Score - A Stepbrother Romance

by Daire, Caitlin

  Images of what I’d just seen kept flashing in my mind. Him…with her. Their lips on each other’s…taunting me…torturing me. I ran as fast as I could, but it still wasn’t fast enough to escape Chase. He caught me outside the house, on Brett’s street. Hot tears of humiliation pricked at my eyes as I faced him, but I wouldn’t let them fall.

  I didn’t want to believe it was true, but my eyes couldn’t have seen wrong. Jessie had been all over him, and Chase had been kissing her...maybe he’d been waiting to do this all along. Maybe I was just a fun game to pass the time, and Jessie was the real deal.

  What a fun story that would make for the press.

  “Let me go!” I said to Chase, furiously trying to rip my arm out of his tight grip. “I don’t want to talk to you, not after what I’ve just seen in there.”

  “Lina,” Chase groaned, running a hand through his tousled hair. I hated how much I loved that simple move, how hot it made me, because he’d just betrayed me in the worst possible way.

  “No!” I screamed, making a few people turn around and stare at us in shock. Fine by me. I just needed to get as far away from Chase as possible.

  “Would you just let me speak?” he begged me, and even though I didn’t want to, I listened. Because this was Chase...and as much as I’d tried to stop it, he’d made his way firmly into my heart. If I walked away now, there’d be a huge Chase-shaped hole in my chest forever.

  I calmed down and stopped trying to rip myself out of his arms, but I was still furious. Worst of all, I knew my tears were about to start falling, and seconds later, they did just that. Embarrassed, I focused my gaze on the floor.

  “Oh, baby,” Chase said softly. “Don’t cry. I was about to kick her out and she just jumped on me. I swear she’s insane. I pushed her off, you must’ve seen that.”

  I grumbled, because I had indeed seen him pushing Jessie off. But I still wasn’t convinced, and I kept looking at the ground as Chase’s fingertips gently wiped away my tears. I leaned into his palm without meaning to, my body betraying me. I needed his touch, badly.

  “Why was she there in the first place?” I asked quietly.

  “Oh, you’re going to have a fit when you hear this,” Chase growled. “You know how we thought Tripp was the one who went to the press with the fighting stuff?”

  I nodded.

  “Well, it was actually Jessie,” Chase explained. My eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Apparently, she ran into you in some café and overheard you talking about the whole thing, and then she sat on the information and released it when she knew it would do the most damage to my Dad’s campaign. She came around today to try and be ‘friends’ with me or some shit, but she ended up gloating about that instead and trying to sleep with me.”

  “God…I can’t believe it,” I said, my mind running through the past few weeks until I remembered the exact day that all of this had happened. Chase was right; Jessie and I had run into each other at that café, and I’d been so proud of myself for standing up to her that day. I’d never known she had another ace up her sleeve.

  Chase looked livid as he filled me in on the rest of the story. “She eavesdropped and then relayed the information. She just had her Dad’s interest in mind, but she’s insane enough to think I’d still want to hook up with her. She’s fucking obsessed.”

  “It’s all my fault,” I said. “I was so focused on standing up to her that I never realized she may have overheard us...but I never should’ve been talking about it in a café in the first place. Oh God…I’m such an idiot. I’m so sorry.”

  I covered my face with shaky hands, feeling another torrent of tears threatening to escape, but Chase pried my hands away and kissed them softly.

  “It’s Jessie’s fault,” he said firmly. “She’s pathetic. She’s nothing but drama with a side of Botox.”

  Despite the horrible situation, I couldn’t help the small smile that made its way onto my lips, but I was still shaken, the memory of seeing Jessie throw herself at Chase so fresh in my mind.

  I figured bad karma would catch up with Jessie eventually...she’d done so many bad things, so something terrible was bound to come her way soon.

  “Do you want her?” I asked him softly, too afraid to look into Chase’s eyes. “Are you sorry I walked in? Did you want to keep— “

  Before I could finish my sentence, his mouth crashed down on mine and he kissed me hard. His mouth answered for him, claiming mine in a delicious kiss right there on the street, where anyone could see us. I melted into his embrace, letting him hold me close to his body, our hearts thumping together.

