Cocked: A Stepbrother Romance (37 page)

“This doesn’t mean he knows where this house is.”

“Yes, it does.”

He looked away. “Yeah, it probably does.”

“How does he know?”

“Your father is pretty famous in this city. It was only a matter of time.”

He stood up and I could see the tension in his muscles.

“Where are you going?”

“I’m going to sweep the block real fast.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I’m going outside to see if he’s lurking around anywhere nearby. I doubt he’s that stupid, but I need to do something.”

“Colin—“

He clenched his jaw and interrupted me. “Wait. I need to tell you something.”

“What’s going on?”

There was a short pause. I could tell he was struggling with something.

“Your dad is adopting me.”

I furrowed my brow, not really in the headspace to be able to understand that.

“But you’re an adult?”

“I know. It’s for the job. If I’m his son, then certain things will be easier.”

“When?” It began to dawn on me what he was saying.

“The paperwork is in my room. All I have to do is sign.”

“Why didn’t you tell me before?” I could feel myself getting pissed.

“Before what?”

“Before you fucking kissed me.”

“I’ve been trying to.”

I paused. “So you’re going to really be my stepbrother?”

He nodded. “Looks that way.”

The absurdity of the day washed over me, and that was the last straw. I couldn’t stop the laughter as it bubbled up out of me. I probably looked insane as I lay back on the comforter and laughed loudly, practically kicking my legs like a little kid. Colin looked at me uncertainly.

“Are you okay? Are you having some kind of breakdown?”

“I’m fucking great! I just kissed my stepbrother!”

He smiled uncertainly. “We’re not related yet.”

“Basically, we are! Oh my god, how messed up is this situation?”

He nodded. “Pretty fucked.”

And as soon as it came, the laughter left me. I looked up at the ceiling and sighed.

“When can you get me a new phone?”

“Tomorrow morning.”

“Okay. Thanks.”

“Bren—“

“You should have told me earlier.” I looked at him. “I guess now we’re both liars.”

His expression didn’t change. “I’ll check outside.”

“My knight in shining armor.”

He frowned, stared at me for half a second, and left.

I watched him go, wondering how in the world I had gotten myself stuck between a psycho that I hated and a future stepbrother that I wanted more than anything.

T
hree days and she hadn't said a word. Not that I expected her to be chatty and act like nothing was weird between us, but I also didn’t expect her to go in full-on lockdown. No matter what I said to her, no matter what buttons I tried to push, she didn’t respond. Just a stony stare and silence. I would have preferred an angry and sarcastic remark to nothing.

But at least she was following orders and hadn’t left the house. If she wanted to be stubborn, then fine, she could be stubborn. She didn’t have to talk to me, but she did have to stay safe. Even if it was going to piss her off more, I’d make sure of that.

Three days. I’d gone on a few runs out into the wider world and left Bren in the hands of some of O’Brian’s trusted goons once or twice, but I couldn’t find Fabrizio. It was like the guy didn’t exist. There just weren’t any leads out there. Not a single one of my contacts in the underworld had seen him, let alone heard of him, and the Italians weren’t having much luck, either. As far as I knew, he hadn’t come around the house, or at least O’Brian’s expensive security system hadn’t picked him up on any of the cameras. I made sure to walk the perimeter a few times a day just to be safe, but I didn’t spot a thing.

Still, he was out there, somewhere, lurking and lying in wait. He wanted Brenna, thought she was his property. Fortunately, she didn’t have to deal with his insane texts ever since I got her a new phone, but still. The guy was obviously a psychopath, pure and simple. You’d have to be, if you were going to openly mess with the leader of the Irish Mob’s daughter. The guy must have had an actual death wish.

I stretched my legs and looked out over the buildings. I had really gotten used to living in O’Brian’s stately manse, especially getting to sit out on the roof deck. I had my own, but it wasn’t quite as nice. It was pretty early, and I sipped my coffee, going over in my mind Fabrizio’s possible hiding places for the thousandth time.

Concentrating was tough, though, when all I could think about was that kiss. It was exactly like the first time; electricity had run up and down my spine and it took all of my willpower, every single ounce of it, not to tear off her clothes and lick her soaked pussy top to bottom. I knew I wouldn’t be able to control myself a second time. I wanted her and I was ready to get what I wanted.

