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Owning Beauty (Taking Beauty Trilogy Book 3)

Page 21

by Nikki Wild


  “Well, I’ve got my book to finish.” She picked up the discarded paperback from last night and held it proudly. “I’ve got some more in my bag, if you want to borrow one.”

  I frowned, but shrugged. “Might as well.” Reading may not have been my one true love, but it sure beat just sitting around staring at the snow.

  Sarah produced another book and tossed it to me before making herself comfortable in front of the fire. For a few moments, I considered going to sit next to her, then I decided against it. I needed a bit of space, even if that was at a premium in this tiny place. So I opted to sit on the bed instead.

  For the first few minutes, I was able to focus on the book. That didn’t last long though, and soon I found myself glancing up at Sarah after every few sentences. It didn’t help that the book she’d given me was some cheap romance novel about a Mediterranean prince rescuing some shipwrecked beauty.

  Jesus, I thought, who reads these things?

  And yet, I didn’t toss the book aside like I wanted to. The more I read, the more the scenes began to float in my head. Yet instead of the busty brunette the book stared, all I could picture was Sarah. And instead of the bronzed prince with his long flowing locks, I saw myself.

  All I could see was myself rescuing Sarah from the ship, taking her to my castle and impressing her with flowers and feasts and a gorgeous sunset over the beach. Slowly, she fell in love with me as I wooed her in ways only a romance novel thought seemed realistic.

  Until, finally, we made love on the beach as the sunset behind us.

  Before I knew it, my cock was rock hard in my pants again as I imagined making love to Sarah on a romantic beach. I imagined her moaning out my name as she came, her body wrapped around mine as I filled her with my cock, bringing her to an earth shattering climax like no one else could.

  Finally, I had to shut the book and take deep breaths to calm myself. I was getting way too worked up over a cheesy romance novel. And with only a curtain to separate the bathroom from the rest of the cabin, it wasn’t like I had much privacy to seek out some relief.

  My phone buzzed in my pocket and I quickly yanked it out, hoping I’d gotten a signal, only to be dismayed. It was just the low battery warning. With a sigh, I hopped off the bed, hoping my jeans hid my still throbbing erection, and went over to my back, pulling out my external battery and plugging it in.

  As I stood at the counter, I closed my eyes and took deep breaths. I needed to get myself under control before I did something stupid. This trip was to give Sarah a good time and help her relax. The last thing I wanted was to make her feel uncomfortable or attacked.

  Which meant I needed to stop looking at her like she was my girl of the night. She wasn’t, and she never would be.

  What I really needed was to get out of this cabin. Being in such tight confinement with her was the problem, I told myself. My body was going into survival mode, focusing on continuing the human race. That was all it was. Just me being stupid from being trapped in this cabin.

  With that thought firmly in place, I turned to Sarah and grinned. “So, you think we should try another thing of chili? It is getting to be around lunch time, and neither of us ate very much last night.”

  Sarah closed her book and sighed. “Yeah, I guess,” she said as she yawned and stretched. “If it’s too bad, we’ll just eat the can of peas for dinner.”

  Well, a can of peas wasn’t the best idea for dinner, but hell, it couldn’t be all that bad. I couldn’t remember ever having bad peas at least.

  The two of us worked in relative silence as we prepared our lunch. I kept my mind focused on the task at hand, doing my best to pay as little attention to Sarah as possible. The less I focused on her, the I’d want to fuck her, I figured.

  It helped, but my cock still didn’t go completely soft. And, twenty minutes later, when we sat in front of the fire with our bowls, I couldn’t ignore her any more.

  “Ready?” she asked as she took a spoonful.

  I nodded and took my own spoonful. After she counted down from three, we both took a bite, both wincing nearly immediately. “Well, I guess it’s not as bad as last night”

  “Yeah, I guess.” When she took another spoonful though, she didn’t look very eager to stuff it in her mouth. Yet, dutifully, she kept eating.

  The food really was brutal. I couldn’t wait to get out of here, just so we could get some real food to eat. Even if it was a taco from a food cart, anything had to be better than this slop. Hell, at this point, I’d have gladly eaten a plat of prison food over this.

