Stepbrother Studs Daren Read online

  “Holy crow, did you make this bread, Lace?” Daren dug into the picnic basket, pulling out the sour dough she had, indeed, baked herself. She knew it was his favorite. “And deviled eggs? Damn!”

  He unpacked on the blanket they had spread out on the sand, looking happy with the menu. A warm, lake breeze caressed her bare limbs as she sat back on her elbows to watch him, wearing just a blue bikini top and little boy-short bottoms so she could soak up as much sun as possible. The weather—at least, outside—had turned out to be perfect.

  Daren had pulled his shirt off too, and sat on the blanket in just his swim trunks, munching happily on the crab meat she had packed. All his favorites.

  And of course a bottle of Buried Treasure Rum. Also a tradition, although one they’d hidden from their parents when they were younger. Daren had brought a bottle the summer after she’d learned to drive, and she’d gotten puking drunk amidst a repertoire of corny but time-honored jokes involving pirate imitations. He’d held her hair while she threw up in the sand and had buried it—along with the bottle—before helping her back to camp.

  She didn’t get puking drunk—she wasn’t a lightweight anymore. And neither of them had ever gone drunk sailing. But the rum was a nice distraction, a little escape in the middle of the afternoon as they poured each other glasses and reminisced.

  “Do you remember that time when Dad fixed the bilge pump?” Lacey eyed her brother, thoroughly sated with food now, on his back in the sun, eyes closed. His skin was almost bronze.

  “‘Fixed’ isn’t exactly the word I’d use.” Daren snorted a laugh. “And then you and I found out it wasn’t really broken after all, remember?”

  “Yes.” She smiled. She remembered everything. Maybe it was the rum, but she was feeling sentimental and a little sad.

  “He would’ve been so mad, if he’d found out. You covered for me.” Daren shaded his eyes to look at her. “I really should’ve checked the battery before putting him through all that trouble.”

  “My brother the sailor.” She nudged him with her hip. “Make sure you don’t do that with your sonar.”

  “Do you remember the time we dropped anchor with Dad way out at Hiebert’s Point?”

  “Remember?” She shivered in spite of the heat of the sun. “How could I forget? That squall came out of nowhere.”

  “But you know, I remember Dad was worried before we even knew what was coming.”

  “You picked up your instincts from him.” She smiled, looking fondly at her stepbrother.

  “Maybe.” Daren shrugged. “But I didn’t have enough experience then, I guess. I didn’t know something was coming up with the weather. Dad sure did. If he hadn’t been so aware, who knows what could have happened?”

  “Mom sure was worried.” She nodded, squinting out at the sun-dappled lake, the memory of the dark storm coming back like it was yesterday. “I still remember her standing on the dock waiting when we got back. She was soaked to the skin, just like we were. But we got back okay.”

  “Yeah.” Daren knocked back another shot of rum, grimacing.

  “Do you remember when I lost my balance?” She cocked her head at him. There had been a sudden shift in the wind, a wet deck, but Daren had been there. He was always there.

  “Yeah,” he said again.

  “And you caught me.” She remembered how fiercely he grabbed onto her to stop her from going overboard. “I’ll never forget that.”

  “Mom would have killed Dad and me.” He smiled, leaning over to pour her another drink.

  “She would’ve, but that’s not why you did it.”

  They looked at each other and smiled.

  Daren had always been there. And now he wasn’t going to be there anymore. That burned worse than the alcohol blooming in her chest.

  Then a strange silence fell over them.

  Lacey poured yet another glass of the Buried Treasure Rum.

  “Daren…” She downed one more shot of liquid courage. “Don’t go.”

  “Lace…” He rolled toward her on the blanket, on one elbow. Her gaze followed the hills and valleys of his biceps, his pecs, the ridges of his abdomen. It was probably the rum making her feel so warm and flushed. Or maybe it was the dark line of hair that started at his navel and disappeared below the elastic of his suit.

  “I don’t want you to go,” she confessed. “I’m afraid.”

  “Of what?” he frowned, shaking his dark, shaggy head.

  “I don’t know.” She put her empty glass on the blanket, rolling toward him too, resting her cheek on her bare arm.

