Chapter 3: You have bewitched me body and soul, and I love and love and love you! Pride and Prejudice

Micah

              Stepping out of the now-silent house, I make my way to my vehicle. It didn’t take long to eliminate my marks. As soon as the children were gone, I headed straight to the heating and air system. No one realizes how easy it is to kill so many people without breaking a sweat. After turning some switches and changing a couple of cables, I diverted Carbon Monoxide to flow inside the house. The men were so distracted by their drinking and drugs that they barely noticed the gas taking effect.

              Once again, I have to consider the arrogance of Mr. Hansen, who made every room soundproof and bulletproof. He had them closed very tightly. All I had to do was block the exits, and voila, no one escaped the gas. I stood there for hours and waited until the gas took effect. At least twenty men were at the party; I watched as each man became lethargic fell into a deathly sleep. What they didn’t realize is that the nap would become permanent.

              Turning on my black Camaro’s ignition, I turn to the road and make my way back home. It’s the Confradia cleaners’ turn to take care of the mess. I’m about to turn on the freeway to go home when my phone alarm goes off. It must be the Confradia confirming that I got the job done. You’d think they’d know better by now, but apparently, no one has gotten the memo. Picking up my phone, I read the incoming message. Fury flashes through my body when I see that the silent alarm has gone off in my mother’s house. My mother and her husband, Tate, are taking a month-long trip to Europe. Which means someone has broken into their home. Turning my car toward their home, I prepare to give the intruders a lesson that they will never forget.

              It doesn’t take me long to get to my mother’s home. She lives in a nice, quiet neighborhood aligned with several townhomes. She and Tate bought the house together after they got married. She loves the area. Pulling my gun out of its holster, I check the magazine and place it in behind the band of my dress slacks. The house seems undisturbed. I look through the front window, but I don’t see any sign of life. And there’s no sign of force on the front door or the windows either.

              I’m making the rounds around the perimeter when I notice that the lanai’s UV lights are on. As soon as I get close to the outside door and sneak in, I hear the splash of the pool. Taking my gun in hand, I hide it behind my back and slide near the entrance wall until I have a vantage point of the pool.

              My heart stops at the sight before me. Sophia is sitting on the edge of the pool, naked as the day she was born. I watch, entranced as she swings her feet back and forth over the water and leans her back on the pool’s patio. She sighs dreamily as she arches her chest beneath the pool’s light. My mouth waters at the sight of her firm, milky white breasts, the tiny indentation of her waist, and the allure of her stiff, cherry-colored nipples. Her alabaster skin and familiar gold necklace with its solitary pink diamond glow beneath the UV’s light. And her hair shines like a golden curtain behind her back. She is a goddess incarnate. I bite my lip, trying to stifle a groan when she raises her hand and sifts her fingers through her hair before she closes her golden eyes and sighs with contentment.

              Every cell in my body urges me to walk into the patio and take her then and there. My blood heats with need as I watch her twirl the solitary diamond hanging from its rose gold chain around her fingers. I gave her that necklace the day she turned eighteen. I’ll never forget the look of delight on her face when she opened the box or the feel of her sweet body wrapped in mine when she gave me a grateful embrace. Fighting the urge to walk into the patio, I take a couple of steps back. I’m about to make my way back to the Camaro when the sound of a male voice halts my stride.

              Rage infuses me when a large man wearing gym shorts and nothing else step through the patio doors and stands next to Sophia’s relaxed form. “Man, that pizza was good. Are you sure you don’t want some?” Sophia shakes her head and opens her eyes with a bemused smile. “No, I’m good. How about you take off your shorts and join me in the pool?” The urge to kill is nearly blinding when the man gives her a seductive smile, squats down in front of her, and runs his hungry gaze over her naked form. My body stiffens at his heated appraisal, as fury like I’ve never known overcomes me. Before I know it, I’m walking toward the couple and standing in front of them. The man stiffens and stands up with a protective stance. Points for him for not being a coward. Too bad that I can break him without any effort.

              Sophia simply gasps and raises her legs protectively over her naked form. “Micah? What the fuck?” She asks with an outraged glare. The man gives me a frightened look, gazes down at Sophia, and croaks out. “Who is this, babe?” My fists tighten at his familiarity. “Who I am, babe…” I repeat angrily as I move closer with a threatening growl and grab him by the neck. The man struggles beneath my grip, alarm contorting his face when he realizes that I’m a lot stronger than him. With a clenched jaw, I lean close and utter. “…I’m Sophia’s stepbrother. Who the fuck are you?” Sophia rises quickly from the ground, covers her chest with a small towel lying nearby, and places her hand over mine with a pleading look. “Stop it, Micah! Darren’s my boyfriend. I invited him here. Let him go!”   

