Forbidden: Ultimate Stepbrother Collection (10 page)

Chapter 23

McKenna

“Joshua,” I said, fear making my voice rough and small, “how did you get here?”

“Rode here on my motorcycle. It was pretty easy to find out where your mom’s husband lived. Then the housekeeper was kind enough to tell your
loving, concerned brother
that you’d gone to the motel. My lucky day, I guess, because here you are. All alone.”

“I told you we were through.” I remembered flattery always worked with the jerk. Big head, big ego and big temper. That was Joshua. “Let’s face it, having me around was only crimping your style.” I forced a light tone even though my pulse was pounding in my ears. “You always have so many girls texting you, wanting you. It wasn’t fair for me to keep you to myself.” A short, shaky laugh burst from my lips.

Joshua’s lids looked heavy as they fell and lifted over his dark eyes. He’d been drinking. It was liquor that always produced the nasty temper. Joshua was dangerous when he was drunk.

He took an unsteady step toward me. My gaze flitted around the room for a possible defense weapon. An open box of cookies, two cans of diet soda and the already cracked lamp were not a great arsenal. I was in trouble.

A sneer kicked up on his mouth. I could no longer remember what it was I’d found appealing in the man. He was handsome, but his harsh temper made him look monstrous. Especially now. There was nothing to like and everything to hate.

“Damn right you were lucky to have me, bitch. But I’m the one who tells you when you can leave. I wasn’t through with you yet.”

I backed up and knew damn well that I was backing myself into a corner like a scared rabbit, but there was no way I could push past him. While Joshua had hit me and handled me roughly on too many occasions, he had never forced himself on me. But the sickening way he was looking at me through a half-drunken stare made my stomach knot with fear. He outweighed me by a good seventy pounds. I had no chance of fighting him off.

I tried the diplomatic route. “You know what, you’re right. I don’t like it here in Texas, anyhow. I’ll get my stuff and meet you at your bike. Let’s head back to California tonight.”

He laughed, and the cold sound of it felt like an ice pick in my chest. “What’s the hurry, babe? I say we stay the night. I’ve been craving that pussy of yours the whole road here.” He stepped close enough that I could smell the disgusting combination of sweat and beer.

I felt close to puking. The wall was right behind me. The room was so cramped, there was only a slim space to get past him. “Not tonight,” I blurted. “This bed smells, and it’s crawling with fleas. Let’s get out of here.”

“I don’t give a fuck about the bed. I’ll take you right here against the wall of this motel.” He lunged at me. I ducked and flailed my arms to get past him. My elbow struck him hard in the chin and his teeth snapped together.

“Ouch, you fucking bitch.” He might have been drunk, but he still had good reflexes and plenty of strength. His hand shot out. He grabbed my arm and wrenched it back painfully.

“Stop,” I cried. “You’re going to break it.” Tears clouded my eyes as a searing pain shot through my shoulder. With one strong tug, he yanked me back to the space between him and the unforgiving wall. My leg shot forward, and I struck his knee hard enough to make him suck in an angry breath. But it didn’t stop him from pursuing what he had his mind set on.

He shoved me hard against the wall. My head smacked the plaster, and the lamp fell onto the bed. I reached for it, but my fingers couldn’t grasp it. His thick fingers grabbed the front of my shirt. He shredded the fabric in half. I threw my fist at the side of his head. He responded by throwing his fist at my face. An explosion of pain started in my cheek and radiated out across my entire face. My eyes drifted shut. My head was trying to pull me down into blackness, but I wouldn’t allow myself to pass out. I had to stay awake and defend myself from this monster.

I didn’t have muscles, but I did have something he didn’t have. Fingernails. I clawed at his face, and I gagged as my nails sank into the flesh on his cheeks. He yelled out and ripped my hands from his face. He held both of my wrists in one hand. I was sure he would break the thin bones between his massive fingers. He reached for the lamp cord and, with one hard pull, he ripped it from the base of the lamp and the wall. The last thing I saw before the room was bathed in darkness were the thin rivers of blood streaming down his face.

He bound my hands so tightly, the lamp cord cut into my skin and my hands tingled. Self-defense was out. Screaming was my only chance. The second a scream left my mouth, Joshua pressed his hand against my mouth, nearly suffocating me in the process.

“Do you want me to shove my fist into your mouth? Because that is what’s going to happen if you scream again. I will knock out all your pretty teeth with one punch.”

