Her Stepbrother, Her Hero Read online

  Of course, with him being a horny teenage boy, his father made it clear that she was strictly off limits to him. Since he couldn’t be with her the next best thing was to make her life miserable and ensure that no other guy came sniffing around her. As far as he had been concerned back then, if he couldn't have her, no other guy could. Even now, when their parents told him last week that she'd broken up with her boyfriend, he'd taken satisfaction in the knowledge. No man would be good enough for her in his eyes. Except him.

  He cringed. No doubt she still hated him. At least he assumed so anyhow. Their conversations whenever he'd call were short and strained. And the greeting she'd given him at the door was about as cold as they came. Yup, some things never change.

  After he finished changing, he trotted back down the stairs to the delicious aroma of a home-cooked meal. God, he'd missed that. His stomach grumbled as he hit the bottom stair and made his way into the kitchen. He stopped at the entryway of the kitchen and reclined against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest as he watched her a moment.

  Gabriella was busy plating the food, humming softly as she went about her business. A smile touched his lips just from watching her. He shouldn’t have stayed away so long. In retrospect, he knew he’d overdone it staying away, but he had his reasons.

  Considering the fact that he may be around her for a while he decided it was about time they finally buried the hatchet. If that meant apologizing for all his dirty little deeds to her and discussing what happened prom night, then so be it. They were both adults now and there was no reason why they couldn't have a fresh start.

  "Is there anything I can do to help?" Anthony asked as he walked up behind her, just as she was turning with a white porcelain gravy boat in hand. Startled by him she yelped, jumping back and in the process spilling a good portion of the gravy down the front of her dress.

  Eyes narrowed, she glared up at him with the open hostility that he remembered from their teenaged years. Anthony had to fight to keep a chuckle from escaping, due to her heated expression, as he reached behind her and unrolled a handful of paper towel. "I'm really sorry, Gabby."

  He was... sort of. Her expression of restrained anger was so amusing it was almost worth it. He immediately remembered another reason why he used to tease her so much. She was fucking sexy when she was angry.

  She snatched the paper towel from him. "You can help by sitting your ass down and letting me get dinner on the table," she growled through clenched teeth. She turned to the sink, wet the paper towel and attempted to remove the greasy substance from her dress.

  ****

  They ate in silence, with Gabriella shooting annoyed glances across the table at her brother from time to time. She knew she shouldn't be angry with him, it had been an honest mistake on his part, but she couldn't help it. Besides, at least if she was angry with him it would deter her thoughts from how sexy he looked and how much she'd like to see his amazing body minus the clothing.

  Anthony would periodically look up at her and open his mouth to say something. She'd glare at him and he'd go back to eating silently. Apparently having had enough of the silent treatment, Anthony tossed his fork onto his near-empty plate with a clang and stared across the table at her.

  Gabriella's head jerked up and her eyes caught his, as she raised a questioning brow at him.

  "Why do you hate me so much, Gabby? After all these years. Why?"

  A growl formed in the back of her throat as she placed her utensils down on the table before her. Crossing her arms over her chest, she sat back in the wooden kitchen chair. Years of anger boiled up inside and she began to rant, her words spilling from her mouth like verbal diarrhoea. "Well, let's see. Our parents take every opportunity to stress how fucking wonderful and heroic their son is. How proud of you they are, while in the same breath scolding me for wasting my life as a waitress, flaunting my tits for tips."

  He shrugged. "Sorry for doing my fucking job, Gabby," he responded, sarcasm dripping from his tone as he picked his fork back up and shovelled another spoonful of mashed potatoes into his mouth.

  Her anger flared as she continued. "Added to that, let’s not forget that you treated me like shit when we were kids. Teasing me. Pulling pranks. Chasing away any boy who even showed a remote interest in me…"

  "I was protecting my sister. So sue me," he countered.

  "That wasn't your place to decide, Anthony." Her eyes narrowed as she leaned forward. "But you want to know what pissed me off more than any of your juvenile pranks? The thing that I thought was truly heinous – even for you?"

