Hard: A Step-Brother Romance (7 page)

His smile
faded. “It wasn’t my intention.”

“First
I poured my soul out to you, and then we had…”

And
there I went again, imagining everything I had tried not to imagine for the
past week and a half.

And
he must have imagined it too. Zach shifted, adjusting himself without making it
obvious he was adjusting.

That
namesake again.

Hard
.

He
lived up to it. He was supremely gifted. Just knowing how he had felt, tasted,
and pleasured was too much for me to handle right now.

Or
ever again.

“You
are the biggest mistake of my life.” I took a breath, but I didn’t let him
intimidate me. “But you know what? I’m going to take you up on your offer.”

Zach
tilted his head—a look I’d consider cute and puppyish if I didn’t know better.
He was no little rolly-polly cutie, he was the wolf. Cunning. Sleek. Built for power
and precision. I didn’t meet his gaze. The green was far too inviting for what I
needed to say.

“You’re
going to come stay at the mansion?” He stepped closer, twirling the little pink
panties around his finger. “It’s a good idea, Shay. We could keep each other
company. Again.”

I
braced as he approached. He was huge, powerful, and perfect. I had never felt
petite before, but in his shadow, I was overwhelmed.

Zach
could haul me around a bed with one arm and then cuddle me against his strength
when we were done. And I remembered the wonderful things he’d whispered, things
that warmed me from inside once more.

My chest
tightened, and everything else clenched too. How could a man who was so wrong,
so horrible, and so
awful
tempt me?

My
head and heart tangled with each other. Neither could overpower the other.

Con-artist.

Sexiest
man I ever touched.

Liar.

He smiled,
baring his teeth, reminding me of his teasing bite.

Step-brother
.

He was
too close to me. The rugged, dusty scent of him dizzied my head worse than the
drinks he bought me that night. I would have done
anything
if he were just
a stranger, just someone I met, just someone I could have once more.

But
he wasn’t.

He was
Zach. He was the worst thing that ever happened to me.

And
he was still holding my panties.

I
ripped them away from him, but my fingers brushed his. A dozen little shivers
cracked into a thousand tiny whispers with a million different regrets. His
hand warmed mine, so much bigger and stronger than my delicate palm. His skin,
light and fair, contrasted mine with perfect beauty. Like we were made opposite
just to be brought together. Two sides of a coin. Two polar extremes of a
magnet.

My
mouth dried. He stilled.

“Shay—”

His
voice rumbled with a playboy’s confidence, the smooth jazz of a man who knew
what he liked and got it every time.

But
not this time.

I couldn’t
let him do this to me.

Not
again.

New
life rule. Zach was a sin, even worse than the cardinal ones, if they made it.
Blue-jay maybe. Or, since he was an American soldier, Bald Eagle Sin.

In
any case, Zach Harden was completely off-limits to me. Forbidden. And I had one
way to make sure he left my life forever.

It wasn’t
every day a girl could recover from her mistakes with grace. It was an even
rarer day she could buy redemption.  I had the money. I had the opportunity. I
would spend as much as I could if it meant banishing my greatest mistake. Enough
was enough.

“I’m
moving to the mansion,” I said. “But once I get my trust, I’m buying your half
of the estate from you. After that’s done, you’ll have no reason to contact me
again.”

“Fair
is fair.” Zach leaned close. “Though I think you’re missing a great
opportunity.”

“For
what?”

“To
fall for me.”

I
met his gaze, just as hard and deliberate as the rest of him. “I would rather lose
every penny to my name than fall for you.”

“Say
the word. You can get me for free.”

I
laughed. “Cherish your memories. That’s all you’ll ever have.”

“Those
are some priceless memories, baby.” He grabbed a packed box from the floor, but
nearly dropped it. His fingers trembled. He cracked his knuckles and tried
again, lifting it without a problem. “Are these going?”

“Put
it down.”

He
winked. “I’ll take it home for you. But don’t be late. I’m ordering dinner for
seven.”

He
grabbed another box on the way out.

Great.
I was barefoot, and every pair of shoes I owned was packed in the box he
carried outside. My panties scattered in his wake.

 I
groaned.

Living
with Zach would be living with pure temptation. Either I’d throttle him or I’d…

I
didn’t let myself finish the thought. There was no other alternative. We could
tolerate each other in a semi-peaceful truce and that was
it
. No ordered
dinners. No falling for him.

And
no
reason for him to have stolen my favorite pair of black panties!

I
rifled through my suitcase and checked under the bed. Gone. God, he
was
a pervert.

I
fumed.

He
had it right. He deserved every part of his nickname.

Living
with Zach was going to be
H-a-r-d.

The
mansion had a lot of perks. The gym. The pool. I even got myself a king-sized bed.

But
a bed like this wasn’t for sleeping. I could think of much better things to do
on it.

But the
one woman I wanted
in
the bed was the one who wanted nothing to do with
me while horizontal.

