33

Adeline

I remain stunned, unable to move an inch forward, afraid that doing so would bring me closer to the one person I want to avoid tonight. As I have done every day since our return from Seattle, I cross my arms, determined to completely ignore his presence, and begin to walk around the vehicle.

I know it's childish, but it's stronger than me.

As I prepare to pass the jeep, the driver's side door opens and a figure blocks my path.

"What are you playing at, little sister?" Jayden stands in front of me. Imposing. Impassive. Insufferable. His flippant remark ignites a smoldering rage within me that I had resolved to ignore.

"Oh, shut up, Jayden."

What exactly is he trying to accomplish by calling me that? To twist the knife? To torture me? To punish me? Damn it. He was there in the bathroom too. He didn't control anything either. He didn't try to stop me. So why is he suddenly playing the hero and reminding us that we're family?

"Get in," he orders.

"I didn't order a driver," I reply, but he grabs my arm.

"Stop acting like a child, damn it, and get in the car!"

I give his hand a sharp shove to remove it from my bare skin.

"Don't touch me," I hiss, glaring at him.

He's at least two heads taller than me, and right now I feel tiny. His black t-shirt makes him untouchable. Heavy. Tough. But as I say these words, I feel as if an indecipherable spark flashes across his pupils, as if he remembers, at this very moment, when my body was screaming for him to touch it.

"Very well," he capitulates, stepping back slightly. "You didn't ask for a driver, but Cameron called me. Now that I'm here, I'd appreciate it if you didn't make me waste my time."

"You could've just stayed home, and you can go," I growled.

I'd pass out if I set foot in his car, guaranteed. Him and me, alone in a confined space, his smell, his warmth... and his voice.

No way!

"You really have a shitty attitude, you know that?" he says.

"It's a family trait, apparently," I spit.

"Very funny."

We stare at each other, he still blocking my way. The door is wide open, and a few notes of music come in to break the palpable silence that hangs between us.

"If you don't come, I'll follow you until you get home," he continues quietly. "It will take forever. So don't be ridiculous and come. Please."

His look softens, but my anger doesn't subside. Quite the opposite. I want to slap him, scratch him, bite him even more now... I roll my eyes in exasperation and then back up to go around the jeep and get inside. He follows in silence, quickly closes the door, and then zooms off. A playlist of old hits from the 1990s blares from the speakers, and I try to focus on each lyric to distract myself from the person next to me.

"Why didn't you sleep at Holly's?" he asks.

"I think you asked the wrong question."

I cross my arms and stare at the road ahead, praying that the few yards separating us from the house will be quickly traversed.

"And what was I supposed to ask you?"

I sigh.

"You already know."

He opens the window, letting in the hot, stifling August air.

"I thought I told you not to bring it up again."

"Newsflash, you're not my father," I grumble like a child. "And I'm old enough to decide if I want to talk about it or not."

"There's nothing to talk about."

"This is a joke," I grumble as Jayden parks.

I'm seething.

"You're a goddamn coward, Jayden White," I hiss, storming out of the car. I haven't even reached the porch before he catches up and slams my body against the front door.

Very discreetly.

"Let me go," I whisper irritably. He just stands there, his hand wrapped around my wrist and his body shutting out the rest of the world. I hate him. And worse, I hate myself for feeling so much desire for such a despicable guy.

"I'll let you go when you stop getting angry," he says in an Olympic calm. As if I'm a raging lunatic.

This situation becomes pathetic.

"I'll stop getting angry when you learn to own up to your actions," I continue quietly so as not to wake my parent upstairs.

"Own up to what, Adeline?" he steps back and puts his hands into the pockets of his jogging pants, which he must have put on in a hurry to pick me up in the car, as his brother must have ordered him to do.

I hope I woke him up, damn it.

"We got drunk and fondled each other in a bathroom, there's nothing to be proud of. You know damn well it didn't mean anything, so I don't understand why you've been going on about it for ten minutes."

We're in the dark, but I can still make out the features of his face and his dark, impenetrable eyes.

"Because I idiotically thought you'd act like an adult for once and make a sensible decision."

"I gave you the decision as soon as we realized our mistake. It was very simple: we forget about it."

"No!" I snap. "We should have talked about it before, talked about what has gotten into us. What's happening between us, what..."

- There's nothing going on between us. You're not my girlfriend or my boyfriend. You're nothing. So if you can't move on from an unfortunate mistake that didn't mean anything, there's nothing I can do for you," he says.

"You're an asshole," I spit, stopping him before he enters the house. "And whether you like it or not, we're stuck in the same family for a long time. You're going to have to deal with that. Your 'little sister' won't let go of you."

I push him aside to take his place, quickly kicking off my shoes and retreating to my room.

"You're not my family," he calls after me when I'm at the bottom of the stairs. "You'll never be my family, Adeline."

