Free Dare: A Stepbrother Romance by Caitlin Daire

and I’d totally forgotten that they could make some really weird sounds.
    “See? No serial killers and no Sasquatches,” Drew said. “Just deer. Anyway, let’s…”
    He was cut off midsentence by a nocturnal bird swooping down right past our heads, giving us the shock of our lives, and I screamed and lost my balance. As I flailed around, I tried to grab the nearest thing I could to keep myself standing, and I ended up grabbing at Drew’s T-shirt and pulling him down to the ground as I fell. I landed on my back on a soft bed of leaves and moss, and Drew landed right on top of me. His face was only inches from mine, and he murmured breathlessly.
    “You okay?”
    “Uh-huh.”
    He was still right on top of me, and he was making absolutely no effort to get back up. His mouth was close to mine, too close, and suddenly it happened. He kissed me.

CHAPTER SEVEN
    DREW
    Lying here on the ground with my face only a breath away from Sophie’s, I could see the expression changing in her eyes, even in the dim moonlight. First shock from falling over, then desire as she realized I was still on top of her. She subconsciously bit her lower lip, and I almost lost it right then and there as her eyes danced over my face, searching for affirmation.
    And then I did lose it. I couldn’t help myself.
    My lips crushed against her mouth. Her lips parted under my embrace, and she almost pulled away, but something kept her glued to me. I slid my hands under her back as my tongue snaked into her mouth, and she let out an incoherent murmur as I deepened our kiss. Her whole body trembled under my touch, and despite the cold air, every part of me felt scorching hot. Christ, she was perfect.
    Suddenly it all felt wrong.
    I pulled away, unable to keep it going. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to; hell, I wanted to do a lot more than kiss her…but it didn’t feel right. I’d been pretending to be nice to her for the last week all for the sake of Caleb’s stupid dare, and it had only just struck me how utterly pathetic it was. I was an ass. I’d been using the dare as a smokescreen to hide my true feelings, and now I couldn’t go through with it. She was more than a stupid dare to me, and she was more than a stepsister. I wanted her to want me for who I really was, not for who I’d been pretending to be. If she was ever going to kiss me back or do anything else with me, I didn’t want it to be because I’d tricked her into doing so.
    She looked up at me when I jerked away, her eyes wide with confusion.
    “Sorry,” I mumbled, getting up and extending a hand to help her to her feet. “I shouldn’t have done that. Imagine what our parents would think.”
    Truthfully, I didn’t give two shits what they might think, but I needed an excuse for now. She didn’t meet my eyes, but she did reply.
    “Yeah. I’m kinda seeing Dan now anyway,” she said quietly. “That was a mistake.”
    “Yep. Won’t happen again.”
    We trudged back to the cabin in silence, and as we stepped inside, I looked at her.
    “So…Dan, huh?”
    “Yes. We’ve been on a few dates,” she said. In the light of the cabin, I could see the color rising in her cheeks.
    “So you aren’t gonna listen to me when I tell you he’s a jerk?”
    “How do you know he’s a jerk?” she said, her eyes narrowing.
    “I don’t know him very well. He’s more of an acquaintance. But I know enough to tell that he’s a sleazy little fuckface.”
    “How?”
    “Just a feeling I get from him.”
    “So I should stop seeing him because of a feeling my stepbrother has?” she asked, folding her arms.
    I sighed. “You can do whatever you want, Sophie. It’s your decision.”
    But that doesn’t mean I’m not going to check up on Dan to make sure he isn’t up to anything shady , I silently added.
    Awkwardness over everything that had just happened pervaded the atmosphere, and I tried to think of something to change the subject. “Well, all that excitement over Bigfoot has