Gripped: A Stepbrother Romance (Bonus Story: Stepbrother Forbidden)

by Brother, Stephanie

  “He really is.”

  I smiled, surprised she agreed. “Still gonna marry him?”

  She watched me intently. “No. I ended things with him.”

  Her answer excited me more than it should. Hearing her complaining about Tom and agreeing with me that he was an asshole had encouraged some kind of hope in me. A hope I shouldn’t have had in the first place. Even though she’d said she was done with the guy, that still didn’t change anything between us. She was still off-limits and the sooner I got that through my head, the better.

  “Well, congratulations,” I said as I turned back to my suitcase. I spread out the mountain of clothing so it lay flat in a haphazard mess. “I’m glad I didn’t have to ruin my hands punching this one in the face too.”

  “You still can.” She chuckled. “Wait, why are you packing?”

  “I’m going to a hotel.” I zipped up the suitcase, lifting it to sit on its wheels.

  She advanced into the room, her features a mixture of anger and disbelief.

  “You’re leaving? Reid, Dad invited you to stay here. How do you think he’d feel if you left just like that?”

  “How do you think he’d feel if he found out what we did?”

  A long and heavy silence followed that statement. My words and the memories they inspired hung there between us, taking up too much space, overwhelming us. This complicated mess was way too much for either of us to handle. At least too much for me to handle.

  “It’s just so typical of you.” She spoke softly, her voice laced with disappointment. It set me on edge, fuelling my own anger too. “As soon as things don’t go the way you want it to, you bail. You always bail.” Her face pink, she moved closer, her brown eyes glittering with the anger that refused to relent. “You never stick around. Not to talk or work things out. You run. You run like a fucking coward.”

  The air felt alive somehow. My skin was too hot despite the light sweater I had on. My heart beat faster than normal. A coward? She thought I was a coward? For years I’d fought against what I felt for her until all I could do was disappear. How the fuck did you ‘talk’ or ‘work’ out a situation where you had fallen in love with your stepsister?

  “And what about you, Mac?” I stepped toward her, crowding her space. When she backed up, I followed. “Wanna know what you do when the going gets tough? You ignore it. You stick your damn head in the sand and act like if you pretend it isn’t happening it’ll go away.”

  She pressed against the dresser and stared up at me with wide eyes. Her lips parted, she breathed fast and deep like if I was blocking her oxygen. I intended to do just that. I was going to kiss her so hard, she’d hit me to let her go. No amount of rationalization was going to stop me either. I was a coward? Far from it. She was about to learn that much.

  “Newsflash, Mac, either you run, you fight, or you give in.”

  She licked her lips. “Reid, I—”

  “And you know what?” I fisted my hand in her hair, pulling her head back so every bit of her attention was focused on me. Her features were conflicted, growing desire warring with deepening anger. My cock was as hard as stone and I decided that maybe kissing her was not the only thing I needed to do to her today.

  I bent my head so she could feel my lips move against her jaw as I spoke.

  “I’m fed up of running, I’m fed up fighting, so I think I might as well give in.”

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Mackenzie

  Reid didn’t give me a chance to respond. Instead he twisted my face to his and kissed me. I brought my hand up to his chest intending to angrily push him away but my hand lingered. His tongue pushed past my lips into my mouth and I closed my eyes on a soft and shameful moan.

  I wasn’t sure I could call Reid’s mouth over mine a kiss. That word was way too soft for what he did to me now. He dominated me, his tongue curling around and subduing mine. I fisted my hands in the soft material of his sweater, just as his hand was tightened around my hair. I wanted to push him away and pull him even closer at the same time.

  He tasted and smelled good. A dull taste of mint on his tongue and a woodsy scent with a lighter lavender smell on his skin. Tall and broad, his flesh hard and hot beneath my hands, Reid was everything I’d ever wanted for years but couldn’t have.

  He continued to kiss me as he relinquished my hair and roved his hands over my body. His touch was not gentle either. He palmed my breasts over my shirt and squeezed them, forcing a whimper from me.

  “I am not a coward,” he growled against my lips.

