I was good and exhausted by the time I got back to the house. I was drenched in sweat and nice and loosened up, to the point where I wasn't worrying about any damn local cults or hot-as-fuck stepsisters.
I opened my laptop and immediately Googled the name I had been given: Eli Reddington. I stared at the search results, clicking them one by one, but found nothing important. As far as I could tell, there was no Reddington in the Outer Banks at all. I went through every page, meticulously following every lead, and found nothing.
Dan the barman probably had lied to me. I cursed, slamming shut my laptop lid. I should have pressed him harder, hurt him more, but I had held back. He was an innocent guy, after all. But apparently not so innocent. Now there was no way I was getting any more information from him. I was positive he was long gone.
That wasn't like me. It wasn't normal for me to go soft on a guy, especially when important, mission-critical information could ride on what he said. I was pissed off at how stupid I had been, and now I was back to square one. "Reddington" was a dead end. At least he had told me who the Broken Hearts were; it hadn't been a total bust.
Annoyed, I went for a walk, my thoughts back on the cult and my damn stepsister. Somehow, she was wrapped up in everything.
As I moved around back, I paused when I saw her sitting out by the pool. It wasn't even noon yet, but the sun was hot and strong. The suntan oil on her skin glistened in the light, and her bikini showed off her perfect, full figure. Her tits and thighs looked fucking delicious, and I suddenly remembered the way she had sucked my cock, both tender and fierce. I wanted to grab her hair and shove my dick down her throat while I tongued her little clit. I felt my cock begin to stir in my shorts and felt annoyed that my hard-won relaxation was totally destroyed the second I saw her.
She tipped down her sunglasses when she noticed me staring.
"I thought you were gone for good," she said.
I walked over and grinned at her. "Just been busy."
"Sure." She slipped her sunglasses on and looked away.
That coy, bitchy shit just made me want her more. I knew it was all an act, pretending like she didn't give a fuck. She was a virgin, after all. She couldn't help herself but want me around, especially when I could get her soaking wet with just a pinky finger.
I turned to walk away, not wanting to deal with any bullshit, when she spoke up again.
"Where'd you disappear to yesterday?"
There it was. I knew she'd been thinking about it. Didn't take much more than just calling her bluff.
"Had some business to take care of," I said, turning back.
"Business," she repeated. "Anything that has to do with what happened?"
"Which part?" I asked. "The pirates or me making you come so hard you screamed?"
"I didn't scream," she said, sitting up.
"You did. You also nearly tore the sheets in half with how hard you were gripping them."
"I was talking about the pirates."
"I figured. Don't worry about that anymore."
"What did you do?"
"Honestly, nothing, but you'll be safe."
"I wasn't worried," she said, sitting back.
"Now, is it time we talked about that other thing?"
"No, thanks. You're just going to say a bunch of inappropriate stuff."
"You're just annoyed that I already got you soaking wet."
"Hardly."
"We both know it's true. I bet you'd practically drip down onto my tongue."
"Nate! Our parents are home."
"So what? I'll put my hand over your mouth while I fuck you from behind, make sure you're quiet while I take that pussy."
"I'm not sure that would work," she muttered.
"Want to find out?"
She looked at me for a second. "Why is your mom such a bitch?" she asked, clearly trying to change the subject.
"That was a pretty harsh segue."
"She was a hungover mess yesterday morning. Today, too."
"Seems about right."
"She was so normal at the beginning of the summer."
"This is her pattern." I sighed, not at all surprised we were having this conversation. "She gets comfortable with her new guy and starts to act like her normal alcoholic self."
"I don't like it."
I snorted. "You'll get used to it. Or not, and you'll leave to join the fucking Navy because you're a kid and you can't handle being around your psychotic, self-destructive mother anymore."
"That's why you joined?"
"Nah. It was mostly for the dental plan." I smirked at her and she laughed.
"What about your dad?" she asked.
"What about him?"
"You never bring him up."
"Can't say I know much about him."
She looked frustrated. "Okay, how about you pretend like we're having a conversation and try that again?"
I laughed. "Relax there, princess. My dad died when I was just a kid."
"Was he like your mom?"
"An alcoholic? Yeah, so she says. He was a hard man with a hard life before he met my mom. I think that was what attracted her."
"What happened?"
"Cancer, actually. Though the drinking wasn't too far behind, according to my mother."
"That seems hard."
"Not really. I buried that demon a long time ago. I got new demons now."
"Like, from the army?"
I looked at her for a second, not saying anything. She could be blunt, but also a little naïve at times.
"You can talk to me, you know," she said.
"Not interested in having a cry fest with my stepsister, but thanks."
"You don't have to be a jerk about it. I was just saying, I can try and help if you ever want to talk about it. Or just listen."
"There are ways you can help."
"How?"
I leaned in close to her. "Wrap those perfect lips around my dick and suck slow and hard until I come in that pretty mouth."
She blushed. "Not what I was thinking."
"But a lot more fun. You can help me fuck the demons away any time."
The image of Claire beneath me, her back arched, her tits perfect, her nipples erect, came back to me. I wanted to fuck her on the pool chair so bad it almost hurt. I could feel my cock grow rock hard, and I was sure she noticed it, too. Tough not to see it through the damn running shorts. She didn't mention it, though, as I decided to get the fuck out of there before I did something stupid.
"Have a good day," I said. "Don't get too burnt."
"Sure. Will do."
I turned and walked away. I couldn't let myself get sucked into her shit. She was already trying to be all maternal and crap, as if she could somehow help me deal with all the shit I'd seen. She didn't know half of it and never would. The United States frowned on any SEAL that talked about classified mission info, to put it lightly.
I could already tell I was in a fucking pickle, to put it mildly. On the one hand, I wanted to fuck her raw and fast, sweat out all my aggression and anger, punish her pussy so hard that she screamed for more. But I knew I couldn't do that, not when she was my stepsister, and not when she was so damn innocent. Yeah, that was part of why I wanted her to suck my cock, because I wanted to dirty her up, corrupt her. But I shouldn't lead her down that path. Besides, I didn't want her getting any more attached.
Still, attached or not, there was something going on with her family, something dangerous involving the Broken Hearts, whoever they were. I couldn't let that issue fester, couldn't let something bad happen to Claire.
Inside, sitting at the kitchen counter, Lucille was drinking what looked a lot like a Bloody Mary, and she looked like a wreck. All in all, an average morning for her.
"Mother," I said.
"There you are. I was wondering where my useless son had gone."
"Anything that isn't alcohol is useless to you, Lucille."
"There's that asshole wit of yours," she snapped. "When will you grow up?"
I heard a floorboard nearby creak but decided I didn't care if we had an audience.
"You forget, Lucille, you have absolutely no bearing on my life. But you are involved with Claire and her father."
"What's it matter to you? You're going to do whatever you want and then disappear at the end of summer."
"Maybe," I said, shrugging. "But you shouldn't be a bitch to Claire."
Lucille rolled her eyes. "That girl is such a weak little brat."
"She doesn't deserve your psycho bullshit."
"Oh, sure, she's nice. So nice and cute. Too bad she'll be all used up by the time she's my age."
"Not everyone is you."
Just then, Jonathan stepped into the room, a fake-as-hell smile plastered on his face. You clearly heard all that, I thought to myself. You know she's crazy. Why are you still with her?
"What are you two talking about?" he asked, the annoyance barely hidden behind his fake smile.
"Nothing, dear," Lucille said, perking up. "Just talking about what he was doing for the summer."
"Yes, about that," Jonathan said, looking at me. "Still going to run the boats for me? Tommy said you two didn't show up today."