Mated To My Obsessive Stepbrother

Chapter 48

KASMINE.

The scent of garlic and butter filled my nostrils, the soft hus of a movie filling the quiet room as I twirled a forkful of spaghetti around my fingers. The fairy lights above us cast a golden glow over Jake's face, highlighting the quiet adoration in his eyes every time he looked at me. And he looked at me a lot. Like I was the only thing in the world that mattered.

I tried to focus on the movie. Some sappy romance Claire hd gushed about weeks ago, where the leads were caught in an angsty, slow-bun love that made my chest for tight.

I shouldn't have agreed to this movie.

Because all it did was remind me of another setting. Another room. Another man..

Kester.

I had beercurled up on the couch in his living room, flipping through movie options, when he had grabbed the remote from my hand and chosen a film I never would've expected him to watch. A romance.

We had watched in an uncomfortable silence until that cursed scene where the male lead pressed the heroine against the bed and fucked her. I felt Kester shift beside me.)

I turned my head just enough to catch the way his chest rose and fell. The way his fingers flexed against his thigh. The way his eyes darkened, heat simmering behind them as if he had been picturing something else.

Something involving me. Before I felt the hard outline of his erection poking my ankle....

I took a slow breath.

No.

Tonight wasn't for Kester. It wasn't about him in any way.

Tonight was for Jake.

So, I forced myself to look at him.

To really look at him.

His dark eyes were already on me as if he had been waiting for me to meet his gaze. He had that soft, patient smile

-the kind that made my heart squeeze for all the right and wrong reasons.

I let myself take in the way his dark hair fell messily over his forehead, and his jaw clenched just slightly. whenever I caught him staring at me for too long as if he was fighting the urge to say something he wasn't sure I was ready to hear.

I set my fork down, smoothing my hands over the soft fabric of my dress-Kester's dress. Guilt pricked at me, but I shoved it down. Jake didn't deserve my half- hearted attention. He didn't deserve to be a second thought.

So, I did something I hadn't done in a long time. I leaned in resting my chin in my palm, and let a small, genuine smile tug at my lips. "You keep looking at me like that,” I teased, tilting my head, "starting to think you have something to say to me."

Jake let out a breathless chuckle, his fingers playing with a strand of my hair. "What if I do?"

The atmosphere between us shifted, something heavier settling in the space where easy conversation used to be.

I should have laughed it off. I should have made a joke and steered us back to safe waters.

Chapter 48

But I didn't. I swallowed, my throat suddenly dry. "Jake..."

His fingers shifted from my hair to the side of my cheek, caressing gently as he looked into my eyes in a way that made my heart melt.

His thumb stroked my cheek, his touch featherlight, as if afraid I might pull away. I

couldn't breathe. Not with the way he was looking at me.

I let myself drown in the warmth of his touch, in the

quiet longing in his dark eyes.

Then, slowly, as if giving me time to stop him, Jake leaned in. His lips brushed against mine, soft and unhurried.

like a gentle

I didn't hesitate. I answered

I kissed him back.

mine in

Gods.

let me go.

the world. Like this moment-this kiss-was something to savor. Something

And I let him.

no urgency.

Just warmth

me forget every reason I had to hold

dark strands of his hair, nails scraping lightly against his scalp. He groaned softly against my lips, his body pressing closer, his warmth seeping into me,

way he sighed into my mouth. The way his body pressed against mine. The way his fingers traced the line of my jaw, down the slope of my neck, before settling

me with him until my back met

large window opposite us was cracked open, letting in the cool night air,

too intimate.

didn't stop

his lips trailing slow,

when his hand slid beneath the hem of my dress-Kester's

gathering the fabric at my hips, and exposing my thighs to

skin there, exploring with a tenderness that made my chest tighten

the place no one

voice came out

#25 BONUS

his

swallowed hard, nodding "I can't.

as he pressed a soft, lingering kiss

Just like that?

No frustration? No disappointment?

Just pure understanding?

that? That almost made my chest ache more than

something that would make him happy. I wasn't blind

want," I said in a soft tone, gesturing at his hardness. A blush crept up his cheek,

don't have to, Mine. I'll be fine." He

him to stand before me while I knelt, slowly pulling

window slapped my face, making me feel strengthened and refreshed as whatever heat Jake had aroused in me dissipated. My gaze

I brushed it off.

dick, and he sucked in a deep breath. He stiffened slightly, his hands twitching at his sides like he didn't know what

He was shy.

I asked him in a

not by a woman I am madly in love

response spurred me further.

was almost endearing to see how different he was

of his dick, which was

precum.

as his

my fingers along his length,

his innocent reaction. I liked the fact that I could unravel him and make

was.

at him, drinking in the sight of him above me his dark hair

his eyes

looked beautiful

Vulnerable.

sucked harder and

my throat. It wasn't so difficult as he

hips jerking ever so slightly into my hand before he caught himself, his fingers gripping the hem of his shirt like he needed something to hold

"You can touch me,

clenched. "I-If I do, Imight-"He cut himself off,