Stepbrother: Moving In/Moving Out (4 page)

***

“Mina? Mina!”

I flinch awake. “Huh? What?” I ask.

Carter laugh. “I said,
‘how did you like that?’
”

I settle back down onto his bare chest. “Oh, it was great,” I answer. My breathing has finally stabilized, but I can still feel a dull throbbing between my legs. “
Really
great.”

“That was the idea,” he says. He leans down slightly and plants a kiss on my forehead. “Better than usual?”

“Well… I wouldn’t say
better
,” I say. “But definitely more interesting.”

He sits back and lays his arms above his head. “Oh, yeah…” he grunts. “I’m the man.”

I chuckle and close my eyes. “Yeah,” I say. “You’re my man.”

“Better stay that way,” he says.

I slap him gently. “Of course you will,” I say. “Why wouldn’t you?”

He shrugs. “Your brother seems pretty confident in his abilities.”

“
Stepbrother
,” I correct him. “And it doesn’t matter. This whole thing is silly.”

“So I shouldn’t be worried?” he asks.

“No,” I answer. “After tomorrow, everything will go back to normal.”

He squeezes my body a little tighter and I listen to his heartbeat as I drift off to sleep.

Chapter 5

I’ve never felt so nervous in my life.

The day has gone by very slowly. Each hour, almost on the hour, I’ve glanced at my watch. I can’t tell if I’m dreading the night’s inevitable events or if I’m blissfully excited for them.

When I hear Seth’s keys in the lock, my body goes tense. Carter left an hour ago with a smile on his face. I assured him that nothing would change and he has no reason to doubt me.

I enter the living room with shaking knees as Seth closes the front door behind him.

“Hey,” I say. “How was work?”

He smiles. “You’ve never asked me that before,” he says as he spins his keys on his finger.

I fidget slightly and shrug my shoulders nervously. “Sorry,” I mutter.

“It was fine — boring,” he answers with a grin. “Felt like forever.”

“I know what you mean,” I say.

He stares at me and I suddenly feel very, very naked. There’s an elephant in the room. A big one. And it’s sitting on my chest.

“Let’s go,” he says.

“Wait —” I feel as if Seth pulled a rug out from under my toes. “Where are we going?” I ask.

He grabs my coat off the rack. “The deal was I get a night with you.”

“Right, yeah…” I stare at him with confusion.

He steps around me and lays my coat across my shoulders. “We’ll get to that later,” he speaks with a low voice. “But first, I want to show you something.”

“Okay,” I say. I push my arms through the sleeves.

“Come on.” He reaches out and takes my hand.

“Wait —” I dig my feet into the floor. “Do I look okay?” I’m wearing a simple skirt and blouse. I wasn’t planning on a night out.

“You’re perfect,” he says with a sparkle in his eye. “Let’s go.”

***

“Seth,” I say. “What are we doing in the campus library?”

We round the corner passed the entrance and begin walking up the stairs to the second floor. “I told you,” he explains, “I want to show you something.”

“Yes, but… in the library?” I ask.

“It’s worth the trip,” he says. “Trust me.”

As we hit the second floor, I continue following up the next stairwell. Then another. And another.

“Okay — seriously.” I plant my feet at the top of the fifth and final floor. “It’s only ancient archives up here,” I say. “What are we doing here, Seth?”

He spins around and sticks his hands into the pockets of his coat. “Jingle bells.”

“Jingle bells?”

He shows me a light smile. “Do you remember that school play where you had to use those… I don’t know what they’re called — hand bells, I guess?”

I search my memory for a moment, but recall nothing.

He shakes his head. “It was a long time ago. We were like twelve, I think. Anyway, it was right after our parents got together and they made me go to your school play with them. And I hated the idea, obviously. I dragged my feet and whined about. It was one of my finer moments in life, I assure you,” he quips sarcastically.

I nod to show I’m listening. “Okay…”

“So…” He walks across the room. My feet follow him closely, lured by genuine curiosity through the abandoned columns. “About halfway through the whole thing, you and a few other kids come out with these bells and you start playing—”

“Jingle bells,” I finish his sentence.

“You remember now?” he asks.

“Vaguely,” I say. “I remember
hating
it, actually.”

“Me, too,” he jokes.

We reach the end of the corridor and stand before a closed door.

“Seth, what does that have to do with the university library?” I ask.

Seth reaches into his pocket and withdraws a small, silver key. He uses it on the door and pushes it open. I peek inside and find a dark stairwell spiraling upward into a tower.

“After you,” he says.

“Oh, hell no,” I say.

He grips my hand and begins to pull me up the stairs despite my protests. We ascend the tower in silence. I try my best not to look down, but I get a few curious and regretful glances.

“Hold on…” He stops a little more than halfway up and moves behind me. I feel his hands cover my eyes. For a moment, I feel scared, like I could trip and tumble down the dark stairs with my next step. “It’s okay,” he says, reading my body language. “I’ve got you.”

I take slow steps. “You know, Seth…”I say. “I’ve got this thing about heights…”

“I know,” he laughs. “Just trust me.”

I sigh and continue going upward, my white knuckles gripping the banister.

“Okay,” he says. “Stop. And close your eyes.”

“Seth, come on…” I close my eyes against my better judgment. My legs tremble beneath me. “Just tell me one thing — I’m
not
about to be murdered, right?”

