Wicked Hearts - A Dark Stepbrother Bully Romance (Wicked Hearts At War Book 1)

by Mallory Fox

  My eyes travel up colliding with his. In the low light his baby blues look almost black. A storm raging behind an otherwise mask of indifference.

  “For a grown man, you’re still quite upset then?” I sneer.

  He should have gotten over it by now. Five years in a long time to hold a grudge.

  He frowns. “You had me drafted so I would say I’m upset, yes.”

  At that, I feel a twinge of regret. Turning to Seth for comfort after my parents died was a mistake, but I didn’t have to report him.

  I wasn’t expecting them to believe me. I wasn’t expecting them to send him away.

  I certainly wasn’t expecting him to accept it all and leave me all alone.

  Taking a second to really take him in, I see the man he’s become.

  Gone is the boy I enjoyed teased the hell out of. The adolescent I knew has become leaner and harder. Dangerously so. He’s more like a marine than an army cadet. Like he could break me without trying or take me if he wanted.

  The Seth I knew before he left was weak. Weak for me, for love, for just about everything.

  The Greek god standing in front of me now, holding me hostage, is anything but weak.

  I can’t help but smile at my creation.

  I did that.

  “Looking at you now… I can see I did you a favor. You’re welcome by the way,” I say in a matter of fact voice.

  His eyes narrow beautifully, adding to the look. “You think you did me a favor?”

  “Never thought I’d be saying this, but nearly all the girls and half the guys at La Roche want to screw you or screw you over. They’re just not sure which.”

  He gives a slight smirk. “You sounds like you’re jealous?”

  “No, why would I be?” I was the one who let you go Seth, never forget that.

  He cocks a brow. “Seriously, we’re playing this game?”

  It's my turn to frown. “What game?”

  He chuckles. “You know, you were never that good an actress Pearl.”

  “I had you fooled didn’t I?”

  “You had me horny. There’s a difference.”

  “So you’re not horny now?”

  When he doesn’t answer I can’t help but laugh.

  He pulls back, head tilted a little so he can look me up and down, dark eyes burning into my soul. “Look at you… all grown up.” Then he opens his mouth, adding, “but no. I’m not.”

  I take my hand and place it over his crotch.

  Nothing.

  But then what did I expect? There was a time when Seth was in love with me. He would do anything for me. He only had to hear my voice and he would be rock hard for me.

  “Then why are you here?”

  “To take back what’s mine.” He says it so surely and quickly that my eyes blaze, slightly taken aback.

  He can’t be just here for the money.

  “Am I not yours too?” I say, quietly.

  I let my eyes linger on his and reach forward, wrapping my arms around him like I’ve been wanting to all night. Closing my eyes I breath him in. The old feelings stir. His familiar scent and feel of him so near soothes a part of me I didn’t know was raw.

  I have loved and hated him for so long I don’t know what to feel anymore.

  When he doesn’t move or say anything, I pull away opening my eyes. He's looking at me, not in a ‘I want to kill you’ or ‘I want to fuck you’ kind of way, but in a way I can’t fathom. He’s no longer just my stupid step-brother or my heart’s desire.

  He’s my biggest rival.

  And.

  He hasn’t bloody kissed me yet.

  Chapter 4

  Pearl

  “You’re just here to take my company aren’t you?”

  “I told you, I’m here to take to take what's mine.” His hands do the right thing, taking me by the shoulders, peeling me off him.

  “It was never yours you know. The Darlington Collection, the International Portfolio, the Park Lane Estate, all of it was my father’s first.” I snide back.

  “All still intact because of my family’s donation money.”

  I roll my eyes. “Donation being the operative word.”

  He laughs.

  Good to know I can still make him laugh, even if it is an evil looking one.

  But.

  I need to get out of here.

  If Seth isn’t here to have his wicked way with me then I need to get going. I’m tired and today has been a shit day.

