Owning Beauty (Taking Beauty Trilogy 3)

Finally, I’d had enough. I grabbed his arm and dragged him back over to the fire. “Come on. Let’s play cards.”

“With only two people?”

“Well, it’s better than staring out the window for the rest of the day.” I dug around in my backpack until I found the deck of cards I’d tossed in here. I wasn’t quite sure why I’d packed them, but now I was glad I had.

“What are we going to play? Strip poker?” Nathan winced, like the joke burned as is slipped from his lips.

Defiantly, I glared at him. “Okay, let’s play strip poker.”

Okay, so it probably wasn’t my best idea, but I had to try something to get him out of his shell. And, after all, he’d been the one to suggest it, even if it had been in jest.

“We can’t play strip poker!”

“Why not?” I started shuffling the deck, not taking my eyes off him. “Afraid of losing, are you? Think you can’t beat your poor little step-sister at a game of poker?”

Now I was just goading him. Nathan lived for a challenge, never passing up the opportunity to show someone up. There was no way he’d be able to back down now.

“Fine.” He crossed his arms in front of his chest and frowned. “But you better not complain when I kick your ass!”

I snorted. Fat chance of that happening. I’d seen Nathan play poker before. He wasn’t bad, not really, but he was far from a champion or anything. Chances were, he’d be the first one stripping, not me. And now, maybe, I’d get a chance to really see those muscles he was hiding beneath his clothes.

I dealt the first round, fighting back the urge to cheat. It would’ve been easy to rig the deck, but if I was going to beat Nathan, I wanted to do it fair and square. Then he couldn’t complain when I kicked his ass.

When we both laid down our cards, we both ended up with a pair. Him with a pair of sevens and me with a pair of nines. “Ha!” I said triumphantly. “What was that about kicking my ass?”

I stuck my tongue out as he grumbled, sliding his sweatshirt off and tossing it aside. For the first time, I noticed how tight his t-shirt was, clinging to his muscular chest and arms. How had I not noticed that before? How had I not noticed how hot Nathan was?

“Well? Are you going to deal the next hand?” He rolled his eyes. “Or are you chickening out already?”

I glared at him and dealt the cards, trying not to stare any more. God, if things were this bad with him just wearing a t-shirt, what was I going to do when he was shirtless? I’d be drooling like a puppy waiting for his supper.

The next hand went to Nathan, much to my annoyance. Though, it was probably a good thing, I thought as I pulled my own sweater off. At least it gave me a little bit more time to get myself under control before being greeted with the torso I’d been dying to see all day.

I didn’t have to wait long, since the next hand was mine, and Nathan had to remove his shirt. My eyes were glued to him as he slipped it off without anything more than a frown in complaint. God damn he was built.

For someone who never went to the gym, the guy looked like a freaking model. How the hell did he maintain that? I wondered. I’d never seen him eat particularly healthy. And, as far as I knew, the only exercise he got was skateboarding and snowboarding with his friends. No way those activities kept him in that good of shape.

Was he chiseled from marble by the gods themselves?

My frown matched his own as I dealt the next hand. Part of me prayed I’d win while the other part of me prayed I wouldn’t. I wanted to see Nathan wearing nothing but those boxers, but at the same time, I didn’t. If I saw him in just his underwear, I’d never be able to get the sight out of my head.

Worse, if he didn’t back down after being stripped to his underwear, I wouldn’t be able to keep from gawking at his nude body. Then he’d really see how much of a pervert his sister was. But, it was too late to back out now.

I’d been the one to challenge him. If I chickened out that easily, I’d never live it down. And, for some reason, being known as a coward and a chicken seemed like the worse of the two options. So I laid my cards down and grinned at him. Pair of queens.

Beat that!

Fortunately, or unfortunately, he couldn’t. He didn’t even have a single pair that hand. Meaning it was once again his turn to strip.

This time, he didn’t just frown at me, he glared at me. “Why are we playing this stupid game?” he asked, still not moving from his seat.

