Razor: A Bad Boy Stepbrother Romance (11 page)

That cocky grin spread across his face and he nodded at the counter. “Because you stole my pants.”

I scowled. “I didn’t steal your . . .” my voice trailed off as I glanced down. Sure enough, his jeans and boxers were resting on the counter along with his shirt. In my haste to flee the bathroom, I must’ve just grabbed everything. “Shit, I’m sorry. I grabbed them by mistake.”

Mason chuckled. “It’s okay. Can you toss them over?” Mason shifted on his feet and the towel almost slipped from around his chiseled hips.

I wish it would have.

I tried to keep my eyes level with his. “Do you want the boxers too?”

“Can you give them a quick wash with my hoodie and shirt? Until we can risk going to a store, they’re all I’ve got.”

I mockingly widened my eyes. “You mean to tell me the amazing Razor didn’t think of bringing a change of clothes?”

“I didn’t exactly plan it to go this way. I was supposed to turn the video over to Anonymous, and I would have, until I realized how much it could benefit you.”

“Are you going to keep staring, or are you going to toss me my jeans?” He added, not giving me a chance to reply.

Asshole.
I grabbed his jeans and slung them across the room at him with more force than I intended.

Mason snatched the pants out of the air with ease, unfazed by my irritation. Then in a bold, cocky manner, he let the towel fall from around his waist right in front of me.

My breath caught in my throat at the sight of him. Of course I’d just seen him in the shower, but it was through blurred glass. His chiseled body was amazing, and even soft, his cock was to die for.

He slowly pulled his jeans up to his hips and buttoned them as if I wasn’t even there.

“You could’ve went back into the bathroom to change,” I managed, finally remembering to breathe and feeling hot around the ears, my cheeks burning.

Instead of giving me an eyeful that will leave me hot and bothered for the rest of the night.

Mason’s eyes seemed to say,
‘I know you liked it,’
and the corner of his lips curled up, letting me know that he’d done it on purpose. He shrugged, “You didn’t have to stare either. Anyone ever tell you it’s not polite?”

My mouth gaped open and I was speechless.
The asshole is taunting me
, I thought,
daring me to do something about it.

Whatever Mason’s game, I wasn’t about to engage him, even if I was burning up with feverish desire. What if I tried to engage him and he turned me down, humiliating me like he so loved to do years ago. Nope, never. I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction, so I ignored him, returning to scrubbing his blood-stained clothes.

“Did we make the news yet?” Mason asked, breaking me out of my reverie.

“Nope,” I replied, “Nothing.”

“Damn.” He went over to the couch and flopped down, grabbing the remote and flipping through the channels. After a moment, he scratched at the fresh stubble on his jaw thoughtfully. “That kind of worries me. We should’ve been on by now.”

Now was the time to seize opportunity. I’d been dying all day to see how many hits my blog had. “Then let’s just log on my laptop for a second, just to see what’s going on.”

Mason shook his head firmly. “Not yet. I’m not going to play that card yet — let’s give it a little while longer. Maybe twenty-four hours. Anonymous is going to be monitoring it and it’s not worth the risk.”

I nodded and sighed in frustration. Something was wrong, I could feel it.

I finished scrubbing the last few places, and while there were still stains on his sweater, it was at least clean.

“I’m going to take these outside and hang them up,” I told him.

Mason looked up, immediately alert. “Need me to go with you?”

I made a face. “Are you serious? It’s like two feet away. I’ll be fine,” I said firmly, moving toward the door. “But I’ll be sure to call out if I see the boogeyman.”

Mason didn’t crack a smile at my joke. “I’ll be watching.”

Outside, it was chilly, but other than that, it was a beautiful night with a clear sky and a full moon whose light filtered down in between the trees, illuminating the entire area with an ethereal glow.

I made my way around to the side of the cabin where I had a clothesline. While I hung up his clothes, a sudden idea struck me. Why let Mason keep tormenting me? Why not turn the tables on him and use my feminine charms and see how he liked it? Then I’ll humiliate him like he’s done me so many times before.

I’ll show him two can play that game.

I wasn’t sure what I was going to do, as seduction wasn’t quite my forte, but I was sure I could come up with something.

“See,” I said when I walked back inside the cabin a minute later, “I’m perfectly fine. No boogeyman out there or anyone hiding in the bushes.”

Mason was watching me like a hawk. “Where are you going?”

“To my room to change,” I said flippantly. “It’s hot as hell in here.”

Mainly because of you.

