Rock Hard: A Stepbrother Romance (Extreme Sports Alphas) (18 page)

H
is words kept ringing in my ears.
I’ve been smuggling drugs from Canada for the mob.

My stepbrother the drug smuggler.

I didn’t know what to do with that information. All night long I kept imagining him behind bars, locked up because he got caught bringing drugs into the country.

Worse, I kept imagining all the people who were hooked on the drugs he was responsible for.

And yet he had good reasons. I wasn’t around for all that time. I was too busy out at school to really help out. When it came down to it, Reid had stayed behind, had given up his promising climbing career, and had continued to sacrifice for his family.

But what a sacrifice. Was that really his only option?

Reid was a drug smuggler. He worked with gangsters. He helped pay for his mother’s cancer treatment with drug money. He was partly responsible for the drugs that were flooding into Ridgewood.

Despite the lies and the danger and everything else, all I could think about was his strong hands on my hips, his dick slipping deep between my legs as he fucked me in the deep forest. My heart practically fluttered every time I so much as thought his name.

I slipped out of the house early the next morning and went to work, my mind a distracted daze of conflicted emotions. The Blue was as good a place as any to try to forget as I bustled between tables during the busy day shift.

Part of me was worried that I’d run into Reid, but he didn’t show up. I didn’t know what I would do if he did. I was totally shocked when he first told me, but as time went by I found that I wasn’t totally angry with him.

Because I had no right to be angry. I was the one that left the family, even though Cora had made it clear that she wanted me to graduate.

Reid had stepped up. Reid had put himself in danger in order to help the people that he loved.

Still, it was a huge shock. And he had been lying to everyone for a long time.

The morning slipped by like sand through my fingers, one table turning into the next, and I floated through it all on autopilot. Really, the only thing I could concentrate on was what Reid said to me the night before.

And the look on his face. Almost empty, blank, like he didn’t care about what he was saying. Like he was resigned to being whatever it was the smuggling made him.

As I began to wind down my shift, finishing up my last tables, I looked around the diner. Lindsey had just walked in and was heading into the back. I walked quickly to intercept her.

“Hey, Lindsey,” I called out.

She stopped. “What’s up, Becca?”

“Can I talk to you?”

“Sure. I was just coming in to get ready.”

“I’ll be off in ten.”

She looked a little confused. “Okay, sure.”

I turned on my heel and walked away. I wasn’t sure how I felt about her, and I wasn’t ready to talk about Reid’s smuggling right there in the middle of the floor.

Ten minutes flashed by, though, and I was no closer to figuring out what I wanted to say to her. I walked into the back and found her leaning up against the wall.

“Sit with me while I smoke?” she said.

“Sure.”

I followed her out back and we sat down on the curb. She lit up a cigarette, taking a deep drag.

“I know about Reid,” I said quietly to her.

She raised an eyebrow at me. “What about him?”

“I know about the pills.”

There was a moment of silence between us as she began to process that fact. She took another deep drag, keeping her face calm.

“What about the pills?” she asked finally.

That pissed me off. “Now you’re going to act like you don’t know anything?”

“I’m not sure what you’re talking about.”

I gaped at her. “You’ve been dropping little hints ever since I got home, and now suddenly you don’t know anything?”

She frowned. “Sorry, Becca.”

“I know about everything. About Reid and the smuggling.”

She shook her head. “I can’t talk about this.”

“How much do you know?”

“Becca, seriously. We can’t talk about this.”

Suddenly I noticed that her hand was shaking as she took another drag. She blew smoke out of her nose and looked around nervously.

“What’s going on?”

“Nothing’s going on. I just can’t talk about that.”

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

“Wasn’t my place.” She looked at me seriously. “And it still isn’t.”

“But you know about him. That’s pretty obvious.”

“Yeah, I know some things.”

“What’s going on?” I said, frustrated.

She glanced around. “Okay, listen to me.” She stubbed out her cigarette and leaned close. Her breath smelled sour but I had to keep my face near her mouth to understand what she was whispering.

