First, I found out my mystery man from the club was my stepbrother, and if that was not bad enough, he was living with us. Now, he was the man I’d lost my virginity to, a cocky asshole who didn’t care about anything, and suddenly he was my bodyguard. Plus the violence and the fear. I was doing the best I could.
One wave after the next, threatening to put me under. Meanwhile, the only solid thing so far had been Nate, even though he was also the source of most of my anxiety.
“Your dad really didn’t want Lucille to know,” Nate said after a minute of silence.
“I’m not surprised.”
“I don’t know how he wanted to hide it from her, considering he just hired a shitload of new security.”
“She’s too drunk most of the time to see stuff like that.”
“True. Still, my mother is a drunk and a psycho, but she’s not an idiot.” He paused. “I bet Jonathan thinks Lucille will tell people about all this and threaten his deal.”
“Is that why he’s not calling the cops?”
Nate nodded, smirking. “He thinks the press would be bad for business.”
“Unbelievable.”
“Is it? At least he hired the best bodyguard possible for you.”
“If only he knew what that actually meant.”
“I’m sure daddy would have a fit if he knew you were fucking a guy like me.”
I rolled my eyes. “He’d have a fit if he knew I was fucking, period. And anyway,” I added quickly, “we’re not fucking.”
“You’re right. That was a one-time deal.”
“We’re stepsiblings now. Related. No more sex.”
“Strictly business between us.”
“Sure. Strictly business.”
He moved closer to me, grinning that delicious, maddening grin. I wanted to slap it off his face, but it always meant he was about to say something to really set me off.
As much as I pretended to hate every dirty comment, I was dripping wet even before it came out of his mouth. Truthfully, I loved it, and I loved the thrill that ran up my spine every time he told me what he wanted from me.
Which was why I was on my toes as soon as he started speaking, that familiar thrill between my legs already tingling, my soaking moisture more than obvious.
“Unless you want that business to be me fucking your sweet, tight pussy until you can barely limp the next day,” he said softly.
“No, thanks,” I lied. “I think I’d rather you just stayed quiet and invisible.”
“Impossible. You’re constantly staring at me like you want to rip off my shirt. Hard to be invisible like that.”
“You seem to be good at confusing lust with disgust.”
“And you seem to be in heavy denial.”
I sighed and shook my head. “I really should just leave, go back to school or something.”
“Probably not a good idea.”
“Why not?”
“Because whoever is after you could easily follow. Plus, I’m here.”
“Exactly. You’re here.”
He laughed and bent over, picking up a shell. “Don’t pretend you hate me, princess. I had you moaning my name the other night.” He threw the shell out into the water. I watched as it skipped once and then disappeared into a wave.
“How long before those two self-destruct, do you think?” I asked him.
He was quiet for a second, his smirk disappearing. “Who knows. A few months, probably.”
“We’ll be picking up the pieces. Again.”
“You might be. I’ll be out on some mission again, risking my life. Lucille will find someone else to take care of her, I’m sure.”
I looked out at the ocean again, took another deep breath, and then turned back toward the house. “Come on, bodyguard.”
“Going back in?”
“Might as well. Can’t hide out here forever.”
“We can do whatever you want, princess.”
I walked back up to the house, my heart thumping, without answering. I knew he was following me, silently and swiftly, a strong shadow in my wake. It was dawning on me that Nate was going to be around for the rest of the summer, everywhere I went.
My delicious, asshole stepbrother. I was going to have my work cut out for me.
Chapter Fourteen: Nathan
Only two days into acting as Claire’s bodyguard and I was already bored as fucking hell.
At first, it was fun. I had plenty of opportunity to tease her, rile her up, say all the dirty shit I wanted just to get a rise out of her. But it quickly soured as I realized that every word I spoke was the absolute truth.
I wanted that pussy and I wanted it bad. I needed to plunge my cock deep between her legs, let her feel my heat, pump myself deep into her little tight cunt until she screamed out my name.