Two
Around a week later, there were no major run-ins with my step-monster; this was of course, a good thing. My mother’s news on Friday was the opposite of that.
Some days just suck. That’s just the way it is. Whoever told you that life was easy, lied their arses off.
My stepfather was taking my mother on another dirty weekend away. So, Daisy was leaving me in the house with my stepbrothers alone again. I wasn’t happy as when our parents were away, Jaxon was even more of a dick to me.
He saw the look on my face when they’d dropped the bombshell and of course, he was highly amused. He’d just come back from work at the base in Marham and was wearing his army combat clothing. Talk about hot. With my nose buried in a book, I’d bumped into him on the landing later that evening and he’d said something about how he was in charge whilst they were away. He also mentioned something about me calling him sir. Yeah, like that was going to happen. Dream on. Locking horns with my stepbrother was starting to become a daily reality.
During the week I managed to submit my article to Jessica and she gave it back to me with an insane amount of red pen on there. Talk about brutal. It had knocked my confidence and I felt like starting from scratch.
After we had waved our folks off playing happy families, I immediately turned and went into the house and up to my room. I had already stashed some rations up there to keep me going. That way, I didn’t have to leave myself open to any unfortunate encounters with Jaxon. I’d heard him pass my door a couple of times and then later during that evening, I’d had to turn my TV up. Jaxon listened to shit angry rock music and liked it loud.
I awoke on that Saturday morning to bright sunlight coming into my bedroom. It was forecast to be a semi-decent day weather-wise and so I shot out of bed, carried out my usual routine and then pulled on clean underwear and a floaty lemon dress. Pushing my feet into sliders, I grabbed my iPhone and the new book I was reading and set off downstairs.
As I walked into the kitchen texting Dominic, Chris glanced up from his breakfast. He was sitting on a barstool at the island counter. Jaxon had his back to me and was looking into the fridge.
Chris smiled and motioned towards the cereal and milk which he’d left on the counter and I joined him. After finishing off my text, I placed my phone on the surface and eyed my other stepbrother with interest. As I said, he was shorter than Jaxon and nowhere near as well built. He was good-looking in a boyish way, just softer and less angular than Jaxon. And of course, they shared the same eyes, but Chris’ had more wisdom in his (in my opinion). He was also much easier going and never lost his temper.
My gaze roamed over Jaxon’s broad back. He was wearing a white tank top and shorts and looked as sexy as hell. The tanned muscles in his arms flexed as he continued to hold open the massive fridge door.
“So, you sleep OK without mummy to tuck you in?” Chris chortled in a jokey voice. I wasn’t offended, he tormented me in a boyish unaggressive way; that I could deal with. At his words, Jaxon turned and closed the fridge with a resounding bang. His eyes locked on mine. Although pointless, I smiled briefly before pouring myself some cereal.
“Yes, fine thanks. I always drift off easily after a chapter or two.” I was a book nerd.
The hairs on my neck prickled as Jaxon approached the counter and stood at the opposite end, looking back and forth between Chris and me. His brother kept his eyes on his breakfast.
“I would have tucked you in if you’d have asked nicely,” Jaxon informed me with a wink .
I rolled my eyes. “No thank you. I wouldn’t want you to contaminate my room with your boy smell,” I informed him, spooning some flakes into my mouth.
Jaxon quirked his head and shifted closer, watching me eat. “At least you’re eating cereal for breakfast and we’re all safe. It still reeks of smoke in here.”
Tutting, I shot him a look. “Can you just leave it, Jaxon? I’ll have sandwiches or takeout this weekend. Satisfied?”
“Oh, I’m far from satisfied, Wynter. It’s not like that’s the first time you’ve tried to kill the kitchen with the fucking microwave. Fuck me, even old people who aren’t allowed cookers use them safely.”
The atmosphere in the room was charged with tension.
Chris lowered his spoon and placed it into his empty dish saying, “Well actually, you won’t need takeout tonight. You can join us for our BBQ later. I’m having a party.”
Jaxon huffed and my brow scrunched as he switched his gaze to his brother. “You’re fucking kidding me?” I assumed he meant because Chris had invited me.
Chris just shrugged and met his brother’s stare head-on. “Why not? We can’t have a party and not invite our little sister,” he explained. Little sister indeed, we were the same age, pretty much.
I watched with narrowed eyes as Jaxon took an apple off the counter and bit into it. The muscles of his neck bunched as he chewed and then swallowed.
Jaxon then said, “You’re responsible for her then.” Motioning toward his brother with the hand that held the apple.
“Fine by me,” Chris replied with a knowing smile. He had witnessed a ton of arguments between Jaxon and me and now just took them in his stride. “I invited the McKenna’s too but they have an order of cattle coming in and so can’t make it,” he added. Chris and Mason Mckenna were tight. On the occasions he drove over there, I’d cadge a lift and see my cousins. Lamb Hill was next to their farm Orchard View and I enjoyed a catch-up with Amy .
Talk about a small world. Jaxon had also worked with Nixon McKenna when they were in the army together. He now ran Lamb Hill and had taken control of the farm when his father had fallen ill. It was all a bit odd; as I said, Amy was with Mason and Jenna married to Nixon. It all felt a bit incestuous but of course, it wasn’t.
