Protector

by Candy Quinn

  As I approached the crowds of murmuring, teary-eyed wedding guests, the DJ put on a saccharine-sweet old-timey ballad and said into the microphone, “Here comes the beautiful daughter just in time for the Daddy-Daughter dance!”

  Everyone turned to stare at me, some smiling blissfully and others confused, suspicious of my absence and sudden reappearance. I froze, blinking numbly as a path cleared in front of me to the dance floor. Todd assumed the stereotypical “proud-father” stance with his hands behind his back, and my mother blew me a kiss as she took a seat on the sidelines. I could almost feel Cole bristling behind me.

  “Go on, don’t be shy!” crooned the DJ, and I wanted nothing more than to bolt out of the yard and off the nearest cliff. But Todd extended a big, beckoning hand, and I couldn’t refuse—not in front of everyone. So with my heart pounding in my chest I slowly joined him on the dance floor and took his hand. His other hand first caressed my face, then dropped to a respectable position on my mid-back. I could hear members of the audience mumble “awwww.”

  I wanted to vomit all over Todd’s shiny designer shoes.

  The music swelled around us as we fell into step, turning and swaying in wide circles. I couldn’t dare to meet his eyes, so I simply glued what I hoped was a convincing smile to my face and made eye contact with various strangers. Once I made the mistake of catching Cole’s gaze; he was cold and scowling, one of his legs shaking tensely under the table. I hoped this song was short, because the longer it dragged on, the closer and closer Cole came to actually throwing furniture and tackling his dad. And that was one photo we definitely didn’t need in the tabloids.

  At the end of the song, Todd let go of one of my hands and bowed ceremoniously. I quickly curtsied and he bent to kiss my cheek, a little too close to my mouth. As he did so, I could smell the pungent odor of far too many gin-and-tonics. But his smile was glittering white and his face ruggedly handsome, and the wedding guests applauded as though it was the most beautiful display of human interaction they’d ever witnessed. Once the song ended and the normal party music resumed, the guests all but stormed the dance floor and my mom took my place at Todd’s side. Before I could rush away, she pulled me into a tight hug and kissed my forehead—undoubtedly leaving a lipstick print.

  “I love you, Kenzie,” she said, tears glistening in her brown eyes. She really did look radiant, if a little bit sad. Nobody else could tell, but I knew her better than anyone. There were flickers of regret in her gaze, in her faltering smile. Still, I had to be strong for her. It was too late now, anyway… wasn’t it?

  I hugged her back and said emphatically, “Love you too, Mom.”

  Cole appeared beside me and took my arm, guiding me to a corner table. He sat quietly for a few moments, probably trying to regain his composure. I reached across to pat his arm. He heaved a sigh and rubbed at his temples. “God. He’s just…”

  “I know.”

  “I just wanted to…”

  “I know.”

  “If there weren’t a billion people here right now, I’d just…”

  “I know. But it’s okay. Now the press has a lot of great photos of the happy family. That’ll put them off our scent for awhile, at least,” I reasoned. Cole nodded in agreement but continued to stare blankly at the tabletop. Remembering the smudge on my forehead, I suddenly stood up. Cole jolted, as though to leap into action, and I giggled. “It’s okay, Cole. Chill. I’m just going to the bathroom to clean this lipstick off my forehead. My mom always forgets.”

  “Are you sure you don’t want me to come with?” he asked, concern knitting his forehead.

  I waved him off dismissively. “I’m fine. Plus, how shady is it going to look if you come after me? We already showed up late to the reception together.”

  He thought for a moment and then reluctantly said, “‘Kay. Hurry back.”

  I squeezed through the masses again, narrowly avoiding being pulled onto the dance floor by one of my obscure and very drunk cousins, and made my way into the totally empty manor.