“This morning, some guys came to my apartment. I mean, I usually buy from them, so it’s cool. But they were pissed, said people were talking.”

“Who was it?”

“I don’t know. But they threatened me. Said that if I kept telling people about their operation, then I was next.”

“Next?”

She stared at me but didn’t answer.

“Is Reid in trouble?” I asked.

“I don’t know, honestly. But these guys, they’re serious as hell. I can’t talk about it anymore.”

“Lindsey, what’s going on?”

She rocked back and stood up. “Forget about it. It’s not your problem.”

“But Reid is involved.”

She frowned. “Becca. Fucking drop it. Don’t ask me about this again.”

I stood up, but she was already walking back inside. I stared at the door as it slammed shut, the pit in my stomach growing even deeper.

Why would people threaten Lindsey? It was pretty clear that she was buying pills from the mob, but did they somehow know what Reid had told me about everything? That was impossible. It had just happened the night before. Or maybe they were just finally cracking down on Lindsey for running her mouth all the time.

Still, there was a lot more happening than Reid had told me, which was becoming more and more clear.

Confused and no closer to answers, I grabbed my stuff and headed home, my shift over. I had a decent amount of money from tips in my pocket, but even that didn’t help distract me from the insanity surrounding Reid.

Back at the house, he wasn’t anywhere to be found. It was still early, so my dad wasn’t home, and Cora had gone somewhere. I had the place to myself, but for some reason it felt crowded. I kept remembering the conversation in the kitchen, Reid’s face, his perfect hands running their callused skin over my clit, sending shivers down my spine.

I quickly got changed, pulled my hiking boots on, and headed out into the woods. I couldn’t stay cooped up in the house and decided that some fresh air could only help.

The trees loomed huge and green, their branches and leaves spider-webbing out through the air, making the sunlight filter through, dappled and bright. My feet crunched over dry twigs and brush and birds chirped somewhere out of sight. For how busy it was, the woods felt peaceful, and as I kept walking I began to feel myself relax ever so slightly.

I knew I was carrying a huge knot of worry in my chest. I was worried about Reid and about these gangsters he was involved with. Talking to Lindsey had only made that worse; she was clearly freaked out.

I should have been freaked out, too. Instead, I was afraid of how I felt about Reid, the desire rolling through my body and the fear of what he was doing.

I wanted him, but he scared me.

As I walked, the area around me began to look pretty familiar. Most of it always looked familiar, since I had grown up in the area, but there was something specific about the trees I was looking at. Suddenly, it hit me: just a few feet ahead was the exact tree Reid had taken me to not long ago.

I stopped in front of the bark and ran my hand down the smooth front, stopping to trace the lines of our initials. I couldn’t help but smile. Reid may be a drug smuggler, but he couldn’t be a bad person. I wouldn’t believe for a second that the man I knew could possibly be in it for just money and didn’t care about anything else.

I sat down and leaned my back against the tree and closed my eyes, smiling softly. I remembered Reid’s skin against my skin, the rough way he took me, the control he had over my body. I remembered the calluses of his hands and the strength he had in everything he did. I was soaking wet by the time I realized I was beginning to nod off.

I didn’t stop myself. The sun was warm, and plus I was exhausted from work. I smiled softly to myself, dreaming about Reid.

––––––––

T
he crack of a breaking twig yanked me from my sleep.

I’d been dreaming about the woods. I dreamed that Reid and I were lost, but I didn’t care. I liked that we were lost. I felt like I didn’t have to be plain old Rebecca anymore, that I didn’t have to be the good college girl anymore.

Out in the woods, I could be someone else. I could be the kind of girl that lets Reid do whatever he wants to me, because that was what I wanted too.

It took a few seconds for the lingering dream to fully go away before I realized that I was slumped over against the tree. I had no clue how long I had been sleeping, but the sun was lower on the horizon than I remembered. It must have been a few hours.

I heard another twig snap and it pulled me fully awake. I sat up straight and looked around but couldn’t see anything.

How could I have been so stupid? I fell asleep right there in the woods where anybody could find me. A bear could have come up and mauled me, and I would have been too busy napping to notice.

