Step Wilde: A Stepbrother Romance (4 page)

I laughed and turned to face her, leaning on the mop handle. "Oh that? He learned everything from me. Every single skill, every single tactic, anything having to do with women? I taught Josh."

Olivia smiled and looked down absentmindedly at her fingernails. She flicked her hair over her shoulder. "I think number two on your list should be excessive humility."

I laughed and went back to mopping. "This exercise was supposed to be about reasons why you should fall in love with
me
, not more reasons as to why
I
should fall in love with
you
." I stole a glance back at Olivia, who I was happy to see was blushing again.

"What does that mean?" she asked, creasing her forehead.

I moved the mop closer to her, squeaking arcs of cleaning fluid toward the foot that was still on the ground. I leaned over so my mouth was next to her ear. "Sarcasm is a huge turn on for me." I saw her breathing slow down and heard her swallow. Hard. I pulled away and saw that the blush had turned into a four-alarm fire on her pale skin.

She cleared her throat and stood up. Then she flipped the chairs over onto the table. "Okay, I'll accept that answer. Or, I'll take it under consideration. I can't know for sure until I see the rest of the list." She walked up next to me, standing on her tiptoes to whisper in my ear. The smell of her sent goosebumps down my body. "But I'd have to see the rest of the list."

I closed my eyes and inhaled her scent. Then I felt her arms slide down my back. My breathing quickened and I felt my pants get tighter again. Before I could pull away, her hand was on my ass.

"Oh, fuck no!" I yelled, jumping back from her and pulling the piece of paper out of her hand that she'd managed to grab while distracting me. I smiled and held the paper high above my head while she jumped to get it. "I said not now. Later. Later.”

Olivia sighed. "Alright, cleaning boy. Get back to work, then."

I grabbed her arm as she turned to walk away. She spun around and looked at me with something like hope in her eyes. "I will tell you this. I am absolutely an entitled, over privileged, how did you put it earlier? Oh I remember. ‘Cocksure asshole,’” I said. "But at least I can own up to it. That should get me more points shouldn't it? I have hung around enough men who are entitled and spoiled and cocky and overconfident to know that most of them cannot admit it. I feel like that could be reason number three. I am honest about who I am."

Olivia looked up at me and pulled her arm away. "You were only honest after I called you out on it. So you get zero points," she replied. There was a flash of joy over her face that made me think she was enjoying fucking with me
.

Two can play at that game
, I thought.

"Are you sure you can't think of anything else?" Olivia asked me. "Other than what's on your mysterious piece of paper, that is.”

"I can, actually," I said good-naturedly. "If I can't convince you to fall in love with me off of what I already told you," I said, moving back to mopping the floor, "Then I will come up with reasons why you should at least fuck me.”

I controlled my stare so I didn’t look at her right away; I wanted to wait for her reaction. The bright lights hanging from the ceiling blasted a reflection on the wet streaks I was leaving on the floor. I blinked my eyes and couldn't wait anymore. I looked up at Olivia.

"There's no need for you to give me a list of reasons I should fuck you," she said, shrugging.

I was taken aback by her response. "Why not?"

"I think you gave me all the reasons I needed the second you walked through that door." I dropped the broom handle onto the floor with a loud clatter. Olivia laughed at me as I hurried to pick it back up off the floor. “Smooth, Wilder,” she said.

"One night," I said after managing to collect myself. "And I swear you won't need a written list of reasons why you should fall in love with me."

She surprised me by reaching out and putting her hand on my arm. "Then I suggest you finish mopping quickly," she whispered.

Never in the history of mankind had a floor been mopped so quickly. Minutes later, the floors were shining and the lights were off. When Olivia finished locking up the dark shop, she turned to me. "Where are we going to go?"

My dick had never been so anxious to get going before. Part of me was afraid we were going to have to fuck in an alleyway. I wasn't sure I could make it back to campus. "Do you have a roommate?" I asked her, hoping the answer was no.

Olivia nodded. "And we made an agreement at the beginning of our freshman year that we would never bring boys back to the dorm when both of us were there."

I let out a low whistle. "Then you must really be anticipating sex if you haven’t had any in four years," I said.