              Without releasing Sophia’s boyfriend, I turn to her and whisper through clenched teeth. “What the hell were you thinking, bringing a man to your father’s home? And what do you think he’d say if he knew that his daughter was prancing around his house naked like some kind of street whore?” Sophia flinches back, but she doesn’t take her hand from mine. Guilt gnaws at me when her eyes moisten with tears. But Sophia doesn’t let the tears fall as she tightens her lips and rises to her tiptoes to push my hand away from her boyfriend’s throat. At this point, her boyfriend is gasping for breath and flapping around like a dying fish.

              “Don’t you fucking dare talk to me like that, Micah! I’m a grown woman. And you have no right to judge me. Now let Darren go before I call the police and have you arrested for attempted murder.”

              I look into her angry yet tearful eyes and slowly release her boyfriend from my grasp. Boyfriend. The mere thought of the word makes me want to rip his throat out and feed his body to starving vultures. As soon as I let him go, the man flops to the ground and rubs his neck as he gasps for air. I can’t help but feel a sense of satisfaction at the sight of his red face.

              Turning to face an outraged Sophia, I’m enticed by the beautiful sight she makes standing defiantly before me. Her eyes are spitting fire, and the small towel barely covering her nakedness. “How could you do this, Soph? How could you just give your virginity away so easily?”

To my astonishment, Sophia throws her head back and breaks out into gales of laughter. “Oh, shit. You think Darren was my first? Don’t worry, Micah. I lost my virginity way before I met Darren.” My body stills at her honest words, but she’s oblivious to the fires of rage that are kindling in my eyes.

              And it doesn’t get better when she squats down, places her hand on her boyfriend’s neck, and threads her fingers through his hair. “Are you okay, Darren? Do you need anything?” Darren shakes his head, still unable to speak, and rises to his feet with a wary look as he unsteadily makes his way back into the house. My guess is that he’s going to throw up. Being choked to near-death will upset anyone’s stomach. I’m glad he left before I took action and ripped him from her side. The urge to kill him is still at the front of my mind.

              Watching her boyfriend walk away with a concerned frown, Sophia rises from her position and looks me in the eye. “What are you doing here, Micah? How did you know I was here?” Shaking my head, I give her boyfriend one last look and remove my suit jacket to extend it to her. “Put this on.” Sophia looks at the jacket for a moment, then, without a thought, drops the towel to the ground and reaches for the jacket to slip it on. She doesn’t close it, though. The woman has no modesty at all. I can still see the mounds of her firm breasts and the soft, bare folds between her thighs. My mouth waters at the thought of tasting her soft skin.

              Trying to distract myself from the tempting sight of her sinful body, I step back and place my hands in my pockets. “Cover yourself!” I croak out with a scowl. Sophia takes the jacket with a frustrated sigh as she pulls the lapels together and gives me an impatient stare. It maddens me to see her covered in my jacket, knowing that she is completely bare underneath it. However, I don’t dwell on it for long. Not when my cock is standing at attention. The last thing I want to do is embarrass myself in front of this girl. Instead, I send a silent prayer for patience, stiffen my spine, and reply. “I didn’t know that you were here. The security company sent me a message because the silent alarm went off. I guess you forgot to turn it off. Thinking that someone broke into our parent’s house, I rushed over here to see what was going on. I never expected to walk in and find you cavorting around the pool with some guy─naked.” 

              Sophia laughs with a careless shrug. “Oops. I totally forgot about the stupid alarm. Oh, Well, as you can see, there was no break-in so that you can go home now.” She turns to walk back to the house. However, before she can, I grip her elbow and turn her back to face me. “You still haven’t answered my question, Sophia. What the fuck are you doing here?” Sophia bites her luscious lip and shuffles her feet in agitation. “For your information Micah. I’m on spring break. And since our parents are out of town, I thought I’d crash here. I asked Darren to come with me for some…entertainment. So you can relax; I’m fine.” She mutters defiantly as she tries to pull her elbow away from my firm grip. “You can let me go now.”

