I look over at the back door, waiting for Jax to come out. I thought he would be right down, but it's taking much longer than I thought it would. I open my book. It's a steamy, BDSM-lite tale of a widowed man of the house who falls in love with his daughter's nanny. It's kind of like Jane Eyre. I’m hoping for less tragedy and more light bondage.
I am deep into the third chapter when a shadow falls over me. I look up to see a shirtless Jax wearing navy blue swim trunks. He has his silver Macbook Pro tucked under his arm along with a different leather bound journal than the one he was sketching in when I'd interrupted him in the library. Aviator sunglasses sit perched on his nose.
It is all I can do to not stare at his bare torso, which is covered in more tattoos than I remember from our night together. Black geometric shapes and curves skate across the most chiseled six pack I have ever seen in my life. I feel like I could get lost in the maze of those tattoos for days. Weeks. Months. Seeing him in broad daylight takes my breath away.
"Enjoying the book, sis?" Jax asks me merrily.
My fantasy comes to a screeching halt. There’s that “sis” thing again. "Uh...yeah. It's great. I'm sorry - sis?" I ask him boldly.
Jax just grins at me and sits down in the chair next to my lounger. "Well, you are, aren't you?"
I bite my lip. If he thinks of me as a sister...well. I guess that's a good thing. It's not like anything can happen. It's not like I want anything to happen.
That’s a lie.
"Yeah, I guess we are. And I am enjoying it," I say. He raises his eyebrows with a smile. "The book,” I clarify hastily, blushing. “I’m enjoying the book. This sun is making me a little sleepy, though."
Jax sets his work items on the lounger next to mine. "Take a nap," he says. "I can get you a blanket if you want. Or open the umbrella for you."
I’ve already tried to open it once but couldn't get it to go anywhere. Suddenly, I wonder if Jax had seen me doing that. I blush again. "No, I shouldn't sleep through my first baby-free day since the day before I went into labor."
Jax looks surprised. "You haven't had a single baby-free day since Ryan was born?"
I feel a funny tickle in my stomach as Jax says my baby's name out loud. I clear my throat. "Nope, it's always just me and him."
He furrows his brows. "Paul doesn't ever let you have a day-" then he stops. Conflict appears on his face. "I see."
I shift uncomfortably. I feel weird and disloyal hearing another man judging my boyfriend; especially a man who I’ve fucked. I know that Paul is far from perfect, but it’s one thing for me to admit that and quite another for my gorgeous stepbrother who I am having continual sexual fantasies about to be judging him. Jax seems to notice that the conversation has taken a turn for the worse. "You sure you don't want a nap?" he asks. "I'll wake you up in half an hour. I promise."
As if on cue, I yawn. I try to stifle it but it's too late. "Okay," I acquiesce. He reaches over and lowers the back of my chair for me without me asking. I try not to stare at his biceps as he crouches and leans the teak chair back.
"There we go," he says, standing up and dusting his hands off. "You want that umbrella now?"
I nod. "That would be great. Oh, and can you tell Susan when she gets back with my piña colada to put it in the fridge? Or you can drink it. I just don't want it to melt." Jax nods. There is a sadness in his expression as he looks at me, his long, dark eyelashes framing his eyes.
I lay back on the lounger and close my eyes. I am asleep almost at once.
CHAPTER TWENTY
JAX
I get zero work done.
Tessa is asleep almost immediately and I spend a good five minutes just staring at her body. She looks so peaceful. And immensely fuckable.
No.
Stepsister.
When Susan comes over with Tessa's drink, I take it from her and down it in six gulps. It's icy and way too sweet for me. But I could use the alcohol. It's good enough that I flag her down for two more. I glance back at Tessa. She's still sleeping soundly. Then I open up my laptop and go into my email. I have eighty-seven unread messages. I know Tony will get to most of them.
I go into my other email account and hit compose. A fresh box pops up and I type a simple message. "I have proof of what you’ve been doing. You need to tell Tessa.” My finger hovers over the send icon. I look back at Tessa one more time and hit send.
