Protection: A Bad Boy Stepbrother Romance

by Wood, Vivian

  “What’s this for?” Tessa asked, licking her lips as if nervous.

  “I can’t decide where we should make love first, so I figured we’d flip a coin,” he said, expression deadpan.

  Tessa gave a startled laugh, picking up the quarter. She gave him a teasing look, and then threw it over his shoulder onto the floor. Jace was confused for half a heartbeat, but then Tessa slid her arms around his neck and put her mouth just under his ear.

  “That’s an easy one,” she breathed.

  “Is it?” Jace said, reaching behind her to open the front door.

  “I’m a dirty girl, so you should probably take me to the shower and clean me up,” she teased, catching his eye.

  Jace didn’t even bother to respond, just scooped her up and made for the shower. His only pause was to kick the front door closed, and then Tessa was trying to peel off his clothes as he carried her to the bathroom. He hit the remote switch by the bathroom door, turning the water on before he set Tessa down on the marble counter. He pulled her tee shirt up and over her head, exposing her creamy pale skin and lacy ivory bra. He bit his lip to keep himself from putting bite marks all over her breasts and her lovely neck, marking his territory. Not that he wasn’t going to do that, just not quite yet.

  She purred under his gaze and began trying to help him take his pants off, then stopped for a second and looked down at the counter.

  “Did you know you’re missing a big chunk of marble here?” she said, looking amused.

  Jace dropped a kiss on her shoulder and groaned when she made a soft noise in response.

  “Remind me later to tell you why that’s your fault,” he said, halfway shredding her bra in an effort to remove it quickly. Jace had to force himself not to look at her full breasts and already-hardened pink nipples lest he lose every shred of dignity and self-control.

  Chapter Forty-Six

  The room was heating up quickly thanks to the now-steamy shower, and Jace was nearly out of his mind with need. Their hands flew as they rushed to discard the last scraps of their clothing.

  They moved into the large, luxurious shower. Jace had to force himself to set her down and pull away from her to adjust all the shower heads to point into one corner. When he was done, he backed Tessa into that corner, not touching her yet, just enjoying the play of the water on her magnificent body.

  Jace couldn’t help but reach down to stroke himself as he drank in the sight of his mate, her breath coming in pants as she waited for him to make the next move. Water flowed off her perfect curves, gleaming wickedly. Jace couldn’t remember ever being so damned thirsty in his whole life.

  He felt her eyes travel down to his chest, his abs, then to his growing arousal. His female knew what she wanted, but he wasn’t ready to take it there yet. He wanted to touch her with his hands until she begged, to wring every drop of pleasure his mouth could produce until she wept with desire.

  Jace moved forward until his body was only inches from Tessa’s, and he continued to drink in the sight of her. She squirmed under his gaze, more than ready for his touch. Reaching out, Jace brushed his fingertips just under her jaw, then at the sweet curve of her hip bone. Tessa watched with wide eyes as he trailed his caress upward over her ribcage and up to the curve of one breast.

  Tessa bit her lip and leaned her head back, looking up at Jace with heavy-lidded eyes the color of an afternoon storm. Watching her teeth knead her bottom lip had Jace’s imagination running wild, thinking of where he’d like those lips to be next.

  When he brushed his fingertips up to her hardened nipple, she opened her mouth just enough to let out the first little oh of pleasure.

  “Damn,” he murmured. “I love it when you make that sound.”

  Jace couldn’t help but move closer, he had to run his hands over every inch of her satiny skin. Tessa stretched up on her toes like a cat asking for a scratch, and Jace slanted his mouth over hers in response.

  He felt Tessa’s small hands at his waist, exploring his hips and then his lower back, urging him on. Jace gave a low growl and she shivered, moaning into his mouth. His female was asking for more, and more she would get.

  Breaking their kiss, Jace slid his hand under her jaw again and gently tilted her head back to expose the slender white column of her throat. He trailed kisses down the soft skin he found there, tasting and teasing. She obliged him by making a series of breathy gasps and writhing under his touch. Smiling, Jace nipped her neck and shoulder a few times, interspersing the love marks with simple kisses.

