Hard Fought (A Stepbrother Warriors Novel) (7 page)

Chapter Twelve

I pull off my jeans and pull on a pair of cotton pajama
pants. Jeans at a Thanksgiving meal are never a good choice, and it turns out
that Anne is an excellent cook so I ate even more than I thought was possible.
I also fervently wish that I hadn't decided to give up alcohol, because having
to spend that much time pretending that everything is swell would have been
much easier with a few glasses of wine in me.

Not that everything was bad. I like Anne, and Bree, too,
though she's still rather shy around me. Every now and then she'll say
something with an undertone of mischievousness that makes me think there's more
to her than meets the eye.

I hear a yell and a splash and freeze for a moment in the
middle of my room, then hurry over to the window. The floodlights on the back
of the house illuminate two figures in the pool, but they're moving around and
I can't figure out who they are. I dash across my room and fly down the steps,
then sprint over the grass as the two men surface and I finally recognize them.
The security men run out from the house just as I dive into the pool. The cold
shocks me for a moment, but I kick hard even as my clothing pulls me back.

I surface behind Carter and jump on his back, flinging my
arms around his neck. "It's Jack!" I yell in his ear. "My
brother!" He stops mid-lunge and over his shoulder, I see Jack shaking the
water from his eyes to see who just tackled him. "Hi, Jack," I say,
arms still around Carter. It's too deep for me to stand here anyway.

"Lex," he replies grimly, clearly none too pleased
by the situation. "And who the hell is this?" he asks, nodding at
Carter.

"This is our new step-brother," I say with a
cheery smile.

"Oh, wonderful," Jack replies sarcastically.

"Sorry," Carter says, clearing his throat. "I
thought you were an intruder."

I let myself slide off of his back and swim over to Jack to
give him a hug. "You OK?" I ask, examining him for bruises. He and
Carter look like physical matches for each other, but Carter had the element of
surprise. Jack is lucky he tackled him into the pool instead of the hard tiles
surrounding it. "What are you doing here so late anyway?"

"I just wanted...wanted to see everyone," he
explains.

"What's going on?" I glance up to the side of the
pool to see the entire household lined up. I look over to Bree, who asked the
question.
"From what I can gather, Carter tackled Jack into the pool because he
thought he was coming to kill me, or you, or maybe all of us," I say as
Jack and I walk into the shallows and up the steps onto dry land.

"That's quite an introduction," Bree says, looking
from her brother to Jack, her mouth twitching as though she's holding back a
laugh.

"Not funny," Jack grumbles, narrowing his eyes at
her. She shrugs with a giggle, and the household begins to disperse. He sighs.
"I need a beer. Lex, talk tomorrow?"

I nod and the two of them walk into the kitchen together. I
smile, glad to see they've become friends, and happy to see my older brother
again. I turn back to the boat house, feeling suddenly chilly in my soaking wet
clothes.

"Alexa!" I hear Carter call after me, followed by
splashing sounds. His feet slap against the stones behind me as I punch in the
code for the boat house. He catches the door before it closes and follows me up
the stairs.

"Go away!" I call after him as I stomp into my
room.

"Alexa. Would you rather have me or your father's
security goons following you?"

"Security goons."

"Liar. You know I'm better than them."

"Don't care."

"Well, I do. You need to accept the fact that I'm going
to be watching after you."

"Fine," I reply, and pull my soaking wet top off
and toss it through the open bathroom door and onto the tile.

"What are you doing?" he asks with a frown.

"Just going about my life," I reply, pulling off
my pajama pants and throwing them after my top. I stand in front of him in my
underwear, which is practically see-through now that it's wet. "With you
watching
."

"Obviously we need to establish some boundaries,"
he replies. I stare at him, my head cocked slightly to the side.

"Obviously," I say. "First off, don't tackle
any of my family members."

"I acted on instinct," he growls. "If I had
stopped to—Alexa!" he breaks off as I reach behind me and unsnap my bra,
dropping it to the floor.

