Chapter 13
CHAPTER
THIRTEEN
HOLDEN
Emerson Adams was going to kill me.
Whenever I thought I had the upper hand, she smashed my control to smithereens. We’d entered into a dangerous game; one where I didn’t have the playbook. Just when I expected her to fall back, she’d blitz and intercept me. I’d adjust my play only for her to reroute. And now I’d just fumbled the ball.
No. Fucking. Panties.
Hell.
I gripped the banister tight, my knuckles white as I wrestled with my dick not to grab her and toss her over my shoulder. Why did the fucking enemy have to be so goddamn irresistible?
Enemy. Enemy. Enemy.
My dick twitched, apparently not getting the picture. Or maybe worse, not caring and liking the thought of her as our enemy even more. I needed to get out of this house. Tonight. Hopefully, Colt wouldn’t mind.
“Holden, you coming?” my mother asked, poking her head around the formal dining room. Because that was the kind of house we lived in now. One that distinguished dining rooms by formal and informal.
Her words were not lost on me, and I gritted my teeth to hold back the words I wanted to say.
Thanks to you… no.
“Yep,” I grunted, letting go of the railing and shoving my dick down. I pleaded with it to behave, promising a session with my hand later. My mind flashed back to this morning when I’d entered the bathroom and saw all of her sexy lingerie. I’d grabbed one up and wrapped it around my dick before I could think of the consequences.
I came hard, my mind spinning when I heard her moan. I wanted to go through the wall, to see her, but hearing my name slip past her lips in a gasp was everything. I’d instantly grown hard again.
I shouldn’t play this game with her. The rules were skewed, and there was no way to win.
She bullied Hope. She was my step-sister.
But all she felt like was mine, and I couldn’t have her.
Stepping into the room, I internally groaned when the only open seat was next to Emerson. She smiled sweetly at me, the apples of her cheeks pink, and I suddenly felt like I’d stepped into a masterclass in torture.
At the end of this dinner, I’d either be an expert on surviving or be so broken there wouldn’t be anything stopping me from fucking her.
Grimacing, I took my seat and moved as far from her as possible. If I felt her soft skin against me, I’d crumble. If I caught a whiff of her pomegranate shampoo, I’d fold.
I couldn’t afford to give up any more inches.
Ignoring my Wildcat—shit, not mine. She couldn’t be. Ignoring my step-sister, I looked at my mom and sister across the table. Milton sat at the head, with Emerson on his left and my mom on his right. My mom beamed, smiling at the table and food. The image startled me. It had been a long time since I’d seen her so happy, driving home the reminder that Emerson was off-limits.
“Thank you all for making time to sit down for dinner. With school starting, I know this won’t be easy to do with everyone’s busy schedules.” Mom glanced around the table, smiling lastly at her new husband. “Milton and I know our marriage was a surprise, but we’re committed to building a strong family. I’ve mentioned the small ceremony we’re having in October and the part we’d like you each to play.”
I stared at my plate at her words. My part… giving my mom away to Milton.
It wasn’t that I hated him. He seemed like a decent guy. But my trust in the men my mother picked was low, my father included. She wanted someone to save her, all the while selecting men who had glaring faults she wanted to fix. Over and over, she’d fall into this cycle, then be left picking up the pieces once they left.
With my dad, it was his gambling addiction that left her bankrupt. Then Greg, whom she supported through an MBA, only for him to have a secret family a state over. Bill used her address to get a loan, missed payments, and had loan sharks sending thugs out to intimidate her. There was Derek, who said he was an entrepreneur but really was a drug dealer, and Chad, who had been wanted in three states for tax fraud.
She hadn’t been with anyone longer than a few dates in the past four years, and I thought she’d finally changed. It was part of why I’d agreed to attend Hayward. I’d gotten offers to several colleges for football, Hayward being the best. Since my mom worked there, the school worked it out that I could attend without a scholarship, allowing them the ability to recruit high-caliber players for multiple positions.
It had worked, too, and the Wolves had made it to finals the past two years—we hadn’t won, but I planned to change that this year.
Which was why I didn’t need any of my mom’s drama to mess it up. Or the most tempting woman I’d ever met. I didn’t know how Milton fit into Mom’s cycle yet, considering he was rich, but I’d been burned too many times by my parents’ bad habits to trust them unequivocally.
