Chapter 20: The Stormy Night
Kathryn hated reading. It wasn't like she was some kind of illiterate simpleton who didn't understand the pleasures of losing one's self in someone else's words. She got it. She just didn't care for it. She much preferred to experience something in real life, then to read about it on some dusty old page.
Yet here she was, curled up on the leather chesterfield in the library of the Rosemond estate, in front of a crackling fire with a glass of bourbon and a thick novel she had little to no interest in. Outside the wind and rain battered loudly against the old house. It was all optimal conditions for a cozy night in but try as she might Kathryn couldn't lose herself in the words of Tolstoy. Perhaps she should have gone for something a little more trashy. Unfortunately, Mrs. Rosemond's collection was severely lacking in anything post world war 2.
Truth be told, Kathryn would have much rather lost herself in a nice pile of cocaine, but Blaine, ever the prima-donna bitch, refused to do a drop off in the storm, even when she offered to pay him double. Option number two for some recreational stress relief was Tony, the estate handyman and her regular fuck when she was looking for some amusement in the country. Sadly, she couldn't risk visiting his quarters as her mother was aware of their liaison and it was likely the first place she would look.
Yes, this was how pathetic her life had become, she had resorted to hiding from her mother. God help her, the bitch was trying to bond with her, which was in a way, somehow worse than her usual contemptuous nagging and put downs. At least she knew how to deal with that.
Tiffany was just so pleased with how she dealt with that blonde little interloper. Seducing the headmaster's prim daughter then exposing her hypocritical slut self to her arrogant father was a stroke of genius. There was no way he'd allow his precious daughter to remain at Manchester after that. She simply had to tell her how she pulled it off.
Kathryn thought she was going to be sick.
Something ugly and raw twisted in her stomach every time she pictured the look of shocked betrayal on Annette's face when her father opened the door and found them. Hearing her mother rhapsodize about her betrayal was the cherry on the shit Sunday that was that day.
She never was any good with guilt.
Suddenly a loud clap of thunder sounded, shaking the house. Kathryn winced and sunk further into the couch. She always hated storms, ironic given her love of chaos and destruction.
There was another burst of noise that made her jump, only this time it came from behind her. Kathryn turned to see Sebastian enter from the entrance on the far side of the library, with two girls, one under each arm. Forever living up to the cliché, they were both servants. Rolling her eyes, Kathryn sunk deeper into the sofa in order to not be seen.
"Well ladies, I think this is as good a place as any to expand your sexual horizons," he proclaimed grandly. Kathryn made a face. Christ, if I have to listen to them fuck…
"But master Valmont," one of the girls cooed in some sort of European accent, "What if your aunt comes looking for us?"
"Baby, it's way past aunties bedtime, your safe…but you won't be for long."
There was a sound of flesh being slapped followed quickly but a surprised yelp and giggling. Kathryn mimed gagging.
"First up, I think it's time we work on your oral. Now, in these matters I've found it works best to work as a team…"
There was more giggling, followed by rustling clothes. She was fairly certain she heard the distinct sound of a zipper. Moments later the room filled with slurping and sucking. "Very nice," Sebastian remarked. He sounded like he could be talking about the weather or his latest suit from Savile row, bored and assured.
Well she couldn't allow this to carry on much longer. Five more minutes of listening to this and she really would gag.
Foregoing subtlety, Kathryn popped up from her spot on the couch. "Fucking the help again brother dear? How original."
There was a modicum of satisfaction to be found in the way her stepbrother's eyes briefly widened in surprise before relaxing into their normal indifferent state while his mouth twisted in a wry grin. "Eavesdropping sis? What's the matter, did Tony kick you out of his bed again?" When she didn't bother to dignify his question with a reply he snapped, "Get out Kathryn."
"I don't think so," she purred. "I was here first."
He stared her down like he was actually considering challenging her before rolling his eyes. Flicking his hand dismissively he ordered the two morons kneeling before him, "Go up to my room, we'll finish this there."
They of course didn't put up a fight as they quietly got to their feet and then quickly scuttled past her, avoiding eye contact as they left. Sebastian pulled up his pants, wincing as he tucked his half hard cock away. It would never not annoy her that she was still so attracted to him, even in moments like this.
Kathryn pretended to go back to her book while Sebastian made for the wet bar in the corner. "I wasn't aware you knew where the library was, sis."
"I read," she replied trying to sound bored but landing on defensive.
"Vogue and page six don't count," he told her with a cheeky grin. "So, ruin anyone's life lately?" Kathryn stilled at the question. Shit. She was counting on him still being in the dark about that. "We've done some pretty fucked up shit in our time," he mused, dropping ice cubes into his glass, "But outing her to her father? Anyone check you for a heartbeat recently?"
Kathryn resented the fact that he of all people was judging her, but she refused to give him the satisfaction of an argument. Instead, she returned to her book and asked primly, "Who told you?"
"The second floor maid. She overheard them arguing."
"Must be the same blabbermouth who ran to mother." She made a mental note to look into getting her fired.
"Was she pissed?"
"On the contrary, she thought it was a stroke of Machiavelli ingenuity." She looked up to find him giving her a quizzical stare. "She thinks I seduced Annette on purpose to get her out of the race. Now she wants to bond over it."
Sebastian smirked into his whiskey. "So that's why you're hiding out. I take it this was that thing you were alluding to in the garden. The bad decision you couldn't stop yourself from making."
Jesus, why the fuck had she said anything to him in the first place? "It had to be done," she told him in a tone she hoped would end the conversation.
Standing at the end of the sofa he studied her. Without even looking up she could feel his sharp gaze on her, scrutinizing, looking for holes in her armor. Good luck asshole.
"I wonder, what wouldn't you do to win?"
Slowly she looked up from her book and met his stare. "Nothing," she replied, her voice brokering no argument.
Sebastian shook his head. "You probably ruined her life, you realize, that don't you?"
"Stop being dramatic," she sighed. "She'll be fine."
"Will she? Her father will likely ship her back to Kansas. Without Manchester, she can kiss Yale goodbye. I mean her future is basically fucked. She'll probably be stuck in that shitty town for the rest of her life. I don't even like the bitch and I feel sorry for her. You, on the other hand, purport to love her and you don't even seem to care. What kind of heartless bitch—"
"Shut up Sebastian!" she suddenly exploded, her voice high pitched and frantic even to her own ears. "Just shut up."
Her stepbrother's brow rose at her outburst. "If I didn't know better, I'd think you were feeling guilty."
Kathryn attempted to ignore him by picking her book back up, but Sebastian was like a shark who smelled blood. He circled around to the back of the couch and leaned over her. His eyes flickered with boyish, eager malice as he taunted, "Oh god, you do feel guilty, don't you? You're not hiding from your mother, you're hiding from yourself." Sebastian let out a trickling peel of laughter. "Kathryn Merteuil feels guilty about something. Hell must be freezing over."
Never one to be laughed at, she glared mutinously up at him and as regal as a queen sneered, "Piss. Off."
Sebastian gave a little bow. "Gladly."
She watched with mild satisfaction as he headed to the door when suddenly there was another loud clap of thunder followed by several quick flashes of lightening. Then everything went dark.
Kathryn jerked up right. Panic took hold of her throat as she tried to see in the dark. "Sebastian?" she croaked out jumping to her feet. Silence. "Sebastian!?"
"What?" he grumbled from the other side of the room. A moment later she heard a lighter. Kathryn looked up to see Sebastian standing by the bar, lighting a couple of taper candles. Get a hold of yourself, idiot, she chastised. Honesty, she didn't know how much more of this clusterfuck of a weekend she could endure.