"Feel free to leave at any time," I murmur.

He clears his throat. "If I had stopped to question
whether—" I hook my fingers around my panties and push them to the ground,
stepping cleanly out of them.

He stares at me for a moment, his eyes consuming my naked
body, and then strides across the floor, his arms wrapping around me and
pulling me tightly against him.

"This is a terrible idea," he grunts, one hand
grasping my hair as the other slides across my ass.

"Don't think I'm not still pissed at you," I
mutter back, taking the hem of his shirt and pulling it over his head as he
momentarily drops his arms.

"Wouldn't dream of it," he breathes, his lips
inches from mine. My body temperature spikes as he covers my mouth with his.
I've never wanted someone more.

He grabs my ass cheeks with both hands, pulling me against
his hips. His erection presses into me, and I remember his massive size with a
shiver. Our tongues dance together and he begins to walk me back toward the
bed. Just before we reach it, I take his hips in my hand and turn him around,
then hook my foot behind his ankle and pull, tripping him backward onto the
bed. I fall on top of him, grinding against his cock as I press my mouth
against his.

He groans, and I slide down, kissing his neck and then
biting down hard on the muscle next to his throat. I continue on, wanting to
taste every inch of him. I feel his coarse chest hair against my lips and nose,
and then move to the side, sucking his right nipple into my mouth. I kiss and
lick down the middle of his abs, guided by the line in between them straight
over his belly button and down to his happy trail. I unbutton and unzip his
jeans and then take them and his boxers in my fingers and lift them up and over
his cock and then all the way down to the floor, leaving them in a wet mess on
the ground.

I bounce right back up, spreading my palms over his hips and
biting the inside of his thigh. His hips begin to rise off the bed, his cock
searching for my mouth, but I take my time, licking my way between his thick
thighs. Finally, I use my tongue to guide one of his balls into my mouth,
sucking on it as I gently roll it around my mouth. I watch his hands fist in my
duvet cover as he attempts to restrain himself. I pull my mouth back and then
slowly lick up from the base of his cock all the way to the tip, flicking my
tongue back and forth across the sensitive ridge on its underside. I do it
again and again until I hear him moaning, then I wrap my lips around my teeth
and take him into my mouth.

I hear him take a sharp breath of air as his cock slides
against my tongue and then hits the back of my mouth. I wrap one hand around
the rest of his length, and then begin to bob my head up and down, never
letting up on the pressure from my lips and fingers. With my other hand, I take
his balls and massage them, then begin to swirl my lips back and forth as I
also move up and down.

"Oh, fuck, Alexa..." he groans, and I see his neck
and jaw muscles are straining against release. Suddenly, I pull back, releasing
my mouth and hands. His eyes fly open, but I've already grabbed a condom from
my bedside table and am ripping it open with my teeth. I quickly guide it onto
his cock as he watches me with hungry, half-lidded eyes.

I climb onto the bed, straddling him with my knees far apart
to accommodate his size. He reaches forward and slides his middle finger across
my wet clit. I gasp, aching to feel him inside me. I can't wait. I sink down on
top of him, my eyes watering with need as I feel his cock stretch my opening
and press inside me.

He moves his thumb to my clit and circles it against me as I
inch to his base. Once I'm there, I circle my hips around and tilt my head
back, trying to get used to the feeling of such a huge dick inside me. When I
think I have a handle on the overwhelming sensation, I rise back up on my knees
until just his tip is inside me, and then sink down again. He never lets up on
my clit, and I feel an orgasm building quickly inside me. I move faster up and
down, arching my lower back so he hits me right against my g-spot.

Suddenly I feel his hands around my waist. I open my eyes
and look down at him just as he lifts me off him and tosses me face down on the
bed next to him. Before I can adjust myself, he's on top of me, his legs
pinning mine close together and his right hand working its way through my hair.
I feel him gather it in his hand and then pull my strands tight, effectively
pinning me in one spot with my back arched slightly toward him.

