A Baby for My Military Stepbrother 3 (2 page)

Here. Where we started this. Where you sheltered me from lightning and made sure I was safe. This place was special to me, just for that. I had hoped that it had the same meaning for him, and apparently it did.

“I'll remember to let you know next time,” I said slowly. I wasn't quite sure what to make of his teasing manner. Not now.

“There can't be a next time, Hayley.” Ian's voice turned low and ached of loss. “We're siblings. We can't do this. It's wrong.”

“
Step
siblings,” I corrected.

“It doesn't matter,” he replied sharply. “Hayley, this has to stop.”

I looked up at him, my heart in my throat and ready to cry. Stopping was the last thing on my mind. I didn't care what the town thought, what our parents thought, or what anyone else thought. I wanted Ian.

He was so damn perfect in the gray light of the evening rain. Beautiful even. Strong. He was everything I could ever want, ever need, and so much more. I couldn't let him get away. Not now, not ever.

“I'm going to keep doing this until you stop rescuing me,” I told him.

Our eyes met. There was so much heat and desire in his blue gaze that I was sure I was going to melt into a puddle right there in my car. I loved that look. It was what I lived for.

“I can't stop rescuing you. Ever.”

We were so close now. Our heads coming together without our brains realizing it. Our bodies knew we were made for one another. All I had to do was shift just slightly, and we'd kiss. The heat of his hand on my arm after the cold wet of the rain drew my attention. I never wanted him to let go.

“Ian...” I whispered. I loved the way his name felt on my lips.

“I'd die if anything ever happened to you,” he continued. His eyes were all I could see. “I love you, too, Hayley.”

My name barely left his lips before I kissed him. The kiss was good enough to steal my breath away. Hot and heavy, our lips trying to join our bodies and souls together. Ian's fingers tangled in my wet hair, pulling me to him even as he tried to back away.

“We can't...” he whispered. I pressed forward, ignoring his need to be the gallant, selfless hero.

“Why, Ian?” I asked after pressing my lips to his and finding very little resistance. “Because of our parents? Our parents that should never have married in the first place and are probably not going to stay married for long. That's what you're going to let stop us? Stop this?”

I kissed him again, using every trick I knew to show him all my emotions just through a kiss. His fingers tightened in my wet hair. We were both desperate for one another. He tasted of rain and something that was only Ian. He was delicious.

“I've never wanted anything so bad as I want you,” Ian whispered, pulling back and smoothing my wet hair with his hand. I stared into eyes so blue that I could barely believe they were real. Ian had the most beautiful eyes I had ever seen.

My hand drifted to his shirt. I wanted to rip it off of him and have him take me right here in the backseat of the car. But the storm was still raging around us, shaking the trees and pelting the car with rain. It wasn't exactly the safest place to be getting our sexy on.

“Let's get you home,” Ian said as if reading my mind. “We'll have to leave your car here.”

I looked out at the tree blocking my car from going anywhere. “Yup.”

He squeezed my hand. “Ready?”

I nodded and opened the door. Together we jumped over the fallen tree and sprinted to his car. Thunder boomed around us, and I was completely soaked by the time we got there. It felt like a repeat of yesterday. I grinned. Yesterday had been fantastic. It was a day worth repeating.

“At least you don't have a camera this time,” Ian remarked, starting up the car. “But, seriously, if we're going to keep doing this, I'm going to have to start keeping towels in here for the seats.”

“Maybe you should keep towels in here for a different reason,” I teased, wiggling my eyebrows suggestively. He laughed and was about to say something when thunder cut him off.

“Let's get out of here,” he said after the sound died down. “I don't really want to test the lighting striking twice theory.”

T
he storm seemed to be clearing as we got closer to home. By the time we reached the driveway, all that remained of the once fearsome thunderstorm was a light drizzle. The sun had set, so now everything was dark and smelled like clean rain.

The house was dark and empty. Jenny and Dad weren't back yet, but I knew that they would be soon. Ian pulled into Dad's spot in the garage. I got out of the jeep and took a deep breath in of the refreshing night air, feeling happy in a way that I didn't expect. Knowing that Ian was with me made me happier, more content than I could have imagined.

