Rebirth: Flirting with a Dangerous Billionaire

Big brothers watching

"You're acting like a barbarian!" she cried, snatching the underwear away from me. "These things are expensive!" she was embarrassed, but I had no time to dwell; I had a more pressing issue to deal with. It wasn't the first time her lingerie had accidentally been mixed in with my own. However, it was the first time I had seen something so...slutty. I let the scissors I held fall to the floor and looked at the black lace. I should have just shredded the thing. "Mara, you can't wear stuff like this. What if the other girls see in the changing room? They already think you're a slut!" She opened the door to her room like a petulant child. A faint smell of jasmine floated out from behind her. I inhaled deeply. She stared at me for a moment, then slammed the door in my face in one swift movement.

A slap echoed down the hall as I slammed my palm into the wall beside her door. The pain tingled as it spread through my hand, and once again, I had to force myself to calm down. With a sigh, I adjusted my jeans to hide the partial arousal. That bra, what was she thinking? It was hard enough to hold myself back with her parading around in front of me clothed.

I locked the door behind me and marked another day off the calendar as I entered the room. It had almost been a month since she returned from the hospital. Father had been keeping me informed of her progress, so I had been braced for change, but she was a different person.

It had started the night she returned. Mara constantly trembled beneath me, too shy to meet my eyes. She was timid and quiet, too polite to draw attention to the impressive physical response I demonstrated in her presence. Until that night, the night when she had finally indicated attraction. The memory of that moment makes my heart race. I have to force myself to forget to function.

She's been dressing differently, too. She and Eva had returned from a shopping trip with bags full of jeans and hoodies. It was very out of character, and no one else seemed to notice or care. The whole thing made me uncomfortable. Mara has been aware of my value from a young age. She always wore fitted dresses, the perfume she wore, and how she moved. All of it was, to my taste, designed to entice me. Yet here she was changing, just when I thought we made progress.

She always had habitually denied our mutual attraction, but I had never given her short rebuttals any credence. It had always been part of the game we played. She hooked me in to call me brother and pranced around other men. I understood it because I had experienced it myself. It was thrilling, the allure of the forbidden. However, the thrill soon fades to guilt. The moment when reality reminds you that despite sharing no blood, we were considered family. It was unfulfilling, and it turned you into a junkie. So, the cycle would repeat because a taste was all we could achieve.

It had taken me years to overcome this and decide to take that extra step. Mara needed to be brave and step forward with me. It was frustrating to watch her hesitate. My patience is growing thin. I have been getting increasingly anxious, an unfamiliar feeling that I detest. Every time I get this sinking feeling inside, I grab my phone, my lifeline, and use it to pull myself back up.

She had been at home for almost a month and had spent most of that time avoiding me, but I had ways of observing her. I couldn't suppress my sated smile as I entered my password to discover Mara was within view of the camera.

My father is a specialist surgeon, and Eva works in fashion. Over the years, the two have built up plenty of money and influence and an extensive network of connections. So it was easy enough to find and install hidden cameras, no questions asked. Plus, I had had ample time to install them whilst Mara was hospitalised. Although it was initially intended for emergencies only, I couldn't have her self-harming. I had to protect her from herself. Knowing I had this advantage was soothing and becoming addictive.

She had her hair tied up, exposing her long pale neck and was putting on trainers. It had been amusing to watch her ransack her room, but she had done nothing unusual since that first night. I remain suspicious that she is looking for something despite her apparent complacency. Whatever it is, she won't find it.

I had played on Eva's concern for Mara. I planted the seed that Mara was vulnerable and had been getting bullied in school, knowing it to be true. I had shown her the evidence on her computers and journal and then watched the seed grow into a sapling and bare fruit. Eva had played right into my hands and confiscated everything from Mara's room that might be a negative trigger for her. Photos, computers, all her diaries. I had laid the groundwork to ensure that all of her relationships soured. Now she was home, and she was safe. Her decision to return to university was unexpected. It had made me panic until I realised it could be fortuitous. So my plan was back in motion. Only this time, I would ensure she was safe within my open arms. As an added bonus it would increase the time we spent together.

The defect in my plan was that I wasn't her only pillar of support. Eva was ever-present, and they had been spending most of their time together. It was inconvenient. Before her fall Mara and her mother had been distant. Since Mara had grown, Eva had shifted her focus to work and was barely home. Now they shared nail appointments, went shopping...I don't like it. Mara needs to learn I am the only one she can depend on. Forcing myself to relax, I reassured myself there was still time. Hopefully, Eva would return to work and abandon her daughter again, but I would be there. I would always be there.

There was a sudden movement that prompted me to jump up. I grabbed my gym bag and threw it over my shoulder. Then, picking up the phone, I hastily lock it and wait behind the door until I hear the telltale click.

Stepping out at the same time as Mara, I hastily stuff my phone into my pocket. She gave me a passing glance and turned to walk away. Ha, No. It took only one stride to close in on her, and I wrapped an arm around her waist. Her flinch in response was gratifying. I am in control here.