Mask - A Stepbrother Romance

by Daire, Caitlin

  “How was your day, honey?” Mom asked, sitting down as well.

  Logan cut in before I could reply as he strode into the room. “Yeah, Sasha, tell your Mom how your day was. Didn’t you tell me something really funny happened?”

  I rolled my eyes and ignored him as he took the seat across from me.

  “It was…um…interesting, Mom,” I replied. It wasn’t a complete lie. My day had been kinda interesting with my snake shopping and revenge planning.

  “That’s good, Sasha. I hope you’re settling in well with Logan. Is he being good to you?” George asked as he took the chair adjacent to Mom. She gave him a loving look that was so soppy it actually made me cringe and look away…right into Logan’s eyes.

  His eyes glimmered with amusement as he stared back at me, and I cocked an eyebrow. You won’t be so amused in a few days, dearest stepbrother.

  “We’re great friends already,” I finally replied with a smile, looking over at George.

  “Best friends,” Logan said with a nod, quirking his brow.

  Damn, even his arrogant smirk was beyond sexy. I squirmed a bit in my seat and tried not to appear affected, but it was too late.

  I already knew that when it came to Logan, I was in trouble.

  ***

  Logan’s only daily routine was his morning jog. It took me three days to be damn sure about that. He was out for around thirty minutes before getting ready for his classes each day, so that was the perfect time for me to enact my plan. He’d nagged me in the last three days and teased me about being a spoilsport for supposedly ending our silly prank war, and I’d replied to him without saying anything that would hint towards the fact that I was still well and truly planning a dastardly prank on him. The whole thing was helping me discover my hidden talent…I had acting skills. Who would’ve thought?

  I’d also had a little exchange of messages with Jason Lowry on Matcher, and he seemed pretty charming and quite flattering so far. He knew me from Sociology class too, and something was vaguely developing between us, much to my surprise. Maybe he wasn’t like my ex Travis after all. Maybe I could give him a chance when the time came.

  But for the time being, my main objective was scaring the pants off Logan Ryder.

  On the fourth morning, I stood right behind my slightly ajar bedroom door, biding my time until he left. He finally jogged down the stairs in his sweat pants and black fitted shirt with iPod earbuds in his ears, and when he was safely out of the main door, I hurried into my closet and pulled out the plastic toy store bag before rushing towards our shared bathroom.

  I carefully draped the rubber snake in the shower. It wasn’t hanging in an obvious spot, but Logan would eventually find it when he reached for the shower gel. Just the thought of him shrieking like a little girl made an evil smile turn the corners of my lips up, and I couldn’t wait for it to happen. It was going to be—dare I say it—hisssssterical. Okay, my sense of humor was lame sometimes, so sue me.

  Pleased with my work, I quickly brushed my teeth, avoiding all sorts of mouthwashes, and then I left the bathroom and went down to the main living area, which bordered on the kitchen. I caught up on some reading for one of my classes before heading into the kitchen to find some fruit and coffee, and half an hour later, Logan returned from his jog.

  “Morning, Sasha. You’re up early today,” he called out to me from the entrance to the living room. I’d just returned from the kitchen to the couch and was still absentmindedly flicking through my class readings, and I glanced up to reply.

  “Morning. Yeah, I…”

  As I looked up, my sentence trailed off and my throat dried up at the sight of him. His light brown hair was dripping with sweat, making it look a shade darker than usual. His forehead and neck glistened too, and I was overcome with a sudden desire to taste it.

  “See something you like?” he asked.

  I had no idea when he’d moved closer and dropped down to my level, but his face was suddenly only inches away from mine. I could smell his musky cologne mixed with the sheen of sweat on his tanned skin, and that messed with my head in a very lascivious and lewd way, sending me into a tailspin of inappropriate desire.

  “I…no,” I mumbled, and he just grinned.

  “Tell me the truth, sis. Do you like what you see?” he repeated, bringing his hand to my face and tracing a finger across my cheekbone. I felt a jolt of electricity in my veins that snapped right down to the area between my legs, and I choked out a vague response.

