by Ryli Jordan
“Do you have feelings for her?” Anna asked. " I just don't know why this is such a big deal for you.”
I was silent for a long moment, and Anna took that as her answer, letting out a low whistle between her teeth. “Well, that's huge, David,” she said. “I mean, I know you, right? Hearing you actually admitting to having non-platonic feelings for someone... She must be special.”
“That's not what I want to hear,” I muttered.
“So what do you want to hear?” Anna asked, passing the flask back.
I took a long sip, my throat burning a little as I swallowed it down. “I don't even know,” I admitted.
“Ah,” Anna said, a hint of a smile on her face. “So I suppose that's why you've been so preoccupied lately—because you're still trying to figure out what to do with the feelings you have.” She fixed me with a serious look. “I mean, I can't really tell you what you should do in this situation. It's a little beyond what I've ever experienced in the past. But personally, I'd make sure I wasn't doing something I'd regret. Kate isn't the type of girl you can just cut out of your life entirely if things go wrong. But then again, I've never seen you even considering having feelings for someone before, so...” Anna shrugged.
I stared pensively out the front window for a long time and then took another hearty sip of whiskey before putting the cap back on the flask and handing it over to its rightful owner. “All right, let's go inside,” I sighed.
When we got inside the house, we found it filled with a bunch of bright, jewel-toned colors, because the Whittakers had apparently decided to forego the traditional holiday party styles and go for something unique. Everywhere we looked, there were bright red ribbons, bright purple and yellow flowers, green banners, and a whole kaleidoscope of other colored ornaments and decorations.
It was kind of gaudy if you asked me—and especially since everyone expected holiday parties to look like holiday parties, with snow and icicles and gingerbread houses and everything else. By choosing not to play by the standard, I could only assume that Greg Whittaker didn't think he would be able to rival, let alone top, some of the other fine holiday parties of the season. That made my lip curl.
Anna elbowed me in the side, but she was grinning. “You're doing it again,” she told me. “That thing where you judge everyone based on their ability to host a party.”
“Well, it's an important skill to have,” I said defensively. “For someone of his standing, if he's expecting to close business deals with his peers and invites them all over for–“
“Shh,” Anna said. “Look, champagne.” She started moving across the ballroom, tugging me along by the wrist. I was so caught up in looking at the decorations that I didn't see Kate until it was too late.
Anna quite literally bumped into her. When Kate turned around to see what had just hit her, her mouth open to say something, she froze, looking back and forth between Anna and me. I saw something flicker across her face, but it was gone before I could identify it.
“Kate,” I ground out, nodding my head at her.
Anna's eyes went wide. “So you're the Kate I keep hearing about!” she said. She held out her hand. “I'm Anna. David and I have been friends since we were, like, five. I punched him in the nose and he pushed me in a puddle.”
Kate blinked and awkwardly shook Anna's hand. “Uh, sounds like quite the relationship the two of you must have,” she said.
“We're not in a relationship,” I said quickly, a bit too defensively.
“No one said you were,” Kate said breezily, but her eyes kept slipping back and forth between the two of us.
“So what do you think of your new stepbrother, eh?” Anna asked Kate, grinning at her.
Kate gave me a quizzical look for a second, and I wondered if she realized that Anna knew we had slept together. Because of course, the bad thing about telling anything to Anna was that the woman didn't have an ounce of tact.
“I mean, he's all right, I guess,” Kate said, and I wondered if she was talking about my looks or my personality.
Anna laughed, either way. “Yeah,” she agreed, reaching up to ruffle my hair in an unmistakably possessive gesture that I almost appreciated if it meant that Kate realized I was off-limits. “He is pretty all right, isn't he?”
“Hey Kate,” another woman said, coming up to our little group. I vaguely recognized her as one of Kate's close friends, but I couldn't remember her name. Whoever she was, she glanced between us, carefully giving Anna a once over. Then, she sneered. “Kate, there are a couple single guys over there who wanted me to bring you over if you're interested. And they are hot.”
Kate gave me a long look and then shrugged at my lack of response. She turned to her friend. “Sounds great. Maybe I'll let one of them take me home tonight.”
I knew, I just knew she wasn't that type of girl, but I couldn't help the jealousy that flared up as I watched her walk away, again exaggerating the swing of her round hips, which were emphasized by the flowing material of her green gown.
I turned quickly and walked in the opposite direction, eager to put as much distance between us as I could.
Chapter Fourteen
DAVID
I breathed a sigh of relief as we finally made it to the drinks table. Quickly, I chugged down two glasses of champagne, not caring what it looked like to anyone who might be watching. Kate would, I was sure, but I didn't want to talk to her about London in front of all these people.
“Well, that was interesting,” Anna laughed, appearing at my elbow. “So that's Kate?”
I scowled over at her. “Keep your voice down,” I hissed, glancing around. “I don't need everyone to know–“
“Darling,” Anna drawled, placing a hand on my forearm. “For one thing, calm down. For another, don't you realize that everyone in the vicinity of the two of you can feel the sexual tension there? And I mean, it's not like you wouldn't make an attractive–“
“Don't go there,” I interrupted. “Don't—I need to get out of here.”
