Aftermath
Kai's POV
...
I stayed on top of her until our breathing evened out. The storm still raged outside but the thunder had moved farther away. Lila lay under me on the couch, her body warm and soft where we touched. I felt her heart pounding against my chest. My hand rested on her throat, thumb brushing the marks I had left. She did not push me off. Not yet.
I pulled out slowly and sat up. She stayed there a moment longer, eyes on the ceiling. I grabbed my pants from the floor and pulled them on. My jersey lay crumpled nearby. I left it. The cut above my eye had stopped bleeding but it stung when I wiped it with the back of my hand.
Lila sat up and reached for her shirt. It was torn. She held the pieces together over her chest. Her shorts were somewhere on the floor. She found them and slid them up her legs. I watched every move. Her hair stuck to her neck. Her lips looked swollen from the way I had kissed her.
She stood without looking at me. "I need to clean up."
I blocked her path to the stairs. "Not yet."
Her eyes finally met mine. They held anger and something else I could not name. "Move, Kai."
I caught her wrist. My grip was firm but I did not squeeze. "We are not done talking."
She tried to yank free. I held on. "There is nothing to talk about. This was a mistake."
I laughed once. It came out harsh. "A mistake that made you come so hard you forgot your own name."
Her cheeks flushed. She looked away. I pulled her closer until her body pressed against mine again. My free hand slid under the torn shirt and rested on her bare waist. Her skin felt hot.
"You said you were mine," I reminded her. "You meant it when I was inside you."
She shook her head. "I was caught up in the moment. The power went out. It does not count."
I backed her against the wall near the couch. The rain tapped lighter on the windows now. "It counts. Everything counts when it comes to you."
I leaned down and kissed the side of her neck where my fingers had been. She shivered but did not pull away. My mouth moved lower to the curve of her shoulder. I bit down gently. She gasped.
"Stop," she said. But her voice lacked force.
I lifted my head. "You do not want me to stop. Your body tells me that every time I touch you."
She pushed at my chest with her free hand. I let her wrist go. She stepped sideways and crossed her arms over her torn shirt. "This cannot happen again. Our parents could come home any minute. What if they found out?"
I shrugged. "They would not understand. But I do not care what they think."
"You should." She ran a hand through her hair. "This is messed up. You are my stepbrother. I live here now because of them. If this blows up everything falls apart."
I moved closer again. She backed up until she hit the arm of the couch. "Let it fall apart. I set this up so you would end up here. With me."
Her eyes widened. "What do you mean you set this up?"
I had not planned to say that much. But the words were out. I watched her face change as she put it together. The cameras. The rushed marriage. The way I had pushed my dad toward her mom.
"You manipulated everything," she said. Her voice rose. "My mom. Your dad. Me moving in. All of it."
I did not deny it. "I saw you at the funeral. You looked broken. Beautiful. I decided then that you belonged to me. So I made it happen."
She stared at me like I had slapped her. "You are sick."
"Maybe." I stepped forward and cupped her face with one hand. My thumb wiped a tear she had not noticed falling. "But you let me fuck you anyway. You begged for it."
She slapped my hand away. "I hate you."
"Good." I smiled. "Hate me all you want. It makes this hotter."
I pulled her against me and kissed her. She resisted for two seconds then kissed me back. Her hands fisted in my hair. I tasted the salt from her tears mixed with the blood on my lip. When I broke the kiss she was breathing hard again.
I rested my forehead against hers. "You are not leaving this house. You are not running to campus and pretending this did not happen."
She closed her eyes. "I need space. Time to think."
"No." I kept my voice low. "Space means you might try to pull away. I will not let that happen."
Her hands dropped to my shoulders. She dug her nails in. "You cannot control every part of my life."
"I already do." I kissed her once more, softer this time. "The cameras stay. The rules stay. And you stay in my bed tonight."
She opened her eyes. "Your bed?"
I nodded. "Mine. Not the guest room. You sleep where I can reach you."
She looked toward the stairs. The house was still dark. The power had not come back. "What if I say no?"
I traced her bottom lip with my thumb. "You will not say no. Not after what we just did."
She stayed quiet for a long moment. I felt her body relax a fraction against mine. The fight had not left her completely but it had shifted. She was thinking about it. About us.
