Daire Caitlin - Score - A Stepbrother Romance -

SCORE A STEPBROTHER ROMANCE

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CAITLIN DAIRE ALYSSA ALPHA

Contents SCORE: A Stepbrother Romance Copyright Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14

Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Chapter 29 THE END DARE: A Stepbrother Romance Copyright

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18

Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 THE END STORM: A Stepbrother Romance Copyright Mailing list Part 1 Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3

Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22

Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Part 2 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Chapter 30 Chapter 31 Chapter 32 Chapter 33 The End Also by Caitlin Daire Also by Alyssa Alpha

SCORE A S TEPBROTHER ROMANCE

by Caitlin Daire & Alyssa Alpha

© 2015 by Caitlin Daire & Alyssa Alpha All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. Caitlin’s newsletter Alyssa’s newsletter

Chapter 1 Chase I wasn’t supposed to be here, but I didn’t care. The heavy bass of the music thumped all around me in the massive, darkened space, and the crowd whooped and cheered, going wild as my opponent and I stepped up into the cage. My opponent —a tall, muscle-bound ex-bodyguard— held up a hand to the audience, and his

lips curled into a grin; a little off-center in a jaw which had obviously been broken more than once. Black tribalinspired lines coiled around his biceps and shins, and the crowd screamed louder as he flashed them a wink. The whole room practically vibrated from all the clapping and screeching. I didn’t wave, let alone smile or wink. I wasn’t here to gain fans or be recognized. I was here to fight. I was here to win. I knew what would happen if I was ever actually recognized here in the underground scene, but luckily for me, the types of people who frequented these fights weren’t the sort to follow politics.

If they were, then I’d probably be dead and buried somewhere out in the sticks by my father. Well, not literally, but figuratively speaking, I’d be fucked. I could almost hear his voice in my head now, dripping with contempt and harping on about how it would ruin his latest political campaign if it came out that his apparently-respectable son was secretly participating in this kind of illegal shit. I raised my eyes over my opponent’s shoulder and scanned the crowd, and that was when I saw something that made me realize I was meant to be here all along, despite what anyone else said or thought. That was when I saw her.

Chapter 2 Lina I couldn’t believe I’d let Michaela and Landon drag me here, but if I tried to deny the adrenaline rush thumping in my veins, I’d be lying to myself. There was something about sitting in this abandoned factory, the seats grimy with dust and God knows what else. The whole situation seemed dangerous, and even though I wasn’t an adrenaline

junkie, I appreciated the hot rush of blood flowing to my heart, speeding up the rhythmic beat of my pulse. Thump. Thump. Thump. Music started up around us, an aggressive bass assaulting all of my senses. It felt like my heart had started beating in line with the music, and I could barely hear my friends over the commotion. “I want to go,” I complained for the billionth time, shifting uncomfortably in my seat. I really wasn’t enjoying myself, even though it was quite a different experience. I would’ve preferred to be

at home, cuddled up in bed and watching a show on Netflix. “Lina, don’t be such a spoilsport!” Landon rolled his eyes before emitting the girliest sounding shriek I’d ever heard. “Look, they’re just about to get started now!” I looked at Michaela for support, but even she seemed to be too engrossed in the dirty surroundings to notice that I was uncomfortable. With a heavy sigh, I settled in my seat and crossed my arms defensively in front of my body. They might have made me come and see an illegal underground fight, but I could always channel my inner toddler and sulk throughout the whole thing. See how they liked that.

Apparently, they didn’t care much; both of my besties too intent on watching the stage. Just then, the voice of the announcer cut into my angry thoughts, and I raised my gaze to the boxing ring. Was it even called a boxing ring? I had no idea. It looked more like a giant cage, to be honest. There was loud whistling and clapping all around us and I closed my eyes for a moment, trying to ignore the nagging way my throat was closing up. It was a sign of a panic attack if I ever knew one, but I didn’t let it bring me down. I opened my eyes again, this time determined to sit through the match without whining. I was often told I was

too delicate, too fragile. Well, how about this, then? I wanted to shout at the crowd. Look at me now, you judgy pricks. “Lina, keep it down,” Michaela said with a horrified tone, and it was only then that I realized I’d spoken the words out loud. Blushing, I gave her my sweetest smile and looked back at the stage. I saw the first fighter right away. He looked like the freaking Hulk, complete with a green robe. Other than the silky material of his garments, he was rock hard; a wall of muscle. He was enormous, too, must’ve been way over six feet tall. His shoulders were as broad as a door and his expression made

me shiver. There was a gruesome smile on his face as his trainer cheered him on, and he looked like he was out for someone’s blood. I already felt sorry for the other guy. I looked for him in the cage, but he wasn’t there yet. Just then, I felt a strange prickling sensation on the back of my neck, like someone was breathing heavily on my skin. Startled, I turned around to see a door open at the top of the stairs. There was a guy standing there, and just as I turned, he stepped aside to reveal someone else. I figured immediately that it was Hulk’s opponent, and now, I didn’t feel

so sorry for him anymore. He was ripped as hell, muscles rippling across his body like quicksilver. He was wearing a robe too, the hood heavy over his face and covering up all of his features. His hands had already formed fists at his sides. A loud roar coming from near the ring interrupted my staring, and a quick look confirmed it was the enraged Hulk. He was calling out for his opponent, teasing and mocking him. I felt like I was watching an action movie as I looked back at his opponent, probably along with the rest of the crowd. We’d all fallen deathly silent, anticipating the mystery guy’s answer. He stood still for a long time, his

muscles glistening with some kind of oil. I gulped hard, the lump in my throat almost too big to swallow. Fuck, he was hot. Hot, dangerous and probably every kind of wrong I could think of. I shouldn’t have even been looking in his direction, let alone wondering what his toned body would feel like against my own skin… Snap out of it, Catalina Diaz! The mental slap helped somewhat. Just as I’d managed to calm down, mystery man raised a finger in the Hulk’s direction, pointing right at him. Then, he slammed his fists together and the crowd erupted in loud cheers, going crazy for this dude whom I knew nothing about.

Even I was cheering and hollering out loud despite the fact that only five minutes ago, I hadn’t wanted to be here. The guy walked past me, his team blocking my view of his delicious body. His hood was still over his eyes so I couldn’t see anything, and I watched eagerly as he got in the cage and finally stripped his robe down. Then I wished he hadn’t, because my heart almost gave out as I took him in. Shorter than Hulk, but still tall for a guy. And what a sight he was—all muscle and dark, pushed back hair. Perfect pearly whites that he revealed in a growl for his opponent, and stormy blue eyes that I could see even from my seat in the bleachers.

Michaela, Landon and I exchanged a speechless glance, almost unable to believe how hot this guy was. I knew my heart was racing, and I jealously hoped my friends weren’t as badly afflicted as I was. The two fighters were being prepped by their teams as we all looked at the ring. Mystery man looked deep in thought, nodding at times to words I couldn’t hear. His coach dragged his speech, and mystery man’s eyes flew upwards. Before I could catch my breath, we had locked gazes, his grey blues commanding my attention so I couldn’t look away even if I wanted to. My breath got stuck in my throat and

the world stilled for a long moment. His eyes spoke volumes, hot and heavy yet so, so cold at the same time. He stared at me hard, like he was claiming me with his eyes, and I felt almost naked under his gaze. It was setting me off and I could feel heat building up between my legs. I clenched my legs together involuntarily; afraid of what he was doing to me. He really was gorgeous; not just his ripped body, but also his chiseled, angular face, with just a hint of stubble. An imposing black eagle threatened me from his chest, the ink something I hadn’t noticed before. As he looked at me, his mouth eased into a smirk, then slowly tensed again

into a tight line. Mesmerized, I stared at the transformation, his hard look never wavering. Finally, the coach snapped his fingers in front of mystery man’s face, and just like that, our connection was broken. He looked at his coach, and I looked at my hands in my lap, flushed and totally embarrassed. “Someone has a fan,” Landon snickered and I gave him a murderous look. “He was totally checking you out,” Michaela hissed at me, and I just rolled my eyes in response. Best to play it cool, try to pretend my heart wasn’t about to burst out of my chest. “Whatever,” I squeaked.

The fight began as soon as someone shot a gun in the air. A fucking gun! I almost started screaming like a banshee, but Landon covered my mouth with his sweaty palm. I swatted him away, already engrossed in the scene unfolding in front of my eyes. The Hulk was strong. How could he not be? He was a wall of muscle, and you’d need a damn tree trunk to get him out of the way. Worriedly, my eyes followed mystery man as he punched, kicked, and wore himself out, move after move. I could feel the heat, the expectations of the crowd heavy in the air. We were all rooting for him, even though Hulk seemed to be doing much

better. I didn’t know why I was so invested in this illegal fight, but I found myself cheering as loudly as everyone else. Then, I saw the first sign of blood. Mystery man was hit. He flew back against the cage like a car had just slammed into him, and I could see blood dripping from his nose, making a bloody mess in the ring. I was on my feet along with the rest of the crowd, booing the Hulk and hating his selfish smile as he thumped his chest. I begged mystery man to get up, and he did, looking more determined than ever. Round one was over. I saw coaches running to their fighters, and mystery man was now only

yards away from me, standing in a corner of the ring, listening to his coach scolding him. He looked tired and ragged, and my heart lurched, unsure of how long he could last. I didn’t want to see him get hurt, and not just because I was squeamish… He raised his eyes, like he was looking for someone in the crowd, and then he looked at me again. His face was set, all hard and chiseled lines, but as we stared at each other, I could see determination building up in his eyes. Our eye contact only lasted for a few seconds, and then he was nodding at his coach, roaring for the next round. Another gun shot rang out, and they were back in the cage.

Mystery dude was a changed man. As soon as the round started, he swung, his fist meeting with Hulk’s nose with a crunch. Revenge, maybe, for his own bleeding nose. There was no mistaking mystery man’s victorious smirk as Hulk clutched his face, blood seeping through his fingers. “Go, Score!” The crowd was going wild, shouting a name I didn’t recognize. Pretty soon, it became clear that it was my mystery man’s nickname, and not a moment later, I found myself shouting the same words. He was on fire after that, dealing blow after blow, punch after punch. Hulk was a bloody mess, and as gross as it was to look at, I felt respect for Score

for beating him like that when it looked like he didn’t even stand a chance. I was cheering loudly, leaping out of my seat to shout his name. Score. He really was something. By the time the judge blew on his whistle, Hulk was crouched on the floor, tapping his hand against the mat in defeat as Score wrapped him in some sort of hold. He had done it! He had actually won! The whole crowd was on their feet, cheering him on as the judge raised his hand above his head. I was right there with them, screaming his name as loudly as my lungs could manage and shocking myself with my enthusiasm.

I hadn’t even wanted to come to this match after Michaela and Landon had told me about it. I’d had no desire whatsoever to watch two dudes beat the living crap out of each other, but they’d made me go nonetheless, claiming I needed a break from work. And truth be told, I wasn’t sorry I’d come. I watched, mesmerized, as a group of people surrounded Score and begged him for autographs as he dabbed at his bruised, bloodied face with a towel. A not-so-small part of me really, really wanted to join in, but my butt was firmly planted on the bleachers, and I was frozen to the spot. As soon as Michaela and Landon

turned towards me, though, I knew I didn’t stand a chance. “You have to go talk to him,” Landon said seriously. “Like literally, my life depends on you going up to that Score guy. Do it, Lina.” Michaela’s eyes sparkled as I looked to her for help. “You can’t let your best friend die,” she said, and I sighed heavily as I realized there was no getting out of it. “Can you come with me, please?” I begged, and they were more than happy to oblige, immediately jumping out of their seats. They had to practically drag me to the center of the warehouse because I was so nervous. A small crowd had gathered around

the stage, and as we neared them, I could feel Score’s cold eyes on my body. I didn’t dare look up, but it turned out that I didn’t have to. As soon as we came closer, the crowd parted for Score as he came towards me. I could feel his presence, feel the whispers as he moved in closer…and finally, I could see his bare feet in front of me when he’d finally reached me. “Hello.” His voice was a low growl, perfect for his looks. Dangerous, raspy and so damn hot that my panties almost started melting on the spot. I had a brief thought of him pulling me closer, bending me over the ring and

taking me right there in front of the crowd. The thought was gone in seconds, but I was left with a treacherous blush on my face. “Hi,” I replied weakly, my voice trembling as I finally raised my eyes to meet his. I could feel the gazes of everyone around us on me, all of us waiting for his next move. He reached out, apparently not satisfied with my eyes resting somewhere below his chin. His fingers brushed my cheek, such an intimate motion it startled me. Then, he tipped my chin back with one strong push, and I had to look into those eyes again. They were indeed like a storm,

promising a world of trouble, and up close, he was strangely familiar. I knew I’d seen him somewhere else before, but I had no idea where. He growled as he looked at me, and I felt a paralyzing shyness right then, like I desperately wanted to please him but wasn’t sure if he would be happy with what he saw. I’d always been told I was pretty, but not hot or sexy, which bothered me to no end. I had waistlength dark hair and deep brown eyes, and I had at least ten pounds on me which I could have done without. I was different from my Mom and sister, who were both skinny as anything. I just looked out of place, or so I thought. “You’re coming with me.” Score’s

voice transported me back to reality. It wasn’t a question, it was a command.

Chapter 3 Lina I found myself nodding in response to his order. After he’d growled the order at me, he was gone in an instant, and I was left with a whole crowd of people staring at me. Before Landon or Michaela could object, a man from Score’s team pulled me aside, and I felt like some kind of mafia wife.

“Please follow me, miss,” he said in a serious tone, and I almost giggled on the spot. All of it felt like some kind of silly action movie. I was escorted outside and made to sit in a nondescript car. I leaned back against the chair and took a deep breath, unsure of what to make of all this. I’d accepted his order, sure, but was I really ready to spend a night with some guy I barely knew? Surely this was dangerous as hell, and I was being an idiot…but holy God, I couldn’t resist a temptation like Score. The car ride was short, and we came to a stop in front of a building I recognized as a hotel downtown. Nothing fancy, but not seedy, either. I

opened the door and got out, and before I’d had time to object, the car had sped off. Slowly, I made my way inside the building and ended up at the reception desk, feeling totally lost. “Are you looking for someone, miss?” an annoyed-looking receptionist asked me. I had no idea what to say, so I just blurted out the first thing on my mind. “Um, yes—Score?” Her eyes flickered with recognition and she nodded knowingly. This must have been a regular thing he did, then. I couldn’t help the sinking feeling in my stomach, knowing I wasn’t somehow special.

The receptionist passed me a key card, this time with a glowing smile on her face. “Floor 6, room 627.” I nodded and left for the elevators. My hands shook as I pressed the button for the sixth floor, and I felt cold and clammy sweat running down my back. It was like I was about to be executed, not about to sleep with a super hot random guy. Finally, I was in front of the door. I nearly dropped the keycard twice, trying to get it to open, but finally I managed, and I was in. The room was enveloped in darkness, and I could only make out silhouettes of the furniture, but I still felt his presence; dark, ominous, and oh-so

delicious. His hand wrapped around mine and I gasped out loud as he pulled me in. “Glad you came,” he growled in my ear, sending shivers down my spine. I was rendered speechless, unable to utter a single word as his mouth descended on my throat. It was so dirty, being here in complete darkness with a total stranger. He nibbled on my neck, gently at first, then harder and harder. I knew he’d end up leaving a mark, but for once, I didn’t care. “Can we turn the lights on?” I asked weakly, my voice shaking even though I fought hard to hide the fact. “I want to see you.”

“You see me well enough,” he said, and then his mouth was on mine. He wasn’t patient, sliding his tongue inside my mouth and pulling on my bottom lip gently with his teeth. I could feel the heat building up between my thighs, and on a whim, I grabbed his hand and pushed it between my legs as he kissed me. “I like that,” he growled, and I could feel the smile on his lips as his mouth descended on mine. “Now strip.” I couldn’t stop my hands from shaking, but I still managed to get my shirt off, and I was left feeling exposed in my bra, even though the room was dark as hell. A cold breeze from the half-open window made goose bumps

rise on my skin, and Score’s fingers trailed over my tummy. “Beautiful.” His words were low and throaty. I hadn’t felt that turned on in my entire life, intense pleasure bubbling just under the surface as he kissed my throat and my collarbone, slowly descending to my décolletage. He ripped my bra off with a single move of his hand, and I could tell he’d broken it, but I didn’t care. His mouth descended on my breasts next, a low growl coming from between his lips as he took my hard nipple and bit down on it gently. “Oh…” I murmured, overwhelmed by intense pleasure as I watched my bra

drop to the floor. There was an underlying feeling too; something dark and horrible in my mind, like this was somehow wrong. Totally and utterly wrong. I didn’t dare speak up as vague memories flashed in my mind. Be a good girl, Lina. Such a good girl. I shivered, and this time around, it wasn’t from the cold breeze in the room. Even though my body wanted this, alarm bells were going off in my mind, alerting me that something was off. But what? I tried to forget, pulling Score closer and moaning in his mouth as he kissed me, his mouth skilled and strong against mine. I could feel his rock-hard cock

pressing against me, thick and long, just like I’d pictured it. My heart pounded, each beat shouting one word only. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. And suddenly I knew I had to get out, right away. I pushed him away, the raw need to have him inside me still pulsing between my legs. He came at me again, probably thinking I was playing some stupid game, but even though my skin was on fire from his touch, I knew I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t sleep with Score, as badly as my body begged me to…something was wrong, and I couldn’t understand

what it was. “I can’t,” I whispered, my voice breaking over the words. I felt hot tears of humiliation in my eyes, ready to start falling. “I need to leave.” “Are you kidding?” his voice was almost offended, incredulous. “You’re going to leave right now?” “I can’t, I’m sorry,” I pleaded with him, already searching for my missing shirt in the darkness. My fingers wrapped around fabric and I raised it protectively in front of my body. “I need to leave…I don’t feel okay.” “What’s wrong?” His deep voice had grown worried, but I couldn’t answer his question. Not when even I didn’t know what the problem was…

I found the door and it flew open as I yanked on the handle. The air in the hallway wasn’t thick with sex like our hotel room, but stale and oppressing. I threw one look back over my shoulder, seeing Score’s silhouette in the darkness, still asking me what was wrong. “I’m sorry,” I said, already regretting what I was about to do. And then I bolted outside.

Chapter 4 Chase She’d left her bra. As if it wasn’t bad enough that she’d changed her mind on me at the last possible second and left me with the worst case of blue balls in history, she’d left her fucking bra behind as a reminder of her rejection. I’d never been rejected before. Not once.

I guess it had to happen somewhere along the line, but I hadn’t thought it would be with her. Her. The second I’d locked eyes with her in the warehouse, I’d known she was different. Special. Totally unlike all the other girls who came to watch my fights, with their pierced nipples and eyebrows, fake tits and bleached-blonde hair. This girl had smooth skin, unblemished by tattoos or piercings, and long silky hair that made me want to thread my fingers through it, pull on it, make her scream as she rode my cock. The second I’d seen her at the fight, I’d felt it. A skipped beat in my heart, a jolt of energy, a burst of heat in my groin. She was the hottest girl I’d ever

seen, and she didn’t even seem to know how hot she was, judging by the shy, innocent expression on her perfect face. And I was going to have her. After all, I was Score, and that’s what I did—score. I secretly fucking hated that nickname. It was unbelievably lame, but it was better that people call me that than call me by my real name, which I knew could never be associated with illegal fighting, or fighting of any kind, for that matter. Chase Stryker. My real name. In another life, Stryker might have made an awesome nickname for a fighter, but here in Chicago, the Stryker name was associated with wealth, privilege and politics, thanks to my father, grandfather,

and many ancestors before them. Speaking of names…Jesus, I didn’t even know her name; the girl who’d just left me high and dry when I’d been deadset on having her for the night. I wanted to pretend that I knew it, roll it over on my tongue, but I’d never asked. That was the deal with nights like this, though— don’t ask, don’t tell. I never told any of the girls I brought back to the hotel my real name for obvious reasons, and they usually didn’t tell me theirs. Or at least I didn’t remember theirs. Some of them would scribble it down with a number on a piece of paper, which I’d graciously accept and then toss in the trash the second they sashayed out of my hotel room.

Just my luck that the one girl I might want to see again didn’t bother to leave hers. I still had no idea why she’d left. She’d seemed into it, just like every other girl was with me. Despite her innocent appearance, everything about her had seemed to ooze sex, and she’d been more than happy to come back here with me and get things started. Until she hadn’t. She’d been saying she didn’t feel good, like she was sick or something. I’d been concerned at first, but now I wasn’t sure. A lot of girls these days liked to be teases. They’d get a guy all amped up and ready to go just to prove that they could, and then they’d back out at the

last second, feigning a headache. It’d never happened to me before, but I’d heard about it from my buddies. Prickteases. I guess I’d finally met my first one. Fuck it. Who cares? I was Chase fucking Stryker, and in my other life, I was Score, champion underground fighter. In either life, I could get any chick I wanted, and I did. I never fucked the same girl more than once, even if they were hot as hell. What was the point? They’d only get attached, and obviously, I wasn’t one for relationships. So yeah, fuck it. Even if this chick hadn’t backed out, she would’ve been gone in the morning anyway, never to be

seen again, no matter how much I told myself I’d want to see her again. That was just the blue balls talking. At least that’s what I was gonna tell myself. Her bra caught my eye again, mocking me with its cute little bows and the memory of me sliding it off my mystery girl, revealing her perfect tits. Fuck.

“Chase? Did you hear me?” I glanced up at my father, Peter, as he stood in the lounge room of our Highland Park home, staring down at me. He’d been prattling on about…what? I’d

barely been listening. It was something to do with a woman he’d been seeing. I couldn’t even remember her name. Something Diaz? Fuck knows. She was a waitress he’d met at one of his campaign dinners a few months back, and I had no idea why he was so enamored with her. Sure, she sounded like a nice woman from what he’d told me in the past, but it wasn’t like it could go anywhere between them. My father was your typical arrogant politico—the way he saw it, waitresses were for fucking, not for relationships. Only women of ‘high breeding’ or some such shit were good enough for serious relationships. Fucking elitist bullshit, but that’s how it was with my family.

“We’re engaged. I proposed to her last night,” he said, staring at me intently to gauge my reaction. Shit. Did I hear that right? Did he seriously just say he was fucking marrying the waitress? Scratch everything I just said. Obviously the status quo had changed, and a waitress was apparently good enough for my father now. Maybe this change of heart had something to do with the upcoming election. He was running for Governor of Illinois, and right now, all he had was the votes of some of the upper middle class and the so-called elites in liberal circles. Marrying a woman like…shit, whatever her name was…would

probably win him a lot more votes from a lot more demographics. Yup, that sounded exactly like something he would do. To him, life was politics, and politics was life. It wouldn’t surprise me in the least if he was marrying a woman purely to gain an extra few demographics. “You’re getting married?” I said, matching his gaze. “To...” He rolled his eyes. “Nina. Nina Diaz. Yes, we’re getting married. And before you start, no, this has nothing to do with the election. I can see what you’re thinking.” I folded my arms across my chest. “Really? So you actually love this Nina woman. The waitress.”

I had no problem with her being a waitress. Fuck no, I wasn’t that much of an asshole. I just knew that my father would usually have a problem with ‘marrying down’ as I’d seriously heard him refer to it in the past. “Yes, I do,” he replied, his steely gaze still fixed on me. “I care for her very much. She’s a wonderful person.” “And you went ahead and proposed to her without even running it by me first? I still live here, y’know.” I’d wanted to move out and get my own place ages ago, but as long as I was in college, my father had insisted that I remain in the family home. So I’d stayed, only to shut him the hell up, and now he was springing a new mommy on me. Ha.

“It’s ‘you know’, not ‘y’know’. For heaven’s sake, Chase, I don’t spend all this money on your education only for you to speak like some sort of…” “Like what? Like some sort of person in the service industry? A waitress, perhaps?” I was only teasing him now, but his eyes narrowed. “Knock it off. As for your other question, you might be my son, but I do not need to run any of my life decisions past you. You will meet Nina tomorrow night. We’ll have dinner at L’Atelier, and you can get to know her and her two children. In a civil manner, I might add.” “Wait, she has fucking kids?” Wow, so not only would my father

likely be nabbing a large portion of the working class and Latina votes by marrying this woman, he’d probably be getting the votes of at least half the single mothers in this state. How noble of him… “Here’s a photo of them which she gave me to show you,” he said, reaching into his wallet and pulling out a small, faded picture. “She has two daughters. Lina is eighteen, and Lily is five.” I looked at it, expecting to feel nothing for the people who would soon be my stepfamily. Instead I felt like I’d been hit in the guts by a sledgehammer and had the wind knocked right out of me. It was her. The girl from last night.

She was in the photo, smiling as she held her little sister’s hand. Nina stood to her left, proudly grinning at the camera. I had to admit, they were a cute little family…but fuck. Her. No fucking way. My gaze shot back up to match my father’s. “This…this is them? What did you say her name was?” “Nina Diaz.” I shook my head impatiently. “No, the daughter. The older one.” “Lina. Why?” “No reason. She just looks kinda familiar, I guess.” Lina. So that was her name. It suited her; feminine and sweet. Part of me was glad that I knew it now, but the rest of me was thunderstruck. Fuck, fuck, fuck.

I’d almost screwed the girl who was soon to be my stepsister…and we hadn’t exactly parted on amicable terms. Shit, I still didn’t even know exactly why she’d split. The worst part was that she’d met me at one of my fights. If she told her mom, and Nina relayed that information onto my father, I’d be screwed. And not in the good kind of way, I might add. I’d been fighting in the underground scene in my spare time for a year now, and the only person who knew my secret was my trainer; my cousin, Tripp. We’d always gone to the gym together, and he’d first noticed my talent when we had a casual sparring match. He’d hooked me up with all the right people, under a

false name of course, and the rest was history. Tripp was just like me—born into privilege, but didn’t care for the social and career aspects of it too much. If my father found out what we’d been doing, he’d have a fucking heart attack and probably disown me. Stryker men went to elite schools, elite colleges, and then went on to careers in politics or law. Sometimes medicine. Never something as seedy and ‘lowlife’ as fighting. Especially the illegal kind. With the upcoming election, all media eyes were on my father, and he needed me to put on the same façade of the bright, ambitious young college student I’d been putting on every day for the last year and a half. For all his faults,

I had to admit, he’d given me everything I ever needed in life, so I didn’t want to fuck things up for him, and I was happy to get a degree in political science if it kept him happy and off my back. However, if the media ever got wind of the fact that his son was participating in underground fights, the blowback could destroy his campaign. And shit, I wasn’t just participating in the fights, I was fucking killing it in the fights. I’d never lost. It probably sounded strange that I wanted to fight, considering how much I didn’t want to screw things up for my father, but to me, it wasn’t strange at all. See, I didn’t just want to fight. I needed it. It sounded clichéd as fuck, but it was

the truth. From the first second I’d tried it out, I’d experienced the craziest fucking adrenaline rush I’d ever felt in my life. That led to a sense of euphoria which couldn’t be matched by anything else; not drugs, not sex…nothing. Time slowed, senses heightened, and everything seemed right in the world for every second I was in that cage. Selfish as it might have been, I had to keep doing it, because it made me feel so fucking good. It made me feel truly alive. Plus, I’d never even come close to having my true identity outed. At first I’d thought it would be hard to keep it hidden from the crowds of onlookers, to the point where I’d considered wearing

a mask, but it actually wasn’t hard. Whenever I entered the room, half my face would be covered with a hood, and by the time I got to the cage, I was far enough away from the crowd so that I might look slightly familiar, but not familiar enough for them to put a name to the face…especially when that face was all bruised and bloodied by the end, when some of them would approach me for autographs. When I brought chicks back to my hotel room afterwards, I kept the lights off so they wouldn’t recognize me from the papers when they got up close and personal, and the guys I fought never had any idea who I was either. They came from different backgrounds to me, and

they weren’t the sort to follow gubernatorial races or any other political bullshit. As for my father, he barely noticed when my face and knuckles were bruised. If he ever did, I just told him it was from Tripp and me sparring at the gym, and he’d nod and let it go. So yeah, it was way easier to keep my identity hidden than you’d think….but Lina knew who I was, and she’d realize that fact as soon as she saw me at dinner tomorrow. Shit. She better not tell. Then again, I had a little material on her which might help to keep her pretty little mouth shut. I still had her bra. Maybe I could take it to the dinner

tomorrow and hand it to her under the table while we ate with our parents. The message would be clear. Tell our parents where you met me, and I tell them that we almost fucked. She wouldn’t want that to happen. I pictured her squirming with shame as I handed her the bra, and the thought of her cheeks flushing red was enough to make my cock immediately stand to attention. Yeah, that’d definitely work. She wouldn’t be able to tell our parents shit about me, because then she’d have to explain what she’d been doing at an illegal fight and how her soon-to-be stepbrother had ended up with her underwear. I guess I was safe for now.

Now all I had to do was pretend like I didn’t still want to fuck the brains out of the girl who was about to become my stepsister…

Chapter 5 Lina “I’m getting married.” My mother’s voice was soft as she made the confession, and both Lily and I stared at her in shock. Had she really just said that? I hadn’t even known she was dating anyone, let alone serious enough with a man to be engaged. “Are you for real?” we asked in unison, our jaws hanging open as we

stared at her. Mom rubbed her eyes with a sigh, and even though I was upset with her, I could see how hard it was for her to tell us about this. “Yes, the man I’ve been seeing proposed two nights ago,” she said in a small voice. “I know I should’ve told you that I met someone sooner. I just wasn’t sure how, and I didn’t think it would progress this fast.” “Can I be the flower girl?” Lily asked excitedly. I shot her an annoyed look. We were supposed to be in this together, and she was already betraying me. Maybe she’d forgotten about Dad, because she’d only been a toddler when he died, but I most certainly hadn’t.

“It’s only been three years,” I whispered as my eyes connected with Mom’s. As soon as I saw her worried gaze, I realized how hard this was on her. She was worried, scared of hurting us. I knew she deserved to be happy, but we definitely didn’t deserve to be kept in the dark. She should’ve told us she was seeing someone sooner. “I wish you’d told us you were with someone,” I said, my voice sad and broken as I remembered my Dad. Dad had been a cancer survivor, and three and a half years ago, we’d all thought it was over. Nightmares don’t happen twice in a row, right? Wrong. Only months after beating skin

cancer, he’d been hit with a relapse. It had all happened so fast, when Lily was only two…and then before I knew it, he was gone, and I was placing a white carnation on his casket. The memory was still fresh and raw in my mind, even though it had been three years. My mother’s eyes spoke volumes as she stared back at me, and I chewed on my lower lip as I considered her news. Maybe it had been long enough—three years was a long time. Maybe she’d found someone really amazing. I decided to give her the benefit of the doubt. Lily was already chattering about dresses and wedding cakes, her five year old mind too innocent to understand

the betrayal this meant for my Dad. My Mom’s eyes were still focused on me, though, worried about my reaction. I forced a small smile onto my lips, and she beamed. Instantly, I felt guilty about making this hard for her. It was supposed to be a happy occasion, and she didn’t deserve to be guilt-tripped. After all, she deserved happiness after everything she’d been through. I was being selfish. All of a sudden, I was hit by a different wave of guilt. While my Mom had been getting proposed to two nights ago, I’d been in a darkened hotel room, ready to have sex with a total stranger. I cringed at the thought, hoping no one ever found out.

“When do we get to meet him?” I asked, still trying to get used to the idea of my Mom being with someone else. “Them,” she said softly. “He has a son, too.” “Eww, a boy!” Lily protested, and I found myself grinning. “Boys have cooties!” Hmm. My little sister might have been against the idea, but I actually kinda liked the idea of a little boy joining our family. Lily was a shy girl, and it was hard for her to make friends. The thought of her having a brother cheered me up, and I figured she might like the company of another kid to wreak havoc with. Mom and I laughed at her cooties

comment, and I hugged her tightly to my chest. She was still so young, so innocent…unlike her older sister. Again, I remembered what I’d been doing the other night, getting naked in a dark hotel room with a total stranger. I didn’t even know his real name…and the worst thing was that it upset me, because I knew that it meant I’d probably never see him again. My lips formed a thin line as the memories poured back in. It had all been so perfectly forbidden until my freakout, which I still didn’t understand. I’d felt flushed, embarrassed and truly scared as I’d left his hotel room…and I had no idea why. What the hell was wrong with me?

Thank God for Landon, who’d picked me up with no questions asked. He was a good friend, and I was lucky to have him. He’d taken me out for late night burgers and dropped me off at home in the middle of the night, not once asking about what went wrong. “Anyway,” Mom’s voice cut into my reverie. “You’re going to meet them both soon. We’re having dinner tonight at L’Atelier.” My eyes almost popped out of their sockets. “L’Atelier? Isn’t that crazy expensive? Maybe we shouldn’t be spending so much money on food, Mom. You know, we still have all those bills to pay from last month.” I felt like such an adult already. A

big, responsible grown-up, all at the tender age of eighteen. Lily glared at me, but of course she didn’t understand. How could she? She didn’t know that after our father’s death, Mom had been left to pay all the bills herself; the mortgage, the food, our education fees. It was a heavy burden to bear, but I’d tried to help as best as I could. I wasn’t going to college like I’d always dreamed of; instead, I’d gotten a job as a waitress to help out now that high school was done. While my exclassmates would be starting college classes in a couple of weeks, I was going to be wiping down tables and making expensive coffees with foam art for people who had more money than

me. It stung…it stung really freaking bad. I’d been a good student in school, and I’d always wanted to get a degree, but we just didn’t have the money. “Don’t worry about that,” Mom said with a mysterious smile, making me even more worried in turn. “His name is Peter, by the way, and his son is called Chase.” Chase? What kind of preppy, pretentious name was that? I’d only heard it in unrealistic TV shows about rich teenagers, but I decided to keep my mouth shut and only nod in response. In my mind, I was picturing a little blond boy with a cashmere cardigan wrapped around his shoulders, his hair in a

perfect part. Great. Another boy who would likely end up mocking Lily about her wild curly hair and the color of her skin. Just freaking perfect. “Can’t wait to meet them,” I said through gritted teeth.

L’Atelier was even fancier than I had originally thought. I held Lily’s shaky little hand as we walked in, and even I felt my legs trembling in the heels I wasn’t used to wearing. My mother had insisted we dress our very best, and I was stuck in a hand-medown dress of hers which was too tight

for my liking. She’d always had a petite, lithe figure, but my curves had really filled out over the past few years, and the dress was accentuating them way too much for my liking. “We have a reservation for Stryker,” Mom said to the hostess as I glanced around the place, feeling more nervous than ever. I felt like we didn’t belong at all, and I was just waiting for the moment when one of the swanky guests would point at us and demand we be escorted outside. “Come with me, please. I’ll show you to your table.” The hostess was perfectly polite as she led us into the restaurant, but still, my hands shook as we were shown to a

table. It was smack dab in the center of the room, too; the best table in the house. Must’ve been expensive…whoever this guy was, he obviously wanted to make an impression on us. And there he was—tall and broadshouldered with a winning smile. A smile that screamed ‘trust me, I know what I’m doing.’ A smile I knew from every billboard in the freaking city. It was Peter Stryker. Of course…I should’ve known when Mom told the hostess the reservation name. Peter was a high flyer in the current race for the gubernatorial seat, and I looked around, feeling more confused than ever. Surely we were at the wrong table?

But then he sprang up, kissing my mother on the cheek; the perfect gentleman. I was pretty sure my jaw was hanging on its hinges as I stared at them. “So good to see you, darling,” he said in a deep booming voice. He leaned down to my sister, whose hand was still in mine. “And this must be Lily.” “I am she,” my sister replied in such a grown-up voice that it would’ve made me laugh, if it weren’t for this whole strange situation. “Nice to meet you, mister.” “You can call me Peter,” he said with a winning smile. “I have something for you. Want to see?” Lily nodded eagerly, and he presented her with a gift, complete with

a huge pink bow. Her hand left mine and I felt cold air hitting my palm only a second later. It felt strangely empty, and not just because she’d let go of me. “And you’re Lina,” Peter said to me, his smile genuinely warm. I didn’t like it, though; didn’t like his too-strong handshake and the way he covered my hand with his meaty palm. He seemed like a nice guy, sure, but I wasn’t the dullest crayon in the box, and I knew he’d just won the votes of several key minorities in the upcoming election by proposing to my Mom—a Latina single mother from the working class. Let’s just say the timing of this proposal seemed mighty suspicious… My mouth was set in a line as I

politely greeted him, and Lily shrieked with glee as she unwrapped her present. “Oh my gosh, it’s a Polly the Physician!” Her voice was ecstatic as she presented me with a doll—a Barbie doll that was currently all the rage at her school, and one which she begged for every day. Mom couldn’t afford anything other than a cheap knockoff version, and now here was this guy, giving her the real thing on a silver platter just to win her affection. What a jackass. Lily was already hugging him, so happy with her gift that her little hands shook. My Mom was red as a beet when I looked at her, and she wouldn’t meet my eyes.

Fine then, be that way. With a sour expression, I sat down at the table, and everyone else soon joined me, chattering about the doll Lily had been so thrilled to receive. “And where is Chase?” Mom finally asked when Lily stopped talking. “I’m so looking forward to meeting him, I’ve told the girls about him, too.” Peter looked around, and his eyes focused on something on the other end of the room, a strange smile appearing on his lips. “He just went to the washroom.” Freaking washroom. How pretentious. “There he is now. Chase, over here!” We all turned in our chairs, me with

a glass of cold water in my hands. My eyes searched for a little boy in perfect cashmere clothes, but all I could see was a huge figure blocking the way. He was ripped, tall and devilishly handsome, with dark hair and stormy grey-blue eyes. He waved at us, heading in our direction, and I realized that he was Chase Stryker, the aforementioned son. He was also Score, the guy I’d almost had sex with in a darkened hotel room. Oh, no… I dropped my drink out of pure shock, and the sound of shattering glass made the whole room go silent. Water sloshed all over the floor, and I stared at

Chase with horror in my eyes. He met my gaze with a smirk, as if he’d somehow planned this entire thing. “Lina! Could you be more careful?” my mother hissed at me. Before I had time to react, a waiter appeared, murmuring apologies and cleaning up the mess I’d made like it was somehow his fault. “No worries,” Peter said with that winning smile that graced every poster in the city. “Just add it to my bill,” he said discreetly to the waiter. “Ah yes, that’s Daddy dearest,” Chase said with a variation of that Stryker smile I’d been hating only a moment earlier. “Just put everything on his bill.”

Peter’s expression changed from proud to dark as he glared at his son, and Chase strode over to the table and sat right next to me. I was practically hyperventilating, my heart racing as everything sank in. Score, the underground fighting champion…he was going to be my new stepbrother. Holy shit, I’m doomed. He looked right at me again, and now I could almost tell for sure that he’d known about me before coming to the restaurant. There was no surprise in his eyes, only amusement. He looked like he was having the time of his life, and I hated him for it. Had he also known who I was when he’d ordered me to go with

him to that hotel room? Probably… Asshole. My hands formed fists in my lap, and my heart pounded as everyone started chatting. To the other patrons of the restaurant, we must’ve looked like a regular happy family. Thank God they didn’t know what I’d done with Chase… No one could ever know. Another thought occurred to me as I sipped on my replacement glass of water a moment later, my hands shaking. Could there be a small chance Chase actually didn’t remember me? The room had been dark, and I’d left before anything really happened between us. Maybe he’d forgotten what I looked like and didn’t know I was the girl he’d taken back two

nights ago, and maybe I was simply reading too much into his charismatic smirks. I hoped so. I stared at him as he laughed, so different than the guy I’d seen in the abandoned warehouse that night. Sure, he was still cocky and confident as hell, but he was also the picture-perfect politician’s son, apart from the odd snarky comment here and there. “So, Lina.” Peter addressed me, and my head turned with a snap. “I hear you’ve taken a part-time job? That’s admirable.” “Oh, it’s not a part-time job,” I said. “It’s actually full-time. I’m waiting tables at the Rocky Diner.”

As I spoke, I raised my head proudly. I wasn’t going to feel embarrassed because some rich guy had shown up in our lives out of nowhere. I’d promised to help my Mom, and I’d sacrifice anything and everything to make sure she and my sister were well taken care of. There was no shame in working a minimum-wage job in the service industry. Just ask my Mom… she’d been doing it for years. My defiant gaze met his bright blue eyes. He looked like he had another ace up his sleeve. “Well, you’ll be able to drop that soon,” he said. “You’ll be attending college in the fall.” “Actually…no.” My tone was a mix

of regret and bitterness. “I didn’t apply for college. I’m just going to work instead and help out Mom.” I said that last part louder that the rest, reiterating for him just how much I still wanted to contribute to the family. Just because Mom was marrying him didn’t mean he needed to take over everything. “Well, I have a little surprise for you as well,” he said with a genial smile. “I got you into the University of Chicago for the fall semester. You can choose your major, of course. For now I’ve just entered you into psychology.” Once again, my jaw almost dropped to the floor. How many strings had this guy needed to pull to get me into that

school? It was very prestigious; one of the best in the entire country, and even though my grades had been stellar in high school, I wasn’t sure I would’ve gotten in by myself. My eyes flew to my mother again, and she had the most hopeful expression on her face that I’d ever seen. It was in that moment that I realized I couldn’t say no to the offer, as much as it freaked me the hell out. I wasn’t prepared for college. The only thing I’d been prepared for was to work hard at my waitressing job to earn some money for my family. On the other hand, I was excited beyond belief at this news. My educational dreams were finally coming

true, years before I’d expected them to. I’d previously thought that I might eventually be able to afford some classes one day, maybe go to a community college, but now it was all taken care of, courtesy of one quick phone call made by Peter Stryker. It was confusing as hell, making me upset, scared and ecstatic at the same time. “Thank you,” I said softly, unable to believe he’d really done this. Any other day I would’ve stood up for myself and told him that I didn’t need to be bought, but I knew my Mom was desperate for us to get along, so I decided to just be good and nod my head. It did nothing to stave off the internal battle inside me,

though. “You’re very welcome.” Peter looked genuinely pleased with himself. “So, I guess I’ll see you at college, then.” Chase’s voice cut through my thoughts, and I looked at him as another realization dawned on me. Of course he was going to the same school. It was only appropriate for a politician’s son to attend one of the top colleges in the States. What a freaking mess. “Looking forward to it,” I squeaked, finally daring to look into his eyes. I regretted it immediately. He still had the same effect on me… that crazy, panty-dropping feeling, like I wanted to strip down right in front of

him, stepbrother or not. Our parents and Lily were talking again, discussing what to order for dinner, and Chase leaned closer to me. For a second, I almost thought he was going to kiss me…and then he slid something into my hands under the table, his fingers brushing against mine so briefly that I thought it hadn’t even happened. My hot, tingling skin and the wildly-thumping beat of my heart were proof enough that it had, however. “You keep your secret, I keep mine, sis,” he growled at me in a low voice only I could hear. Please be a napkin… No such luck. I looked down at my hands to find my bra presented on my

lap; the very one I’d left behind in that hotel room, the evidence of the night that never was. The little pink bows which I’d thought were so cute were now taunting me. I gulped, hard. Chase’s hand sneaked back into my lap, prying the bra away from my fingers as he grinned at me. “Just show and tell, I’m afraid. I’m going to keep this little memento. Might come in handy later.” I could only stare as he stuffed the bra back into his pocket, flashing me a mischievous smile. Shit.

Chapter 6 Chase “You sticking to the diet plan I emailed you?” I glanced at Tripp as I finished taping up my hands. We were in a gym about fifteen minutes south of his house; a small, musty place frequented by bluecollar workers, local meatheads and the occasional drug-pusher trying to sell steroids. Stryker men might have seemed

out of place in this joint, but no one knew who we were, so it didn’t matter. Thank God no one in this area gave a shit about local politics…or any politics at all, for that matter. “Yeah,” I replied. “Chicken breasts, spinach and broccoli almost every night. Boring as fuck.” “Good. You measuring your calorie intakes too?” “For the most part.” “You need to start being more careful with it. Diet’s gotta be right if you wanna stay on top.” No shit. I’d never really cared about my diet all that much before I started fighting, because I’d always had a decent metabolism, but being fit and

ready for a match required a lot of discipline. I had to ingest enough calories to have enough energy for training and fighting, and not only that, they had to be the right kind of calories. Eating a thousand calories worth of candy was a lot different to eating a thousand calories of lean meat and vegetables, believe it or not. The only time I’d strayed from my strict diet in the last week was when I’d gone out to L’Atelier with my father to meet his precious new family. I’d splurged a little and let myself have a chocolate soufflé for dessert, only so I could slowly lick my spoon off while staring right at Lina as she squirmed and desperately pretended she couldn’t see

me. Fuck, I loved teasing her. She’d almost had kittens when I’d given her the bra under the table, and the look in her eyes had made me want to throw her over my shoulder like a sack of potatoes, carry her home and ravage her all night. But that ship had sailed. Fast. Our parents were getting married soon, and right now, a bunch of hired guys were helping move all of the Diaz’s stuff into our Highland Park home. It was a threestoried mansion, so it was certainly big enough for the five of us to share, but still…it was gonna be fucking hard sleeping in my bedroom from now on, knowing that Lina was on the other side of the wall in the room next to mine. And

when I said hard, I meant that quite literally. My dick had been rock-solid at the thought of her for almost the entire last week. I’d tried calling up an old fuck buddy of mine to relieve some tension, but I hadn’t even been able to dial her number without my dick finally deciding to go soft at the thought of touching someone that wasn’t Lina. My mind strayed even further as I began to strike at the hard punching bag, Tripp holding it steady. I wondered what Lina usually wore to bed…did she have a cute little pink nightie with bows to match the cute little bra she’d left with me that night? Or was she a bad girl who slept naked, claiming it was more comfortable that way? Hopefully the

latter. Hell, I’d even be happy with the former—I wouldn’t mind tearing some adorable satin nightie off her with my bare hands as she gasped and moaned underneath me. Obviously I could never do that in real life, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t fantasize about it. Hell no. I could fuck her over and over in my head, and she’d never even know, although she’d probably guess, considering I could barely look at her without getting a raging boner. Jesus, I was like a twelve year old boy who’d just discovered porn. “So how’s your new stepfamily going?” Tripp asked, his eyes twinkling. I rolled my eyes. “I dunno. They

aren’t actually married yet, but Nina’s nice, I suppose. And Lily’s pretty cute. She made me color in some fairy princess thing with her the other day.” Tripp guffawed as I admitted that, and I couldn’t help grinning back at him as I wiped the sweat from my forehead. That little girl had balls. She was barely three feet tall, and she’d marched right up to me yesterday morning, thrust a pink marker into my hand and demanded that I color with her. How could I say no? I might be a tough guy, but I knew better than to say no to a fiery little lady like that. Besides, she was adorable. I had to admit, I’d always had a soft spot for kids, and I’d always wished I had a little brother or sister.

But not Lina. Oh, hell no. I didn’t want her as a sister. I wanted her in my bed, I wanted her on my cock, but I didn’t want her to be related to me. “What about the other one?” Tripp asked, watching me intently. “You haven’t said anything about her yet.” “Who, Lina?” I said, stalling for time. I usually told my cousin everything, but shit, how could I tell him that I’d almost fucked my soon-to-be stepsister? I couldn’t, that’s how… “Yeah, whatever her name is,” he said. “She hot?” I shrugged, not wanting to admit that she was the hottest damn girl I’d seen in…hmm…forever? Shit, I had it bad for her.

Thank God he hadn’t been over to visit the family home in a while. The minute he did, he might recognize Lina as the girl I’d taken back to the hotel with me that night, and then he’d be onto me. That wouldn’t happen for a while, though. His mother—my aunt—wasn’t all that close with my father. They’d had some stupid falling out over an antique vase their grandmother had left the family in her will when she died, and they’d barely spoken since, only seeing each other at small family reunions their other siblings planned for the sake of keeping up appearances in all of the uppity lifestyle magazines. Technically, Tripp should have a different last name than me, but my aunt had elected to keep

the Stryker name when she got married, and her husband had agreed to let Tripp have it too. It made sense, given the influence that came with having that last name. “I guess she’s okay,” I finally said, trying to sound nonchalant. Tripp saw right through me. “She’s just okay?” he teased. “Well, she’s hot, but she’s kinda stuck-up and moody,” I finally admitted. That much was true. For most of our dinner at L’Atelier, Lina had sat there with a sour expression on her face, like she’d just bitten into a lemon and found it was filled with piss. Even when my father had told her he was paying for her to go to college, she’d looked miserable.

I couldn’t tell if it was because she didn’t want to accept what she saw as charity, or if she felt like he was trying to buy her affections, but neither of those things were the case. I knew my Dad, and while he could be an asshole some of the time—okay, most of the time—he wasn’t trying to ‘buy’ her. Nina had told him that Lina had always dreamed of going to college, but they hadn’t been able to afford it after Bill Diaz died. My father was simply trying to make her feel welcome and more in control of her future by helping her follow her dreams. Sure, throwing money at her probably wasn’t the best way to go about that, but it wasn’t like he knew how else to do

things. When he’d cheated on my Mom five years ago, he’d tried throwing money at that problem too, and for once, it hadn’t worked for him. She’d been gone for ages now, living in Paris with some new guy she’d met on the cruise my father had booked for her as a ‘sorry I fucked my receptionist’ gift. When I’d finished on the punching bag, Tripp spotted me on the weight bench and other weight machines, and finally, I got to my feet, my thighs and calves almost wobbling from all the leg presses I’d just done. “Shit,” I swore under my breath as I stretched out my tired muscles, feeling the burn.

My whole body hurt, but in a good way; the kinda way that let me know I’d completed a solid workout. “All right, man. I’ve got to get back to work,” Tripp said. “Same time tomorrow?” “Sure.” “When does college start back up for you?” “A week and a half,” I said, wiping my face and neck off with a towel. I wondered how often I’d run into Lina on campus. Probably never. She was a freshman, so her timetable would be very different to mine. “All right. You still gotta train, though—at least three hours a day. No slacking just because you have study to

do.” “I know, I know,” I said, rolling my eyes and flashing him a good-natured grin. “Here, eat this,” he said, reaching into his gym bag and tossing me a bag of trail mix. “There’s some salted nuts in there, too. Gotta replace all those electrolytes.” “Thanks. I’ll see you tomorrow.” “Yep. Make sure you drink plenty of water as well.” Speaking of water, I needed a damn shower. Sweat was glistening on my skin from my workout sesh, and I smelled like a swamp. Unfortunately, the showers in this gym were filthy and probably riddled with fungus, and the

last thing I needed was an itchy case of athlete’s foot. I drove home, my nose wrinkling up as the smell of my sweat permeated the car. Damn, I needed to air this thing out. But first things first. I needed that shower before I worried about cleaning anything else. My father was at his campaign office at the moment, and as far as I knew, Nina had taken Lily out to the park a few blocks down from our house. I was pretty sure Lina was at work at the waitressing job which she still hadn’t quit for some reason, so aside from all the movers, I’d likely have the house to myself for the next few hours. Thank fuck. I was exhausted, and I needed a

break from all the family mayhem. As I pulled in, I saw a truck pulling out to the left of me, and I recognized one of the movers in the front seat, giving me a thumbs up. I rolled my window down and called out to him. “You guys finished already?” “Yep. Wasn’t all that much stuff; mostly boxes,” he said, scratching the dark blue tattoo on the side of his neck. “Tell your Dad thanks for the work.” “Will do.” I went to roll my window back up, but he waved at me to roll it back down. “Don’t I know you from somewhere?” he asked. “I mean, aside from this job.” “Hm? Don’t think so,” I said.

He squinted at me. “Huh. Never mind. You look familiar, but I can’t think why.” “I’ve probably just got one of those faces,” I said. “Yeah, that’s gotta be it. Anyway, catch ya later.” Shit. I knew exactly where he’d seen me before, because as soon as I’d seen that tattoo on his neck, I’d recognized him. He’d been at my fight the other night, right in a front row seat. Luckily he hadn’t put two and two together, and I headed inside, my heart racing at the close call. “Hello?” I called out, checking to see if Nina and Lily were back. Silence.

I headed upstairs and into the bathroom before hopping into the shower, closing my eyes as the cool water streamed down over my face and body. There was nothing better than a cold shower after a hot gym sesh, and the cool water also helped to calm down other issues which might arise….yes, like my cock. Unfortunately, it wasn’t working right now. I’d just been picturing Lina in the shower with me, down on her knees and looking up at me as she licked the tip of my dick, and I was hard as steel. Even turning the water onto an ice-cold setting didn’t help. Oh well. I suppose I still had enough energy left in me to jerk off, but I wasn’t going to do it in the shower. That had

always seemed kinda gross to me, even though it all got washed down the drain. I stepped out and toweled off, and my ears pricked up a second later. I thought I’d heard someone on the stairs, but the noise had only sounded for a split-second, so I figured it was just the house settling. Wrapping my towel around my waist, I headed out of the bathroom and towards my room before remembering that I’d left my dirty clothes on the tiles. My father had a maid service come in three times a week to do all of our washing and cleaning, but I felt bad about leaving my crap all over the floor when it was easy to throw it into the clothes hamper which stood on one end

of the bathroom. It wasn’t much, but it made their jobs a little easier. I turned back the other way, and as I rounded the corner which would take me back to the main hallway where the bathroom was, I collided with a warm body. It was Lina, carrying a pile of clothes, and she squealed as half of them tumbled to the floor…along with my towel. In the shock of our collision, it had come loose from my waist, and my eyes traveled downwards to see that my cock was still rock-hard. Her eyes followed mine, and one hand flew to her mouth. “Oh…I’m…oh my...” She stuttered as her cheeks flushed,

and I swore I could see her legs trembling. I could have picked the towel up, but I didn’t. Instead, I smirked at her and gestured towards my groin. “See something you like, sis?” She finally tore her eyes away from my dick and narrowed them at me. “No. And don’t call me that. What are you doing wandering around naked anyway?” I grinned. “I wasn’t naked until someone crashed into me and ripped my towel off. Maybe it was like a Freudian slip. You didn’t know you meant to do it, but you did.” “Ooh, look at the smart college boy, using smart psychological terms! Oh wait…I guess you didn’t read the part

where they debunked everything Freud ever said. Now pick up the towel!” she said, shielding her eyes. “Why don’t you bend down and pick it up for me?” I teased, practically salivating at the thought of her bending over for me. She was wearing a loose Vneck top, so if she leaned over, I’d be able to see right down it. “No,” she said, although she did bend down to pick up her own pile of stuff which she’d dropped when we bumped into each other. I almost caught a glimpse of one of her nipples as I peered down her top, but she drew herself back up to her full height only seconds later. I was still naked, but I didn’t give a shit.

“So, you got all the way down there, and you didn’t even pick up my towel?” I said, feigning disappointment. “You’re about as useful as a chocolate teapot.” She almost smiled at my jibe, but her twitching lips finally twisted into a grimace. “You’re the worst, you know that?” “And you’re lazy. Go on, pick up the towel for me. I’m all tired from my workout,” I said, stretching my arms above my head and yawning as I watched her eyes trace the lines of my abs. “Come on, sis…be a good girl.” Her face blanched all of a sudden, and she pushed past me with considerable strength, managing to knock me all the way over to the wall as she

shoved me. That was no easy feat, seeing as I was a foot taller than her and probably twice her weight. Jesus, what had I done wrong now? Okay, I’d been teasing her, but surely she knew I wasn’t serious. I hadn’t actually expected her to pick up the damn towel. Oh well. If she hated me, it was her own damn problem. No skin off my nose. We might be living here together now, but we didn’t need to get along. Nope, I didn’t care. Not one bit. Bullshit, a tiny voice in the back of my mind told me. You care. “Oh, shut up,” I said out loud.

Chapter 7 Lina Living in the same house as Chase wasn’t easy, at least for me. Lily was thrilled about the new place, having lots of room to run around and play as well as a huge garden and a pool. Even Mom seemed different; more peaceful and calm. I was the only one who felt out of place. I missed our old home, despite the

fact it was musty and hot in the summer, and cold and damp in the wintertime. However, even I had to admit I loved the luxury of having my own room after sharing a bedroom with my little sister for the past three years. I loved having some privacy. Playing with dolls was fun, but after having a Polly the Physician knockoff take your temperature for the seventeenth time, you got pretty tired of it. The fact that Chase’s room was right next to mine didn’t help things much, though. Such a big house and yet we were stuck sharing a wall. It made me worry about every little noise I made, and I’d lie awake at night, thinking about him, waiting to hear the steady breathing

that meant he’d fallen asleep. After our little encounter in the hallway the other day, I had steered clear of Chase. If I didn’t, it would be even harder to resist the temptation… The memory of his towel dropping in the hall was still fresh in my mind, his cock embedded in my memory. Fuck, he was big, and he’d already been hard and throbbing. It’d been impossible to take my eyes off of him that day, and now he’d invaded my thoughts and set up a permanent camp. Any given morning, I’d be sitting at the kitchen table with the rest of the family and start blushing fiercely as I felt Chase’s eyes on me, stripping me naked. God, it was getting harder and harder to

be in the same room as him, so I just kept to myself instead, making sure we didn’t cross paths. But there was something else, too. Something that had made me stop in my tracks in the hallway that day, even when my mind was in the gutter already. I was so hot for him, ready to give it all up for a single touch of his skilled fingers… And then he’d said something that rubbed me the wrong way. I had no idea what it was that had bothered me, exactly—I’d been racking my brain for days, but always came up empty. For the time being, I’d decided to let it go. It was making me feel weirdly uncomfortable, anyway. A week or so after that run-in,

Peter’s team had organized a media lunch to introduce us to the public as his new family. I was already nervous about it. I didn’t like attention on myself, but I knew I had to play the good little stepdaughter, if only for the cameras. The day beforehand, I’d turned in my notice at the coffee shop. I’d only worked there for a few weeks, and I hadn’t wanted to quit right after they’d hired me, but college was starting in a week. I knew I’d have to focus on my studies, and they didn’t have any parttime waitressing positions to keep me on. Also, Peter had been polite but persistent, and he’d told me that it wouldn’t look good for his stepdaughter to be waiting tables anyway, even part-

time. Fortunately, he hadn’t pressured me too much—I’d made the decision to quit on my own. As much as I’d wanted to help Mom out, I knew it was for the best of the family if I did what Peter suggested. “Lina, wear this,” Mom said the morning of our first media appearance. We were all in her bedroom, getting ready for the lunch. I’d done her makeup in pretty pastels and light neutrals, and she looked beautiful. I’d told her as much. She passed me a hanger with a floral dress and I gave her a look. I wasn’t really a dress kind of girl—I preferred jeans and a tee, but even I knew that wouldn’t be appropriate for the

luncheon. With a grumble, I took the dress out of her hands, and she gave me a cardigan as well. “Mom,” I groaned. “I’ll look like some preppy spoiled princess. Can I skip the cardigan for now?” “Fine.” She smiled at me. “And you don’t have to wear the pearls.” She put away a white pearl necklace as I rolled my eyes. Freaking pearls, like I was Jackie O or something. I disappeared into the bathroom to get changed while Mom fussed with Lily’s thick curls. She looked like a doll in her poufy dress, complete with shiny new ballet flats. Even I had to admit she looked adorable. If Peter was the one

who’d chosen our outfits, he’d definitely done a good job. I tugged the dress on, and surprisingly, it fit all right. A look in the mirror showed me looking like a totally different girl—every strand of hair in place, my curves hidden by the dress. I added the cardigan against my earlier judgment and came out of hiding. “Mommy, look at Lina,” Lily gasped. “She looks like a girl.” “I’ve been one all along!” I said in a dramatic voice, making my little sister giggle. I smiled as I hugged her tightly to my chest. Mom came closer, beaming with pride as she looked at us. She held out her hand, and I was about to take it in

mine when I saw what she was holding. “You have got to be kidding me,” I said, my voice tinged with desperation. She gave me a pleading look, and I sighed and took the headband from her hand, sliding it into my hair. I probably looked like a doll as well now. Oh, the things we did for family. “Shall we go?” Mom was sparkling with happiness, so I didn’t object. I took her hand and my sister’s, and we left the room, prepared for the vultures to descend upon us.

When Chase saw my get-up, he nearly doubled over with laughter. I shot him a

nasty look but he was still grinning as we met up in front of the house. “Hello, Preppy Penny,” he said with a grin. “You’ve been spending far too much time with Lily,” I said, but I couldn’t quite keep the smile off my face, either. “Preppy Penny is the shit in kindergarten right now, I’ll have you know,” Chase informed me while his father shot him a warning look. “Watch your language, Chase. And you all look lovely, ladies.” He hugged my Mom, and I had to admit that it was kind of nice to see them together like this. They really looked like they were in love. Maybe my earlier assumptions about Peter had been

incorrect. “Shall we?” Peter motioned towards the limo awaiting us, and we all piled into it. It was spacious, and in a matter of minutes, Lily was happily exploring the inside of the car. Mom had to pry a bottle of champagne out of her hands once she got into the mini fridge, and it made me giggle. “At least wait for the actual wedding before you start trying to down a bottle of bubbly,” I teased, and Mom clicked her tongue at me. Throughout the ride, I could feel Chase’s eyes burning into my skin, but I refused to look at him. I was already nervous about the media lunch, and I

didn’t need another distraction in the shape of a ripped, sexy as hell stepbrother. In a matter of minutes, we arrived at the hotel where the event was taking place, and I felt my heart drop to the bottom of my stomach. I didn’t do ‘center of attention’ very well. I hated being in the spotlight, and I could already tell it was going to be a nightmare to pose and answer questions for the journalists. My hands shook as I got out of the car. Someone else’s steady hand met mine, helping me out of the vehicle, and I raised my eyes to meet Chase’s. He gave me an innocent smile, and I was too nervous to reject him, so I let him help

me. He had to practically lift me down to the ground, and my hand lingered in his for a second too long, making my heart flutter. As soon as we stepped inside the conference room, the cameras started flashing. I felt sick to my stomach, the lights and questions making me shake in my ballet flats. I tried to smile, be polite, answer like I’d been told to, but my heart was thumping like crazy, making it impossible to focus on what the journalists were saying. No one was eating the food, I noticed after a little while. So much for a luncheon. Perhaps I could get a snack and a drink and have a little break from the press.

I walked over to the drinks table and poured myself a glass of grape juice. My hands were so shaky I could barely hold the glass. I had no idea why I was so nervous—everyone else was handling it so well. My eyes found Mom and Lily, both of them laughing with the journalists. Lily presented one of them with a drawing she’d made, and everyone oohed and aahed over how adorable it was. It was of the six of us, a cute picture of her new family drawn in blue, red and purple crayon. I liked how Chase was the central point of it, the biggest figure with a heart around his face. It made me smile. “Miss Diaz, how do you feel about

your new stepbrother? Well, almoststepbrother. I understand the wedding is in a few months.” A journalist assaulted me from behind, taking me totally by surprise. The question made sweat bead on my back, and I turned around to answer, my hands still shaking. As my luck would have it, I bumped right into his recorder as he rudely tried to push it right up in my face. My glass tipped and in a hot second, I was soaked in dark purple juice. I looked down with horror to see it seeping through my dress. “Shi—oh no.” I stopped myself from cursing just in time, discarding of the glass to assess the damage on my dress.

The floral pattern was on a white background, the dark stain blooming next to the pink peonies. I was an absolute mess. “I have to get this cleaned off,” I mumbled, feeling more nervous than ever. “I’ll be back in a second, I’m so sorry.” “Can’t you answer the question first?” The journalist was right in my face, pressing the recorder so close that it was nearly touching me again. It was incredibly awkward and uncomfortable, and he hadn’t even apologized about the grape juice debacle. “I’m sorry…” “Hey now, why is all the attention on

Lina? I’d like to answer some questions, too. Show some love for good old Chase Stryker, why don’t you?” Chase had strolled up next to us, blocking the journalist’s access to me. The guy looked annoyed, but Chase just winked at me, motioning for me to go with a brief nod. I gave him a grateful smile as he started talking to the annoying journalist, and I headed straight for the bathrooms. Once in there, I saw that the stain had seeped all the way through my dress, and I had to strip down the top part and scrub the sticky juice off my skin with a paper towel. I was just in my bra now, so I hoped to God no one would come in and see me.

I’d finally managed to clean myself up when the door to the bathroom opened. I turned around and stared at the intruder like a deer in the headlights, the top of my dress still around my waist. “It’s just me,” Chase said quietly, looking around to make sure we were alone. Once he saw me in my bra, half stripped down, he grinned from ear to ear. “Oh. I see you’ve already gotten things started in here...” “You wish. Stop staring, you perv,” I hissed at him, trying to get my dress back up and struggling with the zipper. “No worries,” Chase replied. “Nothing I haven’t seen before…and nothing I won’t see again.” I rolled my eyes and ignored his jibe

as he came over to me and helped me zip the dress back up. It was kind of nice of him, I thought distractedly, still busily checking out the damage on my dress. To be fair, he was probably just making an excuse to touch me like the sleazy animal he was, so he wasn’t going to win any awards for being nice just yet. “Put your cardigan on top,” Chase suggested, following my gaze in the mirror. I glanced up, and my heart skipped a beat as my eyes met his. “It should cover up the stains.” I flashed him a grateful look, taking the cardigan from my purse. I’d opted not to wear it in the end, since it was an unseasonably warm day today, but now it was coming in more than handy. I put it

on and buttoned it up, and thankfully it hid the huge stain from the juice quite well. I might’ve looked like Preppy Penny, but at least I wasn’t a mess. My eyes focused on Chase’s reflection in the mirror again. He was looking right at me, standing only inches away. My skin felt scorching hot all of a sudden, and my breathing quickened, growing more erratic by the second. He took a step closer, never taking his eyes off mine in the mirror. His hand came to rest on the small of my back and I gasped out loud, unable to hold my breath. I was shaking; one touch of his fingers enough to send my head spinning. Chase raised his free hand to my neck, pushing away the fabric of my

cardigan until soft flesh was exposed to his lips. He was still looking at me as he lowered his mouth against my neck, almost touching my skin with his mouth, and his breath was fire against my skin, scorching me as he exhaled. “Don’t,” I begged him, even though my mind was screaming for me to let him kiss me. “We can’t be doing this...” His lips met my skin and I almost toppled over. He bit my neck so gently I could barely feel it, but the butterflies in my stomach were proof enough. “Why not?” he groaned. “You taste so damn good.” I turned around, my fingers winding in his thick hair. We were on fire, with Chase pulling me tightly against his body

and my breath hot and heavy against his face. I wanted to kiss him so freaking badly. Right now, I didn’t care about his Dad, or his fights, or the fact that he was totally off-limits. I just wanted to feel those full lips against mine, even if it was for the last time ever. I stood up on my tiptoes, almost reaching his mouth, and my whole body trembled. Chase grinned at me and murmured as my lips drew ever closer to his. “Mmm…good girl...” It all came crashing down at my feet as soon as those words escaped his mouth. I moved away, the moment broken, and I gave him a hard look,

angry and upset that he’d made me do something I shouldn’t even want. “Leave,” I said. “Now.” “What?” Chase gave me an incredulous look and then raised his hands in the air. “Are you kidding me? What’s your problem?” What the hell was my problem? I didn’t even know why, but I was apprehensive all of a sudden, angry as hell and needing to get as far away from him as possible. What was it he said? It was definitely something about what the words he’d just spoken… I thought hard, trying to come up with the fleeting answer, and then it hit me. Good girl. He'd called me a good girl in the hallway the other day and just then as

well, and both times, it had triggered something deep down; a horrible fear, a strange sensation. I didn't like it. It sounded...wrong. Why? I had no idea. All I knew was that it sparked this dark, visceral reaction in my mind, putting me in a foul mood and making my hands shake even more than they had earlier. “Go, please,” I mumbled. Chase cursed out loud. “Fuck…you’re such a tease, Lina Diaz,” he growled at me. “Someday, you’re going to get in trouble.” “I can take care of myself,” I retorted, shooting him a defiant look. “I’m sure,” he snorted. “God, I hate you.”

“Oh, do you?” he asked, lips curving into a smile. The fact that I amused him made me even angrier. “Yes, that’s right. I do,” I replied. My words were filled with venom, an impulse reaction because I was so angry with him for indiscernible reasons. “If you were on fire and I had a glass of water…I’d drink it!” Chase burst out laughing and I almost followed suit, my ridiculous comment making me want to giggle. But before I could do that, he stepped closer to me again, looking me right in the eye. “If you had a glass of water,” he growled. “You’d pour it on yourself, because you’re so hot for me, princess.” Before I could respond, he walked

out on me, grinning from ear to ear. He left me standing in the middle of the bathroom with flushed cheeks. The worst part? He was totally right.

Chapter 8 Chase I wanted Lina more and more every day. I hadn’t even known that was possible, but when she’d almost kissed me in the bathroom during the media lunch that day, I’d realized that it was. I’d realized it yet again the next day when I’d seen her nervously chewing on her lower lip as she checked out her class schedule for the upcoming

semester, and I’d wanted her even more. The whole thing was doing a number on my head, because I knew she didn’t exactly return my feelings, and there was nothing I could do about that. I wasn’t usually the type of guy to get hung up on a chick. I think the last time I’d been hung up on any girl was in the third grade when a girl named Mia had refused my offer to share my lunch with her. Even then, I’d gotten over it by the next afternoon. But this time? Nope. There was no getting past this one. I’d spent the last few weeks jerking it to thoughts of Lina, as much of a basement-dwelling neckbeard as that made me sound like. I could’ve been out getting laid. No,

scratch that. I should’ve been out getting laid, but instead I’d secluded myself to either home, classes or the gym, picturing Lina the whole time instead of concentrating on my lectures or training. The only time in the last two weeks in which I hadn’t been fantasizing about her was during my last fight. Even then, I’d stared out at the crowd in between rounds, hoping that the next time I looked, she’d be there, watching me with that same fascinated look she’d had on her pretty face the first time I ever saw her. I could see her in my mind’s eye again as I leaned back against the wall in the back row of the Humphrey lecture theatre, ignoring the droning voice of my

economics professor. Even boring macroeconomics crap couldn’t shake the flashing fantasy. Lina was pressed up against the wall, her arms above her head as my hands held them there, roughly pinning her in that position. I pushed one knee in between her legs, forcing them open as she gasped, and my lips were on her skin only seconds later, kissing her, licking her, tasting her. She was sweet and a little salty from the sweat, and she begged me to kiss her mouth, longing for me as much as I longed for her. Her cheeks were flushed pink, and her breaths were coming fast and shallow, yearning for me to slide my hand down the front of those faded blue jeans she always wore.

I wanted to make her come, and I knew she wanted it just as bad… I shook myself out of my fantasies again and jotted down some notes from the screen down at the front of the room. Oh yeah, I had it bad… After the media lunch the other week, things around the house had quickly descended into more chaos. My father and Nina were still busily making preparations for their wedding, and they’d scheduled it on the worst possible day—right at the end of exam week for me and Lina, when we’d probably be tired as fuck. It would be doubly bad for Lina, seeing as it was her first semester, and she was already being thrown in the deep end as it was, considering she

hadn’t even thought she’d be attending college anytime soon. I’d tried to show her around campus on her first day, but she’d stiffly told me she didn’t need help and then taken off in the direction of one of the main quadrangles. I’d known she was going the wrong way for the class she had, but she hadn’t wanted to listen, and by the end of our first week, she seemed to have figured it all out by herself anyway. I really didn’t get her at all. She was confusing as hell. It was like she was hot for me one minute and freezing cold the next. There seemed to be a pattern to it, though; I’d get close enough to see and feel just how turned on she was by me, and then she’d shove me away like I had

leprosy before it could actually go anywhere. Women, right? Oh well. Nothing I could do about it. She obviously had some sort of intimacy issues, and she’d have to deal with them in her own time. Maybe it was because our parents were getting married. She probably felt like it was some awful, forbidden thing for us to hook up, but honestly, I didn’t get the big deal. We weren’t related, and we’d only just met, for Christ’s sake. It wasn’t like she was my adopted sister who’d grown up with me and formed a real sibling bond with me over the years. Sure, other people might think it was weird and gross, but I sure as fuck didn’t.

My economics lecture finally ended, and I yawned and trudged out of the theatre, trying to remember if my next class was at two or two-thirty. For the life of me, I couldn’t remember. Maybe the punch I’d taken to the head during my last fight had knocked all my brain cells out. That would certainly explain my terrible memory and my current preoccupation with a girl I barely knew. Yup, that had to be it. Brain damage. That was my story and I was sticking to it. I reached into my pocket to grab a folded copy of my class schedule, and as I gazed down at it, I kept walking and then collided with someone coming in the opposite direction.

“Shit, sorry,” I said, jerking my head up. “Wasn’t watching where…oh, it’s you.” Lina was standing before me. Her cheeks were flushed, just like I’d been picturing only minutes earlier…only she wasn’t half-naked, and she had an angry expression on her face. Somehow, that made me want her even more, and my cock stiffened in my pants as heat rushed to my groin. Thank God for loose jeans… “Why are you always bumping into me?” she complained, bending down to pick up a notebook she’d dropped. I grinned. “It takes two to tango, princess. We keep bumping into each other, not just me into you. So I guess

we both need to watch where we’re walking…or maybe it’s a sign from the universe.” She slid her notebook into her tote bag and then folded her arms, looking up at me with narrowed eyes. “Oh, yeah? A sign of what? That we should give each other concussions?” “Maybe. Or maybe we’re just meant to be together,” I teased, although I was only half-joking. She rolled her eyes. “You’re about as bright as a black hole and twice as dense. How many times do I have to tell you I’m not interested?” My grin grew wider. “Oh, but you are. Ever heard the saying ‘actions speak louder than words’?”

She reached up and pinched my arm. Even though she was obviously doing it as viciously as possible by her standards, it barely even stung. It was like a Chihuahua attacking a bear. “How’s that for an action to show how I feel about you?” she asked, fixing me with a haughty look. “Did you…did you seriously just pinch me? Are you six?” Her cheeks flushed an even deeper shade of pink. “No. I was just making a point.” “Poorly, I might add.” “Shut up.” She made to walk away but then turned back to me, a sheepish expression on her face. “Uhh….by the way, where’s

the Bayliss Building?” “Oh, so you need my help now? Tsk, tsk.” “Forget it. I’ll find it myself.” She turned around again, and I grabbed her arm. “Wait, no. I was kidding. Hold on, I’ll draw you a little map. Bayliss is kinda hard to find.” “Thanks,” she said softly. Despite her uncharacteristic gratefulness, she brushed her sleeve off where I’d touched her as if I were a known carrier of the Bubonic plague. I grabbed a pen out of my pocket and scribbled down a crude map for her on a spare piece of paper. As I drew it, she shuffled nervously in her spot before finally speaking up again. “So…are you

still doing that whole illegal fight thingy?” “Fight thingy?” I said, arching an eyebrow. “You know what I mean. The fights you do. I mean, it’s all a big secret, right?” “Yeah, for obvious reasons. My Dad and all.” “Right. So are you still doing it?” “Yeah, although the next one isn’t for two weeks.” “I see.” “Wanna come?” She wrinkled her nose. “No. I don’t think it’s really my kinda thing. I don’t even understand why you do it.” I leaned closer, making a big show

of sliding the map I’d drawn for her into her front jacket pocket. “So what is your thing?” I asked, my face only inches from hers. “I don’t know,” she mumbled. She looked like she was about to say something else, but we were distracted by the arrival of a friend of mine, Brett Gedei, who’d been walking past and just spotted me. “Hey, man! Haven’t seen you around much,” he said, slapping my shoulder. “Yeah, been keeping pretty busy,” I replied. “How’s it going?” “Same old, same old,” he replied. His eyes were no longer on me; they were slowly roaming over Lina, looking her up and down like she was a piece of

meat. Instinctively, I took a step closer to her, and he grinned. “So who’s this? Finally got yourself a girlfriend?” “Nah, she’s my…” He cut me off. “Oh, wait, I saw something in the papers. You’re the new stepsister, right?” he said, still staring at her. “Not yet,” I replied before she could answer. “Our parents aren’t married yet.” “Right. Well, I’m Brett,” he said, holding out a hand to Lina. “Old friend of your new brother.” She shook it, giving him a shy smile, and Brett finally looked back at me. “Anyway, I was gonna text you. I’m

having a party at my place this weekend. Friday night. You in?” “Sure,” I replied. I didn’t have a fight this weekend, and going to a party would be a good way for me to blow off steam. I could ditch the healthy diet for the night, have a few beers, and hopefully find some girl to bury my cock in and take my mind off Lina for once. “What about you?” he asked, looking at Lina again. “If you’re not busy, you should come too!” My hands coiled into fists by my sides as I pictured her showing up at the party. No. Fucking. Way. I knew most of the guys who went to Brett’s shindigs, and I knew exactly what they were like. They went to the parties

hoping to do just two things: get fucked up, and find a girl to fuck. I didn’t want Lina going anywhere near that kind of scene. She was too innocent, too vulnerable. She’d be easy prey for a sleazy jackoff. She probably wouldn’t want to go, anyway. She didn’t seem like the type of girl who liked to party all that much, so I guess my worries were needless. But even as I thought that, I saw her nod and smile. “Sure,” she said. “I don’t really know anyone on campus yet, so that’d be fun.” “Yeah, you can meet some new college folks, have a few drinks,” Brett said, flashing her what I assumed he thought was a panty-melting smile. “So

you’re a freshman, huh?” “Uh-huh.” The thought of her hooking up with Brett made my stomach roil, even though he wasn’t the worst kind of guy out there. He was actually pretty decent, but still…no way was I gonna let him sleaze onto Lina. He looked back at me. “All right, well you know my address. I’ve gotta run now, but I’ll see you guys there on Friday. Oh, and it was nice to meet you, Lina.” He winked and then strode away, and I narrowed my eyes at Lina. “You’re not going.” “Huh?” “To that party. You’re not going. No

way.” She crossed her arms. “Are you serious?” “Yes. I don’t want you hanging around people like that.” “You mean people like you?” she asked. “Er…yeah, I guess. It’s not safe.” “Please,” she said, wrinkling her nose. “You just don’t want me to steal your friends. But don’t worry, I’m sure they have enough room in their hearts for the both of us.” She placed her hand over her heart as she spoke, her voice tinged with sarcasm, and an idea finally struck me. “Fine. You can go. I’ll text you the address, but you’ll have to find your

own way there. I’ve got something to do on Friday before the party, so I can’t drive you.” Like hell I was going to give her the right address. I’d give her one on the other side of town, and she’d think it had been cancelled when she showed up and found a quiet, empty street. “Fine. I wasn’t going to ask you to take me anyway,” she said. “I do have other friends, you know. I’ll invite them, and we’ll drive there together.” “Okay, cool. I’ll see you at home later, sis.” “Bye, bro.” She strolled away without another word. On the one hand, I hated watching her walk away from me, but on the other

hand…by God, did I love staring at that ass…

Friday arrived quickly, and I spent the early evening hanging out with Tripp at his place. If I stayed at home, then Lina might see me leave, and if she happened to be leaving at the same time, she’d realize I’d given her the wrong address. Oh man, she was gonna give me hell when she realized what I’d done, but it was for her own good. She’d make friends at college eventually, and hopefully they’d be the decent kind of friends, not the sort who tried to make her do multiple keg-stands so they could

get her wasted and take advantage of her. Sometimes I wondered why I even hung out with the people I did, but then I remembered that I was just like them. At least I had been, once upon a time. I’d definitely never been the kinda guy who only thought about one girl, but look at me now… I headed to the party at eight-thirty, and as I stepped into Brett’s house, I saw that it was already in full swing. Heavy bass pounded from the speakers on the side of the lounge room, almost making the whole house vibrate, and scantilyclad girls had themselves draped over the arms of guys in shirts with popped collars. Jesus, when did that look come back in style?

I grabbed a beer and headed over to a group of guys I knew, and as I caught up with my buddies, I spotted something out of the corner of my eye. I’d recognize that ass anywhere. It was Lina. She’d just stepped into the room, and she was surveying the place with a confident gleam in her eyes. It was nice to see her coming out of her shell a bit, but what the hell was she doing here? She turned and saw me, and a cheeky smile turned up the corners of her lips. “Excuse me for a sec,” I said to my friends before striding over to her. “What the hell are you doing here?” She feigned an innocent expression. “Huh? I was invited. You were there

when Brett asked me, remember?” she said. “I also remember giving you the wrong address.” She gave me a sweet smile. “I’m not as dumb as you think. I knew you’d give me the wrong address, and besides, Brett added me on Facebook. So I asked him for the right address.” “Right. So where are all your little friends?” “They had to go to some other thing. I’m probably going to meet up with them later, but I thought I’d check out this party first.” My eyes narrowed. “So you drove here yourself? In that case, I’m not letting you have even one single drink.”

It wasn’t that I didn’t want her to have fun, I just didn’t want her wrapping her car around a streetlight later on tonight. She rolled her eyes. “I got an Uber, don’t worry. Stop being so protective.” “Whatever. I still don’t want you drinking.” “Okay, big brother,” she said. “Whatever you say.” She spotted Brett on the other side of the room and waved, and I grabbed her arm. “Look, just be careful, okay?” “I will,” she said with an exasperated sigh. She turned away but then looked back at me. “Oh, and Chase? You totally thought I wouldn’t be able to come and

have fun, what with you giving me the wrong address and all, but I outsmarted you anyway,” she said with a gleeful expression. “And I’m going to have fun. So I guess that’s score one for me…” I couldn’t help but smile as she walked away. So she wanted to play a game with me, huh? Well, game on…

Chapter 9 Lina Today, I felt good. I was good. A silly smile was plastered on my face as I walked into the party house, and as soon as I spotted Chase, I made sure he knew I’d scored against him in our silly little battle of wits. His subsequent grin and nod of approval made me feel even better. I knew I was being childish, but hey, I was only eighteen, and you only

get to be young once, right? For so long now, I’d been feeling insecure and downtrodden; something indiscernible weighing heavily on my shoulders. But tonight, I’d left all my worries at home. If I didn’t know exactly what was bothering me, then what was the point in stressing about it all the time? I’d spent an hour getting ready; something totally unusual for me. For my outfit, I’d settled on a cute red dress with a skater skirt and a pair of black ankle boots. The dress was from Goodwill, and the boots were years old, but I still thought the outfit looked cute. It made me feel good, anyway, and that’s what really mattered.

At first, I’d been a little scared about not fitting in with the crowd at this party, but I’d tried not to let it bother me all that much as I entered the house and scanned the main room. Landon and Michaela had somewhere else to be at the moment, and they’d apologized profusely about not coming with me, but they’d be free in two hours anyway, so if the party ended up being a total bust, I could meet up with them later. I’d been scared about not fitting in over nothing. As soon as my talk with Chase was over, I spoke to Brett for a minute, and then a few acquaintances from class waved me over. I approached shyly at first, but within a few moments, I was chatting away and feeling more

relaxed than ever. “Did you see Professor Denver’s presentation on cell biology?” a classmate called Rebecca snickered at me. “She uploaded the wrong thing, and there was a photo from her vacation in the slideshow. She’s sooo drunk in it.” “Are you kidding me?” I giggled as well. “I haven’t logged on to the site yet, but that’s hilarious. I hope she’s not too embarrassed...” “She’s drinking a cocktail the size of my head and wearing a luau outfit in the pic!” Rebecca was laughing her head off and I soon joined in. The notion of my strict, frumpy professor on a boozefueled vacay in Hawaii really was

something. I kept chatting to my new group of friends, and every time someone offered me a drink, I politely declined. While most people my age would’ve been happy to accept a beer, I wasn’t having it. Getting wasted at someone else’s house and vomiting into a flowerbed wasn’t really my style, and besides, something about the idea of being drunk made me feel like I was perilously close to losing control of everything. I had no idea why that was, though. I’d been like this for what seemed like forever. Maybe I was just a control freak? “How’s college treating you, Lina?” I looked up at George, a guy I’d sat next to a few times in some of my

lectures. He was a nice guy. He’d even let me borrow his notes when I’d accidentally spilled coffee all over mine —something I’d been told was almost unheard of in college. “It’s…different,” I replied with a smile. “But I’m really, really enjoying it.” He beamed at me and my smile reflected his. I finally fit in. I didn’t stand out like a sore thumb; something I’d been so afraid would happen amidst my privileged classmates. They were all loaded, from rich and influential families, and I was poor little Lina Diaz, broke and always badly dressed. Except I wasn’t anymore, was I?

In only a few months, I would be the stepdaughter of a successful politician, and I’d be just as well taken care of as the rest of them. Even in recent weeks, Peter had regaled me with offers to take me shopping, but I’d declined every single time. I needed time to adjust. I was still me, and no amount of money could ever change that, but for once, I was comfortable in my own skin…and it felt really good. Throughout our chat, I kept glancing around the room, my eyes betraying my cool exterior and trying to find Chase. He was mingling, talking to anyone and everyone. Every so often, though, I’d catch his gaze and we’d make eye

contact, and then he would give me the most delicious smile, the corner of his lips turning up slightly. Like it was just for me… I was grinning like a fool within an hour, feeling better than I had in ages. I’d just finished my Coke, and I excused myself to go to the kitchen for a refill. The party was definitely fun, and while there was some crazy stuff going on—I’d seen several keg stands, which made me feel like I was in a movie—I still felt safe. I was just about to head into the kitchen when I spotted some frames on the wall. I approached them with a grin on my face, realizing Chase was in one of the photos, his hand around Brett’s

shoulders as they grinned at the camera. I stopped to look at the shot as a warm and tingly feeling filled my stomach. It made me smile to see him so happy. He seemed so on edge at times, especially around his Dad. Remembering my intentions to get a refill, I headed for the kitchen again. The music was a little softer here, and I appreciated it. The heavy drum and bass in the other room had been starting to make my head pound. Heading inside the room, I spotted a few girls I’d seen around the halls on campus. They seemed like your typical popular gang; pretty, tall and willowy, each with her own designer purse and expensive outfit to boot. Their highlights

alone probably cost more than my entire wardrobe. “Hey, Jessie,” I said to the one I knew, a shy smile on my lips. She was the daughter of a prominent Republican politician, so she was rather well-known around Chicago because of her father. Just like Chase. In fact, I was quite sure her father was actually Peter’s main opponent in the gubernatorial race, but I’d have to check to make sure. She gave me a strange look as I said hi, so I headed for the fridge, realizing she probably didn’t even know my name. It was silly of me to assume everyone would be friendly, I guess—you can’t have everything. I was pouring myself a drink when

someone bumped into me, hard. Coke spilled over the edge of the glass and all over the floor. I stepped aside just in time to salvage my shoes. “Oops, sorry,” a voice snickered behind me. I turned around, sidestepping to avoid the puddle of Coke on the floor, and I looked up into a pair of cold, hard blue eyes. It was Jessie, the girl I’d said hello to before. “That’s okay,” I replied with a smile. “Were you trying to get something from the fridge?” She gave me an incredulous look and the girls behind her laughed at me. I felt uncomfortable now, like I’d stumbled upon some serious trouble. “Nope, I was trying to salvage your

outfit, sweetheart,” Jessie replied condescendingly, giving me a once-over. “Was just doing you a favor. Too bad I missed; I’m sure you’d look better naked than in this horrendous get-up. Those shoes need to go.” She strolled right up to me, giving me a syrupy sweet smile as she delivered the last blow. “And so do you, sweetie. Go on now. Shoo.” My eyes started watering before I’d even comprehended her words, and I was left staring at her in disbelief. Had I somehow taken a wrong turn and stumbled onto the set of Mean Girls 2? “I’m sorry…what?” I asked in a shaky voice. Surely she couldn’t be for real…all the mean girls should have

been left behind in high school, right? Jessie stepped even closer, her thick perfume cloying the air around us. Violet and orange blossom. I’d never get that smell out of my nose now. “I said, get lost, you cheap slut,” she slurred, already a bit drunk and very, very pissed at me for whatever reason. “You don’t belong here. I don’t even know who invited you.” Tears were starting to fall from my eyes, as hard as I tried to hold them back. I opened my mouth, but no words came out. Once more, I was a fish out of water. “Watch your mouth, Jessie,” a growl came from behind me. I didn’t need to look over my shoulder to know it was

Chase. Instead, I focused my gaze on the floor, swallowing the lump in my throat. “Chase, hi,” Jessie purred. I could tell she had no idea that Chase and I knew each other, let alone the fact that we were soon-to-be-related. “You didn’t come speak to me all night…thought you’d forgotten all about me.” “Might as well,” he said. “Apologize to Lina, please.” “What?” “You heard me. Say you’re sorry. You shouldn’t treat people like that.” “You’re defending this…” I could feel her eyes on me, even though I was busy inspecting the carpet and fighting back tears of anger. “Trash?” Ouch, that stung…badly.