  Rescue couldn’t come soon enough.

  Sarah

  After kissing me earlier, Nathan seemed to be doing his best to ignore me. He rarely spoke to me and even then it was only if he had to. Getting him to make eye contact was even harder.

  It was like he’d completely withdrawn into himself, which was completely different than the Nathan I knew. The Nathan I knew rarely stopped talking, always animated and involved in whatever was going on. He rarely sat still, always needing to do something.

  But today was completely different. He spent most of the time either staring at the book, no longer even bothering to turn the pages, or staring out the window at the falling snow. He was almost like a completely different person.

  Even after our second round of horrible chili, he still didn’t speak much. He just sat in his own little world, pretending I wasn’t there.

  But I couldn’t think of anything to say to pull him out of his head. What was there to say? I sure as hell couldn’t tell him I’d enjoyed the kiss, that I wanted him to do it again. God, then he’d never talk to me. If he found out his step-sister wanted to jump his bones, things would never go back to normal.

  No, telling him the truth was definitely out of the question, that was for sure.

  So what could I do? I racked my brain over and over, trying to come up with some kind of solution. Yet, nothing appeared. No matter how hard I thought, I couldn’t come up with any way to bring Nathan back to the land of the living.

  All I could do was hope someone found us soon. Maybe then, with a bit of interaction with other people, he’d return to normal. It wasn’t the best plan I’d ever come up with, but it was the only thing I could think of, short of telling him to kiss me again.

  Yet, as time ticked by, there was no sign of rescue. I hadn’t even heard a single car go by, much less anyone stopping to help us. Would we ever get out of this damned cabin? Or would we be stuck here until we ran out of disgusting chili and starved to death?

  Don’t think like that, Sarah! I chastised myself. Stay positive. Someone has to come by eventually, and then we’ll be out of here!

  All I could do was hope that was true. It was either that or we bundle up and try to make the trek up the mountain to the lodge, and I wasn’t looking forward to that at all. The hike here had been bad enough, and now there was even more snow on the ground.

  No, hiking up to the resort would definitely be a last resort. No way was I going to suffer through that unless I absolutely had to, and even then, I wouldn’t be thrilled about it.

  Soon enough, the sun began to set again. I tossed aside my book, having finished it hours ago, but not bothering to retrieve another. There was only so much cheap romance I could read when all I could think about was Nathan. And it wasn’t like I had any privacy to take care of the built up tension inside me.

  I stood up and walked over to the window where Nathan stood, staring out at nothing once again. His sign was just barely visible from here, but at least it was still in place. If he hadn’t hung it from a branch, it’d have probably been buried by now.

  “Looks like we’re stuck here for another night,” I said with a sigh.

  Nathan nodded, his lips pursed tight. Still, he wouldn’t talk to me. I wished I could figure out what was going on inside that thick head of his. Why couldn’t he just tell me what was bothering him? Then maybe I could at least try to help.

  “I’m not eating more of that c
hili,” I said, an exaggerated frown on my face. “I think I’d rather go out and get some tree bark to eat instead.”

  Nathan snorted, a thin smile appearing on his face.

  Well, it’s a start.

  “So, canned peas or creamed corn tonight?” I nudged him gently. “Those seem like the only two options that won’t have one of us puking.”

  “Canned peas,” Nathan said, nodding to himself. “Definitely the peas. Although, the creamed corn at least can’t be as bad as the chili.”

  “Nothing can be as bad as that chili. Whoever owns this place must not have a stomach at all. God, I can’t imagine someone buying that crap once, let alone a year’s supply of it. What was he thinking?”

  “Maybe it was on sale.”

  “Maybe someone paid him to take it all off their hands.” That seemed like the only viable excuse to own that much disgusting chili. I doubted even a dog would eat that garbage.

  For a few minutes, the two of us stood there laughing as we came up with different reasons for owning that much disgusting food. For a few moments, it was like Nathan had come back to reality.