  "No, but I have a feeling you're going to tell me anyway." He grabbed his glass of water and took a drink while eyeing her.

  "You told David Gould I had crabs!" Grabbing a dinner roll from the basket between them at the center of the table she chucked it at him, hitting him square in the chest. "And I never even had crabs, you asshole! I hadn't even had sex!"

  Just as the roll went sailing through the air, the water he had been in the process of drinking came spewing from his lips, sailing across the table, and leaving him sputtering and gasping for air.

  "I did not tell David you had crabs!" he defended, once he regained control of himself.

  "Well, someone did!" Gabriella responded, her voice rising as she stood and planted her palms on the table in front of her.

  "Well, it wasn't me!" he yelled back, standing as well and glaring back at her.

  Gabriella snorted as she crossed her arms over her chest and kept his gaze, but her conviction was wavering. "Then who?"

  Anthony's jaw clenched.

  The dirty bastard knows who it was and isn’t saying! She could see it in his eyes. He had known all these years and never told her. The girls had called her crabby Gabby behind her back the last two years of high school because of the person he was protecting.

  "I asked you who!" She grabbed another roll from the basket and chucked it at him, putting all of her strength behind it. It hit his right shoulder this time and bounced onto the floor.

  "Stop throwing food at me!"

  "Then tell me who it was! I know you know." She grabbed another roll and threatened to chuck it. "I'll do it, Anthony," she threatened, pulling her arm back.

  "It was Ashley Vaughn."

  Gabriella's mouth fell open. "Ashley Vaughn! That slut you dated your senior year?"

  He shrugged.

  "And you dated her even after she said those things?"

  He gave her a lopsided smile and shrugged. "She had big boobs and let me fuck her."

  "You are such a pig, Anthony King!" She thrust another roll at him; this time he ducked and it went sailing over his left shoulder.

  "You know I graduated a virgin because of you!"

  His grin widened, amusement dancing in his eyes. "You should be thanking me. Think of all the losers you'd have been regretting sleeping with right now if it weren’t for me!"

  She wagged her index finger at him, her other hand planted firmly on her waist. "Even my prom date Mark Gibbons wouldn't venture from the waist down and he had me home by 11pm on prom night. You asshole! You ruined prom!" Gabriella was seething. It may not have been as bad as when she had thought he'd been the one spreading the nasty rumours, but his lack of remorse over his old girlfriend's behaviour stung.

  Anthony huffed. "Mark was a dork. I was embarrassed my sister was even going to the prom with him, to be honest." He gave her a quick wink. "So again. You're welcome."

  This was why she hated being around him. Everything with Anthony was a fucking joke. Grabbing another roll, she took aim, thankful she’d overdone it baking way more dinner rolls than needed.

  "Hey!" Anthony's smile faded though the humour in his steel grey eyes remained. "Throw that roll and there will be consequences."

  Gabriella's blue eyes narrowed at him. "Yeah, really, like what?"

  He spread his hands out to his sides, fingers splayed and wiggled them. "I vaguely remember you hate being tickled. Pretty sure that hasn't changed."


  Gabriella held back the grin that was attempting to form on her lips. Instead she frowned and raised a cynical brow. "You’re threatening me with tickling. Seriously? What are we, ten?"

  "Throw that roll in your hand and find out, little sister."

  Again, she fought back a smile. This was such a silly situation. But still... She looked over her shoulder at the exit to the kitchen. If he was serious she would have a head start...

  Fuck it! Hauling her hand back, using as much force as she could muster she whipped the roll at him, hitting him square in the forehead. She had to place a hand over her mouth to keep from laughing at his comical expression of disbelief as the roll bounced off his forehead and onto the table.

  "Oh, it's on!" he roared as he lunged around the table at her.

