Mine - A Stepbrother Romance (6 page)

CHAPTER SIX

ARIZONA

I was so nervous I could barely eat as we all sat around the formal dinner table. Roy and Layla had insisted on having a big family meal for my first night here, and just the idea of having to be in the same room as Mason sent shivers down my spine. Ugh. He was such an asshole, and now I had to share a house with him. On a positive note, though…I was also living with my favorite freaking actress in the world! I was still star-struck just being around her, but so far she’d made it all easy for me. She was just as lovely in person as I’d always imagined from all the interviews and articles I’d seen and read in the past. No wonder Mason had a problem with her – he was a total ass, so he probably only liked the company of other asses.

Roy had spent the afternoon showing me around the place before taking me to my new bedroom, and I’d almost needed a dentist to come and pick my jaw up off the floor when I’d seen the size of it. It was enormous with bay windows overlooking the terrace outside, and in the middle of the room was a four-poster canopy bed, just like I’d seen in all the fairytale picture books I’d read as a child. I had a massive walk in closet, and I even had my own bathroom. The closet had golden-plated fixtures, a chandelier overhead and a velvet chaise sofa off to one side. That was all probably nothing to someone who was used to having money and a big house, but to me it was insane.

There was a full staff employed at the house to keep everything running smoothly, and Roy had made it very clear that if there was anything I needed, then I could ask them if he wasn’t around. Anything at all. For a wildly-successful billionaire, he actually seemed quite nervous as he showed me around, and I could understand why. He’d missed out on the chance to be a father to me for the last nineteen years, and now he must have felt like he had to make up for all that now.

I still barely knew what to feel. The rational part of my mind knew that he was my biological father and that this was my home, but I still felt like my real home was back in Leyton, as much as that place had sucked. I felt like a total impostor in this world of mansions, designer clothes and credit cards with no limits. Roy had even given me a card and told me to use it whenever and however I wanted, but I didn’t know if I could. It didn’t feel right. Luckily I still had some savings to tide me over for now.

“Pass the potatoes, please,” Roy said, glancing at Mason.

Mason smiled politely and passed them to him, and I gaped at him. It was like he was a totally different person right now than he had been earlier when he went storming out of the study, but it was all such a sham. He was wearing a perfectly-pressed collared shirt, his hair was neatly combed into place, and he was making genial small talk with Roy and chuckling away like nothing major had changed in his life. Maybe it really wasn’t a change for him. Maybe he simply didn’t give a crap that I’d just been forced into his world.

As I watched him, I wondered how Roy would react if he found out his well-dressed, well-behaved stepson had tried to solicit me for sex just a couple of weeks ago. Bet this family dinner wouldn’t be so fun for him then!

We were just starting our main courses for the evening when I felt something cold touch my shin. I almost jumped out of my chair, and then I realized it was Mason’s shoe sliding up and down my leg.

“Are you all right, Arizona?” Roy asked, peering at me over his glasses.

“Random muscle spasm,” I said with a forced smile.

“You should get that checked out,” Mason said with a slight smirk. “You could have some sort of neurological disorder.”

“Oh, I don’t think I’m the one with the brain disorder in this room,” I shot back before remembering where I was. Oops. I hoped I hadn’t offended Roy or Layla.

Luckily, they raised their eyebrows and then began to laugh.

“That’s funny,” Roy said through his guffaws. “Glad to see you two are already joking around with each other! Just like real siblings.”

“Yes…joking,” Mason said before mouthing something at me.
Bitch.

He pretended to drop a fork a second later, and as he reached under the table to grab it, he leaned over and pinched my thigh. Hard. This time I was expecting it, and I didn’t react other than throwing him an icy stare when he came back up. What the hell was the immature brat playing at? Was he trying to embarrass me or something? Well, bring it on, rich kid. I could play that game just as well.