  “Afraid I’ll be taken by pirates?” He grinned, imitating a crusty old pirate. “But you know I was made for the sea, she’s in me blood. Aarrrr.”

  “Daren, be serious.”

  “Sorry.” He reached a hand out to cover hers. “What are you afraid of?”

  Lacey looked out over the lake to where a small, single-masted sail boat was cruising under a wind probably much heavier than the one near the shore.

  “What are you afraid of?” He tucked his head down, resting it on his arm too, so they were face-to-face on the blanket, just the bottle of rum between them. She could smell the alcohol on his breath, warm against her face.

  “Losing you.” Her eyes searched his, looking for something, but she wasn’t quite sure what.

  “Lace, I told you…”

  “I know, I know, you’ll be back.” She sighed, swallowed, tried to find the words, but she couldn’t. There weren’t words for what she wanted to confess. They were hidden behind a line of yellow caution tape in her head, clearly marked off—“Do Not Cross.”

  Daren watched her struggle. She saw it in his eyes. He was gauging her weather, like he always did, experienced enough to what was coming, exactly what she was feeling. And she could read him too. A change happened as he gazed at her, something shifted, like the wind suddenly whipping a sail in the other direction. He’d made up his mind in that moment, but she didn’t know about what. Not until he spoke.

  “Listen.” He reached out and laced their fingers on the blanket, his big hand swallowing hers. “When I decided to join the Navy…”

  He hesitated, his gaze dropping from hers to the flower pattern on the blanket. She didn’t press him, she just wanted.

  “I mean, yeah, I love sailing, and it seemed like a good fit but… that wasn’t the only reason.”

  He squeezed her fingers, looking at their hands together.

  “Fuck, you’re going to hate me.” He swallowed, his gaze flitting up to hers, dropping away again. “But I have to tell you. If I don’t say this now, I never will. And if I don’t ever tell you, I’ll always wonder if I should have…”

  “Hurry up and say it, Daren.” She frowned, feeling a tightness in her chest. “You’re scaring me. What is it?”

  “You have to promise not to tell anyone what I’m about to tell you,” he urged, his dark eyes even darker now. “Not even our parents.”

  “Okay.” She nodded in agreement. He really was scaring her. She had goosebumps up and down her arms.

  “Especially not our parents.” He sighed, closing his eyes for a brief moment before opening them to look at her again. “Lacey, I… have… feelings for you.”

  “Feelings.” She repeated the word softly, feeling as if the breath had been sucked right out of her body. She couldn’t take her eyes off his face. “What kind of feelings?”

  “I think you know what kind.” He swallowed, dropping his gaze to the blanket. “I’m sorry. I know I shouldn’t feel this way. I’ve tried, believe me, I have fucking tried everything I could think of to stop feeling this way about you. But I can’t. I can’t help it, Lacey.”

  “Help… what?” She barely got the words out. Her lips felt like they had gone numb.

  “Loving you.” He winced as he confessed, as if his words might hit her like a blow. And they did, but probably not in the way he imagined. “Lacey, I joined the Navy, in part, because… I can’t stand the thought of hanging a
round here and watching some other man take you away. I know it’s got to happen, but I have to go away first. Or it… it’ll kill me.”

  “Daren, no…” She shook her head, her breath catching in her throat, her heart beating fast there. “No, no…”

  “I know!” He turned from her then, sounding tortured, rolling to his back, throwing an arm over his eyes to hide. He spoke to her, but wouldn’t look at her. “I know it’s wrong. I knew you’d hate me if I told you. I tried to hide it from you. Even from myself. But I can’t do it anymore. I have to go. I have to get away from you, because it hurts so much to be around you and not… not be able to… have you…”

  She felt tears stinging her eyes. She didn’t have words for him, even then. There was nothing else she could do.

  Lacey bridged the gap and touched her lips to his. They were warm, sun-kissed, and his mouth tensed under hers in surprise. His arm flipped back over his head, eyes going wide as she slid her thigh over his, her tongue tracing the seam of his lips.