I remember being blown away when I found out about Amy and Mason as they had been at war for years. There had been a massive falling out between their families. Something to do with ownership of some land.
Mason and his younger brother Boyd regularly turned up at our house to use the gym. Chris had explained that Jaxon had put together a fitness program for them and they trained together from time to time. Chris idolised Mason for some strange reason. He wasn’t my cup of tea that’s for sure. To be honest, none of the McKenna boys were; even the youngest Seth was a tool.
Jaxon continued to crunch his apple; his eyes cast in my direction as I ate the rest of my breakfast. I then pushed off the chair and went to the sink to wash my bowl. I also took Chris’s.
“Thank you, my darling.” He spoke in such a grown-up way. That was intelligence for you. I always felt so unsophisticated in his company. But I supposed feeling unsophisticated was better than feeling generally shit about yourself, which was of course how Jaxon made me feel. The fact that I hated him and yet found him so physically attractive made me feel like a deranged lunatic. Was I a glutton for punishment or was Jaxon slowly making me lose my mind?
After I’d stacked the pots on the drying rack, I turned to find Jaxon leaning against the back wall, his arms crossed in that usual way of his. He was still staring at me as I returned to my seat. I should have felt uncomfortable but I was getting used to it. It was like he was purposefully trying to intimidate me.
I toyed with the spine of my book which was placed on the counter in front of me .
“What’s that shit you’re reading,” Jaxon said with a flick of his head.
I pushed my reading glasses down my nose and peered at him. “It’s called a book Jaxon. You wouldn’t understand.”
“Bite me, princess,” he husked under his breath.
Turning my gaze away, I spoke directly to Chris, attempting to blank Jaxon out. It wasn’t easy.
“So, what’s the deal with the party?”
“Well, it’s supposed to be a pool party, if the weather holds out. Invite whoever you want. It will just be drinks, food, shit like that, nothing too wild.”
I smiled and nodded. “Cool, sounds great.” I lied. I so didn’t want to go but wouldn’t that suggest I was a coward or something? I wasn’t a party girl; I was way too reserved.
Jaxon shoved off the wall and walked over to us with an animal-like grace, glaring down at me. “Who are you going to invite when you don’t have any friends?” God the boy was relentless.
I dashed a hand across my hair and stared up into his annoyingly handsome face. He was wrong. I had loads of friends. They just lived miles away after my mother moved us to the arse-end of nowhere.
“I’ll bring Dominic,” I informed him with a syrupy smile. I knew he wouldn’t like that.
His face darkened. “Fucking great. The calibre of guests at your shit party has just radically nose-dived, Christopher. I don’t know if I can make it now.”
Chris barked out a laugh saying, “You’re such a wanker.” He got away with it too. The boys never argued. Jaxon saved up all his hostility for me and his father.
I watched as Chris got up to leave, his blonde locks bobbing with the movement. “Don’t forget your swimsuit sunshine. That goes for you too, Jax. When you’ve stopped acting like a cock,” he called over his shoulder. He always shortened his brother’s name. I hadn’t been able to bring myself to do that yet. Too familiar.
“Blow me, pretty boy,” Jaxon replied and Chris flipped him off over his shoulder as he walked away.
Now Jaxon and I were alone, I jumped down from the stool, leaving my stuff on the side but pocketed my glasses. I then moved to walk around him but he snagged my wrist which stopped me in my tracks. “Hang on,” he insisted.
I looked up at him with wide eyes. What now? My skin felt hot wherever he touched me. His fingers were firm but he didn’t hurt me.
Jaxon’s expression was dark as he started to lecture me. “A few ground rules. Behave yourself and go steady with the drink. We don’t want a repeat of last Christmas, do we?”
I opened my mouth to defend myself, it was Chris’s fault I’d started on the shots last year but he cut me off with, “And stay away from me and my friends and if you do anything to embarrass me, this will be the last party of ours you ever get invited to. You get me?”
My temper soared. “And how the heck would I embarrass you Jaxon? I’m not exactly the type to get shitfaced and lap dance on the table. That type of behaviour is what I’d expect from the girls you associate with. Please don’t tar me with the same brush.”
I tugged at my wrist but he didn’t release me. His eyes dropped to my breasts fleetingly, and I saw a hint of interest in their depths before he masked it. A dart of heat shot up my arm as Jaxon’s grip on my wrist loosened and he started to massage my pulse with his thumb. The message my body was sending me was confusing and unwanted.
His voice dipped as he whispered, “And what a sight that would be. Can you even fucking dance? Bottom line, for your own good, stay out of my way. Do you understand me?”
“Yes, I get it, I’m not stupid. ”
“Calling you stupid would be an insult to stupid people,” Jaxon snorted rudely, releasing me, and snatching my novel from behind me. He glanced at it with disdain. “You should ditch these things and get a life in the real world.” I then watched helplessly as he walked over to the bin and dropped my book into it.
Before I could say another word, he strolled lazily out of the house through the patio doors.
