AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Gio…
His face pushed to the surface. He’d be waiting…standing outside the classroom. I unleashed a moan and closed my eyes.
“Good girl, honey.” Mom’s voice drifted through the door. “I’ll let Nick know you're on your way down.”
I swallowed hard, listening to her steps fade from outside my door. I didn’t understand this world, this battleground I found myself in. I didn’t understand it at all.
But I had to…because this was now my life.
A life living here, with the three of them.
My new stepbrothers.
I made my way to my dresser. My fingers brushed the white formal shirt Duke’s insisted you wear before tossing it onto the bed. My underwear was next, then my knee-length navy-blue skirt. Of all the schools to send me to, they chose the one that had a damn uniform.
I grabbed my things and hurried for the bathroom, casting a glare toward Tobias’ room as I went. I hurried, locking the door behind me. I had to be smarter now, Had to be more careful around them. I closed my eyes, swaying with the memory of Nick’s ravenous stare as he'd watched Tobias do that to me last night.
Then I opened my eyes, undressed, and raced for the shower. By the time I was done and dressed, Nick was scowling. I strode out, clutching my laptop to my chest like a barrier.
“You want to make me wait, Ryth?” Nick cast me a pissed off look as he shoved off the car and strode to the driver’s door, motioning with his head. “Get in and don’t be an idiot, your mom’s watching.”
I glanced over my shoulder to where my mom stood in the open doorway. She gave me a careful smile and a wave of her hand, standing there still dressed in her black negligee and matching satin gown. I waved back, my anger prickly and hot against my cheeks, before making my way around the car and climbing in.
Nick reached forward and started the engine. I wanted to snap at him, wanted to unleash the tirade that shrieked in my head as I pressed myself as hard as I could against the door. But he never said a word, just threw the Mustang in reverse, gripped the back of my seat, and punched the accelerator.
I swallowed, trying not to let my attention creep to the way his arm was almost around me. But my gaze went to the corded muscles his arms anyway. Muscles that flexed as I stared. He was strong…and built.Chiseled pecs tightened as my gaze drifted.
We drove through the gate and out onto the street, pulling away from the house in no time. That thunder in my head rumbled as the tension between us grew. I forced my gaze to the dashboard, then found myself moving it back to his hands...remembering the way he'd grabbed my arm, holding me down as Tobias touched me.
I swallowed hard, swaying as the car pulled hard across the street and accelerated. I jerked my focus to where we were headed, and found unfamiliar streets. “Where are we?”
He didn't answer, just glared with a broody stare, his hard jaw flexing before he turned again.
“Nick!”Panic filled me as trees gave way to buildings and the entrance to a park appeared ahead.
He braked, then pulled the Mustang in, heading to a parking spot that faced the trees. I scanned the area, finding us all alone, no kids played on the playground, nobody walked their dog. Nick killed the engine, then turned to me.
“You want to look at me, Ryth?”
Fire lashed my cheeks as I stared straight ahead.
He just shifted, gripped the back of my seat, and leaned across, getting in my space. “You want to talk about last night, then?”
I shook my head as my panic surged.
I felt his gaze then, drifting down my body, taking in the white shirt and pleated navy-blue skirt. “Christ,” he muttered, and looked away.
He was angry. I didn’t know who he was angry at, himself or me.
“I thought you were a friend.” The words slipped out.
I hated that they had, was desperate to swallow them back down. But it was too late. They were free, lingering between us. He drew in a hard, deep breath, then glanced back at me. “You want me to be your friend, Ryth?”
I didn’t know what to say. “At least an ally.”
“Anally?”he growled, then shifted his gaze to my lap. My body responded, warming and throbbing.
I didn’t understand why I was so affected by them, why they seemed to tap into that dark, aching place inside me. He reached out, brushed his fingers along my thigh, and drew my skirt higher. “I’m not your friend…you’re family now,” he murmured, his gaze riveted to my thigh as he exposed it inch by inch.