“Apologize,” he snarled at her, and I could tell he was getting angrier by the second. “That’s my stepsister you’re bullying.” There was a long moment of hesitation, followed by a shrill laugh. “Sorry, pumpkin,” Jessie purred, evidently changing her tune to appeal to Chase. Typical. “It was just a lame joke…your shoes are totally cute. You know I was kidding, right?” I could just imagine her mouth set in a thin line. She’d probably make my life even more hellish now, knowing that I had Chase on my side. I was just a girl, and she obviously saw herself as the queen of the college hallways. She’d never step down for someone like me,

and she’d make sure I regretted Chase coming to my rescue. I couldn’t take it anymore. I burst out of the room, leaving all of them behind me. The ugly words, the mean girls, and the prick with a secret golden heart, whom I could never have. I just needed to get away. “Lina! Wait, Lina—please!” He caught up to me just before I reached the door, and for once, I was thankful for the loud music thumping through the house. It meant no one could hear my sobs. Chase’s fingers wrapped around my forearm, and he made me turn around, but I wasn’t having it. I wouldn’t let him feel sorry for me, because there was

nothing wrong with me, nothing at all. Those girls were stupid for thinking I was worth less than anyone else, and it spoke volumes about them, not me. Even though I knew all that, it was still too hard to stop the tears. I needed to be alone for a while so I could try to calm down. “Just let me go!” I snarled at Chase. “Calm down! Jesus,” he said. “They’re just fucking bitches, Lina. Just mean, vapid girls. You know none of that is true!” “They seem to think it is,” I said. “And you probably agree. Everyone here probably thinks so too. I don’t belong. I don’t know why I thought I ever would.” Chase stared at me incredulously,

ready to protest, but I gathered the last of my strength to rip my arm out of his grip. Then I ran outside, slamming the door behind me. My phone had died in my bag, so I couldn’t call a cab, and it was raining outside. Of course it was. I ran through the thick curtain of water falling on top of me, the drops heavy as they mixed with my salty tears. Soon, I couldn’t tell them apart, but it didn’t even matter. I just needed to find a way to get home, find a bus stop or something. I knew I was being a bitch to Chase. He didn’t deserve any of it; he was just trying to protect me. Maybe I was as bad

as those mean girls, because I’d put them in the same box, labeled them with the same words. Rich, snarky, mean. Chase wasn’t like that, though. As I hiccupped and cried, I thought of how he’d come to my defense. He was so sweet…and also totally offlimits, as I was so often painfully reminded of. I made myself think about something else, even though he kept popping into my head, and I swallowed a sob, promising myself it would be the last one of the day. The bus stop was nowhere in sight. Instead, I found refuge in an alley; a dirty and stinky place just off the main road. At least it was empty, and I hovered

under a rooftop, deciding to wait for the rain to stop. It was falling hard, noisy and aggressive, the thick drops hitting me like bullets. I could hear a strange sound as well…something other than rain hitting the pavement. My eyes widened, and I looked around. The last thing I needed was some frat boys assaulting me in an alley. But the sound was softer, sadder. It sounded like someone calling out for help. Despite knowing I’d probably get sick, I stepped out into the rain again, trying to follow the noise. It was coming from a trashcan, louder and louder as I neared it. Maybe someone had dropped

a cellphone in there? If that was the case, I was stupid for following the sound. As I neared the cans, I heard footsteps echoing behind me, and a voice cut through my thoughts only seconds later. “Lina, for fuck’s sake! You’ll get sick out here!” “Shh!” I motioned for Chase to be quiet as he tried to catch his breath. He was soaking wet, water dripping from every part of him and running down his body in rivulets. “Can you hear that?” My bad mood was momentarily forgotten as we both listened to the creepy sounds of the alley. Rain hitting the metal trash cans, cars driving by.

And then, right there…a small, mewling sound, scared and begging for help. Chase and I rushed forward. He lifted the lid off the trashcan and we peeked inside, looking for the source of the sound. A pair of eyes stared back at us. Big blue eyes, with huge dilated pupils. “A kitten,” I said. “Someone stuck her in the trash!” Chase lifted her out of the can, and we huddled under the rooftop, the kitten protesting loudly as Chase held her close. We stepped closer together, my heart beating faster at his proximity, but I was too busy worrying about the little kitty we’d just found to even think of our current closeness as meaningful.

“Who would do that?” I wondered out loud. “Some fucking jackass,” Chase growled. The kitten looked tiny in his robust hands, like a wet rag. She was shivering and mewling even louder now, but that didn’t stop her from snuggling into the crook of his arm. “We need to get to my car and get home. She needs to be warm and dry.” I found myself nodding as he gave me the kitten, sheltering her from the rain. Even though she’d been stuck in the trashcan, some rain must’ve gotten through the holes because she was soaking wet. I couldn’t even tell what color her coat was—she was a mess of sticky fur and angry claws.

I looked up to find Chase stripping off his leather jacket. It was probably his only protection from the weather; the material making all of the raindrops bounce off it. He wrapped the kitten in it gently and held her tight, and seemingly on an impulse, he took my hand in his… I felt warmer right away. We ran as fast as we could. Chase clutched the kitten to his chest with one hand and helped me along with the other, making sure I didn’t trip and fall in any puddles. It was only a short distance to his car, and in a few moments, we’d piled inside the Lexus, both of us out of breath. Chase flashed me a victorious look, and my insides almost melted.

“Got her. Better take her home and make sure she gets something to eat, and warm her up as well,” he said, starting up the car. He was soaking wet, and his white T-shirt was plastered to his skin, making his ripped stomach plain to see. We’d probably both die of pneumonia in a few days, but looking at those big blue eyes of his made me have absolutely no regrets. I took the kitten from him, placing her gently on my lap. The engine revved, the car seats began heating up, and right then and there, I knew that the whole day hadn’t been so awful. Even though the rain was still bucketing down, we were warm and cozy in the car, with soft

music playing in the background. I unwrapped the kitten from Chase’s jacket and checked her all over to make sure she was all right. She was definitely a female cat, and she was still shaking and complaining about her horrible day with loud meows. “Poor thing,” I muttered as I held her close. “We’ll get her sorted,” Chase promised me, his eyes on the road. “I promise, Lina.” For a moment, he looked in my direction, his gaze focusing on mine. Butterflies took flight in my stomach from the simple gesture, and I smiled, my stupid way of apologizing for storming off.

“Thank you.” My voice was barely above a whisper as we drove onto the highway. Chase returned the smile, his eyes floating back to the road a second later. Feeling strangely bereft, I looked down at the kitten on my lap. She was starting to dry up, and although she was settled in my arms, she was still meowing up a storm. I felt something warm on my leg, and I looked over to find Chase’s hand resting on my thigh. It wasn’t raunchy or seductive, even though he was pretty close to my inner thigh. It was just sweet, tender and caring. It also made me ache for more.

Chapter 10 Chase Something had changed for the better… and I had a cat to thank for that. Never thought I’d utter a sentence like that, but there it was. Ever since we’d rescued the poor little kitten from the alley near Brett’s house, Lina and I had wordlessly declared a truce. The kitten had desperately needed our help, and we’d

needed to work together to provide that help, forgetting about any childish problems we’d ever had with each other. It had taken the two of us to convince Nina and my father that the kitten— whom we’d named Goldie due to her greyish-blonde patches—could stay, and we’d needed to take her to multiple veterinary appointments to get her dewormed, treated for fleas and vaccinated. Lina didn’t roll her eyes or glare at me every time she saw me like she used to, and she actually spoke to me now. Real conversations, not just the occasional witty insult in the hallway. Hell, she’d even hung out with me a couple of times in the last week,

watching as Goldie dashed around my bedroom, hunting pieces of dust and pouncing on all of my shoes. I had to say, as much as I’d been turned on in the past by Lina’s scathing insults and haughty looks in my direction, I was enjoying being her friend far more. Well, maybe we weren’t exactly real friends yet, because I was pretty sure I wasn’t supposed to want to fuck a friend’s brains out. But shh…that could be our secret for now. If she only ever wanted to be friends with me, then so be it. Besides, our parents had been so happy to see us getting along, and I didn’t want to spoil that for them. I was seriously turning into a pussy

little bitch because of Lina and this kitten, though—no pun intended. I’d gone to a scheduled fight the other night, and with every strike, jab and chokehold I’d put my opponent in, I’d thought of nothing but Lina and Goldie, even though my mind was supposed to be focused on victory and the roaring cheers of the crowd. I’d still won, but I hadn’t cared anywhere near as much as usual. All I’d wanted was to get home and be with them. Fuck, what was wrong with me? I was losing it, and pretty soon my lack of concentration would probably result in me losing matches…all because of a girl and a cat. Little Lily was absolutely loving

having the cat around, though, and I had to say, I was starting to feel slightly betrayed. Goldie had taken to sleeping on her bed every night instead of with me or Lina, and Lina and I would always tuck the two of them in and make jokes about how Lily had stolen our precious kitten from us. It was all in good fun, of course—they were totally and utterly adorable together, all curled up under the blankets together with Goldie’s velvety nose pressed up against Lily’s shoulder. Right now, it was a little after midnight, and I’d just drifted off to sleep after finishing up an exhausting day of strenuous workouts and two major assignments for my college classes.

I was woken by a strange rustling sound only moments later, and I rubbed my eyes and rolled over to see Lily standing beside my bed, clutching a doll. She’d really taken a shining to me since moving in, and she’d woken me up a few times in the middle of the night after having nightmares. Usually I’d just make her a hot chocolate and read her a book until she drifted off again. “Chase? Wake up, please.” She reached out and prodded my shoulder, and I groaned and sat up. “What’s wrong? Did you have a bad dream again?” She shook her head. “Goldie did a wee on my bed. I’m scared.” I sighed and swung my legs over to

the side of my bed before turning a lamp on. “It’s okay, Lily, don’t be scared. I’ll change your sheets and put the dirty ones in the wash. You can just sleep in one of the spare rooms for now, or I can put you in Lina’s bed with her.” “I’m scared because it looked like there was blood,” she said, hugging her doll tighter against her chest. “What?” My blood ran cold, and I followed Lily down the hall and into her room to see Goldie curled up on the side of her bed. Weak mewls escaped her mouth every few seconds, and Lily tentatively patted her as I stepped closer to the spot where she’d peed. Lily was right. There was a little bit

of blood mixed in with the wet spot, and I swore under my breath. “Shit.” “I heard that. That’s a bad word,” Lily said. “Is Goldie sick?” “I think so,” I said. “You keep patting her for now, okay? I’m going to wake Lina up, and we’ll take her to a twenty-four hour vet clinic. Can you do that?” She nodded. “Okay. Please ask the vet to make her all better.” “Will do.” Lina’s bedroom door was unlocked, and I quietly pushed it open before turning her light on. She grumbled and called out to me. “What are you doing?” “Goldie is sick. She peed on Lily’s

bed, and there’s blood.” She sat bolt upright. “Oh my God.” After following me into the other room, she hugged Lily and then stroked Goldie’s furry little chin, tears glistening in her eyes. “Poor baby. She’s already been through so much.” “I know. I’ll be back in a sec.” I raced into my room and grabbed my wallet and car keys. “Here,” I said, passing them to her when I returned. “Do you wanna take her to that clinic on Oak Street? It’s only fifteen minutes from here. Put everything on my credit card.” “Aren’t you coming?” she said, looking up at me with wide eyes. “I would, but someone’s gotta clean this up and put Lily back to bed. I

thought you’d rather be with Goldie than clean up cat piss.” She gave me a tight smile. “Thanks, Chase,” she said softly. “I’ll grab her cat carrier and a blanket to put in it.” “No, she can have mine!” Lily demanded, grabbing a small blanket from the little sofa that sat on one side of her room. Lina smiled and thanked her, her face lighting up as she looked down at her little sister. I could see in her eyes that she was still deeply worried about Goldie, and I was too. I had no idea what could be causing her to pee blood, and I desperately hoped that the vet could help her before it was too late. That gorgeous little fur-ball had really

grown on me, and I hated the thought of losing her. Lina headed out with the kitten, and I stripped Lily’s bed down and threw everything in the washing machine. As I was waiting for that to finish, I took Lily into one of the spare rooms and tucked her into the bed, making sure she had plenty of her dolls and teddy bears to sleep with. “Here you go,” I said. “Here’s Paddington Bear as well. They’ll all make sure you have good dreams, and when you wake up, Goldie should be home.” “Do you promise she’ll be better?” she asked, looking up at me through sleepy brown eyes.

I didn’t want to make a promise that I wasn’t sure I could keep, but I didn’t want to break Lily’s heart either, so I squeezed her hand and ruffled her hair. “The vet will take the best care of her that he or she can. Now try to get some sleep, okay?” “Okay. Night-night, Chase.” I smiled and watched her close her eyes before turning the lights out and heading back downstairs to the laundry room. The sheets and blanket were still going in the washing machine, and I sat and waited, almost nodding off again until a beeping sound alerted me that it was finished. I tossed them all into the dryer and then finally headed back up to my room to find my phone.

How’s it going? I texted to Lina. She responded ten minutes later. It’s not as bad as we thought. Bacterial infection, but it’s easily treated. I’ll be home soon with meds for her. Thank God for that. As I waited for her to return, I shook my head as I realized just how far removed I was from my normal life at the moment. Usually at this time of night, I’d be out with buddies or picking up girls to take back to the hotel room I always hired, not sitting around waiting for an animal to get home from the vet. The reason I’d always booked out a hotel room on those nights was twofold. Firstly, I couldn’t bring home a string of girls when the house was being watched

by media douchebags half the time, and secondly, I did it so that when I screwed the aforementioned girls, they couldn’t track me down again after I was done with them. Something inside me stung as I recalled what a dick I’d always been. I’d treated so many girls like expendable garbage, and I didn’t want to be like that anymore. I didn’t even care if that made me sound like a pussy to other people. Fuck it, if that’s what being a total pussy was about, then bring it on. Lina knocked on my door half an hour later. “You still awake?” she asked softly. “Yeah. How’s Goldie?” “Still pretty weak, but she’ll be fine

by tomorrow. One problem, though…” “What’s that?” I asked, watching as she unlatched the cat carrier’s door before gently lifting Goldie onto the end of my bed. “We need to feed her a little bit of this medication once every half hour for the next few hours. Too much at one time will upset her stomach. So it looks like we’re going to be up all night.” I’d been dead tired, but seeing Lina made me perk right up again, and I grinned. “Well, it won’t be the first allnighter I’ve pulled because of some pussy.” She rolled her eyes and laughed. “Oh, come on. That’s the best you could do?”

“Gimme a break. It’s almost two in the morning.” “Fair enough.” She reached into her bag and pulled out a little bottle of medicine and an eyedropper. “Okay, so we fill this little dropper up to this mark here, and then we just drop it in Goldie’s mouth. It doesn’t taste great, so she might struggle a bit, but we have to make sure she swallows most of it.” “All right.” “I’ll give her the first dose so you can see. The vet said it’ll help her swallow if we gently massage her throat.” “Okay.” Goldie hissed and glared as Lina gave her the first dose of medication.

“It’s okay, sweetie,” Lina said, gently rubbing her. “I’m so sorry. I promise you’ll love us again when you’re all better.” Goldie stared at us with a baleful expression on her face before curling back up into a ball, and Lina sighed. “I guess we should do something to pass the time. Do you have any movies?” “Yeah, heaps. What do you feel like watching?” “Hmm…I dunno. As long as it isn’t some violent action movie.” “Aw, c’mon, I was totally gonna suggest Rambo,” I said with a grin. She rolled her eyes. “I still don’t get you. You’re meant to be this preppy rich boy, yet you’re obsessed with action and

fighting and all that junk.” “Junk, huh?” “You know what I mean.” I smiled. “Yeah, I do. I should be wearing sweater vests and attending golf tournaments, right? Maybe smoking a cigar with my friends from the yacht club, or doing lines of coke off highclass escorts?” She snorted with laughter. “Something like that. So why do you do that whole fighting thing, anyway?” “I dunno how to explain it, really. I just love it. Just this feeling I get when I do it; all that adrenaline running through me. Makes me feel alive, if you know what I mean.” “But aren’t you worried your Dad

will find out? Or the media? I mean, when I first saw you there, there must have been almost a thousand people watching. Surely someone will realize who you are, if they haven’t already.” I shrugged. “I was worried at first, but no one’s caught on so far. Only person who knows who I really am is my cousin, who trains me. And you. Most of the people who go to illegal fights aren’t exactly the sort to read the papers and follow politics, y’know?” “Well, you should be careful, especially with this election campaign. It could really screw things up for Peter— sorry, your Dad.” “I’ll be careful. I’m doing less fighting now anyway. It’s kinda the off-

season for it, and I’ve got all my classes too, so I’ve gotta concentrate on them.” “Yeah, I suppose. What year are you in now?” she asked. “Second. How’s it going for you, anyway? All settled in?” She nodded and scooted up further on my bed, our movie plans all but forgotten. “It’s going really well. I was so nervous when I first started, but I know my way around campus now, and I’ve made some new friends.” “But not Jessie Bond and her little cronies, I assume.” I instantly felt bad for bringing it up, and I waved my hand at her. “Sorry.” She chewed on her lower lip before replying. “No, it’s fine. I’m over it now.

She’s just an immature bitch. I mean, who acts like that after high school?” “No shit. She’s fucked. She’s been after me for ages, but even I wouldn’t sleep with a bitch like that.” “Implying you’d basically sleep with anything that moves, as long as they aren’t a stuck-up bitch?” She stuck her tongue out at me, and I chuckled. “Smartass.” “I suppose if you did hook up with her, it’d be like a ‘sleeping with the enemy’ type of thing.” “How so?” “Because her father is running against your Dad in the election, right?” “Oh, right. Yeah. Anyway, back to college…have you figured out your

major yet?” She nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah. I’m taking all the compulsory core classes like we all have to, but I’m also taking Intro to Biology and Intro to Genetics this semester. Next semester I’m doing more of the same.” “What major is that for?” I asked, arching an eyebrow. “Sounds pretty intense.” “Biomedical science,” she said. “With a minor in genetics.” “Wow. So what, you’re gonna cure AIDS one day, or something like that?” “Yeah…something like that,” she said softly, looking down at the duvet. “I actually want to help research a cancer cure one day. I’m just so glad I’m getting

to study it all now. I have to say, I was kind of wary of your Dad at first, but he’s given me all these opportunities I wouldn’t have had for years.” I grinned. “Yeah, he’s an asshole sometimes, like most politicians, but he’s got his good points. So why are you so interested in cancer research?” She hesitated. “Um…I don’t know if you know this, but my father…he died three years ago. He had cancer. I kept thinking if I went to college one day and helped with that sort of research, maybe I’d be able to help stop the same thing from happening to other people and their families.” “Oh, shit. I’m sorry. I had no idea. I knew he’d passed away, but…”

My voice trailed off, and she shook her head slowly. “I don’t talk about it much. Neither does Mom. It was pretty hard to deal with.” “Yeah, I can imagine. Look, I know we haven’t exactly been the best of friends since we met, but if you ever wanna talk about it, feel free to come find me.” “Thanks,” she said, her lips curving into a small smile. Even the tiniest of smiles from her was enough to make my heart race and my cock throb. I glanced at the clock on my bedside table. “Time to feed Goldie again. Where’s that dropper?” Lina picked up the kitten and held her as I fed her the medicine, and this

time Goldie happily swallowed and started to purr. “I think she’s already starting to feel better,” I remarked. “I’m glad. We still have to give her the medicine another few times, though, just to make sure she gets the full course of antibiotics into her system.” “Yeah.” As she placed the meds and eyedropper onto my bedside table, Lina saw the framed photo I kept there. It was of me, my father and my mother in happier times, when I was a kid. The photo had been taken at Disneyland, and I pursed my lips as I remembered how far away my Mom was these days. “Is that your Mom?”

I nodded. “Yep.” “Where is she now? If you don’t mind my asking,” Lina said. “Paris. She lives with some artist she met on a cruise.” “Oh, wow. Is that why your parents split?” I shook my head. “Nope. Dad cheated on her with his receptionist. He bought Mom a ticket to the cruise as a ‘sorry’ present, but she met another guy and realized she didn’t want to deal with being married to my father anymore.” Lina’s eyes widened. “Oh. I had no idea. So your Dad…do you think…” Her question trailed off, but I knew what she was wondering. “It’s okay,” I said. “He’d never do it

again. I know it was a total asshole move, and he’s a dick in a lot of other ways when he wants to be, but I also know he regrets it. A lot. Their marriage was never great to begin with, to be honest, but still…anyway, don’t worry, he loves your Mom. I can tell. You don’t need to worry about him cheating ever again.” She nodded. “Okay. Good.” Goldie got up and stretched before strolling up to one of my pillows and settling down on it. Lina smiled and moved up to her. “Aw, someone’s a little sleepy head.” I grinned and watched as she stroked the kitten. “So how about we finally watch that movie?”

“All right. But no Rambo!” “Fine, fine.” I feigned an exasperated sigh and searched through my movie collection before finding an old one that I thought we’d both like. It had plenty of drama and action, but it also had Brad Pitt starring in it, so I doubted Lina would complain all that much. I didn’t even need to worry about whether she liked it or not. She was obviously exhausted from the long night of worrying about the kitten, because within ten minutes, she’d nodded off with Goldie wrapped around the top of her head. Powerful emotions shook me as I watched her chest rise and fall with each

soft breath she took, and I quietly pulled the blanket over her and stood up, still watching her. Fuck, I wanted her. I could think of nothing else, and no one else. I craved her, needed her, and each minute that passed by in which I didn’t have her, I could feel my frustration growing and morphing into a ravenous beast that demanded her with every movement, every breath. I wanted nothing more than to claim her as my own. If only it were that easy. I sighed and grabbed a spare blanket from my cupboard before curling up on the sofa I had near the window. As fucking amazing as it would be to sleep

next to Lina in my bed, I knew it was the wrong thing to do. She’d only just started to trust me and open up to me, and I could tell she was really starting to see me as a real friend. Maybe even as a brother, as much as I hated that idea. I couldn’t ruin all that by hopping into bed next to her. Knowing my luck, I’d accidentally roll over and start cuddling her in my sleep, and she’d wake up in the morning to feel my hard cock poking her in the back. And that’d be the end of that friendship. Besides, I needed to stay awake and give Goldie her medicine for the next two hours. I gently lifted her from the pillow above Lina’s head and cradled

her in my arms. She purred contentedly as I gave her the next dose of medicine, and then we sat together on the sofa, watching the movie together. Every so often, Lina stirred and moaned softly in her sleep, and every time that happened, Goldie meowed softly and nudged me. “I know,” I said, giving her a chin scratch. “I know you want to sleep with her, but you’ve gotta stay here with me so I can give you your meds. My lap’s not so bad, is it?” She pressed her little nose into mine, and I smiled. “See? Not so bad.” Truthfully, I wanted to get into that bed and cuddle Lina as much as Goldie did, but I’d already established that there was no way I could do that.

Fuck. She was officially making me lose my grip…and I was letting it happen.

Chapter 11 Lina “I’m just saying, there’s never a good time to wear sequin Uggs,” Landon sighed, shaking his head. “Seriously, Michaela, I don’t think I can forgive you for buying them.” “They were totally a good buy!” my other best friend argued, her eyes blazing fire. She stuck a leg out, her silver Uggs catching the light and nearly

blinding us all. Landon pretended to barf in his salad and dramatically rolled his eyes. “Landon, you wear glasses even though you don’t have a prescription,” I gently reminded him, which resulted in a triumphant look by Michaela and an evil glare thrown in my direction by Landon. “Michaela hates those. Let’s agree you each have one horrific style choice per month, okay?” I was trying to make them see reason, because when it came to their fashion choices, my friends were fiercely opinionated. “She’ll need one per day, more like,” Landon snorted and I shook my hands in the air to get them to stop. As soon as Michaela laughed it off, I knew

we were out of the woods. We were sitting at our favorite brunch place, Brunch O’Clock. It was a regular hangout for them, but I’d only recently started coming along, since I could now afford luxuries like eating out. Even though I still felt like I was accepting Peter’s charity by occasionally using the credit card he’d given me, I loved hanging out with my friends…and I loved the café’s eggs Benedict, so that was good as well. My friends started chatting to me about my classes, and we quickly fell back into our rhythm…until Landon had to burst the freaking bubble again. “So, how is stepbrother dearest?” he asked me, waggling his eyebrows. I

sighed, knowing this moment had been coming sooner or later. I’d filled them in about Chase before, but they still didn’t know about his secret… or mine, for that matter. As far as they were concerned, he was just my stupidly hot stepbrother, who was totally off-limits, totally preppy and totally boring. But I knew the time had come to tell them the whole truth. I hated keeping secrets, and it had been weighing on me for a while. I wasn’t going to screw things up for Chase by telling everyone, but I figured if I told my friends, it’d make me feel a little better, just having told someone at least. I knew they’d never tell anyone else.

“Do you remember that night we went to that…” I looked around us, making sure no one was eavesdropping. “Fight in the abandoned warehouse?” Michaela and Landon nodded gravely, both of them leaning in, already expecting this to be good. “And you chickened out with the hot fighter dude,” Landon nodded vigorously. “Yes,” I growled. “Thanks for the reminder, Landon. Anyway, as you know, my Mom told me about the engagement two days after that and we went to dinner with Peter and Chase. And, erm, turns out that Chase… he’s the fighter I almost slept with.” I had to admit, I was expecting more

than the blank stares they were facing me with in response to what I’d just said. “Well?” I asked impatiently. “Can I have some kind of dramatic, over-thetop reaction here, please?” “Well…” Michaela and Landon exchanged guilty looks, and I instantly knew something was up with them. “We kinda already knew, Lina. We figured it out when we saw that article about you guys in the paper after that media lunch thing you had. But don’t worry, we haven’t told anyone.” So I guess the shocked reaction would be coming from me now… I stared at them with my eyes wide open, then hissed a response in their direction. “Why didn’t you say

anything?” “We were going to,” Landon said. “But you hadn’t given us the chance yet. So, anyway…how’s living with an underground fighting champion slash handsome preppy boy treating you?” My grim expression spoke volumes and he shook his head. “That bad, huh?” Michaela said sympathetically, patting my hand. “I imagine it must be hard after the whole thing in the hotel room.” It was hard…but not for the reasons they likely imagined. It was horrible because every time I looked at Chase, I thought of his hands undressing me and his mouth claiming mine in a passionate kiss, just like they had on that first night.

And the worst part was, I longed for it to happen again, even when we were sitting at the lunch table with Lily, chatting about her day at kindergarten. I was totally whipped, but I couldn’t say it out loud—that would just mean it was actually real. Better to live in denial than to accept what was actually going on. I looked at Michaela and Landon with a worried expression, and I knew they were on the same page. We’d known each other since we were babies, and there was no way I could’ve hidden anything from them. They’d always been able to read me like an open book. Yep, they totally knew I had it bad for him.

I half expected them to say something, but as our eyes met, I found compassion and worry in their looks. They didn’t say a word; instead, they realized I wasn’t willing to say anything about Chase out loud and tucked back into their food. I was thankful for that. The conversation veered off in another direction as we chatted about life at college and how different it was to high school. A few moments later, Michaela and Landon were busy cooing at some photos of Goldie I’d taken on my phone when someone butted into our conversation with a syrupy-sweet voice I knew all too well. “If it isn’t lovely little Lina! I was

just sitting over there behind you guys…I thought I recognized that voice!” I looked up into piercing blue eyes. Of course. It was Jessie Bond, the mean girl from the party. I sighed inwardly, my heart already picking up its pace. I’d mentally prepared myself for seeing her again, and it was probably good that she’d strolled up to me right now while I was with my best friends. At least they’d stand up for me if I couldn’t do it myself. “In the flesh,” I replied, fighting an eye roll. She pulled up a chair at our table and sat her butt down while the three of us stared at her in shock. I was pretty sure Landon and Michaela recognized her from when I’d told them about her

behavior at the party, upon which they’d subsequently Facebook stalked her, and they gave me some seriously weird looks. I just shrugged in return. Jessie grinned at me, and I prepared for the onslaught…but I was more shocked by what followed than I would’ve been if she’d actually insulted me. “So, Lina,” she purred. “I’m totally sorry if you got upset the other day at Brett’s party. You know I was kidding, right? All in good fun.” I stared at her incredulously. She couldn’t be serious. She’d been so awful to me that night that I’d ended up storming out of the party and into the rain outside, with Chase on my heels, and she

was trying to say that it had all been ‘good fun’? Then again, what she’d said wasn’t a real apology, anyway. It wasn’t ‘sorry I was horrible to you,’ it was just ‘sorry you got upset,’ as if she couldn’t stand to take any responsibility for her own actions. “Erm, right,” I replied with a small nod, waiting for her next words. Sure enough, there was something else on Jessie’s agenda, and she didn’t waste any time telling me about it. “By the way,” she said. “When you see Chase, tell him to fix his phone. I keep texting him but he never responds. Obviously it's broken." She flashed me a smile and reached for a piece of bread in the basket the

waiter had just deposited on our table. Then I did the unthinkable. I smacked her hand away from the food. She gave me such a horrified look that I nearly burst out laughing on the spot, but instead, I did something even more unlikely…I stood up for myself. “Tell you what, Jessie,” I said. “You leave right now, and I won’t tell Chase what a fool you’ve just made of yourself at this table. Here’s a hint: his phone is fine.” She stared at me like I’d just mortally insulted her, which I probably had, but I was past the point of caring about hurting her feelings. She’d hurt mine, and she didn’t seem too bothered by that fact.

“Now, please leave,” I continued, mimicking her syrupy voice from earlier. “Try not to hurt yourself when you go. It must be difficult walking around with such a big head.” Jessie kept staring at me, but she looked defeated. “Um, hello?” Michaela interrupted our staring contest. “Leave, now.” Jessie huffed and puffed as she finally got up and stalked off, tottering in her too-high heels as she made her way down the street. As soon as she’d turned the corner, Landon burst out laughing. “The mean girl, I presume?” Michaela guessed out loud, and I nodded with a small smile.

“The very one.” “Go, Lina!” Landon whooped like some cheerleader at a soccer game. “Bout time you grew a pair, girl.” They hugged me and I found myself laughing right along with them. Truth be told, I didn’t think I’d have said anything…not a month earlier, at least. But hanging out with my dear stepbrother was rubbing off on me, and slowly, I was starting to build up my confidence. The days of girls like Jessie walking all over me were behind me. I guess Chase wasn’t such a bad influence, after all…

Hours later, I went to bed, my head swimming with thoughts as I lay back on the pillow. Chase was nowhere to be seen – probably out with some friends. I’d played with Lily until her bedtime and then gone to bed with Goldie in my arms. I couldn’t focus on anything. Not the romance novel I was reading, not the fall TV shows I’d been eagerly awaiting all year, and not my mounting load of college assignments. Instead, I tossed and turned in my huge new bed until finally falling asleep at around one in the morning. As it turned out, it wouldn’t be a peaceful night. It felt like only moments after I’d

fallen asleep that my phone started ringing like crazy. I fumbled on my nightstand while Goldie dashed off to the other end of the room, complaining loudly about the annoying noise. “I know what you mean,” I groaned at her, finally locating my phone on the floor and pressing answer. “What the hell do you want?” I asked the person on the other end of the line, too busy to even check the caller ID. “It’s the middle of the night!” “I’m so sorry, Lina!” Landon’s exasperated voice greeted me and I shot up in bed, my eyebrows already knitting together in worry. Landon never called me like this, and I knew right away something had to be wrong. “He asked

us not to call you…but I had to.” “Calm down,” I begged him. “What’s going on, Landon? Where are you? Is everyone all right?” My heart was already next to bursting out of my chest, my hands shaking as I tried to hold the cellphone close to my ear. “It’s Chase,” Landon admitted dejectedly. My heart sank to my stomach. “Don’t kill us, Lina…Michaela and I went to one of his fights tonight. I know that’s horrible, we’re terrible people… we just wanted to gawk some more. Don’t hate us, please.” My mouth set in a line, but I didn’t question him about it. I needed to know if Chase was okay first. “What happened?” I asked.

“Well, he won the fight in the end,” Landon said. “We spoke to him before it started, and he remembered us from when we came here together the last time, so he let us watch from the front row.” “And then?” I was getting impatient. “Then…the other dude beat him up pretty bad before he got taken down. Chase is bleeding from his head, but he claims he’s okay, and his little entourage have fucked off to God knows where. He won’t let us call an ambulance, because he thinks he’s totally fine. He said he just needs to get home, but he can’t really drive with a bleeding head injury. Even he admits that. So we said we’d drive him home, but I wanted to call you first

and let you know what’s happening.” I heard grumbling in the background and Michaela talking in a soothing voice, so I figured Chase was well enough to speak, at least. It still hurt badly though; the worry for him cutting into my body like a knife. “Just pick me up at home,” I told Landon. “We’ll convince him to go to the hospital. Isn’t there a doctor there, for fuck’s sake?” I hardly ever cursed, and the words felt weird coming off my lips. I could tell Landon sensed my unease as he rushed to explain it all. “There is, but he’s helping the other guy. He’s in even worse shape. Chase’s coach usually helps him out too, but he’s

sick today,” he said. “He says he shouldn’t have even been fighting tonight.” “Just pick me up,” I said again. “I’ll wait on Central Avenue. I’ll be there in fifteen minutes. We’ll get him to a hospital as soon as possible…and Landon?” “Yeah?” his voice was tired, and I could tell he was freaking out, too. “Just take care of Chase, please.” My voice almost broke, and I knew from Landon’s response that he was doing his best, whether or not Chase thought he needed it. We ended the call and I rushed to pull on some sweatpants and a top. I laced up a pair of boots and shushed

Goldie as I sneaked out, her wide eyes following me out of the room. I ran all the way to Central Avenue, even though it was just a few blocks away. As soon as I turned the corner, I could see Landon’s car waiting for me, the engine still going, and once again, I ran as fast as I could. I slammed the door behind me as I got in the back seat and faced the person next to me. Chase was practically unrecognizable. He had a huge cut on his forehead, right near his hairline, and the thing was hemorrhaging blood, coloring his face in scarlet tones. He looked like an extra from Night of the Living Dead. He gave me an apologetic grin, and I

thought I’d slap him on the spot. “Where do I go?” Landon asked from the front seat, driving off of the sidewalk and pausing at a stop sign. “The hospital,” I said without hesitation, glaring at Chase. At least he was alive, and he didn’t look that badly hurt…though I could only see his face, and he was clutching his chest in a weird way. “And step on the gas.” “No fucking way,” Chase shook his head angrily, glaring at me in the backseat. “The media will catch on in a heartbeat, and you guys are making way too big of a deal about this. No one can know about this, guys…just drive us home, Landon, and I’ll stick some antiseptic and Band Aids on this.”

Freaking Band Aids. Really? Did he honestly think he was that much of a manly-man that a little plaster would fix a cut like that? Chase looked right at me. “You should’ve stayed in bed, Lina. I told them not to worry about calling you.” “Like hell,” I growled. “We’re going to the hospital, right now!”

Chapter 12 Chase “No. Just take me home. I’ll be fine.” I held my head and looked at Landon from the backseat of his car. He was in the front with Michaela, and Lina glared at me in the back. “Landon, don’t listen to him. Look at him! He needs to go to the hospital!” Landon looked back at us, worry etching his features as he looked at my

face. “That cut on your forehead is pretty bad, Chase. I think she’s right.” Jesus, they were making such a big deal about this. Yes, it looked bad, but I knew what I was doing. I’d been hurt like this before, and Tripp and the doctor who was always at the fights had showed me what to do to patch myself up. The guy I’d fought tonight was in way worse shape, hence why the doctor had taken care of him first. All I needed to do was get this cut cleaned up, douse it with Betadine and stick some plasters on it. “I’ll be fine. It looks worse than it is. Seriously, if we go to the hospital, it’ll be all over the news, and they’ll start wondering what happened to me. It

won’t take them long to look into it and figure out the truth. I know of at least one reporter who has a whole network of nurses on speed dial. They give him info for cash if anyone well-known comes in.” Lina grumbled. “I know you’re worried about your Dad’s campaign, but don’t you think your health is more important? I bet he’d think so too.” “Wait…what about your Mom?” Michaela interjected, looking at Landon. “She’s a nurse. She could help.” Landon sighed. “She’ll help, but she’ll probably still try to make us go to a hospital.” “Well, let’s just ask her,” I said, realizing they weren’t going to give up.

My head was aching like hell, and I needed to get it fixed pretty soon. “We’ll tell her I got mugged, and we want to keep it under wraps for now, just so my Dad doesn’t get worried.” “Right, as if he won’t be worried when he sees you tomorrow, all bruised and cut up,” Lina muttered. “I knew this would happen. I knew this fighting thing was a bad idea for you to be doing.” Landon turned his keys in the ignition and looked back at us again. “So where to? My place or the hospital?” “Your place,” I said, and at the same time, Lina insisted on the hospital. He rolled his eyes. “Look, guys, we don’t have time to keep arguing. Lina, I know you’re worried, but it’s up to

Chase in the end. It’s his body.” Lina crossed her arms. “Fine.” We sat in silence as we drove to Landon’s place across town, and we piled out of the car and into his house twenty minutes later. Landon went upstairs, and he returned with a harriedlooking woman in a dressing gown. She took one look at me and gasped. “What on Earth?” she said. “What happened?” “I told you, he got mugged outside a bar,” Landon said. “We need you to help patch him up. If he goes to the hospital, it’ll create this big media stink, and his Dad’s campaign really doesn’t need the drama right now. Right, Chase?” I could hear Lina muttering under her

breath next to me, and I ignored her. “That’s right.” Landon’s mother peered at me. “I’ve seen you in the papers. You’re Peter Stryker’s son.” “Yep.” She sighed. “Okay. I don’t think this is a good idea, but if you refuse to go to a hospital, then I’ll try my best. Landon, run back upstairs and grab the first aid kit from the bathroom. And some towels.” “Anything we can do?” Lina asked, gesturing to herself and Michaela. “Get a bowl of warm water. The big bowls are in the second cupboard from the right in the kitchen. Now, Chase, you need to sit down and take your shirt off.

I’m Ellie, by the way.” “Thanks for helping me out, Ellie,” I said, taking a seat on a wooden dining room chair. She pursed her lips as she assessed the damages and then raised her eyebrows. “Well, it’s actually nowhere near as bad as it looks,” she said. “Once it’s cleaned up, I’ll put some tissue adhesives on that big cut on your forehead, and it should heal up without too much of a scar within a week or so. The rest on your arms and chest are just small lacerations and bruises. They’ll be fine.” I couldn’t help grinning at Lina as she walked back in, holding a bowl of water. “Hear that?” I said. “I was right.

It’s not as bad as it looks.” She glowered at me. “Glad to hear it,” she said, her voice stiff. Ellie wet one of the towels with the warm water and cleaned all the blood off me, and then she doused me with Betadine. I winced at the stinging sensation as the antiseptic settled onto my skin, and she wiped it away a moment later. “Sorry about that,” she said. “Stings pretty bad, I know. But it’s necessary to stop the cuts from getting infected. Okay, Landon, pass me those Band-Aids and adhesive strips.” Ten minutes later, she’d put BandAids on the smaller cuts and carefully applied several adhesive strips

vertically on my forehead, and she stood back and admired her handiwork a moment later. “There we go,” she said, putting a large white dressing over the adhesive stitches. “Make sure you keep it clean and dry. If it starts oozing a lot, then I’m sorry, but you’ll need to go to a hospital whether you like it or not. Staph infections are no joke.” “Okay. Thanks.” She sat down and stared into my eyes. “Chase, I know you don’t want to cause issues with your father’s campaign, but don’t you think you should at least file a police report about this mugging? You haven’t done anything wrong. I don’t see why the media would

get too up in arms about it. After all, you’re the victim in this scenario.” “Er…I know, but my father’s opponent might try to spin it and use it against us. They might try to say I instigated the fight or something. Besides, I’m not even meant to be out at bars, seeing as I’m not twenty-one yet.” I felt bad for lying to Ellie, as she’d helped me out so much, but I didn’t know what else to say. She wrinkled her forehead and finally stood up again. “Okay,” she said softly. “Feel better soon.” Landon picked up his car keys. “I guess I should take you guys home.” “Uh-huh,” Lina replied, barely looking at me. She was still pissed as

hell at my refusal to seek proper medical help in a hospital. We all got back into Landon’s car, and we drove in silence again. When we arrived home in Highland Park, Lina got out of the car and turned to face her friends in the front. “Thanks,” she said softly. “I’ll call you tomorrow.” “All right. Talk to you soon.” With that, she took off up the path, not even waiting for me. I got out and leaned in the front window. “Thanks, guys,” I said. “For your help, and bringing me home. And thanks for not saying anything to anyone about this. You guys are good friends to Lina. Anyone else would have sold the story to the

media for an easy five grand.” “No worries,” Landon said. “Don’t be too hard on her, okay? She was just concerned. We knew she would be; that’s why we called her.” “I know.” With that, I patted the car roof, and they took off. I stepped up the path and into the house, and I found Lina in the kitchen, quietly waiting for the kettle to boil. “What are you doing?” I said. “Making hot chocolate. I know you always make it for Lily to calm her down. Figured it might calm us down too.” “Thanks.” She grabbed two mugs out of the

cupboard, and judging by the way she slammed them down on the counter, she still wasn’t entirely over what had happened. “Careful,” I said. “It’s late. We don’t wanna wake everyone up.” “They’re going to see you in the morning anyway,” she said, grabbing the milk out of the fridge. “And you’ll have to explain all those cuts and bruises somehow.” “They won’t see the ones on my chest and arms if I cover up with clothes,” I said. “And as for this cut on my head…I’ll just say I fell down somewhere.” She glared at me. “I suppose I have to back up that lie as well? Which is it,

Chase? You got mugged, or you fell over?” “Look, I’m sorry you got dragged into all of this.” “I wish I’d never gone to that fight that first night,” she muttered, placing a steaming mug in front of me a moment later. “Then I wouldn’t even know about your stupid double life.” Her words cut through me like a knife. “Do you really wish that?” I asked softly, placing my hand on hers on the table. She jerked it away. “I don’t know,” she mumbled. “Sorry. I just hate keeping things from people. And what you’re doing is illegal.”

We didn’t speak again until we’d drained our hot chocolates, and then we trailed upstairs, exhausted from the long night. “Wait,” she said as I was about to go into my room. “You’re bleeding again, through the back of your shirt. On the left. There must be another cut there which we missed earlier.” I reached around and felt under my left shoulder. It was a little tender, but it didn’t feel like much of a cut. “I’ll put a Band-Aid on it.” She sighed. “I’ll do it. You won’t be able to see exactly where to put it, seeing as it’s on your back. Take your shirt off.” I grinned. “Ah, I see. You just want

to get me naked again.” She blushed. “Shut up. I’m going to get a Band-Aid from the bathroom cabinet.” She returned a moment later, and I noticed she kept trying to avert her gaze from my chest, like she couldn’t stand to look at me in case she got turned on. Trying to keep the smirk off my face, I turned around, and she wiped the small cut with a tissue and then placed the plaster over it. “There,” she said. She turned to leave but apparently decided against it a second later. “You know what?” she said, spinning around to face me again. “I think I deserve an explanation.”

“About what?” “About your fighting, and why I have to keep this secret for you. All you told me was that you do it for the thrill, but that’s bullshit. There’s gotta be more to it than that. So what is it? You’re mad at your Dad for cheating on your Mom, so you go behind his back and do shit you know would drive him insane?” “Nope. I can’t stand some of the things my father’s done in the past, but I’ve tried to let that go. He’s got nothing to do with my fighting. I just like it. So what?” She put her hands on her hips. “So what? Oh, let’s see—for one, you got hurt tonight. Aren’t you afraid of getting hurt again?”

“Nope. And by the way, I still won tonight.” She rolled her eyes, as if that was so far from the point that I might as well be in Zimbabwe. “Okay, so what about the people you hurt? Those underground fights have less rules than regular ones, right?” “Yeah.” “So you could seriously hurt someone. You could even kill them. I mean, I heard you roughed up your opponent tonight pretty bad. Even worse than what he did to you.” “Jesus, Lina, I’ve never killed anyone,” I replied, running my hands through my hair with an exasperated sigh.

“But you have hurt people badly, right?” “Yes. It’s part of the deal. No one forces anyone to get in that cage. They know the risks when they get into it. So do I. That’s why I’m not pissed about almost getting beaten tonight. I knew the risk.” She let out a deep sigh. “Does it make you feel good? Hurting them?” I narrowed my eyes. “What do you think, Lina?” She looked down at the floor and then peered back up at me through her dark eyelashes. “I don’t know,” she whispered. “I think I’m afraid to know.” I took a step closer to her. “Hurting people doesn’t make me feel good. Just

being in that cage makes me feel good. Winning makes me feel good. Okay?” Her head jerked up again. “I still don’t get why you do it. You have a perfect life. You have all this money and privilege; you could do anything else. All the money you win from these matches…someone else who really needs it could be fighting for it instead.” “Jesus, Lina. You make me sound like some sort of fucking monster, like I’m only doing it to take away opportunities from other people. You wanna know what I’ve been doing with my winnings?” “What?” “My first ever match, I was up against a pretty big guy. He looked

tough, but he had no technique. I crushed him. Hurt him pretty bad, worse than I meant to. Fucked his right leg up. Dude is still getting physical therapy to walk properly again. He has a family to support. That’s why he was fighting. So I help him out now. Most of the money I win from my fights….it goes to him for his family and medical bills. The rest goes to a charity fund I’m saving up for. Okay? I’m not a total fucking monster.” She looked ashamed, and I took another step closer. “So yes, I know I’m privileged. I have all this money from my trust fund, so you’re right, I guess I don’t need to fight for it. I just want to, and I help people out with the money I get from it. Is that so bad?”

I’d never told anyone that before. Not Tripp. Not even myself. Up until now, I’d convinced myself that I needed to fight, just for the thrill it gave me, but that wasn’t true. No, Lina was right. I didn’t need to. I simply wanted to. Maybe she was right about the rest of the stuff as well. I was being a selfish prick by continuing with it. I hurt people. I got myself hurt. Lastly, I could seriously hurt my family if the news of what I was doing ever came out...and considering how the election campaign was heating up, it was only a matter of time until some private investigator from the opposition team came sniffing around my private life. But shit, I still didn’t want to give it

up. Not yet. However, I didn’t want to give Lina up either. I knew she was going to be family soon, but I couldn’t keep lying to myself and pretending we could just be friends. She was a temperamental smartass most of the time, but that didn’t stop me from wanting to tear her clothes right off every goddamned time I saw her, just like I’d pictured so many times now. I didn’t think I’d ever stop wanting that. I’d never wanted something so fucking badly in my life. Goddammit. If I was ever going to earn her respect and really have a chance at being with her, I’d probably have to stop fighting. Till then, she’d

never respect me; not as much as I wanted her to. She might be able to respect my strength and my prowess, but nothing else. “You want me to give it up?” I asked, training my eyes on hers. She lowered them to the ground again. “I think you should, yes. But you should do it because it’s the right thing. You shouldn’t do it because I said so.” “Why not?” I asked, taking yet another step closer. She was only an inch away from me now. “You don’t want to know that I’d give up something I care about…for you?” “No, I don’t want to know that.” “Bullshit. You’re just scared. You don’t want to admit that there’s

something between us. But we both fucking know it, Lina.” “You’re delusional. There’s nothing going on bet—” I cut her off midsentence, and I fucking did it. I kissed her. I couldn’t hold back from her anymore, and I crushed my lips against hers, sparks igniting in an explosion of desire all around us as she moaned into my mouth. I slid my tongue between her lips, tasting her, exploring every inch of her. She was perfect. My heaven was down on Earth, and holy fuck, she tasted like it too. She pulled away only a moment later, pummeling my chest with her little fists until I took a step back. “You

shouldn’t have done that,” she said. “I’m still mad at you!” “How mad?” I said, unable to stop a grin from quirking my lips up. She stood there for a second, seemingly in two minds until she finally answered. “This mad,” she said breathlessly before launching herself at me, reaching up and wrapping her fingers around the back of my head, pulling me close for another kiss. She moaned softly as my lips met hers, moving her hands down around my waist. We slowly moved over to the bed, and I cupped the back of her head, tilting her face up so that I could plunge my tongue back into her mouth. Her lips

were so sweet, so tender, and I desperately wanted the kiss to last forever. Unfortunately, it only lasted up until the moment we heard a timid voice calling out to us. “Lina? Chase?” We sprang apart and looked down to see Lily standing in the doorway to my bedroom….only a few feet away. She’d seen us kissing. Shit.

Chapter 13 Lina Oh, crap… “Um…hey, Lily,” I said. I didn’t dare look at Chase, instead focusing my eyes on my little sister who was still staring at us quizzically. She came closer, dragging her feet and yawning as she approached the bed. I was pretty sure my heart was pounding so loudly you could hear it in the next

room, but I tried to look nonchalant, as hard as that was in the presence of a five-year-old. “What were you two doing?” Lily asked, her little face pinched with worry and her eyes still sleepy. She rubbed them as I gulped down the lump in my throat. “Um, Chase had something stuck in his teeth,” I replied. Chase gave me the strangest look, his eyes burning into my skin. “He had a piece of food stuck there for a while, so I helped him get it out.” “Seriously?” I heard Chase murmur beside me. God, it was stupid, but it was the first thing that had popped into my head. I felt bad for lying to my sister, but I

couldn’t tell her the truth. No way. I half expected Lily to question my answer, but she was too sleepy to be bothered by this new information. A huge weight fell off my shoulders as she nodded and crawled onto the bed next to us. “I had another nightmare,” she told Chase, now acting as if I wasn’t even there. “Can you help me fall asleep again?” At that point, I realized the fluffy stuffed teddy she was holding was actually a fluffy very-much-alive Goldie, who snuggled closer to Lily as Chase nodded at her. “Of course, Miss Lily,” he said seriously. “We can’t have you having any

more nightmares, can we? You need a good night’s sleep for tomorrow. It’s finger paint day at kindergarten, right?” Lily nodded solemnly and Chase kept chatting to her as he tucked her into his own bed, the duvet snug against her chin. How was it possible that my stepbrother knew more about my little sister than I did these days? Either I was a horrible sibling, or he’d become really close to her these past few weeks. The fact that I’d just made out with him made me lean towards the former, though. “Why do you have that on your head?” Lily asked Chase next, touching the bandage on his forehead. We

exchanged another panicked look, and once again, I found myself bailing Chase out. “Erm, Chase fell down the stairs, sweetheart,” I told Lily. “That’s why I was in his room, I had to put a bandage on his head.” “Oh,” Lily replied with a frown. “I didn’t hear him fall.” God, five-year-olds could be really perceptive, couldn’t they? I fobbed her off with a smile and watched, mesmerized, as Chase told my little sister a bedtime story. It had a princess, a frog and a whole lot of action, and it made me grin throughout. By the time he was finished, Lily was sound asleep.

Chase picked her up in his arms, my baby sister snuggling closer to him. He left her wrapped up in his duvet and motioned for me to follow him as he carried her down the hallway. I grabbed Goldie and did exactly that. We left Lily safe in her bed, with Goldie sleeping soundly right next to her. I still didn’t dare look at Chase as we made our way back outside. I was only now registering that we had kissed. And what a kiss it had been… My mind was still spinning, my thoughts muddled and erratic as I remembered how his mouth had claimed mine. Once we reached the door to my bedroom, I risked a look at him, and my

eyes were caught in the fire of his gaze. He was leaning against the door, so close to my mouth. Only an inch separated us from kissing again, and all I needed to do was stand on my tiptoes and we’d lock lips again…the very thing I wanted most. But I was a good girl, and good girls didn’t do naughty things like invite their stepbrothers into their bedroom, so I swallowed the lump in my throat and forced myself to speak. “Goodnight,” I squeaked, and before Chase could react, I’d opened the door, disappeared inside my bedroom and shut it tightly behind me. My whole body was shaking as I walked over to the bed, collapsing on my girly floral duvet. I

didn’t feel as innocent as the pretty blooms might suggest in that moment. “Night.” Chase’s voice was a whisper on the other side of the door, promising a world of delicious forbidden pleasures. Before I could stop myself, I’d already gotten back to my feet and strolled to the door. I opened it quietly, just in time to hear him disappear into his own bedroom next to mine, the door shutting with a click. With a heavy sigh, I went back into my bedroom and tried to settle in for a night of restless sleep. So much for my confidence and taking things into my own hands…

Chapter 14 Lina “Lily is with her friend Morgan already. I dropped her off after the meeting.” My Mom was stressing out, packing the rest of her stuff up in an enormous handbag. “Now where on Earth did I put my glasses…” She ran across the room, trying to find the last of the stuff she needed for her overnight trip with Peter. They were

attending a conference in Springfield the next day, and they needed to get there a day earlier, since it was so early in the morning. “Don’t worry, you have everything.” I tried to calm her down, and as she gathered her things, I couldn’t help but wonder how all this stress had managed to make her look even more youthful and beautiful. Mom had been a pageant queen when she was younger, and now she looked like a beautiful, sophisticated and grown-up version of that. Dressed in expensive fabrics that draped perfectly over her body and with an expert blowout, she was more beautiful than ever.

“You look stunning,” I complimented her once she’d finally finished, and I meant it, too. “I hope you have an amazing time in Springfield. I’ll call Lily tonight to make sure she’s doing all right.” “Thank you, honey,” she said gratefully, moving in for a hug that smelled of soft rose perfume. “I hope you and Chase don’t get into too much trouble.” I blushed such a dark shade of crimson that I had to fake a cough to cover up my face. It was only now occurring to me that Chase and I would be totally alone in the house tonight, since everyone was off doing something else. It’d been a week since we’d

kissed, and I’d been avoiding him again, unable to face what we’d done out of sheer shame and nervousness…but that was going to change tonight. I was finally going to face up to it. I was ready. “I’m sure we’ll be fine,” I squeaked, and Mom gave me a wide smile before kissing me and waving goodbye. In a few moments, she and her two suitcases were gone, and I was left standing in the hallway with a stupid smile plastered all over my face. Chase and I would be all alone in this huge house tonight, even if it was only for one night. But one night could change a lot of things… I rushed upstairs, not allowing

myself to regret my actions. I wanted to look beautiful and special when he finally came home, even though my stupid mind would probably stop anything from happening between us like it always seemed to do. I was already panicking at the thought of being alone with him, but at the same time, I’d never been more excited. My reflection stared back at me with flushed cheeks as I sat down in front of my vanity, trying to apply makeup I’d seldom used before. My hands were shaking as I combed my hair and applied a drop of sweet perfume on my wrists, and I felt so, so foolish...but also, so, so turned on…

Soft noises woke me up in the middle of the night. I woke up with a start, and my legs nearly gave out under me as I rushed out of the room. In my tired state, I’d had this strange idea that it was an intruder, and I’d grabbed my perfume bottle as a makeshift weapon. Even though I was trying to be quiet and sneaky, I made so much noise as I exited into the hallway that the intruder stopped in his tracks. “Freeze,” I called out, my voice shaking. I was waving the bottle of perfume around like a maniac. “Freeze right now, or I’m calling the cops!” The lights turned on with a click just

as a familiar voice rang out. “Okay, Detective Diaz, I’ll freeze. But could you keep it down?” My eyes locked with Chase’s and I felt like a fool. A stupid, idiotic… Oh my god. “Oh my god,” Chase said out loud, his mouth hanging open as he took me in. “What the hell happened while I was gone? I was about to go out again, but maybe all the action is right here…” He was already grinning, and I felt my cheeks reddening as his gaze wandered over my body. “Um,” I replied, looking down at myself as the horrible realization dawned on me. I’d decided to get ready for a night

of Chase seduction…and then fallen asleep in my get-up. I was currently wearing a silky nightie with no bra, a thong, and red lipstick. My hair, which I’d styled before, was probably a frizzy mess of bedhead curls by now. God, I felt like a prize idiot right now. “Whatever. It’s nothing,” I mumbled, trying to cover up my body as best as I could. My heart was beating faster than ever as I felt Chase’s eyes roaming over my curves, stopping to stare at my breasts and ass. “Where have you been? And where are you going now?” He finally looked back up to my face, and this time, there was guilt in his eyes. “I have a thing,” he said, and I

could tell there was something he was hiding. Oh my god, please don’t let it be another girl, a small voice said inside my head, and my heart thumped even louder. I couldn’t bear it if Chase was going on a date after I’d spent hours dolling myself up for him. You shouldn’t have assumed he’d still want you, I told myself. Stupid. You’ve been avoiding him, and guys like him don’t wait… “What kind of thing?” I asked suspiciously, unsure of whether I wanted to hear the answer. Chase scratched his head. The bandage was off his forehead, but he still had a bad bruise there, and I’d seen him limping around the house when he

thought no one was looking. “It’s nothing…you’ll get all riled up again,” he said. “Tell me right now,” I insisted, even more worried about what he was so desperate to hide from me. He finally looked me in the eye and sighed before telling me what I already knew deep down. “I’m going to fight tonight,” he said softly. “I wasn’t gonna worry you with it, I know how you get. I know you think I should quit, but the prize tonight…it’s huge. I couldn’t say no.” My eyes widened with horror and anger, and I wanted to throw myself at him and claw at his stupid smug face. “You can’t go,” I pointed out instead.

“You still haven’t recovered. You’re all bruised and battered. You couldn’t win this way, Chase.” I thought if I played the losing card, he’d give up. I knew how much those victories meant to him. He’d admitted as such the other night. “I’m going,” he said, not hearing a word of my speech. “I’m leaving right now, in fact. I’m already late.” He walked down the stairs like he didn’t have a care in the world, and pure rage consumed me. He said he’d quit! Yet here we were again… Chase was treating me like an idiot and, even worse, he wasn’t looking out for himself. He was doing this for all the wrong reasons, and sooner or later, he’d

get caught by some media hounds, cops or background checkers for his father’s opposition…or worse, he’d get badly hurt again. Or killed. I rushed after him, nearly tumbling down the stairs and losing the perfume bottle in the process. My weapon tumbled down the stairs, announcing my arrival. “Stop right there,” I said to Chase, my voice ice cold. He stopped just a few steps away from the front door, giving me a questioning look. “I don’t have time to argue, Lina,” he said. “It’s a done deal. I’m leaving now. You should just go back to bed.” “Like hell I will!” I growled at him,

running for the front door as he stared me down. I stopped in front of it, making sure it was inaccessible to Chase if he tried to get past me. I was blocking it with hands, legs and an attitude to boot. “Let me through,” Chase said. “I’ll be late!” “No way,” I said, giving him an angry look. “You said you were going to quit fighting!” “Whatever. Look, I needed to leave ten minutes ago,” he replied. “Over my dead body.” We stared at each other, glaring hard. If looks could kill, we’d probably both be rolling on the floor in agony by now. “Move, Lina,” Chase growled at me. “You knew I’d consider quitting for you,

but you’ve done nothing but avoid me for the last week. You’ve made yourself pretty clear.” God, that’s not why I’ve been avoiding you, I wanted to scream. But right now, there was no time for that. I just had to stop him from leaving. “You’ll have to carry me away if you want to get past me,” I said, waving my hands in the air as he came closer. He was fast, reaching me in a second…and I knew I was no match for him. That wasn’t going to stop me. “You’ll never get past me, Chase Stryker!” I yelled, giving him a hard look, but he only met me with a fiery gaze of his own. And then he was next to me, and I froze on the spot, ready to fight

him for the door. Only he didn’t try to fight me. He didn’t even try to talk to me. Instead, his arm snaked around my waist and crushed me against his hard chest, possessive and angry. His mouth came down on mine before I even had time to react, and he pulled me up off the floor. My legs instinctively wrapped around his waist as he pressed me against the door, his tongue finding its way into my mouth, and I moaned, my breath raspy. There was no room to be surprised. There was only pure, raw passion. He held me in his arms, crushing me against his body. I felt his heart, and my own joined its rhythm, thumping heavily

in my chest. “Chase,” I whispered when his mouth roamed to my neck, biting down on my tender skin just like he had on our first night together in the hotel. “We can’t do this…you know we can’t—“ “Shh,” he whispered in my ear. “Not this time. This time, you’re mine.” So I let myself do it. I melted into his kiss, became one with his body. I let him carry me from the door and kiss me hard, just the way I needed it. We’d started something and stopped in the middle so many times before. That was our game; start, stop, start, and then stop again. But this time, we weren’t stopping. This time, it was for real.

Chapter 15 Chase Everyone knew that in a fight, there were no draws. Not really. There was one winner and one loser, and I was never the loser. Except when it came to Lina. The other week, I thought I’d finally lost. I’d had her in my arms, had my mouth on hers…and then she’d run away.

Again. She’d avoided me for a week, and I’d been sure that she didn’t want me anymore, and that our kiss the other night had simply been an error in judgment for her. Another mistake. So as hard as it was, I’d tried to forget and gone back to my old ways. I’d had Tripp schedule me in for another fight tonight; an important one, too, against an old rival who’d been desperate to go up against me one-onone again, so he could try to beat me this time. I’d wanted to feel that euphoric rush of adrenaline flowing through me as I fought him again; the one thing I knew would make me feel good…although deep down, I knew there was something else that could make me feel just as

good. Someone else. Lina. Then I saw her tonight, all sexed up in a frilly little black nightie and bright red lipstick as she blocked my exit from the house, and I’d known she still wanted me. She’d been waiting for me. And now I was going to have her. Fuck the fight. I pressed my body against hers as I took her in my arms, and goose bumps erupted all over her arms as I stroked my fingers up and down her soft skin. She was breathing fast, like the dam of inhibition inside her had finally cracked open and all of her desires were spilling out in an uncontrollable torrent. I tightened my grip on her, sucking on her

lower lip as she moaned, and I pulled away from our embrace for a second, watching her mouth fall open in a perfect ‘O’ shape of surprise as I pushed her up against the wall. I grinned, clamping her hands up behind her head, and I could see everything she was feeling at once, written on her beautiful features. She was nervous, excited, hot, aroused, yearning…and I was exactly the same. “Kiss me again,” she begged. I took it slow, teasing her this time, trailing my mouth across her neck, earlobes and the side of her face. She shivered beneath my touch, and I groaned as her hand tentatively pressed against my crotch. I felt like an animal. I

was out of control, and when it came to her, I always would be. “Come on,” I murmured, unable to wait another second. “Let’s get you upstairs.” Without giving her any warning, I scooped her up into my arms, and she gasped as I carried her upstairs before striding into my bedroom and switching the light on. I wanted to see every inch of her. Then I was on her again. Clothes disappeared in a fevered frenzy of hands, and my fingertips roamed all over her body, devouring every inch of her skin. She pulled back a moment later, standing before me and gazing up at me,

her pupils dilating as my hands coasted over her perfect tits. I squeezed them, kneaded them, rolled her nipples around in my fingers, and then I lowered my mouth to them, taking one of her stiff nipples in my mouth. She gasped as I sucked on it and then ran her hand through my hair, gripping it and pulling me against her until I nibbled on her breast, making her cry out. My fingers made their way down her stomach, and finally, they arrived at the last piece of fabric covering her body. Her little black thong. I got down on my knees, and with my teeth, I pulled her thong down. She let out a nervous giggle, as if she hadn’t been expecting that. With my hands, I

helped her step out of the underwear, and finally she was fully nude, her perfect pussy staring me right in the face. I looked up at her, watching as she bit her lower lip in anticipation. Christ, she smelled so fucking good, and I knew she’d taste even better. I hovered between her legs, and she squirmed as I moved even closer, my hot breath teasing her. I slid my tongue up through her soft folds, drawing a circle around her clit, and she let out a soft moan and leaned her hands back on the dresser behind her for support. My cock was already so hard it ached, and I wrapped my hands around Lina, grabbing her ass and pulling her pussy closer to me. I wanted to taste every inch

of her sweetness and make her scream out loud, over and over again. I’d never wanted to make a girl this happy before. I’d always made sure other girls I’d been with in the past enjoyed it, but I’d never cared about them on this deep of a level. With Lina, I didn’t just want to give her an orgasm. I wanted to give her everything. My heart thumped like crazy in my chest as my tongue continued to dance over her clit, and she spread her thighs wider for me, giving me more access to her body. Her fingers twined in my hair, pulling me closer still, and I moved my tongue faster, licking and sucking on her clit like it was the last meal I’d ever have. Fuck, I could have done this

forever, spurred on by her soft moans and trembling legs. She didn’t even know how fucking hot she was. Her whole body began to writhe a moment later, and she pushed her hips forward, sucking in air like crazy as my tongue continued its assault on her clit. I kept my rhythm steady, pulling her higher and higher, and then I slid one finger up to her entrance, drawing a desperate whimper from her lips. She was so tight, and every inch of her shook and shuddered as I slid the finger in, feeling her warm walls close around me. I pulled my mouth away from her pussy for just a second and looked up at her. Her eyes were closed now, and her lower lip was clamped between her

teeth as if she knew she would scream the house down if she didn’t keep quiet. I massaged her front wall with my finger and returned my mouth to her clit, working it with my tongue again. I could feel every muscle she had tightening as she drew closer and closer to the edge, so I sped up my efforts, and finally she let go, moaning like crazy as her body began to jolt. “Oh…oh, God!” she groaned. I kept going, licking her through her climax, and her walls clenched around my finger as she kept coming and coming. Finally she pushed me away, too sensitive for me to keep going. I rose to my feet and kissed her neck before pressing my mouth back down on hers,

and she whimpered, tasting herself on my lips. “Please,” she whispered, breaking away. “I want more. I want you…” I picked her up again and threw her down on the bed, and she skittered up to the top, pressing her knees together. “Don’t be shy now,” I said with a grin. “You weren’t two minutes ago.” She smiled and watched as I grabbed a condom from one of my drawers, and the pungent smell of latex hit my nose as I tore open the packet. “You sure about this?” I said sliding it down over my cock and giving her a questioning look. She looked down at my cock as if suddenly realizing it was there for the

first time. “It’s…it’s so big,” she said. Well, she certainly knew how to flatter a guy… “We can stop all this right now if you don’t want to do it. I want you to be comfortable,” I replied. She shook her head and patted the bed beside her. “No. I want to. Get over here.” She didn’t have to tell me twice. I jumped onto the bed, pressing my weight down on my elbows as I slid up between her legs. Her skin was already coated with a thin sheen of sweat, and I reached down between her legs again, drawing out her juices and spreading them all around her entrance. Then I grabbed my cock and held it right there,

and she swallowed hard. “Do it,” she whispered. I pressed inside her in one hard movement, and she gasped and dug her nails into my back. Every inch of her trembled as I stretched her and filled her, and she threw her head back, moaning and whimpering as I began to slide myself in and out of her in a steady rhythm. I crushed my lips on hers again, silencing her moans, and she kissed me back. Hard. I slowly withdrew from her, and she pulled away from the kiss and demanded I keep going, so I grinned and ever-so-slowly inched back inside her, making her dig her nails into my back even harder.

“I said…keep…going,” she demanded. “Well, if you insist on controlling everything…” I replied. I slid out and grabbed her arms as I rolled over, and with a yelp of surprise, she found herself on top of me. She got used to being there right away, and she smiled and planted her hands on my chest, holding herself steady as she straddled me and lowered herself back onto my cock. She began to ride me, slow and steady at first, then built up to a crescendo, moans spilling from her lips as she ground her clit against my pubic bone. For a moment, all I could hear was the slapping sound of our sex, skin

against skin. I was in fucking heaven. Literally. She looked down at me, right into my eyes, and as she came again, I knew she was the only girl I’d ever want, ever again. No one could even come close to her. I held her hips as her body began to slow, distracted by her second climax, and I kept thrusting into her, pumping her up and down on me until my own pleasure began to announce itself in a rush of heat up to my groin. But I didn’t want to come just yet. Oh no, I wanted to keep this going as long as possible. I pulled out of her and growled an order at her. “On your knees.”

She turned around, and I roughly grabbed her, pressing my throbbing tip back up to her entrance. “Yes,” she groaned. “Fuck me like this.” I began to push inside her, and in this position, she was tighter than ever. I grabbed her ass as I slid in, slapping it, making her gasp, and then I started to fuck her hard, slamming inside her as her body shook. The whole bed was moving now, and she was almost hitting the headboard, but I held her hips and kept her steady and out of harm’s way as I buried myself in her, over and over. “Chase!” she cried out as I fucked her with wild abandon. “Oh…God…” I reached between her legs, finding

her clit, and then I leaned down and growled into her ear. “You fucking love this, don’t you?” She nodded wildly, and I kept rubbing her swollen pearl as I fucked her harder and harder, faster and faster. “Fuck, you’re so hot. Come on my cock,” I ordered. “Oh….oh!” My words were enough to send her crashing over the edge again, and her inner muscles clenched down on me, sending white-hot pleasure shooting up from my balls. “Oh, fuck,” I groaned, pulling her back on my cock one more time. My dick throbbed and twitched inside her, and finally, I pulled out and rolled onto my

back. We spent the next three minutes lying there in silence, trying to catch our breath. “Oh God…that was so wrong,” Lina finally gasped out. “Our parents would murder us if they knew.” I grinned. “Well, you know me. I kinda like doing the wrong thing.” She bit her lower lip before replying. “I kinda liked it too…” I growled and wrapped her in my arms again, crushing my mouth down on hers. And then it started all over again…

Chapter 16 Lina I was happy. Even though I was doing the wrong thing, even though I knew the honeymoon period would end sooner or later…a smile was permanently plastered on my face, and I felt something warm in the pit of my belly. Happiness. So deeply rooted in me that I wondered how I would ever live without it again.

That evening, Chase kept sneaking glances at me and winking as we got ready. My cheeks were constantly flushed; making my Mom worry I was coming down with something. We were getting ready for a campaign donor dinner at our house. It was a big and important event for Peter, and a press team had prepped all of us. The house was spotless, the catering company my Mom used to work for had provided an amazing spread, and it was going to be a great night. I didn’t even protest once when I had to get ready, and I put on my beautiful gown and cast a satisfied look in the mirror. It was a long but tight crimson dress along with heels and pantyhose,

and while my Mom wasn’t looking, I replaced the pantyhose with thigh-high stockings, thinking how I’d surprise Chase with them later. As the doorbell rang, we all exchanged nervous smiles and I took Lily’s hand, going to greet the first guests. Soon, the event was in full swing, champagne glasses clanking together and laughter sparkling up in every corner of the room. “You look stunning, Lina,” my Mom whispered in my ear as she brushed past me, and we exchanged smiles. She was beaming, and once again I realized she was happier than I’d ever seen her. I knew she’d been happy with my Dad, but for all my life, he’d been sick

and needed constant care. He’d been optimistic, even though cancer had claimed his life in the end. Mom had always been by his side, and even now, I never doubted her love for him, but I knew she was happy with Peter, too. Lily looked precious, running around in her cute pigtails and sweeping the floor with her long floral dress. Goldie was up in her room, and I kept catching Lily trying to sneak upstairs to cuddle her. Such a little rascal. Chase was busy mingling with guests, and I lived for those stolen glances between us. I knew I looked different all dressed up, and I couldn’t wait to show him more of myself, as naughty as that was.

We spoke for the first time that day when we both hit up the refreshments table. I was just reaching for a glass of OJ when I felt a warm hand on the small of my back. “Hello, gorgeous,” he growled in my ear. I looked up into his blue-grey eyes, the very ones I’d been lost in the previous night. The thought alone made me blush deeply. “Hello,” I replied shyly. It’s now or never, I thought nervously, bending down to dust off a piece of imaginary fluff from my shoes. I made sure to show Chase my stockings as my dress rode up, my hand resting provocatively on my inner thigh as I revealed an inch of skin. Just enough, it seemed, because

Chase grabbed my arm and pulled me closer as soon as a diamond-clad women left the table where the food was laid out. “You look beautiful, Miss Diaz,” he told me with a grin. “I can’t help but think this is a ruse to get you out of the party, though.” “What do you mean?” I asked. “Well…” Chase made sure we were alone, pretending to pick something up from the table as he growled in my ear. “I’ll have to drag you upstairs now to rip that dress off you. I’m very sorry, but it looks like you’ll have to miss the rest of this event.” “Chase!” I protested, but he merely grinned at me, motioning for me to meet

him upstairs. As wrong as it was, I found myself taking the stairs two at a time as soon as I excused myself from the party. Chase had truly gotten under my skin…and now I needed him to get under my dress, too. I was wandering the hall when I saw that the door to Peter’s office was ajar. Strolling in, I found Chase standing next to the window, looking more handsome than ever in his designer suit. I took a moment to drink him in – his chiseled features, the broad shoulders. Expensive fabric hid the ink I knew covered his skin, and his usually unruly hair was slicked back. He was dangerously handsome…and as soon as he spotted me in the room, he

was dangerously close to me. We collided in the middle of the room, giving me just enough time to close the office door behind us. Chase’s mouth met mine; hot, needy and demanding, and his hands were all over me, touching me in places that made me blush. “I need you right now,” he growled in my ear, taking a break from the exposed skin on my neck. “You little tease. I did warn you that your teasing would get you in trouble one day…” I grinned, my fingers hooking in the belt loop of his trousers. I pulled them down, and his cock greeted me in his boxer briefs, hard and ready for me. “I couldn’t resist getting in trouble.

And I knew you couldn’t either…” My voice was hoarse and I looked Chase right in the eyes before dropping to my knees. He was leaning against the office desk, his breathing hard as I pulled down his boxers in one swift motion. His cock sprang free, thick and ready for me. I licked my lips and his fingers wound into my hair as I moved closer. I’d wanted to do this for ages, but in the weeks since we’d first made love, I hadn’t had the guts. “Are you sure?” he asked, the undertone in his voice begging me to say yes. My eyes shot up and I gave him a devilish grin as I reached for the tip of his cock, making him growl out loud.

“I’m damn sure,” I said, and then my mouth touched his swollen tip. He was so hard, his skin like velvet. I could taste a drop of precum on his tip; the pearl of moisture glistening and begging me to lap it up. I did just that, my tongue teasing his cock into my mouth. With Chase’s fingers wound tightly in my hair, I started to lick. I couldn’t hold back, and in mere seconds, I felt his tip hitting the back of my throat as he groaned out loud. He was big; too big for me to fit his whole cock in my mouth…but it felt so good to finally taste him and have him in my mouth, licking his length as it throbbed with need for me. Just me.

I’d always been too shy to do this, even with the one boyfriend I’d had before Chase. He’d begged and begged me to do oral, yet I could never be persuaded. With Chase, it felt natural, and I wanted it to happen so badly. He tasted so good; forbidden fruit with a salty tang from his precum. So wrong… so deliciously wrong. My head bobbed as I sucked him in, and soon Chase’s growls got louder and louder. I felt him growing in my mouth, his cock becoming even thicker, the veins throbbing and threatening to release their load right in my mouth. “Can’t fucking hold on any more,” Chase growled, pulling on my hair gently to make me stop. We came eye to

eye, and he groaned as I licked my lips and fingers, still wet from taking him deep. “Desk. Bend over. Right now.” It wasn’t a request. My legs could barely hold my weight as I walked over to the desk and bent over it so my butt was exposed to Chase’s watchful gaze. He walked over to me, reaching me in two long steps. I felt his eyes on my skin, and then his hand found my butt, slapping it gently. “Oh God,” I groaned, my cheeks flushing as he grabbed ahold of me. Before I could react, Chase had pulled up the fabric of my dress and slid down my thong, revealing my skin and my dripping wet pussy. In any other scenario, I would’ve felt

embarrassed. I would’ve been scrambling to my feet, ready to walk out of the room because I wasn’t the one in control. Yet this time around, I was more than willing to let him have his way with me. I wanted it, craved it. I could feel Chase’s eyes burning into the back of my neck, and his hands pulled me closer until the tip of his thick cock bumped against me. I moaned out loud. “Please, Chase.” My voice was hoarse as I begged him to take me. “I can’t wait. Please fuck me…right now!” “Right away, princess,” he growled, stroking my cheeks as I begged him to do more. Then, with a single thrust of his thick cock, he was inside me, and I was

squirming against his thickness. “Oh fuck, you feel so good…” He claimed me with his cock, deep and unrelenting thrusts almost taking me right over the edge. I was so hot for him I couldn’t even hold back, and before even a minute had passed, I felt myself on the precipice, just seconds away from falling. “I’m about to come,” I moaned. “I’m sorry, I can’t hold on...” “That’s right, princess,” Chase growled in my ear, taking hold of my hips as he plunged even deeper. I moaned, my whole body shaking as he fucked me. “Come for me, come on my cock…” I did as I was told, pleasure rocking

my body and making me shake. It was so good…every single time. It actually seemed to get better and better each time we made love; the pleasure more intense with each thrust of Chase’s hips. And I knew he wasn’t done, either. I’d just recovered from my orgasm when I heard something—an intrusive noise down the hall, something that made my blood freeze in my veins. “Chase, someone’s coming,” I whispered, panic taking over as I moved away. Chase cursed out loud, quickly pulling up his pants, and I scrambled to get to the other side of the desk, hiding under it just in time. The next second, the door to the office flew wide open and

all I could see from my position was a pair of expensive loafers. “Chase! There you are.” My heart thumped so loudly it was a small wonder they didn’t hear it. I’d recognize that voice anywhere…

Chapter 17 Chase “I’ve been looking for you everywhere,” my father continued, taking another step towards me. “What on Earth are you doing in my office? And did I hear you talking to someone?” He peered around the room, and I hastily made an excuse. “Oh, I…err…I forgot that I needed to make a quick call about a group assignment I have for this

economics class I’m taking, but the party is making everything so loud. This was the only quiet spot I could find.” “Well, I had the home office walls soundproofed for a reason,” he said with a wink. “So I could concentrate on my work in peace whenever I was home.” Or so you could cheat on Mom and screw your secretary in peace, without anyone suspecting… I pushed the thought aside, forcing a smile onto my face. My father was changing for the better, and I had to keep trying to get over all the shit he’d done in the past. He was a different person now, and I knew he wouldn’t hurt Lina’s mother the same way he’d hurt my Mom. Speaking of Lina…she was crouched

under the desk behind me, merely inches away. I swore I could hear the thud of her heart, although it was probably just mine, thumping loudly and betraying my nervousness. “Anyway, have you seen Lina anywhere?” Dad asked. “I’ve been looking for her as well.” “Hm? What?” I said, rubbing my eyes and turning away slightly so that he wouldn’t see the stark guilt etched into my features. “Lina,” he repeated. “Your soon-tobe stepsister? I’m sure you remember her. She lives here, after all.” He smiled as if his little joke was the funniest thing in the world, and I forced another grin back at him. “Sorry. I

just didn’t hear you properly. Um…I haven’t seen Lina for about half an hour. I think the last person I saw her with was Myron Banks. Maybe she’s run off with him to have some sort of wild affair?” Myron Banks was an eighty-seven year old campaign donor with a bad hip and a bald spot which flies could probably skate on. Despite his advanced age, he still showed up at almost every Democratic political event, and he’d been one of the biggest donors to my father’s election campaign so far. His last name was a perfect match for him; the guy was as rich as Croesus. Under the desk, Lina tried to stifle a giggle at the thought of running away with the wealthy octogenarian, and I

coughed loudly to cover it up. Dad rolled his eyes. “I don’t think Myron Banks has been able to walk without a frame for twenty years, let alone run off with anyone. Anyway, come back downstairs. There’s some people I want you to meet. I’m sure Lina will turn up somewhere.” “Yeah, she’s probably just in the bathroom.” Dad put his hand on my upper back, and we exited the room. I didn’t dare look over my shoulder, lest I draw any more suspicion to the office where Lina was still hiding. Fuck, she was amazing. It’d been a few weeks since we’d first hooked up, and in the time since,

we’d been stealing every moment together which we could. It wasn’t exactly easy, and I knew the guilt of our relationship was weighing on both of our shoulders, but we’d figure something out eventually. Obviously we couldn’t tell anyone about us while the election campaign was still going on, but once my father had either been defeated or elected, we’d try to come clean, as messy as the fallout might end up being. It was the right thing to do, but it just wasn’t the right time yet. I mingled with a few more of the guests for the next ten minutes, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Lina finally return to the party. She waved at my father, who gave her a nod and a smile in

return, his shoulders sagging with relief as he realized she hadn’t run away to join the circus. He made a beeline for her with a photographer a second later, and I grinned at her from across the room, watching as they posed for photos together. Ah, the life of a politico’s child...or stepchild. Pose for the cameras, answer all the journalist’s questions correctly, blah blah blah…it was all a game; a bullshit game. No one ever told the truth in interviews or photo spreads, and I doubted they ever would. They told whatever lies they needed to in order to appeal to the largest amount of voters, and most of the time, it worked. I finally got Lina alone again by the

drinks table, and I leaned over, brushing my hand against hers as I pretended to reach for a glass. “And so we meet again,” I murmured. “Maybe we should take another trip back upstairs..?” She rolled her eyes. “Are you kidding? We almost got caught!” she said in a hushed voice. “Yes, I’m kidding. By the way, did you say hi to your boyfriend yet?” I pointed across the room at Myron Banks, and Lina grinned and elbowed me. “Shut up.” “He’s talking to your Mom. Maybe he’s asking for her permission to propose to you.” “Oh, that’d be good,” she said

sweetly. “Then I could finally get away from you.” I grinned. “I know you don’t mean that, princess.” She looked into my eyes. “You’re right,” she said softly. “I don’t.” “Good. I want to grab your ass so bad right now,” I replied in a murmur. I jokingly reached for her, and she slapped my hand away. “Too bad. You’ll have to wait.” I groaned. “I know.” I took a sip of my drink and surveyed the room, trying to ignore my raging hormones as Lina’s perfume filled my head. “Didn’t you say some of your relatives were coming tonight?” Lina

asked, glancing around as well. “I haven’t met any of them yet.” I shrugged. “I thought they might, but I can’t see any of them. Tripp definitely won’t be coming. His Mom and my Dad do not get along. Because of a vase. A fucking vase.” Lina rolled her eyes. “How ridiculous. Isn’t Tripp the cousin of yours who trains you for your fights?” “Yeah.” She chewed on her lower lip at the mention of my fights, and I leaned in and murmured in her ear. “Don’t worry. I told you, I’m quitting. I’m going to tell him tomorrow.” I’d decided once and for all that I was done with my secret underground

identity. It was making life too difficult, and I knew that Lina would never be entirely happy with me until I’d given it up. I couldn’t blame her for that; it made perfect sense. I’d been selfish for keeping it up as long as I had. “Won’t he be disappointed?” she asked. “Yeah, but he’ll understand. He’s family; he knows how politics works. It’s almost getting to the mud-slinging stage of Dad’s campaign, y’know. Do you know what that means?” “Vaguely.” “It means that all the opposing campaigners will start digging up dirt on each other and launching smear campaigns against the others in order to

make themselves look like a better choice. It always happens around about this time; six weeks or so before the election. So that means people from the opposition will be looking far more closely into my Dad’s life, trying to dig up whatever dirt they can on him or any family members. If I don’t quit fighting, they’ll figure it out. Wouldn’t surprise me if we’re both being followed already. Even Lily is probably being checked out.” “Jesus. I hope not. So you’re really quitting?” “Yep.” I expected her shoulders to slump with relief, but instead she looked down at the ground, her body all tensed and

nervous. “What’s wrong?” I asked, desperately wanting to reach out and stroke her face. Of course, I couldn’t; not while we were in full view of the entire party. “I feel like…I feel as if I forced you to quit. I know you love fighting, and I don’t want you to think I’m some sort of controlling psychopath.” I shook my head. “Christ, Lina, I don’t think you’re a controlling psycho. I wish I’d listened to you sooner. You were right about everything. I’ve been a selfish fuckhead, and quitting is the right thing to do. It’s for the best for everyone —for me, for the campaign, for my family.”

Yes, for my family…our family, I added mentally, knowing that she was going to be officially part of it very soon. All that served to do was make me feel even guiltier about our relationship. Our parents’ wedding was in just two and a half weeks, and fuck…they were gonna kill us when they found out Lina and I were together. “Are you sure?” she said. “Yes. One hundred percent. I was just kidding myself when I thought I needed to do it. I don’t need it.” “But you use your winnings for charity. It’s not all bad.” I grinned. It was funny how she’d spent so much time trying to convince me to quit, but now she was feeling bad

about it and trying to list all the reasons I shouldn’t quit. But she’d been right the first time. My fighting days were over. “I can make money other ways. Safer ways, where I won’t get hurt, and I won’t hurt others. Plus I have my trust fund,” I said with a wink. “Trust me, Lina, it’s fine. I’m happy with my decision. So I’ll go see Tripp tomorrow, and I’ll tell him not to schedule me in for any more fights. Ever again. Okay?” She smiled. “Okay.” “You should come meet Tripp after I tell him. You haven’t actually met him yet, have you?” “No, not yet.” “Well, come meet him. You’ll love him.”