Wanting to save face, she smoothed her hair back and ordered dismissively, "Do something about this, will you?"
"Oh yeah, I'll get right on it," he quipped sarcastically before setting a candle down in front of her.
Taking hold of it, she watched him head for the door. "Where are you going?"
"Where do you think? I have two very slutty, flexible women waiting for me. Ciao"
Trying to infuse as much steel into her voice as possible she called out, "Your bimbos can wait. I need you here."
"Why? Oh, I get it. You're afraid one of the help will use this opportunity to enact some much deserved revenge. Don't worry sis, I'm fairly certain Aunt Helen has most of the firearms locked up. Good night."
Actually, she hated storms. Always had, even as a kid, but she couldn't very well tell him that. "I…don't want to run into mother," she offered lamely. Sebastian turned around and gave her a skeptical look. Realizing she had to change tactics, Kathryn asked quietly, "Please Sebastian?"
He stared at her blankly a moment before tossing his head back and sighing. "Jesus Christ, fine, but only until the lights come back on." Sebastian stomped back over to her. Straightening up he gave her a suggestive once over. "What's in this for me?"
"Not that," she told him pointedly. "You can go ten minutes without getting your dick sucked."
"I could," he replied turning back around, "But why should I?"
Fearing he was going to leave her again she called, "Where are you going?"
"Relax, I'm just getting reinforcements."
Sebastian grabbed the bottle of whiskey and a few more candles before slumping down in the couch opposite her. Another loud roar of thunder sounded, causing her to retreat further into the couch.
"You really don't like storms, huh?" Kathryn shook her head and Sebastian muttered, "You're just full of surprises tonight. Alright, what are we going to do?"
"Do we have to do something?"
"Yes, I'm giving up two prime pieces of pussy to sit with your scaredy-cat ass in the dark, you best believe you're going to keep me entertained."
Kathryn sighed. Perhaps she should just offer to blow him. It might keep him quiet.
Before she could offer this up Sebastian called out, "I know! How about a game? Truth or dare."
She rolled her eyes so hard she threatened to dislodge them. "What, are we eleven at a sleep over? Pass."
"Are you afraid?"
"Grow up Valmont. You think I'll agree just because you call me chicken?"
They both knew she would. Sebastian stared her down until she broke.
"Fine. Whatever."
He grinned, slapping his hands together in delight. In the candlelight he looked almost demonic. This didn't bode well. Truth or dare with anyone else was just a harmless kid's game. When played between them however, it became something else entirely.
It was dangerous.
"Alright sis, you're up first. Truth or dare?"
"You can pull out every suitcase in the house," Annette snarled, "It doesn't matter. I'm not going anywhere."
She stood in the corner of her small bedroom, arms defiantly crossed to her chest as she watched her father throw her large suitcase onto her bed. Glaring across the room he pointed at it and ordered his daughter, "Pack. Your flight leaves tomorrow at noon. Anything you can't bring with you I'll have it mailed to your grandmother."
He then walked out as if the conversation was over. Annette shook her head at his arrogance. If he thought, he could dismiss her so easily he had another thing coming.
The whole ride home from the party they hadn't said a word to each other. He had made a quick apology to Mrs. Rosemond before hustling her out the door. Her father hadn't made any sort of remark about Annette leaving town to her so she thought maybe there was hope he wouldn't lose his mind and ship her off. What was that they said about hope? Live in hope, die in despair. As soon as they arrived home, he began listing off her travel itinerary and refused to listen as Annette tried to plead her case. Well he was going to listen now because there was no fucking way, she was willingly stepping foot in Kansas again.
Storming after him she snarled, "Well you can call up the airline and cancel. I'm not leaving New York."
Her father let out a long sigh before turning around. Much like herself, Benjamin Hargrove excelled at staying cool during a confrontation. He didn't yell or raise his voice. Aside from the firm set of his jaw, it was difficult to tell he was even angry.
"You are going and that's the end of it. We had an arrangement Annette. You stay out of trouble, you keep your nose clean and you could attend Manchester. I think finding you attacking our hosts niece qualifies as you breaking that promise."
"Alright first of all, I have more than kept my promise as far as being Miss All American teen spirit. I'm every parent's wet dream."
"Watch your language," he scowled, as if that was somehow the most offensive part of all this.
"Second," she continued ignoring him, "I didn't attack Kathryn. Far from it."
"That's not what it looked like from where I was standing," he told her stiffly. "She looked scared and embarrassed."
Annette regarded him like he was a complete moron. "Are you honestly telling me you bought her act? Newsflash daddy, Kathryn a bigger phony than I could ever hope to be. If you had any idea the things she's done…"
"Such as?"
Here it was. If ever there was a golden opportunity to expose Kathryn for the fraud she was this was it. All she had to do was tell her father about Kathryn's coke filled crucifix and he'd snatch it up before she could stop him. It would be perfect payback for what she did to her.
And yet for some reason, Annette couldn't bring herself to pull the trigger.
Kathryn had totally blindsided her with her betrayal. She always knew she was capable of a lot of nasty shit, but she never thought she would turn it on her so viciously. Funny, she was pretty sure Sebastian once said the same thing. Sure, she had been antagonizing Kathryn for weeks and maybe she was due some payback, but she crossed the line this time. Therefor Annette shouldn't feel a trace of guilt for returning the favor and yet…
"It doesn't matter," she told him, surprising even herself, "All that matters is Kathryn isn't who she pretends to me. She set me up."
Her father didn't appear particularly moved. "Whether Ms. Merteuil is lying or not, it is not my concern. Are you forgetting who her family is? If she were to make any of her accusation's public, it could destroy everything I've worked so hard for."
Annette rolled her eyes, wondering if he was seriously this obtuse. "You honestly think Kathryn's going to public accuse me of coming on to her? Please, it would hurt her reputation as much as it would mine. She would never."
"I can't take that chance," he replied primly. "You're going back to Kansas to finish out your senior year and that's the end of it."
Once again, he turned away, and once again Annette followed after him. Her father circled around the landing of the second floor Victorian on his way to the staircase. "Don't you think it's going to look a little suspicious if you send me away at the beginning of the school year? Everyone at that school loves me and this time next week they're going to elect me student body president. You can't send me away."
"I can and I will."
Watching as her father started down the stairs, Annette had a sudden realization. It stopped her in her tracks. "You don't care what it looks like do you? You've been waiting all this time for the opportunity to get rid of me and I just handed it to you on a silver platter." Her father stopped and turned around, his expression inscrutable as ever. "You never had any intentions of letting me stay in New York, did you?"
For the first time that evening, Annette saw a brief hint of a smile on her father's face. The son of a bitch. She had always known her father was a cold sort of man, but she had never really considered just how much he despised her. Despite all his Christian bullshit, he was just as morally corrupt as all those supposed sinners he looked down on.
Annette was about to tell him as much when suddenly there was a sharp series of knocks on their front door. They both turned towards the foyer. It was late, nearing midnight. Not to mention it was storming pretty badly out. She couldn't imagine who would come out in this weather at this time of night. "Now who the hell is that?" her father grumbled as he started down the stairs.
As she followed him down, Annette felt a small flicker of hope in her chest. For one brief, idiotic moment she thought it might be Kathryn coming to apologize. Not surprisingly it wasn't Kathryn.
It was Helen Rosemond.
Annette and her father openly gaped at the sight of the older elegant woman standing on their door step in the rain, with her driver standing beside her holding an umbrella over her head. After a beat of stunned silence, the headmaster shook it off and quickly greeted her. "Helen…what a surprise, come in, come in please."
