by B. B. Hamel
And yet Lydie had wanted me to finally lose my virginity. She’d been pushing for it for years. If anyone was going to understand, it would be her.
“Hello? Your brain lost service or something?”
I shook my head. “I have to tell you something.”
“No shit, that’s what I’ve been trying to get at.”
“It’s pretty big.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Okay then. Spit it out.”
“Promise you won’t judge me.”
“Bitch, you once saw me eat an entire sleeve of Oreos. You once saw me puke on a dog, which is really embarrassing, even though the dog totally deserved it. You once saw me get rejected by not one, not two, but three different frat douchebags in the same night. You once saw me drop a hot dog mustard-side down and still eat it.” She took a deep breath. “So no, I won’t judge you.”
“I slept with someone.”
Her eyes practically bugged out of her skull. “Shut the fuck up.”
“I did. I’m not a virgin anymore.”
“Oh my god!” she practically screamed. I looked around, embarrassed. “You’re finally a woman!” She got up and ran around the table and threw her arms around me.
“I’ve always been a woman,” I muttered.
“But why would I judge you for that?” she said, sitting back down.
“Well, this is the bad part.”
She looked at me for a second and then gasped. Like, gasped as if we were in a cartoon. It was so absurd it was almost funny.
“No. You didn’t.”
“I think I did.”
“Your stepbrother?” she whispered.
I nodded, bright red.
“You dirty fucking slut! That’s practically in—”
“No, it’s not,” I said quickly. “You know we’re not really related.”
She burst out laughing and I watched, embarrassed and slightly ashamed. After a minute, she gathered herself together.
“Listen, Claire, I am beyond jealous. Nate is the perfect guy to punch your V-card.”
“You’re not judging me?”
“Judging? I’m jealous as fuck. Nate is incredibly good looking.”
“He’s my stepbrother though.”
“So the fuck what? I mean really, people have done way, way worse.”
“Are you sure it’s okay?”
“I mean, don’t tell your parents, but yeah, Claire, it’s absolutely fine. You guys aren’t related. Didn’t Cher from Clueless end up with her stepbrother?”
I nodded. “Yeah. Yeah! See, there’s precedent. I mean, he was her ex-stepbrother in that movie, but whatever.”
“Same difference. At least you’re not Woody Allen, marrying your adopted daughter.”
“Gross. Okay, this is making me feel better.”
She laughed and shook her head. “Unreal. Claire the good girl having passionate, wild sex with her bad-boy military stepbrother.”
“I know. It’s not like me.”
“It’s not like you at all. I am impressed. What was he like?”
I turned even redder, if that was possible. “It was good, I think.”
“You think?”
“I have nothing to compare it to.”
She thought for a second. “Are you still thinking about how it felt?”
“Yes,” I said, mortified.
“Well then, bitch, it was good.” She smiled. “I’m happy for you. Are you guys, like, a thing now?”
“No,” I said quickly. “No way. That was a one-time thing. There’s no way we can keep it up.”
“Might as well for the summer at least.”
“No way. My dad would crucify me. Seriously. He’d make a giant cross and nail me to it.”
“I believe you. So that’s it? You’re going to one and done your hunky step?”
“I guess. Don’t put it like that.”
“Sorry. You’re going to bang and dash your brother from a different mother?”
“Way worse.”
“Hump and chuck?”
“Just stop.”
We laughed together, and I felt an enormous weight lift from my chest. I had to admit, the stepbrother thing was eating at me, but it felt incredible to have Lydie tell me that it was okay. I really wasn’t going to do it again, even if I wanted to with my whole being, because I knew that it would ruin our parents if we were ever caught.
“Listen, Claire, I may be an asshole from time to time, but I do support you. I’m your bestie for life.”
“Whether I want you to be or not.”
She nodded. “Damn right.”
We changed the subject eventually and ended up wandering around downtown, drinking our coffee and laughing. I felt free and easy and happy as Lydie told me a bunch of stories about her slutty friends from high school. She wanted to talk more about the details of my night with Nate, especially info regarding the size of his manhood, but I declined to tell her.
Some things were meant only for me, and I wanted to keep it that way.
12
Nathan
I had a lot on my mind when I woke up the next morning after only a few hours of sleep. The sun had barely risen by the time I was back out on the beach, running my ass off again.
I didn’t see anyone at all the day before. Once I got home from my little interrogation, I checked on Claire to make sure she was okay, but otherwise I didn’t bother checking in with my mother. She was probably either too drunk to care or just being her usual bitchy self.
Frankly, I had much more important things to worry about. The revelations of the night before were pretty huge, almost as huge as me fucking Claire until she could barely walk. I hoped I left her sore and limping the next day, and I wished I had stuck around a little bit to check it out.
But it was better I was gone all day. I didn’t want her to get ideas about shit between us. I may have fallen asleep with her, broken a rule or two, but I wasn’t the type of guy to make some spoiled rich girl into something more important than she was.
