Stepbrother's Secret

Cate is watching the exchange nervously, but I see the way she wets her lips.

The sudden weighted quality of her eyelids.

She’s as anxious to be alone with me as I am with her.

“I’ll speak to her about whatever I choose,” I finally respond to my father, before indicating the staircase to Cate. “If you’ll join me in my office, please? Second door on the left at the top of the stairs.”

Not hauling her up against me as she passes is a herculean feat. But after one more tense look between me and my father, I follow her, not bothering to hide my rapt perusal of her thighs, her heart-shaped backside…or the dark intention in every line of my body.

As soon as we’re inside the office with the door closed, I have my hands all over her. I’m tugging the hem of her dress up to her waist and molding her tight butt in my grip, my mouth raking over her tits through the thin material of her dress. Backing her toward my desk and lifting her up onto the edge, shoving open her legs.

“If you mess up my hair and makeup,” Cate breathes. “Mama will freak out.”

I slide a hand between her cunt and the hard surface of the desk, flexing my fingers and making her whimper. “I promise I’m only going to mess up this pussy.”

Her eyes are blue fire. “Yes. Please, Tristan.”

The way she speaks my name with such reverence makes my heart sprint—and suddenly there is more than one reason I need her in this office. I need promises, I need an understanding before she’s paraded around in front of other people. I need to remind her that we belong to each other and no one else. “Cate…” I frame her jaw in my hand, making sure she’s focused, giving me eye contact. “You’ve worked so hard. You are more than ready for tonight. And I’ll be there to guide you, okay?”

A hint of anxiety dances across her features and I realize she’s been hiding it well. “Okay.” She nods bravely. “I know you will.”

“Good.” I tilt her head sideways so I can trace the line of her neck with my tongue. “Starting tonight, men are going to want you, Cate. And they won’t know you’re mine.” My grip intensifies, along with the urgency in my blood. “But you will remember. Won’t you, sweetheart? When they strut like peacocks in front of you and ask you on dates, you will decline. You’ll decline knowing damn well you’re going to get on your back for your stepbrother later and spread your thighs.” My pulse is pounding in my ears. “I’m the only one who you’ll ever love. The only one who fucks you, kisses you, spoils you. Is that clear, little girl?”

“Yes. Yes. I’m yours,” she says shakily. “You didn’t have to remind me.”

“Oh, you’re going to be reminded.” I tuck my fingers into the sides of her panties and she lifts her hips, so I can drag them down her legs, stuffing the black, lacy things into my pocket. “You’re going to be reminded good and hard and often.”

“Now, Daddy?” She fumbles with my zipper. “Now?”

Lust rakes through me almost painfully, the need to release inside her, claim her, blistering. “In a minute.” I reach into my jacket pocket and produce a velvet box, flipping open the lid without looking, so I can witness her reaction. “This is to help you remember.”

I never would have believed myself the kind of man who buys a collar.

Not in a million years.

Then again, I’ve never been so determined to keep someone. Possess them. Nor will I ever be again. There is only Cate. And I want her pretty little neck wrapped in a reminder of who she belongs to. At all times. It’s only fair, considering there has been an invisible hand circling my throat since I met her, compressing my windpipe, making me short of breath. “If I can’t make it clear you’re mine in public, I want something beneath your clothes. Something we both know is there.” I take the thin, black strip of leather out of the box, fingering the gold ring connecting the two sides. “It means you’re off limits to anyone but me. Will you wear it for me, Cate?”

Her answer is to reach back and untie the knot at the nape of her neck, letting the top of her silk dress flutter down to her waist, baring her pert tits. “I want to wear it.”

I didn’t expect the rise of power inside of me. But when I circle her delicate throat with the leather and secure the clasp, something heady locks into place. By no means am I relaxed. How can I be when she’s half naked in front of me and I’m turned on beyond recognition? But there is a calming of a certain raging storm in my chest.