Hurricane Stepbrother Read Free Page B

would I say that?”
    I shrugged. “I don’t know. Everyone just keeps telling me that.”
    Erik shook his head. “I wouldn’t say that because I don’t think it’s true.”
    “You didn’t seem very excited when you said you were almost thirty,” I pointed out.
    “True, but that’s just… Well, damn. It’s different. This is the end of my twenties. Let me mourn the loss,” he said with a chuckle, jokingly holding up his hand in mock surrender. After a moment of laughter, he lowered his hands and his expression faded into something more serious. “But really, it’s not all downhill. In some ways, it gets even better.”
    “How so?”
    Irritation fleetingly passed over his face but before I could take back my question, he started to hesitantly speak. “It’s hard to explain. You just… You get more sure of yourself. More sure of the things you want and the things you need .”
    “Do you think twenty-one year olds are incapable of knowing what they want?” I asked with an arched eyebrow, not liking the insinuation.
    “I’m not saying that at all. But, in my experience at least, everything gets easier to figure out the older you get.”
    “Does it get easier to figure out other people?” I asked curiously, hoping he wouldn’t follow where my train of thought had gone.
    He gave me a knowing expression and I felt my heartbeat flutter.
    “Somewhat.”
    We stared at each other in silence, neither of us sure how to go about continuing the conversation. I had accidently taken it to a weird place and I wasn’t sure how to get out of it.
    Then the house lit up as a bolt of lightning struck right outside the window and the roar of thunder that followed made me jump. I caught the sight of Erik’s eyes widening in surprise before the power abruptly cut off, the entire house becoming encased in blackness.
    I screamed.
    ~*~*~

Chapter Four
     
    “Kristen!”
    I slammed my mouth closed, cutting off my scream in my throat. I could hear Erik moving around the room and I jumped when I felt a hand touch my leg.
    “Are you alright?”
    “I-I’m sorry,” I whispered, hoping he could hear my voice over the sound of the rain pounding down on the roof.
    “You don’t have to apologize,” he replied, gently tapping his fingers up my leg as he tried to locate my hand in the darkness. “Just stay calm. I’m sure the power will be back on soon.”
    After he found my hand I felt the couch cushion dip beside me as he sat down. He kept my hand in his and I winced when I felt my palm beginning to sweat, knowing that there was no way he hadn’t noticed. Being the gentleman that he apparently was, he didn’t mention it. Instead, he just twisted his wrist until he could rub his thumb comfortingly over the back of my hand.
    His touch felt like one of a lover; comforting, sensual, and intimate. With every swipe of his skin over mine, I could feel little jolts of warmth shoot through me.
    After a few long moments of sitting silently in each other’s company, I could feel his body turned towards me as he said, “I’ve got a bad feeling that the power isn’t coming back on tonight.”
    “Same here,” I said with a sigh. I wasn’t happy about the turn of events but I couldn’t say it was unexpected. It wasn’t the first time a hurricane knocked out our power, and judging by the heavy rain and wind, it wouldn’t surprise me if it stayed out for longer than just tonight.
    “Do you have any candles?”
    “Yeah, in the kitchen.”
    I felt Erik grip my wrist as he started to stand. “Come on. I can help you into the kitchen, but I don’t know where the candles are. You’ll have to find them.”
    I hesitantly stood up and followed behind him as he started to guide me around the coffee table. I was probably walking a lot slower than he wanted me to, but considering I couldn’t see where I was going, I was perfectly happy with my speed. Even though I lived in this house for the majority of my life, it wasn’t any easier