Blurred Lines (3 page)

Chapter
Four

Lyric
lay in her bed, the ceiling her focal point for the last twenty minutes, and
the sound of the house settling filling her head. Her heart was beating a
normal rhythm, but whenever she’d think about Landon, about how they’d talked,
how he’d semi-opened up, she couldn’t help but feel this tightness take over
her whole body. Since those few days Landon hadn’t spoken much, not even to
her. She’d seen him coming and going, his workout bag thrown over his shoulder,
his baseball cap on his head, and his focus on his feet. She knew when he
graduated he’d be gone, because he was more of a free spirit.

All
she could think about was how she would miss him, and how strange it was to
feel that way. Over the last three years they’d been virtual strangers. She’d
found him attractive, of course, lethal, as always, but until she’d defused the
situation at school, and they’d gone to the creek to speak, she hadn’t really
seen him. But she had that day, and ever since then she hadn’t been able to
stop thinking about him.

His
silence was tangible, but she’d also seen the way he looked at her, the way he
would cast his glance her way when he didn’t think she was looking. Maybe he’d
felt something, too, after their brief talk? Maybe he realized that they didn’t
have to be so distant? She didn’t want a brother from him—she just wanted to be
able to open up with him and vice versa.

Sitting
up on the bed, she looked at her clock. It was going on midnight, but she
couldn’t fall asleep. The house was silent, her father and stepmom having gone
to bed hours before because they were leaving early in the morning for their
anniversary trip. Maybe a warm shower would help clear her head?

She
grabbed a change of clothes and headed out of her room. But as soon as she
headed down the hall she heard the shower running. A look at her father and
stepmother’s room showed the door closed, but they had their own bathroom
attached to their room, so the only other person in that shower was Landon.

Her
heart started beating hard right then, her palms started to sweat, and she felt
her pussy grow wet.
God, I can’t believe
I have this reaction to just thinking about him.

She
was about to turn and go back to her room, but the sound of the shower turning
off had her freezing. She meant to keep moving, but she thought about Landon
having nothing on.

Closing
her eyes, she clenched her thighs together. Right before she was about to move
again the sound of the door opening behind her had her snapping her eyes open.
Looking over her shoulder, she saw the light was already off and saw steam
billow out of the bathroom. She stood there, knowing she should leave, but
unable to move. And then Landon stepped out, his focus on the towel he was
securing around his waist. Her heart raced at the sight of his body, and the
definition. Her body instantly reacted to everything that made up Landon.

A
light sheen of wetness covered his body, and she even saw droplets slide down
the wide, rippling expanse of his chest. He hadn’t noticed her yet, and all she
could do was stand there and stare. She hadn’t even realized she’d turned and
faced him fully until he lifted his head and their eyes locked.

Her
breathing quickened, her nipples grew hard, and the most intimate part of her
grew so wet with arousal she felt it coating her panties, saturating the
material. He was so fit, so in shape and muscular that every feminine part of
her woke up, like a zap of lightning had made her finally come alive.

They
didn’t speak, and for a second neither moved. But then he came closer, and the
scent of him, all fresh and clean, filled her head. She felt intoxicated from
it, dizzy with lust. He was looking her up and down, and despite the fact she
wore an old tank top, no bra, and a pair of cotton shorts, Lyric felt like she
was wearing the most attractive negligee ever. It was just because of the way
he looked at her, his gaze lingering on her breasts, and stopping at the strip
of flesh that she knew was exposed at her midriff.

She
wasn’t the thinnest girl, not by a long shot. With wide hips, a slightly
rounded belly, and thighs she’d always thought were a little too full, she’d
always considered herself plus size. But it was clear, by the way Landon looked
at her, that he liked every part of her.

“Lyric,
what are you doing?” he said in a deep, slightly husky voice.

The
smell of him, darkly rich and intoxicating, washed over her, and she found
herself closing her eyes, not even able to answer him. She should ask what he
was doing, as well, because as it was she felt like he was eye-fucking her.

When
she was able to open her eyes again, she realized this small noise left her, as
if a hum of approval, or a moan of arousal. She felt her cheeks heat at the
embarrassing sound that just came from her.

“What
are you doing?” she asked in return, her voice soft, so soft she didn’t even
know if he heard her. He was so big, so tall, and so intense, that she couldn’t
even think straight. His masculinity and testosterone surrounded her, and she
felt wholly feminine in his presence, fragile almost. Dirty thoughts, filthy
even, slammed into her head and she felt her mouth go dry, her throat tighten.