  My eyes shift to the door behind him. It’s about four meters to the door. If I kick my shoes off and knee him in nuts could I make it.

  “What are you looking at? Thinking to escape?” The smirk on his face is annoying but also kind of hot.

  Why doesn’t Seth fancy me anymore?

  My lips pull into a thin line and I glare back at him. “Look, let’s talk tomorrow. Sully can sit in as referee or something. There might be a compromise for the lake house?” I don’t want him in my house, not at all. But right now, I’ll say anything to just be able to go home.“Should we even be alone together given what happened?” I add.

  “Oh, that’s news to me. Did you press charges or was everything brushed under the carpet to save your ‘darling’ reputation?”

  A scowl crosses my face. He knows as well as I do no charges were upheld. I dropped them… for him and for…

  For her.

  “Henry will come looking for me soon.”

  So not true, Henry will wait patiently for hour and hours, maybe even days rather than come looking for me. Hopefully Seth doesn’t know that.

  “Oh Pearl, you’re not going anywhere. I have you right where I want you,” he says rather softly, his fingers on my shoulders digging in... being anything but soft.

  My mind flies to a dozen places. He’s been waiting for this moment since I had him sent away.

  This is how he inherits everything.

  Seth’s eyes glaze over as he stares back, gaze filling with nothing but hate. He grins. “And the penny drops.”

  “Someone will come along soon,” I say.

  He shakes his head. “The club has only just got started. Who would want to get their coat at eleven pm?”

  My heart hammers loudly in my chest.

  No. Seth is not a murderer.

  The person I knew to be my step-brother is someone who wouldn't hurt a fly, never mind a girl. But maybe he’s changed? I really have no clue who he is anymore. And right now, he is actually hurting me.

  I’m tempted to kick off my shoes but he towers over me as it is. If I take them off I’ll be five inches shorter, but at least I’ll have a weapon.

  And then what Pearl?

  I need to fix this. I need to change this. I need to be in charge.

  But Seth also likes being in control.

  That much I remember.

  I used to tease him when we're younger, walking around in revealing dresses or short skirts. I always made sure some part of my body was on show to him. Though he never gave in to any of my games despite how much he wanted me.

  Only once did he overstep the mark.

  And now we’re both adults. There’s nothing to stop him from acting on how he really feels.

  Changing hate back to lust?

  Is it even possible?

  “I’ll give you a choice. You can give me the key code and we can go home together, or you don’t leave here at all.”

  Now that you put it like that.

  Seth squeezes my shoulder again and pain blooms where his fingers dig into my flesh. I bite my lip, trying to see the boy I used to know in the man before me, trying not to cry out, trying to remain calm.

  But.

  Fuck him. There’s no way he’s getting into my house. Not after treating me like garbage. Not after rejecting me. Who does he think he is?

  Pain aside, I let a smile show on my face and echo the words he said to me only moments before.

  “Look at you, all grown up.”

  “The key code Pearl
, stop stalling”

  “I’m not stalling. I was just thinking, If you wanted to see me you could have made an appointment.” I breath out. “This isn’t exactly the best place for a negotiation. You’re hurting me for one.”

  I let my eyes burn into his and then slowly move them down, taking in his broad shoulders and the tightness of his shirt where it meets his biceps. I trail to where the top of his shirt-tails tuck into his waistband. My gaze momentarily resting on the bulge of his jeans before coming back up to meet his stare, showing him exactly what I'm thinking with just a look.

  If I’m surprised when he relaxes his grip I try not to show it. I step back until I’m against the wall and he steps closer, trapping me with his body.

  Better his body than his fist.

  His eyes darken, looking long and hard, then he places his arms against the wall on either side caging me in. “Is that right? I would have thought this was the best place for a negotiation.”

  I gaze up at him under my lashes. “A rather unfair one. You have me all to yourself.”

  “I’ll ask you one more time… what’s the key code Pearl?”