“Rose and I are excited to combine our families. We want to give you kids a stable and happy home,” Milton said, reaching over to squeeze my mom’s hand. She smiled at him, all besotted, and I relaxed, wanting my mom to have this happiness. She wasn’t a bad mom. If she’d found happiness now, then I’d accept it.
“Let’s eat,” Mom said, picking up a bowl. Everyone followed suit, portioning out food onto their plate. Emerson shifted in her seat to hand me a bowl and our fingers brushed. I shoved the bowl at Hope, but it was too late. Electrical shocks raced up my arm at the contact, and I took a deep breath.
Which was a big mistake as her pomegranate and sweet smell invaded my space. I now knew it was her shampoo and body wash. In a weak moment, I’d used it to jerk off with, and now the smell made me hard every time it entered my nostrils.
Digging my fingers into my thigh, I tried to take breaths through my mouth, but the damage had been done, and everywhere I’d smelled it on her body replayed in technicolor. Goosebumps flitted across my body, and blood rushed back to my dick.
Apparently, my brain interpreted off-limits as a mere suggestion, and the QB in me saw all the holes in the defense.
Hope kicked me under the table, and I scowled at her from across the table. Nothing like your sister to remind you why fucking your step-sister was a bad idea. She motioned with her eyes, and I looked at the head of the table where Milton and Mom stared at me.
“What?” I asked, my voice cracking. I picked up the ice water and drank it, but it did nothing to quench the heat inside. No, that would require another wetness.
“The food okay?” Mom asked.
I picked up my fork, shoving something in my mouth, and nodded. I couldn’t taste it. I didn’t even know what it was. Everything seemed bland compared to my Wildcat.
“How was everyone’s day?” Mom asked. Hope gushed about something one of her sorority sisters did and how she might have people over tomorrow. She could have been talking about getting a sex change, and I wouldn’t have noticed. The second everyone’s attention shifted to Hope, Emerson spread her legs, her dress rising up, and stole all my focus.
No panties. No panties. No panties.
I could reach over and touch her clit, and no one would know.
Quit thinking about her clit, dummy!
God, her pussy was perfect.
I groaned, then froze. Fuck. Had that been out loud? I coughed and then cleared my throat, taking another drink of water. Everyone’s eyes were back on me, and I shifted.
“Sorry, dry mouth.”
“You’re not coming down with anything, are you, honey?” Mom asked.
“Nope.” I shoveled more food into my mouth. The faster I finished, the quicker I could pack and leave temptation behind.
“What about you, Emmy?” Mom asked, turning her focus to the goddess beside me. I didn’t know why, but I didn’t like Emerson being called Emmy. She kept her eyes lowered, her voice soft as she spoke to my mother. It was nowhere close to the wildcat I knew her to be. I couldn’t tell if she was playing one of us or if she felt that uncomfortable.
She wasn’t uncomfortable with me.
Not the time, brain! Off-limits. Get it in your head .
But—
No.
Fuck. I needed to get out of here, or I’d go insane arguing with myself.
“Um, I wanted to ask you about something. I went by the housing office, and they couldn’t find my name in the system. They said there wasn’t anywhere for me.” She flicked her eyes over to Hope before returning to my mom. What was that about?
“Oh, that’s something we wanted to talk to all of you about.” Mom turned to Milton and he cleared his throat.
“Rose and I have thought about this, and we feel it would be better for everyone to live at home this year as a family.”
Silence fell over the table as his words sunk in. Hope sat up, her mouth hanging open.
“Wait, I’m supposed to live in the Zeta house this year!” she shrieked.
“You can next year, honey.”
“No! You can’t do this.”
I sat in silence, too stunned to react. Colter and I had gotten approved for off-campus housing. I would finally be out of the dorms and have my own space, but most importantly, away from the girl I needed to quit thinking about.
“So, it wasn’t a mistake?” Emerson asked, her voice so quiet I didn’t think anyone else heard. But being attuned to her, I looked for every little drop of interaction. I didn’t know if it was to prove she was who I believed her to be or who Hope said she was. Either way, I gobbled up every morsel she gave like catnip.
