Page 25 of Unhinged Love

Against my will. At least, at first. There was a point where I would’ve killed him if he stopped.

But then he left. He left like it was nothing. And that was right, that was good, even if it was crushing at the time. But once the rush passed, and I was actually thinking like a normal person again, I saw that he made the right move.

Not that I’m going to thank him or anything.

Finally, by the time it’s fully dark on the other side of my bedroom windows, I can’t wait any longer. It’s not like I’ll have a choice but to see him tomorrow, anyway, not if I want to get to school. I’ll still have to suffer through the humiliation of a car ride. Might as well rip the Band-Aid off now; get it over with.

His bedroom door is closed, but there’s no light coming from underneath it, so I don’t know whether he’s in there or not. Will there ever be a time when I don’t feel like I have to tiptoe around, holding my breath? I dash downstairs silently as possible, then go straight to the kitchen.

It’s kind of amazing how clean everything is. I guess he’s used to throwing parties like that and cleaning up the evidence so hedoesn’t get caught. There’s not so much as a single drip of spilled alcohol on the floor, and everything out in the yard looks exactly the way it was before Friday night. It’s actually a little unsettling. If only it was always so easy to erase the evidence of something we don’t want other people to know about.

My attention lands on the pool. I force myself to turn away before the memories can cripple me. I need to get something to eat before he decides to come down and torture me for the fun of it.

But no sooner have I put a pot of water on the stove than I hear his footsteps on the stairs. Dammit. I should’ve known I couldn’t get away with something as simple as ramen.

My entire body tenses in anticipation as I stand at the stove, staring at the pot, willing the water to boil. “Oh, there you are.” He’s not even going to try to hide his smugness from me, not that I would expect him to. That would mean doing the decent thing, and he can’t be bothered.

“Did you think I died?” I mutter, still facing away from him. I hear him coming closer—what’s worse, I feel it in the way the air changes around me. The way the hair lifts on the back of my neck.

“You could have.”

“You couldn’t have cared all that much if you didn’t come to check.”

He comes to a stop behind me, his breath warm on my neck when he leans in. I really should have grabbed something quick from the refrigerator. There is nothing worth having to put up with this.

“I would ask what you’ve been doing all alone in your room since Friday night, but then we both already know, don’t we?” His hand lands on my hip, like a butterfly landing on a flower. As soon as I swat him away, he lets go, chuckling.

“You didn’t mind when I touched you on Friday, did you?” Now he takes both hips in his hands and pulls me back against him, no matter how I try to fight.

“Stop, okay? You’ve made your point.” It takes effort to shove his hands away, but I do it, going to the pantry to grab a packet of noodles. My hands are shaking so hard, I have to dig my nails into my palms and use the pain to center myself before reaching for the shelves.

“Oh, do you want to mess around in here instead?” His tall, wide frame fills the doorway, blocking my return to the stove.

“I don’t want to mess around at all. I want to have something to eat, then go back up to my room. That’s all I want.” At least he’s wearing clothes now, a T-shirt and a pair of soft shorts that hang down to his knees. Like he was going to work out, maybe. Wait, what do I care? So long as he’s not running around naked like he did the other night, I’m grateful.

“I was thinking about having something to eat, too…” He lowers his gaze to my crotch and right away, my face goes hot. I really need to hide my reactions better if I’m going to get through this without making a total ass out of myself, but certain things are uncontrollable.

“You’re disgusting.” With my hands against his chest, I shove him away, but he only laughs.

“You liked being touched, didn’t you? You can admit it,” he murmurs with deep, knowing laughter in his voice. “I won’t tell. It’ll be our little secret.”

I’m going to kill him. He really needs to not test me in a room full of knives. “It had better be, unless you want everybody to know you forced yourself on me.”

“Forced myself on you?” He actually has the balls to laugh. “Is that how you remember it? Because when I think back, you were almost begging me for more. Spreading your legs wider, moving your hips all around.”

The thing is, he’s not wrong. I hate him even more for throwing it in my face. Iwasalmost begging, because it felt so good—nothing’s ever felt that good. And when was the last time I actually felt good about anything?

“Oh, come on.” He stands nearby, his back against the counter, chuckling as he folds his arms. Thick arms. Arms I really need to stop looking at. Nothing good can come from admiring his body. “There’s nothing wrong with having a little fun.”

“You’re my stepbrother.”

His eyes narrow a little and seem to go a darker shade of blue. “Yeah, well, it is what it is. It’s not like we’ve grown up together. There’s nothing wrong with enjoying what your body can do.” He reaches out, grabbing at one of my boobs, but I manage to turn away before he gets a good grip on me. “Loosen up. I could teach you a few things.”

“I bet you could, but I’m not trying to learn.” I need to get out of this room, now, before he gets into his head to try for a replay of Friday night. Forget the ramen. I turn off the water before adding the noodles to the pot and spin on my heel, ready to make an escape, but he’s too quick.

“Oh, come on now.” He laughs, backing me into the island across from the stove. My back touches the cool granite countertop that I try to slide along to get past him, but all he does is cage me in with an arm to either side of my trembling body.

“Just stop, okay? You’ve had your fun.” I wish my voice sounded stronger.

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