I purse my lips and shake my head. “Nope. He never said a word.”
We both glance in the direction of my father, who at least has the decency to shrink a little. I wonder what other secrets Reed has kept from us. He didn’t come into our lives until I was eight years old, and Darius was six, so we’re aware he had a life in between him breaking up with our mother and then coming back again when she got sick, but he’s been seriously cagey about what he did during those years. Now I know.
Because I was already a defiant, angry eight year old by the time he was first introduced to us, I never fully got my brain to switch from him being ‘Reed’ to him being ‘Dad.’
“She’s definitely a stepsister?” I check. “She’s not yours—biologically, I mean?”
Reed looks back to me. “Cade, Laney was three years old when I met her mother. There’s absolutely no way she’s mine—at least not by blood, anyway.”
That pleases me, but I can’t say exactly why.
I’m aware that we’re drawing attention. I’m used to people staring, but I doubt my new stepsister is. I almost laugh at the fact I have a goddamned stepsister my father has completely neglected to mention until now. The son of a bitch has been married all these years and never bothered to mention it. What an asshole. What did this girl’s mother have that ours didn’t? Why did Reed decide to marry her instead of our mom? Maybe I shouldn’t give a shit—it was years ago, after all—but I still can’t help but feel the twinge of jealousy inside me. Did Laney’s mother look like her? Maybe that was what lured Reed away? I suppose I get it—those big, pale blue eyes, the long reddish-brown hair.
A hot piece of ass in an extremely short silver dress that leaves absolutely nothing to the imagination saunters past. She throws a glance over her shoulder and gives me a secret little smile.
“Hey, you,” I call out to her. “What you doing after the show? You look like you’d look good on top of me.”
“Cade!” my father snaps and shoots a glance at my new stepsister.
I only laugh. The blonde has paused, unsure if I’m joking or not. “Or would you rather ride my brother instead?”
My father glares at me like he wants me to burst into flames right then and there. It only amuses me. I don’t care if my father thinks I’m out whoring around. Better that than he knows what I’m really up to. I’m not afraid of my father, but I am afraid of the consequences of my actions. Is that going to make me stop, though? I wish it would. I wish it was enough.
The blonde tosses her hair behind her shoulder. “Your brother is Darius Riviera, right? I would love to meet him after the concert.”
“I could arrange that. I bet he’d love tomeetyou, too.” I drop the level of my voice a notch and lean in closer so she can hear.“I’m the one with the pierced cock, though,” I tell her. “Wait until you experience that for the first time. You’ll never go back.”
I sneak a glance at my new stepsister, trying to assess whether my words have affected her. She hasn’t budged but is staring at me with her eyebrows raised and her upper lip curled in disgust. The nostrils of her pretty little nose are flared.
“Seriously?” she says. “Don’t you know what year it is? Since when has catcalling come back in fashion?”
“That wasn’t a catcall,sis, that was an offer.”
The chick in the sparkly dress throws me an extra smile and saunters away. I’m pretty confident she’ll be hanging around after the show.
Laney rolls her eyes and gives her head a slight shake of disgust.
I can’t believe my father has run to the rescue of this little orphan-Annie. That’s what he does—thinks he can rescue all of us. I bet she couldn’t believe her luck when she found out who her stepfamily were. Dollar signs probably flashed in her eyes like a fucking cartoon character.
Reed says she’ll only be with us for a week or so, just until she turns eighteen, but I wonder how much she’ll have gotten her claws into him by then. I don’t know the full story about how or why Reed left our mother, but since hers came after, I can guarantee running around with other women played a part in it. She’s not even blood, barely even family. I don’t understand why we’re the ones who’ve ended up shouldered with her.
At least she’s easy on the eyes with that face and those never-ending legs. And then there’s those eyes... She could do with putting on a few pounds, filling out those curves, but as they say, any more than a handful is a waste. I wonder how much experience she’s had. Is she one of those slutty teens who has fucked half of the boys at high school, or is she one who thinks so much of herself she’s untouchable?
It's hard to know for sure without seeing her in her natural setting.
It doesn’t make any difference to me either way. If I decide I want her, then I’ll take her, no matter what my father says. I picture those long, slim legs wrapped around my waist, and my cock tingles and lengthens. She’s my stepsister, and that puts her off limits, but really that only makes me want her more. If it happens to also piss off my father at the same time, then it’s a win-win.
“I need to get backstage,” I say to my father. “Dax will be waiting for me.”
“Of course. Your brother needs you.”
Sometimes, I doubt that. Darius resents my presence; I’m sure he does. Maybe I feel the same way about him. If it wasn’t for his talent, we’d all still be living in squalor, and he sure as hell likes to remind me about that.
But I’m like Dax’s fucking guide dog—the one who watches out for him. When we arrive at a new place, I’m the one ensuring he can find his way around and making sure everyone supporting Dax’s act knows exactly what’s expected of them. If someone fucks up—leaves a chair in the wrong place or moves Darius’s belongings—they hear it from me. So, I guess we’re co-dependent on each other, which probably isn’t a good thing.
“I’ll see you later, then.” I turn to Laney. “Nice to meet you, sis.”
And I stroll away, leaving her gaping after me.