Ian closed the door to his jeep and came around to where I stood staring out at the night sky. He stepped in front of me, changing my view from clouds to eyes of blue. In a smooth motion, he leaned forward and kissed me, pressing my body against the wet car.

I let out a low moan. His erection throbbed against my lower stomach, reminding me that we had unfinished business to attend to. There was no storm here keeping us apart. We just needed to get inside.

I pushed him away. “People can see,” I hissed, instantly missing the weight of his body against mine.

He shrugged. “No one is looking inside the garage. Besides, I don't want to wait.” He traced my cheek with his finger and then grabbed my arm and spun me so my front pressed up against the hood of his car. His erection pressed against my ass and I hugged the damp hood of his car. “Do you want to know the things I want to do to you right now?”

He accented his words with a thrust of his hips that had me spreading my legs. Screw the neighbors. I wanted him to fuck me right there on the hood of his car.

And that's when the headlights of our parents' car pulled into the driveway. Ian jumped back like I burned him. I stood quickly and did my best to adjust my wet clothing so that it didn't look like I was just getting ready to have dirty, nasty sex on my stepbrother's car.

Jenny's door opened just as the brakes squeaked to a stop and slammed her door. She glared at the car as she stalked past the front of the car and into the front door of the house. Ian looked over at me with a raised eyebrow. She hadn't even noticed we were there, let alone what we were doing.

Dad turned off the car and stepped out. He looked weary and worn in the pale yellow light of the streetlamps.

“Hi, Sam,” Ian greeted him at the same time that I said, “Hi, Dad.”

“Hey kids,” Dad replied quietly. Defeat rested heavy on his shoulders.

“I'm guessing the marriage counseling didn't go so well?” I asked, taking a step out of the garage and toward him.

Dad sighed. “Well, it went great in that we figured out what we want from one another.” He sighed again. “She's going to hate me even more for telling you kids this way, but you two are both adults. We're getting a divorce.”

I pushed past Ian and gave my Dad a much needed hug. “I'm sorry, Daddy. I'm not surprised, but I'm still sorry.”

“I'm sorry to hear it, sir,” Ian agreed behind me. “I'm going to go check on Mom.”

I looked back to catch his eye before he turned to go follow his mother into the house. I still wanted to be pressed up against the hood of his car, but that would have to wait.

“You two are taking this far better than I expected,” Dad said, watching Ian go inside.

“It's actually a relief,” I replied.
If you two divorce, we won't be siblings anymore
, I thought.
We could be together then.
“The two of you have been fighting and unhappy for a while now. I hate seeing you both so miserable and I know Ian feels the same. It's better this way.”

“You're right,” he agreed, but his shoulders slumped a little more. “Still, I wanted to make this one work.”

“I know,” I said, giving him another squeeze. “You look exhausted. Have you eaten? I was just about to make us some late dinner. You want some?”

Dad nodded as I guided him inside and to the kitchen table. Jenny and Ian were sitting in the living room, their heads close together. Jenny's cheeks were just a little too red and her eyes shone in the lamplight. The tension in the house was palpable as she glared at my father from her couch.

“Okay,” I said, trying to shrug off the discomfort surrounding us. “We have that leftover chicken, so I'm thinking Chicken Caesar Salad. How does that sound?”

No one answered. Dad stared out the window and Jenny's lips tightened. Ian shrugged.

“Chicken Caesar it is then,” I said to no one in particular as I opened the fridge and began pulling out ingredients.

“I'll be in my office,” my dad said gruffly. He hurried past me and down the basement stairs to his office.

I laid out the ingredients on the counter as Jenny and Ian whispered to one another on the couch. Ian's whispers were low and comforting while Jenny's came out more like a hiss.

“I need to go lay down,” Jenny finally announced loud enough for me to hear. She went to the bedroom and slammed the door shut behind her. I could hear the lock click even from the kitchen. Ian looked up at me from the couch.

“Well, that was fun,” he remarked.

“Barrels of monkeys, really,” I agreed.

Ian shook his head and stood. He sauntered over to the kitchen and watched me gather materials for our salad. I moved quickly and efficiently. This was a meal that I knew how to make and could make quickly.

