Free JOINED (The Joined Series) by Alexia Stone

me think about what I wore underneath my gray blouse and jeans; I squirmed, my nipples and my sex still very sensitive.
     
    Now I knew why Larissa came home tired after modeling many days: acting in many stilled caption s could be exhausting . Brayden and some of the other models were truly professionals. The photographer didn’t have to give much direction; they were in their own element, a product of good fine-tuning and the best agencies.
     
    As I watched Brayden in his different poses, able to execute various emotions naturally, he easily became another man. I was proud by how good he was. This wasn’t just a job for him, a way for him to prance away, being effortlessly handsome. Quite honestly, a few of the models there were more handsome than he was, but most of them didn’t exude the natural ability to look like a small town boy to a striking starving artist, to a man who amassed an empire for different captions . For the first time, Brayden wasn’t just my brother; he was a person, who like me, was trying to make sense of his life. And this person was a talented model.
     
    W e left ahead of schedule. On our way out in the lobby, I couldn’t seem to stop admiring the earthy tones of the walls and the well-placed furniture, along with its sophistication. With my arm linked with Brayden’s, I breathed contentedly. He stopped me, looking above my head.
     
    “What’s wrong, Bray?” His mouth thinned. Then, he protectively brought his heavy hand on my shoulder.
     
    “This guy—“I turned to see who he was, but he stopped me—“has been looking at us since we came out from the elevator. He just signaled us to wait. ”
     
    I opened my mouth to protest on being manhandled for the second time in one day when someone cleared his voice loudly.
     
    “Mister,” Brayden said sternly. Not realizing that I held my breath in for so long, I heaved as I pulled in oxygen to my abused lungs and strained muscles.
     
    “Good Afternoon. I am Mateja Guvo, owner of this hotel.” He bared his teeth, not smirking, or grimacing. I looked at Brayden, fearing he knew that I had very intimate knowledge of this man. “I just came from a meeting and thought I should say hello,” he said casually . “ You brought a…female friend with you .” He sounded surprised. Why was Mateja acting like this? Why did he go through the trouble to find out why my brother and I were there? This was just too convenient; the second time in one day that I crossed paths with him. He was the last person I expected to see again , especially after that power trip thing that he tried on me .
     
    “I am Brayden . Just came from a shoot. Is there a problem?”
     
    Mateja turned me around, brushing Brayden’s hands off my shoulders. He gave Brayden a tight smile and I wrapped my arms tightly around myself. Brayden looked irate. He wasn’t an irascible person; I knew that much about him.
     
    “No problem at all. You ’ve had work here before, right?”
     
    “Yeah, a few times.” Brayden looked confused by the question.
     
    “You’ve never brought guest here before , especially no one as divine as her.”
     
    Brayden’s mouth slackened and then he erupted in roaring laughter. I didn’t know whether or not he laughed because Mateja confused me as his girlfriend, or because he thought I was divine, or both. I decided not to take offense either way . T he unspoken aggression between the both of them was suffocating. In the midst of the traffic in the lobby, some guests glanced at us .
     
    Mateja scowled at him. The roaring laughter came to an abrupt end. “Something I said funny ?” Mateja brushed his fingers in the middle of my inner arm, forcing everything in me not to moan. I wouldn’t have pegged the tender skin on my inner arm as an erogenous zone. Adding to my struggle with self-control, my insides went molten. Perfect time and place for this, in front of my brother!
     
    Furrowing his eyebrows, he gawked at Mateja’s fingers