Romance: Seducing The Quarterback

by Stacie Duncan

  Captured by Him

  By: Steamy Reads

  Captured by Him

  © SteamyReadsPublishing 2016 – All rights reserved

  Published by Steamy Reads4U

  No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, including electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events are purely coincidental. This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only.

  This book may not be resold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, please return it to the seller and purchase a copy. Thank you for respecting the author’s work.

  Warning

  This book contains graphic content intended for readers 18+ years old.

  If you are under 18 years old, or are not comfortable with adult content, please close this book now.

  Chapter 1

  “Mom, are you seriously going to leave me here with him?”

  Katie Phillips was lying on her stomach on her mother's bed, definitely not helping her mother Nancy pack. Nancy and Katie's new stepfather Bill had been planning a 'romantic getaway' (ew) for weeks. School had just let out and Katie had the most fabulous grad party a girl could ask for – there was a DJ, the whole senior class was there, and she got a brand new BMW. She'd been looking forward to summer ever since that diploma was in her hand, but now that it was the night before her parents were supposed to leave she realized there was one crucial problem with enjoying her summer: Dylan.

  Dylan Michaels was her step-brother and a complete pain in the ass. He thought he was better than everyone because he was in his second year at Greenwood College, but really Katie just found him insufferable. He was always going off about Alfred Hitchcock or Stanley Kubrick or whoever else was a famous director, and it drove Katie crazy because she had no idea what he was talking about. How did Dylan end up a film student anyway?

  He'd been a senior when she was a sophomore at Lake Valley High School, and when she knew him then he was king of the school. Dylan was the captain of the football team; the one every girl fawned over. He was charming enough that even teachers let his mischievous streak slide – like when he took Principal Wilkins' Crown Victoria for a joyride on the quad. Dylan was unstoppable then. She didn't know what he was now, aside from a giant jerk who made her feel stupid.

  “Honey,” Nancy sighed, temporarily putting down a pair of socks she'd been packing, “please don't start this again. Dylan is not a monster.” She picked up the socks again and used them to give her that scolding mom look. Waggling her finger, Nancy warned, “And you're going to have to get used to him being around. He's your new brother. Just be nice.”

  Katie rolled onto her back dramatically, her light t-shirt exposing her tummy. “I am nice. He's the one who's not.”

  Nancy just groaned. “Well,” she started, “maybe this time together will help you bond with him.” Katie made a face. “Just open up to him! He's a bright young man.”

  Katie snorted.

  There was a knock at the door and Bill poked his head in. Katie never understood why people knocked on doors when they were just coming inside anyway. She rolled her eyes.

  “How are my girls doing in here?” he asked warmly. Katie sort of resented him calling her 'his girl.' Of course, it was more attention than her actual dad paid her, but still. She wasn't his girl.

  “Just fine,” Nancy replied with a smile. “Katie's just helping me get all packed up!” Bill looked at Katie lying on the bed.

  “Looks like it,” he said sarcastically, trying to make a joke. Katie just rolled her eyes. Ever since he and her mom started dating, Bill had been trying to get Katie to laugh at his dumb jokes. It just got worse when they actually got married.

  “Did you pack your...swimsuit?” Nancy asked.

  “Check.” Bill responded.

  “Nice clothes for dinner?”

  “Check.”

  “Beach towels?”

  “Check.”

  “Sunscreen?”

  “Check.”

  “Toothbrush?”

  Bill snapped his fingers and pointed at her. “Toothbrush!” He exclaimed. “Thank you, thank you, thank you,” he said, then kissed Nancy. Katie looked away.

  “Alright, alright,” Nancy said, playfully swatting him away. “I'm looking at leaving the house tomorrow around noon if we're going to catch our flight, so make sure you're all packed up by then.”

  “You got it,” Bill said and kissed her on the cheek. He bounded out the door presumably to fetch his missing toothbrush and Katie just stared at her mom.

  “What?” Nancy demanded.

