Dirty Little Secrets: A Stepbrother Romance

by Landish, Lauren

  Vince nodded and left the door, coming across to stand in between Rita and Karla, setting his hands on the edge of the bed. “You know I did short-haul trucking, which was connected to the Teamsters. They’ve got both above-board and below-board connections that could be useful. But the muscle can only be used if they know where he is.”

  I thought about it and nodded. “Both. Vince, contact your guys and have them stand by. But I’d prefer to keep the cops in on this if we can. Rita, turn your friends loose.”

  Rita grinned, growling as she started typing at a rapid pace on her computer. “Alix, Karla, come over here. I need as much information as you can give me on Sydney Hale. Actually, if you don’t mind, Kade, I’d like to take these two with me. I’ve got more security and speed on my home system. As good as this thing is, I’d need another day or two to download the required security programs and everything I’d really need to turn this baby into a sports car for the Web.”

  I looked at Alix, who nodded. “Rita and Karla together, we can take care of ourselves.”

  “Okay, if you think so,” I said, happy that Alix was willing to go out without a bodyguard like Vince around. After my attack, I was worried she’d be even more shaken up than she’d been when Sydney assaulted her. “Be careful, and come back if you get a chance. You guys are going to miss the lemon-flavored ice cubes they’re giving me for dinner. Practically a feast for a guy after my surgery.”

  Alix leaned over and gave me a kiss, earning an appreciative whistle from Rita. “Our first one in public.” She giggled when she stood up. “Wish it had been in a more romantic setting, but I’ll take it.”

  “When I get out of here, we’ll do just that,” I said. “In the meantime, help Rita, and stay safe.”

  After they left, I turned my attention to Vince. “Think you can do something more above board for me?”

  “Sure, Kade, what do you need?” he asked.

  “I need you to go down to Dad’s law firm. Try to talk to one of the senior partners. Explain that I just want to try and talk with Layla, and see if they’ll be willing to mediate. Then, see about renting a hotel room. I plan on getting the hell out of Southern California as soon as the doc says I can.”

  * * *

  Doctor Harrington was true to his word, and I walked out of the hospital two days later at eleven twelve. Vince had already pulled Alix’s BMW around, it being the largest car at our disposal. “You get to be chauffeured,” he said, holding the door open for me. “Also, I was able to get your bags from the place in Laguna. Sorry I couldn’t do more.”

  It was the best Vince could do on short notice. Layla had rebuffed the offer, but had at least allowed Vince, who in a bout of playing it by ear had started negotiating with her, to get some clothes for the both of us. Alix had more than enough, but all I had to wear was what I’d been stabbed in and a hospital scrub top after my shirt was declared a total loss after Alix had tried to stem the loss of blood from my midsection with it. Thankfully, I’d been wearing dark shorts, or those would have been a loss, too.

  “Excellent. By the way, where have you booked us a room?”

  “It’s not the Beverly Hilton, but it’s near the hospital and has a view of the ocean. I know you like that,” Vince said. “Also, they have rooms that are nearly the size of a decent apartment, and not a lot of walking needed to get around. Useful for you right now.”

  The San Pedro Doubletree was like Vince said, not the best hotel I’d ever been in, but not the worst either. The suite came with a king-sized bed in the main room, along with a balcony and a view of the ocean. “Hotel staff should bring up a cot for me to use in the other room later,” Vince said. “Sorry, but I wanted to stay close, keep you two safe.”

  I was touched at Vince’s insistence that Alix and I get a room to ourselves, while he still was close enough that I’d be protected at all times. “You know you don’t need to do that. But anyway, I’m going to take a real bath,” I said, rubbing my grungy neck. “The hospital refused more than a sponge bath, and I’m feeling sticky and straight up nasty. Doctor Harrington said that the stitches are secure enough and the wound is healed enough that I can do that. Then, we wait and see what Rita can get for us.”

  “I’ll give you privacy for that,” Vince said. “Just promise you’ll keep the door double locked?”

