He put his arms up surrendering. “Maybe I did.”
He grabbed the bag and pulled one out, taking a bite, before putting it up to my lips and waiting for me to respond. The way he watched me was so intense. I never took my eyes off of him as he fed me.
He licked his lips, so I licked mine.
His face got closer, but our eyes never closed.
I felt his mouth touching mine.
My eyes closed and he swept me away with his erotic kisses. I felt his hand grabbing the back of my head, so I grabbed his. Our tongues stroked and mingled together. Our warm, wet kisses were just the beginning. His hands went right for my tank top and I didn’t stop him. I needed to feel them on my skin. I felt him sliding them up to my ribs and right under my bra. He pulled his lips away from mine, but only to start kissing over my neck. I put my head to the side so I could feel his lips working their way over every part of it.
I grabbed his shirt and balled the fabric into my fist. The more I tugged, the higher his shirt lifted. With little effort, he pulled on it from behind, in between kisses, and removed it over his head.
I paused for a moment and looked at his chest. A little patch of hair sat at the top. I ran two fingers over it, learning how he’d turned from a teenager to a grown man. He wasn’t just sexy, he was tantalizing.
I was on fire for this man.
He looked into my eyes as he grabbed the edge of my shirt. Moving as slow as possible, he lifted the tank over my head. I didn’t feel shy or embarrassed. All I felt were the butterflies fluttering inside of me. I’d waited and wanted. This was my chance.
I stood up and unhooked my bra, twirling it around in between my fingers. He leaned back, but went right for the button to my shorts. I took a step closer, so he didn’t have to reach so far. He pulled both my shorts and my underwear down to my hips and pulled me close enough so that he could kiss me there. I watched his lips trail from one hip, across my abdomen, then to the next hip. I could feel the tingles all the way up to my nipples. In fact, they hardened immediately.
I bit down on my lips and watched him tug them down another couple of inches. Thank God I’d shaved everything when I grabbed a quick shower before we left. That would have been so embarrassing.
It wasn’t like I’d had anyone to impress. It didn’t look like I was an Amazon woman, but it was still in need of attention.
My bottoms were just at the base of my pussy. His tongue licked the skin right above it. I ran my hands through his dark hair and threw my head back. I hadn’t been touched like this in a long time.
Actually, I don’t know if anything had ever felt this way before. This was different. This was Stoshua.
He pulled my bottoms off of me, allowing me to step out of them, then he pulled me back down to kneel in front of him. He pushed the hair away from my face. “So beautiful.”
I was completely naked in front of him, feeling warm and free from the alcohol. He grabbed another strawberry and took a bite before feeding me the rest. Our next kiss tasted of fruit, but was even deeper than the first.
“Tell me you want me.” He requested.
I did want him. I wanted him more than I’d ever wanted anything in my life. “I do.”
He took my hand and ran it over his trunks. “Feel how much I want you.”
He only had to move my hand across it once, before I slid it down the front of his shorts. He was so warm, so smooth, so hard. I gasped as I got my hand around his girth. He groaned when I began to massage it with one hand.
I licked my lips again, salivating at just the idea of having it in my mouth. I wasn’t promiscuous, but I wanted this man. I wanted to feel his smooth shaft against my lips as I took him into my mouth. I needed to have him. I wanted him inside of me.
His head leaned close to my ear. He kissed it before speaking. “I’m so in love with you.”
Then I just froze.
I was kneeled in front of him, with my hand down his pants and all I could think about was him being married to my sister. They’d said vows. He was in love with her. This whole day was about them working things out.
What kind of person was I?
I stood up and grabbed my clothes, covering myself with them, the best I could. “Oh God! I can’t do this.”
“Babe, wait! Where are you going?”
“Stosh, I’m so sorry. I never meant for it to go this far. I swear.”
He tried to grab my arm, as I began putting on my clothes. I was already crying, desperately trying to figure out how I was going to explain myself to Ivy. I was supposed to be keeping everything in order while she was gone, not seducing my way into her husband’s heart, making him think I was her. I hated myself. “Can you just hold on a minute. We’re on a boat.”
“You need to take me back to shore, Stosh. Trust me, this was a huge mistake.”
When I had my shorts up and my bra hooked, he spun me around and held my arms with both hands. “Is this because I said I loved you?”
