Stepbrother Bastard (26 page)

“
How
do you figure?
”

“
Because,
”
he explains,
“
Working
together would give us a whole new context of knowing each other. Our families
wouldn
’
t
be our only connection anymore. We could just pretend we really did meet at a
bar, and forget the rest ever happened.
”

“
You
mean
…
hide
the fact that we
’
re secretly
almost-step-siblings from everyone we
’
ve
ever met?
”
I
ask, marveling at how ordinary this bizarre conversation feels.

“
Pretty
much,
”
he shrugs.

“
While
also lying to our families by pretending we
’
re
not secretly screwing like rabbits?
”

“
Well,
yeah.
”

I
stare up at Cash across the room, my mind reeling. Do I really want to spend
the foreseeable future leading some kind of crazy double life? Lying to
everyone I know in some capacity? How can a healthy relationship possibly emerge
from such a tangled web of deceit? Hell if I know. But sitting here alone with
Cash, tucked away from the rest of the world, is the only thing that truly
feels honest. So what if we have to lie for a while, in order to live our
truth?

“
So,
what do you say?
”
he asks softly,
“
Think
you can handle me crashing your real life?
”
I
’
m
not sure if he
’
s kidding or not.

“
I
have no idea,
”
I
tell him honestly,
“
But I thought you said I
wasn
’
t
supposed to be thinking ahead?
”

“
You
aren
’
t,
”
he winks,
“
It
was a trick question. Good job, Porter. There may be hope for you yet.
”

“
You
’
re
a real sonofabitch, you know that Cash?
”
I say, tucking my legs
under me.

“
Yeah,
I
’
ve
gotten that before,
”
he shrugs,
“
But
you know what that makes you?
”

“
Out
of my goddamn mind for being crazy over you,
”
I reply in all
seriousness, taking in Cash in all his shirtless, beer slinging glory.

“
That
about covers it,
”
he smiles, letting his eyes rake down my
barely-clothed body.
“
You know
…
I
don
’
t
think this storm is gonna let up any time soon, Maddie.
”

“
Oh
no?
”
I ask innocently, peering
up at the rain-splattered office window.

“
Nope,
”
Cash sighs, striding
across the room toward me,
“
That means I probably won
’
t
have any more customers today. I can close up shop right now. And I don
’
t
think you should be driving all the way back to Seattle tonight.
”

“
It
probably wouldn
’
t be a very good idea,
”
I agree, swinging my feet
around to the floor. I let my knees fall ever-so-slightly apart as Cash
approaches.
“
Do you know any place I might be able
to stay tonight?
”

“
There
is a motel over by my favorite roadside bar
…”
he grins, drawing to stop
before me.
“
Maybe you know it?
”

“
Oh,
I believe I
’
m intimately acquainted with that
place,
”
I smile up at him, taking
another long sip of beer.

“
Hmm
…”
Cash murmurs, trailing
his fingertips down my bare leg.
“
Want
me to jog your memory anyway?
”

“
Yes
please,
”
I breathe, as he sinks
down onto his knees before me.

My
head falls back against the black leather as Cash sets down his beer and places
his cool hands on my thighs. Lowering his full lips to my skin, he kisses me
just above the knee. Trailing his kisses slowly up my thigh, he pulls my hips
forward, drawing me to the edge of the couch. That spot between my legs begins
to throb as he presses my knees apart. Just moments ago, I thought that fervid
desire was fully sated by our enthusiastic
“
hello
again
”…
but
I
’
m
starting to realize that when it comes to Cash Hawthorne, I
’
ll
always have an appetite for more.

I
hold my breath as he closes his teeth around the band of my panties, glancing
devilishly up at me. He tugs the cotton garment with his mouth, easing it down
over the rise of my ass, the slender lengths of my legs. Tossing my underwear
aside, he turns his gaze to me. A low groan rises in his throat as I let my
legs fall apart, opening even more of myself to him.

Looks
like I
’
m
not the only one who hasn
’
t had their fill quite
yet.

Without
a word, Cash lowers his mouth to my aching slit. My back arches as I feel his
warm breath against my wetness. My long, low moan rises above the sound of the
rain pounding against the roof as Cash runs his tongue all along the length of
me. His expert tongue strokes my pulsing, eager sex, sending shockwaves of
pleasure up through my whole body. I gasp, grabbing hold of the sofa for dear
life as he pushes back my flushed, pink flesh and exposes my raw, aching clit.

“
Oh,
fuck
,
”
I
cry out, as he flicks that tender nub with the tip of his masterful tongue.
“
Oh
my god, right there
…”

“
Oh,
I know
…”
he growls, sliding two
thick fingers inside of me as he traces quick, firm circles around that exposed
button.

