Page 35 of The Step Dare

Our fingers touch again, and then his jaw tightens, body stiffening as I spill down Dax’s throat and he fucks his way through an orgasm of his own.

That was. So hot.

The three of us collapse onto the bed, Taylor getting rid of his condom. Dax is between us, clearly dick-drunk, his eyes glazed and blissed out.

“Holy shit. That was so damn good,” he says.

I nod, feeling oddly speechless, which might be a first.

“I should go,” Dax says.

“You don’t have to,” I tell him. The last thing I want is for the guy to feel like he’s been used and kicked out.

“I know.” He grins, pushes up and kisses me, then does the same to Taylor. I can’t help watching their tongues move together, and a moment later, Dax is climbing off the bed. “It’s still pretty early. I’m gonna head back to the bar.”

I laugh, totally not surprised.

“You only live once.” Dax shrugs while picking up his clothes. “I’m gonna clean up in the bathroom, then see myself out. Thanks for a good time.”

I watch as he leaves, closing the door behind him.

“Is he going to hook up again?” Taylor asks.

“Yep.” I roll to my side, sitting up on my elbow. “Are we good? That was…”

A smile stretches across his face. “Fun.”

I chuckle. “Yeah, it was.”

“And technically, we didn’t really break the rules.”

“I’m pretty sure we did.”

“They’re our rules, Bren, so only we get to decide that.”

I nod, then for some reason, I touch his hair, letting the strands fall through my fingers. “But it wasn’t very stepbrotherly.”

“I’m sure Ash, Colin, Troy, and Atlas would beg to differ.”

“So remind me again why we can’t keep having fun together?” But really, I know the answer.

“Because our parents are getting married, and if they somehow found out, it might be weird for them. We love them and don’t want to do anything to hurt their chances at happiness just because we have fun getting off.”

He’s right. Of course he’s right, and I agree with him, but… “It’s only sex. What are the chances they would find out we’re hooking up? It’s not like we’re in love.”

“Exactly. It’s not like we’re in love, but they are. If we had feelings or something like Atlas and Troy or Colin and Ash, that’d be another thing. But my mom’s been through too much already with the Piece of Shit, and if Keith makes her happy, I want her spending her time planning the wedding, not being more concerned with my feelings because of what we’re doing.”

And there he goes making another good point. Why can’t we just be dumb twentysomethings and not consider the consequences? But really, just like Taylor wouldn’t want to take that chance with Nicole, I don’t with Dad. “I know what you mean. I feel the same about my dad. He loves your mom, and I’d say there’s no way they could find out, but I’m sure they thought the same thing with what they were doing.”

And they both care about us so much, I can imagine them going out of their way to ensure we’re cool when they should be focused on what they have with each other.

“Plus, think how strangely they behaved keeping their relationship from us. We just don’t know how they would react if they knew what we’ve been up to.”

I sigh, hating his logic. “You were always smarter than me.”

“Yeah, you’re right, I guess.”

“Fuck you, Tay. You’re not supposed to agree with me.”

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