Addiction

Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Oh, God. How could she have forgotten Taylor? He'd been her boyfriend for more than five months now, and she'd just played sucky-face with her brother for heaven's sake! Shame flowed over her, snapping her head back as she scooted as far from Logan as the bench would allow. What had she just done? She'd made a stupid, childish, silly wish and when it came true, she realized just how twisted it had been.

What would her mother say? Or Harry, even? Sweet Lord, they'd be disgusted with her, wouldn't they? “Oh, God.”

“Sophie. Sophie look at me. It's okay, don't panic.”

Don't panic? Her breaths coming in choppy gasps, her eyes flew to his, and with a gasp she stood up. “Don't panic, you say? What reason is there to panic? I've just played tonsil hockey with my brother– ”

“Stepbrother,” he interrupted.

“And what's more normal than that? I mean there's no reason to panic. None at all. Unless you count the fact that anyone could have seen us, and our parents would kill us, and my boyfriend – oh, God my boyfriend – I just cheated on my boyfriend. And you,” she accused, pointing a finger in his face. “Have cheated on your girlfriend, which wasn't really a big deal to me before now, because I was never the other woman!”

With a scream of frustration, she stomped off into the distance, ignoring the foul swears coming from behind her.

“Hold up!” he grated, grabbing her shoulder and spinning her around. “For starters, I'm not your brother, I'm your stepbrother, which means anything we do with, or to each other is entirely legal.”

“But hardly moral,” she groaned.

He waved that away. “Beside the point. Secondly, nobody saw us 'cos we're the only ones crazy enough to sit in the park at this hour of the night, and thirdly,” he went on, his grip on her shoulder tightening painfully. “If you cared for that Champagne Chimp at all, you wouldn't have wanted to kiss me.”

Champagne Chimp? What was he talking about? “Taylor?”

“Yes,” he hissed. “Taylor. Unless you have a secret boyfriend I don't know about.”

She shook her head, no. There was no one else. She'd had to be reminded of the one there was, for heaven's sake. “It doesn't change the fact that our parents would disapprove.”

“Disapproval, I've dealt with from the old man for a long time. I can deal with a bit more.”

“I can't.” Suffering her mom's disapproval over anything would kill her. No, they were dreaming. “I can't,” she repeated more firmly. “I want to go home and forget this ever happened.”

“Really?” His eyes glared at her. “Is that really what you want? 'Cos if it is, I'll oblige you.”

It really was what she wanted. She nodded slowly, wincing at the awful scowl on Logan's face as he whirled her back around and directed her home. He didn't put his arm around her this time, and she didn't tell him she was cold. She shivered and power-walked, and suffered his silence.

“Sophie,” Logan whispered as they approached the front door to the house. She could see through the frosted panes either side of the door that her mom and Harry were already home from their dinner-date and ensconced in the living room, the lamplight shining softly through the glass.

“What is it, Logan?” She'd had enough conversation with her stepbrother for one night.

“I won't ever bring this up after tonight, if that's the way you want it. But I have to know. Your wish?”

Should she be honest? What did she have to lose at this point, anyway? She was kidding herself if she thought he didn't know from day one how she'd felt about him. She couldn't even enjoy her first real kiss because in the darkest corner of her mind, she'd wished it was Logan giving it to her, and not Taylor. She was a hussy.

Just barely managing to keep her fingers from touching her tingling lips, she thought about the kiss that should have been her first. Holy-hot-boy, he was some kisser. Before now, she'd thought Taylor a magnificent kisser, all slow sweetness, but Logan's lust-filled mouth was something she'd never forget. A feeling of guilt welled up in her chest as she again wished that had been her first kiss.

She allowed her gaze to linger on Logan's face for a moment, the question still shining in his eyes. He was asking about her wish. He wanted to know that he hadn't done anything she hadn't wanted. She nodded, feeling tears well up in her eyes. “I wished for you.”

*