I TURNED at the sound of the Mercedes pulling into the driveway. The engine died before the thud of the driver’s door carried inside the house. Goddamn bastard. I clenched my fists, waiting for the front door to open before my father walked through, his head hanging low.
He stopped just inside and lifted his gaze to mine before a pained expression cut across his face. “Don’t, okay, just…don’t.”
“Don’t?” I cut across the foyer, standing in front of the man I called father. “That’s all you’ve got to say?”
“I’m sorry.” He shook his head.
“You’re fucking sorry?” I closed the distance, grabbed him by the filthy shirt, and glared into his eyes. How I’d ever seen this man as powerful was beyond me.
He wasn’t powerful in this moment…he was a scared little boy. I took in the exhaustion in his gaze, then the filthy shirt fisted in my grip. “How about you tell Ryth that?”
“Tell Ryth what?” Caleb asked, stepping down the stairs behind me.
My older brother shot me a glance, one filled with panic, before he turned to dad.
“Tell her he’s sorry for almost fucking killing her in the car this morning,” I clarified, easing my brother’s conscience. “Drove like a goddamn maniac and left her fucking terrified.”
“What the fuck for?” Caleb moved to stand at my side. “And why the hell is there blood splatter on your damn shirt?”
Dad raked his hand through his graying hair and shook his head. “Nothing.”
“What the fuck aren’t you telling us?” Caleb took a step closer, bending to meet his gaze.
Lawyer versus lawyer. I knew who I’d put my money on.
“What the fuck did you do, dad?” Caleb searched his face.
But our father wasn’t about to be cornered, not by his own sons. Anger flared deep. “Get the fuck out of my goddamn face, Caleb…and you—” he shot a glare my way. “Stay out of my goddamn business.”
But his business was our business…especially now, where Ryth was concerned.
“What the fuck are you still doing here, Caleb?” Venom etched dad’s words. He was a viper in that moment. One already bitten and hurting, ready to strike. “Don’t you have a home to go to?”
“You want to talk about home?” That darkness rose in Caleb’s eyes. “Or would you rather us just ignore the fact you brought a strange woman and her daughter home before the dirt had settled over our mother’s coffin? What kind of fucking home do you think that is?”
Heat flared in dad’s eyes “It’s none of your concern.”
“It is when you terrorize a young girl, one who’s about to be our stepsister.” Caleb never budged. When I looked at him, all I saw was mom.
Dad’s shoulders slumped, the fire that’d been there a second ago snuffed out in an instant. “It was a mistake, okay?”
“One you won’t repeat,” I added. “I drive her to school and I pick her up. Me, or one of the others.”
Surprise filled him and he scowled, then glanced at Caleb, who just met his stare with stony silence.
“Fine,” dad muttered. “Whatever you want. I need a damn shower and some fucking sleep.”
He headed for the stairs. I swore I saw him pause for a second as though there was something he wanted to say. But then he was gone, with the heavy thud of steps.
“What the fuck was that about?” Caleb muttered softly.
I shook my head as my phone beeped.
Ryth…
I grabbed my cell, opening the messages.
Natalie: Open the door, Nick. I want to see you.
“Shit.” I winced as the sound of her damn Nissan pulling into the driveway.
Caleb scowled at the sound, then shook his head. “That’s all yours, brother.”
He left me…the sonofabitch left as the engine outside died. I frowned, my pulse speeding as Ryth roared to life inside my head. “Fuck.” I strode to the door as the thud of a car door sounded.
Her shadow passed across the window as I opened the door. “What are you doing here?”
She forced a sad smile, stepping closer to the door. “Baby.”
She reached for me, but for once I pulled away, shaking my head. “Don’t.”
Her cheeks flushed as she glanced behind me. “You not even going to let me in?”
Why? I wanted to ask. But that familiar ache of sadness wrapped around my heart when I looked at her. I didn’t love her, that was easy to understand. I felt…sorry for her.
“Come on, Nicky.” She stepped closer. “Do you hate me that much?”
God, I wanted to be a cold bastard like Tobias was…just once, I wanted to stand in the doorway and tell her to fucking leave.
“Wow,” she wrapped her arms around her middle. “So you do hate me.”
“I don’t…I don’t hate you,” I muttered. “Why are you here?”
The flush in her cheeks deepened. “My earrings. I left them here…I need them back.”
Shit.
“Where, I’ll go get them.”
She shook her head and moved even closer, pressing her hand to the center of my chest. “Don’t be silly. I’ll only be a second, Nicky. You can come with me.”
