“We have to change that,” he said, and his tone had her raising her head again. It was seductive, and his smile was salacious. Or maybe, as the chill of delight crawled down her spine, it was all her imagination. Maybe that’s just what she wanted to hear. “You’re missing out.”
She shrugged and stuffed her eggs down quickly, looking for any excuse not to respond. This wasn’t going to work. Callie needed to find a graceful way to extract herself from this situation. His little comment only made her think of exactly what she was missing out on.
As she was shoveling food in her face, Keegan took a deep breath, shifted in his sheet, and asked, “So, Callie, I don’t get regular updates on the social life around here. Tell me about it. You have friends? Boyfriend?”
Callie nearly choked. Downing a huge gulp of coffee, she realized she didn’t want to tell him about her friends. She didn’t want him to meet her friends. She wouldn’t be able to handle hearing Rena talk about what an amazing kisser he was, or how huge his cock was or what their favorite position was. “I have a few friends. We don’t have anything special to do. It’s a socialite world. We shop. We party. We play the single card.”
Chapter Six
She didn’t realize until the words were out of her mouth that she was flirting. Her tone had taken on a teasing lilt, and she blushed and looked away. But he took it in stride. “Well, I don’t know how long I’m going to stick around. I think I’m probably going to make Europe permanent for me. But I’d love to play the scene while I’m here.”
That was it. That was all she could handle. Sure, she wanted to take him out, but not as a single guy on the prowl. She wanted to do shots with him and dance on him and get crazy with him until they were both in enough of oblivion to set aside semantics. And if she couldn’t do that, she damn well was going to do it with someone else. Standing and carrying her dishes to the sink, she tried to play it cool. “Well, maybe we could hook up one night and see what kind of trouble we can get into.”
He gave her that lopsided grin that had moisture pooling in her shorts. “I’m game. Where are you going now?”
She pointed up, leaning back on the counter and biting her lip. “I’m not even close to done packing, and I’ve got a date with a friend tonight. I’ve got to get my ass in gear so we can head out on time. If we go too late, I won’t be able to convince her to help me finish tomorrow.”
He pushed away from the table and stood, walking toward her and his nearness hit her like a drug, the scent of him a heady pleasure. “I told you I’d help you. The offer stands. I don’t have a lot I want to take with me, and I’m going to sell a lot of it. So, if your friend bails on you tomorrow, just knock on my door.” He winked. “I promise to cover myself before I open it.”
Oh, god, he slept in the nude.
She nodded, the situation too intense for her to speak at first. “I’ll keep that in mind,” she finally managed. She scooted around him, her arm and hip burning where they brushed against him, and she ran up the stairs full throttle. She reacted to him like she was twelve and had never met an older boy before.
In her room, she locked herself down tight, making sure the door to the balcony was closed and the door into the study was locked. She didn’t want any chance that Keegan would walk in on her now. She had to dig around the boxes to find her phone, which had nearly been lost in the shuffle, and then she had to unpack a charger that she’d thrown randomly in a box because the phone was about to die.
Once she finally had it plugged in, Callie screamed silently in her aggravation. It was taking too long, and she kept glancing at her door, like she hoped Keegan would bust in and force her down on the bed. She’d give him a weak, we shouldn’t, and then she’d give in. She punched the numbers to call Rena so hard she thought she might have to replace her phone after today.
Rena took far too long to answer, and Callie was about to scream at the voicemail when Rena answered at the end of the fourth ring. “What’s up?” she asked in a bright voice.
“We have to go out,” Callie said, her voice sharp.
“Look, I know you’re upset at your mom and that ass she’s divorcing,” Rena started, “but I’m tired, and I don’t think going out tonight is going to make you feel any better.”
“It’s not about them,” she clipped. “It’s about Keegan.”
There was a brief silence. “Who’s Keegan?” Then, she laughed. “No, honey, the guy from last night was Kevin. But you’re close.”
