Teacher's Pet Complete Series (27 page)

I could see the grin forming across Dane’s face again. “Okay, brother, I know what this animosity is really all about, and I’m sure we can work through it and put this behind us. I mean, you aren’t even seeing Lynn anymore, right? So she isn’t worth it for you to put her above blood. We are brothers, after all. No one should get between that.”

I scoffed. “What kind of brother stalks another brother, steals his brother’s girlfriend and doesn’t even tell him he exists?”

“Excuse me.” Lynn waved her hand in the air. “Can you guys not talk about me like I’m not here? It’s rude.”

“Whoa, whoa, buddy.” Dane continued glancing at Lynn but not stopping to hear her out. “You’re taking all this way too personally. First of all, your mom and our dad didn’t want you to know about me, and I wasn’t about to disobey him. I mean, no one does, and you know that. I wanted to get to know you. It’s just that… Lynn got me sidetracked, and I’ll admit it was wrong. But you know how she is, right? You of all people should understand how irresistible she can be.”

He winked at her. “I couldn’t help myself. It became a game I had to win. I’m competitive like that. It had nothing to do with harming you or hurting your feelings. I thought she’d be better off anyway. I mean, look at me. I’m the better-looking brother, and unlike you I love to spoil women, shower them with gifts and whatnot.” Dane stuck out his chest, his arms spread wide like he owned the place.

It disgusted me.

He may have been my half-brother and he may have worked with my father, but as far as I was concerned he was my enemy. How could Lynn have betrayed me for him? He was an asshole and would never give her what she truly needed. She’d find that out soon enough.

I felt a tingle at first, and before I knew it a surprisingly wide smile revealed itself from a cold, dark place and took a spot right below my nose. I started laughing, loud and uncontrollably. This guy was a joke, but he was right about one thing. It was over between Lynn and I for sure. Why be upset about something that made no sense and happened months ago? I should be over it by now.

I stood up with Katelyn beside me, although she wasn’t the happiest with me. I walked up to Dane and held my hand out, still fighting to stop myself from laughing. He looked unsure and a little confused, but he held out his hand and I shook it. Then I held on to his hand so he couldn’t pull it back, and my smile quickly faded into a sneer. “I just wanted you to know before you get confused. If you push me, I’ll show you why you shouldn’t. I am my father’s son, after all.” I turned to look at Lynn. “And you.” My eyes were narrowed and steeled as I caught her sheepishly looking away. “I never want to talk to you or see you again.” I walked out the room without looking back. I heard Lynn calling my name, but she no longer mattered to me. I just wanted to get on my bike and go. Katelyn could follow me home.

It was the way he looked at me that caused the pain in my heart. The cold, uncaring stare that seemed to melt away from him when he’d looked at me not too long ago in class. Simon was back to his old form. His way of not giving a damn who he hurt or how he did it was rearing its ugly head. It didn't help that Katelyn was with him.

As they both walked away, she turned to drive a nail in my coffin. “Thanks for keeping Simon warm for me after all this time. He’s ripe and ready now, nice and delicious.” She licked her fingertips. “Mmm, and he tastes so damn good!” She walked out with long, measured strides. That bitch! Who in the hell did she think she was?

I glanced at Dane out the corner of my eye as he stood looking stunned and somewhat amused. Did anything shake this guy? If it did, he hid it well, like he hid most other things—which let me know there was a chance I could trust him with secrets, but not much else.

“You know?” Dane leaned against the entryway wall, watching Simon as he walked away. “I think he really meant what he said.”

“I’m certain he meant it.” My heart sank at the realization. Once you’ve really cared about someone, whether you were on speaking terms or not, in the back of your mind you’ll always wish it worked out. It’s a natural thing, and I felt it in my soul. As deep as it could possibly be.

“Would you think less of me if I said the look that he gave me made me a little nervous?”

“Nope, not at all.” I shifted my weight. “It made me a little nervous too.”

Dane snatched me by the hand. He didn’t ask me any questions or tell me where we were going. He just pulled. I lurched forward maybe harder than he expected, because I had a hard time catching my footing. He spun around just as I was falling and caught me in his arms as I sank to his chest. I’m clumsy, I know it, so sue me.