What the actual fuck? Save me from boys and their mixed messages. I rubbed my wrist, the skin there still tingled before retrieving my novel from the fucking bin.
I spent the rest of that day, redrafting my arson article. I had messaged Dominic and he was up for the party, massively so. He explained that he was working on some promo shots for a local business and would come over when he’d finished. I texted him and explained it was a pool party. I toyed with the idea of inviting Melody, to prove to Jaxon that I had some friends, but it was probably too last minute.
As I was deciding on what bikini to wear, I got a call from my cousin Amy. Our Jenna was pregnant and the baby was due any day. I was so happy for her as she’d had a couple of miscarriages and this time, it appeared she’d managed to carry the baby to term. She also mentioned her brother’s wedding again and asked if I could make it. Her brother Mattie was gay and was marrying Alex, the love of his life the following month. This was their second attempt as they had intended to get married the previous year but Alex had ballsed up the booking with the venue. I explained that I did intend to be there and that hopefully, Dominic would be my plus one.
The timing of Amy’s call couldn’t have been more perfect and I asked her a few facts about the fire which had occurred at their house. I explained about the article I was attempting to write and she was only too happy to help. I needed to radically reduce Jessica’s red pen! My new slant was to put a negative spin on the Proctor boys and their intention to appeal. Theirs was a throwaway the key scenario in my mind.
Whilst I was in my bedroom, which was at the front of the house, I was unaware of the preparations going on in the kitchen and by the poolside. I’d heard cars, mainly taxis pulling up and glanced out of my window to see the driveway littered with expensive-looking vehicles. I wondered how many people would be there.
Rummaging to the back of my wardrobe, I found the bikini I wanted. Considering the time of year, the sun was still high in the sky and it would be nice to try and get some colour to my skin.
I must have stood looking at myself in my full-length mirror for over half an hour. My bikini was slightly small but covered the important parts. Dare I wear it in front of everyone? During the last pool party I’d attended, I remember feeling overdressed. I’d worn a purple playsuit and had only paddled my legs in the water, like a proper square.
Looking at myself critically, I decided to go for it. I had a good body, not an ounce of fat and yes, I wasn’t huge-chested but I wasn’t flat by any means. Dominic complimented me on my breasts all the time. That was his favourite area of my body, but of course, that was the only bit he knew.
My phone pinged and I checked it. I’m outside. No one is answering the door. Dominic had texted. And of course, they wouldn’t if they were all around the back with the music booming out. I could hear it from inside my room. Good job we had no close neighbours.
Shoving my feet into sliders, I left my face make-up free and my long hair down. I had brushed it to death and it fell across my shoulders in soft waves. Pulling on my hoodie, I then grabbed my drawstring bag which contained my towel and everything else I needed and went downstairs to meet Dominic.
“Hey there beautiful,” Dominic gushed as I opened the front door and greeted him .
“Hey yourself.” He gave me a lingering kiss and I sank into it briefly before pulling back.
“You can use my room to get changed. I’ll go out back and see what the crack is. Meet you there?”
“K,” he replied. “Or you could come and help me if you want,” Dominic added with a cheeky wiggle of his ginger brows.
I grinned and shook my head. “Tempting, but I want to get some sunbeds before they all go.” I then planted a kiss on his cheek and took off.
Yes, I know, a total cop-out. Although not totally untrue; last year I’d had to sit on a chair during the entire three hours I’d lasted. Numb bum didn’t even begin to describe how my arse felt the next day.
In the end, it was a sunny afternoon, but it wasn’t that warm. As I exited the patio doors in my oversized hoodie which fell to my knees, I scanned the area. A sea of colour hit me as I took in all the different shades of swimwear. I don’t think I’d ever seen that many pairs of breasts in such a proximity before, or as many hot male bodies. As I scanned the crowd, there was some major talent lounging by the pool.
People were behaving as if they were on holiday abroad. There had to be about twenty or so strangers, all pumped up; either deep in conversation or laughing and joking around. A guy was grilling burgers on the patio close to the house and he already had a queue. There were beer bottles and red solo cups strewn around a variety of tables, not to mention bottles of vodka and tequila. Yuck, after that Christmas, I couldn’t bear the thought of shots.
The party was loud and already quite rowdy. Boys and girls, aged from their teens into their late twenties were either making out, in the pool, sitting on the side with their legs in the water or on sun loungers, which were spaced around the poolside. There was a couple of lads, talking to one girl standing at the bar area and a group of people were playing cards on a table over by the patio. Gambling for money from the looks of things .
I exhaled, feeling uncomfortable as a guy and girl holding hands walked out of the pool house. The boy was straightening his swimming trunks. They looked awfully pleased with themselves. The thought of what they had been doing in there made me want to bleach my brain. The music was blaring out through the speakers, half drowning out the chatter and screams. It was a mixture of dub-step and gangster rap I would say. Crap in my opinion.
