He was dead.
*****
The police arrived at the scene only two minutes after I shot McBride. Of course, I along with Mike and his buddies had to go down to the police office and give a statement.
We sat there for nearly two hours. Me with a blanket around my shoulders and Mike sitting beside me on the bench while he waited for Zach, Tom and Greg’s interviews to finish.
We didn’t talk when we were at the police station. We didn’t talk when Mike walked me home to the apartment building either. Though, I noticed just as we reached the door, Mike held it open for me, then took my hand in his as we walked up the stairs.
I smiled. But still, not a word was spoken until we were safely inside with the door firmly locked.
“So, what did they say?” he asked me referring to the statement I’d had to give the police.
.
“They said it looks like a pretty clear-cut case of self-defense,” I answered, “still, I’m not supposed to leave the city for the next couple of days.”
“Mom and Fred won’t like that,” Mike said.
Mike had called them as soon as we’d arrived at the police station. When I went in for my interview. Dad, apparently, was trying to insist that I come home immediately. And, while I didn’t want to admit it to anyone, that didn’t sound like a bad idea to me either.
“Yeah,” I said, “well, I’ve still got finals.”
“I can’t believe you still want to go through with your school stuff after all this,” Mike said, “I’m sure if you just explained to them what happened, they’d let you postpone it or something.”
I shook my head.
“I’ve worked too hard to let some asshole take this away from me,” I answered. “I need to finish.”
“If you say so,” Mike answered.
I stood by my table and Mike remained just inside the front door. I looked down at the chair next to me every once in awhile, wondering if I should sit down in it. I didn’t in the end.
Instead, I stayed stupidly standing just as Mike did. Wondering if this was as good a time as any to talk about what I’d wanted to discuss with Mike all day.
Despite everything that had happened, I had a feeling that, if we didn’t get it all out now, we never would. So, steeling myself I moved from the table towards him.
“So,” I began hesitantly, “weren’t we going to have a chat about what happened last night?”
I didn’t get the chance to finish because, the next thing I knew Mike had crossed the room in two strides. I barely had time to register his hands firmly on my waist before he was kissing me.
His tongue insistently explored my mouth as he moved me across the room and finally. pushed me up against the wall just beside my bed. I reached around his neck and clung to his shoulders for dear life. I feared if I didn’t, I would lose my balance.
His mouth left my lips only to move to my neck, biting and sucking at it in a way that made me gasp. His hands slipped quickly all down and along my body.
It would have been easy, so very easy not to talk anymore. To give into this incredible pleasure, even without knowing what it meant.
But, I knew I couldn’t do that.
With a sigh I forced words out of my mouth.
“Mike, we...oh god…” his hand had moved between my legs and I had to try and close them to get out the next words, “we really need to talk”
Slowly, he pulled his hand out from the space between my thighs, moved his lips from my neck and looked me in the eyes.
There was something there I had never seen in Mike before. It was a sort of desperate vulnerability. Almost as if he was terrified of something. I told myself that was silly. After all, the terror had passed.
All the same, here he was, looking at me thoroughly fearful.
“I almost lost you,” he said finally, “I...I almost couldn’t protect you and I…”
“You didn’t lose me,” I said gently, moving my hands to cup the side of his face, “I’m right here.”
“Sabrina,” he began, that terrified look still present in his eyes, “Sabrina, I love you.”
My heart skipped a beat. I could almost feel my breathing slow. I blinked twice, unable to believe what I had just heard.
“I love you,” Mike said again more quickly, “I’ve known that for a while now. I tried not to. I told myself it wouldn’t work but now I...I don’t think I can help it. It’s not something I can-”
This time, it was me who interrupted him with a kiss. It was soft, gentle and quick.
“I love you too,” I said beaming at him as I pulled away.
I was rewarded with another desperate searing kiss. His hand returned to the place where it had stopped before.
Soon, he had pulled my underwear down to my knees and was touching me desperately. Touching me as if I was the only thing standing between him and a long, slow, painful death.
I leaned my head back and emitted another moan as he kneaded my breasts through my shirt.
It was not long before he had ripped that off of me as well. My skirt came next. As soon as that hit the floor, he grabbed me from behind and picked me fully so that I had to wrap my legs around his waist.
He threw me onto the bed. As my head hit the plush pillows, he quickly began to remove his own clothing. I moved up to help him.
“No,” he said quietly but firmly, “stay right where you are. I just want to look at you while I do this. I just want to remember how incredibly lucky I am to be in love with such a beautiful woman.”
I smiled and did exactly as he asked. I did exactly as he asked the rest of the night too.
My little apartment was soon filled with moans and gasps from me and gently but commanding orders from him.
Phrases like “say my name,” “touch yourself” and “come for me, Sabrina” were what pushed me over the edge more than anything else he did.
Finally, with a last shout, we both fell back onto my too cold mattress. Utterly spent.
We were quiet for several moments before he spoke up.
“Does this mean you’ll wait for me while I’m off with my unit?” he asked.
