Forbidden: Her British Stepbrot - Lauren Smith Page 0,67

to hear.

He walked over to Kat and held out a hand, pretending they’d never met, never touched, never shared his bed exploring each other’s bodies. It was harder than he expected to resist reacting to her. He smiled politely, fighting off the urge to chuckle when her pale cheeks blossomed with color.

She must be remembering, as he was, how it felt when he’d pinned her down and made her beg for him to do a thousand dirty, erotic things to her. And he had, oh, he had. And that was making it so hard to keep from reacting with the intimacy he desired. There would be no scorching kiss, no stroking of hands. Not while their parents watched them with hawk-like precision.

“It’s lovely to meet you, Katherine.” He sucked in a breath as she slowly took his hand and shook it. Sparks of heat burst between their palms, that undeniable chemistry that drew him like a planet orbiting a star. Cosmic, inescapable.

She seemed to be trapped in a daze. Her gray eyes were full of desire, but he could see she was trying to suppress it all.

“Hi,” she said finally. He could tell by her ashen face that she was only going to get out one word and nothing else. Her full lips quivered, and he longed to haul her into his arms and kiss her, perhaps bite those lips playfully until she smiled again.

Why wasn’t she like every other girl he’d slept with? They were forgotten the moment they’d left his bed. A parade of pretty faces and nothing more. But he knew every freckle on Kat’s face, every curve of her tempting body, how her mouth felt as she’d explored his skin, eager, and yet new to the experience of sex. How could he ever forget being with her?

They were both damned now.

“I’ll show Katherine to a guest room. You and Clayton can plan the evening while I see her settled,” Tristan offered, needing, hoping for one minute alone with Kat away from parental gazes.

“Excellent idea, Tristan.” His mother’s beaming face made his body flood with a dark tide of guilt.

All he wanted was to get Kat away from them so he could talk to her. They needed a plan. Neither of their parents could ever find out they’d been fucking like a pair of rabbits. It could wreck his mother’s relationship with Clayton if the man took it too personally that his sweet young daughter was being shagged down the hall by his future stepson.

That wouldn’t go over well. While Tristan openly admitted that he didn’t like the idea of her remarrying, he certainly didn’t want her heart broken again.

“Follow me, Katherine.” He almost reached for her hand, but caught himself just inches from her wrist. Pulling back his arm, he forced himself to keep his distance.

“Thank you, Tristan.” Kat’s father smiled, too, curling an arm around Lizzy’s waist.

Tristan swallowed hard and nodded, but didn’t linger. He didn’t want to endure public displays of affections involving his mother.

Kat followed him out of the drawing room, closing the door behind her. The second the door was shut he reached for her hand, wild inside with the need to touch her. He knew they shouldn’t continue this…whatever was between them, but right now as he held her hand, none of that mattered.

To hell with the world, to hell with our parents. I want her.

“Tristan,” she whispered, her breath catching as he pulled her down the hall to the stairs that led to the upper floors.

“This way.”

“Where are we going?” she asked as they climbed the steps.

“Somewhere we can talk,” he muttered and tugged her into the nearest guest bedroom.

The instant they were alone inside the room, he shoved her against the closed door and gave in to his instincts. Kissing her hard, he unleashed an explosion of lust and need that had made him hard the moment she’d walked into the drawing room. He delved into her mouth seeking her tongue, and she met him boldly, her lips just as eager. He caught her wrists and jerked them above her head, pinning them with one hand.

It felt so bloody good to kiss her again. How sweet she tasted, how soft and feminine she felt beneath his body. God, he’d missed this and he’d only been without her a few days. Using his other hand, he stroked down her side, cupped her round arse, and rubbed his hand between her thighs, over her mound, making her hips buck against his