Landon
didn’t respond to her question, didn’t even move. But his gaze was at
half-mast, and she could feel the desire coming from him. At that moment she
wanted to be kissed by him so, badly, damn what anyone thought, and screw it if
it was considered wrong. The arousal she felt was like a thunderstorm inside of
her, not about to be tamed or diminished. It was like nothing she’d ever felt
before.

Don’t go there. Just walk back to
your room. If this goes any further you could ruin what small and fragile
connection you made with him at the creek.

Finding
strength she didn’t know she possessed, she took a step back, but to her utter
surprise Landon moved a step forward. When she took another step back, her
heart beating a rapid rhythm, her breath coming in short pants, she knew that
this arousal wasn’t one way. The wall right beside her bedroom door stopped her
retreat. She knew what she wanted to do with him was wrong on so many levels,
but she also didn’t care.

Landon
was close enough that she felt his warm, minty smelling breath skate across her
face. He had a few days worth of stubble covering his square jaw, and her
fingers twitched to touch his cheeks, to feel that abrasive texture on her
hands.

“Landon,”
she whispered his name and watched as he closed his eyes.

But
then he clenched his jaw, the muscles flexing under the skin, and turned from
her. He went into his room and shut the door, but before he’d done that she’d
seen the huge erection he’d been sporting, tenting the material of his towel.

God, he wants me, too.

****

Landon
shut his bedroom door and leaned against it, his cock throbbing. He felt like a
fucking pervert for the things he thought about Lyric, for the fact he wanted
her so damn badly. Their parents had been just a few feet down the hall in
their bedroom, and that should have had his arousal colder than fucking ice.
But no, his dick was so hard it ached, and his balls were drawn up tight. He
reached down and palmed himself, closing his eyes and groaning at the feel.

He
was an even bigger fucker for what he was about to do, and that was jerk off
while thinking about Lyric. He couldn’t help it, needed to release this
pressure in him, and he knew if he didn’t the tension in his whole body would
be too much.

Pushing
away from the door he went to his bed, lay down on it, and stared at the
ceiling for a second. And then he tore his towel away and grabbed his cock. He
thought about Lyric in nothing but a pair of white panties, her pussy visible
through the transparent material. She’d be braless, her big tits swaying
slightly, her nipples hard. He held in his groan at the visual he was creating.
Starting to really stroke himself, Landon kept his eyes closed and pictured
what he’d do to Lyric, how he’d lay her on his bed, spread her thighs, and
smooth his hands down her inner legs. He’d touch her pussy, stroke her clit,
and make her come for him. She’d be begging for more by the time she got off,
and he’d give her so much she couldn’t even think straight let alone walk.

His
throat tightened as pleasure moved through his body, starting at the base of
his spine and encompassing every inch of him. He stroked his cock faster,
applying more pressure, and knew he’d come before he really even started.
Fuck, I want her.

Chest
rising and falling hard, breathing coming in short bursts, and the pleasure
coming on stronger, he knew he couldn’t hold off from coming. His abdomen
clenched, his muscle tensed, and his jaw went tight as his orgasm rushed to the
surface. The hot jets of his cum sprayed along his chest as he let go, and all
the while he thought about Lyric, about how he wanted to make her his, have his
cock deep in her pussy.

When
he was finally able to breathe normally, he opened his eyes and continued to
stare at the ceiling. After a prolonged moment he sat up, looked down at the
mess he’d made, and felt self-disgust fill him. He’d just jerked off thinking
about his stepsister and all the fucking dirty things he wanted to do to her.

Scrubbing
a hand over his face, he knew this was messed-up, that being with her would
cross a line. He wasn’t one to follow the rules, never had been, but this was
different, so fucking different he knew he could seriously screw everything up.

That
wasn’t something Landon thought he could do, not even to appease the selfish
bastard inside of him.

Chapter
Five

Lyric
didn’t know why she’d decided to come with Marie to the party. She didn’t even
like half of the people here because they were part of the jock and “popular”
clique, which meant they were assholes a lot of the time.

“Come
on, lighten up,” Marie said from beside her, her voice raised as the music was
loud.

“I’m
relaxed, just not understanding why you wanted to come here so bad.” She looked
over at her friend, but Marie was too busy scanning the crowd.

“You
think Ryker will be here?” Marie asked, not looking at Lyric.