  “Nothing,” Katie sighed.

  “Kathryn, you have got to work on your attitude,” Nancy scolded. “You're an adult now. Act like one.”

  “Okay, whatever,” Katie said, getting up from the bed. She was wearing her most comfortable pajamas – a cropped t-shirt and little boxer shorts. She straightened her chin-length blonde hair and stared in her mother's full-length mirror. She tilted her head to one side, examining herself. Katie was about 90 pounds soaking wet, and definitely was the most petite girl in her graduating class. It made her really popular with the guys, but most girls didn't like her. She could never figure out why. She had one good girlfriend, and that was it. That was all she needed. “I'm gonna go hang out in my room. What time's dinner?” she asked, stomach growling slightly.

  “Soon,” Nancy replied. She walked over to the mirror where Katie stood and planted a kiss on the top of her head. “My beautiful girl,” she mused, smiling at their reflection.

  Katie smiled back. She gave her mom a hug and said, “I'm gonna miss you this week.”

  “I know, baby, but we'll be back soon,” Nancy said, tucking a stray hair behind Katie's ear. “Give your brother a chance, please? For me?”

  Katie sighed and started to walk away. “Fine,” she agreed. “But he's not my real brother.”

  Chapter 2

  Katie ambled slowly back to her room down the hall, passing by Dylan's. His door was open a crack and she could see his drum set, taking up most of the right side of his bedroom. She also saw him lying on his bed, shirt off, plaid pajama bottoms on. She heard one of his dumb movies playing in the background and rolled her eyes, but she couldn't help but admire his muscles. Despite being a huge pain in the ass, Dylan was super attractive. She'd thought that since high school.

  He was absolutely cut. She remembered watching him work out with the team when she used to cheer and his tanned muscles always distracted her. She didn't think there was an ounce of fat on that boy. His pajama bottoms were low slung on his waist, his legs crossed. One arm was propped behind his head, cradling his shaggy chestnut hair.

  “I can see you out there, you know,” he called to her, not moving from his position. “You're being fucking creepy.”

  “Mom said dinner's soon,” Katie said quickly. She opened his door a little bit more and with her hand on the knob, she quipped, “And if anyone's creepy, it's you.” She slammed the door shut.

  She shuddered half in embarrassment and half in disgust. He wasn't really disgusting to look at, but living with someone really gave you an idea of their habits. And 21 year old guys were incredibly gross.

  Her room, however, was immaculate. Katie was neat to a fault; a perfectionist in every sense of the world. She watched what she ate, she exercised on a strict regimen, she organized her books and school supplies so her room always looked perfect. She even made her bed every day, something Bill marveled at. Though she supposed he would, with Dylan for a son.

>   She flopped down on her bed, thinking about what she'd wear for dinner. Staying in her pajamas all day just felt...lazy. Looking in her closet, she pondered. Finally she settled on just wearing jeans with her PJ top. Good enough.

  “Guys, dinner!” her mom called from downstairs.

  “Kaaay!” she yelled back. She could hear Dylan pause his movie in the next room, then listened as he rolled out of his bed and to his feet. These paper-thin walls made the whole situation extra awkward.

  Katie pulled on her jeans and made sure her hair looked nice before she waltzed out the door and into the hallway. Dylan stood there, looking sleepy. She stopped and watched him as he stretched, arms above his head. There was a tattoo on his upper arm she never noticed before – a moon with a rope lassoed around it. Those pajama pants were still sitting so low on his waist she could see his V-cut perfectly. For a minute, she forgot he was her step-brother and remembered ogling him as a freshman and sophomore. She shook her head to snap back to reality. Dylan was running a hand through his slightly curly hair and yawning. His head turned vaguely in her direction.

  “What the fuck are you doing?” he asked in a sleepy voice.

  She stood tall, arms crossed. “Going to dinner.”

  “Well how about you do it without being a creep,” he responded, turning away from her to head downstairs.

