Stepbrother: Moving In/Moving Out

by Kiss, Tabatha

  “Come on, Mina… who will it be?” Carter asks.

  I look them both in the eyes. My gaze shifts from one lover to the next. I had made up my mind before this all began, but as I look upon them both now, I feel a wave of doubt. I bite my lip and search my soul for the correct answer. But the bitch of the problem, at the core of it all, is that there may not be a correct answer to this problem. Will the grass always be greener on the other side? Or is happily ever after just one choice away?

  “Listen…” My eyes linger on Seth’s face. “I—”

  “Stop,” he interrupts me. He shifts his weight and stands up from the table. “You don’t have to say it again.”

  “What?” I ask.

  “You’re right,” he says. “This whole thing was stupid.”

  Carter’s confused stare points in Seth’s direction. He opens his mouth to speak, but Seth continues.

  “I’m sorry you had to be put through this, Mina,” he says. “I’m taking myself out of the equation.”

  A smirk travels up Carter’s face. “Is that right?” he asks. “Can’t handle the suspense, there, buddy?”

  “Seth, don’t—” I begin.

  “You both were happy before and you’ll still be happy now.”

  I chew on the inside of my cheek as I fight to come up with the words to make him stay.

  “I should never have involved myself between you two. And I apologize for that,” Seth says. He reaches over to the table and grabs his keys. “I’ll leave you two to celebrate.”

  I can’t bring myself to move as he walks across the living room and steps out into the hallway. My heart aches as I watch him go, his words lingering in my ears. I had hoped to let him down easily, but it was going to be difficult either way.

  “Well…” Carter says as he rubs his chest. “To the victor go the spoils…”

  I turn to him with a furrowed brow.

  “What can I say, baby?” he says with a smug smile. “I’m an alpha male.”

  I take a step towards him and push myself onto my tippy toes to plant a small kiss on his lips.

  “Goodbye, Carter.”

  ***

  I see him crossing the street down the block, heading in the direction of campus.

  “Seth!”

  He can’t hear me. I continue jogging towards him, being careful not to step on any rocks or trash with my bare free. Perhaps making a dramatic exit from Carter without stopping first to put on shoes wasn’t the best decision in the moment, but any wounds my toes happen upon will heal.

  And a life without Seth? The mere thought of it now is excruciating.

  “Seth!”

  He turns around as he hears his name. When he sees me rushing for him, he stops and turns around. “Mina…” he says. “What are you doing?”

  I finally catch up with him and inhale a sharp breath. My heart races so quickly, I can barely speak. I feel his hands on my shoulders, his strength holding me up.

  “Goddamn…” I say. “I should really start jogging again…”

  “Most people also wear running shoes,” Seth jokes.

  I look up into his stunning eyes and say the words I’d been dying to say, but never planned on. “I choose you,” I say. “Seth, I choose you.”

  He shakes his head. “We can’t be together, Mina,” he says. “You were right. I hadn’t thought it through before, but I see that now.”

  “I don’t care,” I heave. “It’ll be hard and painful and impossible at times, but… I don’t think it’ll be so bad if we’re partners.”

  He squeezes my shoulders slightly, reacting to my words. “Are you sure?” he asks.

  I nod. “The world is already a really shitty place,” I say. “The idea of being together — of being with you — it makes everything bearable.”

  “And what about Carter?” he asks.

  “You were right.” I shrug and place my hands over his. “I was just a prize to him. You see me as something so much more. And for that, I’ll always love you.”

  “You’re crazy,” he says through a smile.

  “I know,” I say. “But so are you.”

  He pulls me in and embraces me for a moment. “Are you sure?” he asks again, whispering in my ear.

  “Yes,” I answer. “I’ve never been more sure of anything.”

  His hands travel up my body and cup my face. He takes a deep breath. “Okay,” he says as he leans down and kisses me.

  I don’t care who sees it. I push myself up higher on my toes and wrap my arms around his wide shoulders.

