by Terry Towers
They stood looking over the pond for what felt like an eternity and with each second that passed the desire increased, turning Chloe into a ball of nerves.
“So I’ve got a question for you.”
She was so tightly wound that when he spoke, Chloe yelped and spun around, finding herself trapped between his body and the wooden rail at her back. Gulping down the lump forming in her throat, Chloe’s eyes moved up his chest to look him in the eye.
“Wh-what’s that?”
“What did the winner of truth or dare get if they actually succeeded in getting a kiss from me?” Amusement and a little of something more shone in his eyes as he looked down at her. With him being so close he appeared much taller, larger, more domineering and never sexier.
“Bragging rights.” She swept her tongue along her glossed lower lip. His eyes followed the movement of her tongue, before lifting to meet hers. Her uneasiness intensified, heat forming between her legs. “We knew none of us would ever get to kiss you so never bothered to actually come up with a prize if it happened.” She shrugged, her cheeks burning from her embarrassment and unease; he was never supposed to know about that. She regretted bringing it up. All she wanted was to grab the lapels of his jacket and pull his lips down to hers, worse than she’d ever wanted anything. It was killing her to restrain herself.
“I see.” He seemed to be enjoying her unease and his grin was damned sexy. “But you never partook in this challenge.”
Chloe opened her mouth and snapped it shut, not sure what to say. If she thought she was embarrassed before, his comment made her realize it could get worse. Because deep down, secretly, she did have a small crush. Their parents had only been married for a few years, so they never really established that brother/sister bond, they’d been more like roommates.
She crinkled up her nose, pretending the idea was unheard of. “W-what? I mean… You were my stepbrother!”
“But you wanted to...” His smile widened.
“I was 12.” She gave him a push, but he didn’t budge, and the smug smile remained. She wanted the earth to open up and swallow her whole or for him to kiss her and get it over with. Please God, one of the two! she silently prayed.
“And you had a crush for your older brother. That’s very twisted, little sis.” He leaned in a little closer, his lips just barely more than an inch from hers. Despite the teasing she could see the desire flaring up in his eyes.
“Step-brother.”
“Right. That’s what I meant.” And the bugger had the nerve to wink. She hadn’t remembered him being so cocky and so self-assured and so… She sighed. Sexy. God, so sexy.
No way, I’m not going to give you the satisfaction. I’m not going to admit it, Chloe vowed. As the seconds turned to minutes the anticipation was driving her to near insanity.
He reached up and brushed his knuckles against her cheek. Her breath hitched in her throat and she found her legs felt weak under her. “That was a long time ago.” She could hear the breathlessness in her voice, as she pressed her palms against his chest and fingered the lapels of his wool jacket. “I can’t hardly remember what I felt back then.”
“Right.” He leaned in a little further, until his lips brushed hers as he slipped his hand from her cheek to the back of her head. “And what about now?”
She let out an unsteady breath. “What about now…”
“Do you want to kiss me now?” As he asked the question, he pulled her lower lip between his teeth and gently sucked it into his mouth. Did that count as a kiss?
He released her lip as she sighed out the word, “Yessssss.”
She expected him to kiss her hard, to devour her at her admission, but he didn’t. He took his time, his lips and tongue teasing, making her moan softly. Fisting the lapels of his jacket, she pulled him in tighter to her, coaxing him to deepen the kiss, parting her lips and inviting his tongue in.
His tongue slipped between her lips and the feel as his touched hers sent a shiver through her, making her moan against his lips. Her moan seemed to rile him up, and his kiss became more frantic, demanding. The fire within her that had been simmering until that point roared to life, taking her by surprise. She’d never had such an explosive reaction to anyone before. Why him, why now, she had no idea, but was powerless to fight it. She pressed her body tight to his, her body rubbing against him and coaxing his cock to thicken against her stomach.
Reed groaned as he pulled out of the kiss, but didn’t step away. His free hand slid to her lower back, pulling her even tighter against his erection. “What in the fuck are we doing, Chloe?”
Looking up into his eyes, the lust she saw within them made her pussy clench as it ached to be filled. She opened her mouth to respond, but no words came out, only a soft sigh-like sound.
“Fuck I want you,” he groaned as he brushed her hair to the side and lowered his lips to the side of her neck. “And you smell so good. My God.”
Letting her head drop to the side, giving him better access to the sensitive flesh Chloe couldn’t answer. She closed her eyes, indulging in the scent of his cologne as her hands slid up and under his jacket to grip his shoulders. Her knees were becoming weak as his tongue and teeth teasing her neck sent shivers through her. Each nip, each flick of his tongue fuelled the fire within her.
~*~*~*~
What in the hell am I doing? The question flashed through his head. He didn’t have an answer. He was beyond thinking, his body had taken over, his cock was calling the shots. He hadn’t had sex in several months and hadn’t masturbated in over a week. Not jacking off before a date was a BIG mistake. The soft, unsteady breaths she was taking and the way her body was responding to his, grinding against his cock and dry humping him was driving him to insanity. His hand slid from her lower back, under the waistband of her jeans to cup her round ass cheek. He pulled her tighter to his cock.