  “That’s what all cowards say,” I spat.

  “You’re all mouth now but I wonder how much you’ll be able to say when I’m fucking you on this dresser.”

  Holy shit. His words, his voice made my skin sizzle, my heart slam in my chest, my pussy squeeze with need. Somewhere deep in the back of my mind, alarm bells rang that this was going too far too fast. This is wrong. You shouldn’t be doing this. He’s your stepbrother.

  But like Reid, I’d fought too much. I had no more willpower to resist something I wanted even if it was wrong. So when Reid pulled apart my shirt, sending the buttons flying everywhere, I did not feel horrified being bared to him. Instead, I grew damper between my thighs.

  “God, you’re so fucking gorgeous,” he said, his voice raspy, the heat of his hand almost branding me as he caressed my stomach. His gaze held mine, the hunger and admiration in his deep blue eyes sped up my heart rate. The inside of my stomach felt like it contained a thousand fluttery beings. “I want to taste every inch of you.”

  Reid yanked my bra down so the cups pushed my breasts up in eager anticipation of his touch. My face grew hot. It was the most exposed I’d ever been in front of him. Trips to the beach when we were younger while I wore my tankinis did not count. I wanted to cover myself, but I didn’t have to when his mouth would suffice. He bent me back slightly so he could get better access. His hot breath ghosting over my right nipple made me shiver.

  “Oh my god,” I moaned when his wet, warm mouth covered my breast. I sifted my fingers through his thick hair, grasping onto the strands when he sucked my flesh into his mouth. I panted and squirmed between him and the dresser as his tongue lapped and flicked one nipple while his fingers pinched and rubbed the other.

  I wanted his cock. Needed it. Badly. Each caress of his tongue over my flesh sent a sweet thrill straight to my pussy. My panties were soaked and all I wanted to do was take them off so Reid could have uninterrupted access to do to me whatever he pleased.

  He abandoned my breasts to kiss me again. It was still just as hard, still just as punishing. His way of teaching me a lesson for calling him a coward.

  He broke our kiss, backing away. He was like some terrible force ripping through me, turning me upside down, round and round, leaving me breathless and confused.

  “Turn around,” he ordered. I opened my mouth to question him but he shook his head. A sharp sideways jerk of his head that made me snap my mouth shut again. “Turn around.”

  I turned, facing the dresser and the beige wall behind it.

  “Reid—”

  “Bend over.”

  The dresser was only as high as my hips, but I bent over, planting my forearms on the bare wooden surface.

  “Spread your legs a little wider.”

  My heart rate was climbing again. I hated how much more aroused I became by his bossy tone. I spread my legs as wide as my pencil skirt would allow. But that seemed not to be enough for Reid because he grabbed the hem of my skirt and shoved it up, exposing my ass.

  I reared up in surprise, but his hand was like steel against my back pushing me back down onto the dresser again. He kept one hand on my back while the other found its home between my legs, pressing up hard against my wet panties and wetter pussy. A gasp escaped me from the abruptness of his touch.

  “Fuck, you’re pretty wet for me, sweetheart.” His voice was low and husky. I closed my eyes, relishing the sound. He came closer, pushing his front against my le
g so I could feel his hard length through his jeans while he rubbed me through my panties. “And I’m pretty hard for you too.”

  “Then what are you waiting for?” I said on a strangled moan. He found my clit, circling it slowly over the cotton material of my underwear. My legs shook with the need to close together and trap his hand there forever.

  “So hasty.” He pushed my panties aside, sliding one digit along my wet slit. He pushed a finger inside me, then another one. Only the tips. Rubbing just a bit inside my channel excruciatingly slow. Making my body shake harder with desperation. I closed my eyes and threw my head back on a long whimper. Oh my god. Why didn’t he just fuck me already?

  “Doers do. Cowards make excuses,” I panted out.

  “Is that right?” He pushed his fingers deeper, all the way, then he leaned over me to grab hold of my hair in his fist, pumping his fingers inside me. I cried out, shocked by how amazing his big fingers felt moving in me. “I’m going to show you how much I can do to you, Mackenzie. I hope you’re ready.”