I shrugged and grinned at him “It was your idea. Don’t tell me you’re backing out already. What would your friends say if they knew how much of a chicken you were?”

Nathan stood up, scowling as he did so. “Fine! It’s not like you didn’t see it all this morning.”

I froze, scared for a second he’d been awake as I’d peaked beneath the blanket. But when he just shoved his jeans off and kicked them aside before sitting back down, I figured my secret was safe, at least for now.

He shifted and adjusted himself as he sat, and that’s when it dawned on me that he was hard again! I’d been so lost in thought as he stripped that I hadn’t noticed right away. But now, I could see the length down the leg of his boxers again, raising the material just slightly. If he hadn’t adjusted himself and sat cross legged, I’d have been able to see right up the leg of his boxers.

My heart pounded now. My brain told me to back out, even if it meant looking like a chicken. Let him put his clothes back on before you do something stupid!

Yet, I didn’t quit. I shuffled the cards and dealt the next hand. I was sure Nathan could hear my heart pounding in my chest now. The sound was loud enough to drown everything else out. But he didn’t comment, he just looked down at his cards, his expression not changing.

“Pair of jacks,” I said, setting my cards down.

This was it, I thought. Now Nathan would need to take his boxers off and I’d get to see every last inch of him. Once again, I’d be greeted by the sight of his hard cock, standing straight up in the air.

But I was wrong.

“Straight,” he said laying down his own cards and grinning at me. “Nice try though.”

I couldn’t help the pout that appeared on my face. I collected the cards and stacked them up before hooking my fingers beneath my shirt and lifting it over my head. Then I tossed it aside and glared at Nathan, not backing down from his challenge.

There was no way either of us were going to give up now.

Once I had my shirt off, Nathan frowned. “That’s not fair! You’ve got an extra piece of clothing!” He crossed his arms in front of his chest and huffed out a breath. For a few moments, he seemed like a

petty child, upset about not having the advantage.

But, I had to admit, he was right. I’d forgotten I was wearing a bra and he wasn’t. I’d never played strip poker before and hadn’t even thought of that. So with a sigh, I breathed out “Fine!” and reached behind my back, unhooking my bra and letting it fall away.

I shivered as the cool air brushed past my breasts. I wanted to cross my arms in front of my chest like Nathan had done, but I resisted. It wouldn’t be fair if I covered myself up, since when it came time for Nathan to be exposed, I expected him not to cover up either.

Unfortunately, my wish didn’t come true on the next round either. Nathan one again, this time with a pair of fours to my nothing. So, after taking a deep breath, I stood up and removed my jeans, practically needing to peel them off myself.

Why did girls’ clothing have to be so tight? I wondered briefly.

Once I was down to nothing but my panties, I stood there for a moment, shuffling back and forth on each foot. I wanted to just sit down and get on with the game, but with Nathan’s eyes glued to my body, I couldn’t. It only seemed fair to let him look at me, since I’d peaked at him this morning, even though he didn’t know that.

Besides, it was my own fault for being trapped in my own head or I’d have gotten a better look at him earlier.

But, after a few moments, I sat back down and crossed my legs, just as he’d done. When I glanced at his crotch though, I noticed his hard cock was much more evident now, easily raising the thin fabric of his boxers.

A shiver went through my body at that moment. God, I couldn’t believe he was getting turned on by seeing me in nothing but a pair of panties! I wondered if maybe his erection this morning hadn’t just been morning wood.

One thing was for sure, my nipples were rock hard now, showing off my own excitement. If I wasn’t careful, the fire building up inside my stomach would lash out, then my panties would be wet. And the last thing I needed was for Nathan to see me getting wet over his nearly naked body.

I took a deep breath and dealt the next hand. This was it, I thought to myself. After this, one of us would be completely naked in front of the other. But as we sat there staring at our cards, neither of us had the courage to speak up. Nor were either of us willing to back out.