I shook my head, but continued to cry. “You’re never going to forgive me for this. I’m so sorry. I’m an awful person.” I pulled out of his hold and started to go down toward the galley. I just wanted to lock myself in the bathroom until we were back.
“Willow, wait!”
I froze, halfway inside and yet still topside. I said nothing, thinking I just imagined it.
I could feel him standing right behind me. “Please don’t walk away from me.” He sounded like he was about to bawl.
I turned slowly, looking him right in the eyes. He was breathing heavy and his eyes were intensely staring right at me. “I meant everything I said.”
“I don’t understand.” I took one step back.
He took one step forward. “You think I can’t tell the difference between you and Ivy? I’ve been in love with you since the first day I saw you. The two of you may be identical, but there’s nothing about you that’s the same to me.”
I just kept looking at him. I felt like I was in the Twilight Zone. “How long have you known?”
He chuckled. “Since I walked into a clean house.” He took one step closer. “Since you cooked me the best home cooked meal that I’ve had in years.” He took another step closer. “Since you sat there watching a channel that your sister can’t stand.” He took one hand and ran it down my arm. “Since you put ranch on your steak.” He brought my hand up to his lips. “Since you ordered that doughnut, when you wanted my fritter.”
“You were testing me?” For just a second, I felt played. Sure, I was pretending to be someone else the whole time, but it still rubbed me the wrong way. “Why did you let me keep acting like her?”
“Would you have spent time with me, if you knew I knew? Would you have let me kiss you?”
That tingly feeling overwhelmed me again. I thought about all of the places that his lips had been.
“I…”
“Willow, more than anything, I knew it was you the first time I kissed you yesterday. Nobody has ever kissed me like that, except you, in the hallway when we were in high school. I know you remember it.”
I didn’t know what to say. “I don’t understand.” I had to sit down, because I was feeling like I was going to pass out. “Please tell me what’s going on. You’re married to my sister. I can’t be with you, Stoshua.”
“You want to though, right? You want to be with me?”
I wanted to answer him, but this was wrong in so many more ways than me just pretending to be Ivy. He hadn’t even asked about his wife. “Do you know where Ivy is?”
He shrugged. “I don’t care.” He sat down beside me and leaned in, like he was going to kiss me.
I pushed him away. “I care!”
He laughed at me. “Will, you’ve been gone for four years. Your sister hasn’t changed a damn bit. She’s a manipulative bitch. Did you think you were really here to help her?”
“She said she needed my help. She said she was desperate.” Now I really wanted to know why she’d asked me to come. What was he not telling me?
“She needs help, but it isn’t something you can do. That bitch is mental. She thinks she can control people like they’re her puppets.” I could hear the hate in his voice.
“Stop saying that! She’s your wife. You loved her and you married her. I know it, because I was there!” I pointed right at him. “I won’t let you say these lies about her.”
He shook his head and looked away. “I should have known you’d act this way.” He got up and walked away.
I sat there in the pale moonlight and tried to gather my thoughts. I thought about all the things that he’d been saying since we’d been together. He was talking to me the whole time. For so many years, all I wanted was to be his.
None of this made sense. It was too much to take. I felt like I was in the middle of a web of lies.
I found Stosh sitting on a cushioned bench at the bow of the boat. He had a bottle of liquor in his hand and was looking out at the water. He didn’t even look my way as I approached him. “If you came over here to bitch me out, save it! I’m not in the mood, Will. I can say I’m sorry a million times, but you’re never going to believe me. I know I fucked up.” He took the bottle and threw it out as far as he could, then put his hands over his head and looked down.
What was I supposed to say when I had no idea what was going on?
I wanted to know the truth.
I wanted to know where my sister was and why she’d asked me to come.
How did he know me so well? Why did he do all of those tests?
Why did he say all of those things?
Why did he say he loved me?
“I think you need to tell me everything.”
He looked back at me and I could see the pain in his eyes. “Why? It won’t change anything. I’m married to your sister remember? I’m a fucking horrible person!”
“I never said that!” I reached for him, but he pulled away.
“You didn’t have to say it, Will. I can see it in your eyes.”
I threw my hands up. “I don’t get you. You played me for the last twenty four hours. You knew it was me, but let me think I was…”
“You were Ivy. Yeah, I did that. It was only so I could spend time with you. I knew you wouldn’t stay if I told you. I knew you wouldn’t be here with me right now. You’re too good of a person, too good of a sister to be with me. I get it, okay!”
