“Because,” he says, moving past me. “If I have you, I won’t be able to stop.”
And then he’s out the door and gone. I hear the engine of his car and the squeal of his tires as he pulls away, leaving me standing, hollow and dejected.
My legs tremble, and I fall to my knees. But I stop myself from crying. That’s too much, too far, andnotwhat needs to happen now.
What needs to happen now is I rethink my strategy. Now that I know he wants me, all I have to do is convince him that it’s okay.
And I’ve never been a girl who backs down from a challenge.
You will take me, Jake. Step-brother or not, I will be yours. And you will be mine.
5
JAKE
I’m spiraling.
Night after night I have to sleep down the hall from Piper, my step-sister that I can’t stop thinking about.
It’s torture. Absolute torture. I don’t know how I haven’t rushed in there and ripped her clothes off yet. I guess I still havesomeself-control left.
As much as my dad can be a prick, I want this family to work. And I’ve already screwed it up by going to jail. The last thing I want to do is cause a scandal that will send things crashing down.
So for the last few days, I’ve kept my head down, gone to work, and done everything I can do to avoid her.
I’ve been staying out late at bars, going out with Gus and his buddies, most of whom I don’t really like but at least they provide a distraction so I can keep myself from obsessing over her.
But it’s not enough.
Every day that passes, I feel myself slipping, deeper and deeper into infatuation. And playing darts at the bar isn’t going to solve the problem.
“Hey, it’s your throw,” Chuck says. He’s one of Gus’s friends and is probably the best player in the group. For some reason, he’s decided to start a rivalry with me because I’m also good.
“Sorry,” I reply, realizing I have been zoned out. I grab my darts, take aim, and throw. Three bullseyes.
“Christ!” Chuck curses, pounding the table. “Where’d this guy come from? You a professional?”
Everybody laughs as I retrieve my darts.
The bell at the door chimes. I glance behind me, and what I see causes all the breath to leave my lungs.
Piper, dressed to the nines, strides in, that friend of hers beside her. Then, behind them, enter two guys. One I’m pretty sure is her friend’s boyfriend, but the other I don’t recognize.
And he’s standingwaytoo close to Piper.
“What the hell?” I growl without even realizing it.
Chuck turns. “What is it?” His eyes land on the girls, and I watch as he gives Piper the once-over, checking her out like a wolf eyeing a sheep. “Damn, where’d that piece of ass come from—?”
My hands grab his collar, and I slam him up against the wall. His eyes nearly burst from his skull. “Watch it, you bastard, you hear? That’s my step-sister!”
“Whoa, Jake, take it easy,” Gus says, coming over. “We’re all friends here.”
It’s like I’m possessed—like a fever has come over me. I take a deep breath, hoping the rage will subside. But it doesn’t. I’m still burning with jealousy, and looking back, I see Piper eyeing me as she takes a seat with her new date.
Yeah, no. This isn’t happening. Not on my watch.
I try not to look like a total maniac as I stride across the bar toward her, but I’m raging inside. My blood is pumping with the force of a nuclear reactor.