Not giving him a chance to reply, I went to my bedroom and emerged two minutes later dressed in some tiny little pink shorts that rode my ass cheeks and a white cutoff top that showed off my cleavage.

“Whew,” I said fanning myself. “That’s much better.”

Mason tried to act calm, cool, and collected, but I saw his eyes look like they were about to pop out of his head.

“Why are you wearing that?” Mason demanded in an almost angry tone. He looked mighty uncomfortable, but his eyes followed my every move.
Take that!

“Because it’s hot, that’s why.”

“It’s not that hot,” Mason objected. “It’s like fifty-five outside.”

“Really? Feels like eighty.” I suddenly looked over at the TV. “Damn, where did all that dust came from?” I grabbed my duster from nearby and walked in front of the TV. I bent over ever-so-slowly, pointing my ass directly at his face. I imagined he could see the outline of my swollen pussy too, pressing against the flimsy material of my shorts.

After I was done with my fake dusting, I straightened and placed the duster back where it was and turned to face him.

He was gawking at me, his lips parted as if in awe, and I smiled seductively at him. He snapped his lips shut and quickly averted his eyes, but he looked like a man in pain.

Payback was a bitch.

Swaying my hips with each step, I walked over to the couch and sank down beside him. I crossed my legs, but made sure my knee was touching his and then moved in, resting my elbow on his shoulder.

“Are you okay?” I asked in a soft, feathery voice close to his ear. I couldn’t believe how well I was doing at acting sexy. I almost felt like a pro.

“Yeah,” he replied. “Why wouldn’t I be?” His voice sounded hoarse, strained, and I knew he was just trying to act like I wasn’t having an effect on him.

Glancing down, I got further confirmation — a huge bulge in his jeans. Mason was hard for me.

And then I realized something.

This whole time I’ve been thinking he was the one with power over me, when I have just as much over him,
I thought.

Emboldened, I moved in closer, pressing against his side, my breasts pushing up against his shoulder. “Doesn’t seem like it,” I purred in his ear, slowly running my hand up his thigh. “Looks like you’ve got a big problem in your pants.”

“Careful, Carly. You might want to stop. I’m much better at this game than you are.” Mason said, though he made no effort to remove my hand.

“Why should I?” I hissed, pausing my hand on his inner thigh, inches away from his package. Mason still didn’t push me away, letting me know he wanted it. “I know that little stunt you pulled was on purpose. Two can play that game.”

I wasn’t sure what exactly I was going to do next. And the fact that he threatened that he’s better at the game than I am sent a thrill through me.

But one thing’s for certain, I’d never seen him so rattled in my life. Beads of sweat were running down his face and he was trembling beneath my fingertips.

“Oh look,” I said mockingly, “the great and powerful Razor, crumbling beneath my little fingertips.”

Mason’s face twisted in agony. He looked like a man trying to lift a mountain. Obviously, he was trying his hardest not to give in to temptation and his hands were clenched at his side so hard that they were turning white. He could’ve pushed me away if he wanted to, but he didn’t. Now I’d confirmed it — he wanted me just as bad as I wanted him. And it dawned on me, it’d probably always been that way, I just never had the confidence to realize it.

I stared at his hands, which were trembling like he had Parkinson’s. What would happen if he touched me? The plan was to turn him down, to humiliate him and finally get payback, but I realized I’d never have the strength.

My lips were inches from his face and I could feel the heat emanating from his body. I glanced down at his crotch and Mason followed my eyes.

“If you unleash the Razor,” Mason growled with caution, “You might get cut.”

Despite his warning, every cell of my body screamed at me to find out, screamed at me to push him over the edge to the point of no return.

I leaned in even more, my pulse pounding in my ears, moistness gathering between my thighs as I gained the courage to reach for his big hard cock — intent on crossing the boundary that had separated us for so long . . . when news of our video finally came on.

“
S
hit
! It’s on!” Gasping with relief, Mason jumped up from the couch like a speeding bullet, nearly knocking me onto the floor.

It was like the news chose that exact moment to come on and save us both from stumbling head-on into dangerous territory — a point in which there would be no coming back from.

But I had no time to think about it. The moment I’d been waiting for all day had finally arrived.

I gathered myself, my lust and desire momentarily forgotten, and focused my attention on the TV screen.

“Yeah right,” I snorted. “We know what that means.”

Mason waved a hand to silence me, his eyes intensely glued to the screen. “Shhh!”

The newswoman continued. “There have been calls from city council members and other government officials for the Mayor to step down immediately pending investigation—”

“Sorry to interrupt Suzie,” said the black-haired news anchor, fumbling with something in his ear, “but I’m told the conference is starting now.”

