Forbidden Temptation My Mafia Fiance's Alpha Father (Brooklyn and Aden)

Brooklyn

Jolie seats me at the kitchen table while she fixes us both another drink.

When she slides into the seat across from me, her face is gentler and more considerate than it was before.

Jolie has always teased me, and I don't really care about that, but this is the big sister I came to see. The one who I know has my back through anything.

"Brooklyn," she starts gently. "Does this contract make you feel like a whore?"

"Um," I hesitate, awkward, but really considering her question. "I guess...that was my knee jerk reaction? That he was asking me to be his whore, to pay me for sex?"

"And would that be a...bad thing?" she asks carefully, her hands wrapped around her drink. "To be paid for sex?"

I blush as I look away from my sister, realizing that I might have done something very wrong here.

I mean, my sister doesn't get paid to have sex with people—at least, I don't think she does-but she's in

an industry that has no shame about taking men's money in exchange for turning them on.

"It's okay, Brooklyn," Jolie encourages me softly. "You can tell me what you think, you won't hurt my feelings."

"I guess-no. I don't have any problem with sex work, as long as women are respected when and aren't exploited. It's just something I've ever imagined myself doing."

"To begin," Jolie declares, her voice soft, "I don't think that this is sex work. This contract," she says, pointing at it, "actually doesn't say anything about sex."

"It doesn't?" I sit up and look towards it suddenly, curious. I mean, I hadn't read it closely, but...

"No, Brooklyn," Jolie says. "What he seems to be asking you for here is discretion. He wants to be involved with you, romantically and sexually, but he wants to control the terms and he'd like you not to blab to the press or his enemies about it."

She takes another sip of her drink.

"And in exchange for your discretion, he'd like to give you, well... a ridiculous amount of money. Seriously, Brooklyn, if you turn this down ask him if he's interested in me."

"Jolie," I scold, frowning at her and snatching the contract away.

"See?" she quips, smirking at me and lifting her drink to her mouth. "You like him. You don't like me putting his name in my mouth."

"Amongst other things," I murmur, glaring at her, and she laughs, taking a swig and returning her glass to the table.

"Brooklyn," she continues. "It all comes down to what you want. Because you're already deep within this world, and I think," she gives me a careful look here, inviting me to tell her she's wrong, "that you like it there. But if you don't, we can pawn that gigantic engagement ring right now and get you on the next plane to Belize."

I look my sister in the eye. "You're right," I say, a little grim. "I don't know what it is about this world, Jolie. But I'm not ready to leave it yet."

She shrugs.

"I get it. I'm a stripper. Everything logical tells me that this is not a career path that's viable forever, that's not going to get me a white picket fence and the American dream. But honestly, that's not what I want anyway. Baby, you have to figure out what you want."

I bite my lip, looking up at my sister through my lashes, finally ready to admit what I want. What I've wanted for weeks now.

Jolie steadily holds my gaze. "You want him."

Slowly, I nod. "There's been something about him since the moment we met. The way he makes me feel... what he does to my body... it's primal."

Instead of smiling as I expect, Jolie looks concerned.

"It won't be an easy path. But I get it." She wrinkles her nose at me. "He's really hot."

I burst out laughing, squeezing my sister's hand and pressing my other to my face, covering my eyes. "Oh my god, Jolie," I laugh. "You have to stop saying stuff like that."

"What!" she cries, laughing harder. "If he were really ugly, I would tell you to leave, but come on Brooklyn, at least he looks like someone who is going to rip your panties off and-"

IMS

"Jolie!" I gasp, ripping my hand from my face and glaring at her.

"Oh Brooklyn," she says, letting my hand go and sitting back in her chair. "What do you think you two are

going to do, play checkers?" She rolls her eyes again.

I sigh, ignoring her and sitting back in my chair, staring at the table.

"It's a good deal," she says, gentle again. "I mean, the way this is headed, it sounds like you were going to fuck him anyway. May as well get something from it."

"But how do I do it?"

I slump in my chair, feeling defeated. "I mean, if I did decide to do this- I'm not as brave or savvy as you."

I shake my head. "I have no idea how to play this, how to make this world give me what I want. I'm afraid -I'm afraid it's going to eat me alive."

Julie cocks an eyebrow. "It sounds

to me like you made the big bad wolf want to bone you so badly that he called off your engagement to his son and offered you a horse, a beach house, and millions of dollars just to get in your pants."

She just cocks her head to the side and smiles at me. "Whatever you're doing," she says, raising her glass. "Maybe keep doing it."

"Yeah," I say, laughing a little and wrapping my hand around my own drink. "Maybe I can get a private jet next."

We both grin at each other as our eyes meet, though I roll mine.

She doesn't, and instead holds her glass out to me in invitation.

After a second of hesitation, I clink mine against it.

"Whatever you decide,” she says happily support you. But whatever you do, don't forget that you're doing this for you. Not for him. When it

stops serving you? Get out no

I nod to her seriously, grateful for her wise advice.

And then I drain my glass, leaning forward across the table to ask my sister to help me plan my next

steps.