Mistake: A Bad Boy Stepbrother Romance (6 page)

"
H
e did what
?"

"He actually called and asked me about you. You know, if I didn't know better, he sounded like he has a crush on you, babe."

I was on my meal break before service time, that golden hour before final prep and service began. Traditionally, it was the time that a lot of restaurants would gather and let the staff fill their bellies with the scraps and cutoffs of what couldn't be reused or repurposed from the raw ingredients, and Alinea was no different. I'd finished my bowl of rice, beef and vegetables, and was sitting in the alley behind the restaurant, just getting some fresh air. Well, if you can call alley air fresh. "No way. Kim, he's my stepbrother."

"Who you've known for a total of about one week if you add up all the time you've actually spent in the same city together. Don't tell me he doesn't push some buttons physically for you, Krystal. I know your type too well. Hell, even I have to admit he’s nice on the eyes.”

I groaned. This is what getting drunk one night with a good friend does for you. "Perhaps, but you also know there's no way in hell I'm even thinking of going there. First off, he's now family. Second and more importantly, he's acted like a total asshole for most of his life."

"And while that’s true, his intentions were good this time," Kimberly told me. She explained the conversation they'd had, and how she'd told him what his little stunt had caused in the restaurant. She ended it with telling me about his final question. "If my guess is right, you're going to come home to an apology and an invitation to watch
Ratatouille.
"

I laughed despite myself. "Well, there are worse ways to get an apology. Alright, alright. He's forgiven for his little stunt. But that's strike one. Three strikes and he’s out.”

"And right into the Hilton or something even more upscale," Kimberly joked. "You know, it's not really my place to stick my nose in, but you were the one who asked me to look into John Castelbon those years ago. Julian doesn't know the truth. Shouldn't we tell him? I feel like a lot of his act is just that, an act. He's hurt and scared, he blames everything on his father, and he thinks his mother was some sort of saint. Maybe he needs a wakeup call."

I thought about it, and shook my head. "There'll come a time Kimberly, but not right now. Hey, my break is almost over, I need to get back to work. Thanks for the heads up."

"No problem. Enjoy your Disney movie," Kim joked, and hung up on me. I put my phone back in my pocket, and headed back inside. I still had a dinner service to get through, no matter what Julian might have planned for me.

* * *

T
he lights were
dim when I came in the door, just after midnight. It was a Wednesday evening, which traditionally at Alinea meant dinner service was light. In keeping with the preparations for
Iron Chef
, Horst had let me and Shannon's other team members go as soon as the last plate was off the pass, so I actually walked out at just after eleven fifteen. I thought about taking a cab but decided instead to take a ride on the bus like normal. Unfortunately my timing was just off, and I ended up not getting home until after twelve.

"Hello?" I said as I closed the door behind me. "Julian?"

I heard a started sound from the sofa, and Julian sat up, obviously surprised. "Krystal? Oh God, what time is it?"

"Just after midnight," I said, setting down my bag and coming over. He had set up his laptop computer on the coffee table, and it was pretty obvious he had fallen asleep. "You must be getting caught up from jet lag."

Julian yawned and stretched before wiping his hands over his face and nodding. "Yeah, I must. Wow, jeez, sorry."

I chuckled and sat down next to him. With his hair a bit dishelved from sleep, he looked cute, a lot more innocent than I'd ever seen him before. "It happens to us all. I've gotten used to being able to catch some sleep on a moment's notice. So what's loaded?"

"Well, I figured you'd be coming home late, so I didn't want to keep you up all night. First off, I wanted to apologize about last night. I didn't mean to disrupt your work or to cause you any problems."

"Thank you," I said, smiling. "Just to let you know, Kimberly called me during my break. She told me about your conversation. Regardless of the result, I know your intent was in the right place."

"Thank you," Julian said, reaching out and taking my hand. "Secondly.... you cook one mean ass steak. Best I've ever had in my life."

His compliment made me blush, and my smile spread into a grin. "Okay, okay, you're forgiven. Now, are you going to tell me what you loaded up or am I going to be forced into hitting the play button myself?"

"Just a moment," Julian said, getting up from the couch. He rushed into the kitchen area before returning, carrying two bowls. From my sitting position on the couch I couldn't see what they were. "I wish I could take the credit for these, but as you know I can't cook much at all, I’ll admit I ordered delivery. I figured you'd had dinner at the restaurant, so I just got us some dessert."

He handed me my bowl, along with a spoon. "I don't know if it's up to Michelin star standard, but I've got a weakness for tiramisu. This place about a mile away delivered, and so I got us a tiramisu and a panna cotta. So anyway, as to what I loaded. I thought about it, and I realized as much as a movie would be fun, you'd probably be too tired. I thought instead about your upcoming TV appearance, and loaded this instead."

He hit the play button, and I was immediately taken back as the theme from
Backdraft
played over the speakers. "You loaded the original
Iron Chef
? Awesome!"

It was even more than awesome. Julian had chosen with quite a bit of forethought, choosing an episode that featured the first woman to defeat one of the Japanese Iron Chefs. As the cooking progressed, we both enjoyed our dessert, and afterwards leaned back to relax, my sweet tooth satisfied.

What happened next felt strangely natural to me. With exhaustion overtaking me, I leaned over, relaxing against Julian's arm, until he lifted his arm around my shoulder. It was warm and comfortable there for sure, and there was an unmistakably masculine aura. I leaned in and relaxed, letting my head rest against his body, feeling the light tingles of arousal begin to work their way through my body. I could hear Julian's heart through the thin cotton of his shirt, and by the time the final credits played, my body moved on its own. Scooting up, I turned towards him, our eyes meeting before we started leaning in, our lips parting.