I nodded to assure him I didn’t want to lose my teeth. I was thankful for the lack of light. It was harder to see his hideous face. He yanked the lamp cord and I stumbled forward. Like a dog on a leash, he dragged me over to the side of the bed. I jumped back before he could push me down on it.

He pulled even harder on the cord. Blood dripped from my wrists. He grabbed my hair and pulled me to him. His disgusting mouth clamped down over mine as his hands reached for the hook on my bra. A knock on the door startled him from his attack.

He glanced at the door, then looked at me. “Who are you expecting?”

“Maybe someone heard my scream,” I said, hoping to deter him more.

There was another knock. “McKenna!” Luke’s voice came through the door.

“Luke!” I screamed.

Joshua’s hand wrapped around my throat, and he pushed me hard against the wall. I clutched frantically at his hand. I tried to take a breath, but he had my air supply choked off. In the haze of my terror, I heard a loud crash. The door flew open.

I was slowly losing consciousness. Suddenly, Joshua’s hand fell away. In the shadows of the room, I saw his body fly into the small table and chairs. I sank to the ground. The sound of wood breaking mingled with a long painful groan. Light from the street illuminated sections of the room and I saw Luke’s tall figure bent down over Joshua.

With oxygen rushing back into my lungs, I regained my bearings. With the support of the wall, I pushed to standing.

Luke dragged Joshua to his feet. “I’m going to fucking kill you,” Luke hissed. His fist flew into Joshua’s face and blood splattered from his nose.

Joshua was big, but he didn’t have a chance against Luke. His fist came at him again. I heard bone break and a sickening thudding sound. Red flashing lights lit up the room, and sirens shrieked through the night air.

Joshua looked like a rag doll. His limbs and head hung lifelessly in Luke’s grasp. Luke lifted his arm to hit him again.

“Luke!” I cried. “Stop. It’s enough. It’s over.” He looked at Joshua, seemingly still wanting to hit him, but then released him. Joshua’s limp body dropped to the floor.

A command came through a loudspeaker asking us to come out with our hands behind our heads. Luke untied the cord around my hands. Blood was smeared over my arms.

“I called the police in case I didn’t make it here in time.” There was a hitch in Luke’s voice.

“But you did make it,” I said. “You saved me.” I broke down into tears, and his arms went around me. I’d never felt as safe as I had right then in those arms.

Chapter 24

Luke

I held McKenna tightly against me as I led her up to her bedroom. The trembling had stopped, and her tears had dried and now, exhaustion and shock were setting in. When I’d broken down the motel room door and saw that fucker with his hand on McKenna’s throat, I had only one thought. Kill him. Beat him until blood was squirting from his ears and eyes. And I would have carried out my plan if McKenna hadn’t pleaded with me to stop.

Once he’d regained consciousness, paramedics had administered first aid as the police read him his rights. McKenna had been glued to my side through it all. I knew then that there was no way I could let her leave me. Ever.

Dad followed us up with McKenna’s suitcase. He and Drake had gotten to the motel just after the police had taken our statements. The angry lecture about right and wrong had faded away with the rest of the day’s shitty events. Dad was just relieved we were both all right.

We got McKenna up to her room. An ugly black bruise stained her cheek, and there were red marks around her neck. Just looking at the marks made me want to go down to the police station and finish the job.

Dad placed a supportive hand on my shoulder. “I’ll let you see to her. I’ll be downstairs if you need me.” He knew now that my affection for McKenna wasn’t just some fast and furious sex thing. Although, it had been that too, but I was crazy about her. And he saw that tonight. In fact, I saw it too. I hadn’t realized how much I loved her until I knew she was in danger.

“Thanks, Dad.”

“Uh huh,” McKenna said sleepily. “Thanks, Dad.”

Dad left the room with a smile.

McKenna swayed a bit on her feet as I took off her ripped shirt and bra. I pulled the long t-shirt that she usually wore to bed over her head. She grinned with starry blue eyes up at me as she pushed off her shoes and pants. “You’re sexy,” she said in a long, groggy drawl. Her eyes drifted closed for a second. “Of course, you already knew that. But now that you came and rescued me like one of those cool western cowboy heroes, you’re even more sexy.”

“Let me get you into bed.”

“That’s probably a good idea because the room is sort of turning circles around me at the moment.”

