Untouchable(21)

Reaching out, I take Raven’s face in my hands and pull her to me. “One more kiss before you go?” I ask as a sly smile dances across my lips.

She sighs as her hands come to rest on my chest. They slide cautiously down my chest a few inches before stopping to fist my t-shirt. “One more, and then I’m leaving.”

Pulling her mouth to mine, I start out kissing her gently, savoring the feel of her lips gliding against mine. My hands shake slightly against her face as I try to compose myself. It’s taking every ounce of willpower I have to not drag her back to my bed one more time. She moans softly into my mouth as her lips part, giving my tongue full access to her once again. Her hands tighten around my shirt as she pulls me to her harder. My dick is hard as steel and pressing into her stomach as she kisses the breath straight out of my lungs.

I need to stop now before we get to the point where stopping isn’t an option anymore.

Reluctantly, I pull away from her, breaking the moment and our kiss. Her eyes are closed as she releases my shirt and brings her hands up to her chest. She fingers the sparrow charm hanging from the delicate chain before finally opening her eyes and gazing up into mine. “Bye, Linc.” Backing away from me, she walks with long strides towards the bedroom door. She doesn’t look back, but I can’t take my eyes off of her. I stand leaning against the doorframe and watch as she grabs the handle to the front door. She stands there for a moment, inhaling deeply as her hand comes up to her cheek to flick a tear from her face.

Collecting herself, she straightens her spine, pulls open the door, and disappears outside.

As she walks out that door, she not only takes my heart with her, but my soul too. Without her, I’m now a shell of a man. Before her, I thought I had the perfect life. I was happy living my life the way it was, without a care in the world and avoiding love at all costs. Now that I’ve had a taste of it, I have no idea how I ever lived a day without her, and I have no idea how I’m going to live the rest of my life without her in it, the way we both ache for her to be.





“You look like shit,” Tyler says as we walk up the grassy hill to the next hole. I can always depend on my best friend to be brutally honest, even when I don’t want to hear it.

Setting my clubs down beside me, I pull my driver out and lean against it as we watch the group in front of us t-off. “Thanks for pointing out the obvious, asshole.”

“So what happened to you last night? One minute you were at the reception, and the next, you were gone. I texted your phone a few times, but got no response.”

I grip the brim of my ball cap and lift it off my head so I can run my fingers through my damp hair. It’s in the low eighties today. Golf pants and a polo shirt aren’t the coolest attire to be wearing on a hot summer day. But I’ll rectify the issue as soon as we finish the eighteenth hole by spending the remainder of the day lounging poolside with Tyler. I’m glad I came golfing, even though I felt like shit that baked in hot-ass California for a month. No amount of Excedrin or coffee can ease the effects of this monstrous hangover.

I’m surprised I didn’t puke my brains out or need my fucking stomach pumped at the rate I was going.

“I turned my phone off,” I lie. “Then hung out in the bar for a few hours drinking.”

A knowing grin spreads across Tyler’s face. “Ahh, so that explains it. You got trashed last night then picked up a chick at the bar. You have that hungover but well-fucked look. As long as the sex was good, the hangover is always well worth it,” he says, clapping me on the back before digging in his golf bag and pulling out a ball.

The group in front of us head back to their golf cart just as my dad, Bryant, and his dad, along with a few more of my dad’s friends that got together to golf today catch up with us. They were finishing up at the tenth hole still when Tyler and I drove our cart to the next one.

“I was at the bar last night too, after I left the reception,” Bryant’s voice cuts in, making my veins feel like ice is washing through them.

I watch Tyler head towards the t-off before speaking again. By the look in Bryant’s eyes, I know he must’ve seen me there with Raven. Folding my hands against my chest, I try my best to look relaxed, even though on the inside I feel like my heart is going to internally combust from the panic that’s simmering in my chest.

“Oh, really? I didn’t see you. You should’ve come up, said hi, and shared a drink with me.”

A smug smirk appears as he leans towards me and says, “I actually was about to do that, and then the craziest thing happened.”

