Stepbrother, Mine #2 (3 page)

But she’d promised herself she wouldn’t think of him sending her away. And then what had happened afterward.

She reached the bottom of the stairs and smiled at him. But he wasn’t smiling back. She had hoped to see the same longing in his eyes tonight as she had back then, because now they were going to be together. There was no guessing about that. But tonight he was even more withdrawn than he had been then.

Oh, God, this had been a mistake. She sucked in a deep breath, willing herself not to flee back up the stairs and lock herself in her room.

*   *   *

Eight Years Earlier on Prom Night

Dana stepped outside with her hand on Geoff’s elbow, and the door closed behind them. She drew in a deep breath of the evening air as he led her to the waiting limo, still shaken by what had happened between her and Mason.

She’d kissed Mason with everything she had, allowing all her loving feelings free rein. Showing him just how much she loved him.

And she’d felt it in the way he’d held her. In the way his lips had moved on hers, leaving her breathless and hungry.

The feel of his massive member growing so hard under his pants had both delighted and frightened her a little. But only because it felt so big and powerful. Mason was a grown man, and she was still so young.

But she’d wanted him with all her heart.

Then he’d just sent her away.

She’d felt sure he returned her feelings and she could finally tell him how much she longed for him. That she could take Mason’s hand and lead him up to her bedroom, then surrender her virginity to him. Letting him guide her to womanhood. And, hopefully, beyond.

But Geoff had arrived and shattered that dream.

The driver opened the door of the limo and Geoff helped her inside. She sat in the leather seat and he sat beside her.

“You really do look beautiful tonight, Dana,” he said.

“Thank you.” When she glanced at him, the lust in his eyes was obvious and she realized he would be expecting her to put out at the end of the night. Or, with the increasing heat of his gaze, maybe even in the back of the limo on the way there.

No, she was being crazy. He wouldn’t push her like that. But she knew he would expect it later … and why wouldn’t he? Practically the only thing her girlfriends had talked about for the past month was how exciting it would be on prom night. And how it would be the perfect evening for giving themselves to their special dates.

But Geoff wasn’t special to her. In fact, this was their first date. And the hungry look in his eyes only made her uncomfortable.

The limo started to move away from the curb and her heart leapt. The man she really wanted was in the house they were pulling away from. Of course he hadn’t reacted to her kiss the way she’d hoped. She was dressed up for another man and they were interrupted by his knocking at the door.

So how could Mason possibly have realized what she really wanted?

Her heart pounded in her chest. She had to go back. She glanced at Geoff in a panic. She couldn’t give him what he wanted, and it wouldn’t be fair to make him think she would. If she cut their date short, she knew he’d find someone else to fulfill his fantasy for tonight. All the girls wanted Geoff, the school’s star athlete. He could have his pick.

“Geoff?” She grasped his arm.

“What is it, Dana?”

“I’m sorry but … I have to go back.”

“Did you forget something?”

She shook her head. “I’m … I’m not feeling well.”

He frowned, and she was sure he was going to protest.

“I think…” she covered her mouth with her hand. “I think I might throw up. It must be something I ate.”

“Oh, damn, don’t throw up.” He knocked on the window between them and the driver and the driver lowered the glass. “Take us back to Dana’s house.”

Dana kept her hand over her mouth as they pulled up in front of the entrance.

“I’m so sorry, Geoff. Really.”

He frowned, but nodded. As she closed the door behind her, she could see Geoff pulling out his cell phone, probably to call another girl to replace her. The car pulled away, leaving her on the doorstep.

She walked up the stately stone steps and opened the door, then went inside. She sucked in a deep breath, gathering the courage to find Mason and tell him exactly how she felt about him. She would convince him that they could be together, then take his hand and lead him to her bedroom. Once the door closed behind them, they would both succumb to the passionate attraction between them.

She glanced up the stairs, wondering if he’d gone to his room. But then she saw a light at the end of the hallway, coming from the den. She smiled. He must be in there.

