Page 8 of Like An Animal

THE GHOST

Y ou’ll get used to it.

He doesn’t seriously think that’s going to happen again, does he? It was a one-time thing. Everyone goes through an experimentation phase, right? That was mine.

We fucked.

That’s it.

It was stupid and reckless. What if Kathy or my father heard us? We weren’t exactly quiet. I was literally screaming. Granted, I know his room is soundproofed, but the fear was there.

I always saw myself as someone who would be quiet during sex.

I thought it wasn’t a big deal, but that’s the difference between what my father did and what I just experienced with Jeremy.

My father raped me. Jeremy fucked me within an inch of my life.

We both came so hard I was afraid one of us was going to die.

I’d never orgasmed before. I had tried and failed to get myself off through masturbation and it goes without saying that my sperm donor was out for his own satisfaction.

I see Jeremy as my brother. He may not see me as his sister, but that doesn’t change the truth. He’s my protector, my safe place, and the closest person to me. I can’t separate Jeremy, my step-brother, from Jer the man and if I can’t, what happened this morning can’t happen again.

The best sex of my fucking life will have to be filed away in the box labeled “The Skeletons In My Closet”.

The entire car ride from the house to the party at Xavi’s place was eventful to say the least. I kept having to swat Jeremy’s hand away every time he tried to either pull me closer or grab my thigh. I swear, he’s stubborn as fuck.

“If you tell anyone about what happened this morning, I will never speak to you again,” I warn and climb out of the car before he can do something stupid, like pulling me into him where anyone could see.

Jer rolls his eyes as he gets out of the car and the fucker adjusts himself in his jeans before slipping on his black hoodie.

It has the band’s logo on the front and makes it clear he at least works with the band.

Very few people know who is behind JMX and we keep that secret close to our chests.

That way if they end up getting big, Jeremy, Xavi and Massimo can still lead their lives as they have up to this point. They won’t turn into celebrities.

Their anonymity will remain intact.

Jeremy reaches into the back seat of his car and grabs a wadded up shirt before tossing it to me.

Seriously, my shirt isn’t that damn revealing. It’s just a low-cut v-neck. Yet, he always acts like it will be the end of the world if even a doctor sees my tits. They’re breasts. Half the population of the world has them.

“Do I need to walk in there with my shirt off for you to see this is okay?” I motion to my minimal cleavage. His gaze drops to where the shadow between my breasts can barely be seen and his eyes narrow before he walks over to me.

“Put the fucking shirt on or I’ll bend you over the hood of my car and spank your bratty ass. You’ll want to listen to me. We both know what I’ll do if I have you bent over for me.”

A shiver runs through my body from the memory of him ramming his cock into me again and again like a maniac on a mission.

“Sociopath,” I snap before I tug the shirt over my head. One of these days I’m going to get back at him for all the times he has treated me like a child, like he is now. Seriously, I’m only two years younger than him.

“You have no idea, little ghost.” He grabs me by the shirt and tugs me to him before leaning in my face. “Behave tonight and I’ll reward you long and hard later.”

I narrow my eyes. “Like hell you will. It was a one time thing. Now that it’s done and out of our systems, we can move on and leave it in the past. Now that it has happened, you can stop the whole overprotective/jealous bullshit you do when another guy tells me I’m pretty.”

His gaze darkens and his jaw tenses. “Keep telling yourself that, but remember this. Your cunt is mine. Your fucking soul is mine. You are mine. Every inch of you belongs to me and I don’t share, period.

If I see another person put their hands on you, I’ll rip their flesh from their bones and hang their balls from my bedroom door like a do-not-disturb sign for everyone to see when I fuck you.

Don’t test me, Bronwyn. I don’t play. When I say something, I fucking mean it. ”

He slams his mouth down on mine, stealing a kiss as the blood in my veins turns ice cold. I think that’s the most I’ve heard Jeremy speak ever. It’s always just a sentence here or there, but he gave a full fucking monologue.

A moan fights its way out, but I kick that bitch to the ground until he releases his hold on me. He pulls away and walks toward the house as I look around frantically.

No one saw him do that, right?

Jesus Christ. He needs to be more careful. What would people say if they saw him kissing me like that?

I can just imagine the looks and the words of disgust.

I know no one is around to see what happened, but that doesn’t stop the worry. My paranoia is justified. This type of thing is taboo for a reason.

There may be no blood relation between us, but Jeremy is still my brother. Our parents are married and we’ve been in the same house since I was nine. For everyone else, it would be the same as incest.