  “We will,” Alix said, coming out of the bedroom. “That bed does look nice. Not as good as the one at home, but a lot better than Rita’s couch.”

  “Hey, you’re the one who insisted that she use her bed last night,” Vince said with a laugh. “And you both did better than me. Her carpet isn’t exactly a memory foam mattress. I think maybe I’ll go for a jog on the beach or something. The Queen Mary’s near here, maybe they do tours or something.”

  Vince left, and I sighed. “He’s being overprotective.”

  Alix laughed softly. “You mean like how I’ve been treated for the past three days? I haven’t been left alone by Vince or Rita since my little fugue.”

  “Speaking of which, come here,” I said, opening my arms. Alix came over and we held each other, just the two of us for the first time since I’d been stabbed, drawing comfort from each other. There was no need for words, no need to say anything other than to communicate through embrace and touch what we needed to say.

  Eventually though, Alix pulled back and smiled. “You do need a bath, though. No offense, my Lord, but you stink.”

  “I think stink is a bit of an overstatement, Princess,” I said. Alix responded by dragging her hand through my underarm area and holding it under my nose. It wasn’t quite the level of a Gorgonzola cheese, but it was pretty damn close. “Ugh. How’d that happen? I’ve been laying on my ass for two days.”

  “And the day before that, you and I did a pretty good job of working up a decent sweat on my living room floor, remember? Add to that whatever else we’d done, let stew for three days where the hospital was more concerned with your stomach than your armpits, and you need a bath.”

  The tub of the room was big and deep, much more than I’d expected from a mid-level hotel.Lifting my arms up over my head was difficult, but Alix helped. When her fingernails scratched over my chest, I felt a jolt of energy course through my body, shooting straight down to my cock. “Sorry.”

  “It’s okay,” I said, my voice a bit shaky. “It was nice to feel your touch again. There were a few minutes there in your entryway where I wasn’t sure if that’d happen.”

  “Can I . . . can I look at it?” she asked, touching the gauze bandage that was taped over the four-inch-long wound. Freshly changed that morning, Alix still hadn’t seen the cut itself.

  “Sure. We just have to cover it after the bath,” I said. “That little bag the nurse gave me has some antibiotic ointment and fresh gauze padding. Think you can help me with that?”

  “Of course.” Alix knelt down on the bathroom tile, her head nearly on level with my bandage, and carefully started working the tape away from my skin. The time in the hospital was already wasting me away. I’d lost nearly seven pounds from the stress and the tiny amounts of food they’d given me. Still, the tape was barely an hour old, and I hissed slightly as it pulled away. “Did I hurt you, Kade?”

  I looked down and stroked my hand through Alix’s beautiful corn silk hair, shaking my head. “No, keep going.”

  Alix peeled away the rest of my bandage and winced as she saw the stitches going from just below my nipple line to about a third of the way down my stomach. “It looks worse than it feels,” I said, looking down at the crusted edges.

  “Then let’s get you down in the water then,” Alix said, walking on her knees over to the tub and starting the water. She busied herself for a few seconds with checking the water temperature, then turned around. “Okay, now the rest of your clothes.”

  I stood still while Alix pulled my shorts and underwear off, surprised when my half erect cock bobbed out. “Well now, hello to you, too. Been a while.”

  “And I have a bea
utiful woman touching me and on her knees in front of me,” I reminded her. “It’s kind of natural that way.”

  Alix looked up at me, then in an unexpected move, leaned forward and kissed the tip of my cock. “First a bath, and then I’ll be happy to serve you and relieve all your tensions,” she purred, her voice and touch causing my cock to twitch again. “But in the meantime, let me help you get clean.”

  I let Alix help me into the bathtub, hissing in pleasure as the warm water tingled over my skin. I sighed as I laid back, stretching out. “Thank you,” I said. Alix stayed next to me, uncurling her legs to sit on the tile. “You’re the perfect woman.”

  “Not perfect, but thank you, my Lord,” she said, taking my hand and kissing it. “I’ve worried so much over the past few days.”

