the owners of the old house would have probably been relocated somewhere else in the country. I loved a good mystery, and I had to find out if the family bible with my family tree was stored in the old house damaged by the biggest hurricane of 2005. I can’t believe I’m making progress!
Instead of waiting for the woman to find the owners, I thought about traveling to New Orleans. I might be able to find the house on my own and check it out. If I was lucky, and crafty, I might be able to get Josh to pay for the whole trip and go with me. My mind slipped into overdrive as I tried to come up with a way to get him to go without telling him the truth.
As plans ran through my mind, I heard him close the door to our shared bathroom. Is he going to bed instead of whoring around? I took a deep breath, telling myself it was wrong to get excited, especially with our parents downstairs. We had been close growing up, but we never crossed any lines. The sexual tension between us had built up to intolerable levels, at least for me.
I crawled out of bed and crept across the floor. The wood creaked slightly. In the silence, it sounded so loud. My heart raced in my chest as I pressed my ear against the door. No sounds seeped through the wood, so I reached out and turned the handle slowly. When the door opened to a dark and empty bathroom, I took a deep breath.
You should go to bed. Just go to bed. Ignoring the voice in my head, I took a few steps across the room and knocked on his door. I instantly regretted it and turned around in a hurry. Before I could get back into my room, the door opened. Josh stood in the doorway, wearing nothing but a pair of boxer briefs. His hard, muscular chest and amazing abs looked so delicious and tempting.
“What’s up?” he asked.
“Huh?” I looked into his eyes, trying not to ogle his body. “It’s nothing. I thought I heard something.”
“Just me. About to go to bed. We can talk in the morning if you want.”
He closed the door a few inches.
“Wait,” I said.
“What is it? I’m really tired.”
“Do you have a few minutes to talk?”
His eyes stared into mine, neither of us looking away.
“Sure,” he said finally, opening the door the rest of the way. “Come on in.”
“Do you have a robe or something?” I asked as I walked into his room in our parents’ house.
He cracked a smile. “What’s this? Sis is suddenly a prude?”
“I’m not your sister, Cuz,” I said, smiling.
It’s been so long since he called me that. I missed it.
“Have a seat.” He walked to his closet and got out a white robe.
Fuck. Why did you have to open your mouth? I scolded myself.
As he put it on, I remembered I didn’t want to be distracted by his hot body. I sat down on the edge of his bed, watching him. He came over and sat down next to me. Only a foot or two separated us. Blood raced through my veins as I tried to keep my cool. I looked into his eyes, still not sure what I was about to say.
“I need your help.”
“Are you pregnant?” he asked.
“What? No. What makes you think that?”
Am I getting fat?
“The tone of your voice.”
“What about it?”
“I don’t know. It’s like your nervous or something.”
I AM nervous, I thought before I said, “No, it’s not that. I wanted to ask you a favor.”
“You need more money?”
“Well, yeah, I always need more money, but that’s not it.”
“Well?”
I took a deep breath, biting my bottom lip. “Can we go on a trip?”
“What kind of trip?
He moved slightly, and his robe opened, giving me a glance at his rock hard chest and tattoo.
“I want to go to New Orleans.”
“Why?”
“You’ll think it’s silly.”
“Just tell me, okay? It’s been a long day and I’m tired.”
“It’s about our parents…”
“Damn, sis,” he interrupted. “Not that shit again.”
“It’s real this time.”
“How am I supposed to believe you?”
“I told you why I made up that story before.”
“Yeah, but how do I know you’re not doing it again?”
“You can trust me,” I said, putting my hand on his thigh.
He sighed, moving back a little. Part of me wanted to lean forward and kiss him, get it over with, but I resisted the urge and made puppy eyes. A smile spread over his face.
“Why you gotta do that to me?” he asked.
“Come on, Joshie. It’ll be fun. You’re not working right now, and you definitely have the money.”
“If I do this, it’s over. No more searching for our parents. They’re gone, and we can’t change that fact.” He reached out and put his strong, powerful hand on my bare shoulder, causing me to flinch.
“But what if…”
“Life isn’t what-if, it’s what we make of it,” he said, standing up.
Kiss him. Kiss him now!
I stood up, feeling faint. Even his smell turned me on.
“Think about it, okay?”
“I said we can do it,” he said, crossing his hands over his chest.
There goes my show.
“But you had stipulations.”
“And?”
“Fine. Goodnight, Cuz.”