Everyone was hanging out in their own clicks, drinking, vaping, and smoking (weed from the smell of it) and probably talking bollocks. My nose twitched in disgust as I scanned the area, searching for a sign of intelligent life. From their expressions and mannerisms, most of them were already wasted. Dread filtered through my system. The only friendly face I knew, was Chris’s. He was sitting on the side of the pool talking to a blonde-haired girl. He waved the beer he was holding at me in greeting and I smiled. Chris was single again after his girlfriend, Rachel dumped him recently.
My sliders flip-flopped against the soles of my feet as I made my way across the tiled flooring. I was making a bee-line for a couple of sun loungers I’d spied. A large black beefy guy almost walked into me and I sidestepped as he apologised. I ignored his appreciative expression as he stared at my legs.
I sensed Jaxon’s presence before I saw him. Even though we were outside he owned the air around him. He was on a lounger at the opposite side of the pool and was shirtless, wearing black board shorts with some type of emblem on them and he looked smoking hot. My God those arm muscles were huge, and his chest was also packed. I could just see the bumps of his six-pack and that cheeky nipple piercing of his glinting in the sun. He only wore it on certain occasions. One knee was slightly raised and he was resting his bottle of beer on it. He was sprawled on a lounger next to his friend, Styles aka the letch. Styles must have noticed me as he whispered something to Jaxon, his eyes crawling all over me. Yuck, the guy had the intelligence of a peanut. If you gave him a penny for his thoughts, you’d get change .
Part of Jaxon’s face was hidden behind aviator sunglasses (Ray Bans no doubt, the privileged tosser). As I moved toward those spare loungers, I could feel him watching me. They both were. His friend’s stare was partly hidden by his baseball cap, but I could tell from the direction of his head that he was checking me out. Styles was proof that accidents do happen.
The sun beds were only plastic but they were heavy and I struggled to move them, having to push rather than lift them. I pointed them both toward the sun, angling them so Dominic and I could be next to each other.
As I laid my towel down, I raised my head and looked across the large, oval-shaped thankfully heated swimming pool to where Jaxon and Styles were sitting. They were both positioned upright on their loungers, looking relaxed with their long legs stretched out before them. Jaxon’s thighs were corded with muscle.
My stepbrother then pushed his sunglasses down his nose and those intense eyes locked with mine. He was wearing his signature expression; it sat somewhere in between pissed off and brooding.
“Great spot,” Dominic suddenly said from beside me. He was wearing colourful Bermuda shorts and was so pale with his white skin and red hair. My boyfriend was tall with an athletic build but nowhere near as stacked as most of the other boys there, but I didn’t care. He was still attractive to me with a boyish charm that was different to the usual manly, rough attitude of some of the village lads.
He arranged his towel on the lounger I had saved for him. “Need some help?” he questioned as I started to remove my oversized hoodie and I nodded. I wasn’t particularly bothered about messing up my hair, but I didn’t want to chance it dislodging part of my bikini as I whipped it off.
“Fuck me, you look amazing in that. We should ditch this party and head upstairs,” he suggested with a wide grin .
I rolled my eyes and grinned as he lifted the garment over my head and I took it from him and placed it on the back of my lounger.
I readjusted the straps of my bikini top. It was plain black, I didn’t go for anything overly adventurous but it was still skimpy, as bikinis were. I intended to catch some sun for a change and so I purposefully hadn’t put any sun cream on; although it wasn’t that warm.
Dominic handed me a Coke which he must have fetched from the bar. I noticed he had a beer which was a surprise as he didn’t usually drink. I imagined that was part of his hidden agenda to fit in with these people. Although why he wanted to was beyond me.
As we chilled on our loungers with my face part buried in my book, I could feel Dominic’s eyes on my body and it gave me a boost of confidence. I jumped slightly as he moved and ran his hand up and down my leg; it felt nice and I leaned over and pecked him. He gave me a scorching smile and then settled back, pushing his sunglasses back up his nose.
“You still look hot in those glasses,” he commented. Jaxon said I looked like a stuck-up bitch in them.
I glanced over to where Jaxon was again. I couldn’t help myself. It was almost as though we were joined, connected by an invisible thread; one he had complete control over of course. Like he was the puppeteer in the scenario and I had to go where he tugged.
He had now taken off his sunglasses and was speaking with Lexi Grafton. I used my book as a shield to duck behind when he flickered a glance my way.
Lexi’s body language screamed tart. Oh dear, run whilst you can honey. From what I’d heard Jaxon had a strict no-strings-attached rule with girls. That couldn’t have mattered as they always seemed to come back for more.
I didn’t need to worry about Lexi though, not really, she could hold her own. She was one of the mean girls from school; pretty, tall, and blonde with huge boobs and, like several other girls at the party, that odd shade of orange. I’d always thought her head was too big for her body but my friend Melody said it was all about the hair. She and Dominic had a fling at school if I remembered it correctly, although we hadn’t spoken about it. Chats about exes were off-limits.
Lexi had ‘one night stand’ written all over her. The term loose didn’t even touch the sides. There was the type of girl that you shag and the type that you marry. It wasn’t difficult to decide which two of those pigeonholes Lexi fell into.
She was waving her drink around to embellish whatever dull point she was attempting to make, standing between Jaxon and Styles. Let’s face it, where good conversation was concerned, Lexi had nothing to bring to the table.