There was dead silence for a brief moment and then the male news anchor looked at the camera and announced, “And now we bring you to the press conference being held at city hall.”

The video cut to outside a large brick building and a podium that was surrounded by reporters and flooded with studio lights. A tall, skinny man suit was huddled off to the side, talking to a group of men who looked like city officials and several men in uniform.

Mayor Bradley was nowhere in sight.

After a few moments, the conversation ended, and who I assumed was the Mayor’s lawyer walked over to the podium with a piece of paper in his hand.

He sat the paper down on the podium and opened his mouth, “Good Evening, everyone. My name is Steve Zucker—”, but was promptly cut off from the avalanche of questions coming in from all sides.

“Please, please!” he shouted over the tumult. “Let me give the statement and then I will take a few questions.”

The press continued to bombard him with inquiries, but when they saw he wasn’t going to answer until he had his say, they quickly quieted.

After a moment of silence, Steve cleared his throat and then began speaking, periodically reading off the piece of paper on the podium.

Steve nodded his head at the press and pulled away from the podium, causing reporters to howl in protest.

“Hey you said you were going to take questions!” Someone yelled.

“When is the mayor going to resign?” Someone else shouted.

“Why isn’t the mayor here himself answering questions!”

“Can you believe the balls on that guy?” I asked in disbelief with an angry shake of my head. The hypocrisy of him was galling, releasing a statement boasting about what an honest public servant he was and how he was a fighter of corruption, when clearly he was one of the most corrupt individuals to ever take office. “It’s clearly him on the video and yet he still tries to deny it.”

Mason stared at the TV screen where Steve could be seen gesturing animatedly at the people he was talking to. “What else do you expect? A guy like him isn’t going to just admit to it and go to jail for the rest of his life.”

Back on screen, one of the men in uniform speaking with Steve, broke away from the group and approached the podium.

He was immediately inundated with shouted questions, but he remained silent until the din calmed.

“Good evening members of the press,” he greeted, leaning forward to speak into the microphone. He had a deep gravelly voice that sounded like he was a chain smoker. “I’m Sheriff Appleby and I’m here to try to answer any questions you may have.” The crowd of reporters began to once again shout out questions over each other, but the Sheriff quickly waved them down.

“But before I take questions, I want to let everyones know that we have received the video in question and are currently reviewing it. Rest assured, our investigation will be meticulously thorough.”

“Does anyone know how the video got released?” a male reporter shouted over the din of voices.

Appleby was quick to reply, almost too eager. “We do, in fact. A notorious hacker who goes by the name of Razor is thought to be behind this leak. His real name is Mason Keller and he is a member of the group Anonymous. Keller is wanted in connection with this case. We are asking that if anyone knows anything about his whereabouts, please contact us immediately.”

“You said the video is a leak,” said a woman reporter curiously, “does that mean you’ve been sitting on this damning video for months?”

The Sheriff froze for a split second before answering. “I’m not at liberty to discuss that at this time.”

The question and answer session between the press and the Sheriff continued, but Mason turned off the TV.

“We need to start planning,” I said right away, my mind racing with ideas. “We’ve got to clear your name.”

Mason shook his head. “Like I said in the beginning, they’re going to make an example of me. You just heard what the Sheriff said. I’m a wanted man.”

“There has to be a way.”

“I’ll go into hiding until it blows over and they stop searching for me. Maybe flee across the border.”

Pain lanced my side. I couldn’t handle Mason disappearing out of my life again.

Especially with how close we came to . . .

I shook my head vehemently, “No, you can’t do that. What we should do is—”

Mason’s dark scowl silenced me. “
We
are not going to do anything. Whatever happens next, I want you to stay out of it. You’ve done your part, now let me handle the rest.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. We were supposed to be a team. “But we’re in this together,” I protested. I hated how whiny my voice sounded, but I couldn’t help it. “I’m just trying to help you.”

“Don’t try to act like you care about what happens to me,” Mason growled, his eyes suddenly blazing.

I recoiled like I’d been struck. I had no idea where this sudden acid was coming from, especially since minutes before we’d been seconds away from having sex on my couch.

“Mason I—”

“The only thing you really seem to care about is how many hits your stupid blog has or how your career will take off as a result of this.”

Tears burned my eyes. What the hell was his problem? “That’s not true, and you know it! I care about Rosemary and getting justice for her daughter’s murder,” I swallowed back a lump in my throat.

“Oh cut the act, Carly.”

