Vain: A Stepbrother Romance (12 page)

Chapter 21 – Family Brawl - Sam

“Can we help you?”

         
The look on Mick’s face is one of astonishment. I know what he’s thinking, and
part of me wants to let him suffer a while before I tell him. Mick has been
such an asshole to me lately it’s a tempting thought.

         
“Who the fuck is this guy?!”

         
“Who the fuck am I? Who the fuck are you?”

         
Before I can stop it, the boys erupt into a shoving match. My brother shoves
Mick back hard, knocking him to the floor. Mick scampers up on his bum leg just
in time to get punched right in the face.

         
“Mick!” I lunge down to the ground and hold onto him. Mick tries hard to shrug
me off.

         
“He’s my cousin. You guys just haven’t met before. Mick, this is Greg.”

         
Mick’s face reddens. “Oh, shit. Sorry. I didn’t know who he was. I thought…”

         
Greg shakes his head. “Nah, it’s my fault, Mick. Come in, please.”

         
I rush to the kitchen to get Mick some ice for his nose as Greg stands watch,
obviously feeling quite badly. Greg has been a little overprotective of me
since he heard about my latest run-in with John.

         
“Greg, why don’t you head off to bed? I’m okay.”

         
“No problem,” he says, giving Mick an apologetic nod as he shuts the door and
pads down the hall.

         
I turn to my stepbrother. “Mick, what are you doing here? I didn’t expect you
to come.”

         
“I know, Sam, but I had to see you. I had to let you know how I feel. Sam, you
are an amazing woman, and there is nothing that I want more then to spend time
with you and get to know you. The last few months have been very hard on me,
and I have done nothing to consider your feelings. I think I love you, Sam. In
fact, I’m sure of it.”

         
My eyes water. “Oh, Mick…”

         
I rush in for a kiss, and he is only too happy to meet my lips. His breath
falls heavy on my ears as the two of us get caught up in the moment. He
clutches and grabbed at every part of me, so feverish it feels like he has more
than just two hands. We’re not worried about Greg coming back into the room.
This is passion at its most raw.

         
Flinging off my robe, I watch as Mick flings his shirt off, exposing his
masculine frame. He then picks me up and throws me onto the kitchen table with
a thump. Mick tugs and pulls at my panties, slowly and methodically. Now
positioned between my legs, he drags a chair up like he’s at a buffet and dives
headlong into my most private of areas.

         
Mick twirls his tongue, teasing my clit with the tip. With his left hand, he
pushes open my flower, thrusting his tongue deeper inside me. He slowly
manipulates my clit with his fingers, alternating between using them and his
tongue. Then he sucks on my clit while shoving his fingers inside me. I cover
my mouth to prevent myself from moaning too loud, but the sensation is almost
too much to bear.

         
Mick slides his hands up my sides, slowly working his way to my breasts. Every
part of me aches for him. Every inch of me tingles under his touch. He grabs my
breasts ferociously and starts to squeeze and pull. My body is on fire. I moan
while shoving my hips up to his mouth. Then, just like that, he’s gone.

         
I open my eyes to see where he is. Mick is pulling down his shorts, revealing
his magnificent frame. His cock is ready and stands at attention for me. I love
the look of his cock. It always stands so hard and so proud. Mick doesn’t have
any hair on his cock at all, which makes it look even better.

         
Mick slides the chair away with his foot right before he enters me, and
reaching behind him, I pull him in closer to get every inch. Mick places his
arms on either side of my body and starts pumping into me even faster. He leans
down and began to kiss me, as I feel the fire burgeoning in my core. I am so
close to climax, but I don’t want the feeling to stop. Now I am past the point
of no return. As he kisses me, I come hard with his lips on mine.

         
Mick continues to pump into me as I wrap my arms around him. It feels so good
to have him inside me. As I let go, the impulse comes upon me to grab his
nipples. His face immediately changes expressions as he starts to shake
violently, coming deep inside me. Mick collapses on top of me, breathing
heavily. I stroke his back for a minute until he stands up.

         
“Stay with me tonight, Mick.”

         
He smiles. “I would like nothing more.”

         
I lead Mick by the hand to my room, and as we lay down to sleep, I realize that
tomorrow I’m having my first ultrasound. Mick and I have not spoken about the
prospect of a child between us, and I’m unsure whether he’s happy, sad, or even
interested at all. One thing’s for sure: I have to tell him. I have to let him
know and at least give him the opportunity to come and see his baby.

         
I fall asleep with some difficulty that night, thinking very heavily about the
conversation I will have to have with Mick in the morning.

***

         
“Sam. Sam, wake up.”

         
“What is it, Mick?”

         
“You said to me a while ago that you were pregnant, didn’t you?”

         
“Yes, I did, Mick.”

         
          I had no idea he had
even thought or considered the words that were spoken to him. Knowing it was on
his mind made it all the more sweet. Was he actually interested in being a part
of this?

         
“Well, what is happening with that?”
          My ultrasound was the
next day, but I wasn’t sure I wanted him to come. I needed to understand if he
was committed to helping me or if he was just not going to be there at all.
Mick has changed a lot in the past few months, but has he changed enough. 
I resolved to give him as few details as possible, but again my mouth betrayed
me,

         
“I have an ultrasound tomorrow, if you want to come.”

