GRIND: A Stepbrother Romance Read online

  Being waited on hand and foot was still incredibly weird for me, but I smiled back at her. “No drinks… on second thought, maybe a water?”

  Almost as if it appeared out of thin air, the maid handed me a bottle, gesturing toward the door that led to the terrace.

  I thanked her and double-checked for any sign of Cory before walking out onto the stone terrace, the breeze catching my hair.

  Man, she wasn’t kidding about the bridge. It crossed a small stream and was high enough up that I didn’t fear for my life, but did wonder just how sturdy it was. There was a small flight of mossy steps that looked as though they had been carved right out of the island itself, and at the very top, just as she described, the large infinity pool’s glassy surface was clear and welcoming.

  I giggled to myself as I grabbed a towel and placed it over one of the lounge chairs, debating whether I should sunbathe first or take a dip.

  “What the hell,” I said to no one but myself, lying back on the lounge chair, the warmth of the sun hitting me all over.

  What a crazy week… I’d been keeping my phone turned off to try and enjoy my little slice of paradise while we were here, so I had no idea if our final grades had been posted yet or not. I wondered what everyone else was doing back at the sorority house… we’d be leaving to go on our own little trip to Cabo a week after I returned, and then after that, all of us seniors would be saying goodbye to the Pi Beta Phi house, and going our separate ways.

  Then I’d be heading to Florence for the summer, not coming back to Texas until mid-September. It was so crazy to think that even though I’d done little traveling in my life, I’d get my passport stamped in three different countries over the course of the summer.

  I flipped over onto my stomach and closed my eyes, letting the quiet sounds of the waves on the shore and the twittering of birds nearby relax me.

  It didn’t take very long before my skin needed to cool off, so I toed the water, glad to see that it wasn’t as cold as I thought it would be. The water sloshed over the edge as I descended into the pool, leaving me feeling as though I was at the end of the world almost, and I looked down over the side facing the ocean and sighed. If I ever had the chance to come back here, I’d take it for sure.

  I was so lost in the way the open ocean felt like a dream that I didn’t notice the footsteps falling on the pool deck until they caused ripples in the water nearly scaring me half to death.

  I turned to see Cory in a pair of fitted swim trunks, walking into the pool until he was mid-chest deep, a crooked grin already on his face. As relaxed as I was only a moment before, my heart was now hammering in my chest.

  “Hello,” he said, swimming up to me. I tried very hard to ignore the way the ends of his hair curled while wet, his blue eyes nearly matching the pool reflected in them.

  I swallowed hard. “Hi.”

  “I didn’t mean to intrude. It’s been a while since I’ve been up here, and I thought I’d check out the view.” The way he said it, though, his eyes were traveling down my face until they rested on the water, instead of the gorgeous view surrounding us on all sides.

  “It’s okay,” I said softly, wishing I knew what else to say. Part of me wanted to tell him I wanted the privacy, but there was something else in me, something that was dying to see what would happen when we were alone.

  “So, our parents…” Cory rolled his eyes and shook his head, the grin still on his face.

  Even I had to laugh, totally agreeing. “Yeah, that was pretty much the last thing I expected to hear when my dad said ‘Oh hey, I have a surprise for you,’ you know?”

  His white smile was blinding next to his tanned skin, and I had to wonder if he’d been laying out somewhere, too. “The little lovebirds are actually out swimming with the sharks.”

  “What?” My dad was out in the middle of the ocean with a bunch of sharks?

  “I mean they’re out on a boat, dolphin and shark watching. They won’t be back until around three or so. My mom wants to make sure we all have time to get ready for the rehearsal dinner tonight.”

  “Right. The rehearsal dinner…” My voice faded as I realized just how close Cory had gotten to me, his fingers so close to mine as we treaded water near the deep end.

  I reviewed what I knew in my mind briefly. Cory and I clearly had some kind of something between us. Call it a spark or what you will, but I’d never had a dream quite like the one I woke up from yesterday.