She slipped off her shoes, not wanting the clack of her heels on the hardwood to alert him to her presence. She wanted to see the surprise on his face when she appeared in the doorway. Then she would lock gazes with him as she walked toward him, feeling his adoring stare on her just like she had when he’d first seen in her prom dress. It had been an amazing feeling, his intense blue eyes staring at her in awe as she’d descended the staircase.

She wanted to feel that again. She wanted to step into his den, then captivate him with her smile. He would say her name in his deep, sexy voice,then stand up and stride toward her, his eyes glittering as he approached. Then he’d take her in his arms and kiss her passionately, and tell her how happy he was she’d come back to him. She’d confess her love and he would sweep her into his arms and race up the stairs to her bedroom.

She sighed at the images swirling through her head as she crept along the hallway.

As she approached the den—her cheeks flushed with excitement at what she was about to do, she thought she heard noises coming from inside. Was someone in there with him? She thought she heard the low murmur of a woman’s voice, then Mason’s.

She crept closer to the door.

Then a moan.

Dana bit her lip as she peered through the partially open door.

“No, sir. Please don’t,” a woman cried.

Dana’s eyes widened at the sight of one of the maids—she thought it was Maria—against the wall, with Mason’s body crushed against her.

Dana’s heart clenched and she wanted to jerk away, but she was mesmerized. What was Mason doing?

“Oh, sir, we shouldn’t.” Maria pressed her hands against his chest and began to struggle against him.

Then he thrust forward.

Dana’s hands covered her mouth, stopping herself from gasping.

Mason was … Oh, God … he and Maria were …

She felt faint.

“Ohhhh,” Maria moaned.

His hips drew back, then he drove into her again.

Maria’s hands clutched his shoulders and she pushed against him. “Oh, sir. No.”

Was Mason taking her against her will?

“Fucking slut,” he barked. “I’m going to fuck you so hard, you’ll feel it into next week.”

He jerked her arms over her head and held them there.

Horrified, Dana watched as the woman struggled against him, protesting, but he kept driving into her. Dana began to tremble, torn between running to her room and running to get help. But she couldn’t believe that Mason … that he would …

Mason pounded Maria against the wall, again and again. Her cries filled the room, but confusion spiraled through Dana as she realized that Maria’s face was contorted in pleasure, not distress.

“I’m going to come,” Maria whimpered.

Mason thrust harder and faster, and Maria wailed loudly.

“Fuck,” he groaned, then drove her hard against the wall, pinning her there as his body shuddered.

Dana stood there, trembling. Oh, God, she couldn’t believe what she’d just seen. Mason wasn’t the kind of man to take a woman against her will. And rather than looking upset or panicked as Mason drew back, Maria smiled with a smug look of satisfaction on her face.

Dana didn’t understand any of this.

Mason straightened his clothes and stepped back.

“Your break must be over by now,” he said in a dismissive tone. Then he turned toward the door.

Oh, God, she couldn’t let him see her. Dana raced up the stairs, already hearing Mason’s footsteps in the hallway. She hurried along the upstairs hall to her door, her heart pounding. As she tapped in the combination to her door, her heart stopped as she realized he was on the stairs now. She got the last number wrong and it didn’t unlock.

Oh, God, he was getting closer. He would soon be at the top of the staircase, then he’d see her.

She jabbed in the combination again and this time, the door unlocked and she slipped inside, tugging her full skirt in with her. She closed the door quietly behind her, then leaned against it, trying to catch her breath. Seconds later, his footsteps passed by her door.

She didn’t think he’d seen her, but she waited there, praying he wouldn’t knock on her door and demand she confess to spying on him.

Thankfully, she heard the thump of his door closing and she released the breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding.

Finally, she calmed down enough to move, her legs still shaky. She dropped her pretty pink sequined shoes on the floor by her closet, then slumped onto the bed. Tears welled up in her eyes. Not only had her dream of finally confessing her love for Mason been stymied, but she’d seen him with another woman. A full-grown woman.