My
cries erupt in the otherwise quiet room as Cash bears down on my clit with his
exquisite mouth, thrusting his fingers deep inside me all the while. I can feel
myself hurtling toward the heights of bliss, totally at the mercy of Cash
’
s
ardent attentions. I
’
m out of control, unable
to form a single thought, a coherent plan of action. Now, as ever when I
’
m
with Cash Hawthorne, I can stop overthinking
—
stop
thinking at all
—
and be in the moment with
him. And as he wraps his firm lips around my throbbing clit, sucks hard and
fast enough to make
me come like mad,
I know there
’
s not another moment I
’
d
rather be living in.

As
my body and mind come floating back down from the heights of bliss, I look down
at Cash as he licks the taste of me from his lips.

“
I
have to say, Maddie
…”
he grins wickedly,
“
It
’
s
already been a pleasure doing business with you.
”

Chapter Twelve

The
rest of my
“
work day
”
flies by in a rush of
ardent lovemaking and shattering bliss. Cash closes up shop, and we have each
other every which way before finally falling into a deep, satisfied sleep. His
apartment takes up the second floor of the shop
—
a
modest bachelor pad roughly the same size as my Seattle studio. We tumble into
his bed just after midnight, spent from our day-long fuck fest of a reunion.

My
eyes flutter open at the first sign of day, and I
’
m
almost taken aback at how peaceful I feel
—
comfortable,
warm, and safe. Cash and I are wrapped up in a well-worn quilt, totally naked,
our limbs entwined. Could it really be possible to begin every morning this
way? Could two people ever be so lucky?

Moving
as little as possible so as not to disturb Cash, I reach down to where his phone
is laying on the floor. Rolling onto my belly, I note the time. It
’
s
only five in the morning. I guess my body couldn
’
t
wait to get back up and at
‘
em
…
and
by
‘
em
,
I mean Cash, of course. It isn
’
t until I note the date
beneath the time displayed on the phone that it hits me.

It
’
s
Tuesday morning. I
’
m expected back at
ReImaged at 10a.m.

“
Oh
for fuck
’
s
sake,
”
I groan.

“
Hmm?
What?
”
Cash mutters, waking at
once as he hears the distress my voice,
“
What
’
s
wrong, babe?
”

I
glance over at him, the gears of my mind spinning like mad. If we
’
re
going to set off on this next crazy adventure together, we may as well get a
move on. There
’
s not a moment to lose.

“
How
would you feel about a little road trip, Hawthorne?
”
I ask him, a mischievous
grin spreading across my face.

After
two very strong cups of coffee and a shower that only lets us indulge our dirty
side one more time, Cash and I hit the road. I lead the way in my beat up car
while Cash follows on his beloved bike. All along the way, I can
’
t
help stealing glances at him in my rearview mirror. With his leather jacket,
sleek half-shell helmet, and dark jeans, he
’
s
every bit the prototypical bad boy biker. A real heartbreaker. But then why
does my heart feel safer with him than ever before? Maybe I
’
m
making a huge mistake, thinking I know the first thing about tangling with a
man like Cash Hawthorne.

But
it
’
s
too late to turn back now.

We
swing by my favorite vintage shop in Seattle just after it opens, and I grab
the first few articles of clothing I see. Can
’
t
show up to work wearing yesterday
’
s
clothes with a sexy stud in tow, can I? I shed my rain-washed clothes in the
dressing room while the shopkeeper sees to me, eyebrows raised at the
motorcycle-straddling hunk waiting for me outside.

“
There
must be a pretty good story there,
”
the young woman observes,
ringing me up.

“
You
have no idea,
”
I
mutter, smiling at Cash through the shop window.

Thus
attired to appear like I haven
’
t been fucking for the
past 24 hours, I set off toward ReImaged with Cash trailing behind. Carol and
Brian are going to be pretty pleased with this little surprise I
’
m
bringing them. Hell, I
’
m pleased too, knowing
there
’
s
a new place for Cash in my real life
…
even
if that place is
“
eye candy
”
for my latest marketing
endeavor.

Hey,
it
’
s
better than nothing.

Cash
and I stand side-by-side before the front doors of my agency, pausing to
compose ourselves as best we can. He shoots me a sidelong glance, chuckling at
how nervous I am.

“
It
’
s
not like you
’
re bringing me home to meet the
parents,
”
he points out,
“
That
ship has already sailed, remember?
”

“
This
is absolutely insane,
”
I breathe, smoothing down my newly
purchases yellow sundress.
“
Do you seriously think we
can pull this stunt off?
”

“
If
anyone can, it
’
s us,
”
he remarks,
“
And
it
’
s
not like we don
’
t have the motivation,
right? The only question is, how am I going to keep my hands off you long
enough to get through this meeting
…
?
”

“
You
’
re
terrible,
”
I
laugh, stepping quickly away from him as he reaches to give my ass a little
squeeze.