  Finally, we broke apart and he flashed me that trademark smirk of his as I finally dared to look at his face.

  “How many times do I have to show you that it’s only you?” he growled at me.

  I felt heat building up between my legs, and Chase could obviously see the arousal written all over my face, because he gave me a wicked grin and pulled me in the direction of Brett’s house.

  “Let me show you one more time,” he said with a cheeky grin. “I think you need to be reminded exactly how I feel about you, Lina…”

  In moments, we were back in the house, and I giggled as he pulled me upstairs and into his room. Thankfully, Jessie was nowhere to be seen. Good for her, because if she dared show her face again in my presence, I would’ve spat at her. Even I had my limits.

  Chase shut the door behind us and the only sound in the room was my heart, beating only for him. Our eyes met across the room and he came for me, a low growl escaping his lips.

  “Sweet Lina,” he groaned in my ear as we met in the middle of the room, our bodies crashing together with desperate need to touch, to feel. “I’ll keep showing you how much you mean to me... I’ll show you every day, every minute, until you know I’m fucking nuts about you.”

  I smiled shyly, but he wasn’t done.

  “And then I’ll show you one more time,” he said. “One more time until you say what I know you feel...”

  I blushed, knowing exactly what he meant…yet I couldn’t say it out loud, as if my body had censored the words every single time I’d tried to say them.

  Chase’s mouth came down on mine again, his fingers finding the hem of my top and pulling it up. In seconds, it was off, landing on the floor next to my feet. I was left trembling in my bra, and he pulled down my jeans before I had the chance to react.

  He lifted me by the hips and my legs wrapped around him instinctively. I couldn’t stop myself from kissing him, despite all the drama that had just went on. I needed him, craved his touch on my hot skin. I was burning with desire to have him inside me already, and we’d only just started.

  My naked skin was rubbing against Chase’s clothes, and I begged him to take them off, too. I needed the sensual contact of his skin against mine; the delicious touch of our bodies being together. He gently laid me down on the bed, stripping off his clothes in the blink of an eye, and then he was next to me as my body shook with anticipation.

  “Please,” I begged him. “Don’t make me wait, Chase. I need you, now.”

  He didn’t need to be told twice, and he lay down next to me, his hands roaming my body, exploring every nook and crevice. Every time with him felt like the first time, in the best possible way.

  I’d been worried about how I would feel and if I would still be comfortable in Chase’s arms after my realization about what Tripp had done to me, but my doubts vanished into thin air as Chase’s mouth descended on mine.

  Tripp was bad, darkness personified. His touch was wrong; my memory almost wiped of the horrible things he’d done to me to protect my sanity.

  Chase was excitement, searing red heat, and so much love. I loved him, I finally realized, and I had for a very long time. I knew he wanted me to say it, but for some reason, my tongue was tied.

  But there wasn’t enough time to worry about that as he pushed me down, and my breathing became ragged, desperate to have him close.

  “Are you sure you’re okay
?” he asked me, and I smiled wide as I nodded.

  “More sure than ever,” I whispered. “Make me yours, Chase. Show me how good it can be.”

  He lifted my butt from the bed, his cock springing to attention. With one hand, he held a rubber to his mouth and tore it open with his teeth, sliding it down his length with one swift move. He looked at me once again to make sure I was okay, and my eyes begged him to go on.

  And then, with one fluid motion, he was inside me, pushing deeper and deeper until it became harder and harder to catch my breath.

  “Do you see?” he growled in my ear. “Do you see you’re the only one for me?”

  Overwhelmed with desire, I bit down on his shoulder to suppress my cries of pleasure. He fucked me like there was no tomorrow, like there was only this one day left of our time together.

  Chase’s hand found my clit and I gasped as he strummed it, his thrusts showing me pure ecstasy. I was too far gone, moving away from his shoulder as delicious cries began to escape my lips. I couldn’t hold back any more; he was too good, he was making me feel too much...