When our foreheads touched however, Julian suddenly stopped, and pushed himself backwards. "No..... I, I can't. I'm sorry Krystal, I just can't."

He got up off the couch and almost fled to his room. I sat there in the glow of the computer screen until his screen saver kicked in before pushing off the sofa and heading for my bedroom. I paused in the middle of the living room, thinking of going to Julian's room, but I decided to get some shut eye instead. Maybe the light of day would make things feel less weird.

Twenty minutes later however, I was lying in bed staring at the ceiling. My body just wouldn't calm down, and I knew what it wanted. It had been a long time, too long really, since I'd had a man share my bed, and the last one had been pretty so-so. Lying on the sofa against Julian, my body was reminding me that while my culinary career was skyrocketing, my love life was going down in flames. It ached for intimacy, it needed release.

But he was my stepbrother! I mean, Mom and John are some pretty openminded people, but could they understand
that?
Besides that, Julian's reputation, and the fact he had been pretty much an asshole for most of his life were not in his favor. Then again, it was hard not to be drawn to his body.

It was a hell of a time for my memory to start arguing with me.
His intentions were good this time.... Don't tell me he doesn't push some buttons physically for you.... if I didn't know better, he sounded like he has a crush on you, babe.....

Finally, my body's need took over from my logical mind. I mean, what harm was there in some fantasy, right? I let my hand drift over my breasts, and my thighs parted just a bit under my blanket. I normally wear only a t-shirt and panties to bed, and my nipples were already tingling when my fingers brushed over them through the t-shirt. I bit my lip to contain the moan I wanted to make, knowing that while my apartment may have been larger than most of the ones in my building, it wasn't that far from my room to where I knew Julian was sleeping, all two hundred and ten solid pounds of him. My memory kicked in again to that first night we'd met, and I'd come into his room at Castelbon Manor, waking him up from his nap. His cock had been stiff under his shorts, and looked huge, massive and thick. The idea of such a cock against my body, or better yet inside me, sent warm heat through my thighs, to center on my rapidly moistening pussy. Thinking of what he could do to me with that massive cock of his had me hotter than I’d ever been in my life.

I stroked and cupped my breasts, letting my fingers massage the large mounds. I've always been proud of them, they're one of my best features, with light brown nipples that come up to tips about the size of a pencil eraser. Lifting my t-shirt, I freed them to the cool night air, both of them hard and needing some release. I bent my head down and sucked on my own nipple, licking and scraping my teeth around the firm button. In my mind, it was Julian sucking and kneeding my nipple, sending electric sparks shooting from my breasts to gather at my stomach. I kept it up until I had to throw my head back, sucking in air deeply to avoid making any other noise. My hands took over on their own, reaching down and rubbing the panty covered wetness.

Rubbing in small circles, I let my first three fingers play over the cotton of my panties. Yes, I'm a good girl and I wear cotton panties most of the time, okay? The cotton clung to my lips as the moisture soaked in, and I could feel delicious amounts of friction with every rotation of my fingers. I was getting close to climaxing, and I hadn't even penetrated myself yet. Pulling my hand back, I took another hopefully quiet breath before pushing my panties down to my ankles.

Letting my knees splay apart, in my mind I could see Julian between my legs, smiling at me with a look that was a lot like his cocky grin he'd shown me so many times before, but this time different. The asshole was gone, and the cockiness was just a simple mix of eagerness, affection, and confidence that he could make me feel like heaven itself was coming through for me. His fingers slipped easily into my wet folds, stroking up and down while I writhed on the bed. When two fingers plunged into my tight pussy itself, my eyes shot open, staring unseen at the white ceiling above my bed. The fingers worked in and out, slowly pumping and building inside me, curling a bit to rub against my g-spot as they did. No man had ever touched me so well, and tears trickled from the corners of my eyes as I mouthed Julian's name over and over into the darkness. When another hand came up to stroke my clit, I almost screamed, holding back the sound only through sheer force of will and the fact most of my breath had been driven out of me.

My pussy was pleasured like this, with two fingers inside me while another one stroked my clit, until I could feel the wetness pooling on the sheets underneath my rising and falling hips. I couldn't take much more, and I squeezed my eyes shut, begging my fantasy Julian to release me from the torture I was in. He grinned and leaned forward, his long, perfectly pink tongue coming out to lick my clit one final time, and I exploded. My head slammed over and over into my pillow as my body quaked through a long denied and much needed climax, the sensations so strong and so hard that I could almost hear and feel Julian's body pressed against mine as he held me, whispering in my ear that he would be the one for me.

My fantasy evaporated as my orgasm faded away, and I was left with a satiated body but a burning need in my heart. I swallowed a soft sob as I put a new set panties on and dropped off to sleep, whispering Julian's name into my pillow as I felt the darkness overtake me.

I
could hear
Krystal tossing and turning on the bed after I left for my room, ashamed. It wasn't that I didn't want her. At that moment, I wanted her more than life itself. If God above himself opened up the heavens and told me I could have the world, or I could have Krystal, I know what my choice would be.

But as I was there on the couch with her, so close, I could hear the little devil inside me, the asshole who wanted to destroy Krystal just to get back at Johnathan Castelbon, giggle in glee. It froze me, and my desire and need turned into a horrified revulsion. It wasn't Krystal I was repulsed by, it was that I was disgusted by myself.

I saw in my mind all the women I'd just fucked and tossed away, starting with my math tutor when I was in high school, all the way to Cindy/Candy/ah hell I never did get her name in LA. I saw all the dumb ass times I'd gotten drunk, started fights, and basically was a worthless piece of shit with a large bank account.