I CANT ESCAPE HIM

The Deal

***

~SOPHIE

***

I’ve never run so fast in my life. I’m gasping when I get to the reception area, only then realizing how stupid I’d been. There’s literally an elevator I could have used but no. My dumb panicked ass chose the staircase.

I’m also pretty sure I’ve just committed murder. That’s why when the receptionist calls, “Miss, do you need—“

“I’m fine thank you,” I say running out the sliding door only to gasp in frustration at the heavy downpour that greets me outside.

Great!

If only I’d brought my car. The downpour gets heavier, plastering my hair and skirt to my skin. I sigh.

A walk of shame it is.

Shoe in hand, I walk along the slippery pedestrian lane, aware of the cars honking, no doubt mistaking me for a hooker.

Ironic? I am. Even worst. f**k. I can't even think. This is all Delancy’s fault.

I move to cross a puddle, but then. I hear the screech of tires. Close. Too close.

“Sophie! Get in-“

Nope. I keep walking.

“You’re soaked and I highly doubt you’ll get a cab in this weather.”

“f**k off chase.” He doesn’t. Just continues trailing me. His massive truck crawling along the curb.

“Listen, I could report you to the police for attempted murder. I currently have a cracked skull thanks to you, so you either get in, or we take this to the next level.”

I know he’s bluffing.

But i turn anyway. I see him then, through the downpour, a cloth pressed against his head. Guilt tightens my chest. But I don’t stop.

I flip him off and increase my pace.

But chase in his nature is persistent.

He swirves, blocking my path. I back away.

“Sophie! I won’t repeat myself. Get in the f*****g car!”

“Let me be chase haven't you done enough?!”

He’s infront of me now, expression murderous. He grabs my arm. I struggle, kicking his shins but he’s stronger. He leans in, pressing my back against the car. “You wanna be mad? Be mad.”

“Let me go!”

“But you can’t deny the fact that you wanted me sophie. You moaned my name.”

My pulse spikes. “That was a mistake!”

“Oh yeah? And the fantasies you’ve been having of me when you touch yourself? Were those mistakes too?”

God.

Chase goes on unfazed. “You have no right to be mad at me when you single-handedly logged into a hookup site. What were the odds we'd match? Tell me.”

I blink, chest heaving. His gaze slides to my lips. I can feel the tension between us. Electric. Forbidden. Wrong!

“Fine!” I say, voice thick with unshed tears and frustration. “I’ll get in your car. But we must never talk about this day. Ever!”

Chase says nothing. Just watches me like I'll bolt if given an inch.

I get in. He follows suit.

The drive is silent. Tense. For once, chase isn't getting on my nerves. No sarcastic remarks, just the smell of cigarettes and his large hands spread on the wheel.

I spare a glance, his jaw is set tight. Eyes fixed on the road. Piercing caught between his teeth.

The memory of what those lips did, where they were moments ago flashes. My core clench. I flush, looking away.

“This stalker of yours” Chase says out of the blue, “what do they want?”

“ It's none of your business, Chase. I got it covered. Just drive.”

“What do they want, Sophie?” He presses. “Money? Tell me.”

I sigh. Exhausted and obviously defeated. “A month ago, I lost my diary here campus. Someone found it… I think. They’ve been threatening to expose me. There. Happy now?”

His lips twitch. “I could help you find out who they are.”

“And why would you want to do that?”

He makes an amused sound, like he's surprised I'm even asking something like that. “You're my sister, Sophie. It's absolutely normal I show concern. This could be life-threatening.”

“Well, I don't want your concern.”

He takes a sharp turn. “Unfortunately for you, you'll be getting it.”

“I'm pretty sure. There's something in for you with this.”

“Yes,” he says, “As a matter of fact, there is.”

He shoots me a glance, then back on the road.

“I’ve been thinking alot about what you said.”

“Chase—“

“About me being the reason your Prince Charming broke up with you.”

I frown. Where is he going with this?

“So i’m here to offer you a deal.”

“A deal?”

“Yes,” he says, “Date me for three months and I promise to make your ken doll jealous enough to fall back into your open hands. In exchange, I help you find this stalker.”

For a second, i think i’ve hit my head against the window.

I stare, mouth opening and closing. No. He’s the one who’s sporting an injured head.

Clairmont is coming in close from the interstate. I laugh. Then I lean back, touching his head. “I hit you that hard huh?”

