Page 15 of Wild and Bright

Six months.

It will all be over in six months. I’ll spend every moment getting everything I’ve ever wanted from her.

The elation that flows through my veins makes me almost dizzy. I speed up my pace. As soon as I walk inside the house, I head in the direction of the guest bathroom.

“Oh my God,” Hunter says, stopping me in my tracks. “You went over there, huh? You went over there and asked her to be your mistress.” He shakes his head, looking dazed. “I can’t believe you actually did it.”

I told him I was going to after dinner, but I could see in his eyes he didn’t think there was a chance in hell I’d go through with it, because he’s never fully understood my obsession with Lauren.

His eyes grow suddenly focused, narrowing on my face. “What did she say?”

There’s something in the question… Something I don’t like.

As if he can’t even imagine a universe in which she’d say yes.

I grit my teeth. “She said she’d think about it.”

His eyes widen slightly before growing dazed again. “You’re not doing this to keep her away from me, are you?” The words sound faraway, as if he’s lost in thought.

I glare at him. “I’m not insane enough to invite a single mother and her daughter to live in my house to keep her away from my brother who’s a grown-ass man. But I’m not going to lie that it’s an added advantage. She’s not good for you. Especially after a relapse.”

Hunter grunts, shaking his head. “Unbelievable.”

“She’s not.” My volume raises a notch. “She’s a party girl. She always has been.”

“You don’t know a goddamn thing about her. You don’t know her at all.”

His words send an icy shiver down my spine, making my jaw clench. I’ve always hated his implied ownership of her. He knows her best. He’s her confidant.

I turn away and walk down the hallway, hoping he doesn’t sense the direction of my thoughts. I’ve never wanted him to know. Never wanted him to see how this petty jealousy warped my thinking and made me, in moments, hate the person I love most in the world.

It’s disgusting.

“You need to stop doing this,” he calls out. “Say the serenity prayer.”

“Fuck off,” I shout back, wishing it were as simple as that. I wish this were just another instance of me being an overprotective brother.

As soon as I walk through the door of the bathroom, my body recalls my purpose. My partially softened dick grows fully erect even before those wide green eyes and pretty pink mouth come into my mind. After I pull down my pants, I grab my cock. I imagine her lying on my bed, her dark hair spreading like spilled paint across my white comforter. Her heavy, round tits falling to each side of her chest.

I don’t even have time to get through my usual rotation of Lauren fantasies—that time I caught her sunbathing naked in our backyard or the blissful moment in my car or one of the more porny scenarios my imagination created on its own. After three strokes, I’m hunching over, fighting a groan as my come spurts into the toilet.

That was fast.

Oh Jesus Christ, I’m in trouble. Fantasizing about her has become almost a ritual. Even when I try to think of someone else, thoughts of her always intrude during moments of abandon.

I’ve told myself that’s how it works with our earliest sexual fantasies. They’re too formative to go away.

I’ve told myself it doesn’t mean anything significant.

I stare into the toilet in a daze. Did I make an epic mistake committing to this?

She hasn’t even moved in yet. I haven’t even started to purge myself of her, and already I feel this certainty in my gut that six months could never be enough.

FIVE

Lauren

“Are you okay?” Armaan asks.

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