2. 6 days to go

Chapter 2 - Chloe's POV

It was wrong. It felt strange. But I found myself melting into the kiss instead.

It felt different from any kiss I'd shared with Shawn or my ex. The difference made me so curious that I closed my eyes and began to respond, drawing his lower lip between mine.

I expected it to taste as bitter as the alcohol he'd been drinking, but there was a minty, bittersweet flavor that enchanted me instead.

But when his tongue sought entrance to my mouth, I pulled back.

"We can't be doing this, Jayden," I said, placing my hand against his chest. He only smirked and began loosening his buttons.

"Don't you want to know why I never read those letters? Why I never answered your calls? Why I bought a safe and locked them all away with your birthday as the password?" He chuckled, the sound making me nervous, yet I didn't let go of him.

"Why?"

"Because I knew if I did, I would come running back home to you. I knew that a single 'I miss you, Jayden' would bring me back to face the reason I ran away to join the army." He closed the distance between us again, his eyes focused on my lips while mine stayed on his.

"What do you mean? You left for the military because of me? You can't be serious, Jayden. You're drunk, that's why you're saying these things. That's why you're trying to kiss me. What I'm thinking can't possibly be true," I said, even though I desperately wanted it to be.

I'd turned fourteen the day he left, but he hadn't even waited for my birthday. I remembered how cold he'd been to me in the weeks prior, trying to keep distance no matter how hard I tried to close it. And now he was saying this?

"You think so? Then explain this." He took my hand in his, and my small hand fit perfectly in his palm.

He guided my hand upward, stopping just below his belt buckle. I could feel the heat radiating through the fabric of his military pants, and I was distracted by the evidence of his desire.

"You still think I would be like this just because I'm drunk?" He pressed a small kiss to my nose. "That I would want to do this because of alcohol?"

"I don't know anymore." I felt confused as my heart raced. Instead of yanking my hand away like I would with Shawn, my curious fingers began to explore, and once again, he kissed me.

This time, I didn't resist. I didn't hold back. I surrendered to the heat that filled me when he slipped my one-sleeved dress off my shoulder and began trailing kisses downward until he reached my collarbone.

Never before had I ached for someone's touch the way I did right now.

"There's a party going on downstairs," I said between the soft sounds I was trying to suppress.

"I can choose not to attend my own party. Our parents are only doing it for show anyway," he said. I nodded in agreement as his fingers found the strap of my bra and slowly pulled it down.

"You want this too, don't you? Your body is responding even if you try to deny it." His touch sent small electric sparks through me as he lavished attention on my sensitive skin.

I held my breath and bit my lower lip, my back arching to give him better access.

"We're siblings. We shouldn't be doing this," I said, even as my hands tangled in his hair, silently encouraging him not to stop.

Maybe I did want this, because my actions contradicted my words completely.

"Step-siblings," he corrected, alternating his attention between both sides of my chest as he undid my bra, letting it fall to the ground. "And we didn't grow up together, so it's different."

I should have felt shame. I should have stopped him and told him this was wrong. Instead, I let out a soft cry and pressed a kiss to the top of his head as he left my chest and began tracing a path of kisses down to my navel.

"I've waited four years for you to be mature enough for this. I knew you were reserved, so you wouldn't have a boyfriend. But what's your mom's deal with this guy she was talking about?" The slight edge in his voice made my breath catch. Was that jealousy?

Shawn had been trying to claim my innocence even before our wedding, but I'd been pushing him back, saying I was underage.

If I let Jayden be my first now, then...

"Jayden, we need to stop. I don't care if we both want this, but—"

"I told you, sweetheart, I'm not drunk. If there was ever a time I was intoxicated, it was when I signed up for the military to keep myself away from you. I should have stayed and kept you by my side then. Right now, I'm the most clear-headed I've been in my entire life since I met you." His words made my eyes water.

I couldn't resist him, so I had to make him resist me instead.

"In that case, I don't want this. I'm seventeen and underage. I could report you, and when that happens, Shawn will do everything to make you suffer because he's possessive."

"I'm far more devoted to you than he could ever be, Chloe. My colleagues thought you were my girlfriend, and they knew I would die for you." Something in my heart shifted at his words.

He would die for me. He would do anything for me. But Shawn's family had connections, they could eliminate someone without blinking and cover it up without anyone ever finding out.

I couldn't afford to lose Jayden like that.

"I'm serious, Jayden. This is wrong, and you have to stop. Shawn will be furious," I said, even though I wished desperately that Jayden could be my first.

"You'll even threaten me with your little boyfriend now?" He stood up and looked into my eyes with those glassy green orbs of his.

"I'm sorry, but I need to go." I adjusted my clothes and ran to pick up the keys, only to hesitate after putting the key in the lock.

"Actually, I'm the one who should apologize. I should have considered that I might have been wrong about you." He stepped up behind me, but I didn't want him to see the tears threatening to spill down my cheeks, so I hurried out and ran into my room, which was right next to his.

"Damn, I hate my life!" But I'd done it for the best. It felt like I was going through a painful breakup, and I wanted to cry myself to sleep.

However, whether he was telling the truth or not, he'd had a reputation before he left. I was probably just going to be another fling, like the numerous girlfriends he'd had before his departure.

I undressed completely in front of my standing mirror and realized how my body had responded to him. I doubted he would have let me leave if he'd known just how much I'd wanted him to continue.