  Chapter 2

  Gabriella's eyes widened in surprise and she yelped, turned and sprinted out of the kitchen and into the foyer. She hesitated a moment on whether she was going upstairs, but opted for the living room knowing she'd never make it up that flight of stairs without him catching her first.

  She had just made it into the living room when a strong arm wrapped around her waist and she found herself being lifted off of her feet. She screamed and attempted to wiggle from his grasp, but he easily overpowered her and she was tossed onto the suede navy-coloured sofa.

  Seconds later, Anthony was on top of her straddling her waist and pinning both her hands up over her head with his one large one, while his other hand found that torturous sweet spot at her side, just below her breast. "Anthony! Let me go!" She wiggled and squirmed¸ her hips bucking up under him. She closed her eyes and laughter roared from her and she bucked harder against his massive frame. "Please! Oh God! Pleeease Anthony!"

  "Oh, I love to hear you beg, Gabby!"

  When she got to the point where she was out of breath from her begging and laughing he finally relented. With her heart thumping wildly within her chest, she slowly opened her eyes. As she gazed up at him, the humour was rapidly disappearing from his eyes and was being replaced with a look more primal and hungry. It was then that she realized that in her wiggling her skirt had hiked up around her waist and she was beginning to feel that ridge of his growing erection against her pelvis. Five years rolled back and it felt like prom night all over again.

  His scent came to her, an enticingly masculine combination of soap and aftershave. She tried to force down the desire rising up within her, but it was near impossible. She wanted him. She'd wanted him from the day she first met him despite how much torment he’d put her through and she wanted him now, especially now that she knew it hadn't been him who had spread that nasty rumour. Maybe there was a reason beyond wanting to get away from her that caused him to just suddenly up and join the Marines without a word to her about that night.

  "Gabby..." His eyes searched hers; indecision accompanied the hunger.

  He wanted her. She trembled under him at the thought of being with him and feeling his hard naked body against hers. As much as she'd tried to convince to herself that she hated him over the years it hadn't kept his image from creeping into her fantasies from time to time. Hell, he’d been the one and only object of her fantasies.

  Anthony's eyes followed her tongue as she swiped it along her lower lip, the fire within them growing stronger. God, she wanted him to kiss her, she was silently begging him to. Her heart began to accelerate once more, but this time from her desire and anticipation of him.

  "Tony..." she answered, her mouth going dry. His brow creased as he considered her calling him Tony, something she rarely did.

  With hesitation he slowly lowered his lips to hers. She closed her eyes and sighed as his lips barely grazed hers, touching hers so lightly, she wondered if she had imagined it or not.

  "I've wanted you from the first day I met you Gabby," he whispered softly against her lips. "So many years I've been waiting to do this. Fantasized about it."

  Gabriella's lust-filled eyes flew open and she stared up at him. Was he serious? "But... but why didn't you ever tell me?"

  He pulled back from her slightly to look her in the eye and gave her a shy grin. "Because I was a horny teenaged boy and just before you and your mother moved in here, Dad warned me if I ever touched you or made an advance on you of any kind he'd cut off my balls and feed them to the dog."

  Gabriella giggled. "Fair enough."

  “Dad nearly did when he caught us that night.”

  “Ohhh.” Why hadn’t she thought of that?

  “Yeah, I was pretty sure I was going to enlist, but that night Dad made it clear it was the time to make the decision.”

  She felt so stupid for blaming him without getting the full story, but he hadn’t offered the full story to her; how was she to know any different?

  Anthony released her hands and she slid one around his neck, while her index finger of the other hand traced his strong, chiselled jawline. There was a one-inch scar on his cheek, close to his left ear. It seemed new, and added to his dangerously sexy appeal. She wondered briefly how he'd gotten that scar.

  His cock continued to grow and press against her, and the ache between her legs intensified. Could she cross this line with him after all these years? Should she?

  "You smell so good Gabby," Anthony said softly, lowering his lips to her neck and kissing it tenderly. The faint, simple touch of his lips caused every nerve ending in her body to come alive.