  Shifting his hands once more to her ribcage, Jace cupped the fullness of her breasts in a slow movement. When Tessa shivered and moaned in answer, Jace ran his large, calloused thumbs over both her nipples. He could feel Tessa’s touch growing bolder, her hands clutching at his thighs and hips in search of yet more. She knew what she wanted, but Jace still had a surprise in mind.

  Jace slid to his knees, giving his dismayed mate a devilish grin. She wrinkled her nose at him, but he just smirked and pushed her flush against the cool tile wall. Jace ran his hands down her stomach to her hips and leaned in to dip his tongue into her navel. She giggled, impertinent, and Jace nipped her hip bone. Before she finished making one of those sexy noises of hers, Jace’s hands were sliding down the outside of her thighs to the knee. He slid his hands back up her inner thighs as she shifted.

  “What are you—” Tessa started to protest, but Jace just leaned in and placed a gentle kiss on her mound. She froze for a second, and Jace took the opportunity to nuzzle her soft curls, his hands shaping her inner thighs. His thumbs gently parted her flesh, and he rubbed the tip of his nose against her softness, testing.

  “Oh— oh,” Tessa breathed, wobbling at the unexpected sensation. Jace chuckled, and removed his nose. Ignoring the shower’s spray, he kissed her once more and then explored her sweetness with his deft tongue. Tessa’s hands dug into his wet hair, which only made him more excited.

  Her taste was already killing him, after only a few seconds. She was like hot, honeyed apples, crisp and clean and deadly to his senses. The way her hesitance melted away, the way she pressed her hips forward against his lips, made him wonder if he could cum just from tasting her perfect pussy.

  He tongued her clitoris in gentle licks, eliciting a guttural moan. He experimented with a combination of licks, nuzzles, and rolls, trying to find what she liked best. Already her thighs and innermost muscles were clenching, close to release. Jace waited until she was mindless with need, then sucked gently on her most sensitive spot.

  He groaned into her heated flesh, the taste of his mate making his body tense, his balls aching. He lapped up every bit that she offered, and still he needed more.

  Tessa flew over the edge, crying out her pleasure as her shaky legs collapsed. Jace reached out and caught her before she hit the ground, amused that his mate’s eyes had just rolled up into her head. He knew what he was doing, sure, but he’d never actually made a woman faint before. He hadn’t really even had time to use some of his more advanced maneuvers.

  Still hard as a rock, he cradled his mate against his body and stepped from the shower. Her eyes fluttered open as he set her down and wrapped her in a towel, and she gave him an adoring smile.

  “Are you okay?” he teased, drying her off with another towel before giving himself the same treatment. His movements drew her gaze downward to his fully primed manhood, and she flushed prettily.

  “We’re not finished yet, are we?” she asked, her gaze lifting back to his face. Jace couldn’t help but grin and shake his head, awed by his female.

  “Not by a long shot, kitten.”

  Her squawk of protest at the nickname was muffled as he swept her up and carried her to the bedroom. Dropping her on the bed, he tossed all their towels to the floor. As he settled next to her, she leaned up and caught his mouth in a demanding kiss. Those hands of hers were roaming again, this time successful in seeking out his cock.

  Jace groaned and looked down, rapt. He watched Tessa run
her fingers over the velvety skin of his cock, slipping below to explore his sack before taking him in her fist. Her hand was small enough that it couldn’t encircle his thick girth, which didn’t bother Jace one bit. She slid her hand up his length, smiling when he growled and thrust against her. Biting her lip, she gave him a nervous look before slipping down to the end of the bed.

  Jace tensed as he realized her intention, preparing to stop her. He wanted to fuck her properly, but that mouth would surely ruin his plans.

  Intentions be damned, all thought flew out the window the moment her hot little tongue touched the thick head of his dick, sampling. Jace let out a string of curses that would have made a sailor blush, but his sweet mate didn’t so much as bat an eyelash. Instead she slid her soft lips around the tip of his cock, running her tongue around, experimenting.