Ryker,
one of Devon’s friends, wasn’t so much of an asshole as the group of guys he
hung out with.

“Is
that why you wanted to come tonight?” Lyric asked, and Marie stopped and looked
at her.

“No,”
Marie said, but her cheeks turned red. “I mean we’ve been talking, not in front
of his friends or anything, but in Study Hall we’ve been talking.” Marie was
stuttering now, and Lyric couldn’t help but laugh. “Come on, let’s get a beer.
Maybe that will help us relax.”

Lyric
didn’t even know whose house this was, but it didn’t matter, because she felt
like she didn’t fit in, especially when a few of the uptight bitches from her
school, all gathered in their clique, stared her down.

“Don’t
worry about them. They’re just jealous.”

Lyric
looked at Marie. “Jealous of what? I’m fat compared to them, and my popularity
status is next to zero.”

“You
don’t see the guys constantly staring at you?” Marie asked, shock in her voice.
“You have curves, girl, and that’s what guys like. You think they want to fuck
a skeleton?”

Lyric
nearly choked at what Marie just said. “They might be staring, but it isn’t
because they want me.” Lyric turned and started looking around the room again.
People were shoulder to shoulder in the living room, and Marie grabbed Lyric’s
hand and they pushed their way into the kitchen. The smell of beer, sweat, and
dirty sex permeated the air.

“Over
there,” Marie yelled over her shoulder and pointed to the keg that was set up
in the corner of the kitchen. She pulled Lyric more quickly through the crowd.
Some guy was standing by the keg filling up red plastic cups, his glazed look
and red-rimmed eyes telling her he was trashed.

“I’ll
get us some.” Marie let go of her hand, and Lyric watched her go up to the keg.

“This
is the last place I’d ever think to see you, Lyric.”

The
sound of Devon’s slurred voice, and the stench of alcohol coming from him, had
Lyric clenching her hands at her sides. She didn’t respond, but before she
could move away he had his hand wrapped around her wrist.

“Hey,
where do you think you’re going?”

“Leave
me alone. You’re drunk and even more annoying.”

She
shrugged off of his hold, and fortunately,
he
didn’t pursue her further. Marie walked up to her with two beers in hand, and
Lyric gratefully took one.

“I
saw Devon talking to you. Was he being a cunt again?”

Lyric
could have spit her beer out for how amusing she found that, but she managed to
keep the mouthful down. “When isn’t he being one?”

Marie
grinned. They headed to the living room in search of a place to sit. Once they were
seated, a girl that Marie was friends with came up and started talking with
her, and Lyric was left there people watching. But it wasn’t like they could
speak comfortably anyway, not with the noise surrounding them. As Lyric sat
there, drinking the bitter beer, her skin tingled, the hair on her arms stood,
and she knew something had changed in the air.

She
looked in the other direction and didn’t see anything or anyone that would have
caused her to feel this way, but she knew something was different in the air.
And that’s when she saw him, pushing through the throng of people, his face
downcast and a baseball cap on his head. But she’d recognize that body anyway.
She’d been living under the same roof as it for the last few years.

Lyric
took another drink of her beer and watched as her stepbrother walked into the
kitchen. Ever since they’d left school together and spent those few hours not
even doing much talking, just sitting there and letting the silence stretch
between them, she felt like she knew more about him. He was quiet but strong,
elusive but forthcoming when he needed to be. He was gorgeous and powerful,
dangerous and could be violent, but something inside of her said what he did
was who he was, and nothing would change that.

He
wasn’t damaged, wasn’t troubled. He was just a guy that did things his way, and
didn’t care what anyone thought, even if that meant he was reckless.

“Is
that Landon?” Marie asked from beside her.

All
Lyric could do was nod and continue to look in the direction of the kitchen,
even though he’d long disappeared in the group of people.
 

****

As
soon as Landon had come through the front door he’d seen Lyric sitting on the
couch with her friend.

What in the fuck is she doing here?
What in the hell are
you
doing here?

It
was true, he had no clue why he’d even come. He didn’t talk to any of these
people at school, didn’t care about them or want to be their friend. The truth
was when he’d been invited to come by Yezebel, one of the girls who seemed to
have nothing better to do in school than be a bitch, he’d thought, “fuck her.”
But then he’d gone home, gotten “talked to” by his mom and Brent because of a
shitty grade he’d got, and he’d decided getting black out drunk and passing out
seemed like a pretty good idea.