She nodded. “I’m sure I will…”

Chapter 18 Lina Chase and I were supposed to meet at the gym in an hour or so. I had a bad, sinking feeling about this whole thing, and I wondered if the timing was right for me to meet Tripp. It felt weird since Chase was about to break the news about stopping with the fights. I was sure Tripp would be pissed off, and I didn’t want us to meet while he was in a bad

mood. For the whole day, a gloomy mood had followed me around as I went about my business. I didn’t feel good. I had a horrible headache and an unexplained tummy ache. In my classes at college, I didn’t participate like I usually did, and I even embarrassed myself once when I misunderstood a question about mitochondria. By the end of the day, I was a wreck —tired, annoyed and in a bad mood in general. I wished I could’ve just crawled into my bed with Chase and pretended nothing else existed, but I’d made a promise to him, and I really wanted to keep it. I headed to the gym, rushing to get

there on time even though I knew I was already running about ten minutes late. It was a gloomy day, too; the weather reflecting my mood. Rain was coming down just heavy enough to make me soaked, and of course, I’d forgotten my umbrella. Since I’d headed to the gym right after my lectures, I didn’t even have time to grab it from home. I made my way through the downpour until I finally found the gym where Chase practiced. It was an old building with the paint peeling off the façade. Chase had explained that they’d chosen that place because not many people frequented it, and they usually had a whole hall to themselves. I stepped inside, shaking myself off

like a wet mutt, and the receptionist gave me a weird look as I asked about Tripp like Chase had told me to. She pointed me in the right direction and I walked over there quickly and quietly, not wanting to draw more attention to myself. The interior of the gym was seedy at best, stinking of sweat and other unpleasant odors. I made my way down the hall like the girl in the front had told me to, and then I came to a stop in front of a door which was already slightly open. Voices were spilling out into the hallway, and I listened, even though I’d been taught not to eavesdrop. “So some chick’s got you so whipped you refuse to fight anymore?”

“Yeah, you could say that…” “And she’s totally off-limits, too. Classic Chase…” “Shut up. It’s not all about her. It’s the right thing to do, with Dad’s election coming up and all.” The masculine voices were bickering good-naturedly, and I could hear someone striking at a punching bag. A strange feeling had taken over my body, like a warning that this place wasn’t safe. That’s stupid, I tried to tell myself. Chase is in there with his cousin, and neither of them want to hurt me. I’ll just go in there, introduce myself, and Chase and I can leave together. Nothing to it.

I took a deep breath and opened the door that led inside the gym. Two pairs of eyes looked towards the door, meeting mine. One, a familiar blue-grey gaze, filled with passion and lust. Chase. The other, darker than any brown, pure blackness consuming the pupils until they were nowhere to be seen. A dark look. A look I’d seen before. “Hey, Lina.” Chase’s voice greeted me, but my mind was elsewhere. I was still glued to the spot with those black eyes boring into mine; right into my body and my soul. I felt like I was going to be sick, like someone had just slapped something delicate out of my hands and made me fall to my knees, leaving me

there to try and gather up the broken pieces. The pieces…everything now fitted so perfectly together, like a horrible, morbid puzzle. Something dark loomed in the corner, threatening to consume me whole. Blackness flashed before my eyes. I wasn’t in the gym anymore.

I was in a crowded room, thick with BO, music and cloying perfume. People were dancing and milling about, and I was standing in the corner, my eyes focused on nothing. He came closer to me. I looked

away, shy and stupid. So damn stupid I never saw it coming, taking the drink he passed to me without even suspecting something might be wrong with it. I was just happy to have his attention. He said goodbye, and then he was off. The darkness of his eyes had made me feel sick; like I’d seen something horrible in that handsome face and barely made it out alive. But now it felt like the darkness was back, eating away slowly at my insides. I felt dizzy. I felt sick. “I need to lie down,” I complained to my boyfriend, Travis. He was totally drunk on cheap beer; probably high on

something, too. He’d gotten into weed lately and his telltale red-rimmed eyes spoke volumes. “I don’t feel good.” “Go upstairs to one of the bedrooms,” Travis said, giving me a grin. If I wasn’t there to make out and let him cop a feel, he didn’t have any use for me. Why did I even expect him to walk me upstairs? I made my way up there by myself, each step harder than the one before. I’d felt weird all day, but now my legs and eyes were even heavier. I needed a nap, and I needed to get to one of the bedrooms before I fell asleep standing up. The first door I opened revealed a couple on the bed, sucking each other’s

faces off. They yelled at me to get out, and I stumbled out of the room, unable to even close the door. I kept walking, holding onto the wall to keep me going. The room was swimming. I hadn’t had much to drink; only half a cup of beer and that was it. It felt weird, because I knew I’d have to lie to my Mom later. I’d told her I was at a sleepover with Michaela, and she’d probably lose it if she knew Travis had dragged me to some high school party with booze. I opened my eyes and I was in a different room. Darkness flashed in front of me again, total blackness and then searing white. I stumbled towards the bed, but my

legs weren’t holding me up anymore. I fell on the floor, scrambling for something to hold on to. I felt like I was being dragged away, even though I was alone in the room… I was alone, right? Blackness. Black eyes. So dark I couldn’t make out the pupils. “Good girl.” I was drifting. It was just a dream. A weird, choppy dream full of those eyes with no pupils. Darkness consumed me, and I kept coming up, like a drowning person coming to the surface, taking deep gulps of air. “Such a good girl.” Someone stroked me, softly, then forcefully pulled down my panties. My skirt was somehow on the floor.

A weird, horrible dream. My head lolled to the side. I was tired…it was so hard to stay awake. “Be a good girl for me, baby…” Something poked at me, in a place where it shouldn’t be. I’d let Travis touch me, and I’d even had sex with him. Clumsy sex that made me think I’d never enjoy it, but I still wanted to try. This was different. Intrusive, probing, and needy. Wrong. So wrong. I kept trying to wake up from the horrible nightmare, but I couldn’t. My lids were heavy, and my body even heavier. Unable to move, I flopped on the bed, or maybe someone threw me

down on it. I was too out of it to understand what was happening. A voice kept whispering in my ear, the same thing, over and over again. Good girl. Such a good girl. Be a good girl for me. I blacked out, the final flash of darkness so intense that it bowled me over. I was thankful for it this time around, though, because even darkness was brighter than those pupil-less eyes.

I knew that voice. I knew that face. I knew those black eyes. And I didn’t even remember…not

until I saw him again. The darkness threatened to eat me up again, clawing at me from a place where I’d pushed all the bad memories—the things I didn’t remember the next day, the pain I thought was a hangover from the drink I’d had... It was coming from deep inside, from my most private place where I’d kept it hidden so well that I didn’t even know it was there. Sometimes it had threatened to come out when people had said certain words to me or tried to touch me in darkened rooms, but I’d never known why or what it really meant. I’d always just thought I was a little messed up in the head. But now I knew why.

The shadowy fingers of my nightmare wrapped themselves around my heart, squeezing hard. I couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe. “Lina, are you all right?” Chase’s voice cut through the darkness, but it was muted, hollow. I kept staring at the other man in the room. Tripp Stryker. I’d only known him as Strike. The cool college guy who’d hung out at our high school parties every once in a while, his black gaze following me everywhere I went. Strike had given me the drink I’d had that night. Strike had followed me into the room. Strike had touched me, taken

advantage of me while my mind was foggy and dark. Strike was Tripp Stryker. Chase’s cousin had raped me. My hand flew to my mouth, covering up the gasp that escaped my lips. And then it was as if the glue that held me in place gave out, and I was running faster than ever. I felt the wetness of rain on my skin, and I relished the feeling. The darkness faded away, the fingers uncurling from my heart and fading until they were nothing but a horrible memory. And as I ran through the rain, there was just anger. Pure, seething, red-hot anger.

Chapter 19 Chase I watched Lina dash out of the gym like a bat out of hell, and my eyebrows crinkled together in confusion as I mentally debated whether or not I should go after her. She’d been staring at Tripp like she knew him from somewhere, but I had no idea where they would have met. “What was that about? Have you two

met before?” I asked, turning back to Tripp. He shrugged. “Nope. Bitches be crazy.” “Don’t call her a bitch. She’s not.” “Pretty rude of her to just run out on us like that, though. Anyway, who cares?” I cared. Clearly something was bothering her, but judging by the way she’d run out on us, she obviously wanted to be alone. I decided to give her some time and catch up with her later. Whatever it was, she’d tell me when she was ready. “Right. Well, anyway…that was Lina,” I said. “My future stepsister.” And my future wife, if I get my own

way. That thought had just popped into my head. I’d never even considered getting serious with a girl, let alone settling down and getting married, but Lina made me want it all, despite the drama our familial ties might cause for us. I wanted a house with a white picket fence, twopoint-five kids, some pets…and her, of course. The whole cliché. We already had Goldie, so we weren’t exactly going slow on the pet side of things. “Uh-huh,” Tripp replied. “Anyway, you really sure you wanna quit fighting? One of the organizers wanted me to tell you that there’s a pretty big event coming up soon. Lots of bets on the fight, and

that equals lots of cash for you if you win, which you will. And a nice cut for me, of course.” “Nah, I’m good. I’m probably being watched like a hawk by Dad’s opposition at the moment, and the last thing his campaign needs is a scandal like that coming out.” Tripp scoffed. “Right. Fuckin’ politics, man. This is exactly why I didn’t go into it, even though my parents wanted me to follow the family traditions. I can’t believe the amount of shit you put up with.” “Well, Dad might be a dick sometimes, but he tries,” I replied, unwrapping the tape from my hands. “I don’t want to completely screw things

for him, especially now that he’s got this whole new family to support.” “Yeah, I guess. Anyway, back to this allegedly off-limits chick you’re seeing…it’s not Jessie Bond, is it?” “Huh? No,” I asked, wondering why on Earth he’d think I’d sleep with Jessie. “Dammit. You won’t tell me, and I’m still trying to figure out who it is. Fucking the opposition’s daughter would be pretty bad and off-limits,” he said with a chuckle. “And Jessie is pretty hot. Wait…don’t tell me it’s Lina?” My expression somewhat betrayed me, and he laughed, although there was something strange in his eyes. “You and me…we’re so similar,” he said. He had it right, but I didn’t want to

confirm it. The less he knew about it, the better. That way he wouldn’t get in much trouble with the family when Lina and I inevitably broke the news of our relationship. No doubt my father would be interrogating everyone, trying to find out who already knew so he could put them on blast. There was already enough bad blood between him and Tripp’s side of the family, so I didn’t need to create more by dragging Tripp into my secrets and lies. “Be careful with that, if it is her,” he continued. “She seemed a little nuts. Who knows what kind of crazy shit she might say or do if you ever broke it off with her? I’ve hooked up with some real nutters before. Tried to accuse me of all

kinds of shit after I ditched them.” “She’s not like that. Speaking of chicks, are you still seeing that Amy girl from your office?” I asked, trying to change the subject. He didn’t know the first thing about Lina, yet it sounded like he was trying to warn me away from her. He was probably just concerned about what our family’s reaction would be when they found out, but still…I could deal with that without his input. He shook his head. “Nah. She moved back to New York.” “Oh well. She was twenty-five, right?” “Yeah. Why?” “Oh, nothing, I just remember seeing her that one time. She looked so much

younger. Honestly, I would’ve guessed she was seventeen if you hadn’t told me otherwise.” “Yeah, well…you know me. I don’t like old-looking chicks.” “There’s a fine line between a woman looking young for her age and looking like a teenager, though,” I said with a grin. “Says the guy who’s probably banging his stepsister, who is actually a teenager.” I shook my head, wishing he’d drop the subject. “Just kidding, man. Eighteen is cool. You’re young anyway. By the way, I know you already answered this five times, but I’m gonna ask one more time.

You absolutely sure you wanna drop the fighting gig?” he said. “Yes,” I replied, impatiently waving my hand. “I’m done with it.” He sighed. “All right. I’ll let the guys know.” I was finally off the hook. Now there was no way anyone would find out about what I’d been doing in the underground scene, even if they were following me around everywhere with a spy-quality camera. My father’s election was safe, and so was I.

I finally returned home, hoping Lina

would be in a better mood and ready to tell me what had happened earlier. I trudged upstairs and knocked on her door, and she called out. “Mom, I’m really not feeling well. Don’t worry about dinner. I think you were right last night; I’m coming down with something.” “It’s me, not your Mom,” I replied. “Can you let me in?” There was a long pause before she answered again. “I can’t. Not now.” “Then I’ll wait.” I sat outside her door for a full halfhour before I finally heard the lock click on the other side. I rose to my feet and looked at her, and my eyes widened as I took in her appearance. Her eyes were

red and puffy with mascara streaked around them, and she was dressed in an old, faded robe. She looked completely and utterly exhausted. “You really are sick,” I said. “Hold on, let me get you some tea.” She shook her head. “I’m not sick,” she said, her voice almost breaking. “Sick in the head, maybe. But I know why now…I know why.” Her whole body trembled as she spoke, and I wrapped my arms around her. “Lina, what is it?” I asked, softly stroking her back through the soft chenille fabric of her robe. “What are you talking about?” She drew back and gazed up at me, her eyes fearful. “I don’t know how to

say it,” she whispered. “Not to you. Or anyone. I don’t think I can.” “You can tell me anything,” I replied. “Absolutely anything. Hell, you can even tell me it’s over between us if you want…not that I want it to be over…but you shouldn’t be afraid to say things to me, even if you think I’ll be upset. Whatever’s bothering you, I wanna hear it, no matter what.” She hesitated for another long moment and then motioned for me to come in. I followed her into the bedroom, and she sat at the end of the bed, her knees curled up at her chest. “Do you remember the first night we met?” she asked, not meeting my eyes. “How could I forget?” I replied.

“And you remember how I ran away?” “Uh-huh. You’ve run away from me more times than I can count,” I said, squeezing her hand. “But you know me. I don’t give up, at least when it comes to you.” “So then you remember me also running away when you said certain… certain things to me.” I scratched my head. “Yeah, although I could never figure out what it was that upset you so much.” She replied, her voice barely above a whisper. “It was because you called me a good girl both times.” I shook my head slowly. “I’m not following.”

She chewed on her lower lip before answering again. “Something happened to me when I was younger. I think my subconscious always knew, but I couldn’t remember. I must have blocked it out. I didn’t even know that was a thing that could really happen. I thought it was just something that happened in thriller movies or whatever.” My pulse began to speed up. “What happened?” “I went to a party when I was high school. I was with my boyfriend at the time…Travis. He kept leaving me alone, and one of the times he did that, this guy came over to me. I only knew him very vaguely. Older guy who used to hang around high school parties. He…he gave

me a drink. I was stupid, and I wanted to fit in. So I took it. That was the only drink I had. Then…then I…” I had a sinking, stabbing feeling in my guts as she continued, like someone had unleashed a school of piranhas deep in my belly. “Then what?” I asked softly, putting my hand on her arm and rubbing it encouragingly. She jerked away. “I started feeling really tired and sick. There’d been a flu going around, so I thought maybe I was getting that. Or maybe I was just tired because I’d had a long day. I couldn’t go home, because I’d lied to my Mom about going to a sleepover, so Travis and I had planned on crashing at the party house. I

went upstairs to find a room, and everything was just…it was like I was swimming. I could barely see straight. My whole body was almost completely out of control.” She took a few deep, shaky breaths and then continued. “Then…it’s hard for me to remember. I remember someone coming into the room with me. He locked the door and started touching me. I remember looking up and seeing his eyes. It was the same guy who’d given me the drink earlier. He kept touching me and saying I was a good girl, and… then…” I didn’t need to hear any more. I knew exactly what had happened to her. She’d had her drink spiked by some

fucking piece of shit, and he’d taken advantage of her. He’d raped her. “Who was it?” I asked, although somewhere deep inside me, I already knew. Why else would she have reacted the way she did earlier at the gym? She still didn’t meet my eyes. “You won’t believe me,” she said, her voice hoarse from all the crying she must have done earlier. “You won’t.” “I will. I believe everything you say. Just tell me who it was.” “Tripp,” she finally replied. “It was him. I didn’t make the connection until today. Back then, he was just the guy everyone called Strike. I never knew he was your cousin. I never even knew he’d attacked me until I saw him today, and it

all came flooding back. I remember it now. I remember everything, and that’s why I’m so fucked up. That’s why I kept running from you when it was dark, or when you said certain things. It set something off in my brain, even though I didn’t understand what it was or why until now. I’m fucked up, Chase. I’ll never be normal.” White hot anger flooded every inch of my body as she spoke. That fucking bastard. I’d always known Tripp had a thing for younger girls, but drugging and raping them? No. No way. I would have never expected that in a million years. But I knew Lina wasn’t lying. She wouldn’t. She had no reason to lie, and besides, no one could be that good of an

actress. “I’ll fucking kill him,” I said, my hands clenching into fists as I leapt to my feet. “I’m going back there, and I’m going to fucking kill him.” Lina reached out for me. “Chase, no. Don’t. You’ll only get in trouble, and I can’t prove any of this. It’s been too long. I didn’t even know it had happened when I woke up the day after, so I never reported it. I just thought I had a bad hangover.” I paced back and forth, considering her words with one half of my mind; the other half seriously considering homicide. “It’s not too late,” I said, finally stopping and looking right at her.

“There’s no statute of limitations on rape. I’ll take you to the police. We’ll talk to them together and get them to file charges.” She shook her head again, and fresh tears spilled from her eyes. “Don’t you get it? It is too late. Cases like this happen all the time, where it’s just the girl’s word against the guy’s. Who’s going to believe me now, two and a half years after it happened? I have no proof. No one saw. He’ll deny it, and I’ll lose.” She began to sob, and I leaned down and wrapped my arms around her. “I’m so stupid…and it’s all my fault. I lied to my Mom. I took a drink from a stranger,” she said. “And I’ll always be messed up.”

I sank to my knees in front of her and grabbed her hand. “Lina, it’s not your fault. I swear to you, it isn’t. Just because you lied to your Mom and sneaked out doesn’t mean you deserved what happened. You were only sixteen. Sixteen year olds always sneak out to parties. Doesn’t mean you deserved any of what happened,” I said. “The only person to blame here is my cousin…and I promise you, he will pay. One way or another…he’ll fucking pay.” “I can’t press charges,” she said, her voice a ragged whisper. “Like I said, it’s too late for that now. I can’t prove it, and I don’t even want it…I don’t want to be dragged through some long court case. I just want it to be over…I want to forget

it ever happened.” She lay down and curled up into a ball, and I lay next to her, stroking her back as she cried. “Lina, you know it’ll always be up to you. If you don’t want to take it to the police and drag it through the courts, then I’ll respect your decision, and I won’t force you to do anything. I think you should, though. My Dad is friends with the State’s Attorney. He could help.” She shook her head. “No. I can’t. I just can’t.” “Okay,” I said softly. “I promise I won’t make you. But I do think you should see a therapist. My Mom saw a really good one while she was married

to my Dad. She had a lot of issues, and she was able to work through them in the end. I’ll call her and get some contact details for you. Don’t worry, I won’t tell her why.” She sniffled. “So you agree. I’m crazy. I’m fucked up.” I kept soothingly stroking her. “No. You’re not crazy. Something awful happened to you, and your mind just needs time to heal. A therapist can help with that. That’s all I’m saying. I don’t think you’re fucked up.” Her chest continued to heave with sobs, and I held her for hours until she finally drifted off to sleep. I felt so fucking guilty. That first night, when she’d run off the way she did…I

should’ve known something was wrong. I should have seen it after our other encounters too, but I’d wanted her so badly that I’d ignored all the signs. I wished there was something I could do to take her pain away. If there was some way I could build a time machine, go to that party and rescue her all those years ago, I’d do it in a heartbeat. Unfortunately, that wasn’t an option. The only thing that would heal her was time and support from people who cared about her…people like me. I tucked her under her blankets and looked at her beautiful, tear-stained face for a while, and then I leaned down and kissed her forehead before quietly exiting her bedroom. I didn’t want to

leave her, but there was something I needed to do. I’d promised her that I wouldn’t force her to take her case to the authorities if she didn’t want to, but there was one promise I hadn’t made. I hadn’t promised her that I wouldn’t beat the ever-living shit out of Tripp. I might even kill him.

Chapter 20 Chase “Chase? It’s past eleven…what are you doing here?” Tripp must’ve been in bed, because he was rubbing his eyes and yawning as he opened the front door of his townhouse to me. I shoved past him without a word and stepped into his lounge room, and he shut the door and followed me.

“Let me guess…you changed your mind? You want back in with the fights?” he said, seemingly oblivious to my mood. “No,” I said, turning to him and squaring my jaw. “I came to say a few things. Maybe do a few things.” He arched an eyebrow. “Are you high? You’re being weird.” “Never been more sober. Tell me again how you met Lina.” This time he raised both eyebrows. “I told you earlier. I’d never met her before today.” “So it’s not possible that you met her at a party on the South Side around two and a half years ago?” He rubbed his forehead and sighed.

“Shit, fine. I know you’re into her, so I didn’t want to say anything, but I did meet her a couple of years back. I thought you’d be upset if you found out we hooked up. But I guess she told you, huh?” I crossed my arms. “You’re saying you hooked up with her?” “Yeah. What’s she saying? Let me guess…she’s running her mouth and saying all kinds of shit about me, huh? Well, I guess South Side trash will always be trash, no matter where it ends up.” “Don’t talk about her like that,” I said, gritting my teeth. “We both know you didn’t ‘hook up’ with her. You drugged and raped her, you piece of shit.

She told me everything.” “What? I didn’t rape her. Look, I gave her a little something to make her feel good and loosen her up, y’know? Everyone takes shit like that at parties. Not my fault she wanted my dick that night. Pretty sure she was awake and loved it. You know what girls are like; they regret fucking a dude so they go and cry rape.” “You’re pretty sure she was awake? As in, you don’t even know for sure?” I said, my hands curling into fists by my side. “Fuck you, man. You drugged her. You raped her. You fucking traumatized her.” He saw my fists, and his eyes took on a panicked expression for a few

seconds until he regained his composure. “Look, Chase, we’re blood, okay? You can’t touch me. You won’t. Besides,” he said, lips curving into a cold smile. “It wouldn’t look good if your Dad found out about what you’ve been doing in your spare time. I’d hate to have to tell him or the media about the fights…or the fact that you’re fucking your stepsister.” He was bluffing because he was so afraid of me. He wouldn’t go to the media, because if my father’s campaign went down in flames, then so did our family name…and as a Stryker, that affected him whether he liked it or not. He truly was a pathetic little weasel, and I felt physically sick looking at him.

All these years I’d thought we were so alike and had so much in common compared to our other family members, but no...no fucking way. I was nothing like him. “You think I give a shit? Go ahead. Tell the whole fucking world what I’ve been doing,” I replied. “Chase, you really wanna think about what you’re—” He was cut off mid-sentence by my right hook to his jaw, and he cried out and stumbled backwards, clutching his face. “What the fuck? Did you not hear a fucking word I just said, you little cunt?” Eyes fiery with anger now, he came at me with a vengeance, dancing around me with his fists out. Tripp might not

have been a big guy, but he knew what he was doing. After all, he was the one who had trained me, and I was one of the best because of him. The worst thing that could happen to a fighter was for them to get too confident, too sure in their abilities. As they said, pride always came before a fall, and in fighting, that saying could be taken quite literally. It wouldn’t do for me to get too cocky now, thinking it would be easy to take him down. But that didn’t mean I wasn’t fucking going to. I knew what he was going to do already. I’d sparred with him in the gym enough times, so I knew his moves. He was going to feint with his left leg;

pretend to kick at me, but really he was going to try to spin at my leading arm, lock it in a hold and get me down on the ground. After that, he’d have the upper hand. Too bad I knew it was coming. One thing most people thought fighters learned in basic training was to anticipate their opponent’s next move and plan their reaction around that. To me, that was bullshit. It wasn’t enough. I’d anticipate their next several moves, based on however I reacted to what I knew their first move would be, and I’d use that to get the upper hand. Anticipating one move wasn’t enough, especially when it came to a smart guy like Tripp.

I ignored the soft kick he aimed at my shins and concentrated on his leading arm, punching at it just above the elbow. It wasn’t a sensitive spot, but it was enough to stop him from being able to reach out and lock me in a hold. He spat on the floor and drew back for a second, and I laughed. “You taught me a little too well,” I snarled as he threw a left feint at me before striking at me with his right fist. I’d seen that coming too, and I took the much softer feint before dodging away from the right hook and charging at him with a jab of my own. Coppery-tasting blood filled my mouth from the weak left punch he’d thrown at me, and I ignored it as I laid

into him, my feet and fists moving like lightning compared to his. He was fast, but I was much faster. We danced around each other, aiming kicks and strikes at each other, and within three minutes, he was weakening, blood pouring from his nose and mouth. I didn’t have him yet, though. He stumbled back from another blow to the chin, and I leaned forward and wrapped an arm around his neck, trying to spin him and get him on the ground. He saw it coming and kicked one of my legs off balance. Cursing, I let go of his neck and jabbed an elbow in between his ribs as I regained my footing, and he gasped and took two steps back, completely winded.

He was screwed….until he changed everything up. Everyone knew that there were less rules in illegal fighting than in regular MMA fighting, but that didn’t mean there weren’t still a few. There were some moves you just didn’t make. It was part of the code; don’t fight fucking dirty, even if you’re just fighting a guy on the street. Win because of your talent, not by being a dodgy motherfucker. I guess I should’ve seen it coming that Tripp would fight dirty, because he was a dodgy motherfucker. Unfortunately, I didn’t anticipate it until it was too late, and I gasped and dropped to my knees as he aimed a heavy kick right at my groin.

The bastard had actually gone ahead and kicked me in the fucking balls. If there was just one move in the whole world that could be considered more illegal than any other, a groin shot would be it. “You think you can come into my house and attack me, little cousin?” he said with a nasty smile as he beckoned for me to get back up. “Well, come on. Get up, you little bitch.” “Fuck you,” I replied. “Fighting dirty, huh? Well, if that’s the way we’re gonna play it...” I didn’t necessarily have to fight dirty as well, but if I knew that Tripp was doing so, then I could figure out his next move.

Million bucks says he goes for the head-butt, I thought, springing to my feet and watching as he came at me. I was right, and the second he lowered his head even half an inch, I took the opportunity to charge forward, grab his neck and spin him into a hold on the floor. I kept one arm wrapped around his neck, roughly holding him, and he weakly struggled in my grip, gasping for air as blood continued to stream from his nose and split lip. “Let…let me go!” he gasped out, tapping one of his fists on the carpet. “This isn’t a real fight like we have down at the warehouses,” I replied. “You can’t tap out.” “Please…I can’t breathe…”

“Maybe you should’ve thought about that before you decided to rape a girl. Didn’t it ever occur to you that there might be consequences?” I could’ve easily snapped the fucker’s neck right now if I wanted to, but I wasn’t going to drag myself down to his level. He didn’t deserve a quick death here in his own house. No, he deserved something far worse. He deserved to rot in jail, and one day, I knew Lina would be strong enough to finally bring charges against him to make that happen. I didn’t give a shit that he was my cousin. He’d hurt the girl I loved. I might not have ever told Lina that I loved her out loud, but she had to know

it. I was crazy for her, and I was certain that she felt the same. I’d do anything for her, even if that meant risking everything. “Go to the media about me, and I’ll come back and give you some more of this,” I said, releasing his neck from my arm before slamming the back of his head forward into the carpet. I heard the telltale sound of cartilage snapping, and I knew I’d broken his nose, but that was only a minor injury compared to what I could have done. “That’s for Lina,” I said. I stepped over him as he lay gasping and bleeding on the floor, and on my way out, I stopped as I noticed a patterned ceramic vase on a shelf he had on the other side of the lounge room. It

wasn’t the antique family heirloom vase his Mom had insisted on keeping from my Dad all those years ago; it was just a cheap one from Ikea. Hmm. Fighting over vases did seem to be our family tradition. As Tripp struggled to get up, I grabbed the vase and brought it down on his back, grinning as the thin ceramic smashed into a million little pieces. It wasn’t heavy, and it wasn’t going to hurt him any more than he’d already been hurt, but it still felt fucking good smashing it over him. “And that’s for your side of the family stealing great-grandma’s vase,” I said as he collapsed back onto his stomach. “She left it to my Dad, you

know.” “Fuck you, you crazy bastard,” he spat out, brushing shards of ceramic off himself as I exited the room. I was crazy. Crazy-fucking-furious. He’d hurt the one person who mattered most to me in the world, and he’d paid in blood. Someday, he’d pay in other ways. My body ached as I left his building, and I ignored the pain. I was sore, bleeding and limping, but I’d won. And you know what? It felt like shit. Usually I got that amazing adrenaline rush when I won a fight, but this time I felt…nothing. Even though I’d done the right thing by fucking Tripp up, I hadn’t enjoyed it one bit.

As I licked blood off my lips, it suddenly hit me; something I’d known for weeks now, but never really thought about too deeply. That euphoric feeling I’d always experienced when I fought and won? I felt it a hundred times more when I simply looked at Lina. She was it for me. Holy God, had I made the right choice in quitting the fights…I didn’t need them anymore, and I never really had. All I needed was to be with her.

Chapter 21 Lina It had been a week since Tripp and Chase’s confrontation. When he’d come home that day, he hadn’t wanted to speak to me about what had gone on. All he’d done was mutter something about a vase, and then the topic was closed. I only found out a day later that Chase had smashed the vase on Tripp’s back after beating the crap out of him.

His Mom had called Peter, and they’d had a screaming match on the phone which ended with Peter slamming the phone down; apparently not so unusual for their heated relationship. At least neither of them knew what had actually happened. I still felt horrible, drained by my horrible memory resurfacing. I kept trying to fight off the feelings of dread that tried to take over every once in a while, and for most of the time, I succeeded. I’d come to terms with what had happened to me, but that didn’t mean I was okay with it. Even if I wasn’t going to press charges, I was broken inside. But I knew Chase had taken care of

Tripp for me, and I was grateful just knowing he’d never come near me again. Chase had also made some calls for me, and I was going to start seeing a decent therapist soon, just so I’d have extra help dealing with the ramifications of what had been done to me. I was worried about my Mom somehow finding out about Tripp, even though there was no way she possibly could unless Chase told her, which he wouldn’t do without my permission. I was going to tell her what Tripp had done to me eventually, but the time wasn’t right. Maybe next week...maybe years from now. One day, I’d be able to talk about it without feeling nauseated. Today, the wedding planner was

coming over to go over the wedding details one last time. A soft knock on my bedroom door interrupted my thoughts, and I called out. “Come in!” The door opened and Lily padded into the room with Goldie in her hands. She looked sad as I gave her a tired smile, too exhausted to fake being all right, even for my baby sister’s sake. “What’s up, Lily?” I asked her. “Is the wedding planner here yet? We should probably go downstairs and make sure we help out.” Lily shook her head and gave me a thoughtful look, then climbed on the bed with me. I hugged her and the cat, snuggling them both close to my body. It felt good to have their warmth next to

mine. “Are you sick?” Lily asked me worriedly. I turned her little head towards my face until our eyes met. “No, honey, I’m totally fine. Why do you ask?” Lily sighed. “You seem strange. I was worried you were sick or something...” Her eyes cast downwards, and I could see a small tear threatening to escape. Her lashes were dark, long and full. She was such a cutie pie, even when she looked sad. “I thought you were sick like Daddy,” she finally confessed, and my heart almost broke to pieces. I held her even closer, inhaling her warm baby

powder scent. “No, honey,” I said in a calming voice. “I’ve just been super tired and stressed because of school stuff.” It was a half-truth—I had been pretty busy at college with finals season quickly approaching, but I’d had a lot more on my plate than just that. Lily didn’t need to know about it, though. “Are you sure?” Lily’s bottom lip trembled as she looked at me, and I did my best to smile widely. I thought for a second about what to tell her, and then decided to be honest after all, in a roundabout kind of way. “I’ve just been feeling a little weird, sweetie. It’s nothing you need to worry about, and I’ll be back to normal soon. I

promise I’m going to be A-okay, and so are you.” “And Mommy?” Lily asked hopefully. I nodded in response. Lily responded with a solemn nod of her own and then climbed off the bed, kitten in tow. “I’m glad we talked.” She looked so cute, all serious and grown-up, I had to giggle out loud. “Me too, Lily. Shall we go downstairs now?” She nodded and gave me her hand, and we went to the living room downstairs to talk about the wedding details one last time. The date was fast approaching, and in only a few days, my mom wouldn’t be Nina Diaz any more. She’d be Nina Stryker, and Chase would officially be my brother.

My throat tightened at the thought, and once again I wondered what that would mean for my and Chase’s relationship. I didn’t want it to be over...it couldn’t be. I knew deep in my heart it wasn’t just about lust anymore. Chase had proven that in recent days with his support for me over the Tripp incident. The living room had been transformed; every available surface covered with fabric swatches, cardboard cutouts and folders as far as the eye could see. I swear, that wedding planner had an unhealthy obsession with binders. I located my Mom in the mess, sitting on a tiny spot of the couch that wasn’t

covered with collages of weddings. I left Lily to shriek excitedly at her cute flower girl dress which had just arrived, and I approached Mom. She flashed me a smile, making space for me on the couch and patting the fabric for me to sit down. I did just that, and she showed me some swatches for the napkins at the reception, of all things. “So what do you think, ivory or champagne?” she asked thoughtfully. I did my best to think about the ridiculous question. Truth be told, I could barely tell between the two shades, but I could at least try to help. “Maybe champagne, it will go nicely with the warm tone of your dress,” I said. Mom rewarded me with a big

smile, which made it all worth it. I was genuinely happy for her, and ever since I’d first seen her with Peter, I’d known that he was able to put a glow on her face that hadn’t been there before. I knew they would be happy together for a long time to come. “So, we’ll need to choose another tux for you from the Armani line.” Peter’s voice cut into my thoughts and I looked up to see him walk into the living room with Chase and two other guys on his tail. Our eyes met across the room and Chase grinned at me, which made me feel all warm inside. He still had such a strong impact on me... and I didn’t see that changing anytime soon. I returned

the smile, my cheeks flushing ever so slightly. Peter sat down at a table with his campaign team, and Chase joined my Mom and me as we flipped through fabric samples on the couch. Lily paraded over in her cute outfit and made a curtsy like a real princess. She glared at us until she got the round of applause she expected, and then she suggested that Goldie could come to the wedding as well, stating that they obviously needed matching outfits. The room was a buzzing cacophony of sound and energy, but for once, I felt myself relaxing. My shoulders eased back on the sofa, the pressure in my body slowly dissipating. I felt a hand on

my back, and I looked over my shoulder to find Chase looking at me. “Are you okay?” he mouthed at me, his eyes full of worry. Truth be told, in that moment, I was totally, perfectly all right. After talking to Chase for hours and hours in the last week, I’d come to the conclusion that it would all work out eventually. All the crazy stuff with our forbidden relationship, him quitting fighting, and what Tripp did to me in the past—it would all go away soon, and leave only happiness in its wake…as long as we had each other to lean on. “I’m okay,” I mouthed back at Chase. He rewarded me with a relieved smile, his fingers gently rubbing the back of my

neck. It was such a small gesture, yet it meant the world to me. The shrill sound of someone’s ringtone interrupted our little moment, and we broke eye contact. A guy on Peter’s campaign team smiled at us apologetically before taking the call out in the hallway. It gave us a rare moment to be together as a family, and within a few minutes, all five of us were laughing about something that had happened earlier. “I can’t believe the wedding planner forgot you need gluten-free cake.” I shook my head at my mother. “Can you imagine what would’ve happened once you had a slice of that chocolate monstrosity she ordered?”

“Mommy would go mental and barf everywhere,” Lily said, making the rest of us collapse in laughter and giggles. “Peter?” A voice interrupted us, and we all looked at Peter’s ashen-faced aide. He held his phone in his hand, covering the mouthpiece with his hand. I knew something was wrong right away, and my blood froze in my veins, expecting yet another awful thing to happen. “Yes?” Peter was once again professional, the laughter from a few seconds ago only a distant memory. “Is something the matter, Rupert?” “I’ve just had a call...” Rupert’s eyes found Chase, and he looked fearful as he turned back to face Peter. “There’s been

a media leak concerning your campaign.” “A leak of what?” Peter’s voice was thunderous. “There’s nothing for them to leak, nothing at all. Our investigators have checked everything.” “Not closely enough, it seems. Perhaps we should speak about this in private for the time being, sir.” Peter’s forehead crinkled in confusion, and he left the room with his aide. “What? He did what?” His voice thundered out of the other room a moment later, and I cast a worried gaze at Mom before focusing it on Chase. His face was pale. My heart began to race even faster, beating out of

order, and my breathing was ragged as I awaited Peter’s return. Finally he stormed back into the room, his face like thunder. His right hand clenched into a fist by his side, and he stared right at Chase. “Is there something you’d like to tell me, Chase?” he said, voice dripping with anger. “Or should I call you… Score?”

Chapter 22 Chase “Do you understand what you’ve done? You’ve fucking buried me. You’ve lost me this campaign. All this work me and my team have been doing for months… all for nothing!” My father paced back and forth in the living room, fury etched into his sharp features. Lina had been told to take Lily upstairs, and the campaign aides were

elsewhere now. Only Nina remained in the room with us, watching with wide eyes as my father ranted at me. Fucking Tripp. He’d actually gone and done it. He’d gone to the media and told them what I’d been doing, and by now it was all over the internet; on local news sites, political blogs, Facebook…you name it, the leaked story was there. I’d honestly thought Tripp wouldn’t do it, given that it affected him due to his direct relation to us, but I guess he just didn’t give a shit anymore. My discovery of what he’d done to Lina and the subsequent beating I’d given him had clearly set him on a path of vengeance, and he didn’t care if he tore our family

apart. Fucking asshole. At least he hadn’t told anyone about me and Lina, though. Thank God for small miracles… “What the hell were you thinking, Chase?” Dad continued. “Tell me, did I just waste my time and money ensuring you had a good education at the best schools? It certainly seems like it, considering you’ve apparently been participating in this low-life junk for the last year, like some sort of street urchin.” “Dad, I—” He cut me off. “Are you still doing it?” “No,” I replied. “I quit recently.” He snorted with derision. “Well, how convenient,” he said. “Too little,

too late. Christ, how stupid could you possibly be? Did you honestly think you wouldn’t get caught? You obviously hid it quite well, considering that my own background checkers didn’t pick up on it, but you must have known that somewhere along the line, someone would find out.” “That’s one of the main reasons I quit,” I said. “I didn’t want to screw things up for you and your campaign.” It wasn’t enough. He was right. I should’ve known I’d get caught sooner or later, but I’d been too selfish to care. “Well, you should’ve thought about that before you even started doing it in the first place, you selfish, ungrateful little shit! You should never have done

this!” Nina stood up, casting an angry stare at my father. “Peter! Don’t talk to Chase like that! He’s made a mistake. Everyone makes mistakes, and I think he’s sorry. Standing here berating him for hours isn’t going to fix anything. You need to be speaking to your campaign advisors instead, and trying to think of ways to get through this.” Dad’s eyes narrowed. “Nina, please stay out of this. This is a lot more than a simple mistake. Why don’t you go upstairs and see if Lily and Lina are all right?” Nina put her hands on her hips. “If you intend on marrying me in a week, then you damn well better treat me like

an equal partner. I have a say in this just as much as you do. Chase might not be my son, but he’s going to be my stepson, and I want to know that he will be treated just as fairly as you treat my daughters. Unless you plan on one day speaking to my daughters in the same way as you are currently speaking to your son?” It was nice of her to defend me, but I didn’t deserve it. No, I’d royally fucked up, and I deserved every bit of vitriol my father directed at me. Dad sighed and ran his hands through his hair before taking a seat across from her. “All right. Sorry, Nina. Why don’t you talk to Chase for a minute? He doesn’t seem to give a damn about

anything I have to say.” “I’m right here, Dad,” I said, my eyes narrowing. “I can hear you. And I never said I don’t care.” Nina held up a hand, signaling for us both to be quiet. “Chase, you know you’ve done the wrong thing,” she said softly. “You’ve likely caused a lot of damage to your father’s campaign.” “I know.” “Good. Now could you tell me what made you start doing this in the first place?” I shrugged. “Tripp introduced me to it. I liked it. I thought if I was careful enough, no one would realize who I was. But as soon as this campaign started heating up, I quit. I knew people would

be looking more closely into my life, and honestly, I wasn’t enjoying it as much anymore.” Dad muttered under his breath. “Tripp. Of course. That little bastard. I always thought he was a bad influence.” “It was my decision in the end,” I replied, as much as I hated to even remotely defend Tripp. “But why?” Nina said. “Why did you like it so much?” “Because it made me feel… something. Something good. Something I don’t get from my regular life,” I said. Except for Lina, I silently added. “I’ve never been happy with all the crap you’ve wanted me to do, Dad. The politics degree, the plans for law school

after that…I never wanted any of it. I only did it to keep you happy, because I know how hard you’ve worked to pay for my education and everything else.” “So I’ve failed as a father as well as a politician. Fantastic.” Nina reached over and squeezed his hand. “I don’t think that’s what he’s saying. And the campaign isn’t over yet. You can still come back from this.” There was silence for a moment, and Dad finally looked up at me. For a second, I thought there might be peace, but then rage flickered in his eyes again. “No, that’s exactly what he’s saying,” he said, his voice icy. “Well, son…if you’re so unhappy with the life I’ve supposedly forced on you…then so

be it. I’ll freeze your trust, and you can get a job. You can move out, like you’ve been wanting to do for so long. You can drop out of college too, if you want. If not, then your tuition will be your responsibility.” Nina gasped. “Peter, no…that’s not what—" He cut her off with a wave of his hand. “Sorry, Nina, but this is the only way he’ll learn. He needs to go out into the real world and figure things out himself.” He was right. I needed to experience life on my own if I ever wanted to be truly independent. I didn’t really give a shit about the trust fund, anyway. I still had some money left over from my

winnings from the fights, and I could use that for a while. Most of it had been donated, but I’d kept about ten percent of it. Not for myself; I’d been saving it up to donate to a charity of my choosing later on, after it had been invested and tripled in size. But I suppose I could dip into it, if it was the only means I had to support myself for a while until I found a proper job. “And what about your campaign?” I said, folding my arms across my chest. “Do you want me out of that too?” “You will be seen with me at political and media events as per usual. No one needs to know what’s really happening. If anyone does find out and asks why you aren’t living with us

anymore, we’ll say you decided to move out to gain some more independence. At the wedding, you’ll attend as expected, and you won’t speak to any members of the media between now and then. Even then, you’ll only say what I tell you to. If you can do that, then I might consider revisiting my decision to cut you off from your trust.” “Fine,” I replied with a curt nod. “I’ll pack my things.” Tears brimmed in Nina’s eyes. “Peter…I really don’t think this is a good idea.” “No, he’s right,” I said, looking over at her. “I need to do this on my own. I should’ve been honest about this months ago. Hell, I should’ve been honest about

what I wanted out of life years ago.” With that, I strode upstairs and into my room. A soft knock at my door drew my attention a second later, and I looked over my shoulder. “Hey,” Lina said, lingering by the doorway. “Are you okay?” “Yeah,” I replied. “But I have to leave.” She gasped. “You’re…you’re going?” “Yep.” She quietly closed the door, then walked over and grabbed my arm, tears filling her eyes. “Chase, please don’t leave. I don’t want you to.” “It’s not my decision,” I said. “Dad wants me to go. I deserve it anyway. I

probably ruined his campaign. I’m a fucking idiot.” She sighed, and her shoulders slumped. She knew I was right. I’d wrecked everything with my selfish stupidity, and now my family was paying the price. “Where will you go?” she asked. “I’ll go stay with a friend for now, until I figure out what I’m doing. Maybe Brett. He has heaps of spare rooms at his place, and he actually asked me if I wanted to move in a while ago. I’m sure the offer still stands.” She chewed on her lower lip. “What does this mean for…for us?” I looked down at her gorgeous face and grabbed the sides of it, tilting it up

to mine as I leaned down and planted a kiss on her plump lips. “Nothing,” I said as I broke away. “Nothing changes for you and me. Unless you want it to.” She shook her head. “Of course not. I’m just worried…you said that Tripp knew about you and me.” “Yeah. He guessed.” “Well, if he went to the media about your fights, then what’s stopping him from telling the world about us as well?” “I don’t know. Maybe he will. Maybe he won’t. He’s probably keeping it as a trump card in case this fighting scandal doesn’t end up wrecking Dad’s campaign.”

Her lips trembled, and she nodded. “That’s what I’m worried about. Do you think…do you think we should stop seeing each other for a while? Just for a little bit, until this has all blown over.” I sighed. “Fuck, Lina, I don’t want to do that. You know that.” “Neither.” “Then let’s just take each day one at a time. Like you said, this whole fighting scandal will blow over soon. Maybe Dad will ask me to come home. Who knows? Either way, we’ll be fine. We’ll try to see each other as much as we can. Okay?” She nodded and wrapped her arms around me, and I closed my eyes and breathed in her sweet scent. I wasn’t

lying to her or myself. No matter what happened, we’d be all right. We had each other, and no matter what kind of shit happened to us, it would all work out in the end. I just wished I didn’t have to leave her here.

Chapter 23 Chase A lot could change in six days. The media scandal hadn’t exactly blown over, but it had evolved in ways I hadn’t expected. At first, a lot of people had been commenting on my father and implying that he was a bad parent for not knowing what I’d been doing, and others had speculated that he’d known all along, and that he’d allowed me to

participate in the fights. Either way, they were painting him as a terrible parent and thus a terrible candidate for state governor. However, that hadn’t lasted long. A lot of other people actually hadn’t cared all that much, or they’d thought that my underground fighting career was cool, and within three days I’d already begun to see the effects of that. It was finals week at college, and every time I walked across campus, I was inundated with requests from guys to help them train. Turns out a lot of people were interested in what I’d been doing, and my reputation had made them think I’d be a decent trainer. The whole thing had given me a

pretty good idea of what I could do to support myself in the future…and Lina, too, if she ever needed it. But that could wait. I needed to finish my exams first, just in case I decided that college was the right path for me after all. No sense in wasting an entire semester’s already-paid tuition. I’d been staying at Brett’s place, and he’d been pretty cool about the whole thing. He’d had no idea what I’d been up to with the fights, but he hadn’t given me shit about it, and he hadn’t been pissed at me for not telling him. He’d said I could stay with him as long as I needed to sort myself out, and it had been working out pretty well. I’d only seen Lina on campus since

I’d left the Highland Park house, because I didn’t want to piss off my Dad by going home, and we hadn’t wanted to risk anyone seeing her visit me at Brett’s house, considering what we’d more than likely get up to. The last thing we needed was another media scandal, and Brett always had people over…and any one of them might sell us out if they had an inkling that Lina and I were more than friends. I’d see her again soon enough, though. My father’s wedding to Nina was tomorrow, and I had a lot of plans for the pale pink bridesmaid’s dress which I knew Lina would be wearing; plans which included tearing that dress off the second we managed to sneak off

and get some time alone. Fuck, I missed being able to grab her, squeeze her, feel her… Right now, I was lying around on the bed in the spare room I was staying in at Brett’s. I’d just finished my last exam, and it was time for some much-needed rest and relaxation. Of course, there’s no rest for the wicked, as they say. Brett knocked on the door a second later and poked his head around. “Hey, man. Your Dad’s here to see you.” “My Dad?” I said, rising to my feet. “What’s he doing here?” Brett shrugged. “I dunno. He just said he wants to talk.” Probably wants to give me another

lecture on what an asshole I am, I thought. Either that or the State’s Attorney had decided to launch a formal investigation into illegal fights, making an example out of me. I trudged downstairs to see my father sitting in the lounge room. His main aide, Rupert, was whispering in his ear, and as soon as he saw me, he nodded and walked outside. “Er…hey,” I said, crossing the room and standing in front of Dad. “Hello, son,” he said. There was an awkward tension in the room, and I shifted uncomfortably where I stood. “Do you want a drink or something?” I asked. He shook his head. “No, I can’t stay

long. I have an interview to get to. Chase…the reason I’m here is to apologize. I think I overreacted the other day. I shouldn’t have thrown you out and cut you off from your trust.” Well, that wasn’t what I’d expected to hear… I stood still, waiting for him to continue. “What you did—this whole underground fighting thing—it was wrong. We both know you shouldn’t have done it, but that doesn’t mean I should have reacted so poorly. I admit, I had my own fair share of youthful indiscretions back in the day.” “Oh yeah?” He pressed his lips into a thin line.

“I’m sure your grandparents have never mentioned this, but there was a stage during my teen years when I was a little…rebellious. On several occasions, they had to drag me out of bars where I’d been drinking; underage, of course. I also got in quite a few fights, and one time I even tried…err…marijuana, and was caught doing so. The police were called each time, and my parents paid off the right people to keep my name out of any records. You know how it goes.” “Wow. Wouldn’t have thought that, looking at you now.” I couldn’t keep the grin off my face as I tried to imagine my stiff, uptight father lighting up a joint, getting into fights, and being arrested.

“Exactly. Anyway, son, I didn’t come to give you a history lesson. I know that what you did was wrong for various reasons, but I think I’ve done some things wrong as well, in the way that I’ve raised you. I shouldn’t have assumed you’d want to be exactly like me. I shouldn’t have forced you to go to college and follow in my footsteps.” “Dad, it’s okay. You just wanted to do what you thought was right for me.” He shook his head before letting out a deep sigh. “No, I wanted to do what was right for me. You were never interested in politics, or anything of the sort, but I chose to ignore that,” he said. “Anyway, I’d like you to move back home…if that’s what you want. I’m also

going to have your trust fund unfrozen.” I held up a hand. “Dad, I appreciate that, but you were right the other day, even if you were harsh. I need to be more independent. I can make my own money, and I shouldn’t have to rely on you for that. Keep the trust. It’s yours, not mine.” A hint of a smile played on his lips. “Very well. That’s a very mature decision, Chase. Just don’t tell me you’ll be making all your money by going back to those warehouses and fighting again.” I shook my head. “Nah. I’ve decided to open my own fitness center. There’s a lot of guys who don’t know the first thing about how to keep themselves fit and healthy, and I can help.”

Dad rubbed his chin, a thoughtful expression on his face. “I see. Wouldn’t that cost money to start up, though?” “Yeah. But I have some cash left over from my winnings. I donated the rest earlier, and I was going to save this last ten percent and invest it so that I’d have more money to donate in the future, but I figured I could use some of it to start up this gym, and then when I’m making enough, I’ll still have some to invest in charities.” “That’s very generous of you. And what about college?” “If it’s okay with you, I was thinking I’d drop my political science major and study business instead. On a part-time basis. That way I’m learning the ins and

outs of running a business, but I’ll also have time to set everything up.” He nodded. “That sounds like a good idea. I’d be happy to continue paying your tuition.” I shook my head again. “Nah. I’ll figure it out on my own.” He nodded slowly. “All right. Just know that if anything happens, I’ll be here to help. That’s what fathers are for.” “Thanks, Dad,” I said. “You didn’t get in any legal trouble over the whole illegal fight thing, did you?” “No, and you’re off the hook too. While the SA’s office doesn’t condone the fights, they know they’re fighting a losing battle trying to stop them—so to

speak—so they’re concentrating on bringing down worse offenders in other areas. Drug dealers, and so on.” I sighed with relief. “That’s good, I guess.” “Anyway, I better be off,” he said, checking his watch. “Thanks for the chat, son.” “All right. No worries,” I replied. “Wait, before you go…how’s the campaign? Did I ruin everything?” He smiled and shook his head again. “Rupert has informed me that the fallout hasn’t been anywhere near as drastic as we predicted. We’ve lost some votes from certain areas, but we’ve gained others we’d probably have never had if this hadn’t happened. See, there’s a

certain demographic we didn’t have before; younger working-class men. Neither candidate had them, because most of them usually don’t even bother voting, but my team have been out polling various members of the public for the last few days, and it seems that a lot of them have decided to head to the polls on election day just so they can vote for me. Apparently I’m ‘cool’, because of what my son has been doing.” “Are you serious?” I said, arching an eyebrow. Christ, the world was a strange place sometimes. He chuckled. “Yes. Ironic, isn’t it? I thought you’d lost me the election, but as it turns out, you actually helped somewhat. I’m still slightly behind Eric

Bond overall, but I’m still in with a chance. I might turn this around and win after all.” “That’s great. I’m glad to hear it,” I said. “And again…I’m sorry for what I did.” “It’s all right,” he said. “In a way, I’m glad this happened. I feel as if I know you better now. I’m ashamed to say, I didn’t know you anywhere near as well as I should have before this, given that you’re my son. But…I’m proud of you, Chase. You really seem to have figured things out for yourself, especially in these last few days.” “Thanks,” I said softly. He’d never said he was proud of me before, not even once.

“I’ll see you bright and early at the church for the wedding tomorrow,” he said. “All right. Looking forward to it.” With that, he left, and I went and sat down on the sofa, rubbing my temples with my fingertips. Jesus…I hadn’t expected any of what had just happened. Yes, I’d been a complete dumbass by keeping up my underground fighting for so long, but I hadn’t fucked up my Dad’s campaign anywhere near as much as I’d thought I would, and it had somehow brought us a lot closer together. I guess there really was a silver lining to every cloud. Suck on that, Tripp, I thought bitterly. You thought you’d screwed us, but you didn’t do

shit. There was a sharp knock at the front door a moment later, and I heard a muffled feminine voice on the other side. “Hello? Chase, are you home?” “Lina?” I called out. I hadn’t been expecting to see her till the wedding tomorrow, but maybe she hadn’t been able to wait. Thank God for that, because I wasn’t sure I could wait any longer either. I opened the door, and my heart sank as I saw Jessie standing there instead. She was wearing tight black jeans, a low-cut top, too much mascara, and enough perfume to suffocate an entire army. “Hi, sexy,” she purred.

I rolled my eyes. “What are you doing here?” She giggled; a shrill sound which made me want to strangle myself to death just so I wouldn’t have to hear it. “I heard you were staying here. I thought I’d come visit.” She pushed past me and pranced over to the sofa before sitting down and patting the seat next to her. “Come, sit! Talk to me.” I folded my arms. “What do you want, Jessie? I have things to do. I don’t really have time to chat.” She pouted. “Aw, come on. Exams are over! It’s not like you need to study. I just wanted to talk for a little while. Our dads are competing against each other

for governor, you know.” “I know. So what?” “Well, we have so much in common, so I think we totally need to hang out more,” she replied, fluttering her eyelashes at me. For fuck’s sake. I didn’t want to be her friend, especially after the way she’d treated Lina. Unfortunately, it didn’t look like she was planning on leaving unless I gave her at least five minutes of attention, and I couldn’t be fucked dealing with the drama she’d likely cause if I tried to kick her out. “Fine,” I said, sitting down across from her. She could have five minutes, and then she was out. “So you want to talk about the election, huh?”

“Yes,” she said, throwing her head back and pushing her tits out. “It’s so hard sometimes, being the child of a famous politician. Don’t you agree?” “I guess,” I said. “But it’s not all bad. And considering the fact that you’re carrying around a two-thousand dollar purse, I don’t think you have too much to whine about.” She giggled. “I suppose. It’s just all these smear campaigns,” she said, batting her eyelashes again. “They’re so hard to deal with. People are saying the meanest things about my Daddy in the papers right now.” “Well, count yourself lucky. They aren’t saying anything about you.” “You mean like how they’re saying

stuff about you, with your fighting thing?” “Yeah,” I replied. “It’s pretty sexy, you know. Everyone thinks so, and I always knew there was something different about you. Something…mysterious. And exciting. I totally had a heart attack when you almost lost that match and practically split your head open. I thought you were going to die.” She clapped her hand over her mouth a second later, as if she’d said too much, and my eyes narrowed as her last words sank in. “What? How’d you know about that? That was weeks ago. The media only just found out about what I’ve been doing six days ago.”

Her eyes widened with guilt, and I sprang to my feet. “Holy shit. You were there, weren’t you? You saw.” She didn’t answer, and I narrowed my eyes as jigsaw pieces seemed to fall into place in my mind. “You’re the one who took it to the media, aren’t you? Fuck, this whole time I thought it was my cousin, but it was you, right?” Everything suddenly made a lot more sense. If it had been Tripp, then he would’ve also told them about me and Lina, yet that particular piece of information had escaped the media’s attention. Now I knew why. It hadn’t been him; he was too scared of me after what I’d done to him. It had been Jessie all along.

“Um…” She tried and failed to construct a response, casting her eyes helplessly around. I grabbed her arm and pulled her to her feet, and she yelped with surprise. “How’d you find out?” I said, leaning right down in her face. “You’re not the sort of girl who goes to that kinda shit. Or are you?” “Maybe I am,” she said, pulling back and twirling a piece of hair around her finger. Fuck, if she was a guy, I’d have laid her out with one punch by now. She was the most infuriating person I’d ever met. “Tell me how you knew,” I said through gritted teeth. “And tell me why the fuck you’d do this to me.”

“Fine,” she said, rolling her eyes. “It was me. I overheard that little bitch talking about it in a café with her friends one day. That girl you’re always defending. Your stepsister, or whatever she is.” “Lina?” She nodded. “Uh-huh. I heard her talking about it. She wasn’t yelling or anything; I was just right near her table, so I heard bits and pieces. She was a total bitch to me that day, by the way.” “Yeah, which you totally deserved.” “Whatever. Anyway, I decided to find out if she was being serious. I got a friend of mine to find out where the next fight was, and I went and watched. Then I realized it could help my Dad’s

campaign, so I told him. He waited until last week to leak it to the media, because his team said this is the best stage of the campaign to be smearing the opponents.” “You hypocritical bitch. You were just whining to me five seconds ago about people talking shit about your Dad, and you were the one who outed me and almost fucked my Dad’s campaign?” I snarled. She shrugged. “Chase, I still like you,” she said. “But I needed to help my Dad win. Doesn’t mean I don’t still want a piece of this.” She reached forward and grabbed at my crotch, and I swatted her hand away. “Don’t fucking touch me,” I said. “How many times do I have to tell you? I’m not

interested.” She smiled sweetly. “Don’t you get it? This makes it more fun for the both of us. A sleeping with the enemy kinda situation. I’ve always wanted you to fuck me, and now you can hate-fuck me. That’s the best kind of sex.” Bullshit. I knew better. Sex was nothing without love. Lina had taught me that. “Get. The. Fuck. Out,” I said. “No. You can pretend all you want, but I know you want me. A girl like me is priceless,” she said, flipping her hair over her shoulder. “Unlike that trashy stepsister of yours who you seem so fond of.” “Priceless?” I scoffed. “Jessie,

you’re the opposite of priceless. You’re bought and paid for. I have it on good authority that your nose and tits are especially bought and paid for.” I expected her to pout and finally give up, but she smiled instead. “See, it’s good, isn’t it? Now you’re really playing the game,” she said breathily. “Keep saying all these nasty things to me, Chase. I know you don’t mean them…but it makes me so hot…” Christ, she was messed up. She was actually getting turned on by me saying horrible things to her. “That’s enough, Jessie,” I said, grabbing her arm and hauling her over to the door. “Out. Now.” “Fine,” she said, breaking out of my

grip as my fingers loosened on her arm. “I’ll go. But not before I do this.” Before I could stop her, she launched herself back at me, wrapping her hands around the back of my neck as her lips closed over mine. Just as I went to shove her away and yell at her to stay the fuck away from me, the front door opened. We were standing right by it, in full view of whomever was there. “Chase, what the…?” An all-too familiar voice spoke, trailing off as it cracked with emotion. I pushed Jessie away only a splitsecond after her lips crashed down on mine, but the damage was already done. Lina was standing by the front door, with the most heartbroken expression on her

face that I’d ever seen. Oh, fuck.

Chapter 24 Lina So this is what I got for thinking it would be a nice idea to drop by Chase’s place for a quick visit… Images of what I’d just seen kept flashing in my mind. Him…with her. Their lips on each other’s…taunting me…torturing me. I ran as fast as I could, but it still wasn’t fast enough to escape Chase. He caught me outside the

house, on Brett’s street. Hot tears of humiliation pricked at my eyes as I faced him, but I wouldn’t let them fall. I didn’t want to believe it was true, but my eyes couldn’t have seen wrong. Jessie had been all over him, and Chase had been kissing her...maybe he’d been waiting to do this all along. Maybe I was just a fun game to pass the time, and Jessie was the real deal. What a fun story that would make for the press. “Let me go!” I said to Chase, furiously trying to rip my arm out of his tight grip. “I don’t want to talk to you, not after what I’ve just seen in there.” “Lina,” Chase groaned, running a hand through his tousled hair. I hated

how much I loved that simple move, how hot it made me, because he’d just betrayed me in the worst possible way. “No!” I screamed, making a few people turn around and stare at us in shock. Fine by me. I just needed to get as far away from Chase as possible. “Would you just let me speak?” he begged me, and even though I didn’t want to, I listened. Because this was Chase...and as much as I’d tried to stop it, he’d made his way firmly into my heart. If I walked away now, there’d be a huge Chase-shaped hole in my chest forever. I calmed down and stopped trying to rip myself out of his arms, but I was still furious. Worst of all, I knew my tears

were about to start falling, and seconds later, they did just that. Embarrassed, I focused my gaze on the floor. “Oh, baby,” Chase said softly. “Don’t cry. I was about to kick her out and she just jumped on me. I swear she’s insane. I pushed her off, you must’ve seen that.” I grumbled, because I had indeed seen him pushing Jessie off. But I still wasn’t convinced, and I kept looking at the ground as Chase’s fingertips gently wiped away my tears. I leaned into his palm without meaning to, my body betraying me. I needed his touch, badly. “Why was she there in the first place?” I asked quietly. “Oh, you’re going to have a fit when

you hear this,” Chase growled. “You know how we thought Tripp was the one who went to the press with the fighting stuff?” I nodded. “Well, it was actually Jessie,” Chase explained. My eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Apparently, she ran into you in some café and overheard you talking about the whole thing, and then she sat on the information and released it when she knew it would do the most damage to my Dad’s campaign. She came around today to try and be ‘friends’ with me or some shit, but she ended up gloating about that instead and trying to sleep with me.” “God…I can’t believe it,” I said, my

mind running through the past few weeks until I remembered the exact day that all of this had happened. Chase was right; Jessie and I had run into each other at that café, and I’d been so proud of myself for standing up to her that day. I’d never known she had another ace up her sleeve. Chase looked livid as he filled me in on the rest of the story. “She eavesdropped and then relayed the information. She just had her Dad’s interest in mind, but she’s insane enough to think I’d still want to hook up with her. She’s fucking obsessed.” “It’s all my fault,” I said. “I was so focused on standing up to her that I never realized she may have overheard us...but

I never should’ve been talking about it in a café in the first place. Oh God…I’m such an idiot. I’m so sorry.” I covered my face with shaky hands, feeling another torrent of tears threatening to escape, but Chase pried my hands away and kissed them softly. “It’s Jessie’s fault,” he said firmly. “She’s pathetic. She’s nothing but drama with a side of Botox.” Despite the horrible situation, I couldn’t help the small smile that made its way onto my lips, but I was still shaken, the memory of seeing Jessie throw herself at Chase so fresh in my mind. I figured bad karma would catch up with Jessie eventually...she’d done so

many bad things, so something terrible was bound to come her way soon. “Do you want her?” I asked him softly, too afraid to look into Chase’s eyes. “Are you sorry I walked in? Did you want to keep— “ Before I could finish my sentence, his mouth crashed down on mine and he kissed me hard. His mouth answered for him, claiming mine in a delicious kiss right there on the street, where anyone could see us. I melted into his embrace, letting him hold me close to his body, our hearts thumping together. Finally, we broke apart and he flashed me that trademark smirk of his as I finally dared to look at his face. “How many times do I have to show

you that it’s only you?” he growled at me. I felt heat building up between my legs, and Chase could obviously see the arousal written all over my face, because he gave me a wicked grin and pulled me in the direction of Brett’s house. “Let me show you one more time,” he said with a cheeky grin. “I think you need to be reminded exactly how I feel about you, Lina…” In moments, we were back in the house, and I giggled as he pulled me upstairs and into his room. Thankfully, Jessie was nowhere to be seen. Good for her, because if she dared show her face again in my presence, I would’ve

spat at her. Even I had my limits. Chase shut the door behind us and the only sound in the room was my heart, beating only for him. Our eyes met across the room and he came for me, a low growl escaping his lips. “Sweet Lina,” he groaned in my ear as we met in the middle of the room, our bodies crashing together with desperate need to touch, to feel. “I’ll keep showing you how much you mean to me... I’ll show you every day, every minute, until you know I’m fucking nuts about you.” I smiled shyly, but he wasn’t done. “And then I’ll show you one more time,” he said. “One more time until you say what I know you feel...” I blushed, knowing exactly what he

meant…yet I couldn’t say it out loud, as if my body had censored the words every single time I’d tried to say them. Chase’s mouth came down on mine again, his fingers finding the hem of my top and pulling it up. In seconds, it was off, landing on the floor next to my feet. I was left trembling in my bra, and he pulled down my jeans before I had the chance to react. He lifted me by the hips and my legs wrapped around him instinctively. I couldn’t stop myself from kissing him, despite all the drama that had just went on. I needed him, craved his touch on my hot skin. I was burning with desire to have him inside me already, and we’d only just started.

My naked skin was rubbing against Chase’s clothes, and I begged him to take them off, too. I needed the sensual contact of his skin against mine; the delicious touch of our bodies being together. He gently laid me down on the bed, stripping off his clothes in the blink of an eye, and then he was next to me as my body shook with anticipation. “Please,” I begged him. “Don’t make me wait, Chase. I need you, now.” He didn’t need to be told twice, and he lay down next to me, his hands roaming my body, exploring every nook and crevice. Every time with him felt like the first time, in the best possible way. I’d been worried about how I would

feel and if I would still be comfortable in Chase’s arms after my realization about what Tripp had done to me, but my doubts vanished into thin air as Chase’s mouth descended on mine. Tripp was bad, darkness personified. His touch was wrong; my memory almost wiped of the horrible things he’d done to me to protect my sanity. Chase was excitement, searing red heat, and so much love. I loved him, I finally realized, and I had for a very long time. I knew he wanted me to say it, but for some reason, my tongue was tied. But there wasn’t enough time to worry about that as he pushed me down, and my breathing became ragged,

desperate to have him close. “Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked me, and I smiled wide as I nodded. “More sure than ever,” I whispered. “Make me yours, Chase. Show me how good it can be.” He lifted my butt from the bed, his cock springing to attention. With one hand, he held a rubber to his mouth and tore it open with his teeth, sliding it down his length with one swift move. He looked at me once again to make sure I was okay, and my eyes begged him to go on. And then, with one fluid motion, he was inside me, pushing deeper and deeper until it became harder and harder

to catch my breath. “Do you see?” he growled in my ear. “Do you see you’re the only one for me?” Overwhelmed with desire, I bit down on his shoulder to suppress my cries of pleasure. He fucked me like there was no tomorrow, like there was only this one day left of our time together. Chase’s hand found my clit and I gasped as he strummed it, his thrusts showing me pure ecstasy. I was too far gone, moving away from his shoulder as delicious cries began to escape my lips. I couldn’t hold back any more; he was too good, he was making me feel too much...

I felt my walls clenching, ready for the orgasm to tide me over, but I needed to get it out. The words that had been so heavy in my throat only moments before were now begging to escape my lips, and I couldn’t hold them back any longer. “I love you, Chase,” I moaned, and then the pleasure took over, pushing me over the edge into the deepest abyss of pleasure. I lost control, thrashing under him and whimpering, begging for more. Chase grabbed the small of my back, his cock still throbbing inside me. He pulled me closer, until my breasts were pressed against him, and we locked gazes. “Do you mean that?” he asked. I

could feel his heartbeat, fast and begging for him to finish, too. I nodded, slowly but surely. “I love you,” I admitted again, my body still shaky from the pleasure he’d given me. “I love you so much, Chase Stryker.” He grinned, his mouth claiming mine in a kiss that could end the world. “I love you too, Catalina Diaz,” he said softly against my lips. The words were like another kiss that made my insides go aflutter. And then he was thrusting again, and I felt myself drifting into the land of pleasure, a land Chase showed me with each thrust of his magnificent hips.

Waking up the next day was like a scene out of a movie. Birds were chirping outside the window, and I rose with a smile firmly plastered on my face. I remembered last night as my loving gaze focused on Chase’s face. He looked so peaceful, calm and happy. The happiest I’d ever seen him. The warmth in my belly was proof enough that I was happy, too. The moment was fleeting, though, because one look at the clock next to Chase’s bed revealed the horrible truth. We were late. So very, very late. “Chase!” I screeched once my eyes adjusted to the light. “Wake up!” He opened his eyes slowly, groaning

when I shook him. “I’m awake. God, calm down…” He pulled me closer, grabbing me by the waist and snuggling against me, but as nice as it felt, we didn’t have time for that. “The wedding is today, Chase,” I yelped. “It’s in a few hours, and we’re already behind schedule…we should have been getting ready ages ago! God, Mom’s probably freaking out, wondering where I am.” That woke him up at last, and he jumped up in the bed like he was on a spring. He looked worried for all of one second, but then a mischievous smile made its way onto his face and he grinned at me.

“Well, then,” he murmured. “Looks like it’s time for us to officially become stepbrother and sister…”

Chapter 25 Chase “Chase! There you are. Thank God, I thought something awful had happened!” My father accosted me as soon as I dashed into the room, and I grinned. “Nah, I’m fine. Sorry, I overslept.” “It’s all right. Putting on a tux doesn’t take long,” he said, waving at an assistant to retrieve my suit from a garment bag. “I’m just glad you weren’t

in a car accident or anything.” The wedding and subsequent reception were being held at a ritzy downtown hotel, and I’d arrived in the nick of time. Lina had driven to the venue separately to avoid arousing any suspicions, although to tell the truth, it was unlikely that Nina or my father would even notice that anything was amiss. After all, they were too focused on the wedding, and neither of them even seemed to have noticed that Lina hadn’t gone home last night. Just to make sure everything was okay, I shot off a quick text to Lina. Did you get to the dressing room all right? Does your Mom suspect anything? She replied almost immediately. I’m

fine, just getting my makeup and hair done. Mom thinks I was with Michaela last night. Well, that was that, then. We were safe. We both knew we had to come clean about our relationship eventually, but today wasn’t the day for it. We’d only briefly discussed it so far, but we’d been planning on waiting until after the election two weeks from now. That way, all the crazy, stressful stuff was out of the way, and hopefully my father and Nina would be in a better mood and more able to process the news without freaking the fuck out. Before I knew it, the wedding was about to begin. Dad straightened his bow

tie in the mirror, and I smiled at him. “Nervous?” I asked. He shook his head. “No. Nina is the right person for me, and I’d never be nervous about marrying her.” “Glad to hear it. Nina is a great woman.” “Yes, she is,” he said. “She never fails to stand up and tell me when I’m being unfair, and she never fails to raise me up when she thinks I’m doing the right thing. I know you and a lot of others had your doubts about her and whether I truly loved her when we first got together, and I can see why, but this is real. I love her, and I’m lucky to have her.” He turned to me with a serious

expression on his face and continued. “Chase…I realize I’ve never said anything like this to you, and I probably won’t ever again—I suppose it’s just the spirit of the day—but I want you to know something. It doesn’t matter how successful you are in life…it’s nothing if you don’t find someone to share it with. I want you to find love one day. I want you to be happy.” “Thanks, Dad. I’ll try,” I replied, hardly wanting to tell him that I’d already found my happiness. He seemed keen on me finding love, but how keen would he be once he realized that the girl I loved was technically my sister? We headed out into the hall, where three hundred of my father and Nina’s

closest friends were gathered. Ha. I doubted either of them actually knew half of these people, but a politician needed to put on a show during times like these. The bigger the wedding, the more media attention my father got, and that could do wonders for his campaign, especially amongst the voters who were happy to see a wealthy man like him marrying a low-income single mother. Tripp wasn’t in attendance, thank fucking God. He’d been invited, but I guess he’d realized he’d be better off staying the fuck away from us. His parents weren’t here, either, and I doubted that was any skin off Dad’s nose. The room was decorated with

creeping green ivy and white roses, and the guests were seated in matching white French-style chairs on either side of a cream-colored carpet which ran down the center towards the altar. The wedding officiant was already standing by the altar, and we headed over to him and waited for things to kick off. A string quartet began to play Clair de Lune, and everyone stood and turned to watch as Lily made her way down the aisle, grinning and sprinkling the runner with pink and white rose petals. Next came Lina, her cheeks blushing to match the pink shade of her bridesmaid’s dress as she slowly made her way down the aisle. She looked right at me as she took her place at the altar,

opposite from me, and I tried to avert my gaze from her as Nina entered the room. Of course, I couldn’t keep my eyes off her, and as the bride walked down the aisle, my eyes were glued to Lina instead. It was the worst possible time, but I could feel my cock stirring in my pants. Jesus, what a way to attend my father’s wedding…with a raging hard-on as I stood in front of three hundred people. The officiant smiled and looked around the room as Nina took her place beside my Dad. “Welcome, everyone,” he said. “Today we are happily gathered here to celebrate the union of Peter and Nina.” He started his spiel, and I zoned out,

my mind still swamped by thoughts of Lina. Christ, I couldn’t wait to get her out of that dress. In a hotel this size, there were plenty of rooms to sneak off to, and I tried to calculate just how long we had to hang around the reception before we could sneak off without arousing suspicions from anyone. An hour, maybe two. Fuck. I didn’t want to wait one more second, let alone two hours. My Dad cleared his throat and held his hand out, and I fumbled in my pocket as he raised his eyebrows at me. Duh. The ring. I’d almost forgotten. I handed it to him, and he turned back to Nina, whose face glowed with happiness as Dad went through his vows.

I looked past them again, and Lina stared back at me, a small smile playing on her lips. I wanted so badly to gesture or whisper something to her, but we were being filmed by no less than three videographers, so there was no way I could get away with that without being seen by someone. Nina finished her vows a second later, and the officiant beamed. “And now, you may kiss the bride.” The room erupted with applause, and just like that, Lina was officially my stepsister. The reception was outside in a big white marquee tent, and the string quartet band from the ceremony had set themselves up off to the side of it. I

suffered through half an hour of hugging and handshaking with a bunch of strangers, and after painstakingly fixing yet another smile to my face for a journalist’s camera, I finally got to sit down at the main table. Lina was already there, tucking into an entrée, and I stole a scallop off her plate before popping it into my mouth and grinning at her. “Hey!” she said. “That was mine!” “Too bad. I’m starving. How’d you get them to bring your food out already?” She gave me a conspiratorial smile. “I have my ways.” She speared another scallop with her fork and chewed on it, and I watched her with a smile. We’d been through so much

together; enough to send most people running for the hills...and yet she was still here with me. With white wine sauce all over her mouth, I might add. She noticed me grinning at her. “What?” she said. I took a napkin and reached across to wipe her face. “Nothing, Little Miss Piggy.” “Hey! Screw you….you eat way more than me!” I chuckled. “I know. I’m kidding.” She smiled. “Yeah, I know. By the way, I noticed that Myron Banks is here. Think he’ll want to whisk me away to the dancefloor? Or Paris, perhaps? I’ve always wanted to go there.” “He better not,” I growled, feigning

an angry expression. “I’m sick of competing with him for your affections.” “There’s no competition. He’s way hotter than you,” she said, sticking her tongue out. “He’s hotter than you, too,” I replied. She giggled, and the rest of the family joined us at the table a while later. Glasses were clinking all over the tent as they approached us, and Dad leaned over and pecked Nina on the lips before taking a seat. Lily giggled as she watched with fascination from her seat. “Mommy must have lots of things stuck in her teeth today,” she said. Lina’s face blanched, and I tried to change the subject before Lily could say

any more. “This champagne is pretty good, huh?” Unfortunately, neither Dad nor Nina noticed me speaking, and Nina’s eyes crinkled around the corners with mirth as she replied to Lily. “Why’s that, sweetie?” “When people put their lips on each other, it means they have things stuck in their mouth, and they need help getting it out. That’s what Lina told me when I saw her doing it to Chase in his room.” Oh fuck, fuck, fuck. Please tell me this is a bad dream, and she didn’t just fucking say that, I silently prayed, not even daring to meet Lina’s eyes. Unfortunately, it was all too real, and it was too late for Lily’s words to be

taken back now. A chill descended over the table, and I could practically hear crickets chirping in the background. Everyone at the surrounding tables turned to stare in shock, and Nina and my father narrowed their eyes and glared at me and Lina. “What?” Dad said sharply. “What the hell is she talking about?” Shit. We were screwed.

Chapter 26 Lina I couldn’t breathe. I tried to take in big gulps of air, but it seemed like no oxygen was getting into my lungs. Several people near our table had clearly heard what Lily had just said, and they were watching us closely while pretending to sip their drinks. Damn rubberneckers. A few of them even had their phones out, likely

recording us. That’s what really sucked about society these days. You could barely do anything without someone taking a photo, making a video or Tweeting, Facebooking, blogging and Instagramming about it. “Lina?” my Mom asked me cautiously, her eyebrows raised high. I didn’t dare look at Chase, and I figured our telltale silence was proof enough that something was going on. Mom’s hand flew up to her mouth, and she gasped out loud. “Chase Stryker, tell me what’s going on right this instant!” Peter said, his hands forming fists on the table as he glared at Chase. My gaze was still glued

on my Mom, trying to discern just how much trouble I was going to be in in just a few moments. “Er,” Chase started awkwardly. We could have cut the tension in the air with a knife. Even Lily went quiet, munching on her food and looking at all of us nervously. “Lina and I...” An awkward silence followed. “Lina and you what?” Peter said. By then, I was pretty sure we had the attention of the entire reception marquee, every guest included. I felt people’s curious, burning gazes on the back of my head, and I felt truly embarrassed. Hot, flushed and deeply ashamed of what I knew was about to happen. Chase was quiet for a long moment,

and for a second, I thought he would deny it all. I thought he would say there was nothing between us; that it was just a fling, maybe, but the words that came out of his mouth took us all by surprise. “Lina and I are in love, Dad,” he said softly. The gasp that overtook the room was audible, and I realized the people near us had heard him, even over the soft background music from the string quartet. Despite all the horrible, unwanted attention, I wanted to beam. Chase had admitted that we were in love. There would be no more hiding, no more unanswered questions. If he had ever thought we were just a fling, he wouldn’t have said a word... but now the

whole thing was out in the open, and we were facing a likely catastrophe. “Lina, smile!” Someone flashed a phone at me, taking my photo, and I looked around, feeling more startled than ever. More than a few people had their phones out, taking photos and video of the whole scene. Our parents had asked them not to film the wedding so Peter could release his own press photos, but I guess a possible scandal was all it took for these three hundred ‘close friends’ to break that rule. I felt the tension, the murmurs in the air. I saw phones flashing in my face, catching me like a deer in the headlights,

but I wasn’t about to back down, not after Chase had admitted our relationship out loud like that. It was now or never in that moment, and I took a deep breath before I looked Peter right in the eye. “It’s true,” I said quietly. “We’re in love. This started before we knew you two were engaged, and we never meant to endanger your career or put you on the spot. We’re just being honest, and I’m sorry if we end up causing any trouble for you.” Peter’s dark gaze was proof enough that there would be trouble indeed. Chase’s hand found mine under the table, and I finally risked a look in his direction. He flashed me a small grin,

and I found my body easing; the rigidness I’d felt before slowly dissipating. I knew we were in trouble. Big trouble. But I wasn’t going to back out now. It was all bound to come out sooner or later, anyway. I would have rather had it come out when Chase and I made the decision to come clean after the election, but life didn’t always happen the way we wanted it to. Without saying another word, Peter dropped his napkin on the table and got up, the screeching of his chair being pushed back the only sound beside the music. Everyone else was deathly quiet, waiting for the big man’s reaction. Yet there was none. He just offered

my Mom his hand with a rigid smile plastered on his face, and she got up along with Lily. The three of them walked out of the reception, leaving Chase and me in the wake of the horrible thing we’d done.

“That was freaking exhausting,” I said on the way home. I was still shaky from the onslaught of everyone at the wedding. After our parents had left with Lily, we’d known we needed to patch everything up as soon as possible, so we’d left as soon as we could escape from the throngs of people gleefully asking us what was

going on while pretending to be ‘concerned’. People always loved a scandal… Peter must have been beyond upset, because I knew he never would’ve left when his election win was at stake, let alone left his own wedding reception. “I know, I’m beat,” Chase groaned in reply. His hand found mine and I snuggled closer to him in the limo. His scent was heady, musky and dark like the cologne he always wore. It was comforting, and I needed him close, as selfish as it was. “We’re horrible people,” I mumbled into his shoulder as Chase smoothed down my hair. I probably looked a mess after a whole day of wedding activities

and being questioned by members of the press, who had been waiting for us to exit the reception area. “Shhh, Lina, you know that’s not true,” Chase comforted me. His voice was deep, but soft, threatening to lull me into a much-needed sleep. “We had to tell them sooner or later. I’ll admit the timing wasn’t stellar, but at least it’s out in the open now.” “I guess,” I sighed, looking up at him with tired eyes. A small, nagging part of me wasn’t sorry, though. It was happy that Chase had admitted we were together, and in love, no less. It meant we weren’t just a short-term fling; there was more...although deep down, I’d already

known that for a long time. It also meant there would be a world of trouble for Peter, who would have to justify our relationship to the media again and again…or cut us out entirely. “I’m kinda glad we told them,” I said in a small voice. “I’m glad you...” Chase shut me up with a kiss and I grinned against his lips as we came together. No more hiding. No more kissing in secret. We were out in the open now, and everyone would just have to deal with it, one way or another. We still had to face the music at home, though, and as the car pulled up in front of our house, we guiltily broke apart. We may have admitted our relationship, but it still felt

uncomfortable going into the house together, knowing our parents were angry as hell. As we walked in, the door closed behind us with a soft click. The sound was loud in the empty hallway - loud enough for the cavalry to arrive. My Mom and Peter stormed into the hallway, their eyes blazing with angry fire. Chase’s hand found mine again, and I was grateful for the comfort of his skin against mine; something I’d become reliant on in the past few weeks. “Here we go,” he murmured. Peter approached us, his face twisted in a mask of outrage. For a moment, I was sure he was going to punch Chase, but he seemed to be

controlling himself as he glared at our linked hands. “Living room. Now,” he said through gritted teeth, and all four of us filed into the room. It was late, and I figured Lily was already sound asleep with Goldie in her arms. Even though she was the one who’d very publicly outed us, I couldn’t bring myself to be angry at my little sister. She was so young and innocent, and she’d had no idea what consequences her actions would have. Chase and I had definitely known what consequences our actions could have, and we’d still gone ahead with our relationship anyway. Chase and I sat down on armchairs, and our parents faced us on the sofa. I

got ready for the barrage of questions which I knew was coming, and Peter didn’t disappoint. “How did this happen?” he barked at us. “Start at the beginning.” He pulled out a notepad and started scribbling down notes as Chase started to speak. My eyes were glued to my Mom, and seeing all the pain in her gaze made me ache all over. I knew I’d disappointed her, not because I’d hooked up with Chase, but because I hadn’t gone to her and told her what had been going on. I hoped my eyes relayed to her just how sorry I was for keeping things from her, and I was relieved when her expression softened a little, and she gave me the smallest of

smiles. It was something, at least. Chase started at the beginning. He told his Dad all about how we’d met, even about the hotel room. He told him how I’d run out and left him there, and I was on the edge of my seat as he spoke, not knowing whether he would relay the information about Tripp, too. Thankfully, Chase didn’t mention anything about that part of the story. There was enough drama already, and I was thankful he didn’t drag that story out in the open. Peter silently took notes while Chase was talking, scribbling down and underlining things so heavily that I heard his pen tearing at the paper several times. Each time I heard the sound, I

cringed inwardly, knowing he would probably kill us for doing this. Not only as a father, but because we’d endangered his entire campaign which was going to finish in a week’s time. We’d probably lost him the election. Once Chase had finished, Peter set aside his notepad and pen and looked at the both of us. My heart was going crazy, beating so fast in my chest that I thought it would break my skin from the impact. I waited for Peter’s response, so on edge that I thought I’d explode from the tension. “Thank you for being honest with me,” he said in a clipped tone. “It was about damn time someone told me the truth.”

Goose bumps peppered my skin at his words, and I knew he was angry. He had every right to be, of course, but it didn’t make things any easier. With those words, he rose from his chair and strode out of the room without saying another word. Chase and I exchanged nervous glances, and we rose to our feet, my Mom included. I was beat, and I knew the others were probably knackered too. I was afraid to look at my Mom, knowing she had her own set of reasons to be angry at me. I’d stolen her thunder, on her wedding day no less, and I was dreading going online already, as I knew there would be a slew of dirty articles about me and Chase.

However, I faced my fears and walked up to her. Her eyes were heavy with emotion, and we stood awkwardly in front of one another. I knew there was one more thing I had to share with her as well—what had happened with Tripp. I mentally vowed to tell her as soon as the campaign was over. She deserved to know the truth. Just as I decided that, she leapt towards me and enveloped me in a big hug. I froze on the spot, as I hadn’t expected it, but soon I melted into her embrace. Even though I was old enough to take care of myself, she’d always be my Mom, and she always had my back— through thick and thin. I could feel Chase shuffling

awkwardly behind us, and my Mom grinned at him. “Come over here, Chase,” she said softly. He approached us hesitantly, but Mom didn’t give him a chance to back away. She hugged us both tightly, squeezing us so hard we could barely breathe. In that moment, I finally realized we really were a family—for better or for worse. “It’ll be okay,” Mom told us. “We’ll sort this out.” Despite her encouraging words, I had a sinking feeling in the pit of my belly.

My Mom, Chase and I gathered in the living room the next day. All of us were pale, with white-colored knuckles from squeezing each other’s hands so hard. Peter was about to hold a televised press conference explaining what had happened during the wedding. It had been half a day since the reception debacle, and the pressure from the press was so intense that he had no other choice but to speak about what had happened. I wasn’t sure any of us knew what he was about to say. I hoped he wouldn’t condemn us for our relationship, but as my eyes met Chase’s across the room and he gave me a ghost of a smile, I knew we were in it for the long haul…

with or without anyone else’s approval. A few people from Peter’s team joined us in front of the TV. We were all nervous, itching to get the moment over with. A member of his team had explained to me that coming back from a scandal like this would be nearly impossible, and I could understand why. He’d need a miracle to allow him to win the campaign after what we’d done to torpedo things. The TV came on with a familiar sound, letting us know that the press conference was about to begin. Chase and Mom scooted towards me on the sofa, each taking one of my hands in theirs as we waited for Peter to walk onto the stage.

This was it—the moment that would decide our futures. As Chase’s warm hand squeezed my own clammy one, I knew it would be all right either way. I just hoped we had our family’s support on the path we were about to take. Peter appeared on stage and my heart lurched. He cleared his throat, and then he began.

