Hollywood Hearts (A Bad Boy Love Triangle Romance): (Hollywood Hearts Book 1) (7 page)

Just in case,
I let myself believe. It was a pretty lie, one that I found comforting and thrilling all at the same time. I liked the little bit of hope that burned in me, a small flame that burned only for my stepbrother. Realistically, I thought, that flame would have to be snuffed out one day; Most likely when I made the move across the country to college. Still, it was still fun to let it flicker while the dream lasted.

I put on a cute pink floral dress for the day—nothing too sexy, but still fun, short, and flirty—and headed out to meet Ethan. He was taking me to lunch that day at some swanky new rooftop restaurant his boss had just opened Downtown, and since I’d chosen to wear a pair of wedges, I hoped we wouldn’t have to mount too many flights of stairs.
 

As usual, Etahn wasn’t awake when I arrived, but since I had a key, I just let myself in.

“Ethan!” I called, closing the door behind me and setting my purse on his kitchen counter. “Come on. I don’t want us to miss the lunch specials! I looked online and they have this tapas thing going on so—”

“I’ll… I’ll be right there!” he replied quickly from his bedroom. I frowned. His voice sounded a little strained like he was panicking. It was unusual to hear him so frantic since his attitude usually verged on far too cool.

“I’ve just gotta take a shower,” he continued. “Um, gimme five minutes.”

The more he spoke, the more I realized why he sounded the way he did. I’d heard that tone in boys before. It was the one they couldn’t help but to use when they’d been on the brink of an orgasm.

“Sure,” I said, trying not to stutter.

I blushed, feeling hot petals bloom in my cheeks as I heard my stepbrother shuffle into his bathroom. I rested my cool palms flat to my face and closed my agape mouth. Had he been jacking off when I’d arrived?!
 

“Oh my God, oh my God,” I said under my breath to ease the awkwardness of the situation.

But then my mind went to that dirty place it loved to go to— I had a whole five minutes to imagine a variety of scenarios while Ethan showered about what and who he was thinking about. The apartment wasn’t big. In fact, it was so small that a few minutes into the low hum of the shower stream, I was sure I heard him give a little groan, maybe one that signaled he’d finally finished the job. I shuddered as I thought of his cock in his fist, throbbing and glugging ropes of cum down the drain as his face strained in ecstasy I could only dream of giving him.

By the time he emerged dressed in his usual tight black t-shirt and jeans, I was so wet down
there
that it was becoming a distraction. I was frustrated— Severely sexually frustrated. My lacy panties were clinging to my nether lips, and I could feel my pulse in my clit and my nipples hardening beneath the thin fabric of my dress.

“Hey,” he said, flashing me one of his crooked signature smiles. He wrapped his arms around me, crushing me to his chest, and placed a light kiss atop my head. I returned his embrace, sinking my fingertips a little deeper than usual into the undulations of his back muscles. “You ready to head out?”

“Mm-hmm,” I said, a little disappointed that there was no hard bulge poking me through his jeans. “What’s this place called again?”

“The Café,” he answered, grabbing his keys from a bowl on the table.

“Yeah, what’s the cafe called?”

He laughed. “It’s literally called The Café, Jess. You know how pretentious my boss is. But, whatever, it’s new and I hear their steaks are
awesome.
”

I smiled at that. I was a steak fiend, and Ethan knew it. It was just one more passion the two of us shared— The passion for good food. Though, I wished we could add a few more shared interests to that list like, perhaps, the interest in each other.

On the drive over, Ethan let the top down on his classic convertible that he’d received as a graduation present. The wind rushed through my hair, blowing it every which way, and the sun beaming down onto my face was like heaven. I felt like that whenever I was with him, sunshine or not. When I was around Ethan, everything seemed perfect.

“Looks like you’ve got a bit of a tan,” he said, brushing his hand over my bare thigh. I shuddered as his knuckles grazed the hemline of my dress. “You been goin’ to the pool without me?”

“I laid out the other day,” I told him, instinctively opening my legs just a little bit to invite him. He didn’t take the bait, and I tried not to pout. “My freckles were disappearing.”

“Mm, you know I dig those freckles. Well, a tan looks good on you, Jess,” he replied just before a gust of wind blew my dress up. The skirt fluttered for just a split second, revealing my coral-colored cotton panties that I knew were soaked all the way through, and though I quickly lowered my hands into my lap, I saw Ethan glance at my exposed body out of the corner of his eye.