Then again, maybe it was better that she wasn’t talking to me. I wasn’t interested in talking with her, either. There was only one thing I wanted, and wanted badly. But maybe it was better if she let me concentrate on catching Fabrizio instead of concentrating on her sweating body riding my hard dick.

As I imagined ripping her tight jeans off her perfect hips, I heard the door open, and I looked up. Bren stood there staring at me. I gave her a grin, inwardly hoping she wouldn’t notice my hard dick pushing up against the fabric of my pants. It was almost like she had a sixth sense for when I was daydreaming about fucking her.

“Nice surprise seeing you here,” I said to her.

She shrugged. “I’m bored.”

I cocked an eyebrow. “You’re talking to me now?”

“I guess I’m really bored.”

She walked out and sat down with a huff. She was wearing tight black yoga pants that accentuated her perfect round ass and a loose navy blue hoodie. I was willing to bet she wasn’t wearing a stitch underneath it. I wanted to lift her arms above her head and slowly pull it off her, watch her nice tits slip out from the cotton, and her thick hair spill out all around her shoulders.

“I have an idea of what we can do,” I said, grinning.

“I’m sure you do,” she said, looking away.

“Come on, sis, don’t be that way.”

She looked surprised. “Don’t call me that.”

“Why not, sis? We’ll be related pretty soon.”

“Even if you sign those papers, you’ll never be my brother.”

I laughed. “Don’t be so ashamed of me.”

She rolled her eyes. “More like mortified to be anywhere near you.”

“I think that’s a lie.”

“All you Mob guys are the same. So cocky and sure of yourselves.”

“I bet you’re an expert on that, now.”

She gave me a look and was about to say something, but paused instead and stared at me with that sexy-and-pissed look she sometimes got.

“You’re taking me out somewhere,” she said finally.

I raised an eyebrow. “Am I now? Where are we going?”

“I don’t care, Colin. I’m going stir crazy.”

“You know it’s dangerous.”

“It can’t be that dangerous with my knight in shining armor around.”

I smiled at the nickname. She may have been pissed, but she couldn’t have been that pissed if she was going to joke around. Even if she was being as sarcastic as humanly possible.

“What’s in it for me?”

“I’m talking to you, isn’t that enough?”

I shook my head. “Not at all.”

She sighed. “What do you want?”

I grinned and sat back, considering. She must have been pretty desperate to write me a blank check like that. I’d have to be careful, though. If I said what I actually wanted, she’d probably storm off and I’d have to deal with the silent treatment for a few days more, or at least until Fabrizio was caught and shipped back to New York. Still, I wasn’t going to let a good chance pass me by. I knew exactly what I wanted in that moment, running my eyes up and down her body.

“Okay. If I take you somewhere, you have to wear those yoga pants whenever you’re here at the house.”

She blushed and looked down. “What, why?”

“Because your body looks fantastic. No more sweatpants. I want to see the outline of your perfect ass all day, every day.”

I loved how red she turned. I couldn’t imagine she didn’t know what she looked like in them, but maybe she wasn’t used to hearing it.

I thought she was about to chew me out, but instead she took a deep breath and let it out.

“Fine, is that all?” she said.

“That’s all, for now at least.”

“What do you mean, for now?”

I shrugged. “You might want to stay out later, or get ice cream, or do something I don’t agree with. I reserve the right to negotiate for further wardrobe rules.”

Her red cheeks got even darker, if that was possible. “Fine, whatever.”

“Okay, where do you want to go?”

She looked at me and grinned.

––––––––

“W
e could go anywhere in the city, absolutely anywhere, and this is where you pick?”

I wrinkled my nose and looked out the back door. The smell of cat was thick in the air, plus a weird mixture of old people and old books. The store was completely silent and empty, and shelves with books were practically overflowing in all directions. There were only two upsides to her choice. The first was that the small space meant we were forced to be close to each other, and I took every opportunity to move as slowly as possible out of her way. The second was that she decided to keep those sexy fucking yoga pants on, even though the deal was just for O’Brian’s house.

