Anti-Stepbrother

Claudia shouldn’t have been so pissed. Based on the Girl Code Rules of Etiquette, she messed up. But Claudia was also scary. Still. It would be better if she were on our side and not against us. If Maggie kept pushing me, though; I might have to follow through on my threat, but only with Avery’s permission. No one was a better weapon than Claudia.

“Hey.” Caden smoothed a hand up my back, returning me to the present. “What are you thinking about? You just tensed up.”

I groaned, kissing his chest softly, before I rolled over to lay by his side. “Stupid girl stuff.”

“The Maggie thing?” he asked as I gathered the sheet to cover me, tucking it under my arms,

I nodded. “Guys are easy. You either punch each other, threaten each other, or just stop hanging out. That’s it. Girl warfare is way harder to tackle.”

He grinned as he traced my arm and hooked a finger over the sheet, right where it covered my girls. “That’s not true all the time. Guys can be catty too.”

“Really?”

He nodded, his eyes darkening. He rolled to his side and moved to kiss under my ear. “Oh yeah. Especially the House. There’s a whole bunch of gossip. Cliques, exiling—all that sort of stuff.”

His breath tickled me and sent my heart racing once again. I stretched away from him, exposing my neck so he could kiss it. His hand moved to my hip and rested there. I knew what was coming next. He’d guide me to my back, continue to torture me with kisses and caresses that should be illegal, and then when I was begging for him, he’d finally slide inside.

My eyes closed. Pleasure and lust mingled together, intertwining and sending my body afloat. His mouth slipped down to my throat, then to my breast.

Hot damn. Caden was a sex weapon. No guy should be this good in bed. It was too dangerous.

“Dangerous, huh?” He lifted his head.

I paused. “I was talking out loud, wasn’t I?”

He laughed, bending down to rest his lips over mine. “You do that quite often.”

“I do?”

“I rather like the play by play of how awesome I am.” His mouth brushed mine, sending my heart into somersaults.

“That’s so embarrassing.”

“It’s a real ego-booster. I liked being compared to a hot Italian stallion.”

“Stop.” It was so cringe-worthy. “I can’t take any more.”

He laughed, his lips pressing mine again before he whispered, “But my absolute favorite was when you said I was the Santa Claus Magic Mike, and I could bring my presents down your chimney all year round.”

I couldn’t even laugh. “I did not say that.”

“You did.” He lifted his head. “That kept me going for the rest of the night.”

I pushed him off, rolling to my side and covering my face with my hands. “I’m appalled!”

“You shouldn’t be. Hey.” He pulled me back and moved my hands away.

I kept my eyes closed.

“Look at me.”

“No.” I peeked through one, opening it a tiny slit. “You can’t say anything to make me feel better. There’s nothing that can take away my humiliation.”

“I like it.”

I cocked an eyebrow up. “You’re bullshitting me.”

“I’m not. I’m really not.” He tried to stifle his laughter, but his mouth was still twitching. “I have never enjoyed sex as much as I do with you.”

“That doesn’t make me feel better. You’ve never laughed during sex like you do with me, that’s what you really mean.” I tried to cover my face again.

He tugged my hands down and kept hold of them. “No.” He pressed my hands to the bed above my head, and as I moved to my back, he rose above me. His eyes darkened once more, and all the humor left his face. Stark hunger spiked there instead.

“I’ve never enjoyed sex as much as I do with you. Your humor is part of it, but it’s you too. Being with you is different.” His gaze lingered on my lips before flicking to my eyes. “You’re different.”

The last remnants of my mortification melted away, replaced by all sorts of gooey warmness. The butterflies zipped around in my stomach, along with other lustful sensations, and I wondered why we were still talking.

I slid my foot up the back of his leg, raising it until my leg wound around his thigh. I watched; his eyes were pure black now, no hints of amber anymore, and I shifted to wrap my other leg around him. Then I lifted up, feeling him right between my legs, right where I wanted him to slide inside. He was hard and ready to go.

Caden had admitted once that he was always hard when I was around.

“I’m ready to go as soon as you enter a room,” he said. I thought he’d been joking, but feeling him ready so soon after our last time, maybe not.

I wound my arms around his neck, cupping the back of his head. “How about you show me how different I really am?”

He bent down, and I felt him grin against my lips. “Fuck yes.”

And his lips were hard on mine.

My phone was ringing.

I lifted my head, once again sprawled on top of Caden. I didn’t remember at what point our positions had reversed, but I was fine with it. I could wake up on top of Caden for the rest of my life, and I didn’t think I’d get tired of it.

“Your phone,” Caden prompted me, touching my hip.

I groaned and slid over him and onto the floor. My phone was in my bag, which was at the bottom of a pile of clothes. As I sorted through them and fumbled with my bag’s zipper, Caden sat up. “You could just get up. You didn’t have to fall to the floor.”