Kaden
Chapter eighteen
Melody chose Cornell. Part of me thinks it’s the people pleaser at her core, the fragment of herself that only wants to make our parents proud, that pushed her to her decision.
The other part of me thinks she did it because it’s the furthest away from our home, where she doesn’t believe I’ll be able to reach her.
She has another thing coming.
It’s early, the sun hasn’t even risen, as I shuffle through the kitchen and pour coffee into two travel mugs.
Mom and Dad had their tear-filled goodbyes yesterday, sobbing and hugging my sister as if she was going off to something far worse than college.
They had to fly out late yesterday to make it to the grand opening of Mom’s new store in California, leaving my sister and me to complete the three-and-a-half-hour drive by ourselves.
I’m thrumming with anticipation over our road trip.
We’ve never done something like this on our own.
It’s my chance to really get inside of her head, pick her apart, and lay her bare.
She’s been drawing back from me, trying to distance herself because she still thinks this is wrong.
It’s cute, but I want there to be no doubts about what our relationship is.
Melody’s soft footfalls enter the kitchen, and I glance over my shoulder at her. She’s dressed in a pair of tights and a crop top, her hair folded neatly into a wild bun of golden silk. She rubs the sleep from her eyes, holding out a hand without a word.
My lips twitch as I hand over her travel cup, the ice clinking together. “Why on earth you choose to have iced coffee every morning is beyond me.”
She takes a sip, closing her eyes in bliss. “You always make it just right.”
“Years of practice.”
For the first time in weeks, she gives me a genuine smile. It makes my chest ache to see the simple upturn of her lips. It’s Elysian for someone like me.
“Where are my bags?” She asks as she frowns at the front door.
“Already in the car,” I grab my mug, placing a hand at the small of her back as I guide her out of the house. She walks a little ahead, breaking our connection as she attempts to ignore my presence altogether.
That won’t do.
I open her door for her before snatching the front of her throat. She gasps, eyes rounded and shocked as I squeeze gently.
“Your brother wants something, Sunny.” I croon.
Her throat bobs against my palm, her pupils dilating. “What?”
I tilt my head. “Give me a thank you for driving you.”
“What—”
“Kiss me,” I command. “I want you to initiate it. Show me what I taught you.”
She shakes her head lazily, rolling her bottom lip between her teeth. “We can’t, Kaden. Not anymore—”
“I didn’t fucking ask you if we could. I told you to do it.” I growl.
The breath skates from her lungs before she closes her eyes and nods.
Her eyelids flutter open, and her gaze shifts to my lips before trailing back up.
She pushes up on her toes, every movement hesitant and polite, until her lips touch mine.
It’s soft and gentle, every ounce innocent as it is testing.
She tastes like coffee and sugar, and I hum in the back of my throat before moving our lips in tandem. She follows my lead, her eyes fluttering closed as her body goes pliant and she allows me to take. I don’t give her a moment of reprieve before swiping my tongue along the seam of her lips.
She draws back, lifting a hand to her mouth. Her eyes are clouded and distant as she clears her throat. “Can we get going? We won’t make it in time for check-in.”
I brush my thumb over her cheek before nipping at her swollen bottom lip. “You taste—“
“Kaden,“ she warns.”
“—like fucking candy.” I step aside, letting her ease down into the passenger seat before I close the door and stalk around the hood. As the engine rumbles to life, I’m savoring the flavor of my sister on my lips. It’s like pure fucking cocaine, a shock to my system that I need to survive this.
Listening to pop music for two hours straight is just as bad as scratching nails across a chalkboard. I hate the genre, but Melody loves it. She bobs her head to the bass, her bare feet propped up on the dashboard as she slaps her thighs to the rhythm.
“What did I say about your feet on the dash?” I ask.
She rolls her head along the rest until she’s staring at me. “Don’t crash, and it won’t be a problem.”
That fucking mouth of hers.
It has my fist tightening on the steering wheel as endless scenery blurs by.
“Keep talking like that, and I’ll make you choke, little sister.” I threaten.
Her mouth gapes, and the apples of her cheeks turn an adorable shade of red. “That’s fucked, Kaden. Don’t say things like that to me.”