"Now what makes you say that?" she retorted with a Cheshire cat grin on her mouth. "The guys that I have been with have all had their own apartments."

My face fell slightly as those words hit me.

"Oh I'm sorry," Olivia said sarcastically with a smile. "Does living in a dorm hurt your manhood?”

I shook my head and wrapped my arm around her shoulders. Her skin was warm beneath mine. I couldn't wait to feel more of it. "See? I told you that I was in love with you." We started walking back toward campus.

"So where are we going?" she asked me. "And it better not be a blanket on the quad.”

"I would go back to my dorm, but I'd feel like even more of an asshole if I made Josh wait out in the hallway after all he did for me tonight," I explained. "Don’t worry, Liv. I know just the place."

CHAPTER FOUR

OLIVIA

I felt like I was inhabiting another human being's body as I floated across campus with Nick Wilder's arm around me. Lorna had told me to be spontaneous.

I was only completing the assignment.

My whole body felt like it was filled with live wires. I kept pushing myself closer to Wilder, squeezing into his side. He didn't seem to mind. The more that I touched him back, the more he touched me. After a few minutes of me beaming like an absolute fool, we were halfway across campus.

The quad was filled with a good number of drunken, end-of-spring-term revelers. Several people shouted hello to Wilder as we crossed. I ducked my head slightly. I wasn't sure why. Probably because I didn't want to be identified as yet another one of his endless one-night stands.

"You're not going to say hello to people?" Wilder asked, grinning down at me. He was tall. I liked that. I was almost six feet, so it was rare for a guy to top me in height. I wished things like that didn't matter to me, but they did.

"And be identified in the morning as another in the long list of women who Nick Wilder fucks?" I replied, releasing my hair from its safe position tucked behind my ear and letting it cascade across my face. This way I was much less likely to be recognized.

"Wait, wait," Wilder said, stopping in his tracks and turning to face me. He put his hands on my shoulders. "You are preemptively slut-shaming yourself? Fuck that. You should be
proud
to say that you are about to be thoroughly, intensely fucked by me.” He grinned at me, his dimples springing force. Then he tilted his head in a way that made me want to tear off his clothes right there in front of all of those people. "Are you willing to do that?"

I paused and heard Lorna's voice in my head. I smiled. "I am willing to do that."

Wilder didn't waste a minute before he was boldly dragging me to the founders' statue in the middle of the quad. A dozen people were laying on blankets, laughing and talking on the plush, late-spring grass. He pulled me up onto the concrete platform where the bronzed statue stood. Someone had put a pair of white underwear over the statue's head. "Excuse me!" Wilder announced. Several people looked up.

"Hey, Wilder!" They called out.

"Hello, hello, my admirers, friends, and colleagues," Wilder said dramatically, showing off those deep dimples once again. They were so deep I felt like I could crawl inside of them. "This is Olivia. And I am in love with her. I wanted you all to know."

Several people starting whooping and laughing. "Then fucking kiss her, dude!" said a masculine voice from somewhere behind the statue's back. Wilder put his arm around me and lifted me up to his lips. He kissed me fully, and I felt fireworks going off somewhere over my head.

The noise of the small crowd became a distant murmur. I lost myself in his lips and tongue, feeling a zinging sensation glide down my abdomen and between my legs. I put my hands into his thick, blonde hair and held on for dear life.

Then I pulled away, sheepishly touching my lips. Wilder was staring at me like I'd never been stared at before in my entire life. I cleared my throat, feeling boldness rush over me once again. "And I am about to get royally, thoroughly fucked tonight!" I yelled out to the crowd.

"Get it, girl!" said a chorus of feminine voices cheering me on. I hopped down and Wilder followed, this time putting his hand on my back.

"Walk of no shame," he whispered in my ear. "I like that."

I giggled and followed him. It was another few minutes of walking across an increasingly empty campus. The further we were away from the quad, the fewer people there were to see us. We passed the library. I glanced in the window and saw there were a few people in there still burning the near-midnight oil.

"Poor fucks," Wilder said, following my gaze. "Having a final on a Friday shouldn't even be allowed."

"I finished my exams a few days ago," I replied, thinking how happy I was about that information.

"Me too. Well, I didn't take two of them. I was going to pass whether I took the final or not, so why put in the work?"