“Not him!” Callie hissed. “Keegan, as in my stepbrother.”
“What about him?” There was utter confusion in Rena’s voice. “You aren’t making a lot of sense. What about your stepbrother who is halfway around the world at the moment and probably won’t even say hi when he does show up makes you so desperate to go out tonight?”
This would be so much easier if she had been able to take a picture of Keegan at some point. “Look, Rena, he’s not halfway around the world. He’s here. And just like I knew before, I need to avoid him like the plague. But it’s for a completely different reason than I thought. Can you just humor me? I swear I’ll let you out of helping me pack tomorrow if we can just go out for a while tonight.”
Callie could work fast. If they hit the club by nine, she could have a guy under her belt by ten, and Rena could go home and get her beauty rest, if she so desired. “You’re killing me, Cal. You know that, right?” Callie heard a sigh. “Give me a game plan. Timing and all that. Oh, and if I’m going to do this, you have to be far more specific about why this is so urgent.”
Brushing her hair back from her face and pouting, Callie pulled her knees up to her chest and hugged them. “So, I sort of walked in on him as he was getting out of the shower because I didn’t know he was here.”
Rena laughed, nearly hysteric, on the other end of the line. “Wow, I remember you talking about him before. That must have been traumatizing. But really, Cal, just stay in your room and draw up memories of last night.”
That would have been great but… “Rena, this accidental full frontal erases every image from last night. And most of the images from any night I can remember in the last year.”
“Is it really that bad?” Rena sounded shocked.
Clenching her jaw, Callie admitted, “That good.” Absolute silence met her. “Hello? Are you there, Rena?”
“I’m here.” She said nothing else for a long time. “Cal, you’ve had some really hot men. I know. I‘ve been there when you’ve picked them up and gone home with them. I’ve been jealous of you because some of them were underwear model quality.” Actually, a couple of them had been underwear models, Callie thought, but that was unimportant in this conversation. “Keegan was a total dork. I vaguely remember the pictures you showed me of him. Unless this guy has totally reinvented himself, I just can’t imagine you being so freaked out about how gorgeous he is.”
Callie snorted. “Well, think of it this way. Albert Einstein took Keegan Carmichael, rearranged his DNA, and sent him home. Trust me, if I don’t go out tonight, I’m going to lose my mind. I don’t have the self-control to stay away from him, and the more I’m around him, the more brain cells die. Without the proper amount of brain cells, I will do something unspeakable.”
With a naughty giggle, Rena said, “You do know he’s just your stepbrother, right? I mean, you don’t share any blood.”
“Not exactly,” Callie whimpered. “We may not share blood, but we share last names. His father adopted me, remember? So, technically, we’re more than stepsiblings or whatever the word is. I have to get out of here. Why are you making this so difficult for me, Rena? I’m not asking a lot. I just need a couple hours, and I’ll get what I need and let you off the hook.”
“Isn’t there someone else you can call?” Rena asked, but Callie could hear she was relenting.
“You’re my wingman, Rena. No one else can play the part.” Callie held her breath as she waited.
“Fine. I’ll pick you up at 8:30. Don’t make me wait o
ne minute, or I’m turning right back around and going home.”
“You’re a lifesaver, Rena.” Relieved, Callie got to her feet and went to her closet. If she got this sexual tension out tonight, she figured she’d be perfectly able to get Keegan to help her tomorrow with no adverse reaction. All she needed now was the perfect slutty outfit that said she was ripe for the picking but wasn’t easy and had standards.
She worked slowly at putting her books in boxes, killing time without sweating, until a little after seven. She could be ready quickly, as long as she didn’t take too long finding her look for the evening. Suddenly excited, Callie got to her feet after taping the box she’d just filled and headed for her closet.