“What do you think?” I asked with a sly smile.
“Okay then,” he answered, “that only leaves one question.”
“What’s that?” I asked.
He lifted his arm and put it around my shoulders, I moved close to him on the bench and snuggled into his side.
“What are we going to tell our parents?” he asked.
“I’m sure we’ll think of something,” I answered.
And that was that. That was how I managed, somehow, to fall in love with my stepbrother. And, no matter what anyone else says, no matter how weird anyone thinks it is, I couldn’t be happier.
The End
Bonus Story 32/40
The Choice
Marceline
I sighed deeply, trying to prepare myself for the night that lay ahead. This wasn’t going to be one of my typical waitressing shifts, this was going to be working with extremely rich men and women – people that had more money than sense – and I had to be top notch if I wanted the party to go well.
After all, it was the tips that kept me going, and this party held endless possibilities for that. I’d made sure in advance that I was looking my best for that exact reason. I’d pulled back my long dark hair into a French braid, I’d scrubbed and exfoliated my body to give me added confidence, and I’d even bothered to apply a cute red lipstick, which contrasted well white my pale, milky skin.
It wasn’t that I particularly got off on using my looks to get me places, but in waitressing, looking smart and presentable always equaled more respect and bigger tips. Every single time.
“You okay?” Nikki, one of my closest friends asked me. “You seem a little nervous.”
I couldn’t help but notice that she seemed completely at ease with all of this – as if hosting this sort of event was something that she did all the time. Why did I seem to be the
only one that was finding this difficult?
“Yeah.” I huffed once more. “Just a little tired.”
Juggling my studies with this job – which I needed to do to fund my dream to become a lawyer – was difficult, but I didn’t have any choice. My family was too poor to be able to help me, and I was unselfish enough never to ask them. I’d been independent from a very young age, and was proud of that quality about myself.
“Come on,” she tugged on my arm, smiling. “Dominic needs to prep us.”
As our manager Dominic droned on about proper behavior, the billionaires filtered onto the yacht. This party was to celebrate some business merger or another and I was certain that it was going to get nuts. I’d never seen rich people party, but I was sure that they went wild when they really got into it. Seeing all of that was one thing that I was really excited about!
Finally, we were set lose among them, holding platters of various pretentious food items. Some people were rude, and others dismissed us entirely as if we were dirt to be trampled on. That really annoyed me.
Well, it would have done under normal circumstances, but tonight I was focused on something else. There was one businessman that kept distracting me by sending me secret smiles. At first I decided that I was imagining it, but then it kept on happening, and finally I got a wink – proving to me that there was something going on here.
I didn’t know what to think about that, what I was supposed to do, but I couldn’t stop myself from grinning back on more than one occasion. He was absolutely stunning – talk, dark and very handsome – so of course I was incredibly flattered.
But it was more than that. He was sending butterflies flying all over my body. I liked him, a lot. I found him incredibly sexy.
But out of my league… obviously.
“What are you doing?” Nikki hissed at me when she caught me sending him another smile. I tried to shrug it off, but she was having none of it. “Just don’t let Brad catch you. You’ll get fired.” She wasn’t judging me, she was warning me. We’d seen more than one staff member lose their jobs for stepping over professional boundaries.
Much as I knew that she was right, I didn’t seem to be able to help myself.
Finally, as the night started to darken, the yacht turned around to go back home, and the party started to wind up, he approached me.
“You’re a pretty young thing, aren’t you?” he smirked, sending a bolt of desire racing right through me. If anyone else had said this, I would have found it sexiest and offensive, but somehow coming from him, it felt like a compliment.
“Th… thank you.” I stuttered, glancing around hoping that I wasn’t about to get caught. Talking to the clients was fine, but if anyone heard what was being said… that would be another story!
“So, are you going to tell me your name?” He moved closer to me, giving me the chance to inhale his musky scent. The way he smelt was so sexy that it actually made it hard for me to think.
“M… Marceline,” I stammered, feeling a blush fill my cheeks. “Yours?” As soon as I said this, I realized that it was probably rude. Asking the name of a billionaire was probably not the done thing. I’m sure it had been mentioned in the proper behavior speech.
“Guy.” He completely brushed over my blunder. “Now, what’s a stunning girl like you doing waitressing? Shouldn’t you be a model or something?”
“Oh, I… I don’t think so.” I grew in embarrassment, not sure how to react to such blatant flirting. I knew how I wanted to react, especially with him so close to me, but I also knew that wouldn’t be appropriate. I could not afford to lose my job over this bit of fun!
“Anyway,” I smiled weakly, already feeling sad that I had to leave. “I’d better get back to work.”
“Oh of course.” He touched my shoulder, causing me to suck in a shocked breath. “But here’s my phone number, in case you want to reconvene after the boat has docked. I’d like to see you again.”
And then he left in a breeze of expensive cologne, leaving me confused and incredibly turned on, with a business card between my fingers.
I stuffed it into my pocket, racing off to find Nikki. I needed to tell her what had just happened!
