Hard: A Military Stepbrother Romance (8 page)

“Yeah,
beyond getting in the way of all those girls’ hopes and dreams downtown, she’s
fine. How’s Tyler’s baseball coming along?”

She
let her gaze linger for just a moment, seeing too much before she let me get
away with changing the subject. Running a hand through her hair, Becky smiled
as she recited Tyler’s exploits with a mother’s pride that I only ribbed her a
little for.

The
conversation became light and easy, but my mind was still stuck on where it had
been before. I kept glancing over towards Ray and Fiona, and even looking at
Becky prompted difficult thoughts, with her family surrounding us and the quiet
fierceness she gave to everyone and everything. It had never been something I
wanted - I hadn’t ever believed in being with anyone for good, long before I
became a SEAL and realized it was completely impossible. Even if I was
interested in the idea, I couldn’t ask that of anyone; to live with the sudden
disappearances; the knowledge I might be killed or captured at any point; the
fact that I would always put my brothers and country first? No girl should have
to deal with that. At least, not anyone worth being with.

Becky’s
obvious pride and satisfaction as she looked around at her newly painted walls
and the warmth of our makeshift gathering put the lie to my thoughts, but that
wasn’t somewhere I wanted to go.

Damn
it. Stupid girl and stupid, fucked up thoughts…

Bella
had been on my mind far too frequently the last few days and it was throwing up
all sorts of crazy ideas, things that didn’t belong to me or who I was at all.
My errant obsession had been cut off way too sharply and now I couldn’t get the
damned thought from my head - seeing my hands on her warm, shapely body every
time I closed my eyes; her chest rising as she cried my name; her eyes sparking
with outrage and lust that combusted together into the hottest night of my
life.

I’d
told myself the replay of that was just a minor curiosity, a mental exercise to
make the cold, dark nights more bearable, but now that the object of my unwavering
interest was right there every day…that constant reminder of the one night I
hadn’t been able to forget was driving me crazy, with the persistent knowledge
that we’d never have a chance to repeat it.

Which
was probably half of the damned problem - one hyped up memory that I was
forbidden from correcting with the usual harsh dose of reality. I’d been
eighteen, naive and impressed by anyone who could say ‘no’ to me for more than
a few moments; hardly criteria on which to judge the best sex of my life. In
fact, it had probably been eclipsed several times over now, without me even
realizing it.

And
you’ll never know…

 That
idea was enough to have me growling with frustration again. It was all wrapped
up in that one, idealized memory. The misguided interest in Becky and Fiona
that had been bothering me all evening was probably just another part of it too
- the foiled desire to finally finish this thing with Bella warping itself into
everything I saw. All I really needed was one hot, steaming night to end the
curiosity I should never have let myself sustain. Hell, it might not even take
a night. One last time with the closest thing my twisted teen years had to a
childhood sweetheart, to show it was nothing special, then I’d be done.

Just
one impossible, forbidden night.

That
thought made me look up abruptly, my mind starting to race while I stared off
at the sun slipping down towards the horizon. The party’s conversation had
slipped away from me as I’d let myself be distracted by things I couldn’t
shake, but now the noise came back with a jolt.

Impossible…forbidden…

It
was a crazy idea, but I’d only ever seen those words as an invitation. The lust
I’d been trying to ignore stirred again and I smiled slowly.

There
was too much left unsaid and undone to give us any semblance of normal
interaction at the moment, and with the ridiculous ideal that had plagued me
for the last three years, it was no wonder I couldn’t put it behind me. But if
we finally got a chance to bring a dose of reality to those lust-filled memories,
then all the hundred-and-one reasons why we never liked each other in the first
place could finally surface again.

Of
course, I couldn’t imagine her ever going for that…

The
vision of her a few nights ago surfaced yet again, as I’d held her in my gaze
while my mouth almost brushed hers. The way she’d looked at me, eyes wide and
heart racing as she waited for the kiss that never came.