  "Tony..." She moaned softly as his lips leisurely teased their way across her jaw to brush against hers. Her panties were quickly becoming uncomfortably damp as her desire for him increased.

  He pulled back up again, a hand braced at either side of her head as he looked down at her. Their mouths were within an inch apart, their breaths intermingling and breathing synchronizing. "God, I need to kiss you Gabby," he whispered, his eyes lowering to her parted lips.

  "Then what's stopping you?"

  He closed his eyes for a moment, his body tense over hers. When he opened them, the fire was raging within them as he lowered his mouth fully to hers. He caught her lower lip between his teeth and sucked. A shiver rushed through her and she fisted his shirt, attempting to rein in her raging desires.

  "Oh Tony..."

  His lips touched hers again, and when she sighed, parting her lips slightly he thrust his tongue into her mouth. She moaned as his tongue caressed hers. Her body writhed under him, longing to feel his cock slamming into her.

  Changing positions so that he was settled in between her legs, Anthony slipped his hand along the outside of her thigh to her backside. He squeezed her bottom while pulling her up tighter against the ridge of his cock under the denim. Despite the layers of clothing dividing them, the friction of jean against her white cotton panties was excruciating. Her panties were uncomfortably soaked with the evidence of her arousal.

  "I want you," she gasped, bucking under him as his lips left hers and began to work their way down the side of her neck.

  He chuckled, low and sexy. "That's a dangerous thing to say to a man who hasn't had a woman in five years, Gabby."

  "Oh God!" Gabriella tensed and moaned loudly as his fingers cupped her bottom, pushed her panties aside and slipped into her heated core.

  "So wet," he murmured as his lips reached her collarbone and he began to make his way to her breasts, straining against the thin material of her gravy-stained bodice.

  Her breathing became ragged and broken. His fingers stroking and digging deep into her wetness were almost becoming her undoing. He had barely begun touching her, and she was already almost at her breaking point.

  "You're going to make me come, Tony," she gasped, clutching tighter to his shirt.

  He chuckled, unbuttoning the front of her sundress, exposing her breasts covered in white lace. "That's the idea, sis."

  She squirmed under him. She didn't want to come so quickly, but his fingers stroking her inner wall and the ridge of his cock against her pelvis were too much to bear.

  Anthony pulled down the
lace covering her left breast, lowered his mouth and captured it between his lips, nipping the sensitive bud. His mouth on her nipple was her undoing. She cried out, her body tensing as a tidal wave of pleasure crashed over her and exploded between her legs. Her juices dripped from her, fully saturating her panties as she released a slow ragged breath.

  ****

  "Fuck, that was as sexy as hell, Gabby." Anthony released her nipple, which had turned into a tight, long nub, sat back on his heels and began to undo the rest of the buttons down the front of her dress. His steel grey eyes eagerly took in every inch of her body as the material parted, revealing her ivory skin.

  He was positive she hadn’t been this stunning or sexy when they were younger. She couldn't have been because there was no way he'd have been able to keep his hands off of her if she had – even the threat of being castrated wouldn't have been able to stop him.

  With the dress now completely open, he unclasped the front of her bra and it sprang open, revealing her generous breasts with large pink nipples. His eyes travelled lower, over her stomach and to her groin. She had on plain white cotton briefs that were soaked from her arousal. Cotton briefs had never looked so damned sexy to him. Hooking his thumbs into the waistband of her panties he was about to give them a tug when her hands on his stopped him.

  Looking back up into her eyes, their gazes locked and he could see her desire raging within those blue eyes. But he could also see her hesitation, as if she was struggling with whether this was right or not.

  Anthony attempted to rein in his desire, despite the painful throbbing in his jeans. "We don't have to do anything more if you're not comfortable, Gabby." As the words came from his mouth, he silently prayed she wouldn't stop him. He was dying to taste her and then feel her hot, wet pussy around his dick. It was taking every last ounce of his restraint to hold himself back and make sure she was pleasured before he took what he needed from her.