         
“I think I do. I want to be a part of all of this.”

         
“Oh! I love you, Mick.”

         
He says something after that, but I cannot remember what it is. I am
half-asleep, and I barely even remember the conversation, but I know I want him
to be there—and I’m so happy that
he
wants to be there, too.

Chapter 22 Rude Awakening - Sam

There’s
a banging on the door, which wakes us all up with a start. I groggily get up
and shuffle to the door with my brother right behind me. As I open it, I see a
stranger on the other side.

         
“Where’s Mick?” he asks me.

         
I blink at him. “Who the hell are you?”

         
“I’m Jaime, his manager. I have spent a great deal of time and money to find
him. Now, where is he?”

         
“I’m right here, Jaime. What do you want?”

         
“You and I have a lot to discuss.”

         
“It will have to wait. I’m retiring.”

         
“Not according to my contract, you’re not.”

         
Mick narrows his eyes. “What?”

         
“You have a contractual obligation to pay me out what you owe me, in terms of
managerial fees. There is a clause in our contract that should you retire, you
will have to pay me the balance of the endorsements for the remainder of the
term. You should have talked to me, Mick. We could have sorted this whole thing
out.”

         
Mick snorts. “Hey, Jaime. Sue me.”

         
“Don’t you worry, I plan to.”

         
“Get out, Jaime. We’re done here.”

         
“You are gonna regret this. If you don’t show up to next month’s competition, I
will assume you retired from surfing. I made you into what you are, and you owe
me
everything!”

         
Mick looks at Greg. “Greg, can you take out this trash?”

         
My brother smiles. “I thought you would never ask.”

         
With one arm, Greg lifts Jaime and throws him out the door. I often forget how
strong my cousin is. There’s no question, though—he’s a large, mean man.

         
As the door closes, I go over to Mick. “Are you okay?”

         
“Yeah, I’m fine, just in for a bunch of trouble with that guy. If anyone’s a
shark, it’s him. It seems the attack continues.”

         
“There has to be something in your contract about an inability to compete due
to injury.”

Mick shrugs. “I am sure
there is, but that is not important right now, we have a baby to see.”

         
Greg looks confused, “What?!”

         
Mick grins sheepishly at me. “Uh, sorry. I guess you haven’t told him yet.”

         
“No, not yet,” I sigh. “Hush-hush, here, Greg. It’s too early to know anything
yet, but we will let you know right after our appointment this morning.”

         
“Uh… okay.” He’s a strong guy, that is true, but not the sharpest tool in the
shed. I love him just the same.

          Mick and I get dressed
and drive to the hospital for my appointment. While we’re waiting in the lobby,
Mick asks me a question.

         
“Sam, will you teach me how to surf?”

         
“What?! I thought you were the best surfer in the world and didn’t need my
help?”

         
“Listen, this is not easy for me, and I have given it a lot of thought. I need
to go to that competition next month. Not for the money, or the contractual
obligation, or the pride. I need to go because I need to prove to myself I can.
Surfing makes me who I am. So, Sam, I ask you again: can you teach me how to
surf?”

         
“Ms. Therian?” the nurse calls. That’s me. What a time to interrupt a
conversation.

         
I look up at her. “Yes?”

         
“We are ready for you now.”

         
For now, Mick’s question is going unanswered, but some things on a day like
today take priority. He shoots me an excited smile and follows me into the
ultrasound room. I lie down and wait for the nurse to come in. My thoughts are
of the little bean growing inside of me. I have only ever thought of how much I
want a family and now it seems, in this messed up way, I’m going to have one.
It’s not a perfect scenario, but I believe it will be soon enough.

         
By the time the nurse comes in, my heart is racing. I try to slow down my
breathing, but I’m having a hard time controlling myself. The nurse is a
kind-looking woman and she shoots me an obligatory smile as she sits down and
prepares her tools.

         
“First time, I take it?”

         
“Yes.”

         
“Well, just relax. Everything is going to be fine.”

          Mick, who is at the end
of the table, looks a little bored, but he leans over from the end of the bed
and strokes my leg. The nurse begins searching for the baby with her ultrasound
tool. She looks left and looks right, but nothing comes up on the screen. She
strains, but there’s nothing there.

         
“What’s going on?”

         
“Nothing to worry about, my dear. The baby is just very small, at this point.
I’m going to have to go inside.”

         
She takes out another wand and explains to me the procedure. As she inserts it,
it’s more than a little uncomfortable. Still, there is nothing there. A tear
slips down my cheek. All at once, a flicker appears on the screen. It’s small,
but I see it. I can only assume it’s a heartbeat.

         
“Is that…”

         
“Yes, that is your baby’s heartbeat.”

         
“Oh, my God!”

         
Looking over to Mick’s face, I can see he’s crying, too. I want to hug him, but
I’m a little bit occupied at the moment. Once she removes the apparatus, Mick
runs up to me and hugs me. We both sob in each other’s arms. So much bad has
happened to us both in the past few months. A little bit of good news is
exactly what we need. The nurse excuses herself, saying something that neither
of us are listening to. We hold each other for several, moments just relishing
the good news. Then Mick kisses me in a deeply moving way.

         
“Well, Sam, it looks as if you are going to have to teach more than just me how
to surf now. We have someone else to take out to the water with us.”

         
“I will teach you, Mick. I will teach you.”