Forbidden Prescription: A Stepbrother Romance (16 page)

“Damon has chosen the business path,” Jared shares.

I look up to see him give his father an annoyed look. A smile tugs at my lips. It would seem that he is just as pissed about being here as I am. Who could blame him? He probably had to give up a fun night with his hot girlfriend to be here. The thought of him with another woman makes me green with envy.

“Uh, that’s nice,” I say briefly making eye contact with him.

He nods. “Thanks.”

“So what are your plans, Damon?” My mom pipes in.

He smiles politely at her, “I found a job actually, in Michigan. I’m heading out right after the holidays.”

My eyes fly to him, in horror.
Michigan
? It’s just as I feared. He is leaving to a far off place and I will never see him again. My despair knows no bounds. The love of my life is slipping away and I haven’t even exchanged more than one sentence with him yet. I know I’m being overly dramatic, but I now feel like my life is over. “M-Michigan? T-that’s great. Sounds exciting,” I stammer out.

He shrugs, drawing my attention to his broad shoulders.

Shoulders that I would like to run my hands over, just to feel the muscles bunch beneath my fingers.

“Yeah, I guess. It’s just a job.”

I lower my head again and listen to the idle chatter that swirls through the remainder of dinner. When it finally comes to an end, I offer to clean up so that I will not have to face going to the living room to hear more of their happy conversation.

“I’ll help,” Damon offers. I nearly drop the glass gravy dish out of sheer shock.

“Oh, Damon you are too sweet,” my mom gushes. “I’m sure Alice won’t mind the help.”

“Not at all,” I squeak.

I quickly walk off to the kitchen to give myself time to regain my composure. I take a few deep breaths before he joins me at the sink.

I force myself to meet his gaze. “Um, thank you for offering to help but it really isn’t necessary. I mean you are a guest.”

His green gaze holds mine and I am hypnotized. “It’s okay,” he finally says. “I just figured the parents could use some time alone.”

“Oh, right. That’s very considerate of you.” I turn to fill the sink with water. It is the hardest thing to focus with him standing right beside me. “So, did you know from the beginning that your dad was dating my mom?”

“Of course, it has been four months now.”

I make a note to lecture my dear mother later. Everyone was in the loop except me, I find this totally unfair. “Yeah, four months,” I murmur. “I hope they are not thinking about getting married or anything,” I say under my breath.

He looks at me, “what was that?”

“Oh nothing, I’m just thinking out loud.” I quickly sink my hands into the soapy water and busy myself scrubbing the dishes. It feels oddly intimate having Damon in my kitchen. I pass the dishes to him so that he can rinse, and every time my fingers brush against his, I lose my breath. I am afraid that by the time we are through washing dishes, I will faint from lack of oxygen. I am wiping the counter when I catch him leaning against the island, studying me. As if on cue, my cheeks flush. “W-what?”

His lips curl into a grin, “I never pictured you as the domestic type.”

My brows furrow. Where did that come from? “Uh, okay…why?”

He shrugged, “I always saw you as a spoiled rich girl.”

I whip around to face him, “Excuse me? First of all I am far from rich. My father simply made sure we were provided for before he passed. Alright?” I don’t know why my temper flared up so much and I don’t know why I am sharing any information about my life with him. I guess I just hate that he has such a negative perception of me.
Spoiled?
I know that I am anything but.

He holds both hands up in the air in surrender, “Okay, okay, I’m sorry. There’s no need for you to bite my head off. And I am sorry about your dad. I lost my mother at a young age as well. Right before we moved to Wisconsin.”

“Oh, I’m sorry too,” I whisper.” I feel even more connected to him now. I had always assumed his parents were divorced. I clear my throat, “So, um, what gave you the impression that I am spoiled?” I make it a point to not care what others say about me. But I find myself caring very much about Damon’s opinion.

“Maybe spoiled isn’t the right word to describe you, I should have said stuck-up.”

My mouth drops open. Now he is just being plain mean. I don’t care how sexy he is, he is pissing me off immensely. I throw down the dishcloth and fold my arms. “I am
not
stuck-up. But
you
are most definitely a big jerk.” I am shocked when the words pass my lips, but I can’t take them back now.

