Stepbrotherly Love

Chapter 7

No matter what I thought, or what I told myself I would do, in the end, I did nothing and time passed.

It had been a while since I got to see Mom. She was back in the country, and she'd called plenty, we'd also had video calls, but Mom had moved to New York to live with Paul. She'd left me to do whatever I wanted with the house, but since I wasn't sure, and it was too far from my workplace anyway, I hadn't done a thing about it.

Now, it was the Christmas season, and Mom wanted me to visit.

"Do we have to go?" I asked.

Stephen was in my apartment to pick me up. Of course, he was going as well. Our parents wanted to spend Christmas with us, but I still felt it would be too awkward with all four of us. From what I knew of Stephen's house unless his Dad bought a new place, it was big. But no matter the size, we would still be under one roof, and the thought made me slightly uncomfortable.

"Of course we have to go," Stephen said, stopping to look over at me. "Or would you rather give them a call and make up an excuse?"

I pursed my lips. I did want to see my Mom, actually, and I was so busy I wouldn't get another chance at a trip to New York. I'd never been, so of course, I was curious about it, too. But I couldn't bring myself to voice my misgivings when Stephen looked at me.

When I didn't say anything, he sighed. He dropped the suitcase he'd been carrying for me by the door and walked over to me, pulling me into his arms. The movement was so natural, and I went into his hold easily.

"It's only going to be for a few days, but if you don't want to go, no one is forcing you. I'll go and let them know - "

Before he could finish that sentence, I put my hand over his mouth.

"It's fine," I murmured. "I want to see Mom, too. Of course, I'm going."

Stephen arched an eyebrow, but he didn't look annoyed. His expression was indulgent as he pulled my hand from his mouth, kissing my palm, before releasing my waist and pulling me behind him by the hand. He picked up the suitcase on the way, and we left the apartment.

He drove us to the airport, and I must have dallied more than I thought. We were just in time to catch our flight. If we'd waited a bit longer we would have missed it. We got settled in, and not long after, the flight took off.

Once we were in the air, I grew a little excited. I didn't get the chance to get on a plane often, especially not on the way to someplace like New York. Stephen, sensing my excitement, caught my hand between our seats. My attention immediately shifted from watching outside the window, to watching him. He sent me a smile but otherwise did nothing.

I, on the other hand, had quite a few ideas.

Because we were preparing for this trip, it had been nearly a week since we were last together. I knew I'd have to hold back once we landed, but one last time wouldn't matter, right?

If I asked him to go to the bathroom with me, would he?

I bit down on my lip as my thoughts traveled down a bad path. I thought of all sorts of things we could do. But I hadn't been to the bathroom, so I didn't know the size, or where it even was for that matter. Besides, it might be dangerous. Not once did I think it was unsanitary because s*x in a bathroom that wasn't quite private wasn't something new to me.

Stephen must have caught the expression on my face, though, because he wrapped his arm around my shoulder, and leaned close to my ear.

"Having naughty thoughts, Julia?" He chuckled. "As nice a thought as it is, let's land first, all right?"

My face flushed a little at being caught. I buried my face in his shoulder, but he just chuckled some more.

"Anyway, where would you like me to take you while we're in New York? We won't have to be home the whole time."

I appreciated the subject change, and we cuddled as we talked about all the places we could go. All I knew about New York was that it was cold. We wouldn't be within the city, but we'd be pretty close to it. We had about a week before we had to return, so I had to think of a lot of things to fill up the time.

"What a cute couple!"

The comment came from behind us. It wasn't particularly loud, but it came during a lull in our conversation, so it was hard not to hear it. I didn't bother to look back. I had seen the lady that took the seat behind us, and she had to be the one that was talking. She wasn't too old, but not quite young, and the reminiscing in her tone was obvious.

"Planning a trip together for Christmas is so romantic!" The lady sighed. "I can't remember the last time..."

Stephen had heard her as well because his arm had frozen around my shoulders. I pulled away from him, and he didn't try to stop me, pulling back himself.

"Oh!" The lady giggled, her voice going lower. "They're suddenly shy; it's so cute! I think they heard me."

Loud and clear, I thought wryly.

Stephen and I shared a glance.

I felt guilty, and for the first time, I saw a trace of guilt in Stephen's expression as well, which just brought my mood down even lower. We both knew we would have to be careful on this trip; it was just that neither of us had said it out loud.

The laughter and smiles ended even before we got off the plane.

Mom and Paul met us as we left the airport, and I couldn't help the strain in my smile when I saw them. It eased a little when Mom jumped forward excitedly to hug me, but returned when we got in the car, Stephen and I in the back, to head straight to the house.

"Oh, honey, I'm so glad you're finally here," Mom said, wiggling around her seat to look back at me now and then. "It's a little cold here, but you'll love the house! And I've got so many lovely places to take you to!"

She was bundled up heavily in a thick jacket and scarf, with a hat, but her face was flushed in her excitement. I shot a glance at Stephen, only to realize he was looking at me as well. We both looked away immediately, and I felt another burst of guilt.

When we arrived, I was both physically and mentally exhausted. Stephen was tired as well, so we all went to our own rooms.

I fell asleep in my bed in the guest room, but when I woke up that night, Stephen was in bed with me, wrapping himself around my back.

My breathing must have changed, and he noticed because he suddenly spoke.

"Sorry," he murmured. "I just couldn't stay away."

I stiffened up. Still drowsy, I tried to squirm out of his arms. At first, he held me even more securely, but as I persisted, he let me. Still, even when I turned around, there wasn't any light on in the room, so there wasn't anything for me to see.

"Stephen, you know you shouldn't be here," I murmured.

"It's a huge country house," he argued, arms wrapping around me once more and bringing me into his chest. "We definitely won't be heard, if we're careful..."

I shook my head against his chest. "It's still naughty. Our parents are in the same building."

There were so many different ways this could go wrong, and I didn't want to risk it. But feeling Stephen's warmth surrounding me after a week was also too tempting. I didn't want to leave his arms. Neither of us spoke again, and when he ducked his head down, kissing the side of my face until he found my lips, I didn't push him away. I even moved into the kiss.

Slowly, our clothes came off. Our bodies shifted, with Stephen climbing on top of me and me spreading my thighs around his hips. We'd done this so many times, the dark wasn't a hindrance as our bodies connected, Stephen moving carefully inside of me as I wrapped my limbs around him and held on. Aside from the rustling of the sheets and our heavy sighs, we didn't make a lot of sounds.

We were making love, slow and tender, with an emotion I was afraid to name. I'd never had this with any other man, and when we both came, I squeezed my eyes shut, even though I couldn't see his face anyway.

Stephen rolled us over onto our sides, with one of my legs still thrown over his hip and his c**k still inside me. Our breathing slowly calmed down, and I sighed as I nuzzled into his chest.

"After this, you absolutely have to behave," I whispered. "If we're too careless here, it'll ruin everything."

I felt guilty, but clearly, I didn't want to stop. If we could go on as we had been, it would leave me happy. The week would pass, I would feel a bit uncomfortable, and when we went back to Louisiana, nothing would change.

Stephen just had to ruin it.

"I'm not sure I can," he said, almost in apology. "Would it make you really angry, if I said... it?"

For the past few months, we had gotten close. With just the emphasis in his words, he didn't have to say the word, and I knew what he meant. Of course, he would know by now that I was completely cautious around that word. He didn't say it, but in my mind, I thought it.

I wondered, was Stephen falling in love with me? And if he was, why didn't I dislike the thought as much as I thought I would?