It seemed obvious now she wasn’t the reason he had left or stayed away. Unless she was indirectly? Had Philip discovered how she felt and sent Ethan away to nip any tender emotions in the bud and force her to let go of her teenage crush? It didn’t sound like the sort of thing a father would do, but Philip was her father as much as he was Ethan’s.
Sadly, he was probably closer to her than he was Ethan, since his son had stayed with his biological mother after the divorce and only visited during the summers and an occasional holiday. Her stomach clenched as she considered the possibility Philip had acted in what he’d believed was her best interest by asking his son not to return.
His behavior that night had convinced her at the time he wanted nothing to do with her, but could that have been an act? Was he also trying to act in her best interest back then, as he claimed now?
It was true she had been a young eighteen, sheltered and pampered, with limited interaction with the opposite sex. Ambra had even attended an all-girls’ school until graduation a few weeks before Ethan came to stay with them. She’d dated, of course, but she had been ripe for being swept off her feet by an older man, especially one as charming and handsome as her stepbrother.
If he had felt the same way, guilt must have eaten at him, considering their differences in life experiences and age. Not to mention he was her stepbrother, though they’d never had a sibling-like relationship.
She could feel herself softening toward Ethan, the ball of anger and humiliation that always formed in her stomach when she remembered that night seeming to melt slightly. What had occurred still embarrassed her, but some of the hurt was lessening as she considered Ethan had simply been trying to do the right thing.
It hadn’t felt like the right thing back, but with an adult perspective and more maturity, though no more physical experience than she’d had three years ago, she acknowledged it had been the right thing to do. They had been too different back then for a relationship to work.
She would have lost herself in his more forceful personality and become whatever Ethan wanted her to be. Even if he hadn’t deliberately set out to mold her, she’d been vulnerable and would have changed herself to please him. Maybe he had realized that and had wanted her to develop into her own person first.
It was certainly a lot to think about, and she crawled into the large bed with her mind full, thoughts crowding her brain until the early hours of the morning. Finally, exhaustion beat out contemplation, and she fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.
Chapter Three
Ethan woke her early with breakfast. To her surprise, he set the tray on the bed across her lap and issued instructions for her to be ready to join him when he came back to pick her up in forty-five minutes. Without further clarification of just what he had in mind, she didn’t know how to dress, but she ate her breakfast quickly, not surprised to find it included her favorite items. She assumed that was also Mr. Gibbons’s doing.
After eating, Ambra left the bed and took a quick shower in the luxurious bathroom before dressing in jeans and a sweater. Her wardrobe choices reflected the fact he’d worn something similar when delivering her tray. When he tapped on her door and entered without waiting for her to issue an invitation to enter, she was ready, with two minutes to spare.
He gave her a look of appreciation. “You make sweaters and jeans look darn good, Ambra.”
His faded jeans molded his legs and emphasized his taut bum, so she could say with complete sincerity, “So do you, Ethan.”
He led her from the room, her hand grasping his, and the skin-to-skin contact sent tingles up her arm. The physical reaction to his proximity hadn’t changed, and she wasn’t sure if it ever would.
They left the large house, but instead of taking her to a vehicle, he tugged her in the opposite direction toward the stables and the back of the estate. Hand-in-hand, they wandered the grounds and talked about his plans for the place. Stopping at one point near a large cleared space, he said, “This was a garden and will be again. What kind of flowers should we plant here, Ambra?”
It was a silly question, and she had no say in the matter, but she played along. “I’ve always considered flowers a waste of space. I’d rather grow a garden, preferably organic, and donate anything we don’t use to people in need.”
She watched in amazement as he took out his smartphone, swiped the screen, and spoke into it a moment later about converting the main garden to an organic vegetable garden instead of planting flowers and ornamentals. She frowned at him, waiting until he finished talking before she asked, “Why did you change your plans? I have nothing to do with it.”
He gave her a smile that was a little tense. “If I have my way about it, you’ll have everything to say about what we do here. When I said I brought you to my home, and I’m keeping you, I meant it. I’m not talking about a quick fling before I send you back to Philip. I want everything…now, tomorrow, and forever.”
She shook her head, unable to believe what she’d heard. It just didn’t make sense. “If you felt that way, how could you wait three years? Why didn’t you come for me, and why wait until I was about to get married?”
“You know why. I wanted you to be grown up and ready for me.”
There was an ominous trace in his tone that made her frown. “What’s there to be ready for?”
His expression changed to one of dark intensity, and he pulled her closer to wrap his arms around her. His face was almost touching hers, though he didn’t kiss her. His brown eyes didn’t waver from her blue ones when he spoke. “You will belong to me, and only me, Ambra. I’m going to possess every inch of you. You had to be ready to accept my total ownership.”
She blinked, heart rate accelerating from a combination of fear and a touch of excitement at the dark notion. “I’m not anyone’s property, Ethan.”
He gave her a half smile. “You are, babe, but you don’t know it yet. Well, you know it, but you haven’t accepted it. You will though.”