His eyes narrow, “I’m not the only one who holds that opinion of you, Alice, and you don’t know anything about me.”

“Just like you or anyone else know nothing about
me
.” I grab up the dish cloth to continue wiping. I wipe so vigorously, I am surprised I haven’t wiped a hole into the counter. I am fuming.

I know what others have been saying about me since before high school, but to have the man that I have secretly been in love with since forever share those sentiments is bordering on heartbreaking.

I wonder if that is why he has always avoided me. One would think that since we are neighbors we would interact more, but he never seemed interested. Now I know why... he thinks I am awful person.

I turn to him with sad eyes. “You know just because a person prefers to stay quiet, does not mean they are stuck-up or selfish, so you and everyone else should withhold judgment without really knowing someone." I stomp out of the kitchen, leaving him standing, staring after me with a confused expression on his face. Entering the living room, I throw myself onto a couch, sporting a deep scowl.

“Are you alright, honey?” My mom inquires.

I glance at her and Jared; they are sitting so close to each other they might as well be Siamese twins. I resist rolling my eyes at the sappy picture they make.

“I’m fine,” I grunt.

I suddenly want to get away from everyone. I stand up. “It seems that I interrupted something, I’ll be in my room. You two…have fun.” I make my way to the staircase, eager to get away.

“No, honey, wait—you don’t have to go,” I hear my mom call.

I pretend not to hear as I march up the stairs, taking them two at a time.

I see Damon emerging from the kitchen. I turn to look at him before continuing my journey up the stairs. I can’t even stand to look at his gorgeous face right now. I am still smarting from his unkind words. I go into my room and make my way to the balcony. I push the door open letting the cold night breeze whip around me. I shiver and my teeth chatter. I just need some fresh air and the low temperature to numb my hurt feelings. I am beginning to think that admiring Damon from afar was the best thing that I could have done. Actually getting to talk to him is nothing like I imagined. The only thing that exchanging words with him has gotten me is angry. I wish I was still in the dark about his perception of me.

A knock sounds on my bedroom door. I roll my eyes. “What do you want mom? I’m fine, go back to your guests,” I shout.

“So we are not your guests as well? You’re not being very hospitable.”

I whip around at the sound of Damon’s voice. He is standing in the doorway with his hands in his pockets.

My eyes widen.
Holy crap, Damon Ryder is in my bedroom.
I step back inside from the balcony. I have to remind myself that I am still irate. My wide eyes narrow into a glare, “What are you doing up here?”

“I came to apologize,” he says sheepishly. “So may I enter your domain, or what?”

I shrug, pretending as if it is normal for me to have a magnificent looking man in my room. “You’re already here.” I swallow hard when he steps into my room and looks around. I am self conscious, wondering what he thinks about my personal space. He walks to a picture of my dad, hanging on the wall.

“Is this your dad?” he asks softly. I just nod. He rubs the back of his neck. “Well, I did come to apologize, so, I’m sorry, Alice. I’m sorry for the words I used to describe you. You were right; I shouldn’t have judged you without getting to know you.”

“Uh, thanks.” My large room suddenly seems too small. I shuffle on my feet feeling very uncomfortable with the intent way he is staring at me.

“So let me get to know you then, Alice.”

His voice drops an octave when he says my name. I never knew that my name could sound so sexy. I have the urge to pinch myself. This must be one of my many fantasies. But I don’t remember falling asleep. “Um o-okay. What do you want to know?”

He takes several steps toward me. I reflexively take a step back. His head tilts to the side. A wolfish grin spreads across his lips. “Are you afraid of me, Alice?”

I snort, “Of course not.” I am just afraid that if he gets any closer, I might lose control and tackle him to the bed. But he doesn’t need to know that.

“You like me.”

It isn’t a question.

I cock an eyebrow. I didn’t know he was so full of himself. “What makes you think that I do?” I challenge.

His hand rises to brush gentle fingers across my cheek, causing my breath to hitch in my chest. “If you didn’t like me, you wouldn’t blush every time I look at you.”

