Owning Beauty (Taking Beauty Trilogy Book 3)

by Nikki Wild

  Sarah was laughing and joking like nothing was wrong, so I couldn’t use her being ill as an excuse this time. So we followed the guys to the bar, secretly trading glances the entire time. A few of the guys did break off to head back to their rooms, claiming they needed some rest after being out on the slopes all day.

  When we got to the bar, I slid in next to Kelly, with Sarah sitting across from us. “So how was skiing?” I asked her as we waited for our first round of drinks.

  “Pretty good. I’m really getting the hang of it now.” She looked over at Sarah. “I hope you’ll be out there with us tomorrow. The guys showed me one of the tougher slopes and it’s freaking awesome!”

  “I hope so, too! Maybe tomorrow my stomach will be better tomorrow and I can go out with you guys again. I wanted to go out today but I was afraid I might barf going down the trail!”

  Kelly grimaced but laughed. “Yeah, probably good you stayed in. Hopefully some rest will have helped.”

  “I think it did, but just to be safe, I’m gonna take it easy tonight. Probably won’t stay out very long, you know?”

  “Oh yeah, I totally get you. Being stuck in that cabin probably didn’t help much either.”

  The two girls laughed and chatted as I sat and sipped my drink. The two girls really were best friend, both animated and excited no matter the subject.

  Craig nudged me to get my attention. “You gonna be out on the slopes tomorrow?” he asked.

  I shrugged. “Probably. As long as Sarah’s feeling better, I’ll be out there. You guys have a good day today?”

  He nodded. “You should’ve seen Billy face plant! He was trying to show off on his snowboard and fucked up a jump. Went face first into the snow. Took two of us to get him out of it, too. Was freaking hilarious.”

  “Damn, I wish I’d seen that!” I said with a laugh. Served him right for trying to hit on my sister, I thought. “I guess that’s why he didn’t come down for dinner?”

  “Probably. Even Kelly was laughing her ass off at him. He was probably too embarrassed to show his face!”

  Again, I laughed. Now I was really disappointed I hadn’t gone out today. Would’ve liked to see Sarah’s face when he busted his ass, too. Then there was no way she’d have hooked up with him.

  Although, judging by the way Sarah kept looking over at me and smiling, I doubted she’d be hooking up with anyone else anytime soon.

  The two of us stayed downstairs for maybe another hour before Sarah yawned and said she wanted to head back up to the room. Being the courteous step-brother I was, I offered to escort her up there, barely able to contain my grin as we headed out of the bar together.

  But the moment the door was shut behind us, Sarah was in my arms, our lips locked together once again. Our hands were all over each other, and we left a trail of clothing leading from the door to the bed.

  By the time we finished, and Sarah was curled up against me again, I was starting to think the smile on my face might be permanent. One thing was for sure, I was happier than I could ever remember being.

  It was going to suck when the week ended and things went back to normal between us.

  Sarah

  The next morning, I woke up feeling more refreshed than ever. Being completely naked with Nathan spooning me may have had something to do with it, but I wasn’t going to complain. And feeling his stiff cock pressed against my ass just made it even better.

  When Nathan woke up, he fucked me again, then the two of us headed into the shower. I think we spent more time enjoying each other’s bodies, but I still wasn’t going to complain. Even if the shower did end with me screaming and begging for more as Nathan fucked me from behind.

  We’d fallen into a routine, it seemed. Sex in the morning, shower sex before skiing, shower sex after skiing, and then sex in the evening before we fell asleep naked in each other’s arms. It was almost hard to believe that when I’d gotten here, I was a complete virgin.

  Most of the guys were already down in the restaurant when we got there, but I didn’t care. Getting fucked twice this morning was much better than being on time to breakfast. Besides, it wasn’t like anyone had set a specific time for us all to meet.

  For some reason, Billy was still absent. I wondered if he was still too embarrassed about wiping out yesterday, but I didn’t put much thought into it. At least I wouldn’t have to deal with his constant flirting. Even if he wasn’t as pushy as he’d been at Nathan’s party, the flirting did get old after a while.