  I gazed into the bathroom mirror, delicately wiping away the lipstick smudge and then touching up my makeup. It was not too terribly hot outside, but our roll in the sheets earlier had really done a number on my hair. I wondered if anyone had noticed. After a few minutes, I deemed myself decent enough, and pushed open the door to leave. But something hard caught the door as I opened it, causing me to gasp in surprise and jump backward.

  Then he peered around the door: my new stepfather. His hair was a little ruffled, the salt-and-pepper tufts sticking up in places, and he swayed a little as he stood before me. It was then that I really noticed how huge he was: he stood almost as tall as Cole, and quite a big broader in the shoulders and chest.

  “Oh, um, sorry!” I muttered, flashing a brief smile. He grinned in response, but his eyes were cold, a little glassy. A shiver traveled down my spine.

  “No harm done,” he replied deeply. But he still didn’t move, blocking the doorway with his hulking frame as I stood awkwardly in the darkness of the bathroom.

  “Just freshening up,” I said, trying to small-talk my way out of the uncomfortable situation. He squared his shoulders and gave me a predatory once-over.

  “Freshening up,” Todd repeated softly, and took a step closer. “You’re already fresh, though, aren’t you? Still so young… so clean.”

  I frowned as a thousand red flags shot up at the forefront of my brain. “Mr. Van der Hausen, are you okay?” He wavered a little, blinking blearily. “Todd?” I squeaked.

  He lumbered toward me and shut the bathroom door behind him, cornering me. I wondered if maybe I should scream. But who would come? Who would even hear me? Taking hold of my shoulders with two sweaty hands, he leaned forward to whisper to me.

  “None of that anymore. You’re my daughter now,” he laughed darkly. “Call me Daddy.”

  As soon as his hand scooped down to grab my ass, my blood began to boil, and I suddenly recalled the defense moves that Cole had shown me. With a grunt, I wrenched his hand away from me and kneed him in the groin. Taken totally aback, he stumbled away and stared at me murderously.

  “Bet you didn’t expect me to fight back, huh?” I hissed, surprised at my own brazenness.

  “You little whore!” he cursed, and lunged for me. But he was drunk and I was quick, so I sidestepped his attack easily and bolted for the door. Flinging the door open and darting down the hall, I ran into Cole, who opened his arms and immediately moved into protective mode.

  “What happened?” he demanded, cradling my head to his chest.

  “T-Todd,” I murmured into his dress shirt. “H-he’s drunk.”

  I felt Cole tensing up, and then Todd came staggering toward us, one hand cupped over his crotch and a hateful, yet dignified expression on his face.

  “What the hell did you do?” Cole shouted, pulling me even closer.

  Todd scoffed.

  “I didn’t do anything,” he lied, smoothing his hair down unsuccessfully. “Your little sister just lost her damn mind and assaulted me.”

  “Oh, yeah? Is that what happened? It’s never your fault, is it, Dad?” Cole said scathingly.

  “You’ve been in our lives not one whole month and you’ve already poisoned your sister against me!” Todd accused, slurring his words. “And Julie… whining about how she misses her kid. Tell me, son, what’s the point of having a hot wife if she’s too depressed to sleep with me?”

  “Excuse me?”

  We all turned at the sound of a new voice, sweet and tearful. My heart dropped. My mother stood in the hallway, still clutching her bouquet in both hands. I immediately broke free of Cole’s embrace and ran to her, flinging my arms around her with a little sob I couldn’t hold back. She stroked my hair, still staring at Todd, who had gone utterly pale.

  It was a few moments before my mother broke the silence. “What is going on?” Her voice didn’t shake this time. I looked up into her face to see her eyes still brimming with tears, but her mouth hardened
into a line. I had only seen this look a few times before, and it was usually when I was under some kind of duress. She steeled herself for Todd’s weak explanation.

  His tone was placating. “Now, Julie, don’t give me that look. You know I didn’t do anything. And what I said… honey, you know I didn’t mean it. You’re entitled to your emotions, sweetie. I’m just a little tipsy, you know—”

  “He’s staggering drunk, is what he is!” Cole barked, pointing at Todd.

