My Not So Wicked Stepbrother (My Not So Wicked Series Book 1)

by Jennifer Peel

  I was acutely aware of how Sawyer’s eyes lingered on her as he explained tubing to her. Seriously, what world did this chick come from? Who had never heard of tubing? While Sawyer was explaining how to stay in the current and avoid giant boulders, I was more concerned with how the cold water was going to really perk her girls up, perhaps enough to bust through her life jacket, and what kind of a show we were all in for. By the way Kellan and Ashton were ogling her, it looked as if they were praying for the cold water to do its thing.

  Jenna was tsking and snarling under her breath, debating with her eyes whether she should shove the Southern Belle into the river, while Aspen was holding my hand as if I needed comforting. Maybe I did, but I was trying to act unaffected. I was used to the friend zone, even if this time it felt different as I had never fallen in love with a friend before. In case there was any doubt, it made the friend zone a hundred times suckier.

  “Oh, Mylanta! This water is cold, boys,” Shelby squealed after dipping her toe in. “Back home the water can be as warm as a bath.”

  I tried not roll my eyes. “Excuse me. I forgot my sunscreen in the Jeep. I’ll be right back.” I couldn’t take it anymore.

  “I’ll poke a small hole in her tube,” Jenna whispered.

  “She’d only end up in someone’s lap,” Aspen responded.

  Or worse, she would actually put in motion my plan of getting hypothermia and we all knew whose sleeping bag she would end up in, skin to skin. With that depressing thought, I jogged back to my Jeep. I swore I heard my mom’s voice in the light breeze say, “Don’t give up, you could totally take her.” Physically, I could take the little waif down, but there was no way I could compete with goddess divine.

  “Hey,” Sawyer called out to me, “where are you going?”

  I was irritated with him, so I only mumbled something about getting sunscreen. I wanted to full-out ignore him, but I heard him approaching on the dirt road, so I knew blowing him off wasn’t an option. Better to avoid awkward questions like, what’s wrong? Oh, I don’t know, only that I love you and it kills me to see you with another woman. It also didn’t help that he hadn’t prepared Shelby for the kind of trip we were taking. Now goddess was sleeping in my tent.

  I reached my Jeep and opened the door. The sunscreen was in the door panel. I turned around with it to find Sawyer invading my personal space. That in and of itself was always cause for some heart palpitations, but somewhere along the way he’d ditched his shirt. Holy crap, I needed warning before he did that. I knew it was coming off since we were going in the river, but I needed the cues first, like raising his arms, a little lift of the shirt, etc. He couldn’t just come at me all at once half-naked.

  I stared at his defined body. He wasn’t six-pack ripped, but he was sculpted, as in his nicely carved pecks were begging to be touched. The dark hair his chest boasted called for my head to nestle into it. I couldn’t help but wonder why it was evenly tanned. Where was he going without his shirt and why wasn’t I invited? I probably didn’t want to know.

  While I eyed him, his sights were set on the sunscreen. “Do you want some help with that?”

  Did I want his hands on my body? That was a big fat yes. “No, thanks.” I knew my limits.

  He didn’t listen and plucked the sunscreen bottle out of my hands. “How will you get your back?”

  “I’m more limber than I look.”

  His eyebrow popped. “Is that so?”

  I realized how that comment could be taken. I cleared my throat. “I meant . . . um . . . it’s just, I don’t need help.” I couldn’t think around his bare skin.

  He stepped closer, not helping my breathless situation. “Turn around, Em.” Dang that sounded sexy.

  As if I were in a trance, I did what he said.

  “Are you having a good time?” he asked while flipping open the lid.

  “Yeah.” I could hardly speak for the anticipation of his hands on my body. Thankfully, I didn’t have back fat. At least not that I knew of; it was kind of hard to see your own back.

  “The weather’s perfect.” His warm hand mixed with cold sunscreen made contact with my shoulders.

  I gasped.

  “Sorry it’s cold. I’ll warm it up for you.”

