Mask - A Stepbrother Romance (27 page)

I stowed the phone back in my pocket and headed towards my first class for the day. Secretly, I had to admit that I’d really accepted this dinner date with Jason to make Logan think that the incident today had meant nothing to me. If he saw me going out with other guys, he’d think I didn’t actually care about him all that much, and he’d also think I didn’t care that he’d almost brought me orgasm in the kitchen with barely a touch.

He’d think it meant nothing, and that was exactly what I wanted him to think.

Too bad it wasn’t exactly true…

Chapter 8

Logan

I watched Sasha walk into our social psychology lecture theatre, barely even noticing the friend she had with her. Just the sight of her made my cock twitch and I had to adjust my jeans a bit as I shifted in my seat. I’d been in a state of semi-arousal ever since I saw her laughing yesterday morning, although there was no fucking way I’d admit that to her, or anyone else for that matter. The girl was a goddess, and she had no idea how her small involuntary acts affected men. The thought of other guys perving over her made me see red, and honestly, that was a first for me. I wasn’t the jealous kind, but Sasha Vega was affecting me like crazy, as much as I tried to hide that fact.

She thought me teasing her yesterday in the kitchen had just been part of our joking games, but that wasn’t true; it was just what I wanted her to think. Touching her was no joke. I’d wanted her so bad, wanted to make her come right on the spot…but I’d finally snapped back to reality and realized I couldn’t before walking away as fast as possible.

I kept staring at her, and I saw her taking her usual seat. I knew she’d spotted me, but she ignored me, just like she’d done for the last three days.

I knew she was pissed that I’d inadvertently implied that her Mom a gold-digger, but she’d really gotten the wrong impression of what I’d been trying to say. I’d only been trying to lighten the mood by calling attention to the fact that out of all the people in the world, our parents had married each other, making Sasha and me off-limits to each other despite the obvious sexual tension between us, and also the fact that our parents were quite a strange pair given that Sasha’s Mom seemed like a young-at-heart, fun-loving woman, and my father was a very serious guy. I hadn’t meant it in a bad way, but Sasha had really taken it badly.

Then again….maybe she had a point. Maybe I really
did
think something was dodgy about her mother, and that had all spilled out in some sort of Freudian slip. After all, I’d seen enough of Dad’s past relationships to give me pause, and I’d been somewhat wary of her mother since day one because of that.

I furrowed my brows, trying to remember exactly how our argument had started; exactly why I’d tripped over my tongue and said such awful shit about her Mom.

The snake.

That’s right, it was that fucking toy snake prank she’d pulled on me. She’d really gotten me good. I’d gone to lather myself up with some shower gel and suddenly come face to face with a fucking
snake
in my shower. I’d stayed calm, taken a deep breath and reached out of the shower to grab my phone from the bathroom counter so I could call Animal Control.

Okay, so that was a lie. Even a guy like me could be a pussy little bitch when it came to snakes. In reality, I’d shouted my lungs out and made a mad dash out of the bathroom, down the stairs and right into the kitchen, and it was only when I’d come face to face with Sasha that I’d realized I was still stark naked.

And I’d forgotten my towel.

I’d only been embarrassed about that for a few seconds, because as soon as I’d seen Sasha laughing her lungs out, I’d immediately forgotten the snake and switched from embarrassment to awe. I‘d never seen anyone more beautiful than her. She had a damn sexy laugh and it could pull any red-blooded man right off his guard.

I’d wanted her so much that I’d forgotten all about the stupid, immature prank and cornered her. The way she’d gotten all flustered and blushed at my closeness had made me hard as a rock, and then the way she reacted when I teased her kept me hard. I knew I had it bad for her even though she was off-limits, and fuck, I had since the first moment I’d seen her, before I’d even known she was going to be my stepsister.

But that only made me want her more.

When she’d thrust those gorgeous breasts up into my face, moaning and begging me for more, I’d almost picked her up and torn all her clothes off right then and there, but luckily, reality had set in, and I’d managed to tear myself away and leave her there to cool off.