He stepped aside to allow their benefactor to enter. Honestly, she just looked like someone's kindly grandmother standing there in her raincoat and galoshes, but they both knew otherwise. Helen Rosemond was one of the most powerful women in the country, to say nothing of her power within the halls of Manchester. She practically owned the school (technically she owed the building) and therefor their very livelihoods were in her hands. And there she stood dripping all over their entranceway.
Maybe she's had a stroke, Annette thought darkly.
"I'm so sorry to interrupt this late at night Benjamin," she spoke in her usual warm tone. "But it was important and I feared it couldn't wait." She glanced over at Annette then back at her father before revealing, "I heard what happened between Annette and Kathryn."
If Annette wasn't so surprised by this revelation, she might have taken the moment to enjoy the look cringing embarrassment that flashed over her father's usually stoic face. He shot Annette a brief reprimanding look before turning back to Helen. "I'm sorry to hear that Helen. On behalf of myself and Annette I would like to apologize for any embarrassment we may have caused you. Let me assure you it was never her intent to—"
Helen held up a hand. "There's no need for that. I think I understand the situation and I just wanted to assure you that Annette is still more than welcome at Manchester," she explained, offering a kind smile to Annette.
Annette smiled back all the while wondering what the older woman wasn't telling her. She was getting the distinct impression something else was going on here. "Thank you, Mrs. Rosemond, that's so kind of you."
"Yes, well, that's very gracious of you Helen, but unfortunately we've already made plans for Annette to finish out her senior year back in Kansas. I fear New York has been far too…stimulating for her. It's best for everyone if she heads home."
Annette glared at her father, quietly stewing in anger. Far too stimulating? What, was she a toddler on a sugar rush? She was beyond humiliated that he would refer to her as such.
Helen, still smiling her grandmotherly smile told him, "I respect your decision of course, but I'm afraid I can't allow you to do that."
The headmaster's mouth fell open and he sputtered out a startled, "Excuse me?"
"I'm sorry Benjamin, but I'm going to have to insist Annette stay in New York."
"There, I sent it." Sebastian tossed his cellphone aside with a disgusted sneer and huffed, "Happy now?"
It was a rhetorical question as obviously his stepsister was over the fucking moon, as evidenced by the laughing fit, she had succumbed to. Curled up on the couch opposite him she giggled manically rolling onto her back. Even in the dim candlelight, he could still make out the tears prickling her eyes. "What if she sends one back?" she asked through her laughter.
"Then I'll burn my phone and murder you," he told her dryly before finishing off his bourbon in one gulp. He scowled as she continued to laugh. "It's not that funny."
Despite his sour mood, Sebastian had to admit he was having more fun than he anticipated. When he suggested truth or dare, he did it thinking it would be a fun way to blow of twenty minutes, figuring he could instigate Kathryn a little and in turn pay her back for that crap she pulled in the garden. Cut to an hour later, the power still wasn't back on and the only person being humiliated was him.
And yet despite the humiliation and possible social suicide, he was having more fun than he had in months. He had nearly forgotten how much fun Kathryn could be when she wasn't being a poisonous bitch.
"Alright, alright," he called out, growing irritated by her mocking. "Your turn. Truth or dare?"
Kathryn curbed her laughter leaning over to take a sip of her whiskey before turning her mischievous gaze on his. "Dare."
Sebastian grinned. He had been hoping she'd choose that option. "I dare you…to send an apology text to Annette."
She scowled, the humor vanishing from her face in an instant and sat up abruptly. "I'm not doing that."
This was curious. He was sure she'd jump at the excuse to apologize. "To bad, those are the rules." When she didn't budge, he reminded her, "I just sent a dick pic to Mrs. Caldwell. Get over yourself and do it Kathryn."
"Why do you have such a hard on for me to do this? Since when do you want us together?"
"Oh, I don't anticipate her forgiving you," he explained, "I just want to see you humiliate yourself. Trust me if it wasn't for this storm, I'd make you take a boombox and stand under her window playing In Your Eyes."
"If there wasn't a storm, I wouldn't be playing this stupid game with you in the first place," she grumbled.
Ignoring her he continued, "Given the circumstances, we're just going to have to go for a 21st century Say Anything approach. I will be dictating of course."
Kathryn rolled her eyes as she retrieved her phone from under the couch cushion. "Fine, fire away dick head."
Sebastian tilted his head back as he pretended to think. "My dearest Annette… I don't know what I could possibly say that would rectify the harm I've caused you. The truth of the matter is—"
"Jesus Christ." She tossed her phone down and rolled her eyes dramatically. "Are you seriously going to make me crib from your own shitty apology note?"
"Yep," he replied, all shit eating grin. Sebastian gave a little wave of his hand. "Please continue." With cringing distaste Kathryn picked her phone back up and resumed typing. "Where were we? Oh yes… The truth of the matter is that being with you was the only time I have ever been happy. My whole life has been a joke. I prided myself on taking joy in others' misery. Well, it finally backfired. I succeed in hurting the first person I ever loved. Now after that I volunteered up my journal as sort of emotional collateral. Since you don't seem to possess anything of the kind…oh I know! There is nothing I can do that would make you forgive me, but I'd like you to know that first thing Monday morning I'm going to resign from my student body—"
"The hell I am! You can't make me do that."
Sebastian rolled his eyes. "Relax. It's not real, you're just going to tell her—"
"Lie to her"
"I would think you'd be used to it by now. Are you going to forfeit the dare?"
They both know she never would. It would mean admitting defeat and Kathryn would sooner die. They stared each other down for a long beat before Kathryn resumed typing. Smiling in satisfaction Sebastian finished off, "I will resign from my student body position. I know it is not enough, nothing ever will be, but I hope one day you can forgive me. Love and kisses (especially the dirty ones) Kathryn. Now let me see."
She handed over her phone and Sebastian checked it before hitting send. "She's sure to forgive me now," Kathryn quipped sarcastically.
"Baby, you'll be lucky if that bitch ever talks to you again. I'd forget about forgiveness."
Kathryn glared back icily over the rim of her glass. The mood in the room seemed to shift again, a thick tension filled it that seemed to smell certain doom. "Truth or dare Sebastian."
He shifted a little uncomfortably, realizing she now held the cards. Too afraid to go with dare he replied, "Truth."
She gave a rueful shake of her head. "Pussy. Okay…I want the truth."
"I'm clear on the rules of the game."
"Did we ever actually have sex?"
Sebastian flinched, genuinely caught off guard by the question. For a brief moment he considered keeping up the lie, but he realized he had no reason to. With an indifferent shrug he admitted, "No, we didn't."
Just as he anticipated, Kathryn went ahead and lost her shit.
This was easily shaping up to be one of the weirdest nights of her life.
Annette sat on the edge of their comfortable family sofa feeling anything but as she watched Helen warm herself in front of the fireplace. They were alone, her father having been primly dismissed by the older woman. The room was quiet except for the crackle of the fire and the sound of rain beating against the windows. Annette couldn't begin to guess where this was all leading, but it didn't matter so long as it meant she could stay in New York.
"First, I want to apologize for my nephew and my niece," Helen began, gaze still on the fire before looking back at her. She was still wearing that kindly smile of hers but there was something decidedly sharper about it. "I should have warned you about them from the beginning. Although, I suppose it likely wouldn't have done much good. I'm afraid they are used to getting what they want."
Annette was stunned by this revelation but tried to keep it from her face. Evidently she failed.