  I wasn’t gasping because of the cold. The rubbing was only going to increase the likelihood of more gasps.

  His strong hands went to work. He was doing a thorough job of making sure to rub it in deep.

  My breath got caught and was being held hostage by my emotions.

  “You’re tense.” He began to knead my neck. “Relax,” he whispered.

  I don’t know what it was about my body, but it obeyed his every command. I let the breath out I’d been holding. I was putty in his hands.

  His hands glided down my back, causing goosebumps. “Are you cold?” Dang, he noticed.

  “Um . . .” Lie, Emma, lie. “No.” Way to go, self.

  He didn’t respond, but instead applied more lotion and pressure. I, unfortunately, let myself enjoy the feel of it for longer than I should have and pretended he was enjoying it too. His touch had me mesmerized. Every stroke and each fingertip were felt on a molecular level. I don’t know how long we stayed like that. Longer than I should have allowed. My brain finally kicked in and said, Yo, Emma, there’s a size two waiting for him by the river.

  I stepped away from him. “Thank you.”

  “Do you need me to get anywhere else?”

  I had a list. “I’m good.” I turned and faced him. “We should probably get back to everyone.”

  He handed me the sunscreen. “If we must.”

  Unfortunately, the answer was yes.

  Our jaunt down the river started out well and good. This leg of the river was docile, with a few large boulders to deal with. Though the water was cool, the sun warmed us, well, at least most of us. Miss I-Have-No-Fat-On-My-Body kept squealing. She wasn’t complaining, it was more like she knew how to draw attention to herself. Kellan and Ashton flanked her to try and prevent cold water from splashing on her. They each tried to impress her and make her laugh. I admit her laugh was pleasant. She had this delicate way of doing everything. No snorting or loud guffaws.

  I was happy to see that Ashton was paying attention to her; maybe that meant nothing was going on between him and Macey. I had plans to talk to him about it while we were up here away from my sisters, who refused to camp. Their idea of camping was more like Shelby’s. They also had the excuse that their boutique did killer business on the weekends. I had to admit I was surprised they were doing so well. Maybe it was awful for me to say, but between the two of them they couldn’t pull a 4.0 GPA at the community college they attended. But they did know fashion and they had Dad’s money to back them up.

  Ashton kept using a fake Southern drawl and calling her Miss Shelby while quoting her favorite movie, Gone With the Wind. I don’t know how many times he said “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn.” Kellan beat him out with a better quote in my opinion. “You should be kissed by someone who knows how.” Regardless who was saying what, Shelby ate it right up. She was calling all the men darlin’, except for my trusty best friend Brad, who stayed back with Aspen and myself. Shelby also had all those smooth feminine moves down too; she would reach out to take Ashton’s and Kellan’s hands as if she needed help floating down the river. She’d waved Sawyer up toward her too, but he’d chosen to hang in the middle by himself looking back and forth as if he didn’t know who to be with. Or maybe he was annoyed his best friend and brother were vying for Shelby’s attention.

  I admit I was hoping Ashton or Kellan would sweep Scarlett O’Hara off her feet in Rhett Butler fashion. But if she was smart, she’d stick with Sawyer. Kellan was a womanizer and Ashton was great as far as I could tell, but no one was as good as his brother. With that thought, I did my best to enjoy the journey, per se, without the object of my desire. I leaned back in my tube to soak up the rays until Brad started singing one of our favorite songs from high school, “Y
eah” by Usher. Aspen and I joined in. Brad started doing a hip-hop dance routine that included some booty smacking in his tube, making Aspen and I laugh uncontrollably. There was nothing like a gangly, tall white boy trying to pretend he had rhythm to make you snort loudly. No delicate melodic laughs here.

  It was all well and good until I wasn’t paying attention the way I should have. That, and it truly seemed like life really got a kick out of me being caught in embarrassing situations. I was beginning to suspect it was all part of the Loveless curse.