Claire was a good fuck. That was it. Her pussy was like crack and my cock was an addict, but I wasn’t going to give in to that shit. I got my fix and now I was done. It was going to be better that way, anyway.
Still, there was shit happening that we didn’t know about, important shit. It was no accident that those guys attacked our boat that day. I still couldn’t believe a local outfit like the Broken Hearts would be willing to attack their own people, which meant that they were specifically targeting us.
The further implications were staggering, but I didn’t have time for that shit. I wasn’t a bodyguard and I wasn’t a damn detective. Better that I give Jonathan the information I had and be done with it. He could definitely afford to hire some serious muscle.
I was good and exhausted by the time I got back to the house. I was drenched in sweat and nice and loosened up, to the point where I wasn’t worrying about any damn local cults or hot-as-fuck stepsisters.
I opened my laptop and immediately Googled the name I had been given: Eli Reddington. I stared at the search results, clicking them one by one, but found nothing important. As far as I could tell, there was no Reddington in the Outer Banks at all. I went through every page, meticulously following every lead, and found nothing.
Dan the barman probably had lied to me. I cursed, slamming shut my laptop lid. I should have pressed him harder, hurt him more, but I had held back. He was an innocent guy, after all. But apparently not so innocent. Now there was no way I was getting any more information from him. I was positive he was long gone.
That wasn’t like me. It wasn’t normal for me to go soft on a guy, especially when important, mission-critical information could ride on what he said. I was pissed off at how stupid I had been, and now I was back to square one. “Reddington” was a dead end. At least he had told me who the Broken Hearts were; it hadn’t been a total bust.
Annoyed, I went for a walk, my thoughts back on the cult and my damn stepsister. Somehow, she was
wrapped up in everything.
As I moved around back, I paused when I saw her sitting out by the pool. It wasn’t even noon yet, but the sun was hot and strong. The suntan oil on her skin glistened in the light, and her bikini showed off her perfect, full figure. Her tits and thighs looked fucking delicious, and I suddenly remembered the way she had sucked my cock, both tender and fierce. I wanted to grab her hair and shove my dick down her throat while I tongued her little clit. I felt my cock begin to stir in my shorts and felt annoyed that my hard-won relaxation was totally destroyed the second I saw her.
She tipped down her sunglasses when she noticed me staring.
“I thought you were gone for good,” she said.
I walked over and grinned at her. “Just been busy.”
“Sure.” She slipped her sunglasses on and looked away.
That coy, bitchy shit just made me want her more. I knew it was all an act, pretending like she didn’t give a fuck. She was a virgin, after all. She couldn’t help herself but want me around, especially when I could get her soaking wet with just a pinky finger.
I turned to walk away, not wanting to deal with any bullshit, when she spoke up again.
“Where’d you disappear to yesterday?”
There it was. I knew she’d been thinking about it. Didn’t take much more than just calling her bluff.
“Had some business to take care of,” I said, turning back.
“Business,” she repeated. “Anything that has to do with what happened?”
“Which part?” I asked. “The pirates or me making you come so hard you screamed?”
“I didn’t scream,” she said, sitting up.
“You did. You also nearly tore the sheets in half with how hard you were gripping them.”
“I was talking about the pirates.”
“I figured. Don’t worry about that anymore.”
“What did you do?”
“Honestly, nothing, but you’ll be safe.”
“I wasn’t worried,” she said, sitting back.
“Now, is it time we talked about that other thing?”
“No, thanks. You’re just going to say a bunch of inappropriate stuff.”
“You’re just annoyed that I already got you soaking wet.”
“Hardly.”
“We both know it’s true. I bet you’d practically drip down onto my tongue.”
“Nate! Our parents are home.”
“So what? I’ll put my hand over your mouth while I fuck you from behind, make sure you’re quiet while I take that pussy.”
“I’m not sure that would work,” she muttered.
“Want to find out?”
She looked at me for a second. “Why is your mom such a bitch?” she asked, clearly trying to change the subject.
“That was a pretty harsh segue.”
“She was a hungover mess yesterday morning. Today, too.”
“Seems about right.”
“She was so normal at the beginning of the summer.”
“This is her pattern.” I sighed, not at all surprised we were having this conversation. “She gets comfortable with her new guy and starts to act like her normal alcoholic self.”
“I don’t like it.”
I snorted. “You’ll get used to it. Or not, and you’ll leave to join the fucking Navy because you’re a kid and you can’t handle being around your psychotic, self-destructive mother anymore.”
“That’s why you joined?”
“Nah. It was mostly for the dental plan.” I smirked at her and she laughed.
“What about your dad?” she asked.
“What about him?”
“You never bring him up.”
“Can’t say I know much about him.”
She looked frustrated. “Okay, how about you pretend like we’re having a conversation and try that again?”
I laughed. “Relax there, princess. My dad died when I was just a kid.”
“Was he like your mom?”
“An alcoholic? Yeah, so she says. He was a hard man with a hard life before he met my mom. I think that was what attracted her.”
“What happened?”
“Cancer, actually. Though the drinking wasn’t too far behind, according to my mother.”
