by Nicole Snow
“What's so fucking funny?” he growls, stepping out and slamming the door behind him with a bang.
“You're such an irresponsible dumbass, Ty. I almost feel sorry for you. Almost.”
“I told you I don't need your sympathy. What I need is a ride to the goddamned beach. Now, you gonna let me chill in your car, or are we gonna waste a perfectly clear Washington evening seeing who can piss the hardest?”
I sink my teeth into my lower lip. He's an asshole and an idiot.
I can't believe I'm about to do this, but leaving him here to roll around drunk or even hurt himself under the influence isn't something I want on my hands. Honestly, he's sad too, pulling on my hearstrings in a lost boy kinda way.
“Fine. Follow me and get in. I swear to God, if you touch anything in my car or lay another hand on me, you're out. I'll pull over and kick you to the curb. I don't care if you have to call up the chauffeur or fucking hitchhike home. You're only my problem as long as you behave yourself.”
Grinning, he throws his hands up, gives them a shake, and then pushes them behind his back. “These hands have knocked twenty guys out cold. I know how to control them. You worry too much, Sis. I won't turn a single hair on that sexy brunette head gray.”
Rolling my eyes, I get in my car and wait for him to lumber into the passenger seat. It takes a minute to make sure he's got his seat belt on, and then we're off.
Passing through the gate with the guard shack humiliates me just enough to forget about Ty's stupid antics for a second. Amazingly, the guard smiles, whispers a few pleasant words, and reveals nothing. I can't believe he isn't secretly wondering what this peasant girl with the old beater is doing on his billionaire boss' long driveway.
It's a ten minute drive down the sprawling coast. It's almost all part of Gary's estate. I can't believe how many miles of coastline this crazy family owns, but I'm beginning to figure out billions can buy just about anything.
So why can't they buy happiness? Is that old cliche really true?
I keep looking at Ty. I can't figure him out. He's either an asshole wrapped in an enigma, or an enigma bound up in a total asshole.
He hasn't said a word since we got through the gate. He's staring out at the Pacific's roaring waves, little sailboats lining the distant horizon. The hand on his forehead tells me the rum is finally getting to him.
“Do you always drink like this?” I ask.
He shrugs. “I play hard when I can. Life's short, babe. Got my training in yesterday, and I'm all about relaxing now, especially after that fucked up family sit down this morning. I'd have needed a couple stiff drinks after that shit any day.”
He's right about that. I'm feeling so much better just being out of the house.
“Is that why you stormed off this morning? Look, I didn't mean to be such a bitch. But I haven't gotten over what you said –“
He waves a hand. “You will, Sis. I don't say shit I don't mean. We're stuck in this fucking house together. Both of us are cursed to watch while our parents fuck up their lives with this stupid marriage. We can either learn to like it, or lump it all goddamned summer. All I know is, summers here are way too short for sulking. I wanna forget about this bullshit for the rest of the day and soak up some sun. You know I'm right.”
Even as a drunken fool, he's too confident. I want to wipe that know-it-all look off his face.
Too bad the asshole's making sense too. Maybe it won't hurt to give him one more chance. He's obviously troubled.
Neither of us asked for this mess. We've been thrown together in the same box like two stray cats. I can't believe Mom didn't consider the tensions I'd have with this step-brother I never asked for. Then again, it's not her fault I ran into this asshole before I knew he was even family, let him get his lips and hands all over me...
“Hey! Right there!” I'm snapped out of my thoughts by Ty leaning into me and pointing. “That's a perfect fucking spot. There's a little dock and some sweet views, better than the boathouse a couple miles back.”
“Okay! You know I'm trying to drive here, right?” I shake him away off me, rolling my shoulders.
I turn onto a little service road and follow it up to the beach. Ty pops his door first and flops out, bouncing onto his feet and running toward the shore.
He's left me in the dust. Once again, I feel like a complete idiot, and then an even bigger one when I'm trying to catch up with him.
“Wait, wait, wait!” I call. He doesn't stop until he's just a small figure up ahead.
