Chapter 11
ELEVEN
PHOENIX
I spent a good ten minutes scrubbing my body and then relieved that ache in my balls. With every smooth stroke of my cock, I imagined I was pumping my dick in and out of Harper’s mouth.
“Fuck!” I came hard, ropes of cum hitting the side of the tub, only to be washed away by the showerhead. It wasn’t the same as blowing my load through sex, but it certainly took the edge off.
Drying myself, I then dressed and went to find the girl who had unknowingly helped me bust a nut in the shower.
I knew if I didn’t make things right with Harper, it was going to be a long fucking day.
I’d had enough of the breakdown of our relationship poisoning every corner of the house.
It was time to talk and clear the air. Part of me had enjoyed our confrontation last night; at least I had before Harper had freaked out.
The girl tasted good. She was probably embarrassed, but she didn’t need to be.
We were both grown-ups now and sexually mature.
The way she came apart for me and how her eyes rolled back in her head was beautiful.
It was a memory to be cherished, not one to hide from.
However, it wasn’t the right time to pursue that, not yet.
With Harper, I didn’t just want to dick around. It was bigger than that.
Taking a deep breath and readjusting myself in my jeans, I pushed away those delightful memories.
Luckily, I had an ironclad grip on my lust. Today was about facing my past and hopefully encouraging Harper to do that with me.
There was a big possibility that she’d tell me to go fuck myself after what happened the previous night.
I just needed to prepare myself and work through the inevitable shit show. Get her on side.
I inhaled the faint smell of bacon and followed the aroma.
As I walked into the dining room, Harper was sitting at the dining table with a book in her hand.
Her breakfast remained half-eaten in front of her, and Ma was in the process of clearing the table.
Hudson must still have been up in his room, whining about the hole in his wall, and Reed was probably still in bed, the lazy fucker. It was after ten.
The sun was shining in from the back window, promising another day of sun. The atmosphere in the room, however, was borderline bleak.
“Morning,” I croaked. “Need a hand?” Ma glanced up, having just stacked a tray with a couple of mugs and a plate.
“Oh, good morning, Phoenix. No, it’s fine. Would you like coffee?”
“I can get it,” I offered, standing at the edge of the table, my fingers clutching the back of one of the chairs there.
“No, you take a seat. Keep your sister company.” I inwardly cringed at that one, considering I’d had my hand between said sisters’ legs the previous night.
Harper didn’t bat an eyelid, her nose buried in her stupid book.
It was different from the one she’d been reading that day in the den.
At first glance, it looked like one of those full of bullshit self-help nonsense books.
Well, she clearly wasn’t taking that shit in, as her continuous stand-offish attitude wasn’t doing her any favors.
Harper had loosened up a little since she first joined us, but the barriers were still there. And she had the nerve to say that I shut her out. Damn women and their double standards.
I thought back to that first day when Ma had picked her up from the children’s home that she had then been staying at.
That was the first time I saw her as a woman, and my attraction towards her had shaken me to the core.
Harper had been fifteen to my seventeen, and my moral code hadn’t let me go there, so I’d fought against her appeal.
It was strange. I usually preferred my women more seasoned.
My only ‘relationship’ was with that older woman when I was sixteen.
She was the one who opened me up to the darker side of sex.
I looked down my nose. Harper wore that signature screwed up expression of hers, which she thought projected indifference.
I felt nervous, and I hated that. This chick would be the death of me. She was the only female who had ever put me on edge.
Her continued silence was a punishment for my behavior last night.
And did I blame her, not really. I’d acted like a randy teenager who didn’t know the meaning of the word finesse.
I knew Harper was an innocent, and yet I’d grabbed her like the rutting beast she’d called me the first time I’d kissed her.
So, what? My actions were long overdue. When she’d first come to live with us, she was jailbait, but Harper Radcliffe was now all grown up.
We both were, and my cock didn’t give a shit that she was my foster sister.
We weren’t related biologically. But I knew I needed to wait.
When the time was right, I’d ruin Harper in every way possible, and she’d enjoy every minute of it.
I exhaled and moved around the table, taking a half-eaten piece of toast from her plate and pushing it into my mouth.
And. Nothing.
Crap. I needed a viable strategy to get her to talk to me.