  “Whoa, hey.” He grabbed her shoulders, searching her face. “What are you doing?”

  “Loving you.” The tears stung her eyes and she watched them fall onto his cheeks. “Daren, we’ve been so stupid.”

  “But…” He swallowed, looking at her in wonder, shaking his head. “You’re my sister.”

  “I know.” She nodded, sniffing. “It’s why I never…”

  “Said anything.” He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her again, hot, hard, fierce. He tasted like alcohol and kissing him made her feel dizzy. It was a long time before he let her go, before he stopped stroking the roof of her mouth with the tip of his tongue, like he was coaxing a shy animal out of hiding.

  “Fuck, Lacey,” he breathed, swallowing as they parted, his big hands moving over her bare shoulders. “How long?”

  “Forever.” She could smile about it now. It seemed silly that she’d never admitted it to him, that she’d kept it hidden. Even from herself. “You jerk.”

  “Oh I’ve done plenty of that.” He grinned, shaking his head, not taking his eyes off her face.

  “Daren!” It took her a moment to get what he was saying, and then she flushed, laughing. The thought made her nipples harden and her ass clench. “You jerk off, thinking about me?”

  “You have no idea. You might as well know everything.” He gave a low groan, hips shifting, and she became very aware of his erection rising up against her belly. “You know when I told you I listen to you in the shower? Well, I’m not just listening, I’m…”

  “Jerking off?” she offered, wiggling on top of him, feeling his cock jump. She smiled at his reaction, the way his breath caught. “Well, if it’s confession time… I remember once, when we were all here at the cabin… me and Mom and Dad were going into town, but you said you wanted to stay here and fish. I changed my mind at the last minute and walked back.”

  “Oh God.” Daren put a hand over his eyes, grinning.

  “Yeah.” She grabbed his hand, forcing him to look at her. “There you were, buck naked on the dock, jerking away.”

  “You watched me?” He groaned, wincing.

  “Uh-huh.” She nodded slowly, feeling the throb of him against her belly, remembering. “I did too, watching you.”

  “You touched yourself too?” The look of hopefulness on his face was almost sweet.

  “After that, I always pretended like I was going into town with Mom and Dad, but I stayed back… just so I could watch you.”

  “Holy hell, Lace.” He looked both perplexed and pleased at this revelation. “That time I walked in when you were shaving your legs… God, you were so fucking hot.”

  “Were?” She blinked at him, pursing her lips.

  “Are, are,” he corrected himself with a laugh. “Trust me, I rubbed myself raw every night while you were in the shower. Just picturing you running your hands all over this gorgeous fucking body…”

  His hands moved over her skin, her hair, her back, a look of wonder on his face, like he thought he might be dreaming.

  “Pervert,” she teased.

  “I meant what I said about your singing, though,” he told her, his hands moving lower on her back. “It is pretty terrible. And to think I felt guilty about it! You’re the one who should feel guilty about the singing…”

  Lacey laughed, flushing. “Oh I have a lot more to feel guilty about.”

  “What’s that mean?” he cocked an eyebrow at her.

  “Well, I didn’t just watch you here, at the cottage,” she confessed, biting her lip. “You aren’t so great about closing your door at night, you know.”

  “You’re a very bad girl.” He grabbed her ass with both hands, first spanking, then squeezing and kneading. “Jesus, Lace, I can’t believe this is real.”

  “I know.” She giggled at the craziness of it. If he hadn’t confessed, if he hadn’t been brave enough to tell her how he felt, what then? Her heart almost stopped. “Daren… does this mean… are you going to stay?”

  “I can’t.” He shook his head with a groan. “I’ve already enlisted.”

  “Well…” She touched his lips with her fingertip. “You’ll have a girl in this port to come home to anyway.”

  “Will I?” His arms tightened around her. So hopeful, doubting still.

  She couldn’t have that. Not now, not ever again.

  “Yes.” She nodded before pressing her mouth to his for reassurance, hearing him moan softly as her tongue found his. She sucked on it as they rolled on the blanket, over the bottle of rum that Lacey silently blessed for giving her stepbrother the courage to confess, running up against the edge of the picnic basket she’d packed with all his favorite foods.