  “What was creepy about waiting for you to get out of the hallway?” she demanded, suddenly very angry. He really got under her skin.

  “The way you were looking at me,” he said over his shoulder. “Creeping me out.”

  “Oh, I'm creeping you out?” she asked. “I'm the one who has to listen to you jerk off at night. Our walls aren't soundproof, you know.”

  “So stop listening,” he said simply, not a trace of shame in his voice.

  Nancy rounded the corner, leaving the kitchen just as they were reaching the bottom of the stairs. “I can hear you two bickering,” she scolded. “Knock it off. I'm serious. You're grown adults.”

  Katie prayed her mother hadn't heard what they were saying. “But he's...” Katie started to protest.

  Nancy cut her off, raising a hand to silence her. “Kathryn Elizabeth, enough. I don't want to hear it.”

  Dylan scratched the back of his head lazily. “Sorry, Nance,” he said, then headed into the kitchen for dinner. 'Nance'? Since when was it okay for him to call her mother 'Nance'? Katie rolled her eyes and followed him to the kitchen table.

  She took her seat across from Dylan at the wide glass table. Mom had made meatloaf and mashed potatoes with a side of peas, and Katie was starving. Dylan was already eating it like an animal, shoving food into his face like his fork was a shovel. Katie curled her lip. Ew. Bill and Nancy took their seats as well, both the heads of the table.

  “Okay, so,” Bill started, “we're leaving for the airport tomorrow around noon.”

  “Uh-huh,” Nancy confirmed with a slow nod of her head.

  “We just have a few rules. It's not too much to ask,” Bill began. “First of all, try and keep the house clean. Just pick up after yourselves. Secondly, we both know you two know how to cook by yourselves, so no takeout every night,” he said with a smile, looking at Katie. Apparently she was supposed to find this funny. Bill cleared his throat and looked away. “And finally, the most important one: no parties. At all.”

  “That means you,” Nancy said, poking at Katie with one finger. Katie rolled her eyes again.

  “They're gonna get stuck up there someday if you keep doing that,” Dylan said through a mouthful of meatloaf and potatoes. At Katie's blank look, he swallowed and said, “Your eyes. They're going to get stuck in your head if you keep rolling them like that.”

  Out of habit, Katie rolled her eyes and sighed, not wanting to get into an argument with him.

  “See?” Dylan said, picking up his now clean plate and walking it to the sink. “Only a matter of time.” He rinsed his plate off and put it in the dishwasher. “Anything else?” he asked Bill and Nancy.

  “That's about it, honey,” Nancy said. “We left the number of the hotel we're staying at in case of an emergency, but otherwise I think you two can figure it out,” she finished with a smile.

  “Sure thing,” Dylan said, holding himself up and balancing between the island and the countertop. He swung his feet out for a landing and walked away, heading back up into his man-cave.

  “Be. Nice,” Nancy bit out, giving Katie a pinch on her arm. “I don't like this attitude.”

  Bill cut in on Katie's behalf. “Ah, don't worry about it. Dylan's a tough kid, he can handle her.”

  Handle her? Katie thought angrily. “Can I be excused now?” she asked her mom.

  “Go ahead,” Nancy replied, voice tired.

  Katie walked quickly to her room, which was where she stayed all night.

  Chapter 3

  The next morning, Katie woke up around ten – which was late for her – and quickly showered before anyone else (meaning Dylan) could make the bathroom disgusting. She blow-dried her short blonde hair until it was straight, and pinned back a section of hair on the right side of her head with a pair of baby-pink barrettes. Leaning in closer to the mirror, she inspected what she thought was a blackhead, but turned out to just be a speck of mascara. She quickly wiped it away, but not before Dylan opened the door out of nowhere, shirtless and wearing the same pants he had on the night before.

  Katie was standing completely naked in front of her step-brother, scrambling to cover herself up.

  “Holy shit, Jesus fuck!” Dylan yelled, putting his arm up to block his view.