I'm breathing hard and am completely lost in anticipation.
He doesn't keep me waiting long. I feel his dick slide down my ass and then
press slowly into my slit, now especially tight with his legs holding mine
together. He thrusts inside me. I lie absolutely still. It's all I can do with
the position he has me in. I wouldn't normally consider myself a submissive
person, but submitting to him in this moment feels so fucking right.

I cry out as his cock hits deep inside me. He doesn't waste
any time, immediately picking up his rhythm and thrusting inside me faster and
faster. I feel my body begin to unspool around him, as though, if he weren't
holding me in one place I might explode. I feel his breath hot and heavy
against my ear, and for some reason, that undoes me.

An orgasm rips through me from the base of my pelvis through
every pore in my body. I shake under him as he pounds himself into release on
top of me, sweaty and powerful. After a few finishing strokes, he stills,
resting his entire body weight on me. I breathe in his smoky scent and enjoy
the feeling of our sweat mingling together.

Abruptly, he pulls out of me and stands up. I raise myself
on my elbows and look over my shoulder as a cool wave of air blows over my
damp, naked body. He's staring at me with a look of I-don't-know-what... Again,
I find him disturbingly impossible to read. I meet his gaze for a moment before
he grabs his pants from the ground and pulls them on.

Just as I'm about to open my mouth to speak, he holds up a
hand to stop me. "This can never happen again," he states flatly, and
walks quickly out the door.

Chapter Thirteen

I stare straight ahead as Carter and I sit next to each
other in the waiting room of the physical therapist's office. My leg bounces up
and down on the floor. I notice and stop, but it starts up again of its own
accord. I've never been so attracted to and so furious with someone in my life.
Stubborn, sexy, Carter. Frustrating, controlling, hot as hell, Carter. And now
we're practically glued to each other's sides thanks to my father's dictates.

I felt so stupid and vulnerable after he walked out on me
the other night. True, I'm not sure what came over me in the first place to
seduce him like that, but damn, it felt good. He can't deny that. Or can he?
Maybe what is the best sex of my life is only fair to middling for him. I just
can't help this pull I feel toward him, even now. I have to fix my gaze on the
empty chair across from us to avoid ravishing him with my eyes.

"Carter Driscoll?" a young woman's voice calls
out. I glance up to see a pretty redhead with a smattering of freckles across
her adorably upturned nose. She glances at Carter and blushes, then looks
confused and disappointed as she spots me.

"Yup," Carter answers, standing up. I follow him
over.

"I'm Petra Ogilvy. I'll be helping you with your
physical therapy," she introduces herself.

"I'm Lex. Future step-sister slash assistant," I
say, thrusting my hand toward her.

"Oh, great!" she says, her countenance
brightening. "Well, come on back." She escorts us into a big, open
room with workout stations scattered throughout it. At each one, physical
therapists are taking clients through their paces. She guides us to a pair of
medicine balls and a workout bench. She and I take the balls, and Carter sits
on the bench. "So, I have a set of exercises planned out that I can teach
you today and you can work on at home with your sister's help." Neither of
us bother to correct her. "But I just wanted to get a sense of how your
leg is doing now. You just got the cast off two days ago, right?"

"Yeah. It feels sort of weak, like now and then it
wants to buckle. Aches, sometimes."

"Have you been doing any physical activity?"

I quickly slap my hand over my mouth to hide my smile.
"Some cardio," Carter states, his eyes darting warningly at me.
"And some swimming."

"OK. You just might want to be careful to ramp up your
activity gradually, so you don't stress the muscles and wind up tearing
something. But why don't we get started?" She leads us over to a blue mat
on the floor in a corner by the windows. "Carter, could you just roll your
sweatpants up on your right leg over your knee?" He bends over and does
so, revealing the red skin underneath. "Your doctor has given you a
topical ointment I assume?"

"Yeah," Carter replies, succinct as ever.

