Prince With Benefits: A Billionaire Royal Romance (41 page)

“What are you going to do? I'm here for you. Talk to me.”

He gives me a stark, half-skeptical look. But after a few seconds, his eyes soften. I have to suppress a smile, stunned that I've really worked my way into him. He's going to let me in –
right?

“I'm leaving Washington, Claire. I'm going somewhere I can leave this shit behind and start over. And I mean really, truly start the fuck over. I don't need his billions to make a man outta myself. Just a little coin I've earned in my own damned club, plus my own bare hands.” He pauses, looks at me, and delivers the death blow. “I'm going to Alaska.”

It slams into my heart like a knife. Jesus Christ.
Alaska.

It's so foreign. It's the place Mom visits once every so many years when she needs to run off to the wild and escape civilization. Much as I love nature, I've never had the guts to follow her. The stories about thumb-sized mosquitoes and villages with more bears than people are too much.

“Why Alaska? What's there?”

He cocks his head when he hears how defensive I sound. But I can see the determination in his eyes, and that hurts even more, knowing there's absolutely nothing I can say or do that'll change his mind.

“Hard work. Virgin land, babe. Mining. Fishing. Badass motherfuckers who are probably in need of some serious entertainment. But you know, I'm probably not gonna start another club up there – at least not right away. I'm gonna go out to sea, try my hand at fishing. I don't care if the money sucks. I know a thing or two about how to turn a couple bucks into hundreds, and then thousands. I'll clear my damned head for a year by working myself raw, and then I'll figure out the rest. I want the complete fucking opposite of the mold my old man tried to force me through. I'm heading down a different path, and I might as well go all the way. My gut tells me Alaska's the place to find it.”

He stops. It feels like my lungs are collapsing in on themselves. I'm starting to wonder if last night was a mistake. It's a cataclysm, a riddle I can't figure out, and it's tying my heart in so many knots I'm not sure I'll ever smooth them out.

I can't regret anything about our night together. If it's all I'll have with him, then I'll cherish it forever. But I can't stand thinking it might be my only taste of this savage, beautiful, tyrannical bastard next to me.

“You're shaking your head again, babe. What's going through your brain?”

Guilty as charged. It takes everything I've got to push down the bitter lump forming in my throat, before I spit out the question suffocating me.

“If you're sure about this, then where do
we
go from here, Ty? What about us?”

“Us?” He rolls it around on his tongue. “Babe, we both made a big fucking mistake last night. I think we both realize that, and it's my fault. I shouldn't have sucked your sweet clit on the side road last night. Listen, if I had any clue my old man was gonna go all mad dog this morning, I'd have never done that shit. Hell, I shouldn't have done it anyway, but you looked so fucking good.”

A mistake? A fucking boo-boo?

That's it. This brutal, heart wrenching confession overloads everything in my system. I need to get away from him, and I have to do it now.

I jump off his bed and go marching to the door, but Ty runs after me. He grabs me, whirls me around, slams me effortlessly against the wall. Somehow he does it without hurting me, which is always amazing.

Of course, the glaciers he's formed across my body start melting the instant I'm under him, completely covered by his rock hard muscle. His heart's beating much faster than it was just a few seconds ago. My palms lay flush against his chest, wondering if he's always been so hard through and through.

Maybe last night was a big fat mistake. Maybe I saw something that wasn't really there – an honest-to-God heart behind his steel.

“You're teasing me like a motherfucker, Claire. I'm trying to let you down easy – and you're just making me crazier. Getting my mouth all over a virgin, all over my own goddamned sister...that's where I fucked up. We both know it.” He stops growling just long enough to run his tongue across his lips. “What the fuck's going on with you? For real? Why do you make me stupid? I try to back away, try to do the right thing, and you pull me right back. You can't stop teasing every fucking inch of me, begging me to shovel my grave deeper, hounding me to fuck you.”

“So do it!” An electric jolt runs through me. “Stop being scared. Don't talk about mistakes. You're all about living on the fly and figuring things out, right? Why don't you just shut up, fuck me, and find out what happens after that?”

The low, breathy rumble in his throat builds. I swear to God there's a pit bull somewhere inside him, and he lunges for me a second later just like a starving dog.