Chapter 27 Chase I watched with bated breath as my father opened his mouth on the screen in front of me, and I knew we were totally and utterly fucked. For the last fifteen or so hours, I’d been trying to put on a happy face for Lina to try and make her feel like everything would be okay, but honestly, I could only see this going one way.

We were totally going to get disowned. At least I would. I’d wrecked everything. Not only had I almost ruined Dad’s campaign once already, by being outed as an underground fighter, I’d gone and done it again by entering into a relationship with the one girl I wasn’t supposed to even look at, let alone fall in love with. I was a selfish little shit, just like Dad had called me the other week. That didn’t mean I regretted being with Lina, though. Fuck no. I’d never regret being with her, no matter what happened. Sure, I’d be upset if Dad did decide to cut me out of the family because of this whole thing, but you’d

still never be able to get me to say I regretted anything I’d done with Lina. She was the one for me, and it was just bad luck that she happened to be my stepsister. Back when I’d still been fighting, I’d never lost for one main reason. I’d kept fighting. I’d fought and fought and fought until I won, and I’d never given up. I’d never give up on Lina, either. I’d always fight for her, no matter what. “Thanks for coming, everyone,” Dad said onscreen, finally beginning his press announcement. “I won’t beat around the bush. We all know why I’m here. You want a comment on the recent allegations concerning my son’s relationship with my stepdaughter. Well,

here it is.” He paused to cough, raising his hand to his mouth, and then he squared his jaw and looked dead-on at the camera. I closed my eyes, waiting for the words of disavowal to come. “It’s a damned shame that people’s personal lives are put through the wringer in campaigns such as this. We should be focusing on each candidate’s politics, and the ability he or she has to effect change in our great state, but instead, all that these gossip-mongers focus on is whatever draws in the highest TV ratings or the most blog viewers. That isn’t true politics, and it’s an absolute travesty, but because of this policy of gossip-mongering, I have been

given no choice but to address this. So in regards to the recent story, I’d like to say that as long as my son and stepdaughter are happy, then I see no reason for anyone else to concern themselves with it. They are not related, and they have made it clear that they love each other very much. They were both consenting, legal adults when they met, which was before my wife and I even told them we were together, and there is nothing morally wrong with what they are doing, given that they were not raised together as children. I want my family to be happy, and as long as they are happy, I’m happy. Please respect their privacy. That is all I have to say on the matter of that particular relationship.”

My eyes flew open again as he spoke. What the hell? My ears had to be deceiving me. My jaw practically unhinged itself as I watched my father continue. He was committing political suicide. Surely he knew that. “I realize many of my would-be voters might be outraged by this, but to them I’d like to say two more things: firstly, what my son and stepdaughter do is no one’s business other than their own, and it has absolutely no bearing on my work and what kind of positive changes I’d like to make as State Governor. And secondly, perhaps you could try to save your outrage for the abysmal policies my opponent will be bringing in if he is elected over me.

That’s what you should really be concerned about. Anyway, that’s all, folks. Thank you for your time.” With that, he stepped off the dais and walked away amidst a flurry of shouted questions and flashing lights from photographer’s cameras. Jesus. He’d really done it. “Mr. Stryker, how can you support this?” one journalist yelled. “Will you be withdrawing from the gubernatorial race?” another asked. Dad’s chief advisor approached the dais and waved his hand at the buzzing crowd of reporters. “Peter has already made his stance clear. He will not be withdrawing from the race at this time. Please address any further questions

towards me,” he said. Nina stood up and switched the TV off, and we all sat in the room in silence, still processing what had just happened. “Well…that wasn’t what I expected,” I finally said. Nina smiled. “No…I knew he’d do the right thing.” “So this was you. You convinced him to say that?” Lina asked, her eyes wide. Nina shook her head. “No. We spoke about it, and I told him to do the right thing. I didn’t specify what, though. In the end, it’s his campaign, and it’s up to him.” “So…you really think it’s okay for us to be together?” Lina said softly. “I

know we spoke about it yesterday, but I thought…maybe you’d changed your mind…or…” Her voice trailed off, and Nina arched an eyebrow. “I admit, I was worried at first, but you two clearly love each other, and you aren’t actually related. You aren’t even living in the same house, since Chase has moved out,” she replied, squeezing Lina’s hand. “Just don’t go breaking up! That’ll make things quite awkward, to say the least.” I chuckled. She didn’t have to worry about that. Unless Lina planned on ditching me, we were in this for the long haul. I still couldn’t believe what my father had just done. It seemed surreal,

like it was all some sort of dream which I was about to wake from. He’d sacrificed his campaign just to ensure that Lina and I felt secure in our relationship and within the family, and my stomach roiled at the thought of what he’d given up for us. If we’d just been able to wait a few more weeks to tell him about us, till after the election, then things would’ve been so much better. He wouldn’t have felt trapped into nuking his bid for Governor, but I’d basically forced his hand by revealing the truth about Lina and me at the wedding. I’d tried to speak quietly when I’d answered him at the reception, but it hadn’t made a difference. Several people around us had already heard

Lily’s outing of us, and they’d been paying close attention from that second onwards. Judging by the timestamps on some of the Facebook and Twitter posts about us, they’d been posted at literally the exact moment my father had asked us what the hell was going on. I couldn’t blame Lily, though. She was only a kid. She had no idea what she was doing, and besides, it was our fault, anyway. Lina and I were the ones who’d kept things from our family and sneaked around for this long, and it was our fault that Dad’s campaign had been wrecked. Even if my father hadn’t made the speech he just had, it would’ve been over anyway. Nina picked up her handbag and

smiled at me and Lina. “I need to go run some errands,” she said. “You two stay here. Don’t leave the house for any reason, and don’t answer the door to any journalists.” “Okay,” Lina replied, trying to return her Mom’s smile and failing miserably. I knew she was feeling just as glum as I was. Nina and my father were being so good and supportive about this whole thing, which was unexpected and totally undeserved. We should’ve just been honest about our feelings for each other in the first place, instead of putting everyone in this awkward position. “Do you feel as crappy as I do?” Lina asked quietly a moment later, once we were alone in the room again.

I nodded. “Yep.” She sighed, and just as she opened her mouth to say something, the doorbell rang. “Great,” she muttered. “Million bucks says it’s the press.” We both walked towards the front door to make sure it was locked, and we heard a faint voice on the other side. “Lina? Are you there?” Lina’s eyes widened. “It’s Michaela!” I peeked through the peephole and nodded. “Yep, it’s just Michaela and Landon. No press.” We hurriedly let them inside, and Landon grinned at me as Lina and Michaela hugged. “We so knew about

you guys. I can’t believe you didn’t tell us, though!” he said. I shrugged, and Lina gave the two of them a half-smile. “Sorry. I wasn’t sure how.” “It’s okay. We get it. Pretty rough situation, huh? We just heard the press conference thing on the radio,” Landon replied. I nodded. “Yeah. We’re both feeling a bit shitty.” “Well, that’s why we’re here,” Michaela said, a conspiratorial smile lighting her features. “We’re here to make you feel better!” Lina shook her head. “Thanks, guys, but I don’t know if anything will make me feel better right now. Peter’s done so

much for me, and Chase and I just totally ruined his campaign for Governor.” Michaela’s smile grew wider, and she exchanged a glance with Landon. “Um…maybe not,” she replied. “Huh?” Lina asked, her eyebrows drawing together in a puzzled expression. “What’s going on?” “Well, everyone is talking about you guys right now, as I’m sure you know… but let’s just say Eric Bond is about to have his own family scandal. And it’s a hundred times worse.” My eyebrows shot up, and Landon grinned. “And there it is. That’s the face I was looking for. Sit down, and we’ll tell you about it.” “Er…okay.”

We led them into the lounge room, and they sat across from us on the sofa, their faces lighting up with glee. “Okay, we know we’re totally horrible people for knowing about this and not stopping it, but…well, Jessie Bond is a horrible person, so we don’t feel too bad,” Landon said. “About what?” Lina asked. “Stop keeping us in suspense!” “Well, remember how we stalked her Facebook a while ago? When you first told us about her?” Lina nodded. “Yeah.” “Well, you know what I’m like with my Facebook stalking. I take it very seriously,” Landon said with a wink. “Anyway, I noticed that there were

heaps of check-ins and posts with some guy on her profile. Figured it was just someone she was seeing, so whatever… no big deal, right?” “Uh-huh.” “But then,” Michaela cut in. “We met this girl in one of our classes who used to be best friends with Jessie, and they had a falling out recently. We’ve kinda become close with her—I think I mentioned her to you, her name’s Amy— and we somehow got to talking about Jessie. She ended up telling us that the guy who’s always all over her Facebook…well, it’s her cousin. Her first cousin.” “And…? What’s wrong with hanging out with a relative?” Lina asked.

“Uhh…they were doing a lot more than hanging out. Apparently they’ve been ‘friends with benefits’ for like, the last three years.” Lina’s hand flew to her mouth. “What? How could you or this Amy girl possibly know that?” “Amy found out a while ago, when they were still friends. Jessie was using her phone to sext him because her own phone was dead, and she forgot to delete the sexy messages. Amy saw the messages and figured out that it was Jessie’s cousin, so Jessie swore her to secrecy. But now they aren’t friends anymore, because Jessie slept with her boyfriend, and Amy wants to get a little revenge.”

Christ, it all sounded like an episode of Days Of Our Lives. I could barely keep track of who’d said and done what. “So what’s she doing with this info?” I asked, leaning forward. “She’s going to the media about it and showing them the texts, which she still has backed up. In fact, she’s already done it. The story should be breaking any minute now. And this is like, actual incest. Not a harmless step-relationship, like what you guys have going on. Soooo gross.” “Holy shit!” Lina said. “Yep,” Landon said with a smirk. “I realize being so happy about this makes us petty assholes, but I don’t care. Jessie’s had this coming for a long time,

from what I’ve seen and heard about her. Apparently her Dad’s just as bad, so it’s too freakin’ bad if his campaign goes south because of it.” “Um…it’s gonna do a lot more than make his campaign go south,” Lina said. “Oh my God, I still can’t believe this.” “Can’t believe what?” A deep voice interrupted us, and I turned my head to see my father standing in the entrance to the lounge room. I sprang to my feet. “Dad…it might not be over. You might still win the election!” He shook his head. “I doubt that. May I speak to you in private for a minute?” “Sure.” I stepped out of the lounge room with

him, leaving Lina with her friends. “I trust you saw my press briefing half an hour ago,” he said. I nodded. “Yeah. Look, Dad, I’m really…” He held up a hand to shush me. “Chase, it’s all right. I’d be a hypocrite if I said it wasn’t. Just yesterday I was telling you I wanted you to find love, and well…you have. Most people would think it’s simply puppy love, but the way you spoke about Lina yesterday when you told me the truth…and the way you look at her as well…I should’ve seen it sooner. I must have been blind. But I can tell you really love her.” “But we totally fucked things up for your campaign.”

He shrugged. “There’ll be other elections.” “But you worked so hard at this one.” “And I haven’t worked hard enough at building a decent relationship with you, as we discussed the other week,” he said, patting me on the shoulder. “I’d like to change that. Work comes second to family from now on, even if I become the damn President of the universe. As one of you young people might say… screw it.” I grinned. “Well, like I was saying earlier, it might not even be over.” He sighed. “Chase, it’s over. Believe me. I’m not withdrawing, because I still have my pride, but nothing short of a

miracle could save my campaign now.” Seemingly right on cue, his phone beeped. It had been set up to send him a text alert every time the gubernatorial campaign was mentioned online, and his eyebrows practically shot to the ceiling as he looked at it. “What on Earth…is this what you were just talking about?” he said, handing me the phone. Holy shit. The entire web had already blown up with Jessie’s story. I actually felt a little bad for her. Yes, she was a heinous bitch, but I knew how shitty it felt to be dragged through the mud like this. After all, it had just happened to me and Lina, and it felt goddamned awful.

“Chase, you didn’t do this, did you?” Dad said as I scrolled through the articles. “No,” I said, shaking my head. “It was this girl called Amy. Ex-best friend of Jessie Bond. Lina’s friends just told us.” “I’m glad it wasn’t you,” he replied. “I realize this could be good for my campaign, but still…this is exactly the kind of stuff I chastised everyone about in my press conference. The muck-raking that goes on during election season is ridiculous.” “I know.” “Well, at least I know my team wasn’t responsible for this leak.” “Yeah, you’d look like a bit of a

douche if you went on national TV decrying this kinda stuff, and then released the mother-lode of smears two minutes later,” I said with a grin. He chuckled and slapped me on the back. “Indeed,” he said, before reaching over and pulling me into a manly hug. “Well, I might win this governorship after all. I suppose everything has a way of working out happily in the end, doesn’t it?” Over his shoulder, I saw Lina pad into the hall a second later. She looked like she was about to say something, but when she saw my Dad hugging me, she smiled and gave me a nod instead. I grinned back at her. Despite the shitty day we’d had,

everything was already working out for the better, just like Dad had said. I should’ve known it would. Everything would always work out just fine, as long as I had Lina and my family by my side. Especially Lina. Even though we’d only known each other for a few months, she meant the world to me. We’d gone through a lot of shit in the short time we’d been involved with each other, and each time one storm had passed, another had been looming on the horizon, casting shades of black and grey over our lives. But we’d made it through each and every storm together, and we always would. It sounded clichéd as fuck, but love really was all we needed.

And love was what we had.

Chapter 28 Chase Four years later “I hate to tell you this, but you smell awful. You’re gonna have to get in that shower with me.” I waggled my eyebrows at Lina and grabbed her, and she squirmed in my arms beside the bathroom counter. “I don’t smell bad!” she protested. “I’m not showering with you. I told you, I have to

get to work!” I chuckled and pulled her top off, and she melted into my arms with a sigh as I unhooked her bra. “God…you’re the worst.” “Yes, so you’ve been telling me for…what, four and a half years now?” I replied with a wink. She pouted as I sank to my knees, stripping her of the black jeans and purple panties she’d only just put on. “I really do have to get to work…you make things so hard sometimes,” she said, a half-smile turning the corners of her lips up a second later. “That’s not the only thing that’s hard,” I joked, rising to my feet and placing her hand on my crotch.

She rolled her eyes at my immature gag and then yelped as I wrapped my arms around her waist, lifted her off the ground and deposited her straight in the shower. I quickly shed my own clothes and then joined her, and as the hot water streamed all over our bodies, my lips found hers. “Mmm…” she murmured into my mouth, hands roaming all over my back as I pushed her up against the tiled wall. A lot had changed in the last few years, but our feelings for one another had only grown in intensity. We had our own apartment now, and subsequently as much privacy as we wanted, although we still went home to visit our family as much as possible.

Dad was nearing the end of his governorship, which he’d won after the Bond scandal had broken. The other scandal involving Lina and me had quickly been forgotten by the public amidst the news of what Jessie and her cousin had been up to, and Dad had won by a rather substantial margin. He was currently campaigning for another term in the office, and I had to say, he’d done an amazing job at balancing the pressures of the governorship with his family life. He worked hard at the job, but he always made as much effort as he could to spend time with all of us, and his marriage to Nina was as strong as ever. Lily was doing well in school, and

she was always over the moon whenever she came to visit Lina and me at our apartment. Lina and I suspected that it was mostly because of Goldie, and we always joked with her that we’d probably never even see her if it wasn’t for the cat. In typical Lily fashion, she would always fire back with her own jokes about how she planned on stealing Goldie from us. She’d always been a little spitfire, and I was proud to call her my family. Speaking of family…Tripp was now in prison. Just after the election four years ago, Lina had finally summoned up the courage to tell my Dad and Nina what he had done to her, and Dad had immediately offered to help bring him to

justice, despite his familial ties to us. The State’s Attorney had launched a formal investigation into him after three other girls had come forward as well, stating that Tripp had done the same thing to them, and he was rotting away where he belonged now. I was so proud of Lina for finally standing up for herself against him. I’d never wanted to force her to do anything she wasn’t ready for, and it was amazing to see how much she’d come out of her shell since I’d first met her. Now Tripp could never hurt her again…and I’d never let anyone else hurt her again, either. She’d recently completed her degree in biomedical science, and she’d scored

a job at a research lab downtown after interning there during her final year of college. As for me, I was nearing the end of my business degree, which despite being a part-time thing, had taken me less time than I’d thought it would. It turned out that a lot of the classes I’d already taken for political science counted towards a business major as well, so I was well on the way to graduating. Four more months and I was out of there. My fitness center was up and running, too. I’d named it Stryker’s, and since we’d opened up, we’d had new members joining every day. It was busy as hell, but I managed. I’d even gotten involved in some legit MMA fights, as a

coach to an up-and-comer in the scene. This time, there was nothing illegal about it, and I’d kept everyone in the loop. No more lying and sneaking around with anything. I’d kept my word about my charity aspirations as well. I’d been saving a percentage of the gym’s profits, and instead of donating it to an alreadyestablished charity, I’d started my own one which focused on donating money towards cancer research. I knew it was something Lina was passionate about, given what had happened to her father, and I wanted to help her out with that as much as I could. So many cancer charities operated on a for-profit model, which I thought was

dodgy as fuck. There was even one which gave ninety-fucking-percent of its donations to its CEO, and only a tiny percentage actually went to research. That was bullshit, and it wasn’t going to happen with mine. Lina didn’t actually know about the charity yet, though. It was a surprise I was saving for her. But it wasn’t the only surprise I had in store for her. I had another major one coming, but that could wait. Right now, I had other pressing issues to attend to….like Lina naked in my arms under the falling water. I let my hand trail over her breasts and down her stomach, and she gasped as I pressed my knee in between her

legs, forcing them apart. Her mouth hungrily attacked my neck as my hand found its way between her thighs, and I flicked a finger over her clit, drawing a moan from her mouth as she threw her head back, leaning it against the cool tiles. I nudged her legs a little further apart and then slid two fingers inside her, slowly pumping them in and out and then circling them inside her as I located her G-spot. A telltale ache began to throb deep in my groin, and I growled and pulled away from her before lifting her up by her waist, then grabbing her right leg and hooking it up around my lower back. Our tongues found each other again

as my cock pushed inside her, and I closed my eyes and groaned at the sensation of her tight, hot inner muscles clenching around me. She was on the Pill now, so we didn’t need to use condoms, and holy fuck, it felt incredible. Every single time was better than the last. With our bodies pressed tightly against each other, I thrust my hips back and forth, pressing deeper inside her with each hard movement. Lina whimpered and bit her lip to stop herself from screaming, and I kept slamming inside her, again and again. And again. I was driving her crazy with each hard drive into her, and her head dropped forward against my shoulder,

her teeth finding my neck and delicately nibbling on my skin. I groaned appreciatively, and her hands stroked my wet hair before moving down and digging into my back as she tried to remain steady. “Don’t worry,” I murmured. “I won’t let go of you. Ever.” She moaned in response, and pleasure soon began to build to a throbbing peak in my cock. Fuck…I couldn’t hold on for much longer. Lina came with a gasp, and she shook as her muscle began to spasm around me, pushing me over the edge as well. With a deep groan, I released myself inside her, and we both gasped for air as we recovered. I let go of her

leg and pulled out, setting her down on the tiles, and then I leaned down and gave her a big, lip-smacking kiss. “You’re the most beautiful woman alive,” I said after breaking away. She gave me a cheeky smile. “Thanks, Mr. Sex Maniac. You’re not half bad yourself. But I really do need to get to work,” she replied. I grinned. “I know. Get out of here, Ms. Scientist! Try not to blow up any nuclear reactors today.” She rolled her eyes. “Oh yes, because that’s exactly what research scientists do in the labs all day.” She stepped out of the shower and then called out to me as she toweled off. “I forgot…do you have class today? Or

are you working at the gym?” “Both. I’ve got class first,” I said, turning the shower off and stepping out of the enclosure. “You’ll never have any class,” she replied, sticking her tongue out at me. I chuckled. “Oh, ha ha. Anyway, I’ll finish that at eleven, and then I’ll be at the gym till five.” That was a lie. Don’t get me wrong; I didn’t like lying to Lina, but sometimes it was a necessary evil. See, I was skipping work this afternoon to take a rare break—to plan the aforementioned surprise. Let’s just say it involved a jewelry store and a travel agent…

Chapter 29 Lina Six months later “I can’t believe we’re here,” I repeated for the umpteenth time. My eyes were full of wonder as I looked around us. Everything I’d heard about Paris had been true—it was a beautiful city; a city of love. When Chase had told me we were hopping on a plane to meet his mother,

I’d been thrilled. After all this time, I still hadn’t met her, since she’d moved to Paris with her beau before I’d even met Chase. Now the meeting was behind us, and I felt like I understood Chase even better than ever. He was headstrong, proud and honorable, just like his father. He was also sweet, gentle and loving, just like his mother. Barbara was a kind woman; one I’d promised to stay in touch with, and I could tell there would be more visits to Paris in the future…especially with the secret I was about to reveal to Chase any minute now. I flushed, thinking about my confession. It was our last day in the city

of love and Chase and I had been exploring the place all day long. We’d decided to end the tour at the Eiffel Tower, and Chase had somehow managed to secure a platform for just the two of us. The usually crowded elevator now held only us and an employee, and I was bursting with the need to talk to him and reveal everything I’d been keeping hidden inside for so long. A few minutes later, my mind had floated so far away that I barely heard Chase speaking. He was reciting the history of the tower, his eyes burning with passion for the beautiful city we were in, and I felt tears pricking my eyes as I looked at him. “And then the dragons melded the

iron with their fiery breath, and that’s how the Eiffel Tower was built,” I vaguely registered him saying. “Uh-huh,” I said, still a million miles away. “You’re not listening at all, are you?” he said, cheekily smacking me on the butt. “It wasn’t really built by dragons, y’know.” I blushed. “Sorry. It’s just so nice coming up here…I tuned out a bit.” “I’m that boring, huh?” “Totally,” I replied, sticking my tongue out at him. We’d been through a lot in our time together, but somehow, we always came up stronger. Every bad thing that had happened, every trial we’d had along the

way…they always had us coming out the other end tougher and more in love than ever. The past four years hadn’t been easy, what with Peter’s new position and always being the center of attention, but with Chase’s fighting and the scandal of our relationship coming out behind us, we were out of the woods. There was only beauty and love ahead of us. Especially now...but Chase didn’t know. I was waiting for the right moment, my hands twisting at my sides as we took the elevator. I knew I had to tell him eventually, but the words weren’t willing to slip off my tongue just yet. It wasn’t that I wasn’t brave enough.

I’d proven that to myself and everyone else once I’d confessed to everyone what Tripp had done to me, and he’d gotten what he deserved. I knew he was paying for his crimes, and that made me feel a lot safer. As well as that, I’d worked through my issues in therapy with Chase’s help, and I’d never felt better. No more nightmares, no more freak-outs when I heard certain words… nothing but pure and simple calm. Except for right now. I really needed to tell Chase about the… “Almost there!” he said, interrupting my train of thought. The elevator stopped with a ping and the employee smiled at us, pointing towards the exit which led onto the

platform. Chase and I exchanged gleeful looks, then stepped out of the elevator and onto the platform. The view was stunning; the Champ de Mars filled with people milling about and beautiful trees blooming in shades of pink. “Chase, it’s gorgeous,” I said softly, my eyes glued to the scenery below us. “I’m so glad we came here... I can’t believe you organized all of this, just for me!” I looked into his eyes, seeing just how overwhelmed he was feeling. There was a spark in his gaze, though, one which I knew by now meant he was up to something. “A woman like you deserves it,

Lina,” he told me sincerely, and for once, I appreciated that we weren’t teasing each other. My hand found his and our fingers twined together. “I love you,” I whispered against his ear, leaning in closer until my lips met the soft skin of his neck. “I love you,” he repeated, gently biting on my neck and making me grin in response. My darling Chase had always had a naughty streak, and he couldn’t resist, not even in sentimental moments like this one. I was about to speak up again when Chase moved away, and my eyes roamed over the view again. “It’s so stunning,” I murmured.

Silently, I mused about how perfect it was for us to be here, considering the news I was about to deliver. I looked back at Chase, my legs trembling. Yep, this was it. I was finally ready to tell him... Except he wasn’t there. Confused, I looked down, realizing Chase was picking up something from the floor. I dropped to my knees too, looking around for what he’d lost. “Did you drop something?” I asked worriedly. “Is it a coin? I’ll help you find it...” “Lina, get up,” Chase said nervously, but my eyes had just focused on a shiny surface on the ground. “Lina, that’s a bottle cap...please, just get up.”

“No, we have to find the coin!” I said distractedly. “It’s bad luck to lose them, you know...you can’t just leave them lying around.” “Lina,” Chase hissed again. Finally, I got up and gave him an annoyed look. It was only then that I noticed something unusual about the whole situation. Chase was on his knees. He wasn’t scrambling on the ground or looking for anything. Actually, he was only on one knee. And he was holding something up to me. I gasped, a hand flying to my mouth as I realized what was happening. I was glued to the spot, frozen in my state of shock, my eyes watering as I gazed

down at Chase. “Lina,” he said with a cheeky grin. “You insufferable woman. You’re smart as hell, you’re heartbreakingly beautiful…and you make me a better man. You’re all that I want, all that I’ll fight to keep. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, if you’ll have me.” I gasped out loud as my eyes settled on a royal blue velvet box in his hand. In it sat the most beautiful ring I’d ever seen—white gold with a big solitaire diamond in the middle and several smaller stones set around it. It was oldfashioned, quirky, traditional and beautiful all at the same time. It was perfect for me, for our love. He was perfect.

“Yes,” I blurted. “Yes, yes, yes!” “I haven’t exactly asked you anything yet.” Chase grinned at me, and I could tell he was getting sentimental, too. “Maybe you’ve just agreed for me to sell you to Myron Banks as a sex slave. I’d probably get at least five dollars for you.” I laughed and shook my head, and tears of joy started to fall from my eyes as he gave me his trademark mischievous look. “So, my impatient one,” Chase went on. “Will you do me the honor of being my wife?” “YES!” I shouted again. I almost knocked Chase over as I jumped at him, giving him a tight squeeze. We were a

mess of tears, laughter and smiles as he slipped the ring onto my finger. It was perfect; beautiful and sparkling. Just like Chase’s eyes right now. I was engaged. I couldn’t believe it, but Chase was finally officially mine…forever. And what perfect timing he’d picked, too. It was now or never. “Chase,” I managed to get out. “I have to tell you something.” He gave me a curious look, and I took a deep breath, knowing I had some confessions to make. I’d known what I was about to divulge for a month already, but I’d been too nervous. I’d been struggling with the news, afraid of telling anyone what was going on, and

only my Mom knew. After confessing to her what had happened with Tripp, Mom and I were closer than ever. I trusted her implicitly, and I knew she’d always be at my side. And she had been, during the first doctor’s visits, holding my hand as I’d had the exam. We’d cried together, laughed together. We’d even plotted telling Chase the news together, but now I knew what that sparkle in her eyes at the time had meant—she must’ve known about the proposal. “What is it, Lina?” Chase asked me worriedly, grabbing both of my hands and pulling me closer. “Just tell me; you’re freaking me out. If you’re having second thoughts about…”

“No, nothing like that,” I said with a shaky smile, waving my hand at him. “Of course not. But I wanted to tell you a secret I’ve been hiding for a little while...” My hand trembled as I took his and guided it over my belly, covering his hand with my palm and looking into his eyes, which were full of wonder. “You’re going to be a dad, Chase Stryker,” I whispered. His eyes widened. Shock registered in his gaze, and I grew worried...but I shouldn’t have. His expression changed to one of wonder, and then pure love. Tears swelled in his eyes, and he almost started crying. My boyfriend—no, fiancé —who’d always been strong and held

his own…I’d driven him to emotions he probably didn’t even know he had. “A baby?” he asked softly. All I could do was nod, overcome by my own feelings. “I’m going to be a father?” He stroked my belly, his hand roaming over it in soft circles as the huge weight I’d been carrying around finally fell off my shoulders. My secret was no longer a secret. I felt my heart swell with emotion, the crisp air around us thick with love and passion. “You’ve made me the happiest man alive,” Chase said against my lips, and then his mouth locked onto mine into a kiss of pure love. He was a fighter— he’d fought for money, fought for our love... and now, he would fight for the

life we’d made together. “I plan on doing that every day until my last,” I whispered to him as I broke away for a second, my smile growing wider and wider as Chase planted more and more kisses on my lips and cheeks. “You’re going to be the most beautiful mother,” he told me with a smile, which soon grew wicked. “I’ve really scored well for myself, haven’t I?” I grinned. “Remember when that was your fighting name? Score, that is.” He rolled his eyes. “I always thought it was lame. But it’s apt at the moment, considering how I managed to score you. I’ll have to watch out so someone doesn’t steal you from me...”

“Then you’ll just have to keep an eye out. Especially on Myron Banks,” I said with a cheeky wink, my smile unwavering. “Make sure I’m yours to keep.” “I will,” Chase promised. “And you’ve always been mine, Lina Diaz. That’s one thing I don’t see changing...ever.” As he kissed me again, the sparkle in his eyes that glowed for me was joined by another one. A shining star for our baby. A promise to look out for us and love us both. Chase Stryker had given me the moon, and now he was giving me the stars as well. He wasn’t the only one who’d scored perfectly…

THE END We hope you enjoyed! Here are our newsletter AND two free bonus books! Caitlin’s newsletter Alyssa’s newsletter

DARE A S TEPBROTHER ROMANCE

by Caitlin Daire

Copyright **Warning: This novella contains explicit sexual situations which may be objectionable to some readers. Not recommended for anyone under the age of 18.**

Please respect the work of this author. No part of this book may be reproduced or copied without permission. This ebook is licensed for your personal

enjoyment only. This book is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental. Any similarities to events or situations is also coincidental.

© 2015 Caitlin Daire All Rights Reserved

Chapter 1 Sophie “It’s all gonna happen tonight, girl!” My friend Cerie clutched my arm and whispered in my ear, and I grinned and ignored the nervous twinge in my belly. She was right. In this moment, we were on top of the world – her, me and our other friend Lana, who was currently squealing and holding her short skirt so that it didn’t fly up in the wind, much to

Cerie’s amusement. My own skirt rode up a little over my thighs as I walked, displaying what Lana had always referred to as my bootylicious curves, and my long, dark hair caught some of the breeze as we headed past two gigantic bouncers and down the silver spiral staircase that led into the Mint nightclub. I silently thanked God that no one had thought to card us, because we would’ve run into more than a little trouble there seeing as we were all barely eighteen. The club blasted heavy dubstep music, and Cerie eyed several young men with flirtatious eyes as we scanned the main room. Tonight was going to be the greatest night of my life…well, I was hoping it

would be, anyway. I’d graduated from high school a week ago with a perfect GPA and letters of acceptance from all the colleges my Mom had always raved on about, so I had my pick of them all. That was definitely worth celebrating. On top of that, I’d decided that tonight was the night - the night that I finally threw off my prissy virgin shackles and found myself a real man. A hot as hell manly-man who’d take me and finally do away with my virginity. I wasn’t still a virgin at the age of eighteen because I had some sort of deep moral beliefs about waiting till marriage for sex or whatever. Nope, I wasn’t like that at all. I believed that all people, male or female, should feel free to

explore their sexualities as long as they were old enough to consent, and I’d never judged my friends who’d started sleeping with their boyfriends when they were only sixteen or seventeen. I’d simply been too busy with other things in life. School had always been hectic for me, and it was my number one priority. I wasn’t one of those super genius people who were seemingly born with the ability to understand quantum physics and five different languages; I had to study my ass off in order to make the grades I knew I needed to get into a place like Caltech, my Mom’s ultimate dream school for me. She had drummed it into my head from a young age: go to a top college, study a STEM major and get

a job as an engineer or something else related to that. To her, that was the path to success in life, and I wanted to make her proud seeing as it was just me and her these days - the two of us against the world. As a result, I’d spent most of my weekends studying to keep my GPA up or working on extracurriculars while my friends were out at all the cool parties hooking up with guys. The most trouble I’d ever gotten into was when I was allowed to attend the occasional sleepover birthday party on school breaks, and me and my friends would get up to all sorts of mischief playing silly typical teen party games like Truth or Dare, Spin the Bottle, and everyone’s

favorite – a combination of the two: Spin-a-Dare. But all of that was hardly ‘trouble’ at all. Nope, I was a good girl through and through, and tonight that was going to change. I was sick of being that straight-edged geek girl who always had her nose in a book, and my friends were going to help me find the perfect guy to change that. So that was it. Tonight was going to be awesome. “Ooh, hot guys at two o’clock,” Lana murmured in my ear, nodding her head towards a group of young men in black pants, ties and button-downs. Classy, but maybe a bit too classy. They were typical young professionals who belonged in a stuffy wine bar, not in

Seattle’s hottest new club. Mint was in the basement of Hotel Laurent, and it was our city’s premier nightspot at the moment. Famous international DJs and celebrity guests often performed sets at it, and everyone knew it was where all the famous models and actors hung out when they were in town. Cerie waved her hand. “Nah, not them,” she said, obviously thinking the same as me. “It’s okay,” I said. “I can scope out my own guys.” They exchanged glances and then looked back at me, almost mirror images of each other. They were both tall, auburn-haired and pencil thin with the metabolisms of jet engines, whereas I

was darker and had the metabolism of a rock suffering from an addiction to sugar and fried things. Oh well, that’s life for you. I didn’t mind the way my curves filled out my clothes. “If we let you pick, you’ll somehow manage to find the one and only nerd here and end up talking about economics or physics all night. What you need is the opposite of that – a big, muscular hottie with tatts and an attitude. Someone you won’t get emotionally attached to,” Cerie said. “Honestly, the first time always sucks, so it may as well be with the hottest guy you can find.” “You need someone like that,” Lana said, nudging the both of us and nodding towards a table over to the left side of

the club. My gaze followed her nod, and I gulped as I saw who she was referring to. Major hottie alert. The guy was tall and inked, and under the flashing lights I could see exactly how his tattoos snaked around his bulging biceps. His nose was straight, his mouth firm, his brows heavy and his eyes bright. His face was vigorously alive and carelessly charming, and as he was approached by a blonde bikini-clad promo model, his eyes glowed with pleasure. Something about him seemed familiar, but I couldn’t figure out where I’d seen him before. Suddenly it hit me. He was a model too. I’d seen him on a billboard only yesterday. Talk about aiming high for my

first time! Dream on, Sophie, I told myself. I groaned. “Come on…I can’t compete with that girl he’s with. Look at her! At least pick a guy I have a chance with.” “What, you mean the tall blonde chick he’s with?” Lana said. “Check out his body language. His feet are facing away from her. He’s just being polite, and he’s definitely not into her.” Lana fancied herself as some sort of expert on body language, and I had to admit, she was usually right. Cerie cut in. “Even a Barbie would be jealous of how fake she is. Go and talk to him!” I flashed her a reluctant look. “No,

seriously, look at him! There’s no way he’d even want to go near me, let alone hook up with me tonight.” “Oh, get over this insecure crap,” Cerie replied, playfully swatting me on the arm. “You’re great. Now do it. I dare you.” “I double dare you,” Lana added. I rolled my eyes. “Come on, guys, we haven’t done that since the ninth grade.” The last time one of them had dared me to do something, I’d been fourteen and ended up passionately grinding up against a tree in Lana’s backyard. That was still preferable than being dared to go and talk to this unbelievably hot guy, though, and I gulped as Cerie nudged me

in his direction and hissed in my ear. “You can’t back out of a dare. That’s the rules, remember?” I let out a sigh. She’d been correct in her earlier statement. Insecurity was decidedly unsexy, and I needed to pick up my game if I was ever going to go home with a guy. “Fine. But if I end up humiliated, you guys are buying me drinks for the rest of the night. And if he turns out to be a serial killer, I’m going to haunt you both.” They grinned and nodded, waving me away, and I slowly walked past two grinding dancers and a guy who looked like he’d taken an entire bottle of pills before stepping towards the table where the hot guy was standing and sipping on

a glass of amber liquid. As I drew closer, he looked over Blondie’s shoulder, and my stomach flipped over as our eyes locked. The corners of his mouth quirked up in a confident smile that made my lower half go all tingly, and I wondered what he’d be capable of doing to me in the bedroom if he could affect me so much with just one glance. I heard him excuse himself from the blonde girl, and she was gone by the time I stepped up to him. “Hey,” I said, feeling like a prize idiot the second the word left my mouth. ‘Hey’? Great opening line, Sophie! I thought bitterly. I really wasn’t cut out for this, but practice makes perfect, right? I could only get better from here

on out, or so I hoped. “Hey back atcha,” he replied, his smile morphing into more of a smirk. His deep voice easily carried through the thumping music. He looked older than me, but not by all that much. Twenty, maybe twenty-one. I felt like a deer trapped in the headlights of an oncoming car, and my plastered-on smile faltered as I stared up at him. God, he was tall, and up close his muscles seemed even more powerful. I wanted to look away so he wouldn’t think I was a total pervy freak, but at the same time I couldn’t tear my gaze away. Crap. What the hell was I meant to do? I could hear Lana’s voice in my head

again. Keep smiling. Act confident even if you aren’t feeling it. “I feel like I know you from somewhere. Are you the guy from the vodka billboard?” I asked. He nodded. “Yeah, that’s me. I’m Drew. What’s your name?” I opened my mouth to tell him, but something made me falter for a second. I didn’t want to tell him my real name. If I was going to shed my old nerdy girl identity tonight, then I wanted a sexy alter-ego name for the evening. Hey, it wasn’t like the guy was ever going to find out. I’d already decided that whatever happened tonight was going to be a one-time thing, just to get my virginity out of the way before I headed

off to college in a few months. “Err…Tatiana,” I said. He arched an eyebrow, and I mentally kicked myself for not having chosen a more realistic fake name. To my mind, Tatiana was a very Russian sounding name, and with my black hair, curves, tanned skin and chocolate brown eyes, there was no way I looked anything other than Latina. Oh well. “Cool. Nice to meet you, Tatiana.” He extended a hand as he spoke. I shook it, and my stomach turned to mush as electricity seemed to spark between us. I finally managed to tear my eyes away from his, and he slid the same hand under my chin and tilted my face back up so that I was forced to look into his eyes

again. “You’ve got amazing eyes, babe,” he said, dropping his hand back to his side. “Keep them on me.” The intensity of his expression made me even more nervous, and I couldn’t tell if he was actually interested in me or just loving the thrill of the chase. Not that he had to do much chasing. I was the one who’d approached him, after all. “So, you been to Mint before?” he asked. “No,” I replied. “This is my first time at a club, actually.” He smirked again. “Well, there’s a first time for everything, isn’t there, sweetheart?” I felt naked under his gaze, and I got

the distinct impression that he’d somehow read my mind, and the ‘first time’ he was referring to had nothing to do with the club. I was thankful that we weren’t standing in broad daylight, where he’d easily be able to see the blush spreading across my cheeks. “Do you like it?” he continued, taking another sip of his drink and coolly appraising my figure with those gorgeous eyes. “Sure. I only just arrived, but it seems okay. Cool music.” He shrugged and affected a bored expression. “Yeah, I guess. All clubs are the same to me. I get paid to be seen hanging out at them, so they all blur together after a while.”

Lucky bastard. I suppose that’s what happens when you’re uber-hot. People will literally pay you to show up at their events. Drew seemed a bit full of himself for bringing it up, but there was no denying the effect he was having on me despite his seemingly egotistical attitude. “So you just come here to show off those muscles and make bank, huh?” I said. Cerie had told me that guys liked a bit of friendly teasing mixed in with their flirting, and unfortunately, that was the best I could come up with while feeling this nervous. Dammit, this was really not going well. My own awkwardness was making me internally cringe. At least he was still talking to me, though. That had

to count for something. He snickered. “I don’t need to show off. I just need to show up.” God, he really was incredibly arrogant. If he actually wanted someone to like him for more than his abs, then he needed a set of brakes installed on his mouth. Then again, maybe that was his thing - hook up with girls and make sure they didn’t like him enough as a person to really care if he ever called them again afterwards. Oh well. Didn’t matter to me. This was going to be a one-time thing. That was the plan, right? I just had to follow through with it. “So…what are you doing later?” I asked. “You,” he said, without skipping a

beat. He managed to keep a completely straight face as he said that, aside from a brief twinkle in those bright blue eyes of his, and I wondered if he was that bold by nature…or bold from using that same line over and over and having it work. Probably the latter. I’d always heard that it was women who had no problems getting laid, but this Drew guy was proving quite the opposite. All he had to say was one word and I was melting on the inside, and I was willing to bet it was no different for any other woman who encountered him. I bet no one had ever said no to him, not in his entire life. And why would they? “You’re very forward,” I finally

replied, and he smirked again. “I’ve got a room upstairs in the hotel. You coming or not?” he asked. He said that last part in a smug tone, as if he didn’t believe I was up for the challenge. Little did he know I was more than up for it. I nodded, and he took my hand in his before leading me across the room, past my friends and out of the club. Cerie and Lana grinned at me and gave me the thumbs up as we passed, and soon Drew and I were alone in an elevator, on our way to the penthouse suite of the Laurent. Neither of us spoke, but that was okay. This wasn’t a date, and we both knew we weren’t here for conversation. He swiped a keycard into a lock

when we arrived on the top floor, and I admired his broad shoulders and back as I stood behind him. Compared to him, I felt tiny and vulnerable, despite my curvy frame. When the door opened, I stepped forward and drew in a sharp breath as I took in the incredible view from the window on the other side of the spacious room. City lights sprawled out below us, and I admired the beauty of it before gasping as Drew came up behind me and slid an arm around my waist. Something warm touched my back, and I realized it was his bare chest. Ha. He hadn’t wasted any time; he’d already taken his shirt off. “Like the view?” he whispered in my ear, his warm breath making me

shiver. I turned around and raked my eyes over the contours of his inked chest, arms and stomach. God, his abs were so sculpted that I could probably drink champagne out of them if he was lying down. “I think I like this view better,” I replied, curling my lips into a halfsmile. “And you say I’m the forward one,” he murmured. His blue eyes smoldered, and my own brown eyes felt plain in comparison. Excited butterflies took flight in my chest, dipping and diving at the look of pure possession in his gaze. He cupped my face, caressed my cheek

and leaned in, and I barely had time to register what was happening before his lips crushed down on mine, devouring me with the intensity of his kiss. Every inch of my skin tingled with mad desire as his big hands coasted over my shoulders before sliding the zipper to my top down, and I closed my eyes and leaned further in, returning his kiss with equal passion. So much passion sparked between us as our lips met that oxygen seemed to vanish from my lungs entirely, and I could feel my panties dampening with need as my insides clenched. “You’re so sexy.” Drew’s gravelly voice sent electricity shooting down my spine as he pulled away from my mouth

and yanked my top off, and my nipples tightened into hard little nubs under my bra, begging for his touch. There was an invisible pull between us, so thick and strong I could almost touch it. He slid an arm around me again, and within the blink of an eye, he’d thrown me down onto the king-sized bed. I skittered back towards the pillows, watching with fascination as he shed his jeans and boxers. He was totally nude now, and I bit my lower lip as he reached down and slowly stroked a hand over his rock hard shaft. No wonder he was so arrogant… his cock was huge. Was that where the word ‘cocky’ came from in the first place?

He motioned towards the bedside table to the left of me. “Grab me a condom, babe.” As I leaned over to the drawer and opened it, he was suddenly upon me, and I let out a giggle as he pushed my skirt up to my hips, yanked my legs apart and slid a hand inside my black panties. My breath caught in my chest, squeezing its way into my lungs, and with one quick groan he was spreading my lower lips and rubbing slow circles on my clit. “Stop!” I said as I playfully pushed him away. I’d only managed to get the bedside drawer halfway open before he’d attacked me. As I pulled out a condom and shut the drawer a second later, something

caught my eye, and my smile died on my lips. It was a small wastebasket a couple of feet away, and if my eyes weren’t deceiving me, there were two alreadyused condoms lying in it. He must have already had at least one other girl up in here tonight. For some reason, my heart suddenly plummeted into my stomach at the sight of it. I didn’t feel strong, empowered and sexualized. I felt weak, cheap and used, and I couldn’t understand why I’d thought this whole thing was a good idea. I didn’t want to be a virgin anymore, but was this really how I wanted to remember my first time - a hotel room with a perfect stranger who’d never give me a second thought

afterwards? Earlier on, I would’ve said yes, but I now knew that was naïve. Now that I was actually in the moment, I realized exactly how much I didn’t like the idea of casual, no-strings-attached sex. Something about it just felt so wrong, like I’d have to be dead on the inside to enjoy the total lack of real intimacy and meaning. As I hesitated, Drew’s hands were all over me again, stroking, caressing and squeezing, and I abruptly got up and pulled my skirt back down over my thighs before hunting for my top. “What the…” His eyes narrowed with confusion, and I looked down at the floor. “Sorry,” I mumbled. “I have to go.”

“Huh? What the fuck are you talking about?” I cast my eyes around, looking for my black and silver clutch purse. “I have to go,” I repeated. “You can’t be fucking serious,” he said. “You tease me and get me all hard and raring to go, and then you just fuck off before we even start? You can’t do that!” Ugh. He sounded like such an entitled prick. My cheeks burned, and I glared at him. “I don’t owe you anything. You know, women are allowed to change their minds,” I said. “We’re allowed to say no. Amazingly enough, we’re even allowed to vote!”

He rolled his eyes at me. “Thanks for the lecture, Miss Feminism 101. I wasn’t insinuating anything sexist, I was just saying it’s pretty fucking rude to purposely give a guy blue balls.” “Well, I’m sure you can find someone else to take care of that,” I said, gesturing towards the trash can as I finally located my clutch. He looked mystified, as if no one had ever dared to reject him before, and as I turned and strode towards the door, he called out to me. “Wait!” “What?” I replied, turning back to face him. Maybe he wasn’t so much of a jerk after all. Maybe he was about to say he’d be okay with taking things slower.

He smirked and put his hand on his crotch again. “You don’t know what you’re missing out on,” he said. “You could’ve had the best night of your life.” Nope. I rolled my eyes and continued towards the door, not even bothering to look back. I was making the right decision. Yes, I’d led him on, but that was before I’d had the stark realization that this whole thing was wrong for me. It was far better that I leave now rather than do something I knew I’d end up regretting. What did it matter if I’d pissed off Drew the Adonis? He was obviously an arrogant asshole who deserved to be taken down a peg or two for once.

Besides, I was never going to see him again, was I?

Chapter 2 Sophie “I still can’t believe you left that hottie up there all alone,” Cerie said, twirling a red fruit roll-up around in her hands. I wasn’t with her, but I could see her on my computer monitor. It was the morning after our big night, and I was on a group Skype chat with her and Lana. I sighed. “I had to leave. I changed my mind. It wasn’t for

me.” Lana’s forehead creased with concern. “Sorry for pushing it on you. We really thought we were helping.” “You were helping!” I said. “The whole thing was my idea. It’s not your fault. I just decided I’d rather sleep with someone I actually knew. No big deal.” “I was actually referring to the sheer willpower it must have taken you to leave him,” Cerie said. “Seriously, I’d dump my boyfriend for just ten minutes with that Drew dude.” “Does your boyfriend know that?” I teased as Lana giggled. A voice almost identical to mine called out to me from downstairs in our Redmond home. “Honey, I’m back! Can

you come downstairs?” “In a sec, Mom!” I shouted before turning my attention back to the screen. “Gotta go. Mom just got home from her business trip.” My Mom had spent the last seven years working like crazy to keep us afloat, and for the last couple of years that job had entailed regular trips all over the country. I’d always been pretty self-sufficient, so it suited me just fine. Her most recent trip had been to Nevada, and I headed downstairs with a yawn, rubbing my eyes. Hardly anything had even ended up happening last night, but I was still exhausted for some reason. I found my Mom in the lounge room,

and she threw her arms around me in a warm hug before gesturing for me to sit. “What’s up?” I asked, puzzled. I could smell espresso, and I could hear something clanging around in the kitchen. I craned my neck and looked towards it. “Who’s in there?” Mom stared at me and played with the hem of her shirt. She only did that when she was anxious about something. “Honey, there’s something we need to talk about,” she said. “You remember how I told you that I may have met someone a few months ago?” “Uh-huh,” I replied. She hadn’t given me any details other than the fact that she’d started seeing someone, and I assumed she hadn’t wanted me to know

because it was her own private business. “Things have become a lot more serious between us,” she said. “So you want me to meet him.” “Well…it’s a little more complicated than that. Tony, could you come in here?” A tall greying man came out of the kitchen with two cups of coffee, and he set them down on the coffee table in front of me before rising back up to his full height. No way. It was our old neighbor, Tony Buckley. Thirteen years ago, he’d been a single father barely scraping by and trying to build his own company, but when I was around ten, his business had suddenly exploded. He’d moved away from our middle-class

neighborhood to somewhere more suitable for someone with newfound riches, and I hadn’t seen him since. His only son, Andrew, had been my best friend during the time they’d lived next door, and my heart warmed at the memory. He’d been a scrawny kid with glasses and perpetually messy hair, and although we’d both been considered the geeky outcasts of all the neighborhood kids, it had never stopped us from having tons of fun with each other. When his Dad’s company had taken off, I’d been devastated that Andrew had been forced to move. I’d only been ten, and he’d only been eleven, so we were hardly in a position to argue against the decision. They’d left very suddenly, and

I’d never even had the chance to say goodbye properly. I’d had to find out about it from my Mom. “Mr. Buckley!” I said. “What are you doing here? Wait…you’re not…” My voice trailed off. Tony must have been my Mom’s new boyfriend! Why else would he be in our house making us coffee while my Mom nervously spoke about someone she’d been seeing? “It’s good to see you again, Sophie,” he replied, giving me a warm smile. “Now, I guess your mother’s told you that we’ve been seeing each other.” “Err…she was about to tell me, yes,” I replied. They both looked at each other with soppy expressions on their faces.

“We ran into each other on a business trip down in San Francisco a while ago,” Mom said. “We decided to have a coffee to catch up, and well…the rest is history.” “Oh. Um…that’s great,” I said, breathing a quiet sigh of relief. Tony had always seemed like a decent guy, and my Mom deserved a little happiness. She hadn’t exactly had the best luck when it came to relationships. She’d been married to my father for thirteen years, and he’d been a violent son of a bitch up until the day he disappeared. I’d been eleven at the time, and he’d gone off on a fishing trip with a friend of his. There’d been some sort of freak

storm which led to an accident, and my Dad had fallen overboard and been swept away. By the time the Coast Guard had arrived, it was too late and he was gone. They never found his body, but it was assumed he had drowned. So my poor Mom had gone from having an abusive husband to having no husband at all. For someone like her, that was hard. She’d married my father quite young, so she’d never really been alone before until his death, and despite the awful way in which he’d treated her, I could tell she still missed having the company of a man. Since then, she’d gone through a string of douchebag boyfriends, but Tony would be a nice change. Mom began to pick at the hem of her

shirt again, and I arched a brow. There was more. “Mom?” I said, and she sighed. “This is going to be hard for you to hear, so I apologize in advance, but we got a little carried away while we were in Nevada,” she said. I hadn’t realized they were both in Nevada this week, and my chest tightened a bit as a silly little thought burrowed into my brain. Las Vegas was in Nevada. Surely they hadn’t secretly run off and gotten married at one of those insta-wedding places…they had to be referring to getting carried away with something else. But even as I thought it, a broad grin crept across Tony’s face, and Mom held

out her left hand to display an enormous sparkling diamond, although it wasn’t half as bright as her eyes at the moment. “We were talking about what we want for the future, and we decided to throw caution to the wind and just do it.” “So you got engaged?” I said, hoping to God that was all it was. “No,” she said. ‘We’re married. We went down to one of those silly little Elvis chapels in Vegas and tied the knot, and well…now we’re here.” I felt a twinge of hurt in my stomach as her words washed over me. They couldn’t have waited to get married and had a proper wedding? My Mom couldn’t have invited me, her only daughter?

“I know it’s all such a sudden thing, but it just felt so right. We wanted you to be there, but you’d just graduated and we didn’t want to get in your way while you made your final decisions about college,” my Mom said, seeing the crestfallen expression on my face. “But we couldn’t keep it from you any longer.” “You would hardly have been getting in my way,” I replied, my expression darkening momentarily. “Things are going to change as little as possible,” Tony said, trying to defuse the situation. “I don’t want to uproot you from everything, so until you go off to college, I’m going to come and live here rather than make you and your Mom

move to my Medina place.” Mom looked at him as he spoke and then stared back at me, waiting for me to respond. Oh hell. I guess I should have been happy for her, despite her running off and getting married behind my back to our old neighbor. At least I knew Tony and Andrew, or at least knew them almost a decade ago. It was better than her marrying some complete random. “It’s okay,” I said, getting up and throwing my arms around her. “I understand. I…um…I’m happy for you guys.” “Thanks, honey,” she whispered in my ear as she hugged me back. I pulled away a moment later and

looked over at Tony. “So what about Andrew?” I asked. “I guess he’s technically my stepbrother now. When are you going to tell him? And how’s he been?” He smiled. “He’s been great. Working hard since he finished school last year. I actually already told him about your mother and me, and he’s coming over here to see us all soon. It’ll be nice for you two to catch up after all these years. I can still remember you two running around and playing in the mud together like it was only yesterday.” Right on cue, the doorbell rang, and I smiled back at Tony. “I guess that’s him. I’ll get the door.” I dashed out of the lounge and into

the hall, and my pulse raced with excitement as I wondered what Andrew looked like now that he was all grown up. Was he still the same scrawnylooking geek, or had he grown into his looks? My question was immediately and horrifyingly answered as I threw the door open. Oh, hell no. Standing at the door with a polite smile on his smarmy face was Drew. Drew the model from Mint nightclub. God, no wonder he’d looked so familiar to me the other night! I hadn’t just recognized him from his modeling campaigns…I’d recognized him from my childhood as well. Now that I knew the truth, I couldn’t believe that it hadn’t

occurred to me. He was several heads taller now, with perfectly chiseled features and muscles that would make a professional boxer jealous, but the eyes were the same twinkling blue ones that I remembered from so long ago. I’d been stupid to miss it. Dammit, why wasn’t I one of those people who Facebook stalked all their old childhood friends? If I was, I would’ve known who he was the second I saw him last night. Speaking of last night, I’d been in his hotel room...in his bed. I’d kissed him. I’d seen him naked, and I’d very nearly let him swipe my V-card. And now he was my stepbrother. Oh, crap.

Chapter 3 Drew What the ever-living fuck? The gorgeous brunette who’d given me the worst case of blue balls in history last night was Sophie Ramirez? My old best friend and neighbor from when I was a kid…Christ, what the hell was going on here? My mind reeled with confusion as I took in the sight before me, and my father’s voice boomed out from beside her a

second later. Sophie’s Mom, Marie, trailed behind him, a massive diamond on her hand. Jesus. They really had gotten married. When Dad had called me to tell me the news earlier and invited me to the Ramirez house, I’d thought it was his weird idea of a prank. “Ah, there you are. You remember Sophie, of course,” Dad said, patting her on the shoulder and beckoning me inside. A thin smile crept across my face. “Yeah, how could I forget? How’ve you been, Tatiana?” Her face paled, and her brown eyes nearly bulged right out of her head as my father’s forehead wrinkled. “It’s Sophie, Drew,” Dad said.

I feigned an innocent expression. “Is that not what I said?” Marie laughed. “No, you said Tatiana.” I pretended to absentmindedly think things over. “Hmm, I guess I got my words all mixed up. Ah, I know what it is. I was just watching a movie with a main character called Tatiana. I must’ve had the name on the tip of my tongue. Anyway, Sophie, how’ve you been? Long time no see. It must be around eight hours since I last saw you! Sorry, I mean eight years.” Two red splotches had appeared on her cheeks now, and she didn’t meet my eyes as she responded. “Um…I’ve been good. It’s great to see you again,

Andrew. Or is it Drew now?” Her voice sounded sweet, but it was tinged with a hint of sarcasm that could only be picked up by someone who knew exactly what had happened between us last night at the hotel. I still couldn’t believe it was her. When I’d first seen those sexy curves and later had those delicious lips of hers pressing over mine, I’d never suspected in a million years that the hottie I knew as Tatiana was actually my old childhood friend, Sophie. And how could I have known? She’d given me a fake name for fuck-knows what reason, and she looked completely different. There was no way I would have ever picked her as the same girl from all those years ago. The

Sophie I remembered was kinda chubby with frizzy black curls, an overbite and a shy demeanor. Somehow that little girl had grown up into the goddess standing before me right now. Judging by the look on her face when I’d walked in, she hadn’t recognized me the other night either. She wasn’t the only one who’d drastically changed. Since we’d last seen each other before me and my Dad moved away, I’d grown about two feet, gained a shit-ton of muscle and lost the shitty haircut and baby-face. I was a completely different person now. Back then, I’d been a stupid little nerd who liked collecting tadpoles and reading books. And now? Now I was the total opposite. Since I’d grown

into myself in high school, I’d morphed into the kind of guy who didn’t give a fuck what anyone else thought, which of course made me seem awesome in everyone else’s eyes. The looks and money didn’t hurt either. I’d had girls lining up around the block to try and get with me since I was fourteen, and that wasn’t going to change anytime soon. Thank God for that. Since hitting puberty, I’d loved women, and it was a blessing that they loved me right back. We all went into the lounge room, and fragmented memories swept through my mind as I took in the faded floral sofa set, the same old lamp, and the mantelpiece above the fireplace where photos of Marie and Sophie sat along

with a few figurines. When we were seven, Sophie and I had dug up some clay from beside the creek that ran through our backyards and tried to make a teapot for her Mom. We’d even painted the ridiculous lump it had turned out as, and there it was, in the exact same place Marie had lovingly placed it. I sat down next to Sophie, who seemed horrified by the arrangement, if the expression on her face was anything to go by. Dad and Marie sat across from us, both of them beaming from head to toe, and I suppressed the urge to roll my eyes. No way was this real. There had to be something else going on here. We hadn’t seen Marie or Sophie in years… or so I’d thought. I’d helped out Dad

with his company whenever I wasn’t doing photo shoots or promo work, so I spent a lot of time with him. I would’ve liked to think that I’d have known if he was seeing a woman, but apparently he was better at hiding things from me than I thought. I leaned towards Sophie and murmured. “So is that what you do for fun, go out at night with a fake identity? Do you solve crimes and do other superhero stuff, or is your area of expertise focused purely on teasing the fuck out of men?” Her face was bright red now, and she turned her head and ignored me. I found myself wondering again…what the hell was her problem? When you’ve

been hitting the nightlife for a while, you learn to read signals from women as easy as traffic signs. And Sophie had wanted me last night. Oh yes, she’d wanted my body pressed up against hers, my lips crushing down on hers, my dick pushing inside her. But just as I’d gotten her out of those clothes, something had changed her mind…and thank fuck it had. I doubted my Dad would be too happy to find out I’d fucked his new wife’s daughter, even if she was an old friend of mine. Eh, whatever. The last thing I needed to worry about at the moment was more crazy chicks, anyway. My ex-girlfriend Vanessa and I had only broken up a week ago, and dealing with the fallout from

that had been enough girl drama to last me a lifetime. Let’s just say Vanessa made Norman Bates look like a nice, normal guy. “So,” my Dad said. “Isn’t this a fun little reunion?” Sophie and I both paused and then nodded enthusiastically, not wanting to arouse any suspicion from our respective parents. “Well, you’re going to have the next three months to catch up on old times,” he continued. “We’re all going to be spending a lot of time together.” The less time I spent around Sophie the better. Even sitting next to her right now and being able to smell the vanilla scent of her hair was making my cock

stir in my pants, and the last thing I wanted was a constant case of blue balls. Even after she’d left last night, jerking off hadn’t helped at all. I just hadn’t been able to cum. There were a lot of girls I could have called to come and lend a helping hand, or rather a helping pussy, but something had stopped me. “I dunno, Dad,” I replied. “I’ve got a lot of work stuff to do, so I probably won’t have a lot of time. Maybe I could come over for dinner once every few weeks or something.” His expression hardened, and I got the distinct impression that he was about to give me a lecture. He was a nice, easygoing guy ninety percent of the time,

but he wasn’t used to hearing the word ‘no’ from people. I guess I inherited that from him. In the time since his company had grown and prospered, he’d become even less accustomed to not getting his own way, to the point where he always did. I literally couldn’t think of the last time he hadn’t gotten his own way. “Actually, son, you’re going to have to learn to be more flexible,” he said. “Marie and I think it’d be nice to be a family in the short time we have before Sophie heads off to college, so you’re going to be leaving the Medina house and coming to stay in the spare room here for the summer.” I heard Sophie’s breath hitch beside me, and my eyes narrowed. “You

serious?” I’d spent my younger years in a very similar house right next door to this one, but in the last eight years I’d become a lot more accustomed to a higher-grade lifestyle. This little bungalow had some old-fashioned charm, but it paled in comparison to our place, which was basically a modern castle. “Yes, I’m serious,” Dad said, his tone noticeably cooler now. “The spare room is a decent size, and it’s only for a few months. As soon as Sophie’s gone, you can go home. Better yet, you could even think about getting your own place.” For fuck’s sake. Now I wasn’t just being told I had to live here for the

summer, I was also being told I should move out entirely and get my own place. I had a job and a trust fund, so affording something decent wouldn’t be an issue, but that didn’t mean I wanted to move out on my own. I had a sweet deal at my Dad’s place. The staff loved me and did basically everything for me, I had my own indoor heated pool and gym equipment to keep myself in tip-top shape without having to go to a public gym, and it was prime real estate for picking up chicks. As soon as they heard that I lived just down the road from Bill Gates, they assumed I was just as rich as him and their panties practically fell off. We were rich, but come on… “There’s already some furniture in

there, so you won’t have to move much stuff from your other house,” Marie interjected, giving me a warm smile. “And I’m sure you remember where the upstairs bathroom is? You and Sophie can share that.” Great. “Is this really okay with Sophie, though?” I asked in a last ditch attempt to get out of it. Dad and Marie looked expectantly at Sophie, and she blushed. “Um. Sure, I’d love to have you,” she said. “Err, have you stay here, I mean.” The flustered expression on her face instantly made me rock hard. “Okay,” I said, knowing by the look in my Dad’s eyes that I didn’t have a

choice in the matter anyway. He looked satisfied at my response. “Good. Well, why don’t you two go upstairs? Sophie can show you where the spare room is in case you’ve forgotten. After all, it must be…seven or eight years since you were last here?” “Eight.” “Yes, well, have fun,” he said, dismissing us with a wave of his hand. Typical. He’d been here all of half an hour, and he was already taking over and ordering us around like it was his house. Sophie stood up and walked towards the stairs without so much as a word to me, and I followed her. She walked down the hall and stopped outside a door before turning back to face me.

“This is the spare bedroom,” she said, tapping on the door. “Uh-huh,” I replied. “And where’s your bedroom? That’s the one I’m most interested in getting into.” I already knew where her room was. I just wanted to screw with her. “Don’t be a dick,” she said. I affected an innocent expression. “What makes you think I’m being a dick, Tatiana?” “Stop calling me that,” she hissed. “God, I can’t believe how you turned out. You used to be so nice.” I grinned. “I’m still nice.” “No, you’re not. You’re arrogant, and I can’t stand arrogant people.” “Hmm, let’s see…last night you

approached me with the very clear expectation that I’d automatically want to take you home and fuck you. Yet I’m the arrogant one here?” Sophie didn’t reply for a moment, and my grin grew wider. She wasn’t exactly wrong in what she’d said, though. I knew I was kinda arrogant, but at least I had the goods to back it up. No longer was I the skinny ten-year old kid who got teased and bullied at school. It was amazing what a few years and a regular strength training workout plan could do. I was still young, but according to one of my most recent lays, I was already a man in the way that mattered the most. I’d been told that I was the kind of guy that women held up

as some sort of benchmark that other guys could never reach. The kind of guy who made them feel like they’d been sleeping with boys until they met me. The kind of guy they conjured up in their minds when they lay in bed late at night with their purple Rabbit vibrators. However, flattering as it was to hear, I wouldn’t really give a shit if that all changed overnight. So I was good in the sack, so fucking what? There had to be more to life than that. To be fair, it helped my rep a lot to have people saying that kinda stuff about me, so I could hardly complain. “Whatever. Look, let’s just get this straight right now. We used to be friends, but a lot has changed since then. We’re

both different people now,” she finally said, her dark eyes flashing with irritation. I very obviously gazed at her cleavage. “You got that right. You definitely never used to have those.” She crossed her arms, but that only served to push her tits higher. “Grow up. Anyway, as I was saying before you interrupted, we used to be friends but we’re not anymore. So let’s just try to stay out of each other’s way for the next few months.” “Fine. You know, ‘bitch’ really isn’t a good color on you.” She glared daggers at me but didn’t seem to have a comeback, and then she flounced away all in a huff. I knew I was

being childish. There was no need for me to push her buttons, but something about annoying her made me hard as steel. Back when we were kids, we’d sometimes do stuff to annoy each other just because it was funny. It wasn’t funny anymore. Oh no, now it was more sexually charged than amusing. All in all, this was shaping up to be a very interesting summer…

Chapter 4 Sophie I was having the most incredible dream. Warm kisses trailed down my chest, and a hot wet tongue lapped at my delicate brown nipples, teasing them until they were stiff nubs. My core throbbed as a big hand spread my lower lips, and I heard a soft groan as a thick finger stroked up and down my slick folds. The finger began to pump into me slowly,

making me squirm, and I cried out a second later as the finger left and a thick cock took its place in my warm tightness. Heated desire flooded me, and I looked up to see a shadowy man buried inside me. It was dark in the dream, but I could make out the outlines of his muscular contours, and I ran my fingers over his chest to curl them around his neck before pulling him down for a passionate kiss. I wrapped one leg around his hips, lifting myself up to a different angle, and then a wild streak took hold of me. I flipped the man onto his back and straddled him, his cock still buried deep inside as I began to move my hips back and forth, enjoying the

delicious fullness. I might have been an inexperienced virgin in real life, but in my dreams I was a wildcat. The man groaned again as I rocked my hips, and he lifted himself to his elbows so he could nip at my full breasts. My breath hissed out in shallow bursts as I rode him, and he dropped a hand to my pussy, rubbing and rolling the sensitive nub between my legs as the growing knot of tension tightened in me. “Oh yes…” I gasped. “I’m going to come.” My voice broke away in a moan, and the man muttered something. “What?” I asked breathlessly. “Get up,” he repeated. “It’s morning.”

“No…I don’t want to,” I replied as he rubbed his thumb against my swollen clit and tweaked my nipples with the other hand. He leaned forward and moved his mouth over my ear, and then he started yelling. “What…what the hell are you doing?” I said, pushing him away. He kept yelling, only now it sounded more like shrieking. Just as I saw the man’s face in my dream, I awoke with a start to the sound of the alarm on my cell phone going off, and I grumbled and switched it off before burying my face in my satin pillow again. It was Drew. The man screwing my brains out in

the dream had been Drew. Ugh, ugh, ugh. What the hell was wrong with my mind? Why was this happening to me? I’d spent the last week trying to get used to the fact that my Mom was now married to our old neighbor, and on top of that I was being forced to share the house with Drew, my old friend and new enemy. It was so humiliating having him here. Every time we ran into each other on the way to the bathroom or kitchen, he’d call me Tatiana because he knew how much it pissed me off, and I’d remember the shameful way in which I’d speedily dressed and run out of his hotel room. Okay, so giving him a fake name at the club was a bit immature, but I’d had my reasons. It was way more

immature for him to keep bringing it up. The worst part was how obviously attracted I was to him, despite what a douche he was being. I wished there was some switch in my brain that I could flip and no longer feel a thing for him, but instead I had to put up with dreams like the one I’d just woken up from. Sighing, I showered and dressed for the day before heading downstairs to find my Mom sitting at the kitchen table, dreamily staring off into space. “Morning, Mom. Where’s everyone else?” She looked at me and smiled. “Morning, hon. Tony’s at the office, and Drew said he had some early photo shoot at some beach somewhere. I’m not

sure exactly where. Do you want some coffee?” She went to stand up, and I waved my hands at her. “It’s okay, I’ll make it.” Once I had a steaming cup of joe and a croissant in my hand, I joined her at the table. “There’s something I’d like to discuss with you,” she said before taking a sip of her own drink. “Uh-huh?” “It’s about my land.” The land she was referring to had belonged to Mom’s family for several generations now, and it had been passed down to her when she became the only remaining family member alive, aside from me. It was a huge expanse of land

east of where we lived, and she’d held onto it for two main reasons: sentimental value, and the fact that the land had been essentially worthless up until a year ago. If it had been worth something, she might have considered selling it to help keep us afloat after my Dad disappeared, but that hadn’t been an option. Several real estate moguls had begun developing the area around it, and we’d been told her land was probably worth a small fortune by now. She still hadn’t sold it, though. It was a beautiful place with a forest on the far side and mountains beyond that, and the only structures that stood on the whole area were a cluster of small wood cabins that had been built by her family years ago.

A while back, a friend of hers had asked to borrow the cabins every summer to set up a small summer camp for underprivileged children, and she’d allowed it on one condition – that we got to help out. As a result, we often headed over there for a few days in the summer with snacks, supplies and a boatload of fun activities for the kids to do. It wasn’t your usual summer camp that lasted for several weeks and had counselors; the adults that worked there did so on a volunteer basis only, and it only ran for a couple of weeks. It was a lot of fun, looked great on my college applications, and honestly, the best part was that it just felt good to do something nice for the community. Call me clichéd, but seeing

smiles on the faces of those kids made it all worth it. “You’re not selling it, are you?” I said anxiously. She laughed. “Of course not! I’d never sell it. No, it’s about the camp.” “Oh?” “Well, a couple of the volunteers can’t start on the day we wanted, so we’re short on adults to supervise. I was thinking that maybe you and Drew could head up there next week and help out? It’d only be for a day or two.” The thought of having to go camping with Drew made me want to tear my hair out, but I was willing to bet he’d say no to the whole thing anyway. It’d probably just end up being me who went up there

to help out. “Sure, I’ll go,” I replied. “Thanks, honey.” I nibbled on my croissant for a moment before looking up at her again. “Mom…” I said, my voice hesitant. “There’s something I wanted to talk to you about as well.” “What is it?” she asked, her eyebrows knitting together in concern. I bit my lower lip before continuing. “Sorry to change the subject, but it’s just…I was just wondering if this marriage to Tony is actually legal. You know, because they never actually confirmed that Dad died and all.” She smiled. “Of course it’s legal, sweetie. Do you think someone who has

as many lawyers as Tony has would get married without checking first?” A blush crept across my cheeks. Of course. It was a stupid question. It was clearly too early in the morning for my brain to be functioning properly. Mom reached across the table and put her hand over mine. “Your father’s been missing for a little under seven years, and usually the time it takes to have someone declared dead in absentia is exactly seven years,” she said. “But they make exceptions for situations known as ‘imminent peril’. Things like plane crashes, when it’s assumed the missing person probably died. And the boating incident your father got himself into was classed under

that. He’s been legally dead for a long time now.” She never referred to him as ‘your Dad’ when she spoke to me about him. It was always ‘your father’ in a stiff voice. Any other person might not have picked up on such a small detail, but to me it was glaringly obvious. She hated the man, and honestly, I couldn’t blame her. I knew it was an awful thing to say I couldn’t stand my own father, but if people had seen the horrible monster he truly was behind closed doors, then they’d understand. One of the only people who probably really understood was Drew, as much of an asshole he was these days. Seeing as he’d grown up next door, he’d

been all too aware of what went on in my house during my younger years. He’d probably heard my Mom crying, my Dad’s shouts before he smacked her in the face and dragged her by her hair to the ground so he could kick her…and he’d also heard the shaky, wailing sounds of my terror as he crouched in my playhouse with me. The backyard playhouse was the one place I could escape to when I was frightened. The entrance to it was far too small for a tall, heavy man like my father to get into, so whenever I was afraid, I’d scurry into there and turn a flashlight on and off three times. If Drew saw the flashes from his window, he’d make an excuse to his Dad to come next door, and he’d

comfort me for as long as I needed. We never actually spoke about it outside of those moments. It was just something that happened. Most people thought my Dad was a great guy, and they had no idea of the awful things he did to my Mom when they were alone in their home. Although she was short and physically weaker than any man, my Mom was still the strongest person I knew. She’d tried so hard to make sure he never abused me, only her. I didn’t want to hurt her even more, so I’d never told her what he did to me when she wasn’t around to stop him or take the brunt of his anger for me. One time, he’d put a cigarette out on my leg because I’d taken too long to find his favorite ashtray

for him. I’d hidden the burn from my mother under a band-aid and told her I scraped my leg falling off my new bike, because I knew if I told her, she’d say something to him about it and earn herself another drunken beating from him. The day he’d disappeared off that boat had been the happiest day of my young life, as awful as that sounds. I thought Christmas, Easter and the Tooth Fairy had all come at once when my Mom told me he wasn’t coming home. We no longer had to live our lives in terror, constantly walking on eggshells around him so as to not set him off. “Can I ask you something else?” I said after taking a long sip of coffee.

“Of course.” “Why didn’t you leave him? All those years and everything he did to you. You could’ve just taken me and run away.” She sighed. “It wasn’t that easy, Sophie. Trust me, I considered it a million times. He was a nice guy when we got married, believe it or not. A couple of years in, it was like he just snapped. He made me quit my job, he controlled what I wore, what music I listened to, the way I did my hair… everything. Then the physical abuse started. By the time you were four, he was a total sociopath. A far cry from the man I thought I married.” She paused and then continued. “I

told him I was going to leave, and he just sniffed and said we could go, but he’d find us and kill us if we did that. I was terrified he’d go through with his threats. So I stayed. I tried to make sure he never hurt you. For years, I thought about getting us both away and finding somewhere to hide so that he couldn’t get to us, but then he disappeared and I didn’t even have to worry about it anymore.” Her story made my stomach lurch, and I dropped my croissant, no longer hungry at all. She looked at me for a long moment and then continued. “That’s why I’ve always tried to stress how important education is for you. I hadn’t finished my

degree when I married him, and I had no real qualifications outside of the job I was working at the time, which was an entry-level reception job. When he left and I had to work again to support us, it was very hard for me to get back into the workforce after taking so much time off. I’m lucky I’ve already made it this far in just seven years, but it wasn’t easy having to spend time away from you to do it.” I looked down at my coffee cup, and she squeezed my hand. “I never want you to go through that. That’s why I’ve been so tough on you when it comes to your studies. But you know I wouldn’t do it without a good reason.” “I know, Mom,” I replied. I took a

deep breath before continuing. “I think… I think I will accept the place Caltech offered me. I know it’s your dream school for me.” She smiled widely. “So you’ve finally decided? That’s great, honey. I’m so proud.” Truth be told, I still wasn’t entirely sure I wanted to go to Caltech, or even study engineering at all. I’d always been pretty good at math and physics, but that didn’t mean I particularly enjoyed it or wanted to spend the rest of my life doing it. My real passion lay in writing, and what my Mom didn’t know was that I spent countless hours creating all sorts of different worlds and scenarios for the characters I invented on paper. But that

was a pipe dream. For every five hundred people that dreamed of being an author, only one or two ever made that dream a reality. Mom was right. I needed to focus on studying something sustainable; something that would support me if I ever needed it. Writing could just be a hobby for me. Speaking of that hobby, with all the turmoil in my life at the moment, I was feeling quite inspired. I drained the remainder of my coffee, kissed my Mom on the cheek and then headed back upstairs to my room. I managed to get down a whole three thousand words on my laptop before my cell phone buzzed next to me at around lunchtime. It was Lana.

“Hey!” she said after I answered. “Are you still coming tonight?” “Tonight?” She made an impatient clucking sound with her tongue. “Cerie’s cousin is having a party, remember? You’re coming, right?” Crap. With everything that was going on, it had totally slipped my mind. “Oh, right. Of course I’m still coming. Can you pick me up?” “Sure. I’ll be there at about eight. See ya then!” I spent the rest of the afternoon writing more. When giving writing advice, a lot of authors said that it was best to write what you know, and I was really taking that advice to heart judging

by the story that was coming to life on the pages of my word processing program. It was about a teenage girl who’d been thrust into a world of denial and mental gymnastics when she was forced to live with a sexy new stepbrother. Hmm, I wonder where the inspiration for that came from? All jokes aside, there was one major difference between this story and my real life. In the story, her stepbrother was actually a nice guy deep down, and they were going to have a nice happy ending. There was no way anything like that was going to happen between me and Drew. I was going to keep my head down when he was around and try to avoid interacting with him as much as

possible, and when college came around, he’d be out of my hair for good. I’d probably have to see him occasionally at events like Christmas and Thanksgiving, but I could manage that. At seven, I closed my laptop and rummaged through my closet, looking for something to wear. It was quite cold tonight, so I settled on a pair of jeans, a cream-colored top and a black cardigan with a camel-colored scarf. Modest but stylish, and definitely warm. My cell phone buzzed again just after eight with a text from Lana. At ur house. Come downstairs. Xx I swiped on some tinted lip gloss before grabbing my favorite handbag and

heading downstairs, and my heart sank as I saw Drew in the front yard, having a conversation with Lana. He looked even sexier than usual with his hair all messed up, probably on purpose, and they both looked up when they heard me heading over. “There you are!” Lana said. “I just ran into your new bro. Did you know he’s going to be in some Australian magazine spread soon?” Lana and Cerie had been completely and utterly shocked when they’d found out the hot guy from the club was my old childhood friend and my new stepbrother, and since then they’d developed some sort of wildly romantic theory that it was fate. Unfortunately for

them, I knew better. It wasn’t fate or destiny or whatever. It was simply bad luck. “No, I didn’t,” I said, throwing her a withering look that clearly said, ‘Don’t be nice to him, he’s a prick.’ She either didn’t notice my expression or chose to ignore it, and she grinned. “Drew isn’t doing anything tonight, so I invited him to the party. Is that okay, Soph?” Drew flashed me a dazzling smile, and I suddenly wanted to charge across the lawn and slap the stupid grin off his handsome face. I managed to suppress the urge, and I didn’t want to look like a massive bitch by saying no, so I gritted my teeth.

“Sure. That’s fine.” “Cool. Let’s go, then!” Lana got into the driver’s seat of her Range Rover, and I was about to hop into the front passenger seat when she stopped me. “No, sit in the back with Drew. You don’t want him to be all alone back there, do you?” She was incorrigible. Drew smirked and held the back door open while doffing an imaginary cap, and I glared at him as I climbed in. He squeezed in beside me, and he murmured in my ear. “You look good. Although you’d look better without those clothes on.” “Shut up,” I hissed as Lana put some music on in the front. “Why? Am I making you…

uncomfortable?” he murmured, sliding a hand over my knee. “Uncomfortable like a victim of the bubonic plague, yes,” I said, slapping his creeping hand away. “Are you an Egyptian crocodile?” he asked. I scoffed. “Very funny, but I’m not in denial. I just don’t want you. The only one who’s in denial here is you thinking you’re fooling anyone with that ridiculous messy hair look. No one actually believes you just woke up like that this morning.” “I did wake up like this.” “Sure.” He grinned and leaned even closer. “Say what you will, but my offer still

stands.” “What offer?” “My offer to give you the best night of your life,” he said, stupid smirk still plastered to his face. “That was never an offer. Besides, what exactly would you do? Have a competition with your penis to see who can disappoint me the most?” His smile faded. “Whatever. Y’know, with that attitude, the only way you’re ever gonna get laid is if you crawl up a chicken’s ass and wait.” Prick. I’d finally run out of witty comebacks, and he’d had the last word. “Lana, can you turn the music up?” I called towards the front of the car, wanting to drown out any more of

Drew’s bullshit. I simply hadn’t been born with enough middle fingers to accurately demonstrate my feelings for him. The party was in full swing when we arrived, and Drew quickly made himself at home, finding himself immediately swarmed by horny single girls. Of course. I rolled my eyes and followed Lana into the house to find Cerie, and on my way I was stopped by a familiar face – Cerie’s cousin and the host of the party, Andreas Jakobsen. Cerie’s mother was part Norwegian, and Andreas had actually been born and raised in Norway before moving here a few years ago at age fifteen. At six-foot one with a slim figure, blond hair and a

never-ending supply of pastel cashmere sweaters, he was the most stereotypical Scandinavian gay guy I had ever met, and he was also one of the loveliest people I’d had the pleasure of knowing. He squealed when he saw me and hugged me before whispering conspiratorially in my ear. “So that’s your new stepbrother over there? The one with the tattoos? Please tell me he’s gay.” I giggled. “Sorry. He’s straight.” He wrinkled his nose. “You sure he’s not at least bi?” “Definitely not.” He pouted. “Damn. And are you interested in him?” “Also definitely not,” I declared,

maybe a tad excessively. “He’s my stepbrother.” “Well, in that case, I have someone for you to meet,” he said with a grin. “Cerie and I met him a few weeks ago, and I thought he seemed nice. Ah, there he is now.” He waved across the room at a tall brown-haired guy and beckoned him over. “Dan, this is Sophie, the girl I told you about. She’s going to the same college as you in the fall,” he said before glancing back at me. “You are going to Caltech, right?” “Yep,” I said with a smile. Dan smiled and shook my hand. “Andreas has told me a lot about you.

What are you going to be studying?” Andreas interjected with a not-sosubtle excuse to leave before I could answer. “Oops, I forgot to put the ice out. Dan, make sure you take care of her.” With that, he disappeared, and I was left alone with his friend. “I’m going to be studying engineering,” I said. “What about you?” “Same,” he said with a grin. “Maybe we can be study buddies.” The look he was giving me suggested he wanted to be a lot more than study buddies, and to tell the truth, I was thrilled with the attention. Aside from Drew, it was the first male attention I’d had in…well, forever. I saw Drew

narrow his eyes at me from across the room, and I ignored him and turned my attention back to Dan. I was allowed to talk to guys. It was none of Drew’s business. We kept chatting, and after a while it felt like it was only the two of us in the room. Dan was a really interesting guy. He was smart, accomplished and pretty damn cute to boot, and I could see why Andreas wanted to set me up with him. I deserved a nice guy, didn’t I? All women did. We’d just exchanged numbers, and he’d promised to call me tomorrow to organize a hangout. That’s what people our age did these days, apparently. There was never any ‘dating’. It was just ‘hanging out’.

He was in the middle of telling me about the volunteer work he did at a local animal shelter when we were disturbed by Cerie and Lana. “Hey guys!” Cerie said. “You’ll never believe what just happened to Lana.” “What happened?” I asked. Lana rolled her eyes. “Worst pickup attempt ever. See the guy over there in the grey hoodie?” “Uh-huh.” “I was talking to him, and he asked my name. I said it was Lana, and he leaned close and said, ‘you know, that’s ‘anal’ backwards,’ before winking at me.” I stifled a laugh, and Dan grinned.

“Sounds like a solid guy. I hope you gave him your number.” “Oh, definitely,” Lana replied sarcastically before clapping her hands together. “Anyway, we had an idea.” “What’s that?” “Well, we figured that this is probably one of the last parties we’ll have before we all head off into the real world. So we may as well have one last high-school hurrah!” “Go on,” I said. She winked at me. “You know what that means. It’s time for Spin-a-Dare!” I laughed and shook my head. “No way. Remember what happened the last time I got dared to do something?” I shot a pointed look at Drew, and

Lana giggled. “Aw, come on. Do it for me. Please?” She affected a puppy-dog gaze, and I caved. “All right. Let’s do it.” Five minutes later, a whole bunch of us were sitting cross-legged on the floor in a big circle, and Cerie grabbed an empty beer bottle. “Okay, you all know the rules,” she said. “Whoever the bottle lands on has to complete a dare.” “Er…I’ve actually never played this before,” Dan said from next to me. “Who decides what the dare is?” “The person who spins the bottle. I’m going first,” she replied. I smiled at her and then glanced across at the other side of the circle. Oh,

of course. Drew was there. He arched an eyebrow and blew a kiss at me, and I narrowed my eyes at him, hoping that if I concentrated enough energy into the glare, a laser would shoot out and vaporize him. Cerie made a big show of spinning the bottle, and we all waited with bated breath to see who it would land on. As my bad luck would have it, it ended up pointing straight at me. I inwardly groaned, and Cerie’s eyes lit up with triumph. “Okay, Sophie…I dare you and Drew to go into the closet upstairs and give us a nice old-fashioned Seven Minutes in Heaven.” She couldn’t be serious. Dan looked slightly uncomfortable, and Lana grinned

on the other side of me. “Go on,” she whispered. “You have to do it, remember?” “I’m going to kill Cerie,” I said, notso-secretly wanting to slap her. It was bad enough they’d done the whole ‘dare’ thing with me the other night when I’d first met Drew…well, met the new Drew, anyway. And look how well that had turned out. They knew he was my stepbrother now, and they were still trying to hook us up by playing stupid high-school games and forcing us together despite the fact that I’d just met a nice new guy. College really couldn’t start soon enough for me. “I think this whole dare thing needs to go the way of the dinosaurs, Lana,” I

hissed as I climbed to my feet, and she simply giggled along with Cerie. “Ew…isn’t that her brother?” I heard someone say in a hushed voice. “Stepbrother,” Drew corrected them, rising to his feet. Andreas stood up as well. “I’ll take them upstairs and make sure they don’t come out until the seven minutes is up,” he said. He linked an arm with me, and Drew trailed behind us, trademark smirk on his face. “Lucky bitch,” Andreas whispered to me. “Don’t worry, I haven’t known Dan for all that long, but he’s a cool guy. He knows it’s just a game.” He guided us into the master

bedroom upstairs and wrenched the closet door open. Drew stepped in first, and I followed him, my heart pounding. Surely he didn’t actually expect for anything to happen in here. It was just a stupid party game that none of us had played since the ninth grade. The closet was large and decadent, with a crystal light fixture hanging overhead. Andreas switched it on and then shut the door, leaving us in. “Time starts now!” he called from the outside. I stole a glance at Drew and realized he was staring right at me. “You know, they’re gonna want some proof that something happened between us in here,” he said in a matter-of-fact

tone. I folded my arms. “Too bad.” “Come on, they want a show, let’s give it to them.” “Fine.” I stood on my tiptoes and planted a kiss on his cheek, knowing my red-tinted lip gloss would leave a lip print on his face. “There. That’s all you’re getting,” I said. “Good enough for now,” he said, looking bored. ‘We’ll, we’ve still got six and a half minutes to go. We’ve gotta do something to fill the time. Why don’t you start by finally telling me why you were pretending to be someone else at Mint?”

