by Ally Vance
The tall, lanky man walking his tiny white poodle gaped at her in shock, obviously horrified for frightening her. Panting, she stared back at him, struggling to find the breath to offer an apology.
“Miss? Are you alright?” The man took what he likely thought was a comforting step back from her, intent on putting her at ease.
Mortified, Lola quickly sidestepped him, all but breaking into a full-blown run. “Y-yes, I’m fine. I’m sorry,” she tossed out before making her escape, leaving the man staring after her as though she might sprout wings and fly off at any second.
“I’m fine,” she whispered to herself under her breath. But in tandem with the stranger she’d nearly plowed over, she didn’t believe her own words. Not one bit.
Lola rolled over in bed for what seemed like the millionth time and buried her face in the pillow. The empty space on her queen sized mattress sank beside her, the undeniable notion of a figure sliding into the sheets beside her. Terrified, she sucked in a breath to scream, cut off when a large hand slammed down over her mouth.
“Shhhhh, Lola. I’m not going to hurt you.” Beckett’s voice whispered in her ear. She immediately tried to scramble off the bed, only to be hauled back into his powerful embrace. He used his free hand to smooth the hair back from her face, pinning her body next to his. “Please, just listen to me, okay? Don’t struggle, you’re okay, I promise.” Ignoring him, Lola bucked, attempting to use her position to throw him off balance. When that didn’t work, he did the unthinkable. Moving swiftly, he removed his hand from her mouth, but before she could yell for help, replaced it with his own in a hard kiss against her lips. Stunned, she froze in place unable to move an inch. The spark of chemistry as they connected so intimately was completely unexpected.
Beckett stayed still for a few seconds, before parting his lips and slanting his tongue across hers, stroking them gently. Back and forth he kept up the assault, coaxing her to relent. Against all common sense, Lola’s body took over and she parted her lips slightly, a fact he took full advantage of. He sought total dominance over her, his tongue aggressively tangling with hers. He slid one hand under her back, forcing her to arch into him further.
An unfamiliar feeling started to spread through Lola’s body, a heat that seemed to want to burn her from the inside out. “More,” she panted into his mouth, surprising herself. He groaned at her request, but was all too happy to obey.
When his right hand began to travel down her body to lift her tank top, she bolted upright in bed, sucking in huge gulps of air as the last remnants of her dream fell away. Her breath coming in gasps, she pressed her hands to her chest in an effort to keep her hammering heart inside her body.
A dream.
She’d had a sex dream about her step-brother. The realization filled her with shame, coupled with twinges of lust she didn’t quite understand.
“Oh, God. Beckett, I dreamed about Beckett,” she babbled to the darkness.
Inappropriate dreams. Imagining people following her.
You really are a head case, Lo.
Lola was so caught up in the aftermath of her fantasy, she failed to notice the dark figure slip from her room, morphing back into the shadows. A smile full of salacious delight crossed his face as he hurried down the hallway to his own room. He was a deviant by nature, but learning that the girl of his obsession concealed similar darkness within her, was a delightful turn of events.
“Soon, dear sister. Very soon you will be mine.”
Chapter Four
Lola placed her textbooks on the top shelf of her locker and slammed the door shut, leaning against it as Marti chattered beside her.
“I can’t believe you finished the exam that fast! I mean, I know you’re Queen Brainac and everything, but damn, girl.”
Lola laughed. “I actually surprised myself. I’m glad it’s over, though, I was nervous for this one.”
Marti rolled her eyes and moved to face her friend, letting her hands land on her shoulders. “Lo, the day you have to be nervous about ever failing an exam is the day I’ll streak naked down the halls of this godforsaken place.”
Smacking her on the arm, Lola changed the subject. “So, are you going to say yes to Ben?” she asked as they moved away from the lockers and headed down the hall to their final classes of the day. Ben Porter was just one of the string of guys Marti kept tied to her little finger, never fully giving any of them her attention.