She shook her head. “This is a side of you I never expected to see, Ethan. To be honest, it’s disturbing.”
He nodded. “It’s a little disturbing for me too. I don’t like needing you so badly, but it is what it is. You’re mine, I’m yours, and you just need to realize that.”
“So the ownership thing goes both ways?”
His brow furrowed. “Of course. What do you think I meant? Did you think I was going to be screwing around on you or something, while I expected you to stay home and play the little woman?”
She half-shrugged, not really having an answer for him, though relief swept through her at his clarification. It was still a little frightening to know how much he wanted her, but she was reassured to know he felt the same about her having him.
They would belong to each other, if she accepted his weekend of seduction and gave in to what he was offering. Clearing her throat, she pulled her hand slightly from his hold, just enough to lessen his grasp without forcing him or herself to let go. “What’s next on the tour, Ethan?”
***
They spent a pleasant two hours wandering the grounds, stopping at the stables to see the horses and discuss his intentions to expand into thoroughbred racing. He showed her improvements and those just in the planning stages, always getting her input.
Back at the house, Ethan spent a long time showing her around each of the rooms, once again giving her the history of the items and the house, and getting her opinion on changes he wished to make. She learned he had only recently acquired the property, and he had a lot of plans, but had held off making major changes until she was with him so her views could be integrated into the revisions.
She was feeling slightly overwhelmed by the whole situation, but also strangely certain he was telling her the truth as they went up to the third floor, back toward the wing containing their bedrooms. He’d listened to her intently and had duly noted all her thoughts, leading her to believe he truly planned to incorporate her opinion into his designs. That wasn’t the sort of
thing one did for a casual fling, and she was having less and less reason to doubt he really wanted her and had just been waiting for her to be older.
Instead of taking her to either one of their rooms as she had half-expected, thinking the seduction had escalated, they entered another room instead. This one also joined the master suite, off his room instead of hers, but it was a completely bare room. She stared at the white walls and white-blonde flooring before giving him a look of confusion. “What are you going to do with this room?”
He came to stand behind her, his hands on her shoulders for a moment before he pulled her back against him and wrapped his arms around her, his hands on her stomach. “This will be the nursery.”
For some reason, his words made the breath catch in her throat, perhaps because it bespoke intent. He was talking about babies. That must mean he wanted the whole package—marriage, children, pets, and happily ever after.
Her heart raced with excitement at the idea, and Ambra admitted to herself she had never gotten over him. She had spent the last three years fooling herself into thinking she had outgrown her infatuation, but it had never been just a crush.
“So tell me, Ambra, what color are the walls? Pink or blue?”
She allowed herself to relax against him, resting her head on his shoulder. “Neither.”
“Neither?” He sounded disappointed when he repeated her answer. Clearly, he believed she wasn’t going to participate in this fantasy.
With a small smile he couldn’t see, she added, “It will be either pale mint or light-yellow, because we want to be surprised. We won’t know the gender until he or she is born. Over there, above the crib, we’ll have a big wall mural full of giraffes, zebras, and lions.”
He uttered a sound of contentment. “And a large tree with monkeys and macaws.”
She laughed slightly. “Do parrots live in Africa? I thought they were indigenous to South America?”
When he shrugged, it jostled her entire body because they were so close. “I don’t know, but what does it matter? If we want parrots in our safari-themed nursery, we can certainly do that, can’t we?”
His hand moved from her stomach to explore lower, his fingers brushing against the top of her mound. “After all, we’re rebels, Ambra. You’re my stepsister, but I’m madly in love with you, and I want to fuck you a thousand different ways. Then I want to slow down, make love to you, and then fuck you all over again.”
His hand moved lower to cup her pussy, which was suddenly wet from his words. “I can never get enough of you, and I guess the only question is do you want me too?”
Without a hint of hesitation, she turned in his arms and wrapped hers around his neck. She wound her fingers in his thick hair and urged his head nearer her own as she stretched on tiptoe to ensure their lips met. Just before she kissed him, she whispered against his lips, “I want you more than anything.”
He kissed her, starting out hard before his pace gentled, though he was no less ardent. She was similarly needful and pressed closer, straining to get all of him. Abruptly, he broke away, exhaling ragged. “Hang on. This is our baby’s room, but I don’t want to conceive him here.”
She yelped with surprise when he swept her into his arms and carried her across the hall, just like the dashing hero in a romantic movie. He kicked the door shut with his foot before striding to the bed to lay her across it.
Ambra sat up to pull off her sweater as he began undressing. She had everything off by the time he had disrobed and lay down beside her. To her surprise, rather than touching her right away, he just pulled her against him and rested his hand on her hip. Her breasts formed a pillow for his cheek, and he held her. “I’ve waited so long for this. I’m almost afraid to touch you, babe, in case I can’t make it as good for you as I always wanted to.”
She licked her dry lips, running her fingers through his hair in a soothing way that was also arousing for her. “However you are will be just fine. I’ve been waiting for this for far too long myself. In fact, I have to tell you something that I hope won’t change your mind.”