  And that quickly, Jace had to pull himself away.

  “I’m not finished!” she protested, pouting.

  “Well I’m about to be if you don’t stop,” he scolded, pulling her back up to him.

  Tessa leaned in and kissed him. He ran a hand down her flank to her inner thigh, seeking. She made another oh sound as he rolled her onto her back. He sought the center of her heat again, only to find her hot, wet, and more than ready. He rolled to center his body over hers, and she parted her legs for him. Settling himself against her core, Jace had to bite his lip when she wrapped her legs around him.

  Using one hand, he guided himself to her opening but didn’t press in just yet. Jace wanted to make sure he didn’t hurt his mate by moving too fast. In slow, painstaking movements, he used all-too-short thrusts to work himself into her dampness.

  Tessa, of course, had her own ideas. While he was busy restraining himself from pounding her until she screamed, she got tired of waiting. Using more muscle than he’d known she had, she flexed her thighs hard and pulled him all the way down in one rough stroke. They both cried out, and Jace looked at her to make sure she was unharmed. Wrinkling her nose, she smacked him on the arm.

  “Quit stalling!” she ordered. Jace’s humorous snort of response was lost as he withdrew and plunged back in to the hilt, leaving her breathless with pleasure.

  He set a faster rhythm than he’d planned, realizing that neither of them would last very long like this. Tessa moved under him, relentless, meeting each stroke as he pounded against her. Fissions of pleasure shot through his body, pooling heavily in his groin. When he started to feel Tessa’s innermost muscles clench, he grabbed both her knees and pressed them back toward her body to give himself access to her G spot.

  He could feel the spongy spot of her inner lining, and guided each stroke to rub against it. In moments she was shaking like crazy, every muscle coiled on the verge of release. He stopped holding back his own orgasm, and was immediately on the brink. When Tessa cried out, half-sobbing his name, her sweet body clenching and milking his cock, a flood of pleasure washed through Jace. The release barreled through his body and mind, so intense that for several heartbeats he was blind to everything around him, deaf to his own shouts of pleasure.

  Collapsing next to his mate, he pulled her closer and gasped for breath. Feeling her delicate heartbeat against his own, he closed his eyes and knew no more.

  Chapter Forty-Seven

  Around midnight, Tessa sighed in Jace’s arms, content beyond belief. They were curled up in Jace’s bed between the silky sheets and the thick quilt, and Tessa couldn’t remember ever being happier. Jace, for his part, looked like the cat that ate the canary. He was still running his hands over every part of Tessa’s body, as if he were making sure she wasn’t a dream.

  Every couple of minutes, he’d give her a sultry look and Tessa would laugh. Her mate might have the stamina of a bull, but she hadn’t quite caught up yet. This whole thing was still pretty new for her.

  “Do you really think Camilla is safe around the Shifter we found at the Legion’s lab?” Tessa asked, twisting her gorgeous ring around her finger.

  “Why wouldn’t she be safe?” Jace asked, nuzzling Tessa’s neck as he spoke. She shivered at the lick of flame that shot down her spine, but resisted the temptation to respond.

  “Well, you know he’s sort of… crazy? Off-putting, at least. And he’s enormous. I kept thinking he was going to crush her by accident. For all her talk, she’s pretty innocent…” Tessa trailed off, her concern evident.

  “Hmm. Sound like any other couples we know?” Jace asked, his voice teasing. Tessa blushed and smacked her hand against his arm, her expression miffed.

  “That’s not the same thing at all! They’re… and we’re… it’s just not the same!” she insisted.

  “It seems clear that the male has dedicated himself to her protection. What more could you really want?” Jace asked, ever the practical one.

  “Lots of things! I want Camilla to have love, and trust, and loyalty… I want her to have what we have,” Tessa said, feeling shy.

  “And she will. Believe me, if Camilla’s half as incredible as you are, she’ll have men falling at her feet. And judging by that temper of hers, she’ll give them a run for their money,” Jace said, amused.

  “It’s just that… well, what if he’s not the right one for her? She’s my baby sister, and I want her to have the world.”