  I felt my walls clenching, ready for the orgasm to tide me over, but I needed to get it out. The words that had been so heavy in my throat only moments before were now begging to escape my lips, and I couldn’t hold them back any longer.

  “I love you, Chase,” I moaned, and then the pleasure took over, pushing me over the edge into the deepest abyss of pleasure. I lost control, thrashing under him and whimpering, begging for more.

  Chase grabbed the small of my back, his cock still throbbing inside me. He pulled me closer, until my breasts were pressed against him, and we locked gazes.

  “Do you mean that?” he asked. I could feel his heartbeat, fast and begging for him to finish, too.

  I nodded, slowly but surely. “I love you,” I admitted again, my body still shaky from the pleasure he’d given me. “I love you so much, Chase Stryker.”

  He grinned, his mouth claiming mine in a kiss that could end the world. “I love you too, Catalina Diaz,” he said softly against my lips. The words were like another kiss that made my insides go aflutter.

  And then he was thrusting again, and I felt myself drifting into the land of pleasure, a land Chase showed me with each thrust of his magnificent hips.

  * * *

  Waking up the next day was like a scene out of a movie. Birds were chirping outside the window, and I rose with a smile firmly plastered on my face.

  I remembered last night as my loving gaze focused on Chase’s face. He looked so peaceful, calm and happy. The happiest I’d ever seen him. The warmth in my belly was proof enough that I was happy, too.

  The moment was fleeting, though, because one look at the clock next to Chase’s bed revealed the horrible truth.

  We were late.

  So very, very late.

  “Chase!” I screeched once my eyes adjusted to the light. “Wake up!”

  He opened his eyes slowly, groaning when I shook him. “I’m awake. God, calm down…”

  He pulled me closer, grabbing me by the waist and snuggling against me, but as nice as it felt, we didn’t have time for that.

  “The wedding is today, Chase,” I yelped. “It’s in a few hours, and we’re already behind schedule…we should have been getting ready ages ago! God, Mom’s probably freaking out, wondering where I am.”

  That woke him up at last, and he jumped up in the bed like he was on a spring. He looked worried for all of one second, but then a mischievous smile made its way onto his face and he grinned at me.

  “Well, then,” he murmured. “Looks like it’s time for us to officially become stepbrother and sister…”

  Chapter 25

  Chase

  “Chase! There you are. Thank God, I thought something awful had happened!”

  My father accosted me as soon as I dashed into the room, and I grinned. “Nah, I’m fine. Sorry, I overslept.”

  “It’s all right. Putting on a tux doesn’t take long,” he said, waving at an assistant to retrieve my suit from a garment bag. “I’m just glad you weren’t in a car accident or anything.”

  The wedding and subsequent reception were being held at a ritzy downtown hotel, and I’d arrived in the nick of time. Lina had driven to the venue separately to avoid arousing any suspicions, although to tell the truth, it was unlikely that Nina or my father would even notice that anything was amiss. After all, they were too focused on the wedding, and neither of them even seemed to have noticed that Lina hadn’t gone home last night.

  Just to make sure everything was okay, I shot off a quick text to Lina. Did you get to the dressing room all right? Does your Mom suspect anything?

  She replied almost immediately. I’m fine, just getting my makeup and hair done. Mom thinks I was with Michaela last night.

  Well, that was that, then. We were safe.

  We both knew we had to come clean about our relationship eventually, but today wasn’t the day for it. We’d only briefly discussed it so far, but we’d been planning on waiting until after the election two weeks from now. That way, all the crazy, stressful stuff was out of the way, and hopefully my father and Nina would be in a better mood and more able to process the news without freaking the fuck out.

  Before I knew it, the wedding was about to begin. Dad straightened his bow tie in the mirror, and I smiled at him. “Nervous?” I asked.

  He shook his head. “No. Nina is the right person for me, and I’d never be nervous about marrying her.”