  He didn’t have a chance before, but now that I was with Nathan, he didn’t have a shot in hell!

  When we finally got out onto the slopes, I was a little nervous, but when Nathan smiled at me, all my worries faded away into nothingness. Even if I did mess up, I knew he’d be right there next to me, helping me back up. And once we’d gone for our first run, I wasn’t nervous in the least.

  When I’d first woken up, I’d briefly considered talking Nathan into staying in bed all day, but now I was glad I’d decided not to. Having Nathan fuck my brains out was fun and all, but learning to ski was actually a lot of fun too.

  Besides, even I had to admit I was getting a little tired. I loved having Nathan inside me and all, but every once in a while, I needed a little break! I was actually kind of amazed Nathan hadn’t had any trouble getting it up yet. Briefly, I wondered if he’d been popping little blue pills to help keep his stamina up.

  Then I’d look him up and down and know there was no chemical help. Nathan was just pure man, more than enough to satisfy any woman. Boy, did he know how to satisfy me!

  And whenever I caught Nathan’s eyes I knew we’d make time for fucking later, somehow.

  Just as I thought, when we headed back to our room to clean up before dinner, I ended up bent over in front of the kitchen sink as Nathan fucked my brains out. Maybe our routine wasn’t set in stone after all. Even if it was predictable, there was still plenty of wiggle room to spice things up!

  Even though we didn’t have sex in the shower this time, it still took a bit longer than normal. We may have both been freshly, but it didn’t mean we couldn’t both enjoy each other’s body while we washed. No matter how many times we had sex, I knew I’d never tire of his body.

  As the night went on, I started to wonder what was going to happen after the week was over. Sure, things were going great now, but what about when we left? After this week, we wouldn’t be in a ski lodge together, sharing the same room every single night.

  Would Nathan want to keep this up when we went home? Or would he go back to having a different girl every week?

  More than that, what did I want?

  Every time I looked at Nathan, my heart skipped a beat. I could barely go ten minutes without thinking about him, no matter what we were doing. Even my dreams were filled with him. It was almost like he was an addiction, one I wasn’t quite sure if I wanted to give up.

  The sane, rational part of my brain told me to give this up when we went home. Nathan was my step-brother. Having a fun weekend wasn’t going to be the end of the world, but it wasn’t exactly like we could be in a relationship together.

  Could we?

  “Earth to Sarah!” Kelly said, snapping her fingers in front of my face.

  “Huh?” I blinked at her, trying to figure out what was going on. I’d been completely absorbed in my head that I’d barely even registered her sitting next to me.

  “I asked if you’d had fun out there today.” She rolled her eyes and sighed. “Are you sure you’re feeling better?”

  “Yeah, I’m fine, just a little tired, that’s all. I did have fun. I’m still not a huge fan of the snow, but it’s not nearly as bad as I’d expected.”

  Kelly laughed and the two of us chatted aimlessly until the waitress arrived to take our order. After that, I tried to join in the conversations with the guys, but every time I locked eyes with Nathan, my mind began to wander.

  What were we going to do?

  Even when we’d gone back to the room and ha
d sex one last time before falling asleep, I still wasn’t sure what to do. My mind and body warred against each other, both with their own idea of what should happen after we went home.

  We only had a couple more days before we had to pack up, and I wanted to have things figured out before then. The last thing I wanted was to be stuck in the car with Nathan for hours on end as we tried to figure things out.

  At least here in the hotel, even in the same room, we weren’t trapped practically on top of each other. Nathan’s Jeep was nice, but it wasn’t exactly a conducive location for a tense or awkward conversation, that was for damn sure.

  Still, by the time we were back on the slopes the next morning, I hadn’t made up my mind one way or another. I wanted to keep this going, I wanted this to be more than just a fling for the two of us, but was that even feasible?

