After kicking my car into reverse, I backed out full speed, squealing my tires as I slammed it into drive. The short ride to the club seemed even shorter. As soon as I had the car in park, I was stomping across the parking lot and into the same club I went to the other night. The night Jackson had come back into my life.
I wouldn’t have to worry about running into him tonight.
He was clearly busy.
I walked right up to the bar, eyeing the crowd as I went. The bartender—the same one who had broken up the fight between Jackson and Derek the other night—came up to me. “What can I get you?”
“Vodka. Lots of it.”
The man eyed me but nodded and walked away. When he came back with two shots, I downed them both in quick succession. Swiping my hand across my mouth, I blinked away the tears from the burn. “More.”
“Easy now,” the guy said. “Aren’t you Jackson’s little sister?”
I reared back. “Sister? Is that what he told you?”
“Yeah…” The man rocked back on his feet. “Stepsister, to be exact.”
I laughed. “No. You had it right the first time. I’m his freaking sister.”
“If you say so,” he muttered. “Coulda sworn he said step.”
I scowled at him, but my vision was already blurring from the vodka. Probably because I hadn’t eaten anything since a banana at eight o’clock this morning. There was a group of three men standing in the corner, clearly striking out with the ladies. “You know what? Forget that last shot I just ordered. I’m gonna go dance with those guys, maybe see if they know how to show a girl a good time, before going home to my brother. Start me a tab.”
I made it across the room in record time. One of the guys saw me approaching and punched the others’ arms, so by the time I got there they were ogling me, mouths gaping. And I was just wearing the clothes I threw on for work. Daddy told me I didn’t get to start wearing business suits until I actually had a position—after my year of interning was completed.
The men were close to my age and adorable in a nerdy kind of way. Maybe if my head hadn’t been full of Jackson, I’d have chemistry with one of them, but all I wanted to do now was help these boys fly.
“H-h-hi,” the tall one said. He wore cute wireframe glasses and a button-up shirt that had an ink stain on the sleeve. “I’m George.”
“I’m Lilly. Nice to meet you, George.” I tossed my hair over my shoulder and smiled up at him, before sneaking a glance behind him. The girls they’d struck out with were watching us. “You weren’t having much luck tonight, huh?”
He glanced at the girls’ table. “Yeah. But—”
“I’ll tell you what. I’m not going to go home with you, but I want to dance and drink, without having to worry about anyone ruining my fun.” I ran my hand down his arm, rocking forward on my toes. He sucked in a breath at my touch and watched me with a bewildered expression. “If you agree to hang with me tonight,” I said, making eye contact with each boy, “I’ll make sure those girls come slinking back to check out what they’re missing. All you have to do is keep up with me on the dance floor, get my drinks from the bar, and flirt back. It’s a win-win situation. You in?”
George looked at his friends, eyebrows raised. The one wearing a shirt with a glow-in-the-dark periodic table of elements stepped forward. “I’m Henry. Can I get you a drink, milady?”
I gave him a sultry smile. “Milady? Aren’t you the polite gentleman? I’d love a Sex on the Beach. And the first round’s on me, gentlemen.” I waited until Henry made it to the bar and nodded at the bartender when he looked at me to confirm the drinks were on me. Then I grabbed George’s hand and that of his quiet friend, and dragged them onto the dance floor.
Jackson who?
Chapter 9
Jackson
The second Amanda walked out, I leaned on the door and let out a sigh of relief. The entire meeting, the possible recruit, had been nothing but forward and ballsy. I tried to keep it all business, but the woman had been determined to treat it as a game of seduction. No matter how many times I tried to shut her down, or fended off her wandering hands, she hadn’t gotten the hint. So when Lilly had come home, it had seemed like a good idea to try to use her as a shield.
To call her my sister, so the woman would act appropriately.
Yeah. It hadn’t been.
If anything, it had only made my discomfort worse. Not because I wanted Amanda. I didn’t. At all. She wasn’t my type, and I wasn’t interested in doing anything with her besides signing her up for the army. No, the cause of my discomfort had been my sister. Lilly had taunted me with dirty words, and reminders of what we’d done, when I was trying my best to forget it ever happened. To forget how good she tasted, or how she cried out my name when she came, or how she clung to me as I took her there. To forget how badly I wanted my cock inside her—
Damn it, there I went again.