I rolled my eyes. “You wouldn’t understand.” “Try me.” I chewed on my lower lip before replying. “It was like…I just wanted to be someone else for the night. I was meant to be breaking out of my shell, or whatever other cliché you want to call it. So when I thought you were a total stranger, I gave you a fake name. It sorta just popped into my head.” He cocked an eyebrow. “I don’t see why you’d need to be anyone else. The old Sophie is just fine.” “Um…thanks,” I said. “So why me? Out of all the guys in the club that night, why’d you pick me?” I shifted uncomfortably where I was

standing. “Er…it was a dare.” “A dare? Jesus, what the fuck is up with you and your friends? Are you all stuck in the eighth grade?” I didn’t respond, and he grinned. “Y’know, I totally knew it.” “Knew what?” “That you weren’t actually going out every night and fucking random guys with a fake name.” “And how’d you know that?” He snorted. “Because you’re way too uptight to be getting laid.” “What the hell is that supposed to mean?” “It means you walk around with a stick up your ass most of the time. Maybe if you pulled it out once in a

while, you’d actually be able to go through with sleeping with someone, instead of just changing your mind and leaving them with blue balls at the last second.” “Screw you,” I hissed. “I’m not uptight.” “Sure, sure. You know, it’s really amazing that a girl with a personality like yours can’t get a date,” he said, the sarcasm in his voice all too clear. “No, what’s amazing is that someone with a personality like yours can get a date. And for your information, I actually have a date for tomorrow.” His smile grew wider, as if he didn’t believe a word I was saying. “Oh, really? With who?”

“Dan. I met him earlier.” He snorted again. “That guy? Fuck off. I kinda know him. He’s a dick.” Ugh. Of course Drew didn’t like him. No surprises there. “You’re just saying that ‘cause you’re pissed that you can’t have me.” I regretted the words the instant they flew out of my mouth. They were too harsh, fuelled by the last week of pentup emotion and tension. “Bullshit,” he replied, his eyes darkening. He leaned in close, pressing my back up against the door. “Believe me, if I really wanted you, I’d have you right now. Right up against this door.” For a second, I actually wanted him to do it…

Instead I pushed him away. “Get off me! Look, this can’t happen, okay? We live together, and you’re technically my stepbrother, so nothing can ever happen, as much as we want it to. I mean, as much as you want it to,” I said, immediately cursing myself for the Freudian slip. “I think I just made it pretty clear that I don’t, sweetheart,” he said. His eyes crinkled up around the sides, and I knew he hadn’t missed my slip-up. I turned around and hammered on the door. “Andreas! Has it been seven minutes yet?” “Almost,” he said. He counted down the remaining forty-five seconds before calling out again. “All right, I’m coming

in!” He opened the door and looked at the red lip smear on Drew’s cheek before shooting me a satisfied glance. “Let’s get downstairs, love birds.” I playfully swatted him. “Very funny.” The game had continued without us while we were in the closet, and when we walked in, we were met with a chorus of cheers and smooching sounds. I knew I should’ve just smiled and let it go, but I couldn’t help myself. I turned on my heel and marched out the door, and Cerie and Lana hurried after me onto the front porch. “Soph! Where are you going?” I spun around to face them. “What

the hell is your problem?” I said, glaring at the both of them. “You know I don’t like him! You know I met another nice guy tonight! So what’s the deal? Why do you keep pushing us together?” They exchanged glances. “Sorry,” Lana mumbled. “We just thought…” I cut her off. “I know what you thought. You guys think that Drew and I are meant to be, like some cosmically fated entity, all because of a couple of major coincidences. But it’s not going to happen!” Cerie’s eyes widened slightly. “Jeez, Sophie. You know we didn’t mean to upset you. But I’m sorry. Can I say something, though?”

“What?” “I’ve met Dan before. He seems nice, but he’s like the male version of you. Trust me, you’ll get bored dating someone who’s basically just you with a penis.” “I think it’s up to me to decide that,” I said, an angry vein twitching on my forehead. Cerie sighed. “Okay, okay, you’re right. I’m really sorry, Sophie. We’ll stay out of your love life from now on. Promise.” I nodded but didn’t say anything, still seething. “Are you gonna come back inside, or do you want me to drive you home?” Lana asked, her voice tentative.

“I think I’ll just go,” I said. “Don’t worry, I’ll get a cab.” I didn’t want to be fighting with my friends, but they weren’t exactly making it easy for me. They waited with me in silence until my cab arrived, and before I left they both wrapped their arms around me. “Don’t be mad for too long,” Lana said. “I’ll call you tomorrow, okay?” I nodded and stepped towards the cab before turning and giving them a half-hearted wave. We’d had fights before, and I knew it would all blow over soon. I just needed some time to calm down. On the ride home, I stared out the window and thought of Drew pushing me up against the closet door,

his eyes dark with a mixture of anger and lust. He’d said he didn’t really want me, but that expression had definitely said otherwise. Whatever. I needed to forget about it. What had happened between us that night at the hotel was in the past. I’d met someone else now, and hopefully soon the whole Drew debacle would be a distant memory. Things were finally looking up.

Chapter 5 Drew “You’ve come down in the world, man.” My friend Caleb skipped a stone over the water in the creek behind the Ramirez house, and I laughed. “How’s that?” He grinned. “Usually we’d be sitting by your pool in Medina, getting foot massages and watching hot chicks frolic in bikinis, and now we’re hanging out

beside a dirty river?” “I’m only here for the summer. Besides, we can always hang at yours,” I said, trying not to get defensive. Unlike Caleb, I hadn’t been born into wealth, and this creek had been one of my favorite play spots as a kid. We’d dragged a couple of lawn chairs from the back garden down to the water, and we were languishing on them in our shorts and aviators. We’d both taken our shirts off earlier to catch some sun, and by now we were on our fourth beer each. My phone buzzed next to me a second later, and I glanced at the text before immediately hitting the delete button. It was Vanessa, my ex. We need

to talk, it had said. Fuck off, we didn’t need to talk. I wasn’t usually the girlfriend type, but she’d seemed really great when we first met, and I’d taken a chance on a relationship only to discover that she was absolutely insane. She’d somehow gotten into my phone and onto my Facebook account and deleted the contact details and profiles of every single girl and woman I knew, even my cousins and aunts. Fucking ridiculous. She’d seriously been that insecure and jealous. When I’d called her out on it, she’d taken a pair of scissors to half my wardrobe. See? Batshit crazy. “Who was that?” Caleb asked, looking across at me. “Potential action?”

“Nah, it was no one.” I looked across the creek to see four giggling girls on the other side, a little further down. They were all whispering and staring at my abs, and Caleb grinned as he noticed them too, “Babe alert,” he said, giving them a cheeky wave. “Now there’s some potential action.” My mind was on Sophie, but I gave myself the pleasure of checking out the bikini-clad girls. They had the slim, toned bodies of girls who never skipped a gym session and probably subsisted on grilled chicken breast and salad, and usually I’d like that, but that was before I’d had a taste of Sophie’s voluptuous curves. Her body was absolutely

smoking, even when she was just hanging around the house in a faded old dressing gown, and I quickly realized I wasn’t the only one who thought so as Caleb turned his head and let out a low whistle. “Yet another babe,” he said, and I turned my own head to see what he was looking at. Sophie had come out of the house to water the potted herbs on the back porch, and she was wearing a pair of black shorts and a loose, crinkled T-shirt that looked about a hundred years old, even from this distance. My cock stiffened as she bent over to refill the watering can, and I abruptly turned back to Caleb.

“Dude, that’s my stepsister,” I said, suddenly struck by an inexplicable urge to smack him in the face for daring to look at her like that. “What, the one who rejected you the other night at Mint?” he said with a smirk. I threw a bottle cap at him. “Shut the fuck up. You know what she said to me at that shitty party her friend invited me to last night?” “What?” I filled him in on how she’d apparently only approached me at Mint based on a dare, and Caleb snorted. “Who the fuck does dares now? Are they all mentally twelve years old?” “Exactly what I thought,” I replied.

“Pretty pathetic.” His lips pressed into a smirk. “You know what? I’ve got an idea.” “Yeah?” “Let’s be pathetic too.” “Huh?” “If they wanna act like fuckwits and involve you in their stupid games, then we should do it right back at them. You know, if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em, or whatever the fuck that saying is.” “I’m still not following.” He sighed impatiently and rolled his eyes. “Okay, dumbass, I’ll spell it out for you. I dare you to fuck your hot stepsister. Do to her what she was gonna do to you.” I shook my head. “No way, man.

We’re not twelve. Besides, you got any idea what my old man would do to me if I did that?” “So what? Don’t be a pussy. I know what the real problem is. You can’t pull her. You’re off your game.” “Bullshit. I’m fine. You’re the one with the problem. Your game is weaker than a hand-job from a depressed sloth,” I said, annoyed by the thought of someone thinking of me as unable to pull a chick, even if it was a friendly jab. He laughed. “Let me finish. If you go through with it and actually succeed, you get my Phantom.” Dammit, that was actually pretty fucking tempting. Caleb’s old man had bought him a Bugatti Atlantis Phantom

recently, and it was the one car that money couldn’t buy for me. There’d only ever been one made, and he had it. I’d been desperate to get my hands on it for a while now, and he knew it. “And if I don’t succeed? What’s in this for you?” I asked, drumming my fingers against the edge of my chair. One of the girls across the water was watching me closely, her eyes glued to my tattooed biceps. I ignored her and glanced at Caleb, who had a shit-eating grin on his face. “If you don’t, then you have to be cool with me hitting on her. Because that is one fine piece of ass right there.” He let out a whistle and waved, and Sophie looked up and gave him a half-

hearted smile and wave back from where she was standing. I swore I could actually feel my blood pressure rising. Why the hell did I even care if he checked her out? She’d been nothing but a bitch since I arrived back in her life… yet every time I so much as blinked, there she was in the forefront of my mind, invading my brain like a goddamned virus. Jesus. It sounded like I was in love with her with the way I was overthinking everything. But there was no way that was true. As she’d made abundantly clear to me the other week, we’d both changed since we were kids. We didn’t know each other the way we used to, so there was no way I felt anything for her

at the moment other than mutual disdain. “Well?” Caleb said, raising his eyebrows when I didn’t immediately respond. “Fine. Let’s do it,” I finally replied with a curt nod, not wanting to betray my true feelings. What Caleb didn’t know was how desperately I still wanted to screw Sophie, as much as I’d pretended to write her off as some childish bitch. That was crap. As much as I fucking hated to admit it, I hadn’t stopped thinking about her gorgeous face and body in days now, not even for a second, so if I went through with this stupid dare of his, not only would I get to sleep with her, I’d get myself a sweet new ride. He also didn’t seem to realize how

easy this was going to be for me. There was no fucking way I was going to fail this stupid dare of his. Picking up chicks was a piece of cake for me, and once I really laid on the charm and knocked off my douchebag stepbrother act, Sophie would be like putty in my hands. Yeah, we’d gotten off to a bad start, but all I had to do was try to remind her of the times we’d had as kids, when we’d actually been close. If I played into the nostalgic side of things, I could easily worm my way back into her affections, and then into her pants. And soon after that, I’d be sitting pretty in my new car. Yep, piece of fuckin’ cake. This might have been the best deal I’d ever made. Let the games begin.

Chapter 6 Sophie For my Mom, having Tony and Drew move in was like a wonderful dream. She finally had a typical nuclear family who could all have breakfast together around the kitchen table every morning, chatting and laughing like nothing else in the world mattered. For me, it had been more like a nightmare, but dammit, of course my nightmare just happened to

look like a dream come true. Yep, I was talking about Drew. Who else? And speaking of dreams…well, I’d been seeing quite a lot of Dan in the last week, but it was still Drew in my head every single night, invading my dreams with his tight abs and muscled arms. Strangely enough, he’d actually been nice to me for the last few days, but that only made the situation worse. It meant he was up to something. I could just tell, although if you asked me how, I wouldn’t have an answer. Basically, I was just sitting around waiting for a bomb to drop, and it wasn’t a matter of ‘if’, it was a matter of ‘when’. Part of his ‘suddenly nice’ act had involved agreeing to help out at the

summer camp for the couple of days my Mom had asked us to do, so now we were on our way there together. I sighed under my breath as I clung to my cardboard takeout coffee, and Drew glanced over at me from the driver’s side. “Do I turn left up here?” “Uh-huh.” The hum of the city was falling behind us and quickly giving way to the wide expanse of gorgeous Washington scenery, and as we pulled onto the winding road that led to Mom’s land, my heart slowly swelled with excitement. Even though I wasn’t too chuffed about having to go camping with Drew, I was still looking forward to getting out and

about in the wilderness and showing the kids a good time. The blue sky and tufts of forest in the distance filled me with a sense of freedom that I hadn’t felt in a long time due to countless exams and college application essays, and I rolled down my window and took a deep breath of cool, fresh air. My phone had lost signal earlier, but it came back for long enough to receive two texts from Cerie. We’d already made up after our silly fight, and true to her word, she and Lana hadn’t brought up Drew ever since, other than asking how my family was doing in general. I texted her back, and glancing at the clock on the dash a second later, I saw that it was almost lunchtime. The kids would

have arrived at the camp earlier, but there were some volunteers up there already who would be helping them settle in. Our job today was to get all the food prepped for lunch and dinner, and between that we were going to help out with some activities for the kids. “What do you think about setting up an orienteering course for the kids?” I said, looking over at Drew. “What, like learning to use maps and compasses and shit like that?” “Yes.” He shook his head. “Nah. Too boring. They want fun.” “Learning can be fun.” “Yeah, for nerds like you,” he replied. So he was back to being a tool

again. Good to know. He saw my face and chuckled. “Relax, I was just kidding. You’re right, it might be cool to do that. We could make it fun by setting up something like a scavenger hunt where they have to read maps to find the stuff. We can say they’re treasure maps, and they have to learn how to read them properly and figure out coordinates and stuff. But let’s just see what they’ve already got planned. Your Mom said the other volunteers have already set up a bunch of stuff for them to do.” His scavenger hunt suggestion was actually not a bad idea, and I stared curiously at him out of the corner of my eye. Was he actually taking this whole

volunteer thing seriously? I honestly thought he’d only agreed to come to get on my nerves, but he was going out of his way to make cool suggestions for the benefit of the kids at the camp, which I doubted he’d make any effort to do if he was only trying to piss me off. The cluster of wood cabins soon came into view, and Drew parked up the car before helping me get my small suitcase and sleeping bag out. “We’re only here for two days until the rest of the volunteers arrive,” he said. “Did you really need to bring a whole suitcase?” I laughed. “You’re the one who brought five extra blankets.” “I get cold, so sue me.”

I half expected him to make some crack about needing me to keep him warm at night, but he didn’t. Weird. He was really off his game. Some of the other volunteers greeted us, and we were introduced to all the kids soon after. They’d been in the middle of playing a game of tag. “Who wants some lunch?” Drew said, his voice booming over the excited chatter. There was a chorus of young voices all saying the same thing. “Me!” “All right, Sophie and I are gonna go get that ready for you all, so you guys finish your game and then meet us in the main cabin. Got it?” The kids nodded and then dashed

back off to play, aside from a couple of small girls who decided to hug him before giggling and running away. I couldn’t help but smile as I watched the way he interacted with them. Who knew Drew the prick could be so good around kids? They all seemed to love him, and we’d only been here for five minutes. We headed into the main cabin, which had been renovated by my Mom’s friend a few years ago when she’d had the idea to set up the summer camp. One side of it was a kitchen for food prep and storage, and the other was a sort of general area with chairs and tables that could function as a meeting room, dining room or indoor activity room. As Drew got acquainted with the kitchen, he let

out a low whistle. “Pretty decent set-up,” he said, motioning towards the dishwasher in the kitchen. “At least we don’t have to do any dishes. By the way, where do we sleep?” “I’ll be in the big cabin to the left where the girls sleep, and you’ll be in one of the other ones with the boys,” I replied. “Don’t worry, they’re sectioned off so you don’t have to sleep right next to a bunch of snoring kids.” “So there’s no special adult cabin for us?” he said, waggling his eyebrows at me and accentuating the word ‘adult’. “You wish,” I replied with a snicker. He quirked a brow at me, and I felt a hot rush to my cheeks. Don’t even think

about it, I chastised myself. I’d been on three dates with Dan now, and I needed to concentrate on him, not my evil yet sexy stepbrother. I pushed my feelings of attraction aside and got started on making stacks of ham and cheese sandwiches, and Drew got the grill going. The cabin soon filled with the heavenly scent of grilled ham and cheese, and he looked over at me. “Why does your Mom keep this land? You know, it’s gotta be worth quite a bit these days, seeing as they’re developing everything around it.” I shrugged. “Financial worth isn’t everything. The kids love coming out here every summer, and if she sold it that probably wouldn’t happen anymore.”

“Yeah, I guess so,” he said. “Anyway, I’ll put the plates and cups out. Can you go get the kids?” “Sure. Plates are in that cupboard,” I said, pointing to the cupboard on the far side of the kitchen before heading out to get the kids in for lunch. The rest of the day, Drew continued to be nice. He even went out of his way to plan out and set up the entire scavenger hunt that he’d come up with earlier for the next day. It was like aliens had abducted the Drew I now knew and replaced him with a clone of the old Drew, the awesome friend I’d grown up with all those years ago. I hated to admit it, but I actually really liked him when he wasn’t in his douchebag mode.

Just after dinner, the head volunteer stood up at the front of the dining room and clapped his hands together. “Listen up everyone! I just need to quickly go over some details for the scavenger hunt which our friendly new volunteers have set up for tomorrow. You all need to be awake and at breakfast by eight-thirty so we can get started first thing, so make sure you’re all dressed and ready by then.” He went through some more details, and at the end of his speech, he flashed everyone a big grin. “Now…who wants some toasted marshmallows around the campfire?” The kids loudly approved of that, and Drew and I headed outside with

everyone. We all sat around munching on s’mores as the kids chatted between themselves, and one of the older ones caught everyone’s attention a while later. “Guess what? It’s time for scary stories!” she said. The rest of the kids cheered her, and she launched into an urban legend about a girl who’d been babysitting when the phone rang, and she quickly realized the call was coming from inside the house. A chill ran down my spine as I listened. I knew it was just a silly tale, but I’d never liked scary stories. The only horror movies I’d ever watched were ones I’d seen with friends, and even then I hid under a blanket half the time.

Another boy got up and told his own imaginative story about ghosts and monsters in the woods on this very land, and he finished by holding a flashlight under his chin and making a scary face. “And that’s why you don’t go near these woods at night. You never know what could be lurking out there!” There were a few giggles, and one of the other volunteers stood up. “Okay, I think that’s enough scary stories for tonight. I don’t want you to all end up having nightmares. Time for showers and bed, I think.” There were several groans, but almost everyone was pretty tired after the long day, and soon it was just me and Drew left at the campfire.

“You cold?” he asked, noticing the goose bumps on my arms. “A bit. Mostly just freaked out.” “What, by a bunch of twelve-yearold’s stories?” he said with a smirk. “Don’t be ridiculous. There’s no monsters out in the forest.” “I know, I know, it just creeps me out to hear stuff like that,” I said. “Especially the part about Bigfoot living in the woods here. When I was here a few years ago, I swear I saw something out of the corner of my eye running around in there.” I gestured towards the trees, and Drew laughed. “Probably an animal or something. Anyway, we better go clean up the kitchen.”

“True.” We headed into the main cabin again, and I stacked the dishwasher with dirty plates, cups and utensils as Drew wiped down the bench. The other volunteers had already gone to bed, but for some reason I wasn’t tired at all. When the kitchen was spotless, I glanced over at him. “Well, I guess it’s time for bed,” I said reluctantly, wishing I’d brought my laptop so I could keep writing my story until I actually got tired. “Yeah, I guess so,” he replied. “I better shower before I…” His sentence was cut off by a strange cracking sound from outside. “What the hell was that?” I said, my

mind instantly conjuring up memories of the Blair Witch movie. “Probably just a tree branch in the wind,” he said with a shrug before the sound came again, louder this time. I almost jumped out of my skin. “Are there any bears in this area?” he asked. I shook my head. “No. Mom’s friend has wildlife surveys done out here every so often, and there haven’t been any bears anywhere near this land in years.” “Well, we should go check that sound out,” he said. “Sounded like footsteps.” “It’s probably just one of the other adults.” “No, they all went to bed ages ago.

Why would they be wandering around outside?” We heard what sounded like more footsteps, further away this time, and then what sounded like a shrill cry. The cry was probably just some sort of bird calling out, but I couldn’t be sure. “The sound is coming from over near the tree line now,” Drew said, peering out the window that faced the forest behind the main cabin. “I think there might be someone out there. Let’s go check it out.” “Are you freaking crazy?” I said, my eyes wide. “It could be anyone. It could be an ax murderer!” He chuckled. “Or it could just be some lost hikers. We need to check. If it

is an ax murderer, do you really want him coming over here where the kids are sleeping?” He was right about that, but I didn’t want to admit it. “Well, by all means, go ahead and tell the possible trespassers to leave,” I said, gesturing towards the door. “I’m not going over there unless I have a shotgun!” His jaw clenched, and his lips pressed into a thin line. “Fine. Pussy.” “Oh yeah, I’m a pussy because I don’t want to walk up to a possible serial killer in a dark forest.” “We don’t even know what it is. It could just be the wind making sounds,” he said.

“Whatever.” He shot me an angry look and then headed outside, and I sighed in exasperation and ran after him. As scary as this was, I couldn’t actually let him go out there alone. What if there really was some crazy person out there in the woods? He turned and saw me trailing behind him and grinned. “Ah, so you’ve come to protect me from Bigfoot and his serial killer pals,” he said. “Shut up. Let’s figure out what that sound was and then get back inside.” We trudged away from the cabin in the direction the sound had come from, and Drew turned to the side and spoke in a low voice. “You know what I heard

about this part of the state?” he said as we crept towards the tree line. “What?” “I heard people used to go missing in the woods in this area all the time. About seventy years ago, a group of hunters went into a forest not far from here to hunt some deer, and only one of them ever returned. He was in shock, and he never spoke again. Ended up killing himself not long after.” I rolled my eyes. “Bullshit. I think I would’ve heard that legend by now, considering how long this land has been in Mom’s family, but nice try.” “Damn. Thought you were easy to scare.” We paused and cast our eyes around,

but we couldn’t see anyone out here, even with the moonlight slicing through the night sky, illuminating the area for us. “I guess it must have been the wind rustling the trees,” I said. “There’s nothing here, and the crying sound we heard was probably just a bird.” Drew put a finger to his lips. “Shh. You hear that?” he whispered. More twigs snapping. Every hair on the back of my neck suddenly stood on end, and I gulped back hot tears of fear. “Drew…” I said. “We should go back to the cabin. Now.” There was another strange sound all of a sudden, and my heart almost stopped. It was like a mixture of grunts and clicks, and it sounded like something

from Alien vs Predator. “What the hell was that?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper. Drew crept forward, and I followed him, my eyes wide as I looked around in every possible direction. “Hello?” Drew called out. “Is someone out here?” We’d reached a small clearing, and suddenly two deer dashed past us, startled by Drew’s words. One of them was making that same strange sound we’d heard. Of course. I hadn’t seen a deer in ages, and I’d totally forgotten that they could make some really weird sounds. “See? No serial killers and no Sasquatches,” Drew said. “Just deer.

Anyway, let’s…” He was cut off midsentence by a nocturnal bird swooping down right past our heads, giving us the shock of our lives, and I screamed and lost my balance. As I flailed around, I tried to grab the nearest thing I could to keep myself standing, and I ended up grabbing at Drew’s T-shirt and pulling him down to the ground as I fell. I landed on my back on a soft bed of leaves and moss, and Drew landed right on top of me. His face was only inches from mine, and he murmured breathlessly. “You okay?” “Uh-huh.” He was still right on top of me, and he was making absolutely no effort to get

back up. His mouth was close to mine, too close, and suddenly it happened. He kissed me.

Chapter 7 Drew Lying here on the ground with my face only a breath away from Sophie’s, I could see the expression changing in her eyes, even in the dim moonlight. First shock from falling over, then desire as she realized I was still on top of her. She subconsciously bit her lower lip, and I almost lost it right then and there as her eyes danced over my face, searching for

affirmation. And then I did lose it. I couldn’t help myself. My lips crushed against her mouth. Her lips parted under my embrace, and she almost pulled away, but something kept her glued to me. I slid my hands under her back as my tongue snaked into her mouth, and she let out an incoherent murmur as I deepened our kiss. Her whole body trembled under my touch, and despite the cold air, every part of me felt scorching hot. Christ, she was perfect. Suddenly it all felt wrong. I pulled away, unable to keep it going. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to; hell, I wanted to do a lot more than kiss

her…but it didn’t feel right. I’d been pretending to be nice to her for the last week all for the sake of Caleb’s stupid dare, and it had only just struck me how utterly pathetic it was. I was an ass. I’d been using the dare as a smokescreen to hide my true feelings, and now I couldn’t go through with it. She was more than a stupid dare to me, and she was more than a stepsister. I wanted her to want me for who I really was, not for who I’d been pretending to be. If she was ever going to kiss me back or do anything else with me, I didn’t want it to be because I’d tricked her into doing so. She looked up at me when I jerked away, her eyes wide with confusion. “Sorry,” I mumbled, getting up and

extending a hand to help her to her feet. “I shouldn’t have done that. Imagine what our parents would think.” Truthfully, I didn’t give two shits what they might think, but I needed an excuse for now. She didn’t meet my eyes, but she did reply. “Yeah. I’m kinda seeing Dan now anyway,” she said quietly. “That was a mistake.” “Yep. Won’t happen again.” We trudged back to the cabin in silence, and as we stepped inside, I looked at her. “So…Dan, huh?” “Yes. We’ve been on a few dates,” she said. In the light of the cabin, I could see the color rising in her cheeks.

“So you aren’t gonna listen to me when I tell you he’s a jerk?” “How do you know he’s a jerk?” she said, her eyes narrowing. “I don’t know him very well. He’s more of an acquaintance. But I know enough to tell that he’s a sleazy little fuckface.” “How?” “Just a feeling I get from him.” “So I should stop seeing him because of a feeling my stepbrother has?” she asked, folding her arms. I sighed. “You can do whatever you want, Sophie. It’s your decision.” But that doesn’t mean I’m not going to check up on Dan to make sure he isn’t up to anything shady, I silently

added. Awkwardness over everything that had just happened pervaded the atmosphere, and I tried to think of something to change the subject. “Well, all that excitement over Bigfoot has suddenly made me fucking hungry again. What about you? Do you wanna eat, or are you just going to go to bed?” I said. One thing I remembered from when we were kids was that being scared made her hungry. I had no idea why, but it just did. Her Dad had been a fucking asshole, and every time I ran out to her playhouse to comfort her when he was arguing with her Mom, I’d made sure to take a bag of snacks. Munching on popcorn or something sugary seemed to

calm her down, and it was the least I could do. Really, what I wanted to do was go into her house and beat the shit out of her Dad, but an eight year old boy going up against a fully-grown man wasn’t exactly the best idea. “Yeah, I could eat,” she said. I figured something warm would be best, given the cool temperature up here at night, and I hunted around in the cupboards for something quick and easy. “How does mac and cheese sound?” “Sounds good,” she said, taking a seat at one of the tables. “But you’re making it. I made most of the dinner tonight!” I grinned. “I was going to make it anyway, Your Highness.”

I set about heating it up, but I ran into trouble when it was time to serve it. “There’s no plates left in the cupboard,” I said, hunting around. “I think they’re all in the dishwasher from earlier,” she said. I looked down at the dishwasher, and the damned thing was still going. “Oh well. We’ll have to make do with these,” I said, opening another cupboard and pulling out two wine glasses I’d seen earlier. “Why are there wine glasses here?” she asked. “I’ve never seen them before.” “Maybe some of the volunteers drink to cope with having to be around kids all day,” I said jokingly, scooping up a

mound of mac and cheese into a glass for her. She wrinkled her nose. “You really expect me to eat mac and cheese out of a wine glass?” “It’s the classy way to do it,” I replied. “Trust me, I went to a private school.” “All the private schools in the world couldn’t teach you class,” she said, poking her tongue out at me before digging into her food. She had a point. Just because a school was expensive as fuck didn’t mean it taught any decent behavior to its students. The boarding school my father had sent me to was basically a dumping ground for bad rich kids. A lot of

godawful shit went down there. For example, in the course of one year, the following happened: One girl gave five guys chlamydia, another girl had a threeway with two guys in the campus chapel (a real Devil’s threesome, huh?), four guys got high, stole a teacher’s car and crashed it, and three others beat up another kid so badly he was hospitalized for a month. Oh, and six students also got together and had an orgy in a classroom. Definitely not the best environment for a well-rounded education. My Dad could have afforded a better school for me, but he hadn’t wanted to bother doing so. Apparently I’d been acting out too much at my previous school to be worth sending to one of the very top schools in

the country. I hadn’t done too badly since I graduated a year ago, though. I’d done heaps of work for him at his company, and I’d also toyed with modeling all through my senior year upon the suggestion of an old friend of mine whose mother was a famous photographer. After the first proper shoot, things had picked up, and this year I’d been offered a contract with an agency in the city. My agent wasn’t the best, but she’d managed to get me a couple of decent gigs, including the billboard ad. I was also meant to be flying out to Australia in a month to shoot some magazine thing, but I wasn’t entirely sure I wanted to go. Call me

crazy, but I kinda wanted to savor the time I had left with Sophie around before she headed off to California for college. “So what’s with all the tattoos?” she asked, peering at me over the top of her cheese-stained wine glass. “Trying to look like a bad boy?” “What makes you think I’m not?” “I don’t know. I kinda thought you were, but then I saw you today with all those kids. You’re secretly still nice, aren’t you? Just like when we were children.” I hesitated. I’d only agreed to come up to this summer camp and help out as part of my plan to pretend to be nice and entice her, but the fumbled kiss earlier

had made me realize that wasn’t exactly what this was all about. I’d actually enjoyed spending time with her and the kids out here. The way I’d interacted with them had been real. I hadn’t even had to try to fake it. It was genuinely fun, and what she’d said earlier about this land having more than financial worth was dead right. Her mother was lucky that my business-minded Dad hadn’t already tried to talk her into selling the land to his company so he could develop it, because I was willing to bet they’d both make more than a pretty penny from that scheme, and it was exactly the kind of thing he’d do. Not that he needed any more money.

“This one’s my mother’s name,” I said, smoothly changing the subject back to my tattoos. I rolled up my sleeve to show her the name on my shoulder. Elizabeth. “You know, you never talked about her when we were kids,” Sophie said. “What happened to her?” “She died when I was two. She was pregnant with my little brother, and she had really high blood pressure. Neither of them made it.” “Shit. I’m so sorry. I had no idea. For some reason I always got the impression from your Dad that she just left.” I shrugged. “He kinda saw it that way, honestly. He was really cut up after

she died, and for a long time he blamed her for leaving him alone with a kid after she died, not that she could help it. It wasn’t his fault he saw things that way, though. Depression can fuck you up, I guess.” “Yeah.” We were silent for a while, mulling over our own thoughts. “So your Dad,” I finally said. “He went missing from his boat a year after I moved away, right?” “Yep.” “Sorry if this offends you, but thank fuck for that.” She shook her head. “It doesn’t offend me, don’t worry. He was a prick. I still feel really bad for saying it,

though. I was talking about it to an old friend ages ago, and she made me feel like a total monster for not missing him at all. She said he was my father, and I have to love him no matter what he did.” “Yeah, well, she wasn’t there to see the shit he did,” I said, once again remembering Sophie cowering in my arms in the backyard playhouse after the bastard had put out a cigarette on her leg. A lot of kids in my school had taken up smoking to be cool when I was around fifteen or so, but every time I so much as looked at a cigarette, it reminded me of that moment and I felt sick to my stomach. Some things you just don’t forget. “I better take a shower and go to

bed,” she said, standing up a moment later. “I still have twigs in my hair from when we…um, from when I fell over in the woods.” “Okay,” I said, grabbing our wine glasses and walking over to the sink. “I’ll clean these. You go shower.” She smiled and said goodnight before walking out the door towards the other cabin, and I watched her out of the window until she’d gone inside. There was a funny twinge in my guts as I looked at her, and strange emotions took hold of my mind; emotions that I’d been trying to suppress for a long time now. It had been in a childish, innocent way all those years ago, but I’d loved her back then…and now I was pretty sure I still

did.

Chapter 8 Sophie I was back in the city now, and I was on Skype with Cerie and Lana as they helped me plan out an outfit for my sixth date with Dan. The kiss with Drew had only happened a week ago, and I’d tried to push it as far from my mind as possible. We’d both agreed that it was a mistake, and I didn’t want to be the kind of girl who cheated on the guy she was

seeing, even if Dan and I hadn’t exactly made things official when it happened. But damn…it hadn’t felt like a mistake at the time, as much as I’d tried to convince myself it was. “What do you think of this?” I said, holding up a crimson dress to my webcam. “It’s cute,” Lana said. “It’s more than cute, it’s sexy,” Cerie said. “But if you wear a little red dress like that on a date, I think Dan’s gonna be expecting a lot more than a goodnight kiss afterwards. Seriously, if I was a guy and saw you wearing that, I’d go and buy myself a stack of condoms and book a hotel room.” I laughed. “Okay, red dress is out

then. How about that dark purple one I bought last time we went shopping?” Dan and I hadn’t gone any further than a few cuddles and kisses after our dinner and movie dates, and I’d been pleased when he’d stopped referring to it as us just ‘hanging out’. He’d made it pretty clear that he thought I was something special, and I’d completely changed my tune on the virginity issue. I’d been so wrong that night when I went out clubbing with my friends. I didn’t want to just throw it away with some random hot guy anymore. I wanted it to be special. If and when the time came with Dan, I wasn’t going to chicken out like I had that night with Drew, because this time

I’d know it was the right thing to do. But not tonight. We hadn’t really been seeing each other for long enough for me to know beyond a shadow of doubt that it was right, as much as I’d liked spending time with him. I decided on the purple dress, and before I headed out for the evening, I went into the kitchen to get a glass of water. Drew was sitting at the table playing on his cell phone, and he looked up at me with an approving expression as I walked in. “Where are you going dressed like that, young lady?” he said in a joking tone. I rolled my eyes. “Funny. Dan’s taking me to Rida.”

Rida was one of our city’s most exclusive restaurants, and I’d been thrilled when Dan told me where he’d made the reservation. “He’s pulling out all the stops, huh?” Drew said, his face darkening slightly at the mention of Dan. After the camp, we’d reached a tentative level of friendship again, but I still wasn’t one hundred percent sure I trusted him. The way he’d gone from being a douche to suddenly being nice in the last couple of weeks had set off my spidey-senses, and I didn’t believe that anyone could change their tune so fast. I still had my suspicions that he was up to something, but the awkward kiss we’d shared had confused me even more. If he

was only being nice to try and hook up with me, then why had he pulled away and said it was a mistake? Maybe he was going for the long con. Maybe he’d only done that to make me view him as a nice guy, when in reality he didn’t think it was a mistake at all. Or maybe I was just being paranoid. “All right, I’m heading out,” I said, putting my glass on the sink a moment later. “What are you up to tonight, by the way?” He answered as I stuffed my cell phone and keys into my purse. “Dunno, might be catching up with an old friend. Anyway, have fun on your date.” The way he accentuated the word

‘date’ set my teeth on edge, but I fixed a sweet smile to my face instead of letting him know that it annoyed me. “Thanks. See ya later.” I felt his eyes on my back as I walked out of the kitchen, but I didn’t turn around.

Rida was just as nice as I’d heard, and I looked around at all the other restaurant patrons as Dan sipped at his drink. “Is it just me, or is everyone here really good-looking?” I asked. Even the wait staff were attractive, and I felt slightly bad about my thighs as I watched a slim, leggy woman pass by our table.

Dan grinned. “Not as good as you,” he said, reaching over and patting my hand. I smiled back at him, already feeling better. I’d been trying to be less insecure for the last few weeks, but it was hard sometimes, especially when I was surrounded by model lookalikes. “Back in a sec,” he said. “Need to use the bathroom.” As I waited for him to return, I saw a familiar face out of the corner of my eye. Drew. What the hell was he doing here? I turned to get a better look and noticed that he was strutting in with a girl beside him. She was a slim brunette with elfin features that made her look like a modern-day Audrey Hepburn, and I felt

an odd pang of jealousy in my stomach as I looked at her. Drew spotted us and headed over. “Isn’t this a coincidence?” he said, smirk affixed to his face. I gritted my teeth before replying. “No, not really. I told you I was coming here tonight.” “Did you? Hm, I must’ve forgotten.” Bullshit. I’d only told him forty-five minutes ago. I had no idea how he’d even got a reservation on such short notice, but I guess being a hot billboard model had something to do with it. What I did know was that he’d come here to get on my nerves. Why else would he have so conveniently picked this restaurant? What the hell was he playing

at? The girl smiled warmly and stuck her hand out. “You must be Drew’s stepsister,” she said. “I’m Ana.” I accepted her hand and tried my best to smile back at her even though I was mad at Drew for purposely intruding on my date. “Nice to meet you.” “You too. I’ve heard a lot about you. Drew and I are old friends,” she explained. My shoulders sagged with relief as I realized they were just friends, but I couldn’t figure out why. He could go on dates if he wanted. It was none of my business. Why should I care? Drew clapped his hand on her back. “Yep, Ana used to date my best friend

from high school.” “And then he cheated on me, so Drew decided he’d rather be friends with me instead of him,” Ana chimed in. “No shit,” Drew said. “Fuck cheaters.” He gave me a pointed look as he said that last part, but I had no idea why. Was he making a dig at me for kissing him back the other night, even though I’d been seeing Dan? “Yeah, fuck ‘em,” Ana said before putting her hand over her mouth. “Oops. Probably shouldn’t talk like that in a place like this.” I smiled at her, and as Dan returned, she and Drew turned to face him. Dan’s face suddenly lost some of its color, and

Ana’s eyes hazel widened. “Dan! What are you doing here?” she asked. “Just here with my friend Sophie. How about you?” he replied in a nonchalant tone. My heart sank a little as he described me as his ‘friend’. We’d only been dating for a couple of weeks, but it still stung considering how on our last few dates he’d gone out of his way to tell me I was special and really meant something to him. “Does Zoe know you take your friends to such nice restaurants?” Ana said, a teasing tone in her voice. Dan’s face was completely white now, and I had a terrible feeling I knew

where this was going. “Who’s Zoe?” I asked in a small voice, and the smile vanished from Ana’s face. “Wait, I thought you guys were friends,” she said, throwing an accusatory stare at Dan. “If you’re friends, then how the hell has she never heard of Zoe? Zoe as in my best friend and your girlfriend?” She looked back at me as Dan didn’t respond. “Oh my god. You had no idea, did you?” I shook my head, unable to say a word. I was afraid I’d burst into tears if I did. Dan the seemingly wonderful guy had a girlfriend. Apparently I’d just been some sort of side-piece. I’d been feeling

guilty about kissing Drew back for all of five seconds at the camp, yet Dan had been seeing someone else the whole time behind my back. Dan stood up. “Look, I can explain…” Ana cut him off. “Save it, asshole. I’m calling Zoe right now.” She whipped out her cell phone, and Dan immediately smacked it right out of her hand, causing every other diner in the restaurant to look over at us with their eyes wide. Dan turned his attention towards Drew. “You fucking prick,” he said. “You did this on purpose, didn’t you? This is your fault.” “Sure, man, keep telling yourself

that. It’s my fault that you’re a cheating asshole.” Dan’s hands balled into fists, and Drew straightened his shoulders and rose to his full height, towering over Dan’s five foot ten frame. “You gonna hit me?” he said. “Go on. I dare you.” I could see the restaurant manager making a beeline for us. Ana grabbed Drew’s shirt and tried to yank him back. “He’s not worth it,” she said, glaring at Dan. “Let’s get out of here.” I was still sitting, seemingly frozen, and Ana grabbed my arm, gently pulling me to my feet. “Come on,” she said. As we headed out the exit, Dan stormed past us, not even bothering to look back, and more tears welled up in

my eyes. “If you ever try to screw with my stepsister again, I’ll fucking wreck you, you sack of shit!” Drew called out after him. Dan quickened his pace and soon vanished behind another building. “Ana, would you mind catching an Uber home?” Drew continued as we reached the parking lot. “I should take Sophie home.” She nodded. “Sure. I think I should go see Zoe and tell her what the hell just happened before Dan gets into her head and tries to deny it.” She patted me on the shoulder and then headed off, and Drew looked at me and motioned towards his car. “C’mon, get in.”

Suddenly I wasn’t sad over being played by Dan, I was angry. Angry at Drew. I knew I was probably misdirecting my emotions, but I was so mad that I wanted to punch him. “How could you do that?” I asked, my face turning hot. “Huh? Do what? Save you from dating a fucking tool?” “No, it’s not that. It’s the fact that you obviously knew what he was up to, and you never told me. I even asked you the other night why you thought he was a jerk, and you said you just ‘had a feeling’.” He put up his hands. “Relax. I only just found out he had a girlfriend earlier today. I was chatting to Ana, and she

suddenly started going on about this dreamy guy her best friend is dating. She told me his name and some other details and I put two and two together.” “So you’ve known all day,” I said, crossing my arms. “And yet you chose to let me and Ana know what he was up to by staging a huge scene in public. You had to humiliate me in front of an entire restaurant just to make your point!” He had the good grace to look slightly ashamed. “Look, I knew you wouldn’t believe me if I just came and told you in private.” “Bullshit.” “Well, would you have believed me?” he asked, his eyes darkening. I hesitated. I guess he kinda had a

point. If he’d tried to tell me in person, I probably wouldn’t have believed him. I might have just thought he was making stuff up and trying to get me away from Dan for his own selfish ends. But still, embarrassing me in front of an entire restaurant was a pretty nasty way to reveal the truth to me. “It’s just…I thought we were kinda getting back on track to being friends again, and then you go and do this!” I said. “Everyone back there was staring at me like I was a total moron! Do you know what that felt like?” He shook his head and sighed. “I guess this is what I get for trying to do the right thing for someone I care about.” “Oh? How’s the weather up there on

your high horse?” He took a step closer, towering over me. “Are you seriously gonna keep being a bitch? You should be angry at that fucking prick for stringing you along like that, not me. In fact, you should be thanking me for showing you who he really was!” “Yeah, yeah, whatever,” I said before getting in his car and looking out the window, ignoring him as he got in the driver’s side. We drove in silence, and when we were home I got out of his car as fast as I could, slamming the door behind me and then running inside. I heard him come into the house behind me, and he called out after me as I headed upstairs.

“You’re welcome!” Asshole. I threw my purse down and then saw that my Mom had put some of today’s mail on my desk. I hadn’t noticed it earlier in my haste to get ready for my ill-fated date. Expecting to only see more college-related stuff, I absentmindedly flicked through the stack. One letter in particular made me raise my eyebrows in a quizzical expression. It was a small white envelope with my name and address printed on it in block letters, only there was no stamp or postmark. That meant someone had come directly to the house and slipped it in the mailbox for me. Strange.

My blood ran cold as I opened the envelope and scanned the single page it contained. I loathed that cliché, but when something terrifies you, you really can feel it all throughout your body. Your blood literally feels cold in your veins, and your heart almost stops pumping for a moment. I’d thought the woods experience at the summer camp had been scary, but that was nothing compared to this. The letter only said one thing, but it was enough to make my mouth go dry in an instant. Hello, darling. Miss me? Don’t worry, I’m coming home to see you soon. The time is nearly right. Love,

Daddy Normally I would have thought it was some sort of sick prank, but I remembered exactly what my father’s handwriting had looked like. This was it, without a doubt. Not only that…the paper smelled like him. I still remembered his cologne as clear as day, and there was a hint of it on the letter. But how was that possible? He was dead, wasn’t he? Not according to the paper I held in my shaking hands right at this moment. I suppose they never did find his body. Maybe he had survived and washed up somewhere, and decided to fake his own death for the last seven years for whatever reason. Who knew

what that man was capable of? All I knew was what was right in front of me. The letter was from my father. He was alive.

Chapter 9 Drew Game over. For now. Not that any of this was really a game anymore. I watched Sophie storm away, and it got me so hard that I was just about ready to explode, right here in my boxers like a thirteen year old boy who’d just touched his first boob. Jesus, even when she was mad and screaming at me, she still made me horny as hell.

I sighed and then headed back outside to my car. Screw being in the house with her tonight. All that would achieve was making me feel guilty as fuck. Deep down, I knew that I should feel that guilt. She was right. I shouldn’t have humiliated her in public. It was a dick move. I hadn’t wanted her with Dan because I wanted her to myself. I was being selfish, but at the same I was trying to help her because of how much I cared. I knew that guy, and I knew he was bad for her, especially after I’d found out he was dating my friend Ana’s best female friend. If I had Sophie, I wouldn’t string her along and cheat like that asshole had done. No, I’d treat her how she

deserved. I hadn’t exactly made the best attempt at showing her that tonight, though, and I cursed myself for being such an asshole. Why the fuck had I thought it would actually be a good idea to expose Dan’s seedy behavior right in the middle of their date? I’d blown off a promo gig at a club tonight, but it was still pretty early and I needed something to take my mind off everything. I called up my agent, and she said if I could make it to the place within the next half hour, I’d still get paid. Just as I went to start my car up, I got a text. Goddammit, it was Vanessa the ex. She’d been texting me every day for the last couple of weeks, and I’d ignored and deleted every one of the messages.

Too bad for her. She could beg and plead all she wanted, but I wasn’t getting back with her. Please call me. I’ve been trying to contact you, but you aren’t picking up or texting back. It’s really important, the text said. Sure it was. I deleted it and then gunned the engine, speeding down the quiet suburban street. I had better things to do than deal with Vanessa’s shit. Right now all I cared about was thinking of some way to make things up to Sophie.

I was only an hour into the promo shift when one of the bartenders motioned for

me to go over to him. “What’s up?” I said, practically having to shout over the thumping bass of the music. He pointed down behind the bar where I’d left my phone and keys. “Your phone’s been blowing up for the last half hour,” he said. “I think it’s your father.” I strained to hear him. “Huh?” “I said your father is trying to reach you!” Shit. Okay, then. That was weird. My Dad never called me this late at night. I grabbed my phone and saw that it had eleven missed calls and three voicemails, and I found a quiet spot somewhere and listened to the messages.

‘Drew, wherever you are, I’d like you to come home right away,’ the first message said. ‘It’s a family matter.’ The next two messages were much the same, only more urgent sounding. I went back to the bar, grabbed my keys and then strode away. “Hey, where are you going?” the bartender called out after me. “You models only get paid if you stay till two!” I didn’t turn around, and I held up my hand in a dismissive gesture so he’d know how little I gave a fuck. As soon as I got in my car, I dialed my Dad’s number, and I put him on loudspeaker when he answered on the second ring. “Dad, what’s going on?” I asked.

“Where are you?” he asked, ignoring my question. “I was at work, but I’m coming home now. I only just got your messages.” “Good. Hurry up.” With that he hung up, and I was left mystified. What the hell was going on that was so important? When I finally pulled into the street, I saw two police cars parked up on the curb, and my heart began to thump faster and faster in my ribcage. Shit. What if something had happened to Sophie? I raced inside as quick as my legs could carry me, and I breathed a sigh of relief as I saw Sophie alive and well, sitting at the kitchen table with Marie and two police officers. Her face was

tearstained, and I felt a surge of protectiveness. I wanted to go and hug her, but I doubted she would have appreciated it after our argument earlier. “What’s going on?” I asked for what felt like the hundredth time already. “Sit down,” my Dad said. “Don’t worry, son, you haven’t done anything.” I took a seat at the head of the table, and the two officers introduced themselves and asked me a bunch of questions. Had I seen anyone hanging around the house, had I heard anything, yada yada. “Look, are you going to tell me what this is about or what?” I finally said, narrowing my eyes. Dad sighed. “Something happened

earlier. Sophie received a letter, and it appears to be from her father.” “What?” I asked, my eyebrows shooting up. “He’s dead!” “Declared dead in absentia, but never actually confirmed dead,” one of the officers said. “But it’s been seven years. If he was still alive, why the fuck would he only show up now?” “That’s what we’re trying to figure out,” the other officer said. “We’re trying to find out if this was just a prank, or if he really is alive. And if he is alive, we need to find out why he’s only come back now.” “It’s gotta be a prank,” I said, and Sophie glared at me.

“It’s not!” she said. “I know his writing! And I can smell his cologne on it.” Marie’s face was white. “She’s right,” she said quietly. “It’s his handwriting.” A woman in a dark blue jacket marked with a white CSI emblem walked in. “We haven’t found any shoeprints outside that come from anyone other than the people in the house. We also dusted the mailbox for any fingerprints, but there’s nothing there. It’s been wiped down.” “Surely there must be something,” my Dad said. She nodded. “There is. I took a look at the envelope the letter came in, and

there’s a bit of hair stuck to the sticky part that sealed the envelope shut.” “Can you get DNA from hair?” I asked. “Sometimes. Actual hair itself, no, but hair follicles can provide DNA. This piece of hair looked like it still had part of the follicle attached. Looks pretty degraded, honestly, but I think we should be able to get a sample.” “So what do you need from us?” Dad asked. One of the officers looked at Marie. “If you still have anything belonging to your ex-husband, something like a toothbrush, it would be very helpful. That way we have something to match our sample against.”

Marie was silent, and Dad looked at her before looking at the officers. “There is some stuff,” he said. “A few boxes up in the attic. She didn’t throw all of his stuff away.” I was surprised to hear that. Maybe she’d expected him to return one day, or maybe she simply hadn’t had the heart to throw it all out after he’d vanished, despite everything he’d done. “Can you go and have a look, then?” Dad nodded and headed upstairs, and Marie and Sophie clung to each other, clearly terrified. “It’s probably not his hair on the envelope,” I said, trying to make them feel better. “I bet it’s just some shitty prank.”

“But who would do such a horrible thing?” one of the officers said, giving me a suspicious glance. “Don’t look at me. I dunno.” My Dad returned a moment later. “I found what I assume is his old toothbrush,” he said, holding up a blue toothbrush. Marie nodded. “Yes, that was his,” she said in a small voice. “I also looked for an old comb to see if there was something you could directly compare the hair from the letter to in case you couldn’t get a DNA sample from it, but I couldn’t find one. I’ll have another look tomorrow.” “The toothbrush should be fine,” the CSI woman said, extending a gloved

hand and taking it from him before sliding it into a plastic evidence bag. “I’ll take it now.” She left the room, and the two officers stood up. “We’re going to watch the house tonight, but I’d suggest you all go and stay somewhere else tomorrow,” one of them said. “Somewhere where your ex-husband won’t suspect.” Marie nodded, and my Dad squeezed her shoulder. “That’s fine. We’ll go to my house in Medina tomorrow and stay there until this is resolved. Thank you, officers.” “Try to get some sleep. We’ll be right outside.” With that, they were gone, and I looked at Marie and my Dad. “If it’s

okay with you guys, I think I’ll drag my mattress into Sophie’s room and sleep on her floor. That way even if the cops miss anything, I’ll be right there if he tries to break into her room. Not that I think he actually will, but you know… just to be safe.” Marie nodded. “Thank you, Drew.” Sophie barely reacted at all to the idea of having me in her room, clearly too stressed over the whole incident for it to even register in her mind that she was annoyed with me. Fifteen minutes later, we were in her room, and I threw a blanket and a pillow down on the mattress on the floor before watching her climb into bed and snuggle under a thick layer of blankets.

“Want me to turn the light off or leave it on?” “Off,” she said. “I can’t sleep with any lights on.” I switched it off and then slid under the blanket on my mattress, and I heard her sniffling a moment later. I got up and sat on the edge of her bed, and she pushed me away as I tried to pat her on the back. Sighing, I got back onto my mattress and lay there with my eyes wide open, listening as her sniffles finally turned into soft snores. I didn’t sleep a wink that night. I needed to know she was safe, and the only way I’d know that is if I stayed awake, right here next to her.

Chapter 10 Drew First thing the following morning, my Dad moved us all to our house in Medina. Even if Sophie’s father was still alive and knew Marie had remarried, there was no way he’d be able to get anywhere near our house. With two full-time security guards, high fences, security gates and a state-of-theart alarm system and panic room, he

wouldn’t have a chance. By the early afternoon, I was moving the last box of stuff into Sophie’s new bedroom, right across the hall from my own. With all the drama in the last sixteen hours, the whole Dan situation seemed to have been dropped. I still felt guilty for the shitty way I’d handled it, but Sophie seemed to have forgiven me. I guess having her crazy Dad possibly back in the picture made her realize that in the end, I had been a douche, but it wasn’t anywhere near the worst thing in the world. “Where do you want this?” I asked, setting the box down for a moment as I waited for her to emerge from the closet where she’d been unpacking her clothes.

“Just anywhere is fine for now,” she said, coming out with an incredulous expression on her face. “That closet is bigger than my entire room at home.” I grinned. “Yeah, there are some perks to having a rich Dad.” Her surprised expression faded into a grimace at the mention of the word ‘Dad’, and I mumbled an apology and picked the box back up. It was filled with notebooks and paper, so I assumed it belonged somewhere near her desk. “Hey, what’s this?” I asked, picking up a sheaf of papers that had been sitting at the top. They were stapled together, and there was a printed title on it that said ‘Forbidden Steps’. Her eyes widened as she snatched it out of my

hand. “Don’t touch that!” she said. “Why?” I asked, arching a brow. “Have you written bitchy things about me in there or something?” She blushed. “No. It’s just an early draft I printed of a story I’m writing. It has nothing to do with you.” “I didn’t know you wrote stories.” She looked down at the floor. “Um… yeah, I do. It’s just a hobby.” Judging by the amount of papers with scrawled writing on them in the box, it was a lot more than a hobby, but I didn’t say anything else about it. “Right. Let’s go grab some lunch.” “I’m not hungry.” “Well, too bad, you need to eat,” I

said. I knew she was lying. She was always hungry when she was frightened, and with everything that was going on, she was scared out of her mind. She just wanted to hole herself up in her room right now, but I wasn’t going to let her do that. “C’mon,” I said, grabbing her hand. “I’ll make you some popcorn with powdered sugar on top….” She gave me a watery smile. “Fine.” “I knew you wouldn’t say no to that,” I said with a grin. “All right, I’ll show you the kitchen first, and then we’ll eat.” My phone buzzed in my pocket as we headed downstairs, and I checked the caller ID. It was Caleb. I ignored it for now. He’d been texting and calling a lot

lately, checking up on the ridiculous dare he’d made, and I couldn’t be fucked explaining that it was off. I didn’t give a shit about winning his Phantom, even if it was an awesome car that I couldn’t otherwise get my hands on. What I actually cared about was Sophie. We spent the rest of the day hanging out in the house and watching old movies in the cinema room. I made sure to pick all the ones she’d always insisted on watching over and over again when we were kids, and she rolled her eyes as I put on Roman Holiday. “Seriously? You want to watch this?” she asked. “Hey, I never wanted to when we were kids, but you forced me to watch it

with you so many times that I can’t help but like it now,” I said with a wink. She smiled, and it was good to see her finally relaxing a bit. I think she finally knew how safe she was here. No one could touch her as long as she stayed within my sight. My Dad came and found us at eight. “There you two are. Are you going to join us for dinner?” Ten minutes later, we were all sitting around the main dining room table, enjoying a rich and hearty French beef and red wine casserole. “Did you make this, Marie?” I asked between big mouthfuls. “It’s so good.” She smiled. “Yes, I did. Thanks, Drew.”

Sophie opened her mouth like she was about to say something and then closed it again. She did it three times before finally speaking. “Um…Mom…did you hear anything about the letter yet?” she asked. Marie’s smile faded, and Dad answered for her. “Yes, we did. I have some connections, and I managed to get the lab work expedited. We were going to tell you after dinner, but I suppose we have to now, seeing as you asked. They got some DNA from the hair on the envelope, and they compared it to the DNA they managed to get from the old toothbrush.” “And?”

He exchanged a glance with Marie before looking back at us. “It was a match. Your father sent the letter, Sophie.” Her face paled, and she dropped her spoon with a clatter. Marie immediately got up and sat right next to her, rubbing her shoulders and making soothing sounds. “I’m sorry, honey. But it’s going to be okay. We’re safe here,” she said. “I know.” There was a tense silence for a few minutes until Sophie spoke again. “I just don’t understand how he faked his own death. Have they spoken to the friend he was with on the boat that day?”

“Yes, the police have interviewed him, and he swears up and down that your father went overboard. But you know your father. He wasn’t nice, but he was smart. He could’ve fooled anyone.” “But why?” Sophie continued. She’d obviously had these questions at the forefront of her mind, and it was all coming out now. “Why would he fake his own death in the first place?” Marie shook her head. “I don’t know. I really don’t. The only thing I can think of is that his business wasn’t doing so well when he disappeared. That’s why there was hardly anything left to live on when it happened. The failing business had almost sent us bankrupt.” “Oh.”

The maid came and cleared away our plates, and Sophie abruptly stood up. “I’m going to shower and then go to bed,” she said. “Okay, honey. We’ll talk again in the morning,” Marie said. They hugged, and then Sophie padded out of the dining room. I followed not long afterwards, and as I lay on my bed staring at the ceiling ten minutes later, my entire body felt restless. Springing to my feet, I headed across the hall to Sophie’s room and knocked on her door. She answered a moment later, wearing only a towel wrapped around herself. “Oh, sorry,” I said, averting my eyes. “I forgot you were showering.”

“It’s okay, I already got out,” she said. “I couldn’t remember where I put my pajamas, so I’ve been hunting in the closet for the last few minutes.” “Right. Well, I just wanted to tell you that if you need anything at all, you know I’m right across the hall.” “I know. Thanks.” “Seriously, Sophie. I don’t give a shit if it’s three in the morning or any other time - if you need anything or feel scared, you come and wake me up. Got it?” I turned to leave, and she called out to me and grabbed the back of my shirt before saying one word. One beautiful word. “Wait.”

Chapter 11 Sophie Drew turned back and looked at me, a question in his eyes. Emotion brimmed up in my own eyes, and I spoke in a soft voice. “You’re always trying to rescue me,” I said. His forehead creased with confusion. “What do you mean?” he asked.

I knew he probably didn’t even remember this, but an old memory made images flood into my mind. I’d been around eight at the time, and I’d been out one morning riding my new bike around. I’d been thrilled when my Mom bought it for me, because it was all shiny and pink, and then Wesley Hoss from across the road had strolled over to me with his little gang of friends. They’d started teasing me about my pink bike, and then Wesley had pushed me off it. As I sat on the ground in tears, my elbows grazed and my shorts splattered in mud from a puddle I’d half-landed in, they’d all laughed uproariously at my embarrassment until Drew had shown up.

He’d been collecting tadpoles in the creek behind his house and must have heard me crying, and he’d torn across his yard and headed straight for us before shoving Wesley. Wesley hadn’t been expecting it, and he’d slipped over right into another puddle, much to the amusement of his so-called friends who had instantly started to mock him instead. Drew was half Wesley’s size, but he’d had no trouble standing up for me when I needed it the most. As if pushing Wesley hadn’t been enough, he’d then shouted at him for picking on a girl until he and his little gang took off on their own bikes. “I just meant…you’re always here when I need you,” I said, unable to

express everything I really meant. I’d figured he was incapable of changing back from the asshole I thought he’d become, but he’d proven me wrong. Maybe he was an asshole some of the time, but deep down, he was still the same old Andrew; the nice kid who’d always been there for me when I was scared and upset. When all the crap had happened with my Dad returning to haunt us, he’d stepped up and done everything he could to make me feel safe. I didn’t just feel safe. I felt something else. A deep longing to touch him, hold him, kiss him the way I had that night in the woods. I’d tried to fight those feelings off, but that kiss had meant something whether or not I’d wanted to

admit it. And now I was admitting it. He took a step closer. “Sophie…” he murmured, reaching out and tucking a loose strand of damp hair behind my ear. Without warning, his lips were on mine. Shocked, I stood there and let him kiss me. It wasn’t rough or hard like the last time he’d kissed me. He simply pressed his lips close and gently touched them to mine. His mouth was scorching against mine, and he reached out and placed a hand on my arm, gently stroking my skin. As soon as he touched me, I felt as if a thousand butterflies had taken flight in my stomach. He pulled away just as a soft moan escaped my mouth.

“Sorry. I shouldn’t have done that. You don’t need this right now,” he said, looking right in my eyes. A thousand replies bubbled to my lips and died before I could get any of them out. The heat that radiated from his body warmed me up along with the fire in my belly that the touch of his lips on mine had kindled, and his hand on my arm sent sharp, tingling shivers down my spine. Being here with him now just felt so right. I’d tried to push my feelings for him down, right down where I couldn’t reach them, but now they were rushing back to my brain and making me mad with desire. I wanted him like crazy, and that fact was completely and utterly undeniable.

“No,” I finally said. “I do need this. I need you.” I tilted my chin up and kissed him again, and his big hands coasted over my shoulders, stroking and caressing my smooth skin. I could feel the area between my legs getting wet with desire from his stroking fingers alone, and a soft groan of pleasure escaped my mouth as I pulled away. “I want you,” I continued. “I want you now.” “Are you sure?” he asked. “Yes.” His eyes came alive with passion as I spoke, and he moved his lips to my neck. His hand moved under my towel and slid lower and lower, and then his

fingers were gently stroking over my clit. A soft cry escaped my mouth as he massaged with expert precision, and my body shuddered in response. The rapidly approaching pleasure was already threatening to engulf me, and I gripped his strong shoulders to keep steady. He pulled away all of a sudden, and I whimpered. “Don’t stop.” “Come on,” he murmured, pulling me across the hall and into his bedroom. He closed the door, pulled his shirt off and pushed me down onto the bed, and I laid back and stretched out, allowing him to see my entire body as my towel fell away. He was the first man who’d ever seen me fully naked. Even on that night back at the hotel after Mint,

he hadn’t seen me in anything less than a bra and skirt. I was nervous about what was going to happen, but that didn’t mean I didn’t want it more than anything. He flashed me a mischievous grin and grabbed my hands, our fingers entwining as he raised my hands to his shoulders, bringing us even closer together. I ran the tips of my fingers over his broad shoulders and down his back and sides, squeezing and feeling the hard muscle that lay there. With every kiss that he planted on my neck and chest, little jolts of lightning shot through me in a tantalizing preview of what it would be like to feel him finally moving within me, taking my virginity in one hard thrust.

He raised his head up and then brought his lips down on mine again, and the fire that had started to build in my belly earlier quickly became a raging inferno. I gasped in my crazy desire for him, and he pulled away, grinning. “I knew this’d happen again after that first night at Mint,” he said, cupping and squeezing my breasts in both hands. “You can’t resist me either.” “Shut up and kiss me again,” I said breathlessly. His eyes were wild with barelycontained primal lust. His jaw clenched, and each breath came fast and heavy as he took in my curves, grinning as he watched my delicate nipples harden at his touch. Leaning down, he kissed me

again, and this time, his tongue slowly darted out of his mouth, trying to slide between my lips. I parted my lips, allowing his tongue to finally glide sensually in, entwining with mine and sending more and more lightning coursing through my veins. The embrace seemed to never end as we hungrily explored each other’s mouths, tasting and mapping every little part of each other. I could feel his heart beating like crazy, and I knew that my own pulse was just as quick. It was as if we matched up in every way, and I finally knew for certain that this couldn’t possibly be wrong, even if our parents were married to each other. He gently nipped at my lower lip and

then slid down the bed, propping himself up on his elbows once he was between my thighs. I looked down at him, and he looked back up at me with a wicked expression before nipping at my thighs. I gasped at the strange mixture of pleasure and pain and then moaned with delight as his mouth moved ever-closer to my center. His warm tongue slid along the sensitive line where my thighs met the area between my legs, and I sighed with anticipation, almost unable to wait any longer but knowing at the same time that it would be worth the wait when he finally gave me what I wanted so badly. Drew moved one hand between my legs as he continued to lick and nibble the sensitive line, and he lightly brushed

the pad of his thumb over my clit with delicate precision. Another soft moan escaped my mouth as his thumb touched the already-swollen nub, and I couldn’t bear it any longer. “Oh… please!” I begged. “More.” I felt him smile against my thighs, and seconds later his tongue was parting my folds, sliding up and down from top to bottom in long, fluid movements as his thumb continued to brush over my clit, gently rubbing and stroking it in small circles. I almost felt like crying with relief, and I threw my head back and closed my eyes, savoring every single sensation that was flooding through my mind and body as he worked away between my legs.

He moved his mouth onto my clit and began to suck and gently nibble the throbbing bud. I gasped as he slid one thick finger between my folds and then inside of me, exploring and feeling my tight wet warmth. Even though it was just a finger, I thought it would hurt given that I was still a virgin, but it didn’t at all. Drew groaned as he slowly pumped the finger in and out, and I moaned loudly as the vibrations from his mouth sent shockwaves spiraling throughout my entire body. The thought of coming with him inside me sent another shiver running down my spine, and I slid my hands to his head, running them through his messy hair as his mouth traced delicious patterns over and around my

clit. He was playing my body with the touch of a master, and for a brief second, I wondered how he’d gotten so good. I quickly pushed the thought aside. This was no time to be jealous of the other girls he’d been with. My hips began to arch, willing his finger to explore deeper. I continued to move against him, thrusting my body wildly against his hand and squeezing my eyes shut as tight as possible as his fingers slid in and out of my core before curling up in a beckoning motion inside me. They pressed against a sensitive spot on my front wall, and I cried out in ecstasy. “Oh god… ” I moaned, my breaths coming shallow and fast.

He took my words as a sign to quicken his movements, his tongue still rapidly circling over my clit as he increased the pressure and speed that he was using with his fingers. My body began to spasm wildly around him as warm waves of pleasure washed over me, seemingly sweeping me over the falls and into an abyss where my mind no longer worked and my legs were able to twitch and shake on their own without me being able to control them. Every muscle in my body soon clenched, and my toes curled as my back arched tightly. My eyes were open, but I swore that all I could see were flashes of white light as I quivered beneath him. I’d never felt anything like it.

As I moaned and whimpered with pleasure, Drew moved back up the bed and ran his hands all over my body, and then he leaned down and kissed me again. I could taste my sweet, tangy juices on his mouth as I kissed him back, and I reached out to clutch his shoulders, needing to hold onto something solid as my entire world seemed to spin out of control. Dipping his head, he took one of my stiff nipples in his mouth and sucked it before drawing patterns on my sensitive areola with his tongue. The inferno was still blazing in my body despite the enormous pleasure that he had just brought me, and I knew that I needed more; I needed him to put it out. I needed

him to hold me down and fuck me hard. Every nerve ending was on fire as he raised his head and kissed me again, and I parted my legs for him, imploring him with my eyes. His own eyes blazed, and I felt his hardness pressing up against my entrance. I didn’t even remember him taking his pants off or sliding the condom on, but my mind was so clouded with desire right now that anything could have happened and I probably wouldn’t have noticed. All I could see was his face, his jaw clenched and his eyes burning with arousal as he rubbed himself up and down my wet slit, teasing me until he knew that I couldn’t take it anymore. He kissed me once more, and then he

was inside me, thrusting deeply, sending more shockwaves through my system and making me cry out. It hurt for a second, but quickly gave way to a warm, wonderful feeling of being stretched in the best kind of way. I arched my back and hips up, pulling him in even deeper as he continued to move in and out, and then I pulled one of my knees up to my chest. He groaned and grabbed my leg, throwing it over his shoulder. He moved his hips in a circular motion, and I gasped with pleasure, savoring every second as his groin bumped against my clit with each movement. As I gasped, he moved his head down and nipped at my breasts again, giving me that same wicked grin as he

saw goose bumps spread rapidly over my chest and arms. Increasing his tempo, each thrust came harder and faster, making my eyes nearly roll back in my head with ecstasy as his groin rubbed up against my swollen bud, sending another warm wave of pleasure crashing over me. “Get on top, babe,” he commanded after what felt like an eternity of pleasure. His husky voice was tight with need. Without giving me a chance to reply, he pushed my leg off his shoulder and rolled onto his back, pulling me on top of him. I raked my nails over the contours of his muscular chest as I straddled him, and I raised my hips

before lowering myself down onto him, watching his eyes darken with pleasure as he disappeared into my hot wet tightness. He grabbed my hips and held on, gripping me as I bounced up and down, punctuating each movement with a soft groan. I was getting close to the edge again, and I leaned back, resting my hands on his shins. He slid a palm over my clit, rubbing gently and grinning as he watched me explode again, squeezing my eyes shut and throwing my head back as I whimpered with delight for him. Powerful shivers continued to shake my entire body, and I collapsed forward onto his chest, moaning and sighing softly as he kept his grip on the soft

curves of my ass, moving me back and forth. His eyes were blazing, and I knew that his own climax couldn’t be too far away. He groaned loudly and thrust into me one more time before finishing with a shudder, crushing me against his chest as he held me. “Drew,” I whispered, resting my forehead on his shoulder. He stroked my damp hair, breathing deeply. “Yeah?” “Thank you.” “That’s all I get?” he teased. “A thanks?” I poked him. “Shut up.” I didn’t need to say it. We both knew how we felt about each other now. For a

moment, time seemed to stand still, and then he collapsed to my side, pulling me with him so we ended up in a spoon position. That was how we fell asleep for the rest of the night.

Chapter 12 Drew Jesus…for a guy, there was really nothing like waking up with a hot naked girl in your arms and her curvy ass pressing against your crotch, hard with morning glory. I didn’t usually hang around chicks long enough for this to happen, and goddamn, had I been missing out. All these years and all these different girls, and all along, this is what

I’d been missing. The lack of moments like these were why I’d always felt so empty. My eyes slowly opened, seeing dark tangles of hair sticking out in all directions on the fluffed-up pillows. Well, shit. We’d finally given into our feelings and done it. I shuddered to think what Marie would say if she came in and saw her only daughter like this, so I murmured in her ear. “Sophie.” “Hmm?” she sleepily said, her eyes barely opening as she rolled over to look at me. “Morning.” She suddenly sat up straight. “Crap. What’s the time? Has anyone seen me in

here?” “It’s seven. Still early,” I said. “You could easily sneak back into your room now. The maids don’t usually come up to change our bedding till nine or ten.” She smiled at me. “I don’t want to, but I probably should.” “I don’t want you to either. But yeah, it’s probably a good idea.” She found her towel from last night and wrapped it around herself before kissing me on the cheek and padding towards the door. “Maybe you can go write some more stuff about me in that little manuscript of yours,” I called out, and she turned around and stuck her tongue out at me. “Funny.”

With that, she was gone, and I lay back on my pillow with a contented sigh. I finally had everything I wanted in the world, and I couldn’t imagine anything happening to screw that joy up.

I emerged from the backyard pool with an almighty roar, splashing droplets all over Sophie’s smooth legs as she reclined on a sun lounge. “Hey!” she said, almost jumping out of her skin. “You scared the hell out of me! And you could have wet my computer!” I grinned. “Sorry. What are you working on?”

She had her laptop balanced precariously on her knees, and she cast her eyes down. “Um…nothing.” “That same story of yours I saw the other day?” “Uhh…yeah.” I hauled myself out of the water and sat at her feet. “I don’t know why you’re so embarrassed about it. I bet you’re an amazing writer. You’re smart as hell,” I said as I dried myself off. She chewed on her lower lip, a habit that drove me wild with lust. Unfortunately, I couldn’t do much about that in this exact moment, seeing as we were out in the pool area where anyone could see us. It had been a couple of weeks since we started hooking up, and

we were keeping it on the down-low for the time being. Our parents didn’t need any more shit piled on them right now considering all the stuff that was happening with Marie’s crazy ex stalking them, and we had no idea how they’d react to our relationship. “I’m not that smart,” she said. “Yeah, you are. One of these days I’m gonna show you how talented you are.” A blush crept across her cheeks, and she gave me a seductive half-smile. “I’d rather you showed me something else…” she said, licking her lips and staring at my abs as droplets of water dripped between them. I grinned.

“Oh, really? How about you meet me upstairs in fifteen minutes, then?” I said, sliding on a pair of sunglasses and glancing through the French doors that led inside. I could see Marie relaxing on a sofa reading a book, and I didn’t want to arouse her suspicions. “Can’t,” Sophie said with a sigh. “Cerie and Lana are coming over soon. We wanted to go shopping, but I can’t exactly go out at the moment, so we’re just going to swim and hang out here.” I felt a twinge of anger in my heart. It was so unfair. She was so frightened of her Dad that she’d basically become a prisoner in her own home. No, a prisoner in someone else’s home. Neither she nor Marie had been back to

their place in Redmond since they arrived here, and I wished there was something I could do to get rid of her Dad once and for all. Anything at all. Two more letters had arrived for them at their old place. My Dad had collected them when he went around to check their mail, and they’d basically been the same generic letters that seemed vaguely threatening but didn’t actually say all that much in terms of his motivation. Stuff like, ‘I’m coming to take what’s mine.’ At least he hadn’t yet figured out that they were staying here now. “Okay, tease,” I replied. “Tell ‘em I said hi. I’m gonna go hang out in the lounge and binge watch Top Gear.”

“Ew,” she said, laughing. “You and your car obsession.” “I’m more obsessed with you, but you’ve gone and rejected me to hang out with your friends,” I teased, pinching her lightly on the leg before standing up. “Have fun.” I spent the next couple of hours lazing around watching TV, and in the early afternoon I heard a knock at the door. I’d ordered some stuff online recently, and I was still waiting on the package, so I assumed it was a delivery guy. Nope. Vanessa was standing at the main entrance to the house, her fine blonde hair blowing in wisps around her face.

For fuck’s sake. Did she not realize we were finished and had been for a long time? “How the hell did you get past the security guys at the gate?” I asked, incensed. “They recognized me from when we were together,” she said. “Can I come in?” “Why the hell would I let you in?” “Because,” she said. “I’m pregnant.” Oh, fuck.

Chapter 13 Drew I stared at Vanessa for a long moment and then ushered her in. She didn’t say a word as she followed me up to my room, and I closed the door and then sat down on my bed. “So. You’re pregnant, huh?” “Yes,” she said, her eyes wide with fear. “I’m sorry for just showing up like this. I’ve been trying to contact you, but

you wouldn’t answer me. But I understand why. I was acting like a crazy bitch before you dumped me.” I narrowed my eyes in suspicion. “How do you know it’s mine?” “I haven’t slept with anyone else since we broke up,” she said. “I know you probably have, because you’re a total man-whore, but I swear I haven’t.” “How do I know this isn’t some bullshit game you’re playing?” I said, folding my arms. We’d always used condoms, but I knew there was a chance they could fail. Honestly, knowing Vanessa, she might have even poked holes in them. Shit, I wished I’d never even touched her. “I can prove it,” she said, pulling out

a brand new three-pack of pregnancy tests from her handbag. “I’ll take these right now so you can see.” “And how do I know you don’t have a jar of some actual pregnant woman’s piss in your bag so you can fake those tests?” I said. “Look, I can see why you wouldn’t believe me after the way I’ve behaved, but here…have a look.” She passed me her bag, and I had a look through it. All that was in it was a small purse, keys, a cell phone, some loose change, two tubes of clear lip gloss and a small makeup compact. There were no side pockets or any other areas to hide anything else. I glanced up at her and appraised her outfit, and in the

tight jeans and small top she was wearing, there was no way she was hiding anything on herself either. I sighed. “Fine. Go in my bathroom and take those tests right now,” I said, handing the bag back to her. “I’m sorry to be a dick, but I’m not gonna believe you until I see the plus sign on all three of those strips.” “I’ll even keep the door open,” she said. Gross. I didn’t want to hear her peeing, but if that’s how far she was willing to go to prove it, then fine by me. She went into the bathroom, leaving the door open a crack, and I turned away and waited for her to do her business, trying to ignore the sounds. She flushed

and washed her hands a few minutes later and then returned to my side, holding out the three tests. All three were positive. Shit, shit, shit. “I don’t want to get an abortion,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. “I just can’t.” My heart plummeted into my stomach, and I put my head in my hands. What the fuck was I going to do? I didn’t want to have anything to do with Vanessa. I wanted Sophie. But I also knew deep down that I couldn’t abandon a girl if she was going to have my kid. I’d grown up with only parent, and it had screwed me up for a long time. I didn’t want to do the same for any of my future

kids. My door creaked open a moment later, and a familiar sweet voice called out. “Hey, my friends have left, why don’t you and I…” Sophie’s sentence trailed off as she saw Vanessa standing beside my bed, and she asked me the one question I really didn’t want to have to answer right now. Not to her. “What’s going on?”

Chapter 14 Sophie I was falling apart, and it was all because of Drew. We’d finally put aside our differences and realized how we both felt about each other deep down, and now this was happening after only a couple of weeks. His ex-girlfriend had showed up claiming to be pregnant, and she’d even proved it by taking a bunch

of tests in front of him. The look on his face when I’d gone into his room and seen what was happening had sealed the deal on what I was going to do about it. I could tell how conflicted he was about the whole thing, and I had decided to make things easy for him, as much as it destroyed me to do so. I didn’t want to make him choose between being with me and the apparent soon-to-be mother of his child. He might not have agreed with me, but I really thought that he needed to try and make things work with her if they were going to have a kid, so I’d decided to take a step back from our romantic relationship and just be a friend to him for the time being.

He’d told me he didn’t want to be with her and that he only wanted me, and I believed him, but something like this was just too much. That kid needed a father, and honestly, as much as I cared about Drew, I wasn’t ready to play stepmom at this point in my life, even if he chose to stay separated from Vanessa. I was only eighteen and about to head off to college, and there was no way I’d be able to be there for him as much as he’d need me to be if I was his girlfriend in such a situation. As much as I cared about him, it was better that we remain friends rather than deal with the breakup that would probably occur in the notso-distant future over our wildly different life choices if we tried to keep

things going between us. That didn’t mean I wasn’t devastated over the whole incident. I wished so badly that the whole thing would just go away so we could be together, but it didn’t look like that was going to happen. Right now I was holed up in my room, clutching a cream-colored satin pillow as Cerie and Lana stared at me. I’d just told them everything that had happened in the last couple of weeks, and they were apparently lost for words. “So…so you slept with him,” Cerie finally said. I nodded. “Oh my god, why didn’t you tell us?” Lana said.

“Because I wasn’t ready yet. I’m sorry, I’m a crappy friend. I just knew what you’d say if you heard we were hooking up. You’d say ‘I told you so,’ right?” I said. “Duh,” Cerie said. “But what the hell…his ex is pregnant?” “Yes. So it doesn’t even matter. We’re just going to be friends.” They exchanged glances, and Lana picked at a split end in her auburn hair before looking back at me. “Um…are you sure that’s the right thing to do, Soph? He’s probably really going to need someone for support.” “I’m still going to help and support him as much as I can,” I said. “Just not as his girlfriend. It’s too complicated if

we’re together.” They exchanged another glance, and I rolled my eyes. “Oh, come on, guys… I’m right here! I can see the looks you’re giving each other.” “It’s just…even after you asked us to not get involved, we both still thought you guys were totally meant for each other,” Lana said. “I mean, it’s so perfect. Childhood best friends reunited years later.” “Reunited because our parents got married,” I reminded them. “Can you imagine what my Mom would say if I told her I was dating my stepbrother even though he was having a baby with his ex-girlfriend?” “Yeah, I guess that is kinda crazy,”

Cerie said. “Do your parents know about the whole pregnancy thing yet?” “No. I said I’d help him tell them when he’s ready, though.” Lana reached across and squeezed my arm. “He’s lucky to have you as a friend,” she said. “It can’t be easy for you right now, especially with everything that’s happening with your Dad. Have you figured out what he wants yet, by the way?” I shook my head. “Nope. No idea.” Our topic of conversation made my problems come rushing at me all at once. My psycho Dad was back in the picture, and Drew’s nutty ex-girlfriend was pregnant. Just when things had finally started to go right in my life, they’d all

gone so freakin’ wrong.

I bumped into Drew the next day in the hall. “Hey,” I said. “How’s everything going with the Vanessa situation?” “I took her to the doctor yesterday. They told her to piss in a jar to give them a sample, and it showed up positive on their tests. So yeah…she’s definitely pregnant. We have to go back in to get blood tests to confirm it once and for all and make sure she doesn’t have any illnesses that could hurt the pregnancy.” “I see,” I replied, my stomach

lurching. “So she has another doctor’s appointment in a couple of days,” he continued. “She’s staying here at the moment, just while we get things sorted.” I felt a pang of jealousy as I pictured her in his bed, and he must have picked up on that, because he leaned in close and grabbed my hand. His eyes conveyed emotions he couldn’t say out loud, and he spoke in a low voice. ‘Don’t worry, I’m not sleeping with her. You know I don’t want her.” “Drew…you know I’d understand if you got back with her,” I said. “A baby is a really big deal, and like you said, she won’t consider a termination or

adoption.” He ran his hands through his hair and sighed. “I know, you said that the other day. I just don’t know what I should do right now. It’s all so fucked up. Anyway, I have to go to work. I’ll talk to you later, okay?” “Okay.” He headed downstairs, and I sighed and went back into my room and booted up my laptop. I was expecting Caltech to email me a bunch of stuff about my enrolment, and I cursed at the computer as it refused to let me on the internet. “Ugh…work, dammit!” I said out loud, but it refused to connect. Reaching over to grab my phone, I saw that it was dead, so I couldn’t use

that to check my email either until it was charged. Dammit. Why was everything going wrong for me at the moment? I set the phone on charge, then padded across the hall and knocked on Drew’s door to use his computer. Normally I would have just gone straight in, but I knew Vanessa was probably in there. “Come in!” she called out. “Hey, Vanessa,” I said, trying not to let any emotions seep into my voice. “Oh, hey, Drew’s sister,” she said, flicking her long blonde hair over her shoulder as she played on her cell phone. She barely even looked up at me. “It’s Sophie,” I said, my teeth set on edge.

“Right. Sorry, I can’t seem to remember anything these days. I guess pregnancy brain is a real thing, huh?” “Um. Yeah. Anyway, I’m expecting some important emails and my computer and phone have both decided to not work, so would you mind if I quickly used Drew’s computer?” “Sure, go ahead,” she said, looking bored. I sat down at his desk and opened his laptop. Damn. I had no idea what his password was. I asked Vanessa, and she had no idea either. “Um…could I maybe use your cell phone?” I asked. “It has internet, right?” “Yeah.” “I’d only be a minute,” I said. “It’s

just college stuff I’m expecting. I’m kinda desperate to see it all now.” She hesitated. “Um…okay, sure.” “Thanks.” She handed me her phone, and I opened a browser and went to my email website. She must have had an account with the same service, because the page automatically logged into her email. I was about to click ‘log out’ when something caught my eye on the inbox page. About five emails down, there was an email titled ‘Thanks for your order from HCG Diet Online Store’. Something clicked in my brain the second I read that. In my bio classes in junior year, we’d studied human reproduction, and I

remembered that HCG stood for Human Chorionic Gonadotropin. It was a hormone produced in pregnant women, and it was what they tested for in pregnancy tests, seeing as it was present in the blood and urine even in very early pregnancy. Cerie had told me a while ago that some people used powdered HCG supplements as part of some weird diet, and they could be ordered online. Holy crap. Vanessa could have ordered some of the powder online and put some on the tests after she’d peed on them. That would probably make them show up positive. And at the doctor’s office, she could have easily mixed more powder

into the urine sample jar while she was in the bathroom before giving it to the doctor. Drew had said he checked her bag before she did the tests, and there was nothing but a phone, keys and makeup compact…but she could have hidden the powder in the makeup compact. That freaking bitch. She was faking a pregnancy just to try and worm her way back into Drew’s life. What the hell was she planning to do once things progressed too far…fake a miscarriage? No doubt she’d do that and act all devastated so he’d feel sorry for her and give her a shoulder to cry on…and maybe even get back with her out of guilt. Not only that, it would make it

look like they’d gone through something major together, dealing with losing a pregnancy and all. She could easily use that to manipulate him. He’d told me she was a bit crazy when they were dating, but crazy didn’t even begin to describe the scale of what she was doing; if I was right, that is. I did my best to keep a straight face and then handed her the phone back. “Thanks,” I said, giving her a bright smile. “Did you get your email thing?” “Nah, it hasn’t come through yet,” I said. “But hey, can I borrow this?” Before she could even move, I grabbed her handbag off the floor, rifled through it and pulled out the only makeup

in there - a round, bronze-colored powder compact. “No!” she screeched. She sounded like a cross between a death metal singer and a mating elephant seal. “Don’t touch that! That’s…” I looked right at her as I opened the compact and then held it up to her. As I suspected, it was filled with white powder. “Care to explain this, Vanessa?” I asked. If looks could kill, I’d be dead and buried from the expression on her face right now. “You bitch,” she hissed. “You’ve ruined everything.” “Oh, I’m the bitch? You’re insane,” I

said. “How long did you think you’d get away with this?” She didn’t reply, and her expression changed to that of a deer caught in the headlights. “I’m calling Drew and telling him right now,” I said before turning and marching out of the room. I heard her spring to her feet and run after me, and a second later she was attacking me from behind, pulling my hair and clawing at my neck. I shrieked at the sudden stinging pain of her acrylic nails digging into my skin, and only seconds later we were rolling around on the floor like two alley cats, scratching and slapping each other. “What on earth is going on in here?”

We looked up to see Tony standing in the doorway, his eyebrows practically on the ceiling as he stared down at us. Vanessa released my arm from her grip and let me get up, and Tony folded his arms. “Well?” I wanted to tell him what Vanessa had done, but he hadn’t even known that she’d claimed to be pregnant in the first place, and that would just stir up even more drama. “Er…she attacked me,” I said. He glared at Vanessa, who wasn’t denying the allegation. She obviously knew she didn’t have a leg to stand on. “Vanessa, I was under the impression my son broke things off with

you. Is there any reason for you to be in my home right now?” She didn’t respond. Instead she grabbed her handbag and stormed out of the room, and I grinned despite the pain in my arm from where she’d really dug her claws in. “Are you okay, Sophie?” Tony asked, concern etched into his features. The smile wouldn’t leave my face. I was a hell of a lot more than okay. I’d proven that Vanessa was making up the whole pregnancy, and that meant that nothing was standing in the way of me and Drew being together anymore. Suck it, bitch, I thought. He’s mine. “I’m fine, Tony,” I replied, my smile growing even wider. “I’m more than

fine.”

Chapter 15 Sophie I was having the most wonderful dream again, only this time, as my eyes crept open, I realized it was no dream. Drew was under the blankets and between my legs, nipping at the delicate skin of my inner thighs, and I moaned and giggled, pushing down on his head as I looked at the clock on my bedside table. It was only five in the morning.

“Drew! I’m trying to sleep!” He came up for air with a wolfish grin on his face. “I haven’t been able to do this in a week with all the shit that happened with Crazy McBitchface. I need to catch up. We don’t need to sleep.” I’m sure you can guess who Crazy McBitchface was. Since she’d been caught out in her lies, Vanessa had vanished from our lives at the speed of light without so much as an apology text. Thank God for that. I actually couldn’t believe how utterly stupid her fake pregnancy plan had been. There was no way she would have gotten away with it for long. Ri-fucking-diculous, as Drew had taken to calling the whole debacle.

