Stepbrother's Gift

I almost made it out of the main area before I felt James' strong hand grip my arm. “Where are you going?” he yelled over the music.

My face paled as I turned to face him. I thought about being evasive, but with how loud I had to yell to be heard over the music, I knew I had to be direct as possible. “It's fine that you don't want me. It's whatever. But don't expect me to sit here and watch your foreplay with Nicole.” I turned to leave again.

Just as he had in the hallway outside his dorm, he spun me back to face him. “I didn't fly hundreds of miles to fuck your roommate, Allie. I came to talk to you.”

I felt my eyes tear up, felt my knees shaking again. I just wanted to go home, back to my dorm room, so I could relax and try to get over him. Again. But the iron grip he had on my arm wouldn't let me go. And a part of me didn't want him to.

I didn't know what to say, but he spoke up for me. “Look, just have a seat on the couch. I'll let Nicole know that you feel sick and that we have to go, okay?”

I nodded, already feeling the tears running down my face. I felt like an idiot. He smiled at me, that charming smile that made everyone love him, then released my arm. I slowly walked back to the couch while he disappeared back to the dance floor. When I got to the couch, I slowly sipped at my orange juice and closed my eyes. I was glad he had stopped me, glad that we would finally get a chance to talk.

Just when I began to get curious as to what was taking James so long, I opened my eyes and found him walking up to the VIP area. Alone. He had a grimace on his face.

“Nicole says she's not ready to leave,” he said. I was glad that the music was so much quieter here, so I could hear him.

I nodded slowly. “So, are you and I going to leave?”

He sat down next to me and gave me a wry smile. “Next time I'll have to invite a friend, but I can't let her stay here by herself. Every guy here is lining up to ply her with drinks and take advantage of her.”

I laughed. “That doesn't surprise me, but she can take care of herself.”

He gave me a grim look. “Just like you could take care of yourself with Dennis?”

I scowled at him. It was a low blow.

“Sorry,” he continued. “I didn't really mean it, it's just...” He looked me in the eye, and for a moment I could see real frustration cross his face. “It's just that I haven't been able to get you out of my mind for the past three days, and then you weren't answering my emails, and now...” He ran his hand through his hair, mussing up its billionaire perfection, then looked back up at me. “Now that I'm here, I can't seem to say what I want to say.”

It was a moment of real honesty for him, and it made me want him more than ever. My fingers touched my belly, knowing that not only would James be able to provide for my baby, but also be a great father and role model for it. Even if he wasn't with me, he could still be those things. “Just tell me what it is you want from me,” I said.

James opened his mouth, then grimaced again as something caught his eye. I followed his gaze and saw Nicole coming up to the table.

“There you are! I was beginning to think that I had lost you!” she said to James. Then, as if suddenly remember that I was there, she put a finger on my knee, leaning over in the process and giving James a full view of her cleavage. “So sorry that you're not feeling well. I'll see you tomorrow, but don't wait up for us!” She grabbed the bottle of vodka and poured herself a shot in one of the glasses, throwing it back quickly, and then smiling. I wanted to hit her over the head with the bottle, but that would be rude.

James smiled at her and stood up. “I was just letting Allie know that we were staying. I'm just going to walk her out to the limo. You stay here and I'll be back in just a couple minutes.”

Nicole plopped down on the couch and started pouring herself some champagne in the same glass that she had just drank the shot out of, even though there was a bunch of champagne flutes on the table as well. “Sure, sure, I'll be waiting for you.”

I managed to wave goodbye without saying something that I'd regret later, and James and I were on our way out the door. He said something to the bouncer really quick on the way out, then when we were outside, he called the limo.

“Look, Allie, I'll have her out of here and back to your dorm as soon as I can. Can we meet tomorrow?” he asked.

I smiled. Just having these few seconds alone with him was good for me. It was the first time I had smiled since we had arrived at the

club. “I'd like that. I promise to answer your email this time. Just be careful, though. Nicole is going to pull out every trick in the book to try and seduce you.”

I hadn't seen the cocky grin all night up until now, but when he flashed it, it made me melt all over again. There was a very good reason he had the reputation he did with women. “Don't worry. I think I've seen just about every trick in the book, and I doubt this girl has anything new.”

I laughed. With any other guy I might have thought it was bluster, but with James... I bet he had to turn down his fair share of propositions. Just then, the limo pulled up. James helped me into it, squeezing my hand as he let go of it. He gave instructions to the driver and I was on my way home.

Chapter Twenty

When I arrived home, I stripped off the club clothes that I had worn and immediately jumped into the shower. I hadn't expected to ever do this again, between James fucking me and then letting me go, but I needed release probably more than I ever had in my life.

I detached the shower head and let my imagination take over. I began to slowly sway my hips as I imagined the club music playing. Imaginary James, in his suit, came up behind me pressing into me and dancing with me. The shower head found it's way downward, spraying me between my legs and immediately sending waves of pleasure through my body.

My other hand dug into my hip, imagining James gripping me tightly. I felt my fingers traveling up my side as James touched my skin as much as he could. When I got to my breast, I didn't just linger, I wrapped my hand around one, pressing into the other with my forearm and teasing both nipples with touch.

Finally, I moved my hand up to my hair. It wasn't quite the same to pull my own hair, but as I ran my fingers through my blonde hair, I imagined him doing so with that familiar lust in his eyes. My knees started to shake.