  Cory was also sexy as hell and so invading my personal bubble that it was obvious he was doing it on purpose.

  Our parents had screwed this all up by eloping, and now I couldn’t stop thinking these incredibly dirty things about my supposed stepbrother.

  Also, I was pretty sure that he’d been flirting with me on the plane here, and now with our parents gone for the next few hours…

  I didn’t understand that I’d been cornered until my back hit the pool’s edge with a soft splash. Cory, with his sexy smirk and his wet hair, got even closer.

  “Did I mention how nice that bathing suit looks on you?” he casually said, as if he were talking about the weather. “The color really pairs nicely with that beautiful blush of yours. Yep, there it is.”

  I touched my cheek, my breath hitching in my throat. How could he have such an effect on me? “Thank you,” I replied, trying not to sound off.

  “Emma. I have to be completely honest with you,” he added, his voice dropping low. “All I’ve thought about since you stayed the night at my house is you. And now you’re here, and we’re in this… situation. I can’t help but wonder why that is, and what it means. You’re leaving soon, so I’ll get to the point.”

  Cory dared to press himself against me, the outline of his already hard cock easily visible under the water. Everything in me desperately wanted to reach out and touch him as his hands trailed up my sides and wrapped my legs around him.

  “I don’t want to waste any more of this precious time with you. I can’t get you out of my head, and no matter how much I try… and believe me, I’ve tried, I can’t stop imagining what I could be doing to you and your gorgeous body instead. I want you. I fucking need you,” he whispered in my ear before tracing it with his tongue.

  Chapter 13

  EMMA

  I drew in a quick, shaky breath as he ground his hips against me, his cock warm and pressed between us. My mouth trembled… I wanted to… oh God, I wanted to.

  “Say it,” he whispered. “Tell me you want me too. Tell me you need me right now. Right here.”

  With his mouth dipping down to nip my shoulder, I wrapped my arms around him as he supported us both, now in shallower water. “I need you. Right now.”

  That was all it took for Cory, and his mouth was wild on mine, our lips molding together in a mix of heat and cool water as our chins dipped in the water.

  My whole body went electric, Cory untying my top to let it drop down, exposing my hard nipples to the thick air. He bent his head down as he pushed my body up higher, catching one of my nipples between his teeth and rolling it back and forth until I cried out.

  The water sloshed against the sides as he brought his mouth to the other one, not letting go even as he lifted me up and out of the water, carrying me to the steps and setting me on the wide ledge of the pool.

  Cory wasted no time peeling my burgundy swim bottoms off, my ass slippery on the wet stone as he spread my thighs apart. I leaned my head back and looked straight up at the clear blue sky, the chill between my legs even more intense as his breath was only an inch away from me.

  Anticipation nearly killed me, but Cory’s warm mouth began to devour my pussy, lapping at my slit. His tongue delved between my folds, prodding, tasting. Even if I hadn’t just gotten out of the pool full of water I would’ve been dripping wet.

  “I could do this all day,” he said, and I could almost imagine his grin as my hips bucked against his head. “You taste like fucking heaven, Emma.”

  I nodded absently, my eyes closed while h
e slowly pushed a finger deep inside me.

  “Does this feel good?” he whispered against my thigh, snaking in the next finger.

  “Mmm,” I moaned, wriggling from the pleasure of his fingers pressed against my g-spot.

  “What about this?”

  “Ungh!” I cried out, his tongue making little circles around my aching clit, my nub already so sensitive. It felt so good I almost couldn’t stand it, my legs shaking while Cory teased me mercilessly.

  Spreading me open wider, Cory began noisily sucking my clit, his fingers pumping in and out of my pussy faster and faster. The pressure building up inside me… the breeze blowing across my naked body… it was so much…

  “Oh God!” I shrieked, not giving a damn who heard me. I fucking wanted them to hear me; I wanted people to know how absolutely insane Cory was at eating my pussy. I shivered as a drawn-out orgasm overtook me, and the naughty feeling of being out in the open with Cory’s face between my thighs was enough to nearly send me into another orgasm.