Jaxon was speaking and I watched him jerk his head in my direction and she turned. Her dark eyes glanced over me fleetingly. She had one of those faces that looked permanently spiteful. I was the first to turn away. She wore shorts and a tight tee that clung to her chest. She could have just taken the damn thing off. You could see the curve of her nipples. The material clung to her skin like she was part of a wet T-shirt competition and her denim cut-offs were indecently short. Half of her arse was hanging out. It was odd, as she was showing less flesh than any of the other girls wearing bikinis but somehow, she looked so much sluttier.
I knew they were talking about me and my hackles rose. “I’m going for a swim,” I told Dominic, placing my book on the ground next to the lounger and pulling off my readers.
“Want some company?” he questioned, removing his sunglasses.
“No, I’m good.” I was overcome by the need to hear what Jaxon, Lexi and Styles were saying. As I walked over to the side of the pool, I noticed several lustful glances from various boys. It didn’t surprise me; I wasn’t big-headed but I knew I had a good body, even if I was on the slender side.
Sticking my toe in the water to gauge the temperature, I then lowered myself and sat on the side before pushing off into the water .
I attempted to look everywhere but at them. I smiled as I passed other people in the pool. Unfortunately, the two lads in the water near Jaxon were talking loudly, so I couldn’t hear beyond them. Just my luck.
Ducking under the water, I allowed it to submerge me completely and as I splashed to the surface again, this got the attention of the two chatty boys. They’d stopped talking and had waded closer in the water.
“Hello, little mermaid. Do you like one-night stands?” said a good-looking mixed-race guy, his skin shining bronze in the sun. He was so fit. I went all hot and cold at the same time.
I smiled, recognising a one-liner was on its way. “Not particularly.”
“Good, me neither and I’ve got all weekend spare.”
“Cheesy,” I replied with a sparkle in my eyes.
“Give the girl some space Coop. What’s your name?” the other tall guy with brown hair and eyes said. His nose was crooked, it gave him a tough guy look.
“Wynter. And you are?”
“I’m Anders. Samuel Anders. This twat here is Cooper. He’s also a Samuel but we shorten it to Sam so people don’t get mixed up. We’re friends of Chris’s.” OMG, he came over as thick as shit. I wasn’t a bitch though and so wouldn’t be mean to them. I started listening to his mundane story about how people named them The Sams.
Whilst he was speaking, I heard Styles say, “Fucking hell. How can you live with that without tapping it? I wouldn’t mind introducing her to my bedroom ceiling.”
Jaxon snorted and Lexi hollered, “Good luck with that. Wynter Hart is renowned for being a stuck-up cow. Freeze your dick off. She went to my school. I can’t believe she’s your sister now.” Bitch. She’d always hated me.
“She’s not my sister,” Jaxon replied in a bored voice.
So, they were talking about me. As I continued to feign interest in what the two Sam’s were saying I could feel Jaxon’s eyes drilling into my cheek .
As we chatted, the boys turned out to be quite sweet in the end. They complimented my eyes and said some other nice things, but it got to the point where I started to feel cold in the water, so I had to abort the mission.
Joining Dominic, I dried off and we spoke about his work that day and how we wanted to spend our Sunday. He explained that his parents were also away for the weekend and asked if I wanted to spend the night at his place. I said that I needed to work on my article for the paper. I could see he was disappointed, but I didn’t want to put myself in a position where I felt pressured into sex. If I agreed to stop with him, that wouldn’t be fair as it would send mixed messages.
As the party went on, guests became more pissed and louder. There was a microphone behind the bar area and one of the guys announced that a game of spin the bottle was going to take place on the grass near the pool house. I spied the area with disgust. He mentioned that the game wasn’t for pussies.
At that point I had drank around three beers, I had a buzz but wasn’t drunk. Dominic had been collared by Jaxon at the bar area and had been deep in conversation for around twenty minutes. I wondered what they were talking about. I knew Dominic looked up to Jaxon; most people who met him did; like he was some type of God. I wondered if the day would ever come when the entire population of Norfolk stopped sucking my stepbrother’s dick.
When Dom came back, he explained that they’d been doing shots and he was a bit worse for wear. It annoyed me that he’d allowed Jaxon to manipulate him into drinking more than he usually did.
Due to the Dutch courage, Dom was desperate to join in a game of spin the bottle and I had no option but to go with him. My heart pounded in my chest. Wasn’t spin the bottle considered a juvenile game? We used to play it when I was in the scouts years ago.
As I scanned the circle of bodies all slouched on the ground, I noticed most people taking part were at the older end .
I had pulled my hoodie back on and as I settled myself onto the grass next to Dominic, Jaxon and Styles appeared. OMG, just my luck.
I watched as my stepbrother flicked his fingers to instruct those already sitting to make room for him and his buddy. He was on the opposite side of the circle to me, thank goodness. My God his body was fucking mental and my eyes lingered on the toned muscles of his stomach and that man V which led into his shorts.
He looked so casual and relaxed and I tried to refrain from making eye contact. As Lexi appeared next to him, he took her hand to help her lower her body into the space between him and Styles.
