Chapter 20 - Rowen
Spilling my guts to Avery hadn’t been a part of the plan, but somehow, even though she was back in her room, I felt a small sliver of hope.
Being honest had cracked her just enough to drop her walls and let me in for a split second. I still hated the way her face fell, the way she clammed back up, when I didn’t respond the way she was waiting for.
It wasn’t like that was the ideal moment to tell her that no, I didn’t want her as my sister, but as the little slut I’d been crawling through the window for.
I couldn’t tell her I was the one who claimed her virginity in the maze, who fucked her ass, who had her wrapped around his finger.
I couldn’t tell her I was obsessed with the tiny moans she made or the way her eyes rolled back into her head when I did something she liked.
I stayed out in the living room on my laptop all day, sending emails and catching up on work, hoping I’d spot her. She came to the kitchen for lunch—a packaged salad from the fridge—and went to the bathroom three times.
She didn’t acknowledge me once.
After ten o’clock, I gave up on trying to catch her, so I went to my room and connected my phone to the speakers. I set the volume a couple of notches higher than usual, knowing it would reach the other room.
Just because she couldn’t see me didn’t mean I’d stay invisible.
I contemplated turning up the volume even more, attempt to smoke her out of her room, but I spotted the balaclava on my dresser and decided on other plans.
I stuck the mask in my back pocket for later and grabbed the duffel bag from under my bed.
It was full of fun things I’d purchased for my little sister: plugs, gags, ropes, and various vibrating toys.
I was prepared for a multitude of situations, all of which ended with Avery being so exhausted from coming so many times, she was barely conscious.
So what did I want to do with my stepsister?
Chase her into the woods again? Tie her to another tree? Torture her in her own bed by edging her until her mind was mush?
So many options.
I grabbed a backpack from my closet, shoved a few items in, then threw it over my shoulders and started toward the window, my limbs rushing with adrenaline for what was to come.
My ears were already playing the sweet sounds of her whimpers, my nose recalling her addictive scent, my fingers itching to feel her soft skin.
My body froze when I heard her bedroom door open, and panic filled my veins when her footsteps stopped at mine. I whirled around and yanked at the window, feeling my world narrow as every possible exit strategy in my head slammed shut, knowing everything was about to unravel if she caught me.
Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fucking, FUCK!
I was pulling on the window with all my might before it finally opened enough for me to duck down and—
“Rowen?”
Her voice was like a sharp knife in my back, full of confusion and the beginning of betrayal. I froze with my head through the window, wishing she’d go ahead and slam it on me, get it over with, because it was over for me.
She stormed over, grabbing what was in my back pocket before I could stand up. Her face morphed from shock to horror to embarrassment as she held the mask up.
The one she’d stared into many times as the one who wore it did unspeakable things to her body.
Her tear-filled brown eyes shifted to me, and she might as well have shot me on the spot. I could see her world crumbling around her as she struggled to grasp the situation.
“You…” She looked to the floor momentarily then back at me, expression teetering between fury and disbelief.
“Avery, I—”
I reached for her, but she stepped back, shaking her head and pointing a finger, the mask dangling from her palm.
“This is so fucked up,” she said into her hand. “I let you—I gave you—We—How could you—”
A hole the size of the damn Grand Canyon ripped open in my chest. I didn’t regret a single thing we did, but I felt a small amount of remorse for lying to her.
“I can explain everything, Av. Just give me a chance.”
She didn’t know it yet, but this would work; we could work.
I just had to show her, prove to her she couldn’t live without me any more than I could without her.
I’d already imprinted myself on her body, mind, and soul.
It was time to test how deep my hold on her was, to gain control of the situation before she spiraled and pushed me away.
Not that she even could.
She could try running from me, but I’d always find her, always bring her back. There was no escaping me.
My feet closed the distance with ease, stealing her chance to retreat. I put my hands on either side of her body, caging her against the wall. She looked everywhere but at me, searching for a way out, only to find none.
She was shaking when she met my eyes, looking terrified, but there was something else there, something dark, something twisted.
While she was understandably pissed, there was a depraved part of her that needed this, needed me, knew me.
I just needed to coax that part of her out and show her what we could be.
My eyes lowered to her lips, and goddamnit, I wanted to kiss her, but I held myself back, keeping us a breath away, making her wait, noticing the way she leaned in ever so slightly.
I wrenched the mask from her hand and pulled it over my face, trapping her back between me and the wall before she could bolt.
I leaned in close, her sweet smell filling my nostrils as I took a deep breath, watching her carefully for her reaction.
Her breath hitched, lips parting slightly, a silent invitation she probably wasn’t aware she was giving. She even pushed her chest forward just enough for me to notice.
She wanted this.