  “The door was closed!” Katie screamed. “Get out!”

  “I didn't hear you in here, for fuck's sake I just got up!” he yelled back.

  “Get OUT!” she screamed, throwing toothpaste at him.

  “Fuck Katie, you don't have to throw shit, I'm going!” Dylan slammed the door shut, but not before Katie could see him sneak a peek at her naked body. Now who was the creep? She furiously wrapped herself up in a towel and swung open the door. Dylan was still standing in the hallway, leaning up against the wall with his arm over his eyes like before. “Can I look now?” he asked impatiently.

  “Do whatever you want,” Katie snapped.

  He took his arm down, slowly and as if he was prepared for her to throw something else at him. “I was just trying to get in to shower,” he explained calmly hands in front of him in surrender. “I should have knocked.”

  “Yeah, well,” Katie said petulantly. “You should have.”

  “Okay,” Dylan said, fixing her with his beautiful hazel eyes. “I'm sorry.”

  “Whatever,” Katie snipped before walking into her room and slamming the door. She picked out a light pink tank top to go with her barrettes and wore her favorite pair of jean shorts. By the time she got her makeup on, it was almost 11:30. If she wanted to see her mom and Bill off she'd have to hurry.

  She walked out her door and found the door to the bathroom was left ajar. Steam was pouring out of it. Through the crack in the door, she saw Dylan standing with his back to her. His back muscles rippled as he towel-dried his hair, and she let her eyes drift down to his butt. Nice, she thought, though she wouldn't have expected anything else with a body like his. Her mother's voice downstairs snapped her back to reality. It also got Dylan's attention. He whipped around and quickly slammed the door shut, but Katie was sure he saw her.

  “Kate?” Nancy called. “We're about to head out, honey! Do you want to grab your brother?”

  Before she could answer, Dylan opened the door a crack and peered outside. “I'll be down in a sec, Nancy!” Before he closed the door entirely, he stared right into Katie's eyes, accusatory.

  Katie turned on her heel and walked down the hallway to the staircase. Dylan followed shortly after, apparently having decided to put on those same tattered PJ pants he was wearing before.

  “Haven't you been wearing those for, like, days?” Katie asked snidely.

  “Whatever,�
� Dylan said, paying her little attention and just brushing by her on his way down the stairs. Katie didn't like being ignored.

  “Alright guys, everything you need is written down on a note on the fridge,” Bill told them. “I'm sure you two will have a great time together.”

  Katie scoffed and Dylan shot her a warning look. “Thanks, Dad,” he said warmly. “Have a good time!” He hugged both Bill and Nancy.

  “Bye Mom,” Katie said with a smile. She really was going to miss her mother. Despite their fights, her mom was one of her only friends. “Bye Bill,” she said, turning to her step-father and giving him a wave.

  Nancy and Bill lugged their suitcases to the car (with Dylan's help) and soon enough they were waving goodbye and driving down the road. Dylan and Katie watched them leave from the front door and as soon as their parents were out of sight, they turned away and Dylan shut the door.

  Katie started to head upstairs. She'd planned on spending some time organizing her closet before she talked to a few boys from school who were planning a bonfire that Saturday. Unfortunately, Dylan started to climb the stairs too and Katie bumped square into his chest, her face between his pecs. She jumped back. “Excuse me,” she said, a caustic tone to her voice.

  Dylan didn't say anything, but his jaw tensed and he exhaled sharply. He made a grand motion toward the stairs (she swore she even saw him bow) and let her go first. He followed.

  To the left of the landing on top of the stairs was the master suite, and down a short hallway Dylan's room was the first on the right while Katie's was at the very end. The bathroom was across from Dylan's room and halfway to Katie's. When they got upstairs, Katie strutted to her room.

  “Hey,” she said before he disappeared into his bedroom. “Just because they said we had to bond doesn't mean we have to.”

  “Don't worry,” Dylan said calmly, tapping his fingers on his doorframe. “I wasn't planning on it.”