I nodded. “Things got pretty bad between us. He would explode over the littlest and stupidest things. The first time he hit me, it was because he’d had a bad day at work, and I hadn’t fixed dinner for him. Never mind that I had just gotten in from work myself… Soon, I started to notice that whenever he felt something was wrong, he would take it out on me as if it was somehow my fault. After so long, I just got to the point where I couldn’t take it anymore. I was afraid for my safety. Afraid for my life. So I had to leave him. That’s why I’m here now. I was living with him in Miami, but after the last fight we had, I couldn’t take it anymore. I called my brother and he told me to come live with him, and that he’d give me a job working here. So here I am.”
Libby gave a reassuring smile. “Well that’s wonderful. You see, things always have a way of working out in the long run. And you should be proud of yourself for finding the strength to leave Zander. So many women never find the strength to leave their abusive relationships, until it’s way too late and they end up leaving in a body bag.”
“It’s not over though,” I said in a strained whisper, a lump forming in my throat. “He…He just called me. Here. On my office phone.”
Libby’s eyes widened. “Wait—he knows where you are?”
I shrugged my shoulders. “I guess? I mean he found the phone number, should be pretty easy to find the office from there. Ugh I hate that he makes me feel like this. He still has such a hold on me.”
“Joanna, this sounds serious,” Libby said, her brow lowering. “You’ve got to do something. You have to say something. Zander sounds unstable. You don’t want someone like him coming back into your life. You need to tell Tobias.”
“I know, but…”
“But what?”
“Tobias, my brother has been so good to me, I don’t want him to wind up in the middle of this. I never even told Zander about Tobias and his business, and I sure as hell don’t want him to ever find out. I just don’t want Tobias ever getting caught in the middle of this insanity.”
“That’s understandable, but Joanna, your safety is at stake! This isn’t something to take lightly.”
I shook my head, knowing Libby was right, but remaining in denial. I didn’t want to think about it. I wanted it all to go away like a bad dream. “I’m probably just exaggerating,” I said, although my voice sounded lackluster.
“Joanna, do yourself a favor and please at least call the cops.”
I swallowed nervously, not liking the sound of that at all. Calling the police would make it all seem too real, and I still wanted to hold on to the hope that it was all a bad dream that would end soon.
I forced a smile onto my face, this time succeeding. “No, I don’t need to do that. Zander won’t come. He was just bluffing. He’s all talk. It’s nothing really. I’ll be fine.” I stood up, pulling my hand away from Libby’s. “Thank you for your concern anyway, though.”
And then I left the room.
CHAPTER 9
Anderson
I left work, fully intending to behave myself. But the very moment I stepped into my apartment, images of Joanna filled my mind so thoroughly that I could think of nothing but her touch and how badly I wanted to feel her again. Not even the threat of Tobias could shake her from my mind, which was startling in its own right.
There had been plenty of women in my past—too many to even consciously remember. Yet I was fairly certain I had never felt yearnings for them as intensely as I felt for Joanna, and I wasn’t sure how to feel about that. On one hand, I supposed it had something to do with the fact that she was supposed to be off limits to me; I’d always been the kind of man who liked a challenge, and there was something infinitely appealing about the forbidden. As my best friend’s sister, Joanna was definitely forbidden, which was part of the reason I wanted her so badly.
But there was another part of me that painstakingly thought there was more to it than that.
After last night, I honestly could have considered Joanna a mission accomplished. So why then, was I so desperate to be in her presence again? My habit of tossing women into bed and then being done with them afterwards wasn’t exactly commendable, yet most women who got involved with me knew what they were getting into. Almost everyone knew I wasn’t the kind of guy who wanted to seriously settle down. I liked playing the field too much.
But when it came to Joanna, however…
Something just felt different, and frankly, I was afraid to contemplate it too much for fear that I would have to face a realization I wasn’t ready to acknowledge.
After changing out of my work clothes, I grabbed myself a beer and settled down on my couch, trying unsuccessfully to push Joanna from my mind. But naturally, I had no such luck. I kept thinking about her soft skin and curly hair. Her tasty lips. Her scent. Her gorgeous gray eyes and the sound of her voice. Her small but supple body in my arms…
Resigning, I grabbed my cell phone, my fingers automatically scrolling through my list of contacts for her name.
“Hello?”
My cock throbbed at the simple sound of her voice on the other line.
“Hey Joanna,” I said.
There was a brief pause before she spoke again. “Hi, Anderson.”
“I was just thinking about you,” I said. “Um…are you busy?”
“No, not exactly.”
“Would you like to come over for dinner at my place? I can cook up something for us.”
There was another pause, this one a little longer than the first one. “Sure,” she finally said.
“Okay, see you in a little bit then.”
“All right.”
She was first to hang up the phone. I remained sitting on the couch for a moment though, getting the distinct feeling that something was wrong, but not quite being able to figure out what. I thought back to seeing Joanna in the office that morning. She had looked right at me, giving me a sexy and sly grin that had practically set my body on fire. Yet we kept our distance from each other for the rest of the day. In hindsight though, I recalled catching glimpses of her throughout the day, and noting how her mood seemed to steadily sour. I had initially chalked it up to the day being extremely busy for all of us, for it had been the kind of day that could make even the calmest person’s head spin, let alone a new employee.