“It’s possible. I just don’t know if I want to spend my Saturday night wrapped around him at the game, or at your place binge watching The Boys and burning pizza.”
“Such an accurate description,” Lola commented.
“I like to be a girl with options,” Marti replied with a wink. Before Lola could form a reply, she spotted Beckett at the other end of the hall, chatting with Oliver and a few other guys. He must have felt her stare as he suddenly swung his eyes in her direction. Embarrassed at being caught basically ogling him, Lola quickly averted her gaze, but not before Marti noticed the exchange.
“What was that about?” she asked.
“What? That? Oh, nothing. You know Beckett, never wants to acknowledge my existence.” Lola replied, hoping Marti bought it.
“Yeah...okay then. Well, listen, I gotta motor to chem class. If I’m late again I’m dead meat. Meet out front after?” Marti let the matter drop, a fact Lola was intensely grateful for.
“Forsure, see you then.” Heading to her classroom, she chanced one last look over her shoulder, finding Beckett engrossed in conversation with a perky blonde that was hanging off his arm. Disgusted at their display, she stomped to her seat, putting Beckett and his trail of little hoes firmly out her mind.
Silent shame washed over her as she tuned out the class discussions. Was she truly starting to lose her mind? What did she care if Beckett fucked half the school? Miserable, she stared out the classroom window, watching as several fiery orange leaves floated by in a swirl of wind. So now that she’d had a fantasy about him, she had the right to judge how he spent his time? The idea was ludicrous and very out of character for her. She needed to get a grip and fast, the last thing she wanted to do was strain things even further between them.
When the bell finally rang, she grabbed her books and bolted, the first to make it out the door. In the hall, she noticed a small crowd had gathered at one of the lockers. Curious, she moved closer, with the intention of blending into the crowd. It would be nice to focus on someone else’s drama for once, and shove aside the pieces of her own making her question her sanity.
Hundreds of photos were plastered over a row of lockers, others scattering the floor. Inching closer, she peeked around the shoulders of the crowd, trying to get a clear view. The first thing she noticed was Barkey. A cute snapshot of him cuddled in her arms in her backyard, sopping wet from his latest bath. The polaroid was taped to the lockers along with countless others; a photo of her crossing the mall parking lot with her mother, one of her sitting on the picnic benches at school lunch break.
Stunned, Lola felt herself moving, was aware heads around her were starting to turn in her direction. People were talking to her, but their voices seemed to come from a faraway tunnel.
Her. The lockers were wallpapered with photos of her.
Pushing people aside, she reached the apex of the group and stared at the horrific display in utter shock. Bending down, she lifted one of the photos from the pile on the ground. It was her lying in bed on her side, her long hair spread over her pillows, her bare legs poking out from the sheet that covered her. The back of her throat burned, her vision blurred. Hot tears traced tracks down her cheeks as she crumpled the photo up in her hands.
A thousand emotions raged through her body — embarrassment, anger, terror. Who the fuck would do this? When a hand touched her shoulder, she barely stifled her scream as she shot to her feet. Scrambling backwards, her body slammed into her locker, sending dozens of photos floating to the floor.
“Lo! Lola. Hey, hey, calm down. It’s me!�
�� Marti’s voice drifted to her through the fog. Blinking furiously, her friend's face came into focus. On a choked sob, she fell forward into Marti’s arms, squeezing her eyes shut. It helped to drown out the chaos of the growing group of on-lookers and incessant chatter amongst her classmates as they dissected every intimate photo of her that had been cruelly put on display.
When her breathing evened out, Marti withdrew from her embrace, fire blazing in her eyes. “Alright, shows over! Move it along! Go! Its just fucking pictures, get your own life to gawk at.” Her terse words seemed to have some effect as most of the crowd dispersed.
Lola bent at the knees, and spreading her arms wide, scooped up most of the photos on the floor in one sweep. Shoving them into a haphazard pile, she sank into a sitting position and let her back rest against the lockers.