  But once the conversation died down, he retreated right back into his head again. It was like nothing would truly bring him back. Maybe one of his friends could, but it seemed like he was purposely trying to tune me out and pretend I wasn’t in the cabin with him.

  Finally, I’d had enough. I grabbed his arm and dragged him back over to the fire. “Come on. Let’s play cards.”

  “With only two people?”

  “Well, it’s better than staring out the window for the rest of the day.” I dug around in my backpack until I found the deck of cards I’d tossed in here. I wasn’t quite sure why I’d packed them, but now I was glad I had.

  “What are we going to play? Strip poker?” Nathan winced, like the joke burned as is slipped from his lips.

  Defiantly, I glared at him. “Okay, let’s play strip poker.”

  Okay, so it probably wasn’t my best idea, but I had to try something to get him out of his shell. And, after all, he’d been the one to suggest it, even if it had been in jest.

  “We can’t play strip poker!”

  “Why not?” I started shuffling the deck, not taking my eyes off him. “Afraid of losing, are you? Think you can’t beat your poor little step-sister at a game of poker?”

  Now I was just goading him. Nathan lived for a challenge, never passing up the opportunity to show someone up. There was no way he’d be able to back down now.

  “Fine.” He crossed his arms in front of his chest and frowned. “But you better not complain when I kick your ass!”

  I snorted. Fat chance of that happening. I’d seen Nathan play poker before. He wasn’t bad, not really, but he was far from a champion or anything. Chances were, he’d be the first one stripping, not me. And now, maybe, I’d get a chance to really see those muscles he was hiding beneath his clothes.

  I dealt the first round, fighting back the urge to cheat. It would’ve been easy to rig the deck, but if I was going to beat Nathan, I wanted to do it fair and square. Then he couldn’t complain when I kicked his ass.

  When we both laid down our cards, we both ended up with a pair. Him with a pair of sevens and me with a pair of nines. “Ha!” I said triumphantly. “What was that about kicking my ass?”

  I stuck my tongue out as he grumbled, sliding his sweatshirt off and tossing it aside. For the first time, I noticed how tight his t-shirt was, clinging to his muscular chest and arms. How had I not noticed that before? How had I not noticed how hot Nathan was?

  “Well? Are you going to deal the next hand?” He rolled his eyes. “Or are you chickening out already?”

  I glared at him and dealt the cards, trying not to stare any more. God, if things were this bad with him just wearing a t-shirt, what was I going to do when he was shirtless? I’d be drooling like a puppy waiting for his supper.

  The next hand went to Nathan, much to my annoyance. Though, it was probably a good thing, I thought as I pulled my own sweater off. At least it gave me a little bit more time to get myself under control before being greeted with the torso I’d been dying to see all day.

  I didn’t have to wait long, since the next hand was mine, and Nathan had to remove his shirt. My eyes were glued to him as he slipped it off without anything more than a frown in complaint. God damn he was built.

  For someone who never went to the gym, the guy looked like a freaking model. How the hell did he maintain that? I wondered. I’d never seen him eat particularly healthy. And, as far as I knew, the only exercise he got was skateboarding and snowboarding with his friends. No way those activities kept him in that good of shape.

  Was he chiseled from marble by the gods themselves?

  My frown matched his own as I dealt the next hand. Part of me prayed I’d win while the other part of me prayed I wouldn’t. I wanted to see Nathan wearing nothing but those boxers, but at the same time, I didn’t. If I saw him in just his underwear, I’d never be able to get the sight out of my head.

  Worse, if he didn’t back down after being stripped to his underwear, I wouldn’t be able to keep from gawking at his nude body. Then he’d really see how much of a pervert his sister was. But, it was too late to back out now.

  I’d been the one to challenge him. If I chickened out that easily, I’d never live it down. And, for some reason, being known as a coward and a chicken seemed like the worse of the two options. So I laid my cards down and grinned at him. Pair of queens.

  Beat that!

  Fortunately, or unfortunately, he couldn’t. He didn’t even have a single pair that hand. Meaning it was once again his turn to strip.