I’d
promised myself I wouldn’t hurt her again - but there was no chance of leading
her on now. After leaving her before, there was no way she’d consider
that
again, even if she hadn’t been slated to become my sister…but one night to
forget everything, to release all that pent up tension and finish the fantasies
of youth?
Maybe…

There
was the step-sister thing, of course. But we were adults and it wasn’t like our
parents were married
yet.
Plus, we’d already done it, so what difference
did twice really make? The way I wanted things, this could even be a good thing
for our familial relations…god knew, getting these thoughts out of my mind
would make me a
far
more appropriate ‘brother’…

It
was hard to imagine her agreeing with that argument - she was too stuck up for
that - but I’d seen the way she looked at me. The way she wanted me. Maybe
there was more unfinished business on her side than she wanted to admit.

Either
way, energy raced through me at the idea -
that
was something I could
act on, something I could do to fix my distraction.

Grinning,
I stood up and stretched, reaching over to the other side of the table for
another beer and turning my attention back to the good company I had around me.

Plenty
of time to plan the slow, sweet seduction of one fiery-eyed temptress…

Chapter Seven

Bella

“So I never asked - how did you both meet, anyway?”

I
glanced over at Seth’s question, surprised both that he’d asked it, and that it
hadn’t even occurred to me. He was offering our parents a polite smile while he
wrapped the seafood linguine around his fork as delicately as if he’d been born
to it. I wondered idly where he’d learned that, as I was pretty sure table
manners hadn’t been as big in his childhood as they had been in mine.

My
mind followed that thought to images of what he must have been like as a boy -
a terror for anyone around, I was sure - and I cursed myself for yet another
casual daydream about the sinfully handsome Navy SEAL sitting beside me.  Why
the hell I had to keep schooling myself to stop thinking about him, I wasn’t
sure, but it was making it even more impossible to be around the guy.

Not
that that had been much of an issue, thank god - he didn’t seem to stick around
here during the day, and last night hadn’t even made it home for dinner. Which
should be a relief, since I had no desire to share this place with him over the
summer, but some messed up part of me was just a little disappointed that he
was effectively ignoring me now. Ignoring everyone, for that matter, since he
didn’t offer our parents more than the time of day either, and he rarely
bothered to contribute to the halting dinner conversations.

Not
since that first explosive night.

“Ohh,
it’s a funny story actually.”

Cora
laughed lightly and looked over at my father, who for once seemed a little
uncomfortable. That caught my interest and I glanced up at them both.

“You
know I was temping a while back? Well, I ended up at Terry’s office - his PA
had caught something nasty. Off sick for weeks, she was—”

“You
were his secretary?”

I
couldn’t quite keep the disbelief out of my voice. My
respectable
father
wasn’t the type to chase after his secretary. She might have the looks to turn
any woman green, but still—

“Ohh
it wasn’t like that! He was a proper gentleman, of course, waiting until I’d
left before he said
anything
…”

The
coy smile she sent his way suddenly made my food suddenly lose all appeal, and
I found myself pushing it around the plate as she finished the story. I had
nothing against Cora, and it seemed like my father liked having her around, but
sometimes she reminded me of the schoolgirls I’d grown up with and I had no
idea what to make of that. Or exactly what my father saw in her…beyond the
dazzling smile and delicately perfect features, anyway.

I
cast a quick glance at my father and noted the tight smile on his face, but
when she reached over to grasp his hand he relaxed a little, nodding at us.

“We
got on well those few weeks, and by the time she left, I think we were both
disappointed to lose the company. So I invited her for dinner a few days
later…and that was that.”

A
glance at Seth had me thinking he’d found their
funny story
about as
amusing as I had, his face expressionless as he looked at them both. And then
it was suddenly apparent how we hadn’t gotten around to this question
yet…neither of us really wanted to hear much about it. I gave him some kudos
for the effort though.

