Page 16 of Bait

"Come for me, Princess," he said, his voice muffled by my thighs. "Show me you're mine."

I couldn't have stopped myself if I wanted to. He shattered me into a thousand, breathless, bucking pieces. The world exploded into a prism of light, lost in the sound of thundering blood. With my fingers or a vibrator, I'd never come so hard. Or stayed up in the atmosphere so long.

I finally flopped back onto the mattress. He slipped his fingers out of me and scooted up to press one between my lips.

"See how delicious you taste? My delicious Princess." He held it there while I sucked it clean. The combination of my juices and the salt on his skin were divine.

He lay down beside me and gathered me up in his arms. "I won't fuck you tonight. I want to, but I'll give you a little bit of time to be ready for me. I'll come to you every night and make you come for me. And when you're ready, I'll fuck that tight little pussy. Just like my father is probably fucking your mother right now. When they get married, nothing has to change between us. When I'm your step-brother, you'll still be mine."

He stroked my hair, tangling his fingers in the soft waves.

He whispered in my ear, "Tell me who you belong to."

I swallowed. My voice a little shaky, I said, "You. I belong to you. Soon I'll be ready for your cock." He was right, I needed some time to think about it and process everything. I wanted to feel him inside me, but not tonight. Not yet.

"Of course you will. You're my princess. I'm going to claim you fully. Every beautiful centimetre of your gorgeous body. I'm going to fill you so much you'll overflow, but you'll still beg for more."

"You think I'm gorgeous?" I said sleepily.

He chuckled, low and deep. "You're the most gorgeous woman I've ever seen. The more of you I see, the more I think, I know, every bit of you is absolutely fucking beautiful."

My face heated. What? When I looked in the mirror was a girl with bright red hair, pale skin and a bunch of freckles. I was cute, but I'd never seen myself as beautiful before.

The way he said it almost made me believe it. If he kept saying it, someday I would.

"What will your father say?" If Leo hated the idea of us being together, he could easily kick me out of his house and his son's life, even if it meant upsetting my mother. Leo was the kind of man who got what he wanted. That must run in the family.

"Leave him to me. It won't be a problem."

Why did those words leave me slightly chilled?

"Are you worried your mother will object?" he asked.

"I'm not sure what she'll say," I admitted. She’d want me to be happy, but the situation was all kinds of complicated, especially if things turned bad. On the other hand, it wasn't as though Mannix and I were related by blood. Where was the harm in us making each other feel good? "What will Ares and Ice say?"

"They'll be jealous as fuck," he said, sounding smug. "They both want you too."

"They do? Ares—"

"Ares has his head stuck up his ass," Mannix said. "With good reason, but that's another story. Let's not talk about them anymore. Do you want to talk about the nightmare?"

I shivered. "Not really. I'd prefer to forget about it. Will you stay with me for a while?" With his arms around me, I might sleep without dreaming. If anything could keep the darkness away, it would be his muscles and the comfort of his warm body.

"You couldn't make me leave if you held a gun to my head," he said.

I got the impression he meant that literally. Maybe the reason I thought he could keep the darkness away was because he was part of it. It might curl itself around him so they could comfort each other.

If I thought he was dark, then what did that make me? A girl who lay in the arms of her stepbrother-to-be while his face smelled of me, knowing he wanted to claim every part of me, inside and out.

What would he give me in return? His body, certainly. But what about his heart?

What about mine? A guy like him could tear me apart and walk away, leaving me shattered on the floor. I should guard my heart against him, but part of me didn't want to. A reckless voice inside told me to let go, but I didn't want to jump into freefall without some kind of parachute.

Right now, I didn't even have a scrap of fabric.

Chapter Eight

Kennedy