SCORE (A Stepbrother Sports Romance)(56)
“Just cut the bull, Dad!” Chance shouted. “You knew I was interested in her daughter, and you didn’t say a word. Was I the only one in the dark?”
“It had nothing to do with you, Chance,” Bryan said as he walked to the balcony. “Your relationship shouldn’t have to affect mine.”
“Nothing to do with me? You married her! She is now my stepmother, and the girl I am seeing is now my stepsister! How does that not have anything to do with me? We were here, and we didn’t even get a say in it until after the fact.” Chance flung the cushion across the room out of frustration and kicked the chair from his path. “What do you mean your relationship shouldn’t affect mine?”
“Chance, don’t be so upset,” Bryan said. “I’m sorry it worked out like this, but how do you expect me to give up the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with simply because you are having a fling with the daughter?”
“It’s not a fling, and even if it was, you have made it extraordinarily uncomfortable for that fling to continue, haven’t you? So I hope she makes you happy and that it lasts forever.”
“There is no need for sarcasm, son,” Bryan told him. “But just in case, you do know that whatever was going on with her daughter can’t continue?”
“Yes, I am aware,” Chance smirked. “How many chances do you get to make me miserable? An unlimited supply? As many as your money can buy?”
“I didn’t hear you complaining about the money yesterday on the yacht,” Bryan fired back.
Chance froze in his step and kept his back to his father. “You know, if it wasn’t Mom’s, I’d have sold it.”
“You know that’s not what I meant, Chance.”
But Chance had already opened the front door and left. Bryan called after him, but Chance kept walking. The only place Chance wanted to go was to Claire, so he hurried down to the lobby and turned towards her door. He pounded on the door until she answered.
“Chance, what’s the matter?” she asked when she saw the panicked look on his face.
He didn’t respond. He simply forced himself inside, pulled her to him, and kissed her with so much passion her head spun. When she composed herself, she stepped back. “I don’t think we should be doing this, Chance.”
“Maybe they shouldn’t be doing anything,” he told her and held her to him again. “Claire, for the first time in my life I am with a woman who actually means something to me. There is no way I am going to stop this just because they decided to get married. We were right here, and they didn’t even consider us. Let’s just do what we want to do.”
“I don’t think it works like that, Chance,” Claire said and stepped away from him. “They are married now, and we are a family.”
“That’s just a technicality,” Chance pleaded. “Who knows if they will even last?”
Claire thought about that for a moment. It had been five years since her mother had been with anyone, and she had just had her heart broken by the man she was supposed to marry. “It just seems selfish to take all of this away from her, you know.”
“What? They are the selfish ones. They ran off and got married without our knowledge,” Chance persisted.
“Chance, let’s just forget about this,” she said dejectedly and sat on the bed. She curled her legs under her and hugged the pillow. “It was only meant to last for a short while anyway, and it did. We have to coexist now as a family. My mother would be so disappointed if she knew I was seeing you after this.”
“Claire, they don’t have to know,” he said. He sat next to her on the bed. “I am sure my dad will go to his estate in Los Angeles, and I have my own place. We’ll just hold them off until we figure out what to do.”
“I don’t know,” she replied. “This is just too much for me.”
Chance silenced her with a kiss, and though she tried to be reasonable and logical, there was no denying how she felt about him. At the moment, she completely understood why her mother and his father had married so quickly. She slowly eased into his kiss, and he buried his face in her neck. He nuzzled her skin, and Claire’s head fell back; she enjoyed the way his touch lingered on her skin and warmed her from heel to crown. She gripped a handful of his hair as he found her lips, and even then, she tried to talk her way out of it, but Chance would have none of it.
“Just be here with me in this moment,” he whispered against her skin. His breath tickled her, and she shivered. He held her forearm and eased her back onto the bed.
“No, Chance,” she tried to say between kisses, but all he did was place his forefinger on her lips and kiss her smooth ivory skin.
“Shh,” he followed up.
She gripped his neck and pulled him closer as her breathing intensified, and she could no longer deny her instincts. She straightened and wrapped her legs around him, and he slid his hand underneath her, resting his palm flat at the base of her spine. He writhed on top of her; he could feel her body responding to him, and suddenly that wasn’t enough for her anymore.
“Are you sure about this?” she asked even as she struggled to take his clothes off.
“Absolutely,” he told her and held his hands up to accommodate her effort. He stepped back and yanked the dress off her, leaving nothing between him and the honeyed pleasure he was desperate to taste again.