I stared long and hard at Mason, the stubborn line of his chiseled jaw and the fire in his eyes. He looked like he was . . .

This isn’t him
, I thought suddenly.
This isn’t Mason.

I wiped at my cheek with the back of my hand, struggling to get a reign on my emotions. “You’re just angry right now,” I sniffed. “And scared. You don’t really mean those awful things you’re saying.”

“I meant every word,” Mason growled.

I ignored him, regaining some of my composure. “Look, let me call the Sheriff and explain everything. When they confirm it was Mayor Bradley in the video, he’ll listen.”

“What aren’t you getting?” Mason snarled. “They’re fucking crooked as hell. Always have been, always will be.”

“Then let me call Brian,” I said as calmly as I could manage. “He has money and connections, he’ll be able to help—”

“We already discussed my father. I’ll only tell you this one more time. Dad has no interest in helping me. He’d give me up in a heartbeat.”

“So you keep saying, but you won’t tell me why you believe so strongly that he would. Why?”

“Because he doesn’t care about me.”

I remembered Mason’s anger back in the car. There was obviously something I was missing here. Mason believed that his father wanted him dead, but I’d never seen any evidence to suggest that. “If you would just tell me what’s going on, instead of flying off the fucking handle, and tell me what makes you believe he hates you so much.”

“You know what? Just stop bringing him up. It really pisses me off.”

“Oh yeah?” I snarled. “Well you wanna know what pisses me off? You suddenly turning into a major douchebag for no apparent reason.” Anger seared my breasts. I literally wanted to claw Mason’s eyes out. “You know what? Fuck you!”

Spinning on my heel and holding back tears, I ran from the living room, into my bedroom and slammed the door shut as hard as I could.

Fuck Mason.

C
arly’s
muffled yell reached my ears a second later, “Fucking asshole!”

I sighed and closed my eyes. Pretending to be mad at Carly when she’d done nothing wrong was one of the hardest things I’d ever done.

A part of me wanted to go after her, beg for her forgiveness and tell her I didn’t mean anything I said. The urge was so powerful that I began walking down the hallway toward her room and then stopped.

Don’t do it,
I thought, heading back to the living room
. I need to put distance between us.

Carly assumed I was being an asshole because I was scared of my impending capture, when in reality I was pleased.

I’d exposed the Mayor for the scumbag he truly was and it was only a matter of time before he was put behind bars.

What I was really afraid of, was Carly’s safety. It was clear that I was the one everyone was after, and I’d keep it that way.

Still, I wasn’t worried. I was confident enough in my skills that I could evade capture. I knew how to stay in the shadows.

Leaving Carly would be the hard part. And I didn’t know how I was going to do it. The first time I left, it nearly killed me. This time it probably would.

Yet, I knew I had to. Carly wasn’t safe with me, never was. I had no business showing up on her doorstep and involving her in my fucked up world.

If I hadn’t been so fucking selfish
, I thought.
It wouldn’t have come to this. I could’ve just given Anonymous the video and let them have at it. They would’ve released it eventually.

But what was done, was done.

Now I just needed to separate myself from Carly — to keep her safe.

I walked over to the front door and placed my hand on the knob. If I left right now while Carly was in her room, it would make things much easier. She’d come out later and I’d be gone. No arguing. No yelling and screaming at each other. Just gone.

I turned the knob and was hit by a sudden weight on my chest. I couldn’t bring myself to do it. If I left without saying goodbye, Carly wouldn’t forgive me a second time.

I glanced outside the living room window. It was pitch black outside and I was feeling a bit tired from the day’s events. It didn’t seem like a good idea to leave in the dead of night just so I could escape having to deal with facing her.

I’ll just leave in the morning,
I decided
. I’ll say my goodbyes and then be on my way.

Hoping I wasn’t making a mistake, I walked back over to the couch and laid down, my mind racing.

Besides Carly’s safety, there was another reason why I wanted to leave — I was losing control. My mind and body were becoming overwhelmed with lust and desire.

The sight of Carly bent over in those little shorts?

My cock immediately stiffened in my jeans at the memory, stretching the fabric as far as it’d go.

I’d come so close to taking her it wasn’t even funny. And it’d taken every ounce of my infamous Razor-like focus to hold back my impulses.

I wonder if she knew how close she’d come to being ravaged by a savage beast that would have left her gasping for breath and wanting for more.

Oh she knew,
I thought,
taunting me with her tight little ass.

It made me wonder if she was still a virgin. I thought she was, but with the sensual way she moved her body, I had my doubts.