Chapter 23 Zack
ZACK
The last two days have been a fucking disaster.
I don’t know what the fuck I was thinking inviting Rosie to spend the week here with me, I have zero interest in her anymore, none, but she caught me at a vulnerable moment.
My mind was still reeling from finding out about Max and Lily and somehow the invitation just rolled off my tongue and now here we fucking are.
I haven’t so much as kissed her, and I know she was surprised when I found myself somewhere else to sleep that wasn’t my room.
Not that she said anything, no, she’s too polite for that, too interested in what an alliance with me would mean, and it should bother me, but it doesn’t.
I always knew what kind of woman she was, easy, predictable, maintainable, but apparently that isn’t what I like at all.
No, apparently I like fucking trouble with a capital T.
Right now Rosie is laying beside me on one of the indoor loungers, chatting away with my mother, while my gaze is firmly fixed on the last two people I kissed.
Everyone else is scattered around the heated pool in one form or another, and I wish I could concern myself with them, but how can I when they are also watching the same thing as me?
We’re all pretending we’re not of course, but after a year of fucking absence and heartache, my sister looks more alive than ever.
I heard her talking with my dad about the medication her therapist prescribed, and pride filled my chest. I know how hard she has been struggling because I have been right there with her, so to see her not just here with our family, but smiling too, well fuck.
It makes me appreciate Max almost as much as I fucking hate him right now.
“You know, I never saw it before, but they look good together,” my father drawls from my other side, and I grunt what I hope he takes as an agreement.
Because that’s my problem, they do look good together. Too good.
The taste of both of their mouths on mine is seared into my brain, and I have to drag my stare away quickly before everyone here sees just how desirable I find them.
What the hell is wrong with me?
I fucked my sister. I kissed my best friend. My very male best friend.
And that’s not even the worst part.
The worst part is I want to do both of those things again.
“They are a very stunning couple,” Rosie muses, clearly having overheard my father, and when I snap my focus to her, I find her already watching me.
“I never thought I’d see her smile again,” my mom cuts in, emotion clear in her tone, but she quickly swallows it down with a swill of champagne.
Cracking my neck, I force myself to look around the pool, as I feel Rosie’s glare still burning into the side of my head.
Elle is sitting on the edge of the shallow end of the pool with Kennedy cradled in her arms, while Marcus splashes around with Cassie.
Jace and his girlfriend, Riley, are paddling nearby, as Jace teaches Cash to swim, and of course out of some sick and twisted sense of respect, Lincoln and Asher are both notably absent.
Lily has been on edge since the moment she arrived, no doubt anticipating their presence at some point, but they have purposefully made themselves scarce.
I don’t know what’s worse, the fact they feel they have to, or that my sister looks conflicted over it all.
Which I get, we’re supposed to be here to enjoy time as a family, and they might not all be blood, but they are family.
My brother loved them, and despite what happened, I know he would hate how things had turned out.
Unable to help myself, I once again bring my stare back to Max and Lily, to find the latter already staring at me.
When she meets my gaze, her eyes drop instantly, as if she was caught doing something she shouldn’t, but only a few seconds pass before they return.
I’m still staring at her, because how could I not?
When she appeared an hour ago, looking fresh-faced and satisfied, I felt the need burning at the back of my throat.
That only intensified when she stripped off her clothes, revealing not only the scraps of fabric she is passing off as a bikini, but also bruises I know all too well.
I heard the noises coming from her room the last two nights.
I have the unfortunate disadvantage of having my room on the same side of the house as hers.
Something that has never been a problem in the past, because she wasn’t fucking my best friend.
A fact that, since I kissed him, I’m not sure whether I’m mad about, or jealous.
Fuck. No. I’m not jealous, I can’t be, she’s off limits. They both are.
So why did I jerk off to the sound of him owning her?
Once again I curse inwardly, my eyes finding them just as Max leans down and captures her mouth with his.
It’s only a chaste kiss, a respectful one that is considerate of its audience, before he pushes out of the pool and heads toward the restroom.
I pretend I’m following where he’s going, not just watching him leave, and when I turn back to Lily, her gaze is once again on mine.