I raise an eyebrow towards the cloudless sky, trying to play it cool and act genuinely curious. “Really? And what was that?”

Mirroring me, he folds his arms across his chest and looks back to where my dad and his friends are all standing around bullshitting and drinking while waiting their turns before turning his attention back to me. “You were sitting at the bar with your arm around Raven. And at first, I thought maybe it was nothing, but then I saw her take a slice of lime from your mouth. Now call me crazy, but last I knew, that’s not how two people who became stepbrother and sister just a few short hours ago behave. Unless you’re from the woods of some Podunk town, I guess.”

I’m pretty sure I look like I’m a few seconds away from puking my brains out and then passing out where I stand.

Fuck. Shit! I knew I was stupid to let my guard down. Now, because of it, we’re totally fucked.

I should’ve never flirted with Raven the way I did last night in public. Plus, the night before, I kissed her on the sidewalk beside the gift shop. I took too many risks. I didn’t think; I was too fucking arrogant, like always. Now, Raven is going to have to deal with the consequences. I don’t doubt for a second Bryant will say something.

I try to hide the fact I’m freaking out and wave to the girl working the mobile refreshment cart. I’m in desperate need of a beer. Hungover or not.

“What you saw was two friends having drinks in a bar. Nothing more.”

“No, what I saw was two people who’ve obviously been making it evident to everyone around them that they shouldn’t even be categorized as friends, when the truth of it is you're more than that. Everything is making a lot more sense now. So how long have you two been fucking?

I bring my hands to my temples as I try to refrain from pounding this douchebag’s face in. Shaking my head, I glare at him in disgust. “Who the fuck asks that kind of shit?” I’m trying my best to keep my voice down and not draw attention to us, but this asshole has balls coming up to me and asking me this shit.

Not seeming to be fazed, he shrugs his shoulders nonchalantly. “Seeing as I thought things were going well between Raven and me, even though she was a little hot and cold at times, I think I have every right to ask you if you’re fucking her or not while she’s dating me.”

Hold the fucking phone!

“Hold up. Dating? You can’t be serious. She went out with you for drinks at the pub as friends, and to the reception last night…as friends. How do you twist just friends into dating? You look pretty fucking stupid, but hell, you go to Harvard for christsake. You can’t be that fucking dense.” I know I’m walking a fine line here, poking the lion who can, with one word, tear my life to shreds, but I’m not going to let him make it out as Raven messing around behind his back.

“Raven said she wanted to take things slow because she was getting over a bad break up, but the more I think about it, I think she was keeping me at arm’s length, because she wanted to have her cake and eat it too. Date me to make her mom happy, and then fuck you on the side, like her dirty little secret.”

I ball my fists at my sides, doing everything in my power to not knock his fucking teeth out right now.

“I’m not going to stand here surrounded by my father and his friends and listen to you spew your bullshit. We’re just friends. I think you need to learn when to take a fucking hint. Because it’s obvious to me, and should be to you too, bro. She’s just not into you. Fucking deal with it.”

Not wasting another second of my time on the douchebag, I storm away from him and down the hill to buy my beer I’m either going to drink or smash upside his fucking head.

Pulling my phone out of my pants pocket, I pull up Raven in my contacts and type up a quick text.



We have a huge fucking problem. Bryant was in the bar last night. We need to meet with him as soon as possible and sort this shit out before he fucks up everything. I can’t tell u how sorry I am this is happening.





As soon as I finished golfing and Raven finished up at the spa, we got together with Bryant for a nice little powwow here at my villa. It wasn’t easy, but somehow, we managed to convince him that he was taking one innocent moment and blowing it way out of proportion.

I don’t know if he still has doubts or not, but at least he left without threatening to tell anyone about his suspicions.

I have to admit I was scared shitless. I don’t even want to think about how my father would react if he found out about us. The look of disgust on Bryant’s face when he called Raven my stepsister—he made it sound so dirty. I hate it, because it’s not like we’ve spent our entire lives growing up together under the same roof, living as siblings. Up until a few months ago, we didn’t even run in the same circle, let alone talk to each other.