  “Well, for the next hour at least, let go of the worries. We can handle them together later,” I said, stroking her cheek with my thumb again. “Actually, I had an idea.”

  “Oh?” Alix asked, reaching for a washcloth. The hotel used liquid soaps, so she dunked the cloth in the water and squeezed it out before pumping a dollop in. “Tell me about it while I wash you.”

  “You don’t need to do that,” I said as she worked up a lather.

  “I don’t, but I want to. Unless you say no, please let me.”

  Alix’s touch through the warm cloth was magic on my muscles, and I leaned back, sighing in pleasure. “As you wish, Princess.”

  She started with my chest, using her hands to cup water over my skin before running the soapy cloth over my tired chest. She carefully avoided my wound, and then went to work on my shoulders and arms. “You had an idea, Kade?”

  “I was thinking, after I recover a bit, there’s a very special thing that I want to get.”

  “Oh?” she asked, reaching into the water before pulling back. Her shirt was getting soaked, so with little ceremony she pulled her blouse over her head, leaving her upper body bare except for the lacy bra she was wearing. “It’s one from home. What do you think?”

  “I think it looks beautiful on you,” I said, admiring the emerald green, lacy cups. I could see the beginnings of her pink areolae through the top half-inch of lace.

  Alix smiled and reached into the tub, lifting my right leg and working the washcloth over my calf and lower leg. “So . . . something special?”

  “Yeah,” I said, gathering my thoughts after being distracted by the sight of her creamy cleavage. “I was thinking we could go to a jeweler.”

  Alix looked up at me and smiled. “So you were serious when you said you wanted to marry me? It wasn’t just because we were naked and in the middle of sex?”

  I rolled my eyes at her teasing. “I think you know me well enough to know that I have enough control of myself to not do that. Alix, I’m serious. I do want to marry you.”

  “I want to marry you too,” Alix said, setting my right leg down and starting on my left. “But not here in California. After this thing with Sydney is over, the only time I want to come back here is to see Mom if she lets me, and my new baby sister or brother.”

  I accepted her answer and sat back, relishing the feeling of Alix’s hand running over my body. She soon finished my legs and came back to my chest, leaving the cloth on the side of the tub to rub directly with her hands. “Kade.”

  “Alix,” I said, looking up at her. A blond angel, her eyes filled with worry, love, desire, and more. “Hmm . . . Alix Prescott. Sounds nice.”

  “I thought we could go with Kade Nova,” she teased, “Just to let everyone know who’s in charge in our relationship.”

  I laughed and closed my eyes, relaxing in the feel of Alix’s hands running over my skin. She worked lower to my stomach, carefully stroking the edges of the wound, probably to work loose any last bits of scab that were stuck to the skin.

  Alix’s right hand found my cock, and she wrapped her fingers around the mostly hard shaft. “What are you doing?” I asked, smiling through closed eyes as she started pumping slowly. “I thought you were waiting until after the bath, Princess.”

  “I said after you were clean. Now I’m going to take care of all your needs.”

  I groaned as Alix stroked my cock in her hand. Perhaps because of the pain of the past few days, maybe because of the fact that Alix was nearby in such a sexy state of half-undress, maybe just because I’m half-crazy, either through love or my natural inherent nature, but I needed her touch at that moment. I was hard as a rock, and the light pain in my ribs just added to my desire. “Alix . . . ”

  Her hand squeezed and stroked, the water splashing lightly as she pumped my cock in her fist. “Kade, I love you. More than life itself,” she said, her hand speeding up. My hips lifted out of the water, trying to follow the maniacal pleasure of her strokes before falling back, trying to thrust into her soft, heavenly hand. “I want you to do something for me.”

  “What?” I said, half opening my eyes to watch Alix’s intent face. She was alternating her eyes from my cock to my face, then back to my cock.

  “There are so many things I’ve never done,” she said, half smiling as she saw that I was looking at her. “No man, even the silver-tongued ones, were able to talk me into them. I want to go to all those places with you. My body, my mind, my soul and my heart are yours. I’m going to do a first right now,” she said. Reaching across her body, she pulled the plug of the tub, letting water out until my entire cock was out of the water. Getting higher onto her knees, she bent over, her stomach pressed against the porcelain edge, and looked up at me. “In my mouth.”

