Page 17 of The Step Dare

“I brought that up,” I go on, “because even though what we’ve done has been hot as fuck, now that the dynamic’s changed, I don’t want anything we’re doing to make them self-conscious about their relationship.”

Brenner’s expression turns serious again. Playful as he can be, he knows when it’s time to have the hard conversations too. And this is definitely one of those times.

“It would mess with Dad’s head if he knew what we’d done,” Bren says.

“Same with Mom. I can just see her worrying that if something went wrong between us, then there might be tension. Hell, that’s clearly why they kept it from us to begin with.”

We’re quiet, and I wonder if he’s thinking what I’m thinking before he says, “So…maybe blowjobs every other Thursday?”

I glare at him. “I think we need to stop altogether.”

His eyes bulge. “Like cold turkey? Fuck, Tay. Don’t say that.”

“We went for years without doing anything. We’ll just go back to that, right? Be friends and play video games, hang out at parties.”

His jaw tenses as he eyes my crotch, and just the way he’s looking at it makes my dick shift.

“I’m being serious,” I say.

“It looks serious as hell in your pants right now.”

“Bren, our parents want to get married. That’s way more important than getting our rocks off with each other, right?” Even the way that last word escapes my lips, it’s a genuine question, as though I want him to say,Fuck no.

But he nods. “Yeah, we shouldn’t do anything to fuck that up.”

I take his hand and rest it on my torso. “Hey, we’re still Bren and Tay. Just without the horny stuff.”

He strokes his fingers against the threads of my tank top, making his way lower to where it’s hiked up, exposing my abs.

“If we’re not messing around,” he says, “you gonna find some other guy to play with your dick? So you can work out whatever you’re feeling?”

I shrug. “I haven’t thought that far ahead.”

Because the thought of him messing around with anyone else is like a pin driving into my chest.

His gaze drifts, and he takes a breath. “You’re right. There’s no reason to risk what they’re doing over some fun.”

He trails his fingers through my happy trail, then tenses them and pulls back, as though he knows he’s gonna have to learn some self-restraint if we’re gonna pull this off.

And his fingers leaving my body is fucking killing me.

“It would be stupid to keep doing,” he says.

“The stupidest.”

He rests his hand back on my abs, and my body viscerally responds to his touch, excitement coursing through me, relief that wasn’t the last time he touched me like that.

Not yet.

“We just go back to being Bren and Tay,” he says. “And we’ll be best friends forever anyway. And now stepbrothers, and that’s enough for me.”

“Same here.” I’m certain the guy who knows me best can tell that’s a lie.

He runs his fingers down to the waistband of my pants, tugging against it. “Guess I won’t be seeing your come face after all,” he says, frowning.

A knot bunches up in my gut because all I want is to give Bren what he wants. Who am I kidding? What we both want, and being all stressed about this parent shit only makes me want torelease with him that much more. Probably like he wanted to do for me when that stuff came up about the Piece of Shit.

He starts to pull his hand off again, and I snatch it.

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