I can't decide if he's ignoring me or just unable to hear me over the ocean's roar. Shaking my head, I start to slow down, deciding to admire the beauty instead.
God, this is stupid. Worse than chasing after a loose dog.
It is, and I'm way past caring. If he wants to run right into the shimmering blue waves and let the sea carry him away, it's not my problem.
Oh, except I'll be more than a little liable if anything happens to this drunken asshole. I doubt my brand new billionaire father with the explosive temper will let it go lightly if I brought his son to the sea to drown.
A couple seagulls squawk overhead. My cue to start running. I have to catch up.
There's plenty of sand between my toes now, but not like I expected. I never got a chance to change into my sandals before the dickhead took off.
Where the fuck is he?
He's disappeared into a long sandy path through some tall brush lining the hills overlooking the beach.
My heart's racing. I'm starting to get seriously freaked out. I follow it for what seems like forever and start to second-guess myself. It's getting narrower and a little more rocky, so I have to slow down, much to the relief of my poor lungs.
I haven't been working out like I should for the last year. I make a mental note to do something about it – assuming I can find this jackass.
He beats me to it. Ty comes up behind me when I'm not looking and tackles me to the ground. I hit the sand with an oomph and roll, slapping at his face.
“Asshole! You got us lost!”
He grabs my wrists like they're nothing and pins me to the ground. That brash, rage-inducing smile I'm starting to recognize as his trademark lightens his face.
There's something hard against my leg. It better not be his cock, or I'm going to scream. Mainly because it doesn't freak me out nearly as much as it should.
Apparently, my flesh still can't understand that such an amazing body belongs to a complete freak. I hate wanting him, and I don't care that it's all on a primal level I can't control. It's too fucking much.
I push against him as hard as I can. He falls backwards and lands on his butt, laughing. There's no way I managed to move him, he's just lost his balance. Lucky me.
“Lost? I come here all the fucking time. This is my spot. Perfect place for drinks too.” He reaches into his pocket and fumbles around.
Heat flushes my cheeks when I see it's just another little bottle of rum. For a second, I wondered if it was a condom. He pops the cap and takes a long pull before handing it to me.
“What? Did you think I lured you out here to fuck my own sister?” The look on his face says he knows damned well what I was thinking. “Come on. Have a nip. I can't be a selfish prick if I like to share.”
I rip the bottle out of his hands. The sharp stink hits my nostrils like pickle juice. For a rich boy, you'd think he'd be drinking something nicer.
It's disgusting, infuriating, and out of place. Just like him. Damn, just like us.
I wait until his eyes are locked to mine, and then I hold it out, tip it upside down, and empty every drop on the ground.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” His arm shoots out, rips the little bottle out of my hand, and throws it several feet away when he sees it's empty. “You're still treating me like a total asshole!”
“That's because you are one,” I snarl, crossing my arms. “You scare the utter shit out of me, put your hands where they don't belong, and then you litter this nice beach to
top it all off. Seriously, Ty, what the hell am I supposed to think? You're not acting like a Nobel prize winner.”
Ty laughs while I'm shaking my head. Slapping him stupid doesn't seem like it'll do the job – I want to fucking punch him right between his gemstone blue eyes.
“I started to think there was another side to you this morning. Your dad treated you like crap at the table. But you're really the same – both of you! You've got his habits. You treat me with the same respect you've got for the rest of the world, I guess. None at all. You obviously don't care about anything around you.” I point to the fallen bottle.
The playful smirk on his face melts. Those baby blues turn angry, dark and cold like an iceberg threatening to gut anything that comes too close.
“You can shut your mouth now, babe, 'cause you don't know shit. Come the fuck on, Claire. You think I need a lecture in your hippie enviro-shit? I did a charity fight last winter for conservation. Gave the money to a group that's got a brain in its head just to piss my old man off. You're just about to start interning for a bunch of crazy asshole idealists. You can't tell me you're a true believer in all this group's shit.”