She has no idea.
I started therapy a few months ago without telling anyone.
At first, I didn’t care for the sterile, proper middle-aged woman who was assigned to me.
She had a snooty air about her, like she knew she was better than everyone else, until I started talking.
She got me to confess to my sister fantasy—the sick, horrible things I had harbored for Melody for years.
How I wanted to touch her, tease her, and own her.
That was the first time someone looked at me like I was normal. Because Mrs. Agnes had heard of far worse. I was docile in her eyes, just a nineteen-year-old man trying to deal with his sick obsession with his sister.
“What?” I prod. “You don’t like it when I call you little sister?”
Her face screws up. “I don’t like it when you say vulgar things and add little sister to the end of it.”
“Personal preference,” I shrug.
“You’re disgusting…” she trails, looking away from me.
“And what does that make you? St. Melody, the perfect little doll our parents love—”
“Stop it, Kaden!” She bites, crossing her arms over her chest. “Leave me alone.”
“Give me another kiss and I will.”
She shakes her head, a humorless chuckle leaving her. “You’re so needy.”
I cup her chin, pulling her face to me as I capture her eyes with my hold. “I’m only needy for you. Kiss me, Sunny.”
I can feel her swallow before she tilts her chin up.
Her eyes close as my lips press softly against hers.
I take this one slow, letting every ounce of affection and need bleed from me.
When I pull away, she’s breathless, and her chest is flushed.
Her eyes are glassy, pupils blown, and swallowing the honey irises.
She can deny this all she wants, but she can’t hide her reactions to me. She fucking loves it.
She pulls back, shaking herself out of her trance as she rolls the end of her shirt between her fingers. “We have to stop doing that…”
“Why?”
She glances away from me, a pause hanging in the air. “Because it’s wrong, Kaden.”
“Then I don’t want to be right,” I say easily.
Melody slaps her hands on her thighs, turning to me. “We can’t. We’re siblings.”
My chest pangs with something I can’t understand—can’t grasp. It hurts like a bitch. “No one will know.”
“I’ll know,“ she stresses. “Can’t we just go back to normal? How things were before…”
No.
I could never go back to being just her big brother.
She’s embedded in my fibers, woven through my DNA like a cure to the venom that courses through my veins.
If she wants the illusion of not knowing, I’ll give her just that, but I’ll never allow us to go back to the time before I knew what her lips tasted like.
She’s mine.
Whether she wants to be or not.
“Okay,” I sigh, the word feeling like heavy sand as it forces past my lips.
It’s only to please her. Nothing more. This isn’t goodbye.
She sits back in her seat, the tension rolling off her shoulders as she gets comfortable and takes another sip from her travel mug. “You really do make the best coffee.”
And you would make the perfect little fucking plaything.
That practiced ease settles into my bones so heavily that it feels sterile and unfamiliar. I give her a crooked smile, my mind raging with all of the ways I plan to show her that she needs me. “Anything for you, Sunny.”
Anything.
As I pull into a parking spot near the building designated for student orientation, Melody stops me before I can get out.
“I applied for bag service. My mentor should be here any minute to help me unload.” She says, flicking down the visor before applying her sparkly lipgloss to her lips.
I watch her, so enraptured by the bounce of her plump bottom lip that I almost miss what she said. “Bag service?”
On cue, a tall, thin brunette bounces in front of the car. She holds up a homemade sign with my sister’s name on it, pointing at Melody excitedly.
“Thank you for driving me,” Sunny beams before throwing her door open.
She greets the brunette brightly, wrapping her arms around her as if she’s known the woman her whole life. Meanwhile, my hands are gripping the steering wheel so hard I could crack the leather.
She doesn’t want me to know which dorm she’s staying in.
Too bad that won’t stop me.
They unload the trunk, slinging bags over their shoulders, before my sister stops by my window and I roll it down for her. She leans in, giving me a quick, cordial peck on the cheek. “Bye!”
My gaze sears her, and I lower my voice into a threatening whisper that only she can hear. “I’ll be seeing you.”
She blinks, stepping back. She pulls her mask on quickly, shielding her fear well. “Drive safe.”