A slow sizzle spread through my fingers as I reached down and stroked the hard muscles of Drew’s arms, and he went back down under the blankets. I couldn’t help but squirm as his hot lips returned to my inner thighs, and I lay back and clutched the sheets on either side of me in my fists as his tongue moved closer and closer to where I wanted it most. I moaned and gasped as he began to circle my most sensitive part, and when he slid a finger inside my slick pussy a moment later, my eyes flew open in amazement. This felt so good, even better than every other time. Knowing how close I’d come to losing him just made it that much sweeter to have him back.

My hips lifted as I tried to grind myself against his hand and mouth, and he moved his body up and lowered his face to my breasts as his hand continued to work away between my legs. Taking a nipple in his mouth and nibbling and sucking it, he made me whimper in a mixture of pleasure and pain, and I didn’t want to wait any longer. “Oh god…” I murmured. “I missed this.” “So did I,” he said, raising his head up to look at me. “Fuck me,” I demanded. “Now.” As he moved further up the bed and stared down at me, I saw a gleam in his eyes that told me he wanted to do exactly that, and only a second later he pulled

his hand away and reached for his boxers instead. His cock had popped out the hole in the front of them, and he grinned, that same gleam still in his eyes as I stared down at it. His hand found my pussy again and gathered some of the moisture there, and he leaned down and murmured in my ear. “You’re so wet, babe. Fuck, you’re so hot.” I felt like I would go crazy if I didn’t have him inside me straight away. He lined the head of his cock up against the slick lips of my pussy, and a second later he was inside me, making me squeeze my eyes shut as I gasped with pleasure. I took a deep breath and opened my eyes again a second later, and he drove his

hips forward, never taking his eyes off me as he fed his shaft into me, inch by inch. He paused, keeping himself all the way inside me as my body strained to get used to his girth after so long without it, and when I began to move my hips a moment later, he took it as a sign to start really screwing me. God, it felt amazing. He was so thick and hard, and I was unbelievably wet and getting even wetter by the second as he stretched me to my limits. I rolled my hips as I gasped, savoring the complete and utter fullness I felt as he thrust in and out of me, and Drew groaned above me before leaning down and kissing my breasts again. Each time he withdrew and then shoved his

way back in, his groin rubbed against my clit, and I cried out and lifted my body to meet his thrusts, our bodies slamming together in a frenetic haze. For a moment, the only sound in the room was the sound of flesh slapping against flesh, and it all felt so good that my mouth seemed to be permanently open in a soundless gasp. Looking down a second later, I watched over my stomach as his cock slid in and out of me, and each time I saw it go back into me, I felt like I would explode with happiness. A wonderful pressure was building in my core, making little bolts of electricity shoot through me, and finally a climax hit me as I moved my hips more and more, trying to get him

even deeper inside me. I cried out as I came, and Drew picked up the pace as my muscles clenched around him. It suddenly occurred to me that we weren’t using a condom, but in the heat of the moment I didn’t care all that much. I’d gone on the pill a while ago to stop my irregular periods, and I knew Drew was clean. We’d had a conversation about it a week or so ago, and seeing as I’d never been with any other guys, I knew I was clean. He fucked me faster and faster, and beads of sweat popped up all over his forehead as he let out a low groan. “Fuck…you’re going to make me cum already,” he said as he thrust all the way into me in one hard movement.

“Oh…. oh, yes!” I cried, my slick tightness still twitching around his shaft as he slammed into me like an animal in heat. I was coming again when his thrusts got even faster and his breath grew erratic. With a deep, throaty grunt, he pushed forward one last time, and I felt him fill me with a wet heat, pulsing inside me. It was the most amazing thing I’d ever felt, and after one last pulse, he stopped moving completely. “Oh, shit,” he said, finally rolling onto his back. “That was amazing.” I grabbed some tissues from my bedside table, wiped myself off and then snuggled into his arms, my entire body still racked with bliss. “I guess I’d rate

you a three out of ten,” I said in a teasing tone. He chuckled. “Is that all?” “Maybe a four if you were better looking.” “Oh, I see how it is,” he said. “That’s it. You’re asking for it.” He sat up, picked up a pillow and brandished it like a weapon. “Pillow fight time!” Back when we were kids, we’d had pillow fights all the time, but it had all been totally innocent. This was so much better…

We showered and dressed when we

were done being silly, making sure we were careful to avoid anyone seeing us sneaking around together. We were about to head down to breakfast together when a piercing scream shattered the quiet reverie of the morning. “Shit. That’s your Mom,” Drew said, his eyes widening as he made a dash for the stairs. Tony arrived in the kitchen at the same time as us, briefcase in hand. He’d obviously been halfway out the door when he heard the scream. “Darling? What’s wrong?” My Mom stood by the marble island counter in the kitchen, her face white with terror. She was pointing at a piece of paper next to her bowl of cereal, and

my forehead wrinkled with concern. Crap. Another letter from my psychopathic Dad. He must have finally figured out that we were in Medina. “I…I went to have some breakfast and found this on the counter,” she said, showing the letter to Tony. “And there’s broken glass in my cereal. I have no idea how it got there. God, he must have somehow got in here…” Her voice trailed off, and I went over to her and put my arm around her. Tony’s face clouded over as he read it, and he abruptly put it down before grabbing the entire bowl and throwing it in the trash. “I’ll speak with every staff member who’s been in and out of here within the

last two days,” he said. “Especially those damned security guards. I caught one of them playing games on his cell phone the other day when he was meant to be watching the camera feeds. We’ll get to the bottom of this.” “What does the letter say?” I asked. He handed it to me, and Drew and I read it together. This one was longer than the last few had been, and my skin prickled with goose bumps as I realized just how close my father had been. Close enough to tamper with our food. Marie, my dear wife. You have something I need. I put up with you for long enough, and I think I am entitled to it. You know what it is I want. I’ve been keeping an eye on

things, and I see that land of yours is worth a pretty penny now. Sell it. Send me the money. I’ve included instructions on how to deposit the money into my Sparbuch. Don’t call the police. You’ve seen how close I can get, and you don’t want to make me angry by involving the authorities like you did last time. Give me what I want and this ends. You have one week. By the way…enjoy your breakfast. Frosted flakes were always your favorite. “He wants my land,” Mom said. Her face was still white. “Well, the bastard’s not getting it,” Tony said, his face like thunder. “What’s a Sparbuch?” I asked. For some reason, I didn’t even feel scared. I

just felt numb. “I’ve heard of it before,” Drew said. “It’s an anonymous Austrian bank account. It’s basically untraceable to any one person.” “That’s right,” Tony said. “I don’t get it. How does it work?” I said. “When you open the account, you don’t have to give a name or anything. So it’s impossible to establish who opened the account or who owns it, since no record is ever created except the Sparbuch itself along with its number in their computer system. No identification has to be shown at any time.” “Oh.”

“Yes,”” Tony continued, taking over from Drew. “You can mail them and request money to be taken out, which is probably how he’s getting his hands on it, and deposits can either be made by hand, or checks can be mailed to the bank with a note to credit the Sparbuch. You just give them the account number along with the mailed check. That’s what your father is asking us to do.” “And even if you called the bank, they wouldn’t be able to tell you who owns the account?” “Nope, they wouldn’t,” Drew said. “Wait…if the person is foreign to Austria, like from here for instance, they might be asked to produce a passport to open an account with them, right Dad?

“Yes,” Tony said. “But that can be circumvented easily. He could’ve paid an Austrian citizen to open the account for him. And we have no way of tracing that either.” “Shit.” I glanced at the note again, rereading the instructions on how to transfer the sum he had asked for into the untraceable overseas bank account, and I couldn’t believe that in this day and age, people could still get away with stuff like this. “Look, don’t even worry about all that. We’re not selling your land and giving him the proceeds. We’re getting the police back over here right now,” Tony said firmly. “There must be some

way they can figure this out.” “No,” Mom said quietly, suddenly looking tired. “You saw what it said about how close he can get, even with all the security. And we know he isn’t making that up.” She gestured towards the trash can that contained the glass that had been in her food before continuing. “I don’t want to spend the rest of my life running from him. I don’t want that for Sophie either. He obviously wants the money from that land, and he won’t stop until he has it.” “Then let me pay him whatever it’s worth,” Tony said, his eyes flashing with concern. “You shouldn’t have to give up your property just to appease that bastard. You do good things with it. The

summer camp is invaluable to some of those children.” “No. It’s wonderful of you to offer, but it’s not your problem,” Mom said. “Yes it is. Your problems are my problems. You knew that when we got married. The land is worth about a million and a half…I don’t mean to sound arrogant, but that’s nothing to me.” She shook her head. “I can’t make you pay him that much money, no matter how much you have. It’s not fair, and it’s not what you signed up for. I’ll sell the land, and he can have the money. Then hopefully he’ll crawl back into whatever hole he’s been hiding in all these years and stay there.” Tony shook his head slowly, but if he

knew her even half as well as I did, then he would know that she wouldn’t back down. She was too proud. She’d never accept that much money from him in a million years. “I suppose you don’t really need the money,” he finally said. “After all, you’re married to me.” “Don’t be silly,” she said, giving him a half-smile as he squeezed her hand. “Would you be able to help take care of the sale?” “Of course, darling,” he said, although I could tell from the stress lines on his forehead that he still wasn’t too keen on letting my Dad win. “Don’t worry about a thing. From what you’ve told me, there are plenty of development

companies interested in buying it from you. I’ll have my lawyers draw up the papers as soon as possible. You can go over them and sign them, we’ll mail the check to the Sparbuch as soon as the money comes through, and then it’ll all be over. Piece of cake.” We all knew it wasn’t going to be that easy, but Tony was obviously trying to make things as easy as possible for her. She gave him a watery smile. “I could go for a real piece of cake at the moment.” “Stress eating is never a good idea, but I think we can let it slide on an occasion like this,” Tony replied, trying to make light of the awful situation

before summoning the housekeeper to fetch something sweet for my Mom. She returned a moment later with a piece of carrot cake, my Mom’s favorite, and Tony put one arm around her and used the other arm to hold the delicate china plate in front of her. It was touching to see how in love they were and how much they cared about each other, and I couldn’t wait until my Dad was out of the picture again, once and for all. Then my life could finally go back to being completely normal...aside from the fact that I was screwing my stepbrother.

Chapter 16 Drew I watched Sophie get out of the car outside the downtown Club Nineveh, her swaying ass hypnotizing me as she began to walk to the VIP entrance. “Come on,” she said, turning and arching an eyebrow. “It’s your night.” Just seeing her in that tight skirt made me want to bend her over the hood of my car and bury myself balls deep in

her, but I needed to get sex off my brain. Tonight was an important night for my modeling career, if what my agent said wasn’t total bullshit, anyway. Apparently a bunch of scouts from bigger agencies across the country were going to be there scoping the place out for talent, and considering I’d blown off the campaign in Australia to stay here in Seattle, I could use the work. Promo gigs and commercial shoots paid me fuck all compared to editorial work, and as nice as my current agent was, she hadn’t found much for me to do lately. The vodka billboard had been the only major work I’d pulled in months now, aside from the Australian thing. It was good to have something else

to focus on - something that wasn’t Sophie’s crazy Dad. The land sale had gone through without a hitch within a week, and Marie and my Dad had mailed the proceeds off to the crazy motherfucker. He hadn’t been heard from in the two weeks since, and I was beyond glad that it was all over. Seeing Sophie happy was the sweetest feeling in the world, and now that she felt safe enough to go out again, she was attending this gig at the club with me. It must have been the first time she’d been out in weeks. We still hadn’t told our parents what we’d been up to. We both knew we should, but for some reason, sneaking around just made it all that much hotter.

Besides, we’d both figured that maybe it was best we wait to tell them until Sophie had started college – that way we wouldn’t even be living in the same house, and it would look a lot less seedy for us to be hooking up. Although to be fair, we were technically stepsiblings, and a lot of people would probably view that as seedy no matter where we were living. Oh well. Can’t please everyone. Honestly, though, I didn’t get the big taboo hype about stepsiblings hooking up. It wasn’t like we were related in any way, and our parents hadn’t even married till we were in our late teens, so who the fuck cared? Fingers crossed our parents would see it that way too…

The pounding bass in the club matched my pulse as I scanned the room, Sophie by my side. She leaned in and told me she was going to get a drink, and she lightly touched her lips to my cheek before stepping through the crowd towards the main bar. I wasn’t drinking tonight. Club Nineveh was filled with seedy fucks, all of them likely frothing at the mouth to get their hands on a gorgeous girl like her, and I needed to stay sober so I could do my best to keep her safe. I watched her standing up at the bar, and just as I suspected, a muscular sleazeball was making a beeline for her. Fuck, already? Pushing my way through the crowd, I gave him the biggest fuck-

off death stare I could muster up, and he drew back, focusing his gaze on a tall blonde instead. “It’s okay,” Sophie giggled. “You don’t need to follow me to the bar. I can handle guys like that.” “Maybe, but I can handle ‘em better,” I said with a grin. She followed my line of sight a second later. Two guys in suits were sitting only a few yards away, and I recognized them as talent scouts from the biggest agency in New York. “Are they the guys you need to impress?” Sophie asked. “Yeah.” “How? Are you going to put on a show, maybe sing and dance?” she said,

her dark eyes sparkling with mischief. “Very funny. Nah, they just need to see me, that’s all.” “Well, it’s impossible for anyone to not notice you,” she said, poking me in the side. I hated to sound conceited, but she was right. They’d already spotted me, and one was whispering fervently into the other’s ear as they stared at me. A familiar voice boomed out beside me a second later, and I turned to see Caleb standing there. “Hey, I didn’t know you guys were coming out tonight!” he said, clapping a hand on my back. “How are you, man? You haven’t responded to my last few texts.”

“Sorry. Been busy. Family stuff, you know,” I replied, keeping my answer as vague as possible. Caleb had been a decent friend once upon a time, but I’d felt us drifting apart in recent months to the point where I wasn’t sure we even had anything in common anymore. He was still interested in going out every night, getting hammered and trying to pull as many skanky girls as possible, all the while living off a multi-million dollar trust fund, whereas I’d lost interest in that the second I laid eyes on Sophie, as much of a pussy as that made me sound like. I had a trust fund too, but at least I worked. I didn’t want to live off my Dad’s money forever like some useless

coddled brat. “Right. So anyway, how’ve you been, babe?” Caleb replied, focusing his gaze on Sophie and giving her what I assumed he thought was his most winning smile. “Um. I’m fine thanks,” she replied. The act he put on around women was fucking ridiculous. He always puffed his chest up and tried to make his voice sound a little deeper and more intimidating, and he ended up sounding exactly like what I imagined a bicep would sound like if it tried to sing. “Don’t call her that,” I hissed in his ear. “She’s not your ‘babe’.” “Hey Sophie, would you mind giving me and your stepbrother a minute?” he

said, ignoring me and continuing to stare at her. I noticed he accentuated the word ‘stepbrother’. She nodded and sat down a few feet away, and I kept my eyes on her, making sure no more douchebag gym junkies approached her. “So,” Caleb said. “I’m guessing this protective brotherly act you’ve got going on isn’t so brotherly, huh?” “That’s none of your business,” I said curtly. He took a swig of whiskey, and judging by his breath and the way he was slightly slurring his words, it wasn’t the first drink he’d had. “Actually, it is. We had a little deal going on, remember? I thought you’ve

been avoiding me ‘cause you couldn’t get her, but judging by the way she’s looking at you, I think you did nail her. So what’s the problem? You don’t want my Phantom? I’ve got the keys right here, man.” He pulled a set of keys out of his pocket and dangled them in my face, and I was suddenly struck by the urge to punch him. “There’s no deal. The dare, the bet, whatever you wanna call it…it was fucking dumb. Keep your car,” I said. “Well, if there’s no deal, and you won’t admit there’s anything going on between you two, then I guess you won’t mind if I take a shot at her.” “Fuck off,” I said, clenching my fists.

“Don’t go near her.” Sophie must have noticed the tension in the air between us, because she returned to my side, her forehead knitted in a quizzical expression. “What’s going on?” she asked. “You might find your stepbrother isn’t the guy you think he is. Drew and I had a little deal, and he’s trying to back out of it,” Caleb said, his eyes narrowed. Fuck, why was he doing this? Being drunk was no excuse to be such an asshole. Sophie’s eyebrows shot up even further. “A deal?” “He’s talking shit. Want another drink?” I said, hastily trying to change the subject.

Unfortunately, Caleb wasn’t giving up that easily. He slid an arm around Sophie’s shoulder and whispered in her ear for a moment, and her eyes went wide as she jerked back and stared up at me with her eyebrows furrowed. Fuck. She knew. “Look, it was just a stupid dare,” I quickly said. “It didn’t mean anything. It was a fucking stupid idea we came up with after you told me how your friends had dared you to hook up with me that night at the hotel, but I forgot all about it ages ago. Sophie, you gotta believe me. What we have now is real. It’s got nothing to do with that dare.” “What dare?” she asked. “What are you talking about?”

Caleb drunkenly cackled with laughter. “All I said to her just then was that you wanted to fuck her in the ass tonight.” Shit. That fucking prick. He’d tricked me into thinking he was telling Sophie about the whole thing, and now I’d opened my big mouth and really stepped in it. She folded her arms and continued to stare up at me. “Well?” she demanded, her eyes narrowed. “What’s this about a dare?” Well, fuck. Just when things were finally going well…

Chapter 17 Sophie As I stood there waiting for an answer from Drew, my heart hammered like crazy. I looked at him, watching him try and fail to slip on that mask that gave nothing away. I had a strange, heavy feeling in my chest; one that I hadn’t felt in years. A warning that I was about to be let down. About to be hurt. Suddenly I was mentally transported

back to being seven years old again, and my school teacher was telling me that my Mom had fallen down the stairs and was in hospital. I’d had that exact same feeling then - a deep sense of foreboding about going home. I’d known the real reason Mom was in hospital, and I’d also known that I’d have to be alone in the house with my Dad while she was gone. Without her there to try and shield me, I was going to be a target for his drunken rages. Yep, it was a really shitty feeling knowing that you were probably about to be hurt but not being able to do a damn thing about it. As Drew rubbed his head and opened his mouth to say something, Caleb grinned.

“Good luck, man. Car’s outside if you still wanna collect your reward,” he said, slapping him on the back before looking at me and winking. “I gotta get myself another drink. Don’t worry, babe. I’ll be back for you in a sec.” He was slurring his words, obviously very drunk, and Drew’s jaw twitched. His right hand curled into a fist, and before I could try to stop him, he’d delivered a massive blow to the left side of Caleb’s face. I screamed for him to stop, and Caleb staggered backwards, blood pouring from his split lip. He spat on the ground before wiping his mouth off and looking back up. “Fuck you, man. It was all a joke.” “It’s not a joke where Sophie’s

concerned, fuckwad. Now get the fuck outta here,” Drew said, lips curled into a snarl. Holy shit. Whatever this ‘dare’ business was, it was obviously pretty serious if it was enough to make Drew punch his friend in the face. The two talent scouts were staring at us now with their eyes wide, and a small part of my mind figured that Drew had just totally blown his shot with them by openly fighting in front of them like a complete idiot. Two surly-looking bouncers were heading towards us, and Drew grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the club through the side entrance. “Hey!” I protested. “Let me go!” “We were gonna get kicked out

anyway,” he said, stopping in the dim alley beside the club. “Look, let me explain what happened back there.” I folded my arms again. “Oh, finally. I’ve only been waiting for a hundred years! So what the hell is this dare thing? And what’s this about a car?” He sighed. “Look, like I said, the whole thing was stupid. It didn’t mean anything. Caleb dared me to sleep with you ages ago. He said he’d give me his Atlantis Phantom if I managed to do it.” What the hell? My heart plummeted into my stomach. That’s what he thought I was worth? A bet over a shiny new car. Nothing more. I didn’t speak for a full thirty seconds. Drew just stood there, waiting

for me to react. “Oh god…this is why you suddenly started being nice to me a few weeks ago, isn’t it? I knew you were up to something!” I finally choked out. “It started out like that,” he admitted. “But then…” I interrupted him. “And then what, it was just easier to keep sleeping with me? I mean, why call up one of your skanks when I’m just across the hall, right?” He didn’t say anything and just let me rant for a moment. I think he was lost for words for once in his life. “So none of this was real. I was just part of some stupid bet so you could get your dream car? Well, I hope you’re

happy with your new ride!” I said, my voice hot with anger. “No. You know it’s not like that. This is all real. Yeah, I was being nice at first because of Caleb’s thing, but I realized how shitty that was pretty fast. After that I swear it was all real. And besides, the first night you saw me at Mint…your friends dared you to sleep with me too. I wasn’t all that mad when you told me about that. Can’t you just look at this from my point of view?” he said. “Can’t we just move on?” “I’m really trying to see things from your point of view, but I can’t seem to get my head that far up your ass!” I replied. He did have a small point, as much

as I hated to think so. I was kind of being a hypocrite, because my friends had dared me to hook up with him, but this felt different. I hadn’t been doing it to get a freaking car, and I hadn’t planned on leading him on for weeks and weeks, pretending to be all nice and in a committed relationship…which is exactly what it felt like he’d been doing to me. All for the sake of a car. “For fuck’s sake, just listen to me! There’s a hundred girls I could call tonight, but I only want you, and I’ve only wanted you since you came back into my life. Doesn’t that tell you anything?” “All that tells me is that you’re a man-whore with a Rolodex,” I hissed.

“Jesus, Sophie, calm down! You’re carrying on like Tom Cruise at a couch sale.” Seriously? He was trying to make jokes at a time like this? Hell no. “God, what do you expect, Drew? It’s just one thing after another with you! I keep thinking you’ve become this great guy…then wait, suddenly you decide to crap all over things again!” I replied. “How many times is this going to happen? How many more secrets are lurking around the corner?” He held his hands up. “None! I swear.” “Bullshit. It never ends with you.” “Are you quite finished?” he asked. “I’m trying to tell you that I…”

I cut him off. “Oh yes, I’m finished. And so are we.” I turned on my heel and marched away. Maybe I was overreacting. Maybe I was being dramatic. But I wasn’t waiting around to be hurt again. All we did was fight, make up, argue again… rinse and repeat. It had been like that from the minute we re-entered each other’s lives. Our idea of a relationship wasn’t healthy at all. It was total bullshit. Perhaps our childhood friendship should have been left where it belonged – in the past. Drew called out after me, and I didn’t turn my head back to see if he’d followed me at all. Mostly because I was afraid he wouldn’t.

Chapter 18 Sophie It had been six days since I found out the real reason Drew had initially started being nice to me, and the sting hadn’t lessened at all. He’d claimed that everything we’d gone through was real, but how did I know that was true at all? He’d kept the whole car dare thing from me for long enough, and for all I knew, he’d also been keeping tons of other stuff

from me. I had no way of truly knowing. The kiss in the forest. The way he’d gotten rid of Dan. The way he’d helped me when my Dad came back into the picture. Was any of that motivated by real feelings for me, or was it all part of his initial plan to get that stupid car? I should have known not to trust an arrogant man-whore. I should have known not to fall for him. I’d been avoiding him like the plague, only seeing him at dinner every night, and my Mom had noticed the tension between us. She’d pulled me aside and asked if we’d had a fight, and there was no way I could tell her what really happened. She’d been disappointed in our behavior because

she’d been so pleased to see the two of us getting along so well recently, just like old times, and now we were barely speaking. I couldn’t imagine how she’d react if she found out that the only reason we’d been getting along was because we’d been screwing each other’s brains out like bunnies on steroids. Tonight, Tony had decided to take us all out for dinner to celebrate us having gone three whole weeks without any further contact from my father. At least that whole situation had been resolved. I was on my way out of my room when I bumped into Drew on the stairs. He’d just been working out, judging by his outfit. His skin glistened with sweat, and his chiseled features seemed to

mock me with their perfection. Dammit, why did I still find him so attractive? If anything, the anger I felt towards him made me want to rip his clothes off even more. I guess the mind can really be a weird thing sometimes. “Hey,” he said. “We have that dinner thing in a few minutes.” “I know,” I said, my voice curt. He hesitated for a second before speaking again. “Right. Well, I need to go and get changed outta this.” “Yeah, why don’t you go and slip into something more comfortable?” I replied. “Like a coma,” I added under my breath. He rolled his eyes. “I heard that. Can you just stop with this grouchy shit? I’ve

done all I can to explain this to you. I care about you. I always have. I just didn’t realize it for a while. That dare meant nothing. I didn’t even accept the fucking car.” “Uh-huh.” I spun around and headed downstairs, and I heard him sigh behind me before going into his room and slamming his door. When we all arrived at the restaurant half an hour later, Drew was seated directly next to me, and I almost jumped out of my skin when he accidentally dropped his napkin and brushed his hand past my leg to grab it. “For god’s sake, Sophie, at least try to act normal,” he hissed. I almost

laughed. Normal? What in the hell did that even mean? My life was so far removed from normal that the word was barely in my vocabulary. I had a crazy criminal of a father who’d just extorted over a million bucks from my Mom, and I’d spent the last few weeks sleeping with and falling for my stepbrother… hmm, yeah, neither of those things were normal. The dinner seemed to crawl by, and even Tony seemed to have picked up on the frostiness between me and Drew. “Is everything okay, kids?” he asked, one eyebrow cocked. “You’re both being very quiet.” “Uh-huh,” I said with a nod. “I’m just tired,” Drew said. “Really

killed it in the gym today.” “I suppose you do have to keep yourself looking fit. After all, you did just book that campaign in New York.” I almost dropped my knife and fork. “What campaign?” I asked, my voice a little more shrill than I’d wanted it to be. Tony smiled. “Some talent scouts spotted Drew in a club last week. Apparently they liked his style. They’ve booked him for some new sportswear line. For MMA fighters, or something like that. What’s it called, son? Bad Dog?” “Bad Boy Sportswear,” Drew said. Wow. When he’d punched Caleb the other night, I thought the scouts would have lost all interest in him for being an

immature idiot. But no, apparently he’d been offered a contract instead. The fact that I hadn’t even heard about it made me realize just how far I’d removed myself from his life in the last few days, even though our bedrooms were only feet away from each other. “I thought you would have told Sophie,” my Mom said with a frown. “Aren’t you leaving tomorrow?” Drew smiled. “She didn’t ask. And yeah, tomorrow.” I mustered up the best congratulatory smile I could, but on the inside, I was a mess. I was still so mad at him for everything he’d done, but hearing that he was leaving for New York for god knows how long suddenly made me feel

a little ill. “I don’t feel well,” I said, standing up and pushing my chair in. “Sorry, I think I should go.” “But honey, we just ordered dessert,” Mom said. “I know. It’s cool, I’ll catch a cab home.” She and Tony looked disappointed, but they didn’t stop me, and by the time I was halfway home, I felt even more nauseated. The whole situation with Drew was eating up my insides like a gutful of piranhas. I wished I could just go home to my old house, but seeing as we’d already moved our things to Tony’s place, it made sense to stay there, seeing as it wasn’t all that long until I’d be

moving again for college. I locked myself in my bathroom as soon as I made it upstairs and crouched near the toilet, certain I was going to hurl any second. “Sophie? Are you in there?” Drew’s deep voice called out to me from my bedroom, and I mumbled a response. “Are you okay?” he said. “I was worried, so I came home early too.” “Mm. I’m fine. Probably just that carpaccio I ate.” “Well, I’m gonna wait out here for a while. Call out if you want me to come in.” I wasn’t fine, but I didn’t want his sympathy or help, as comforting as the

thought of his big arms wrapped around me was right now. I heard him linger in my room for about twenty more minutes, and then he was gone. When I finally emerged from the cool tiles of the bathroom after what felt like an eternity, I tried lying down for a while, but that didn’t stop the churning in my guts at all. Sighing, I got up and headed over to my desk. If I couldn’t rest, then I might as well have another read through the draft manuscript of the story I’d written about the girl and her stepbrother. It was only a second draft, but when I’d printed it yesterday, I’d thought it had all come together quite nicely. I hunted around on my desk, and my eyebrows creased in confusion. Strange.

I could have sworn I’d left the manuscript sitting right next to the ceramic vase that sat on the left side, but it was gone. After searching through every part of the desk and even on the floor around it and behind it, a horrifying thought occurred to me. Drew had just been in here. He’d been dying to read my writing ever since I told him about it, but I’d been too embarrassed. The whole time he’d been sitting out here, waiting for me while I was in the bathroom…he could have started reading it. He could have taken it with him when he left. Crap, crap, crap. If he had, I was going to murder him. I was proud of the story, but that didn’t mean I thought it was good enough for other

people to read. At the same time, I was cringing with shame. It was obvious that the main characters in the story were based on us, so if he had read it, then he’d know exactly how I felt about him. He’d know everything that I’d been trying to deny to myself. He’d never said he loved me in the time we were together, and now he probably knew what I’d never told him either – I’d loved him, and goddammit, a huge part of me still did. Ignoring my nausea, I dashed out of my room and across the hall. “Drew!” I hammered on his door, but he didn’t answer. I tried turning the handle of his door to see if he’d locked himself

in, and it swung right open. The room was empty. Shit. He’d gone, and he’d taken my story with him.

Chapter 19 Drew Sophie was gonna be pissed as hell when she realized I’d stolen her manuscript. But hear me out – I had a good reason. When I’d been sitting in her room waiting to see if she’d come out of the bathroom, it had caught my eye. I won’t lie; I’d been wanting to read it for weeks, just to see if she was as talented

as I thought she was, and hell…she was more than talented. The first chapter of her book alone was enough to make me see how amazing she was. She had a real gift for stringing words together in the kind of way that sucked a person right in and kept them engaged in the storyline from the word go. I knew writing was her true passion, not engineering. She’d only enrolled in Caltech because she wanted to please her Mom, and I understood that, but at the same time I thought it was unfair. Sophie was her own person, and the way I saw it, she should be encouraged to chase her own dreams. Now I wanted to help her realize those dreams. She’d been avoiding me since our

fight outside the club the other night, and I couldn’t blame her. Finding out about the stupid dare Caleb and I had come up with had been a real shock for her, and it had called into question every little thing I’d said and done in the last month or so. She had every right to be pissed at me. I’d tried talking to her multiple times since then to try and get her to hear me out, but she wasn’t having a bar of it. I had a hell of a lot of making up to do, and I knew I had to do something drastic to prove just how much I loved her. I’d never said it to her, and now I was kicking myself for that. Why the hell hadn’t I? I’d damn well felt it. After snatching the manuscript from her room like a literal thief in the night,

I’d called my friend Ana, who had been accepted into the best college writing course in the country. It was at HartGuildford University, which was right here in Seattle, and even though college applications had probably been due weeks or months ago, I figured they probably had some sort of late application process. I was right – Ana told me that it was possible to send in a late application. All I had to do was fill out a bunch of paperwork that I could print off at home and stuff it in an envelope along with the manuscript and a check for the exorbitant late fee. See, I knew that Hart-Guildford didn’t require an essay with their applications. All they asked for was an original manuscript

along with the requisite forms. The problem? The cutoff time for late applications was midnight tonight, and it was already after ten. So now I was speeding down the road to the main campus, praying that I’d make it in time. I’d told Sophie a while back that one day I was going to prove to her just how talented she was, and if I could pull off this application, then maybe she’d believe me. Maybe she’d believe how much I truly cared about her. In the end, even if she never forgave me, at least I’d still be helping her have the option of pursuing a career she was really passionate about. I parked in one of the main university parking lots when I arrived and then

shined the light from my cell phone on the first campus map I came across. The Arts and Literature department was to my right, so I dashed over there as quick as I could. The building was dark, and I cursed as I tried the door to the admin office. “Shit!” “Can I help you, son?” I whirled around to see a middleaged security guard standing behind me, a torch in one hand and a suspicious look on his face. “Uh, yeah. I need to drop in my college application. The cutoff is midnight tonight.” “Cutting it a bit fine, aren’t we?” he said, glancing at his watch.

“Yeah, I’ve been busy,” I said impatiently. “Look, is there somewhere where I can hand this in? If applications don’t close until midnight, then there’s gotta be somewhere I can put it.” “I think most people who submit applications after hours do it online and pay with a card,” he said. “Why don’t you do that?” Shit. I only had the print copy of her story. “Um…this is the only copy of my manuscript that I have. My computer died after I printed it, and I didn’t back it up,” I lied. He sighed. “That wasn’t very bright of you. And yet you’re applying to college. Well, I do have the keys…I

suppose I could go in there and drop it in the office for you.” “Really? Thanks, man, that’d be great.” I handed him the envelope with the application, and he glanced at the name on it. “Your name is Sophie Ramirez?” “Uh…yeah. My parents are really progressive hippies. They decided to give me a girl’s name to…err…subvert gender stereotypes.” He narrowed his eyes. I could tell he didn’t believe my ridiculous lie, but he must have figured it wasn’t really part of his job description to care, because he nodded a second later. “Right. Well, I’ll drop this in there

now. Good luck, Sophie. Hope you make it in.” By the time I’d walked back to my car and left the campus, it was already well past midnight. I wanted to go back home and tell Sophie what I’d done for her, but it could wait. She’d probably be asleep by now, and my flight to New York was at five A.M. I needed to get to the airport an hour early to check in, so instead of heading home, I turned around and headed for the airport. My stuff was already in the car, and I wasn’t even tired. I could just hang around an airport café for a few hours before checking in. I just hoped Sophie wasn’t too mad at me when she realized what I’d done.

Chapter 20 Sophie “I’m going to kill him. I’m seriously going to kill him.” I rampaged around my room, still searching in vain for my story. I’d tried calling Drew twenty times before I’d given up and gone to sleep several nights earlier, but he hadn’t answered. It had been five days since then, and he still wasn’t answering, let alone returning

any of my calls. The story was still nowhere to be seen. “I can’t believe you’re still looking for it,” Cerie said. She and Lana had come over to commiserate with me. “Sorry, Soph, but I think it’s about time you gave up. Hasn’t it been nearly a week since you lost it?” “Yes. I just keep thinking it will appear if I keep searching.” Truthfully, I was deluding myself. I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that it was gone. “Are you sure one of the maids didn’t accidentally throw it out?” Lana asked. I shook my head. “No. It was right there before I left for dinner that night.”

I pointed to the spot on the desk, and Cerie wrinkled her forehead. “Maybe the window was open, and a breeze blew it away. Did you check outside?” “The window wasn’t open.” “Well, you still have a copy on your computer, right?” “Yes, but that’s not the point. Someone took the printed draft, and I think we all know who,” I said. “I don’t want Drew to have it.” “How long is his photo shoot thing?” Lana asked. “He should be back by tomorrow,” I said. “I found out that it was only a week-long thing.” “Well, when he gets back, you can ask him then.”

“I guess. But it would be nice if he hadn’t most likely stolen my freakin’ story in the first place.” My phone buzzed a moment later, and I excused myself from the girls before answering. “Hello?” “Hi, is this Sophie Ramirez?” “Uh-huh.” “Sophie, my name is Alison Wilkins. I’m calling from the Arts and Literature department at Hart-Guildford. We received your late application, and quite frankly, we were blown away.” Huh? I hadn’t applied to HartGuildford. It was a prestigious college not far from where I was currently living, and it offered the best creative

writing course in the country. I would certainly have liked to have applied, but I’d concentrated my applications solely on good engineering schools. “I’m sorry, what?” I said. “Your application. Normally it would take us a couple of weeks to consider an application, especially a late one, but Professor Dunham couldn’t put your manuscript down from the second she picked it up. Congratulations, Sophie. We’ll be sending you a package in the mail to get started in the enrolment process, and we’ve just emailed you an online confirmation as well. And don’t worry, the late fee is all paid up. Your brother called us to confirm that the check cleared.”

What. The. Hell. Drew must have handed in a late application for me, judging by what she’d just said about the late fee and the fact that he was the only one who’d had access to my story aside from me. But why would he do that? “Um…okay, then,” I said, not really knowing what else to say without confusing the hell out of the woman on the other end of the line. “Thank you for letting me know.” Cerie and Lana stared at me with their eyes wide, and I filled them in on the phone call. “Oh my god!” Lana squealed, clapping her hands together. “Are you going to go?”

“I already enrolled at Caltech,” I said. “So? You can pull out. It’s not too late yet.” “Hmm…I don’t know.” “What is it you really want to do?” Cerie asked, her hands on her hips. “Is it writing, or is it engineering?” “Well…writing,” I admitted. “But my Mom…” She held up her hand and cut me off. “It isn’t entirely up to your Mom. I think you should go and do what you want. If it doesn’t pan out, then you still have time to go and do something like engineering. You’re only eighteen, Soph. You don’t need to have your entire life planned out!”

I hesitated. She was right. I was too young to be chaining myself to a career I probably wouldn’t even enjoy. Maybe I would accept the position at HartGuildford. After all, it was really exciting that they’d accepted me. I’d heard their writing program only had an acceptance rate of ten percent. My application had been late, which made it even less likely for me to get in. I guess my writing was better than I thought. As I mulled things over, Lana’s phone rang. “Hello?” she answered. Her eyebrows immediately shot up. “Oh. Hi. Uh-huh. Yeah, I’ll tell her. Yeah, they just called her. Yep. Err…probably a

lot. Okay, bye.” “Who was that?” Lana and I both asked at the same time. “It was Drew,” Cerie replied. “He said he tried calling you the other day, but you’d blocked his number. Then he had to go do this shoot thing way up in the country in New York State somewhere, and he had no cell phone service. Now he’s back in New York City, and he still couldn’t get through to you so he somehow got my number and called me.” Oops. I’d totally forgotten. When I was mad at him, I’d blocked him from texting or calling me, because I didn’t want to hear any of his crap. So even if he’d missed a bunch of calls from me, he

couldn’t call me back. “What did he want?” I asked. “He just wanted to let you know that he dropped in the application for you, and he wanted to know if you got in. He also wanted to know how much you were going to stab him when he gets home tomorrow.” A blush slowly crept across my cheeks. “So that’s why he took my story,” I said. “He thought he was helping. He wasn’t trying to be a dick.” The anger I felt towards him was slowly dissipating, although I was still mad at him for stealing my story. At least his heart had been in the right place. “Oh my god,” Lana said, a soppy expression on her face. “Soph, that’s so

sweet of him. He knew you really wanted to study writing, didn’t he?” “Yeah, I guess.” “You can’t be mad at him anymore!” she said. “Seriously, I think it’s really cute how much effort he went to, just to make you happy.” “Did you forget everything I told you about his friend Caleb and their little deal?” I said. Cerie sighed. “I say this in the nicest way possible, but is there a chance you’re overthinking it and overreacting? I mean, he admitted the whole thing, and he said that after the first couple of days it didn’t meant anything, and he realized he actually really cared about you. He said he felt terrible about it, remember?

Just think about it, Soph. He wouldn’t have done half the stuff he’s done if he didn’t genuinely care about you. And he wouldn’t still be trying, would he?” I sighed and mulled over their words. Crap. They were right. I’d reacted in the heat of the moment and taken things too far by completely cutting him off, and even then, Drew was still trying his hardest to get me back. He wasn’t giving up on me, and I’d been wrong to give up on him so fast. Especially considering how I still felt about him deep down. “You’re right,” I said. “I’ll talk to him as soon as he gets back.”

Drew had just arrived home, and he was sitting beside the pool, dangling his legs in the water and nursing a glass of what appeared to be scotch. Of course. Scotch whiskey for the cool kids. I could barely handle anything that tasted stronger than a vodka and orange. I sat down next to him. “Hey. Can we talk?” He looked over at me. “Did you think of more stuff to bitch at me about, or just can’t bring yourself to stay away from me?” I winced at his words, and a cheeky grin broke out on his face. “Sophie. I’m kidding. Let’s talk.” I sighed with relief. “I just wanted to say thanks for what you did. With the

application and all.” “Cerie said you got in.” “Yes. I did get in.” His grin grew even wider. “I knew you would.” “I’m still mad that you stole my manuscript, though.” He cocked an eyebrow. “How mad?” “Mad enough to do this.” I reached over and shoved him, and he went flying into the pool, drink and all. “Oh, come on!” he said as he emerged, shaking his hair like a wet dog. “I know I’ve been a dick, but that was harsh.” I flashed him an evil grin. “Now

we’re even.” He pulled himself out of the water and wrapped his cold, wet arms around me. “No, now we’re even!” I giggled, and he pulled away from me. “So…in case I haven’t already said it a million times, I’m really fucking sorry about the dare,” he said, his words colored with pure regret. “I know,” I said. And this time, I really believed it. “I also thought about what you said.” “Which part?” I asked. “The other night when you said we just keep arguing, making up and then arguing again. Let’s not do that anymore. We’re not teenagers.” “Err...yes we are. I’m eighteen.

You’re nineteen.” “Oh, quiet. You know what I mean. I meant we’re not dumb kids, and we should communicate better. Tell each other everything, even if we think it might make the other mad.” “In that case, I have to admit something to you. I think the guy who comes to clean the pool every day is kinda sexy,” I teased. “Oh yeah, with that beer gut and all. I think he’s sexy too,” he replied with a chuckle. “Seriously, though. Total honesty from now on. I won’t keep anything from you.” My heart fluttered a little. “Promise?” “Yes. I promise.”

“So there’s definitely no more dark secrets? No more Atlantis Phantoms in the closet?” “Nope.” “Well, in the name of total honesty, do you think it’s time we came clean to our parents about what we’ve been doing?” He sighed. “Yeah, I guess it is. Dad’s away at the moment, but I’ll tell him when he gets back.” “I’m meant to be shopping with my Mom tomorrow. I’ll tell her then.” “Need me to come?” he asked. “I think I can manage on my own,” I replied. “At least I hope so…”

Chapter 21 Sophie Mom and I had just spent a relaxing day wandering from store to store at the mall, and we’d ended things by getting coffee at our favorite café. “Did you get everything you needed?” she asked as she stirred a sugar into her latte. “Uh-huh. Mom, there’s something important that I need to tell you,” I

replied. “What is it, honey?” she asked, her eyebrows drawing together in a concerned expression. “Well, I really don’t know how to tell you this, but…” My voice faltered and my sentence trailed off. I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t tell her that I was in love with my stepbrother. I just couldn’t bring myself to do it, not without him here by my side to support me. Dammit, he’d offered to come. I should have agreed. Mom cocked her head to the side. “Well?” she said. “What is it?” I had to come up with something, and fast. “I…err…I’m not going to Caltech,” I

finally replied. “I’ve been accepted into Hart-Guildford, and I’ve decided to go there instead and do a writing course.” She hesitated for a moment, then looked slightly relieved. “Oh, honey. I was worried there for a minute. I thought you were going to tell me you were pregnant or something!” “So you’re not mad?” She sighed. “No, of course not. I know I’ve pushed Caltech and engineering on you pretty hard, but I’ve seen how much you enjoy writing when you think no one’s watching. If that’s what you really want to do and you think you can make it work, then I’m happy for you. God knows I’ve made some bad decisions in life...maybe I shouldn’t be

giving you advice for yours at all.” “No, don’t say that,” I said. “You were right to push me to study hard. And if the writing thing doesn’t pan out, I’ll enrol in engineering like we planned. I’m still young.” She smiled and patted me on the hand. “I’m proud of you. And you’re right. You’ve still got your while life ahead of you.” Well, that was a relief. That was another thing I’d been worried about telling her, and it had made the perfect cover for the situation I’d found myself in just now. She’d bought that it was the only thing I needed to tell her, and I was safe for now. Or so I hoped. “Is there anything else you want to

talk to me about?” she asked. Uh-oh. For a split second, I thought she might actually know about me and Drew already. “Um…no.” “All right. Just remember, you can talk to me about anything.” “Mm-hmm.” I’d wussed out this time, but that didn’t change the fact that the truth was going to come out eventually. My Mom was still watching me closely with an odd look in her eyes, and she stood up. “Come on,” she said. “Let’s go home.”

Chapter 22 Drew “So you didn’t tell her.” Sophie lay in my arms as we lazily reclined in my bed, and I looked down at her ruffled hair. “No,” she replied. “I chickened out.” “I think we’ve built it up so much in our heads as some big taboo thing, and that’s what’s making it hard to tell our parents,” I said. “Look, my Dad will be

back tonight. Why don’t we sit down with the two of them and tell them together? It’s really not that big of a deal. We aren’t actually related, so they can’t stop us.” “Yeah. That’s a good idea.” “I’m honestly surprised they don’t already know. I mean, this house is big and all, but you get pretty loud sometimes.” “Hey! I do not,” she replied, giggling as I reached a hand down her top. “Want me to prove it?” I said, squeezing her tits until her nipples stiffened into hard pebbles. She sighed and squirmed under my touch. “Mmm…please do.” With one quick movement, I pinned

her under me on the bed and leaned down to kiss her, and she gasped with delight before my mouth silenced her. I started tearing her clothes off, my lips never leaving hers. Our tongues warred in a hot embrace, and my hands slid into the waistband of her panties, pulling them down before finding the warm wetness underneath. I slid a finger into her pussy and pumped it in and out, the pad of my thumb applying just the right amount of pressure to her clit. “Oh god…” she murmured. “Drew…” It felt so good to hear my name on her lips, and I slid another finger in her, delving deep and refusing to stop until she was bucking her hips up and down,

each of her breaths coming fast and shallow. I pulled back for a moment and finally ripped her panties all the way off, tossing them on the floor before leaning over and pressing my lips to her tits and down to her soft belly. She moaned loudly, her legs shaking uncontrollably as I grabbed her thighs and spread them wide, giving me all the room I needed to slide my tongue over her clit. I didn’t hold anything back. Her scent, her taste…everything about her drove me completely fucking wild. I groaned as I strummed her hard clit with my tongue, and as her legs began to shake even more, I took that as my cue to lick her even harder and faster. She let out a wild moan, and her legs

suddenly clamped tight as she came, trapping me between her thighs. I tried to keep going, but she pushed me away. “No more,” she gasped. “No more foreplay, Drew.” She rolled over onto her stomach and then got up on all fours before looking over her shoulder with a wicked expression, inviting me to glide my cock right into her sweet center. I didn’t waste any time, and soon she was rocking back and forth on my cock while I gripped her hips tight, my breath hitching as I watched my dick disappear into her pussy. The fact that I was filling her to the hilt, the fact that her tight pussy was massaging me to perfection as my balls slapped against her thighs…neither of

those things were the best part of this. No, the best part was simply being with her again. She began to squeeze and release her muscles around me, and I groaned as she almost brought me to the brink. “Oh, fuck,” I muttered. I pulled out before I exploded everywhere and lay on my back, one eyebrow cocked. She smiled and straddled me, and then she was riding me, slowly and rhythmically, throwing her head back and biting her lip. I lifted my hips, thrusting deeper inside her as she rode me, grinding our bodies together until she began to lose control. Grabbing a handful of her hair, I growled a command.

“Come for me, baby.” “Mmm…I’m so close,” she moaned, her breath hissing out in short bursts between whimpers. “Now,” I ordered. Her muscles squeezed my cock before I even finished the word, and my balls clenched as I let go, filling her up with my hot release as she panted and moaned. She collapsed onto my chest a second later, her face and hair dripping with sweat. “Did I tell you that I love you?” I murmured into her ear. “Not yet. But I know.” “Gonna leave me hanging, woman?” I said, messing up her hair even more. She leaned back and laughed softly,

then affected a more serious gaze. “You know I love you too.” Those were by far the sweetest words I’d ever heard.

Sophie had accompanied her Mom to surprise my Dad at his private airfield upon his return with his favorite cheeseburger and fries combo from a little café down the road from our old house in Redmond. It had always been his favorite spot for takeout meals when I was growing up, and even though he was accustomed to much finer dining now, we all knew he still appreciated the occasional carb and fat blowout.

While they were out, I was hunting through my Dad’s home office for a necklace that used to belong to my mother. I knew he kept it in one of his safes, and he’d always told me that when I found the right girl, I could give it to her. Seeing as Sophie and I were planning on telling our parents about our relationship tonight, I figured I may as well demonstrate to my father just how much I cared about her by giving her the necklace. If only I knew the damn combos to either one of his safes. There were two of them, side by side behind his dark cherry-wood desk, and I racked my brain. I could have sworn he’d mentioned the codes to me once. Finally

I remembered that the code for the left one was a combination of my birthday and my mother’s middle name. I had no idea what the combo for the right one was, but hopefully the necklace would be in the left one. Shit. As the little door swung open, all I could see was a stack of files, papers and…hang on. What the fuck was this? On top of all the files were two plastic Ziploc bags. One contained a comb with several strands of hair still in the teeth, and the other contained a halfempty bottle of cologne. It was an old Armani fragrance that they’d discontinued several years ago, and I wondered what the hell was so special

about it that Dad had locked it away. As I held the bags in my hand and gazed at the dark strands of hair stuck on the comb, a horrifyingly cold sensation began to crawl up my spine. Realization. No. No fucking way. I must have been mistaken. I needed to investigate further before jumping to any wild conclusions. I carefully put the bags on the floor and grabbed the first file. There were papers detailing the sale of Marie’s land to a small development company called Haynes, and underneath it were more papers detailing the acquisition of Haynes earlier this year. By my Dad’s company, no less.

I pulled out another file. When I opened it, the first thing I saw were petition to divorce papers along with another few sheets of paper with messy handwriting all over them. It looked like a child’s attempt to learn to write each letter of the alphabet, but as I looked closer, I saw that they were practice sheets. My father had been copying someone else’s writing style and attempting to emulate it, and I turned one of the papers over to see that he’d actually gotten really good at it towards the end. Fuck. I dug deeper and found an old letter written by Sophie’s father some eight years ago, before he’d disappeared. The

handwriting was exactly the same. So my father had been learning to write exactly like him, using the old letter as a guide. It was him who’d written all those threatening letters in the last several weeks, going so far as to stick old hair in the envelope and even spray cologne on it to make it as convincing as possible. He’d known Marie kept her ex’s old stuff up in the attic…it wouldn’t have taken him too long to get his hands on it all. That fucking duplicitous bastard. Sophie’s father hadn’t come back to demand they sell the land at all. He had died in that boating accident. My Dad had been emulating him and pretending he was alive just to terrify Marie and

Sophie enough to convince Marie that she had no choice but to sell the land. The land might have only been worth a million or so on its own, but developing it would make my father way more than that. Maybe even a hundred million. He must have been planning this whole scheme for months, and I was willing to bet the chance encounter that got Marie and him together in San Francisco in the first place hadn’t been a coincidence at all. No wonder he’d married her so fucking fast. I knew my father was capable of some sneaky shit, but this was beyond the pale. He’d literally married a woman just so he could scam her out of her land and make bank on it. He knew Marie

would never have sold the land otherwise, so he’d come up with what he obviously thought was an ingenious plan to force her to sell it off. He’d only offered to pay her ex off to make himself look good, and he knew she’d be too proud to accept. When she’d asked him to handle the land sale as he anticipated she would, he’d sold the land to one of his own smaller companies that she wasn’t aware of. He’d even swindled her out of the money she’d made from selling the land by pretending to send it to a secret offshore account to ‘pay off’ her ex, who of course had actually most likely been dead this whole time. Lastly, all he had to do was divorce her, and considering he’d probably made her sign

an ironclad pre-nup, she wouldn’t get a cent of the money his company eventually made from developing the land, seeing as she’d signed over all her rights to it when she sold it. All this for a few more million in the bank. The worst part was that he didn’t even need more money. His company had been increasing its profits by a substantial margin every year since it had started. I seethed, unable to believe my own father was such a fucking prick. He’d gone to so much trouble to deceive Marie, and yet he’d been stupid enough to keep some of the evidence in his own safe at home, where I’d easily found it. That was the main weakness of rich,

powerful men like him. They thought they were totally invincible and couldn’t even imagine a world in which they might actually get caught, so they weren’t always careful like you’d assume they would be. I was still kneeling on the floor in shock when Sophie and Marie walked in. “There you are! We’ve been looking for you all over. Your Dad’s back. He accidentally spilled his fries all over his lap, so he’s gone to take a quick…wait, what are you doing?” Sophie gazed at me, uncertainty marring her features as she saw the Ziploc bags next to me. “Is that…is that my Dad’s cologne?”

Before I could stop her, she kneeled beside me and gazed at all the papers. She came to the same conclusion as me a lot quicker than I had, and she abruptly stood up, a horrified expression on her face. “None of this was real. He is dead. Holy fuck!” She gathered up all the evidence and put it on the desk for her Mom to see, and Marie’s face turned pale as a sheet. I didn’t know what to say, and I simply stood there, my heart hammering in my chest like crazy. “Did you know about this? Did you know your Dad was only using us to get the land?” Sophie demanded, her eyes flashing as she turned to me.

I didn’t reply for a long moment, unsure of how to respond. I had thought that my Dad and Marie’s marriage had been very sudden, and I had suspected a while ago that he might want to get his hands on her land…but I’d had absolutely no idea just how far he would go with the whole thing. Fuck. I should’ve told Sophie of my suspicions weeks ago. Then I wouldn’t be standing here looking so damned guilty right now. That moment of hesitation was what sealed my fate. There was no way she’d believe that I hadn’t been in on the whole scam now. A totally innocent person would have professed their innocence immediately, rather than standing there looking as guilty as a thief

like I was currently doing. They’d literally caught me red-handed with all the evidence, which did nothing to help matters. The hurt look on her face pierced my soul. “Hurting me is one thing. But my Mom...” “Wait…” I tried to stop her, but words suddenly failed me. What could I say? ‘I didn’t know, but I’m sorry my Dad scammed your Mom’? Yeah, that’d go down well. Her voice trailed off, and she knew she’d made her point. “Come on,” she said, grabbing her Mom’s hand and throwing an icy glare in my direction. “Let’s go home. Our real home.”

Chapter 23 Sophie My heart was a black hole. The last week had been a living nightmare. Mom was an inconsolable wreck, and I wasn’t much better. The look on Drew’s face when I caught him with all that stuff…God, was there any way he hadn’t known what his Dad was up to? He hadn’t exactly denied it, and I’d spent the last several days in a haze.

I hadn’t even cried. Every part of me was numb. Just when we’d made a total honesty pact with each other, I’d discovered that it meant nothing – he and his father had been scamming us the whole time. He’d only pretended to love me to distract me from finding out what was really going on. The first few days, I’d been in total denial. I’d sat here and waited, wishing and praying for Drew to show up on our doorstep begging me to believe that he hadn’t known what his father had been up to, and that it was all some massive misunderstanding. But he hadn’t shown up. He hadn’t even sent me so much as a text, which pretty much confirmed for me that he’d been in on it.

Those Buckley men were some twisted fucks. My Mom sniffed and blew her nose again as we sat at the kitchen table with Lana’s father, Kevin. He was a divorce lawyer, and he’d agreed to help us out. My poor Mom had barely stopped crying since we’d left the Buckley house that night. We hadn’t even gone back for our things. Tony had packed it all up and had it delivered two days later, and he hadn’t even bothered contacting us in any other way since then. “Firstly, I’m going to try to get your marriage annulled,” Kevin said, pushing his wire-rimmed glasses up on his nose. “He essentially tricked you into marrying him. That’s fraud, and it’s

grounds for an annulment.” “Okay.” “As for the matter of getting your land back, we’ll also go after him for fraud. The manner in which he deceived you into selling it is despicable, if I say so myself. He defrauded you, and that’s going to be our argument. The problem is proving it.” My eyes had been on the table, but they shot up immediately at that. “What do you mean? We saw it! It was all there, in his office!” “But did you take any of the evidence you found with you?” he asked. Mom shook her head. “We just left. We weren’t exactly thinking straight.” Kevin sighed. “He’s probably gone

and destroyed it by now, or come up with some ridiculous explanation as to why it was there. I’ve been speaking with some of my associates at the firm, and they have a fairly solid idea of how Tony’s defense team are going to play this.” “How?” “They’ll claim it was your first exhusband sending those letters. They’ll also claim you knew full well that you were selling your land to one of Tony’s companies, and seeing as you did sign the papers, it’ll be your word against his. They’ll also call the police and CSIs to the stand, and they’ll all testify that the DNA found on the letters matches that of your ex-husband.”

“They can’t do that.” “Unfortunately, they can. The DNA does match. Tony made sure of that, as you know. They’ll also say you’ve suffered some sort of mental breakdown in recent weeks, and that’s why you’re accusing Tony of what they will probably refer to as utterly ludicrous charges.” My Mom’s eyes widened. “But it wasn’t just me. Sophie saw the things in the office too.” “They’ll say she’s lying for you.” “I can’t believe this is happening,” Mom murmured, putting her head in her hands. “Wait,” I said. “What about the money from the land sale? Can’t you

trace where that went? If he just put it in his own account, that’ll prove it was him behind the whole shady shit-show.” “I already did that. It was sent to an anonymous Austrian bank account and withdrawn a week later. So far, we haven’t been able to trace where it went after that. We have no way of proving that it was Tony and not your father who accessed that money, Sophie.” I wanted to slap myself in the face for not grabbing everything I could from Tony’s home office before we left that night. Then again, Drew would have stopped us anyway. The thought of his name alone made a cold shiver run down my spine, and I felt sick to my stomach to the point where I thought I might

actually vomit on the table. “Do we have any hope of winning this at all?” Mom asked, her entire body already sagging in defeat. “I won’t lie. It will be very difficult. He has a stellar defense team, and he’s set it all up very well. I’ll keep digging, but right now the only thing that will really help our case is if we either prove that your ex-husband is definitely dead and has been for years, or if we get someone to testify against Tony.” “And that’s not going to happen. Even if someone knew what he was up to, he’d probably just pay them off.” “Exactly.” My heart sank. Kevin was a good lawyer, but we were still going to be up

for a big, lengthy court battle against a whole team of legal sharks, and we’d probably end up losing. Mom’s eyes filled with tears again. “Where do I find these men?” she said. “Am I just a magnet for horrible people, or is it my fault?” Kevin put his hand on hers and gently patted her. “It isn’t your fault, Marie. You were vulnerable, and Tony took advantage of that. He probably spent a lot of time planning this.” “No, it is my fault,” she said. “I shouldn’t have gotten married again so fast. We were only dating for five months before we ran off to Vegas together like a pair of idiots. Except I was the only idiot in this scenario,

apparently.” “It’s not your fault you trust people, Marie. I’m surprised you found it in yourself to trust anyone again after what your first husband did to you,” Kevin said. “It’s not a bad quality to trust people, but the scum of the world will take advantage of it if they can.” “Well, I don’t think I’ll be trusting anyone again after this,” she mumbled, putting her head back in her hands. Kevin asked us a few more quick questions, and after he’d left, I quietly made my Mom a cup of tea. She stared at me over the top of her mug for a minute before speaking. “I wasn’t the only one fooled by a Buckley man, was I?”

“What do you mean?” “I know about you and Drew,” she said. “When we had coffee the other day and you said you had something to tell me, I thought you were finally going to come clean.” I was aghast. “You knew?” “I wasn’t born yesterday, Sophie. You two weren’t exactly good at hiding it. But don’t worry. I never told Tony. I kept it to myself until you were ready to talk about it.” I cast my eyes down. “Oh.” “I’m not angry at you, Sophie. I wasn’t surprised when I realized what was going on. Drew was your best friend when you were a kid, and he certainly grew up to be a very handsome

young man. Unfortunately he’s just like his father.” She reached over and squeezed my hand. “I’m sorry you had to find out the hard way, honey. Not all men can be trusted, and it seems like Drew is one of them. Like father, like son, I guess.” Tears sprang to me eyes, and every bit of emotion I’d been trying so desperately to hide from her welled up all at once. “I really believed him when he said he loved me. He was so…he was so perfect.” “I know, I know,” she said. “Oh, Sophie, it’s not your fault. I guess you inherited your ability to be too trusting from your old Mom here.” “You aren’t old.”

“I feel old. I think this situation has aged me about a hundred years. I even found a grey hair the other day.” For some reason, that sent her over the edge, and she dissolved into tears all over again. I held her for a while, crying as well, and when we were finally out of tears, she stood up. “I think I need a nap,” she said. “I’m just so tired.” “Good idea,” I said. “I might do the same soon.” Ten minutes later, I was in the bathroom, sitting on the cool tiles of the floor. As a final cherry on top of the crap cake that was my life, I’d missed my period. It was probably just the stress from the last few weeks making me miss

it, because according to all the magazines I’d read, that sort of thing happened to women all the time. It made total sense. That had to be it. The two pink lines on the pregnancy test said otherwise.

Chapter 24 Drew My fucking prick of a Dad was going down. I’d been lying low for a week now, because he had no idea it was going to be his own son who took him down. I wanted it to be a surprise. I wanted to see his mouth drop open in a perfect ‘O’ when they called me to testify against him and tell the judge exactly what he’d

been doing. You shoulda heard the way the bastard tried to explain things to me when everything had blown up in his face. He’d just gotten out of the shower when Marie and Sophie went tearing out of the house, and his face was ashen when he’d seen me standing in the study with all the evidence of his deception. “Son, this is all a misunderstanding,” he’d said, his face twisted in faux sadness. “When I found that toothbrush to give to the police a few weeks ago, I went back looking for more stuff in the attic the next day to see if there was anything else that might help prove it was Marie’s ex-husband who wrote those letters. I found the comb, an old

letter and his old cologne. I thought that’d help prove it was definitely him, and I took it to the police but they said they already had enough. I kept it, just in case they ever did need it.” I was willing to bet a million bucks he’d paid off a police officer to back that claim up if the need ever arose. “Oh yeah? And what about this sheet of paper where it looks like you’ve been trying to learn to write just like him?” I’d said, unable to believe he was still telling such bald-faced lies. He sighed. “Because we hadn’t heard from him again after we paid him off, I thought maybe I could pretend to write a letter from him to Marie, saying he’d received the money and was going

to leave us alone. Just to give her peace of mind. I never ended up getting good enough at it to pull that off, though.” Yeah, sure. “Right. And what about the petition to divorce papers and the land sale documents? She had no idea one of your companies was buying the land, judging by her reaction just now.” “I don’t know what to tell you. She was well aware that she was selling the land to one of my subsidiary companies. She was also well aware of all the money I’d make from developing it, and as my wife, she was going to be entitled to half. If she says otherwise, she’s lying. I have no idea why she’s reacting like this. Perhaps the stress of everything

has driven her a little nuts.” Jesus. He was actually trying to claim that Marie was just crazy. “As for the petition to divorce papers,” he continued. “Well, I’ve had them sitting there for a while on the off chance the marriage does disintegrate. It doesn’t mean I was planning on divorcing her.” It was all bullshit with a capital B. He was trying to get me on his side, because he knew if his own son testified against him, he’d be sprung. I honestly couldn’t believe he thought I was that stupid that I’d believe any of his crap. It was just so fucking obvious that he was lying. I hadn’t tried to contact Sophie since

she left. I knew what she thought of me now, and I knew if I even tried, she’d probably murder me. I didn’t exactly have the best track record at keeping her trust. All I could do was wait until she and her Mom realized I was going to help them in their case against my Dad, and then she’d realize I‘d had absolutely no part in the deception. Then I’d finally have her back in my arms again…if she was willing to look past the fact that my father had royally screwed her mother. Right now I was meeting with Kevin Beck, who was going to be representing Marie in the case she was bringing against my father. His eyes narrowed at me behind his glasses. “So what are you doing here,

Drew? Come to offer a deal from your father? Because I’ll tell you now, Marie will not be paid off to keep her mouth shut. She wants justice for what he did. She deserves justice.” “I know. I’ve come to help.” His eyebrows shot up. “You want to help Marie?” “Yes. My Dad is full of shit. I know he’s lying, and if you guys are bringing a case against him, I want to testify against him.” Kevin took his glasses off and rubbed his eyes before looking back at me. “Son, if you actually want to do this, you know your father will be in a lot of trouble. He’ll face jail time.” “Good.”

He stared at me for a long moment, clearly not believing that I was actually serious. “This isn’t a trick,” I said. “I don’t care if he’s my father. He destroyed an innocent woman’s life, just so he could develop that land and make a huge amount of money off it. He’s a fucking shark.” “That’s exactly what he is,” Kevin said. “And we intend to make him pay. Drew…if you really want to do this, then this is a major coup for us. Right now we barely have a case. It’s basically Marie’s word against your father’s. But with your testimony, we’ll actually have a very decent shot at beating your father. I assume he’s

destroyed the evidence you found in his study?” “Well, he tried to tell me that it wasn’t even evidence.” I filled him in on the excuse Dad had given me, and Kevin guffawed. “Christ. He must think we’re all a bunch of idiots.” “I think he’s panicking. He’s used to people saying yes to him and believing everything he says.” “So has he destroyed it or not?” “I don’t know. He says he hasn’t, but who knows with him? Either way, he doesn’t know that I managed to liberate this from his office before he tried to clean up.” I pulled out a sheet of paper from my

bag. It was the scrap paper he’d been using to try and emulate the handwriting of Sophie’s father. “I found this in his office along with the other stuff. He has an excuse for it, but any court will think that excuse is bullshit. He says he just wanted to write one fake letter to Marie to give her peace of mind. No one will believe that for a second, right?” Kevin nodded and then stood up before extending a hand. “You’re doing a good thing, young man. It can’t be easy for you to abandon your own father and testify against him.” I nodded, unsure of how to respond. It actually wasn’t that hard. The minute I’d figured out what he was up to, I’d

started to hate him. I didn’t care if he lost his whole fortune. I didn’t care if he went to prison. I didn’t even care about the inheritance money I’d lose if I went ahead with this; hell, I made an okay amount at my modeling jobs, and I still had my trust fund. That had become legally mine as soon as I turned eighteen, and my Dad couldn’t touch it. He could shove the rest up his ass. All that mattered to me was Sophie. My Sophie. And now that I was working with her mother’s lawyer, I was going to get her back.

Chapter 25 Sophie “It’s going to be okay,” Cerie said, squeezing my hand. Lana was sitting on the other side of me in the doctor’s office, and she rubbed my back. “Yeah, it will be fine. No matter what happens, we’re here for you.” I stared anxiously at a poster on the medical center’s wall before gazing

down at my feet. “I don’t even know if I actually am pregnant. The test was positive, but I was bleeding a little bit this morning. So maybe the test was wrong and my period was just late.” “My Mom said that when she was pregnant with me and my brothers, she had a bit of spotting in the early stages,” Cerie said. “It really freaked her out, but apparently it’s normal. So you might still be pregnant.” She saw my face and backtracked. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to freak you out.” “I know. I just don’t understand how this could have happened. I’m on the pill!” “That can happen,” Lana said. “But there’s no point over-stressing yourself

about it until you’ve actually seen the doctor.” She was right, but I couldn’t help but stress about it. What would I do if I was pregnant? Would I have to drop the idea of going to college altogether? Did I really want to be a single mom at eighteen? So many questions, and so little time for me to think of any real answers. Just a few weeks ago during Drew’s pregnancy scare with Vanessa, I’d been thinking of how I wasn’t ready to be a stepmom…and now I was having to worry about being an actual mom. Alone. A short grey-haired doctor emerged from the hallway and called my name. “Sophie Ramirez?”

I stood up and followed her into her office, and she gestured for me to sit. “Hi, Sophie, I’m Dr. Lang. What can I do for you today?” she asked, pulling up my records on her computer screen. I clasped my hands together in my lap and mumbled a response. “I think I might be pregnant. My period was late, and I took a test. It said it was positive, but I started bleeding a bit this morning, so I don’t know what’s going on.” She nodded. “I see here that you were prescribed a contraceptive pill a while ago. Have you still been taking it?” “Yes. That’s why I’m so confused.” “Unfortunately, contraceptives aren’t one-hundred percent effective. There are

a number of different things that can make them fail, but first things first. Let’s see if you’re actually pregnant before we worry about anything else.” “Okay.” “Now, the quickest and easiest way for me to test that right here is if you give me a urine sample. Would you be able to go in the bathroom and fill this jar for me?” She handed me a plastic specimen container, and I headed into the bathroom. Luckily, I’d had three cups of tea this morning, and that always made me need to pee like crazy. When I’d filled the specimen jar, I took it back in and gave it to the doctor. She took it into another part of the room and dipped

some sort of strip in it, and she returned a few minutes later. “Okay, Sophie, the pregnancy strip is definitely testing positive for HCG. That means it’s most likely that you are pregnant. I’d like to confirm by running some blood tests and doing a physical examination. When was your last period?” “Five weeks ago.” “We date pregnancies according to the date of your last ovulation, which would usually be around two weeks before your period. So that would put the pregnancy at seven weeks. Now, would you mind getting up on the exam table? I’ll do a quick ultrasound, and then I’ll send you down the hall to get

some blood taken.” Holy crap. Seven weeks pregnant, and I’d had no idea. I had been experiencing intermittent bouts of nausea over the last couple of weeks, but I’d assumed it was just stress or bad food. I lay back on the exam table, and Dr. Lang lifted my shirt and rubbed a cool gel on my belly. “Just relax,” she said. “At seven weeks, we can detect a tiny little heartbeat, so let’s have a look.” She ran the ultrasound over my belly, keeping her eyes on the monitor. “You said you’ve been experiencing some spotting?” she said, a concerned expression marring her otherwise friendly features.

“Yes.” “Okay, Sophie, it looks like what has happened is that you were pregnant, but you’re experiencing an early miscarriage. That’s what’s causing the bleeding. There’s no heartbeat here.” “So…so I was pregnant? But now I’m not?” She nodded and wiped the gel off my stomach. “This is actually very common,” she said in a soothing tone. “What a lot of people don’t know is that many pregnancies are lost in the very early stages. Some women don’t even notice, and they think it’s just their period when they bleed and cramp. You didn’t do anything to cause it, it’s just part of

nature.” She sat down and then began to type on her keyboard. “You’ll probably experience some more bleeding in the next few days, along with some cramping. You might also see some small clots. I’m going to prescribe you a mild sedative for the pain and also some antibiotics to stave off infection. I’ll also need you to come back in around a week and a half from now, just so we can confirm that all the tissue has expelled itself from your body.” I nodded, unable to speak. Only minutes ago, I’d been concerned about being pregnant to the Devil himself, aka Drew, but now…now all I felt was a crushing sense of loss at

the discovery that I’d lost our baby before it was even a properly-formed fetus. That feeling led me to one indubitable conclusion. Despite everything, I still loved him. Dr. Lang saw my eyes fill with tears, and she patted me on the shoulder. “Just because this was an early miscarriage doesn’t mean it’s in any way less traumatic,” she said. “If you’d like, I can refer you to a counsellor. They’re very good at helping people cope with losses.” I shook my head. This was my pain, and I didn’t want to share it with anyone. She stared at me for a moment before speaking again. “This doesn’t mean there’s anything

wrong with you. The majority of women who experience miscarriages go on to experience healthy pregnancies.” “Mm-hmm.” I could still barely speak. My brain felt like it was about to explode. My only solace was the fact that at least I wouldn’t ever have to speak to Drew about it. If I was still pregnant, then I would have had to contact him to inform him. That would have been the right thing to do, even though he obviously didn’t care all that much about doing the right thing. I left with Cerie and Lana a few minutes later, and I didn’t say a word until we reached the car. “Oh god…I’m so sorry, Soph,” Lana

said when I finally told them what the doctor had said. “I know this probably won’t make you feel any better, but at least you can still go to college now, I guess?” She was right. It didn’t make me feel any better. I stared out the window as Cerie drove us back to my house. Even though it was summer, the sky was still filled with grey clouds. Great, now even the weather was depressing. Screw this month. No, fuck this month. Way to kick a girl when she’s down, universe. “Do you want us to come spend the rest of the day with you?” Cerie asked as her car lingered in the drive. She and Lana both had the same expression; a

mixture of concern and apprehension. Neither of them knew how to help me, because none of us had ever gone through anything like this before. “Thanks, but I think I just want to be alone for a while,” I replied. “Call us if you need anything.” When they left, I practically crawled upstairs, took some of the painkillers Dr. Lang had prescribed and then slid into bed. I was starting to get some cramps now, and I groaned as I tried to make myself comfortable. Somehow I doubted I’d ever be comfortable again. It didn’t feel like I’d just lost a baby. It felt like I’d lost everything.

Chapter 26 Sophie “Sophie! Are you awake?” I called out towards the door, my mind still foggy from too much sleep. “I am now.” I’d previously told my Mom that I’d come down with some sort of cold for the last forty-eight hours. I didn’t need to add to her misery by telling her what had happened to me with the pregnancy.

She pushed my door open and came in, looking surprisingly upbeat. “Are you feeling any better? It’s almost two P.M. You’ve been in bed all day,” she said. “I know. I’m better. I’m just tired,” I said. It wasn’t exactly a lie. The cramping and bleeding seemed to have mostly stopped after two days, and now I just felt exhausted. Cerie and Lana had been in and out of the house, bringing me ice cream and chocolate and chicken soup, all to try and make me feel better, but right now I didn’t feel anything other than sadness. I thought it was strange how an early miscarriage could affect a person so much. I hadn’t been trying for

a baby, and I hadn’t even known that I was pregnant before it happened, so why was I so damned miserable? A wide grin spread across Mom’s face as she sat on the edge of my bed, and I frowned. “Why are you so happy?” I asked. “Because,” she declared. “I have some news for you. We got him. We’re going to win.” I sat bolt upright. “What?” “I spoke to Kevin. He said Drew contacted him, and he’s willing to testify against his father. We were wrong, honey. Drew didn’t know. He found that stuff in the office when he was looking for something else, and we just happened to walk in at the same time.”

My stomach did nervous flip-flops. I didn’t know whether to be happy, sad or angry. I should have been happy to discover that Drew hadn’t done anything and that he was going to help us destroy Tony, but at the same time I couldn’t help but wonder – why hadn’t he come to me and told me he was innocent of all the wrongdoings I’d been mentally accusing him of? Why leave me hanging for nine days? On top of that, I felt a crushing sense of guilt. I’d automatically assumed he was helping his father, and I hadn’t even tried to contact him either to make sure I was right in assuming so. We were both at fault, in a way. “So…that’s it. We won.” “Well, not yet. But we will. Kevin

said Tony’s lawyers are really worried, and they’re now pushing to make some sort of settlement so it doesn’t go to court. But I don’t want that. I don’t want his money. I just wanted my land back, and also for him to get a taste of some sweet justice,” Mom said. “And I got the land already! They’ve already conceded that much. It’s officially mine again. The sale to Haynes was voided.” I pushed the blankets down and reached for my cell phone. “I need to call Drew.” Mom grabbed my phone. “Not now. You can do that later. Cerie and Lana just pulled up in the drive.” “Huh? I didn’t invite them over today.”

She smiled. “I know. I did. I thought a nice girly day would be good for you, and they’ve helped me arrange a little surprise for you.” I almost had to laugh at her eagerness to make me feel better. She was the one whose last two husbands had turned out to be total psychopaths, and yet she seemed to be dealing with it really well now that all the tears were out of her system. I quickly dressed and brushed my hair, and when I finally headed downstairs, Cerie and Lana were sitting in the lounge room with mischievous smiles lighting up their pretty faces. “How are you feeling?” Cerie asked. “Mostly just tired. So what’s this

about a surprise?” I asked. They giggled. “You’ll see. But we have to blindfold you.” I glanced at my Mom, and she nodded. “Go ahead. Don’t worry, honey, we aren’t going to wrap you in plastic and throw you off a cliff.” “That was so oddly specific that now I’m worried you’re all about to do exactly that,” I replied. They all laughed at that, and my head spun with confusion as they wrapped a blindfold around my head and led me to the car. “Where are we going? And why is Mom coming?” I asked. “I told you…you’ll see,” Cerie said. We drove for what felt like an

eternity, and I grumbled from the backseat. “Are we going all the way to New Zealand?” “Not quite. Don’t worry, we’re almost there.” A few minutes later, they helped me out of the car and then guided me a few feet away. I could hear birds chirping in the distance, and a cool breeze swished my hair around my shoulders. The air was fresh and clean, and I took a deep breath. Were we at a beach or something? No, I couldn’t hear any waves crashing…it must have been a park. But why would they bring me to a park? “Are you ready?” Cerie asked. I heard Lana whispering something

to my Mom, and I strained to hear what they were saying. I could have sworn I heard her mention Drew, but I had no idea why. Cerie pulled the blindfold off a second later, and my eyes widened as I realized where we were standing. We were on Mom’s land, and there were several cars and trucks parked up along with a sign with the name of a construction company on it. “Um…I don’t get it.” A deep voice sounded behind me. “You will in a minute.” I spun around to see Drew standing there, a grin on his handsome face. Oh god. He was here. My heart fluttered at the sight of him, and he took a step towards me and motioned towards the

construction company sign. “See that?” “Yes. What’s going on?” I replied, whirling around to face my Mom. “Please tell me you haven’t decided to sell the land after all.” “Nope,” Drew replied. “It’s still hers. But she’s letting me do something with it, using my trust fund. We both agreed that it was a good idea.” “What are you doing?” “See those guys over there?” he said, pointing to a few men in the distance in high-vis work-wear. “They’re surveying the land to figure out exactly where and how we should build. We’re building a larger, proper summer camp for the kids on part of it, near where the original

cabins are. And on the other side, we’re going to be putting in a bunch of houses. Nothing overly-fancy, just your average houses. We’re donating them to a charity, and they’re going to be used to shelter families that have been victims of domestic violence. Your Mom and I agreed that it’s an important cause, considering what you’ve both been through with your Dad in the past.” I was flabbergasted. “But that…it’ll cost millions to build all of that.” He grinned. “I know. It’s going to take every cent of my trust fund.” Mom stepped over to me and put her arm around me. “After I spoke to Kevin, Drew called me. We’ve been planning this for two days.”

“Wait…you’ve known for that long?” “I’m sorry, honey. I wanted to tell you the good news as soon as I heard, but Drew wanted to keep this as a surprise,” she said, flashing me a puppydog expression. “Now, we’ll give you two a minute.” She walked away with Cerie and Lana, and I turned back to Drew. I wanted to kiss him. I wanted to jump into his arms. Instead, I did the opposite. I smacked him right in the chest. “You…you prick! You should’ve told me you were helping us! I’ve been sitting around thinking you lied to me and betrayed me and my Mom, and this whole time you were actually a good

person!” He chuckled and held my arms back before affecting a more serious expression. “I know, I know. I’m sorry. I didn’t think you’d believe me if I tried to tell you I had nothing to do with Dad’s plan. I don’t exactly have the best track record with you.” “You should have told me. I would’ve believed you. We made that total honesty pact, remember? Seriously, Drew…you should have told me.” “Well, next time you catch me with a bagful of incriminating evidence, I’ll tell you, if you promise not to run away before I get a chance.” I stared into those unbelievably blue eyes of his and finally smiled for what

felt like the first time in forever. “You did this for me. And my Mom.” “Yep. So do you like the development idea?” “I love it. It’s perfect.” “Well, I love you. And you’re perfect.” And just like that, he was wrapping his arms around me and sweeping me into an embrace that I wanted to last forever. His mouth pressed against mine, tongue sliding past my lips as goose bumps cropped up all over my arms, and my whole body buzzed with happiness. “I forgot. There’s one more thing,” he said, breaking away a second later. He walked over to his car and returned a moment later, holding two

wine glasses filled with…mac and cheese? Holy hell. “I thought we should toast the occasion,” he said. “You can’t be serious.” “C’mon, don’t you remember that night at the camp?” “I do,” I said, smiling as he handed me a glass. “Er…cheers?” He slid an arm around my shoulder and gestured towards the land. “You told me ages ago that you thought this land had more than financial worth. You were right. My Dad would have made a hundred million or so if he developed it all into vacation houses. What we’re doing instead…it might not make us anything, but it’s worth a lot

more.” “Do you remember what else I said a while ago?” “What?” “That you act like a douche but you’re secretly a good person. I guess I was right about that all along.” He chuckled, and I took a deep breath and turned to him. “Drew… there’s something I need to tell you.” His forehead creased with concern at my tone. “What is it?” Slowly and haltingly, I told him what had happened earlier in the week with me discovering I was pregnant and then later finding out that I’d already lost it. His eyes widened, and he pulled me close to him in a bear hug.

“Shit. Sophie…I’m so sorry. I wish I’d known. I wish I’d been there. I should’ve called you. I thought waiting was the best thing to do, but fuck…” “I should’ve called you too,” I said, my voice muffled by his hard chest. “It just all happened so fast.” “We’ll get through this,” he said. “We always do, babe.” He was right. In the space of just a couple of months, we’d been on a veritable rollercoaster of emotions, So many things had happened, and we’d experienced more craziness and heartache in the last few weeks than most people did in a lifetime. We’d get through this.

Chapter 27 Drew Three and a half years later “What do you think? Will the necklace look good with this dress?” Sophie did a twirl in her lilac silk dress before holding up the necklace I’d given her two years ago, and I grinned. “I hate to say something so crude in front of my mother’s necklace, but I think the

only way to improve that dress is by having you take it off.” She pouted and smacked me on the arm. “You’re disgusting, Mr. Buckley.” “And you’re damned sexy, Ms. Ramirez. Get over here.” She shrieked as I swept her up in my arms and carried her over to the bed. “Careful! The necklace!” I put the delicate jewelry aside and then reached for the zipper of her dress, and she squirmed and playfully tried to fight me off. “Drew, for God’s sake, the wedding is in half an hour!” “Yeah, I know. I’m helping you out. The messy bed hair look is in this season.”

She gave in with a giggle, throwing her head back and allowing me to pepper her neck with kisses. You’d never believe whose wedding we were about to go to, but Marie had found love again. Real love this time, when she’d least expected it. Three and a half years ago, when she’d hired Lana’s Dad, Kevin, as her divorce lawyer, they’d fallen for each other. And yes, Lana’s Dad was single at the time – Sophie told me he and Lana’s Mom had split up when she was only a child. Unsurprisingly, Marie had been very wary of entering into any new relationships after the shit her exhusband had done, not to mention the hell my Dad had put her through, and she

had made Kevin wait for it. They’d been dating for something like three years and four months before she finally agreed to marry him, and when she’d said yes, Sophie, Lana and Cerie had helped throw together a wedding in just a few weeks. I was honestly shocked that Sophie had the time to pull that off. College was crazy for her at the moment, and it seemed like she was always buried under a ton of essays and exams. She was doing great, though, and she was very near the top of her class. We were living together at her Mom’s house in Redmond, but I hoped to change that soon. I’d pulled in several good modeling contracts, and I was making a

decent amount of money from that. Not enough to match the amount I’d become accustomed to when I was living with my Dad, but it was still a very comfortable living. Speaking of my Dad…well, he was in a federal prison courtesy of the fraud charges Kevin had successfully brought against him. The reins of his company had been handed over to his second-incharge, a guy named Ron Abra, and Ron had actually offered me a highly-paid position there, despite the fact that it was my testimony that got the original CEO sent to jail. Apparently Ron valued integrity a lot more than my father did. I’d turned the position down, though. I didn’t want anything to do with my

Dad’s company, even if he was no longer in charge. Fuck that. All I wanted and needed was what I had right here beneath me – Sophie. Pulling back, I yanked off her dress, and she no longer seemed to care about me possibly messing her hair or the fabric up. I slid her panties down over her legs, and I couldn’t resist lashing her pussy with my tongue as I did so, drawing out a long moan from her. Her taste instantly made me rock hard, and I couldn’t wait to be inside her, feeling her perfect pussy massaging me to perfection. “Hurry up,” she said, watching me strip out of my clothes a second later.

Her mouth parted when she saw my cock, as if it was the first time she’d ever seen it, and that look on her face made me want to cum straight away. Jesus, after so long, she still had this effect on me. She reached over and began pumping her hand up and down along my shaft, and when I climbed back on top of her, she guided it to her slit. I teased her, rubbing it up and down until she arched her back and begged me to fuck her, and only then did I let the tip slide in. “More!” she moaned, and I grinned. “I dunno…we really should get to this wedding.” “Screw you. No, screw me,” she said.

As I pushed in one more inch, she squeezed her muscles around my cock, and that was it. I was gone. She’d asked for it, and she was going to get it. I thrust my cock all the way in, nice and hard, and she cried out and dug her nails into my back as her pussy stretched to fit me. She threw her head back again, her silky dark hair splaying out around her head on the pillowcase, and I reached under her and pulled her closer to me as I fucked her, slowly but surely. “Mmm…oh god…Drew.” She urged me on, her voice barely more than a moaning whisper, and I picked up the pace, making her scream as I slammed into her harder and faster. Sophie jerked her head up, and her lips

met mine in a crushingly-hard kiss. I could tell she was already on the verge of coming, and I reached down and slid a hand in between our writhing bodies, making sure her clit was stimulated to the max. “Oh, fuck,” she gasped out. She wrapped her legs around my back, pinning me inside her as she rode out the first waves of her climax. The best part for me was always when she came. Her muscles began to spasm around my cock, squeezing and milking it for everything I had, and I groaned and let go, flooding her with my hot seed. I kept driving into her as she moaned, making her take every last drop I had, and she arched up to meet my lips

again. My kiss muted her moans, and finally we both went still, our ragged breaths the only sound in the room as we recovered from our orgasms. “God, I love a quickie,” she said. “You saying I don’t last long?” I said with a grin, pinching her nipple. “Like I said a long time ago, you’re about a three out of ten,” she teased. “But I might get so drunk at the reception later that you have a chance at being a five.” “A five? Shit, it’s my lucky day.” We hurriedly dressed so we could make it to the wedding in time. It was being held at a quaint little bed and breakfast that looked like something straight out of the Gilmore Girls, a show

that Sophie had forced me to watch with her about a hundred times. An arrangement of white chairs and a carpeted aisle had been set up in a pretty garden, and the groom stood at the end of the aisle under an ivy-covered arch. I found a seat near the front, and I turned and watched the bridesmaids and flower girl slowly walking down the aisle. Sophie was the last to walk, and she winked at me as she caught my eye. Her hair was still a little mussed up from our earlier romp, but it didn’t look bad. It somehow looked effortlessly stylish, and I practically salivated as I watched her swaying steps, hypnotized by her body in that dress. Most people thought bridesmaid’s dresses were

purposefully ugly to make the bride look better, but Sophie looked like an angel no matter what she was wearing. As the marriage celebrant took us through the ceremony, I barely heard a word. It wasn’t that I didn’t care about Marie’s wedding; of course I did. I just couldn’t concentrate, because my eyes were glued to Sophie. There were plenty of other women here, but they all paled in comparison to her, and for a minute, I genuinely couldn’t remember what my life had been like before her. Ah, that’s right – it had been bullshit. Having her come back into my life was the best thing that could have happened to me, and as the celebrant continued to drone on and on, I knew exactly what I wanted.

I wanted to see Sophie up at the end of that aisle again. Not as a bridesmaid. As my wife.