Which meant that I was fighting a hard-on all afternoon. I guess it could have been worse.

“I like this place,” she said. “I used to come here a lot when I was a kid.”

“Doesn’t surprise me.”

She gave me a look. “Yeah, and you were too cool for reading?”

“Not too cool, just too busy.”

“I’m sure. Can you even read?”

I shrugged and picked up a book.
The Singularity is Near
by some guy named Ray Kurzweil. Looked like typical pretentious garbage, exactly the kind of thing that would be in an old rundown secondhand bookstore like the one she had dragged me to.

“The ... Singular ... Name?” I pretended to read the title, emphasizing the words.

“Very funny.”

She pressed herself to the side of me and slipped by. Her hips brushed across my crotch, pushing against my half-hard dick, though she didn’t seem to notice, or at least she didn’t mind. I followed her up a narrow staircase and out into a second floor.

“Great, there’s more,” I mumbled.

She ignored me and began to browse a low wall. I leaned against the doorframe and watched her, savoring every motion she made. It was practically erotic the way she looked in those pants. I could see the outline of her ass every time she bent over to pick something out.

“Anything exciting?” I asked.

She glanced back at me. “Plenty of stuff.”

“I was being sarcastic.”

“No kidding.”

Before I could think of an incredibly intelligent and hilarious response, something brushed up against my leg. I looked down stared as a gray and white fluffy cat began to rub its body against my shin.

“Bren,” I said.

She looked over. “What? Is everything okay?”

“There’s an animal.”

She looked down at the disgusting creature and laughed. “That’s Billy, the owner’s cat. He lives here.”

“Why is it touching me?”

She laughed. “Relax, it’s just a cat.”

“I’m relaxed. I’m very relaxed. But cats are not ‘just cats,’ they’re disgusting killing machines.”

“Oh yeah, Billy is a killing machine all right.”

“And they smell horrible. I’m going to have to wash these pants. Maybe burn them.”

She laughed again and walked over, crouching down. Billy walked over to her and began to thread his way through her legs, rubbing his body up against her while she gently stroked his back.

“See, he’s friendly. No need to be afraid.”

“Not afraid. Just repulsed.”

I hated cats. Despised them. I really wasn’t afraid of it, but I had always been allergic to them. There was genuinely nothing good about a cat.

She grinned and shook her head. “I should have known you’d hate cats.”

“You should hate them too.”

“I think they’re adorable. Isn’t that right, Billy?”

“Don’t encourage it.”

She stood back up and Billy the Stinky Cat scampered off down the stairs, presumably to spread his stench to other customers.

“Well,” I said, “that explains the cat smell all over this place.”

“Oh come off it. As if you smell any better.”

She stood a few feet away from me and crossed her arms, grinning.

“I smell great. Like a man should.” I stepped closer to her, smiling.

“I’m not sure I agree with that.”

“I’m willing to bet I can change your mind.”

I stood closer to her, inches away, and could practically feel her breath. She didn’t move, just like I knew she wouldn’t. She was too stubborn to let me win at anything. But that was part of the fun: I wanted to make her give in, especially when I knew she wanted to. I was willing to take our little game of chicken pretty far.

“How would you do that?” she asked.

“I’d love to pull those sexy pants down around your ankles, bend you over, and slip my tongue along your soaked pussy.”

She blinked. “Colin ....”

“We can do it right here, if you want. I can make you come on my tongue while you try not to make too much noise.”

“What makes you think it’d be so easy?”

“I’ve seen how you look at me. I know you’d grip my hair as hard as you could while I tongued that sweet pussy.”

“You’re not funny.” She looked away, a blush on her cheeks again.

“I’m not kidding. Say the word and I’ll taste you right here.”

My cock was straining against my pants and I knew that if I moved even a centimeter she’d feel the tip brush up against her. I kept still for the time being.

“I don’t think that’s what stepsiblings are supposed to do.”

“Fuck what we’re supposed to do.”

Something shifted between us over the course of the joke, and I could see her heavy breathing. The tension was thick and weighed a ton and I was waiting for her to break down. I needed her to melt into my mouth, to let me taste every inch of her body, and I didn’t care if that happened right there in the old used bookstore. I was starving for her soaked spot.