I took her hand and led her toward the stairs. She followed without arguing. At the top I turned toward my room instead of hers. She hesitated at the door.
Inside my room I closed the door and locked it. The space was bigger than the guest suite. My bed took up most of one wall. Hockey gear sat in the corner. I pulled off my pants and got in bed. She stood there still holding her torn shirt.
"Take it off," I said.
She did. Slowly. Then her shorts. She climbed in beside me. I pulled the covers over us and wrapped an arm around her waist. Her back pressed to my chest. I felt her heartbeat slow.
"You cannot keep me locked up forever," she whispered into the dark.
I kissed the back of her neck. "Watch me."
She stayed silent after that. I listened to her breathing until it grew steady. Sleep did not come easy for me. I thought about the cameras downstairs. About the way she had looked when I told her the truth. She knew now how deep this went. And she had still come to my bed.
The storm finally died down. The power flickered back on somewhere around midnight. The hallway light glowed under the door. I tightened my hold on her. She stirred but did not wake.
In the morning things would get harder. She would wake up with regret. She would try to push back. I would remind her who she belonged to. The game had changed after tonight. It was no longer just watching. It was claiming. And I had no plans to let her go.
I brushed her hair away from her face and spoke against her ear even though she could not hear me. "You are stuck with me now, little sister. Fight it all you want. It only makes me want you more."
She shifted in her sleep and pressed closer. My body reacted but I held still. There would be time for that later. Right now I just needed her here.
The next day started with her trying to slip out of bed before I woke. I caught her wrist and pulled her back down.
"Where do you think you are going?" I asked.
She looked at me over her shoulder. Her eyes held a mix of defiance and exhaustion. "Class. I have morning lecture."
I rolled her under me and pinned her wrists above her head. "Skip it."
She shook her head. "I cannot skip everything because of you."
I lowered my mouth to hers and kissed her deep. When I pulled back she was breathing faster. "You can. And you will. Today you stay home with me."
Her legs moved under me. "Kai, this is crazy."
I smiled down at her. "Crazy is what we do best."
She tried to twist free but I held her in place. The marks on her throat stood out against her skin. I kissed one of them. She made a small sound in her throat.
"Tell me you want to leave," I said. "Say it and I will let you go right now."
She opened her mouth. No words came out.
I waited. "Go on. Tell me."
She closed her eyes. "I cannot."
I released her wrists and slid my hand down her body. "That is what I thought."
We stayed in bed most of the morning. She fought me with words but her body gave in every time. By the time we finally got up the sun was high. She borrowed one of my shirts since hers was ruined. It hung loose on her and reached her thighs.
In the kitchen she poured coffee with shaky hands. I came up behind her and wrapped my arms around her waist. She leaned back into me for a second before she stiffened.
"This does not mean I forgive you for the cameras," she said.
"I do not need forgiveness." I kissed her shoulder. "I need you to accept it."
She turned in my arms and looked up at me. "What happens when our parents find out?"
I shrugged. "We make sure they do not. For now."
She took a sip of coffee. Her eyes searched my face. "You really planned all of this."
"I did."
She set the cup down. "Why me? Out of everyone you could have chosen."
I tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Because from the first time I saw you I knew no one else would ever be enough."
She did not answer. Instead she picked up her cup again and walked to the window. The lake looked calm after the storm. I joined her there and stood close enough that our arms touched.
"You can hate me," I said. "You can fight me. But you cannot leave me."
She turned to face me fully. Her expression was serious. "One day I might try."
I caught her chin and made her look at me. "And I will find you. Every time."
Her eyes flashed with that fire I craved. She stepped closer until our bodies touched. "Then prove it. Right now."
I picked her up and set her on the counter. Her legs wrapped around my waist. I kissed her hard and forgot about everything else.
Hours later she lay curled against me on the couch again. The TV played some show neither of us watched. My hand rested on her thigh under the shirt she wore.
She traced a tattoo on my arm with her finger. "This cannot last."
"It will," I said.
She sighed but did not argue. For the first time since she moved in the house felt right. Complete.
I pulled her closer and spoke into her hair. "Tell me you understand what this means now."
She stayed quiet for a beat. Then her voice came soft but clear. "It means I am yours. But Kai, if you break me completely, who is going to put me back together?"