A maid came in to refill our champagne glasses, and I reached across the table for the pepper grinder and ‘accidentally’ knocked Mason’s glass over. It tumbled onto his lap, spraying bubbly liquid all over his shirt and pants, and I felt absolutely no guilt whatsoever as I saw the anger in his eyes.

“Oh no!” I said, putting on a regretful air. “I’m so sorry! I can be so clumsy sometimes.”

“It’s fine,” he said, his face darkening as he grabbed a napkin and dabbed at the front of his shirt. If looks could kill, I’d have been vaporized by now.

“Mason,” Layla said a moment later. “You should invite Arizona to one of those parties you’re always going to. It’d be a good chance for her to get to know you and your friends. After all, she doesn’t really know anyone here except us.”

I could tell from his expression that the idea set him on edge. He didn’t want me hanging around his buddies, and the feeling was mutual. I didn’t particularly want to meet them either…if they were anything like him, that is.

“I dunno,” he replied. “She probably wants to make some female friends, and I don’t really have any to introduce her to.”

“Nonsense,” Layla said. “You
always
have girls over.”

Something stabbed at my gut when she said that. It felt like a pang of jealousy, but I wasn’t jealous. No way. Mason could do whatever he wanted and whomever he wanted. Nope. I was just angry at the thought of having to live with a giant man-whore and having to see what I assumed would be a veritable parade of slutty girls throughout the house every week that I remained here. Was Layla really so dense that she thought they were all just friends with him? Perhaps she was simply in denial over what a sleazy prick her son was.

He gritted his teeth. “Fine. There’s a party next week. She can come to that.”

“Wonderful.” Roy’s voice boomed out across the table, and he smiled warmly at us. “I bet you two will be inseparable in no time. Siblings are the best kinds of friends you can have, you know. They’re friends you get to keep forever, through rain, hail or shine.”

“Mm. Excuse me for a sec. Bathroom.”

Mason abruptly stood up and exited the room, and he returned a few moments later with that same cocky smirk on his face that I’d seen so many times now. He was up to something. I had no idea what that something was, but I just knew it.

***

We watched a comedy movie after dinner in the home theatre, and I felt the tension slowly leaving my body as we all laughed along with it. It was only my first night here, but Roy had tried to make me feel as comfortable as possible and told me to make myself at home as much as I could, and that was definitely helping. Mason hadn’t seemed too keen on watching a movie with us, but Layla had thrown him a warning look and whispered something to him that made him relent.

I yawned as the credits rolled, and Roy checked his watch. “Well, it’s ten-thirty, and you’ve had a big day, Arizona. I’m sure you just want to relax for a while or sleep. I’ll leave you to it.”

He and Layla said goodnight and headed upstairs to their room, and I stretched and yawned again before slowly ambling up the stairs and down the hall to my own room. Roy was right – I was exhausted after everything that had gone on in the last week. My life was a total soap opera right now.

Mason overtook me in the hall, and I rolled my eyes as I saw him enter the bedroom just across from mine. Great. Out of all the rooms in the house, his had to be right there? I hoped the doors and walls were thick so I didn’t have to hear him with any of his girls.

As I walked into my own room, I saw something propped up against the foot of my bed. I frowned and drew closer, and then smiled as I realized it was a gift, presumably from Roy. It was large and rectangular, and judging by the indentations on the wrapping paper around the edge, it was a piece of framed artwork. There was a note attached.

A – I know we really got off on the wrong foot, but I hope that can change soon seeing as we’re probably going to be living together for a while. You seem like you might appreciate fine art, so I got you this as a ‘welcome’ present. It’d look nice hanging on the wall across from the end of your bed. Enjoy. – M

Wow. It was from Mason. I wrinkled my nose with suspicion, my mind conflicted. Surely this was some sort of prank. Then again, maybe it wasn’t. Maybe he wasn’t as bad as I thought. Yeah, I’d disliked him after my first few encounters with him, but now I was probably going to be stuck with him for a while, so it made sense to try and smooth things over if he was making an effort to do the same. I actually didn’t know the first thing about art, but I was sure he had good taste given his upbringing.

