Dirk: A Stepbrother Romance(5)
After the reception, her stepfather announced their plans to vacation in the mountains for their honeymoon. Her mother looked excited beyond belief, and Katherine couldn't help but feel happy for her. She was living her dream life, finally, and whether she had been a good mother or not, she still liked seeing her happy.
A huge private jet had been arranged for them, and they stepped onto the plane together, waving wildly as the crowd gathered around them threw flower petals and blew bubbles to see them off. Katherine waved, smiling at her mother, who laughed ecstatically when her husband picked her up and carried her into the plane. The crowd cheered and everybody whistled and clapped as the engines roared and they took off together for their honeymoon.
The crowd remained on the island and partied until the end of the night, but Katherine chose to retire early. She didn't want anything to do with the gaggle of rich strangers who had gathered to celebrate the wedding, and she wanted less to do with her new stepbrother. In fact, she would have been happy to avoid him for the rest of her life. She couldn't believe how foolish she had been to so much as strike up a conversation with the likes of him.
Katherine sighed and headed into the bathroom. It was still her favorite part about the estate. You live, you learn, she decided, lighting the comforting lavender-scented candles. At least now that she knew who he was and what he was like, she could take comfort in knowing that she had dodged a bullet. She sighed to herself and sank into the hot water to wash the day away.
Dirk left the party early. He was shaken and exhausted after his hellish night and single hour of sleep. And to top it all off, he had had a sex dream about his stepsister. Well, he hadn't known it was her at the time, but it was still pretty terrible. He couldn't help but feel dirty about it. He sighed irritably to himself, trying to reason it out. It wasn't like they were actually blood related. The fact was that he was a hot-blooded man who had a drink with an irresistible woman. For god's sake, he was a man after all, and whether anybody liked it or not, he had his needs. He wouldn't apologize for being who he was.
He stripped off his shirt and pulled on a pair of sweatpants. As soon as his head hit his pillow, he fell into a deep, sound sleep.
The next morning, he was pulled from his slumber when he heard the staff rushing about the hallways in a panic. He stirred groggily and stepped out of his bedroom to see what the commotion was about. His long hair fell in his face, and he pushed it back, squinting sleepily in search of someone who could tell him what was going on.
His gaze rested on Katherine, standing at the end of the hallway. She was flustered and upset, and he went to her instinctively, his urge to comfort her overpowering. She looked at him without seeming to see him at first, and when she did, her face reddened and she looked down at the ground. He realized, with the closest thing to embarrassment that he had ever felt, that he was shirtless, and his tattoos and muscled form were probably not the most comforting thing she could have seen. He stopped himself from reaching out to her.
“Are you all right?” he asked, his voice hoarse and thick with sleep.
“The plane is about to leave the island,” she said, close to tears. “But I can't find my passport.”
Dirk fell back into the wall, rubbing his tired face. The woman wouldn't be able to return to the United States without it. He groaned.
“Where's the last place you had it?” he asked, his mind slowly awakening enough to kick him into problem-solving mode.
“I haven't seen it since just before I boarded the plane here,” she said quietly.
“You mean you didn't have it when you got here?” he asked, straightening to his full height and looking down at her. She looked scared, so he tried to ease the intensity of his gaze and lower his voice.
“I don't think so,” she sighed. “I was in a hurry, I almost missed it. I think it fell out of my pocket.”
“All right,” Dirk grumbled, suddenly agitated. “We'll figure something out.”
He stormed off, running his hand through his hair. The last thing he wanted was to deal with her irresponsibility first thing in the morning, especially when his company was in jeopardy. And the idea of being stuck for some unknown amount of time with her until she got a new passport was very unappealing. He had been looking forward to her departure home. It was one thing to have a dream about your stepsister; it was quite another to have her lurking around while you try to secure your business. He sighed deeply and headed toward the room where he gave the staff their orders.
“Everybody knows what you're looking for, right?” he growled. “Comb the grounds. If we don't find it within the hour, let me know. We'll have to make other plans.”
Chapter 7
Katherine's passport remained missing, and she locked herself in her room. All she wanted to do was cry, and crying in front of Dirk, or anybody else there for that matter, seemed like a terrible idea. She had been looking forward to getting off the island more than she had ever looked forward to anything in her life. And now, everybody else would be leaving without her. Who knew when she would be able to get back into the United States? Without her passport, she was stuck there. And the last thing she wanted was to be stranded on an island with her irritating stepbrother.
He hadn't seemed very fond of the idea either, which made her even angrier. And although she hated him passionately, the idea of him hating her back hurt. Then there was the lingering problem of the mental image she had of Dirk stumbling out of his bedroom, his muscular abdomen bared and shameless, just daring her to look. His well-defined stomach and broad, tattooed chest stuck with her as she sat on the bed and dropped her head into her hands. This whole weekend was turning out to be a nightmare.