  Daren was on top of her now and she clung to him, wrapping her arms and legs around him, as if she could keep him with her, always. His mouth moved over her throat, his tongue tracing her collarbone as she arched underneath him, wanting more. Her nipples were as hard as glass under her bikini top. Her hands roamed over the broad planes of his back, down his shoulders and biceps, digging her thumbs in between the muscle, like she was testing him for solidity. He passed with flying colors.

  His mouth was hotter than the sun warming her skin, his tongue following the string of her bikini top down to the triangles covering her breasts. The strings were already loosened— she didn’t know if by accident or if Daren had done it himself, but she didn’t care—and he nuzzled one of the bits of material aside with his nose.

  “God you’re beautiful,” he breathed, pulling the other cup aside so he could look at her. “Oh Lacey, God…”

  “Shhh.” She brought his mouth to her breast, moaning as he sucked her dark-rimmed nipple between his lips. She felt that right between her legs and rocked her hips up toward his, but the angle was wrong now. His pelvis was too far down for her to feel the heat of his erection anymore, but she wanted to.

  Lacey thrashed and bucked on the blanket, his hands roaming all over her, exploring every bit of exposed skin. Her bikini top was completely off now, and her bottoms were on the way. He yanked them halfway down her thighs, moaning when he glanced down to look at her. She squirmed as he moved down the length of her body, using his mouth, nibbling and biting her flesh, making her whimper.

  His hands were so big, strong and solid, his fingers sending sweet jolts of pleasure through her body as they brushed her nipples, kneading her breasts, his tongue dipping into her navel. He grazed on her stomach like some kind of wild animal while Lacey twisted beneath him.

  And then he went lower.

  Oh this is so wrong. She had a momentary flash of guilt. This was Daren! This was her brother! But when his breath moved, hot over her mound, his lips brushing her cleft, she didn’t feel shame anymore. Because this was Daren—he knew her better than anyone ever had, or ever would. And she knew him too. Now they were going to know everything about each other, and she felt a shock of delight run through her at the notion.

  He nibbled and nuzzled her between her legs, parting he
r labia with his tongue. She cried out when he sucked at her clit, grazing on her pussy like he had over her stomach, hungry, wild. Her pussy was shaved, except for a little landing strip at the top that he rubbed with his nose as he worked his tongue deeper into her pink labyrinth.

  She gasped, her hands going to his hair as she looked up into a perfectly blue summer sky. Her whole body ached, wanting him. His hands gripped her hips as she began to move them, catching his rhythm, the persistent brush of his tongue over her clit making it throb with need. He moaned softly as he licked her, his hips moving too, in the sand. She felt the involuntarily thrust of his body as he pushed his tongue deeper into her cunt.

  “Oh Daren!” she cried, reminding herself, him too, that he was the one. It was him she wanted, more than anyone, doing this very thing, right that moment. Her hips moved faster, fisting his hair in her hands as he pushed his tongue deeper, making it hard against her clit. Oh fuck, that was good! He grabbed her ass, lifting her off the blanket to his face.

  She didn’t know how he knew, but somehow he knew just what to do to her there. It was like he could read her mind. Lacey arched her back more and more, her heels digging into the sand under the blanket. Her thighs alternated between gripping him convulsively and letting go, her whole body disorganized, fantastically confused by the wonderful thing going on between her legs, the thing she most deliciously could not stop herself enjoying like she had never enjoyed anything else before.

  “Daren,” she warned, feeling something hot and coiled in her belly, ready to spring. “Oh, Daren! Oh God!”

  “Mmmmm!” He buried his face between her thighs as she climaxed, her pussy throbbing with pleasure, delicious, pulsing sweetness rolling through her body, pounding her flesh like the waves against the edge of the wet sand.

  “Oh God,” she whispered, still shuddering as he kissed his way over her mound, stopping again to tongue her navel, before coming up to kiss her. She kissed him back, moaning as she sucked his tongue, delighted to feel how hard he was even through his suit.

  “Okay?” he asked, searching her eyes.

  “More than okay,” she breathed, smiling before wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him quiet again.