Read Hard: A Military Stepbrother Romance for Free Online Page B

alarm bells. As it should do. But it was her own fault - she was
the one who’d invited me here. To stay, even.
    The
sudden reminder of what I’d only moments before agreed to had discomfort
flicker inside me for a moment. But then it was forgotten, emotions locked
down, in anticipation of the battleground ahead.
    I
gestured in front of me and gave Bella an innocent smile.
    “After
you - sis .”
    “Fuck
you.”
    Her
quiet response lit something in me that it shouldn’t have, and I found my smile
growing, eyes dancing with amusement as we moved back into territory that was
almost familiar. It had a sharper edge now though, the emotions behind it far
more deadly.
    “You
already did, baby.”
    Her
startled look darted immediately to our parents, but we were far enough behind
they hadn’t heard the softly murmured response.
    She
looked about ready to slap me, but we were already at the entrance to the
dinner room and they were both waiting for us at the table. Instead, she turned
and walked away from me as quickly as was possible without looking overtly
rude. Her escape attempt failed as soon as she realized we’d been placed next
to each other, opposite our parents.
    I
took a moment just to look at the room, the large table spanning the width and
covering only one half of the room, looking as though it could seat a good 12
people. If it were on a raised dais, I could almost take this to be a small
banquet room from something out of a medieval story.
    I
shook my head at the fancy notion and moved up to the other place waiting at
the table, seeing them all looking expectantly at me.
    “Nice
room.”
    It
was clear my mother couldn’t tell whether my flash of a smile was mocking or
not, but regardless of what they thought, Terence decided the best option was
to take me at face value.
    “Thank
you. I hope you’re hungry - the food is more than ready.”
    The
subtle reminder of my tardiness only made me smile, but my amusement at Bella’s
inability to escape twisted as I realized it offered me a similar problem. With
her on my left, it was hard not to let my eyes linger on the exposed skin of
her neck joining shoulder…I could taste the light scent she used in the air,
even with the tempting smells of marinated meat that was quickly set down in
front of us. If I hadn’t been distracted I would have probably formed an
opinion about having people to cook and bring us food.
    I
kept my hands studiously above the table, knowing unless they were in plain
sight it would be far too tempting to run them down the skirt she was wearing,
tease that place the hem met skin the way I had so many times before, and let
just a finger slip underneath. That was all it took to drive her crazy - I
could remember that plain as day - and the dime-a-dozen women I’d known since
had only appreciated the attention to detail that Navy SEAL training had added.
    “What?”
    Bella’s
voice drew me out of the completely illicit fantasy and made me realize I
wasn’t the only one wrapped up in thoughts that left me with no clue as to
where the conversation was.
    “I
was just asking whether you were alright with the lamb - you mentioned
something about going through a vegan phase at school?”
    The
question seemed badly timed, considering the food was already cooked and
served, but Bella was eating it without complaint - and from the closed off
expression on her face, without tasting it either.
    “Oh,
yes, it’s fine thank you. And it wasn’t a phase - it was a challenge. Just
wanted to see whether I could do it for 60 days.”
    “If
you say so.”
    The
condescension there irked me, but apart from a momentary frown, Bella ignored
it. To my surprise, it was my mother’s voice that spoke up.
    “I can
understand that - challenging yourself to do new, different things. I’m sure
Seth does too - isn’t that one of your SEAL mottos, hmm?”
    Not
the way you say it.
    Ever
since I’d gained that badge of honor, my mother had become obsessed with it