Hard: A Step-Brother Romance by Sosie Frost Page A

curves strategically hidden under the pink scrap of
material and he’d forget to breathe on land.
    She
did it to fuck with me.
    And
it worked.
    I
tried to exercise, but a hard-on didn’t streamline me under the water. Just the
opposite. One look at the most beautiful woman on the planet, and the blood
pooled too low. I bobbed like a fucking buoy instead of diving deep.
    Again,
she didn’t care. She flipped through her book, letting the sun warm her
perfectly mocha, temptingly smooth, mouth-wateringly tasty body.
    Christ.
I needed to get these last laps done.
    I was
behind on my training, even with my recovery going well and my progress better
than anyone expected. The pool was the only damn reason I stayed at the
mansion. After a couple weeks training in the water, I’d pass peak condition
and return to superhuman, where I belonged. Just in time for the medical
waiver’s required physical.
    But I
couldn’t do a goddamned thing with Shay taunting me. She rolled onto her
stomach in the sun—pushing that perfect ass into the air. She rested on the
chaise, but I knew what she liked. She’d deny it, but I felt it. She wanted a
kiss, spank, or aching thrust. I’d do it too, if I wasn’t so sure she’d drown
me first.
    I
kicked off the wall and splashed her.
    She ignored
me. Like she had been doing for days.
    Christ,
I hated that.
    No
one ever ignored me. My smile always earned a favorable response from the
ladies, and a punch to the temple focused an insurgent on my demands right
quick.
    I
didn’t want Shay pissed at me. I thought we made strides. She wasn’t in my bed
yet, but we had a breakthrough yesterday in the theater. She actually selected
the movie I wanted to watch on Netflix.
    Love
was in the air.
    Laps
be damned. I could think of a much better form of exercise.
    I
swam up to the wall closest to her and crossed my arms over the warm cement.
    “Shay.”
    She
didn’t bother turning. “I’m napping.”
    “Why
don’t you get in the water?”
    “No.”
    “It’s
no fun sitting on the side.”
    “It’s
plenty fun.”
    I
doubted that. A little bikini like that was begging to get wet.
    Along
with other parts of her.
    “Just
dive in. You can sunbathe on a raft.”
    “And
you’ll tip me in?” Now she did peek at me, her eyebrow raising as she
considered the lengths I’d go to touch her caramel skin. She had no idea how low I’d sink. “I’ll take my chances right here, thank you very much.”
    She returned
to her book. Like the conversation was done because the little princess decided
it was over.
    Nope.
    I
hauled myself out of the pool, shaking my head to clear the sudden muffle to my
ears.
    Waterlogged.
Christ, I was out of practice.
    I
loomed over her chair—a ridiculously expensive, imported, island-style
cushioned chaise. Completely impractical for pool-side shenanigans.
    Shay
was onto me. She kicked as I approached.
    “Come
on,” I teased. “You look like you’re done. Golden brown and delicious, just the
way I like ‘em.”
    “You
did just not say that to me!”
    I
scooped her into my arms before she could untangle from her beach towel.
    “Zach,
don’t!” She flailed. “I swear to God—”
    “Come
on, Shay. The water’s fine…”
    I
edged closer to the pool. Her squirming did nothing to free her. She only ground
the best parts of her into the most flattering parts of me. Shay smacked. I
tightened my hold.
    “Don’t!
Zach! I will never forgive you!”
    That
was a given. She hadn’t forgiven me for fucking her brains out the night we
met, and she wasn’t about to forget that I was named in her father’s will. I’d
take my chances on earning her mercy before Judgement Day.
    I
jumped. She screamed.
    We
hit the water with an epic splash that would have gotten my ass laughed out of
the SEALs. The heated pool was still cooler than the August air, and we
submerged in a blitz of bubbles and churning water.
    Shay
flipped her fucking shit.
    Her
flailing elbow jutted into my stomach,