So,
he’d come here, not really knowing anyone, and not caring about anything other
than where the liquor was. Or that had been his plan until he’d seen Lyric and
gotten pissed she was here. He knew she didn’t hang out with any of these
assholes, and she was one of those people he didn’t think even partied, or at
least he’d never seen her.

He
looked into the living room, pushing someone out of his way so he could see
her. Something in his gut tightened at the sight of her. She’d taken him away
from a potential fight, one that he’d been happy to start and finish, and just
sat with him. He didn’t know why that had gotten through to him so much, made
him feel like he wasn’t alone in that moment despite the fact they hardly spoke
to each other. But she’d sat with him, just inches from where he’d been, and
let the stillness and silence surround them.

It
had been pretty fucking incredible.

He
grabbed one of the beers and moved to the corner in the kitchen, aware people
were staring at him, but not caring either. He kept his focus on Lyric, taking
in the long fall of her light brown hair. She wasn’t like the skinny bitches
that surrounded them. He took a swig from his bottle and let his gaze travel
down her body. She was sitting so he couldn’t get a prime shot, but he knew
what she looked like well enough, and he liked it, every fucking inch of her.

Even
now he could still picture her face as she’d looked him up and down when they’d
run into each other in the hallway. Him dripping wet with nothing but a towel
slung over his waist, and her with wide eyes and her lips parted. God, she’d
looked really good standing there, her shirt gaping slightly at the collar.
He’d been able to see the very tops of her breasts as she started breathing
harder, and dammit did he get hard for her.

He
was a dirty bastard, especially since he’d had to go jerk off after that,
thinking about Lyric in some pretty filthy ways. Landon drank the rest of his
beer and went over to the keg. If he was going to get drunk, he needed to get
working on that and not keep thinking about his stepsister.

But
this was definitely not a place for her to be, not because he thought she
wasn’t good enough, or popular enough to be here, but because she was better
than this. These people were bastards, and the only reason he was even here was
because he wanted to get wasted on the free booze that was provided. Despite
the fact they didn’t really have any kind of relationship, no connection aside
from the fact their folks were married, Landon did feel protective of her.

He
finished off the cup of beer, knowing he’d need a lot more than this to feel a
good buzz. He grabbed a third beer and started making his way toward her, about
to tell her she should leave.

Why should she leave? You’re here,
and you’re not her father. She can do whatever the fuck she wants.

His
inner thoughts had him stopping. He wasn’t her old man, wasn’t her anything. He
had no right to tell her where she should be and what she should be doing. If
she wanted to be here and get just as trashed as everyone else, fuck it.
Let her get wasted and make bad decisions
like you do every damn day.
She was a big girl, was eighteen and an adult,
and could make her own decisions.

He
turned from her and headed out the backdoor, about to light up a joint to help
relax him further, and, he hoped, put anything that had to do with Lyric out of
his head.

Once
outside he smelled the scent of pot and cigarettes in the air, but he moved
over to the side, right by the kitchen window, and got out his own joint. He
was a solitary guy by nature, and even if he’d shown up here he really didn’t
want to socialize. Several people on the patio glanced his way, even leaned in
and started whispering. He didn’t give a fuck, and even flipped off a
douche-bag that kept glaring his way.

Fuck
them all.

Anything
he felt for Lyric had been pushed to the side, because honestly he shouldn’t
and wouldn’t go there. A part of him thought it was wrong to even want her. She
might not be blood related, might have no connection to him aside from a
marriage between their parents, but damn, wasn’t that crossing a line wanting
her in a really fucking dirty way?

He
placed the joint between his lips and lit the end with his lighter. He inhaled
deeply, kept the smoke in his lungs, and turned to look through the window.
From this vantage point he could see her sitting on the couch still. She seemed
lonely, her friend speaking with someone else. While watching her he exhaled
the smoke and took another hit off the joint.

Damn she’s hot, and her timid
demeanor makes her even more desirable.

But
wanting Lyric couldn’t end well, not even if he’d had the balls to go after
her. He wasn’t good for anyone, least of all her. She was the one that got good
grades, was sweet and gentle. He was a bastard, got into shit, and made his
mother disappointed in him. No, he’d push away all those asshole thoughts about
wanting her. If he needed pussy that bad there were plenty of girls willing to
spread. He could just get rid of his desires in them, use them the same way
they used him. Yeah, he was a fucking bastard.