  I had fun out on the slopes again, but my heart just wasn’t in it today. I was lucky I didn’t wipe out and end up buried under two feet of snow, with how distracted I was the entire time. Yet somehow, I managed to stay standing and avoid making an ass out of myself, even though we were on the intermediate slopes the entire day.

  Even after our shower sex, and dinner, and our after dinner sex, I couldn’t stop thinking about what we were going to do in a few days. I didn’t want this to come to an end, but did I want to turn this into a relationship?

  Nathan was my brother, even if it was only because my mother had married his father. What would people think if we started dating? I doubted very many people would approve.

  Yet, at the same time, I didn’t want to just continue having casual sex with him when we got home. Being in bed with him was amazing, there was no denying that, but I wouldn’t be able to stand being his secret lover while he went out with different girls.

  That wouldn’t be fair, to any of us.

  Sleep took forever to over taking me that night, as I stared up at the dark ceiling. Even with Nathan’s arm around me, I just couldn’t slip into the slumber I craved to get my mind off of Nathan, even for just a little bit.

  The next morning, I woke up just as tired as I’d been when I’d gone to sleep. Sometime in the night I had indeed fallen asleep, but it hadn’t been the relaxing, peaceful sleep I’d had the last few nights. It was fitful, with lots of tossing and turning. I was surprised Nathan had been able to sleep at all with me in bed with him.

  I was up a good twenty minutes before he was, still staring up at the ceiling turmoil raging inside me. Sometime in the night I’d decided what I wanted, but I wasn’t sure how Nathan would respond.

  When he woke up, he pulled me tight against him again, and I laid my head on his chest after he kissed my cheek. I’d expected him to want to fuck right away, like we had been doing, but he seemed to be content to just cuddle, neither of us speaking.

  “Are you okay?” Nathan asked, lifting my chin until we locked eyes. It was the first thing he’d said, other than good morning. “You’ve seemed a bit off since yesterday.”

  I chewed on my lip, not quite sure how to broach the subject. I didn’t want Nathan to think I was getting clingy or anything. From what I’d heard from Kelly and my books, nothing sent a guy running faster than a girl who got too clingy.

  “Have you thought about what’s going to happen after we head home?” I asked at last.

  “What do you mean?”

  Typical Nathan, I thought, rolling my eyes. He was too busy living in the moment to think about what happened when we went back to our normal lives. “I mean, what are we going to do about us? Are… we going to keep this up? Do you want to keep this up? Do you… do you want more out of this?”

  He stared at me for a moment, then closed his eyes and leaned back against his pillow. “Do you want to keep this up? It’ll be a lot harder when we get home, to keep it from everyone, I mean. Someone is bound to notice if you’re spending the night in my bed.”

  That’s what I’d been afraid of. I didn’t want this to end; I didn’t want to just be another notch on his bed post.

  I pulled out of his arms and scooted over in the bed, needing a bit of space. He didn’t seem to even be considering anything more than just sex between us, even if we kept things going after the trip. He’d been my first, someone I thought cared about me as more than just a girl to occupy his bed. Had I been wrong about him?

  “What’s wrong?” Nathan tried to pull me back into his arms, but I resisted, not wanting to look at him yet.

  “I thought maybe this was more than just a hook-up.”

  Nathan exhaled sharply. “It is more than just a hook-up, Sarah. You know I care about you, but you’re my stepsister. What would everyone say if they found out about us?”

  Rolling off the bed, I walked over to the window and peered out it. What was I supposed to do now?

  “Doesn’t it even bother you a little? I mean, for Christ’s sake, Nathan, you were my first. I thought…. I thought this meant something more to you.” I fought back the tears that formed at the corners of my eyes.

  Nathan was behind me before I knew hit, his hands at my waist. “Come on, Sarah. Don’t be like that!”

  I pushed him away, heading for the bathroom. “I need a shower. You need to figure things out by the time I get out. I’m not going to just be your weekend fuck, Nathan. I thought you were better than that!”

  Once the door was shut, I leaned against it, no longer able to fight back the tears.