I turn, my hand ready to slap his cheek, but instead my wrist is caught in the air and a mouth silences me. Hot, soft, but full of fury. Jayden grabs my neck and buries a hand in my hair, swallowing the hoarse moan my throat produces as soon as his lips capture mine. I grip his t-shirt tightly, forcing him to wrap his free arm around my waist to keep us from falling down the stairs. Our kiss is urgent and chaotic. My breathing is erratic and I struggle to catch my breath, but I would rather suffocate kissing him than push him away.

I've waited centuries for this.

He takes my thighs and wraps them around his waist. Our mouths remain closed, eager to discover each other after days of abandonment. His tongue teases mine with desire and my whole body burns. I cling to his neck and let him climb the stairs one by one, trying not to make them creak under our weight. By some miracle, we reach the first floor and he quickly opens the door to my room. Once we're inside, he sets me down, one hand on the back of my neck. The door is closed behind us, and we become aware of the silence in the house, except for the irregular sound of our breathing.

"Stay," I murmur, bordering on a plea.

I grab the underside of his t-shirt and pull him toward me, back onto my bed. As soon as my legs hit the mattress, I stop.

We can't be any clearer.

He doesn't take his eyes off me and remains silent. The intensity of his gaze makes my heart flutter, and I imagine him thinking of a thousand ways to get out of here. But just when I expect him to run away, screaming at me that what just happened was still a mistake, he lays me down on the bed. Overpowering me with all his weight, he places his lips on mine and caresses my face with his palm. His erection, bulging in his sweatpants, presses against my thighs and he gently undulates.

"Less noise," he whispers into my ear as an uncontrollable moan passes my lips.

Then he nibbles my earlobe, sucks on my neck, my collarbone, kisses my skin. One of his hands goes under my shirt, grabs my breast and kneads it. I don't know where to look. My whole body burns with the feeling of him against me, inside me. Weeks of frustration, anger, and repressed desire consuming me from the inside, just begging to explode.

And nothing can stop us.

"Are you sure about this?" he asks me, clearly aware of the turmoil inside me.

He lifts himself up on his arms, scrutinizing me in the dim light, waiting for an answer.

"I want you," I answer simply, grabbing the collar of his t-shirt to bring him back to me.

"As you wish," he sighs, seizing my lips again.

This time his hips are more powerful and his movements between my thighs continue to excite me. I'm on fire and I don't want to play anymore. I grab his shirt and quickly pull it over his head, reserving the same fate for my shirt, which I throw across the room. The soft skin on his chest makes me shiver and I stroke his stomach to reach the edge of his sweatpants. He deftly unhooks my bra, exposing my bare breasts. Without further ado, he sucked on one of them, licking it with desire as if it were the eighth wonder of the world. I'm suffocating. I want more.

"Jayden," I moan.

The message is received as he suddenly lifts himself up, grabs my thighs and pulls my shorts off. My panties go with them and I am completely naked before him. Determined, he kneels in front of me and kisses my legs until my desire burns. Where it tugs at me. Where it consumes me completely. He places his lips on my clit, kissing it generously before running his tongue over it. I bite my hand, unable to hold back my moans.

"Shit, shit, shit," I sigh, holding back a scream.

His tongue plays with my clit, sucking and licking it, sometimes slowly, sometimes skillfully. I'm a bundle of nerves. He remains on his knees, his head between my legs and one hand wrapped around his penis. He has lowered his joggers and begins to masturbate, giving me the most erotic view of my life: Jayden and his hand, active on his erect penis as he gives me pleasure.

"Adeline," he moans in a low plea.

"In the nightstand," I pant.

He gets up and eagerly rummages through the mess in my drawer to find a condom. He looks at it for a second, then stares at me.

"I don't even want to know why you have condoms in your room," he mutters as he puts it on.

Then he positions himself on top of me, kissing my mouth and neck with a multitude of wet little kisses. He penetrates me slowly at first, before thrusting fully into me, eliciting a moan from both of us. With his face in my hair, he slowly undulates while my fingers dig into his back. His movements are controlled and my whole body vibrates.

"It feels so good," he purrs into my ear. "So good..."

He grips my hips tightly and penetrates me deeper this time. The sensation makes me gasp and I grab his buttocks to encourage him to continue. He moves faster and harder, biting my shoulder as he penetrates me again, muffling his pleasure against my burning skin. The rhythm becomes frantic, our breathing erratic, and each time he slides into me, we get closer to orgasm.

"I'm going to cum," I say, out of breath.

I try to hold out as long as I can, savoring the movement of his hips between my thighs as he kisses my collarbone and caresses my breast. I bury a hand in his messy hair and force him to face me, a few inches from his mouth, his hot, erratic breath echoing on my skin. He stares at me, his eyes blurred, full of desire and forbidden words, and makes love to me until, a few seconds later, we are overcome by our orgasm. Devastating. Unforgivable. But completely magical.