It was a bad idea, a real bad idea. Each step she took felt like betrayal as Natalie pushed past and stepped inside. I had no choice but to follow her up the stairs and into my room. She turned the moment she was inside, her eyes raking my body. “I missed you, baby.” She stepped forward, reaching out to me.
Her hands were warm and familiar. “Don’t.” But I didn’t move, didn’t push her away, even though I wanted to.
“Didn’t you miss me?” she murmured, moving to press her breasts against me.
In my head, all I saw was my sister, her tiny breasts, smooth and perfect under my hand. “No, I didn’t, Natalie,” I said as I looked into her eyes.
The savage flinch almost made me feel like a bastard. She stepped back, glancing around the room. “Sure, okay. That fucking hurt.” She turned away and lowered her head, fighting back tears I knew were a lie.
Because she was a liar and, as much as I hated it, Tobias had been right all along. She was a traitorous bitch, sleeping around behind my back, making me feel somehow like I wasn’t good enough.
She made a move to kneel on the floor, peering under the bed, searching.
I clenched my jaw and forced the words through clenched teeth. “I thought you knew where they were?”
“I do,” she sniffled, bending low to reach deeper into the shadows.
“Natalie,” I started, watching as she dropped her head, her body shaking as she wept. “Fuck.” I stepped closer and knelt beside her. “Move, tell me what they look like,” I commanded, peering under the bed.
“They look like earrings,” she muttered, turning to me.
She was close, too close.
Closer than what I wanted. Her hands were on me in an instant, her body pressing against mine, pushing me backward until my ass hit the floor. I lifted my hands to push her away, but she captured my wrists, pushing me down until I lay on the floor.
She lifted her leg, straddling me in an instant, reaching for my damn zipper. “I missed you so much, Nick. I can’t…can’t stop crying, can’t stop wanting you.”
“Natalie, no,” I snarled, pushing against her.
Until she kissed me and her scent invaded, soft and familiar. Christ, how many nights had I inhaled that scent, until I she was my air…my world, and my long, endless nights. The button of my jeans gave way and the slow slide of her hand parted my zipper. Something shifted from my pocket, my damn phone falling to the floor with a thud.
“I want you, Nicky,” she moaned. “I want you.”
“Stop!” I barked, grasping her hand as it closed around my cock, and tore free from her grip. “I said stop!”
I pushed her off me, but not as hard as I wanted to. Still, she fell sideways on her ass, staring up at me as I pushed to a stand. Her tears still fell, thick and fast. Shit, maybe she was hurting.
I shoved my hand through my hair. I didn’t want that…didn’t want her in pain.
But I didn’t want her either.
Ryth burned in my memory, what we had with our little stepsister. As wrong as it was, it was what I wanted. Every day…every night. I wanted her.
Natalie pushed up from the floor as I pulled up my zipper and buttoned my jeans.
“You fucking hurt me, Nick,” she blubbered, and sniffled, wiping clear snot on the back of her hand. “You hurt me bad.”
Jesus. I turned, searching the nightstand for the damn box of tissues.
“Who is she?”
I froze with the question.
“I know you’re fucking someone else,” she moaned. “I want to know who she is.”
I turned on her, pissed off. “That’s fucking rich. You screw half my fucking friends behind my back and now you come here questioning me? We’re not even together anymore.”
“We are.” She just stood there, practically stomping her foot. “We are together.”
I let out a bark of laughter and shook my head. This was so her…the fucking psycho bitch. “We’re not.” I forced the point. “I broke up with you, remember?”
She lunged, grabbed the glass from the nightstand, and smashed it against the edge with a scream. The damn thing shattered with a crack, splintering into shards that fell to the floor. Blood flowed, slipping down to course over the meat of her palm. “Who is she, Nick? Tell me…”
“Fuck, Natalie!” I roared, charging forward to grab her wrist. “Stop this…I said, stop!”
Her hand trembled, and she dropped the last shard of glass. She looked at me, so goddamn lost, tears still shimmering in her gaze. “Who, Nick? Tell me, I need to know.”
My lips curled and, enraged, I roared. “I just lost my goddamn mom, for fuck’s sake!”
She flinched at my anger. I’d never been like this with her before, never pushed so close to the edge, even after all the things she’d done. But now…now, when she stood there with her lying, demanding eyes, she drove me to clench my grip. Pain carved through her gaze. She flinched as I turned her hand and looked at the gash in the middle of her palm.
Blood dripped to my floor. “Jesus fucking Christ.” I threw her hand down in disgust.