But of course, hot-headed that she was, she’d had to follow me, and in my wildly-aroused state, my brain had turned to mush, and I’d said things to her that only came out of my mouth because I wanted to shield myself and not let her know that how much she affected me. I didn’t want to let her see how deep she had gotten under my skin, so I’d blurted the first thing that came to my mind, and of course, I’d made myself look like a complete fucking tool by accidentally saying shit about her mother.

I’d let her ignore me for the last few days, because I totally deserved it, but honestly, I was missing our usual exchange of insults and Matcher messages like crazy.

“You’re coming to Rhett’s party tonight, aren’t you?” my friend Ryan asked me as I trudged up the steps that led to the back door of the lecture theatre. My eyes automatically scanned the room, checking to see if Sasha had left yet.

“Maybe,” I replied, finally registering what Ryan had asked. Before I committed to any parties, I wanted to know what Sasha’s plans were for the night.

I finally spotted her at the other end of the theatre, talking to some guy. I couldn’t see who he was but I could clearly see Sasha’s face. She was smiling up at the guy and running her fingers through her hair, and I fisted my hands as blood pumped faster than usual in my veins at the sight of her flirting. I could see her blushing even from a distance, and the guy’s hand lifted up a second later. He caressed her cheek before glancing back over his shoulder to say goodbye to someone who’d just patted him on the back, and I finally saw who he was.

Jason Lowry.

Now
that
dude was a player and a half. He’d slept with over half the chicks on campus, and he managed to make even
me
look like a monk.

And there he was, was touching my stepsister.

“Fucking prick!” I swore under my breath and almost stormed towards them to beat the pulp out of him for even putting a finger on her, but Ryan’s voice held me back.

“What’s stuck up your ass today, man?” He placed a hand on my shoulder, stopping me from advancing towards the other end of the room. “So you coming out tonight or what?”

“Like I said, maybe. Might have plans already.” I stepped away from his hold, but when I turned towards Sasha, she was already walking away from where she’d originally been, heading towards the door. I followed her and caught up with her quickly. It was a good thing Jason wasn’t with her anymore or else I might not have been responsible for my actions.

“Was that Jason Lowry you were just with?” I said, touching my hand to her shoulder.

I couldn’t keep the chauvinistic tone out of my voice as I spoke, as much as I tried, and Sasha jumped and looked at me in surprise. A frown appeared on her forehead and I had a sudden urge to kiss her right then and there, just to see how she would feel and taste on my lips.

When she didn’t reply right away, I kept speaking to fill the awkward silence. “You know that guy’s an asshole, right?”

Sasha finally rolled her eyes and began to walk away without even one word in response.

“I asked you something,” I said, following her.

“Why are you here, Logan?” she said without looking at me. “Why do you care which guys I talk to?”

“I’m here because I’m in your class, and as for your other question, I’m technically your brother now. I’m allowed to know who you’re talking to, right?”

She stopped and looked up at me, tilting her head in an ‘
oh-really?
’ kind of way. I loved how short she was; so petite and feminine, and the perfect size for me to easily pick up and carry around. If only she’d let me…

Judging by the scornful look on her face, that wasn’t going to happen anytime soon.

Or ever.

“I don’t have to tell you anything. Just because I live in your house, that doesn’t make you my real brother, and it doesn’t give you any right to question who I meet and who I talk to,” she replied.

With that, she turned on her heel and marched away, and I was left staring at her pert round ass as she headed out of the lecture theatre.

Shit.

I decided to tell Ryan I was going to the party as I walked towards home, and I sent him a quick text. Given the encounter with Sasha just now, it would be stupid to stay in and wait around when she was clearly interested in another guy. And speaking of that guy…considering my extreme emotional reaction when I’d seen her with him, I was in a terrible need to get my head back on track. This wasn’t like me. I never got jealous or invested too much emotion into girls, and I sure as hell couldn’t start doing so now, especially when the girl in question was my stepsister.

