Page 47 of Justice for JoElla

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Landon hadn’t gotten backuntil almost lunchtime and by then, JoElla was getting ready to leave. Brandon had picked up lunch for everyone, and they all ate together before she and Brandon left.

When she got home, she headed inside, Brandon right behind her. “I need to start a load of laundry. You need anything washed?”

“Yeah. I’ve got a couple of things. Want me to stay?”

JoElla took them from him. “Up to you. But I’m going to dinner with Quint tonight, if you still want to go.”

“Yeah, sure. Sounds good. Mind if I nap until then? I’m exhausted, and I’ve got a midnight tonight.”

“You’re working tonight?”

“Oh, yeah. Gotta be there at eleven thirty.”

“Okay. I’ll start this and I’ll join you. How’s that?”

“Sounds good.” Brandon disappeared into the bedroom, so JoElla started the washer and headed that direction.

He was already in her bed, and she was pretty sure he was in nothing but his boxer briefs. “You gettin’ comfy?”

“Yeah. By the way, I sleep more soundly after sex.”

She chuckled. “Oh, is that right?”

“Yeah. It is. Come here.” His hand reached toward her, so she moved that direction and, instead of taking it, sat down on the bed. “Did you enjoy yourself over at Landon and Jerrica’s?”

“Everybody was so nice to me. It was almost like being part of a family.”

“You do realize you can have that, right?” She gave him the evil eye. “Look, I’m not into games. I don’t have time for that shit. That’s all I’ve done with my life all these years, and I’m fucking sick and tired of it. I like you. A lot. I have no idea how you feel about me, and I have a sneaking suspicion you don’t either, but I really want to be with you.”

“Why? I’m unpleasant, socially inept, abrupt, crude, a workaholic… I’m a bitch.”

“No. My soon-to-be ex-wife is a bitch. I know what a bitch looks and sounds like, and trust me, babe, you’re not a bitch.”

“Well, okay, but I’m a porcupine. I’m prickly and don’t let people close.”

Brandon rolled his eyes. “Says the woman who took the baby and sent my sister-in-law off to bed this morning.”

“Yeah, and passed him off to you as soon as you showed your face!” she pointed out.

“True, but it was your idea. You arenotunpleasant or socially inept. I watched you yesterday. You looked like you were having a good time. Amy told me she thought you were, how was it she put it, ‘beautiful in a very classic way,’ or something like that.”

“Oh, so I look like an old statue in the cemetery?” she asked, laughing.

“No! Well, maybe, but…” She dug a finger into his ribs and he howled. “No! Not like an old statue in the cemetery! Good god, where do you get this bullshit?”

She shrugged, still laughing. “I have no idea. Just comes to me. You know, like lightning, or the plague, or athlete’s foot.”

“Athlete’s foot?” Brandon was laughing as hard as she was. “You’re nuts!”

“I’ve beentryingto tell you that, but apparently you’re a slow learner!”

Brandon grabbed her, pulled her down on the bed, and rolled her to him. “I’m a lot of things, JoElla, but I’m not a slow learner, and I intend to know your body like the back of my hand before you even realize it.” The lips that found hers were warm and soft, and she wanted him inside her, his hands on her, their bodies pressed together. “Get your clothes off. I want you, and I don’t want to wait.”

She couldn’t shuck them fast enough. As soon as her top was off, he reached up and unhooked her bra, and JoElla let it fall to the floor, followed by her pants and her underwear. When she turned around, he’d divested himself of his underwear, and she took in the sight of him there. “I have to say, you’re a fine-looking man, BrandonFox.”

“And you’re a beautiful woman, JoEllaTompkins. And oh, the things you do to me.”

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