**Author's Note: This is my first story posted to this site, so be gentle. Or don't. Whatever floats your boat. Secondly, this is more of a slow burn story, with characterization and a little plot. If you're looking for a quicky, this isn't for you. Happy reading!**
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Chicago, Illinois -- June
Ella Banning leaned back against the supple leather of the limousine seat and fought to keep herself from grinning like an idiot as she took in the landscape rushing by. Everything was delightfully familiar, from the stress-inducing traffic, hordes of pedestrians, and buildings so tall the sun struggled to top them.
They passed Millennium Park and soon after, Giordano's, and her stomach grumbled. The vegan pizza her San Franciscan boss favored hadn't been cutting it. For a second, Ella considered asking the driver to stop, but knew they were on a time crunch.
She was back on her home turf for the first time in four years, and only because her parents' first charity gala event was to be hosted that night. Her heart soared at the thought of seeing her mother again, of being taken into her father's strong arms in a hug that would lift her off the ground. Her stomach also flipped at the realization that she'd be seeing Jack for the first time since -- she couldn't remember.
Her brother, ten years her senior, had always been some sort of untouchable figure. Ella had been planned whereas Jack had been more of a "surprise" as their mother, Annette, had put it, resulting in their sizable age gap. Ella had always harbored the sneaking suspicion that Jack had held the fact against her.
Where she idolized him, he avoided her like the plague. She'd tagged along with her mother for his every lacrosse game when he'd been in high school, watched him give his valedictorian speech in college, read every article in the Sun-Times about how fast his business had taken off. He'd patted her on the shoulder when she'd been accepted to Princeton and had left her a twelve-second message last month when she'd been hired, right out of college at twenty-two, at the fastest rising political magazine in all of California.
Their chosen career paths had taken them in wildly different directions, but she had always admired and respected him. She doubted he felt the same towards her.
"Miss Ella?" the driver said, interrupting her diatribe. "We're here."
Ella glanced up and took in the sprawling Banning estate, nestled in a quieter part of the city. The wrought iron gates creaked open and they pulled through, tires crunching over the gravel. The house was just as she'd remembered it, manicured front yard and red brick construction included. The driver pulled around to reach the front of the circular driveway, and Ella slipped out of her seatbelt opened the door.
She took a deep breath of warm summer air and smiled. It was good to be back.
All around her, staff rushed back and forth, setting up for the night. Fairy lights were being strung around trees, and the front gardens, already pristine, were being tended to. The double oak doors swung open then, and Annette Banning burst out, a beaming smile decorating her unlined face.
At fifty, she was still a remarkably attractive woman, keeping in shape through daily exercise and curbing her sweet tooth. Ella knew this because she had inherited said sweet tooth and was not as responsible with it. Her mother enveloped her in a hug, and Ella took in the scent of her mother's perfume and something that was just her.
"Look at you," Annette said, pulling back and cupping her daughter's face in her hands. "Oh my goodness, you've lost weight! And your hair; it's so long! What inspired the change?"
Ella shrugged. "Just wanted to do something different," she said, running a hand through her dark brown hair. Usually chopped to her chin for easy maintenance, she'd let it grow to the small of her back. She spent a lot more time with her brush now, but she liked the way it looked and how feminine it felt.
Annette patted her own blonde hair, perfectly coiffed. "I have an appointment in an hour for tonight. Want to come with and have something done?"
Before she could answer, a booming voice sounded. "There she is!"
Ella shrieked and Annette laughed as Christopher Banning swooped her up and twirled her around in a giant bear hug. Though the same age as his wife and equally in shape, he was at least a foot taller than Annette and his daughter.
"How are you, my girl? Glad you're with us for the week."
The small family reminisced for several minutes before Christopher ordered her bags to be brought up to her old room and a light lunch to be prepared. As they headed into the house, Ella bumped her mother with her shoulder.
"Is Jack here?" she asked, hoping her voice sounded nonchalant.
Annette rolled her eyes. "Still at his apartment downtown. Said he'd be a little late tonight as he has a six o' clock meeting. You know your brother; doesn't confine himself to anyone's schedule."
Ella resisted the urge to snort. That was a nice way of putting it. Self-absorbed, egotistical ass was more her line of thinking. She listened as Annette gushed about her dress for the gala that night and listed all of the notable figures that would be attending.
She sighed. She knew she was in for a long night.