  “I want this,” I say between kisses.

  We pull apart and Seth rests his forehead against mine. “So do I,” he says. “I’ve wanted this forever.”

  My heart swells. I never thought, even once, that anyone could ever love me like that. I’m so happy that I was wrong. Tears sting my eyes, but I hold them back.

  “Of course…” he says. “Now, I probably need to find somewhere else to live. I don’t think Carter is going to take this well.”

  My lips curl. “Well,” I say. “I know of somewhere you can stay, if you want.”

  “Yeah?” he asks with a delicious smile.

  “You can move in tonight.”

  ***

  STEPBROTHER:

  MOVING OUT

  A Romance Novella

  by Tabatha Kiss

  WARNING: This short story contains explicit descriptions of

  erotic and sexual acts that some may find offensive.

  Reader discretion advised.

  This is a work of fiction intended for mature audiences only.

  Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

  All characters detailed within are eighteen years of age or older.

  No characters engaging in sexual acts are blood related.

  Text and Story Copyright © 2015 Tabatha Kiss

  Cover Art Copyright © Depositphotos.com/konradbak

  All Rights Reserved.

  Chapter 1

  I can’t believe how much my life has changed in two weeks.

  I moved in with my boyfriend temporarily. It seemed like a good, easy solution to my problem at the time. I couldn’t move into my new apartment just yet and Carter said I could stay with him. The only issue was with his roommate, Seth. My stepbrother. He always hated me.

  Or at least, I assumed he hated me.

  The truth came out during a party Seth threw just to piss me off. He loves me. And I, against my better judgment, loved him back.

  I slept with my stepbrother that night and it completely changed my life.

  Carter was upset, as anyone would be. But he kept his shit together and made a game out of it. They both wanted me and they wanted to play fair.

  Two nights. They would both get one more night with me. Afterward, I would choose the winner based off who satisfied me the most.

  I can’t believe I agreed to it from the start. It was a stupid game. I said as much to their faces. But the idea of being caught between two men was thrilling and exciting.

  Does that make me a bad person? It probably makes me a bad person. Oddly enough, I don’t care.

  I made my decision from the start. I wanted everything to go back to normal. Choosing Carter made that happen.

  The night with Carter was amazing, more amazing than it ever had been with him. My decision was still locked. I would choose Carter.

  Then the night with Seth happened. He opened up to me in ways I never thought possible and for the first time since I made my decision, I started to doubt it.

  In the end, I chose Seth.

  I chose Seth.

  I’m sorry, I have to say it again.

  Seth. I chose my stepbrother.

  I love my stepbrother.

  I lie awake, staring at my bedroom ceiling. It’s four in the morning. Boxes are stacked against the opposite wall, some of them full, some empty. I always love the moving process. It’s a lot of work, but it’s satisfying work. I get a th
rill every time I place something in its new home. I make sure the final image matches the dream in my head.

  I had a plan. I made sketches of how my new life in my new apartment would look. Carter would be a big part of that life. Of course he’d come over to hang out or stay the night a few nights a week.

  But then, I chose Seth.

  And to be completely honest, I did not think it through.

  I glance over at his sleeping face. The moonlight creeps in through the window because I haven’t hung up the curtains yet. It casts shadows across his eyes and nose. My heart skips wildly in my chest as I look at him. I smile and shift my weight to my side to get a better view.

  I had a plan. Then universe decided to screw it up.

  But I’m not angry. I’m really not.

  I’m ecstatic.

  I reach out and lay a finger on his chin. He’s so deep in his sleep that it does nothing to disturb him. A yawn escapes my lips. My body wishes to sleep, but my mind keeps replaying the last two weeks over and over again.

  As we suspected, Carter didn’t take my rejection of him well. He told Seth to get out of their apartment. Of course, I let Seth move into my two bedroom place with me. I had intended on using that second bedroom as a study area for school, but that’s just another piece of my plan that changed. He suggested that we both just use the same bedroom and then I could keep my study room, but I disagreed.