Our eyes clashed for a moment, a mocking expression on his face. I so needed to work on my fuck you look. My heart was attempting to break free of my chest, I was that nervous. They had played this game at the last party and I had bowed out as the rules had been adapted. Made much raunchier. You didn’t just kiss the person that the bottle landed on, you could be dared to do more than that, and if it landed on a member of the same sex, you could revert to truth or dare. Unless you ‘batted for the same team’ of course.
The game commenced and I folded my legs beneath me, Dominic by my side. He occasionally ran his fingers up and down my leg. An act of reassurance maybe?
I glanced around, no one was paying particular attention to the game, and everyone was still chatting. The bottle they were using was an empty Hendricks Gin bottle from the looks of it. I watched the hot black guy I’d almost plastered myself against earlier take his turn. It just missed me and landed on a blonde girl at my side who was sitting next to Chris. She crawled into the centre to meet him and they kissed. They must have known each other as the girl laughed and rubbed her mouth with the back of her hand afterwards and the guy wasn’t offended, “Still the same sweet Miles. Way too much tongue,” she giggled .
“Whatever Tracy,” he replied with a wink. “You fucking love it.” He was good-looking, I wouldn’t have minded kissing him.
I watched as a guy’s turn landed on one of the other boys. He chose ‘truth’ and was asked if he’d ever kissed another man, to which the answer was yes. Everyone clapped and hooted before he admitted he’d meant his father.
“That doesn’t count dickhead,” Styles, Jaxon’s friend barked before necking his beer. Jaxon was still sprawled across from me, with Lexi trying to get his attention. He’d zoned out and didn’t appear to be playing.
A couple more turns went by before the inevitable happened, Lexi’s bottle landed on Dominic.
My body tensed up, was I going to have to watch them kiss or worse? Her greedy eyes roamed over him. “It’s been a long time Dom. I think I’d like you to show me the good stuff, now you’re a man. It would be mean to kiss you in front of your girlfriend. See how nice I am?” Yeah, whatever. What she had asked was so much worse.
My stomach plummeted into my feet. What the heck, I hadn’t even seen it yet. Not that I was in a rush to.
Lexi’s face lit up like she’d won the lottery and Dominic shot me a sheepish look before agreeing. I raised my eyebrows as if to say you’re on your own, feeling thoroughly ticked off. As I dragged my pained gaze away, it fell on Jaxon who was watching me an amused expression over the rim of the bottle of beer he held.
Pursing my lips, I tried to keep my trembling to the minimum as Dominic and Lexi both met in the middle of the circle on their knees. He seemed a little too keen and I didn’t know how I felt about that. They started whispering to each other and giggling but I couldn’t hear what they were saying.
My eyes roamed suspiciously over Dominic's back. “Get a move on,” someone shouted impatiently .
Dominic then held out his hands and motioned for her to take the lead, which she did. I watched as Lexi fucking Grafton placed her painted talon-like fingers into the waistband of my boyfriend's Bermuda shorts and peered inside. Her grin was meaty as she allowed the material to snap back and she shot me a bitchy look over Dominic’s shoulder. “You are a lucky girl, Wynter Hart. It certainly didn’t look like that at school,” she sneered. Dominic seemed pleased with her comment which annoyed me even more. “Poor you though Dom, it must be hard being with someone so uptight and frigid.”
“Be nice Lexi,” another guy shouted. Yeah, nice and this girl didn’t share the same fucking planet.
“Just saying it as it is.”
The bitch. Dominic did nothing to defend me either. He just shuffled back to my side as if nothing had happened. “Sorry,” he apologised, but I could tell he’d enjoyed the exchange.
It was now Jaxon’s turn and I watched as he placed his beer down and leaned over to the bottle. He raised his head, his eyes meeting mine with a penetrative expression, his lip was curled slightly as those firm fingers twisted the bottle.
I must have been holding my breath as I watched the sun glitter off the glass as it spun around the circle of people. A couple of the girls were so obviously hoping it landed on them.
It didn’t and my pulse took off as Jaxon’s turn stopped, pointing directly at me. Any shred of amusement I felt whilst playing such a ridiculous game, fled. What the hell were the odds? I swear the guy had supernatural abilities. A gasp pushed itself from my body as the crowd let out a whoop! A few wolf whistles fell in there, Lexi looked annoyed and Styles slapped Jaxon on the back like he’d just achieved something majestic.
Chants started and my face heated even more, I must have been bright red .
“Say you want a truth question, he’s your brother , it’s weird,” Dominic whispered moodily. As if he had the right to feel jealous, pot calling the kettle black and all that.
“He isn’t my brother, he’s my stepbrother and it’s his fucking go,” I pointed out.
Dominic shifted uncomfortably beside me, but my gaze remained trapped with Jaxon’s.
It was the intent in his eyes, I knew what was coming. A variety of emotions stormed through me. Whatever was going on inside my body was pure chaos.
“Fucking kiss her,” a few people belted. I had never felt so embarrassed in my life.
As I toyed with the fight or flight reaction pumping through me, I heard Chris mutter to the blonde that he needed to take a leak. Possibly not wanting to watch the nightmare unfold before him.