Chapter 28 Sophie Eight months later “This is paradise. Literally.” I dangled my feet in the cool lake water off the edge of the large raft we were on. The raft had a thatched roof to keep the sun out of my eyes as I lay back, but I closed them anyway, listening to the quiet sound of the wind and the barely-

moving water. We were in Loei. It was a province in north-eastern Thailand, and it was much different from what most vacationers would expect upon going to Thailand. It was a quiet, secluded area up in the mountains, and there was none of the buzz most tourists looked for in much bigger places like Bangkok or any of the holiday islands. It was the peace that was the main draw – I hadn’t slept so well in months. The weather was nice too. Unlike a lot of the more southern regions, there wasn’t much humidity, only cool mountain air and the occasional cloud. Right now Drew and I were on Huai Krathing, a massive lake up in the

mountains. For a relatively cheap price, you could rent a huge raft like the one we were on. The owners would attach it to a silver motorboat and drag the raft out to the middle of the lake, and then you could slowly drift around all day, or just for as long as you wanted. If you wanted to order and food or drinks, or if you simply wanted to announce that you were ready to come back in to shore, you put a flag up and waited for a motorboat to arrive. We’d come on vacation to Thailand to celebrate two major things. Firstly, I’d just graduated from college. I’d been working on a book all the way through, and I’d been offered a publishing deal practically as soon as they handed me

my degree. Secondly, Drew had just scored a massive new modeling contract for a major fashion house. What Drew didn’t know was that I was planning on announcing a third major thing to celebrate… “Let’s order some food,” Drew said, launching himself out of the water and back onto the floating raft. After this long with him, I was still enraptured with his face and body. A lot of people got too comfortable with relationships after a long time and didn’t seem to notice their partner as much as they used to, but holy hell…I doubted that would ever happen with me and Drew. How could I not notice him? He still had the perfectly-chiseled face, the

bright blue eyes, the contoured muscles and the cheeky smirk. Yep, he was perfect. And he was all mine. When the silver motorboat pulled up with someone to take our food and drink order, Drew conversed with the person in broken Thai. Not a lot of people up in this region spoke English, so we’d experienced a crash course in learning the language. “Err…khao niao,” Drew said, referring to the sticky rice that had become my favorite thing to munch on. It was served with most meals, and it was incredible. He also ordered some som tam, bamboo shoot salad, some sort of

chicken dish, and something called kueng ten, otherwise known as ‘dancing shrimp salad’. It was named as such because the shrimp were added to the spicy salad while still alive, so they were still moving around in the bowl before being eaten. When it arrived, Drew looked shocked. “Shit. I thought I ordered the sleeping shrimp salad, where they aren’t jumping around.” “Oh well, you still have to eat it,” I said, flicking a tiny bit of rice at him. “So do you,” he replied, picking up a spoonful and thrusting it in my face. “Er, no thanks,” I said, pulling away. “What’s up with you?” he asked after swallowing the mouthful himself. “You

usually love seafood, but you haven’t touched it the whole time we’ve been here. You’re missing out! Raw shrimp is actually not bad.” “I’m just trying to be careful,” I said before clapping my hand over my mouth. Oops. I’d said too much. “What do you mean? Trying to be… oh. Wait. You’re not…” I smiled and nodded, watching as his expression changed from confusion to realization in an instant. “You’re serious. You’re pregnant?” I nodded again, and he reached over and swept me into his arms, squeezing me in a bear hug. “Fuck yeah!” “I gather that you’re excited, then?” “Course I am,” he said. “Why didn’t

you tell me earlier?” “I wanted to wait until the perfect moment,” I said. He smiled and gestured all around us - at the still water, the trees surrounding the lake, the birds drinking on the edge of the lake. “This is the perfect moment,” he said. “But you just made it even more perfect. I love you. You know that, right?” “Of course I do. You’re not so bad yourself.” I didn’t know everything that there was to know in the world, but one thing I was definitely certain of was his love for me and any future children of ours. Since I’d had the miscarriage a few

years back, Drew and I had realized how much we wanted kids at some point, and when I’d graduated and sold my book to the publisher, I’d gone off the pill. We hadn’t realized it would only take such a short period of time to get me pregnant…it must have only been three or four weeks. I couldn’t wait to be a mom to his baby, and I knew Drew couldn’t wait to be a dad. “You know, now that you’re pregnant, it’s lucky that I have this.” “Huh?” I looked over as Drew foraged in his camera bag, and I gasped as he pulled out a massive diamond ring. Tears of joy sprung to my eyes as I immediately realized what it was, and he rearranged

himself so that he was crouching down on one knee. “Sophie Anne Ramirez…” he began. The tears were running down my face in earnest now, and I didn’t even let him finish before nodding. “Yes! Yes!” I said. “Let me finish,” he said, before taking a deep breath. “We used to be friends as kids, and I loved you then. Then we got together again, an event which was brought about by a stupid dare from your friends for you to talk to me, and I fell in love with you all over again.” I laughed at the reminder of how we’d first come into contact with each other again after years apart, and he slid

the ring onto my left hand ring finger before continuing with a smile and a wink. “Marry me, Sophie. Go on, I dare you.”

THE END Want to keep updated on Caitlin’s new releases? Sign up for her newsletter to be the first to know about new books, specials and promotions! Copy and paste this link into your web browser: http://eepurl.com/blFf9X

S TORM A S TEPBROTHER ROMANCE

by Alyssa Alpha

All Rights Reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. This book is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locations is purely coincidental. The characters are all productions of the author’s imagination. Please note that this work is intended only for adults over the age of 18 and all characters represented as 18 or over. - Kindle Edition -

© 2015 Alyssa Alpha All Rights Reserved

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Part I

Part 1 The first summer

Chapter 1 Rubi Today is not a good day. I’m trying to make my suitcase move, but of course one of the wheels is faulty, and so today was doomed from the start. Hauling it behind me I curse out loud, knowing my father wouldn’t approve, which makes the cussing all the more fun. The fact that he didn’t even send a

driver or a cab to get me – since he’s apparently too busy himself – is making my day even worse, but I’ll be damned if I let anyone see how upset I really am. It's probably his way of getting back at me for my less-than-perfect score on my finals. Knowing I've disappointed him hurts more than this trip (and that's a big statement, considering the heels I'm wearing). My father, Tony, re-married a few months ago. It was like taking a knife to my chest when I heard the news, because up until he called, I hadn't even heard of this woman, Valerie Manning. I don't know when or how he met her. I don't know shit, actually, because I'm apparently not important enough to be

involved in their lives. Daddy wants a picture-perfect family with his new wifey and her kid. I don't know where I fit in with my filthy mouth and skimpy clothes. But regardless, Daddy wants us to spend the summer together this year, getting to know each other. The most painful thing about this is the fact that we're staying at the beach house – a new name, an old home. This house is where I grew up, back when mom and dad were still together. It'll be fucking painful to see another woman trying to take mom’s place. My poor mom, works such long hours, goes on disastrous dates and is seemingly the one who got the short end of the stick when

my parents divorced. So I've already decided – I'm going to make this summer unbearable for little wifey and her kid, who is probably some Spiderman-loving pre-teen with an addiction to his PlayStation 4. Yuck. The cab I take from the airport drops me off at the gates to the beach house. That would have been all fine and dandy, had Daddy dearest not decided to change the security code on the gates. Of course, nobody is home to answer the doorbell either, so what the hell am I supposed to do? I am most definitely not expecting to be climbing the gates to our beach house at 8.30 on a Sunday morning. But that is exactly what I have to do,

giving my leg a nasty cut in the process and nearly tumbling over the gates. Boy, what a fun way to start the summer. I stop in front of the house, trying to catch my breath, and hoping the key Daddy gave me will work. Thankfully, the door opens right away, and I stumble inside the house with a heavy sigh. The damn suitcase stays in the hall, already forgotten as I venture inside, a little curious what the house looks like now, after so many years have passed. And it’s nothing like I’d remembered it, which makes me purse my lips in annoyance. It sure didn’t take long for the new wifey to get a-hold of the place and make it just the way she wanted. There’s no denying the fact that the

house looks nice, though. Where there was once crumbling furniture and musty blankets, there are now modern shapes and all-white cushions. It looks breezy and beautiful, which for some reason makes me even angrier. Who the hell does she think she is, strolling in here and changing everything? I grit my teeth as I run upstairs to my room, already preparing myself for a nasty surprise. As soon as I open the door, I can see my old bedroom looks nothing like it used to. There’s a huge bed in the middle with a canopy; everything is in pastel purple and pretty whites and beiges. Yuck. What a cliché. It does look kind of pretty, though.

I try to deny the fact that I’m looking forward to sleeping in this room, as opposed to the creaky bed I used to have, along with the peeling paint on the walls. This woman has managed to convince my father to upgrade — no idea how — but to be honest, the place looks … better. But I won't be tricked that easily. Valerie snooping around my room, messing with my things, even if it is in the name of renovation, makes me fuming angry. She has no fucking right to move my stuff. I pull out a box from under the bed defiantly, yanking out an old and dusty teddy bear and placing him on top of my pillow. Standing back, I look at it with

satisfaction. "There you go, Mr. Fuzz," I say to the teddy bear. "We'll fight this bitch together, won't we?" Then I realize I'm talking to a stuffed animal, blush lightly and focus on more important things. Daddy didn't even wait for me at the house, so why the hell should I stick around? I've got better stuff to do. Deciding to be a brat, I deliberately make a mess in my room, a smug expression on my face as I crinkle the duvet and perfectly plump pillows, dragging my suitcase upstairs and throwing clothes everywhere. Once I'm satisfied with what I've done, I congratulate myself.

The dress I'm wearing is off in one swift motion, landing on the bed. I’m already wearing my bikini and I don’t plan on wasting any time – the beach it is. If I can’t spend time with my real friends in the city, I can at least hope to have some fun here, at the beach. I’m sure there are some of my old friends around … We used to spend every summer here when I was younger. I wonder if they even remember me. There was a bunch of girls I was friends with, but it's safe to say I'm quite a different person these days than little ten year old Rubi. To be perfectly honest, I used to be a huge bookworm, and I've been fighting hard to hide my addiction

to books. If you ask anyone in my new home in Cali about my habits, they wouldn't have a clue about the stacks of novels I keep in my room. I'm considered one of the mean girls now, and that reputation sits just fine with me. It's easier to attack than be bullied, anyhow. And I'd rather be the tormentor than the victim. Grabbing a towel and a pair of sunglasses, I head straight downstairs, through the French doors in the living room (also very fancy, very beige) and out into the beach. At least this place hasn’t changed. Beautiful, silky sand under my feet, a cloudless sky, and the ocean … Azure blue and pure perfection, just how I

remember it. My hopes of finding my old friends are extinguished as I realize no one I know has hit the beach yet. There’s a group of people a little way off, so I set my towel on the sand and rush straight into the sea, giddy like a little kid. The cool water envelops me, the waves soothing and cool against my skin. I’ve always been a summer kid, always had wet, salty hair and feet covered in sand. It takes a while for me to get tired, but when I feel like I can’t do another stroke, I get out of the water, heading straight for my towel. The sun feels good on my skin, and for the first time, I think I may actually

enjoy my time at the beach this summer. As my eyes travel to the left, and I check out the group of people there, I even let myself think I may finallyWhack! I nearly topple over, and it takes me a moment to realize that what just hit me in the head was a beach ball. All I can do is stare at it, lying a few feet away from me, and then let the rage take over. I'm already turning around, my hands forming fists at my sides, ready to kick whoever did this in the balls. And sure enough, a guy is rushing towards me at this very moment, his hands raised apologetically in the air. I’m ready for my speech – that is, until I get a better look at him.

In the name of all that is holy- and all that is not. Fuck. “Hey, your big head was in the way of my ball,” he says as soon as he comes closer, giving me the most perfect smile. Crooked smirk, pearly white teeth and full lips. And tattoos. So much ink, I'm having trouble seeing some actual skin through the art. Good lord. But then my mind actually processes what he said to me, and I have to fight the instant urge to scratch this guy's face off. Even though I haven't been around in years, I still think of the beach as my territory, and some tattooed bad boy will not be throwing me off my game. "Your big ball?" I ask innocently. "As opposed to other, tiny balls?" I look

pointedly at his crotch. I take a long moment to take him in. I’m tall, but he stands taller at what is surely over 6'5’'. His hair is wet and jet black, a little too long and falling into his eyes. And his body is covered with tattoos, from top to toe. I have a thing for tattoos. What I do not have a thing for are douche bags. A prime example of one is smirking at me this very moment. He comes closer to me, and I'm now realizing he's a little menacing. Tall, ripped as hell and covered in that black ink – he might as well be in a motorcycle gang. I gulp. "Why don't you check for yourself?" he asks me in a quiet, rough voice,

grabbing my hand and pulling it towards his body. Realizing what he's trying to do, I pull away just in time, making him laugh, his voice raspy. I'm blinking rapidly, my breath sounding strangled. What is going on here? "You don't wanna play?" he asks me, and his tongue darts out of his mouth, giving his bottom lip a lick. I would very much like to play, I think absent-mindedly, then shake my head to get the thought out. Bad boys are okay in theory, but this guy is foul. "Oh, I wanna play," I say in a purr, stepping over to him, deciding a little teasing will do me some good, especially the part when I get to see his

face when I shoot him down. "Think you can take me?" He smirks, and one of his hands sneaks up my arm, closing in around my neck. Fuck me. I'm breathing hard already, and it's the first time he's touched me. His fingertips are rough from being in the water, but they leave goose bumps in their wake as he trails over my skin. "Do you have a name, darlin'?" he asks roughly. "Why do you ask?" I purr against his ear, enjoying his scent more than I should. It's just like the ocean I remember – salty, mixed with suntan lotion and so, so hot. Pure summer. "Oh, no reason," he replies with a

slow smile, his fingers tightening around my neck. Honestly, I should feel scared – his grip is strong and unrelenting. But for some reason, this conversation with a complete stranger is turning me on way more than it should. "Just want to know whose tits I'm about to see," he says next, and I give him the most confused look just as his fingers pull deftly on the strings of my bikini top. "Fuck!" I yell just as he moves away and my bikini dangles around my neck. My hands fly up to my exposed chest and an avalanche of curse words rolls off my tongue. The douche bag moves away, laughing his head off. "Nice to meet you,

too," he shouts after me as I run away from the beach, leaving my towel forgotten on the hot sand. As soon as I’m closer to the house, my mind swimming with ideas on how I should avenge my dignity, I hear voices. I make sure to re-tie my bikini so I'm not too exposed, rushing inside and grabbing a kitchen towel as I storm inside the house. I cover myself up as well as I can, then storm inside the living room, where the voices are coming from. “DADDY!” I scream at the top of my voice, walking into the room and nastily hoping my feet leave sandy prints on these perfect floors. “Daddy, I’m here!” “And charming as ever,” he remarks,

coming around the corner with a wide smile plastered on his face. He’s already got his arms out, and I run into his hug, gripping him closer to my body. I haven't seen my dad in months, and as angry as I am, I have to admit it feels good to be back in his arms. Before my parents divorced, I'd always been a daddy's girl. It hurts to know this is no longer the case. “Missed you, little one,” he teases me as I step away from his embrace. His eyes scan my face, and I guess he can see the distress as he furrows his brow. “Something wrong?” “Only everything!” I exclaim with a dramatic sigh. As soon as I realize it's just dad and me, I drop the kitchen towel

carelessly on the floor, kicking at it with my sandy feet. When I see the mess I've made, I secretly feel better, deciding it's just the start of my rebellion against stepmother dearest. “You should tidy up,” Dad says with a kind smile. “Don’t just leave stuff on the floor, honey.” I look at him with surprise, not appreciating the scolding. “I’m sure step momma will take care of that,” I reply nastily, immediately regretting my words as I see the hurt register on my Dad’s face. “Sure, and I guess you’ll be cooking your own dinner, then?” a sweet voice interrupts, and I turn around to see a woman standing in the doorway.

She’s petite, with perfectly coiffed blonde hair and blue eyes. She’s pretty, that’s for sure, but I decide on the spot I don’t like her. She’s trying to change everything, and I don’t like her thinking she can take mom’s space. I don’t much appreciate her attitude, either. I'm about to give her a nasty reply when Dad cuts on the conversation. “Honey, this is Valerie,” he says in an attempt to be placating, taking me by the elbow and practically dragging me to the woman in question. We shake hands, my grip limp and stiff at the same time. “My Rubi,” Daddy says proudly, and at least that makes me feel a little bit better. He may try to replace mom, but he never will find a good substitute for

me. “Nice to meet you,” Valerie says, and it annoys me to see the genuine smile on her face, because I’ve already decided I’m going to be a pain in her butt, and if she’s nice to me, that might make things more difficult. A reply is out of the question, so I just stare at her sulkily. An awkward silence follows, and finally – my Dad clasps his hands together. “We’ll be sitting down for breakfast in a bit, Rubi; do you want to get changed before that?” A look down my front tells me I should do as he says — my body is already a bit sunburned, my bikini leaving me exposed. “I’ll be right

down,” I say. Back in my room, I take off my salty bikini and discard it on the floor, then head to the bathroom to clean up. As soon as I walk in there, I realize someone left the shower on. “DADDY!” I scream at the top of my voice. “You left the water running!” I don’t even bother to turn it off, instead checking myself out in the mirror above the sink. I'm not your typical Cali girl – far from it. I look Irish, with my long red waves, green eyes and freckled skin. At least I'm pretty now, as opposed to the lanky figure I used to have, along with braces and perpetually limp hair. I grab a towel from the rack and wrap my very naked body in it, my mind

switching to the guy on the beach. It still makes me furious to just think of what happened, and I make a mental note to find out who he is, so I can rip his head off next time I run into him. My mind swims with murderous ideas as I rush to brush my teeth. Just as I finish, spitting out a mouthful of toothpaste, the water stops in the shower and I turn around, feeling more than a little confused. Suddenly, the shower curtain is pushed to the side, and I scream in horror as a male figure emerges. My heart beating wildly, I scramble away, my eyes wide with shock as they land on an insanely muscular male body. I try to ignore the bulge between his legs

as my gaze travels upward, towards a sculpted face- a familiar face. “What the fuck?!” I scream, throwing a towel at his head. The guy from the beach is in my bathroom. I repeat, the douche bag, hotter-thanhell dude from the beach. In my bathroom. Naked. He laughs like he doesn’t have a care in the world, catches the towel and wraps it around his body. My eyes are glued to him, my heart beating insanely fast in my chest. Don’t look, Rubi! But I do. I look. And then blush furiously. He comes towards me, and I screech

in horror. “What are you doing in my house?” I want to know as he closes the distance between us, stopping close enough for drops of water to hit my scorched skin when he shakes out his wet hair. He looks at me devilishly, the ever present smirk lighting up his face. “Sharing a bathroom,” he says innocently. That is the exact moment my Dad chooses to burst into the bathroom, ready to fight. “What happened, honey?” he asks, his eyes scanning the room for potential intruders. I raise a shaky finger, slamming it into beach guy’s chest. “This! Goddamn! Guy! Is taking a shower in my

bathroom!” To my utter surprise and anger, my Dad laughs. And the guy follows. “What is going on?” I ask shakily. “Oh, Rubi,” my dad says, rubbing my head like I’m some stupid kid. “This is Jackson. Didn’t I tell you about him?” “It’s Jax,” beach dude corrects him before winking at me. My eyes follow a rivulet of water making its way down his chest … over his abdomen, towards the place barely covered by a towel, as my mind tries to place his name. “Fuck,” I breathe heavily when I realize what’s going on. “Language,” Dad scolds me, patting Jax on the back. “Don’t want to make a bad impression on your stepbrother, do

we?” He doesn't look like he's obsessed with Spiderman. Jax looks me straight in the eye, grinning ear to ear. “Oh, I have my mind made up about her already,” he says, winking at me before leaving with my Dad. As soon as they’re gone, I grab a towel from the rack, press it against my mouth and scream as loud as I can into the thick Egyptian cotton. My stepbrother. He’s my goddamn stepbrother. Fucking. Hell.

Chapter 2 Jax I’m not a big fan of family meals, but today’s breakfast is proving to be more than interesting. I knew who she was the moment I spotted her on the beach. Her Dad and my mother had been shoving her photos in my face for months before we met, and even if I hadn’t memorized her pretty face, that flame-red hair would be

a hard mane to miss. The pictures definitely don't do her justice. She’s gorgeous, there’s no denying that. But I think I prefer her on paper, because in real life, she might as well be holding up a big fucking sign that reads Trouble. I can already tell she's decided to make all our lives a living hell, and she's intent of making me suffer as much as possible. Poor little princess doesn't know I've seen enough crap in my life to be able to take on anything. And a little firecracker like her is a dot on the horizon – something I can easily wipe off. My parents divorced when I was a little kid, and all I remember from their years together is a lot of goddamned

shouting, plates breaking and being locked in my room, terrified. I head to the kitchen after I get dressed, my hair still wet and dripping from the shower. Mom has got eggs and bacon on the table for us, and I settle down, pouring myself a glass of freshly squeezed OJ. We talk pleasantly about the weather, but the door has my undivided attention. Little miss firecracker storms in, her face already flushed, her red hair a wild halo around that heart-shaped face. I busy myself with other thoughts as she joins us at the table. Replaying the events of the last few months in my head, I think about my life at the moment.

I was bitter about my parents' divorce for a long time, blaming my mom, who kept me when Dad up and left, not giving a fuck about his seven year old son. I used to relish those few weeks a year I got to spend with him. Then I found out my scumbag of a father cheated, cut off all contact and hasn’t regretted it once. Last I heard, he’s living with his secretary in Nebraska. Good for him, and good riddance for me. I had a rebellious period nonetheless, and I still carry the remnants of that phase on my skin. I seemed to think that my mother would feel punished if I inked every inch of my skin, but she took everything with a

smile, telling me she was gonna be proud of me someday. And that almost hurt more – to know she had this blind trust in me. It meant I actually had to do something with my life, instead of wasting my time on girls and booze. The biggest surprise to me is what made me wake up and realize I don't want to spend life drunk and with a girl under me – preferably with one on top, as well. This decision might be hard to abide by if little stepsis is around me all day, all summer, because just looking at those perky tits of hers is making my cock stir, and I better not think about my hands around her neck on the beach, because

I'll have to excuse myself from the kitchen table. “Hi, little sister,” I say jokingly, unable to resist the temptation of making her blush. I also earn a round of smiles from my stepfather and mom, while Rubi shoots me a murderous look. “Calmed down a little?” “Fuck off,” she snaps, and my eyes widen. I’m going to have some fun breaking this one. “Rubi!” her Dad scolds her, but she promptly ignores him, grabs an apple from the counter and heads out. “Get back here,” her Dad calls after her, and I’m pretty sure he means business with his tone. Apparently Rubi is aware of that,

too, because she strolls back into the dining room and plops down on a chair with a dramatic sigh. “May I be of help, Father?” she asks, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “Rubi, don’t be such a kid,” he says tiredly and she sulks at his choice of words, which amuses me. She’s eighteen, so right at that awkward age. And despite the fact that she behaves like an insolent child, she does not like being called one. Noted. She sulks at the table while the rest of us enjoy our breakfast, the conversation flowing without her input. However, it happens more than once that I catch her staring at me, and the fourth

time around, I grin widely at her, which annoys her to no end. I love the fact that she’s a blusher. Her cheeks turn this perfect shade of strawberry pink, and for some reason it turns me on more than her tight little ass in that white bikini. I furrow my brow as I realize what I’m thinking about, and as if my thoughts weren’t proof enough, I most definitely feel my cock stiffening between my legs. I clear my throat and grab my glass of OJ, drinking in long gulps. This isn’t great. I’m 21, she’s eighteen. She’s a kid. Not to mention, my stepsister. Because here’s the thing – I like my stepfather.

Tony and my mother have been married for just a few months. I met him on quite an interesting occasion, and I'm pretty sure any other guy would have lost his mind if the first time he got to meet his stepson was in jail. I was arrested for drinking under the age limit just a few days before my twenty-first birthday, as well as assault of a police officer. What can I say? I wasn't about to let some middle-aged prick with a beer belly put me into handcuffs. I used my call to let Mother Dearest know her son was in jail. She showed up with a guy called Tony Lynn, someone I'd heard her mention in passing and chose to ignore for a good few months.

Mom didn't want to pay bail, but Tony did. Mom didn't want to wait for me to get out, but Tony did. Mom didn't even want to see me, but Tony was there to help. He took me to a diner, and I ordered the biggest fucking meal on the menu, just to piss him off. He allowed it and let me finish eating, all the while being so calm, it made me nervous. Then he told me I needed to clean up my game, at which point I cursed at him. And he threw a drink at me. He goddamn poured a glass of iced tea on my head, and as I gaped at him in shock – no one had ever had the balls to stand up to me before – he burst into laughter and gave me the speech of my

life. Tony said I had all the potential in the world. I had great grades, great prospects in football, even better ones in some of my classes. He told me he didn't give a fuck what I did in my free time, but he also said I needed to respect my mother. And he told me how many times he had to console her after I got in trouble. My mom, who's always been my rock, not moved by any of my shenanigans. Except I was totally fucking her up with my actions. I was sulking for a good while, covered in sticky tea. But as Tony finished, I realized he had a point. I was wasting my

goddamned life, and for what? To prove a point? To rebel? I made a promise that day. I'd keep my private life away from my Mom's eyes, and I'd try to make her proud. Tony and I shook on it. To this day, I have respect for the old man – as he does for me. This might prove to be a problem if his daughter is around. Up until now, she was with her mother in California, going to school there. She didn’t even come to the wedding, claiming she had finals, though I doubt that was the reason. I guess she’s still hung up on the idea of her parents being together, since they divorced a couple of years ago.

“Lost in thought, dear stepbrother?” Rubi’s syrupy sweet voice interrupts my thoughts and my eyes shoot towards her. Her green eyes are sparkling with mischief, and fuck me if it doesn’t make me even more turned on. “Thinking about me?” she asks, biting into her crunchy apple. “Oh, yes,” I reply in all seriousness. “I was doing just that.” Her eyes widen in surprise, but I’m not done yet. “I was wondering if you’d like to go to a movie. I think they’re showing the new Disney flick at six p.m. today. Unless that’s past your bedtime?” "I'll go to the late-night showing with you. Have you seen Entering in the Back Door 7?" she asks, as my mother

gasps in shock. "Of course," I nod solemnly. "I take it you haven't and need some education in the matter? They're showing Intercourse 101 at a primary school nearby." Tony slams a fist on the table at that point, but Rubi and I keep glaring at each other. She chews on her fruit furiously as I smirk at her. “I don’t need a big brother to watch over me,” she spits out angrily. “I can take care of myself.” “Sure,” I snort. She glares at me furiously. “You don’t think I can? I’ve been raising myself for the past three years. Daddy was too busy abandoning us, and Mom’s

got a job that takes 12 hours out of her day. Still think I’m a kid, big brother?” Wow, way to turn the conversation awkward. “Let’s all calm down,” my mother suggests, shooting me a warning glance, but Rubi is having none of it. “Whatever,” she sighs, throwing her apple core on the table. “I’m out of here.” She storms out of the kitchen, and I think all of us lose our appetite. I mumble an excuse that goes unnoticed, then head outside onto the patio, where the water in the newly installed pool is shimmering, enticing me to jump in. Which I would do, if I hadn’t spotted Rubi setting up a lounge chair, and I

fucking can't resist taunting her some more, realizing this might become my favorite pastime. I head over there, leaning against a wall as she glares at me and plops down on her chair. She puts her heart-shaped sunglasses over her eyes and makes a point of ignoring me. I don't move, knowing I'll be able to crack her resolve. "You're in my sun," she spits at me, and I move so I'm completely blocking the sunlight from her body. She sits up furiously. "You should put on sun block," I tell her seriously. "Yes, I can tell you're very concerned about my skin." She rolls her

eyes, but throws a bottle of sunscreen in my direction anyway. She's got good aim, and the bottle flies straight towards my head. But I'm too fast for her, catching it in mid air. Rubi turns on her tummy, exposing her perfectly tanned back and tight ass to my eyes. I have the urge to tear that bikini right off her, but I resist it, thinking of Tony – a guaranteed way to get me to cool off. Sex games aren't the only ones I know how to play, though. I shake the product well, then pour the contents of the entire bottle on Rubi's back. As soon as the cool liquid hits her skin, she screeches and jumps off the

lounge chair, swiping at her back with an arm, her fingers coming away white. "What the hell is your problem?" she spits at me as I laugh my ass off, shrugging. She snarls in my direction, and before I can move out of the way, she slams into me. And even though I'm bigger and know full-well I could resist her attack, I let her push me towards the edge of the pool. When I'm just about to topple over into the water I was admiring moments ago, I wrap my hands around her tiny waist, pulling her in with me. She shrieks, but then we hit the water, going under, and it's like we've entered a different world. I open my

eyes and see her struggling to break the surface, but I pull her closer. Her eyes open in surprise, and I stare at her, the world so calm and still all of a sudden. My hands glide over her skin, stopping on her inner thigh. I want to rip that bikini off, and I want to do it right now. But then we both run out of air, coming up and gasping, desperate to get that precious oxygen in our lungs. "You fucker!" Rubi screams, attacking me like a banshee. I'm laughing my buttoff again as she tries in vain to hit me, failing when I grab her wrists and pull her writhing body until it touches my skin under the water. She stills, but just for a moment.

Long enough for me to position her sweetest part right against my crotch, though. Her eyes widen when she feels my hard length against her body, and then she fights me so furiously, I let go. Rubi swims towards the edge of the pool, pulling herself up and onto the hot tiles. I float on my back, a smile playing on my lips as I watch her. "Hope that cooled you off," I tell her nonchalantly, and she glares at me over her shoulder. "I don't think I'm the one that needs to cool off," she snaps in my direction. "Oh yeah?" My grin is all over my face as I point to her chest, where her nipples are hard and straining against the thin fabric of the bra she is wearing.

"What's that, then?" She looks down and blushes furiously when she realizes what I'm talking about. Without saying another word, she storms back into the house to the soundtracks of my laughter.

Chapter 3 Rubi I storm out of the house with murder on my mind. I'm fuming with anger, but somewhere along the way to my unknown destination, I feel hot tears falling down my cheeks. I wipe furiously at the wetness, angry with myself for succumbing to his sick little game. I don't know who my stepbrother thinks he is, but he will not

be getting as close as he did today, ever again. As I walk, I think grudgingly about my new stepmother. I have no trouble believing she's actually perfectly all right, but it fucking hurts so bad to sit at the kitchen table that used to be ours, like she took my mother's place. The memories of my parents' divorce are still too fresh in my mind. As opposed to all those horror stories you hear, my parents didn't spend my childhood fighting. It was strange – they suddenly got very quiet around one another, and you could cut the tension in the air with a knife. I guess I saw it coming before they sat me down at the very kitchen table I

just had breakfast at, telling me they were going to get a divorce. And that's probably the reason it's so painful being in that house – I still remember it as a family place, before things went to shit. It's plain weird seeing a different woman in my mother's chair, along with a guy who should not be anyone's stepbrother, because he's walking forbidden fruit. I sigh heavily, coming to a stop. I look around, now realizing how far I've actually managed to walk. I started going uphill at some point, and I'm at a sightseeing spot – or rather, the make-out spot, as we used to call it. Too bad I never got to try it out. Immediately, Jax's face flashes in my mind, and I shake my head to get rid of

the unwanted thought. I should not be thinking of him in that way - or any other, for that matter. I've already decided to keep my distance from him and his mother. I don't need the drama. "Rubi?" a voice cuts through my thoughts, and I turn around towards the source. There's a pretty, willowy blonde standing a few feet away, and she looks like she's just seen a ghost. "Rubi Lynn?" she repeats, the surprise evident in her voice. It takes me a moment to realize I actually know this girl. "Susie?" I ask, my eyes wide open with shock. "Fuck, no," she laughs, and the snorting sound she makes tells me it is

her indeed. "It's Susannah now, and if you call me Susie, I'll be forced to slap you." She comes over to me, and we hug each other tightly. "Fuck, Rubi, it's been years," she exclaims, getting a good look at me. I love the approval in her eyes, as pathetic as it is. Susie used to be the popular kid around here. We spent a lot of time together as kids, back when we lived at the beach house, but when mom and I moved, we completely lost touch. Judging by her long legs and wild curly blonde hair – plus her silly laugh, of course –she hasn't changed a bit. "You haven't changed a bit." I repeat

my previous thought out loud, waking up from my reverie with a wide smile, my eyes traveling down her body. "Except your boobs are huge." My eyes widen as I take in the hugest pair of tits I've seen on a nineteen-year-old. "You like?" Susie asks with a pout, squeezing them and wiggling in my face, making me smile. She grins smugly as she leans over to explain. "Courtesy of my eighteenth birthday." I shake my head, but I can't help the smile that makes its way onto my face. Susie grabs my hand and drags me over to a bunch of other modelesque girls who make me feel like an ugly duckling. There's a quick round of introductions, and I'm met with

appraising looks and sweet words. This never would have happened had we stayed in this town. The move to Cali gave me a chance to completely reinvent myself. When I was a kid, I was shy and such an introvert. Most kids become even more closed up when their parents’ divorce, but I went the other way. Mom often says I'm angsty and too grown-up for my own good. But she doesn't know the half of it. I may put on a good act, but on the inside, I'm the same bookish, naive Rubi I was when I was a kid. Eternal Daddy's girl, goody-goody-two-shoes. Some things never change. But gossiping with these girls as we

occupy a bench in the nearby park makes me feel like I belong. I might've spilled the beans to Susie had we been alone, but in this case, I keep my mouth shut. Besides, I bet she'd look at me differently if she found out I was a virgin. I'm eighteen, for fuck's sake! I have the mouth of a filthy sailor, as mother likes to point out, and the attitude of a four year old who likes to throw temper tantrums. And I own a mirror, so even though I'm not a very confident person, I know there are some things about me people would deem attractive. I'm a natural redhead, complete with a sprinkling of freckles over my nose, but with skin that

is surprisingly easy to tan. Mom says I have the body of a wasp – curvy boobs and hips, but tiny waist. I know I should be confident, because there's no reason for me to shy away from guys. But somehow, I've gotten the reputation of being an ice princess, and no one even dares to approach me. I liked it at first, the fact that they almost feared me. But as the years went on and all my girlfriends got boyfriends and cried over them, I felt like I was excluded. No one ever made an effort to get to me. I guess they just saw me as something they could never have, even though I was practically starving for a kiss at that point – apart from some

clumsy groping and kissing that happened at parties, I guess I'm still inexperienced. I've gotten pretty good at pleasing myself though. As the thought enters my mind, I blush again and try to focus on what's going on in the real world. Looking at the girls around me with their tiny bodies makes me feel huge. I try not to let it show, though, so I put my thoughts in order and actually begin contributing to the conversation. We're chatting about the usual stuff – guys, makeup, clothes. Then, a brunette runs over to us, catching her breath, her eyes burning up with excitement. "Oh, Gabbi," Susie says sarcastically. "You saw something?

Trouble at the old mill? Bark if it's true!" I can't help the smile that makes its way onto my face, but Gabbi just rolls her eyes, catching her breath. "Fine, I won't tell you," she says, offended. Susie jumps off the bench and walks over to her. "Go on now," she prompts her, interest starting a spark in her eyes. I'm intrigued, too. "Well," Gabbi begins, thrilled with the fact all attention is on her. "Guess who I just saw down on the beach." She looks at us expectantly, but I have nothing to offer – I haven't been in the beach house for years. "Usual suspects?" one of the other girls shrugs. "Indeed, but with a new addition,"

Gabbi waggles her eyebrows. "There was this insanely hot guy there, you wouldn't believe ... Tall, dark and handsome, the whole package." The girls start milling around me, and she definitely has their interest. I'd be lying if I said I didn't care, as well. I wouldn't mind a little summer romance myself. "Tell us more," one of the girls demands. "He's new around here, but he's friends with Adrian," Gabbi begins. "I saw him with the usual guys, I guess they know each other or are just hanging out. But seriously, he's the hottest out of all of them. He looked at me- ..." She looks away dreamily. "He winked at me. And

he smirked. I almost died!" "Did you get a name?" Susie asks impatiently, and Gabbi grins. "I did!" she says, puffing out her chest. "Jackson." Oh fuck no. "Jackson?" I repeat, finally getting my voice back and speaking up. "As in, Jackson Manning? Calls himself Jax?" Gabbi furrows hers brows, then nods, and her whole face lights up like someone just plugged in the lights on a Christmas tree. "You know him or something?" "Oh my God, Rubi," Susie comes over to me, the interest in Gabbi gone. "Can you set me up?" "Yeah, sure," I say sarcastically.

"Hope you enjoy fucking my stepbrother." Before any of them can react, I run off to the sound of my name being called behind me. But I don't give a crap right now, because I came here to escape my stupid family, not be reminded about it. And I most definitely don't need to know how hot my new friends think my stepbrother is. Mostly because it makes me jealous as fuck. I'm also still fuming about what happened back at the house. That prick thinks he can do whatever the hell he likes, and he doesn't give a crap about my opinion. Well, I'm not about to be some bad boy's doormat, even though he's treating me like a tasty dessert he

cannot wait to sink his teeth into. I grit my teeth as I walk, trying to ignore the memory of being in the pool with him, his hardness pressed against my pussy, the way it made me feel. I try really hard. But then my phone beeps with a text, and I look down to see who it is. None of my friends have shown an interest in my trip – and I would know, since I've checked my phone a billion times since I arrived at the beach house. But a quick look at the incoming text tells me it's an unknown number. Furrowing my brows, I swipe to see what this is all about. Still wet? J I stare at the unknown number, my

eyes widening. And a moment later, I'm pretty sure who sent the text, managing to taunt and tease me even when we aren't in the same room. Choosing not to reply, I stuff my phone back in my pocket and continue walking, but it keeps buzzing so I look at it again, a heavy sigh on my lips. I meant from the pool, you pervert. ;) I'm going to assume the worst if you don't answer. You know, I could help you with that. Gritting my teeth, I furiously type a reply and hit send before I can change my mind about the whole thing getting out of hand.

You could never make me wet, you prick. Why don't you try and see, darlin’? You don't have to do all the hard work yourself, you know. I blush, and the redness of my cheeks makes me so angry. I hate my skin sometimes, and being unable to hide my true emotions drives me crazy. OK. Once again, I'm replying faster than my mind can change, my fingers typing deftly on the touch screen. My ears are burning up, but for once, I want to go through with something. My room, tonight after midnight. You game? My heart is pounding insanely fast as

I send the reply, already regretting what I did seconds after it happens. But then I'm also glancing at my screen furiously, expecting him to agree any moment now. My phone pings with a reply. I have another obligation, but I'm sure you can take care of it yourself, little sister :) Followed by a photo of my bed, Mr. Fuzz proudly sitting atop the largest vibrator I've seen in my entire life. I stare at it in horror, my eyes widening at the thought of him in my room. He put a fucking vibrator on my bed. What the hell, what the hell, what the hell?! My heart and head are both pounding when a voice interrupts my thoughts. I

pocket my phone and look over my shoulder with the guiltiest expression. "Hey, loser!" It's Susie, who has caught up to me after I vanished from the make-out spot. She's beaming brightly, and I keep thinking about the dirty photo on my phone, my cheeks reddening. Susie seems oblivious though, grinning at me. "We're going to the beach now. You wanna come?" I ponder her question for a little while, but then I let my face break into a smile, shrugging carelessly. "Why not?" I say softly, and Susie calls her friends, who come get us with a beat-up truck. The beach it is. Anything to get my mind off my goddamned stepbrother.

Chapter 4 Jax She doesn't answer my last text message, which makes me grin more. I look at the display I've left on her bed, feeling pretty damn pleased with myself. Her teddy bear is smiling innocently at me, sitting on top of the pink vibrator, and it's too funny for words. But I have other things on my mind, too.

I decide to hit up the beach. I'm not about to waste time in this town by sitting in my room all day, that's for sure. I put on some swimming shorts and a pair of mirrored aviator sunglasses, skipping the shirt. I just grab a towel and head down to the hot sands, which can be reached from the Lynns’ backyard. There's a lot more people here today, and despite the fact that my mind is still on Rubi, I don't deny myself the pleasure of checking out the bikini-clad girls on the beach while they giggle and blush at the sight of me. I spot some people I met in the morning, and a guy calls my name, waving me over. "Back so soon?" a guy called Adrian

asks me with a grin, and I shrug. "Had enough of playing happy family," I admit, throwing my towel on the sand. "Mind if I hang out with you guys? Promise to behave." Adrian comes a little closer, nudging me in the ribs with his elbow. "Hey, I'm not complaining." He motions towards a group of girls who is observing us quite closely, their eyes glued to my tattooed biceps. I laugh at his words, shaking my head as I check out the crowd. There's definitely a huge number of young people here, and I'm guessing this is the part of the beach they claimed for themselves. Great for me –- anything to get my mind off a certain redhead.

Adrian and I sit down on the sand, and I say hello to some other guys who are playing cards. A few girls are with them as well, and they ogle me, but I ignore their looks. I'm not about to break the bro code with some guys I just met this morning. "Hey, so where are you staying?" Adrian asks me, taking a swig out of his beer can. "Up at the hotel, or are you renting?" He offers me a cold can from the cooler, and I nod in approval, taking it out of his hands. "Nah, not really," I shake my head, popping the drink open. "My stepdad owns a property here. Renovated it with mom this year, and now I'm supposed to make friends with

my new little stepsister." "Anyone we might know?" Adrian asks lazily. "Not sure," I admit. "She was living with her mom back in Cali. Her name is Rubi." "Rubi?" Adrian repeats, looking at me with a wide grin. "Hell yeah, I remember her. Little bookworm, that red hair. She was such a nerd." I furrow my brows. I don't like him speaking about her like that, and I'm not sure where he gets his information. Rubi does not strike me as a bookworm. Maybe a sexy librarian. I'm about to speak up, but Adrian's attention seems to have shifted. He's ogling a group of giggling girls who just

arrived at the beach, and wouldn't you know it, right in the middle is my little stepsister. I groan out loud at the same moment she spots me, rolling her eyes in response. So I have no idea why she saunters straight towards me the next moment. "Hello, brother," she says viciously, crossing her arms in front of her body, which pushes her tits together and makes my cock stir. Fuck me. I'm pretty sure I know which spot everyone's eyes are glued on now. "Stalk much?" "Yes, and I'm so far ahead of you I actually got here before you," I tell her nicely, smirking at her pretty face. "Why don't you and your little friends go play

with your toys? I think I saw two in your room before?" Her face blushes a bright red color, and we both know the teddy bear isn't the only thing I'm thinking about. She switches her weight from one foot to another, glaring at me. "Yeah? Then you can get lost somewhere else," she mouths at me. "I know how much you hate playing." "Oh, I'm good right here," I say carelessly. "Why don't you move? You're blocking my sun." "I'm about to block something else," she retorts, her head motioning to the gaggle of girls who are still staring at me. "How about I tell them what a prick you are?"

"Works for me," I grin at her. "You know girls like bad boys." She looks furious again, but apparently, she's not done yet. "I asked you to move," she says angrily, crossing her arms in front of her body defensively and glaring at me like she expects me to move somewhere else on the beach. I've pretty much had it with her antics. I get up from the towel and walk over to her. She looks stubborn for a moment, and it's driving me crazy, but I'm not going to take some kid's shit. So before she can react, I grab her tiny waist and toss her over my shoulder to the whooping of my new friends. Rubi shrieks in horror, and I try to ignore my throbbing cock as I walk to the other

side of the beach. My rough skin against her soft complexion... I'm afraid I'll lose it, touching her like that. Her silky hair falls like a curtain over my chest, and her tits are pressed up against me. My hand starts wandering up towards her ass, but I make myself stop just under her cheeks. She stirs under me, stilling for a moment, like she expects me to go on. I deposit her on the dumpy side of the beach, near the showers and the cabinets for getting changed, amidst some trash. "Isn't this better?" I ask her. "You wanted to get as far away from me as possible, if I recall correctly?" She glares at me furiously, and I can tell she has a little speech prepared for

me already, but I'm not finished yet. I grab her hand and pull her dangerously close, until I'm breathing right down her neck, my exhales hot on her tanned skin. "You can mess with your Dad, you can play your little games with my mother," I tell Rubi. "But think twice before you try to work me." She gives me an evil look and rips her hands out of my embrace. "Fuck you," she spits out, and starts heading back to her spot on the beach. "Oh, I know you want to," I say to her back. "Too bad I won't fulfill your filthy little daydream. I'm sure you'll have fun with your new toy, though." She looks over her shoulder and her face is blushed that pretty shade of

strawberry, her eyes furious. I need to stop myself from pulling her back, right into my arms, and crushing my mouth against hers. "Dude!" Adrian calls at me when I come back to the shore a moment after Rubi. His eyes are glowing, and he's laughing his head off. "That was epic." "Glad you were entertained," I mumble as he slaps me on the back. "But seriously," he goes on. "Who is that chick?" I look at him with confusion. "My stepsister," I explain. "I told you about her – Rubi?" Adrian's eyes widen. "Dude, that is not Rubi." Both of us look at the group of girls a

few feet away, who are all gathered around little sis. And I wish I hadn't looked, because Rubi's white dress is plastered to her skin. She's wearing a thong under it. No bra. Holy... "That's your sister?" Adrian asks, his mouth gaping so wide open I want to smack him upside down for looking at Rubi like that. "Fuck, dude, I'm sorry. Must be hell." He licks his lips and the desire to punch him grows bigger. "Mind if I—" "I do," I say matter-of-factly and look him right in the eye. Adrian's a big guy. But I'm bigger. "You touch her, you're fucked," I tell

him, following up with a pleasant smile. "Got it?" He stares me down for a moment, but then starts laughing, raising his arms in the air. I decide I like him on the spot. "Got it, dude. Shit, don't lose it, okay?" he says, placating. But then his eyes start sparkling with mischief, and I know there's something else on his mind. "Yes?" I ask, already worried. "I might not be allowed," he says, "but what about you?" I look at him like he's a moron. "I'm her brother." "Nope," he says, laughing. "That's the best part. You're not related. You met what, today?" My silence answers for

me. "Perfect!" Adrian claps his hands together. "You won't let me have her. She's hot as holy hell." We both take a moment to stare at Rubi. Unfortunately, she's all wrapped up in a towel now. "Don't you want her?" Adrian asks me incredulously. And I really want to say no. Except that would make me a fucking liar, and I don't like lying. "Hm," I grunt, and he looks triumphant. "Do you think you can get her?" There's a challenge in Adrian's voice and I give him a hard look. "I can get her," I reply, trying to stay calm.

"Wanna prove it?" he waggles his eyebrows at me. "Don't need to." "What if I throw in a prize?" My eyebrows shoot up. "What's the prize?" "A hundred," he haggles, and I laugh, shaking my head. He thinks it through for a moment, looking at Rubi one more time. "Ah, whatever. You couldn't do it anyway." "You willing to bet on that?" The words come out of my mouth before I can stop them, and Adrian looks at me with a new interest sparking in his eyes. We've walked up to the beach parking lot now, and Adrian leans against a very nice Lexus. "That yours?"

I ask him, motioning towards the white beast with my head. He follows my motion and slowly nods. Shit, that's a nice car. "Not the Lexus, man," Adrian groans. "I got it from my folks. I am not betting a car." "If I don't get her, you can." I'm just blurting shit I don't mean at this point. But I have the ultimate prize in mind – a brand new car. Plus, Rubi ... If I win, I get both. And I don't lose. Adrian stares me down, then a smile slowly forms on his lips. "Why not?" he asks, the mischievous look back in his eyes. "Let's do it." We shake hands and stare at each

other, the bet sinking in as reality, not just some fleeting thought. "Well, shit," Adrian laughs nervously as the realization dawns on him. "Yeah," I repeat, my eyes wandering to the beach, landing on Rubi's wet mane of hair. And I picture that filthy mouth wrapped around my cock, her eyes glued to mine. "Fuck," I say softly. This might just be the best deal I've ever made.

Chapter 5 Rubi Every single day in the beach house is a nightmare. I hate them all – sitting around the kitchen table, laughing like nothing in the world matters. Like we aren't some fucked up group of people who can't see eye-to-eye on anything. The one who gets to me the most is Jax. I don't know why, but every time he's around, I feel an intense hatred

towards him, blended with hot flashes, making me feel like I'm going to burst into flames any second. I hate everything he does, from the way he throws a piece of fruit in the air before bringing it to his mouth and biting into the skin with a crunch to the fact that his shorts always sit so low on his hips they almost expose that V-line that leads down to... Well, whatever. I spend most days on the beach, trying to show the three of them I don't care about their little pretend family. But it's to no avail, because Daddy and his new wifey have got it in their heads that Jax and I need to play the part of perfect siblings. It's been about a week since I got to

the beach house, and I've been doing my best to spend as much time away from the house as possible. I've been avoiding Daddy, wifey and Jax especially. He seems to like the distance, not even sending me any more cheeky texts, which secretly annoys me. Hanging out at the beach is proving to be a lot of fun though, and I love catching up with what Susie and everyone else have been up to. If the gossip is anything to go by, there are quite a few guys here who wouldn't mind taking me out to that make-out spot, yet I'm still hesitating. I haven't told the truth to anyone. It's a Wednesday, and I've been lying in the sun for a good while when Susie

stretches, taking her sunglasses off next to me. She looks at me and shrieks with horror, and I immediately shoot up. "What is it?!" I shriek in horror, and my friend points at me with a shaky finger. "Oh God, Rue, you're totally sunburned," she says. "You look like a tomato." I push my own sunglasses up my nose and look down at my skin. Sure enough, I've started turning into a beetroot. "Crap," I sigh heavily. "Did you put on sunscreen?" Susie asks with raised eyebrows, and I shake my head regretfully. I have skin that is easy to tan, but if I don't put on sun block, I'm red within the hour. Of course

I had to forget it today, so now I already know I'll be covered in blisters if I don't spend a few days out of the sun. "Well, it's been nice knowing you," I say dramatically. "I'll have to barricade myself in the house for a good while." "Oh no," Susie says sadly. "I'll come visit, don't worry. I'll bring all the hot gossip." She pokes my tummy and I sigh in pain, the sunburn already starting to sting. "And the aloe vera lotion," Susie adds, nodding wisely. I laugh and wave at her as I grab my towel, running back towards the house, already cursing my stupid forgetfulness. This means I'll be stuck in the goddamned beach house at least until the weekend, and I'm definitely not going to

enjoy it. I stomp into the house barefoot, discarding my stuff in the living room and heading to the bathroom to check out the damage. I'm standing in front of the reflective surface in my bikini, sighing as I take in my burn, when Valerie barges into the bathroom. "Do you mind?" I snap at her viciously. "God, there's no privacy in this house, I swear." She ignores me, heading straight for the cabinet and rummaging in it while I take in her figure. She's lithe and petite, like some kind of middle-aged model. I wonder how my Dad even scored her. As I silently appraise her, she turns around, giving me a soft smile. There's a

bottle in her hand and she hands it over to me. "What?" I ask suspiciously. "It's a cooling lotion," she explains simply. "Might help with that nasty burn you've got going on." I just stare at her blankly, so she unscrews the cap and motions for me to turn around. "No way," I snort, repulsed by the idea of my stepmother doing this for me. "Suit yourself," Valerie shrugs. "Guess you'll be stuck with peeling skin for the rest of the summer. What a sight that will be." She smirks at me and I swear I see Jax's features in her face. Rolling my eyes, I point my back at her, because I want to get out of the house as soon as possible, and if her

magic little potion can help me with that, I shouldn't object. A moment later, I feel instant coolness on my back, sighing heavily as the lotion hits my skin. "What is that stuff?" I ask suspiciously, but sigh at the same time as it sinks in, soothing my irritated skin. The stuff is magic. "A family remedy. It's used for racing horses when their muscles are sore," Valerie explains calmly, and I make a gagging sound deep in my throat. "Gross," I say with a finality in my voice, secretly hoping she'll scold me for being rude, but all she does is massage the rest of my back with the stuff, then set it back on the sink. She moves back and starts to walk out of the

room. "Thanks." The words fly out of my mouth before I can stop them and Valerie stops in her tracks, as surprised as I am by the fact that I just said that. She gives me a small smile and starts to walk out again, then changes her mind, looking at me over her shoulder. "I'm going to make cookies. Seeing as you're not going anywhere, you're free to join me in the kitchen." I roll my eyes, a knee-jerk reaction, but she's already gone from the bathroom. My face twists in an uncomfortable way, and I stomp back to my bedroom. My skin feels cool for now, but I do look like a lobster.

Sunburns usually fade within a couple of days, so I am very much hoping I'll be fine by Saturday, when there's a party a few blocks down. I plop down on the bed, cursing out loud when my back stings and itches as it hits the duvet. Picking up a book, I try to get immersed in some fantasy world, but I keep getting distracted. Minutes later, I'm sitting up again and putting on a light cotton sun dress. Anything to keep me cool and not irritate my skin. I wander downstairs again, my legs carrying me over to the kitchen as if of their own accord. Immediately, I'm greeted by the smell of cinnamon and chocolate and I sniff the air tentatively. Valerie is standing at the counter,

rolling out some sort of dough. I don't know the first thing about baking, but if it smells good, I'll eat. I creep up on her, but she doesn't even flinch when she senses my presence. I plop my behind on the counter next to her, watching as she cuts shapes into the dough. "Where's my Dad?" I ask to cut the silence. "He had some work to do, but will be back in time for dinner," Valerie explains to me, dusting her hands with a sprinkling of flour as I watch her, intrigued by her actions. "Why'd you do that?" I ask, reaching for the dough to take a piece off and eat it, but she slaps my hand away with a

spatula. For some reason, it makes me smile. "So the dough doesn't stick to the surface," she explains, pointing her spatula at me like some wicked witch. "Don't eat that, it'll make you sick." "But I'm hungry," I complain, feeling annoyed. "Then you better help me with dinner," Valerie suggests and I ponder her words for a little while, realizing I have nothing better to do. We put the cookies in the over and she explains what we'll be making – Chicken Parmesan with linguine. It all sounds foreign to me. My mom doesn't cook at home – we usually end up getting takeout or just eating out. She's too busy

to do stuff like this. But as we start cooking, I kind of find myself liking the process. And Valerie doesn't push me to do anything, either. It's kind of nice talking to her, and by the time we've finished, I've told her about some girls at the beach. "She got them for her eighteenth," I smile. "Can you believe that?" Valerie shakes her head, a smile playing on her lips. "I hope she isn't giving you any ideas." She gives me a scrutinizing look which is so serious it makes me laugh. I point at my own boobs, which have grown a lot in the past year – I went from being a barely-there A-cup to an overflowing C. "Do I need to get these

babies resized?" I ask, winking at Valerie, who laughs out loud, shaking her head. She hands me a spoon and I try the sauce, giving her a thumbs up to say I like it. We set the table next, and pretty soon, I hear a key turning in the lock and Daddy strolls into the kitchen. As soon as he sees me and Valerie together, he stops in his tracks and gives me a warning look. Always full of suspicion. "What?" I ask defensively. "She's helping me cook," Valerie is quick to explain, and I like the way she winks at me conspiratorially. Makes me feel like I can trust her. Dad raises his eyebrows when he pecks me, but he doesn't say another

word. He excuses himself to get ready for dinner and in about ten minutes, all of us are sitting down at the dining table, getting ready to dig in. All of us with the exception of Jax, that is. We've all dug into our food when he strolls into the room, bursting into laughter when he spots me. I shoot him an evil glare. "You look like a human strawberry," he points out kindly, and because I am a kid, I point my tongue out at him. Sitting down with the rest of us, he digs into his dinner too, and comments how good it is. That actually makes me grin, and Valerie winks at me across the table, knowing I had a hand in that. Not

that Jax's compliment was meant for me, anyway. "Did you hear there's a band in town?" Daddy asks between bites. "Which band?" I ask, already bored. I'm sure no one good would come to this small town, anyway. "I think they're called Lovely Heart?" Dad asks, scratching his head, and I'm already on my feet, screeching. "Lonely Hearts? Lonely Hearts, Daddy?" I yell at the top of my voice as the three of them stare at me in wonder. Okay, I get it - I'm not usually one for big reactions. But we're talking Lonely Hearts, my all-time favorite band. And if they're playing somewhere nearby, I'd give up a kidney to go see them.

"Yeah, I guess so. Are they any good?" Daddy asks, intrigued by my jumping up and down. He steadies me with a hand and I sit back down, still feeling giddy. "They're the best!" I gush. "They're kind of a mix of indie and rock and a bit of electronic ... Oh I just love them so much!" Jax snorts on the other side of the table and I glare at him. "What?" I ask defensively. "You're such a fan girl," he shakes his head. "They're a goddamned boy band that twelve-year-olds listen to. Oh, I guess it makes sense that you like them, then." He gives me an evil smile. I launch into a long tirade about the

awesomeness that is Lonely Hearts, being interrupted by Daddy just as I'm getting into the nitty-gritty. "You know, that gives me an idea," he says thoughtfully. "It might be the perfect opportunity for the two of you to spend some time together. You can take Rubi, Jax. I'll even let you go on the bike. The concert is tomorrow." "Absolutely not," I snort angrily, glaring at Jax and Daddy in turns. "I can go by myself." "It's in Newport, an hour away," Daddy says with raised eyebrows. "I'm not going to let you go there by yourself or just with your friends. You need someone to watch over you." "I don't need a fucking babysitter!" I

scream in outrage. "Yeah," Jax snorts, "because you're so responsible." He drops his fork on the dining table, shaking his head. "I don't want to go, either. I have better stuff to do than watch over this kid." I'm fuming, but Dad is already slamming his fist on the table. "Why is nobody listening to me?" he asks angrily. "She wants to go, you need to spend some quality time together. So I say, you're going." We both glare at him, and I'm pretty sure Jax and I both have steam coming out of our ears. I'm about to object loudly, but Daddy raises a hand to quiet me, so I have to make do with just

stomping out of the kitchen.

Chapter 6 Rubi Back in my bedroom, I give Susie a quick call and beg her to come with us, and she happily agrees, mentioning something about getting her claws into Jax. I hate that she says it, and at the same time, I resent myself for caring. I'm fuming, but since I'm a human lobster, I can't even go out of the house. Finally, I decide to put together an outfit

for the concert, rummaging around in my closet. Unfortunately, as soon as I move a few pairs of shoes, I come across that giant pink vibrator Jax left in my room. I blush as I pull it out, but my fingers stroke the length of the sex toy curiously. I don't know why, but I sit crosslegged on the floor and examine it closely. I've never seen an actual cock. Sure, I've watched some porn, but feeling this replica, sliding my fingers over its girth ... It feels different. And suddenly I'm embarrassed, leaving the vibrator on the floor as I go over to my bed, determined to get on with my life. My phone beeps with a text and I lie

back on the bed, checking to see if it's Susie. You better not follow me around tomorrow, you little cock block. Rolling my eyes, I realize it's none other than stepbrother dearest. I'm already punching a reply, my mouth a stiff line. Oh no! You've spoiled all my plans now. Go play with yourself Jax, because no one else wants to. ;) Is that what you're doing right now, playing with yourself? My eyes wander to the vibrator on the floor guiltily, and for some unknown reason, I get up to retrieve the pink toy lying back on the bed with it in my hand. I feel like Mr. Fuzz is giving me a dirty

look, so I self-consciously stuff him beneath my pillows. Guilty silence. You little slut. Blushing furiously as I read the next text, I want to punch Jax in the face. I hate how he gets under my skin every damn time, acting like he can't stand me when we're together, but then sending these texts that put all kinds of wrong things in my imagination. I think you've mistaken me with one of your dirty one-night stands, Jax. Still plenty of time for you to get membership in that club, darlin’. I gasp out loud, furious with him. As if I'd want to! You totally repulse me.

Yeah I'm sure... So how are you liking my gift? Bet you pretend it's me when you touch it. You're sick!! You love it. I toss the phone away, feeling very dirty all of a sudden. But my eyes keep watching it, secretly hoping it will beep with another text from him. No such luck. Instead, I look at the pink sex toy again, glaring at it like it's some kind of serial killer. Finally, I take it in my hands and press one of the buttons, and it begins to vibrate lightly in my hands. I wonder if Jax's cock is this big as well. And then I nearly smack myself,

blushing at the thought. I'm the sick one here, apparently. But that doesn't stop me from stroking the vibrator lightly, curiously pressing my fingers against the vibrating tip. I want to know what it would feel like, but it's just too dirty. I've touched myself plenty of times, but I don't use any toys. How the fuck would I get them, anyway? So then this is the perfect opportunity. I try to silence my own dirty thoughts, but it's an effort made in vain. Slowly, I lift my dress and press the toy against my bikini bottoms, my eyes widening as the vibrations take over my body.

Shit, that feels good. Tentatively, I move the fabric of my bikini aside, exposing a sliver of the most sensitive skin, sliding the tip of the toy over my swollen lips. My back arches in pleasure, my mind picturing Jax's face before I can stop it. I try to stop, I swear I do, but it feels so damn good. And even better when I picture a pair of strong, muscular hands inked with the blackest of colors ... Before I can help it, I'm mewling softly, my bikini bottoms already around my ankles. I press the vibrator against my entrance hesitantly, slowly pushing it deeper and meeting resistance. I don't dare to go deeper, but fuck, it feels good against my clit, bringing my stepbrother's

name to my mouth. "Jax ..." I whisper softly, but as I press down hard, those whispers soon turn into full-blown sighs and moans. I'm slick with wetness, gasping his name all the while knowing just how wrong it is. But I can't stop now, it feels too damn good. I know I'm close to something I've never experienced before as I press down hard against my clit, my body already shaking with anticipation. And then I gasp out loud as I feel something completely new to me, waves of the most intense pleasure I've ever felt. It's like I'd been bottled up to this point, and somebody just popped the cap. I can't help it, I scream out loud,

turning to my side and moaning into my pillow as my hand continues to press the pink toy against my swollen lips. Slowly, I let go, riding the last waves of ecstasy as I come against the tip of the vibrator. "Fuck," I say weakly against the pillow, immediately feeling dirty. Not because I played with myself, because there's nothing wrong with that, but because Jax's face was in my mind the whole time, his name a whisper on my lips. I pull my bikini up and hide the vibrator back in the closet, blushing the whole time. Then I start texting Susie, pretending none of this ever happened, but my

phone is already beeping with an incoming text, which I read. The walls are very thin, darlin’. P.S. Make sure to practice, because I'm bigger than your little toy. My eyes widen, and I clamp a hand over my mouth as I read the words, and next thing I know, I hear Jax chuckling a wall away from me, which lets me know that the walls are thin indeed. I have to fight every urge in my body to fight the scream that's about to come from my lips, so I bury my head in my pillow and wish the earth would swallow me up. But not before I see the real thing, I think guiltily.

I'm on edge the next day, but thankfully, Jax is nowhere to be seen. I spend the day with Valerie instead, and she shows me a couple more things in the kitchen. At this rate, I'll be a chef by the end of the summer. The day passes in a flash, and I end up eating dinner alone with Valerie, because Daddy is running some business in the city. I wish he wouldn't work as much. Finally, I grudgingly decide to get ready. I want to look good, so I put on a leather mini skirt and a white crop top, finishing the look with some high-heeled black sandals. I add some red lipstick to

my lips and a heavy dose of bronzer to cover up my poor skin. However, Valerie's potion seems to be doing the job – my sunburn is already fading into a tan, and my skin doesn't burn as much any longer. At 8 p.m. I hear someone honking outside and a look through the window shows me Jax leaning against a rusty old bike, glaring eight at me with contempt. I roll my eyes and head downstairs, already dreading what's to come, my mind full of the events of last night. I'm kind of angry about our lack of communication today, and to be honest, I had been incessantly checking my phone for texts from him up to this point. Downstairs, I give him a once-over,

fighting the fast beat of my heart. He's wearing a leather jacket over a white Vneck and jeans and he looks... Nothing. He looks like my goddamned stepbrother. "Nice ride," I say sarcastically, crossing my arms defensively in front of my body. "Where's the car?" "I don't have one," Jax shrugs, giving me a once-over with his eyebrows raised. "You can't ride a bike in that skirt." "Whatever," I shrug, and he replicates my motion, putting on his helmet and getting on the bike, revving up the engine. It doesn't take me long to realize he'll be leaving with or without me, so I grudgingly stomp over to the

bike and give him a glare full of contempt as I get on it. "I hate you," I murmur in his shoulder as I awkwardly position myself, thanking God my skirt is pleated, not skin tight. "Feeling's mutual, sis," Jax retorts, and we're off. Secretly, I relish the long ride to Newport, even though I do my best not to let it show. I've ridden a bike before, but I'm trying hard not to hold on to Jax too hard, knowing it would break my resolve. It takes about an hour, but we end up at the concert. I get off the bike, promptly ignoring Jax as I dial Susie's number. A quick conversation lets me

know she's somewhere in the parking lot, and I turn around towards Jax to let him know where we need to go. Instead, I come face-to-face with his leather-clad back. "Hey, where are you going?" I ask in confusion. He looks at me over his shoulder, his eyebrows raised. "I'm gonna hang out with my friends. You go have fun." "But you can't just leave me," I blurt out. "Thought that's what you wanted," he smirks at me. "Seriously, I'm not babysitting you. Go have fun, I'll text you when we're leaving." He waves and leaves, just like that, and I end up staring at his back, secretly

regretting the fact that he left, and at the same time, being angry with myself for letting him get to me.

Chapter 7 Jax I leave Rubi behind in the parking lot, her accusing look following me right to the main square where a warm-up band is already playing. I text Adrian, the guy I hang out with at the beach, and he tells me where everyone is, so I head in that direction. Adrian's quickly becoming a good friend, and we've spent loads of time

together since my arrival at the beach house. If only it weren't for that goddamned bet. I've come to regret betting on my little sis, which isn't to say I haven't been working on getting her in my bed. And I'd say I'm making some pretty nice progress. I'm reminded of the previous day and what I heard through the walls, picturing Rubi playing with her toy. Fuck, it gets me all kinds of hard in a minute. Quickly vanquishing those thoughts, I reach Adrian, who slaps me on the back and tries to push a red cup into my hand, but I promptly refuse, since I have to drive home tonight. "So where's your sister at?" he asks

me after a while, his eyes calculating my response. "She coming tonight, too?" I give him a hard look, knowing this is a thorn in my side, and possibly the thing that will break our friendship. "She's around." I make a non-committal hand motion, hoping we're done with the topic. Adrian puts it to rest, but it doesn't mean we aren't both scouring the crowd for a glimpse of Rubi. I'm realizing he's all in the game, and I need to make my move quick. Furrowing my brow, I take a look at the stage, where the band is setting up while the audience bustles in excitement. Then I feel a tug on my jacket and turn around to see what it's all about.

There's a gorgeous brunette in front of me, but before I see her face, I see her tits pressed up right in my face. My eyes slowly travel upwards, smiling mischievously as I take in that pretty heart-shaped face. "Why, hello," I say over the sound of the music, and she beams at me, those perky breasts jumping up as she suddenly moves in for a hug. She pulls me in close, and I feel the glory of her tits pressed up against me – fake, no doubt – as she whispers in my ear. "I'm Susie. Can you get me a drink? I'm not legal yet." She moves away and gives me an innocent look that reminds me of Rubi. I shake my head to get the thought out,

because here's a hotter than hell girl whose boobs are all up in my face, and I'm still stuck on my stepsister. Fuck no. "Sure, darlin’," I say with a grin. "Come on, let's get you a drink." We walk over to the drinks stand, and I order a beer for each of us while she stands off to the side. The guy at the counter gives me a weird look, but I just flash him a smile and walk back over to Susie. Will you be sucking on my cock tonight, Susie? I don't say the question out loud, but it's definitely an idea swimming around in my head. Frankly, I'd do anything to get my mind off Rubi.

Susie chatters to me, and I split my time between staring at her tits and scouring the crowd for a sight of my stepsister. All I see is Adrian's back and a couple of the other guys waiting for the show to start, but after a while Adrian moves, and I see him laughing with a girl. And that girl is none other than Rubi. I almost smash my cup in my hand, and Susie gives me a confused look. "You okay, Jax?" she purrs in a syrupy sweet voice, and I give her a grin. "Sure, let me just take care of something, and I'll be right back with you, darlin'," I say, leaning in closer just in time for Rubi to see. I tuck a strand of Susie’s hair behind her ear and grin at

her. "Don't you go anywhere. I've got plans for you." She stares at me with a delicious smile, and I'm pretty sure little stepsis saw it go down. I wink at Susie and walk over to Adrian, slapping him on the back. It may seem like a friendly gesture, but we both know it's really a warning. "Cozying up with my little sister, Adrian?" I ask coldly, trying to finish with a grin. Rubi rolls her eyes and juts a hip out. She looks like a walking felony in that skirt and top, her pouty lips covered in red lipstick. "Did you forget your outfit at home, sis?" I ask, feigning innocence. "Looks like you came in your underwear."

"Fuck off," she says unoriginally, flipping her hair over her shoulder as both Adrian's and my eyes wander to her now exposed belly. Her skin's smooth and tanned and— fuck. No. Not yet. "We were just talking about the band," Adrian pipes up. "Seems like we're both fans." They exchange smiles, and I fucking hate it; hate that there's already something blooming between them. "Oh yeah?" I ask with a smirk. "Didn't know you were a thirteen year old girl like my stepsister, Adrian." "Shut up, dude," he laughs with me while Rubi just glares at me, hard. "Do you mind, Jax?" she asks coldly. "We were kind of talking."

"Oh, sure," I smirk. "Playtime's not over for the kindergartners. I'll be right over there." I lean closer to her, just like I did before with Susie. "I have a tasty treat waiting for me." I don't look back as I walk over to the brunette, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her closer to me. Susie gives me a surprised but delighted look, but her eyes fluttering to the side for some reason, and she looks worried all of a sudden. "Jax, I'll be back," she tells me, and to my utter confusion, she rips herself out of my embrace and rushes away. I shrug and get back to Adrian, who is thankfully Rubi-less now. I shoot him a warning look, and he shrugs with an

apologetic smile. I leave things as they are for the time being and focus on the concert which is just starting. The music, as I have to sadly admit, is not so bad. I end up enjoying it, which may be contributed to by the fact we're surrounded by girls in skimpy clothing. I don't see Rubi for the rest of the night, not until hours later, when I text her to meet me in the parking lot. She doesn't reply.

Chapter 8 Rubi I'm so fucking upset, and I know I shouldn't be. But that prick just singlehandedly ruined what could've been the best night of my life with his goddamned antics. I end up listening to my favorite band from the beach, stomping around the sand as I wait to cool off. I see Susie searching for me in the crowds, and

she's texting me incessantly, but I ignore her. Little lying bitch. I can't believe she actually went after Jax. But then again, why on earth shouldn't she? She has no idea I have ... Fuck, no! There's nothing between us. He should be able to do anything he wants. My mind is swimming with opposing thoughts for hours, until my phone beeps with a text from Jax. Parking lot. Going home. I hate his goddamned tone, the way he orders me around. I have a half mind to just stay here and let him take my Dad's shouting for not bringing me back. But I soon realize I don't want to be

stuck here all night, so I walk grudgingly over to the parking lot. He's already there, but the parking lot's pretty much deserted. It is pretty late. "Took your time, princess," he shouts in my direction when he sees me approaching, and I ignore him completely. He seems a little surprised as I practically rip the helmet from his hands and get on the bike without another word. But then he goes with it, and that hurts even more. We ride back in utter silence. The ride is long and arduous, and I'm getting ready to stop, but instead of pulling in in our driveway, Jax stops in

the parking lot for the beach. I give him a confused look. "I didn't want to wake them up," he shrugs. And for some reason, that makes me melt inside, to know he's considerate like that. Except I then remember his hands all over my one friend in this town, so I purse my lips in annoyance. "Whatever," I murmur. "What the hell is up with you?" Jax asks as we get off the bike and I hand him my helmet, making sure I don't touch him in the process. "You're acting like a little bitch." "Why do you care?" I ask with a pout. "Don't you like bitches?" He just gives me a confused look as

he puts away the helmets. "You're weird," he informs me kindly and I roll my eyes but am still glued to the spot. Somehow, I'm unable to walk away from him. "Why do you care what I like, anyway?" he asks with a confused look. "You're like a hissing cat around me." I give him an annoyed look. "Am I not allowed to get along with my stepbrother?" He steps closer to me all of a sudden, his intimidating biceps right in my face, stretching the fabric of his leather jacket. "I don't think you like that I'm your stepbrother," he murmurs, so fucking close to my lips. "Why not?" I protest weakly.

"Because," his fingers start traveling up my arm all of a sudden, and I nearly fall backwards. I'm getting goose bumps as his hand moves to my face, tipping my chin backwards so I'm forced to look at him. "I think you want me," he says with a grin that drives me crazy. "You sure think highly of yourself," I spit out, but I'm having trouble breathing when he's this close. "What makes you think I'd touch you with a ten-foot pole?" He smirks at me, and his finger slowly travels downward. He goes over my neck and slowly reaches the line between by breasts as I gasp, unable to move away. "Oh, I don't know," he breathes down my neck, his fingers traveling over the

exposed skin of my tummy, stopping inches away from my pussy. I can already feel it throbbing, the wetness soaking my panties in an instant. "Are you saying you're not wet right now?" Jax whispers in my ear, and I violently shake my head no. "Really, princess?" His fingers are dipping under the hem of my skirt. "So if I dip a finger inside your pussy right now, you won't be soaking wet?" I move away in an instant, letting my hair fall over my face like a curtain to hide my blush. I don't dare look at Jax, but I can hear him laughing. "You're so scared, Rubi," he groans. "Such a kid." "I'm not a kid," I retort angrily,

glaring at him and hoping my blush isn't too obvious in the nighttime. He smirks at me, driving me insane with that perfect smile of his. I want to erase the smugness of his expression, but I'm not sure if anyone can do that. "Do the most forbidden thing you can think of then," he dares me. His eyes latch on to mine, and my heart nearly bursts out of my chest as he stares me down. "Kiss me," he orders.

Chapter 9 Jax I'm staring, and I'm well aware of that fact. My heart is beating steadily in anticipation of what she'll do. Will she accept my dare or just run back home like a good little girl? I don't understand Rubi. She's this little firecracker, feisty and angry all the time. But it's like she has a shell made of explosives, and once you make a crack

in it, you expose the sweet center. And I want to break through to that center. She's staring right back, the words that just came out of my mouth still sinking in her mind. I see the expressions changing in her eyes; I’m reading her like an open book. She's scared, but she wants to prove that she can do it. And I'm pretty sure she wants to kiss me. She bites her bottom lip unconsciously, and I nearly lose it right there. Her full lip curves under the bite of her perfect teeth, her eyes dancing over my face, looking for confirmation. Then she moves a little closer, inch by inch. Her eyes never leave mine until

she's a breath away from my face. She sighs, and her soft moan might just be my undoing, and then she leans forward, like she doesn't want to chicken out at the last moment. Her lips crush mine, but her act of defiance is full of fear. I part my lips under hers, and she almost pulls away, but something keeps her glued closer. She kisses me softly, her lips puckering against mine. I think she'll move away any second, looking at me triumphantly, and I'm pretty sure that's her plan, as well. But then she changes her mind, grabbing my shirt and pulling me closer. I keep my hands behind my back, afraid of what will happen if I touch her,

knowing there's a big chance I won't be able to let go once I feel her skin again. Her tongue sneaks into my mouth, and she deepens our kiss, pulling me closer. She whimpers against my mouth, and my hands form fists at my sides. I'm still in charge here, I tell myself, my resolve weakening by the second. Rubi's lips are scorching hot against mine, the tender skin of her mouth trembling under my touch. I can't help myself – I bite down on her bottom lip softly and she moans against my lips. She's not cursing now. In fact, I can feel her trembling. "More," she moans against my mouth, moving away just enough to beg. And in that moment, I can't hold back

any longer. I move closer to her and I'm about to pull her in, when she suddenly pulls back, refusing to meet my eye. She's shaking, and I want to reach for her more than I've ever wanted anything in my life, but before I can make a move, she stumbles back. The night air suddenly hits me, cooling off my scorched skin, but my eyes are glued to Rubi's figure. She gets backs away in the direction of the house, refusing to look at me. She's still shaking, and it fucking hurts to know I've brought her to that point. She stands on the corner of the street for a second, looking at the ground, and I desperately want to rush towards her. Before I can do that, she turns around

and disappears around the curb. It's like I'm on auto-pilot as I check whether I've locked the bike and start heading back to the house myself. I realize I'm shaking when I can't get the key in the lock of the front door. I remember the stupid bet I made with Adrian as I come to a stop in front of the door that leads to Rubi's bedroom. There's not a sound coming out through the wall separating us. I touch the white wood of the door and curse my stupidity in my mind, because I just made a stupid bet with a guy I genuinely like, and it has taken me up til now to realize Rubi is more than a bet to me. And worst of all, much more than a stepsister.

That goddamned kiss, the way she looks at me with hate mixed with lust. Those are things I'm going to want again... over and over again, in fact.

Chapter 10 Rubi Days later, I haven't seen Jax since what happened at the concert. I have no idea where he is, which I hate – but what I hate even more is the fact I actually care about his whereabouts. He doesn't even shoot me one of his naughty texts, and I'm pretty sure our kiss was a one-off, something he's completely forgotten about already.

Too bad I'm still stuck on the way he tastes. But I refuse to think about it, forcing my mind to switch thoughts as soon as Jax enters them. I can't afford to get hurt right now, and so I decide to focus on spending time with the new family. I think I was wrong about Valerie, that's for sure. Since I've been cooped up in the house for days because of the sunburn – and because I don't want to face Susie – we've been spending quite some time together. Dad disappears on these mysterious errands every day, and Valerie and I usually hang out, make food and just talk. She's definitely different than my mom.

Back in Cali, my mom is all about work. She works insanely long hours at a lawyers' office, pretty much leaving me by myself, which is fine by me. But sometimes, I just miss having someone at home whom I can talk to. Valerie told me she had always wanted a daughter, but after Jax's Dad left her, that hope was pretty much extinguished. I tried asking her about my Dad several times, but she's quite mysterious about the whole thing, saying I'll find out everything soon enough. How cryptic. Today, Daddy promised to come home sooner, and Valerie and I have been busy preparing lunch for the three of us. None of us know what Jax does,

but I'm sure he's plenty busy – and I try to pretend I don't care. I'm waiting for Daddy when he walks in, I crush him in an embrace as soon as he's through the door. Laughing, he hugs me back, smoothing back my hair. "Thank God you don't have my hair," he grins, smoothing down his own bald head as I laugh. Daddy's been shaving his head for years, and he often jokes about his premature balding. "Well, I got the best from you and the best from mom, didn't I?" I wink at him cheekily and he laughs, shaking his head. "Rue, let's go have a drink on the porch," he suggests. "You bring the iced tea, and I'll be right down."

I nod, suddenly happy about the prospect about having at least a little bit of time alone with my father. He's been so absent since we all got to the beach house that I'm having trouble believing this trip is about family bonding. I prepare two glasses of ice cold tea and tell Valerie we'll be ready for dinner in about half an hour, then carry them over to Daddy, who's sitting on the swing sofa on the porch. It's the one thing Valerie and Dad kept after my mom and I left this place, and I love that they chose this out of everything. I understand a bit more now the need to renovate, after Valerie confessed she felt like my Mom was watching her from every dusty corner.

But this swing has a special meaning for me, and I'll always remember those long and lazy afternoons when Daddy and I would sit here together, our noses stuck in books. "Thank you, pumpkin," Dad smiles as I hand him a cold glass, taking a long sip of the drink. I settle next to him, and he puts an arm around me. We just stay like that for a good long while, watching the scorching sun while safely enclosed in the shadows. "Are you having fun, Rubi?" Dad asks me hesitantly, and I look at him questioningly. "It's just that I don't think you're getting along very well with Jax," he explains, sighing heavily. I blush lightly, thinking of all the

ways I am getting along with Jax. "Daddy, there's a difference between us in age, y'know." I try to be believable with my excuses. "I guess all the banter makes you two brother and sister," Daddy chuckles, and my blood curdles in my veins, because I most definitely do not want to be Jax's sister. "I guess so," I mumble. "You know, I always hoped you'd get a brother," Dad sighs. "And now here's another family for us. I think we'll be very happy together... Valerie and me, and the two of you." I feel so sick I have to get up. "I'll go set the table," I say, feeling the waves of nausea riding my body.

"Oh, okay." Daddy sounds surprised, downing his drink. "I'll be right in there, honey." I rush inside, leaning against a cool whitewashed wall and waiting for the sickness to pass. But it doesn't seem to be going anywhere as I realize Daddy thinks of Jax and me as brother and sister when really, it couldn't be further away from that. Because I'm now realizing, I might want more. Shit.

I refused to speak to Susie when she called for days on end, but as the

doorbell rings on a Monday, I instantly know it has to be her. Today I'm alone, with Jax God knows where and Valerie and Dad both out taking care of some errands. I've not been to the beach in days, both because of my sunburn and because I don't want to face Susie. Truth be told, I'm bitter about what happened, and I'm afraid I'll expose myself if we talk, and she'll know I like Jax. I've been thinking about Adrian a lot, too. I barely remember him from when we lived here permanently, but he seems to have taken an interest in me, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't attracted to him. He's pretty much the exact opposite

of Jax with his surfer boy looks – curly blond hair, blue eyes and super tanned skin. I feel like he'd be good for me. At the same time, I'm well aware of the fact that my body wants Jax, not Adrian. I get up from my bed groggily, despite the fact it's past lunch, heading downstairs to open the front door. Just as I suspected, Susie is standing on my doorstep, glaring at me as she barges right past me into the beach house. "What the hell, Rue?" she asks angrily. "You have a reason for ignoring me?" I follow her tiredly into the living room. The house is completely deserted and I suddenly feel so very lonely,

knowing there's not a person in the world whom I can talk to about my real feelings. "Well?" Susie asks expectantly, crossing her arms in front of her body and glaring at me accusingly. "Why are you so angry? Did I do something wrong?" I shake my head weakly, unable to tell her how I feel, even though I want to confide in someone. But I'm so afraid of what she'll think if I confess that the reason behind my coldness is her snuggling up to my stepbrother. It's so sick. "I'm not leaving until you tell me," she threatens me as I start walking away towards the kitchen. I busy myself by

making iced tea, and on second thought, I prepare a second glass for Susie as well. She looks at me with confusion as I prepare our drinks, and I decide to speak up. "This might take a while," I say weakly, "and you might hate me afterwards." "Well, honey," Susie is quick to respond, "then we better make those iced teas a bit more fun." I giggle, and we rummage through the liquor cabinet together. Dad used to have quite a collection of bottles, but now it's down to just a few. We settle on rum and pour some into our frosted glasses. Susie has a heavy hand, and we giggle as I try

to stop her from putting too much in. Finally, we head outside towards the pool area, settling on the lounge chairs, our drinks cool in our hands. I pull down my sunglasses, which are resting atop my head, hoping that being masked by mirrored shades will make this a little easier. No such luck, though. "Spit it out," Susie encourages me, slurping her drink through a striped straw. I sigh heavily, realizing I won't be calm until I get this out. Maybe that's all I need – to admit I have the hots for him, and then it will be easier to fight the way he makes me feel. "Well, you know," I say, already

cringing at the thought of admitting this out loud. "I'm kind of split between two decisions." "Yes," she nods vigorously, waiting for me to go on. "I like this guy," I admit, thinking of Jax, "but he's all kinds of wrong. He's so wrong it's probably not even legal." Susie's eyes widen, and I look at her out of the corner of my eyes, wondering how she isn't getting this yet. I sigh heavily and go on. "There's another guy as well, who would be a much wiser choice. Safe, sweet, kind. Nothing wrong with him." "Except he's not guy number one," Susie interrupts and I look at her with my eyes wide, nodding. Then I watch as

realization sinks in, and she gasps out loud. "Oh my God," she breathes heavily. "Jax? Jax is guy number one!" All I can do is nod, and somehow, it's as if a dam has broken. I push up my sunglasses and look at Susie desperately. "Oh please, Susie, don't think I'm some weirdo. We're not even related; I met him a short while ago. Is it so fucked up?" She looks at me hard as if she knows how much this means to me. Finally, she sets her glass down on the tiles and reaches for my hands, smoothing my skin with her fingers. "No, stupid," she says gently. "It's not fucked up. Why would it be? I'm not

some grandma who is going to judge you for having hots for a guy you met two weeks ago. Who cares if your parents are married? You're not related." It's as if a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders, even though we haven't resolved much of anything. But just knowing Susie doesn't judge me for feeling this way makes me feel a lot better. "What I'm worried about is this," Susie begins, nervously biting her bottom lip, "are you really mad at me? I swear I had no idea you liked him, and we didn't even do anything ... I just thought he was so hot, and I started talking to him. I swear, nothing happened."

I give her a long look and smile. Susie gives off completely the wrong impression, I've realized, because she seems like some silly bimbo, when she's actually the sweetest friend I'll probably ever have. "No, I'm not mad," I admit. "I should've told you sooner." Susie gives me a tight hug before settling back into her lounge chair and whistling. "Well, has anything happened with either of the guys?" she asks curiously, and I blush. "Oh, you little minx!" she shrieks. "Shut up, Susie," I snap, laughing at the same time. "Okay, Jax and I kissed. But he hasn't talked to me since." "So what should I do?" I ask her

next, nervously twisting a beach towel between my fingers. "Well, what do you want to happen?" Susie asks, giving me a serious look. I don't know how I got so honest – it might be those insanely strong iced teas we're drinking, but I'm not holding anything back at this point. "Everything," I admit, my voice hoarse as I think about Jax. "Well then, just do it," Susie shrugs nonchalantly, and I blush again. I don't think she knows the true extent of my worries, but I appreciate the fact that she isn't prodding me for more information, like which guy I'm talking about. Then again, I guess it's pretty clear whom I'm obsessing about.

"You think I should?" I ask her nervously. "Why are you so worried? It's just hooking up," Susie laughs it off, but when she sees my petrified expression, she quickly changes her tone. "Unless... it's not?" I blush violently, hating my skin more than ever. "Why is it a big deal?" Susie asks curiously. "Because you like him, and you want more?" I nod slowly, gulping down a lump in my throat. "Yes and ... you know. It would be my first time." The last sentence comes out in a whisper, and I'm pretty much hoping it was quiet enough for Susie to not hear.

