Page 58 of Keeping it Real

Alek reluctantly took a half-step back from her so he could tilt up her chin and look into her eyes.“You are doing an amazing job with Finn, Sheridan.I hope you know that.He may not appreciate you the way he should now, but I know he will later on in life.I promise.”

She sniffled a few times before she nodded.“I spoke to Collin on my way back from the school.Our case is on the docket.It should be all sorted out by the end of the month.”

The announcement had his gut tightening up.

“Alek, I know we said we’d stay through the season, but I think Finn and I should go sooner.”

He’d taken body checks that hurt less than her words did.

“No.”He wrapped his arms around her more tightly.

“Alek—”

“No!”He pressed his mouth against her ear.“Do you hear me?That isnothappening.”He breathed in her scent—vanilla and fresh rain.“I need Finn here.In my house.I need that damn jock-thief of a dog in my house.”

He repositioned his hands so that they framed her face.Her eyes were wide and luminous with unshed tears.

“And I need you,” he forced himself to admit.“You have no idea how much I need you.”

Once the words were out, his body took over.His lips found hers, taking advantage of the surprise that allowed his tongue to sweep in.She tasted like honey and something he couldn’t quite name, but he knew he liked it.Knew he wanted more.He groaned into her mouth as his body grew tight.

His hands left her cheeks to skim over her shoulders and down her arms.He could feel her body growing warm beneath the cotton of the workout top she wore.She gasped when his thumbs homed in on her nipples.

He maneuvered her against the wall, pinning her between his thighs.She countered the move with her nails against his scalp.Their teeth scraped together as each of them battled for control.Alek let his fingers sneak beneath her top.The contact with her bare skin had his cock jumping against her belly.Her head fell back when he broke the kiss, giving him full access to the tender skin covering the throbbing pulse in her neck.

“Christ, Sheridan,” he whispered against her skin.

Sheridan?

Sheridan!

What the fuck was he doing?

He jumped away from her.“Shit, shit, shit.Sheridan.I shouldn’t be doing this to you.I’m sorry.”

The confused anguish in her eyes was nearly his undoing.But then she narrowed them to slits as she stalked toward him.She pounded a fist into his chest.It was a lot less than he deserved.

“Don’t.You.Dare,” she hissed.“You better listen up, Alek Bergeron, because I’m only going to say this one last time.I.Am.Not.Your.Little.Sister.”She punctuated each word with a slap to the chest.“I am a full-grown woman who deserves to be treated like one,” she whispered.

She pressed her palms to his chest, sliding them north so her fingers could wrap around the back of his neck.Her eyes never left his, mesmerizing him as she tilted his head downward so his mouth was a hair’s breadth away from hers.

“And I have needs, Alek,” she murmured against his lips.“I’m really tired of waiting for you to notice.”

The breath sawed through his lungs, and his junk was so tight he thought he might explode with want.He was filled with as much pride as desire, too.Sweet Sheridan, the most non-assertive person he knew, had finally taken control and boldly asked for what she wanted.

In doing so, she’d called him out on the excuse he’d been hiding behind ever since he’d laid eyes on her again.Of course, Sheridan Cobert was not his little sister.She was his kryptonite.When she stretched up on her toes to swipe her tongue over his lips, he was a goner.Funny thing about that?Alek didn’t mind one bit.

Sixteen

“My bed,”Alek growled against her neck.

Sheridan wasn’t about to object.The man she’d not only been dreaming about but lusting over for the past twelve years was finally—finally—kissing her.And he was kissing her like she was the woman he desired above all others.The last thing she wanted was for him to have another moment of clarity.

Because if he did, there was no way she would survive.

Alek groaned when she nipped at his jaw.His fingers dug into her ass as he steered her down the hallway in the direction of his bedroom.As soon as they stepped over the threshold, he kicked the door closed and pressed her back against it.His mouth joined with hers again, delivering a demanding kiss full of such urgent hunger that her stomach was twisting and turning.Meanwhile, his fingers slipped beneath her shirt to skim along her back, where they made quick work unhooking her bra.She bucked against his hips when his thumbs brushed over her bare nipples.

“Not fair,” she murmured into his mouth before tugging at the hem of his quarter zip.

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