Stepbrother Forbidden (Stepbrother, Where Art Thou? Book 2) by Aya Fukunishi

sliding around her back as he drew her in for a kiss. She'd imagined feeling the heat of his body against hers, and the anticipation of what they'd do to each other the moment they had a little privacy. Now, though, all she could feel was the pain in her wrists, the heat of the tears streaming down her face and the humiliation of being marched back through the terminal in full sight of hundreds of people.
     
    "Please," she cried, "I didn't do anything. I just need to know if Ryan is on the plane."
     
    "Not my area, ma'am," the guard replied. "Keep walking."
     
    Finally, after what felt like a mile of marching the guard guided her through a keycode locked door, ushered her along a silent corridor and led her to another door. A moment later she felt the guard release her cuffs. She reached up her hands and wiped the tears from her face.
     
    "Did you intend to fly today, ma'am?" the guard asked.
     
    "No. I mean, I had a ticket, but I was just trying to catch my stepbrother before he left."
     
    "OK," he replied, his voice surprisingly soft. "I heard what you said at the counter, and I don't want to take this any further. You won't be allowed back in the airport today, you understand?"
     
    Sophia nodded.
     
    "You just can't cause a disturbance at the gate like that, no matter the reason. I'm sure to didn't mean any harm, but we have to take that kind of thing seriously. You get me?"
     
    Sophia nodded again. "Yes sir. I'm sorry."
     
    "Now, I'm going to have to escort you out of the building. If you need to get hold of a passenger you'll have to call the airline and leave a message for him at his destination. OK? Now let's get you out of here. I'm eating into my break."
     
    The guard pushed open the door and led Sophia out into the departures hall. He kept a close eye on her as she walked to to the exit, but was kind enough to stay a few steps behind her, to make it look as if she wasn't being thrown out.
     
    The guard watched her until she reached the taxi rank, then turned back into the terminal. Sophia pulled out her phone and thought about calling information, leaving a message for Ryan at his gate in South Bend, but it just didn't feel right. She couldn't say the things she wanted to say over the phone. She didn't want Ryan to read I love you, come home from a print out under the American Airlines logo. She wanted to say it to his face.
     
    A yellow cab pulled up, and for a moment Sophia hoped it would be driven by Ron. She needed to see a friendly face right now, but a glance through the window told her she wouldn't get that lucky.
     
    "Mind if we split a cab?"
     
    Sophia recognized the voice at the first word, and by the last her heart had stopped. She turned around.
     
    Ryan stood there, a canvas duffel bag slung over one shoulder, his lips turned up in an uncertain smile. Hopeful, but uncertain.
     
    "You didn't get on the plane," she said, lost for better words.
     
    Ryan shook his head slowly. "No."
     
    "You're coming home?"
     
    He nodded. "Yeah."
     
    She reached out to take his hand, as if to convince herself he was really there. A spark seemed to jump between their fingers as they met, and when he took her hand she knew he'd never let her go again. He pulled her towards him, and she let him take her. His hand moved up her body, skimming her, tracing her contours beneath the letter jacket she still wore, before reaching her face. He lifted her chin with one finger, slid his hand around the back of her neck and pulled her in for a kiss, his fingers buried in her chestnut hair.
     
    The crowd seemed to fade into mist as his lips met hers, and the honking horns and revving engines were silenced. The world beyond Ryan seemed thin and insubstantial, as if he was the only truly real person on the planet, and everyone else mere ghosts.
     
    He was hers, and she was his. The rest of the world would just have to deal with it.
     
    *

 
     
    Epilogue
     
    The cab ride passed in near silence. Sophia lay across