“So, in addition to giving great head, you cook too?”

“Shhh, they'll hear.” I glanced around at the empty house and grinned at him. “And yes. I cook.” I picked up a knife and began preparing the chicken. “I almost went to culinary school, but photography was my real calling. I like cooking, but it's more because I like eating.”

Ian laughed, warming the room. With just the two of us, the uneasy tension was gone. “Need any help?”

“You want to help in the kitchen?” I asked. “That's not very manly.”

“What? A man can't be in the kitchen?” He opened his eyes in mock surprise. “I'm told a man who can cook is sexy.”

“As if you need any help in that department,” I retorted. He grinned.

“Besides, I was the best potato peeler in basic training.”

“Isn't potato peeling a punishment?” I asked, handing him a head of lettuce. “There's no potatoes in Caesar salad, unfortunately. Wash and chop, please.”

Ian winked and went to the sink while I finished the chicken and moved on to making the Cesar dressing. We worked together well. It felt comfortable and right to share a space with him.

The kitchen wasn't that big and we kept bumping into one another, or rather, Ian kept finding ways to touch me. First it was wrapping his arms around me while he opened a cabinet to look for the salad spinner, and then grazing my hips with his fingers as he reached for a bowl. His every touch drove me wild.

After several minutes of us playing in the kitchen, I had the meal mixed and prepped in a bowl.

“Dinner!” I called out. No reply from either parent. I had a feeling that they weren't exactly ready to eat with one another and would rather starve than be in the same room.

“I guess it's just you and me,” I said, looking out at the empty house. There was no noise coming from either the bedroom or the office.

“Like it should be,” Ian replied. I looked over at him to see his eyes darken with desire. He took a step toward me and my back pressed against the counter. I wished he would just pick me up and take me right there. I wanted him to fuck my brains out on the kitchen counter.

I grinned at the thought. That would be hot as hell, especially with the parents due to come out at any moment. Judging from the bulge in his pants, Ian was thinking something similar. He leaned over, pressing his strong body against my small one. I loved how I felt small and feminine with him.

I inhaled his scent, taking a big breath as he reached over my head and grabbed two bowls from the cabinet. If anyone had walked out, they would have just thought he was being helpful, but I could feel his desire radiating from every inch of him.

“Want to eat upstairs?” he asked, that wicked half-grin filling his face. “Those two can eat whenever they decide to emerge, but I'm hungry now.”

The way he said “hungry” and “now” had my body trembling with desire. He certainly wasn't talking about food.

“Yes,” I whispered, unable to coax any other words out of my lust-filled brain.

He grinned and handed me a bowl. I quickly loaded it up, wanting to get upstairs and to his room as quickly as possible without alerting attention. Until they were officially separated, we had to keep this a secret.

I
followed him to the back door and around the house to the stairs up to his room. I paused for a moment, thinking of both our parents still inside the house.
There was no way for them to figure this out, right?
I thought, biting my lip.

They'll just assume the sounds are from someone else,
I told myself
. As long as they don't check my room and find me missing, it'll be fine. Even then, I could explain it away...

“You coming?” Ian asked, already at his door. There was so much heat in his voice that I know I couldn't say no, even if I had known for certain we were going to get caught. He was a drug and I was addicted.

I glanced around his room, taking it in again. His ACU's rested on top of his green duffel bag with the tan boots beside it. I tried not to look at it since all it did was remind me that he was leaving in just a few short weeks.

Ian placed his bowl on his desk and looked over at me. I nearly dropped mine I was so ready to jump into his arms, but I managed to set it down as well. I never got the chance to jump into his arms. By the time I lifted my eyes to look at him, he had already crossed the distance between us. His hands were on me immediately. My clothes hadn't fully dried from earlier, and everywhere he touched sent a reminder of my rescue through my mind.

His lips met mine in the kiss that I had desperately ached for since our parents had pulled up and interrupted us earlier. His kisses were hungry, as hungry as he had implied when we had been downstairs preparing food. I tasted the lingering flavor of Caesar salad as he kissed me, making my stomach rumble along with something much deeper inside of me.