No, I'm not true blue. The bastard has me there.
Sure, I want to see the state's natural wonders preserved. I know Cascades Now! has a reputation for extremes. Mostly, I'm excited because they're going to give me experience and throw a few bucks my way – everything I want out of my first post-college gig.
“Of course not,” I hiss. “I don't believe in everything they do any more than you support everything your dad's done with Spree. Or maybe you do think it's okay to dump your crap out here when nobody's looking?”
That does it. Ty jumps up, stomps right past me, into the brush. He returns a second later, holding the empty glass flask in one hand.
“You wanna get personal, Sis? I can do that shit, yeah, but I'd rather just fucking go.” Without asking, he reaches down, grabs my hand, and jerks me onto my feet.
I follow him down the windy path back toward the beach. The Pacific's churning waves should be a comfort, but it just puts me more on edge. Bright evening sun dances off the waters – too bright. It's reflective, blinding.
The asshole a few steps in front of me is the reason I forgot my sunglasses too.
“Personal?” What the hell are you talking about?”
He doesn't answer me until we stop next to a tall blue canister. He drops the glass bottle into it, and it hits the bottom with a resounding clap. Guess there aren't a lot of visitors on this private land.
He stops and stares at me, his arms folded over his huge chest. Jesus, I can't stop staring at him, even when I'm steaming mad. Ty's got an angel's body – a guardian angel's – and it takes so much effort not to let my eyes glide down him too long.
I shouldn't be so hot and bothered. Okay, maybe bothered because he's punched all my wrong buttons. But I know I'm in trouble when he steps up, closing the distance between us, and I can't stop sneaking little glances at his powerful hips.
The shorts he's wearing accent everything. His bare legs are as built and muscular as the rest of him, and I know that hard ass at the top lets him run like the wind.
Does he shake a girl straight down to her bones when he's between her legs, driving deep and hard? Fucking this animal must hurt. Probably in all the best ways I can imagine.
And believe me, my overactive, inexperienced virgin brain is going wild.
Ty stops with less than a couple inches between us. He must've seen me peeking because his eyes are all over me, lingering on my breasts. I'd regret not wearing something a little more conservative if I wasn't busy regretting this whole damned thing.
He reaches out and puts a hand on my shoulder, starts to turn me before I can protest. “Spin, babe. You've got sand all over your ass.”
He gets two or three quick strokes down my back and over my butt before I dart away. Fucker.
I can't blame him for looking because I was doing the same, but I'm drawing the line at him ever getting his filthy hands on me again. “Don't be a pig.”
Ty comes closer, his handsome face cast in arrogance again. “Pig? Let's talk about that shit for a second. You're right about one thing, Claire – my old man's an asshole. You won't hear me arguing otherwise. I always wondered what the fuck caused him to ride my ass so hard. Could never tell if it was just chasing money, or because losing Mom so young fucked him up.”
My head tilts and I study his face, wondering where he's going with this. “Maybe you should worry more about the road you're going down, Ty. That's something you can control.”
He breaks the gaze and walks right past me. I walk fast, trying to catch up, stepping into his footprints in the sand.
Did I actually hit a sore spot – or is he just waiting to jerk me around again?
“Before today, I thought my old man was one-of-a-kind. Greedy, narcissistic, cut throat. Willing to do anything to take the empire he's built with his bare hands to the next level. I'll never be the perfect son, and it's too fucking late for him to mold me. But he's got the rest of his life to mold Spree into what he wants.”
“Why today? What changed?”
“Meeting Amanda. Straight up, your ma's different, lower on the totem pole in some respects. Still, that woman had to pull some seriously sneaky shit to sweet talk my old man into marrying her. She's landed herself a fucking whale for financing future campaigns. Not too shabby for a politico, right? Fuck, you'll go far if you're half as big a snake as mama. Maybe you can find yourself Prince Charming, some dude who's loaded to make it easier for you to stand around and lecture everybody else.”
Wow. I come to a dead stop. I'm almost speechless.