Ty crushes me against the wall. His lips collide with mine so hard my breath vanishes in a single second. I'm not just going to lay down and take it, collapse against him.

I can't decide if I love him or hate him, and that's making me insane. It's making me hate myself for being so mixed up, just as unable to let him go as he is with me.

I give him everything in my kiss. I kiss him, bite him, shove my tongue against his, moaning like a total whore into his mouth when his huge hand squeezes my thigh.

“Tell me you fucking want this,” he snarls, breaking the kiss. “Beg me to fuck you again.”

“Do it, you bastard. I don't care anymore. Nothing makes sense when I'm just staring at you, feeling you. I need you inside me. I need it
now.
”

He lets out a low laugh and shoves his chest to mine, flattening my hard nipples on his shield-like torso. “That's what I need to hear. I know it's real when you say that shit. I can almost believe we're not making a huge mistake, almost believe it's meant to be. You're lucky you got it out now, Claire. I wouldn't have fucking stopped, even if you told me.”

He thrusts between my legs, hard as ever, stroking the massive erection popping out his shorts against my pussy. Jesus, we're closer to joining than ever, separated by only a couple thin layers of fabric.

And his lips don't stop. They keep coming, burying mine in waves. I'm a sucking, biting, sopping wet mess by the time he breaks to run his fingers through my hair. Ty growls, fists my brunette locks, and pulls my head taut to give his next few kisses an even better landing.

His tongue's hypnotic. No joke. No lie.

Time loses all meaning as long as mine's wrapped around his, led in a dizzying clockwork dance that stirs every ounce of my blood.

Neither of us know what the next hour, day, or week's going to bring. Right now, I'm content to live in the moment, as long as it means being pressed to his granite flesh.

The saner part of me keeps screaming
no, no, no.

You can't do this,
she howls.
You can't seriously push down your panties and fuck your own step-brother.

It's weird. It's wrong, so terribly twisted on so many levels I don't even –

Moaning louder into his mouth, I shut the good girl up. My body knows exactly what it wants. My heart's just as confused as ever, but my pussy's humming with delight, wet and blooming open for him to take me any second.

Ty swoops away from my lips and begins stamping fresh kisses down my neck. I gasp pure delight at the sensation, wondering how low he's going to go. He shows me an instant later, shoving my blouse aside, sucking deep into my neck while his hands wander up and squeeze my breasts.

My knees drop out. I'd seriously hit the floor if it wasn't for his strong arms holding me up, and the pressure of that seriously mean dick grinding between my legs.

I don't know how I'll die first if he doesn't give it to me soon. Will I burst into flames, or just drown from the bottom up?

I want him. I fucking need him. And I never, ever want him to let go, no matter how harsh and crazy things get with our messed up family.

“Ty, Ty, Ty...” His name hisses out like a mantra, all I can do to keep myself grounded.

I'll never live it down if I pass out again while we're this close. I'm not drunk this time – not on liquor – but I'm definitely intoxicated by his touch, his taste, his divine scent.

Ty steps back, points to my shirt, and then grabs my hips. “Take that thing off for me now. I'm gonna work your pussy twice as hard while you strip.”

Holy shit.
Before, his orders just made me see red, but now I'm tugging at my shirt like it's made of poison ivy, desperate to drop it on the floor.

Ty's falls to his knees and jerks down my jean shorts. When he spots the wetness on my panties, he stops and smiles, then lowers his face to the wet spot like a target and grabs my black lace with his teeth.

Typical virgin. I practically orgasm right on the spot before he's even licked me. I don't know how I can possibly be more sensitive than yesterday, but I am, maybe more so this time because there's not a trace of anything from a bottle scrambling my system.

My boobs fall out and catch his hungry eyes. I'm about to work off the bra when loud, wooden thunder claps next to us.

Oh, no. Oh, Jesus Christ.

“Claire? Ty? Are you two both in there?” Mom's voice calls out less than a second after knocking at the door.

Ty gives me one quick glance and then he's off, grabbing at my clothes with one hand, and carrying me over his shoulder with the other. Ripping open his closet door, he points to a narrow space between a couple boxes and an old guitar with his eyes.