I pulled away from him. "Seriously?"

"What's the big deal?" Wilder asked me. "I never work any harder than I have to. Waste of energy."

I blinked. "So a perfectly acceptable grade for you is a seventy?"

Wilder nodded. "I don't need the grades anyway. I'm going to Hollywood after this."

I barked out a laugh. "Oh really, Mister Hot Shot?" I replied harshly. "And you're going to take Los Angeles by storm, I'm sure."

Wilder’s eyes twinkled. I realized with a start that we were standing in front of the auditorium where the plays were performed. A swooping sensation cascaded down my stomach. This was where I'd be auditioning for the part of Juliet tomorrow. In front of Wilder. I swallowed.

"Something wrong?" Wilder asked me as he pulled out a set of keys and unlocked the doors.

"No," I replied, shaking my head. "Let's do this."

Wilder stopped me from going inside, pulling me closer and kissing me again. Cue the return of the fireworks. We went inside. It smelled at first blush like old wood, dust, polish, and a hint of fresh paint. I sniffed again. It also smelled strangely like wax crayons.

The only lights that were turned on were the dim, red glow of the emergency signs, as well as the dull orange lights that ran along the aisles. I saw Wilder's shadow dance across the carpeted aisle and hop onto the stage nimbly. Then he walked behind the curtain and left me by the footlights. I pulled out my phone to use as a flashlight. I could barely see my hand in front of my face it was so dark. Before I could illuminate my phone, light flooded my eyes. I put my hands up.

"Sorry for the lack of warning," Wilder called out.

I blinked, still seeing stars swimming in front of me. Wilder was onstage holding a plush, dark-green velvet blanket. Suddenly a thought occurred to me. "Sorry, are you leaving the lights on?" I asked, feeling instantly self-conscious.

Wilder grinned and stared down the length of my body. "You have nothing to worry about, Olivia. If you're a tenth as attractive with your clothes off as with your clothes on..." He trailed off and looked away. It seemed like he was about to blush. Then he turned back to me with a sneaky grin on his face. "I like to see my workspace clearly."

Suddenly I felt nervous for other reasons. "What if someone comes in?" I asked, looking over at the doors in the back of the theater, the ones we had so easily walked through. The ones that I now realized Wilder had not locked.

Wilder shrugged. "Then we'll give them a show," he replied, spreading the blanket onto the floor and holding out his hand to pull me up onto the stage. He was stronger than he looked, his arm muscles becoming more obvious than they had been all night as he lifted me up.

I bit my lip. "So, are you staying on campus for May Term?" The lame question was out of my mouth before I could stop it.
What was wrong with me?

Wilder stripped his shirt off and I was momentarily stunned. He was lean, but he had incredible muscle tone. I felt my hands twitch. I wanted to run my hands over his abdominal muscles and hang out for a while near his belly button. He smiled at the look on my face. I tore my eyes away from his chest. "Yep. Advanced theater. Basically just putting on a production of
Romeo and Juliet
. It's a walk in the park."

I cleared my throat nervously, willing my eyes to not travel back to his toned, firm stomach. "Erm, that's wonderful."

Wilder held his hands out and I put mine in his. He leaned down and whispered in my ear. "Could we maybe talk later, instead?" he asked. Then he pulled me tight against his chest as he began kissing me down my neck. Goosebumps erupted so violently across my flesh I thought it might fly off of my body. "That wasn't a question, by the way," he whispered across my skin.

Then he ran his hands down my sides, finding the hem of my slightly dirty, grey t-shirt and pulling it off over my head. I was wearing a plain, white cotton bra. I hadn't exactly expected to be ending my day like this. Then I realized with a flash of embarrassment that the elastic of the worn pair of plain grey cotton underwear I had on was unraveling. The ropy, fine rubber strands were popping out like angel hair pasta.

But as Wilder moved his hands to the button of my jeans, I forgot all embarrassment. All I wanted was him, right now, right here.

And that's exactly what I got. Wilder peeled my jeans off of my body, kissing my stomach as he made his way down. I stepped out of my jeans carefully, feeling like my legs were going to collapse underneath me from feeling his warm, soft mouth so close to the heat coming from between my legs. His fingers teased my panty line for only a few moments.