  “What…no…I…”

  “You’re breathless, Sasha,” he whispered into my left ear. “Is something the matter?”

  Those striking blue eyes of his had seemingly turned a shade darker, just like his hair.

  “Don’t be an asshole, Logan. I’m just tired. Like you said, it’s early.”

  “Ah. Playing hard to get?”

  “No, I just am hard to get—at least for you,” I replied, my face growing even hotter.

  “Hilarious,” he replied. “Maybe you can join the comedy club on campus as well as the debate club.”

  Ignoring him, I got up and stepped away from him, putting an appropriate amount of distance between us. His touch had completely disarmed me for a moment, but I’d snapped back to my senses now.

  Without looking at him again, I went back into the kitchen and headed to the counter before busying myself with the coffee maker to make another cup of espresso for myself.

  “I’m going to take a shower. You’re welcome to join,” Logan called out from back in the living room. I rolled my eyes and didn’t reply, and I heard his footsteps heading upstairs a few seconds later.

  I gave myself a good mental shake. Don’t let him affect you. Fixing myself the espresso, I sat at a stool on the other side of one of the marble kitchen counters and took a quick sip, letting my mouth warm with the dark, bitter liquid. A few minutes later, a loud yelp made my heart almost tear out of my chest, and I jumped off the stool in surprise.

  “Fucking Christ! What the hell?” Logan shouted from upstairs. “Sasha!”

  Oh, lord. I’d almost forgotten about the snake.

  I grinned and waited, and he dashed downstairs and into the kitchen only seconds later. His face was ashen and shock was written on his face, and despite his dripping hotness, I couldn’t help but giggle. Only seconds later the giggling had transformed into straight-up hysterical laughter, and Logan narrowed his eyes at me, watching my amusement.

  “It’s….it’s just a toy!” I choked out, tears of amusement in my eyes.

  When my hysterics settled and I was finally capable of seeing clearly, what I saw before me ceased not only my laugher but everything else along with my breath…and heartbeat.

  Oh, shit.

  Logan was stark naked, and a very significant part of his anatomy was standing at attention. I swallowed nervously as my eyes traveled up and found him still staring at me intently, and I noticed that the shock and anger from earlier was long gone from his face. Instead there was something else there, something sensual, dare I say it.

  Oblivious to his nude state, he stepped towards me like a tiger on the hunt, and I backed away until I hit the counter. Logan covered the distance between us and all too soon he was less than an inch away from me, so close that I could feel his breath on my face. His body was still wet from the unfinished shower, and I gulped and grabbed the cold marble behind me, staring up at him as I tried to push aside the urge to lick the droplets of water right off his muscular chest.

  “So…I’m funny to you?” he murmured. He pushed himself even closer towards me, and I remained sandwiched between his hot body and the cold marble of the counter. I could feel his arousal close to my pelvic bone, and another bolt of electricity slammed through my system.

  “Go on…laugh now,” Logan continued in a low, husky voice, pushing himself against me again. By now I knew my panties were dripping wet, and my tongue was cactus dry. “What happened? Why’d you stop? You succeeded. You got exactly what you planned. Yo
u had me freaked out and screaming like a girl. So go on….laugh again.”

  He pushed against me again and this time it was a little lower, right up against my upper thighs.

  God, I wanted him so much. I gripped the counter so tightly that my knuckles were probably turning white, and Logan lowered his face ever-closer to mine. “I gotta give you credit, Sasha. I didn’t see that prank coming. And speaking of coming...”

  He smirked and moved one hand down, and I gasped. His hand was pressing right up against the most sensitive part of my body, just over my jeans, and I closed my eyes as every muscle inside me contracted and anticipation started to build inside.

  I wanted him. Badly. I wanted all of him. He leaned his mouth down to my ear again, murmuring something, but I was too turned on; too horny to concentrate on what he was saying.

  Logan’s hand reached down to the hem of my T-shirt and then further down to the waistband of my jeans. My breathing quickened, and this time I pushed back into him, needing him to touch me again, more and more. He gently caressed my bare skin, and I almost lost it.

  “Oh, god…please…” I moaned, begging him for more.