His
mother was still looking at us expectantly, but he responded before I’d have to
come up with something appropriate to say - a good thing, considering all I
could think about was my father falling for his secretary. She might have been
a temp, but…

Doesn’t
compare to fucking your stepbrother.

The
familiar self-recrimination had my cheeks heating again, but I was pretty sure
no one noticed - or at least, had no idea what the reason would be. I tried to
push it away by telling myself we hadn’t been anything like step-siblings at
that point, but that argument didn’t hold so well when I was
still
thinking
about it. Bastard.

“I
see…so are you still temping these days?”

His
voice was fairly neutral, but that said more than the contempt I had
half-expected. I shot another quick look at him, surprised at the sudden
interest in our parents’ lives.

“Ohh,
no, of course not, honey. We talked about it, but I have Terry to look after
now - you know how hard he works. He deserves to have someone here to take care
of things.”

That
suddenly made a
little more sense to me - my father had mentioned the support other executives’
wives gave them more than a few times and I’d kind of known something was
missing for him, especially as I’d headed off to university.

I’d
always tried to be helpful, but it wasn’t surprising he wanted something more.
I could see what he liked about having someone to help him fill the empty
house, and tried again to get used to the idea. It didn’t matter that I
couldn’t quite see her as that
maternal influence
he’d mentioned, if he
was happy…it was his life to lead.

And
your life is yours to lead.

That
made me smile again, thinking about the research I would be heading up to after
we finished another of these awkward evenings, and wondering if I had time to
give Kaylee a quick call to talk through some of my ideas.

“Actually,
on that note - Cora will be helping with the annual charity ball, as I’ve been
asked to host it this year. It’s late notice, but I’m sure we can manage -
especially with your support, darling.”

He
gave her a quick smile before turning back to us, but I caught the brief glance
that passed between Seth and his mother. I couldn’t quite read the undertone
there, but the set of Seth’s shoulders and the slight tension I caught from
Cora had me curious. My father continued, oblivious.

“If
you have any ideas, it would be great if you could both get involved too - you
know what these things are like. I haven’t even begun to shortlist the
potential charities, and the event is only in a few weeks.”

I
also knew how tedious my father found organizing events, and how hard it was to
avoid being roped in. I wondered whether Cora really appreciated what she’d
taken on, and a glance at Seth had me thinking our Navy SEAL hero might end up
planning a retreat to base in short order.

“What
do you think, Annabelle? You usually have a good thought or two for the theme
or charity.”

“Navy
SEALs…”

It
slipped out without thinking and I fought to keep from turning bright red.

I
was not just thinking about him. I was not.

“I
mean…what about supporting the vets this year? A military theme…tie that and
the charity together, and it would be…appropriate.”

I
tried somewhat desperately to recover and luckily they were too thrilled with
the idea to notice anything else. Seth, however, was giving me a look there was
no way in hell I was meeting.

“Ohh,
Bella, that’s fantastic - Terry, you simply must agree.”

Even
my father was smiling as he added to Cora’s comment.

“Yes,
well done, child - the optics are perfect, with our engagement and the
introduction of a military man to the household…yes, that would work very
nicely.”

“Seth
- I’m sure you could get some of your guys along, too, right? We could organize
it so we had active members along, provide some nice flavor to the theme and
encourage more donations.”

Seth’s
attention on me wavered as he realized their focus had narrowed onto him. I
couldn’t bring myself to look at him, but I half expected some snarky comment
in response to the way they were talking about him, even if it was for the benefit
of other veterans.

“Yes…there
are a few people I’m sure would be willing to support it.”

His
voice was carefully controlled, but the glance I sneaked at him showed that his
posture had tightened and he’d stopped eating. I felt badly about how my father
was discussing it, but he’d always been like this - it wasn’t that he didn’t
care, he just didn’t often see the point in approaching things sensitively when
he could work through a problem directly. It made him sound a little callous,
but he meant well - and the charity ball always raised a lot of money to
support those in need, which was the important thing. It didn’t help that Cora
seemed just as bad as they started talking about details and working through
ideas for the theme.