I had to prove to myself that I was still Logan Ryder.

After texting Ryan, I walked into the house and headed straight towards my room. A feminine voice echoed through the walls a moment later, and my ears pricked up as I realized it was Sasha.

“What the actual hell?” she was saying.

Before I knew it, I was peeping into her room through her slightly open door.

She had what appeared to be half of her closet emptied over the bed, and I couldn’t resist the temptation of teasing her. I opened the door wider and stood next to the doorframe.

“Heading somewhere, sis?”

She looked up at me and rolled her eyes. “Please get out of here, Logan. I don’t have time for your crap right now,” she said.

Damn…
she looked cute when she was annoyed. But I already knew that.

She was wearing an olive-colored tank top and black cut-off jeans, her hair was knotted into a messy bun with tendrils escaping here and there, and she looked sexy as hell.

“What’s all the mess for?” I asked, gesturing towards the clothes strewn all over the bed.

“None of your business,” she mumbled as she rummaged through the pile, throwing shirts here and there. “Ugh, where the hell are my black jeans?”

I spotted her jeans beneath under a faded blue coat, but I didn’t tell her just yet. “Do you have something special planned for tonight?” I asked as I slowly neared her bed. “Wouldn’t be a date, would it?”

I was trying as hard as I could to keep the jealousy out of my voice, but I knew some had crept in.

“Have you drafted yourself a new set of responsibilities that include you keeping tabs on my every move?” Sasha replied.

She threw a pillow towards my head, and I easily caught it before it could hit me. “Nah. Just doing my brotherly job,” I said before bending down and grabbing the black jeans from where they were poking out.

“Is this what you’re looking for?” I continued, waving the jeans at her.

Her face fell with relief. “Yes, that’s them. Thanks.”

She reached towards me and I dodged away, grinning as I held the jeans up too high for her to reach. That was one advantage of being a foot taller than her; I could easily tease her.

“Logan, what are you doing? Give my jeans back and quit acting like a four year old!” she said, looking at me like I was a known carrier of the Ebola virus.

“Tell me first,” I said. I was acting like this was all some childish game, but in reality, I desperately wanted to know if she was actually dating that Jason asshole.

“Tell you what?” she asked. I raised both of my brows, and she finally caught on to what I meant. “I told you, that’s none of your business,” she added.

“Okay. In that case, I’m borrowing these jeans. That’s okay, right? Siblings are meant to share everything.”

I pretended to make a big deal about inspecting the quality of the jeans, and Sasha folded her arms and sighed.

“Jeez, if it’ll get you the hell out of my room, then fine….yes, I am going on a date. Now give my jeans back and get out!” she said.

The cheeky smile on my face faded as she spoke. I’d thought she was most likely going somewhere with a friend, but as it turned out, she really did
have a date.

“With Jason, I presume?”

“Again, that’s none of your business. But yes, Jason Lowry,” Sasha replied. “I met him on Matcher.”

Ugh. Was she totally out of her mind? How could she not see what a sleazy prick that guy was? Before I could get over the surprise of her actually going on a date with him, Sasha snatched the jeans out of my hand. “Out,” she said, pointing towards the door.

I still couldn’t believe it. Then again, I guess nothing was unexpected when it came to Sasha Vega.

“Listen, Sasha, he’s not a nice guy. He…” I began speaking again, trying to talk her out of it, because I’d known Jason longer than she had, and I knew he was a world class bastard who would use her and throw her away like a piece of trash. I didn’t want that for her. She was too important and special to be treated like that by asshole guys who didn’t know what they had.

She cut me off mid-sentence. “No,
you
listen to
me
, Logan. You’re not really my brother, so stop pretending as if you’re keeping an eye out for me over some familial duty. I know you’re only doing it to piss me off, and besides, I can date whoever I want.”

That was true, but I wished it wasn’t.

“So you’re really going out with him?”