I was obviously failing horribly.
All I could think, breathe, smell, and feel was Lilly Hastings. She haunted me. One tiny sliver of a bite hadn’t been enough, and never would be enough.
But it had to be.
Without warning, I replayed the way her mouth had felt pressed against mine, and the moans she’d made when she came all breathlessly. Groaning, I tugged at my too-tight jeans and cursed under my breath.
She was killing me.
I would go up to my room and jack off again, if I thought it would help. But I knew from experience—both last night and this morning—that it wouldn’t do a damn thing. Nothing would, except bringing her back to my bed to finish what I started last night. And I wasn’t gonna do that.
Damn it all to hell and back.
Her parting shot about not waiting up floated through my mind and filled me with an inexplicable rage of jealousy. If she even thought about bringing home a guy, I would…do nothing. Because she wasn’t mine. Couldn’t be mine.
And I had to accept that.
My phone vibrated in my pocket, and I pulled it out with a scowl. Recognizing the name on the display right away, I swiped my finger across the screen. “Yeah?”
“Hey, it’s me. Tyler.”
I rubbed my forehead. I had a headache named Lilly building fast and strong. “Yeah. I saw. What’s up?”
“Your sister is here.”
I straightened. “My sister?”
“Yeah, there’s a cute little blonde here, who said she was your sister, and she’s dancing with three guys who are clearly into her. She’s looking pretty intent on going home with all of them, and she’s been having them bring her drinks since she got here. She’s gotta be two seconds from falling on her ass.” Tyler paused. “Sister or stepsister, I thought you’d want to know she’s here and not in the right mindset to make smart decisions.”
The line clicked off, and I cursed under my breath, grabbed my keys, and went to my truck. She thought it was funny to go out, act irresponsibly, and get so drunk she couldn’t take care of herself? Well, it wasn’t. There was a difference between rebellion and stupidity. And I was going to tell her as much…
As soon as I saved her pretty little ass again.
Pulling into the bar’s lot, I parked directly next to her fancy red Cadillac. Growling, I threw the door open and marched inside, scanning the crowd for her familiar hair. My gaze snagged one blonde, but she was in a group talking to three geeky guys.
No Lilly.
Did that mean I was too late?
Heart pounding, I made my way over to the bar. If Tyler served her, got her wasted, and let her leave with a strange man…he was a dead man. I would rip his heart out, piece by piece, and feed it to the—
Halfway across the room, I sighed in relief.
Lilly sat at the bar, chatting with Tyler, her hands flying as she spoke animatedly. She was still here. Not trapped somewhere with three strange men who had no problem taking advantage of a girl like her. The relief I felt didn’t last long.
In fact, the fury set in almost imm
ediately.
Walking up right behind her, teeth gnashed together, I didn’t bother with words. Didn’t bother with logic. Instead, I picked her up, threw her over my shoulder as if she weighed nothing—which she did—and headed for the door. She kicked and screamed for a good three seconds. It was as ineffective as a moth landing on my arm.
“Quit squirming or I’ll drop you on your ass,” I snapped.
“Help—!” It took almost another three seconds before her inebriated brain realized who I was. But after that, she froze. “Jackson. Put. Me. Down.”
“Nope.”
She punched my back, right above my kidney. “If you don’t put me down and let me go back, I swear to God I’ll—”
“Lilly? Do you need help?”
The three geeky guys had circled around to block my path to the front door. These guys? These were the ones she’d been dancing with? The urge to kick their asses, to fight, was strong. If they knew what was good for them, they’d back the hell off before I stopped fighting that particular battle. “She’s fine.”
Lilly laughed. “It’s okay, boys. Jackson may be a jackass, but he won’t do anything bad to me. He’s my big brother.”
It was official. I was going to kill her. Glaring at the guy in front of me, I snarled, “You heard her. Now move.”