Harper sniffed, still staring at her book. I remained silent, weighing up my options. Should I play along and sit there without conversation, or break the ice? The latter won.
As I crunched the toast between my teeth with more force than necessary, I purposefully spoke with my mouth full. Anything to get a rise out of her, make Harper notice me. I hated being ignored, especially by her. “I take it you’ve finished? Fuck me, I’m starving.”
Again. Nothing.
I pulled my phone out of my pocket and quickly checked the time before shoving it back into my jeans. “Good book?”
When that did nothing, I pulled out the chair next to her, spun it around, and sat on it backwards.
Nudging her leg with my foot, I waited, my eyes drilling into the side of her cheek.
Her hair was up in one of those messy buns she favored, and her face was devoid of makeup.
She wore her signature baggy jeans and a pale blue tee, yet still looked stunning.
I knew exactly what she looked like under those clothes, too.
Had dreamt about removing that gold bikini she’d worn with my teeth most of the night.
Get a grip, Phoenix. I needed to rein in my inner pervert.
“I know you’re not reading, you faker. You’ve been on the same page since I walked in.”
Ma was clattering around in the kitchen, and I glanced at the door, hoping she didn’t choose that moment to come back. Harper exhaled, side-eyeing me.
Interaction at last.
After around thirty seconds, she lowered the book onto the table, staring straight forward, and replied. “Maybe I’m just a slow reader?”
Rolling my eyes, I noticed the closed physics book next to her mug. What was it about science that interested her so much? I thought the subject was as dull as fuck.
Leaning over, I plucked it off the table and flicked through it. “What’s so good about physics? You learning how to cook meth, Heisenberg?”
Harper’s nose wrinkled as she mimicked a smirk.
“That would be chemistry, dumbass.” I knew that.
Aside from acing all three sciences, Breaking Bad was one of my favorite shows.
Everyone remembered Walter White was a Chemistry Teacher before he became a badass.
I only said it to rile her, and it worked, sort of.
I hated that I still hadn’t gotten any eye contact from her.
Banging the exercise book down on the table, I drew a deep breath into my lungs, my jaw then tightening in irritation. I could feel myself getting annoyed, and losing my temper with her would only make things worse. “Could you at least look at me?”
She stiffened and inhaled, lifting her head but keeping her gaze fixed forward.
As I said, being ignored had always been a bugbear of mine, possibly due to my mother’s abandonment. Harper’s silence dragged across my nerves like sandpaper, but I knew I needed to keep my cool. Losing my shit would only escalate the tension between us.
I could hear Ma now whistling in the kitchen and knew we could be interrupted at any point, so I decided to do what I did best.
“Look at me,” I said gruffly, in a commanding voice. And that did the trick. Harper twisted her legs out from under the table and faced me, her hands falling demurely into her lap.
“What?” she huffed, clearly still pissed.
“Do you trust me?” I asked, stifling a grin at the sudden outrage on her face.
“What type of question is that?”
I narrowed my eyes, my expression stating I meant business. “Do you?”
She shrugged her narrow shoulders. “It depends.”
“On what?”
“If you're asking if I trust you with women, then the answer would be a resounding no,” Harper grunted moodily, lifting her chin prissily.
“Here we go again. You’re such a fucking cry-baby.”
“And you’re a fuck-boy who can’t keep it in his pants.”
She was such a complex package of sweet and sour; I couldn’t help but grin. She was also the most gorgeous creature to walk the planet, and the fact that she didn’t realize that added to her allure.
Harper’s eyes narrowed. “What’s the smirk for?” She rasped moodily.
“You. You’re cute when you’re trying to look pissed off.” My words made her expression soften slightly.
“I am pissed off.”
“Look, nothing happened with Court—ney.” Thankfully, I managed to elongate the other girl's shortened name so as not to piss Harper off even more. “At least, not recently.”
She finally faced me fully, but her words hit me like a blindside tackle. “Did she really suck you off in the school bathroom?”
“Where the fuck did that come from?” I hated that hurt expression and knew I needed to move on.
“Did she?”
I rolled my shoulders, “That was ages ago. It’s in the past, and who cares anyway? It’s the future you should be thinking about.”
“What do you mean?” Harper asked, gnawing on her bottom lip, her eyes wide.