  “What are you going to do to me if I don’t give it to you?”

  A slow smile spreads across his lips.

  I wet and part my own lips in response. I can’t help but notice his eyes are drawn to them. Like moths to a flame.

  “You put me through hell,” he says, as I reach out and put my hands on his chest.

  “I know… I deserve to be punished.”

  “Pearl…”

  I run my hands over his shirt, down to the waistband.

  “Pearl, don’t…”

  Pulling his shirt out, I move my hands up and under it. His steel hard abs are all warm and perfectly tense under my palms. “You know we never got to do this, not properly.”

  He doesn’t stop me when I get to the top of his shorts peeking out from underneath, then the waistband of his jeans. I play with the button there, opening it slowly. “You know, I’ve waited a long time for this moment.”

  “How long?” His voice is strained, the storm inside him changing to a monsoon as arousal flares in the depths of his blue orbs. Heat and something darker fills his gaze and I know in heartbeat I have him.

  He leans in, closing his eyes, a groan escaping his lips.

  Gotcha.

  I don’t manage to open all the buttons.

  He lunges for me, lips crushing and colliding with mine. I can surely say I have never kissed Seth before, not like this. His kiss is fierce and it takes my breath away.

  All I can think, taste, and touch is Seth. His hands on me. His body all over mine. The part of me that was always curious, that always wondered what it would be like, despite being satisfied once, responds.

  He slams me up against the wall, one hand kneading my bandaged breast, the other hitching my skirt up to my waist. Being held here, hidden from view, by the very person I used to dream about, the person I now hate, ignites something darker and devious inside of me.

  The heat between my legs throbs, building to an ache as his fingers, softer now, find the warmth between them and play over the material of my thong.

  Teasing lightly, making me squirm, eliciting tiny mewling noises from me despite myself.

  It’s been a long time since any guy turned me on like this.

  But this is Seth.

  He is the reason I almost lost everything. Someone I once used and threw away. Someone who hates me because of what I did to him. He’s dangerous, off-limits. He is the one person I couldn’t and shouldn’t have.

  Yet here he is, willingly inside my mouth and panties for the first time since that dreadful day...

  It only makes me want him more.

  “You’re a fucking tease Pearl, always have been,” he growls.

  “Seth...” I hate you.

  I think the last part. I don’t actually say it. Not as he kisses me again, harder, bruising me with his teeth as he bites.

  When his kisses find my neck, all I can do is pant and moan as his fingers rip the thin strip of silk aside and delve into me where an unprecedented ache for him is beginning to blossom.

  “Christ, you’re tight Pearl. And soaking wet. You really do want my cock inside you don’t you?”

  He moans into my cleavage, drawing a similar sound from my own throat as he moves one then two fingers inside.

  “No, not here,” I manage to say. “Let’s go to your hotel.”

  “You want this here just as much as I do.” He whispers, biting and sucking my ear lobe.

  He’s not wrong but that doesn’t mean he can just take it. And that doesn’t mean we should.

  I fucking hate him.

  He yanks down my dress and latches onto my exposed nipples with his warm, wet mouth, teasing me into submission with his tongue. I moan out loud not caring if anyone hears me. I can’t help it.

  All the memories of stolen moments come flooding back of when we were teenagers. Sneaking around at night. Fooling around. He was a year older and worshipped me, was more experienced or so I thought.

  Not like this….

  Never like this.

  My heels are so high his crotch lines up where my dress is hitched at the edge of my panties, and I can feel him straining against the confines of his trousers. So hard. All for me.

  My fingers itch to release him like I’ve always wanted to.

  This time we’re adults and I can totally fuck him if I please. So why wouldn’t I?

  Not that I’m going to get to make any decision here. He could also do whatever he wanted right now and I couldn't stop him. So why bother worrying about it.

  Just let it happen.

  I do like him in control. Especially when he flips me around and pushes me up against the wall between the coats.