  “I’m not a coward.”

  He let go of my hair and pulled his fingers from me. My pussy squeezed around the emptiness he’d left, yearning for him again. I heard a zip, then paper crinkling. My heart pounded so loud, I could hear it in my ears. Could he hear it too?

  Then his hands were on my skin again, hot and demanding. His fingers squeezing my hips, he stood behind me, his cock settled in the groove between my butt cheeks, the flesh hard and hot even through my panties.

  He guided himself between my legs, rubbing up against me through my underwear. I squirmed, wishing it was skin to skin contact.

  I looked over my shoulder at him. “Aren’t you going to take off my panties?”

  “No.” He tugged my panties to the side again and pushed the head of his cock up against my slick entrance. “The next time you wear these, I want you to remember what I did to you while you wore them.”

  With a soft grunt, he thrust into me, filling me, stoppering me with his cock. My body rocked forward and I dug my nails into the dresser’s surface as some strange, choke-gasp sound released from my throat. I remained still. I needed a moment to not only accept the fact that Reid was inside me, but that he was so damn huge.

  “Fuck,” he groaned, sliding out of me then thrusting back in. One of his hands left my hip to course along my back and sides, caressing me as he picked up the pace. “Holy fuck, you feel amazing.”

  “Oh god…” Reid pounded into me harder. Never had I been happier wearing heels. With my ass raised, every stroke of his cock rubbed against my sweet spot. “Oh god…yes…”

  He was like hard steel stretching me over and over again with each thrust. I clung to the dresser as he drove into me harder, the slap of his legs against the back of my thighs mixing with our moans. His hand reached up to squeeze and fondle my breast while the other curved around my front, delving between my legs to diddle my sensitive nub. My heart slammed in my chest almost as hard as he slammed into me, grinding his hips every so often so I felt every sweet motion of his cock buried inside me.

  Reid was everywhere. In me, pressed against me, his hands all over me. I sped toward that crest, my body manipulated by his hands. His fingers circled me, working me up to that point. Then a deep thrust inside me sent me past the crest over the edge.

  “Reid…oh god…Reid…” I cried out as I fell, arching my back. I shook. my legs barely incapable of holding up the rest of my body. Reid groaned as my inner walls tightened around his length but he kept on pushing into me.

  “That was beautiful.” He bent over me and pressed a kiss to my shoulder blade. His warm breath caressed my skin as he growled into my ear. “You’re so beautiful when you’re coming on my cock.”

  He raised up and resumed fucking me, starting my next free fall all over again. Planting both hands on my hips again, he pounded into me mercilessly. My next climax raced toward me quicker than the first. As he swelled inside me, so did the warmth between my legs grew. Then I was swept away in the fierce, dizzying sensations, crying Reid’s name while Reid groaned mine.

  I felt like I would ride that sweet wave forever, and each twitch of Reid’s cock inside me as he came prolonged that feeling. Gradually, the effects of my orgasm became duller and I sagged against the dresser when Reid pulled from me.

  I turned and watched him remove the condom and toss it in the small waste basket. My pussy still tingled from our activities but my brain was coming out of the lust haze that had gripped us both a moment ago. The realization came like a thick, dark cloud ruining a once sunshiny day.

  Reid and I just had sex.

  I met Reid’s gaze. His face was stony and unreadable. What was he thinking? Did he regret what we’d done? Did I?

  I searched for something to say to break the heavy, uncomfortable silence. The only words that came to me was: I just had sex with my stepbrother.

  The sound of Dad’s car pulling into the driveway broke me out of my horrified spell. I needed to leave. I couldn’t be here anymore. Things had gone from complicated to Major Fuck Up territory.

  “I-I have to go,” I said, fixing my skirt and folding one half of my ruined shirt over the other. Not bothering to wait for his response, I ran away.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Mackenzie

  Today was supposed to be my wedding day.

  This idle thought wandered across my mind as I gazed out the hospital room’s window. Instead of the usual overcast grey, the sky was a pale blue. Though the sun’s heat wasn’t strong, its brightness warmed everywhere with colour.