“That seems hard.”
“Not really. I buried that demon a long time ago. I got new demons now.”
“Like, from the army?”
I looked at her for a second, not saying anything. She could be blunt, but also a little naïve at times.
“You can talk to me, you know,” she said.
“Not interested in having a cry fest with my stepsister, but thanks.”
“You don’t have to be a jerk about it. I was just saying, I can try and help if you ever want to talk about it. Or just listen.”
“There are ways you can help.”
“How?”
I leaned in close to her. “Wrap those perfect lips around my dick and suck slow and hard until I come in that pretty mouth.”
She blushed. “Not what I was thinking.”
“But a lot more fun. You can help me fuck the demons away any time.”
The image of Claire beneath me, her back arched, her tits perfect, her nipples erect, came back to me. I wanted to fuck her on the pool chair so bad it almost hurt. I could feel my cock grow rock hard, and I was sure she noticed it, too. Tough not to see it through the damn running shorts. She didn’t mention it, though, as I decided to get the fuck out of there before I did something stupid.
“Have a good day,” I said. “Don’t get too burnt.”
“Sure. Will do.”
I turned and walked away. I couldn’t let myself get sucked into her shit. She was already trying to be all maternal and crap, as if she could somehow help me deal with all the shit I’d seen. She didn’t know half of it and never would. The United States frowned on any SEAL that talked about classified mission info, to put it lightly.
I could already tell I was in a fucking pickle, to put it mildly. On the one hand, I wanted to fuck her raw and fast, sweat out all my aggression and anger, punish her pussy so hard that she screamed for more. But I knew I couldn’t do that, not when she was my stepsister, and not when she was so damn innocent. Yeah, that was part of why I wanted her to suck my cock, because I wanted to dirty her up, corrupt her. But I shouldn’t lead her down that path. Besides, I didn’t want her getting any more attached.
Still, attached or not, there was something going on with her family, something dangerous involving the Broken Hearts, whoever they were. I couldn’t let that issue fester, couldn’t let something bad happen to Claire.
Inside, sitting at the kitchen counter, Lucille was drinking what looked a lot like a Bloody Mary, and she looked like a wreck. All in all, an average morning for her.
“Mother,” I said.
“There you are. I was wondering where my useless son had gone.”
“Anything that isn’t alcohol is useless to you, Lucille.”
“There’s that asshole wit of yours,” she snapped. “When will you grow up?”
I heard a floorboard nearby creak but decided I didn’t care if we had an audience.
“You forget, Lucille, you have absolutely no bearing on my life. But you are involved with Claire and her father.”
“What’s it matter to you? You’re going to do whatever you want and then disappear at the end of summer.”
“Maybe,” I said, shrugging. “But you shouldn’t be a bitch to Claire.”
Lucille rolled her eyes. “That girl is such a weak little brat.”
“She doesn’t deserve your psycho bullshit.”
“Oh, sure, she’s nice. So nice and cute. Too bad she’ll be all used up by the time she’s my age.”
“Not everyone is you.”
Just then, Jonathan stepped into the room, a fake-as-hell smile plastered on his face. You clearly heard all that, I thought to myself. You know she’s crazy. Why are you still with her?
“What a
re you two talking about?” he asked, the annoyance barely hidden behind his fake smile.
“Nothing, dear,” Lucille said, perking up. “Just talking about what he was doing for the summer.”
“Yes, about that,” Jonathan said, looking at me. “Still going to run the boats for me? Tommy said you two didn’t show up today.”
“Actually, I need to talk to you about that.”
“Go ahead, Nathan.”
“Alone.”
He stared at me for a second. “Whatever you have to say, you can say in front of your mother.”
“No, sir, I can’t, because my mother is a harpy and will tell the first reporter she can find.”
They both gaped at me. “Nathan,” Jonathan said, “you can’t talk about your mother that way.”
“Yes, I can,” I said quickly, stifling whatever Lucille was about to say, “because you want to hear about this.”
Jonathan looked at me for a long second.
“You can’t be serious, Nathan,” Lucille said during the silence. “Are you this desperate for male attention? I know your father died when you were young, but this is pathetic.”
I had to clench my fists to keep from smacking her across the face. I knew she was my mother, but that was a low blow, even by her standards.
Jonathan seemed to agree. “Lucille, leave the boy alone.” He gestured at me. “Follow me.”
I walked next to him as my mother glared at me. I ignored her, following Jonathan out the front door. We walked in silence until we reached the path that led back around toward the beach.
“What’s so important that you’re risking my marriage?”
“Something happened yesterday. You may not believe what I’m about to tell you, but it’s the truth.”
He frowned at my serious expression. “Go ahead.”
And so I explained to him what went down. I started from the beginning. However, in this version, me threatening them with a gun was enough to scare them off, and getting a local drunk was enough to find out about the Broken Hearts. I wasn’t sure Jonathan needed to know about them, but I decided anything that could get him to take me seriously was worth divulging. But he sure as hell didn’t need to know that I had killed two men and had threatened to kill a third.