I jerked back like I’d been electrocuted, nearly tripping over my own feet in my haste to get away. My heart pounded in my ears as I stumbled down the hallway to my bedroom, slamming the door behind me. Fuck. Had he seen me? Did he know I was watching?
My cock throbbed painfully against my zipper as I leaned against the door, trying to catch my breath. The image of Jesse touching himself was burned into my brain… the water cascading down his lean muscles, that goddamn piercing making me think about so many things I’d never imagined before. I pressed the heel of my hand against my erection, a groan escaping my lips before I could stop it.
I hadn’t meant to spy on him. I just wanted to tell him to hurry up with the hot water. But now all I could think about was getting my hands on him, tasting his skin, feeling that pierced cock in my mouth.
“Jesus Christ,” I muttered, unbuckling my belt with shaking hands. I couldn’t take it anymore. The pressure was too much.
I fell onto my bed, not bothering to undress completely as I shoved my jeans down my thighs. My cock sprang free, harder than it had been in years. I wrapped my hand around it, hissing at the contact. I was already leaking, making it easy to slide my palm up and down my length.
The shower shut off in the bathroom, and I froze momentarily, straining to hear Jesse’s movements. Would he come confront me? Had he really seen me? The thought should have terrified me, but instead it only made me harder.
I started stroking again, faster this time, my breath coming in short pants. I thought about Jesse’s piercing, wondering what it would feel like against my tongue, how it would taste… what it would feel likeinside me. I imagined his hands in my hair, guiding me as I took him deep. The fantasy was so vivid I could almost feel him, almost taste him.
My orgasm hit me without warning, crashing over me in waves as I bit into my pillow to muffle my groans. My whole body shuddered as I came harder than I had in years, spilling over my hand and onto my stomach.
As I lay there in the aftermath, panting and spent, shame washed over me like ice water. What the hell was I doing? Jesse was my stepbrother. My family,technically. This was sick. Wrong. Forbidden.
I grabbed my t-shirt and wiped myself clean, disgust churning in my gut. The house had gone quiet. There were no footsteps in the hallway and no sound of Jesse moving around in his room next door. Had he really seen me watching him? Washe in there right now, revolted by what I’d done? Or worse... laughing at me?
I pulled my jeans back up with trembling hands and sat on the edge of the bed, head in my hands. This wasn’t just some passing attraction. It had been fifteen years, and I still wanted him with an intensity that scared me. It was like a disease I couldn’t shake, a fever that wouldn’t break.
The floorboard outside my door creaked.
I froze, holding my breath. There was a pause… the weighted kind that happens when someone’s deciding whether to knock. My heart hammered against my ribs as I stared at the door, willing it to both open and stay closed at the same time.
Another creak. Then footsteps moving away, down the hall to Jesse’s room. His door clicked shut.
I exhaled shakily, equal parts relieved and disappointed. What would I have even said if he’d confronted me? Sorry I was spying on you in the shower? Sorry I’ve been jerking off to thoughts of you since you were seventeen?
“Fuck,” I whispered, falling back onto my bed.
I needed to get my shit together. This was just a year… justoneyear of living under the same roof. I’d survived worse. I could keep my distance, focus on the ranch, and pretend that Jesse was nothing more than an inconvenient business partner.
But as I lay there in the growing darkness, one truth kept circling back. I’d spent fifteen years trying to forget Jesse Harris, and in less than a month, he’d torn down every wall I’d built.
And the worst part? I was pretty damn sure he knew it.
Chapter 9
Cole
“Mr. Whitaker is coming today for his check-in,” Jesse said from the other side of the kitchen table.
I could tell he was staring at me, but I didn’t dare look up. Not after what I’d seen last week. And definitely not after what I’ddonein response. I’d been doing everything I could to avoid him, actually.
“You know, to make sure we’re actually workingtogether,” Jesse added. He paused for a beat, waiting for a response. When none came, he just let out a long sigh. “Seriously Cole? Do you evenwantto keep the ranch?”
“Of course I do,” I muttered back, not looking up from my eggs that I couldn’t bring myself to eat.
“Then why have you been avoiding meagain?”
“I’m not?—”
“Don’t fucking lie to me, Cole,” he snapped, cutting me off. “You’ve been weird all week. Running off before I can catch up to help with chores…”
“You’ve been workin’ on the books.”
“Yeah, and I’d like totalkto you about them, but you’re always sneaking up to your room as soon as you get in for the night.”