I close my laptop and drink another piña colada. I feel restless and antsy and walk around the pool twice. Then I can't stand it anymore. I have to know. I have to see if there’s a reply.
“Who the hell is this?” is the reply from Paul.
“I’m calling you later tonight. You have one day to tell her or I tell her for you.” I hit send again, my heart pounding.
I hear Tessa sigh and rustle. I hastily close out my email application and shut my laptop. She's awake. "Hey," she says, smiling sleepily up at me. "What time is it?"
"I was just about to wake you up, actually. It's been about..." I check my watch. Shit. "An hour or so. You just looked so peaceful I didn't want to wake you." Or, you know, I was busy blackmailing your lying, cheating boyfriend. Same thing, really.
Tessa sits up, the towel she’s using as a blanket falling off of her chest and revealing her tits once again. They somehow look even more spectacular than they did before she fell asleep. "You want your drink now?" I ask her.
She furrows her eyebrows in apparent confusion. "Why are you being so nice to me?"
I feel like my guilt is etched all over my face. I do the only thing I can think to do to distract her. I stand up and stretch, giving her a full view of my body. I reach up and undo my hair, shaking it out around my head and then twisting it back up. When I'm finished, I return my gaze back to her face. Her mouth is hanging open.
Well. That works.
“You’re teasing me,” Tessa intones.
I shrug. “I would never do that.”
She rolls her eyes and grabs her sunblock. “Can you put this on my back?” she asks with a grin.
Shit. My plan is backfiring already.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
TESSA
I take the bottle and open the cap, feeling Jax's eyes on me the entire time. I squirt the creamy lotion onto my arms and start rubbing. My skin is moon white after an Indiana fall and early winter.
He steps over and surprises me by straddling the seat behind me. He lifts me up by the armpits and moves me forward. "I need more space. Sis," he says, his rough-palmed hands reaching over me and grabbing the bottle. I hear the splutter of the lotion coming out of the bottle. Then I feel his hands on my back and nearly melt. He's kneading my shoulders in ways that I've never been touched before, my hard, knot-filled muscles collapsing happily underneath the pressure.
"What is it you do again?" I ask him, trying to keep my mind off of wanting to straddle him.
"Computers," he says simply, roughly pushing my head down so he can get to my neck.
"Why does a computer guy have such rough hands?" I ask. I have to know.
“I work on cars in my spare time.” Jax stops touching me. "Am I hurting you, princess?"
I blush and anger rushes through me. I stand up. "Don't call me princess."
Jax has a wry smile playing across his gorgeous, full lips. "I'm not done."
"I'll risk the burning," I say stubbornly. "Close your eyes."
He does as I ask him to. I quickly remove the sarong and toss it in front of him on the chair. My ass is barely covered by the bottoms, and the last thing I want is him getting a full view of my glaringly white, dimpled bottom. I step near the edge of the pool and jump in, throwing caution to the wind.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
JAX
She's fucking with me.
And yeah, I peek when she tells me not to. Jesus. That ass.
Her hair disappears underneath the water. It's been a long time since I've been around a woman who will get her hair wet at the pool. Most women I'm around just like to
preen poolside and apply endless layers of tanning lotion. My mind flashes to her soft skin underneath my hands. She's so small my two hands next to each other nearly wrap around to her tits. I'd wanted to reach out and touch them so badly.
Stepsister.
No.
I stand up and make a running dive into the pool, making sure to get as close to Tessa as I can without landing on top of her. I know it will scare the shit out of her. It’s payback for her teasing me.
My shoulders slice through the water. It feels incredible. I know my dad keeps it warmed up to just the right temperature year round. I've never seen him use it before, but that's par for the course with most things he buys. The pool is yet another prop in his meaningless, rich asshole existence.
I dolphin kick deeper into the water and see Tessa's legs within my reach. I grab both of them and pull her back under the water. I hear her shriek disappear and see her hair coming out of its high bun. The sunlight coming through the water makes her look like a mermaid. A mermaid that I want to ravage thoroughly. She kicks at me and we both come up for air.