He stood up and started walking away from me, leaving me standing in the same place without any explanation of what was really going on.
I put my hands on my hips. “You don’t get to do this! You don’t get to be mad at me, Stoshua. I came all this way to help my sister, not be caught up in some game that the two of you are playing.” I was getting angrier by the second.
“This isn’t a game! Not anymore!”
Chapter 6
Dirty Little Secrets and Liars Unite.
He wasn’t going to let me walk this time. I knew it because he grabbed me by the arm and made me look at him. I was so hurt and confused. There couldn’t be a reason that I would be able to forgive him. He’d purposely betrayed my sister and so had I. I felt wretched inside.
“Will, I swear that I’ve thought about you, every minute of every day. I know you don’t believe that, but it’s the truth.”
I shook my head. “This isn’t happening. You picked her, Stosh! You picked my sister. I was right there, waiting for you to want me. Your decision crushed me. I left because of it. I left because of you!”
I knew my words were hurtful, but it was the honest truth. I didn’t get how he was going to stand there professing his love for me when I’d watched him choose my sister. His put his hands up. “This is so fucked up!”
“Yeah, it is.” I wiped my tears away. “Please, just take me home.”
He scrunched up his face and nodded. “If that’s what you want.”
I refused to look his way. “It is!”
A couple minutes later, I heard the anchor being pulled up. He was cussing under his breath as he walked over and started the engine.
My body was profusely shaking and I had no idea what had just taken place. I wasn’t sure whether to drink more wine, or crawl in a ball and cry. I was a wreck.
It was so dark out on the water and after about thirty minutes, we got to an area where there were no other boats. I was randomly watching out the small window.
I saw him coming underneath, even before he spoke. “Will, I can’t do this. I can’t take you back without you hearing me out.”
He sat down across from me and put his hands on his knees.
“What could you possibly say to make any of this better. I almost slept with you. Do you have any idea how bad that could have been?”
He let out an air filled laugh and scratched his head. “Actually, I think it would have been epic.”
“Shut up! My God, I can’t believe that I’ve been in love with such a douche for all these years.” My eyes went right to him, as we both realized what I had said.
“So you admit it?”
I threw my hands up. “It isn’t like it was a big secret.”
“Bullshit! That’s where this whole thing began. If you would have been honest about it, we wouldn’t be sitting here arguing.”
I was getting angrier by the second. “Oh yeah? Where would we be?”
He shook his head. “I don’t know. I guess married, with a couple of kids. Or maybe we’d be graduating college together. You know I never wanted to be a part of my father’s business.”
“What did you say?”
“The part about the business?”
I shook my head again. “No, the other thing.”
“I said we’d be together. You’d be my wife, because that’s how it always should have b
een. It’s always been you, Willow.”
I don’t know whether the moment was just too intense, or his words melted my heart, but I threw myself at him. My arms flew around his neck and I just hugged him as tight as I could. I couldn’t control the tears that were falling down my face and I don’t think I even cared. When I felt Stosh’s arms wrapping around me, I knew he was telling me the truth.
He grabbed my face and held both hands on my cheeks. “I can’t imagine what you must be thinking, but I can assure you that I didn’t know. I didn’t know how you felt about me, not until recently.”
I pulled away. “What do you mean?”
He touched my lips with his fingertips. A single tear fell down on his cheek. “Please kiss me. Even if you hate me, right now. I just need to feel your lips on mine, one more time.”
I leaned in slowly and let my lips touch his. I held them there, letting the room fill with emotions. “Talk to me.”
He grabbed both of my hands and looked down at them. “I really did fall for you that first day we met. There was just something about you. I mean, you were the whole package. You were beautiful and brilliant. You knew what you wanted in life and I admired that nothing could stop you from getting it.”
I was blushing, hearing him put me on a pedestal. “I appreciate that you noticed me. Nobody ever noticed me.”
“Are you kidding, Will? Everyone noticed you. They were just too afraid to approach you because you were so out of their league.”
“Yeah right.” They thought I was a nerd.
“Okay. You weren’t the one who had to hear about it every time I went into the locker room. I think the whole football team wanted to nail you.” He rolled his eyes, like hearing it annoyed him.
Twinsequences (A Twisted Twin Series) Page 5