“Okay, okay—” He positions me on the steady floor at the top but keeps his hands on my hips. “You can open your eyes now.”

I take a quick breath and open them.

“Whoa…”

I’m met with an astonishing new view of the campus. The same grounds I’ve seen and traveled through hundreds of times are now mapped out in front of me, several stories above it all. The moon casts its glow on everything, leaving deep blue shadows in every corner. A gust of wind pushes me slightly, but I keep my grip on the top railing.

“Fast forward to last year,” Seth tells me with slightly winded breath. He stands next to me, gazing out the open window along with me. “It’s a week until Christmas. I’m sitting in the dining hall across the street and my roommate, our mutual friend,
Carter
, asks me if I’m
cool
with him dating my sister.”

“He did that?” I ask.

“Yes, he did.”

“What did you say?”

“Well…” He turns his back to the view and reaches out an arm to rap his knuckles against a giant, metal bell hanging from the top of the tower. I turn around and count seven large bells of varying sizes along with it. “Before I could open my mouth to speak, these bells started chiming. Which is no big deal — you hear them every hour on the hour every day — but
this
time… this
exact
moment…” He looks at me.

“Jingle bells,” I finish the thought.

“I immediately flashed back to that school play,” he says. “In fact,
every time
I hear Jingle Bells, I think about you in that play.”

I say nothing. My eyes linger on him for a moment more before turning back to the campus view.

“That moment stuck with me,” he says. “And now every time I hear the bells, every hour on the hour everyday, I think about you. It’s automatic. It’s reflex. A primal urge that I don’t fully understand.”

“So,” I say as I fiddle with my fingers. “What did you say?” I ask again with a smile, still curious about the answer.

“I told him… that it was a bad idea.”

“Oh, really?”

He nods. “Yep. I said you probably wouldn’t be interested and it’d be
weird
if he dated you. He seemed fine with it, but then…”

“He asked me out anyway,” I say, recalling the memory.

“Kind of figured out at that point what kind of man he is.”

“He’s not that bad,” I say.

“He takes what he wants with little regard of others,” Seth argues.

“Is that why you brought me up here?” I ask. “To somehow talk me out of choosing him?”

“No,” he answers. “I came here to tell you the truth. We’ve both been living in our secret bubbles for years and now that they’ve finally popped, I want to clear the air, level the field, and just… talk to you for the first time. I mean,
really talk to you
. Unfiltered. Now tell me that doesn’t sound amazing to you.”

I lick my lips and nod. “You’re right,” I say.

“There’s not a whole lot I
don’t
associate with you, Mina,” he says. “It’s not just the bells, it’s
everything
. You’re there every time I look around. You’re the first thing I think about when I wake up and the last thing I think about when I go to sleep. I thought I could deny it and live without you, but I
can’t
. And now that I’ve had one night with you…”

“Seth…”

“I can’t go back.”

“Stop.”

“I love you, Mina.”

“Seth, no.”

“You love me, too,” he says. “I can feel it.”

“It’s
so
much more complicated than that.”

“So, that’s it, then,” he says. “You already made your choice before the night even began.”

“Yes,” I answer truthfully. “Because this
can’t happen
, Seth. No one would
ever
accept this. It will
never
be okay.”

“Then let me have tonight,” he says. His hands cup my cheeks and he pulls me into his kiss. “Let me have the next few moments to keep forever.” His whispers flood my ears and radiate down my spine.

I kiss him back. I can’t help myself. Seth’s kisses taste like honey. My body buzzes with fresh life, my muscles turning to warm milk against his body.

“Seth…” I whisper.

He pushes against me until my back is to the wall. His lips move to my neck and my body trembles as he nibbles lightly at me. The breeze cools my skin, but offers little comfort to my throbbing sex, begging for his touch. His fingers push underneath my coat as he slips it off my shoulder. I let it fall down my arms and tumble to the floor to lie next to my toes.

“Please don’t make me stop, Mina,” he whispers. He presses me harder against the wall and his hands cup my breasts.

“I don’t want you to,” I say as my fingers grip his belt.

Seth sighs with pleasure and reaches his hands underneath my skirt. He cups my rear end and lifts me up to pin me against the wall. My legs wrap around his strong torso, clinging to him with all my strength. His lips tease my cleavage. He holds me up with ease as I reach for his zipper. His hardness excites me and I relish in the opportunity to stroke him.

“Oh, Mina…” he says.

He rests his head against my chest, savoring every touch of my fingers. I squeeze his shaft tighter and pull him closer to my wetness. I push my panties aside to create an opening for him. His thick crown rubs against my slit. Both of us beg for release, to put us out of our miseries. I kiss him firmly, my body on fire, as I gently lower myself onto him.

Seth pushes me even tighter against the wall. I allow his full length to penetrate me. I feel the painful stretch of his thickness breaking me in. My lips quiver for more of him as we kiss once more.

“Oh, Mina…” he moans again. “You’re my hell.” He rocks me with a deep thrust. “This body. I’ve ached inside thinking about it.”

“I know,” I breathe as I cling to his coat. “Don’t stop!”

“I won’t,” he answers, looking up into my eyes. “I couldn’t, even if I wanted to.”

I moan in his ear, shaking with desire. I can feel every inch of him inside, moving in and out with quick, deliberate thrusts. My eyes look out across the campus view. My stomach turns from vertigo. I feel lightheaded. My senses urge me to take a break, but I can’t bring myself to go through with it.