"Don't look so surprised. Do you think you and my niece invented female subterfuge? I've lived a lot longer than you, through times which were much more difficult for women and I've learned there's a certain power that comes when playing into certain archetypes—the innocent, the good girl—"
"The kindly aunt?" Annette finished for her. "I guess no one's what they seem, huh?"
"No, but you already knew that." She laughed lightly, but something dark flashed in her eyes.
Realizing now that Helen had never bought her act, she recognized her as a potential threat. After all, Annette was no one to her. She could ruin her life with one word if she chose to. With that in mind, she was careful to keep any kind of emotion out of her voice when she asked, "What can I do for you Mrs. Rosemond?"
Her expression changed in an instant, morphing back into the kind grandmotherly figure she pretended to be. "Oh, you misunderstand me dear. I don't want anything from you, on the contrary. I see a great deal of myself in you Annette."
She wasn't sure she bought that. "Oh?"
"Your intelligence, your ambition. I believe if you play the game correctly, you'll have a bright future ahead of you."
"And how would you suggest I do that?"
Helen didn't answer her question directly and instead remarked, "I should have known better than to allow Sebastian to stay with me this summer. Knowing my nephew's appetites as I do, I should have recognized the danger."
"Your nephew wasn't the problem," she remarked dryly.
"Wasn't he? You seemed more than content when you were fucking my niece all summer." Annette flinched at her crude language making Helen laugh. "You two weren't exactly discreet. Poor Henry, nearly had a heart attack when he walked in on you two with the Caldwell girl."
Annette briefly flashed back to the older butler stumbling in on them and Kathryn rolling over in laughter. "Your niece has a problem locking doors," she sighed.
"Yes, which brings us back to the events of this afternoon. If she hurt you in anyway, I want to make it right. And, if at all possible, I'd like to keep this quiet for everyone's sake."
So that's what this was all about. Keeping her quiet. Were she in the mood Annette would have cackled at what a cliché this all was. Protecting the family's ass from the girl on the wrong side of the tracks. She bet if she demanded Helen cut her a check to buy her silence, she'd do it. If Annette was another kind of girl she'd probably be insulted. Instead, she wondered how she could make this work for her.
Realizing she now held some powerful cards of her own, Annette got up from the couch and joined Helen at the fireplace. "I knew exactly who Kathryn was when I got involved with her. Nothing she's done or could do would ever really surprise me. That said, I'm a far way off from forgiving and forgetting. She went too far. If your intention this evening was to assure my silence and keep me from destroying her, I'm curious…what's in it for me?"
"I understand you intend on attending Yale next year. I think it's an excellent idea. I'm setting up a scholarship for a worthy student at Manchester, someone who exemplifies all the best that Manchester has to offer. Frankly, I can think of no worthier candidate than yourself."
"How generous, but my father's pulling me from Manchester, remember?"
She let out a peel of humorless laughter. "He'll do no such thing if he hopes to keep his job and reputation. I'll be announcing it at tomorrow night's gala. Try to act surprised."
Annette smiled wryly. "My father won't like this."
Helen patted her arm and smiled warmly. "Oh dear, as if he as a choice in the matter."
Turning away, she went and took a seat in the leather armchair while Annette tried to wrap her head around what just happened. Would this bitch seriously pay for her to go to Yale just to keep her mouth shut? Could it really be that easy?
"Of course, by accepting my generous donation to your education, you must agree you won't seek retribution against my niece."
There's always fucking something.
"You piece of shit!"
"Ow!" Sebastian ducked as a first edition Anna Karenina came hurtling at him. "Knock it off!"
"Fucker! I should have known. I've never been black out drunk in my life!" Kathryn, who was now kneeling on the couch, gathering up ammunition, paused as if something suddenly occurred to her. "Oh my god. You drugged me, didn't you?"
He shrugged. "I may have slipped you a little something."
Kathryn began chucking pillows at him. "You fucking asshole! That's assault!"
"Please. I never touched you."
"You destroyed my relationship with Annette for nothing!"
"Oh, I can't take all the credit," he quipped, dogging her attacks, "You were more than helpful on that front." One of the pillows nearly knocked a candle down. "Will you stop it psycho! You're going to start a fire."
Ignoring him she continued throwing things until she must have caught the wrong edge of something sharp because she dropped the picture frame she was holding and clutched her hand. "God dammit," she grumbled in pain.
"Serves you right you…" Sebastian curbed his crowing when he realized she was clutching her bandaged hand. Without thinking he got up from his seat and went over to her. Sebastian tried to examine her hand. "Are you okay?"
"It's fine," she told him sharply, yanking her hand away.
"Let me see?" he asked, softening his tone as he reached for her.
Even in the dim light he could see the bandaged opened and her cut which look mostly healed was exposed. He could tell it had been nasty. Gently he fixed her bandage. "It doesn't look like it opened again so that's good."
"It's fine Sebastian," Kathryn repeated, this time with considerably less bite. She took her hand back, avoiding his gaze. He studied her silently, trying to suss out in his head this quiet, possibly broken version of Kathryn and how it correlated with the bitch goddess he knew her to be. "Truth or dare Kathryn?"
"Truth," she sighed, tired.
"How did you really hurt your hand?"
She stared at him blankly for a moment, as if she were trying to decide whether to be honest or not. Finally, she revealed with a carless shrug, "I punched a mirror."
There were of course, many follow up questions he'd like to voice. Knowing they won't get answered however he just remarked, "You really are harder on yourself than you let on."
Kathryn rolled her eyes. "I'm fine Sebastian."
"Yeah, okay, you're fine." Except for the drugs, bulimia, and rampant bursts of anger.
Avoiding his inquisitive gaze, Kathryn grabbed her glass of whiskey and took a sip. "Alright, you're up. Truth or dare?"
Sebastian opened his mouth to speak, only to be interrupted by a loud knock on the library door followed by his stepmother's impatient drawl, "Sebastian are you in there?"
He rolled his eyes as he went for his own drink. Kathryn's expression froze in fear. There was no need to panic, he had locked the door. Sebastian had no intentions of answering her, but she quickly followed it up with, "I know you're in there. Answer me or I'll have Phylicia get the key."
Groaning he barked out, "What do you want?"
"Well in case it's escaped your attention, we're in the middle of a blackout—"
"I hadn't noticed."
"Have you seen your sister?"
Kathryn shook her head, her eyes verging on pleading. He purposely waited a beat before replying. "Can't say I have."
"Who are you in there with?"
"No one you know," she shot back irritated. "Alright, bye bye now."
They both sat quietly listening to see if the high and mighty Tiffany Rochester Merteuil would be dismissed so easily. Luckily, something else must have caught her attention. They were met with only silence.
Kathryn let out a long, held in breath. "Jesus Christ."
"I believe the words you are looking for are thank you."
"Get real, after what you pulled on me—"
"Oh, Tiff—"
She slammed her hand over his mouth, silencing him. "Thank you," she hissed, irritated, as if it were physically painful to say. "Back to your stupid game. Truth or—"
"Ah no," he spoke up cutting her off. "I just saved your ass. I think that entitles me to a free turn." Kathryn rolled her eyes but silently acquiesced. "Truth or dare?"
"Dare"
"I dare you to get me off."
Kathryn cocked an unimpressed brow and snorted. "I was wondering how long it would take you to get around to that. I must say you've shown remarkable restraint until now."
"Thank you"
Rolling her eyes, she got up from her spot on the couch and straddled him. Sebastian tried to underplay his surprise. Truth be told he never expected her to acquiesce so easily. Kathryn was never easy. "Okay, what do you want?"