  The chaos came at me all at once. The river’s current picked up and I didn’t react quick enough, which meant I ended up in the path of an overgrown tree whose branches decided to teach my face a lesson. Stinging pain hit me before I’d realized what had happened. First, I thought I was stung by a yellow jacket—that’s how severe the pain was—but the blood dripping down my face and feeling like someone rubbed a pine scented air freshener into an open wound clued me in to what had really happened.

  “Fudge biscuits!” I yelled. Don’t ask me where my mom came up with that ridiculous substitute for swearing or why as a grown woman I was still saying it. I knew why, I still didn’t want to disappoint my mother, no matter whether she was around or not. The next string was from my mom too. “Mothersmucker! Shuzzbutt! Son of a bucket!” The left side of my face felt as if it had been through a meat processor. With one hand, I reached up and touched my raw, bleeding skin, worried about the damage; with my other hand, I was trying to direct my tube to the riverbank.

  Sawyer jumped into action and was out of his tube, which he heaved to the bank. Holy crap, he was strong. After that show of manly strength, he marched up the river against the current to help me. Before I knew it, he was dragging my tube and me toward the bank.

  “Em, hold on.” He sounded so worried that it made me worry. Was I going to need stitches? Plastic surgery? That might not be bad—I could get my insurance to give me some nice contoured cheeks all in the name of fixing my mangled face. Maybe I should try and gouge my butt and stomach. I’m pretty sure they might need to suck some fat out before I could be properly sewn up.

  Sawyer had me out of my tube and situated on a rock near the bank before anyone else could get out of the water downstream. Apparently, he was the person you wanted in an emergency. Or in my case, any time.

  His cold wet fingers touched my cheek near my eye. “You’re lucky it missed your eye, but we need to get these wounds cleaned up to prevent infection and so I can tell if you’re going to need stitches.” He knelt in front of me. “Are you okay?”

  Besides the stinging pain and the ache I felt to throw myself against his wet body, I was super fantastic. I mean this trip was turning out exactly liked I’d hoped. An injury and a man-stealing goddess. I guessed now was the time to fake hypothermia or shock. If only he had a sleeping bag on him, I might have. Instead I nodded. “It’s just some scratches, I’ll be fine.”

  He tucked some of my hair back. “Em, it’s a little more than scratches.”

  “Great. I’ll get a cool new nickname like Scar Face.”

  “I think that’s been taken.” He smiled.

  “Dang it.” I was trying not to concentrate on the blood dripping down my face and neck. “How about Lady Disfigurement?”

  The back of his cold, wet hand glided down my uninjured cheek. “Emma Loveless, you never cease to amaze me.”

  Talk about amazing. I needed him to run his hand down my cheek a few dozen more times. It was the best pain reliever in the world.

  “It is pretty amazing all the trouble I seem to find myself in.”

  He gave me a breath stopping smile. “You’re definitely trouble.”

  Chapter Eleven

  The title of Lady Disfigurement was still up in the air, but for now I was half mummy face. Dr. King determined the cuts didn’t call for stitches, but he was worried about infection, especially since we were camping. He had fretted about whether we should get back to civilization, but it was one night, and I was no quitter. And I loved sitting around the camp fire next to Shelby, who had stolen Sawyer’s camp chair, because guess who hadn’t brought one?

  Shelby took my hand. “Honey, now don’t you worry, I have some magic cream at home that is going to make it look like you never ran into that nasty old tree branch. You’ll be as pretty as you ever were.”

  Was that a compliment or a slight? I had to say I think she was sincere. Why did she have to be nice? I wanted to hate her, especially since Sawyer was sitting on a rock on the other side of her. It was probably for the best he wasn’t near me, but there was nothing I liked better than when he was near me, unless he was flushing out my wounds with some antiseptic crap he carried around in his doctor kit; that burned like it was molten lava. Even then, though, I wanted to kiss his face off. It had been so close. I loved it when he was all doctory. I’d made sure to make it to my annual eye exams now that he was my optometrist. He’d told me a few months ago that I had beautiful corneas.