Jaxon now had no sunglasses to protect himself from my laser-beamed glare. The egging on continued and Jaxon’s quirked a look around the guests. Everyone so obviously loved him. Boys wanted to be him; girls just wanted to do him. Primitive, I know.
He rolled his huge shoulders and then cracked his neck from side to side; ending the stand-off. “You know me, I’m a crowd pleaser,” he drawled in a sarcastic voice, watching me like I was his next meal. Crowd pleaser my arse. A few of the guys laughed at that one. Everyone knew Jaxon Savage did what the fuck he wanted and didn’t care what others thoughts.
From his expression, he took pleasure in my discomfort. Not being the type of man to crawl along the ground on all fours, he pushed lazily to his feet, moved to the centre of the circle, and then lowered himself to his knees, his muscles rippling in the sun. A lump appeared in my throat as he crooked a finger, telling me to go to him and I felt someone’s hand against my back urging me forward. He picked up on my hesitation and that sexy smile of his became wider .
“Come on Wynter, it’s only a kiss. Or are you scared?”
I huffed, shooting him daggers. “Yes, of what I might catch.” My reply caused the others to react with hoots, whistles, and oohs.
The mocking expression on Jaxon’s face increased. “Come on, you have the chance to prove Lexi wrong,” he urged, referencing her frigid dig.
I reluctantly moved on all fours toward him and it seemed to take forever. It was like time stood still. I was going to kiss Jaxon in front of all his friends and my boyfriend, it felt so wrong, but I couldn’t deny I felt a smidge of excitement. Not a feeling I welcomed.
He dominated the area, there was no escape. As my body approached him, I could see a muscle ticking in his jaw. His face was expressionless but his eyes held a glint to suggest he was looking forward to what was coming. He would enjoy making a fool out of me, I could feel it.
“Relax, I don’t bite. Well, not always,” Jaxon whispered at the cuff of my ear.
I flinched as he lifted one hand and slid it around the back of my neck, an electric-type of jolt shooting through me at the contact. “You never know, you might enjoy it.”
Jaxon then moved his body so his hard chest pushed against mine. My lips parted in shock as he lifted his other hand and shoved it into my hair, wrapping his fist around a chunk of it. He touched me like I belonged to him.
His eyes were hot on mine, blazing his intentions. And I was lost. Butterflies took flight in my stomach.
Jaxon Savage then lowered his head and rammed his mouth over mine. I gasped at his forcefulness and chaos broke loose inside my body as I surged toward him. The hunger was immediate .
His hand tightened in my hair, angling my head, and slanting his mouth firmly over mine. His tongue then pushed its way between my lips as he fed from me, taking everything, and my inhibitions were smashed to smithereens .
It felt amazing and uncontrollable lust crashed through my core. I moaned, this time into his mouth, my arms coming up to clasp his biceps. I faintly heard the whistles and excited chatter around us as I allowed my tongue to dance with his. He growled low in the back of his throat and deepened the kiss and it became more frenzied. Heat pooled between my legs and I could feel I was damp in my bikini bottoms and not from the pool.
His rock-hard torso was against the softness of my breasts. My nipples were hard beneath the hoodie as they grazed his chest. The swaying movement of our bodies created a thrilling friction. There was a raw, sexual sizzle in the air.
Jaxon nibbled the corner of my mouth with his teeth before he ran his tongue along the seam, almost soothing the section he had bitten. A hot ache pulsed in the pit of my stomach. I was on fire; I could feel the need between my legs and I so wanted him to touch me there.
After another few strokes of his tongue into my mouth, he drew back and licked the skin of my throat from my collarbone to beneath my chin. I panted in ecstasy, my head falling back in sexual abandonment.
Jaxon then released me with a quick impatient movement and drew back. His expression was heavy with desire and his breath was also uneven.
He recovered quicker than me. “Well, I think it’s safe to say she isn’t frigid.”
My composure shattered into a thousand pieces. My mind whirling as my emotions were thrown into chaos. I was floored, and shame pumped through my body. Dominic was behind me for Christ's sake and I had almost been climbing my stepbrother in front of all those people.
The noise continued in the group and I felt like they were laughing at me. I placed my hand flat against my chest as I attempted to pull some control back into my body, my legs felt weak. I was fucked. I would never live this down.
Pushing a clump of hair back from my face, I raised my eyes to Jaxon’s as someone shouted, “Fuck her.” A cocksure smirk filtered onto his expression and I snapped .
Pulling my hand back, I slapped Jaxon across the face as hard as I could. It rocked his head to the side and the crowd all made a variety of ouch remarks and oohs. I instantly clutched my hand with the other and massaged it. I’d hurt myself from the impact which had jarred my wrist.
As I stumbled to my feet, I saw the fury entering Jaxon’s face. He was enraged.
With a sob, on shaky limbs I rushed away, ignoring Dominic who had come toward me and asked, “Are you OK?” He attempted to sound concerned but I could see he was shocked.
I pulled away and heard Jaxon say to Dominic, “Stay put dipshit. This is family business.”
