Don’t screw this up, Worthington. She’s your stepsister.

What had seemed fun and rebellious as a kid had real ramifications now, as an adult. Ramifications that she didn’t deserve. And despite my inappropriate and unwelcome desire for Lilly, I had a feeling she was right. That if I let her, she could be my friend again. Maybe it was time to try out having one of those. To let someone in a little bit. And I didn’t want to ruin that with my stupidity.

Besides Tyler and Doc Greene, I was alone in this world.

Utterly, completely alone.

After spending seven years surrounded by my fellow soldiers, solitude wasn’t something I was used to these days. I didn’t want a girlfriend; I wasn’t looking for a happily-ever-after, but here was Lilly, reaching out to me, asking me to let her in. After a lifetime of being left behind or kicked away, I wasn’t sure I could. I wasn’t good at this. Being friendly and civil. I wasn’t even sure if I was doing it right, or if I was being all awkward.

This was my first time trying to be a brother.

“Like I said, I grew up here, before Daddy built the house our parents live in.” She opened the first door and stepped inside, peeking over her shoulder at me. “This is room one, probably the one you’ll want to pick. It’s bigger and more neutral.”

Tan walls and beige carpet. It was easily twice the size of the motel room I’d been in. “It looks big. This isn’t the master, is it?”

“Nah, I’m in that one.” She tipped her head, and her long hair fell over her shoulder. “It’s right across the hall.”

I already knew I wouldn’t pick this room.

Too close.

But I pretended to check it out, anyway. Aside from neutral tones, it had two windows. One big-ass closet. A private bathroom. A big king-size bed took up one wall, and a nice oak dresser completed another. “Nice.”

“Like I said, it’s the better option.” She nodded once and went back into the hallway. I followed her. “The next one is at the end of the hallway, and it’s a little more…well, you’ll see.”

It was the farthest from her room. Two doors stood between hers and what would be mine. “I like it already. I like being at the end of the hallway.”

It made it easier to watch my back.

Like I said, old habits die hard.

“You haven’t seen it.” She laughed. “Wait for it.”

Juggling the box on my hip, I rushed forward to open the door for her, since she still carried a box, too. “I’m sure it’ll be good. I just need to—” The words froze on my lips. Pink. It was…pink. The walls. The carpet. The curtains. The bedspread on the queen bed. The dresser. It was all the same shade of nauseating pink. I felt as if I’d been thrown into a Pepto-Bismol bottle, and lived to tell. “Holy shit.”

She laughed. Full, belly-shaking laughter. “I told you.”

When she laughed like that, her whole face lit up. And when her whole face lit up, it made me feel a little less dark. As if just by being in her presence, I might become whole again. I didn’t like that feeling. Didn’t like it at all.

It was as though she had way too much damn control over me already.

Still laughing, she backed up. “So…I’ll put your box in the other room?”

Across from her? Close enough to touch? To hear? Hell, no. “I’ll take this one,” I said quickly. “I like it.”

“But it has a smaller bathroom. And it’s pink.”

“I don’t care. I…I love it.” I almost choked on the words. “Why is it pink, though? Exactly?”

“It was my room as a kid.” She blushed. “I liked pink.”

“You don’t say?” Gritting my teeth together, I set my box down and walked to the window. It had pink butterfly stickers on it. Fucking butterflies. “It’s”—I racked my brain for something nice to say about it—“charming.”

From my peripheral vision, I saw her watching me as if I’d sprouted two heads. “Okaaaay.”

The box hit the floor, and she didn’t say anything else. It might seem silly to go to such lengths to put a little distance between us, but I needed the space from her. I wasn’t here to kiss her, seduce her, or ruin her. I was mending fences, not climbing them. And if I was that close to her, I might make a stupid mistake. If I was that close to her, I might—

No. I wouldn’t. I had this.

I just needed to retain control.

Turning around, I started talking, ready to send her off. “Thanks. I’ll get the—oof.”

At some point, she’d come up behind me. Having no idea, I barged into her. She lost her balance, and I, of course, tried to catch her. Unfortunately, she was already beyond catching, and my fumbling attempts to do so, anyway, sent us both falling to the floor. The very pink floor.

I slid my hands under her, trying to cradle her from a rough fall, but in the end, I’d made it worse. We hit the floor hard, and I ended up on top of her, my hands trapped beneath her lower back, and my cock pressed up against the last place it should be. Her warm heat. I was very much in between her thighs.

She felt like heaven and hell, all wrapped into one sweet soul.

And my body reacted accordingly.

Her legs were on either side of mine, and she clung to me, chest heaving as she took rapid, shallow breaths. Her plump lips were parted. Her generous breasts rose and fell, pressing against my bare chest, and her nails dug into my biceps as she squirmed beneath me. She groaned and wriggled her hips.

“Can you breathe?” I asked quickly, trying to focus on her welfare instead of how incredibly right she felt in my arms. “Are you okay?”

“Yes.” She let out a small laugh, and her cheeks flushed a fetching pink. “Oh, my God, I’m so clum—” She broke off midsentence, mouth shaped in a perfect little O.

And I knew why, damn it.

I may have decided to be a better stepbrother, but there was no stopping my reaction to her when she was in my arms, and I was between her legs. Even though I was trying to be good, my cock hadn’t gotten the memo.

And there was no way she missed my reaction, either.

“Shit,” I growled, ducking my head. “I’m sorry. It doesn’t mean—”

She swallowed hard and pressed a hand to my cheek. We locked gazes, and I didn’t breathe. Didn’t dare to move, because ever so slowly…her focus shifted to my mouth. Gently, I brushed her hair out of her face and ran my thumb over her cheekbone. I was already addicted to the softness of her skin.

I knew I should stop.

Knew I was making a mistake.

But she urged me closer, and that was that. I lowered my head, and she tilted her chin up, closing the distance between us even more. “Jackson…yes.”

Her voice brought me to my senses. Gave me enough control to pull back slightly. “Jesus, Lilly. What are we doing? We can’t—”

“Screw that. I’m doing something for myself, and you’re going to like it.” She curled her hand behind my neck, grasping me tightly. “Just like the last time.”

With a tug, her lips met mine, and everything inside me just…snapped. The pain. The anger. The desire. The fear, even. It all snapped, like a rubber band.

And it all came back to her.

Growling, I melded my mouth to hers, slipping my tongue between her lips. The second I touched her, she let out the sexiest damn moan and rolled her hips against my cock, and it was the most exquisite form of torture I ever experienced.

And I wanted more. So much more.

I wanted it all.

Freeing my hands from beneath her, I ran them down her sides and back up under her shirt. The second I closed my palms over her breasts, running my thumbs across her hard nipples through the thin material of her bra, I ground up against her, fucking her with our clothes on. I moved my hips hard and fast, because she lit up like a lightbulb when I did.

She moaned again, long and soft, into my mouth, moving her hips frantically as I moved mine in a timed, measured stroke. I cursed the clothes between us at the same time I thanked God for them. If we were naked, and I was inside her, I’d only last for two seconds, and there was no way that would work. I wouldn’t let her leave my arms till she came at least three times.