I learned early on to be exactly who everyone wants me to be or they’ll discard me, dismiss me and turn me into a pariah. I’ve seen it happen so many times and how bad it can get.

This is going to be a problem.

I shake it off and head inside.

Once the guard at the door sees my shirt, they let me pass with no hesitation, giving me only a curt nod as I walk in, but as I pass the threshold, I hear one of them speak.

“Evening, Mrs. Borza.”

My body stiffens.

No.

I’m not a Borza. I’m a Durst. Jeremy is a Borza.

He probably only called me that because I’m Jeremy’s step-sister and they know Jer really well. They don’t know me.

I throw a stiff smile over my shoulder.

“Bronwyn! Hey!” I turn my head as my gaze catches on Francine Gray, Sorcha O’Reilly, and none other than Tiernan freaking McGowen huddled together. I’m glad to see Franny and Sorcha–they’re good people–but I swear if Jer tries to attack Tiernan again, I might have a coronary.

“Hey!” I wave back as I stroll over to them.

“Cool shirt,” Sorcha compliments me and I shrug. “Where did you get it?”

I roll my eyes. “My annoying ass brother.”

Tiernan looks around cautiously. “He’s not here, is he?”

I grin. “He knows he better be on his best behavior.”

“Your brother?” Francine presses, looking confused.

“Jeremy Borza. He attacked T a few years ago for dancing with me and he’s been scared to death of Jer ever since.”

Tiernan’s eyes widen in horror. “I’m not scared of him. He’s just a little bitch boy and I’m trying to avoid drama wherever I can.”

That’s the first time I’ve ever heard anyone refer to Jer as a “bitch boy”, but I have the perfect way to get back at him for that.

“Really?”

T nods before taking a sip of his beer. “Yeah, I’m not scared of him.”

“Well, why don’t you give him a hug? He’s right behind you.”

Tiernan squeals as he snaps his head around, scrunching up his big body like a Scooby Doo character.

I throw my head back laughing at the look of horror then embarrassment on his face.

“Fuck you, Bron!”

“What? I thought you weren’t scared of him?”

“Back up,” Francine mutters, interrupting my teasing. “Jeremy is your brother . How? You two look nothing alike.”

She’s right. Other than having similar hair color, we don’t look like we could ever be considered to be in the same gene pool, which we aren’t.

“Oh, he’s my step-brother– no blood relation, but he’s overprotective and flips out if anyone with a Y chromosome so much as looks at me.

It’s frustrating. Be glad you don’t have any siblings, Franny. ”

“That’s how brothers are. I can only go to parties if one of my brother’s friends tags along, which is why T is here at all,” Sorcha explains.

Then, out of the blue, Tiernan starts laughing. “Oh, my god. That explains so much.”

“What does?” I ask, unsure if he’s directing that at me or Sorcha.

Tiernan places his hand on my shoulder before bending down to my level. “You poor, innocent child. Jeremy wants to fuck you. He’s not protective. He’s territorial .”

I feel the color drain from my face because how the fuck would he know that? It’s not that he knows we fucked because I’m pretty sure he doesn’t, but that he thinks Jeremy wants me.

He made it clear that he does.

“Ew! You’re disgusting, T.” Francine practically gags as Tiernan steps back, a grin across his face. “They’re family.”

He shrugs. “Game is game and, for guys, a hole can just be a hole. Plus, like she said, no blood relation.”

“So, you’re saying if you had a step-sister, you would bang her?” Sorcha asks and suddenly, I feel like my life is being put under a microscope.

“If she looked like Bronwyn, hell yes! Every fucking night. Next question.”

“That’s just gross,” Francine gags.

“You have to remember I don’t have siblings. I don’t get what the big deal is if there’s no blood relation.”

“That’s because everyone in your life that is like a sibling is either male or me and–” Sorcha starts, but Tiernan finishes it for her.

“I know. I know. Your boy toy would chop me into a million different pieces if I ever even attempted to fuck you. Same goes for your brother.” Tiernan rolls his eyes with all the dramatics in his massive body.

“I harbor no same sex attraction for anyone and if Rian wouldn’t kill me for it and you offered it up, I wouldn’t say no.

Like I said, pussy is pussy.” He shrugs nonchalantly as if he doesn’t find anything wrong with his statement.

“I think your brother should definitely take him off of Sorcha duty,” Francine says as she squeezes Sorcha’s arm who throws her head back laughing with her whole chest.

“Bronwyn!” My name is yelled from behind me and I snap around as Xavi squeezes his way through the crowd, but Jer isn’t too far behind him.