My anger cooled far too quickly. When I looked at her again, I wondered how I’d ever thought I was in love. This wasn’t love, this was pity. “I just lost my mom. I’ve hardly been out of the goddamn house. You can ask the guys, if you’re so fucking convinced I’m seeing someone else, tell me…how on earth could I find the time?”
The lie hurt going down.
Still, I swallowed, but instead of the bitter burn, I tasted my stepsister’s pussy, salty and sweet. Fucking intoxicating. Christ, I wanted more.
“Nick…I’m sorry,” she pleaded.
I took a step away, disgust rolling through me as I glanced at the floor.
“I’m so sorry,” she wept, her body racked with sobs again. She looked like a goddamn mess when she gazed up at me. “I’m so sorry I made a mess of this. I made a mess of it all.”
I just shook my head. “No, Natalie…no.”
She nodded hard as still more tears fell. “I did. I fucked it all up.”
I winced, hating how quick the disgust came. “Let me get you a damn towel,” I muttered, staring at her bloody hand. “Just…just don’t move around and bleed on anything else.’
I strode from my bedroom and hurried along the hall. My stomach tightened the moment I opened the bathroom door, barging in as Tobias stood under the shower.
“What the fuck’s going on?” he muttered, tilting his head back.
“Nothing,” I snapped, grabbing a towel, and stilled.
I gripped the vanity, staring at myself in the misted reflection. It wasn’t just Natalie. Wasn’t just my father. Wasn’t just these fucking lies I told them and my own damn self. I was unraveling on the inside, hating how fast panic rushed to the surface when it came to Ryth.
I was scared when it came to her.
So fucking scared.
I didn’t want to lose her.
“Nick?” Tobias called from the shower.
I shook my head, staring at my reflection. The lies were for myself…
I closed my eyes and all I saw was that goddamn birthmark on her cheek, and that vulnerable fucking stare. Christ, she was like a flower blooming for the first time. The shower switched off behind me and my brother stepped out. The weight of his hand on my shoulder forced me to open my eyes.
I lifted my gaze to his.
He knew.
He fucking knew.
Those cold, dark eyes glinted in the mirror. We were fucking falling for her. That kid who’d invaded our fucking life with her downcast eyes and quiet, barely controlled existence. She wasn’t the aftershock of our pain…she was the catalyst.
The one who’d changed everything.
I looked down at the towel in my hand, suddenly remembering Natalie bleeding on my damn floor. “Shit,” I snarled, and strode away, leaving Tobias standing there, butt-fucking-naked.
“Here.” I shoved open the door and stepped back inside my room.
But Natalie wasn’t standing where I’d left her moments ago. She was kneeling, her head lowered and her shoulders curled. I glanced at my phone, not far from her. I grabbed it and shoved it into my pocket before pressing the towel against her hand.
“Your father’s getting married,” she said quietly. There was something a little unhinged in her gaze when she looked at me. Pain flickered, carving deeper than the gash on her hand. “That’s what you told me, right? That your father’s getting married. Tell me…who was she again?”
I flinched, looking down at her hand. “Elle Castlemaine.”
“Elle…” she repeated, her voice empty. “So, you’ll have a whole new family, a new sister, too…”
I didn’t like this. “Press it against the cut, Nat.”
She didn’t move. “I want to come,” she declared.
“What?” I leaned closer, pressing the damn towel to her hand, then turned to survey the mess on the floor behind me.
“I…want to come. I think I deserved that, don’t you? After all, I’ve been part of your family for the last five years.”
It was four…but I wasn’t about to argue.
“Invite me, Nick,” she demanded.
“Fine,” I snapped, panicking inside. If I brought her to the wedding, at least it’d look like everything was back to normal. I’d end it after, whatever this was—I looked into her eyes—I’d tell her to leave me the fuck alone. “If you want to come to the damn wedding, then come.”
She nodded, pressed the towel to her hand, and rose from the floor. “Thank you.”
Then she walked out like nothing had happened, leaving the damn broken glass behind. I stared at the mess, listening to her footsteps thudding on the stairs.
The front door opened, then closed with a bang. I strode to the window and watched her climb back into her car. But she didn’t start the engine, not for ages…until finally the faint growl of the Nissan came and she left.
“What the fuck was that about?” Tobias inquired from the doorway.
“Hell if I know,” I answered, glancing behind me to where she’d sat on the floor.
I grabbed my phone out, unlocked it, and looked at the video…
The video of my soon-to-be sister.