“So text him,” she hissed, as soon as I’d finished my story. “Men like him don’t come around every day.”
“I know, but… what if he’s a dick?”
She sighed deeply, knowing that I was referring to my past. My ex-boyfriend, Dylan, had been a real shit – cheating, lying, and manipulative. It had taken me a long time to walk away from him, and even longer to recover from it all.
“Not every guy is like that,” she murmured quietly. “You can’t allow your past to define you. You’ve spent too long avoiding men because of Dylan. And anyway,” she smiled at me, landing her final argument, “no one is asking you to marry him. Just have a bit of fun for crying out loud!”
As she left the bathroom, she’d given me a ton to think about. My body was gagging for that hunk, but my brain was trying to be smart.
I wondered which one was going to win…
*****
Hugh
I spotted the gorgeous, dark-haired waitress from the very first second that the party started. I immediately knew that I wanted to take her home, and I knew that I would end up doing so because I always got what I wanted.
But then I had to do the rounds chatting to the other guests, and she had to work, and I completely lost track of her.
It was only when I went looking for her once more, to ask her out, that I’d spotted her talking to and laughing with Guy, my friend and business rival. I knew in that moment that all was lost. He was handsome in the muscular rugged type of way, and extremely charismatic. The opposite of me. I was good looking too, but in a more understated, preppy way, and I was quieter than him too. Sure, I was just as determined and successful, and I did always get my way, but I didn’t go about it in the over-the-top fashion that Guy did.
I wouldn’t be able to compete now that he’d stuck his claws in.
As soon as I saw my mystery woman talking to him, I knew that she’d never be mine – not that night anyway. I would have to come up with another method if I wanted her too. It wouldn’t be tonight, but I was sure that I could have her at another time.
And as I watched her blush at something he said, a steely determination took over me that I absolutely would have her. I would do everything within my power to make her desire me, to make her crave me.
I stalked away and quickly found my personal assistant to send him on a mission. I adored my PA; he was great at this sort of unexpected task. He never asked questions, or judged me; he would always just do as I asked. I knew he’d get this job done, and I trusted him implicitly.
Tonight however, I would have to settle for growing increasingly jealous and pissed off at the thought of Guy and her together. I knew that I wouldn’t be able to think about anything else, and I decided that the only way I could deal with that was by getting stinking drunk.
“Whiskey,” I growled at the barman, just as I saw Guy walk away from her, having just handed her his card. “Double. On the rocks.”
*****
Guy
As soon as I received a text from little Miss Marceline, I knew that it was game on. I’d known that she would meet me from the boat, that she would agree to a drink, and that we would end up back at my townhouse. I could just tell by the way her eyes had lit up at the sight of me, and by the way she’d shone as I spoke to her. She liked me, a lot, and for that I was glad.
We met up again as planned. But I had no idea how much I would like her! She was so much more than all of the usual airhead women that I slept with. We were usually just using one another – me for their bodies, them for the life that I might turn around and offer them – but Marceline was different. She wasn’t just sexy and sweet, she was incredibly intelligent too. She captivated me for her mind and spirit, as well as her rocking body.
We’d just had a long conversation about opera
, and now we were discussing classic literature. She challenged me in a way that I hadn’t been challenged for a very long time, and I liked her all the more because of it. I found myself wanting to know everything that there was to know about her – which was weird, because normally I stopped as soon as I knew their names.
I could tell that she was growing to like me more and more too, because she becoming increasingly comfortable and happy with me.
After our third tumbler of champagne, I finally leant in and pressed my lips against hers. I’d wanted to do it for an extremely long time, but this moment just felt right. It felt perfect.
She responded shyly at first, as if she wasn’t quite sure what she should be doing, but she soon lost herself – kissing me hungrily and passionately, sparking emotions inside of me that I hadn’t felt for a long time.
I pulled back for a second, just to look at her. She looked raw, exposed, and all I wanted to do was devour her completely.
My brain was telling me that if I really liked this girl, then I should take it slowly, but then she groaned in pleasure and my resolve went out the window.
Our clothes shed in a blur, and soon we were both completely naked and entwined on the sofa. I did wonder if Marceline always moved this quickly – she certainly didn’t seem the type – but quickly pushed that thought aside. It didn’t matter, if something was ever going to become of this then it would anyway – regardless if we slept together now or not.
I trailed my fingers up her thighs, feeling her gasp and wiggle beneath me. As I finally found her hot, wet opening, and pushed my fingers in to explore that, her body buckled beneath me, making me feel like the sexiest, most powerful man alive. Her gasping and panting heated up my belly, and I claimed her once more with my mouth while I explored all that she had for me.
“You’re so beautiful,” I whispered. I started to experiment, to see what worked for her. I ran kisses down her body, finding her nipples with my teeth. Clearly, she was becoming overwhelmed with all of the sensations, because she couldn’t grasp her breath for long enough to reply. Her nails digging deeply into my back told me all that I needed to know.
In the Arms of the Dragon Princes Page 102