Maybe she didn’t know it yet, or maybe she just wasn’t ready to admit it, but her beautiful body was betraying her, and fuck me, it was captivating to witness.
I leaned down to her ear, brushing it with my mask, making her shiver.
“Let’s play a game.”
“I don’t want to play your stupid games, Rowen,” she said through clenched teeth. “I want you to leave. Go home. Go anywhere else but here.”
“You don’t mean that,” I dragged, taunting my prey, loving the way her eyes lit up with the fierce fire of emotion.
“I really do. You’re a sick fucking bastard. Does anyone else know about this? I should tell my mom how much of a freak her stepson is. Tell your dad he has a psycho son. How he pret—”
I clapped my hand over her mouth and pressed my body against hers, letting her feel how hard I was for her, how fucked up I really was. “You’re going to stop right there, sis. You’re not telling anyone a damn thing.”
Her body betrayed her again, pushing into me, needy and desperate. She pushed my hand away from her mouth.
“This is some twisted joke, right? Did you see Michael sneaking into my window and decide to play a prank? Fuck with me because you hadn’t ruined enough for me?”
“Avery…” I said with restraint, losing my patience with her denial. “I am Michael.”
Her face fell, having lost the last explanation she was holding onto, anything to explain why I couldn’t be the man she’d given herself to.
“No… no, no, no, no, no…” Her eyes were glistening with tears. “This isn’t funny. Stop this. Let me go. I don’t want anything to do with you now, not ever.”
I chuckled and slapped the wall beside her head, making her jump. I was so close to losing my control with her. She was putting on a show, trying to convince herself she didn’t want this, didn’t want me.
“Liar,” I teased in a dark voice, my body taut with restraint. “I bet if I reached between your legs and dragged my fingers through your cunt, they’d be soaked.”
“You're sick,” she replied, not refusing the truth I’d spoken.
“Yet your body is covered with goosebumps, and your breath catches every time I get close,” I said as I leaned toward her face, proving my point when she inhaled. “Have you even noticed the way you keep pressing back into me? Your body is mine, Av. Accept it.”
She stared back, her jaw clenching, refusing to give in to me, making me work for it. “You’re my stepbrother.”
“Fine. I’ll indulge your lies… for your sake,” I teased, and she huffed at me.
“But you are going to play my game. You’re going to run back into those woods, Avery, and when we come out, nothing will be the same.
” Her brows scrunched. “If you get away, out the other side near the highway, I’ll let you go. ”
She looked away, and I watched her process my words, letting it hit her that there was a way out—if she truly wanted it. After a few seconds, I grabbed her chin, forcing her to look up at me again.
“But if I catch you…” I trailed off with an animalistic groan. “God, Avery, when I fucking catch you… I won’t let you go. Ever. I will do whatever I wish while we are out there. I will fuck you harder than I have ever fucked you. And when we come back, you will be mine, like it or not.”
“Row—”
“Shhh.” I pressed a finger to her lips then dragged it down her chin to her neck and pushed my palm against her. “You. Will. Be. Mine. Is that understood?”
“Sto—”
I squeezed her throat, cutting her off, making her gasp for breath as her eyes widened with panic.
“Is that understood?”
Still struggling to draw breath, she nodded, accepting she had no choice but to yield to me, to play my game, come what may. I rewarded my good little stepsister by letting her breathe.
“Good. Now that we understand what’s going to happen, you have sixty seconds to take off your clothes and crawl out my window.” I leaned in, our noses nearly touching. “Time to run, little sis.”
“I’m not—”
“One.”
She recoiled. “Stop th—”
“Two,” I said, more warning in my tone.
I pushed back from the wall, releasing her, but she still didn’t move.
“I won’t—”
“Three.” I cocked an eyebrow at her, starting to wonder if she wasn’t going to run. “Four.”
Her expression fell the moment it hit her—my ‘game’ was real, and she had a choice to make.
“Five,” I continued.
She quickly pushed her pants to the floor, followed by her underwear, trying to hunch over and turn sideways to keep her body covered as she revealed herself.
“Six.”
Her shirt and bra were next.
“Seven.”
She left her pile of clothes behind and raced to the window, shoving it up with ease.
I must’ve loosened it when she caught me.
“Eight.”
She was halfway out, straddling the windowsill.
“Nine.”
A yelp left her as she landed on the ground barefoot.
“Ten.”
I sprinted to the window and watched her flee down the side of the house toward the trees.
I didn’t bother to keep counting, wasn’t about to give her any chance of getting away from me, so I climbed out the window, my body vibrating, cock aching. I tossed my bag back inside the room. Tonight was about claiming her, not giving her a good time.
I couldn't wait to get a hold of her, to seal our fates.
For good.