  “We’re not doing this here,” I hiss, my heart not really behind the words coming out of my mouth.

  “You don’t get to make the rules this time Pearl. Not anymore.”

  Why does that turn me on so much? Because it takes all the power away from you. You’re helpless like this. Not a Darlington anymore, just someone’s little whore.

  There’s a mental release, a shift within me, and I go to a place I’ve always been too scared to go alone. At least here, now, I’m with someone I trusted. Once.

  He’s sucking my neck, grinding into me while I do nothing but let him. His lips trace my shoulder, nipping, enticing me to devour him. I turn my head and allow him to claim my lips, bruising them with his own.

  What the fuck is happening Pearl?

  This is Seth!

  “Not here, not like this.” I say as he strokes between my legs, drowning me with the scent and taste of him, sending me into orbit. Even though my words come out in the most sultriest voice ever, and I’m practically riding him, I want to mean every word.

  “Stop.” I try to push him off but he’s too powerful.

  “This is what you wanted Pearl, isn’t this what you’ve been begging me for since the start.”

  He sounds so smug when he says it.

  But the sound of him unzipping himself is too much.

  If I let him take me like this he’s won. This will be hate sex, pure and simple. While I might enjoy it, I don’t want him to have any sort of victory over me.

  I don’t let anyone win. Ever.

  I feel along the wall but there’s nothing but exposed brick and fabric. I break away from the kiss and glance up the hangers, disappointed to see they’re attached to the rail he has me under.

  I only have one weapon.

  I bend over, not because I’m making it easier for him, because this the only way I can slip off my shoe. Momentarily, he releases his hold on me to pull what’s left my panties out if the way. He slips his thumb in-between the cheeks of my ass, massaging the rear entrance.

  I gasp, half leaning against the wall, half trying to stand up. But he pushes me over again, grabbing my hips, lining me up, so that the shoe falls out of my hand
s.

  “No, stay like that. I like you like that,” he growls.

  I fight to straighten up. “No Seth, I’ve never….”

  He grabs me and pulls me back until I feel his breath on the shell my ear as he continues to stroke me. The hardness of him piercing a hole in my back. I’m in that place between hope and fear, of repulsion and need, where nothing make sense but the sensation of his erection pressing against my bare ass, and his fingers and thumb inside both places at once.

  “I’m going to take this first away from you too. I’m going to make it so you think of me every time, so that nothing and no one else compares. I’m going to ruin you Pearl Darlington.”

  He shoves me forward. I’m close to orgasm when his cock, huge, hard and hot, eases between my butt cheeks, pushing inside where I never intended him to ever go. Where I never intended anyone to go, ever.

  The urge to part for him, to allow him in, is so strong it makes me wobble.

  That and the fact that I’m only standing on one five inch heel.

  Fuck this.

  This was not what I signed up for. I might not be a virgin and might have instigated, but I’m definitely not letting him take me up the ass first. When Seth makes love to me, and he will make love to me, it will be beautiful.

  It won’t be like this.

  I hug the wall and slip off my other shoe, then using the rail to straighten up I spin around and clout him as hard as I can across the side of the head with the metal heel.

  “Ow, what the fuck Pearl?” The shock and snarl on his face says it all.

  He reaches for me but I fall back against the wall, banging my hip, yanking the the coat pole so it slides it off its runner and collapses on top of him. A unending pile of winter coats going with it.

  Heart beating wildly in my chest, drunken haze gone, I’m scrambling over the fallen wardrobe and running out of the cloakroom, pulling my dress up and skirt down, before he can react.

  The bar is crowded, but no one pays any attention to me as I hurry out and into the street, to the car Henry has waiting for me. I’m barefoot and the pavement is cold but I don’t care.

  It’s only as Henry pulls away that I'm able to breathe, fixing what’s left of my wild hair, wiping the stinging makeup from my eyes.

  My face is hot. I feel like I’m burning up.