“There is no between," Sarah said softly. She looked deep into Jeremy's eyes and smiled like a sunrise. He gasped as her face filled with a sudden luminous glory.

“Oh, Jeremy, can't you feel it? Do you understand? It*s not me and you. Or Alex and Sarah. Or Mom and Daddy.

It's...it's just us. All of us. Together. Forever." Tears pooled in her eyes and spilled down her cheek. "Us."

She kissed him with a fierce, loving passion which left him breathless, then turned away, standing. She took Maria's hand in one hand, and

Jeremy's in the other, and placed them together.

“Be good to each other," she said, a sparkling joy in her eyes which nearly broke Jeremy's heart, so different it was from the tense, wary prickliness with which she usually guarded her emotions. "I'm going to make love to my brother.” She walked over to Alex. Rather, she bounced, gleaming with happiness like a child on a summer morning, when the entire world seemed remade and new, created only for her.

“I've wanted you," she said, drinking in his body, “since that day you came into my room a couple weeks ago, and we talked about our futures.

About culinary school and acting. How was I to know that future included you in my bed?"

“So we're going back into the house?" Alex asked. His mind was whirling with wine and with the direction the night had taken.

“If you like," she replied. From the corner of her eye she could see

Maria shifting closer to Jeremy, his hands lightly clasping her slim waist. "But we've got a bed right here, don't we? And we need to keep an eye on these two," she said teasingly, taking his hands and pulling him to his feet. His body, when he stood, was very close to hers, and she closed her eyes against a tidal surge of passion. "Who knows what sort of trouble they'll get into if we're not around?"

"Hmm," he said, drawing her close. She sighed as his head bent down, and shivered as his lips nuzzled the fragile skin of her temple.

“That's a good point."

His voice was somewhat reserved, and she pulled back to look at him.

“You're okay with this, aren't you? We never asked you if this was something you wanted."

He grinned down at her, his strong features emphasized by the prominent beak of his nose. "Wanted, yes. Dared to ask for, no. You're beautiful,

Sarah. No matter how much you try to drive people away sometimes. I know your heart, and it's a good one.

"And so is your ass," he continued, his hands drifting down to cup her taut globes. He drew her close, until their bodies were touching from knee to chest. Through her blouse, she could sense his cock, a pulsing bar of heat against her belly. She ran her hands under the tail of his shirt, savoring the feel of his skin as she caressed his stomach.

"I love you," she whispered, and lifted her face, her mouth inviting.

Her groin was slowly catching fire, heat unspooling deep within her

Alex brought his face to hers, his hands dislodging the tie which bound her hair back, letting it spill in a brown wave over her shoulders. As they kissed for the first time, he ran his hands through it, his fingers winding carefully through its Length.

Sarah clung to Alex, her arms tight around his back. His mouth was firm but soft on hers, quietly undemanding, and she suddenly realized what

Maria had meant, when she said Jeremy was almost as gentle as her boyfriend. Of all the lovers she had ever had, he was by far the most careful. His desire to be dominant had been yoked and tamed, until his every thought was about his partner's pleasure, rather than his own desires, which he was only beginning to come to terms with. She felt a sudden stab of jealousy for Maria, that she could have all of Alex, even the parts of his sexuality that found no match in hers, while she had to make do with what was left.

She bludgeoned the thought to its knees as his hands found their way under the waistband of her yoga pants, his fingers tracing the cleft of her ass. Quit whining, you snippy bitch! So you don't get to experience him as a dominant. So what? You know you wouldn't like it anyway. Are you going to stand in the backyard and curse at the clouds because God paired Alex and Maria together?

She gave a sudden snort of Laughter, smiling at her brother as he pulled away in sudden alarm.