I turned and walked to the bathroom, closing the door behind me. Once back in my bedroom, I got undressed and climbed into bed. Thoughts of Josh and everything else ran through my mind, keeping me from falling asleep. Eventually, I drifted off to the land of dreams. He was there too. No matter where I turned, he was there for me.
Four
Josh
The next morning, I offered to take Ashley home with me. Mother raised an eyebrow at us, but I told her I planned to help her find a job. My forest green Mercedes gripped the road like a magnet on metal as we drove away from our parents’ house. I turned the stereo on. Mellow jazz flouted from the speakers, filling the cabin.
“We don’t have to listen to this crap, do we?” she asked.
“Seriously? You’re dissing jazz? Mom and dad aren’t around anymore.”
“I know, but I thought we could talk about the trip. Have you made up your mind?”
“What do you think?”
“Well, I know you told Mrs. Knight you were taking me to get a job.”
I laughed. “Like that would ever happen, right?
”
“I’ve worked for a living before,” she said.
“Well, I wasn’t really lying to her. I’m thinking about buying up some land in New Orleans to start a company.”
“Why the hell would you do that?”
“Land down there is cheap right now because of Katrina.”
“You’re just like him, aren’t you?”
I turned to glance at her. “What do you mean?”
“You know exactly what I mean, Josh. Mr. Knight is the worst kind of capitalist. And you’re becoming more like him all the time.”
“Agree to disagree,” I said, stepping on the gas pedal.
As smooth jazz played, I raced to the airport.
“Where are you going?”
“I thought you wanted to go to New Orleans.”
“Are you driving there?”
“Of course not. We’re going to the airport.”
“We’re going now?”
“Yeah, why not?”
I smiled. She rolled her eyes.
“What?” I asked.
“You’re so fucking decadent. And I don’t have any clothes.”
“We can buy some new ones. And you know you love it,” I said.
Before she could reply, I bounded up the stairs and into the jet. Once we were both inside and seated, we waited for our turn to take off. I opened a bottle of champagne while we waited.
“Flying still freak you out?” I asked, handing her a glass.
“Yeah. Can you tell?”
I smiled. “You’re fine. Most of the women I bring on the jet…”
“I don’t want to hear about them tramps,” she said.
After finishing the entire flute in one gulp, she handed it back to me.
“More?”
“No, you know how I get when I drink champagne.”
Maybe that’s what I want, I thought then scolded myself.
“Fine. We’ll be there in a bit. My personal assistant is booking us two rooms.”
She turned to look out the window as we rolled down the runway. A moment later, we were in the air. I got out my laptop and checked the properties I wanted to purchase. With only a couple million dollars investment, I could double or triple my money in four or five years. It was a homerun and would help me toward my financial goals.
* * *
After checking into the hotel, we got into the elevator and rode it up in silence. The door slid open. We walked into the hallway.
“Bobby will call to get your size for clothes,” I said.
“Cool,” she replied, unenthusiastically.
“You need to cheer up,” I said. “We’ll talk later, okay?”
“Sure.”
She stopped in front of her room and unlocked the door. I took a few steps down the hall to my door. Once inside, I sighed and surveyed the room. Plain, but not too bad, I thought as I sat down on the edge of the bed.
While I didn’t know why Ashley was upset, I had to be ready to deal with her and everything else on the trip. I took a deep breath and told myself I wasn't going to lose my temper with her, that she was my blood. Right on cue, I heard a knock on the shared bathroom between our rooms.
“It’s open,” I said.
The door opened. She walked in with a look of determination no her face.
“You ready to go?”
“Go where? Bobby is going to bring us clothes. I have some work to do, but I thought we could do dinner later.”
“I want to show you something. It's the reason I brought you here.”
“Come on, Ash. Quit playing games.”
“I’m not playing. We’re close to the house that might contain the bible with our family history written in it.”
I sighed, wanting to unwind. “Fine. Let’s go. Is it close?”
“Yeah, about half a mile away. I figured we could walk.”
“Fine.”
We headed back down to the lobby, which was crowded with tourists of all ages. Outside, the further we got from the hotel, the less people we saw and the more rundown the buildings became. Some of Mr. Knight’s friends in New York lived on Park Avenue. At the same time, just across the river, people lived with the highest infant mortality rate in the country.
That the same Park Avenue could be home to the ultra-wealthy as well as the ultra-poor was something that had always struck me. What concerned me sometimes was that I didn't see it as a bad thing necessarily. In fact, I had no emotions when I thought about disparity of wealth. I remembered what it was like to be an orphan.
“What’s going on in that big brain of yours now?” Ashley asked as we walked side by side further away from the hotel.