He lifted his head to peer down at her, his expression concerned. “What is it you need to tell me?”
“I’m still a virgin. After you rejected me, I didn’t pursue dating again. Oh, I told myself it was because I wasn’t really interested, and my teenage crush had scarred me, but I know now the truth was I wasn’t over you, and I think maybe, in the back of my mind, I was still waiting for you.”
His expression reflected understanding, but also a touch of something she couldn’t confidently identify. Hesitation? Irritation? The second possibility sent a pang through her chest, and she waited to see if what she had shared was a deal-breaker. After all, he hadn’t had any interest in an inexperienced virgin three years ago, so why would that have changed?
“I want you so much, Ambra, but…” He trailed off, his expression conflicted.
“But you don’t want to deal with a virgin.” She strove to sound cool and unaffected, though her voice was husky from the lump forming at the back of her throat. “It’s fine. Nothing’s changed there, and I get it. Now, if you don’t mind, I really need to get back to your dad’s house. I have commitments there—”
His mouth crashed onto hers, forcing her to be silent, and the kiss was either one of intense need or anger. It was difficult to discern, and she couldn’t analyze deeply with all the emotions and sensations coursing through her body to overwhelm her. With a small moan, she tangled her fingers in his hair and surrendered to his mouth.
He seemed intent on devouring her as he prolonged and deepened the kiss, before he moved down her body, pausing to lick her nipple. He sucked forcefully on one while rubbing gentle circles around the other with his hand.
The contrasting sensations made her whimper, and she arched against him, needing something to fill the emptiness between her thighs. “I thought you didn’t want me.” As aroused as she was, it was amazing she could speak at all.
“Of course I want you,” he said after a second, appearing to be barely able to tear his mouth from her breast. “I just don’t want to scare you or fuck this up.”
She shook her head. “You won’t.”
Determination evident in his posture, he ventured farther down her body, his tongue exploring her skin in a leisurely fashion. Her stomach quivered in time with her mound as he nestled between her thighs, his lips barely touching her sensitive core.
She spread her legs as far she could, clutching handfuls of the cover in an attempt to anchor herself as the first feather-light touch of his lips against her caused her to jump. His mouth inspired amazing sensations that only got better as he licked and sucked, his tongue squirming into her slick heat.
While licking and sucking, he pushed two fingers into her untried opening as he circled her clit. She could do little more than hold on to the blanket and thrust against his face as he ravished the most sensitive part of her.
When he sucked hard on her clit as his fingers gently pressed deeper into her, stretching and expanding her virginal passage, she cried out from the intensity of her release. She had masturbated for years, but her own touch could bring nothing like this pleasure, the kind of pleasure that made death a possibility simply because she forgot to breathe.
For a single microsecond, her entire universe disintegrated before reintegrating in a flash pleasure. Before that wave had a chance to more than slightly fade away, Ethan was between her legs, his cock ready to enter her. He looked down at her, his expression severe. “I’m going to take you now, Ambra. Is that what you want?”
She nodded frantically, unable to think of any other response. Of course it was what she wanted. It was what she’d always wanted, or at least since she had become a young woman and realized how much she loved her stepfather’s son. “Take me, Ethan. I’m yours.”
“And I’m yours.” He groaned low in his throat as his cockhead slipped inside her, but he went no deeper. “One more question. Do you want me to wear a condom, or
should I just enter you bare, babe? Do you want me to come inside you and maybe make a baby?”
It was insanity to be considering such a step already, especially since their relationship was so new, but she couldn’t think logically. The idea of him coming inside her, creating a physical expression of their love, banished all logical thought. “Fill me up.” Those were the most syllables she could manage, and the only other sound she made was a whimper of pleasure when he slowly took her virginity.
Unlike what she had expected, it didn’t hurt at all. Maybe that was because she was so wet and ready for him, as if her body had been in a half-hibernating state the past three years, and he had woken her. Whatever the reason, it didn’t hurt when he entered her, though he filled her almost to the point of pain.
He gritted his teeth, cords in his neck visibly bulging as he strained to hold himself back. “So tight. My god, Ambra, if I’d known what I was missing all these years…” He trailed off as he began thrusting into her, easing her body into his motion.
Soon, they moved together in rhythm, straining toward the same goal. She clenched her thighs around his waist and grasped his shoulders, certain her nails would leave marks later, but unable to loosen her grip. She needed to hold on to something to keep her grounded, or she might fly away under the intense pleasure he gave her.
Her body hovered on the edge of coming, and he dragged his cockhead against her g-spot every time he withdrew before thrusting back inside her. She was on the cusp when he stilled, and she groaned. “Don’t stop now.”
“I’m about to come. Do you want me to pull out?”
She shook her head, just as enamored with the idea of having his baby as a few minutes before—though right now she was more focused on coming again. “Just come inside me, Ethan. Give me every last drop.”
Alphas: A Stepbrother Romance Collection Page 8