But what if that hadn’t been the problem at all? What if it was something else?
I’d spent so much time worrying about how wrong it was for me to entertain thoughts of sleeping with my best friend’s sister, but how did it feel from her end? Was it possible that she had even more reservations than I did, considering that she was messing around with the best friend of her brother?
Tobias was like family to me, but he literally was family to her.
She agreed to come over though, I reminded myself. That has to mean she’s willing…
I stood from the couch and headed to the kitchen, figuring that with Joanna being on her way, I would soon know how she truly felt. So for the time being, there was no need for me to stress about it. All I could do was start preparing the dinner I had promised her.
When I opened the door to find Joanna standing on the other side, my lips curved into a smile that I couldn’t hold back. She looked up at me and grinned.
“Hey,” she said.
“Hey,” I said, stepping forward to wrap my arms around her in a hug. She slowly wrapped her arms around me, returning the hug and squeezing me around my middle as I lowered my lips to kiss her forehead and then moved aside, permitting her entrance.
“Mmmm,” she said as I closed the door behind her. “Smells good.”
“Thanks.”
“What are we having?”
“I hope you’re a fan of spaghetti.”
“I sure am,” she said, smiling and pulling off her jacket. She had changed out of her work clothes, now wearing a nice pair of jeans and a flowing blouse that her lovely figure still managed to show through.
“Great. Let’s dig in.”
; *
“That was delicious,” Joanna said, wiping the corners of her mouth with her napkin. I stared at her lips, wanting nothing more than to pounce across the table to kiss them.
“Thank you,” I said.
She picked up her plate and stood.
“No, I got it,” I said, reaching for her plate. She smiled and handed it over while I proceeded to clear the table.
Cleaning the dishes in the kitchen, I couldn’t deny feeling the awkwardness I suddenly felt between me and Joanna. Although dinner had been a success, I knew there was something on Joanna’s mind that she wasn’t letting me in on. She had been somewhat distracted throughout the whole meal as I tried to engage her with chit-chat. It bothered me, but I didn’t want to press the issue; I didn’t want to force anything out of her until she was ready to tell me on her own.
After cleaning our plates, I searched through my cabinet, finding a bottle of wine that I’d been saving for a special occasion and figuring it was a good time to finally pop it open.
I retrieved two wine glasses and returned to the living room, where Joanna was still seated at the table, staring off into oblivion. She didn’t look up until she heard the clink of the wine glasses as I sat them on the table.
“It’s been a long day,” I said. “Mind having a drink with me?”
Joanna gave me a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “I’d love to,” she said, watching me pop the cork. I poured generous portions into each of the glasses and handed one over to her. Taking the other and raising it into the air, Joanna followed my lead.
“To getting away from one hell of a day at the office,” I said.
“Here, here,” Joanna said, clinking her glass against mine.
We sipped our wine and then headed to the couch, where I turned on the TV and flipped through the channels to find a movie.
Joanna sighed and rested her head on my shoulder. I wrapped my arm around her, squeezing her gently to my side. “Is everything all right?” I asked after a moment. “You seem a bit distracted tonight.”
“More like I could use a distraction,” she said. She turned her head to look at me, and then planted a kiss on my cheek. “Thank you for inviting me over, Anderson.”
“No, thank you for coming over. I almost didn’t think you would…Um…Tobias, does he know?”
“No,” Joanna said, not giving me a chance to finish the sentence. “I just told him I was going out for fresh air.”
“Oh, okay,” I said, although I thought her excuse sounded too feeble. “Just out of curiosity, how do you think he would react to…us?”
Joanna sighed. “No idea. I don’t think I’m ready to find out anytime soon though. I mean unless you want to tell him?”
“Not a chance,” I said with a chuckle. “It can wait.”
“Right.” Joanna placed her hand on my thigh. “Anderson?”
“Huh?”
“What exactly are we doing here?”
“I don’t know,” I said after a brief pause. “We’re just doing what seems natural, I guess. I mean…just taking things one day at a time, right?”
“I guess.” Her expression grew distant once again. She was becoming more and more of a mystery to me.
Had she wanted me to give a more definitive answer? Did I even have one? It was the kind of thought I just didn’t want to contemplate too much just yet. I simply wanted to enjoy whatever Joanna and I had, right then and there, not worried by what would happen in the future.
I glanced down at her, seeing that she was staring at the television, although I got the impression she wasn’t really watching it. I tightened my arm around her, letting my hand rub against her waist, and then toy with the hemline of her blouse. When she didn’t object, I slowly slid my hand under her shirt. She arched her back and looked at me again.
I stared into her gray eyes, my body heating with desire for her. I didn’t want to pressure her though, especially if she was having second thoughts about what had happened between us the previous night. “Do you want to stay here for a while longer, or are you ready to leave?” I asked, removing my hand from under her shirt.
She raised her eyebrows. “Do you want me to leave?”
I shook my head. “No, not at all. But it’s up to you.”