  I nodded, watching in dumbstruck awe and arousal as my angel wrapped her pink lips around the head of my cock. After the pumping she’d already given me, it didn’t take long. Her tongue massaged the head of my cock for barely a few seconds before I gave Alix a warning groan, and then my cock was erupting, hard and thick blasts in her mouth. It’d been three days since I’d last had a release, and there was a lot of it. I could see Alix’s eyes widen with surprise until it finally came to an end. Pushing back onto her knees, she looked me in the eyes, and I knew before she even did it what she was going to do.

  Tossing her hair back, Alix looked at the sky and swallowed, her lean throat working visibly to swallow every drop of what was in her mouth. It was such a small thing, I guess. In the realm of sexual things we’d done, her swallowing a load wasn’t much on the standard scale of normality. But the emotional aspect added to the gravity of it all. I felt bad actually, as I could tell from the hard protrusion of her nipples and the way her thighs were pressed tightly together that she was as aroused as I’d been. “I’m sorry,” I whispered, taking her hand.

  Alix opened her eyes to smile at me. “Why?”

  “I’m in no condition to return the favor,” I said. “I want to, but I’m not able to yet.”

  Alix grinned and stood up. “Then I guess you’re going to have to just tell me what to do while I take care of that myself,” she said.

  Chapter 27

  Alix

  Vince was a good sport the week we were in the hotel, giving me and Kade plenty of privacy when we needed it. Part of it was that Kade recovered his strength remarkably fast, so fast that even Doctor Harrington was surprised. “I’ve never seen a man recover as quickly as you have. Normally, what you had takes five days in the hospital, and then five or six weeks to fully recover. You’re less than ten days post-surgery, and you’re moving like a man who’s halfway through recovery already. What’s your secret?”

  “Classic TLC,” Kade said, squeezing my hand. He was lying on his back while Harrington snipped the last of the sutures and pulled it out, then wiped away the tiny pinprick of blood that followed. “You know that makes everything better.”

  Harrington glanced up at me and smiled. “The textbooks say different, but my mother would agree with you. In most instances, my mom knows a lot more than UCLA Medical School with disturbing frequency. Now let me help you sit up, and see how everything else is looking.”

  “I’m just
glad you didn’t have to put a tube in my bladder,” Kade said as I helped him up. Sitting up was still a bit painful for him, but he could do it if he had to by himself. “One of the nurses told me about that.”

  “Didn’t have time for it,” Harrington said. “Besides, that’s more important when we’re going further down in the abdomen. You know, I have to say, Mister Prescott and Miss Nova, when the scandal broke, I wasn’t one of the people on your side. But seeing the way you two are together, who can stand in the way of that? Good luck, both of you.”

  Harrington wrote up the last of his notes and offered his hand to Kade and me, who both shook with him. Leaving the hospital, Kade slowly stretched his arms over his head and smiled into the sunlight. “That feels better. It’s not a clean bill of health, but at least I can travel again.”

  “We should get over to Rita’s and see how she and Vince are getting along,” I said, walking with Kade toward the parking lot. “Think there’s been progress?”

  “On what?” he said with a smirk. “Finding Sydney, or the obvious fact to everyone but Vince that Rita has eyes for him?”

  I had to laugh, it was funny. “I don’t think that Vince is aware because Rita wants to turn Vince into a sub,” I said. “He’s not used to that situation.”

  “How do you know?” Kade asked. We got to the car and I stood by as he carefully got into the passenger seat of my BMW. “Did she tell you?”

  “You were taking a nap two days ago,” I told him. “Remember, Rita had come by the hotel to give us all an update on what her friends had done, and Vince had gone out to get Mexican take-out? You went into the bedroom to take a quick nap, and Rita and I sat up and had a little bit of girl bonding time.”

  I drove on in silence, twice opening my mouth to say something, then shutting it when I realized it didn’t matter.