It’s 2pm. It’s the middle of the day! You’re in the open. People could see. Kids could see. The thought pulled him back to reality. It took every ounce of willpower that he had in him to pull back from her and take one step, two steps back.
As his head cleared and he got his desire under control he looked at Chloe. Her cheeks were flushed, her full lips pouty and her chest heaving as she also fought to bring herself down from the high they’d been riding together. The need in her green eyes was so intense that he had to take one more step backward to keep from going to her again. And damn that perfume of hers, it clung to him, called to him, reminding him of how good it felt to have her held tight against him.
“Oh man. I –” Reed thrust his hand into his hair and sighed. He could almost feel the tension between them as they both fought to simmer their desires.
After a minute she caught her lower lip between her teeth and slowly released it. A hint of a devilish gleam was in her eyes. “Guess this means I ended up winning, huh?”
A roar of laughter ripped through Reed and he closed the distance between them. Instead of kissing her with passion that would no doubt put them back in the position he’d had to fight to pull himself from, he leaned down and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. “Guess so. Too bad you guys didn’t decide on a prize, you’d be able to collect.”
She shrugged, her grin widening. “At least I have bragging rights.”
“Bragging rights, right.” He moved around her to lean back against the railing. “So what are you going to do?”
She turned to face him, leaning one elbow onto the rail and placing her chin in her hand, her eyes searching his. “What do you mean?”
“I mean.” He motioned between Chloe and himself. “About this. Are we going to pursue this? Don’t you think our parents will have a fit?”
“Do you really care?”
He didn’t skip a beat in answering. “Not really. I can handle Pops.”
“Me either.”
“But perhaps we should keep this to ourselves, for now. Just for now, until we see where this goes. At least from the folks.” The divorce between
their parents had been a very nasty one and he had no doubt there was still animosity between them. The last thing he wanted was for either of their parents to be interfering or trying to sabotage something that may be a good thing simply because of their hate for the other one.
He held his breath, hoping she wouldn’t take his suggestion the wrong way. In his experience women tended to overreact when he suggested something like this. To his relief she let out a loud huff of air and smiled, nodding eagerly. “I couldn’t agree more. At least until we know... My mother still curses when she hears William’s name.”
“Yeah. ’bout the same on my end as well. The name Susan usually spurs a drinking binge and then a not-so-pleasant trip down memory lane.”
“So deal.” Chloe stuck her hand out to him to shake.
Grabbing her hand, he pulled her into him, wrapping his arms around her lower back. Giggling, she slid her arms up his chest and locked her fingers behind his neck. “I think it would be more appropriate if we sealed the deal with a kiss.”
Chapter 3
Chloe felt like she was floating as she unlocked the door to her apartment and stepped inside. She’d never felt like this with anyone – ever. She’d already felt a bond with him, even before she met him and realized who he was, but the day at the park, the feel of his kisses and the way her body reacted to him just solidified it for her. They had issues, but they’d work through them. They were just details… and one of those details came rushing from her bedroom greeting her at the door, her blue eyes wide with her excitement.
“So? Tell me everything!” Grabbing Chloe’s hand, Abagail led her over to the sofa and flopped down onto it, pulling Chloe next to her. “How bad was it? Was I right?”
Pulling her legs up under her and shifting on the sofa so she faced her friend, Chloe shook her head. “Nope, you were dead wrong. He was amazing.”
Abagail huffed. “Really?”
“Yup. He was great. We actually know him.” Chloe had to keep telling herself not to get too excited. Abagail’s parents were great friends with her mother and Abagail had a big mouth. If she found out about her and Reed deciding to date, Chloe’s mother would know before the day was over.
The smile returned to Abagail’s lips. “Who is it?”
“Reed.”
She crinkled up her nose. “Reed?”
Chloe rolled her eyes. “Reed Bennett.”
Abagail’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Like your stepbrother, Reed Bennett?” She began bouncing on the sofa from her excitement. Her crush had been rather intense and apparently even after all these years she was still carrying a torch, which made Chloe even more uncomfortable.
“Former stepbrother,” Chloe corrected her. She wanted to ensure Abagail was very clear on the separation, since there may be a day when she and Reed would have to come clean to Abagail and their parents.
“Whatever. So you’re not going to be dating him. You know, since you guys were siblings at one time.”
Pasting a smile on her face, Chloe nodded. “No. I think that wouldn’t be appropriate.” She prayed Abagail wouldn’t see through her lie. They’d been best friends for a long time, but she could see Abagail’s mind was spinning, no doubt excited over the idea of seeing her childhood crush.
“So, he’s attending the same college we’ll be going to?”
“Yup. He seems rather busy though.” Liar! a voice at the back of her head screamed. Big fat liar! “I don’t think he’d be a very good person to date anyhow.”
A wicked grin spread across Abagail’s lips. “Who said I’d care if I dated him or not?”
Panic began to spread through Chloe. What if Abagail made a play for him? She had to defuse this, right now. “Besides, it would be weird for me if you were to look him up. So promise you’ll just let it be.”
Her grin turned to a pout, but she sighed and nodded. “Okay. You’re right. If I could live without Reed all these years, then I can continue to survive.”