This time I don’t look away, I hold her stare, a hint of a dare in my eyes, one that has her pushing off the wall of the pool and ducking down into the water.
I don’t have to watch her to know where she is going, it’s the same place she always hides when we come here.
She and Logan would always disappear into the cave my dad had built for them, and I bet she hasn’t even thought about what it will be like to go there without him.
I’m on my feet and jumping into the pool before I can stop myself, not caring if Rosie or anyone is fucking watching, as I dip under the water and swim after her.
The warmth of the water is nothing compared to the heat burning inside of me, and when I make it through the huge decorative waterfall and into the marble cave, she doesn’t look surprised to see me.
In fact, she is leaning against the wall, already staring at me as I make my way toward her.
I swim until I am gripping the wall on either side of her hands, staring down at her in contempt. “Need something, big brother?” she asks, and fuck just the way she says that tears me up inside.
“You’re the one who has been staring at me all afternoon, maybe it’s you who needs something,” I toss back, and she huffs a laugh, shaking her head slightly, as the ripple of the water forces our bodies to collide.
We’re quiet for a moment, both of us silently watching the other, as the water sloshes around us.
I’m not sure how we got here, how I went from wanting to protect her, to wanting to make her mine.
It’s fucked up, it’s wrong, it’s fucking crazy, but somehow I can’t make myself swim away from her.
And I should. I should go, I should swim out of here and back to the girl who is the sensible choice, the one who wouldn’t fucking tip our entire world on it’s head, yet here we are.
“I need you to stop looking at me,” she snaps, pushing herself further into the wall as if trying to escape me.
“Then stop looking back,” I whisper, desperate for her to sever this connection between us. She’s with Max now, so why aren’t we forgetting what happened between us, and treating it like the mistake it should be?
At my words she laughs again, shaking her head and closing her eyes as if she is in pain, before they open again and watch me. “So you’re back with Rosie?” she asks, as if needing me to confirm it, but I don’t give her the pleasure.
“And you’re fucking my best friend.” I don’t intend for my response to come out with such anger, but I know she hears it.
“Why do you care? You made your feelings perfectly clear. You told me it was a mistake, you ran away, you avoided me, so why does it matter?" Her stare is still searching mine and I’m sure she sees the truth, but still I hide behind the only thing I can.
“Because I’m your brother.” It’s a baseless excuse, a lie, a filthy downright lie, and she’s done believing it.
“Then why are you hard?” Words, simple words, ones I never imagined coming from her, but fuck if it doesn’t set me alight.
She’s my sister.
She’s my best friend’s girlfriend.
We really can’t do this.
Fuck it.
I steal the question from her lips, slamming my mouth to hers before I can stop myself, as I grind my very hard cock between the apex of her thighs.
She moans into my mouth as I press her against the wall, wrapping her legs around me so she can keep herself steady.
She tastes perfect, forbidden, and any guilt I might have felt evaporates instantly.
“Mmm,” I groan, deepening the kiss, as her mouth opens and grants me access, her tongue caressing my own.
The water is warm as it cascades over my skin, but still goosebumps arise at the taste of her, but I can’t stop.
And there is no alcohol coursing through my veins to blame this on, just pure, unfiltered need.
One of my hands trails down to caress her ass, pulling her against me, as I press her harder into the wall, while the other grips the wall to keep us steady.
This is wrong, so fucking wrong, but when she is kissing me back as hard as I am kissing her, nothing in the world could stop me.
My fingers trail along the fabric of her bikini bottoms, dipping underneath to feel the smooth expanse of her waist, making her moan into my mouth.
When I pull back to look at her, she is gasping for breath, eyes blown out, as she looks at me with a mix of confusion and lust.
“Zack,” she sighs, my name sounding like a plea, and I hold her stare as my fingers trail around her hip and dip down, finding her silky between her thighs.
“Fuck,” I groan, dragging out the word like it might save me from the hell I’m in, as I slide my hands through her slick pussy.
“That doesn’t feel very brotherly,” she gasps, tipping her head back so it can rest on the wall of the pool, and I grunt a laugh.