“Viv, that feels incredible, keep fucking yourself, suck me, that’s right, like that.”
“That’s how you take it, you take it all at once, don’t you, you bad girl.”
“Shit, I’m not gonna last, that sexy mouth is gonna make me pop.”
That last comment has lightning flashing behind my eyes, my core drawing tight, knotting, burning, right before a coil of need explodes inside of me. Straddling his calf, I pull my hand from my panties and start grinding against him, riding his leg while my orgasm grabs hold, my vision going fuzzy on the edges.
“Fuuuck,” he groans, and while I grind shamelessly against him, he comes, hot splashes spraying the back of mythroat while he pulses on my tongue. The taste isn’t what I imagined, and the way it slides down my throat, slippery and hot, isn’t what I imagined either. I don’t know if I like it but I love the sounds he makes, the way his fingers drag over my face and cheek as he twitches beneath me. I lick him clean, not wanting to be done, not wanting to make the change from Reed and Viv with the insane chemistry to Reed and Viv,step siblings.
I wipe my mouth with the back of my hand, sliding off of him. “That was the last time,” I breathe out, hating the sour taste of the words, but nonetheless knowing how true they have to be, even if I don’t feel them just yet.
He sits up, tucking himself away as I pull on my bra, then t-shirt. I love that he watches me get dressed, but I hate it too. I hate how much I like it, and how alive I feel with his eyes roaming my body. I retie my hair in a neat bun at the back of my head, and finally get the courage to meet his eyes after the savage mauling that just took place.
“I’m sorry I just kind of… attacked you,” I say, nibbling the corner of my lips as I try to get a read on him. “I’m just… I’m so attracted to you, and I just… I thought we’d meet again, we’d do more, explore more–” I bring my hand to my forehead, holding it there as I squeeze my eyes shut. “I don’t know, never mind. Anyway, I promise I won’t maul you like that again.”
He finally slides off the bed, a bulge still lingering between his thighs. Is he still hard or hard again? The fact that I’ll be thinking of that bulge all day tells me everything I need to know about this wholethis was the last timesentiment.
I hope it’s the last time. For Maribel and my father, ithasto be the last time.
“I’m sorry you had to come downstairs and find out who I am that way… I wanted to come up to your room and talk to you first but your dad had my ear.”
My dad. The man who has supported and loved me my whole life, even when it meant letting work and his personal life come in second place. The man I keep lying to. “Yeah? About what?”
Reed stuffs his hands in his pockets, his head falling to the side as a smirk paints his lips. “Just stuff.”
My interest is piqued. “What stuff?”
His eyes linger on mine a moment before he says, “computers and stuff. I’m a computer science major at the university and your dad…”
My dad has worked in IT his entire life, and is the owner of Beaumont Industries, but his exact skillset, I’m not sure. I know he programs, I also know he is the guy they call when there are system errors, whatever that means. “What about my dad?” I ask, wondering why he’s so hesitant.
Reed’s eyes come to mine. “He’s been mentoring me for the last six months over zoom. He’s helping me, and in general, guiding me through how to best utilize my coursework to build the most usable skills for the workplace.”
Oh my god. My dad is his mentor? I bring my hands to my head, yet again, and hold my brain so it doesn’t explode. “Oh Reed, we cannot–I’m sorry. I promise, I won’t–” I motion toward his leg, my face flooding with heat as I remember how I shamelessly humped and sucked him like a feral beast just a few minutes ago. “I’m so sorry. That’s important. Our parents are important. I won’t–” I shake myhead, snatch my phone and purse from the nightstand and leave my room.
Reed calls after me, but ignoring your step brother is what you’re supposed to do.
You aren’t supposed to fall for him.
Chapter Eight
Reed
“What you want to do is really read through what they’re looking for, and tailor your resume toward those elements. You want your skill set to be presented as a solution to their staffing problem, so if the company focuses on Linux, have your Linux work and course load be first on your resume,” Elijah says, circling an item on my resume before sliding it back to me.
“This internship has been pretty vague about what they need,” I reply, taking note of his adjustments. I read through them, and once again, am amazed and impressed by how much Elijah knows. The truth is, I’d been dreading the day my mom meets someone. I always thought she’d meet some stuck up asshole who wanted her money.
Then she met Elijah Beaumont… online. They were both in a single parents grief group, Elijah still working through the loss of his wife years ago, and my mother still mourning my father, who passed away just four years ago. The way they met allowed them to see each other at their truest, most stripped down form. He didn’t know she was Maribel Lancaster, of the Lancaster Oil family. And my mother didn’t know she was dating Elijah Beaumont, one of the top developers of quantum computing.
Their love was organic and real, based on the foundational shit, not money or status.
I never anticipated liking the man my mother chose, but not only do I like Elijah, I respect him. I look up to him. Hell, one day, I want to be like him. Well versed in so many computer languages, working diversely on many different levels and projects, helping create programs that change the world. Hell, Elijah Lancaster was part of the dev team that created the first microchip designed to alert diabetics of rising or falling blood sugar, eliminating the need to continually test their blood. Sure, it’s in the beta phase but still. He’s brilliant, and of all the rich people my mother rubs elbows with, he’s the first infrastructural architect and developer in the group.
Elijah takes the computer, turning it to face him as he sips his morning coffee. He takes it black, and he likes it strong, and I tried it his way and found I liked it better that way, too. I take a drink of my own black coffee, watching his face as he reads the mission statement on the internship posting online. “Hmm,” he hums thoughtfully as he comes to the end, pushing the laptop back to face me. “The internship is looking for entry coders, so I’d highlight your coding experience first.” He takes another sip, and so do I. “Let me see it when you’re done, we can go through it together.”
I nod. “Thanks, Elijah.”
I’ve never had a parent sitting around, their attention and help at the ready. I’m twenty, I don’t need guidance on how to be a man, advice with girls or rides anywhere, but I can’t deny that I like that Elijah wants to be here, out in the open, part of the family.
