Prince Albert Read online

  "There's no excuse for poor manners, Delaney."

  I think I might have to clock him across the head with a vase. I can see the headline now: Gaige O'Neal, Murdered by Stepsister in Completely Reasonable act of Aggression. I'm almost positive the cops would understand.

  Gaige's stupid voice interrupts my fantasy. "What, you're tongue-tied now?"

  "I'm thinking of ways to dispose of your body."

  "You should be more grateful," he says. "I got you out of a boring situation with a boring guy – come on, Delaney, he's a fucking accountant – and I don't even get a simple thank you."

  "He was nice." I say. Why is he suddenly so close to me? I put my hands on his chest, and shove him back.

  Gaige reaches for me, his hands wrapped around both of my wrists. "And I'm not nice. You don't want someone nice," he says, his voice guttural, like a growl.

  "Let go of me," I say through gritted teeth. "You have no idea what I need."

  He pulls me against him, hands tight on my wrists. "You're a damn liar, Delaney."

  "Screw you." My blood is thumping in my ears, adrenaline coursing through my body. He's so close to me, lips near mine, that I can practically taste him.

  "You want someone who's going to tell you exactly what he wants to do to you. Someone who will tell you exactly what he wants you to do to him. That's what you need."

  "No." I shake my head, but his grip on me loosens, and then he lets go of my wrists. I could step back and walk away, but I don't. I just stand there, my feet rooted to the ground.

  Gaige doesn't touch me. He steps close to me, his body nearly touching mine, and whispers in my ear, his warm breath against my skin. "I keep thinking about that night by the pool."

  "Don't, Gaige," I warn, but my voice falters. All I can think about is the practically magnetic pull of my body toward his. But I don't move.

  He walks, slowly, his movement languid, behind me, and then pauses. He still doesn't touch me, but I can feel his warm breath on my neck, and it makes me shiver. "Do you know what I keep thinking about, more than anything?" he asks.

  "No," I whisper. I should step away, walk out the door. I should do the smart thing. The reasonable thing. The safe thing.

  "I keep thinking about how I wanted to lift you out of the pool and set you on the edge, then put my face between those thighs and bury it in that sweet pussy of yours."

  "Gaige –" I pause, nothing to say. I don't know why I'm constantly being surprised by the shit that comes out of his mouth.

  "And you want me to," he says. Then I feel his finger on the back of my neck, slowly tracing down the middle of my back, and I shudder. Every part of my body feels sensitive, as if Gaige has flipped some kind of switch inside me, putting everything on hyper-alert. He walks around to the front of me, his face close to mine. "Say you want me, Delaney."

  "No." I don't know why I tell him no, when I'm standing here and my body is screaming yes.

  "No?" he asks. His gaze falls lower, down to my chest, and I know he can see my nipples hard against the fabric of my shirt. If he were to reach between my legs – oh God, I want him to reach between my legs – he'd know I'm wet. "So if I got down on my knees and touched my tongue to you, you wouldn't be the least bit wet?"

  I don't answer, and Gaige keeps his eyes trained on mine as he trails his finger down the front of my shirt, between my breasts, then across the satiny fabric until he reaches my nipple, rolling his fingers around it, and sending arousal coursing through my body. "I don't – someone could see us."

  That isn't true, and we both know it – my father's estate is huge, and there are no neighbors watching. And thanks to me, no more staff at the house tonight. Of course, it's not like our parents couldn't come home at any time.

  "It's you and me, darlin'," he says. "Say yes." He slides his finger down the front of my shirt, taking away his glorious touch from my nipples. I want to tell him to put his hand back there, but I don't.

  He traces his finger along my abdomen, inches it down the waistband of my pants, where they're slung low on my hips, until he reaches the top of my bikini line. "No panties, either?"

  I shake my head, suddenly mute. My head is clouded by arousal. "No panties."

  Gaige curses under his breath, and takes my hand, placing it on the front of his jeans. "Just so you know," he says. "That's the fucking effect you have on me."

  His cock is hard underneath the fabric, and I can't take it anymore. I can't think clearly about the consequences of whatever is happening with us, and I just don't want to. I yank his shirt up over his head, and then r reach for his belt, unbuckling it as I look him in the eye. "This doesn't mean we're friends," I say.

  "Trust me, darlin'," he says. "The last thing on this damn earth I want to be is your friend."

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  GAIGE

  Delaney doesn't take her eyes off mine, and I watch as something changes in her expression. A look of resolve, I think. She reaches inside my pants and wraps her hand around my cock. "Then what do you want?" she asks. Her voice is low, breathy, and she looks up at me, her eyes wide.

  "I want whatever the hell makes you keep doing what you're doing," I say as she slides her hand up my shaft, her touch light as a feather. When she reaches the tip, she stops, her thumb rolling over the surface of the head, finding the tiny drop of pre-cum that beads at the tip.

  "I don't know what I'm doing, Gaige" she whispers. "I don't know what we're doing."

  "You're always too much in your head, darlin'," I say, kicking off my shoes and sliding my jeans down over my ass. "So just stop thinking. Take off those fucking clothes before I tear them off you."

  Delaney's eyes get big again. "Do you just order women around like that?" she asks. "Is that your thing?"

  "My thing? Fuck. I'm naked and you're still standing there talking," I say. "I will rip your clothes off. Try me. It's not an idle threat."

  "So girls just do what you tell them to do?" she asks. But both of her hands are on the hem of that silky-as-hell shirt of hers, paused as if she's deciding whether or not to strip. I'm going to make that decision real fucking easy, because I'm not playing any more.

  "Stop talking," I say, my hand on the base of my cock. "Take. Off. Your. Goddamn. Clothes. Now." I punctuate each word for emphasis, and I swear to all that is holy, I am very close to tearing open her clothes like a wild animal. I've waited long enough for her. Four years. Four years and three months. Four years and three months and nine days.

  Delaney starts to lift her shirt, but she's too slow, and I reach for the material, yanking it over her head in one swoop. Her hair spills down her shoulders, strands tumbling down her breasts. Taking a handful of hair at the nape of her neck, I yank her roughly against my hardness. When she moans, it's almost my undoing.

  I kiss her, and it's nothing like the other times I've put my lips against hers. All of those kisses were just a prelude to this. This is the real deal. That rush I get when I'm racing is like nothing compared to my tongue in Delaney's mouth, my hand cupping her breast and feeling her melt against me. It sends adrenaline coursing through my veins, the rush of arousal better than any other high in the world.

  Delaney gasps when I finally take my mouth off hers. "Hell, Gaige," she whispers, putting her fingers to her lips.

  "Shit, you ain't seen nothing yet, darlin'," I tell her. It's part promise and part warning. I'm not sure what this girl is going to do to me. I think she might fucking destroy me.

  Before she can protest, I yank her pants down at the sides, and they fall loosely to the floor. Sitting down on the chaise, I pull her toward me.

  "I don't have any condoms," she says, her voice soft.

  I raise my eyebrows. "That's surprising, darlin'," I say. "Since you bought them in bulk for your little prank. But don't worry -- I've got some. Besides, I don't want you on my cock yet. I want you on my face."

  "Oh," she says, and she blushes. She's standing here stark naked in front of me, but me telling her to sit on