Ass. Hole.
When the words come back, they come fast and hot. So do my fists. I fly forward and start hitting him over and over. He grabs me, stops me so easily, grabs my wrists and twists them like I'm a child. It's as infuriating as the laughter pouring out of his evil sexy lips.
“Knock it the fuck off, babe. Throw me a fucking bone and don't play stupid. You're a smart girl. We both know what this marriage's all about. Are you pissed because I opened your eyes, or because I threw something you already knew in your face?”
“I'm pissed because you're the most condescending, insulting jerkoff in the entire world!”
“Ah, the whole world,” Ty muses, loosening his hold on my wrists and lowering them to my waist. “You must get around a lot for a Congresswoman's daughter. Shit, here I thought North Korea still had some bigger pricks than me.”
I flap my limbs, arms and legs pumping, putting sorely needed distance between us. It's my turn to start walking. The beautiful daylight wanes fast, and not just because he's once again made a complete ass out of me. I stare at the thick clouds rolling in from the Pacific, doubling my steps to make it to the car before it starts to rain.
I don't dare look back. Ty doesn't even chase me or say anything until my old car comes into view, an ugly metal lump totally out of place on this gorgeous beach. It doesn't matter that the scenic value is about to plummet with a Washington rain coming ashore.
“Hey.” Ty's voice hits me from behind, just as he grabs my shoulders. “I didn't know you were so sensitive. Never meant to make you this pissed. If you want me to walk home, I'm more than happy to –“
“Just get the fuck off me and get in the car!” I scream, spinning and slapping him away. “I don't understand you!”
“Feeling's mutual, babe.”
“No, it's not. I didn't decide to zero-in the moment I first saw you and treat you like complete shit. I don't get why you're doing everything you can to get a fucking rise out of me. Is it just a sick game? Are you hitting on me? Playing me for kicks? You're supposed to be my fucking brother!”
He laughs, arrogant as ever. “Don't fucking flatter yourself, babe. You think I'm so desperate I'd fuck my own little Sis?”
Of course I do, even if I'm afraid to say it. He's proven he's Prince Asshole, with all the d
angerous looks of Prince Charming. I can't rule out anything on his agenda.
“Bullshit!” he roars at last. “You really don't know me, do you? I'm Tyler fucking Sterner. Every goddamned day's a pussy buffet at my club. I can and will fuck everything in Seattle before I'd ever lay my hand on you. Even if you weren't little Sis, you're not the kinda chick I take to my bed unless I've got one or two hotter girls on the other arm. You're a side dish. Nothing more. Get the fuck over yourself, Little Miss Perfect – pussy like yours is a dime a dozen.”
Tears sizzle in my eyes. I hate him so much.
He's stabbing me in the heart again and again, reminding me what a worm I am compared to the almighty billion dollar golden boy. He's a stain, a disease, and if I had any goddamned backbone, I'd leave him behind. I'd head back to Seattle and scrimp together whatever money I can for an apartment, exit this sideshow Mom's snuck into my life.
I should reach down and scoop up some sand to plug my ears so I don't have to hear his crap the rest of the drive home. Either that, or scoop up some dirt and throw it right in those perfect blue bastard eyes. I want to fucking blind him the same way he's doing to me.
Facing the ground, I put my hand over my brow, hiding the tears.
I've got to keep moving, while my legs still work, or I'll never escape this torture. I get in the car and slam my door before he can answer.
It takes everything to fight the tears back. It helps to know that I really am a better person than this pompous, indulgent shit who won't stop looking sexy as he wipes his feet all over me. And because I'm better than him, I'm not going to abandon his twisted ass out here in the middle of nowhere.
Ty lingers outside for about a minute, until I honk the horn, giving it a long, hard push. The sound blasts out to sea, now taking rain from the clouds overhead.
He looks at me, shuffles over, and gets in. His eyes are softer, more sober looking and less cruel. I can't resist revving the car, letting the engine voice the growl that's tearing me apart from the inside-out.