I'm happy to see that she's laughing when we emerge. "You scared me!" she shrieks. "I thought you were going to dive on top of me and then you go and grab my legs." She's breathless with laughter. The sound makes me imagine her spread-eagled on the top of my mattress.
"Scaring you was the point, sis," I say.
She splashes me squarely in the face and then swims away. I grab her by the ankles and pull her back toward me. She's light and doesn't put up a struggle. She flips around and hits me on the arm playfully. She's laughing. It's like music. I want to hear more of it. I put my hands around her waist and tickle her ribs.
She's gasping for breath through her laughter. "Jax...oh God, stop it!" she shrieks. I pull my hands away from her reluctantly. I don’t want her to drown. She treads water where I easily touch the bottom of the pool. "Let's play a game," she says.
I raise my eyebrows. "Okay. What kind of game?"
"Truth or dare."
I laugh. "You go first. Truth or dare?"
Her eyes flash as she considers. "Truth."
I consider. I can ask her anything I want to ask her. "Where was the first time you had sex?"
Tessa's eyes go wide, but she recovers quickly. "In my bedroom. When I was home on college break. Paul came to visit over the holidays and he snuck into my bedroom. It's one of the only times I think I got away with something like that without my mother knowing. Okay. Your turn. Truth or dare."
"Truth."
"Where was your first time?"
I had a feeling that was going to be the question. I tilt my head toward the house. "The garage. In my dad's Bugatti. She was my babysitter."
Tessa shrieks and puts her hands over her mouth. "You're kidding!"
I try to keep my face serious but I can't. "Yeah, I'm kidding about the babysitter part. But it was in the Bugatti."
Tessa splashes me again. "My turn. Truth."
"Really? I was hoping you'd ask for a dare." This is a lie. I've had a question for her this whole time. But I shouldn't ask it. I know I shouldn't. "What's the deal with you and Paul?"
Tessa's face falls and I immediately regret stealing the joy out of the moment. "What do you mean?"
I clear my throat. "You know. How did you meet, all that?”
Tessa dives under the water. She stays under so long I worry for a split second that she's trying to drown herself. She finally comes back up for air, the water cascading over her hair which she's let out of the ponytail. It sticks to her shoulders and to the tops of her tits. I swallow hard, trying to breathe through my nose to keep myself in control.
"We met in college. He was the TA for one of my art history classes; I thought he was cute but never talked to him. Then one night, we both happened to be at a bar just off campus. He was drunk. I heard him say to his friend "Look at that girl's tits! They are huge!" Tessa looks annoyed at this memory.
"Charming," I mutter.
Tessa composes herself. "Yeah. I was attracted to that kind of thing once upon a time." She raises her fingertips to her mouth and gasps a little as if shocked those last words have slipped out of her mouth. But it's too late. Her words hang in the air between us.
Suddenly desperate to return to the lighthearted afternoon we've been enjoying, I remove my own hair tie and shake the water out of my hair. It sprinkles all over Tessa. She holds her hands up to keep it out of her face. I flip my head over and tie it up again in a bun. When I look back up, Tessa has a mischievous grin on her face. Mission accomplished.
"It's your turn, Jax."
"Truth."
Tessa smiles. "What's with the long hair, Mr. CEO?"
"It's just a thing. I like it like this."
A look goes across Tessa's face and I realize I'm about to pay for asking her the question about Paul. "The one rebellion of a poor little rich boy, huh?" She's not smiling anymore.
Her words hit me like poisoned barbs. "You have no idea what the fuck you're talking about."
"Don't I?" she spits at me.
I feel anger coursing through my body. I slam my hands down into the pool, causing columns of water to splash everywhere. I shove water toward Tessa. She pushes water back at me, her eyes on fire. "You're just miss honesty today, huh?" I yell at her, splashing her harder.
"Why the hell are you asking me about my boyfriend anyway? You don't even like him!" She splashes me again.
"We - were - playing - a - game - that - you - started!" I yell, shoving more water at her face. She stops splashing me. "What were you expecting to get out of it? You started it,” I repeat. I realize the childishness of this statement and so does Tessa. We both burst out laughing uncontrollably. Tears are streaming down her face.