"Let's start with some stretching," she says.
"Why don't you lay down on your back here?" she says waving her arm
to the mat. She kneels as he lies down and picks up his right foot. "So,
Lex, I'm going to place his foot on my right shoulder here, and then keeping
his knee straight, I'm going to press forward," she says. Carter winces
slightly as she pushes against his leg, making it less than halfway toward his
chest. I feel an uncomfortable burning sensation in my chest as I watch her
pressed up against him. My eyes search Carter's face, but his gaze is fixed
firmly on the ceiling. "Why don't you try on the left side?"

She moves away and I take up the same position, picking up
Carter's left foot and placing it on my shoulder. I press forward, and his hip
rotates easily. His hamstring muscles in this leg are much more flexible than
those in his right. I continue to lean forward, finding myself bending over his
chest until my eyes find his. I can see a beads of sweat forming along his
brow, and he carefully sucks in a measured breath.

"Now, it's important to be able to feel his limits. You
don't want to push him too far," Petra warns me.

"Oh, don't worry. He can take it," I reply lightly
as I stare back at Carter. His mouth twitches, and I finally release him,
moving slowly back and then laying his leg on the mat.

"Good," Petra says, though she sounds a bit
unsure. "I think you've chosen a good helper here, Carter. I don't think
she'll let you get away with anything."

"That sounds like an accurate assessment," Carter
replies drily.

"OK, some more stretching, and then we'll move on to
exercises," Petra says, clapping her hands together.

By the end of the afternoon, Carter has worked up quite a
sweat. I make notes on the sheets of exercises complete with pictures that
Petra has supplied, and fold them carefully inside the bag filled with exercise
bags that she sends us home with. I might be royally pissed at Carter, but that
doesn’t mean I'm going to be responsible for him having a permanent limp.

Carter drives us home, and I leave the garage and head for
the boat house without a word. If I'm not physically torturing him, then I really
have no desire to interact with him right now. I glance around my room, and
with a sigh, pick up a folder from the top drawer of my desk. I've been putting
it off for too long. I grab my sunglasses and cell phone and walk back down the
steps toward the pool. At least I'll let my feet dangle in the water while I
take care of some unpleasant business.

I stop short as I see Carter standing five feet from my
door, waiting impassively. "What are you doing?" I grumble.

"Providing security."

"I'm at home!"

"If you could supply me with your schedule, that would
be helpful."

"I don't have a schedule!" I snap at him, waiting
for him to leave. But he just keeps on staring at me with that infuriatingly
calm expression. "I'm going to sit by the pool and make some phone calls,
OK?" I say with an exasperated sigh, and step around him toward the patio.

"Sounds great," he says, and follows me.

"I'd like some privacy," I snap over my shoulder.

"Got it."

I walk around the pool so I can get a view of the water and
kick off my shoes. I glare at him as he pulls up a chair at a nearby table.
Maybe I should just go back inside, but I don't want to give him the
satisfaction of changing my behavior. I should just keep living my life and
ignore him completely.

I lower my bare feet into the pool, open the folder, and lay
it on the tiles next to me, running my fingers over the Duke emblem on the
upper left corner of the papers. A bit self-consciously, I type the phone
number into my cell, wondering if Carter is close enough to overhear my
conversation.

Twenty-five minutes later, I hang up. Tears of frustration
and embarrassment spring to my eyes and I wipe them off before they have a
chance to make their way down my cheeks. Why did I leave college when I did? I
have so much time to make up, and the administrator at Duke that I spoke to
couldn't tell me for sure how many of my credits would transfer to other
institutions.

I just can't see myself going back there. It holds too many
memories, and at this point I think it would only feel like a step backward in
time. I want to start anew somewhere else, but not if it means repeating a
whole semester's worth of work. I'm so stupid. What did I ever see in James
Mulholland, sculptor extraordinaire, that was worth throwing away my entire future?
Every instinct I have, I should always do the opposite.

I stand up and kick the water droplets off my feet.

"Where are you going?" Carter asks as I walk
around the edge of the pool.

"Nowhere. Absolutely nowhere."