  “The first time you met me, did you think I would be the right one for you?” Jace asked.

  “Well, no. But if it makes you feel better, I did think you were some kind of sexy male model. You were too pretty to be true,” she said with a sigh.

  Jace let out a deep laugh, pulling Tessa close and giving her a kiss before he spoke again.

  “I think you’ll find that Camilla can handle herself just fine. Besides, we have better things to worry about,” he said, taking a mock-serious tone.

  “Like what?” Tessa asked, a smile curving her lips.

  “Like this,” Jace said, pressing his lips to Tessa’s in a seeking, dominant kiss. She made that little sigh, the one he claimed to love so much, and they were once again lost in their own little piece of mated bliss.

  Chapter Forty-Eight

  Maddie sat on her front porch, rocking herself on the porch swing. She rested her head on the back of the swing, her long dark hair fluttering with each movement. Her foot pushed at the ground, making the swing sway, but she wasn’t paying a bit of attention. Her mind was consumed with her situation, and with her new mate.

  Mate. Pshhh, she thought, rolling her eyes heavenward. More like pain in the ass.

  Jasper was being impossible. Not that Maddie was the least bit surprised, really. She’d known Jasper since childhood, loved him for over half her life. At least until she’d grown up a little and realized that there was no such thing as destiny, no such thing as finding your true mate. No love at first sight, either. That was all a bunch of bullshit, dreamed up by desperate men trying to sell Valentine’s Day cards.

  Maddie shifted in her seat, drawing her foot up. The rocking slowed, but she didn’t mind. She needed a plan, some way to get rid of the male with whom she’d exchanged a lot more than a couple of bites. The mating ritual, their shared past, her childhood crush, that was all good and well. The sex they’d had a few days ago, though…

  It was unacceptable. It had shocked her, shook her to her very core. Jasper, big, tough, swaggering alpha male that he was, was the most incredible lover she’d ever had. Maddie had never been shy about sex, never hesitated to tell a male just what she wanted, what she needed.

  With Jasper, she hadn’t said a word. The sex had been like her hottest, most perfect fantasy come to life. He knew where to touch her, how to make her gasp, when to tease and when to be rough. She’d melted in his arms in a hot minute, and the mating heat was only one little pleasurable bit of her surrender.

  No male ruled her like that, made her gasp and beg and call out his name. Just thinking about his touch gave her goosebumps, made her breasts tighten and her core ache.

  “Unacceptable,” she murmured aloud, reinforcing the id
ea to herself. “You know better, Maddie.”

  “Know better than what?” came a low rumble.

  Maddie turned, watching Jasper as he pushed open the screen door and ambled outside. Stupid son of a bitch insisted on staying in her house, filling her private space with his scent and brawn. His stubborn streak might not be a surprise, but his sheer ability to entice her mind and body, lull her and make her want things she shouldn’t… Yeah, that was plenty surprising.

  “To let you use my bathroom. All your guy stuff is all over the place,” she said, dragging her gaze away from him. Not looking at him didn’t allow her to forget his big, muscular body, or how good it looked in those faded jeans and that tight white tee shirt. Without even looking, she knew he was barefoot, reminding her that he was too comfortable in her domain. His big feet and hands also reminded her of everything else about him that was shockingly large.

  Really? Really? Can I not go five minutes without thinking about his cock? she scolded herself.

  “Maybe you should come into the bathroom with me, into the shower. Show me what I’m doing wrong, darlin’,” Jasper said, dropping into the rocking chair facing the swing.

  Maddie’s gaze snapped up to his, and she almost cursed aloud when she felt herself blush. She clenched her fists and straightened her spine, unwilling to let him see the little shiver that wracked her frame. This idiotic weakness she had for him was insane, unconscionable, impractical. One part of her wanted to get up and climb onto his lap, get it out of her system. Another part knew that if she so much as touched him again, lust would override her common sense.

  She had plans, goals. Places to go and people to see, and none of that had a single thing to do with Jasper. She needed to stop this here and now. One quick, deep cut that would drive him away and give her back the balance she’d lost.