Relief flooded her. She had no doubt Reed would turn Abagail away even if she did decide to track him down, but if she could defuse the situation before it began that was ideal.
Her grin returned. “Oh hey, remember the bet we all used to have?”
I do and I won. “Vaguely.”
Abagail clucked her tongue off of the roof of her mouth as her eyes darted over to the computer. “So are you going to go back on the hunt for Mr. Prince Charming?”
“Nah.” Standing, Chloe faked a yarn, stretching her arms over her head. Although she was hardly tired, she’d felt her phone vibrate in her pocket and knew exactly who the message was coming from and was anxious to see what he had to say. “I think I’ll take a quick nap. It’s been a long day. I barely slept all night I was so worried about the date.”
“And just think, after all that you’re back to where you started. But at least he wasn’t a stalker or some icky guy looking to score with a younger woman.” Abagail took her hand and gave it a sympathetic squeeze before releasing it. “You’ll find Mr. Right.”
~*~*~*~
“After this game, you gotta peel, man,” Reed said, pulling the cue back and taking the shot, sinking the ball into the corner pocket. He had two remaining, while Corey was working on sinking the 8 ball.
“What? Why?” Corey waited as Reed finished his shot, missing the pocket.
“Because Chloe is meeting me here in –” he checked his watch “– 10 minutes and I want you out of here when she arrives.”
“Ahh, no.” He lined up his shot, took it and sank the 8 ball, winning the round. “I want to at least meet this chick that you seem so worked up over. I’ll be honest, the fact you met a hot girl on the Internet seems rather farfetched to me. I want to see the proof for myself.”
Reed was grabbing the balls from the pockets to begin racking them up again when he saw her enter. He could feel the dorky grin spreading across his lips and was powerless to stop it. Twenty-four hours had passed since they parted ways at the park and there had barely been a minute that he hadn’t thought of her; even his dreams had been consumed with her.
She stopped just inside the entranceway and scanned the pool hall until she spotted him and gave a wave as she proceeded toward him. He watched intently the way her hips swayed with each step under the thin fabric of the knee-length black skirt she was wearing. His eyes moved up to the red blouse unbuttoned just enough to give him a hint of what to expect underneath the fabric. To his dismay an erection began to form from watching her.
She’s going to think I’m some sort of sex-starved fucking pervert, I can’t even be near her without being hard.
He gave Corey a swat on the shoulder. “Okay, man. Game over. Beat it.”
“Wow. I was wrong. Shit, if chicks like that are on the Internet then maybe I need to take a crack at it.”
Reed laughed. “Problem is they usually get to know you first online and I doubt you’d make it to the first date.”
Corey laughed with him. “Prick.”
As she approached, she hesitated a moment a dubious look on her face, no doubt considering what type of greeting would be appropriate. Taking her out of her misery and perhaps being a little forward, although he didn’t care, Reed put down the pool cue and slipped his arms around her, pulling her in tight to him despite the fact she’d feel his erection. Fuck it if she did.
“Would it sound desperate and stalkerish if I told you I’d missed you,” he whispered into her ear so Corey couldn’t hear before regrettably pulling away. He could see the disappointment in her eyes as he pulled away and it made him feel damned good.
She gave him a saucy little grin. “Little bit. But I feel the same way.”
He’d almost forgotten Corey was still there, until the sound of someone loudly clearing his throat from behind reminded him. Turning and stepping aside he motioned toward him. “This would be my roommate Corey.”
She took a step back and eyed first Reed, then Corey and then back to Reed. “Wow, you two look a lot alik
e.”
“Yeah, we get that a lot.”
Corey slung his arm around Reed’s shoulder. “Yeah, when we were freshmen we’d tell chicks we were brothers. Seems chicks and their friends love dating brothers.”
Crossing her arms over her chest, she cocked a brow at Reed. “You did that, huh?”
Reed shot Corey a glare. “Look, change of plans, let’s get out of here. Corey can pick up the tab.” He turned back to Corey and gave him a pat on the back. “Right, pal?”
Corey’s jaw clenched. “Yeah, would love to.”
“Good.” Grinning, Reed slipped an arm around Chloe’s waist and escorted her from the pool hall, a little quicker than necessary. Corey had lots of shit on him and would be more than happy to share it with Chloe. Since this relationship, if that was what it was, was so new he was determined to make a great impression. She seemed to think he really was the Prince Charming she’d been praying for and he didn’t want that to change. Corey telling her all the stupid shit he’d done over the past few years certainly wouldn’t paint a wonderful picture. He’d appear like every other dick she’d encountered and dammit he wanted to be better than that for her.
“You seemed to be trying to get me out of there pretty quick.”
Reed looked down at her as they walked across the parking lot toward his car. She was eyeing him intently, but an amused smile played on her lips. “If you get him talking we’ll be there all night, and maybe I want you to myself tonight.”
“Nice save,” she said, with a laugh, rolling her eyes at him. “So he has a lot of crap on ya, huh?”
“More than I’d like.” Reaching his car, he opened the door for her and motioned for her to get in. “I’ll bring you back for your car later.”