I led her to the bed. She climbed under the covers. I kissed her forehead.

“Thank you, my hero.”

“Anytime, my little damsel.”

***

I walked the colt into the barn. He was getting close, but he still needed some work. Eventually, he’d make a great cutting horse. I walked back outside. McKenna was half-skipping toward me. It had been a week since the attack. McKenna had spent the first few days in bed recuperating from the shock of it. I’d kept busy with work on the ranch and riding practice. I’d hardly seen her, and seeing her, with the bruise half-faded and a white smile on her face, made me realize just how badly I’d missed her.

We hadn’t talked about our fight or our relationship at all. She’d gone through a horrible ordeal, and I was sure it was the last thing she wanted to discuss. Even now, I knew that smile plastered across her pretty face was for the horses and not for me.

“Ranger’s been asking for you,” I called.

Her smile widened. “Really?”

“Well, maybe not asking, but he does poke his head out expectantly every time I walk into the barn.”

“See, I knew he loved me.” She walked past me to the barn, and all I could think was that suddenly, I was jealous of a damn horse. I followed her inside.

She walked right over to Ranger’s stall and reached up to stroke the horse’s neck. For days after she’d arrived in Texas, I’d stood back and watched her, falling more and more in love with her each day. At the same time, my insides had been knotting up as I reminded myself I couldn’t have her. It had been torture. A torture I had not been able to endure. I’d ended my suffering by confessing to her that I wanted her. It seemed those days of denying myself had returned. She’d returned to the ranch, and we were talking again. But nothing had been resolved. One thing was for damn sure, my feelings for her had only grown stronger.

I walked over and took Ranger’s halter from the hook. McKenna was just inches from me. I breathed in her sweet, citrusy scent. It took me a second to remember why I’d walked over there. “You can get him out and brush him. Ranger loves a good grooming.”

“Great.”

I led the horse out, and McKenna picked up a brush. “I missed the horses.” She rubbed the brush along Ranger’s coat.

“I could sense that when you were skipping like a little girl in this direction.”

“Was I?” she laughed. “God, I’m such a dork.”

I gazed at her over the horse’s back. “And damn if that dorkiness doesn’t make you that much hotter.”

She blushed and drew her gaze away. It was almost as if we were starting from scratch again. The flirting, the innocent smiles, we were back to square one. And somehow, I was fine with that. As long as it meant that we’d eventually get back to that awesome fucking square we’d been on when she’d climbed on the tractor and stripped naked for me. I longed for that square again.

“Luke, I’m sorry for what happened,” she said suddenly.

“What do you mean?”

“I feel like I brought my dirty laundry, my seedy little past with me to Texas. I put you in danger.” Her voice cracked.

I walked around to the side she was on. Her shoulder shook with a sob.

“Hey.” I reached for her and pulled her against my chest. I tightened my arms around her. Everything about holding McKenna felt right to me. This was where she was supposed to be. “I wasn’t in danger, Slick. That weasel didn’t have a chance against me. I’m just glad I got there in time.”

She nodded and lifted her face. “I’m scared. What if he comes after me again? I knew he was dangerous, but I had no idea he’d follow me to Texas.”

“You don’t have to worry about him again. You are staying here with us, and none of us will let anything happen to you.”

“But when I leave here?”

Her question caught me off guard. “So stay.”

She didn’t respond to my offer. I had no idea how to interpret her silence. Maybe she didn’t want to stay. It was entirely possible that she had plans to leave soon. That thought darkened my mood completely. How had I managed to lose myself to this woman so fast?

Then McKenna rose up on her toes and kissed me lightly on the mouth. That was how. She was fucking unforgettable.

Chapter 25

McKenna

“Come on, McKenna, you can do this,” I told myself as I pulled my bathrobe on over my completely naked body. After all, I’d stripped down to a hat and cowboy boots in the middle of a tool shed for the man. I could certainly make it across to his side of the house wrapped in a fluffy bathrobe. If anyone saw me, I’d just tell them I’d gotten lost on the way to the kitchen. That excuse sounded lame even in my head. Still, I was determined to go through with my tawdry little plan.

The house was quiet and dark, which I had been counting on. Only now, I had to make sure to not lose my way in the giant house. I’d only walked over to Luke’s side of the estate twice and never in the cloak of night.