  “Glad to hear it. Nina is a great woman.”

  “Yes, she is,” he said. “She never fails to stand up and tell me when I’m being unfair, and she never fails to raise me up when she thinks I’m doing the right thing. I know you and a lot of others had your doubts about her and whether I truly loved her when we first got together, and I can see why, but this is real. I love her, and I’m lucky to have her.”

  He turned to me with a serious expression on his face and continued. “Chase…I realize I’ve never said anything like this to you, and I probably won’t ever again—I suppose it’s just the spirit of the day—but I want you to know something. It doesn’t matter how successful you are in life…it’s nothing if you don’t find someone to share it with. I want you to find love one day. I want you to be happy.”

  “Thanks, Dad. I’ll try,” I replied, hardly wanting to tell him that I’d already found my happiness. He seemed keen on me finding love, but how keen would he be once he realized that the girl I loved was technically my sister?

  We headed out into the hall, where three hundred of my father and Nina’s closest friends were gathered. Ha. I doubted either of them actually knew half of these people, but a politician needed to put on a show during times like these. The bigger the wedding, the more media attention my father got, and that could do wonders for his campaign, especially amongst the voters who were happy to see a wealthy man like him marrying a low-income single mother.

  Tripp wasn’t in attendance, thank fucking God. He’d been invited, but I guess he’d realized he’d be better off staying the fuck away from us. His parents weren’t here, either, and I doubted that was any skin off Dad’s nose.

  The room was decorated with creeping green ivy and white roses, and the guests were seated in matching white French-style chairs on either side of a cream-colored carpet which ran down the center towards the altar. The wedding officiant was already standing by the altar, and we headed over to him and waited for things to kick off.

  A string quartet began to play Clair de Lune, and everyone stood and turned to watch as Lily made her way down the aisle, grinning and sprinkling the runner with pink and white rose petals.

  Next came Lina, her cheeks blushing to match the pink shade of her bridesmaid’s dress as she slowly made her way down the aisle. She looked right at me as she took her place at the altar, opposite from me, and I tried to avert my gaze from her as Nina entered the room.

  Of course, I couldn’t keep my eyes off her, and as the bride wal
ked down the aisle, my eyes were glued to Lina instead. It was the worst possible time, but I could feel my cock stirring in my pants. Jesus, what a way to attend my father’s wedding…with a raging hard-on as I stood in front of three hundred people.

  The officiant smiled and looked around the room as Nina took her place beside my Dad. “Welcome, everyone,” he said. “Today we are happily gathered here to celebrate the union of Peter and Nina.”

  He started his spiel, and I zoned out, my mind still swamped by thoughts of Lina. Christ, I couldn’t wait to get her out of that dress. In a hotel this size, there were plenty of rooms to sneak off to, and I tried to calculate just how long we had to hang around the reception before we could sneak off without arousing suspicions from anyone. An hour, maybe two.

  Fuck. I didn’t want to wait one more second, let alone two hours.

  My Dad cleared his throat and held his hand out, and I fumbled in my pocket as he raised his eyebrows at me. Duh. The ring. I’d almost forgotten. I handed it to him, and he turned back to Nina, whose face glowed with happiness as Dad went through his vows.

  I looked past them again, and Lina stared back at me, a small smile playing on her lips. I wanted so badly to gesture or whisper something to her, but we were being filmed by no less than three videographers, so there was no way I could get away with that without being seen by someone.

  Nina finished her vows a second later, and the officiant beamed. “And now, you may kiss the bride.”

  The room erupted with applause, and just like that, Lina was officially my stepsister.

  The reception was outside in a big white marquee tent, and the string quartet band from the ceremony had set themselves up off to the side of it. I suffered through half an hour of hugging and handshaking with a bunch of strangers, and after painstakingly fixing yet another smile to my face for a journalist’s camera, I finally got to sit down at the main table.

  Lina was already there, tucking into an entrée, and I stole a scallop off her plate before popping it into my mouth and grinning at her.