Forbidden Steps: A Stepbrother Romance (2 page)

The house hadn’t changed. Finished with helping Stephanie set up the decorations—enough to make the bottom floor look like it had been doused in Pepto-Bismol—Colin took a bit of time to look around on his own. He wasn’t all that surprised. His stepfather didn’t live here anymore and his stepmother was usually abroad, which meant there was no one left to make any changes. Which was good, he supposed, Ashley needed a familiar place to call home.

It was hard, trying to picture Ashley. All he could see beyond the vision of her lying broken in the hospital bed was the playful little sprite who’d shorn her hair to irritate her mother. The beautiful mahogany tresses had been reduced to tiny spikes, which looked adorable with her pixie face. It certainly hadn’t distracted from her beauty.

Colin remembered her smile, remembered the way she used to tag along with him at every given opportunity. It had grated him then, always having her around. After the accident, he would have given anything for her to do it again.

Pushing aside the dour musings, Colin pondered on what he could do to prepare for the party. Replacing his beige fatigues was out of the question. There wasn’t time to go to his hotel room for his suitcase. The best he could do was wash up a bit and maybe shave off some scruff. He grinned at the thought. Steph always liked his face smooth when he slid it between her thighs anyway.

Heading for the bathroom Colin took his dagger from his boot. All he needed was a bit of soap. Shaving with a well-honed blade was an art he’d perfected in Iraq. A few quick swipes and his face would be smooth. Smooth enough for kissing and sucking and…

Colin stood, frozen in the doorway of the bathroom. Through the transparent curtain, fogged with heat, he could see her. She was lathering up her stomach, humming to herself, oblivious to his presence.

He knew he should back out, close the door softly and leave her to her blissful ignorance. He couldn’t do it. Her name left his lips before he could stop it. “Ashley.”

Dropping the sudsy loofah Ashley whipped her head towards him. She gasped and pushed the curtain out of the way. “Colin!”

She half leapt from the shower, slipping on the wet tile. Colin dropped his knife, surged forward, and caught her. Ashley wrapped her arms around his neck, giggling and crying.

Colin stroked her back, slick with water, and hushed her. Pressing his lips to her soaked hair he took a moment just to feel the vitality of her. She was so alive, so vibrant.

So naked.

Clearing his throat, Colin reached out and grabbed a towel from a hook behind the door, draping it around her. “Whatcha doing home, kiddo? I thought you were shopping with you’re your mom?”

Adjusting the towel so she was fully concealed, Ashley shrugged. “One of her models had an emergency. Mom had to go.” she cocked her head and gave him an irreverent smile. “Don’t worry. I’ll pretend to be surprised.”

Colin’s lip twisted wryly. “Don’t think there’s much point of that. I’m sure Steph heard you scream.”

Ashley took another, smaller towel from a shelf by the sink and scrubbed it through her hair. “Naw. You can’t hear nothin’ from the kitchen. Hell, you can have sex in the hallway and no one would know unless they were standing right here.”

Eyes wide, mouth dry, dick hard, Colin stared at her. Then he got mad. “How the hell would you know that?”

Dropping the wet towel over the sink, Ashley gave him an odd look, then flushed. “Not ‘cause of anything I’ve done. My mom and Steph’s dad made up a few nights ago…in the hallway.” She grimaced. “If I had heard them before hand, I might not be scarred for life.”

“Ah.” Colin didn’t know what to say. His stepfather fucking anyone wasn’t a mental image he wanted.

Ashley giggled. “You should see the look on your face.” Her gaze traveled down to his chest. She tugged her lip between her teeth. “Shit. I’m sorry. I was all wet and I got you soaked.”

Colin felt as though large hands had encircled his throat and were squeezing down. He licked his lips, letting his eyes roam. Strands of hair, almost black while wet, clung to her slender, pale shoulders. Her breasts, smaller than their stepsister’s, but still enough to be a handful, pressed against the white cloth of the tightly bound towel. Her legs. God her legs were so long.

A snap of fingers brought his eyes back to her face. “Hey. What’s up with you?”