“But I thought…” She glanced at her father, her words stalling. He shook his head tersely, something passing between them, and she dropped her head.
I knew it. My suspicions hadn’t been unwarranted.
Hope pulled out all the stops, crying and pleading, but Mom didn’t budge .
“This is obviously shocking news, but Rose and I believe you’ll all come to love being here and see the benefits in time. I think it’s best we table the discussion. Thank you for dinner, honey.”
“You’re welcome, darling.” She smiled at Milton as if none of the last ten minutes had occurred. “Kids, please clean up dinner.”
Milton and Mom stood from the table, whispering as they headed further into the house. The tension in the room hadn’t dissipated, and I worried Hope was gearing up for round two now that the parentals were gone. When she didn’t get what she wanted, she could turn vicious.
The second they were gone, her eyes seared across the table at Emerson, and I watched as the girl who’d lit up an entire dance club, so brightly no one else had shone, wilted right before my eyes.
“This is all your fault!”
“Mine?” Emerson reared back, her eyes widening. “You know what, no.” She stood and gathered the plates, carrying them out of the room.
“See how mean she is?!” Hope cried, tears falling down her cheeks. How quickly she turned on the waterworks.
I sighed, rubbing my head. “Just leave it, Hope.”
“You can’t be serious. You want to live here ?”
“No, but yelling at Emerson won’t fix it.”
“That’s where you’re wrong. Watch it, brother; she’ll try to sink her claws into you and use you to hurt me. She’s nothing but a liar and a whore.”
Hope’s face hardened, and she stalked off, leaving all the dishes. I gathered what I could, helping Emerson in silence. Together, we cleared the table and stored the leftovers, rinsing the dishes and putting them in the dishwasher. The usual tension was missing between us, and I hated it. I shouldn’t, but I missed the electrical current. Emerson walked around in a daze, and I felt her absence like a lost limb.
Leaning against the counter, I tried to make sense of the bombs dropped over dinner. Once again, Mom’s choices were screwing with mine.
But do you care this time? You’ll be closer to her.
Seriously, brain. Emerson was the enemy. Get with the fucking picture.
Except that didn’t feel completely true anymore.
But I needed her to be.
Fuck! This back-and-forth was giving me whiplash.
I pulled out my phone to text Colter, giving me something else to concentrate on.
Holden: Mom just told me I have to live at home this year.
Holden: I’m sorry, man. I’ll figure out a way to pay my half.
Colt: Fuck. That sucks.
Colt: You know you can stay here whenever. It’s still your room.
Colt: Focus on football. We’ll figure it out. I’m good for a couple of months.
Holden: I might take you up on that. Things are tense here.
Colt: The step-sister?
Holden: Yep. I’ll text ya later.
Colt: Later.
Placing my mask back on, I headed to my room, taking the back stairs. This house was crazy with the amount of rooms and levels it had. Having multiple ways to get to my room felt ostentatious, but it worked in my favor when I wanted to sneak into my room without alerting Emerson. The walls in this house were thinner than I expected a baby mansion to have.
I glanced around at the boxes I hadn’t unpacked, anger filling me at being stuck here. I knew in the grand scheme of things, it wasn’t that big of a deal. But having the choice taken away from me irked me the most.
Peeking into the bathroom, I found it empty, so I stepped in and locked the door. After I took a piss, I washed my hands and dried them on the washcloth sitting on the counter. I flicked off the light as Emerson’s voice floated under the door. Checking her side was still locked, I leaned against the counter to listen.
“Taylor, what am I going to do?”
Emerson’s voice moved, growing louder at times and quieter at others, almost like she was pacing.
“No. Worse. At home. Yeah, I know. I can’t help but feel like it’s my fault.”
Wait… why did she think that? Was Hope right?
“Yeah, yeah. I know, but it can’t be a coincidence...” Her words faded, and I leaned forward like that would make a difference. She passed by again, and I caught the end of her next sentence.
“…I just hope it’s enough to get under Hope’s skin.”
Fuck. Hope was right. Emerson wasn’t who she pretended to be.
Anger burned away all the lingering lust, and I stalked back to my room. I didn’t need to hear anything else.
The game had just changed, and this time, I knew exactly what play to call.