  “God, you are so hot when you come, Emma,” he grunted. Quick to pull himself up and out of the pool, he pulled me over to the lounge chair.

  Sitting down on the edge, Cory spun me around until we were both facing the same way, his stiff cock parting my lips as he slid me down on top of him in one slick move.

  “Oh, oh yes,” I moaned, rotating my hips in wide circles, feeling Cory’s throbbing cock deep inside of me. Clenching my pussy walls tightly around him, I began to bounce my ass up and down, the sound of Cory’s satisfied groans only egging me on.

  “Fuck, you’re tight. Goddamn… that’s right, Emma. Bounce that sweet pussy up and down.”

  His dirty talking was making me even hornier, but I wanted to watch him as we fucked, so I pulled myself off and turned around to face him, easily sinking back down to the hilt, his whole cock just barely able to fit.

  Those striking blue eyes fluttered as he tried to focus and watch his cock disappearing inside me each time I slid down onto it.

  For someone who liked patience, he sure wasn’t in the mood to tease. Cory grabbed my hips firmly to hold me in place as he thrust his cock up inside me, fucking me faster, the chair squeaking underneath us.

  “Yes,” I mewled, the feeling of him buried inside me nearly overtaking me. “Just like that, baby.”

  Squeezing my ass, Cory grunted. My breasts jiggled like crazy until he picked me up and rolled me underneath him, slipping himself back into me like a hand in a glove.

  He pounded away at me furiously, his balls slapping my ass with each thrust. In my mind, between the sex-hazed carnal thoughts, I thought about how I wanted this every day—no, every single moment of my life. I never wanted it to end.

  Dragging my nails down his back, I held on for dear life as Cory hit home each and every time, until the tension began to unfurl inside of me, throwing me off the edge of oblivion, my eyes rolling in my head as I came harder than before, matching each of his thrusts with my hips.

  He let loose an animalistic sound, fucking me with everything he had, releasing his load deep inside me spurt by spurt. I’d never felt more alive and turned on in my entire life as when he looked down at me, his mouth turning up into that same crooked grin.

  “That… went even better than I hoped.”

  A little while later, we were intertwined on the pool deck, still naked, lazily smiling at each other.

  “I have to ask,” he said, twirling a piece of my damp hair around his finger. “Why literature?”

  I smiled. “I can live a thousand different lives by reading stories. When… my mom passed away, books saved me. They helped me cope when my dad was unable to. He was going through his own thing and, well, I luckily had the classics he’d handed down to me to fall back on. I can’t remember how many times I read The Catcher in the Rye.”

  The breeze rolled over us, and Cory sighed, staring at me. “I can relate.”

  “Why horses?” I turned the question on him.

  “I like having control… and seeing the fruit of my hands through good training. It’s the same with the vineyard and the wine. I’m all about the art of patience.”

  “Oh, believe me, I know,” I murmured, grinning at him. His lips brushed against mine and he pulled away slowly, leaving me feeling drunk off him.

  When he hovered his body over me, his mouth ever so slowly trailing down my body, my mind slipped into a delicious place where only we belonged. Where Cory slipped inside of me, slow and tender, with that intensity staring back at me before stars pricked behind my eyelids and I reached a new level of ecstasy.

  If I could draw out each moment into a thousand years, I would do it in a heartbeat.

  I’d lost count of all the new people I was being formally introduced to between Sandy’s small family and group of close friends. The wedding guest list was small, only fifty people or so, but when most of them were people I’d never seen before, it was a little overwhelming. I’d no sooner tell someone it was nice to meet them, before I was being directed to learn another name and smiling face.