“Who would do this, Marti? I wasn’t imagining things at all, someone has been following me all this time.” Letting her head drop to her knees, she squeezed her eyes shut and begged for reality to be a dream.
“What the fuck is this shit?” At the sound of Oliver’s furious voice, she cringed. Fuck. She should have continued the cleanup — he wasn’t going to take this well. “Lola. Are you okay? What’s going on?”
Not wanting him to worry, she gave herself another few seconds to find her courage and then met her brother’s bewildered stare. She let out a giggle that sounded manic even to her ears as she did her best to brush off the entire incident.
“Oh, Ollie. It’s nothing,” she rose to her feet and moved away from the lockers, forcing her brother to avert his eyes from the display of images of her. “A little prank from some friends, that’s all.”
Oliver studied her, took in the dull eyes and tear-stained cheeks. “Nice try. Who in the fuck— ” He whirled around, scanning his gaze over the few students that remained as if the culprit would instantly present themselves. Lola touched his face gently in an effort to calm him.
“Please. Just leave it alone. For me. I’d really like to go home,” she pleaded. Oliver’s fists clenched and unclenched at his sides several times, his nostrils flaring. He didn’t believe her lie at all of course, and was livid that someone was messing with her. While they might not have ran in the same circles at school, it was still a well-known fact that she was his little sister. Knowledge that kept the players at bay and bullies in their corners. Lola was a sweet natured soul, who had no idea of the allure she held. Without himself and Beckett to look out for her, he knew she’d have been the target of more than one guy in the school wanting to be the one to “make it” with her.
They didn’t talk about their feelings often, especially their childhood and subsequent adoption by their parents. That didn’t mean he didn’t love her, just that he saw no point in reliving the past. As her self-appointed protector, if what she needed was to to go home, he’d make sure she got there.
“Let’s go,” he replied curtly. He swung his arm around her shoulder and led her towards the doors. Lola cast a glance back at Marti, telling her with just one look she was grateful for everything. She knew she’d take care of the rest of the photos; she was already in the process of doing exactly that. Now, all that was left to do was figure out who exactly was trying to terrorize her.
Barkey’s warm fur had never felt so comforting as Lola lay cuddled with him on her bed later that night. It had taken a herculean effort to get Oliver to refrain from spilling the beans to her parents about what had happened at school. He’d put up quite the argument, but in the end he’d agreed to give it a few days. As long as there were no other incidents, he’d keep their parents out of the loop. She was immensely grateful she hadn’t filled him in on everything else that had been going on; he’d never let her leave the house again, much less keep quiet about the photos.
Letting out a soft bark as was his habit, Barkey snuggled closer, burying his nose in her neck. He’d always been intuitive to her needs, a true best friend. At the quiet knock on her door, she groaned.
“Not now, Ollie,” she called out, hoping he’d leave her be. When the handle turned and the door cracked open, she sighed. “Honestly, I don’t need — Beckett,” she stammered. Her step-brother lingered in the doorframe, concern marring his handsome features.
“Oliver got called in for a shift at the grocery store,” he explained. “And it’s the parents night with the Keller’s. I, uh, I heard about what happened at school.”
Mortified, she threw herself back on the pillows, patting Barkey absently when he let out a short bark in protest of his spot being disturbed. “Great. So everyone’s talking about it?”
Taking the fact that she didn’t tell him to take a hike as an invitation, he entered her room, closing the door behind him. “I wouldn’t say everyone…”
Lola threw an arm over her eyes and suppressed the urge to scream. It was all so infuriating, that some person out there had the audacity to take such liberties with her personal space. Anger taking over, she shot to her feet and paced the room.
“I honestly wish I knew what terrible thing I’ve done to deserve this. I mean, who does that? Spies on girls, invades their privacy and then showcases their fuckedupness to the world? Do people really want to see me terrified? Scared to go anywhere ever again? I just don’t get it.”
