“You know,” I said, giving her my best little sister look. “It would make things a lot easier if Cross wasn't alone in the family crossfire all week.”
Juliette's eyes narrowed.
“Come on, Jul. You don't have to go early like me and Cross, but you could fly in Wednesday night, then back out on Friday or on the weekend. If we're both there, we can share all the shit Mom and Dad dish out.”
She glared at me, then stabbed viciously at a piece of cheese. “You can be such a brat sometimes.”
I grinned at her. “But you love me and you know it.”
She sighed. “I do, and I suppose that means I'm going home for Thanksgiving.”
I squealed and threw myself across the table to hug her. While not completely gone, knowing that Juliette would be there eased a lot of the anxiety in me. Now, if I just got things settled with Cross, everything would be perfect.
Chapter Three
Cross
I was born into a family who still believed in the hard-working ideals that our immigrant ancestors had brought over with them when they'd first come to this country. My father had started showing me the ropes of the family business as soon as I was able to understand the concepts. I'd worked internships in all the various branches from the time I was twelve, and I was only paid what a regular employee at the same level would get. I knew what it was like to have to prove myself to people who only thought of me as a spoiled rich kid. When I was twenty-two, my parents were both killed in a plane crash and I had to take over the rest of the family business even though the board believed I was too young.
I knew what it was like to have to prove myself to people over and over again, knew what it was like to have people judge me by how I looked, who they thought I was. And I never cared about any of it. I knew who I was, knew that I'd worked my ass off to be where I was. That nothing had been handed to me. I'd earned everything. I wasn't worried about being liked or impressing anyone.
Until now.
Hanna and I were on my private jet, heading to Zanesville for Thanksgiving, and I'd never been more nervous in my life. I'd spoken in front of billionaire CEOs, negotiated deals with world-class assholes, and done business in some unsavory places. I'd bluffed my way in contract negotiations and dined with world leaders. All of it had been thrilling, just another form of an adrenaline rush. But the thought of meeting Hanna's family scared the shit out of me.
I'd never met the parents of any woman I'd ever been with. Well, except my high school girlfriend, but I'd technically known her parents before we'd gone on our first date. I hadn't done the whole holiday family thing with them though. Every woman after that, however, had been merely sexual partners. The only exception to that rule – until Hanna – had been the woman who'd introduced me to the BDSM world, but while she'd been more than a simple partner, she was a loner like me. No outside attachments. No “coming home to meet the folks.”
I wasn't even sure I knew how to act around a family anymore. It'd been eight years since my parents died, and my social skills in those sorts of situations were rusty. I'd met Juliette, of course, and had spent plenty of time with her in the past few months, but that was different. She was like me, so I understood how to talk to her. We knew a lot of the same people, both in the BDSM world and in Hollywood society.
Raymond and Caroline Breckenridge, however, were unknown entities. They were business people, but their family business and mine were completely different. Their lives were different. I didn't think I was better than them, or above them. I just had no idea how to interact with them.
“Cross.”
Judging by how Hanna was saying my name, she'd said it more than once. I forced a smile as I turned to look at her. “Sorry, babe, I was just thinking.”
She raised an eyebrow and put her hand on my arm. “You look like you're about to go to your execution. I know Ohio isn't exactly California, but it's not like it's the ninth circle of hell.”
That managed to get a partial smile out of me, but at least it was a real one this time. “Only the third, right?”
She laughed, and the sound went right through me. After my first girlfriend and I broke up, I'd only been with experienced women, ones who knew what they wanted and how they wanted it. Hanna, however, was a rare combination of innocence and an insatiable sexual appetite. When she smiled or laughed, her face lit up, and she didn't try to hide it.
“Look, I know Juliette and I don't always talk about our parents in the most glowing of terms, but they're good people.” Hanna reached up and ran her fingers through my hair.
My cock gave an interested twitch. Damn, I loved it when she did that.
“There's the usual difficulties that come with kids following their own path, but they’ve always wanted what's best for us.”
Now I wasn't sure who she was trying to convince, me or herself.
“They'll love you,” she said firmly. “I'm sure of it.”
She leaned over and kissed my cheek. My stomach clenched, and I knew what I needed to relax, to get my head back together. I grasped her chin and ran my thumb along her bottom lip. Her irises darkened to an even deeper shade of violet as I pressed my thumb into her mouth.
Arousal spiked in me as she sucked on my thumb, scraped the pad with her teeth. I gave her a hard look, and she nodded, acknowledging that she understood what I wanted. What I needed.
“On your knees.” My voice was hoarse. I was suddenly glad that I only had one steward on the plane and that he stayed in the cockpit with the captain unless I called for him.
She slid to the floor in front of me. Her hands rested on my knees, moving them apart as she settled between them. She knew where this would end up, but she still waited for me to give her instructions.
“Unbutton your shirt.”
She was wearing a nice but not overly dressy blouse, and underneath, her bra was simple white cotton. Still, the sight of her full breasts encased in the garment was sexier than expensive lingerie would've been on someone else.
“Unhook your bra.”
I swallowed a groan as she flicked open the front clasp, freeing her breasts. Her nipples were already starting to harden, the pale skin on her chest flushing.
“Now, undo my pants.”
I ran my fingers through her silky curls as her hands reached for the waist of my pants. By the time she had them undone and unzipped, my cock was straining against the black cotton of my boxer briefs. Her tongue darted out, wetting her bottom lip.
“You're going to make me come,” I instructed. “And you're going to swallow every last drop.” I gave her curls a tug. “After all, we don't want to leave a mess for the nice steward to have to clean up, do we?”
She shook her head.
“And if you do a good job, I'll let you get yourself off while I watch.”
Her eyes widened, and she swallowed hard. I knew, for her, it would be both a punishment and a reward. This wasn't exactly public, but she knew there was always a possibility that the steward would come back in the middle of whatever we were doing. Her only other option, however, would be to suffer her arousal through the rest of the day, including meeting her parents. And I knew Hanna's appetite was such that it'd be difficult for her to just ignore it.