She’d been a fool to think Mason might be attracted to her. She was foolish and immature. He wanted a woman, not some naïve teenager.

She’d thought the evidence of his attraction to her when she’d kissed him had meant something, but it had just been a natural male reaction to a female body close to his. As soon as Dana had left the house, he’d found someone to relieve that tension.

She realized now that he’d never been attracted to her and she had been a fool to think otherwise.

Her heart ached and her tears flowed freely. The pain was almost unbearable. She sobbed, wondering if she would ever recover from this dreadful agony. Moonlight washed across her cheek and she turned her face and buried it into the pillow.

Eventually she fell asleep, wondering how she would face Mason tomorrow.

*   *   *

Present Day

Dana stared at Mason, her stomach clenched at his stormy eyes.

“Why are you wearing that?” he asked her through gritted teeth. He almost seemed angry with her.

“Well, it was this or a little black dress with pearls and I didn’t think you wanted to take out my mother.”

“I told you I would have bought you a new dress.”

She pursed her lips. “I know, and I appreciate that.” She smoothed her hands down the side of the full skirt. “You’re very generous. But I told you I’m not comfortable with you buying me things.”

His hard gaze was still locked on her face.

She took his hand, loving the feel of his strong fingers within the grip of hers. “I thought you liked this dress,” she murmured, longing for the look of adoration she had seen all those years ago when he’d first seen her in it. “You said you did on my prom night.”

His eyes glittered, but he still frowned. “Of course I like the dress, Dana. It’s perfect. You are absolutely beautiful in it.”

She smiled at his compliment and stepped closer, her body mere inches from his. “You know, when I came down the stairs that night … and I saw you looking at me … I felt so…” She laughed softly, feeling her cheeks flush.

“You felt so what, Dana?” he prompted softly.

“I felt so beautiful.” She gazed into his intense, blue eyes, her cheeks heating. “So special.”

He pulled her against him, his strong arms holding her close as his lips melded with hers. Her heart pounded in her chest, and when he released her mouth, she felt breathless.

“Special doesn’t begin to describe you,” he said. “You’re the most beautiful woman I have ever seen.”

She stared into his eyes, searching for the truth there. Was this real or just an attempt to boost her confidence? What she saw in the well of those midnight blue eyes was a depth of emotion that shocked her. She could almost believe she could see the love she felt for him, the love she had always denied until now, reflected back, but she knew that believing that would be her undoing.

All she could hope for would be that he would follow through on his promise to take her to womanhood, but once that played out, he would gently end things.

She would always treasure this time with him, but she was smart enough to know that it would only be a brief affair, one that was taboo and would be decreed by everyone—society, friends … family—as wrong.

He wouldn’t want the kind of scandal that extending this relationship would bring to his life.

And her mother … Oh, God, she would be livid knowing Dana had anything to do with her ex-husband’s family, let alone having an affair with his son.

Her stepbrother.

Dana couldn’t imagine how her mother would react to her actually having a long-term, romantic relationship with him.

“Dana, the way you’re looking at me … what do you think is going to happen between us?”

She cringed, wanting to back away. To catch her breath. But he still held her tight against his solid body.

“What we’ve agreed.” She couldn’t resist touching the satin lapels of his tuxedo. Her fingers glided along the smooth fabric. “You’re going to…” Oh, God, she didn’t want to say it aloud. It sounded so clinical saying he was going to take her virginity. “I mean, we’ll spend some time getting to know each other again, then we’re going to make love.” Her lips turned up in a small smile. “Several times, I hope.” When he didn’t return the smile, hers faded. “And then I’ll go back to school and continue my life. I’ll go to Paris and pursue my Masters with the money you are so generously giving me.”

“So you’re not expecting anything more as far as a relationship between us after these two weeks?”

“We’re still family, sort of.” She stroked her hands over his shoulders, the fine wool of his tuxedo smooth under her fingertips. “I’ll always care about you.” She frowned. “And being honest, I’ll always wish we could have more, but I understand the problems that would cause, given our previous relationship as stepsiblings.