Beckett was quiet, his dark stare following her around the room. He was big, he took up so much space in her room it was somehow difficult to navigate without coming in close contact with him. Heat radiated from his body, or perhaps that was her own body temperature starting to rise as flashes of her fantasy of the two of them played across her mind. There was a darkness in him, pieces of himself he fought to conceal. Against her better judgement, she wanted to be the one to peel away his layers and discover everything there was to know about him.
“Maybe it’s not what you think. There could be a reasonable explanation, Lola,” he pointed out as he closed the remaining distance between them. His large hand wrapped around the fleshy part of her upper arm and shocking both of them, he drew her into his arms. She fit like a glove, her body automatically molded to his. Lola’s mind raced as they stood together, paranoid that he’d be able to hear the fierce beating of her heart. Just like in her dream, something started to build inside her, a feeling she didn’t quite understand.
Leaning her head back, her eyes met Beckett’s and she inhaled sharply. His gaze burned into hers, his grip on her becoming almost painful. Before she could form any kind of coherent reply, his head swooped down and he claimed her mouth as his. His hands moved to fist in her hair, tugging and releasing as he angled her into the position he wanted her in.
It was a kiss full of possessiveness, lust leading the way. He fought to dominate her, threatened to consume every bit of goodness inside her. Beckett coaxed her lips to part and barely aware of her surroundings, she conceded, allowing his tongue to clash with hers. Her fantasy of him mingled with reality, until finally she regained part of her senses.
“Wait,” she rushed out between breaths. “Beckett, wait. What are we doing? This is wrong.” Beckett loosened his hold on her, but refused to release her completely.
“It’s not wrong. It’s meant to be, Lola. I’ve wanted you for as long as I can remember. I’m done waiting,” he announced. Without giving her a chance to process his words, he again crashed his mouth down on hers, desperate to have her taste filling his senses once more. The innocence she possessed was beckoning to him, begging to be defiled. His love for her had morphed into its own entity, a force not to be denied.
His mouth traveled down the length of her neck, biting and sucking in a leisurely trail of fire. In the back of his mind, he tried to remember that she was a virgin, but it was nearly impossible to keep himself in check. He’d wanted her for so long, he was feral in his need to make her truly his.
“Touch me, Lola. Let your hands have control,” he whispered in her ear. When a shiver passed through her body at his words, he grinned, toothy and full of a malicious delight. “Don’t be afraid to ex
plore your own body, give yourself that pleasure.”
His words were dirty and wrong, but they were so fucking good at the same time. An ache grew between her legs, a fire spreading from her belly all the way to her toes. Reaching for the hem of his black t-shirt, she drew it over his head, her eyes widening as they traveled over his muscular form. As wrong as it might be to lust after her step-brother, she wanted him. Wanted to submit to his intense infatuation, no matter the cost. Gathering her courage, she touched her lips to his chest, placing his kisses along his skin, in a similar fashion as he’d done to her. When he groaned, she took that as a sign of approval.
He slipped the straps of her tank top down her shoulders, feasting his hot gaze on her tits. Cupping them, he teased her nipples to hard nubs, before lowering his head and devouring her. Lola arched her back and cried out, uncertain of the feelings coursing through her body. Still sucking on her breasts, Beckett’s hand moved between her thighs.
“Already wet for me, baby. I fucking love that. Have you made yourself come thinking of me?” He gently stroked her pussy, not wanting to rush the moment when he was finally inside her.
“N-no. I’ve never...I’ve never…” Lola’s words trailed off as embarrassment washed over her. She wasn’t a fool, she knew Beckett was experienced. Her own lacking sexual experience cleared the fog of desire a bit and she started to retreat.
“Good. I wanted it to be me that gave you all your firsts. And you will give them to me, Lola. You’ll give me everything.” He tightened his grip on her and maneuvered them backwards until her knees hit the mattress. Lowering her down, his mouth was back on her skin in an instant, intent on heightening her lust once more. He slid her sleep shorts down her body, nearly losing all control at the sight of her glistening pussy.
He used one finger to spread her folds, the heat radiating from her beckoning him forward. “Open your eyes, Lola. Look at me,” he ordered.