Taking a deep breath Colin forced a smile. “Nothing. I’m just happy.” Saying so reminded him of how grateful he truly was, grateful to have her back, awake and well. “Come here.”

Ashley went willingly into his arms, accepting his need to hold her, needing to be held. Colin tried to keep his thoughts on gratitude, on how wonderful it was to be able to hold her again. Hard as he tried they drifted back to how it had felt to have her pressed naked against him. So innocent, so trusting. With a bit of work…

Angry with himself, Colin released Ashley and put some distance between them. It was bad enough that she’d lost two years of her life because of him. Now, to top it off, he was thinking of using her?

Not gonna happen.

Resolved to enjoy the party and then, when the time was right, convince Steph to show him her apartment—most importantly her bed—Colin made a vague motion from Ashley to her room. “You should get dressed. I don’t know who’s been invited, but…”

Ashley nodded curtly and cut him off. “Oh everyone, I’m sure. Now that I look normal again, everyone will want to see me—tell me how much they prayed for me, tell me that they never gave up hope.” She smiled suddenly, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “I should get dressed. Wouldn’t want to disappoint anyone by looking any less than my best.”

Colin watched her turn. He wanted to stop her, to tell her she was wrong. He didn’t. She wasn’t and he wouldn’t lie to her. He had years to make up for and being anything less than honest wasn’t a good way to start.

In her open doorway Ashley stopped and glanced back. “I know you gave up, Colin. I know and I understand. I don’t blame you. I’m just glad giving up didn’t get you killed.” she took a deep breath and met his eyes. “I. Don’t. Blame. You.”

When the door closed Colin bent down slowly and grabbed his knife. Hands too shaky to even consider shaving, he turned away from the bathroom, stuffed his knife in his boot, swallowed, and took several measured breaths. Making his way to the stairs he slid down the wall and sat on them, trying to clear what felt like a rock in his throat.

She didn’t blame him. He hadn’t missed the meaning, or the truth behind it. Not only did he not need to beg her forgiveness, she’d decided there was no fault to forgive.

Colin didn’t know if he believed that. Right then and there what he believed didn’t matter. Only Ashley mattered. Ashley’s trust, her acceptance and her love—even if he received it from no one else, it didn’t matter. If no one was left on earth save him and the two girls—two
women
, he’d loved for so long, he’d be a happy man.

As his head dropped back hard against the wall, Colin groaned. Imagining himself with both of them was a very bad idea. His hands had been full with one before enlisting. Both?

If Ashley was anything like Steph, he wouldn’t survive a single night. The thought made him groan again. The guests better come quick. If not, he was going to the kitchen to bang his stepsister while she put icing on the damn cake.

* * * *

“Ashley grew into quite a beauty, didn’t she, Roland?”

“Such a miracle. You must thank God every day for giving you such a miracle.”

“Have the doctors told you if there’s any brain damage?”

Stephanie clenched her fist around the knife and stabbed it into the cake. For the first hour of the party—which she considered a flop since Ashley’s mother had yet to show and had managed to spoil the surprise—Stephanie tolerated the gushing, the questions, the exaggerated shows of concern. Now she was fed up. Letting go of the knife, before she was tempted to use it on anyone, she turned slowly.

Eyes burning with rage, Colin stood. Stephanie stepped up to his side, prepared to lash out with words to keep him from lashing out with his fist.

Ashley skipped in front of them, mahogany colored curls bouncing off her shoulders, and faced their uncle, a big smile on her face. “No brain damage. Actually the doctors were amazed I made such a complete recovery. No neurological impairment, no dampening of nociception—you can’t believe how relieved I was to hear that…”

Colin snorted and coughed back a laugh. Stephanie looked over at him, wondering what was so funny.

At ease now Colin smiled, leaned close and whispered in her ear. “Nociception is the perception of painful stimulus.”

Stephanie had to fight not to snort herself. So much for coming to her stepsister’s rescue. She obviously didn’t need it.

The coma hadn’t killed Ashley’s spirit. In fact, it looked like it might have just given it some edge.