              Her eyes widen when I pull her close to my arms. “Do your parents know that you’re staying here with your boyfriend?” She rolls her eyes and rests her hand on my chest with a snicker. Her breathing hitches as the heat of our bodies meld, and her eyes lower as she gazes at me from beneath her long lashes. “No, they don’t know. But who cares? I’m twenty-two years old. I’m not a little girl anymore.”

              My mouth swells when her little tongue slips out of her mouth and slides sensuously over her plump lower lip. “There’s no way that I’m going to let you stay here, Sophia. Your dad would kill me if I did. And I can tell you right now that my mother would not appreciate it either.”

              Sophia places her hands on her hips and stomps her foot like a spoiled child. “Then where am I supposed to go, Micah? I can’t go back to the campus because the dorms are closed. And Darren lives in a frat house. I definitely wouldn’t feel comfortable staying there.”

              I shrug my shoulders and look around, feeling dread replace my anger. “Don’t you have any friends you can stay with?” She shakes her head and gestures to the back door. “No, they’re all traveling. Maybe I can send Darren back to the frat house and just stay here by myself.”

              I shake my head at her suggestion. “No way. There’s no way that I’m letting you stay here by yourself. Plus, I don’t think that I can trust you not to invite your boyfriend back here.” She scoffs at my comment and moves back toward the house with a frustrated wave. “Well, there’s nothing else I can do, so you’re going to have to trust me.”

              A thought forms in my mind. I really don’t want to do it. Not because I don’t want to help her, but because she’s such a temptation. A temptation that I’ve been avoiding since the moment I met her. I still recall the first time I saw her. My mother and I were in a restaurant waiting for her and Tate to show up. I had just looked up when Sophia walked through the door. She was wearing this short, sleeveless red dress, with her hair falling loosely around her shoulders. She looked like an angel, and I wanted to rip off her dress and slide inside her sweet warmth until we were both satisfied. Which was wrong on so many levels considering that she was my mother’s boyfriend’s daughter. Not to mention that she was seventeen years old at the time. I wanted to punch a wall and rant at the world for putting such a beautiful woman in my path and making her unattainable.

              It doesn’t help that she had feelings for me too. I swear that I will never forget the day she told me how she felt. It was the best and worst day of my life. The best because I felt the same. And the worst because I couldn’t tell her that I returned her feelings. Not when there were so many obstacles in our way. It’s not just the fact that she’s my stepsister. But more importantly, the possibility of her getting hurt over what I do. Willem Kazik being alive and finding out about her is a large deterrent. I’ve seen firsthand what Willem is capable of when crossed. Just a couple of months ago, he kidnapped Gideon, aka Reaper’s girlfriend, Jade. The bastard was going to have his men rape her. Luckily, Gideon showed up in time, and he and I were able to protect her.

              No way was I going to place Sophia under Willem’s crosshairs. Especially when he hates me because he feels that I was the one that betrayed him. No. It’s better if we’re both miserable, and she’s alive. I don’t think I can live with myself if I lost her to that psycho. So I did the only thing that I could do to guarantee that her feelings for me died a terrible death. I mocked her feelings and called it a childish crush. I can still see the tears in her eyes when I broke her heart. It was the worst moment of my life. I went to a nearby bar that very night, drank myself into an incoherent stupor, and avoided visiting our parents’ house after that.

              Before I can think my words, though, I follow behind her and utter. “You can stay with me.” Her body stiffens, then she slowly turns to face me with a quirked brow. “With you? Are you kidding me?” I shake my head as I run my tongue over my teeth. “No, I’m not kidding. I obviously can’t leave you alone here, which leaves me with no other choice.”

              Raising an index finger, I give her a stern frown. “But keep in mind, there will be rules. One is that you can’t bring any men to my place. Got it?” She rolls her eyes with a sigh. “Fine. I’ll go and tell Darren that we’re not staying here.”

              She turns toward the bathroom, where I can hear her boyfriend moving around. However, before she makes it to the door, I turn her back to face me. “You have two minutes, and don’t forget to put some clothes on.” Her eyes widen at my stern tone, and her tongue clicks. “Anything else, dad?” She asks sarcastically. I respond with a stern scowl. “Yes, actually, there is—change in your own damn room─ alone. Because if I catch your boyfriend in there, I will do more than choke him.” My face becomes rigid as she gazes into my cold eyes. “Fine…dad.” She mutters defiantly as she steps through the bathroom door.

              This is such a bad idea.