he’d done for her tonight. Handing the bottle
back to him, Lyric stared at him, her throat tight, dry.
“I’m
thinking about you,” she said in all honesty.
He
didn’t answer right away, but he did place the bottle on the mantel and turn
fully to face her. “I’m thinking about you, too, Lyric.”
She
clenched her hands at the way she felt when he said her name. Everything in her
body heated, becoming sensitized, and he hadn’t done anything but look at her
and speak to her.
“What
kind of things are you thinking about?” she found herself asking him.
“Things
I shouldn’t, Lyric.”
She
licked her lips and felt her heart pick up speed when he moved closer to her.
She wasn’t afraid, didn’t want to move away, but still she found herself taking
a step back. The wall stopped her retreat, and she placed her hands on it, her
palms coming into contact with the cooled wallpaper.
He
kept moving toward her until he was only a few inches from her now, his body
heat far warmer than the fire. She wanted him, no doubt about that, and despite
what happened, what had almost happened with Devon, she didn’t feel any lasting effects. She only felt this
one moment as she stared into Landon’s green eyes.
Kiss me.
Landon
groaned, and she idly wondered if she’d said those two words out loud, but he
hadn’t moved to do it. So, pulling up all of her nerves and strength, she
breathed out slowly and said what she wanted, not afraid to express it.
“Landon,”
she whispered his name, “kiss me.”
He
made this low sound, and then he was pressed right to her, his mouth on hers,
his hand in her hair.
She
moaned into his mouth, and their tongues slid along each other. She knew if she
didn’t stop this now she would probably do something they’d both end up regretting,
but she couldn’t help herself, couldn’t stop herself.
Lyric
had always relied on what her instincts told her, on what her body felt, and
right now it was saying to let Landon have her in all ways.
Slipping
her hands between their bodies, she started tugging on his belt, but faster
than she anticipated, and to her disappointment, he stopped her from going any
further. He pulled away, his warm, whiskey smelling breath coasting over her
lips.
“Wait,
Lyric,” he said on a rushed breath, as if he couldn’t breathe. Even though
shadows played over his face she could see the hard outline of his expression,
could see that he looked torn. He rested his forehead against hers, and they
both just stood there, neither speaking.
“I
don’t want to stop, Landon.” Even Lyric could hear how needy she sounded. He
pulled back another inch and stared down at her. His gaze was on her lips, his
jaw hard, his eyes looking heavy lidded. She felt his massive erection press
against her belly, and a fresh wave of arousal slammed into her.
“This
isn’t right?” he said, but it was phrased like a question.
“Says
who?” she whispered.
He
lifted his gaze to hers again. “We’re family.”
Her
stomach clenched in distaste. “No offense, but I’ve never seen you as family,
as a brother, Landon. I’ve never looked at you as my stepbrother.” She hadn’t
meant that in a bad way, because although she cared about him, had lived under
the same roof with him for years, she never had any kind of familial connection
with him. “You haven’t seen me as…” She didn’t even want to finish that
sentence.
“Fuck
no, Lyric. I never saw you as my sister, if that’s what you’re getting at.”
She
breathed out in relief. “Then what’s the problem? Why do you think this is
wrong?”
“Because
my mom married your dad, and if they found out they wouldn’t be happy about
this.” An almost pained expression crossed his face. “But, yeah, honestly, I
don’t want to fucking stop this, Lyric, but I also know what almost happened
tonight, what would have happened if I didn’t show up when I did…” He said the
words low, maybe trying to sound calm, but
Aiden James, Patrick Burdine
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