“Then I’m not ready to leave…” her voice trailed off as she slowly lifted her head from my shoulder. She stared into my eyes for a moment, and then inched closer to me.
I closed my eyes, savoring the feeling of her soft lips pressing against mine. She rose to her knees and straddled me. I wrapped my arms around her waist again, pulling her closer and deepening the kiss.
Every ounce of self-restraint I had crumbled at the sound of the low moan coming from her throat.
Our situation was complicated, and I had no idea how it was going to end. But in that moment, I didn’t care. We could figure it out later.
CHAPTER 10
Joanna
I ground against Anderson, becoming pliable under his hands. This was exactly what I needed after Zander’s phone call. I needed this distraction. I needed Anderson’s nearness so I would forget that maybe Zander’s words weren’t an empty threat as I had thought.
When Anderson called me, I was too close to rejecting him. I was already down in the dumps, ready to spend the rest of my evening in my bed, so I wasn’t sure if I actually wanted his company. After realizing that Zander wasn’t going to give up on me that easily after all, everything went downhill, and I had no idea what I was going to do.
In the end, spending time with Anderson was a good idea. I didn’t want to drag him into my mess with Zander, but it was difficult to resist him when he looked so good and made me feel so safe. And when our eyes met just a couple of seconds ago, everything clicked. I wanted him, and I wasn’t going to let anyone get in between us—especially not that bastard Zander.
Anderson thrust his tongue into my mouth, and heat spread through me, his passionate kiss slowly erasing the residues of today’s bitter feelings. I responded immediately, pushing my hands underneath his shirt to feel his skin. Once more, I was amazed with his sheer strength, and my pussy pulsated in response. He was perfect in every way.
Tonight, he was all mine.
“What are you doing to me?” he muttered huskily.
I pulled his shirt off and spread my fingers all over his chest, leaning to his neck. I left a line of wet kisses over it, enjoying his grunts of pleasure, just as his hands slipped under my shirt and reached the clasp of my bra, quick to undress me. I straightened myself up to let him take my blouse off along with my bra, reveling in his eyes on me.
“I can’t take my eyes off of you.”
His words and the way he looked at me induced some indescribable feeling that was unlike anything I had felt with him so far. It went beyond attraction or this intensified lust, but I had no time to pinpoint it because his hands moved to my breasts, doing exactly what I desired.
Never taking his eyes off my breasts, he rubbed my nipples with his thumbs, and juices poured out of my mound, soaking my panties. My nipples rose to meet him, hardening under his sensual touch.
“Yes, Anderson.”
His mouth landed on my nipple, wrapping around it greedily, and my breath hitched in my throat. I threaded my fingers through his hair, rubbing myself against his rigid cock, needing this friction to soothe the fast throbbing of my core.
I lowered my hand to his crotch and palmed it. “Take off your jeans,” I told him.
He didn’t waste time doing it, getting rid of the rest of his clothes in no time. I got to my knees in between his widespread legs and brought my mouth to the head of his cock.
“Now it’s my turn to taste you,” I told him, our gazes fixed.
His eyes rolled to the back of his head when my lips connected with his cock, a hiss leaving his mouth. “Joanna…”
He fisted his hands when I took his whole size into my mouth, surprised I was able to do so. I was surprised myself. Since he was long and
thick, I had wondered if I was going to be able to take it all inside. His widened eyes now looked at me in awe, and my insides warmed.
I moved slowly at first then more quickly, relishing in the power I had over him. His hands pressed into my head and led me up and down, suggesting the tempo he needed, and I added my tongue into play.
“You’re so good.” Another curse escaped his lips before he brought me up to my feet. “Let’s take this to my bedroom.”
He ushered me into his bedroom and closed the door, giving me a once-over that brought blush to my cheeks. “Those jeans are not needed at the moment.”
He closed the distance between us and slammed his lips against mine, his hands working on the zipper of my jeans in frenzy. In a matter of seconds, I was completely naked, our bodies molding against each other perfectly as our lips danced together.
“Now it’s my time to pleasure you,” he said into my lips, our quick breaths mixing together. “On all fours,” he told me, pointing at the edge of his king size bed.
I felt flutters in my stomach as I did what I was told, impatient to feel his mouth on me. He knelt on the floor right behind me and grabbed my butt, bringing his mouth right to my clit.
“Oh…” My loud moan ripped through the air, followed by a series of grunts when he started sucking me. I fisted my hands on the sheets, writhing against him. “Anderson… Don’t stop. It’s so good.”
My words spurred him to suck me faster, right before he brought his fingers to my hole. He pushed two digits inside, penetrating me fully at once.
“Yes!” I screamed and started rocking my hips back and forth, rather restless.
He fingered me fast, bringing sweet pleasure that spread everywhere in me. My juices trickled down my thighs as his fingers increased their pace, joined by another digit. My mind was in a daze, my world clouding with the upcoming orgasm. He was too good, and I was quickly growing addicted to this. I was growing addicted to him.
“Come,” he ordered me. “Come right now.” His lips pressed roughly against my throbbing clitoris, which pushed me over the edge.
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