  All of a sudden, he pulled away, and I was left cold and on my own again. I opened my eyes immediately to see that Logan was already halfway across the kitchen, walking away from me.

  What the hell?

  He’d left me unbelievably horny and hanging by a thread against the cold marble. Ugh, of course. The prick had played me. He somehow knew how attracted I was to him despite my general attitude towards him, and he’d used that against me to get me back for planting something terrifying in his shower. A rubber snake was one thing, but using my own body against me to humiliate me—that was another thing entirely.

  Anger began to take over, and the next minute I was fuming. How dare he?

  I headed upstairs and stalked towards his room, my face burning with embarrassed fury. I didn’t know what angered me more; him cornering me and playing me like that, or the fact that I’d fallen for it so easily and wound up begging him for more, like a pathetic groupie.

  I pushed his door open without knocking to see him in the middle of the room, tugging on a pair of jeans. I was momentarily distracted by the sight of his rippling muscles, but I recovered quickly.

  “What the hell was that, Logan?” I asked, folding my arms.

  He looked at me impassively and then bent down to pick up a shirt which he’d laid out on his bed. “What did I do now?” he said without looking back at me.

  “Don’t play dumb with me,” I said.

  “Hmm…still not sure what you’re on about. I guess I need a little reminder.” He stared back at me intently, his shirt now forgotten as he advanced towards me, just like he had in the kitchen only moments ago. Instead of backing away this time, I stood my ground and glared at him.

  “You can’t do stuff like this, Logan. It’s not appropriate,” I said, trying hard to keep my voice firm, though my heart was beating like a trapped bird’s frantic wings. “What you did downstairs—I know it was just part of this stupid prank game we’ve been playing, but you took it too far.”

  He leaned down slightly, his face only a few inches from mine once again. “But I like playing games with you, and I like taking things a little too far. And you seemed to like it too.”

  “I didn’t,” I lied, my face growing even hotter with indignation. The way he’d so casually admitted that he’d only touched me like that as part of a ‘game’ stung like hell, but I tried to ignore the feeling.

  Logan drew back and arched one brow. “Fine. We’ll put this silly little war to an end. I’ll stop my side of it, and you stop playing all your cheap little pranks on me.”

  My eyebrows shot up at his words, and I gave him a scornful look. “You think I’m pulling cheap tricks on you? What about you, leading me on downstairs and pretending it’s all a big joke? You embarrassed me, and it wasn’t funny.”

  “It kinda was. Almost as funny as your Mom and my Dad hooking up with each other, out of all the people in the world who they could’ve picked…” he said, his voice tinged with amusement.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked, my eyes narrowing. It sounded like he was trying to make a joke, but at the same time, it was a strange thing to say, even as a joke.

  “Oh, never mind. I was trying to lighten the mood, seeing as you’re being so grumpy right now. Just a joke—you know, because you and I already knew each other before they got married, and they’re an odd pair and all. It’s kinda weird and funny, right?”

  I shook my head. “No. That wasn’t a joke; I can tell. You meant it. Do you have a problem with my Mom being married to your Dad?”

  He rubbed his chin. “No, I was just—oh, fuck, I don’t know. I meant it as a joke, but honestly, Sasha, don’t you think it’s actually kinda strange that our parents got married so suddenly? Like I said, they’re a really odd pair….kinda makes you wonder, right?”

  “Why?” I asked in an acid tone. “Because your family has all this money and a big house, and we don’t? My Mom’s not good enough for your Dad, or something like that, and therefore she’s a gold digger? Is that what it makes you wonder?”

  “Fuck, Sasha, that’s not what I meant, and you damn well know it.”

  I folded my arms again. “Then explain, because that’s what it sounded like.”

  He sighed. “Look, it’s not exactly the fact that your Mom is broke and decided to marry my Dad in five seconds flat. They just don’t seem to have all that much in common, that’s all I’m trying to say.”

  Bullshit. He was totally implying that my mother was a gold-digger. Why else would she marry a rich guy she supposedly had ‘nothing in common’ with? Yeah, money...that’s why. I honestly couldn’t see any other reason for him to have said that.