He shrugged, his hands finding their way to her waist as she seated herself on top of him. "Dealers choice. Hand job, tit job, lap dance—oh!" Sebastian gasped, as her nimble fingers deftly undid his fly and she wrapped her fist around his cock.
"Don't be a child Valmont," she chided as she jerked him off, getting him hard. "What do you want?"
Sebastian met her challenging stare. "I want to fuck your throat raw."
A ghost of a smile crossed her lips. "Good boy."
Kathryn slid off his lap and onto the floor, kneeling in front of him. She unfastened his pants the rest of the way and pulled out his now hard cock and bloated balls. There was a full dollop of pre-cum on the head and he waited to see if she'd lick it off. She took him in her fist and teasingly dragged the head over her full lips, like she was applying lipstick, smearing them with cum before licking them clean. Sebastian's hips jumped at the imagery. She laughed, full and dirty. "Down boy. We don't want this over with before we've begun."
"Get on with it," he growled. "Before I hold you down and make you choke on it."
"All in good time, brother dear"
His cock twitched in her palm and he couldn't be sure if it was on account of her teasing or the reminder of their familial connection. Why was that always so hot? Best not to dwell.
Luckily, he didn't have a chance to give it anymore thought as he was soon distracted by his stepsister's mouth on his dick. Kathryn suckled the head, before working her tongue down the veiny length. Up and down she teased, leaving him on edge before abruptly shoving all of him down her throat. Sebastian gasped in surprise. "Oh fuck!"
Kathryn swallowed him down to the root, her throat offering no resistance. Did she have any kind of gag reflex? He was dearly hoping to find out. Content to let her control things for now, Sebastian leaned back and let her do all the work. Not surprisingly, Kathryn was something of an artist when it came to blow jobs. She knew when to speed up, when to slow it down. She'd get him all worked up, on the brink of coming then pull back, with a teasing grin. Occasionally she suckled his balls, bathing them in saliva. She even briefly rimmed his ass. It was amazing, hands down the best blow job of his illustrious career. And yet…
Kathryn of course knew what he wanted, she was no amateur. With his cock buried down her throat, she slipped her hands under his ass, urging him forward, giving him permission to fuck her face. Sebastian didn't need to be told twice. Threading his fingers in her silky locks, he held her still as he slowly lifted his hips feeding her his length. He took a few tentative, experimental thrusts, not wanting to go too hard, too fast. Of course, Kathryn would have none of that. Her eyes narrowed at him as she silently demanded, fucking do it already pussy.
Sebastian was more than up for the challenge. Tightening his grip on her hair, he abruptly jerked her forward and thrust his hips violently up. For the first time that night, Kathryn gagged briefly before he pulled back. "Huh, I guess you do have a gag reflex after all," he mused.
She glared at him through watery eyes but didn't protest when he resumed fucking her face. Sebastian would have liked to have made it last for hours, unfortunately even his legendary will power was no match for his sister's mouth or his intense desire for her. Withing seconds he was coming down her throat, his shaking hand fisted in her hair as he bathed her throat in his cum. Panting, he collapsed back on the sofa in exhaustion. "Jesus Christ," he exclaimed, feeling as if he just ran a marathon. From a fucking blow job.
Pulling away, Kathryn reached for her glass of scotch and took a hearty swig before flopping down beside him on the couch. Her mouth was red and raw and her hair a mess, but otherwise she looked no worse for wear. Actually, she looked pretty smug. "Enjoy that, did you?"
There was no sense denying it. "You could teach a class."
"I wonder if Manchester would consider that an extracurricular?" she asked dryly. "Okay, you're up. Truth or dare?"
He kind of wanted to say dare on the off chance she might request he return the favor, but honestly after that he needed a minute, so he went with the less taxing option. "Truth."
"Best sexual experience?"
He blinked. "This one is pretty up there." It was true. He'd be jerking off to memories from this night for years to come.
"Excluding what just happened on this couch, who was the best? And you can't say Annette."
"What if she was?"
Kathryn glared at him and he laughed.
"Sophie Loumer." It was the first name that popped into his head. The truth was, before Annette most of his sexual experiences tended to run together, hence the journal. It wasn't that they weren't enjoyable in their own way, but few and far between actually felt unique or even memorable.
Kathryn rested her head on the back of the couch, her expression unimpressed. "That model with the bony ass? Pray tell, what was so memorable about her?"
Mimicking her pose, Sebastian pretended to consider it. "Mmm…she was very flexible, uninhibited, daddy issues for days…"
Her pretty little face turned up. "Gross."
"Truth or dare?"
"Truth"
"Biggest sexual fantasy"
Her mouth paused right above her drink and her eyes looked up to meet his. Her smirk deepened and her eyes flashed with naughty delight. "You couldn't handle it," she taunted.
"Try me."
He was practically leaning over her at this point and he could hear his own heart pounding in his ears. Kathryn waited a beat, clearly relishing drawing this out. She leaned forward as if to kiss him only to bypass his mouth in favor of his ear. Sebastian breathed her in and got hard again. "You and Annette. Inside me. At the same time."
She pulled back from him, a knowing smirk on her mouth. Sebastian blinked at her and his mind went blank. Was she fucking with him? Then he remembered. That story she told him the night before, when he had his fingers inside her, about watching that threesome at the party. He had vaguely wondered at the time if she was hinting at something happening between the three of them, but he had been far too preoccupied with what he was doing to give it more than a passing thought. Now though, he realized it was real.
Suddenly he was bombarded with an array of pornographic images flying through his mind like one of those view masters. Sebastian fucking Kathryn from behind while Annette went down on her, Annette drilling her with her favorite toy while he ate her out, Sebastian fucking her cunt while Annette—
"Did I shock you?" she asked with a small shit eating grin.
He cleared his throat and took a big swig of scotch. "You're right, I couldn't handle it."
She laughed, her eyes dancing. "Truth or dare?"
"Truth."
"Well I'd ask you your sexual fantasy, but you were pretty detailed in your journal."
He paused, once again caught off guard. Sebastian had forgotten about that. Refusing to show embarrassment he shrugged it off and quipped, "What can I say, I have a vivid imagination. It's a shame we don't have some handcuffs available."
"Yes, it is."
Sebastian's head shot up in surprise. Kathryn was wearing that inscrutable grin of hers. He couldn't tell if she was fucking with him or not. This was what they did after all, flirt and mock and taunt. Business as usual. But after what just happened, they were definitely wadding into uncharted territory. It all felt like it was building to something.
"Have you ever jerked off to me before?"
Sebastian rolled his eyes to the ceiling. "I think you know that answer to that question."
"Yes, but I want to hear to say it."
Meeting her laughing eyes he sighed. "Yes, Kathryn, I've jerked off to you before. Was that the little ego rub you were looking for?"
She giggled. "Do you do it a lot?"
"You get one question bitch."
Playfully jostling him she urged, "Come on. I want the details."
"Too bad. I've humiliated myself enough for one evening."
"Fine," she pouted, curling up against him.
Sebastian shifted his head until his eyes met hers. They inched towards each other, until their mouths hovered just out of reach. Sebastian's gaze lingered on her lips, plump and pink and recalled how they tasted the night before. "Truth or dare," he mumbled. He wasn't sure why he was still keeping up the pretense of the game. Clearly this ceased being about the game a long time ago.
"Let's keep on theme…truth."
"Did you ever love me?" The words were out of his mouth before he even realized he was saying them. Suddenly he felt intensely vulnerable. They both were all too aware that sometimes the things you give someone can be used against you.
