My stepbrothers and I

Chapter Seventeen:Bonfire

The bonfire was everything Katherine expected and nothing like it at the same time.

Massive flames reaching toward the black sky. Sparks dancing upward like they were racing the stars. The heat hitting her face even from twenty feet away. Music pumping from speakers someone had set up near the trees—a mix of hip hop and whatever was trending on t****k this week.

Bodies everywhere. Freshmen she recognized from orientation. Groups forming and dissolving. Laughter mixing with the crackle of burning wood.

Priya had her arm looped through Katherine's, dragging her toward the drinks table.

"Okay so the jungle juice is in the blue cooler. Avoid the red cooler—someone said a guy put something weird in it last year. Stick with cans if you're paranoid." She grabbed two red cups, filled them from the blue cooler, and handed one to Katherine. "Drink. Don't think. It's freshman bonfire, babe. We're supposed to be stupid tonight."

Katherine sniffed the cup. Fruity. Definitely more alcohol than juice.

She drank anyway.

Priya cheered.

An hour in and Katherine was actually having fun.

The jungle juice had loosened something in her. The tension she carried everywhere in her shoulders, chest had finally melted. She was laughing at Priya's impression of their orientation leader. She was dancing a little when a good song came on. She was existing without overthinking every second.

This was what college was supposed to be.

Priya had introduced her to a few people. A girl named Destiny who was also trying out for the basketball team. A guy named Jordan who was in Katherine's econ class. A group of freshmen from Priya's floor who were already drunk and trying to start a chant about something.

Normal. Fun. Easy.

Katherine refilled her cup. Stood near the edge of the crowd, watching the fire dance.

That's when she saw them.

The brothers.

They were across the bonfire. Not together exactly,but in the same orbit. The way they always were. Separate but connected.

Damien stood near a group of older students—button-downs and expensive watches. He was talking to someone but his jaw was tight. His posture was wrong. Stiff in a way she hadn't seen before. The guy next to him said something and Damien didn't even react. Just stared into the fire like it held answers to questions no one else could hear.

Something was off with him tonight.

Sebastian was further back. Near the trees, there with his hands in his pockets, face completely blank, Classic Sebastian. Nothing unusual there except—

He was just... still. Empty. Like someone had turned off the lights behind his eyes.

And Elijah—

Katherine's breath caught.

Elijah was walking away from the bonfire. Alone. A bottle in his hand instead of a cup. He didn't look back. Didn't wave to anyone. Just walked into the dark between the trees like he wanted to disappear.

That wasn't right.

Elijah was the life of every party. The center of every crowd. He didn't walk away from things—he walked toward them. Loudly. With a grin and a joke and everyone looking at him.

Something was wrong with all of them tonight.

Katherine watched Elijah's figure dissolve into the shadows.

"Hey." Priya appeared at her elbow. "You good? You spaced out."

"Yeah. Just—I'll be right back."

"Where are you going?"

Katherine was already moving. "Just need some air."

"There's literally nothing but air out here!"

But Katherine was gone. Following the path Elijah had taken. Into the trees.

She didn't know why.

The noise faded behind her.

The bonfire became a glow between the branches.

Just her footsteps on leaves. Her breath in the cold air. The occasional hoot of an owl somewhere far away.

She almost turned back twice. This was stupid. Following her stepbrother into the woods at night. What was she going to say? "Hey, noticed you looked sad, want to talk about it?"

Ridiculous.

But she kept walking.

She found him in a small clearing.

He was sitting on a fallen log, bottle dangling from his fingers, staring at nothing. The moonlight cut through the trees and caught his face.

He looked up when she stepped on a branch. The crack echoed in the quiet.

"Katherine."

She stopped at the edge of the clearing. "I didn't mean to—I just saw you leave and—"

"And you followed me into the dark woods. Alone. At night." He laughed, but there was no humor in it. "Smart."

"You looked..."

"Looked what?"

She didn't have a word for it.

"Different."

He took a swig from the bottle. "Different. That's one way to put it."

"I can go. If you want to be alone."

"I always want to be alone. Doesn't mean it's good for me." He looked at her."Sit down, Katherine. You're making me nervous standing there like that."

She hesitated.

Then she crossed the clearing. Sat on the log. Not too close ,Not too far.

The silence stretched between them. Comfortable in a way she didn't expect.

"Why'd you leave the party?" she asked finally.

"Why'd you follow me?"

"I asked first."

He was quiet for a moment. Swirling the liquid in the bottle.

"You know what today is?"

"Thursday?"

"It's my mom's birthday." He said it casually. Too casually. "Would have been. She's dead, so I guess birthdays don't really count anymore."

Katherine went very still.

"She would've been forty-seven. That's not even old, right? People live forever now." Another drink. "She killed herself when we were twelve."

The words hung in the air. Heavy. Wrong.

"Elijah—"Katherine's chest ached.

Mmm

"No." He looked at her. Eyes glassy from the alcohol but something raw underneath. "Every year on her birthday I drink alone and think about all the s**t I should've said to her. Should've done. And then I wake up hungover and pretend I'm fine and nobody asks questions because that's what we do in this family. We don't talk about it. Ever."

"But you're talking about it now."

"Yeah." He seemed confused by this. "I am."

"Why?"

"I don't know." He stared at her."Something about you makes me want to say s**t I shouldn't. Makes me want to be honest for once instead of just being... this."