  This time, he didn’t just frown at me, he glared at me. “Why are we playing this stupid game?” he asked, still not moving from his seat.

  I shrugged and grinned at him “It was your idea. Don’t tell me you’re backing out already. What would your friends say if they knew how much of a chicken you were?”

  Nathan stood up, scowling as he did so. “Fine! It’s not like you didn’t see it all this morning.”

  I froze, scared for a second he’d been awake as I’d peaked beneath the blanket. But when he just shoved his jeans off and kicked them aside before sitting back down, I figured my secret was safe, at least for now.

  He shifted and adjusted himself as he sat, and that’s when it dawned on me that he was hard again! I’d been so lost in thought as he stripped that I hadn’t noticed right away. But now, I could see the length down the leg of his boxers again, raising the material just slightly. If he hadn’t adjusted himself and sat cross legged, I’d have been able to see right up the leg of his boxers.

  My heart pounded now. My brain told me to back out, even if it meant looking like a chicken. Let him put his clothes back on before you do something stupid!

  Yet, I didn’t quit. I shuffled the cards and dealt the next hand. I was sure Nathan could hear my heart pounding in my chest now. The sound was loud enough to drown everything else out. But he didn’t comment, he just looked down at his cards, his expression not changing.

  “Pair of jacks,” I said, setting my cards down.

  This was it, I thought. Now Nathan would need to take his boxers off and I’d get to see every last inch of him. Once again, I’d be greeted by the sight of his hard cock, standing straight up in the air.

  But I was wrong.

  “Straight,” he said laying down his own cards and grinning at me. “Nice try though.”

  I couldn’t help the pout that appeared on my face. I collected the cards and stacked them up before hooking my fingers beneath my shirt and lifting it over my head. Then I tossed it aside and glared at Nathan, not backing down from his challenge.

  There was no way either of us were going to give up now.

  Once I had my shirt off, Nathan frowned. “That’s not fair! You’ve got an extra piece of clothing!” He crossed his arms in front of his chest and huffed out a breath. For a few moments, he seemed like a
petty child, upset about not having the advantage.

  But, I had to admit, he was right. I’d forgotten I was wearing a bra and he wasn’t. I’d never played strip poker before and hadn’t even thought of that. So with a sigh, I breathed out “Fine!” and reached behind my back, unhooking my bra and letting it fall away.

  I shivered as the cool air brushed past my breasts. I wanted to cross my arms in front of my chest like Nathan had done, but I resisted. It wouldn’t be fair if I covered myself up, since when it came time for Nathan to be exposed, I expected him not to cover up either.

  Unfortunately, my wish didn’t come true on the next round either. Nathan one again, this time with a pair of fours to my nothing. So, after taking a deep breath, I stood up and removed my jeans, practically needing to peel them off myself.

  Why did girls’ clothing have to be so tight? I wondered briefly.

  Once I was down to nothing but my panties, I stood there for a moment, shuffling back and forth on each foot. I wanted to just sit down and get on with the game, but with Nathan’s eyes glued to my body, I couldn’t. It only seemed fair to let him look at me, since I’d peaked at him this morning, even though he didn’t know that.

  Besides, it was my own fault for being trapped in my own head or I’d have gotten a better look at him earlier.

  But, after a few moments, I sat back down and crossed my legs, just as he’d done. When I glanced at his crotch though, I noticed his hard cock was much more evident now, easily raising the thin fabric of his boxers.

  A shiver went through my body at that moment. God, I couldn’t believe he was getting turned on by seeing me in nothing but a pair of panties! I wondered if maybe his erection this morning hadn’t just been morning wood.

  One thing was for sure, my nipples were rock hard now, showing off my own excitement. If I wasn’t careful, the fire building up inside my stomach would lash out, then my panties would be wet. And the last thing I needed was for Nathan to see me getting wet over his nearly naked body.

  I took a deep breath and dealt the next hand. This was it, I thought to myself. After this, one of us would be completely naked in front of the other. But as we sat there staring at our cards, neither of us had the courage to speak up. Nor were either of us willing to back out.

 

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