Good
thing I was just as proficient when vertical.

I
kicked my duffle bag into the closet. This wasn’t a room that deserved a mess
on the floor. The bed had eight fucking pillows. Who the hell used that many pillows?
Or a quilt that looked like someone stretched and ruined a scarf then tossed it
over a corner. They painted the ceiling with cherubs, and mismatched marble and
granite in the fireplace.

It was
all my mother’s doing, as was most of the décor in the house. If Shay noticed
the mansion transitioned from eighteenth century France to nineteenth century
Venice, she said nothing. My mother transformed the estate into journey through
history. We were lucky she hadn’t require powdered wigs and cummerbunds to
enjoy it.

I couldn’t
fault her style, even if the bleach in her hair scrambled what she thought
looked classy. At least Mom and Darnell had been happy before the end. She
wanted a guy with a bottomless wallet to take care of her, and he liked them
blonde and pumped full of silicon. Match made in Heaven.

I
wished them well and then headed overseas. It wasn’t my place to judge and,
hell, I didn’t have time for family. But life had a funny way of trapping you
in an ambush and splitting your flesh with two pounds of explosive shrapnel.
Fate spoke to me, saying
slow down
or
bleed out
. I woke from
surgery with my mother talking about diamonds, tulle veils, and destination
weddings. Took her two days and one seizure before she asked which of my organs
didn’t make it back from Iraq.

Par
for the fucking course.

My
head pounded. The bed looked good, but so did the stack of weights in the
basement gym and the salt-water pool. I needed to do both.

I
kicked the pillows off the bed instead.

I
didn’t need this luxury. I got used to lying in two inches of standing water
and sucking mud in the middle of monsoons. I once laid motionless for twenty-two
straight hours in the stinging desert waiting for a target to slip from the hut
where the fucker traded children for God-knows-what. And that night was
comfortable
compared to other assignments.

And
now I owned a king-sized bed with a remote that controlled the television,
lights, stereo, climate settings, and security systems.

I even
had a panic room.

A SEAL.

In a
panic
room.

Unless
an intruder planned on locking me inside of it, the fucker messing with me was
in more danger—even while I blinked away headaches.

A
headache that was getting worse.

“Fuck
it.”

I
yanked my shirt over my head and kicked off my boots. Pretty sure there was a
hamper somewhere in my room, but damn if I cared. 

I
collapsed on the bed, feet kicked over the side. Close enough. The migraine
came on strong. I clenched my eyes shut, but that didn’t do shit. I flopped
over into the remaining pillows and buried my head. That was better. Darker at
least. Comfortable.

Except
for my namesake.

Christ.

I
shifted. My cock didn’t. Hard didn’t begin to describe it.

I
spent entirely too much time thinking about Shay, and I wasted even more
concocting a crazy excuse for a chance to see her again.

Christ
she was pretty when she got mad.

Shay
was the kind of beautiful you hallucinated after a blow to the head. And she was
the one girl who’d make me swallow my tongue before I thought of something
clever to say.

Like…
I
probably should have told you I was your step-brother before I fucked you
.
That might have helped. Keeping it secret rubbed her the wrong way…which was ironic
since our problems started when I rubbed her the
right
way.

I couldn’t
get her out of my head or the blood out of my cock. I hoped my headache would
temper my reaction, but if Shay’s hatred hadn’t swayed me, nothing would.

She
didn’t know it yet, but the SEALs trained me for intricate games of
cat-and-mouse. I lived for the hunt. And after I caught Shay? I’d make sure she
was both
stuffed
and
mounted
.

If
she didn’t kill me first.

“Get
out of my bed.”

Fuck.

The
pounding headache only just started to yield. Figured. I gritted my teeth and
rolled. Didn’t make it up, but I bluffed anyway. I patted the pillow beside me
as my vision cleared.

“You
could join me.”

“Are
you always such an asshole?”

“Do you
always burst into people’s bedrooms uninvited?”

I
tucked my arms behind my head. My lovely intruder fumbled with a suitcase packed
with more panties than a sexy woman like her ever needed to wear. She was
pissed. That only made it more fun. I got off on making everything a war with
her. She wound up too easy and exploded with all the subtlety of a grenade.

Last
time I checked, she didn’t have that big of a stick up her ass. Still, watching
her squirm amused the fuck out of me, even if it ruined my chances to glimpse
that perfectly delicious backside.

“This
is the
master
bedroom,” she said.

I grinned.
“Didn’t know you were into those types of games.”

She
dropped the suitcase. “How dare you take the master bedroom!”

“What’s
wrong with this bedroom?”

“It
should be…this was my father’s house!”

I
tilted my head. “And my mother’s.”

“Don’t
you think I should have the master bedroom? This is
my
house, built with
my
father’s money.”

Was
everything going to be such a fucking pissing contest with her? She wouldn’t
give up until I slept in the yard.

