Groom Wars

33. Brother?

The minutes and hours leading up to the challenge were the worst. Some missions occurred in the early morning, others in the afternoon, evening, or night. I knew neither when today's challenge would be nor what would be involved. But I knew my partner and I had made it into Lord Columbia's naughty books. I tried to finish the lyrics for the song I was working on, but my mind was filled with conflicting ideas. Instead of writing, I lay on my bed, listening to the soft murmur of the conversation around me.

"Adriel."

I closed my eyes.

"Don't pretend to sleep," he warned.

Silence.

"I know you're awake. Do you want me to crawl up there and check myself?"

My eyes flashed open. I had been avoiding him, but he lacked the patience to be avoided for long. I turned to Leandro. "What do you need?"

"A word."

"We're speaking now."

"In private, dear Adriel." A smile curled Leandro's lip. "How long will you ignore me for this time? Hours, weeks, or months?

"We have only been here a month, dear Leandro."

"But we've known each other longer."

I swung myself over the bed and landed next to him with a soft thud. I crossed my arms over my chest and asked, "Happy?"

Leandro turned and headed towards the hall, not checking if I were behind him. We left the cameras outside as we went into the washroom. He found an empty mini bathroom and held the door open for me. He jerked his head, indicating I should go in first. I froze; my palms started to itch, and my throat tightened uncomfortably. His expression was one of mild curiosity. "Do you not trust me anymore?" he asked. A pout appeared on his lips.

"I trust you."

"Go in then."

Swallowing my fear, I entered the room. He checked to make sure no one had followed us, fixed the curtain of the adjoining changing stall by drawing it closed, then slipped into the mini bathroom. He pushed the door closed; the outside light slowly vanished, till only a thin strip of light decorated Leandro's face and body, then nothing. Aside from the faint glow around the edges of the door, we were in the dark. Still, I could sense him. His body. His heat. His gaze was on me. I could hear him open his mouth. Inhale. Exhale. A soft sound interrupted the silence as his hand left the knob. I felt him step forward; I stepped back. We continued our little charade till my back hit the wall.

My heart slammed against its bone cage. I swallowed my unease. "I can't see anything," I muttered.

"It'll make it easier to tell if you're lying."

"You can't see my face."

"No." Leandro placed a hand on my chest. "But I can feel you; your heart is racing right now."

"It's racing because I don't like the dark."

"At your age?" He chuckled and leaned close to me. His breath warmed my skin. His scent, musky, earthy, filled my nostrils and overwhelmed my senses.

He leaned over me and said, "You always smell sweet." A pause, then he added, "I can sense you closing yourself off from me. Any conversation with you is like talking to a wall. You did the same thing the day we stopped by the beach, remember? And you're doing it now."

"It's hard to be your brother sometimes, especially when you get too touchy, affectionate."

"I'm too affectionate, huh?" Leandro blew on my neck, and goosebumps rippled across my skin.

I squeezed my eyes shut as strange sensations riddled my body.

"Do you hate it when I touch you?" Leandro's fingers found my face. His fingertips drew shapes on my skin, a swirl, a crescent, a circle. His thigh wedged itself between my legs as he leaned forward. His thumb cut across my cheek, found my lips, tugged, and toyed with them. I felt something stir in my loins. Some foreign desire made my abdomen clench, and without thinking, I leaned towards him. I heard him smile. Heard the breathy chuckle that usually accompanied a flash of white teeth. His lips brushed my forehead, and the lids of my closed eyes, my cheek. His lips met mine, soft yet firm. My entire body trembled; whether from fear or something else, I couldn't tell.

His tongue, warm, flickering, ran along the slit between my lips. I knew I should tell him to stop. But I couldn't. I didn't want to. "Open them," he whispered in a soft voice that brushed my skin and entered my body through my pores. I parted my lips for him, and his tongue entered. It ran along my teeth, the insides of my cheek; it played cat and mouse with my tongue. He leaned away, but I reached up and knotted my fingers in his hair, pulled him back to me, and deepened the kiss. When we parted, my head felt giddy, and the room, though dark, seemed to spin.

I placed my head against his chest as I waited for my heart to calm down and my mind to collect itself.

"If I sense you trying to close yourself off from me, I'll kiss you again," he whispered.

I told him, "Do you know how dangerous this is? What if I forget how to speak and act around you?"

What I left unsaid was, 'What if I forget who I was before I met you?'

Leandro kissed my neck. A familiar shiver ran all the way through me. I gritted my teeth, hating my body for falling victim to something like this. His hand slipped under my shirt and rubbed the skin near my belly button as he whispered, "You'll be fine. We're brothers. Close, caring, loving brothers. Friends that would support each other through anything. Friends close enough to be mistaken as lovers."

I hit his chest. "I don't think you understand what I'm saying. What if I fall in love with you? What if I end up wanting more from you than I should? What will we do if that happens? What if I lose the ability to play the role of your brother?"

Leandro retreated a few steps and said, "Take some time to pull yourself together. I'll see you inside." The door opened, a flash of light washed over me before the door closed, and he disappeared. I was left in the dark, heart pounding; thoughts scattered. Duty and desire sparred within my mind. Today, passion had won. Leandro always managed to disarm me, but I would be better prepared next time. He was experienced; I would give him that. He knew how to touch someone, seduce them. Next time, I wouldn't lower my guard and let him invade me. I would hold steadfast in my beliefs and become the future patriarch of my family.

I placed a hand on my chest, whispering, "Calm down. We have an important challenge today; we can't afford to be distracted. Come on. Come on." I closed my eyes and leaned against the wall as my heart raced. He was very good at this game. I had been entrapped without noticing the web being spun. Now I had to find my way out of it.

***