“Business stuff. Like I said, that's really why I came down here. Not to walk around with you.”
“We used to take a lot of walks together growing up, remember?”
I sighed. “I do, but...”
“But what?”
“But we're older now.”
“So?”
“Look, Ashley, I love you a lot. You're my sister, but...”
“Shh,” she interrupted. “We're here.”
“We're where?”
“Here.”
She pointed to an old three story dilapidated house that appeared ready to fall down.
“And what the hell is this? This the home to some cult you're going to join?”
“Haha, very funny. This house has a book...” Her voice trailed off.
“Yeah?”
“This book that says we might not be related. I found my birth parents, but I haven't been able to contact them yet. While I was doing that, I found out that you might not be my brother.”
I stared into her eyes. “Are you fucking around? If you're joking right now, I'm going to kill you.”
“No, I wouldn't do that, Josh.”
From the tone of her voice, I knew she was being sincere. I took a deep breath as I let the information she had dropped on me sink in. She’s not my sister?
“So, you're my half-sister?” I asked.
“No. We might not be related at all, but I'm not sure. Supposedly, the owner of this house had an old family bible with information that this lady online can use to find your real parents.”
“I'm confused.”
“Well, we had the same last name, Smith, but our parents might be totally separate. It is a common name. This bible will let us know for sure.”
“This is a lot to digest.”
“I know. I've been trying to figure out a way to let you know. I thought it would be best to do it here.”
“Have you seen the book?”
“No, I just got here with you. We need to break in and get it.”
“What?” I shook my head. “Are you crazy?”
“Not right now in the daylight, but we should come back. It's abandoned. Nothing is going to happen.”
“I don't know. Let's go back to the hotel. I need a drink so I can think about this.”
I started walking back toward the hotel, hoping she would follow. She had a mind of her own. Growing up she had always exerted her dominance. Unlike others, I let her get away with a lot. In my mind, she was my sister and I had to protect and love her at all costs.
“You have to want to know,” she said as she caught up to me.
“Yeah, sure. I mean, not really.”
“Just be honest.”
“I'm being honest, Ash. You're my sister. I love you. That's all there is to say.”
Back at the hotel, I went to my room to make some calls and set up some meetings to see properties that could make me some money. Fucking old house and a bible? What was all that about? I shook my head and got to work. Money made money, and I wanted more money. With enough, security and safety might finally be mine.
Five
Ashley
I watched Josh’s ass as he walked toward his room in the hotel. At first, I was upset, but I quickly realized I didn't need him. If I wanted to find out if he was really my brother or not – and if my fee
lings for him were forbidden and wrong – finding the family bible was essential. As I walked out of the hotel and back to the abandoned house, the city seemed at night.
When I reached my destination, I quickly moved from the sidewalk to the property and worked my way around back. Plywood covered the windows. I walked up and saw an official looking notice pinned to the front door. I’ll go around back, I thought, hoping I could find a way into the house. In the backyard, one of the boards covering a basement window was loose. I pulled back the graffiti covered wood and peered into the dark basement.
I stooped down and listened intently. Silence. I pried the board back all the way, leaving an opening big enough for me to fit through. I sat down and slid my feet in. Luckily, they hit a shelf or something solid. Slowly, I lowered myself in. The damp, dark basement spooked the hell out of me, but I was on a mission and couldn’t turn back.
After listening for noises, I pulled out an LED flashlight. The beam of light pierced the darkness. I pointed it around, trying to get my bearings. More graffiti covered the brick walls. When I found a staircase leading up, I walked over. It’s probably better I can’t see more, I thought as my feet squished over the floor.
I crept upstairs, not liking the creaky steps. You’re fine, I told myself as I finally made it into a kitchen made darker by the boards over the windows. What the fuck am I doing? I took a deep breath before continuing into the house. The bible is probably in a bedroom upstairs. In the next room, I found another staircase leading to the second story.
The moment I put my foot on the first step, a rat scurried across the floor. At least I hoped it was a rodent and not something else. I hurried up the stairs. Part of me wanted to scream and run away, go beg Josh for help, but I took another deep breath and put my big girl panties on. At the top of the stairs, I stopped to look around.
I marveled at how nice the house must have looked at one point and time. Questions ran through my mind as I headed toward the nearest bedroom to look around. A dirty mattress sat neglected in a corner of the room. After checking the closet and finding nothing, I moved back into the hallway. In the next room, my eyes opened wide.
CUZ: Billionaire Stepbrother Romance Page 2