“I’ve got you.” I was feeling embarrassed, but more grateful than anything. Face-planting never looked cute. “I’m always going to have you.”

Heat prickled in my cheeks. “Thank you.” My chest heaved from excitement married to a small bit of fear. Where was he taking me and would we get in trouble? I found myself looking around for Caroline.

“You’re welcome. Now come on, I want to show you something.”

We walked to the back of the house, double-timing our steps. I felt like Dane forgot I had heels on; he was pulling me much too fast. He was excited, I could tell. Like a cute little boy on Christmas morning anxious to open his presents.

“Where are you taking me?”

“Shh, it’s a secret… well, not a secret exactly, but you’ll see.”

He pushed through double doors in the back of the house. They were white, with glass panes small like paperback books, and old-fashioned fixtures for door handles. The doors swung out into the back yard. It was a gloriously green, small-scaled park of botanical amazement and wonder. Dane looked back over his shoulder and smiled. Yes, I was impressed and I confirmed it by smiling back. I’d never seen anything like it before.

They had a Greek water fountain, and a nude goddess statue with a vase in her hand pouring water in the base. It was the size of a large Jacuzzi and filled with colorful koi eating mosquitoes on the surface.

Dane touched my chin with his fingertips and gently steered my head toward the left. There was a hedge maze before us, straight out of Alice in Wonderland. It was round instead of square like most, and meticulously manicured, with high hedge walls growing as tall as Dane stood. We could probably get lost behind it, without even trying, which was exactly what Dane had in mind.

When he pulled me into the entrance, we went left and then right. We made other turns, but I’d lost count a short way back. Deeper into the maze we went. The further we explored, the colder it seemed to get. Perhaps it was my nerves, as my body began to shudder and my nipples crested hard and ridged, brushing against my dress.

The material was too thin to hide it. I crossed my arm over my chest and rubbed the material with my fingers. The touch alone sent a flutter to my loins, slight and ever so delightful.

This was the wrong time to be left alone with Dane, freshly dumped by Simon, horny and desperate, nothing left to lose except my sanity. Dane stopped in what had to be the center of the maze. There were two marble benches shaped in a curve and facing each other, in perfect uniform with the hedges. It was a lovely place to gaze, like a garden within a forest. Where the winged little fairies would play and sprinkle their dust on the flowers to bloom.

There were several long stems of white baby’s-breath planted closer to the hedges, with light blue forget-me-nots, other bright red flowers with spots I couldn’t begin to name and beautiful tiger lilies I wanted to pick and bring home.

Dane crept up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist. I let him because, well, it was cold and I needed the warmth. Plus he smelled delicious. The closer he got, the more I inhaled. The cologne he wore was intoxicating.

He pointed toward the sky, and as my eyes felt the need to follow, I marveled at the clear night sky, the sparkle of the infinite number of stars, the sight of an opaque half-moon and the small wisp of clouds floating by it. For the first time tonight I felt relaxed. In the embrace of Dane’s arms I found comfort and security, and felt the powerful thump of his heart on my back.

“I know I haven’t handled things with you very well,” Dane whispered in my ear as he held me from behind. “Talking to you behind my brother’s back, deceiving you, tricking you into showing up at places under the disguise of something else. The truth is I’ve never felt this strongly for a woman before, so in a way my brother and I have that in common. The only difference is I’m willing to do something about it. The difference… the difference is… I think I might be falling in love with you, Lynn.”

Dane had to be drunk and feeling the moment, even though I hadn’t seen him take a swallow or a sip. But it had to be something making him say this. “Dane—”

He crossed a finger against my lips. His arm snaked around my neck, muscular and secure. I felt warmth of his cheek as it pressed against mine. He nestled in the curve of my neck. “What I’m trying to say, Lynn, is I have a deep affection for you. When I’m around you it makes me nervous and excited at the same time. I’m actually nervous just standing here. I’m too close to you to contain it.”

I let out a shuddered breath. “Dane, you’re drunk.”