“We just got here,” Anna pointed out. “It would be pretty rude for you to leave already. Anyway, we haven't even tried any of the food yet. And it looks amazing. Come on. Another couple drinks in you and you'll be feeling better. Then we can go be social butterflies like we were raised to be, and then at the end of this long and painful evening, maybe I'll let you take me home and screw me senseless.”
“Nope, doubt it,” I told her honestly. I couldn't help glancing over to where Kate and her friend were chatting with some guys I didn't know. They were pretty attractive guys, I had to admit. I didn't like the situation, not when I really wanted to stride over there and grab Kate's wrist, pulling her out of this party and taking her back to the hotel, where I would pin her up against the door and–
Anna gazing at me now. “What do you say you and I find somewhere in here where I can...show you a little incentive, maybe?”
I raised an eyebrow at her, laughing a little. “Oh, it’ll be a quick ‘bj’,” she said.
I buried my head shaking it. I know I shouldn’t give into this, but it’s just a blow job I think to myself. Just some closure because I’m completely done with Anna after this.
We finally found a bathroom in a semi-deserted area towards the back of the house, and we slipped into it together. It was large, even though it was clearly not one of the main ones in use given its location.
“Already quite hard, hmm?” she asked teasingly. “Are you thinking about her?”
I gave her a guilty look, not sure what to say in response to that. The thing was, Anna and Kate were totally different lays, but I couldn't help thinking of Kate right then, imagining her hands on me. I could only imagine what it would be like to have Kate someplace like this, where we were being so very obvious about something so naughty.
“It's okay,” Anna said, misreading my hesitation. “I don't mind if you think of someone else. But if you want me to stop–“
“Why the fuck would I want you to stop?” I growled,
grabbing a fistful of hair at the back of her head.
“I want to blow you until you cum,” Anna said, pushing me back a little so she could hop off the counter, and oh, didn't those words send zings of pleasure shooting straight to my throbbing dick.
I turned so I was leaning back against the counter, bracing my hands on either side of myself as Anna dropped to her knees in front of me. She slowly undid my belt buckle and then the zipper on my jeans, tugging them and my boxers down to the ground and lightly kissing the very tip of my dick.
I couldn't stop a ragged moan falling from my mouth, and Anna grinned up at me, her blue eyes bright with her own excitement.
Slowly, she slid her mouth along my shaft and then slipped the whole thing into her mouth with one go.
“You're getting better at that,” I groaned, putting a hand on the back of her blond strands to hold her there for a moment, enjoying the pressure as she hollowed her cheeks and fought to pull back and set her own pace. When I continued to hold her there, she reached up to pinch me just behind the balls, and I let go of her for a second, a burst of star-bright pleasure/pain shooting through my body.
The door swung open, and I stared dazedly at Luke, trying to process what was happening.
“Whoa, dude!” Luke said, throwing a hand up to shield his eyes. “Lock the door next time!”
“I did!” I snapped, even though clearly I must not have. I pulled away from Anna, erection already wilting as the moment slipped away. It wasn't even really that I wanted to get off with Anna, anyways. That was the most frustrating thing of all: I was almost glad that Luke had interrupted us, that I hadn't actually come with someone other than Kate. But that was a stupid thing to think when it wasn't like Kate and I were exclusive. (And whose fault is that?, I asked myself disgustedly.)
Angrily, I inspected the door and found that the locking mechanism still turned and clicked, but it wasn't quite long enough to actually be effective. “Idiots,” I muttered under my breath, staring around distastefully at the tacky beige bathroom.
I quickly tugged my pants up, redoing my belt, and reached out wordlessly to offer Anna a hand up. She at least knew better than to say anything until we were back at the party. “Come on,” she said with the patience and gentleness of a saint. “Let's go eat our weight in food.”
Chapter Fifteen
DAVID
A little while later, Luke caught up with me. After what he had witnessed earlier in the bathroom, I hadn't really expected him to seek me out. Anna had already left for the evening with Joe, another mutual friend, and I'd been thinking about getting out of there and going back to the hotel. I just needed to say my goodbyes…
When Luke came up to me, I frowned at him. “So you're back to sleeping with Anna, huh?” Luke asked with no preamble, leaning against the wall next to me. “What about Kate?”
I stared over at him, mouth agape. Then, I quickly brought my features back to neutral. “How do you know about Kate and I?” I hissed. “Did she tell you–”
Luke held up his hands in a placating gesture. “Whoa, calm down. I mean, she didn't really have to tell me; you guys are...pretty obvious about it, to be honest. I think a blind person could tell how attracted you are to one another.”
“How?” I asked, frowning. I had to figure out what it was we were doing wrong, and we had to figure out some way to correct it. We couldn't let anyone else find out about it…
Luke shrugged. “I mean, if you're not staring at her, she's staring at you. And when the two of you are interacting with one another? You could feel the sparks from a mile away. Nothing like a little passionate verbal foreplay to set the right tone for everything else. And if that weren't enough, well, we all noticed when you and Kate both just happened to disappear at the same time on Christmas. Multiple times. And for you, it might be normal to retreat to your room during family gatherings. But it's not so normal for Kate to disappear in a house she doesn't know, especially not when she's such a social butterfly normally.”