  Mom put up one hand to silence them both. “Shut up. Both of you. I want to talk to my daughter for a minute, and I don’t want to hear a word from either of you.”

  “Sweetheart, please—” Todd began, but my mom shushed him and turned to me.

  Taking a deep breath, I told her, “Mom, I’m so sorry, but… Todd made a move on me.”

  “Bullshit!” Todd spat. Mom let go of me and stomped toward him with fire in her eyes.

  Stopping short right in front of him so that he nearly cowered, she enunciated stiffly, “Not a single damn word, Todd.” He gulped visibly and hung his head, knowing it was all over. Mom walked over to me and put her arm around my shoulders.

  “Honey, there’s no need for you to be sorry. You did nothing wrong.” She paused to shake her head sadly. “I should have seen this coming. It was all too good to be true. You know, all my friends warned me, but you know me, Kenzie. I wanted to believe. I’m hopeless like that.”

  “In your defense, he’s a really shitty guy but he’s a pretty good actor,” Cole interjected quietly. My mom turned on her heel to glare at him for a second, and then her face softened as the realization swept over her.

  “So, you believe me?” I asked meekly. Mom kissed me again on the forehead and nodded.

  Stretching out her hand to Cole, she told me that she’d been suspicious about the whole situation after the disastrous dinner, that she’d had second thoughts… and third thoughts… and so on.

  “I almost called off the wedding,” she admitted. “But I was too scared.”

  Todd had slumped onto the stairs, holding his head in his hands.

  My mom turned to give him another glare, and said, “Mr. Van der Hausen, I know the timing’s not great for this, but I think you and I both know we’re not getting past this. You and I are over.”

  “Before we even began,” Todd muttered.

  “And whose fault is that?” Cole retorted.

  “And now,” Mom said carefully, “you’re gonna go out there, and you’re gonna tell all those wedding guests that it’s time to go home. Tell the media we’re tired and ready to relax as a family. Tell the staff to start cleaning up all those beautiful decorations, and then you send them all home to their families for the night. As for you, I don’t wanna see your face, not even for one more second. And then, after everyone is gone, you’re gonna find yourself a crappy hotel, and you’re gonna check in and sleep by yourself and think about everything you just lost. I want you to lie in some cheap room and think about how you could have been in your wedding bed with a beautiful woman who loves you. And tomorrow, you’re gonna come home to an empty mansion, and you’re gonna know there ain’t nobody else to blame but yourself.”

  All three of us stood in stunned silence for a minute. Cole was wide-eyed, gazing at my mom with his mouth hanging open, one corner of his lips twitched up in gleeful amazement. “You go, Mom,” I murmured quietly, in awe. She squeezed me tight, smiling through her tears.

  “Thanks,” she laughed. Then she snapped her fingers several times. “You! Get off your butt and get moving. You got work to do. I’m gonna spend some quality time with my daughter and… my son,” she said, with a wink at me. Oh god, I thought with a blush, she knew.

  Todd jumped to his feet and wobbled away down the hall, presumably to do exactly as he was told. Somehow I knew he wasn’t going to be any trouble anymore—at least not for us. I remembered now why my mom had always been my hero. Sure, she was reduced to tears by negative reviews of her acting roles and she was more than a little bit prone to dramatics, but when it came down to it, Julie Mason was one tough broad.

  The rest of the night we spent sitting up talking and eating leftover gourmet wedding food, just the three of us. Turned out, my mom had figured out that Cole and I were involved, and instead of being hurt or disgusted, she was simply relieved that I had been in the custody of someone who truly looked out for me. Todd did, in fact, check into a hotel, and true to my mother’s word, we were all gone when he returned in the morning.