She chose a black leather bandeau that laced in the back and couldn’t possibly fall, a black denim jacket, a pair of black leggings that had silver threads running through them, a black miniskirt that hugged her legs with plenty of spandex, and a pair of knee high black leather boots. Heading to the bathroom, she noticed with a frown that some of her things had been pushed aside to make room for Keegan’s small travel bag of toiletries, and she didn’t particularly like that. At the same time, she made sure the door was locked and bent over, not touching anything but sticking her nose inside the bag so she could take in his scent.
It made her heady, and Callie chided herself for not having any impulse control. She focused on her makeup, adding smoky eyes with thick liner, a dark red lipstick with a little purple to it, and a bronze blusher that gave her cheekbones a sharp look. She pulled her hair up tightly in a ponytail and assessed the whole picture in the full length mirror. She liked what she saw. She was definitely punk, a little gothic, and very much asking for sexual attention. She opened the cabinet under the sink to look through her fragrances and pulled out her Dark Obsession, spritzing just a little in all the right places.
It was going to be another twenty minutes before Rena pulled into the circular driveway, but Callie didn’t want to wait in her room. She’d get hot and sweaty and nervous. Besides, she had a deviant desire for Keegan to see her like this. Maybe it was a little immature to want to flaunt what she had and what she was going to give away tonight when there was nothing either of them could do to change the situation, but it would certainly feed her ego to watch her stepbrother drool over her.
She went down to the kitchen and poured herself a glass of iced tea, using a straw so she wouldn’t screw up her lipstick so early in the evening, and to her delight, Keegan walked in through the swinging door and stopped cold when he saw her. “You weren’t kidding about partying, were you?” he asked, eyeing her intently.
Callie smiled. “Not at all. I didn’t even work hard at this one.” She sipped from the straw, pulling it into her mouth with her tongue, and she saw the bob in his throat as he swallowed while he watched. It was incredible satisfying to put him in a position she’d been in all night, fighting her unruly desire for him.
Keegan nodded. “You know, there are plenty of clubs in Europe, and there are a lot of parties, but something tells me I’m going to like it here. I might just stay a while.”
That wasn’t something Callie had expected, especially as he inched toward her, one small step at a time. She refused to back down, waiting to see where he’d budge.
The headlights streaming across the open window caught both their attention, and they turned their heads in unison toward the brightness. Callie cursed, not sure whether she was more relieved or more disappointed. “I think your ride’s here,” Keegan told her, and she nodded. She was quite aware of that.
Not risking changing her mind – or bringing her friends wrath for the delay – Callie hurried to the front of the house with a little wave over her shoulder for Keegan. She slid into the passenger seat and banged the back of her head against the seat several times. Rena watched her with an amused expression for several long moments, even after she stopped. “Are you alright?” she finally asked.
“Let’s just say you got here in the nick of time. Come on, let’s go. I need my therapy.”
To Be Continued
A Sibling’s Promise: Stepping Back
Chapter One
While Keegan Carmichael – or Pierce, as he’d chosen to use over the last several years – hadn’t expected an open-armed greeting, he also hadn’t pictured this. He’d hated his home life as a child. His father had been an overbearing douche and treated Keegan like a complete idiot, despite good grades and relatively little trouble.
Then, the old codger had married that gorgeous woman and shown her absolutely no respect. As for Callie, he supposed he couldn’t really hold her responsible for her actions. She’d made it into the elite, popular crowd of those who were worshiped. Of course she would look down her nose at a kid like Keegan with glasses, a bad haircut, and too much interest in the solar system.
Still, he’d hated Callie by the time he’d left for boarding school. He’d despised everything about this house and its occupants, and he’d chosen to stay overseas because at least there, people respected him. He had friends, a life, and opportunities for a future, professional and personal.
And yet, somehow, his father had managed to turn his life upside down again. He’d had to cancel a fundraising event he was hosting and fly out here, post haste, to box up a bunch of shit he hadn’t seen or touched in nearly twenty years. What was the point? It should have made his father ecstatic to just throw it all away.