  We are, in fact, stepbrother and stepsister. I didn’t want to make it so obvious to any visitors that we were sleeping together. Separate bedrooms. It had to be done.

  This is our fourth night together in our new home. I had planned on having everything unpacked by now, but having him here with me has been interesting. The protective bubble on our feelings didn’t exist anymore. The buffer was gone. The door to each other’s bodies was wide open for the first time ever and it has been insanely difficult to keep our hands off each other.

  It felt like a honeymoon. My mind tingled in a state of wedded bliss. But behind that feeling, I felt trouble. The honeymoon had to end sometime. This was just a calm before a great storm.

  And that’s why I can’t sleep.

  Seth stirs in the bed. His eyes open slightly before closing again. I push a hand through his hair and attempt to lull him back into a deep slumber, but my touch rouses him further.

  “Mina?” he mutters slightly.

  “Shh,” I say. “Go back to sleep.”

  “Are you still not sleeping?” he asks. He forces his eyes open and looks at me in the darkness.

  “I’m fine,” I say.

  “Come here,” he says. He rolls over onto his back and extends his open arms to me.

  With a smile, I lie against his chest and feel his warm arms embrace me to his body. I breathe a heavy sigh and close my eyes. His heart thumps at a steady pace in his chest and I calm my breath in an attempt to match it.

  “I’m here,” he says. “You have nothing to worry about anymore. I’m here.”

  I feel protected. I feel safe. Even if only for a moment. I meant it when I told him that life would be hard and painful and impossible at times. And I really meant it when I told him that it wouldn’t be so bad as long as we were partners.

  As my heartbeat slows down and my skin tingles against his touch, my eyelids begin to feel heavy.

  “Everything is going to be okay, Mina,” I hear him whisper.

  We fall asleep together until the morning sun bleeds into the room.

  Chapter 2

  “This is your place,” Seth says from the living room. “I can keep everything of mine in my bedroom.”

  “I don’t want you to feel like this place isn’t your’s, too.” I pick up a box and set it on the kitchen counter. “You pay half the rent. You deserve a few shelves in the living room for your things.” I pull a stack of dinner plates out of the box.

  “Are you sure?” he asks. “If I recall, you had a problem with my system.”

  I smile, recalling one of our big blow-outs in his previous apartment. “Well, now that I know your system exists, I won’t have a problem with it. Please, use those shelves. It’s why I put them there.”

  “Okay,” he says into my ear.

  I flinch and let out a slight yelp.

  “Did I scare you?” he chuckles.

  “Yes,” I say. “I didn’t hear you come in here. You’re too damn quiet.”

  He cups my face and kisses me. “Well, I apologize.”

  “It’s okay,” I say.

  “This is a really nice place,” he says as he steps over to the refrigerator.

  “I know, right?” I say. I open a cabinet above my head and look for the perfect place to put the plates.

  “Thank you for letting me stay here.”

  I pause and look over at him. “You don’t have to thank me.”

  “No,” he says. “I do.” He drifts back over to me. “I feel like we wouldn’t be in this situation if I had kept my mouth shut.”

  “It’s not your fault, Seth,” I tell him as I place my hands on his waist. “I honestly believe this would have come out eventually.”

  “You think so?” he asks with a smirk.

  “I know so,” I answer. “I’ve loved you… forever, it feels like.” I fidget slightly. “Even before I knew what it was, I felt it.”

  “Me, too,” he says. He leans over and rests his forehead against mine. “And this isn’t a mistake?”

  I feel my body go stiff. “Do you think it’s a mistake?” I ask.

  “No.” He shakes his head. “No, I’ve made many mistakes in my life, Mina. This isn’t one of them.” He looks into my eyes. “But I want to know how you feel.”

  “I feel fine. I feel amazing.”