  Cory had already tried to prepare me in advance on our way back to the main villa. “And the Patils are from Mumbai—big stockholders in the business. Rashi Patil also happens to be one of my mother’s best friends. Her sons are sort of like cousins to me. Rashi and her husband, Kamal, used to visit us every summer with them. Oh, and then there’s my Uncle Vick. He’ll be the only other one with the cowboy hat on. He used to be a bona fide rodeo star back in the ‘90s.”

  “You sure I won’t need like a pack of notecards or something to keep up with everyone?” I joked. “Or maybe a family tree?”

  “Nah, you’ll figure it out. Most of them will probably be too drunk to realize, anyway.”

  The rehearsal dinner was a four-course meal that would’ve been perfectly fine for the wedding reception itself, with fresh lobster and seafood. And just like Cory had called it, whenever anyone would come up to me and introduce themselves, they usually had a drink in hand.

  “Hi, I’m Davina, Sandy’s sister. And I guess your new aunt!” A brunette woman came up to me, her wine daringly close to spilling over the side of the glass. My eyes went wide as she squeezed me in a tight embrace, and I looked over her shoulder to see Cory laughing behind her.

  “Um, nice to meet you,” I managed to stutter, before being turned to face a whole slew of people from her side of their family.

  It was nice, the smiling faces and the general mood of the dinner party. But even as everyone tried to include me in their talks of families joining and blending together, I pretended I was excluded because well, I didn’t want everyone to see just how obviously smitten I was over the new addition to my family…

  After finally getting a moment to myself, I looked for Cory in the throng of people hovering around with their dessert plates, hoping to maybe get a little more action on the sly with him. It didn’t take me very long to find him.

  It took me a moment to grasp what was happening, but once I did, my heart stuttered, confused.

  He was standing a little too close for my comfort next to a gorgeous blonde with big breasts and long legs. With her makeup done perfectly and obviously coming from money, she filled out her curvy dress in ways I never could. The way the woman giggled so loudly, placing her hand on Cory’s arm, sent a fiery lick of jealousy through me.

  When he grasped her elbow firmly, his smile deceivingly polite, I watched how he leaned in and whispered in her ear.

  I was being stupid. He was free to act however he wanted, with whomever he wanted. It wasn’t like I had some kind of exclusive access to him, anyway. No need to get all bent out of shape about it…

  It was too bad that I didn’t really mean that.

  Chapter 14

  EMMA

  “What about the flowers?” someone shouted across the room.

  “Here! They just showed up, ma’am!”

  “The arbor is all set up, the pastor is ready to go. What about the bride?”

&nb
sp; I chimed in, “All ready to go!” Smiling at Sandy, I winked. She looked amazing in the short, flowy white dress, her hair down in sun-kissed tresses, making her look twenty years younger. If getting married kept you that healthy-looking, then maybe I’d look into it in the future after all.

  With the successful dinner rehearsal behind us, today was the big day. Making sure to take a deep breath and brush off my jealous feelings toward the end of the night last night, I’d gone to bed with the idea that I would do everything I could to help everything go smoothly today. Once I was finished getting ready, courtesy of Shanté, I went to give my dad a big hug, wishing him luck before I offered to help Sandy however she needed me. I could tell she was a little nervous though, so I tried to calm her down with a few sips of wine, careful not to get any on her beautiful dress.

  “Thank you, Emma. You are too sweet,” she said, squeezing my hand, her palms sweaty.

  “It’s no problem. Now let’s get you out on the beach and married!”

  Maybe it was the music piping in through loudspeakers, the traditional wedding march done in a soft ukulele style. Maybe it was the way all heads turned to face Sandy went to stand at the end of the aisle, Cory by her side with her arm encircled with his. I was apprehensive about the whole marriage thing, but beautiful St. Lucia was sinking into my soul, leaving me feeling a little more hopeful and light each passing hour.

  I’d quickly made my way to the front row along the far side and took my seat right before the procession began. I snapped a few pictures on my phone as Cory escorted Sandy down the aisle, looking handsome in a white button up and khaki pants rolled up at the bottom. Even with his bare feet, I sort of missed the cowboy boots, though.