Eagerly tearing open the paper, I glanced at the alleged ‘fine art’, and every thought about patching things up with Mason flew out of the window again. Oh, that slimy little rat. He was such a
dick
! And speaking of dick…

In the ornate frame sat a professionally-shot photograph of Mason, stark naked. Yep. He’d given me an ‘artistic’ nude shot of himself. While he was supposedly in the bathroom earlier during dinner, he must have sneaked it into my room. I’d known he was up to something! I didn’t know whether to scream or salivate as my mouth dropped open at the sight before me. He was the worst possible stepbrother, but I couldn’t deny how sexy he was. He was so tall, his shoulders broad and his abs perfection…and don’t even get me started on his perfect face, as smug as it was.

He had a hand over his bits in the picture, but I could still see enough…enough to make me feel the same tingling I’d experienced the first time I met him. Coupled with everything I knew about him now, it was a weird mix of pure anger and intense desire, and my hand suddenly seemed to develop a mind of its own, pushing down my jeans and lacy underwear and tracing my swollen lips.

No. I couldn’t do
that.
There was only one thing I could do. I yanked my hand out of my pants and tried to push my desire aside, and then I picked up the frame, marched across the hall and hammered on Mason’s door.

“I see you got my gift,” he said as he opened it, handsome features twisted into that famous smirk of his. He’d probably been standing there waiting for me, knowing he’d get some sort of reaction.

“Take it back,” I said through gritted teeth. “I don’t want this.”

“I thought you’d like it,” he said, crossing his arms and regarding me with amusement.

“Well, I don’t,” I replied haughtily. “When did you even get time to do this? I’ve only been here for a day!”

“I have my ways,” he said with an enigmatic grin.

“Let me guess, you keep a bunch of these framed photos stockpiled in there to hand out to girls?”

He chuckled. “No, but that’s a good idea. Thanks. So why don’t you like it?” he said, cocking his head to the side in mock ignorance.

I narrowed my eyes. “You know exactly why. This isn’t art. It’s just you…naked. No one wants to see that.”

“Well, I know I’ve skipped the gym a couple of times this week, but I didn’t think my body looked
that
bad. I’m kinda hurt, sis.”

I thrust the photo in his face again. “Don’t call me sis. I don’t care that our parents are married; we are not family and never will be. I don’t even want to be
friends
with you, let alone anything else. Either take this back or I’m hanging it up at the end of the hall so it’s the first thing Roy and Layla see when they get up tomorrow.”

He held up his hands in mock defeat. “Fine. But once you’ve returned it, that’s it. No take-backsies.”

“Take-backsies? I don’t even know what that is, but it sounds like something a six year old would say. Oh wait, you are around that age mentally, aren’t you?”

I stormed back to my room, not even waiting for his reply, and I furiously undressed and crawled into bed, my skin hot with anger. Tension flooded my body with adrenaline, and suddenly I wasn’t tired anymore. Seeing that photo of him had awakened something deep inside of me; a desperate, longing urge to feel the touch of a man. Until now, I’d needed to believe that all the waiting around for the perfect guy wasn’t all for nothing, but as hormones rushed through me, I began to wonder if that was a mistake.

The adrenaline in my veins gave way to a pulsing warmth which surged through me, filling my core with desire.
Mason.
Thoughts of him made me shiver under the covers, immediately embarrassed by my mind. He was such a douchebag, and my stepbrother to boot. It would be more than inappropriate to start touching myself right now, and even thinking about it made me feel dirty.

But that didn’t stop my hand sliding down over my warm center, and letting out a sigh, I let my fingers delve between my soft pink folds. Closing my eyes, I located the sensitive nub of my clit, stroking and rubbing ever-so-gently as heat rushed through me. A thin sheen of sweat coated my skin as I played in the valley between my legs, and I inhaled deeply as I threw my head back, almost unable to wait for the relief I was seeking.
Think about someone else,
I commanded myself.
Not him.