Read Online Forbidden Fruit by Rosalie Stanton - Free Book Online Page B

would have chastised herself if Reese hadn't warped her attention. The way he pulled and moaned, the way his hand closed around the tip of his cock before again sliding out of sight. He was so . . . .
    "Beautiful."
    She didn't mean for the word to escape, but escape it did.

    Reese immediately stopped, and reached for the remote with his free hand.
    "Ashlynn?"
    She fled. Okay, so thundering away from the scene of the crime probably wasn't the best idea, but the mind reacted in a funny way to panic. At the time, she only knew she needed to get out of there and pronto. How much noise she made didn't matter until later.
    She had a feeling "later" would come sooner than she liked.

    * * * * *

    Surely, everyone in the neighborhood could hear her heart pounding. How should one act in these situations? The protocol probably didn't include sitting at the island in the kitchen, nursing a cup of tea, and pretending her blood didn't race when she heard Reese's heavy steps plonker down the stairs. Then again, any sufficiently comprehensive rulebook would include, in the long list of no-nos, watching her stepbrother jerk it.
    God, she was pathetic.
    "Morning," Reese said cheerily, flashing a grin at her and making his way to the cupboard. Damn boy. He hadn't even the decency to clothe himself fully. He wore only a pair of sweats that rode low on his hips, leaving him naked from the waist up. If the waistband of his pants rode just an inch lower, she'd see dark hairs at his groin.
    Gah. Reese's wiry muscles did her in. He fought for his body, too. At least he had while they shared a roof. Since he'd maintained his killer shape after moving out, she supposed the early-morning runs were still on schedule, and who could blame him?
    Reese was a walking testament to how much working out did the body good.
    Oh God. So yummy.
    Ashlynn lifted her cup to her lips, murmured a response, then slurped the rest of her tea down in a hurry. The raspberry flavor had seemingly disappeared with his entrance.

    "Where are the folks? Haven't seen them all weekend."
    "Gone," she said. Her face felt aflame. "One of their spontaneous road trips. No idea where they're headed this time."
    They did that often, her mother and step-dad. Impulsive whims helped keep their romance alive.
    "Would've thought they'd stick around to see yours truly," he observed.
    Ashlynn shrugged. In truth, no one could have suspected Reese would stay longer than his customary five seconds. They couldn't be blamed for assuming this time wouldn't be different.
    "Mmm," Reese murmured. "So . . . we have the house all to ourselves."
    Ashlynn swallowed hard and nodded. "Looks like."
    "Do you have any plans today?"
    Go somewhere far, far from here. "No," she replied. "Frank, ah, your dad mentioned that you have a presentation in your Psych class. Since you're still here, I figured you wanted to get work done. I'll make myself scarce and give you some time to . . . you know, work."
    She emphasized your more for her benefit than his. At the moment, it seemed very important to draw a line marking where their relation to each other existed. As in, on paper only. Not in real life.
    Reese snickered. "This early on break? Unlikely."
    "Oh, well—"
    "Wanna take in a show?"
    Ashlynn made an exaggerated face and shook her head. Alone in a dark theater with Reese for two hours? She couldn't possibly keep from touching him. And that thought paved a road to utter and complete badness. "Nothing good is out," she volunteered, with complete accuracy. Their one horse town cinema rarely hosted anything worth watching.
    "Wasn't thinking we'd have to go anywhere," Reese replied. "Got something we can watch right here."

    Ashlynn's mind flickered back to the film, and heat flooded her cheeks. Sure, he'd caught her watching him masturbate, but he'd certainly not make her sit through that with him . . . would he?
    One look into his twinkling blue eyes sealed the deal. He so would.
    Crap, she was toast.
    At any rate,