“
And
you
’
re
blushing,
”
he
smiles, stepping up to the doors,
“
Get
it together, Porter. This is a place of business.
”

In
unison, we step through the front doors of ReImaged. At half past ten, the
place is already buzzing with activity. A dozen employees mill about the open
work space, collaborating and generating new ideas. Allie is sitting at her
desk across from mine, already hard at work. But as her eyes flick up toward me
and Cash, she goes absolutely still, openly gaping as we make our way across
the room.

“
Allie,
I
’
d
like you to meet Cash Hawthorne,
”
I smile, more than
tickled at her utterly baffled expression.

“
Hey
there,
”
Cash says, extending his
hand,
“
I
hear we owe you one, Allie.
”

“
Oh,
it was
…
no
trouble
…”
she says dreamily,
shaking Cash
’
s firm hand. Even with all her
experience with men, Allie is still struck dumb by the sight of Cash, here in
the flesh. And honestly, who wouldn
’
t
be?

“
Why
don
’
t
I go wash the open road off my face before I meet your bosses?
”
Cash suggests to me,
looking around my office as if it were an alien planet. Something tells me this
is the first time Cash has set foot anywhere that could be considered
corporate.

“
Bathroom
’
s
just through there,
”
I tell him, pointing the way.

He
tucks his helmet under a sturdy arm, nods at Allie, and leaves us alone at her
desk. The second he
’
s out of earshot, my best
friend springs up out of her chair with an elated shriek and throws her arms
around me.

“
Who
’
s
your best friend in the entire world?
”
she grins excitedly, red
curls quivering with vicarious excitement.

“
You,
and then some,
”
I
grin back,
“
I can
’
t
believe your little scheme worked out, but I
’
ve
got to say
…
You
’
re
a genius.
”

“
So
you guys worked everything out?
”
she presses, her green eyes wide with
glee.

“
In
a sense
…”
I tell her.

“
What
does that mean?
”
she asks, cocking her head.

“
It
means
…
Cash
is going to take this job as a reason to be in Seattle for a while,
”
I explain,
“
And
we
’
ll
see how it goes.
”

“
I
’
m
sure that you
’
re more than enough reason for him to
come here,
”
Allie
points out,
“
But the job is a nice cover for you
two.
”

“
What
do you mean,
‘
cover
’
?
”
I ask her, trying and
failing to sound innocent.

“
I
mean, you two have a convenient excuse to do what you desperately wanted in the
first place and make a go at being together,
”
she replies.
“
So.
You
’
re
welcome.
”

“
Allie,
I
…
actually
have no idea what I would do without you,
”
I tell her, in awe of her
insight,
“
Seriously.
”

“
You
’
d
be having lackluster sex with Paul 2.0 and kicking yourself for not living a
little,
”
she shrugs,
“
No
big mystery, Maddie.
”

Cash
reappears, freshened up and gorgeous as ever. It
’
s
mind-blowing, seeing him here in this familiar place. But it
’
s
not jarring, like I expected. If anything, his
being
here makes me feel even more at home. Allie
’
s
right
—
it
’
s
like we needed some kind of permission to give into what we really wanted.

To
her, it must seem incomprehensible that we
’
d
need an excuse, being grown adults and all. But if she knew the underlying
circumstances, I
’
m sure our hesitancy
would make a lot more sense. To be perfectly honest, I still have to actively
force the family-oriented worries from my mind. In the wake of my mom all but
disbanding the Porter clan, I still can
’
t
shake the feeling that I
’
m betraying her somehow
by sticking it out with Cash. I just hope that being a
“
bad
daughter
”
in her eyes will get
easier with practice. It
’
s not as though I
’
ve
ever been able to change her mind.

“
Well,
well
…”
Carol
’
s
husky voice rings out across the room.
“
Who
do we have here?
”

Allie,
Cash and I look around to see the two founders of ReImaged heading our way. I
smile gamely at Carol and Brian, playing it cool though my heart is pounding
like a sledgehammer against brick.

“
Carol,
Brian, this is Mr. Hawthorne,
”
I tell my bosses,
“
I
hope you don
’
t mind I invited him in this morning
for a meeting. He was so enthusiastic to jump on board this campaign that I figured,
why wait?
”

“
No
reason I can think of,
”
Carol goes on, her eyes glued to Cash
’
s
sculpted features. I
’
ve never seen anything
ruffle my boss
’
s feathers, but the very sight of my
handsome new recruit has her gobsmacked. Even Brian, the straightest white dude
anyone
’
s
ever met, stares at Cash with something approaching reverence.