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.

felt like

I didn't hesitate.

I kissed him back.

hands cupped my face, tilting my head slightly as he deepened the kiss, his lips molding against mine in slow, sensual strokes. His fingers curled into my hair, his grip tightening just slightly

Gods.

let me go.

time in the world. Like this moment-this kiss-was something to savor. Something to etch into his

And I let him.

no urgency. No

Just warmth

that made me

my hands drift up, fingers threading through the dark strands of his hair, nails scraping lightly against his scalp. He groaned softly against my

his fingers traced the line of my jaw, down

me with him until my back

window opposite us was cracked open, letting in the

felt too intimate.

didn't stop

when he hovered over me, his lips trailing slow, reverent kisses

the hem

my hips, and exposing my thighs to the cool

the sensitive skin there, exploring with a tenderness that

the place no one but 'him' had ever

My voice came out

#25 BONUS

immediately. He lifted his

hard, nodding "I can't. Not

he pressed a soft, lingering kiss to my forehead.

Just like that?

No frustration? No disappointment?

Just pure understanding?

ache more

do something that would make him happy. I wasn't blind to the evidence of his arousal pressing

tone, gesturing at his hardness. A blush crept up his cheek, and he

be fine."

standing up from the blanket and guiding him to stand before me while I knelt, slowly pulling

whatever heat Jake had aroused in me dissipated. My gaze darted outside the window, and a

I brushed it off.

his hands twitching at his sides like he didn't

He was shy.

I asked him in a teasing

woman I am

response spurred me further.

was almost endearing to see how different

tongue around the tip of his

precum.

as his

stroked him gently, dragging my fingers along his length, relishing the

every bit of his innocent reaction. I liked the

was.

in the sight of

his eyes hooded

looked beautiful

Vulnerable.

head tipped back as I sucked harder and faster, taking his

my throat. It wasn't so difficult as he

so slightly into my hand before he caught himself,

"You can touch me,

clenched. "I-If I do,