The skinny nerd stepped back, bowing slightly. “M-milady.”
Biting back a scathing reply over the outdated and corny-as-hell term, I strode forward, flipping off Tyler, who was fighting back laughter as he held the door open.
Too bad I could no longer kill him and blame friendly fire.
And Lilly, Lilly, was calling back to the geeks, wishing them good luck on their flight, whatever the hell that meant. Very tired of her paying attention to men who were not me, I smacked her hard enough to shut her up.
She gasped and choked on a moan.
A moan that did bad, bad things to my self-control. As did having her ass right next to my face, and her breasts pressed up against my back. “If you know what’s good for you, you’ll shut up, lie still, and pretend you’re not there.”
“Did you seriously just spank me?”
I didn’t bother to answer.
She squirmed on my shoulder, holding on to my shirt. “You can’t just—argh.”
“Yes.” She’d broken off because I did it again. Spanked her. I did it one more time. “I can.”
This time she didn’t even bother to hide her moan. Apparently, not-so-innocent Lilly liked a good spanking. That was something I could have—should have—gone the rest of my life without knowing. Especially since now I couldn’t think of anything else but doing it again, with her completely nude this time, as I took her from behind.
She breathed unevenly, clinging to my shirt with both hands. “Jackson.”
Juggling her on my shoulder, I easily unlocked my truck and opened the door. Without warning, I unceremoniously dumped her into the passenger seat. She didn’t even bother to complain this time. “Buckle up, little girl.”
I slammed the door in her face.
As I walked around to the driver’s side, I took a deep, calming breath—followed by another. My dick was primed and ready. It had been ever since she’d let out that first sexy-ass moan. There was no denying it anymore. No trying to pretend I could reason with my libido, or rely on my self-discipline to keep my hands off her.
It was wrong on so many levels, but…
I craved Lilly Hastings.
I slid into my seat, not glancing at her, trying to remind myself that she was my stepsister, not some faceless, nameless woman I could wham, bam, thank you, ma’am. As I settled in, she buckled her seatbelt. “So, what now? Are you going to take your ‘little sister’ home, tuck me in, and give me a glass of warm milk to help me sleep? Maybe read me a bedtime story?”
My hands twisted on the steering wheel as I made one last-ditch effort to regain control. Around her, it just didn’t seem possible. “You’re not my sister.”
“Oh yeah?” she taunted, leaning forward and twisting toward me. Her new position provided me with a generous view of her cleavage. “Prove it.”
Seven years in the military and resisting her was the hardest battle I’d ever faced. I started my truck, the roar of the engine my only answer.
“Yeah,” she said, crossing her arms. “That’s what I thought.”
Still not answering, I pulled out onto the road, doing my best to ignore how the moonlight seemed to make her skin glow. She was drunk, and belligerent, and I’d be damned if I rose to the bait tonight.
But I wanted to.
“Oh, so we’re doing the silent treatment?” She snorted. “I never was any good at that game. I like talking too much.”
“I hadn’t noticed,” I said drily, unable to resist.
“Whatever,” she said, clearly not buying it. “Why did you come tonight?”
“Because I was informed my ‘little sister’ was drunk off her ass and ready to be the night’s entertainment for three guys.” I turned the wheel, glowering at the red light that stood between me and getting her home. “What the hell were you thinking?”
Lilly leaned back in her seat and looked at me as if I was the crazy one. “That I wanted to have some fun? That it’s my body and therefore it’s my decision who I ‘entertain’? If I want to have sex with a guy, it’s my choice, not yours or, or, anyone else’s!”
I stepped on the gas way too heavily, trying to outrun my jealousy. “You wanna fuck three guys at once? Be my guest. But don’t do it while you’re too drunk to know what you’re doing. Those guys could have done anything to you, and you wouldn’t even have known. You wouldn’t have been able to fight back.”
She had the nerve to shrug. Shrug. “I wasn’t in any danger from George or the other boys. We had an agreement. Besides, I’m not drunk.”
“Bullshit.”