“It must be so hard for you though…” An old lady—one of Steph’s great-aunts if she could remember correctly—was saying. “Waking up to find you’ve lost two years of your life… Then to find out that young man you were seeing…”

“Bob.” Uncle Roland injected readily.

The old woman smiled and nodded. “That’s right. Bob.” She gave Ashley a sickeningly sympathetic look. “Well to find out he’s dead.”

Cold and detached, Ashley settled her light green eyes on the woman’s face. “No. Actually I’m just happy to know he didn’t kill anyone else. He was drunk. He shouldn’t have been driving. I was stupid to get in the car with him.”

“Cake anyone?” Stephanie held up a plate with a slice, her tone loud enough to make it clear the subject was closed.

The guests began to converge around the table. Stephanie handed out slices, her eyes drifting over to Ashley who had evaded Colin and was playing with the stereo. Several guests muttered complaints about the heavy metal she put on, but a glance from Stephanie silenced them. This was Ashley’s party, not a display of the miracle girl for their entertainment. If they didn’t like it, they could leave.

The music made the atmosphere much more pleasant. Stephanie wasn’t crazy about the screaming and squealing guitars herself, but she could tolerate it. Most of the others couldn’t. The old women made their way to the kitchen, the men headed to the backyard to smoke. Only Colin, Ashley, and a collection of Steph’s cousins were still in the room.

Maybe the worst had passed. Maybe, just maybe, the party hadn’t been such a bad idea after all. Ashley seemed happy enough now; chatting with one of Steph’s cousins over a CD he was showing her. Heartened, Stephanie looked over at Colin. He didn’t look happy at all. Actually, it looked like he wanted very much to go over and throttle her cousin every time he so much as brushed against Ashley’s arm.

Lips curved, Stephanie looked him over. His stance said it all. Jaw shifting as he ground his teeth, fist clenched at his sides, feet shoulder width apart in a ready fighters stance. Someone had gotten possessive. He probably didn’t know it yet, but Stephanie read him well. Filing the information for a later date, she moved to tell him to lose the glare before someone else noticed.

The front door swung open, hitting the wall, drawing everyone’s attention. The old women came in from the kitchen. The men ambled in from the backyard. Everyone stared.

“Happy birthday, baby!” Steph’s father, Joseph Walker, stumbled into the room. The stench of liquor rose off him in waves.

Ashley took a step towards him and froze. Her nose wrinkled. She took a step back.

Joseph didn’t notice. Closing the distance between them, he grabbed Ashley and pressed sloppy kisses on her face. He dropped his arm over the back of her neck. “I got you something.”

Stephanie dropped the knife on the empty cake platter and followed Joseph as he dragged Ashley out the door, Colin at her heel. At the sight of what her father was proudly showing his stepdaughter, Stephanie covered her mouth.

A huge red bow covered the hood of the pristine white sports car. Her father weaved as he slapped a set of keys into Ashley’s hand.

Ashley’s eyes were wide as she licked her trembling lips. “You drove it here?”

Stephanie rushed to Ashley’s side. It looked like she was going to faint. Or be sick.

Nodding stupidly, Joseph gave her a lopsided grin. “Something extra special for my darling’s eighteenth birthday.”

A car screeched to a stop. Stunned, Stephanie watched the door open. Ashley’s mother, Grace, slid out from behind the wheel.

“You drunken fool. I told you not to get it.” Her heels clicked against the pavement as she walked up to Ashley. “I’m so sorry, baby.” She kissed Ashley’s cheek and carefully cleaned spot of lipstick with her thumb. “We’ll get rid of him and go back in. Enjoy your party. What do you say?”

Stephanie could feel Ashley shaking. She tried to think of some way to fix this.

Colin came to the rescue. Kind of. “Party’s over. Me and Steph are bringing Ashley out to see if we can salvage what’s left of the night.”

Joseph’s eyes narrowed. “Like hell you are. Stephanie threw her a nice party right here. You’re not going to ruin it for her.”

Colin stepped up to him and sneered. “I can’t. You already have.”