To make matters worse, the first face he’d seen was Callie’s. And they hadn’t exactly stared into each other’s eyes in that first awkward moment. They’d both been, for all intents and purposes, naked. And during that shocking encounter, Keegan wasn’t sure what he had enjoyed the most.
Certainly Callie was a sight, and he’d gotten more than a semi from her, even with the peek-a-boo lacey underwear in place. But he hadn’t missed the effect he had on her, and that might have been more satisfying than getting a full frontal of the girl.
He shook his head as he chopped vegetables in harsh, violent motions. He shouldn’t have these feelings of attraction toward his stepsister. Even if they weren’t blood related, and they’d grown up strangers, she was more than just the daughter of his stepmother. Keegan’s father had adopted her, given Callie his last name, and that was a step too far to justify any kind of relationship beyond friends and relatives.
And the way she’d treated him…it was far too familiar. It reminded him of being kids together, only now it seemed forced rather than coming easy. And the moment Callie had been faced with the idea of spending five minutes with Keegan, she’d run out like some desperate hooker.
He gritted his teeth and fought the instinctive arousal that came with the memory of the way she’d been dressed. He reached to adjust his pants, wincing painfully as he did. Everything about this was inappropriate. Callie Carmichael was off limits. She was a rude, self-centered girl, and she was family. He shouldn’t even feel attraction for her.
Keegan growled under his breath. This wasn’t him, either. He needed to get his hormones under control. He was here to see that anything of his he might ever want was packed to be moved to the storage facility he’d obtained. After all, his father had felt obligated to buy another house for his stepmother and Callie. But he hadn’t bothered to set up anything for Keegan.
It didn’t surprise Keegan. He’d practically disowned his son when he’d sent Keegan away. When Keegan had taken to using his mother’s maiden name, it had infuriated the hotel tycoon, and that separation had pretty much been complete. But it still rankled Keegan’s nerves.
The wok started to sizzle lightly, and Keegan smiled. Cooking usually calmed him, solved any problem temporarily. He had finished chopping, and he grabbed the soy sauce and his own special blend of spices and herbs, a little extra he never traveled without. After all, with a little of that, even the worst concoction became edible. He tossed the veggies and some sauce into the pan, followed by two pinches of his mix, and he stir-fried it while he hummed to himself.
&n
bsp; “Chipper sounds first thing in the morning make me cranky,” came a nasally voice from behind him, and Keegan clenched his jaw.
Clearing his throat, he turned to find Callie sliding into a chair at the table, her head in her hands. She wore a silky blue robe with large white lilies tied loosely and reaching just above her knees. Her hair was a mess of frizz and knots tied on top of her head, and the bruises under her eyes were a combination of smeared makeup and hangover.
“You do realize any time after noon is not first thing in the morning, right?” She just wrinkled her nose and didn’t even bother opening her eyes. “Listen, I know it probably doesn’t sound good, but a nice helping of hearty veggies might take away the pain and disorientation. I’m making some stir fry. If you want, I’ll throw a little teriyaki chicken in with it for a complete meal.”
She opened one eye and stared at him between her fingers, looking miserable. “Does all that come with a hair of the dog that bit me?”
“No, but I can whip something up for the nausea first, if you want.” He bent to grab an apple and some grapes from the fridge, as well as a vanilla yogurt. He threw the yogurt and some grapes in the blender, cored the apple and added it, and tossed a tablespoon of baking soda and another of coconut milk in. He added ice for good measure, and he set the thing to ‘smoothie’.
He got his kicks watching her cringe in pain as the sound grated down her spine. Finally, he stopped the blender, and her shoulders dropped. Keegan poured the smoothie into a glass, added a straw, and handed it to the miserable girl. “Try that. Drink it fast, but don’t get a brain freeze.”
Erotica: Handcuffing Inhibitions (New Adult Romance Bundle)(Erotic Sex Taboo Box Set) Page 12