“I’m not. I’m as sober as the day I was born, and I mean every word of what I’ve said to you. This isn’t the easiest thing to express. I’m not an emotional person.” Dane fiddled with his hands, wringing them like he was trying to keep them from sweating. “I’m stepping out on a ledge here. You could turn your head in disgust for all I know, and it’s a possibility that you will, but without risk there’s no reward and I think you’re well worth the risk.”

I opened my mouth and closed it. I wanted to speak to him truthfully, tell him I didn’t feel the same way. But not yet. I was flattered by what he was saying, but his words couldn’t possibly be true. I didn’t get a chance, however. The moment my lips parted to try and speak the words, Dane turned me around and pressed his lips on to mine, kissing me like he was going off to war.

To my surprise, I fell right in. Not that I wasn’t attracted to him, it was just I knew I shouldn’t be doing it. But why shouldn’t I? Really? I was a single woman now. And he was an eligible man. Of that there was no confusion and no debate. Simon had moved on, and in essence so should I, but my heart was just… I don’t know… telling me something.

Dane pulled me in by my waist. I arched my back, relenting to the will of his desire, coming closer to him until we both shared a breath; sweet and tainted with liquor, bitter and acidic, with taste of smoked grain, yet still it was nice. I was comforted. In his arms I rested my weight. Dane’s wet, serpentine tongue was pleasantly exploring the entirety of my mouth; it slipped past my lips and coiled around my own in a heated mating dance of carnal pleasure.

He traced along my jaw line with his fingertips, down the length of my neck and down the center of my back. I heard the zipper of my dress being pulled as I allowed the whole of my senses to thoroughly focus on the feel of his touch, the smell of his skin and the sound of his slow, calming breath. My dress started to fall off my arms. I tensed when I realized what that meant and what would happen. Then I consciously took a cleansing breath and willed myself to relax.

Dane pulled his head back to look into my eyes. A grin stretched up the side of his face. Dane bent down and kissed my inner shoulder outward, down along my arm. I felt him tug at my dress, a slow and steady pull as it fell completely off my body, slid past my legs and dropped around my ankles in a heap. My breasts fell free, bountiful, naked and brazen. My fully aroused nipples felt the nip of the air and stiffened to the point of sexual agony.

Dane’s kisses reached my wrist, then the back of my hand; his lips traveled along my fingers, then he took them in his mouth and sucked them one by one. Right then I felt my flower moisten; silken, sensual liquid began to sodden in abundance.

Dane removed his suit coat and stretched it across the grass. He then scooped me up in the crook of his arms, laid me down on it and slipped his hips between my legs. I reached up toward his chest, anxiously undoing his shirt one button at a time, while Dane pulled a condom out of his pocket.

The glossy, golden package glistened in the moonlight as Dane ripped it open with the side of his teeth then impatiently pulled at his shirt. It slid off his shoulders, over his arms, and he tossed it in the bushes. Next he removed his pants and also tossed them to the side; his body was on full display for my pleasure.

Dane laid his body over me, covered me with his skin, propped up on his elbows in a plank of pure strength. His chest hovered over my breasts, almost touching my nipples; they were eager and perky, ready for his mouth to surround them. I could feel his hard shaft between my legs. His cock was so close and teasing to my opening, lying between my folds like it was meant to be there. I needed him to move forward. I needed him to take me like he needed me, hard and fast. With pure, unadulterated, animalistic hunger.

Heat spread out in my cheeks. I felt frozen with anxiety—not the nervous kind; the feeling was more like impatience. I was yearning for his touch; my passage was pulsing with want and need. My common sense screamed to push him away, but the rapture had me embraced. I couldn’t stop what was happening; Dane’s kisses were filled with passion, of slow romance and fragility ever so gentle.

I wrapped my arms around his neck. Dane turned me over and I straddled his waist; my face now hovered over his. I could feel his breath on me, feel the pounding of his heart against mine, feel his desires, his want for me, his surrender to the will of his emotions.

My center dripped wet over his shaft, painting it in my excitement. I was enticed, hot and impatient, wanting him to slide himself in me with force so I could stretch myself to accept his girth, no matter the pain or pleasure. That was all it would have taken for him to have me. That was all it would’ve taken for him to win me outright; that was all it would’ve taken for me to make my mind up then and there who I wanted to be with.