As I quickly walked, I could feel Jaxon behind me. Why was he following me? Please leave me to my shame. I picked up the pace. It suddenly felt like I was being hunted.
After leaving the circle, who were thankfully in the process of pushing to their feet or chatting; now the show was over. I moved past some of the other guests who’d had the sense not to play, my mouth and body were still on fire from Jaxon’s kiss. The music started to pump louder, drowning out the jeers and I rushed past a bewildered Chris.
I had just made it into the kitchen when I was grabbed by the upper arm and swung around into Jaxon’s huge, menacing body. I almost plastered myself against his chest. His cheek was red and his eyes blazed with fire. But I wasn’t afraid of him, not in the physical sense.
I eyed my handprint, if I hadn’t been so angry, I would have admired my handiwork.
“What the fuck was that about?” he yelled down into my face. His hold on my bicep was harsh and I attempted to pull away.
“How could you?” I cried up at him.
“How could I what? Fucking kiss you?” he snapped with puzzled disbelief .
“Yes,” I panted. I was coming apart, losing it.
“It’s part of the game Wynter.”
You could tell from the muscles working in his jaw that he was grinding his teeth. Jaxon was so angry and he grasped my other arm and shook me once, hard. “Well? What the fuck?” My hair spilled down my back and I was almost afraid to look at him, but shame pushed my fear away.
“The way you kissed me. That wasn’t a game Jaxon,” I bit out, flinching as his hold on me tightened.
Out of the corner of my eye, I was aware of some people looking in through the kitchen windows, enjoying the drama we were creating but I didn’t care. The rest of the party had carried on, thank God.
“What? Because I put my tongue in your mouth?” he blazed, drawing me closer onto my tiptoes and getting in my face.
“Not just that, you know what I mean,” I gasped. My thoughts were jumbled.
“That’s called passion , Wynter and you fucking loved it, so enough with the offended modesty. You were with me all the way and everyone saw that.”
“I hate you, let me go,” I panted, struggling.
“You may hate me, but if I hadn’t pulled away, I would have had you flat on your back in seconds and you know it,” he stated arrogantly.
“I don’t know what you mean,” I whispered in a shaky breath.
“Yes, you do, you’re not that fucking na?ve. If we’d been alone, I’d have been buried inside you and you’d be screaming my name right now.”
“You’re wrong and you’re hurting my arms,” I yelled. Jaxon loosened his hold.
“And you’re a liar.”
“Let her go, man,” a voice sounded from behind us. It was Chris. Jaxon swung him a glance over his shoulder and if looks could kill.
“Fuck off, this has nothing to do with you,” Jaxon shouted .
“I mean it Jax, you need to keep your shit together. You have an audience, guests are waiting. Save whatever shit this is. Her boyfriends coming over now and we don’t want any fucking trouble.”
“Trouble? The guy couldn’t fight his way out of a plastic bag. You’d better keep him away from me Chris.”
“I mean it, Jax. Let her go. You’re hurting her.”
His words seemed to knock Jaxon out of the blind fury he was feeling and he released me, shoving me so hard, I almost fell over.
“Fuck this shit,” Jaxon snarled, spinning around, and storming out through the backdoor. Shoving roughly passed a horrified Dominic with whom I made brief eye contact.
I swung away from Chris and Dom, tears running down my face and made my way up to my room.
As I threw myself onto my bed, within seconds, my pillow was soaking. I felt so embarrassed. I should have just stood up and walked back to my place in the circle with my head held high, acting like it didn’t mean anything. But then I would have been lying to myself. Jaxon had left his mark on me during our first kiss the night of the alarm, and my body now had an extreme craving for his touch. Today, I hadn’t been able to lie and hide it and now everyone would know. I was a slut and I lusted after my stepbrother who hated me.
A knock on the door forced me to sit up. It was Chris.
“Are you OK?”
“No,” I replied in a small voice.
“Dominic’s asking for you, but I asked him to hold off. Unless you want me to let him up?”
The thought of facing my boyfriend right then was like a death sentence. “No, please Chris. Could you say I’m not feeling well and that I’ll call him tomorrow? ”
There were a few beats before he replied, “Yeah, sure. Do you want some water or something?”
“No, thank you. Just please. Keep Jaxon out of my hair.”
“I won’t need to do that, he just left. And fuck me he was pissed.”
As he divulged those words, an engine started which forced me to stand and go over to my window. It was Jaxon’s Range Rover. I could see he was in the driving seat, Lexi Grafton sitting in the passenger seat, looking like the cat that got the cream. Hadn’t he been drinking?
The engine revved angrily and then the vehicle set off down the driveway shooting pebbles everywhere. So, he was going home with Lexi after the way he had just kissed me? The guy had no moral compass.
I went back over to my bed and collapsed, rolling into a ball.
Something had happened to me during that kiss and there was no recovering from it.
How could I feel such a strong connection with someone I so thoroughly disliked and who appeared to hate me back?
Things couldn’t have been more wrong. I needed to shelve that sexual curiosity that appeared to be getting gradually stronger each day.
For my mental well-being as well as my sanity, I had to stay away from Jaxon Savage.