~ * ~ * ~
Jonathan, more commonly known as "Jack" by his close friends and family, or "You-piece-of-shit" by most of the women in his life, swore loudly and foully as his fingers stumbled once again over the knot of his tie. He glanced at the clock on his nightstand. Eight-oh-seven and he was only about three quarters of the way ready. He pictured the dirty looks he'd get from his parents when he entered the estate.
Giving up, he tied a simple knot that he vaguely remembered from his private school days. It looked a little lopsided, but fuck it. Standing in front of his bathroom counter, he haphazardly ran a brush through his thick dark hair and pinned in his cufflinks.
Straightening his waistcoat and buttoning his jacket, he exited the bathroom and checked himself out in the full-length mirror perpendicular to the king-sized bed that took up a good portion of the room. Perfectly tailored suits, like loose women, were a weakness of his, and this one was no exception. He'd paired the charcoal outfit with a navy tie and light blue shirt, and had finished the outfit with a pair of brown dress shoes.
He knew Alyson Sommers was going to be there tonight, and he'd been looking forward to getting his hands on the pale redhead for most of the week. She'd teased him relentlessly around the office, bending over in her too-short skirts, brushing her small, high breasts against his shoulder as they'd looked over papers together. She was tall, too, almost as much as him, but she reeked of a submissiveness that he ached to tap into.
From his nightstand, his phone buzzed. He was surprised when he saw his business partner's name and not his mother's.
"Dude, you need to get here right now," Erik Lasance said, and his voice held a taunting undertone that Jack didn't like.
"My mother bitching?" Jack asked, making his way out of his apartment and locking the door behind him. He slipped his wallet into his back pocket.
"No. Why didn't you tell me about your sexy little sister?"
Jack stopped short at the stairwell. Ella? He thought of the little girl that had been his shadow right up until the moment he'd left for college. He remembered her braceface, chopped locks, a body that was always a little too chubby, and a shy, quiet demeanor. "Oh, she's there?"
"She's about to be on my dick."
"You fuckin' perv."
"See ya!"
The line went dead and Jack quickened his pace, heading for the underground parking garage. Had his mother said something about her coming in? She probably had, and he hadn't been paying attention. Twenty minutes and one bright flash from a speeding camera later, he'd arrived at the estate, throwing his keys to the hired valet at the doors.
The house was decked out in all its finery, and though the party was taking place on the entire first floor, most of the guests were in the cavernous ballroom where chairs and tables were set up and dinner was being served. A few men stopped him for conversation, and it was all he could do not to tap his foot impatiently as they spoke.
After the pleasantries were over, he turned and made his way into the ballroom. There was the low murmur of hundreds of voices, the clinking of glasses, and the lull of background music. At the head table were his parents, his father's work colleagues, and...Ella was nowhere to be found. He scanned the room with narrowed eyes and caught sight of Erik seated and enjoying a steak with several people sat around the table and let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding.
Jack made his way to the front of the room. His mother saw him first, and she gave him a Look before standing and smiling. "My dearest son. So nice of you to show."
He gave her his most charming smile, one that frequently sent even the iciest of women to their knees. "Your only son," he reminded her as he bent and kissed her on the cheek.
"Thank God, don't think I could handle another one of you," Annette said, her blue eyes, the same bright shade as his, twinkling. "Did you say hello to your sister?"
Jack followed his mother's pointer finger and took in a woman he had noticed but not fully looked at across from them. He did a double take. No fucking way.
Ella stood, giving him a wry smile. "How could he when he's too busy trying not to get chewed out by you?" she asked Annette.
She was...fucking hell, she was beautiful. A light tan set her skin to glowing. Her hair was a shade or two darker than he remembered, and longer, curled in loose waves and stopping just at her waist. A waist, he noticed, that was smaller than the sumptuously curved hips her black dress clung to. She stepped around her chair and made to hug him, looking up at him with those big brown eyes that had allowed her to get away with a multitude of tantrums. Now they were outlined in makeup, and he imagined her getting away with a lot more than just a tantrum.
She was as tiny as he remembered, barely reaching his chest. When her body pressed against his, his dick almost sprung to attention right then and there. Her tits were soft and lush, and looked to be slightly more than a handful. She stood on her tiptoes and pressed a chaste kiss to his cheek, and Jack smelled perfume that was sultry and innocent all at once.