“Not bullshit,” she snapped back. “Contrary to your beliefs, I’ve been taking care of myself for quite some time, and I’m not some lightweight who can’t handle her drink. I wasn’t drunk, and I wasn’t going to go home with them. But if I was, it’s not any of your business. I’m just your ‘little sister,’ remember?”
I swallowed hard. “You’re not drunk.”
“I’m. Not. Drunk.” She clutched her knees. “And you carrying me out of the bar like a caveman was…was…”
I waited for her to finish.
She didn’t.
It didn’t take long for me to figure out why. She looked out the window, pressing her thighs together, and I knew—I just knew—that she was trying to ease the ache inside her. The ache that had my name written all over it in bold letters. “What was it, Lilly?” I asked, even though I knew I shouldn’t. “Was it annoying? Irritating? Or was it…hot? Sexy? Did it make you want more?”
Slowly, she turned back to me, mouth parted, chest heaving. “You really want to know?”
No. Maybe. “Hell, yeah.”
For a minute, I didn’t think she was going to answer. She stared straight ahead, her nails digging into her thighs as if holding on for dear life. “It reminded me of last night. You made your feelings perfectly clear about our interlude, but it’s all I can think about. All I can think about is you, and how good you made me feel, and how I want to feel that way again.”
I shouldn’t have asked. I shouldn’t have—“How did it make you feel? When I touched you? Made you come?”
“Amazing.” She rubbed her palms on her legs. “It made me want more. So much more.”
“Me, too,” I admitted.
“Why act this way, then?” She shifted toward me, folding her leg under her ass. Something in her expression told me, if I gave her even the slightest bit of encouragement…I’d be frantically looking for a place to pull over while she climbed into my lap. And damned if I didn’t want her to. “Why act like you don’t want it to happen again? Like you wish it never happened at all?”
“Because it shouldn’t have,” I said quickly. “It shou
ldn’t.”
“I don’t agree.” She clasped the buckle, clearly about to undo it. “Let me show you why.”
“No.” I shook my head, staring straight ahead at the road. We were almost home. “Leave it on.”
Her fingers hovered over the clasp. “You’re not wearing yours.”
“Yeah. I know.” I pulled up to the stop sign one street down from our house. In just a few seconds, she wouldn’t be buckled down. In a few seconds, I would have to rely on my dwindling self-control to keep us apart. In other words…we were screwed. Or we would be. “And to answer your question…I’m not willing to risk it with you. I don’t want you to get hurt.”
She watched me, still holding on to the seatbelt. “Who said you get to choose whether I get hurt or not? I’m all grown up now. Stop trying to make decisions for me.”
I couldn’t help but think we were talking about more than seatbelts. That we were talking about us. At least, I was. Pulling into the driveway, I turned the wheel even tighter than before. “What’s wrong with wanting to keep you safe?”
“Daddy has been limiting my choices in the name of keeping me safe all my life. I’m done with that.” She undid her seatbelt. I watched her out of the corner of my eye, heart racing. “You carried me out of the bar and spanked me. Want to know how that made me feel?”
Shit. I flexed my jaw. I needed to say no. Needed to send her running. Needed to—“Lilly…Damn it, I already know, but I want to hear you say it. Say it.”
She leaned over the center console, and her perfume teased my senses. If she touched me right now…that was it; we’d be off to the races. Only a paragon could resist her now. And I already established I wasn’t one.
“It made me wonder what it would feel like if you spanked me while I was naked.” She ran her fingers down my arm teasingly. “And you were going down on me at the same time. I bet it would feel good. Really good. Want to show me?”
I stretched my fingers out on the wheel, still holding on with my thumbs. “You don’t know what you’re asking for.”
She leaned in even more, her sweet breath fanning over my cheek. “Oh, but I do. I’ve never gotten to really choose what I want in life. I’ve always been told what I want, and I went along with it, even if I wanted something else. But with you, I know I can have what I want. I know you’ll give it to me, not because you want me to want it—but because you know I want it. And you want to make me happy. Want to make me feel good. With you…it’s not about what someone else requires from me, or my duties or expectations. It’s just about us and the passion between us.”
Bad Romance Page 10
