Page 89 of Collateral Damage
The commonalities stopped at appearances. Their backgrounds, personalities, and energy couldn’t be more different.
Sybil is summer’s golden hour—warm and radiant, but only in your life for a moment before leaving you in darkness.
Arden is moonlight on a quiet winter’s night. Wounded. Guarded in a way that makes me wonder how bad her childhoodreally was. She’s more fantasy than girl—out of reach and not quite real, haunting me with who she isn’t.
It’s been a little over a month since Arden arrived at our beach house, introducing herself as our live-in housekeeper for the summer. In that time, she’s become a sort of mirage to me. She’s this vision of false promises and a constant reminder of what I can’t have.
It hurts me to look at her, but Ethan?
Ethan is unraveling.
I’ve never seen him sobotheredby anyone before, not even our father. He claims to hate Arden, but despite this claim, he’s more possessive than I’ve ever seen him.
Sometimes I think he’s far more obsessed with Arden than he ever was with Sybil.
My interest is shallow. I only want to sleep with her because she reminds me of the one girl I’ll never get to take to bed.
But she told me she’s a virgin, and her innocence makes this whole thing way too complicated.
So… tell me why I’m currently kissing her?
I found her on the beach watching the sunset, and I couldn’t help myself. I convinced her to get in the water with me, and now I’ve got my hands in her hair and my mouth on her wet lips.
It’s wrong, but it doesn’t matter. I never claimed to be a good person.
Before I know it, I’ve got her in my bedroom, and I tangle in her like gravity pulled me here instead of my own selfish greed. She’s small, and her trembling hands speak to her lack of experience as she runs them over my body.
I shouldn’t, but I strip her down to her panties, anyway.
I’m completely naked two seconds later.
Rational thoughts disappear; all that matters is our bodies and what I want them to do. I take her breast into my mouth,savoring her nipple until she moans. I know how to bring a woman to orgasm, and that’s all I focus on.
I’m a shitty person for using her, but at least I can make her feel good in the process.
“You like that?” I pull away with a smug grin, and when she nods, I grip my erection, loving the way she looks down at it with complete awe and need. It feels amazing, knowing she is looking atmelike this, that I’m the one she wants. That I’m the one being chosen for once. That my brother isn’t the man she picked…
Fuck. What am I even thinking? This shouldn’t be about Ethan at all, but Arden looking the way she looks makes this about a lot more than just me and her.
Taking her hand, I wrap it around my cock, savoring the sensation of her needy fingers and the sense of urgency building between us. We kiss again, and I grow feral, practically fucking her hand as we explore each other’s bodies. It’s not enough, not even close, so I lead her to the bed and kiss my way down her torso, readying to yank her panties off her hips and plunge my cock inside her wet virgin cunt.
The door flies open.
“What thefuck?” Ethan’s voice slices through the haze. He’s storming toward us, wild-eyed and furious, like he has a right to this woman, and I don’t. It’s utter bullshit.Arden is not Sybil.
He yanks me from Arden, and she scrambles away, covering herself like she’s been caught doing something wrong. Her eyes fill with confusion, guilt, and shame, knocking the air out of me.
Wait… did she not want this?
“What are you doing?” he spits at me.
“What does it look like?” I’m fucking pissed, and I don’t even care that I’m naked.
Sybil chose him. That was my burden.
Arden? She chose me. That’shisfucking burden for once.
“You agreed not to fuck her,” he snarls, pushing me against the wall. I can’t believe he’s bringing up a conversation we had when weveryfirst met Arden, when we’dbothagreed to keep things with our young housekeeper professional. That went out the window when we got to know her. He knows things have changed. He’s been hot and cold with her for a month.