I felt my heart hammer in my chest. How much had he seen? Did he know I was wet? Had he noticed the way my panties clung to my lips, slick with the lust I’d been holding back for him since
forever
?

If he did notice, he made no mention of it, which I was sort of grateful for. Even though part of me hoped he’d pull over the car and toss me into the backseat, hike up my dress, and fuck me doggy-style where everyone could see, another part was thankful that he didn’t tease me about it, either.

All he did was smirk a little, the corner of his lips turning up so slightly that I almost didn’t see it at all. In fact, I convinced myself that I hadn’t. There was no use getting myself even more turned on than I already was. I rested my elbow against the car and covered my own blush with my fist.

When we parked and walked into the lobby of the tall building that hosted The Café, I was glad to see two elevators situated at the far end of the room. I knew how to walk in my wedges just fine, but that didn’t mean I wanted to climb up five flights of stairs to get to the roof, either.

“Seems pretty dead in here,” I said, looking around the cavernous foyer. It reminded me of a hotel, or one of those fancy apartment buildings with a concierge desk. “You sure this place is any good?”

Ethan rolled his eyes to me. “It’s quiet down here because everyone’s upstairs eating,” he said, putting his hand on the small of my back. Chills coursed up and down my spine and right into my core. “Come on. We’ll never know if we don’t try.”

I nodded mutely as we walked toward the elevator. If anyone had been looking, they would have never suspected we were stepsiblings. Ethan was treating me like his date instead of his sister—or at least, that was how he made me feel.

Stop overthinking things,
I scolded myself as we waited for the elevator car to arrive.
You’re being ridiculous. Despite whatever
Game of Thrones
implies, falling for a relative is not a viable option…

We boarded the elevator, and I leaned against the mirrored back wall, heaving a sigh. My mind was right. Ethan was just being nice. There was no way he’d ever make a move on me, not even if I stripped naked in front of him and shoved my tits in his face.

Though, I’d soon find out that, boy, was I ever wrong.

As the elevator took us up to the rooftop level on the thirtieth floor, I looked over at Ethan leaning on the handrail next to me. We were in a confined space, and I could feel the heat radiating from his body. I couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to lift up his shirt and press my fingers into his skin, feeling my way up his abs, his chest, and the corded muscles of his shoulders as I wrapped my arms around him the way I’d always wanted to.

He caught me staring, and before I could look away, his trapped me with his glacial gaze. My breath caught in my throat, and I wanted to stammer an excuse, but then the lights flickered, the elevator lurched aggressively, and everything stopped.

I stumbled, toppling forward, but Ethan caught me, sweeping me into his arms as the dim red emergency lights lit up around us.

“What the hell?” I whispered, afraid that if I spoke too loudly, the car would go crashing to the bottom of the shaft.

“Yeah, that’s a little weird,” he admitted, though he didn’t release me from his arms. “Maybe something happened with the power. Seems like we ain’t movin’, though, Sis.”

“Do you think we’ll be stuck long?” I asked. I could already feel tension creeping across my chest. I didn’t like tight spaces. When the elevator had been moving, it was fine. I’d known we’d step out any minute into the vastness of the rooftop venue. Fresh air was only a moment away back then, but now I could already feel our breath turning stale. My stomach twisted into cold, anxious knots.

Ethan knew all about my claustrophobia. He’d menaced me a few times by stuffing me into closets when I beat him at
Call of Duty.
But unlike those times, he now seemed to be taking it seriously.

Grimacing beneath the ruby hue of the elevator, he cupped my face in his hands and looked into my eyes. “Jess, look at me. Nothing bad’s gonna happen to us. We just might have to wait a few minutes for someone to get us started again. That’s all.”

“OK,” I muttered, feeling my breath coming quicker and quicker with each passing second. “So the walls aren’t really closing in on us, then?”

Ethan brushed his thumb along my ear. “Hey. Hey, relax. Look at me. Keep your eyes on me.”

I did as I was told, meeting his eyes. Instantly I felt my breathing slow, though my heartbeat definitely sped up. In the dim light, I could still see his radiant smile and the soft glow of his warm, inviting eyes. I swallowed hard as he held me in a trance, unable to look away from his handsome face.