Then
Seth turned his head, catching my eye before I could look away. Whatever he
might think of them, his attention honed right back on me again, his gaze
intent as he raised an eyebrow. I flushed again as it took me back to how the
whole idea originated, undermining the casual shrug I gave him in answer. I
turned back to my pasta and groaned inwardly.

That
was definitely a theme I wanted to be involved in right now…

The
conversation degenerated into details for the ball, and neither Seth nor I
volunteered much more as my father and Cora discussed it. I wondered yet again
what he thought of it, and then got annoyed at myself all over again for giving
him the time of day. But tonight he was being pleasant at least, and since we
couldn’t ignore each other forever now, maybe it was better to start getting
used to the idea of having him around. Sometimes, anyway - I imagined he’d be
gone with the Navy most of the time.

The
thought still made me uncomfortable, but if he was going to be my stepbrother…

I
shook my head to get away from it and tried to pay attention to the discussions
about whether this theme should be contemporary or historical, looking forward
to retreating back to my room and immersing myself in another evening looking
for potential work experience places as the meal started coming to an end.

*  *  *

“Want to get away from here, babe?”

I
looked up at Seth’s smooth tone to see his arms resting casually on the fencing
around the pool area, body leaning forward over it so that if he’d been facing
the other direction I’d have a mouth-watering view of his firm ass. Instead, I
had to content myself with how his muscles sculpted the tight t-shirt in a
display of hot, male power. Keys dangled from one of his fingers and he was
slowly twirling them around as he gave me the same regard I was showing him. I
flushed suddenly, almost used to my traitorous thoughts by this point, but
suddenly very aware that only a skimpy bikini protected my sun-kissed skin from
his eyes.

“What?”

I
lay the papers I’d been flipping through down against my stomach as I got my
eyes under control again.

“I
need a break from the endless wedding stuff - you interested?”

“Where
are you going?”

I
was more than a little suspicious at the invitation, but I could certainly
sympathize with wanting to get out of here for a bit. It was a good thing the
house was so big, or I’d be spending all my time avoiding the rooms dedicated
to preparing one part of the wedding or another. It wasn’t exactly the house
I’d pictured coming back to this summer.

“Wherever
you like, baby-Bella.”

My
expression puckered at the nickname but I let my eyes slide back to the
internship I was just reading about, lingering on the address there.

“San
Francisco.”

It
came out almost as a challenge, daring him to put the lie to his words - but if
I was hoping for a reaction all I got was one eyebrow raised over those deep
gray eyes as he just shrugged.

“Sure,
why not?”

My
heart stepped up its rhythm as I suddenly realized volunteering to be trapped
in the car with him for the duration of the 6-hour round trip may not have been
a good idea. His gaze tinged with amusement as he saw my obvious predicament
and reflected that challenge back at me, making me curse myself yet again.

Damn
prick seemed to get the best of me far more easily these days…

I
only considered backing down for a brief moment - in truth, I’d be glad to get
away, and the excuse to visit some of the places I’d been picturing was a
welcome one. I could handle a few hours with my arrogant stepbrother, and
perhaps it would even be a chance to sort a few things out between us.

“I’ll
just go change.”

I
swept up my towel and papers and turned for the house, feeling his eyes
lingering on me with a heat that should have been unwelcome.

“If
you’re sure, baby…but it’s definitely not required.”

Or
maybe not.

I
shot a scowl over my shoulder, but couldn’t help putting just a little more
swing into my hips, tilting my ass at him before I disappeared into the house
and up the stairs to change. It was a terrible idea, but I’d never taken his
provocations without a fight and I couldn’t bring myself to start now. If he
wasn’t going to respect the boundaries that should exist between us…well, no
harm in making him pay for it.

Except
for the hormone-crazed state you end up in afterwards…