“Cover your nose and mouth. It's not too dusty, babe, but you've gotta stay quiet.”

He pushes the door shut just as Mom calls my name again.

“Coming. Give me a damned second.” It's all he needs to throw on a shirt and straighten his shorts.

I cringe when I think about my mother seeing that huge dick peeking out of his pants. That's right – the same one that was about to fuck me, if only the fates hadn't conspired to keep it away from me
again.

“Ty!” Mom sounds oddly surprised. “Have you seen your sister anywhere?”

“She went out for a long walk. That's all I know.”

There's a long pause. I can practically see Mom's eyes studying him, checking for truth. I keep my hand pressed tight over my mouth, anything to avoid breathing a little too loudly or coughing when I shouldn't and blowing my hiding place.

“Hm. I suppose I'll wait until she returns. Listen, I'm really sorry for everything your father's putting you through. I tried to change his mind.”

“I don't need your fucking sympathy. My old man's an asshole, plain and simple. You'll figure it out too with a little time, Mandy.”

“We'll have to agree to disagree about that, young man.” Mom says smartly, mustering her sharp Congress tone. “You know, whatever life has in store for you, it'll go so much smoother if you just find a way to relax. You don't need to be so angry and on edge all the time.
Chill.
”

I almost laugh. I've never heard her use that word, and it's so fucking out of place while I'm standing here half-naked and wet, every part of me still pleading to fuck my step-brother when it's the most reckless thing I can possibly do.

“Whatever, Congresswoman. I'll work on that. Now, if you'll kindly go pester some lobbyists or something, I've got shit to do.”

The door slams shut a second later. I listen closely for Mom's footsteps, feeling them synched to my thudding heartbeat. There's a new bitter lump lodged deep in my throat, and I'm choking on the cold realization of just how fucked up things really are.

God damn it. It won't let up – will it?

If I needed a sign from the heavens that I'm about to screw the pooch even harder, it's this. I'm not meant to fuck him. I'm supposed to sit quietly until he mopes away from the house and I never see him again. Maybe if I'm lucky, I'll end up getting my pussy stamped by some nice, clean boy with a six figure salary and one lonely, carefully concealed bunny tattoo.

Ty marches over and rips the closet open a second later. I'm pulling at my clothes, trying to cover up my nakedness, feeling the heat rush out of me.

“Fuck, that was close. You okay, babe?” His shirt's off again.

I stop and gawk at his chest, but this time I feel my lust melting. It's like a cruel reminder of everything I can't have.

“No. Not anymore, I mean.” I can't lie to him.

I'll disappoint him, I'll get under his skin, but I'll always give him the truth. That's something I can offer that no one else in his life does.

“Claire? What the fuck!” He jumps when he sees me heading for the door, blocking its path with his huge, tattooed body.

The wildcat on his chest looks extra angry today – mad enough to leap off his skin and tear me to shreds. It's the last violent straw I need to feel hot tears stinging at my eyes.

“Goddamn it, babe, talk to me!” Ty jerks me into his arms and closes them tight, smashing my face into his chest. “What the fuck happened in there? I thought we were gonna fuck?”

“Oh, come on!” I need to pause and catch my breath, suppress the shameful shudder sweeping through me. “Don't you get it yet? We're not meant to do this, Ty. We really aren't. You were right earlier – this thing between us is just a big ugly mistake – and we were about to make it bigger. Just let me go. Forget about me. You'll have plenty of girls when you get to Alaska. They'll be easier, hotter, and not related by marriage.”

I try to make another run for the door, but he jerks me back, flattens me against his chest. I'm crying and acting like a total idiot, but it doesn't stop me from feeling a wicked pleasure when he brings his face close.

I don't know what the hell I want anymore. I just want him to decide for me.

Rough stubble on his jaw scrapes my cheek. He's winding his way to my ear, and his lips stop, hot and heavy with breath.

“I don't buy that superstitious bullshit, babe, and neither should you. The only thing stopping us from hitting the sheets and fucking right now is what's in your head. Now, you gonna forget about it on your own so we can get down to it? Or do I have to make you by slamming your pussy so hard you won't think about anything except how good you feel?”