  “You just can’t sleep.”

  I sigh. “I know how that must look to you, Seth…” I say. “But really, I couldn’t be happier. It just…”

  “What?” he asks.

  “It feels too easy,” I say. “Like a gust of wind could fly by and knock us down at any moment.”

  “That’s not going to happen.”

  “How can we be sure?”

  “Because I love you,” Seth whispers. “And you love me. And together, we’ll tell that wind to fuck off.”

  I chuckle. My heart skips quickly and I feel a wave of warmth rush through my body. “You’re right,” I say.

  He presses his lips against mine again and I fall into his kiss. His hands smooth down my back and he cups my rear end with a strong grip.

  “Seth…” I begin, but my words fail as he moves his kisses to my neck.

  He towers over me. I’m pinned against the kitchen counter. His body heat blends with mine. I feel his hands on me, moving constantly, until pulling on the button to my jeans.

  “Seth—” I say again as his hand reaches inside. His lips silence me. I quiver wildly as his fingers push inside my panties and brush against my tingling folds.

  “Let me touch you…” he whispers between kisses.

  I moan against his lips. He cradles my clit between to finger tips and rocks it back and forth, awakening a warm throb deep inside of me. My head leans backward and I rest it against an upper cabinet as he attacks my neck once more with kisses. I’m seduced by his wicked pleasures. My knees rock together, threatening to collapse beneath me, but he’s got me so hard against the cabinet. He’d never let me fall.

  “Oh, Seth!” I cry as he increases pressure against my swollen bud.

  “I want to do this every day,” he says. “Every day until the day I die.”

  I can’t speak. Desire has trapped my voice behind my tongue. I can only moan for him over and over again until I can’t take it anymore. He won’t stop. He outright refuses. Even after the orgasm strikes me. My body jerks against his as the wave takes over my limbs. He traces circles, slow and smooth against my clit as I come down from the peaks of pleasure. And just as he sees the light enter my eyes again, he hits me again with twitching fingers and coaxes another orgasm out of me.


  “Oh, fuck!” I moan into his ear. My nails dig into his skin as I hold him. I can see his smiling face behind my blurry vision. I kiss him, hard and firm. He kisses me back, holding me in place with both hands until I bring myself back to normal.

  “Nothing will ever come between us again, Mina,” he whispers.

  A knock echoes through the apartment. We freeze in place and for a moment, it’s as if we read each other’s minds. Do we ignore it? Is it a new neighbor coming to complain about the moaning noises? Maybe they’ll go away.

  The knock happens again. Seth pulls his hand from my pants and takes a step back.

  “I got it,” I say as I push off the counter.

  “You sure?” he asks.

  “Yeah.” I zip up my jeans and take a quick glance at my body to be sure nothing is out of place.

  “Mina— open up! It’s Mom!”

  I spin around and look at Seth again. His eyes have grown to twice their normal size.

  “Mina!”

  “What is she doing here?” Seth asks. He stays back, lingering just out of sight in the kitchen.

  I reach for the doorknob and slide the deadbolt open. “I don’t know,” I whisper. “Just be cool.” I clear my throat and open the door.

  “Mina! There you are!”

  Before I can say a word, my mother steps forward and wraps her arms around my shoulders. “Hi, Mom,” I mumble into her mane of hair. “What are you doing in town?” I ask, pushing my voice up to sound happy.

  “Well…” she steps back and glances at me over her sunglasses. “We stopped by Seth’s apartment to see him but he wasn’t there. Then Carter told us we just had to swing by your new place to see what you are up to!”

  “We?” I ask.

  I hear somebody step into the hallway.

  “Ahh, there you are!”

  I peak out and see my stepfather bounding towards us.

  “Oh — Kevin, hi!” I say the name loud enough for Seth to hear.

  “Hey, sweetie!” he says. He leans over and plants a quick kiss on my cheek. “It’s impossible to find a good parking spot here!”