You got me there.
I want to tell him that I more than like him, but I can’t muster the courage. “I guess I like you a little,” I admit softly. That declaration should win the understatement of the year award. I give myself a mental kick in the behind. I have never felt more childish. Here standing in my room, inches away from me, is the man that I have been obsessed with for years, and all I can say is
I guess I like you a little.
Am I a twenty-year-old woman or a girl in junior high? I look up at him. He makes me feel like that girl still in junior high.

His lips twitch. “A little huh? I like you a lot Alice,” he whispers. “I would like very much to kiss you.”

My eyes bug out of my head. My breathing has become erratic. I can’t believe my dream is coming true. Damon likes me and he wants to kiss me. Is it a merry Christmas or
what
? Panic suddenly bubbles up inside of me when I realize that I haven’t the slightest clue what to do. I have never kissed a man before. “I-I don’t..." I begin to slowly back away. I can’t let him kiss me. I will completely embarrass myself with my lack of experience.

His eyebrows elevate. “What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know how.”

I am surprised he hears my barely audible confession.

The shock on his features has me blushing more than I ever have before. I drop my head, humiliated. If he didn’t already think I am a total loser, he must be thinking it now. I feel fingers cup my chin and lift my head up ward. He is searching my face, with surprise and wonder in his green gaze. “Wow that’s-that’s... I find that hard to believe,” he shrugs, “There’s a first time for everything.”

I watch in the paralysis of shock as his head lowers until his lips are touching mine. I stiffen. “Relax,” he whispers. His mouth moves over mine and I tentatively part my lips. I catch on quickly, following his movements. I think I might have died from hypothermia from my time on the balcony, and I am now in heaven.

I feel the back of my knees hit my mattress and I realize that Damon has maneuvered our bodies closer to my bed. This entire event is surreal to me. In a sudden movement of courage, I wound my arms around his neck. My body presses against the rock hard plains of his.

He gently eases me down, until I am lying beneath him.

My chest is heaving and I am staring raptly up at him. I gasp when I feel my dress inching up my thighs.

The angel on my shoulder is telling me that I should stop him, but the devil on the other side is telling me to shut up and see how far this will go. I ignore the angel.

My dress is lifted over my head and now I am lying in my underwear. I want to pull my sheet over to cover myself. A man has never seen me in this state before. I open my mouth to tell him that I am a virgin.

He places a finger over my lips. “I know, just close your eyes.”

I do as I am told. Of course he knows. If I confessed that I have never been kissed, it only makes sense that I am untouched in every sense of the word. My eyes are shut tight. I am waiting in anticipation to find out what he will do next.
Oh my God,
if I lose my virginity to Damon Ryder, I can die a happy woman.

I hear a click.

Is that a camera?

My eyes fly open and land on him holding up his cell phone with a wicked grin on his face. I bolt upward, lost in confusion. “D-Damon?” My eyes implore him to tell me what is going on.

He lets out a laugh. “I just needed proof that my charms are enough to melt the Ice Queen. Mark and the others will have to eat their words.” He snaps another picture and shoves his phone in his pocket.

My heart is pounding uncontrollably. This can’t be happening to me. “
Mark
?” I remember the presumptuous idiot who gave me a ride home the other night. “The others? What the hell are you talking about Damon?” I am looking around frantically for my dress.

“Just a little bet that I am going to win,” he says.

My entire world has just crumbled. I look into the eyes of the man I thought that I was in love with. All I feel now is betrayal and hatred, with a hell of a lot of hurt mixed in. “
Get out!”
Tears pool in my eyes. I give up trying to locate my dress and pull the duvet from the bed over my half naked body. He is standing there just staring at me.

For a minute I think I see regret flash in his eyes. But I am much too livid to take in the meaning of my quick analysis.

“Alice, I—"

“I said get out!” He turns and strides out of the room. I hope my mom and Jared haven’t heard me yelling.

My room door closes and I throw myself down on the bed and sob uncontrollably. I have been thoroughly humiliated.

It was foolish of me to think that Damon would be interested in someone like me. I will never be able to live this down.

I now hate Damon Ryder with an all consuming passion.

C
hapter Four