He chuckles, a dark, raspy sound that sends a shiver down my spine.

The laughter dies in my throat. Realization dawns on me. “Wait... you’re serious?”

Silence.

“Have you lost your damn mind chase? I’m your stepsister!” I fume.

“Doesn’t change the fact that you want me inside you.” He says in that smug voice.

God I knew he wouldn’t let this go.

I watch him slow down in front of the campus gatehouse, show our pass, then drive through. Towards the dorm area.

He stops infront of my dorm, I don’t even know how he knows I stay here. Kills the engine and leans back.

“What do you say Sophie?” He asks, all serious now. I’m already fumbling for the door. It’s locked.

Fuck.

“Chase,” i say calmly. “Whatever twisted s**t you have planned in your head, it’s not happening. I can’t date you. Never. It doesn’t work that way. Sebastian and I will get back together on our own, so why should I degrade myself—“

I’m cut short as a finger appears in front of my lips. I look at him, confused. He angles his head towards his window like he wants me to look at something.

Slowly, i move closer, his heat clouding my senses but i force myself to look past the window into the slightly dim parking lot of my dormhouse.

Sabastian and blair are making out against his car, his arms lifting her legs to wrap around his waist.

A bitter knot forms in my throat.

“He’s not even thinking about you babygirl.” Chase says, lips close to my ear. “That’s because he knows you still want him. He knows he owns you. Now, think about what he’ll do when he sees you with me. The bad guy who beat his ass in front of everyone.”

I try not to notice how ticklish his breath is. How it raises goosebumps along my neck.

“He’ll be mad I suppose.” I say.

Chase hums, sliding a lock of hair out of my eyes. The touch, light yet grounding.

“But—but what if someone does a deep dive and finds out we’re… stepsiblings?” I stammer.

I’m still staring at Sebastian, but I’m suddenly hyper-aware of Chase’s hand dropping from my hair. His fingers brush the hem of my soaked shirt. He slides his hand underneath, his warm palm flat against my freezing, trembling stomach.

I freeze.

Chase doesn't stop.

His mouth dips into the shell of my ear as he finds my n*****s, twists. I gasp. “That’s for me to worry about and for you to let happen”

I can’t speak. My brain short-circuits because Chase has already found a wicked, agonizing rhythm beneath my shirt.

“What do you say, Sophie? I get to teach you things. Highly pleasurable things. All you have to do is say you’re mine for three months.” He tugs.

I moan.

Fuck. No. I should say no. Walk out the door and pretend this day never happened.

Instead, like the twisted little fool I apparently am, i say. “Okay. But only for three months, like you said. And it’s only because I want my stalker put down, and to get Sebastian back.” I swallow. Hard. “There will be no kissing. No messing around.”

I move away from him like he burns. He says nothing. When i slide out of the car, he catches my wrist, dragging me back to the window.

“Chase,” I hiss. “What are you doing?”

“kiss me.”

My eyes budge. “Are you out of your mind? I literally just said—“

“No. But Ken doll is watching.”

My spine stiffens. I turn, slowly. And there he is, sabastian, alone now by the side of his car, one good hand in his pocket.

Watching.

That’s all it takes. I lean back into the truck window, aiming to press a fleeting, fake kiss so I can bolt.

But Chase isn't interested in fake. He grips the back of my neck, tugs me hard against the door frame, and kisses me senseless. His mouth is demanding, his tongue sliding past my lips with a force that steals the breath straight from my lungs. His kiss is as hard, dark, and deranged as every other part of him.

When he pulls away, my feet have become jello. My brain fogged.

“See you next week girlfriend.” Chase says, reminding me that I’m outside, standing beside his truck and that they’re people milling around campus.

There’s a wicked smirk on his face.

“Goodnight chase” I say calmly. Then out of pure instinct, add “Do get that head stitched would you?”

I don’t miss the suprise that flashes on his face, but it’s wiped as fast as it came.

He gives a mock two-fingered salut.

I don’t wait to see him drive off.

I bolt, straight to my dorm, aware of Sabastian’s eyes following me like a hulk.

But even then, all I can think of is the absurdity of what just happened with Chase. I can’t shake the feeling that I've just been manipulated into something I don’t understand yet.

And worse, I can't believe, I just agreed to date my psychopath stepbrother.