  Today, I was supposed to be a wife, but instead I was still single. Relief had never felt so sweet, even if it was at the expense of my father’s disappointment and the effort of cancelling reservations and invitations. In the end, Dad came around. He realized that my marriage to Tom was too hasty. Marrying someone just to make sure a dying relative was around long enough to witness the act was not an ideal start to a marriage. You had to love the person. Or at least like them. Neither of which I did for Tom.

  But I suppose I couldn’t because someone else reserved my feelings.

  Reid’s face loomed bright in my mind. His dark hair, his deep blue eyes, his strong nose and firm lips. I thought about his smooth voice, his toe-curling smell, his hot hands all over me. I closed my eyes and returned to that one moment in time several days ago when I had him and he had me.

  Then the guilt came. It always did. He’s your stepbrother, it said. What you did was wrong. But why didn’t it feel that way?

  “Careful you light your head on fire.”

  I turned my head in the direction of the hoarse voice. Vera watched me from where she lay on the bed, her pale lips curved up into a tired smile.

  I launched to my feet and was at her side in seconds. “Hey you. You’re awake.”

  “You look like a loved one just died.”

  I frowned. “That’s not funny. Don’t joke about that.”

  She tried to laugh but it came out as a gasping cough. Just beneath her eyes were a little sunken and purple, and her skin had a grayish, unhealthy colour. I rubbed her arm, worried and upset that there was nothing more I could do to help her feel better. When she recovered from the coughing, she moved her hand over to pat mine.

  “I can joke about it because it’s happening to me, Mackenzie.” She took a deep breath. She had to whenever she spoke. “Joking about dying helps me cope.” She glanced at my left hand. “You’re not wearing the ring. Did you break off the engagement?”

  “Yeah. He turned out to be an ass.”

  “Thank God.” She exhaled in relief. “All lawyers are asses. Your father included. He never should have pushed you to marry that boy.”

  “I can’t wait to tell Dad what his wife truly thinks about him.” I chuckled.

  “Well, he can’t do anything worse to me than what cancer has already done.” She took a deep breath then fixed her gaze on me. “What were you so sad about earlier? Tom? Or me six feet under?�
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  I shook my head. “Neither of those things because I don’t want to think about them.” I cleared my throat as I avoided her gaze. “I’m not sad. I’m fine.” I gave her a quick smile. “I’m happy you’re lucid and capable of talking with me.”

  “You were thinking about Reid, weren’t you?”

  My heart sped up. “What? I—no—I wasn’t—”

  Pressing a button to raise her bed, she peered at me.

  “You’re a horrible liar. It’s how I always knew you were out seeing a boy you shouldn’t. You were thinking about Reid. I remember that look on your face from when you were a teenager.” She paused with a smile. “Lovesick.”

  My stomach tightened with dread. Vera had known how I felt about Reid all along? She’d never said anything. Never even hinted at how disgusted she was by the prospect. Even now she didn’t look disturbed. She seemed amused.

  “I’m not lovesick,” I said, hoping my firm tones sounded convincing.

  “Darling, you’ve been in love with my son for years.” She shook her head. The chemotherapy had robbed her of her beautiful dark hair. “I understand why you deny it, but you know what? Life’s no fun without a little bit of the forbidden. Harry was my boss when we met, you know.”

  I didn’t know that. The most they’d ever told me was that they ‘worked together’. Nevertheless, that wasn’t the important thing to dwell on. What shocked me was Vera’s unspoken encouragement that I be with Reid. I didn’t know how to respond to that. I didn’t even know how I felt about that. Excited? Suspicious? Maybe it was the heavy dose of medication talking? Then again, she seemed pretty clearheaded to me.

  “I love you,” I said quietly. I wanted to say more than that. I wanted to tell her how grateful I was to have her as a part of my life when my real mother had abandoned me. I wanted to ask her if she meant what she said. Did I really have her blessing to be with Reid? But I didn’t have the courage to say those things now. Another time when I visited, perhaps.