Kathryn's eyes widened briefly, and she pulled back, obviously surprised at the blunt question. "What?"
Suddenly the only thing he wanted in the world was an answer to his question. Swallowing his fear Sebastian pressed on, "Was it all bullshit? What we had…I mean did you care about me at all? Or was it really just a game?"
"That's more than one question."
"You know what I'm asking. I think after everything that's gone down between us, I deserve an answer."
He expected her to laugh, pull away, storm out. Instead she sat there, very still, not looking at him. Sebastian was about to give up all hope of getting anything resembling honesty from her when she spoke up in a voice barely above a whisper. "Yes."
"Yes, what? Yes, it was a lie, yes, you really—"
"Don't make me say it."
Kathryn finally looked up at him and just then he knew the answer the same as he knew his own name. Sebastian inhaled sharply and took it in. Holy shit, the blonde menace was right.
There were a host of follow up questions he had for her but before he could get anything out, Kathryn leaned in and kissed him. Wet, open mouthed kisses that he eagerly returned. It didn't take long for things to grow heated, her hand reaching up to grasp the collar of his shirt, Sebastian tugged her onto his lap. They made out fiercely before Sebastian remembered himself. Pulling back, he panted, "Wait, hold up, I have another question."
"Too bad, you only get one, remember?"
"Just some clarification, please"
"Nope"
He groaned. "I hate this fucking game."
"You wanted to play," she laughed before tugging him back into a kiss. Sliding her fingers through his hair, she tugged and nipped at his lip and kissed him deeply. Just like that Sebastian forgot all about his questions.
Rolling them onto the couch, he nestled himself between her legs and kissed down her neck, licking a trail down her collarbone. Sebastian, still is disbelief that this was happening, yanked impatiently on his stepsister's robe. When the damn thing wouldn't give, he, he gave up and settled for suckling her hard little nipple through her nightie. Kathryn gasped, withering beneath him. God, what he'd give to make her scream. Teeth on her tit, Sebastian gazed up at her, looking for any signs of hesitancy, before sliding a hand up her thigh. He fingers teased her though her panties before slipping inside. Wasting no time, he slid one digit in, followed by a second. She was so wet already and he'd barely begun to do anything to her.
Kathryn bucked against him, whimpering needily. Sebastian wished he could record that sound, make it is fucking ring tone. Kathryn unleashed. He'd barely begun to touch her when he felt her clench around his fingers and jerk in climax. He looked up at her from between her breasts. She was panting, staring up at the ceiling. When her gaze shifted back on him and she caught his amused and questioning look she rolled her eyes. "Try not to read too much into it," she told his dryly. "I orgasm easily."
He honestly didn't have that much experience with her to tell if she's lying or not. Sebastian shifted upwards and began kissing her again, groaning when he felt her hand reach between them for his dick. Trying not to lose it as quickly as she had, he tried to think of something else—the Brooklyn Bridge, his aunt Helen, tax laws—
"Fuck me," Kathryn gasped against his ear, before tugging it with her teeth.
Sebastian pulled up suddenly. He eyed her, not sure if she meant it or not. Leaning in he kissed her briefly. "Is that a truth or a dare?"
"What do you think?" she murmured against him.
"We're going to need a bigger boat."
"Excuse me?"
Sliding a hand under her head and another under her waist he rolled them off the couch. Kathryn let out a shriek of surprise, handing on top of him with a thud. Sebastian winced in pain, momentarily regretting his swift decision, until that is Kathryn straddled him.
Tossing her hair out of her face she groused, "What the hell?"
"I like a large work station," he remarked, shucking off her silk robe. Kathryn removed her nightgown with little artifice, leaving her naked except for her panties. In the dim light of the candlelight her skin seemed to glow. Sebastian considered her a moment, tongue in his cheek, realizing this might actually happen he tried to remember to breathe.
Kathryn apparently had no such problem. She immediately got down to work unfastening his pants, eager hands reaching in to palm his cock. Sebastian groaned, head thrown back when she wrapped her fist around him and jerked him off. He suspected she was trying to level the playing field a little by getting him to pop off early just as she had. Sebastian had no intention of giving in so easily.
Once again, he took charge, grasping her by the waist he rolled her over onto her back. Kathryn let out a small shriek of surprise. Sebastian reached for her panties, tugging them down her smooth legs, still not believing this was really happening. He kept expecting her to get up and laugh in his face, call him a silly little rabbit or whatever. "You better not be fucking with me," he warned.
At his threat her pout morphed into a coy little smirk. "Oh? And what if I am?"
He grinned wolfishly down at her and remarked, "Then I won't give you what you want." Sebastian jerked her forward by the hips, tilting her pelvis and bending her knees back. A soft gasp escaped her lips at the sudden maneuver
"As if you know what that is."
Fingering her wet cunt, spread and beckoning he murmured, "Oh I think I have a pretty good idea."
Before their banter could continue, he took his cock in hand (which had been swearing like a sailor for the past ten minutes demanding he fuck her already) and pushed inside her beckoning heat at last. Kathryn made a sort of breathless noise like he had punched her in the gut. Sebastian didn't even want to think about what he sounded like. He had gone in nearly balls deep, she was pulsating around him, wet and tight and so so hot. Sebastian knew he had gone slack jawed, his face flushed. It took him a moment to regain his concentration, to put himself back on track, to not cum. He chanced a look at her. Kathryn's eyes were unfocused, her lips parted as she lightly panted. When their eyes met, they seemed to share a look of recognition that this was actually happenings.
It would be stupid to say she felt any different than any other girl. After all, as crude as it sounded, pussy was pussy. But she was different. It was Kathryn. Funny, it hadn't occurred to him until he was balls deep inside her just how badly he wanted this. How he was willing to blow up his whole stupid plan just to have her like this. He should have known.
Kathryn reached for him, almost tenderly and pulled him into a brief kiss. "Fuck me already," she murmured against his mouth. Sebastian nipped at her lips once, then gave her what she asked for.
In the end, it was a fast fuck. They were booth too eager, too hyped up to expect it to be anything else. Sebastian remained bent over her, hands gripping her hips while his face was buried in her neck as he pounded into her frantically. Kathryn was coiled around him like a snake, legs wrapped around his upper back, heels kneeing into his back while she rode him from below. Spurred on by the little gasps in his ear, he fucked her harder. He could hear the sounds of their bodies joining and normally that sort of thing might have put him off but, he found he like it—it just made the whole thing more real.
Catching the flicker of candlelight out of the corner of his eye Sebastian absently thought the whole scene was kind of romantic or at least it would be if they weren't rutting like animals in heat.
Kathryn came first with a high pitched moan he was surprised didn't bring her mother running. She jerked violently underneath him, hard enough he had to use a little bit of his weight to pin her down as she clenched around his thrusting length. Sebastian didn't even have time to enjoy it before he was coming as well, making what he assumed were undignified sounds in her ear as his body erupted. He knew it was wrong to come inside of her (and borderline stupid to fuck without a condom) but he loved it all the same. He suspected it was not a privilege she handed over lightly.
They lay there for a while, panting quietly into the dark, his face still buried in her neck, his cock still buried in her cunt. Kathryn's legs sagged to the side. Her arms remained tentatively around him—as if she was giving him permission to leave but she wasn't sure she wanted him too. Sebastian cursed himself for not making this last longer. The fuck he had been lusting after since puberty, and the whole thing lasted only a couple of minutes.