I
wouldn’t stop until I had her in the bed with me.

But
we wouldn’t be sleeping.

“I thought
you’d take the room down the hall,” I said. Did she even see the monstrosity
her father specifically designed for her? Like a scene from fucking Narnia. “It
has a better balcony.”

“I
don’t want a balcony. I want the master bedroom. I want you gone. I want—” She
groaned, frustrated. “I don’t know what to say to you! You’re making this more
difficult than it needs to be. Are you that much of a child?”

“I’m
not the one throwing a tantrum because she doesn’t want to share her things.”

She not-so-silently
counted to ten. “Zach, don’t make this harder than it already is.”

“Gotta
admit. I’ve never heard a pretty girl say that before.”

“I
can’t believe this.” Shay paced the room. “I’ve been here for five minutes and
already you’re being a monumental asshole.”

“I
was sleeping.”

“I
thought this could work. I thought you were serious when you said we’d share
this place.”

“What
did I do? I was
sleeping
.”

Shay
wove her fingers through her thick, ebony curls.

“This
is crazy. I don’t even
know
you—” She pointed a finger at me. “And if
you say anything about
knowing
me in a biblical way Imma smack that smirk
off your face.”

Challenge
accepted.

“Come
on.” I extended my arms. “Do you really think I’m some big, bad troublemaker out
to rob you blind?”

“Maybe.”

“Do
you think I’m some sexual fiend who will creep on you in the middle of the
night?”

Her
almond eyes flicked over me. “Probably.”

“Think
I’m a dangerous, powerful man who will threaten your pretty little body?”

She
stepped closer. Her voice lowered, her best attempt at sounding intimidating.
“How would I know?”

Shay
was within my arm’s reach. Entirely too close. I could have snatched her in my
grasp and thrown her on the bed. If I had my way, I’d bury my face between her
mocha legs and lick until I had my fill. She’d tasted like everything perfect—that
first bite of summer ice-cream, cake batter straight from the spatula, a sip of
forbidden alcohol before I turned twenty-one.

I
remembered lapping up her honeyed desire, and it tortured my dreams every
night. She was so unbelievably sweet I would have offered my half of the house
just to
look
at that tight little pussy once more.

My
jeans dug into my cock. It wasn’t the pressure I wanted. Shay licked her lips.
She got flustered when she realized she was staring.

My growl
reserved for her and her alone. “You know you have nothing to fear around me.”

“I’m
sharing a house with a perfect stranger. It’s wise to be careful.”

“Then
let me put your concerns to rest.” My smile wasn’t meant to charm her. It was
as much of a warning as my throbbing cock allowed. “I’m not someone you run
from. You’re gonna come to me. Just say the word, and I swear, not an inch of
your beautiful body would regret climbing into my bed.”

“You’re
one cocky son of a bitch.”

“When
you have a cock like mine, you get to be a bastard.”

She
didn’t argue. Couldn’t argue. She knew I was right. She remembered how it
pounded within her, how every frantic thrust and deliberate slam was meant to
earn a not-so-innocent mew from her trembling lips.

And
that was the way it should have been. None of this
but you’ve been my step-brother
for a couple days
bullshit. Not the territorial fear that somehow I conned
her family out of millions.

It wasn’t
sex between us. It was something addicting.

Life-affirming.

Ball-fucking-shattering.

And
I knew she felt it too. She tried to shy away from me. She faced me only after
building her defenses. I’d strip them as easily as her respectable little
blouse and skirt.

She couldn’t
fool me. I saw what she hid in her panty drawer. Beneath the conservative
shirts and thigh-hugging skirts, Shay expressed herself with thongs, lace, and
ribbons. Dozens of colors. A handful of designs.

Just
waiting for the right man to lay her down, nip the elastic, and drag that silk
over the dark paradise that crested between her legs.

“You
believe me now?” I chuckled through a husky command. “You’ve got nothing to
fear sharing a house with me.”

She
licked her lips. “I have everything to fear.”

“Like
what?”

“Like
why you’re looking at me like that.”

She was
lucky I was only looking. “You’re the sexiest woman I’ve ever met.”

“At
least in this port.”

“I’ve
been around the world, baby. Searched high and low for a perfect face, perfect
tits, perfect pussy.”

She
arched her eyebrow. “Haven’t looked in the branches of the family tree then?”

“Climb
in deep enough and no one would ever see us.”

“And
that’s why I don’t trust you.”

I
laughed. “No one said anything about trust. But don’t worry. I’m not coming
after you.” I lured her closer with a smirk. “Not when you’ll come to me.”

“Unlikely.
I’ll be too comfortable sleeping in
this
bed.”

“You
want it?” I extended my arms. “Come and get it.”

She
took the bait. Shay grabbed my hand and tugged, unsuccessfully pulling me from
the bed. I resisted only enough to toss her off-balance. She tumbled forward,
falling into my arms.