"Being what?"

"The party boy. The charmer. The fuckup who doesn't take anything seriously." He shrugged. "It's easier. Nobody expects anything from me. Nobody's disappointed when I fail."

Something cracked in Katherine's chest.

This boy. This stupid, infuriating, beautiful boy. Hiding everything behind smiles and jokes and charm, and underneath was just... this. Pain. Loneliness. A twelve-year-old who never stopped grieving.

She moved closer on the log. Close enough that their thighs touched.

He went very still.

"Katherine."

"Yeah?"

"What are you doing?"

"I don't know."

She turned toward him. Lifted her hand and Touched his face

"You don't have to be the charmer with me," she said quietly. "You don't have to perform."

"I don't know how to be anything else."

"Try."

She kissed him.

Soft and slow ,Giving him time to pull away if he wanted.

He didn't.

His hand came up to cup her face. Gentle in a way she didn't expect from him. He kissed her back like he was savoring it. Like he wanted to remember every second.

She deepened it. Her tongue tracing his bottom lip. Asking for more.

He gave it.

The kiss turned hungry. Her hands in his hair. His hands pulling her closer. She climbed into his lap, straddling him on the log, and felt him hard against her.

"Wait—" He pulled back. Breathing hard. "Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"You've been drinking—"

"So have you."

"I know, but—I don't want you to regret—"

She kissed him again. Harder. Silencing his doubts.

"I want this," she said against his mouth. "I want you. Stop overthinking."

Something shifted in him. The hesitation melted away.

His hands slid up her thighs. Under her skirt. Gripping her hips.

She rolled against him and he groaned.

"Katherine—"

"I want to try something."

She climbed off his lap. Stood in front of him. He looked up at her, confused, lips swollen from kissing.

She sank to her knees.

His eyes went wide.

"You don't have to—"

"I want to."

She reached for his belt. Unbuckled it slowly. Popped the button on his jeans. Pulled down the zipper.

He watched her with dark eyes. Barely breathing.

She freed him from his boxers. Wrapped her hand around him.

He was hard. Thick. Already leaking at the tip.

She stroked once. Watched his face. Saw his jaw clench.

"Tell me what you like," she said.

"Everything. Anything. Whatever you want."

She leaned forward. Licked a stripe up his length.

His whole body shuddered.

She took the tip into her mouth. Swirled her tongue around it. Tasted salt and skin.

"f**k—"

She took him deeper. Slow. Getting used to him. He was big—bigger than Marcus and she had to relax her jaw, her throat.

His hand found her hair ,needing something to hold onto.

She found a rhythm. Bobbing her head. Using her hand on what she couldn't reach.

her name falling from his lips like a prayer.

"Your mouth—god—you feel so good—"

She hummed around him. Felt him jerk.

Took him deeper. Let him hit the back of her throat.

"Katherine—I'm close—"

She didn't stop. Went faster. Sucked harder.

"I'm gonna—you need to—"

She took him deep again. Felt him swell in her mouth.

He came with a broken groan. She swallowed around him, kept going through the aftershocks until he was shaking, oversensitive, gently pushing at her shoulders.

She pulled off. Wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

He stared at her like she'd rearranged his entire universe.

"That was—you—where did you—"

"Speechless?" She smiled. Climbed back onto his lap. "Good."

He kissed her. Deep and messy. Not caring about the taste.

"My turn," he murmured against her mouth.

Before she could respond, he flipped them. Her back hit the log, leaves and moss cushioning her. He pushed her skirt up around her waist.

He hooked his fingers into her underwear. Pulled them down her legs. "Let me make you feel good."

He kissed her thigh. The inside of her knee. Working his way up slowly.

She was already wet. Embarrassingly wet. Could feel herself throbbing.

He spread her legs wider. Looked at her in the moonlight. Something reverent in his expression.

"Beautiful," he breathed.

Then his mouth was on her.

She gasped. Grabbed his hair. Arched off the log.

He licked into her like she was the best thing he'd ever tasted. Long, slow strokes that made her toes curl. Then fast, precise flicks against her c**t that made her vision blur.

"Oh god—right there—"

He sucked her c**t into his mouth. Slid two fingers inside her. Curled them just right.

She was going to die. Actually die. Right here in the woods with Elijah Ashford's face between her thighs.

"I'm close—already—I can't—"

He didn't let up. Fingers pumping. Tongue circling.

The orgasm crashed through her without warning. Her back arched. Her thighs clamped around his head. She might have screamed—she wasn't sure—everything went white and hot and endless.

He worked her through it. Gentle licks as she came down. Soft kisses on her inner thighs.

When she could see again, he was crawling up her body. Grinning.

"Good?"

"I can't feel my legs."

"I'll take that as a yes."

He kissed her. She tasted herself on his tongue. It should've been weird but it wasn't.

They lay there on the log. Catching their breath. Staring at the stars through the trees.

His hand found hers. Interlaced their fingers.

Neither of them spoke.

"Elijah, are you out here? Someone said they saw you leave—"

Mina emerged through the trees.

She stopped.

Her eyes moved over the scene. Katherine's skirt still pushed up. Her underwear on the ground. Elijah's jeans still undone.

For a second, nothing happened.

Then Mina's face crumbled.

"You f*****g WHORE."

She lunged.