Before he could beat himself up too badly the electricity suddenly flickered on. Pulling back, he sat on his hunches, staring around the library which looked so different in the bright light. He was almost afraid to look at Kathryn, sure he wound find indifference or worse yet disappointment. Eventually however he had no choice. He looked down to find her watching him with a thoughtful expression. She was as beautiful as he ever remembered seeing her—naked, spread out before him, skin flushed with a light gleam of sweat. She stretched her arms over her head and her face took on a more calculating, familiar predatory look. Sebastian held his breath.
"So, you've waited all this time to fuck me and this is all I get?" Pulling herself up on her elbows her she sat up and flashed him a filthy grin. "You can do better than that."
"You can't be serious," Annette exclaimed. "That bitch threw a grenade into my life. You expect me to just let it go?"
"Yes. Now I agree, Kathryn acting a tad…impulsively, but what did you expect to happen when you provoked her?" Annette opened her mouth to argue only for Helen to hold up a hand. "I'm not interested in the details of your girl's squabbles, but for both your sakes I'm suggesting your let it go. Do we have a deal?"
She wanted to argue further but saw no point. If going to Yale meant giving up her vendetta against Kathryn, she'd have to suck it up and do it. At least temporarily. "Alright, very well, we have a deal." Stepping forward she shook the older woman's hand.
"It's late, I should be heading back." Annette watched as Helen headed for the door only to pause on the threshold. "You might not see it now, but you've been very good for my niece. Prior to your arrival I had been concerned there was too much of her mother in her. But these past months I've seen a change in her."
"Funny, she seems like the same backstabbing bitch to me," Annette quipped, arms to her chest.
A knowing look flickered in her expression as she slipped her jacket back on. "Fear and ambition are powerful motivators. I would think you of all people would understand that. Have a good night Annette."
Before she could leave, she called out to her, "Wait. Do Sebastian and Kathryn know—"
"Of course not." With a wicked little grin she added, "Where's the fun in that?"
Annette's eyebrows shot up in response and she watched in awe as Mrs. Rosemond made her exit as regally as she entered. For a solid minute she just stood there wondering if that seriously just happened. Annette felt exhausted, and exhilarated and also like she may have just made a deal with the devil. It didn't matter. She got to stay in New York, she'd get to go to Yale whether she won the stupid election or not. Everything was on track.
All she had to do was not kill Kathryn.
Letting out a long sigh she dragged herself up the stairs, intent on a nice long bath. She had every intention of forgoing her morning jog and sleeping in tomorrow. This felt like the longest, weirdest day ever.
Before she could reach the landing, her father came down the stairs, eyes wide and suspicious. "Is she still here?" he whispered.
"Oh, there you are. I half expected to find you listening at the door. No, Helen left, but she sends her best."
Annette started to pass him on the stairs, only for her father to reach out and grasp her arm. "Well, what did she want?" he demanded.
She tugged her arm away sharply. "It's none of your concern," she informed him icily. "The only thing you need to know is that I'm staying in New York and graduating from Manchester. Good night daddy."
She figured she'd save her Yale bombshell for the gala.
Heading into her bedroom, she shut the door and began to strip out of her sundress and heels. Absently she picked up her phone and noticed she had a few new texts. One from Shiv. One from Trevor. One from Kathryn. It was of course the last one that concerned her. Annette hesitated briefly before reading it. With good reason.
"Jesus fucking Christ," she grumbled as she read it again.
Was this supposed to be a joke? A cruel prank? Or was she just wasted? Plagiarizing that asshole's bullshit apology letter was a step too far. And what was she to make of that claim that she was going to drop out of the election? Annette didn't buy it for a second.
The more she thought about it, the more furious she became. Annette paced her room, her mind running through various revenge scenarios until she remembered herself. As much as she'd love to pay Kathryn back her hands were tied and her future was now on the line. However, she promised the old woman she wouldn't seek revenge, but she said nothing about antagonizing Kathryn…
Smirking to herself as an idea began to take form, Annette reached for her phone. She wasn't sure why she had this asshole's number in her phone, but at that moment she wasn't about to question it. He answered on the second ring.
"Annette Hargrove? To what do I owe the pleasure, especially at this time of night?"
She rolled her eyes cringing at his douche voice. "Hey Court, I'm sorry for calling so late, but I was just wondering…would you still like to be my date for the gala?"
Like any other perfectionist, Kathryn didn't believe in doing things halfway. If she was going to damn herself, she might as well do it thoroughly. When she finally decided to go to bed with Sebastian, she wasn't going to settle for just a five minute fuck on the floor. She was determined to wring as many orgasms as possible out of the situation.
Luckily her darling stepbrother was more than up to the task.
"Oh fuck…jesus Christ harder goddammit…"
Her demand was met with a sharp slap on her ass. "You might want to keep it down," Sebastian panted not breaking stride as he fucked her against the desk. "Unless you want mommy to figure out who I'm in here with…"
"Fuck mommy."
Grabbing a fistful of her hair, Sebastian jerked her back and husked in her ear, "I love it when you talk dirty."
"Pervert"
"Coming from you I take that as a compliment…sis."
Their banter came to a brief halt, when Sebastian slipped a hand underneath her, teasing her clit, effectively distracting her. In the short time they had been together, he was growing more and more assured on just the right way to touch her to get her off. Kathryn couldn't be sure if that was a good thing or not, although at the moment it felt like a very good thing indeed.
She always assumed sex with Sebastian would inevitably turn into a game of one-upmanship just like everything else they engaged in, and in a way it had. Who could make the other come first, harder, best. However, unlike all of her previous male lovers, Sebastian never left her wanting. If anything, she felt overwhelmed. With all the other she was always chasing what they would give her, with Sebastian she felt like she was the one being chased. It was kind of exhilarating.
It took less than a minute for her orgasm to come ricocheting through her body, making her body spasm and clench his invading cock. The pleasure was ripping her apart. She knew she was being too loud, but she was long past caring at that point. Kathryn had barely gotten her bearings when Sebastian gasped, "Oh god…cumming…"
"Not inside me," she had enough sense to warn. She still couldn't believe she let him do it the first time.
Without a word, Sebastian abruptly pulled out of her then turned her over. In a flash he was straddling her chest, his jaw clenched tight, his neck muscles straining as he beat his cock against her tits before finally coming in thick white stripes across her chest, neck and face. Kathryn knew she should be disgusted, but really, the whole thing just kind of turned her on. Not that she'd tell him that.
"You're a fucking animal"
Sebastian wasn't the least bit ashamed. "You love it."
Kathryn scooped up a dollop of cum off her cheek and licked it. "Maybe."
Smiling, he climbed off the stone table they had been screwing on, then offered her his hand. Kathryn nearly laughed at the chivalrous gesture which seemed absurd given what she just let him do to her, but she took his hand anyway, allowing him to help her up. Her limbs felt like jello. Everything was sore, but of course she didn't let on as they awkwardly shuffled around each other. Sebastian was watching her in that way that he's pretending that he's not. His hands found their way to her waist and she expected him to pull her in for a kiss, instead he asked, "Drink?"
"Yeah"
He made his way to the bar (apparently no worse for wear) while Kathryn collapsed on the sofa, exhaustion threatening to take hold. She stared at the coffee table in front of her, now broken in two thanks to their vigorous attempts to fuck on it. Oh god, that was going to be hard to explain. Come to think of it, this whole night was going to be hard to explain.
Ever since they started this, she hadn't had a moment to consider what she was doing and honestly, she was afraid to be left alone with her thoughts, afraid she would start to doubt herself. Had this been a colossal misstep? Probably. The question was, did she care?