  I tried not to think about it and instead I smiled at Shelby, who was wearing one of my sweatshirts and swimming in it, I might add. All the girl brought were shorts and tank tops. “Thank you. Maybe the scars will add some character.”

  She laughed and patted my hand. “Emma, you are a delight.”

  A delight? I hadn’t heard that one before from a peer. “So are you,” I breathed out.

  Unfortunately, it was true. Ask Kellan, who was drooling across the way for her. He kept asking Sawyer if he wanted his camp chair. Kellan was happy to take the rock. Ashton probably would have offered too, but he had mysteriously disappeared after we’d returned from our excursion. He said he had to get to the nearest town that had reception for an important business call. That was odd. Who had a business call on Saturday? And what business? Was he leaving the Ranch already? I wouldn’t blame him. It’s not like it was a career that had a lot of upward mobility, and the pay wasn’t stellar. Dad was fair and always gave bonuses, but judging by the expensive SUV Ashton drove, he was used to a more lucrative career. He’d done something in construction when he lived in Vegas. He never said exactly what. I hoped he made it back before the sun completely set. These roads at night were hard to navigate.

  For a moment, I took in the fire at twilight. The way it crackled and danced. In it I saw my mom. This was her favorite thing to do when we camped. I eyed the dutch oven with her famous pineapple upside down cake that we were going to have for dessert. It was about ready to be enjoyed. I could smell the sweetness. It smelled like Mom. I looked around at the faces that reflected the glow of the firelight: Jenna’s, Brad’s, Aspen’s. Sawyer’s I saved for last. His beautiful face was already smiling at mine. Four beautiful people inside and out who had helped me through the most difficult year of my life.

  While I was staring at Sawyer, Jenna said, “You know what this reminds me of?”

  We all turned our attention to the cute preggers lady.

  Jenna gave me a mischievous grin. “Remember when we were about thirteen and we begged your mom to let us spend the night outside because we wanted to set off the firecrackers we had been gifted without anyone knowing?”

  By gifted she meant we stole them from her older brother.

  I shook my head at her. “We were real geniuses.”

  “Well, maybe if someone hadn’t left the bag near the fire pit.” Jenna smirked.

  “Hey, my s’mores needed saving.”

  Jenna rolled her eyes.

  “What happened?” Sawyer asked.

  “Well, let’s just say Emma could have been a great pyrotechnician”

  I turned to Sawyer. “We lit up the sky like the Fourth of July. My mom and dad came running out after the initial boom to find our backyard lit up in an array of colors. While my dad dragged Jenna and me to safety, my mom stood and smiled, taking it all in. I thought she would have been furious, but she kept saying how beautiful it all was.” I choked up.

  “She was the best,” some emotion crept into Jenna’s
voice too.

  “And could she bake,” Brad remembered fondly. “That chocolate peanut butter fudge she made every Christmas was the bomb. She always let me lick the spatula.” That meant a lot to Brad, who only grew up with his father.

  “I remember when I got my wedding dress back,” Aspen tried not to gag, “and the alterations were all wrong. Your mom stayed up all night painstakingly taking stitches out all while telling me not to listen to the naysayers telling me I was wasting my life getting married so young and having a baby. Babies were a blessing, she said, no matter how they came. She never judged me for getting pregnant with Chloe or when Leland ran out on us.” Aspen cried. “Every week for a year she brought me a box of diapers with cash hidden in it.”

  I never knew that. My tears flowed. I had to catch them before they soaked the dressing on the injured side of my face.

  “Not once did she ever forget mine or Chloe’s birthday.”

  “Her birthday presents were the best,” now Jenna was choking up.

  Brad was nodding.

  “They really were,” I said. “I don’t know how she did it, but it was like she knew exactly what would make you supremely happy. And it was never anything you asked for. When I turned nine, she gave me a telescope. Never in a million years would I have ever thought about asking for one. But night after night after my mom put the twins to bed, she would take me out on the deck and she would show me the moon and tell me stories about when she was growing up and where she was when Apollo 11 landed on the moon. We even got to see some of Jupiter’s moons through that old thing.”