My heart pounded but not in fear. It pounded at the prospect of what I was about to do. Luke and I had been flirting and teasing each other for a week. I sensed that he was worried he’d scare me off by trying anything more than that. I also sensed that he going crazy with the meaningless teasing. I was too. I needed him. I needed Luke to touch me like he had those weeks when we’d thrown common sense out the window.

I reached his bedroom door. His television wasn’t on. I could have knocked or whispered through the door, but I decided to be bold. Just as he had that first night when he’d come to my room.

I pushed open the door. Luke had just gotten out of the shower. He had a towel around his waist. The bedroom light reflected off his green eyes. “McKenna?”

I slammed the door shut behind me. “Oh good, you’re already naked.” I pushed the robe from my shoulders. He met me halfway and swept me into his arms. My feet lifted off the ground, and he swirled me around once. Then, with slow precision, making sure to pass my naked body slowly along his, he lowered my feet to the floor.

“You’re right. That sainthood shit is completely overrated.” I pushed his towel off.

His mouth came down hard over mine, and his erection pushed against my belly as he held me against him.

“Shit,” he growled as he pulled his mouth from mine. “I’ve got to slow down. I’ve been thinking about this for days.” He kissed me again. His mouth trailed kisses down my neck and along my shoulders. He knelt down in front of me and took my breast in his mouth, drawing slow circles around my taut nipples. His hands circled around my ass and he lowered his face to my pussy.  “God I’ve missed this,” he muttered as he pressed his lips against me. His hands slid down my bottom and between my legs from behind. He gazed up at me from his knees. The look of pleading, of raw need in his eyes, made me draw in a sharp breath.

“Spread your thighs for me, baby. Let me taste you.”

I pushed my feet wider. The fresh air in the room cooled the moisture surging between the folds of my pussy. I wrapped my fingers in his hair as his tongue stroked and teased my clit. His skilled touch, a touch that seemed to know exactly what I needed, made me sway on my feet.

Without warning, he stood and lifted me into his arms. He carried me to the bed, laid me down and then pressed himself down between my thighs. His face was once again between my legs. I hooked my knees over his broad shoulders.

“That’s it, darlin’. I want to see all of you.” He spread the folds of my pussy apart and pushed his tongue inside of me. I gasped and squirmed at first, but he held his mouth hard against me, coaxing more cream and managing to find every glorious, intimate spot.

“How do you know exactly where to touch me, Luke?” My words floated from my mouth.

He pressed his mouth against my thigh and his breath warmed my skin as he spoke. “Because you were meant for me, and I was meant for you, Slick. We were made for each other.”

He returned his mouth to my pussy. His thick fingers pushed inside of me as his mouth hungrily stroked my aching clit. I moved my hips and bucked against him, wanting more and wanting it harder. He complied by pushing his fingers deeper. I reached down and tangled my fingers in his hair, holding his mouth securely against me. “Oh, god yes, Luke, yes!” I cried out as my pussy pulsed around his hand and tongue. My nipples hardened, and a warm blush covered my skin as he continued gently stroking me with his tongue until the waves of pleasure subsided. There was only one thing that could make the last few seconds better. “Fuck me, now, Luke. Please.”

I hadn’t needed to plead or ask twice. He shot up over me and slammed into me with his massive erection. I’d almost forgotten how enormous it was until he was buried deep inside of me. I lifted my hips to meet his thrusts and each time felt more delicious than the last.

“Fuck, I forgot what it was like to be inside of you, baby. Like fucking heaven.” He slid his hand beneath me and lifted me so that my pussy absorbed the full impact of every blow.

My pussy creamed with more moisture. Like always, he sensed that I needed more. “You ready to come again, baby?” he asked. “I fucking want you to. Please.” He reached down between our bodies and shoved his thumb against my clit. I mewled softly, letting him know that he’d found the right spot.

A hoarse chuckle came from his mouth. “You like that, Slick, don’t you? I know just what you fucking need, baby. I’m going to make you come all damn night.”

I moaned as his perfectly timed strokes brought me again to climax. My fingers dug into his arms as my pussy tightened around him. Through it all, his cock filled me, making every part of me shudder with pleasure. Seconds later, a low groan rolled up from his chest as he came inside of me. Steam rolled off our bodies as our heartbeats slowed.

Luke lowered himself down next to me on the bed and circled his arms around me. I was where I was supposed to be, wrapped in his arms.