I blanched. “You all noticed?” I asked.
Luke shrugged. “I mean, no one really said anything about it. But there were definitely some pointed conversations about where the two of you might have gotten off to.”
“Dad included?” Luke nodded, and I pressed my hands to my face, feeling utterly mortified.
“But I mean, they all know how you are,” Luke said snidely. “No one expected it would last. And I'm sure they're all relieved to see you're still sleeping around with Anna.”
“You fuck around too,” I pointed out.
“Yeah, but not with family members,” Luke reminded me. His eyes tracked Kate as she crosses the room. “She does look good in that dress, though, doesn't she?”
I swatted his arm, giving him a warning look, and he smirked at me. “Don't worry, I'm not touching her.” He paused. “But, uh, I really don't think anyone would be too concerned if you wanted to… Just as long as you don't make things awkward. It's not like the two of you are actually related or anything.”
“I don't need your permission,” I snapped.
“I know,” Luke said. “But what I mean is, I don't think your parents would mind either. Otherwise, they probably would have come to find the two of you on Christmas.”
I watched him walk away and then abruptly turned to watch Kate. She was dancing with the guy from earlier, looking like she was having a wonderful time, if her grins and laughter were anything to go by. And gosh, I could just watch her swing her hips and twirl like that for ages, especially as she did a particularly quick twirl and her skirt spun out, revealing a healthy amount of that pale, porcelain skin.
She fell back in the guy's arms, still laughing breathlessly, and I watched as his hand slipped lower, resting first on her lower back and then cheekily slipping down to caress her ass.
That was when I decided I had had enough. I marched across the room, dodging other dancers as I went, and tapping her insistently on the shoulder.
She looked surprised when she turned to see me. “I'm a bit busy right now,” she said coldly, making to turn back to her partner.
I caught her shoulder in a firm grip, keeping her from completing the action. “Your mom asked me to make sure that you got home all right,” I lied. It probably wasn't the best line to use, but Linda had already stopped to say goodbye to me a little while ago, so I figured there was a possibility that she would never find out. Anyways, I wasn't really thinking about that future problem at the moment. I just needed that guy to quit touching Kate like he might be going home with her at the end of the night.
“Well, I'm not ready to go home yet,” Kate said.
“Well, that's too bad for you because I'm leaving, but I promised your mom that I'd get you home,” I said.
“You're too drunk to drive anyways,” Kate scoffed.
I rolled my eyes. “No shit, sherlock. That's why I hired a driver for the evening. He's waiting with the car outside.”
“I'm not leaving yet,” Kate said. “I'll make my own arrangements—I'll call a cab.”
“Bet you don't even know the address where you are,” I challenged. “How would you handle calling a cab?”
Kate looked momentarily embarrassed, and I counted that as a victory. But then her dance partner stepped in. “I mean, I can handle getting her home safe,” he said, smiling warmly at Kate. “Can't give an exact time for it, big brother, but Kate's a responsible adult and can make her own plans.”
I scowled at him, not sure if I was more offended by him calling me her 'big brother' or his condescending tone. “Stay out of it,” I snapped. I turned back to Kate. “Look, like I said, I already promised your mom I'd get you home safe. You don't want me to have to break my promise to my new stepmother, do you? We were all just starting to get along as a family...”
Kate looked momentarily torn at that. “I just can't believe she asked you, of all people, to get me home safe,” she finally said, but I could tell that her resolve was cracking.
I shr
ugged. “Well, she did. Now, can we please go? I'm nearly desperate to get out of this tie...”
Her partner sneered at that. “So why don't you take home a girl who will undress you, David?” he asked. “That's what you usually do at these things, isn't it? Come to think of it, where's the girl you arrived with anyway? Did she finally get sick of you?”
“Again, this is really none of your business,” I snapped at him, suddenly recognizing him. Five years of foreign university later, Michael Westin was just the same smarmy asshole that he'd ever been.
Michael's face twisted into an ugly grin. “I bet you're just trying to take her home so you can fuck her as well, right? I know how you are with pretty girls.” He reached out and boldly stroked one of Kate's breasts. “Are you jealous?”
I punched him square in the nose, and he fell back on the floor, howling in pain.
Kate stared at me in shock, as did a few of the people around us who realized what was happening. I blinked, not having though through that action at all, just having reacted to what he was saying. I must be drunker than I had thought… I swallowed hard, only imagining what my father would have to say to me when he heard about this. Especially if this screwed up his deal with Greg Whittaker, I would be in for some serious lectures on responsibility and respectability. There wasn't much he could do at this point, of course, since I'd been independent for years, but… Well, I did like to stay on good terms with him.
I turned to Kate. “We're leaving,” I hissed. But I turned to stalk out of there without once looking to make sure she was with me.
Surprisingly enough, she followed meekly behind me and climbed into the back of the car with me. “That was a little interesting,” she said quietly.
I gave the driver the address of her house and then fell silent.