I feel like I'm going to hyperventilate from the exertion. Then I see that the lining of her white bikini isn't thick enough. The sight of her puffy nipples poking through the wet fabric makes my dick hard instantly. I dive under the water, hoping to distract myself. I stay under, holding my breath. Then I feel her body on top of my back, the soft skin of her stomach touching me.
Okay. That is not helping.
I push up out of the water; Tessa has attached herself to my back. "What the hell are you doing?" I ask her. It comes out angrier than I mean it to. I am angry, but not at her. I'm angry I can't have her, and I'm angry that I can't tell her the things that I know without her hating me for it. I'm angry that I want to fuck her senseless but I can't.
"Don't yell at me, brother," she says slyly. Then she puts both her hands on my head and tries to dunk me under water. It's an adorably pathetic attempt. She barely moves my head half an inch. I consider letting her think she's actually strong enough to push me under the water. But then I grab her thighs and try to lift her over my head instead. She shrieks, screaming, her thighs pushing against the sides of my face.
"If we could only find the kids so you all can finally meet my daughter. Kids? Where are you-"
Tessa and I both freeze. I slowly turn around with her still in the same position, my hands all over her legs and her crotch jammed on the top of my head. It's Cassie. Cassie, the baby, and what looks like half of the country club standing behind her.
The only good thing I can say about this moment is that my still-erect dick is well-hidden underneath the surface of the water.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
TESSA
My mother walks out onto the pool deck holding a now-bonnet-less Ryan along with a cadre of other women her age, all of them in sun hats and khaki bottoms. Struck speechless by the scene before her, she can do nothing but shoot daggers in my general direction.
I push on Jax's arms to get him to let go of me. He wakes up from his reverie and easily lowers me back into the water, leaning me back so I'm floating. I tread my body into an upright position, swimming to the edge of the pool. I start to get out and then remember that my ass is barely covered. Crap. I have no choice but to stay in the water. I look back at Jax and
see that he isn't moving, either.
Somebody needs to say something. I look down and see that my nipples are one hundred percent visible through the wet, white fabric of my top. I hastily pull my hair over them, hoping it will cover up most of my breasts.
"Well," says one of the tall women in the back of the group. She has a wry smile on her face. "Glad to see the pool in use for once."
My mother's composure returns to her at these words. "Yes, it certainly is." Her mouth is in a firm line. I've embarrassed her. I'll pay for this later.
"Hello, Mother!" I say loudly. "How was lunch?" My voice is back to being three octaves higher than it normally is. My heart is racing and my cheeks are burning.
"Lunch was...lovely. Ryan was a doll. As always," she says, trying to smile through her displeasure. At that moment, Ryan holds up his chubby hand and waves at me. I wave back, my heart melting. "Ladies, this is my daughter Tessa and my son Jax."
"Lovely day for a swim," Jax finally announces.
"Is the water temperature comfortable?" This question comes unexpectedly from a small, stout woman with white curly hair; she’s clutching a purple handbag.
"Uh, yeah, it's perfect," I stammer. I wonder briefly if Ashton Kutcher is going to pop out from behind a column with a TV crew.
"Well, are you two going to get out and introduce yourselves?" my mother asks us.
My stomach drops through my feet, a particularly odd sensation considering that I am floating. "I-"
Jax cuts me off. "Are you ladies staying for dinner tonight? I'd rather meet you more formally when I'm a bit more presentable." He flashes his million-dollar smile at the women. I swear I think two of them are going to faint looking at him.
My mother nods briskly. "Yes, of course!" She claps her hands together. "Shall we go to the sunroom for now?" The group of women murmur what sounds like assent and they move together as a unified herd back into the house. My mother, thankfully, follows them. I was afraid she was going to linger behind, never one to miss a chance to scold me. But she stops and turns around, looking daggers at me once again. "I'll let Susan feed Ryan dinner while you get...cleaned up." She purses her lips and looks away from me. "Jax,” she says by way of goodbye.
Forbidden: A Stepbrother Secret Baby Romance Page 10