  Nathan

  I stared at Sarah as she walked into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her. Fucking hell. That hadn’t gone the way I’d wanted it to. I’d known we’d need to have this chat sooner or later, but I hadn’t expected it to go down that badly.

  I need a drink, I thought to myself. I grabbed some clothes and threw them on before slipping out of the room and heading to the bar. It was a good thing the place was open this early, since I was pretty sure I was going to go insane without something to calm my nerves.

  Sarah wasn’t the only one who’d been thinking about this. I’d just hoped I would’ve had a bit more time to work things out before we sat down and talked about things, not that we’d done much sitting or talking.

  Apparently neither of us were the greatest under pressure. I wished Sarah would’ve just told me what she wanted, right from the start, instead of playing twenty questions. Not that I’d done much better and spitting out what was on my mind.

  I did want to be with Sarah, more than anything I wanted to be wither. No matter what I was doing this week, all I could think about was Sarah. But no matter how much I wanted to be with her, it just didn’t seem feasible. We were step-siblings, after all.

  Which is why I’d assumed, after this week was over, things would go back to normal between us. Because, no matter how much either of us wanted something else, it just couldn’t happen.

  Could it?

  I was halfway through a glass of scotch when Billy walked in. I nodded to him and he stalked over, glaring at me. “What the hell, man?”

  “Good morning to you too,” I said dryly. “I wondered when you’d show up again.”

  “Like you have room to talk. I wasn’t the one fucking my sister for the past three days!”

  My heart skipped a beat. How the fuck had he known? Or was he just being a dumbass? I slammed the drink onto the table and glared at him, not much in the mood for his bullshit today. “The hell’s your problem? I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about.”

  Billy slammed a room key onto the table next to my glass. “I’m in room 202, the one right next to yours, jackass. I could hear the two of you going at it like fucking animals. What the hell is wrong with you? I told you I was into her. Did you just fucking hook up with her to spite me or some shit? She’s your sister for fucks sake!”

  “Step-sister,” I spat back, throwing his words back at him. “Remember? And no, fuckface, the entire fucking world doesn’t revolve around you. So fuck off and stay out of my business.”

  Right then, I couldn’t remember why
I’d ever been friends with him. I’d always just sort of hung out with him, even though we’d never really been close. Now I was starting to regret never telling him to fuck off before now.”

  “Oh, I bet your daddy would just love to know what kind of business you’ve been getting up to. What would he say if he found out you were fucking your sweet little step-sister, huh? I bet he’d be so thrilled he sent the two of you up here so you can fuck like rabbits!”

  “Fuck off,” I rolled my eyes at his stupid threat. “Like he’d ever believe you. You’re just some fuckwit who’s pissed because you couldn’t get laid.”

  He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He played around on it for a minute, then tossed it onto the table. “How about we let Sarah be the one to tell him?”

  Seconds later, Sarah’s voice came out of the phone. “Oh god! Fuck me, Nathan! Harder! Oh god, I’m gonna come!”

  My face heated and I clenched my fist, fighting back the urge to knock Billy into last year. Fucking asshole had recorded us having sex at some point. Fucking son of a bitch.

  It took every ounce of my will power not to beat his fucking ass. I’d always known he was a dick, but I’d never expected this from even him.

  “You’re a fucking dickbag.”

  He picked up his phone and room key, stuffing them back into his pocket. “Break it off with her, or as soon as I get service, I will send this little recording to Daddy and we’ll see just what he thinks of his golden boy son. And if you tell anyone about this, I’ll post this online and fucking ruin you, understand?”

  I watched a Billy stalked off, then picked up my scotch and downed the rest of it before signaling the bartender for another. One drink definitely wasn’t going to be enough now.

  Now what the fuck was I supposed to do?

  Despite my reservations earlier, I didn’t want to break it off with Sarah. Ending this was the logical thing to do, but it wasn’t what I wanted to do. Billy was right. What would my father say if he found out Sarah and I hooked up on a trip I’d talked him into paying for?