She wasn’t like the skinny bitches that surrounded them. He took a swig from his bottle and let his gaze travel down her body.
She was sitting so he couldn’t get a prime shot, but he knew what she looked like well enough, and he liked it, every fucking inch of her.
Even now he could still picture her face as she’d looked him up and down when they’d run into each other in the hallway. Him dripping wet with nothing but a towel slung over his waist, and her with wide eyes and her lips parted.
God, she’d looked really good standing there, her shirt gaping slightly at the collar. He’d been able to see the very tops of her breasts as she started breathing harder, and dammit did he get hard for her.
He was a dirty bastard, especially since he’d had to go jerk off after that, thinking about Lyric in some pretty filthy ways. Landon drank the rest of his beer and went over to the keg. If he was going to get drunk, he needed to get working on that and not keep thinking about his stepsister.
But this was definitely not a place for her to be, not because he thought she wasn’t good enough, or popular enough to be here, but because she was better than this.
These people were bastards, and the only reason he was even here was because he wanted to get wasted on the free booze that was provided.
Despite the fact they didn’t really have any kind of relationship, no connection aside from the fact their folks were married, Landon did feel protective of her.
He finished off the cup of beer, knowing he’d need a lot more than this to feel a good buzz. He grabbed a third beer and started making his way toward her, about to tell her she should leave.
Why should she leave? You’re here, and you’re not her father. She can do whatever the fuck she wants.
His inner thoughts had him stopping. He wasn’t her old man, wasn’t her anything. He had no right to tell her where she should be and what she should be doing.
If she wanted to be here and get just as trashed as everyone else, fuck it. Let her get wasted and make bad decisions like you do every damn day. She was a big girl, was eighteen and an adult, and could make her own decisions.
He turned from her and headed out the backdoor, about to light up a joint to help relax him further, and, he hoped, put anything that had to do with Lyric out of his head.
Once outside he smelled the scent of pot and cigarettes in the air, but he moved over to the side, right by the kitchen window, and got out his own joint. He was a solitary guy by nature, and even if he’d shown up here he really didn’t want to socialize.
Several people on the patio glanced his way, even leaned in and started whispering. He didn’t give a fuck, and even flipped off a douche-bag that kept glaring his way.
Fuck them all.
Anything he felt for Lyric had been pushed to the side, because honestly he shouldn’t and wouldn’t go there. A part of him thought it was wrong to even want her. She might not be blood related, might have no connection to him aside from a marriage between their parents, but damn, wasn’t that crossing a line wanting her in a really fucking dirty way?
He placed the joint between his lips and lit the end with his lighter. He inhaled deeply, kept the smoke in his lungs, and turned to look through the window.
From this vantage point he could see her sitting on the couch still. She seemed lonely, her friend speaking with someone else. While watching her he exhaled the smoke and took another hit off the joint.
Damn she’s hot, and her timid demeanor makes her even more desirable.
But wanting Lyric couldn’t end well, not even if he’d had the balls to go after her. He wasn’t good for anyone, least of all her. She was the one that got good grades, was sweet and gentle.
He was a bastard, got into shit, and made his mother disappointed in him. No, he’d push away all those asshole thoughts about wanting her.
If he needed pussy that bad there were plenty of girls willing to spread. He could just get rid of his desires in them, use them the same way they used him.
Yeah, he was a fucking bastard.
Chapter
Nine
It had been an hour or so since Lyric had shown up at the party. She was on her third beer, had a buzz going on, but was about to call it quits with the alcohol and the night.
Marie was over in the corner, pressed against the window with a guy all over her.