“I’ve got you,” he told me. “I promise.”

I nodded meekly.
Yes,
I thought.
You have me completely.

“Sorry,” I said instead, but then the coarse skin of his thumb was on my lips, shushing me before I could continue. “Sorry for—”

“—You’ve got nothin’ to apologize for,” he assured me, his voice dripping like molasses. I couldn’t help it. I gasped as he touched me and parted my lips, letting the very tip of his thumb past the cusp and into my mouth. Though I felt heat rise once again in my cheeks, I still couldn’t tear away my gaze from his or this very taboo and intimate gesture.

Instead of pulling away like I’d thought he would, my stepbrother’s jaw tightened. Something flashed in his eyes, something dark and uncertain, almost like he was struggling with making a decision on something. Then, just as I let out a feeble whimper, he brushed his thumb away from my lips and replaced it with a hard kiss against my mouth.

I took in a sharp breath through my nose as fractal, colorful fireworks burst behind my eyelids. This couldn’t be happening. This couldn’t be real. My stepbrother didn’t have feelings for me like this. I just wasn’t that lucky.

But as he gripped me, his fingers sinking hard into my upper arms, I realized I wasn’t imagining things. Ethan was kissing me, deeply, wetly, and not at all like a stepbrother should.

And I loved it.

I closed my eyes, returning his kiss with a fervor I’d kept pent up for all these years. I broke his hold on me and threw my arms around his neck, pressing my soft breasts against his pecs as I trembled in his embrace. He worked his fingers up through my hair, grabbing near my scalp and squeezing just enough to send a shiver of stinging pleasure down my spine. I moaned for him, the sound lost to his mouth as he parted his lips to let my tongue slide between them.

I shuddered violently as I tasted him. Mint tingled on my tongue, burning my lips and making my nose feel all cold as I blew out a breath against his face. He glided his tongue against mine, swirling it around before he captured my bottom lip in his teeth, softly tugging as I shrugged and let my dress straps fall down my arms.

“I want you so badly,” I whispered, finally allowing the words I wished to tell him fall from my lips. I knew how dirty and wrong it sounded, but it was all I could think of to say. I needed him to bring me to that place where it was just the two of us, where he kept me safe and sound. And if he had to use his cock to do it, then so be it. That was a price I was only too happy to pay.

Ethan groaned in reply, glancing down as I let the bodice of my dress fall to my waist. My deep plum push-up bra was there for him to see, all satin and lace, and I let those straps fall down too so that my heaving breasts peeked out over the cups. I was nearly spilling over them, my nipples hard and begging for release. I gazed up at my stepbrother with a pleading look as his hands rose to set them free.

“Please, Ethan…”

I only had to ask once.

Ethan tugged both bra cups down simultaneously, baring my goosebumped breasts for his pleasure. He took them both in his hands, kneading them, his thumbs flickering over my taut nipples and sending bolts of lust straight into my core. My panties dripped with more wetness, silken and slippery, and I squirmed for him, knowing I couldn’t take much more. I was already panting as he pressed me up against the back of the elevator and lowered his head, taking one of my stiff buds between his teeth and laving it with his tongue.

“Ethan!” I gasped, my thighs instantly parting to grant him access to my crotch.

Ethan sucked on my tit softly, then bit down hard at the tender flesh of my neck, whispering into my ear, “Tell me what you want, Jess.”

My eyelids fluttered and I arched my back against the cold handrail. I knew I should have been disgusted with myself, but Ethan’s request—his demand—only made me want him more.

“Make me feel safe,” I breathed, looking him in the eyes. “Put your hands up my dress. Touch me.”

Once again, Ethan obeyed my command, slipping both his big, masculine hands underneath my skirt and up my thighs. He hadn’t even reached my panties when his fingers first found my wetness. Those juices were spread all over my flesh, and by the time he touched the fabric-covered slit between my legs, I had his hand just as soaked as my pussy was.

“Fuck!” I whimpered as he pulled at the wet material, letting it snap against my clit. “That feels so good…!”

Ethan growled low in his throat, heralding his loss of control. Without another word, he pushed my panties aside and cupped my pussy in his hand, two fingers curling inside my folds as his thumb came to rest directly on my hardened clit.