The couch dipped as Sebastian sunk down beside her, placing a glass of scotch in her hand. "Having regrets already?"
Kathryn looked up at him, trying to keep the surprise from her face. Could he read her so easily or was he just teasing her? She was careful to school her expression into a look of cool indifference as she scooped up her satin robe from the ground and slipped it back on, not bothering to tie it. "Actually, I was thinking about the last time we were in this room."
Sebastian paused mid sip to look around the library. "Hmm…when we found my uncle getting blown by that actress?"
"No, I was remembering that New Year's when you were too much of a pussy to kiss me…"
His face flashed with recognition and he smiled wryly into his drink. "As if you would have let me. You were panting over that viscount if memory serves."
"I would have," she purred remembering back to it. She had fucked that viscount and after their mediocre lay she had come looking for her stepbrother, dragging him into the library with a bottle of champagne right before midnight. He had laughed at her shortcomings with the viscount before abandoning her to go chase after some underwear model. Fucker. "Why do you think I pulled you in here in the first place?"
His smile died and he seemed genuinely takeback. Kathryn laughed. "Just think if you had sacked up in the first place, you could have gotten what you wanted that much sooner."
"Not to mention beat Hargrove to the punch."
She frowned at the mention of the headmaster's daughter. Ever since that first kiss that evening (who started it? Was it her? No, it had to be him) she had been doing an admirable job of keeping Annette far from her thoughts. She resented her being brought up in the conversation, namely because it reminded her of her guilt. Her stomach twisted, feeling as if it was curling around itself. "I don't want to talk about her," she remarked, staring into her drink.
Sebastian of course wasn't going to let it go. "Are you afraid how she's going to retaliate?" he asked.
Kathryn looked up meeting his stare. "Actually, I'm more afraid I'll never see her again."
He rolled his eyes at her and drawled, "So dramatic. I wouldn't worry about it. Odds are slim your lady love is going anywhere."
"What do you mean?"
"My aunt went to see her this evening. I highly doubt she's going to allow headmaster daddy to ship off her star pupil."
Kathryn took this in, feeling at once elated and furious. "Why didn't you tell me this earlier?"
He shrugged, unbothered. "Slipped my mind."
"You're such an asshole," she grumbled. "I really hate you sometimes."
He had the nerve to laugh. "No, you don't. Secret's out, remember?"
Kathryn looked up at him sharply. "You're going to use that against me every chance you get now, is that it?"
Sebastian's face fell and he quickly back tracked. "I…no. I didn't mean it like that I…um…"
This time Kathryn smiled. "Sebastian Valmont at a loss for words, my my, wonders never cease." Wanting to put an end to this conversation before it led somewhere dangerous, she pulled him close and drew him into a long, slow kiss. When they broke apart, he looked a little dazed and she knew she had him back where she wanted him. "You know, this doesn't change anything right?"
He nodded, face expressionless then pulled her onto his lap. With his forehead pressed to hers he murmured, "How about just for tonight, we pretend all the other bullshit doesn't matter?"
"Okay"
He felt like he was burning alive. It was Kathryn, currently draped over him like a heated blanket. Sebastian detested being hot, but in that moment he didn't mind. Wrapping an arm around her he held her tighter, but he didn't open his eyes.
The storm had cleared and the clouds had parted giving way to a bright morning sun that was obnoxiously streaming in through the library windows, stinging his eyelids, but he didn't so much as stir. He didn't even chance opening his eyes to watch her sleep because he knew. Sebastian knew as soon as he woke up his night with Kathryn will have come to an end and everything would go back to how it was before. No more touching her whenever (however) he felt like it, no more shared hushed laughter, no more emotional honesty, no more of her looking at him like he's the only person in her world.
There was no way Kathryn would allow that to continue in the bright light of day. He was her stepbrother and her nemesis and sure she might have loved him at one point, but she was obviously still in love with the headmaster's daughter. This was clearly just a one off for her
That's not to say Sebastian was just going to roll over and let her have her way. If Kathryn thought she could dangle that little taste of what it was like to be together and he'd just walk away, she had another thing coming.
"Ahem"
Sebastian was pulled from his thoughts by the sound of someone clearing there throat. A male someone. He jerked awake to find his father sitting on the armchair beside the couch watching them. The very same armchair he fucked Kathryn on the night before. Edward Valmont was dressed in his best tennis whites, a bemused expression on his face, his overly emotive eyebrows, high on his forehead. "Well, good morning," his booming voice greeted them with more enthusiasm than any man who just discovered his children were fucking had any right to.
"Oh god," Kathryn gasped, awake and suddenly alert. Her eyes were large and panicked as she scurried to cover herself with the blanket Sebastian was now happy, he had thought to cover them with last night. Small favors
His father leaned down and retrieved Kathryn's robe from the other side of the broken coffee table and handed it to her with a small smile. "Your mother was looking for you all last night. She was frantic with worry." Side eyeing his son he added pointedly, "I had a feeling you two were holed up in here."
Sebastian highly doubted Tiffany had ever been frantic about anything outside of her vodka and her bank account. "Did you tell her?" he asked carefully.
"No," he told him before turning to his stepdaughter with paternal warmth, "But perhaps you outta go tell her you're okay. She's in her room getting a message."
Kathryn, who had somehow managed to get her robe on without exposing herself, untangled herself fully from Sebastian and got to her feet. "Thank you Edward," she told him quietly before making a quick exit. It didn't go unnoticed by Sebastian that she didn't so much as make eye contact with him before running out of there. That didn't bode well.
Left alone with his father and dreading what he assumed was going to be an awkward and painful conversation, Sebastian let out a long sigh and stared up at the ceiling. "Okay let's hear it."
To his surprise his father let out a laugh and exclaimed, "What the hell were you thinking?!"
He looked at him unbothered and shrugged.
Still smirking his father shook his head, "Not good enough son. How long has this been going on? Is this what you two have been up to every time your stepmother and I leave town?"
"You told me to keep an eye on her," he drawled.
"Don't be cute." Edward started to sit on the broken table only to think better of it and take a seat the cusp of the couch so he could stare down at him. Sebastian wasn't impressed. His father had never exactly been father of the year and he'd be damned if chose now to start parenting. "This is serious Sebastian. I mean I always knew you had a thing for her, but I thought she at least had the common sense—"
"Dad, can we not?"
"Sebastian this is not some Manchester debutante or the princess of Sweden we are talking about. She's your goddamn stepsister." Staring at the broken table in exasperation he remarked, "I mean this is depraved even for you."
"Try not to sound so proud when you say that," he quipped.
"I mean if your stepmother found out about this, I don't have to tell you my balls won't be the only ones on the chopping block."
"I'm well aware," he sighed. "Look you have nothing to worry about, Tiffany won't find out anything."
His father looked far from convinced. "I just want to make sure you two don't have any plans to run off together like some kind of demented incestuous Romeo and Juliet. I don't even want to think about what would happen in the media got wind of this—"
"Dad! For fucks sake, no one is going to find out about this," Sebastian exclaimed. He was tired and sick of discussing this with his father of all people. Desperate to get rid of him and put the conversation to bed he lied, "It was just a drunken hook-up. It was a onetime mistake I don't plan on making again. Come on, you know me. I don't shit where I eat."
Edward eyed him like he was trying to assess if he was full of shit or not. Finally, he remarked, "Good, glad to hear it. And Kathryn, is she on the same page?"
That was the question of the hour, now wasn't it? "Don't worry about Kathryn," Sebastian told him with more confidence than he was feeling. "I'll handle her."
"I hope you know what you're doing son."
"Yeah, so do I."