  “You don’t even know what you’re talking about,” I said, my voice stiff. “Just because you don’t understand love doesn’t mean everyone else is out to hurt anyone they come across. My Mom loves your Dad whether you believe that or not.”

  “Sasha, you’re overreacting—“

  Tears pricked at my eyes, threatening to fall, and I fought hard to keep them at bay. I let fury take over instead of sadness, and squaring my shoulders, I looked him straight in the eyes and pressed a finger to his naked chest, jabbing him hard as I cut him off mid-sentence.

  “You’re an egotistical son of a bitch, Logan. I honestly thought we could be friends, but you’re obviously so caught up in yourself that you don’t realize you hurt others with the crap you come out with. So whatever. We don’t have to be friends.”

  With that, I turned my back on him and left his room. I didn’t know why it hurt so much to know what he really thought of my Mom’s relationship with his father. Honestly, he probably wasn’t the only person who thought she was a bit of a gold-digger, given her history with men. I likely wouldn’t have cared as much if someone else had said it, but having heard it from Logan of all people, it felt like a punch in the gut, and I couldn’t believe that he had such a low opinion of my family.

  I’d really thought he liked me before this, at least somewhat. I guess not.

  Grabbing my backpack, I headed down the road to college. I had no intention of riding with Logan today...or ever again. Just outside the main entrance, my phone buzzed, and I pulled out my phone to see that it was a notification from Matcher. Jason had messaged me again.

  Good morning, sunshine :) Dare I ask if I can take you to dinner tomorrow night? I promise to be on my best behavior ;)

  Jason and I had still been getting along rather well over our recent text conversations on Matcher, and given my most recent encounter with Logan, I decided to accept his invite. I typed a quick response.

  I’d love to. I can finally wear the new black dress I bought the other day :)

  His reply came immediately.

  Only if you want to make things more difficult for me…

  Wow. He was keen. Either that or a bit of a sl
eaze, but he couldn’t possibly be as much of a sleaze as Logan.

  I stowed the phone back in my pocket and headed towards my first class for the day. Secretly, I had to admit that I’d really accepted this dinner date with Jason to make Logan think that the incident today had meant nothing to me. If he saw me going out with other guys, he’d think I didn’t actually care about him all that much, and he’d also think I didn’t care that he’d almost brought me orgasm in the kitchen with barely a touch.

  He’d think it meant nothing, and that was exactly what I wanted him to think.

  Too bad it wasn’t exactly true…

  Chapter 8

  Logan

  I watched Sasha walk into our social psychology lecture theatre, barely even noticing the friend she had with her. Just the sight of her made my cock twitch and I had to adjust my jeans a bit as I shifted in my seat. I’d been in a state of semi-arousal ever since I saw her laughing yesterday morning, although there was no fucking way I’d admit that to her, or anyone else for that matter. The girl was a goddess, and she had no idea how her small involuntary acts affected men. The thought of other guys perving over her made me see red, and honestly, that was a first for me. I wasn’t the jealous kind, but Sasha Vega was affecting me like crazy, as much as I tried to hide that fact.

  She thought me teasing her yesterday in the kitchen had just been part of our joking games, but that wasn’t true; it was just what I wanted her to think. Touching her was no joke. I’d wanted her so bad, wanted to make her come right on the spot…but I’d finally snapped back to reality and realized I couldn’t before walking away as fast as possible.

  I kept staring at her, and I saw her taking her usual seat. I knew she’d spotted me, but she ignored me, just like she’d done for the last three days.

  I knew she was pissed that I’d inadvertently implied that her Mom a gold-digger, but she’d really gotten the wrong impression of what I’d been trying to say. I’d only been trying to lighten the mood by calling attention to the fact that out of all the people in the world, our parents had married each other, making Sasha and me off-limits to each other despite the obvious sexual tension between us, and also the fact that our parents were quite a strange pair given that Sasha’s Mom seemed like a young-at-heart, fun-loving woman, and my father was a very serious guy. I hadn’t meant it in a bad way, but Sasha had really taken it badly.