  Exactly two months later, I sat in a doctor’s office with Cole holding one of my hands, and my mom holding the other. Things had moved pretty quickly after the wedding frenzy died down. Mom had served Todd with annulment papers and he didn’t hesitate to sign them. But that wasn’t all—in exchange for our not pressing charges for assault and for not leaking the true reason for the breakup to the media, Todd granted Mom a hefty settlement. It was more money than she had ever made, even at the height of her career, and she planned to use the fortune to travel the world and donate to charities. Sure, she was single now, but there was a spring in her step and I could tell she was happier than she’d been in a long, long time.

  Of course, part of that may have had something to do with the very reason the three of us were now in a doctor’s office. The technician came in and asked, “Are you all ready?”

  I looked at Cole, who was gazing at me with absolute adoration in his beautiful green eyes, and squeezed his hand. He lifted it and pressed a kiss into my hand, then nodded. I turned back to the technician, my heart pounding.

  “We’re ready.”

  A minute later, my mom burst into tears of elation and Cole happily kissed my cheek, as we all watched as the technician pointed to the sonogram screen. Cole had proposed to me a couple weeks ago, with a beautiful, massive pink diamond—and now we were going to be parents. As I turned to kiss him passionately, he wrapped his arms around me and whispered, “I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life protecting you. Kenzie, I’m gonna make you so happy. You, me, and the baby. I didn’t think I could ever feel this way about anyone. I love you more than you can never know.”

  “I love you, too,” I replied, smiling up at him through my joyful tears. “Forever.”

  “Forever,” he agreed, and kissed me again.

  Afterword

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  Here's a snippet:

  Zach couldn’t help but throb against her; that was nature and instinct acting of its own accord. Otherwise he was sweet and tender, stroking a hand over her back and along her shoulder. “I tried not to think about it back then,” he confessed, “but yeah, I think so.”

  His lips kissed softly beneath her ear, “I just wanted more time with you... always. From the moment I first desired women, it was you I wanted to be around, sis.” They swayed and stepped back and forth upon the sand with their nuzzling and touches, “This time together was just a blessing... space to let me come to terms with how I felt for you.”

  “I always noticed. I mean since getting here,” she whispered. “I just figured that couldn’t be helped. That it was just ‘cause you were a boy and I didn’t want to embarrass you,” she paused and swallowed, and her voice was so quiet it was barely audible over the birds and the waves that sang and crashed around them, “I didn’t want to hope.”

  Zach stilled then, for her words confirmed something more precious and meaningful to him than he would’ve dared hope. He needed a moment to calm his blood, to let that sink in as he slowly moved along her cheek until their lips aligned.

  He kissed her there for the first time, plush and full, no more skirting her mouth sheepishly. His tongue snaked out to lap at her gingerly as he squeezed her body in against his, those full breasts mashed against his hard pecs.

&
nbsp; It was so much, their youthful bodies so warm and wanting as her arms encircled him. She tugged him nearer and her mouth worked against his so much more frantically. It wasn’t the thoughtful, careful motions of him. Instead it was passion unleashed, her hand working up along his neck and into his hair, feeling him out so eagerly.

  It felt wrong to be doing this, Zach realized, but the rightness of it outweighed that. It was so much better to give in, to let his hands slide over her body, feel out her flesh and move down to palm a cheek and squeeze than it was to resist and be a good brother.

  As her excitement grew, so did his, and he gave a low groan as he kissed her back passionately. He was barely even aware of it as his free hand stroked along her spine to find the clasp of her bra, undoing it in his lusty haze as his manhood swelled and pulsed so rapidly.

  All you have to do to read the rest of this full length novella is visit here today to get your instant, free access to this exclusive & sexy story! For fans of BDSM, Siblings & Breeding.

  About the Author

  Candy Quinn loves writing naughty, dirty stories - both short and sexy, and long and scandalous. Lots of taboo pregnancy, discipline, and first time virgins fill her filthy mind, which she loves to share with you. If you need something to scratch that secret itch, turn to Candy!