There was another noise, somewhere off to my right.

“Hello?” I called out, standing up.

“I thought I’d find you here.”

I nearly jumped out of my boots. Just as I was getting ready to run, Reid stepped out from behind some bushes.

My heart was hammering in my chest. “Reid!” I said. “You scared the shit out of me.”

He laughed. “Sorry about that, college girl.”

“What are you doing out here?”

“Better question is, what are you doing?”

“I was . . .” I trailed off, not exactly sure what I was doing. “I was taking a nap.”

“In the middle of the forest?”

“Yeah, right here. I thought it was a good spot.”

He grinned. “For obvious reasons.”

“No, asshole. Because the ground looked dry.”

“I’m sure that’s why. You were probably having a wet dream about how hard I got you off.”

“Can girls even have a wet dream?”

“Probably. But if not, I’m sure I can find a way to give you one.”

I ignored that. “Okay, now what are you doing out here?”

“Looking for you.”

“Why?”

“Mom was worried. You’ve been gone for a few hours.”

“Oh. I lost track of time,” I said lamely.

“Clearly.” He walked a few steps closer to me. I looked back at him and noticed the dark bags under his eyes, almost like he hadn’t slept the night before. I looked down his body and realized that he was wearing the same outfit.

“Did you sleep last night?” I asked.

“No.”

“And I guess that means you haven’t showered or changed.”

“Been busy.” He stopped near me. “I’ve been thinking about you.”

“I’ve been thinking, too.”

“Been thinking about what happened here.” He paused, his eyes serious. “I can’t get your pussy out of my mind, Becca. Fuck, it’s like a virus that keeps getting my dick hard.”

“How romantic.”

“I’m not trying to be romantic. I’m trying to get you to understand how badly I fucking want you.”

“We need to talk about last night.”

“I told you everything.”

“How could you do it?”

He looked down and away for a second, his expression neutral. “What wouldn’t you do for your family, Becca?”

“I don’t know.”

“There’s almost nothing I wouldn’t do. If I had to go back, I’d do it all over again. I’d do it for you if I had to.”

“But smuggling drugs? That’s serious, Reid.”

“I know it is. Serious jobs for serious money.”

“What about the people you’re involved with? How are you going to get out of it?”

“You weren’t there,” he said, cutting me off. “And I’m glad you weren’t. You didn’t have to see what my mom was like when the cancer was bad. You didn’t have to see your dad struggling to make ends meet.” He reached out and took my shoulders, holding me inches away from him. “I’m happy you stayed away, but you don’t know what it was like. I did what I had to do.”

I nodded slowly. “I’m afraid, Reid.”

“This is my problem and I’ll fix it.”

“Lindsey said something today.”

He cocked his head. “What?”

“She said some guys came to her house and threatened her. Told her not to talk about you and the pill stuff to anyone.”

He frowned. “That happened this morning?”

I nodded. “Yeah, early. What’s going on?”

“I’m not sure yet,” he said slowly.

“Are you going to tell me if you find out?”

He didn’t speak for a minute. “How far into this do you want to get?”

“Reid, I . . . I want to help.”

He reached up and took a handful of my hair. I gasped softly as he pulled me close to him, his lips inches away from mine, our bodies pressed together.

My heart hammered in my chest and I could feel my panties soak through. I’d never seen him so intense, so dominating and in control.

It was the Reid from my dreams.

“You sure that’s what you want, college girl?”

“Yes,” I whispered.

“Even though I’m dangerous?”

“You’re not dangerous to me.”

“You might be wrong.”

When he kissed me, the world fell away. Everything was dark and light, shadow and sun. His grip on my hair tightened as our mouths opened, our tongues touching. His taste flooded my mouth, his body pressed rough against mine.

And then he was pushing me back, back against the tree. I gasped as I hit the rough bark and his hands worked down my body, grabbing my breasts and then unbuttoning my jeans. His lips worked mine and I kissed him back, my arms wrapped around his neck. It felt different than it had the first time, more desperate, more longing.