"What?!" she screeches, and I blush an even deeper red color as she jumps up from the lounge chair and starts jumping up and down. "Oh my god, you're kidding! A real live VIRGIN! This is so exciting!" I can't help but laugh as I try to calm her down, and we end up jumping around together, laughing and teasing each other. I feel like a kid, but somehow, this feels good. It's finally out in the open, and the world hasn't stopped. Susie isn't judging, she's just teasing. And I'm so fucking grateful to have her as my friend. "What's going on here?" a voice interrupts from behind us, and Susie and I freeze on the spot, slowly turning

around to check out the intruder. Of course it's Jax, because my life could not resist throwing a curve ball at me. Susie snorts behind me, but I'm too busy staring to notice or respond. He's wearing swimming shorts. And nothing else. His upper body is in full display, the glorious tattoos glistening with droplets of water, his hair dripping with the salty liquid. His eyes are in such sharp contrast to his tanned skin I'm pretty sure I might just faint on the spot. "Oh, nothing," Susie slurs instead of me, and I give her a stern look, which makes us both erupt in giggles. "Rubi was just telling me ..." "NOTHING!" I yell at the top of my

voice as Jax looks at me curiously, and Susie dissolves into a fit of giggles. "I was telling her absolutely, boringly NOTHING." I pull her after me towards my room as Jax throws down his surfboard, shaking his wet hair out and staring after us, looking more confused than ever. "Phwoarrrrr," Susie comments and makes a paw-like gesture in his direction, for which she earns a slap on her butt as I pull her inside the beach house, giggling like crazy.

Chapter 11 Jax I've been doing my best to avoid the beach house at all costs. When I come across Rubi and Susie by the pool, I'm struck by just how much the distance made my heart grow fonder. Just seeing Rubi in those goddamned cut-off shorts and a see-through top makes me go wild. After we kissed, I did something that was necessary, but at the same time,

definitely not what I wanted. I decided to keep my distance, realizing that as soon as we took this attraction further, it would be hard to go back. Because while I still want to win that bet, I'm afraid of what I feel around Rubi. I've never been in love, never even gave a girl a second thought after sleeping with her. I fuck them, then I'm gone, and because of my reputation, it's what girls have come to expect. The fact that I don't want to do that with Rubi frankly scares me. So seeing her and her friend – whom I was talking to at the concert and who pales in comparison to my stepsister – on the patio ... It makes me long to touch her again.

I'm thankful when they disappear back into the house, giggling about something or other. I don't have the energy to pretend I don't care about her, when my head is screaming at me to just make her mine once and for all. To hear them giggling in the room right next to me might drive me crazy, so I decide to cool off in the pool, wash off the salt from the ocean. While I swim laps, I replay the events of the last few days in my head. I've been going to the beach every day, spending time with my new friends. The worst thing is, I've mainly been hanging out with Adrian, and I've come to realize he's a great guy. If he were a douche bag, this whole thing would be

much easier. But as it is, there's a big thing keeping us apart, making every interaction guarded, our actions carefully calculated. The bet. That stupid fucking deal I made with him, which he's desperate to go through with. I don't know why, but he's intent on making this bet work for him. Well, that's a lie – one look at Rubi tells me why he'd want to win. I also think it's a pride thing for him, needing to prove that he can beat me. And obviously, he doesn't want to lose his car. But I'm so fucking scared he'll go to Rubi with the truth, I've decided to play along. When the time is right, I'll explain what happened and hope to God she

understands. At the same time, I'm fucking confused by my worries. Were it any other girl, I wouldn't give a fuck if she found out. I'm confident enough. But with Rubi ... I'm so scared Adrian will tell her about that, I'm trying to stop it from happening on every step of the way. For now, she doesn't know – and I'd like to keep it that way. Keep her in the dark until he tells her, admits we made a bet about sleeping with her. But until then, there's just one thing on my mind. I need to get Rubi before Adrian does. For her own sake as much as my enjoyment. I take a quick shower after

swimming, listening intently to the noises coming from Rubi's room while I do so. When I'm in the bathroom we share, there's a wall separating us and knowing that drives me insane. But I can't hear shit, so I figure her friend left. When I get out, it's already time for dinner, so I get dressed in shorts and a tank, heading down into the kitchen. Rubi and mom are already there, and I linger by the door, listening to their conversation. If there's one thing I've realized by now, it's that Rubi is a tough nut to crack. She curses all the time, acts like a little rebel and is a general pain in the butt. So it shocks me to hear her talking to my mom pleasantly, even giggling and

laughing along with her. After a few minutes, I can't take it anymore, so I walk into the kitchen to check out the scene. Mom and Rubi are sitting close together, like friends. They're giggling about something, whispering to one another. And for some reason, that makes me so fucking happy. I'm glad my mom and Rubi like each other, so I smile, too, sitting down next to mom at the table. "What's so funny?" I ask, trying to butt in to the conversation. "Jax, don't be nosy," mom says, and it makes me laugh. She's so protective of Rubi. I know she's always wanted a daughter, and if she has this connection with my stepsister, that makes me happy.

I try to forget the fact that it will make it more complicated for me if I follow through on the feelings I have for Rubi. "I see you've already started," Tony says as he walks in, a tired smile on his face. He sits down at the table, and we dig into our dinner. It's pot roast night, and I make sure to compliment my Mom on her cooking. She smiles happily, and the evening gets a little bit better. I'm suddenly regretting putting the distance between me and Rubi after that kiss. I can see her looking at me from time to time, and her gaze is hopeful, which twists my insides. I feel bad for what I'm about to do to her. After dinner, we all sit back with our

bellies full. I keep sneaking glances at Rubi, hoping she won't notice, but every single time our eyes meet and she blushes, I can't help it – I get a little bit happier. It's so fucking juvenile and stupid. And this girl might just be the end of me. I'm somehow reluctant to leave the table, and thankfully, mom and Tony decide to prolong the image of family happiness. "Kids, just so you know," Tony begins, clearing his throat. "Valerie and I are heading west tomorrow. We'll be gone for a coupla days. Will you be able to take care of yourselves while we're not here?" "Where are you going?" I ask

curiously, fighting hard to keep the smile off my face when I feel Rubi's excited eyes on me. "We have some business to take care of," Tony waves his hand in the air noncommittally. "Unfortunately it can't be pushed back, and I'll need Valerie with me to help." I sneak another glance at Rubi, who's flat out staring at me. I smile widely when I realize what this mean. A few days alone in the beach house with her. No rules. No parents. The odds are in my favor. "Oh, I think we'll be fine," I say, winking at my stepsister as she blushes that shade of red which is quickly becoming my favorite color.

Chapter 12 Rubi As soon as Valerie and Daddy let us know they'll be out of town for a while, I know I am doomed. Because there is no way in hell I can resist Jax when we are home alone, with the sun beating down and making me go even crazier for him. And that look he gives me at the kitchen table ... I'm pretty much done for already.

The rest of the day goes by fast, with Valerie and Daddy packing for their vacation. I'm not sure where they're going; my mind is too preoccupied with the thought of being all alone with Jax. It isn't until we're standing on the curb and waving our parents off that I realize how fast my heart is beating. Daddy kisses me goodbye and gives me a strange look as he gets into the car. "You okay, pumpkin?" he asks worriedly, and I try my hardest to give him my brightest smile and a swift nod. But he still eyes me warily as he starts the car and Valerie waves us off. "Go have fun," she says cheerfully, but her voice sounds a little tired. I briefly wonder why, but don't spend too

much time worrying, my mind already on other things. "Bye!" Jax and I shout in unison, waving as the car drives off, our parents safely enclosed inside. And then it's just the two of us, my heart beating faster than ever. I'm not sure I can handle this, and it's been about ten seconds since the parents left. Jax turns to face me so slowly I'm losing my mind before we're even face to face. I don't meet his eye, knowing that when I do, it will be the end of me trying to keep it together. But Jax isn't having it. He reaches for my face, tipping my chin up with his fingers until I'm forced to look him in the eyes. The connection

between us is tense, like a storm brewing. I'm just waiting for the rain to start pouring down on us. "Hey, Rubi," he says softly, his lips wrapping around my name like a kiss. I almost moan out loud, but manage to stop myself just in time. Instead, I just stare at my stepbrother intently. "You've gotta do what I say now. I'm in charge when they're gone," he tells me, smirking at me. When his lip pulls upward on one side, I have an intense desire to either kiss or smack that expression off his face, but of course, I'm too much of a scaredy-cat to do anything about it. If Susie knew about this, she would be pushing me into Jax's arms already.

The thought brings a smile to my face, and I decide to play along. "Hope you make me do something good," I say, surprised by the words coming out of my mouth. I blush lightly but keep my eyes trained on Jax. He raises an eyebrow in surprise, grinning at me. "Oh yeah?" he teases me. "I have some ideas." I move away and start walking towards the beach house, throwing a look over my shoulder. "I'll see what I can do about those," I purr and actually wink at him. Then I disappear inside the house, nearly falling to the floor once I'm away from his watchful eyes. I'm breathing heavily as I think of what I just did, but a

smile finds its way onto my face nonetheless.

I try to keep up appearances, so I head down to a bonfire party that evening. I just wear a dress over my bikini, choosing to go casual. My hair is airdried from the sun with beachy waves, and I leave my face free of makeup, since my skin is already getting a nice tan. While I'm waiting for Susie, my phone beeps and I nearly fall over in my rush to read the incoming text, hoping it's from Jax. My wish comes true.

Are you coming to the bonfire? Yep, getting ready now. Are you? Yes. Wanna play a game? I do. I want to play a game. What kind of game? Truth or dare? There's already a smile playing on my lips as I consider my choice. Good girl Rubi always goes for truth, but today I'm feeling brave, so I text him and ask for a dare. Wear a dress today. No bra, no panties. My eyes widen as I read his text, and I giggle, feeling both excited and scared. Slowly, I get up from the bed and strip my bikini from underneath my dress, hoping the night will be dark enough to

make the dress less see-through. Done. Pics or it didn't happen! I laugh out loud at his message, then grab my bra and dangle it between my fingers, snapping a quick shot and sending it to his number. I'll have to check in person, don't trust you. Blushing, I reply. That sounds like another dare, and I never got my turn. :( It's my game darlin’ ;) I don't want to admit it, but I can already feel the wetness between my legs, and I know I'm in big, big trouble. But today, I don't think I can resist. My mind is telling me Adrian is the

wise, safe choice. But my body wants Jax, and I'm in no position to deny it what it wants. The cell phone beeps again. Another one? I reply with a smiling emoticon and sit waiting for his reply for ages. Finally, my phone beeps again and my fingers shake as I look at his text. You're already wet ... You're going to slide your fingers inside yourself the moment you stop reading this text. And then you'll lick them for me. I can't believe how cheeky he is. And I can't believe what I do next. My trembling fingers find the slit between my legs, which is drenched with my own juices. Hesitantly, I push

my finger between the folds and moan as the rush overtakes me, slipping them back out. My whole body shakes as I lift my fingers to my lips, snapping a photo with my free hand. I close my eyes, tasting myself on my own fingertips. I send it. Then a car starts honking outside and I drop the phone like it was hot lava, blushing violently as I realize Susie's waiting for me. I rush outside and wave to her just as my phone beeps with another text. Good girl. Hope you're ready for something bigger than those dainty fingers. "Is your sunburn back?" Susie asks

worriedly and I have to stifle my own laugh as she envelops me in a tight hug, realizing I'm blushing. We chatter as we walk over to her truck, with me thinking about his delicious text. "Oh my God," Susie gushes. "So you and the god of all that is holy and wrong are alone in the house today?" I nod shyly, and she smiles so excitedly you'd think she's the one who is about to spend a night alone with Jax. Susie goes on and on, until we arrive at the beach where the bonfire is burning bright against the backdrop of an inky blue night. "Well, look who's here," Susie whispers in my ear, and my eyes travel over the mass of people who are

enjoying the balmy night. I see a few of the girls I've made friends with and give them a wave, but then my gaze falls on Adrian. I groan. I don't want to deal with this right now, because in my mind, I've already made my decision – not that there was much deciding to do. But seeing Adrian makes me feel a little tense and the doubts about my relationship with Jax start sinking in again. However you look at it, in the end we are stepsiblings. And if anything happened between us, there'd be a scandal... Whereas Adrian is the perfect safe choice, a great guy and someone who I know likes me.

Too bad he doesn't make me feel like Jax does. "Don't worry, I've got your back," Susie winks at me before linking her arm through mine and strolling right over to the rest of our friends. I'm offered a red cup filled with punch, which, upon being sniffed, is not as fruity as it is spiked. I take small sips, knowing someone will refill my cup as soon as it's empty. I don't want to get drunk tonight ... I want to have all of my senses on high alert when I see Jax. If I even see him. I spend the evening constantly looking around, hoping to catch a glimpse of him. I was pretty sure he'd show up to the bonfire, since everyone is

here today ... But so far, no such luck. Unfortunately for me, Adrian seems to be trying to make eye-contact with me all night long. I catch his eye and smile, then look away as fast as I can, but I guess that's all the encouragement he needs, because he comes to greet us in a matter of seconds. "Hey, Rubi," he greets me with a smile, and I smile shyly at him. "Hello." "Haven't seen you in a while, is everything okay?" he wonders out loud, and I can see genuine concern in his eyes. This guy is so goddamned sweet, and I'm sure I'd be all over him if it weren't for my stepbrother. "I had a sunburn," I say lamely. "Had

to stay inside until it faded." "Oh, poor girl," he says with a sweet smile. "I would've come over to keep you company." He accompanies the last sentence with a grin and a wink and I blush. Thankfully, Susie strides over to us in the next second. "I am so sorry, Adrian, but this one is needed for some gossip," she says matter-of-factly and before Adrian can pipe up with an objection, she's already pulled me away while he stares after us, confused. We both giggle, looking at each other incredulously once we round the corner. "Do I need to do some damage control?" Susie asks. "Like you want

Jax, you like Jax, did you forget about Jax?" "I don't think I ever could," I sigh heavily, shaking my head. "Good." Susie sounds satisfied. "Will you be okay by yourself? I'm about to make out with an insanely hot surfer dude." "I'll keep her company," an amused voice interrupts, and I whirl around, almost bumping into Jax who seems to have appeared out of nowhere. I just stare at him, not trusting myself to form coherent sentences. Susie jams her elbow in my ribs, then returns to her make-out partner. "You showed up," I say to Jax, hoping the dark night is hiding my

flushed cheeks. "Been waiting for me?" he teases, raising an eyebrow. I shrug. "I've been keeping busy," I say, and I let my eyes float towards Adrian. Not that I would ever hook up with him, but at least it might get Jax a bit jealous. But instead of the jealousy I expect, he looks genuinely angry. He steps a little closer until he's right in my face, staring at me hard. His hands shoot up and grab me by the shoulders, and I just look back in shock. "Don't," he says angrily. "Don't go near him." "Sheesh, okay," I say with a groan, pulling out of his hands, even though I

regret it the moment I don't feel his skin on mine. "Jealous much?" "I'm just looking out for you, Rubi," Jax says tiredly, and he looks beat-up all of a sudden. I move a little closer to him, my hand shooting up of its own accord to move a strand of hair from his eyes. He looks at me, and I blush again. "It was in your eyes," I say apologetically, giving him a shy smile. He looks at me, and his face cracks a smile, slow and so sexy I bet just that could make me wet in a hot minute. "Having fun?" he asks me , glancing around us at the party, which is in full force. I shrug. "I wanna keep playing." The words

are out of my mouth before I can stop them, and it seems like Jax is just as surprised by them as I am. He stares at me, hard, and suddenly I'm intimidated by his presence. "You're sure?" he asks hesitantly, and I realize this is my chance to get out. I could say no and leave right now, and we wouldn't have done anything too forbidden. I could kiss Adrian tonight, pretend there was never anything between Jax and me. I'm sure he would find a substitute for me in a split second. But the thing is, I don't want to. So I nod, my body swifter and more sure of what I'm doing than my heart. Jax is glaring at me and his Adam's apple bobbles as he swallows. "Great,"

he says, and his smile reminds me of that of a predator. "Come with me." He takes me by the hand and gently pulls me away. I follow in his footsteps as he leads me away from the light of the bonfire, walking across the beach. My heart is thumping loudly in my chest, but if I said it wasn't in excitement, I'd be a liar.

Chapter 13 Jax We walk on the beach and Rubi takes off her shoes, dangling them from her hand. She keeps sneaking glances at me, and I end up laughing out loud while she blushes. "What is it?" she asks selfconsciously. I shake my head, a smile still playing on my lips, and she stops all of a sudden,

crossing her arms in front of her body defensively. "Are we playing or what?" she asks stubbornly. "Sure, you can be my plaything," I tell her, and she nearly trips when she starts walking again – on flat ground I might add. I chuckle low in my throat. "Truth or dare?" I ask her next. She hesitates for a second. "Dare." I stop, a few inches away from the water lapping at the shore. We've put a good distance between us and the people at the bonfire by now. "Come over here," I order her. Her eyebrows shoot up. "So simple?" I shrug. "Let's see you do it, and we'll see how simple it is."

She steps up bravely until she's a step away from me, and I shake my head unhappily. "No, closer." Another small, tentative step brings her almost face-to-face with me. "Closer." Finally, she steps right into my arms, but I make them stay at my sides, grinning at Rubi who is refusing to meet my eye. I assume it's because our lips are almost touching. "Next," I tell her in a low growl. "Truth," she says, her voice shaking as she looks at the ground. But I'm not about to let her get off that easily. "Do you want me to fuck you, Rubi?" I groan, and she flutters those long eyelashes, looking at me for just a split

second. She hesitates, stepping from one foot to another, but I don't like waiting. I am not a patient man. Tipping her chin back, I make her look me straight in the eyes, and the answer is clear in them. "Say it," I order her and move my hand away from her face, knowing she won't be able to break eye contact. I lower it next to my body, but she surprises me by reaching for it with her own hand. Our fingers twine together. She bites her bottom lip. "Yes," she whispers. "Yes what?" I demand more. "Yes, I want you to... fuck me." She curses all the time, yet hearing

those dirty words that are so familiar to her lips makes me hard as a rock this time around. "Show me," I dare her, my eyes dancing with flames. "I wanna see how badly you want it, darlin'." She moves closer, and it's fucking torture. She's inches away from me, the girl I want more than anyone up to this point in my life. But I can't touch. I know it has to come from her – she has to make the first move. Rubi is looking down, our fingers still twined together. Slowly, she raises her eyes to meet mine, her irises sparkling through thick black lashes. Fuck me ... Then, she stands on her tiptoes,

pulling my hand around her waist. My arms wrap around her hips like that's what they were meant to do, and I inhale her sweet scent. It's pure summer, lime and coconut. I need to taste it. She hesitates, inches away from my lips, my hands wrapped around her waist. I pull her closer, desperate for her to make up her mind. I know I shouldn't initiate the kiss. But I can still play the game. "Truth or dare?" I ask, my voice rough. Our bodies are pressed so close together, her breasts tight against my chest. I can feel her heart, and I'm sure it's beating so fast because of me. "Dare," she half-whispers, half-

moans. I can feel her hard nipples, naked under the dress just like I ordered her. "Take my hand," I tell her, and she obediently does as she is told, pulling my hand closer. "And show me what a good girl you are, following my orders. Show me you're not wearing anything under that dress." She winks once, twice. Then she slowly brings my hand over to her body, placing it on her hip, her fingers trembling as she does so. "No," I say sternly. "Put it between your legs." I'm fighting every urge in my body to not take matters into my own hands. But finally, she tugs on my hand, her free arm moving up the fabric of her dress. I make

my eyes stay on hers even though I want to look down so badly. But next thing I know, she presses my fingers against her slick pussy, already moaning, already wet for me. "Good enough?" she asks, her voice raspy. I touch her, my fingers slipping between her lips and teasing her just enough to make her gasp out loud. I find her clit, flicking it between two fingers as she moans. "Fuck," I curse softly against her lips. "Rubi." Feeling her smile on my cheek is sweet torture, but then she steps on the tips of her toes and our lips touch softly. She wants to taunt me, wants to play, but

I'm done with the games. I grab her waist and lift her up, and she follows my body like she was made for me. She's feather light, wrapping her legs around my waist as I lower her against my mouth, our lips crashing together. It's not like our first kiss, full of fear and rebelliousness. It's sweet, it's wrong, yet it's so fucking right. Rubi whimpers every time I move my mouth, demanding I keep my lips on hers. If I move away for a split second, her hands are already around my neck, pulling me back. She kisses me like she's waited long enough. Deep, hard, driving me insane. I breathe heavily as she pulls me

back once again. She looks me right in the eye. "Dare," she says, a sweet smile playing on her lips. I bite down on her bottom lip, making her moan in pleasure. "Let me make you mine," I say.

Chapter 14 Rubi I'm coming undone, and it's all because of Jax. I thought I could resist, thought I could fight, but as soon as we kiss, I'm done for. And he doesn't disappoint, doesn't hold back – not for a single moment. He lowers me to the sand, our bodies closely pressed together, hearts beating as one. Our eyes are glued to one

another's, and I can't wait any longer. My hands tremble as I reach for the hem of Jax's shirt. I lift it slowly, my free hand sliding over his rock hard abs as he groans in my ear. His hands are at his sides, shaking lightly like he can barely resist touching me himself. But it's my game now, and I'm about to break all the rules. In a rush, I lift his shirt all the way and he raises his hands, helping me pull it over his head. I come face to face with his tattooed chest, the glorious black images coming to life in the moonlight as his muscles ripple. "Eyes up here," he tells me, and a small smile makes its way on my face, reminding me of that first day we met on

the beach. My fingers glide across his chest, coming to stop on an intricate web of tattoos. "Take your dress off," he orders, his voice rough with desire. "Won't you help me?" I ask in response, but he shakes his head. "No. I want to watch." He smiles wide, and I feel the goose bumps on my skin. Then, I do what he says, his orders turning me on more than anything. I slowly lift the hem of my dress, pulling it over my head in one swift motion, my tits bouncing as I pull the thin fabric over my head. Jax is inches away, but he reaches for me with one hand, grazing the sensitive skin on my belly with just one

finger. "So beautiful," he groans under his breath and I look away shyly. But I'm getting over it pretty quickly, and soon after, I'm reaching for Jax's shorts and giving him a questioning look. He throws his head back, running a hand through his hair and I pull down his shorts. He's in just his boxers now, and the outline of his cock would be hard to ignore even if I wanted to. My eyes widen as I take in his impressive girth, his erection clearly visible through the tight boxers. "Jax," I breathe heavily, and my hand reaches out as if of its own accord. I softly stroke his length through the silky material, and he moans, tipping my chin

upwards with a finger, making me look at him. "Get over here," he orders me, and I step into his arms. His cock presses into my side as his fingers trace the dimples on my back. Before I can stop myself, my arms find the hem of his boxers, pulling them lower and lower. Jax retreats just a few inches, taking in my body. He gives me that smile that drives me insane, whispering in my hair, "Come on darlin', pull a little harder. I want to play." His mouth is on my throat next and swiftly traveling downwards. I'm having trouble breathing when he reaches my breasts, his breath hot on my skin. I beg him to go lower, and finally, he reaches

my pebbled nipples, sucking one into his mouth. Jax's tongue plays with my bud, licking it gently and tugging just hard enough to make me gasp with both pain and pleasure. "More," I beg him. He does as he is told, while the hand that isn't on the small of my back finds its way down to my pussy. He plays with me, his fingers dipping inside and driving me insane. Finally, he pushes them down and his finger massages my lips as I moan against his mouth. I can't believe this is happening. It's so wrong. I banish the thoughts, too involved in what's happening. His fingers are playing with me, and it doesn't take him

long to find my clit, stroking a place only I have touched before. "Jax," I mumble against his mouth. "Dare me again." He doesn't take long to respond, grabbing my chin and pulling me closer. "Take my boxers off. Take my cock in your hand and put it in your mouth." My eyes widen, but I can't help it – I want to do what he says so badly. Finally, I reach for the hem of his silky boxers, pulling them down before I can change my mind. I make my gaze stay locked with his for just a moment longer, and when I break contact, unable to resist, he chuckles. I look down, my fingers trembling as I reach for him.

His cock is huge. And that is not an exaggeration. He's thick and long, throbbing with want for me, several veins lining his length. And the very tip is pierced, two silver metal balls on each side of it. I swallow hard, looking back up. And that smirk is back on his face, like he has nothing to hide. Like he wants me to look. Just that smirk might make me come right this very moment. "Don't be shy," he says with a rough voice, and I reach for him, obeying like a good girl. My fingers wrap around his impressive girth, one of them stroking the tip with the piercing curiously. He groans, and I love that I made that happen, so I drop to my knees. The sand

is harsh against my knees, and I'm now realizing how exposed we are out here – it's nighttime, and there's no one nearby, but if someone came across us, we'd have nowhere to hide. For some reason, that thought makes me shiver with excitement. Jax gives me a confused look as I stroke him, my fingers more sure of their path with every jerking motion. Slowly, I lower my mouth to his cock, my gaze locked with Jax's, but I'm too shy to actually do anything else. "Dare," I whisper instead, hoping he'll give me what we both want. His fingers wrap in my hair, bringing my head so close to his cock my lips are almost touching it. I look up, begging for

the release both of us need so desperately. "Lick," he orders me, and I do as I'm told, my tongue licking the metallic silver ball first, then slowly touching his tip, giving it a taste. I mumble something incoherent and he groans, making my head stay in place as I give him a proper taste. I lick the sensitive underside, his cock throbbing under my lips, begging me to take all of it in my mouth. I try to do so, but choke when I'm halfway in and Jax curses out loud. "Don't, Rubi," he groans. "Don't do it, I won't be able to hold back." He pulls me up, half by my hair, half by my arms, wrapping me up in his

strong arms, his throbbing cock pressing against my belly. He kisses me deep and hard, prolonging what we both know is about to happen. "Sure?" he asks, even though I'm sure neither of us could stop now. I nod quickly and he moans, positioning me on my back. His hands are traveling all over my body and we're both breathing heavily. He grabs his jeans, taking from the back pocket a small packet and ripping it. I realize it's a condom, and my heart starts to pound as he rolls it on his thickness. Jax grins at me, his hand slipping between my legs and finding me soaked.

He has his cock positioned at my entrance, when I realize I have to come clean. "Wait!" I say in a small voice, and he looks down at me with lust-filled eyes. "Jax, I ..." "I'll stop," he says, his voice shaky. "I'll stop if you want me to." "Don't," I shake my head vehemently. "But I..." I stare at him, my eyes dancing over his features as I think of the best way to deliver this news. "Truth," I say weakly, and he gives me the most confused look. "I'm a virgin," I spit out, looking away. He reaches out for me, his hand gripping my throat lightly, making me

look at him. "You sure you want this?" he asks once again, and I nod. I've never been so sure of anything in my life. "Well then," Jax groans, licking his hand and making me even wetter. I arch my back to be closer to him, desperately needing that beautiful cock inside me. He plunges in in one long, swift motion as I gasp loudly. "You're not a virgin any more, darlin'," he says hoarsely, filling me up. I stare at the night above us, my eyes wide with shock. It hurts, but it feels so fucking good. "More," I beg Jax, and he pulls out his whole length, then plunges inside me again as I gasp. The feeling is something I'm getting addicted to by the second, my

body shaking with the need for more. I keep repeating the same word over and over again as he pumps inside me, one hand holding the small of my back, the other braced on my side. He curses out loud as he fucks me, and I'm seeing stars – not just in the summer sky. "You feel so good, Jax," I whisper in his ear. He groans against my mouth, shutting me up with a deep kiss, then moving away swiftly and looking at me with concern. "Does it hurt?" he asks worriedly. I gulp as I ride another wave of pleasure, my walls tightening around his thick shaft, ready to milk every last drop of his hot come. "Yes," I whisper softly.

"I love it ..." He curses out loud and fucks me like it's the first and last time, until I'm sure we're both about to pass out. Finally, he looks at me and grips my hair in a fist. "I'm going to have to come inside of you now, okay, Rubi?" he asks me, his voice pained. I nod, begging him to do what he said. "Be a good girl," he orders me. "I want you to come on my cock, too." I writhe under his touch, getting off on those words alone. "Can you do that, Rubi?" Before I can answer him, my body erupts in ice and fire and everything in between and I cry out, feeling the waves washing over my body. "Yes," I whisper.

"I can, oh, Jax!" He curses against my hair and his whole body tenses as he pumps one last time. He groans and I can tell he's going through the same thing, shaking and calling my name in a broken whisper. Jax comes to a stop on top of me, his cock still inside me. He looks down at me, his smirk ever present on his face as I pant, completely exhausted. "Wasn't that fun, darlin’?'," he groans against my lips, giving me a deep, sated kiss.

Chapter 16 Jax I wrap Rubi in my arms as she stars at the night sky, not quite believing this actually happened. She snuggles closer to me and I kiss the top of her head. "Shit," she laughs lightly, as if she's just realizing what happened. "I can't believe we did that." She giggles uncomfortably, squirming in my arms, but I pull her closer. Now that I've had

her, there's no fucking way I'll let her get away. Because what just happened ... That was amazing. I still can't quite understand why she let me be her first, but damn, I'm glad. And I'm hoping it was just as good for her. "You already regretting it?" I tease her, my fingers circling the skin on her smooth, tanned belly. She smacks me away playfully and looks into my eyes. Those green eyes of hers will be the end of me some day, I swear. "No," she says, her voice strong and unrelenting. "Not even a little bit." Then she laughs and escapes from my arms, pulling her dress back over her naked body. "Catch me if you can!" she

shouts in my direction before running off towards the beach house which is a short distance away. I get up in a rush and get dressed as fast as possible before going after her. It seems like all I've been doing since the moment I met Rubi Lynn is running after her, chasing her down ... But now I've finally caught up.

We end up in my room, snuggling up in the bed. Fuck me, I am cuddling a girl, and not even in order to get sex. "I'm sore," she whispers in my ear, and I soothe her by rubbing her back.

Rubi’s wearing a dress over her nakedness, her body writhing against mine sleepily, like she still hasn’t had enough despite the fact she's hurting. I wrap her up in my arms and she’s asleep in seconds, but I’m the one who can’t catch a wink of rest. So many thoughts are swimming in my mind, and at around 4 a.m., I come to terms that this might be a sleepless night for me. However, I’m perfectly content in my bed, as long as Rubi is snuggling close to me, her breathing steady, a smile playing on her lips. I’m thinking about what this means. What we did tonight, however much we both wanted it, is going to have consequences.

Because I knew as soon as I had her, my cock sliding inside her – Rubi isn’t a girl I just want to sleep with. She’s the girl I want to have everything with. And that might prove to be a problem. It isn’t just the stepbrother thing – even though that’s reason enough to worry. I’m thinking about that stupid goddamned bet, wishing I’d never agreed to it. Because sooner or later, Rubi is going to find out about it, and it might just break her heart. Right there on my bed, with my sweet firecracker in my arms, I decide I need to repair the damage before it even happens. I have to convince her that this is real, bet or no bet. Starting right now.

I’m still holding her close as she opens her eyes hours later. I’ve used the time I had while she slept well, and I am now familiar with every freckle on that upturned nose of hers. She’s fucking adorable, but still sexy to have my cock stirring with every move she makes in my arms. “Morning, darlin’,” I greet her, my voice hoarse from being quiet too long. She smiles sleepily, cuddling into the crook of my arm. This small fact, knowing that she isn’t immediately regretting what happened last night, makes me feel so much better. “Mornin’,” she mumbles, stretching

in my arms like a lithe cat. My fingers graze her exposed skin, raising goose bumps in their wake. It feels damn good to be able to do this. We take our time getting up, and she giggles as I tickle her relentlessly. I’m relishing the touch of her skin against mine, and for the first time in my life, I’m not regretting waking up with a girl in my bed. A breakthrough. Finally, we had downstairs, and I offer to make breakfast. Rubi agrees, sitting down on a bar stool at the counter, her elbows propped up and her hands supporting her head. She looks adorable with her tousled hair, a smile plastered on her face.

I go for pancakes – pretty much the only thing I can make. But they’re damn good pancakes, if I do say so myself. “Smells delicious,” Rubi comments, flipping through a cookbook my mom left on the counter. I keep sneaking glances at her out of the corner of my eye, not quite believing what is going on. The change in her is enormous, and I can’t believe how little it took to get her to ease off the attitude. She hasn’t cursed once today – in fact, she’s been smiling since she got up. As much as I like Tony, Rubi’s father, I suddenly resent him for leaving Rubi and her mother. You can tell from the change in attitude she’s full of hatred because of what happened. And knowing

how little it takes to get her to soften up makes me angry that I’m the first one to discover this. I set a plate of fluffy pancakes with blueberries in front of her, and her eyes widen. She licks her lips, which makes my cock stir, and I make a mental note to keep calm. “Yum,” she says like an excited kid, reminding me that those three years that separate us make a huge difference. She’s still so young, and I’ve fucked up too many times to count in my life. It makes my smile fade. Rubi digs in with a fork and gushes about my cooking skills, but I smile tensely, too deep in thought to acknowledge her praise. Her eyes grow

worried after a while, and she pushes away her plate, her lips pursed. She hasn’t even finished her food. “What’s wrong?” I ask, my voice tense. “Nothing.” She slips off the stool, walking away from me without so much as a look over her shoulder. I’m getting more and more confused by the second. I clear her plate, then head after her, finding her in the living room, flipping through the channels on the TV. I sit down next to her on the couch, and she inches away from me. I give her a confused look, but she refuses to meet my eye. Several long minutes go by, until I’ve had enough of her childish games.

I reach across into her lap, pulling the remote out of her hands. I turn off the TV while she crosses her arms in front of her body, already in defensive mode. Her eyes are glued to the blank TV screen, refusing to so much as look at me. “What are you doing?” I ask her, hardly masking the anger in my voice. Rubi doesn’t answer, just pouts and mutters something to herself. “Fine,” I say. I get up from the couch, throwing the remote at the plush fabric and running a hand through my hair, already exhausted from the lack of conversation on Rubi’s part. “I’m heading out. I don’t have the time for this.”

“I’m sure,” she retorts bitterly, and I give her a confused look. She’s quick to answer, and I can tell all her barbs are out, ready to hurt me. “Already off to win over another conquest?” “What?” My expression is one of genuine confusion. “Oh, right,” she snaps at me. “Like I’m so far off.” “Rubi, what are you saying?” I ask her tiredly. “The truth,” she says, the volume of her voice already rising and ready for the fight which I’m sure she’s about to start. “Don’t think I’m that dumb, Jax. I know you wanted to get in my bed as soon as I saw you. Is that what I am to you, some sort of game you need to

win?” I think of the bet instantly, already ridden with guilt, and she laughs sadly, but triumphantly. What a sad pair we are. “No need to defend yourself,” she says, her voice almost breaking as she speaks. “You got what you wanted, even more, probably. Bet you didn’t think you’d be my first. At least I gave you something to brag about.” She gets up from the couch and tries to leave, the anger coming off her in waves of red hot mist. She passes me and I grab her by the waist, but this imaginary scenario she has going on in her head has given her a new-found strength.

She fights me as I take her in my arms, but I won’t let go. I hold her wrists tightly in one hand, and she doesn’t have a chance. I hold the small of her back, pressing her closer to me as I murmur soothingly into her hair. And pretty soon, her shakiness turns from anger to sadness, and she falls apart in my arms. “Rubi, darlin',” I whisper softly against her hair as she begins to sob softly. “What’s wrong? Tell me, baby." She all but falls to the floor, and I catch her in the last second, gathering her in my arms. I walk us over to the couch and pull her into my lap. She curls up like a little kid and it fucking breaks my heart to see how vulnerable she is.

“Talk to me,” I beg her, not sure how to help her. I’ve never been there for a girl. I never even had a friend of the opposite sex. My philosophy is fuck ‘em, then leave ‘em. But with Rubi, it’s all fucked up. I know I shouldn’t get involved, but I want to help her so badly. “I’m scared,” she murmurs against my chest, her breath hot on my shirtless body. “What are you scared of, darlin’?” I ask her, stroking her hair. She’s quiet for a long time, but I don’t stop my stroking motions. She’ll speak when she’s ready to tell me what’s going on in that pretty little head of hers. “That you will leave me,” she

admits, sniffling a little. And that small confession all but breaks my heart in two pieces. “Why would I do that, Rubi?” I ask her, kissing the top of her head soothingly. She makes an attempt to break my embrace, but it makes me hold her tighter. “Let go,” she says weakly. “I won’t.” I clutch her closer, unwilling to let her go. “Do you hear me, Rubi? I won’t let go.” She melts into my arms, those small few words all she needed to hear. And it makes me hurt for her, knowing she’s been let down and has come to expect the worst of people. "Rubi," I say suddenly. "I'll always

be here." I'm surprising myself, but for some reason I can't stop talking. "I'll do what you want. Always." She gives a tired smile, and it makes me feel much better. I let her stay in my arms for a while, feeling her growing stronger with each moment that passes. Finally, she looks at me with those big green eyes full of wonder. She’s so special. So beautiful. And I'm fucked. “Thank you,” she whispers, reaching for my head and pulling me down, crushing our lips together in a kiss full of promises. As I let myself go, tasting those sweet lips, I soon realize I’m done for. Because this girl next to me right now…

She might be it for me.

Chapter 17 Rubi I don’t know what’s happening to me. It’s like someone flipped a switch inside my head, making my personality change in an instant. Suddenly, I don’t feel the need to bitch and moan. I don’t need to curse with every sentence I say. It’s not a compulsion anymore, but instead – a choice. And it feels so good.

The last few days have been the best of my life. It’s been all about Jax. Jax and me. The start of our story together. I know this bliss won’t last forever – our parents are planning on returning tomorrow, and we’re enjoying our last moments together. Despite the amazing, loved feeling, there's an underlying guilt at the pit of my stomach. Every time I laugh, I guiltily think about what I'm doing and just how wrong this is. I guess when you know you can't tell your parents about your new boyfriend you have a problem – and mine is even bigger, because one of them is Jax's mom. I'm already dreading the

conversation, which I know will have to happen sooner or later. It’s been a short few days, but I would never trade them for anything. Because this is the happiest I’ve ever been – waking up in Jax’s arms. Falling asleep in his embrace. Eating the food he’s made for me. Spending all day at the pool, lazily swimming in the cold water, kissing withabandon. Today, Susie called me to ask where I’ve been, and I’m pretty sure she knows what’s going on, because I was an absolute giggling fool on the phone. She wants to go to the carnival, which is in town today, and I made Jax promise he’d come with us. I get ready in the evening, wanting to

look especially pretty for the last night we have together all alone. So I put on a new dress mother dearest got for me before I left – a pretty, flimsy emerald green dress made of silk that apparently goes with my hair well. I put my hair in a half-up style and add some wedges to go with the dress. I know I’m overdressed, but I want this night to be extra special. The one thorn in my heel is the fact that Jax is meeting me there. He doesn’t want Susie to suspect a thing, even though I’m pretty sure she already knows about us. When I come down the stairs, it makes me a little sad not to see him waiting for me. But I hear Susie honking outside, and

there’s no time for sadness. I rush outside and get into her car as she interrogates me about what’s been going on. I laugh and remain vague, which drives her crazy. “You little minx,” she says, throwing me a look and nearly swerving off the road. “Susie!” I yell in horror. “Eyes on the road!” “No fuck? No dammit?” she asks in mock horror, shaking her head. “I don’t know what’s happened to you, girlfriend.” We’re still laughing when we arrive at the site of the carnival, getting out of the car. Susie has to help me get across the gravel in my high wedges, but my

struggle is forgotten as soon as she spots the cotton candy stand. She shrieks in delight and rushes to get in line for the sweet pink candy. I giggle and follow slowly, reconsidering my choice of footwear. I’m already looking around anxiously, trying to spot Jax. I want our seemingly random encounter to happen as soon as possible. My eyes scan the crowd and my expression sours as soon as I spot a familiar group of eyes, which unfortunately includes Adrian. As soon as he spots me, I look away in a rush, unwilling to spend a moment of my precious time with the douche bag. But then my eyes land on another

familiar figure, and this time it’s someone I’m more than a little glad to see. My lips stretch into a smile as I drink Jax in with my eyes. But as soon as I realize what he’s doing, my happy expression falters. Jax is leaning against a vending machine, wearing a badass leather jacket I’ve never seen on him. As I watch him, he takes it off, revealing a V-neck black tee with his biceps exposed and bulging, covered with the delicious ink I’ve come to love. But what’s more disturbing is the person he’s flexing his muscles for – a pretty, petite blonde with perky tits and a too-shirt tennis skirt, who’s all but in his face with that cleavage.

My lips purse when I see them talking, and I realize I’m fucking jealous. I’m jealous of the way he’s laughing at her, jealous of his eyes appraising her tight, lithe body. I’m seething when he reaches over, poking her as she giggles. And then Jax’s eyes land on mine and his smile grows wilder. Everything is forgotten, because surely last night was not a lie? I let him have me, gave myself to him in ways I’ve never let anyone see me, let alone touch me, fuck me, take me. As he comes towards me, saying goodbye to the blonde, my heartbeat falters. I don’t trust him, I realize sadly. Not completely. Not yet. “Hey, darlin’,” he greets me, his

signature smirk ever present on his face. “Missed me?” I make a shushing sound, looking around like someone’s going to burst out of the nearby bushes and bust us. I don’t know why, but I’m already smiling, my cheeks reddening slightly. Jax laughs at my discomfort, grabbing my hips and pulling me closer, planting a kiss right on my lips, in the middle of the carnival. My mouth gapes in shock, but secretly, I couldn’t be more pleased, because he just acknowledged me … I can almost feel the blonde’s jealous gaze upon us. “What’s going on here?” Susie asks curiously a moment later, her smile wide as she giggles at the sight of us. We

refuse to answer, shooting each other guilty looks, and Susie snorts knowingly. “Come on, lovebirds,” she says with a dramatic gasp. “Let’s have some fun. You can eat each other when we’ve left.” Jax smirks, but I can tell he likes her. Susie has a no-fucks-given attitude, and I think she and Jax will get along just fine. For some reason, that makes me feel strangely happy. We spend a fun evening together, eating sweets and carnival snacks and trying out every single ride in the park. Jax even wins me this stupid, enormous stuffed penguin and even though I call him stupid, I insist on lugging him around with me for the rest of the night, a

silly smile plastered across my face. Finally, the night comes to an end, and a bunch of us are standing in the parking lot. “Come on, Rue,” Susie motions me over. “Let me give you a ride home.” Jax clears his throat, and I look between the two of them, feeling torn. “Erm,” I say, and Susie gives me a hard look. “I guess I’ll just go with Jax. We live in the same house, after all.” Susie glares at me but ends up laughing it off and winking at me as she comes over for a quick hug. She pulls me in closer and whispers in my ear. “I want to hear all the details tomorrow.” Jax and I wave them off, and he passes me the helmet to ride his bike. I

put it on clumsily, but I can’t quite take my thoughts – or eyes – off my stepbrother. I’m completely smitten, even if I don’t want to admit it out loud. “You ready, darlin’?” he asks roughly, and I’m already picturing what we’re going to do for the rest of the night when a shrill laugh interrupts us. “Hey, Rubi," I hear a voice calling me, turning around towards the voice. My mouth breaks into a hesitant smile as I spot Adrian. "Leaving so soon?" "It's late," I call back, and he slowly approaches us. Suddenly, the air becomes incredibly tense, and I realize there's something going on here. I give Jax a confused look, but he's staring intently at Adrian.

"Stay a little longer?" Adrian slurs, and upon closer inspection, I realize he's pretty much hammered. "We have to go," I say uncomfortably, putting on my helmet. "Come on, Rubi," Adrian says slowly, a smirk spreading over his face. "You wouldn't believe the things I have to tell you ..." I don’t have time to comment, because in the next second, Jax strolls over to him and punches him square in the face. “Jax!” I yell in shock as Adrian’s head flops backward, sending him sprawling on his feet on the gravel covering the floor. “Are you okay?” I ask absent-mindedly in Adrian’s

direction, furrowing my brows at my stepbrother. “Oh, I’m mighty fine,” he says, the slur gone from his voice, but his tone cold like a snake’s hiss. He gets up from the floor, wiping away the blood from his split lip. “But your brother is about to regret that punch he threw at me immensely.” “Come on, Rubi,” Jax groans, pulling on my arm in the direction of his bike. “We don’t need to stick around for this. He’s full of crap.” I look at him with confusion, not understanding the sudden animosity between these two. When I first met Jax at the beach, he seemed to be getting along with Adrian quite nicely.

“What’s this about?” I ask, feeling weird because of the way they’re acting, but Jax completely ignores me, dragging me to his bike and making me straddle the machine. He sits in front of me and places my arms firmly around his waist, starting the bike just as Adrian starts shouting something at us. “Bye, jackass,” he says with a smirk on his face, waving at a retreating figure of Adrian as we drive off from the carnival. I stare over my shoulder until his silhouette is too small to make out, wondering what just happened. And I can't help but wonder if I made the right choice – seeing Jax with that girl, and then the way he just punched Adrian out of the blue...

I hate to admit it, but I might be scared of my own stepbrother.

Chapter 18 Jax One last night. A blissful, perfect night with her in my arms, her breathing steady, her heartbeat reassuring against my chest. It feels so goddamn good I’m pretty sure I’ll have trouble sleeping without Rubi beside me in the future. We wake up in the early morning, and I refuse to get up. Rubi seems to be of the same mind, because she snuggles

closer to me, holding me as tightly as her small arms can manage. I can’t stop looking at her, kissing her, thinking about her. She’s possessed my mind and body, and I’m afraid it’s too late to change that now. And that fucking scares me more than anything I’ve done in my life. Finally, at around noon, we both know we can’t put this off any longer. Tony has already left a message on Rubi’s voicemail, letting us know he’s returning with my mother in the early afternoon. So we get up, grudgingly getting ready, and then stopping in front of the door that leads to Rubi’s bedroom, looking at each other awkwardly, not

wanting this magical time to end. I wish I could keep her in this secret place forever, make the beach house our happy place … No judgment. No witnesses. Just her body and mine, our lips crushed together. “I guess we should be in our own rooms when they come home,” I tell her hesitantly, and she nods, since we both know it’s the right thing to do. Tony’s a protective guy, and I’m sure any guy who had feelings for his daughter would be in trouble, but the fact that I’m Rubi’s stepbrother pretty much condemns me from the start. “I should go then,” I say more firmly, but my eyes are asking Rubi to say no. When she raises her eyes to me, her gaze

is full of sadness. “What’s wrong, darlin’?” I ask her worriedly. “I just…” She breathe a heavy sigh, and I take a step closer, my fingers traveling up her arm, leaving goose bumps in their trail on her perfect skin. “What?” I ask her gently, needing her to confide in me. And I know she will, the change in her already remarkable after just a few short days together. She’s a different girl, and the thought of how much better she could get with my help makes me insanely happy. “I’m worried,” she admits, her voice breaking over the words. “I’m worried this ends now. You got me, you didn’t have time to grow tired of me, so it would be perfect … To just cut it off,

before it hurts even more.” She flutters her eyelashes in an almost violent way, and I tip her chin backwards with my fingers, making my little doll look at me. “Stop, Rubi,” I say softly. “You’re saying that so you don’t get hurt.” She tries to look away, but my fingers slide over her lips next and her eyes become glued to mine, her mouth parting gently in a sigh. “I know you still want me,” I say confidently, but before she can roll her eyes, I go on. “I won’t leave you. Because I want you just as much, and I have every intention of making this work – one way or another.” A small smile lights up her face, and I lean down, unable to resist one last

kiss while we’re free of our parents’ company. My lips land against her mouth softly, and she opens those lips up for me like she’s parched for my touch. “Darlin’,” I groan against her lips, pulling her closer as she grinds her body against mine. This is going to be a problem, because there’s already just one thing on my mind … I give her a long, hard kiss, tasting her, knowing I'm getting more and more addicted with each lick she lets me have. And then I hear noise downstairs and spring away from her like she's just burned my mouth with those full, pouty lips. Rubi's eyes widen in anticipation, and I clear my throat, standing

awkwardly in the hallway. Our parents call to us from downstairs, and I know we'll have to face the music sooner or later. I smile apologetically at my baby doll, then motion towards the staircase with my head. "Shall we?" I ask, my voice full of regret and resignation. She nods, and we walk downstairs, making sure to keep a good distance between us. Anyone who saw us would think it perfectly innocent... I wish it wasn't. "Rubi!" Tony bellows as soon as we reach them, enveloping his daughter in a big hug. I smile and my mom is soon to follow, settling for a ruffle of my hair. "Hello, Jax," she says and I give her a

hug nonetheless. Upon closer inspection, mother looks pretty tired, with bags under her eyes and limp hair. She always looks amazing, and it's a little strange seeing her out of sorts. My eyes land on Tony next, and I see he looks a bit under the weather, too. I don't comment, instead slapping him on the back good-naturedly. "Hope you had a good trip?" I ask them. All they do is look at each other, their eyes full of guilt. What in the name of hell is going on here? I furrow my brows, but a quick look at Rubi tells me she's oblivious. I'm not about to point out there's something wrong, because I don't want to worry

her, but in my mind, I've already decided I need to get to the bottom of this. Tony leads us all into the kitchen, exclaiming he needs a good homecooked meal. The three of us volunteer to make dinner, and he leaves to unpack their stuff. Once again, I'm seeing a new Rubi. I love the way she is with my mom, so at ease, always laughing and chatting away. I don't say much, but a small smile plays on my lips as I pretend to help around the kitchen, even though they're doing most of the work. An hour or later, they send me upstairs to get Tony, and I retreat laughing, leaving them to their whispering. It makes me so fucking

happy, and in my mind, I'm already convincing myself we can get my mother on our side before we tell Tony what's going on between us. The upstairs is quiet, and I give Mom and Tony's bedroom door a tentative knock. No-one answers. I crinkle my forehead, knocking again, but once more – no answer. I open the door slowly, and I am surprised by the scene in front of me. The luggage our parents brought with them hasn't even been touched – the two suitcases are still lying on the floor, unopened. My eyes scan the room for Tony, finding him sprawled on the bed, snoring away happily. I stifle a laugh, gently poking him. It

takes a couple of seconds, but I finally have his attention. "Oh, Jax," he says tiredly. "Dinner will be on the table in a moment," I say, trying to be friendly, but I can't resist poking some fun. "You needed some rest, old man?" Tony smiles awkwardly, getting off the bed slowly. I don't know what they were up to on that trip, but they both seem beat. I hope they recover soon enough. I tell Tony to meet us all in the kitchen and head downstairs to help my ladies with the serving. They put me in charge of carving the meat while they set the table. I'm in the process of doing so when

Tony strolls into the kitchen, looking paler than he did when I saw him last. "Tony, everything alright?" I ask worriedly, my eyes glued to his sallow face. He raises his eyes to mine, the motion painfully slow. He tries to wave a hand in my direction to convey it is nothing, but when he lets go of the doorframe, he stumbles. "Daddy?" Rubi asks worriedly, and mom drops the cutlery. Tony tries to catch something to hold him up, but he misses the counter by a good few inches. His eyes are already absent, and before any of us can do a thing, he collapses on the floor. "Daddy!" Rubi screams in horror,

and the sound of the silverware hitting the floor echoes in my head. Mom and Rubi rush towards Tony, who's barely breathing on the floor, and I just stare at the scene, completely in shock... "Get over here, Jax!" mom scolds me in a cool tone, and it's the push I need. I drop everything and rush towards them, my hands shaking as I check Tony's pulse. It's there. Weak, but there. "What's going on?" Rubi is asking, her voice on the verge of tears. "We'll explain everything," mom says after a long pause. "We'll tell you ... Everything. Oh God, I can't take this. I just can't."

I just stare as both my mother and Rubi burst into tears, holding the limp body of husband and father in my hands.

Chapter 19 Rubi My world is falling apart. I realize this as soon as Daddy falls to the floor, and the rest of it is a blur. We manage to wake him up, propping him against a wall and making him drink some ice cold water. He tries to reassure me by joking around and laughing, but my heart is beating a hundred times per hour. I'm scared.

Finally, when Daddy feels a little bit better, Jax helps him to the living room and I cuddle next to him on the couch, feeling so scared I can't breathe. I want to know what's going on, but at the same time, I'm so afraid. I wish I could live in blissful ignorance, in a world where nothing is wrong at all. Daddy clears his throat and I snuggle closer to him. He's stroking my hair absent-mindedly while Jax stares out of the window, his gaze hard and unrelenting. Valerie is sitting on Daddy's other side, holding his hand lightly, as if he might break. My Daddy won't break! I want to shout at her angrily. He's strong, stronger than anyone else. He can still

lift me and carry me on his back, just as he did when I was a kid ... "The reason we left this week was to see a doctor," Daddy admits with a heavy voice. "And all these days when I've been gone for hours on end, I've been getting chemotherapy." He smoothes his bald head with a bitter smile. "Good thing I've been shaving this baby for years, eh?" Tears start filling my eyes, and it takes every effort I can manage to keep them at bay. Finally, Daddy starts to speak again after the most excruciating of pauses, and all my hopes and dreams shatter with four simple words. "I have terminal cancer," Daddy says. I whimper.

"I found out six months ago," he continues. His voice is tired, but I can already tell he's accepted this fact, and that makes me fucking furious. I want him to fight this, because I know he can. I know he has it in him. Daddy looks at Valerie and smiles fondly at her. "I looked up Valerie the day I found out. You kids don't know this, but we went to the same high school when we were teenagers, for a year or two." "We were high school sweethearts," Valerie admits shyly. "And then I moved away," Daddy nods, looking at me fondly. "I will never regret that, because I met your Mom then, Rubi, and she gave me you."

I give him a weak smile, pretending to be as strong as he is, even though I'm breaking inside. "But when we divorced, and when I got the diagnosis... I found Valerie on Facebook, and we started chatting. I was upfront and told her all about my... illness. We met up. And the rest, as they say, is history." His smile is soft and unrelenting, but I am becoming more bitter with each second that passes, realizing what he is saying. Realizing I may not get to be a Daddy's girl for much longer ... "I knew what would happen," Valerie says quietly. "But I wanted to spend more time with Tony. After the death of my husband, I was lonely ... I

needed to feel loved, even if it was for the last time in my life." They're holding hands, and Daddy's strong arms look pale and old in comparison to Valerie's. How did I not notice? Am I really so blind? Did I really ignore all of this ... the signs of sickness, the coughing, the weight loss, in favor of my own goddamned, inappropriate crush? The first pang of guilt shoots through my body, slicing through my flesh like a blade. It may be the first one, but there will be many, many yet to come. "I am sorry I didn't tell you," Daddy admits. "I wanted to, so badly. But I didn't want to ruin this summer..." The last summer we'll spend

together, I realize in my mind. The last summer I'm with my Daddy. The summer of forbidden things, the summer that reeks of death and sorrow. I get up from the couch. I cannot take this any longer. It hurts too damn much. "Rubi ..." Daddy says weakly. "How much?" I demand to know, feeling the all of their gazes upon me. Valerie, a stranger whom I already love. Jax, my stepbrother. My forbidden love. Daddy. My rock, my soul, my everything ... "How much do you have left?" My voice is shaking, breaking with every letter of the words I am speaking. I know

I'm on the verge of breaking down. Daddy swallows. "About a month, give or take," he admits. "Until the end of summer." I'm shaking. I want to scream. It's fucking unfair. Instead of reacting like I know I should – comforting him, giving him a tight hug – I make a run for the door. Because that's my default. Something goes wrong, and I run far, far away from it. "Rubi!" I hear their voices shouting my name on my way out. I stumble, hitting the wall and I feel someone trying to pick me up, but I resist furiously, slamming the other person into a wall.

"Get off me," I whisper. "Just let me be." I open the door. I leave it gaping open, like the hole they just made in my heart. And then I run.

I don't know how I get there, but I end up at the beach. I'm barefoot, forgetting my shoes in my rush to get away from the beach house, which will now forever be the house of death for me. I know I'm avoiding what I'll have to face sooner or later. I'm floating, and I'll have to hit cold, hard ground any moment now. But I'll take it for as long

as I can ... close my eyes for a while, make myself believe I didn't hear any of that. I wander the beach aimlessly, my feet digging into the wet sand. It's an ugly day, the first one since we got here. Up until now it's been all sunshine and rainbows, but now it seems like there is a storm brewing. How appropriate, I think sarcastically. "Rubi?" a voice interrupts me, pulling me away from my reverie. I look up from the sand, my eyes landing on a figure approaching from the mist. I can tell it's a guy, but I don't know who until he takes a few steps closer and comes into better view. Adrian.

I don't need this right now. "Let me be," I say weakly just as he reaches me. He's much taller than I am, and even though I don't want company right now, it feels strangely reassuring to have him close, like he's a rock I can hold on to if the sea tries to wash me away. "Are you okay?" he asks, and I can tell there's genuine concern in his voice. "Is something the matter?" I look up at him. Everything. Everything is the matter, and nothing will ever be the same. But maybe, if I chooose not to see it, I can be Rubi for just a moment longer. Because as soon as I come to terms with what's going on, I'll see myself for who I really

am. A fucking bad daughter. A girl who chose to hunt down her stepbrother, let him fuck her and enjoyed it while her Daddy was slowly fading away. And she didn't even notice. "Sure," I say bitterly, forcing a smile on my lips. I'll do it. I'll pretend. "What are you doing here, anyway? Looks like there's a storm brewing." We both look up, trying to see the sky through the heavy mist that has settled over the ocean. It's dark and cloudy, and I can feel thunder rumbling in the distance. "I was just walking," Adrian shrugs, but his eyes are still full of concern for me, and I fucking hate it, because I don't

deserve the smallest sliver of it. Thankfully, he doesn't voice his thoughts. "Do you need me to walk you home, Rubi?" "No." I shake my head furiously. Home is the last place I want to be. "I'd rather go for a walk with you." The words are just spilling from my mouth, and I can't control them. Anything that will get me away from that house and the people in it. Those liars. And I can't help but think that maybe this is the way it's supposed to be. The whole thing with Jax ... it was a stupid daydream, a relationship that could never happen. I'd been deciding whom I liked more – Adrian or Jax, and I think I made the wrong decision.

"Okay," Adrian says softly, and I land back in reality. "Come on, we'll go to that café near the harbor." I nod and follow him, my steps slow and unsure. I feel like I'm going to fall down, and I guess Adrian shares this sentiment, because he reaches for my hand, holding it in his strong and capable one. I feel reassured. I know it's wrong, but that's the way it is. And right now, my mind is too preoccupied to worry about that, too. We're walking, seemingly to no destination, because the fog is heavy in the air. His hand clutches mine; my heart is slowing down, beating steadier. "So, where's that brother of yours?"

Adrian asks, and it's like he just punched me in the gut. I gasp for air, and he gives me concerned look, asking if I'm okay. I shake it off and nod, knowing I have to answer him soon. "He's at the house, I guess," I say softly. "What's going on between the two of you?" Adrian cuts straight to the point, and I look at him out of the corner of my eye. I don't know what he means – does he know about what happened between us? My blood freezes in my veins, and I shrug to cover up my discomfort. "I think he's okay," I say softly. "Oh yeah?" Adrian laughs. "I'd say you're getting along more than nicely."

I stop abruptly, pulling my hand from his, realizing how stupid I am acting. "Why don't you get lost, Adrian," I say angrily. "I don't need your judgment on top of everything else I've got going on." He raises his hands as if to say he gives up. "Sorry, Rubi. Just wanted to let you know you should be careful. He may not be the person you think he is." As stupid as this whole situation is, at least it's gotten my mind off my Dad. I furrow my brows, giving him a hard look. "What the hell do you mean?" Adrian sighs. "I don't think you wanna know, Rubi." "Tell me." I step closer, jamming my index finger in his chest. He gives me a guilty look, sighs

heavily and starts talking. "Well, we saw you at the beginning of the summer, on the beach, remember? Jax told me you were his stepsister, and I saw he was attracted to you." I try not to blush, giving him an encouraging look. I'm both afraid and excited at what he's about to tell me, since I have no idea what it is. "Go on." "Well ..." he gives me a guilty look. "I don't mean to be a prick, Rubi ... And I'm well aware you probably won't want to see me after I tell you this, but I have to come clean." He sighs heavily, and I can see the inner turmoil he's going through in his troubled eyes. "We made a bet, Rubi," he admits, regret coloring his words.

"A bet?" I look at him, feeling confused, and Adrian ruffles his hair, looking more than a little embarrassed. "It was a goddamned stupid idea," he tries to convince me, but I'm already shaking my head impatiently, desperate to hear the whole story. "Just tell me." I can't wait any longer. I need to know, even though I already suspect what Adrian will say next. "I have the right to know." "You do." Adrian gives me a heavy look. "Jax said I wasn't allowed to make a pass at you unless I won the bet. Which was, he had to sleep with you by the end of the summer." I'm quiet for a long, long moment. I had thought I'd reached rock

bottom, but I've hit a new low. I feel like I've cracked my head on a rock, it's pounding so goddamn hard, yet I do not stop, do not let myself catch a break. Instead, I torture myself further. "What was the prize?" I ask curiously. "My Lexus," Adrian laughs nervously. So that's how much I'm worth. A shiny new car. A bet. Nothing more. "Rubi." I hear his voice. I know he's caught up to me. I knew he'd come after me, but let me cool off first. Jax is standing right behind me, and there's a bigger than not chance he just heard my entire conversation with Adrian.

And because I'm sick, I try to avenge my dignity. Because there's nothing else to do here, is there? So I step closer to Adrian, pulling on his shirt to bring him closer to me, until his lips touch mine. He's surprised at first, but it doesn't take long for him to respond to my kiss. It's empty, full of nothingness. My heat is turning black. And then Jax strides between us, throwing Adrian off me until he hits the sand with a thud. I'm left alone, shivering in the cold summer day as lightning roars above us. "Get lost," Jax says to Adrian, who gives me a quick look and scurries away.

I refuse to look at Jax, not that he's making any effort to look at me, anyway. He just stands a few feet away, kicking at the sand. And suddenly, I'm so fucking angry. I'm fuming. Because this guy had me believe he actually had feelings for me. That he actually cared. But in the end, he betrayed me worse than the rest of them. "Congratulations," I can't help but saying sarcastically. "Looks like you got yourself a new ride."

Chapter 20 Jax I heard them talking. I heard Adrian tell her about the bet. And this was bound to happen, but of course it took place today of all days, on the occasion Rubi needs me the most, even if she doesn't see it herself. She congratulates me angrily, and my heart actually stops for a second. I'm hurting. I'm actually hurting deep inside,

a feeling I've never experienced before, the guilt already eating away at my insides. "Rubi, it didn't mean shit," I say somberly. "It was a goddamn bet made to keep him away from you... I didn't want his filthy hands all over your body." "Oh, you'd rather be the one to touch me?" she asks angrily, laughing the most painful laugh I've ever heard. I'm not good with words. I'm good with my lips, my tongue, my cock. But I don't know how to tell her how I really feel, the words lodged in my throat and desperate to get out. But I can't fucking do it. "I would never hurt you

intentionally," I say lamely, and she rolls her eyes. It's the truth, but I know it doesn't seem like that. "I want the best for you... I want you to be happy," I say, more desperate now. She marches closer to me, looking me straight in the eye, and for a long moment I'm sure she'll kiss me. She'll tell me we can put this all behind us, spend the summer with her Dad – shit, her Dad – and then go on from there. But instead, she delivers the harshest of blows. "Then you'll do what I ask of you?" she says, and I'm quick to nod, desperate to do anything that would fix this between us ... whatever it is that we have.

“I want you to go.” I look into her eyes. She doesn’t mean it. She can’t be serious. She wouldn’t throw all of this away, she has to know how special we are … together. "What do you mean?" I ask, looking at her hard, hoping I'm getting this wrong. "I want you to leave Daddy and me, and Valerie, too. I want you to give me peace of mind and let me be with my Daddy until he's gone. I want you gone." “I’m not leaving,” I say, my voice shaking despite the threatening words. Rubi’s eyes are filling with tears, and I’m fucking going to break down. I’m going to fall to pieces, crumble to

the floor right this minute, because of this goddamned girl. I don’t care if it’s been a couple of weeks, a year, or a day. She is it for me, all that I want and need. And I will not fucking leave her. I won’t let her do this to herself – to us. “Remember, Jax,” she says, her voice breaking over the two simple words. “You promised me. Anything for me. You would do anything I asked of you.” I remember. And I fucking hate myself for being the fool that I was, because I never, in my wildest dreams imagined she would ask me to leave. I saw a future with the two of us together.

Now, she’s breaking it all. Smashing it to pieces, protecting herself from getting hurt worse than she already is. And it’s all my goddamn fault. I take a step closer. She takes a step back. “Don’t,” she warns me. “Don’t come closer. I’ll run.” And once again, she’s moving away from me, and I’m the one struggling to catch up. My sweet Rubi, my stepsister, my love … I’ve lost her once and for all. I want to fight so badly, but I remember my promise. I know she’s broken, and all I’ve done is contributed to that fact. She’s going to fall apart if I don’t do this. The realization dawns on me slowly,

like a lazy sunrise. I need to let go. As soon as the thought is clear in my head, I know it will fucking break me. It will tear me apart to let her go, now that I’ve just realized what kind of a man I can be when I’m with her. And I’ll go right back to being the prick that I was. The cheating, lying bastard I’ve been all my life. “Okay,” I say. Her shoulders sink as I say the word, even though she’s the one demanding I do this. She’s holding the knife, and I’m slicing us apart. “I’ll go, Rubi.” I feel my own eyes filling with tears. I haven’t cried since I was a kid. And I won’t do it now, because it might change

her mind, and to change her mind is to destroy her. I turn the other way and patiently wait for my eyes to dry up. Then I face my sweet little Rubi again, the girl who will be mine for a couple of moments longer. “Let me have one more kiss, Rubi,” I beg her. It’s the last thing I’ll allow myself, one more taste of those full, pouty lips before I go – even if it destroys any relationship I might have in the future. And I fucking know it will, because even though I’m twenty-one and she’s eighteen, this is the best I’ll ever have. She looks at me with fear and confusion in her eyes. She wants to say

no, but she craves it, too. Call it closure, call it hope. It is what it is. I step closer, and she stays glued to her spot. So I walk over to her, my steps deafeningly loud as my heart pounds in every cell of my body. I take her in my arms, not wasting another second, knowing it might be my last. Rubi is staring at me. Her face is blank, a premonition of what is about to come. I know that without me, she’ll go right back to being her angsty, furious self, not letting anyone in. But it’s the way it has to be. I crush my lips against hers. Sweet. She’s so sweet. Thunder crashes above us, and I'm

sure we'll be hit by it. But we don't spring apart. We keep our lips locked in our last kiss, even as the rain starts to fall, coming down heavy on our shoulders. The storm breaks above us, and I kiss her hard, my tongue in her mouth, demanding more. I need to convince her we can make it. Need to admit how I feel ... Her lips are so full, her mouth wicked for doing this to me. I clutch at her desperately, but she pulls out of my arms. We stare at each other, a few steps separating us, but it could just as well be a precipice. I will never cross it again, I realize with sadness. She is gone for me. "Go," Rubi says with a shaky voice.

"I don't want you at the house when I come back." Her words are harsh, yet her voice is shaking. I stare at her long and hard, and I don't know if she's crying, because drops of rain are falling down her face. I know I am, though, and I'm goddamned thankful for the rain hiding my weakness. "OK," I say, the simple word crushing everything between us. "I'll go." She stares at me like she hopes I'll take it back. And I turn to leave, knowing as I do so I'll regret it for the rest of my life. I leave my love, my tenderness, all the good I had in me, behind in the rain. I let the storm rage on.

Chapter 21 Rubi I don't know how I get home, but somehow I find myself back in the beach house, breaking down in Valerie's arms. While I would never admit this out loud, she is probably more of a mother to me than my real mom. And right now, I need to be consoled. "Shhh, honey," Valerie whispers, kissing the top of my head. Daddy is

taking a nap, and we have some time alone for her to explain what's going on. "It will be all right." "But it won't," I sniffle, thinking about my Dad and Jax in turns. I can't believe this is actually happening, can't believe it's possible to lose so much in such a short amount of time. "It will never get better. It gets worse." "You have to think of your Dad," Valerie says, her voice heavy with sadness. "You have so little time left with him. You need to make it worthwhile. Now is the time to make memories." She takes my face in her hands, gently making me look at her. "You need to be strong for Daddy, Rubi," she tells

me, her voice unrelenting, and I realize she is right. I have enough of my own problems, but they mean shit right now. All that matters is my dad. The man who was always there for me, the man who taught me to walk, speak and laugh. And now it's time to say goodbye. "Okay, I whisper softly. "I'll do it. I'll make it worth remembering." Valerie smoothes down my hair soothingly. "Good, Rubi. Your Daddy will be so happy. He was so worried about your reaction. He was scared you'd be angry, and resent him for not telling you." And I fucking do, I want to yell at her.

I hate him for not telling me. I despise him for hiding it. And most of all, I fucking can't stand the fact that he will leave me.

Chapter 22 Rubi A month later As soon as Jax left, the weather turned on us. The weathermen promised us a heated summer filled with sunshine, yet it is turning out to be one of the worst seasons in the past twenty years. There have been rain, thunder and storms all summer long.

But I don't mind it too much, to be perfectly honest. I get to spend the days inside with Daddy, who is becoming weaker each day. We've moved him and Valerie to the guest bedroom on the ground floor, because he can't manage the stairs, not even on a good day. We have a nurse coming in four days per week, and she tries to help him as much as she can. Time is passing. We're running out of days, and I'm bitterly aware of the fact that soon, I will be all by myself. I don't show that I notice Daddy's weakness, though. I'm always smiling, laughing even when I'm breaking on the inside. We play board games, do crosswords puzzles and watch a shit ton

of TV. We do anything to take our mind off Daddy's illness, even though I'm sure it's the one thing on our minds. I never thought I would be as close to someone as I am to Valerie. She is the one to comfort me these days, the mother figure who comes into my bedroom at night to tuck me in as I pretend I am sleeping, the one who soothes me when I think I will break. I blocked Jax's number first thing when I came home to find him gone. It hurt so bad to see the emptiness he left behind, feeding our parents some stupid lie when he left. His room is empty and has no personality anymore. Just like me. Maybe he tried to contact me, but I'd rather not know. I still check my

messages every day, hoping he's sent something, but there's never anything, and I know I should be grateful, should be moving on. I'm trying to, I swear. There's someone else in my life, a guy. He is not Jax. No one will ever be Jax. And maybe this is my fucked-up way of getting back at him for doing what he did. But truth be told, Adrian's lips will never taste as good as my stepbrothers. His kisses won't make me feel the same way, won't send butterflies fluttering in my tummy. His caress is soothing, but it doesn't do my head in ...

There's no heat. No fireworks. But I guess that's the way real relationships work ... when the initial lust fades. That's all there ever was between Jax and me – primal instinct. I even let Adrian fuck me, telling me I'm a good girl when he comes. I pretend I don't care about the absence of the butterflies. Pretend I don't see Jax's face every single time he kisses me. Pretend my stepbrother's face isn't always on my lips. And every time we kiss, every time he takes me in his car, it gets a little bit better, and some of the pain fades away. I hope that one day, there will be none left at all.

Chapter 23 Rubi 6 weeks later Today is a good day. Daddy feels better because of some new medication his doctor prescribed. I know it shouldn't give me hope, but it fucking does. It makes me believe we might have a new beginning waiting for us. Maybe, just maybe, we'll all make it out okay.

Daddy and I are sitting on the porch as the rain hammers down on the roof, the sound so pleasant and soothing I could listen to it all day. "Rubi, come sit next to me," Daddy asks with a raspy voice, and I do as he says. I come the bench, and he wraps me up in a bear hug, with me trying to pretend I don't notice the bones poking through his paper-thin skin. He sighs heavily, looking at the cloudy sky. "I'm sorry, Rubi," he says brokenly, and I look at him with surprise in my eyes. "Why, Daddy?" I want to know. "I'm sorry I messed this all up." He rubs his tired, red-rimmed eyes and I can hear Valerie clattering with the dishes in

the kitchen. I love her, but for once I am happy she isn't here. I need this moment alone with my father. "I wanted us to have another summer together. For you to meet your new ... family," he smiles weakly. "I thought you and Jax were—" "Stop it, Daddy," I cut him off, my lips pursing defiantly. "I know, you don't want to talk about it," he sighs. "I know he hurt you when he left. But Rubi, I am not his responsibility, and he had every right to take that job offer." My heart pangs with guilt, knowing there was no job – it's just an excuse Jax came up with for leaving all of a sudden. Something I asked him to do.

"I won't be around much longer," Dad says, and I shake my head furiously. "You might. The new meds are working so well, it could—" "No, Rubi." Daddy pats my hand, giving me a bitter smile. "A man knows when there's not much time left. I feel the end. I feel it calling me. And it's okay, darling ... I'm leaving you in good hands. You are safe." He pulls me closer, and I let the tears fall, letting my Dad see me at my weakest. I'm angry at myself as much as I am relieved, for finally showing him how much he means to me. "I love you, Daddy," I say softly. "And I love you, Rue," he admits. "Your old man will be okay baby, and so

will you. You have to be a good girl. You have to be brave for me. Can you promise me that?" I nod, the tears spilling down my face.

Chapter 24 Rubi The end of the summer Today is August 29th and we just got the news that Daddy's cancer has spread to his brain, his liver and his lungs. I'm holding him, like he's the child, and I'm a parent. But it's okay. It's all going to be okay. I tell Daddy as much, whispering in his ear. I keep whispering

even when Valerie tries to pry me away gently. She has to get the nurse and a doctor to help get me away from my Daddy, who died in my arms. I don't leave the room. I hold his arm until he is taken away. Only when the car leaves will I let myself cry. I have to stay strong, for Valerie, who is already breaking down, and for my Daddy, who would be proud to see me stand tall, my head raised high in the air. We watch the ambulance pull away, hand in hand. It fucking hurts to see they don't turn on the emergency lights on the vehicle. It is in that moment that I realize this is it, he truly is gone. I don't get to be a Daddy's girl anymore, because Daddy isn't here anymore.

It's as if a switch goes off in my head, cutting my brain from the rest of my body. My legs buckle underneath me and Valerie is too slow to catch me, so I fall to the floor, hitting my head hard on the concrete. She keeps asking me if I'm okay, trying to get me up. But I can't. I am too weak, as much as I am trying to fight it. So instead, I lie in our driveway, looking up at the darkening sky. The clouds have gathered once more, even though today we saw the first few rays of sunshine in weeks. It's as if the sun was trying to tell me Daddy would be okay. Now it has different things in mind, though, and the clouds tear above me, the

thunder deafening in my sensitive ears. Valerie runs inside to shield herself from the rain, but I relish every drop on my scorched face. I stare at the sky, and it's my way of saying goodbye. Goodbye, my last year as a teenager. Goodbye, my last year at the beach house. Goodbye, my last year of innocence. Goodbye, Jax... Sweet, forbidden Jax. Goodbye, Daddy. I'll always be your little girl. Even when you can't hold my hand anymore.

A card arrives the next day. A blank white card, so hopeful amidst the sea of black that surrounds the house. I see the clumsy writing on it, and my heart breaks, even though I thought it couldn't take another beating. It's already in pieces. Sorry The only word in the card. No signature. I can picture his shaky fingers scribbling it down, so inexperienced with words and feelings. And even though it shouldn't, it means so much. But I hate that it does, so I watch it burn in the fireplace before going to my Daddy's funeral. And I close that chapter of my life once and for all.

Part II

Part 2 The Second Summer

Chapter 25 Jax 4 years later "Jax!" she moans at the top of her lungs, her lithe body writhing under my weight as I pump my length inside her dripping pussy. "Oh, manache!" I don't say a word, clenching my teeth as I finish, releasing my come inside her tightness. She keeps begging

for more, but my needs have been satisfied with that final thrust of my hips. Rolling off her, I run a hand through my hair and get up, my breath catching in my throat as I grin at the blonde in my bed. She's gorgeous, and if I remember correctly, she models for an Italian agency and is in the city because of work. "Thanks for that, darlin'," I tell her with a groan, wiping my cock with a towel. I didn't bother with a condom, and she didn't object once, even sucking on my cock diligently before I took her. "Do you need me to call a cab?" Blondie throws a pillow at my head, but I'm too fast for her, swiftly moving out of the way and grinning at her as an

avalanche of Italian curse words rolls from her lips. She jumps up from my bed, her tits jumping up and making my cock stir despite what we just did. Pulling on her skimpy outfit from last night, Blondie gives me the finger before storming towards the front door. "You're dripping," I call after her, grinning from ear to ear and she turns around furiously, glaring at me. If looks could kill... "Cazzo!" she screams, slamming the door in my face as I laugh out loud. What a treat that was, and a completely unexpected one - when I went to the club with some friends last night, I was expecting to leave with someone, but

most definitely not the girl of the moment. I jump in the shower, rinsing off her scent of alcohol and expensive perfume, my mind replaying the sex I just had as a smile plays on my lips. Just as I'm getting out of the bathroom, my phone starts ringing shrilly. I fumble around for my cell and realize it's turned off, so it must be the land line. Only one person calls me on that line, and that is my mother. I'm already dreading this conversation as I reach for the phone, mentally preparing myself for the onslaught. I don't know when my relationship with mom went to shit. It must've been

around four years ago. I make myself vanquish those thoughts, just like I always do. There aren't many rules I go by, but there is a big one I never, ever break. Don't think about that summer. Don't call. Don't care. Forget. "Hello?" I answer the incessant ringing, my voice already tired before the conversation even begins. I rub my eyes with a free hand, my hair dripping down my back as I do so. "Jax," my mother greets me formally. There's always this tension when we talk, full of unasked and unanswered questions. My mouth forms a tense line as I wait for her to go on. She never calls me without a reason,

so this must be something important. "What can I do for you, mother?" I ask, equally as formal. Let's play this game, then - I can be a jackass if I want to. And if she insists on treating me like a business partner instead of her own goddamned son, so be it. "I am calling to tell you of some news," she retorts stiffly after a brisk pause. Sometimes I wonder if she's upset that our relationship reached this point. If she ever wonders what could have been had that summer never happened. "What is it?" I ask, already tired. "I'm getting married," she admits, and her voice seems almost shy. And because I am a bastard, I make fun of my mother. The only woman who

is a constant in my life, and who would probably love me no matter what I did. "Oh, again?" I ask with a mocking voice. "What else is new?" There is a long pause on the other end of the line, which fucking hurts. She sighs, letting out the air she seems to have been holding in for the entire length of this conversation. "It's happening in July. We're having it in Newport." I'm transported four years ago. Newport ... "But that's so close to-" I begin, unable to stop myself, but mother dearest cuts me off, her voice cold. "Yes, in the town near the beach house." Another long pause, but she breaks it

and continues, my heart beating wildly in my chest as she does so. I need to hear more. "I would like it if you came, but obviously, you don't have to if you have other obligations." I think it through, thinking of what that would mean. It might be the last chance to rekindle some semblance of a mother-son relationship between the two of us. But then again, it would mean having to be near that place - the beach house an hours' drive away. "Fine," I say stiffly. "I'll come. Send over the date and information, and I'll catch a flight that week. Is there a hotel I can stay at?" Mother waits for a long moment

before answering. "You can stay in the beach house," she says. "It's available." My heart is about to burst out of my chest at the mere mention of that place and I furrow my brows, thinking what that would be like. So many memories. And because I'm a stupid prick who apparently likes torturing himself, I say I'll do it and mother gives me the date of the wedding. I'm so busy thinking about the beach house I don't even ask about the groom. Last I know, she was seeing some guy her age, a car dealership owner who was loaded. Not that I care about money - I have enough myself. I'm about to ask about the groom, try to be polite, when mother finishes her

speech with some ground-breaking information. "Just so you know, Rubi is also coming to the wedding and staying at the beach house. I'm sure you two will have enough space though, one of you can stand in the beach house - Rubi had it built last year. You do remember her, don't you?" Fuck. How the fuck could I not remember her? Even though I've made it my mission to forget about her existence, she's always at the back of my mind. The one that got away. "I have to go, Jackson - I'll send you the flight information after I purchase your ticket. It's the least I can do," my

mother rattles on as my mind swims with far-away thoughts. "Talk to you later." She cuts the connection and I lower the hand holding my telephone, staring at the screen blankly. Rubi Lynn. It's the first time I let myself mouth her name and it feels just as sweet on my lips as it did before ... just as sweet as her mouth on mine. What the fuck have I just agreed to? Am I ready to revisit the past which I've been trying to escape for the past four years, erase all of my efforts with a stay in the place that started it all ... with her? I'm fucked.

Chapter 26 Rubi A month later Stepping back into the beach house is not as painful as it once used to be. When my Dad died, I had two options - I could try to block out everything that happened that summer, try and forget about his horrible illness and fool myself into thinking it never

happened. Or, I could celebrate his life, make sure he was remembered on every important journey, every big step of my life. I chose the second option and never looked back. As I walk around the new guest house, I know I've made the right choice. "Should be ready," one of the construction workers tells me, grinning widely at me. My fingers slide over the beautiful Italian marble, my fingers digging into the rich, thick carpet. "Perfect," I nod, inspecting the place one last time to make sure everything is in place. The place looks beautiful. When I

decided to build the guesthouse, I knew what I had in mind - a similar look to what Valerie did with this place when she and Daddy renovated. Even though the house has been remodeled since, the feel is still the same and I cherish being here every day, being reminded of Daddy with each step I take. Other things I chose to ignore. It's for the best. But I know the past will be back to haunt me soon enough - Jax is set to arrive today. I've graciously agreed to let him stay in the guest house, and mentally congratulated myself on my own choice. I like to think I'm over him by now he'll probably always have a place in my

thoughts, after all, he was my first. But since then, I've become a different woman, and when I think of him these days, the pangs of pain in my chest are easier to ignore each time. I exchange some final words with the construction worker, whose team is working on the electronics today. By the evening, he promises the internet and TV should be fully functioning. Pleased with the conversation, I nod and turn to leave, catching my reflection in the ornate full-length mirror which adorns one wall of the living room. My eyes check to see if the construction worker is gone, then I step in front of the mirror, my gaze scrutinizing the reflection in the silver glass.

I don't see a kid any more, and truth be told, that girl has been gone for a long time. Now I see a beautiful woman, dressed in a prim-and-proper pencil skirt and blouse with high heels. My red hair is in shiny waves around my face, a nice break from the usual chignon. My freckles are covered by expensive foundation, my suntanned skin gone in favor of natural paleness. I look like a high class whore, I think guiltily, making the thought disappear from my mind. There's something about the image, something about my face that distorts the look I have going on. It might be the cold expression, or perhaps it's the glint in my eyes which I'm never quite able to hide.

Sighing, I smooth down my skirt and turn to leave the room, when a deep, booming voice interrupts my day dream and transports me back to reality. "Hello." I would recognize that voice anywhere. And I fucking hate that fact. I make myself stay calm, force my fingers to stop shaking. Slowly, I raise my gaze to the owner of the voice, my eyes scrutinizing his appearance just like they did my own a moment ago. Jax looks pretty much the same as he did all those years ago. Tall, imposing even when I'm in my Louboutins. He's wearing the same smirk he always does on his face, a faded tee and jeans on his body.

The ink that covers every inch of his body is peeking out from his sleeves, making my eyes travel over his skin. And just like that, it's as if no time has passed at all. I look into his eyes, my gaze imploring, trying to see how he will react to my new appearance. But he's always been hard to read, as opposed to me - I've been an open book for as long as I can remember, and I've come to terms with it. "Hi," I reply, proud of my own voice for not being shaky and unsure. His eyes are devouring me, and I know he's stripping me naked in his mind, but I don't cross my arms defensively in front of my body, like teenage me would have done. Instead I

give him a hard look, letting him know I'm well aware of what he's doing. And he actually grins at me. "Good to see you," he says, and his voice, as opposed to mine, is actually a little unsure, the sentence sounding more like a question. "Likewise," I reply professionally. "Hope you'll find the guesthouse to your liking." He steps closer to me all of a sudden, the suitcase he had been holding in his hand cluttering to the floor with a heavy thud. His hand tries to travel up my arm, but I move away, trying to keep my composure intact. "Rubi," he groans, and it's fucking torture to hear my name on those lips I

had craved so badly. Has it really been four years? It feels like just yesterday I'd kissed him. And I still remember how he tastes from his mouth, to his thick, throbbing cock. "Come here," he orders me roughly and an internal battle takes place in my mind, realizing he will have the same impact on me if I let him. "No," I say weakly, and he pulls on my hand roughly, his motion so greedy like he can't stand another moment of us being apart. "Let go," I warn him. "No," he growls. "Not this time." "Jax!" an excited voice interrupts us and we jump apart like we've been caught doing something very, very bad. I

look away, my expression full of guilt. Someone strolls through the room confidently and I know it's him. I'm so fucking scared of looking at Jax, so afraid of his reaction, I'd rather keep my gaze focused safely on the carpet as my fiancé slaps him on the back. "So good to see you, man," Adrian laughs, giving him a good-natured poke. "It's been absolute ages - we're so glad you came." He immediately establishes his dominance, wrapping a protective arm around my shoulders and giving Jax a hard look. As friendly as his greeting was - and I have no doubt he is glad to see Jax - Adrian is making it clear I'm his now.

No more games, no more bets because he's already won.

Chapter 27 Jax I'm well aware of the fact that I'm staring, but I can't fucking stop. It's a total blast from the past, but not one I was excited about when I arrived here. Goddamn Adrian, with his hand wrapped around her. Rubi Lynn, who has always belonged to me, and whom I was about to claim had he not strolled in at the most

inappropriate of moments. "What's this?" I ask in confusion, pointing at the two of them, my fingers desperately trying to form fists and wipe that smug look off my ex-friend's face. Adrian looks at me with confusion, but I can tell he's secretly pleased. I can see his own fists tightening as he gives me a pleasant smile. "Oh, Rubi and I are engaged to be married ourselves, didn't you know?" he says innocently, like my whole world did not just implode. "We're to be married in the wintertime. Ring and all, can you believe it?" he chuckles good-naturedly, and Rubi shoves her hand out robotically in my direction, her eyes still unable to meet mine.

My heart pounds in my chest as I take her dainty arm in my big one, looking at the biggest rock I've ever seen. This isn't happening. This can't be happening. Because as soon as I stepped back into the beach house, the memories came flooding back in. Those long days at the pool, staring at Rubi's near naked body on the beach, sharing our first kiss ... Those are things I tried to forget, but never did. And when my eyes landed on Rubi, a real, in-fucking-sanely sexy woman now, I nearly lost it right there. I realized all that holding things back did more damage than good, because my cock got hard the moment I saw her, my head

swimming with thoughts of what I wanted to do to her. The only girl I ever wanted more than once. The only woman that could break my heart. The only one for me. "How absolutely lovely," I say in a mocking English accent, letting go of Rubi's hand abruptly, realizing I'll be too tempted to pull her in my arms if I touch her for a moment longer. Her hand flops to her side like a broken doll's and I hide all of my feelings to clap Adrian on the back. It's what I'm best at, anyway. "Very happy for you two," I say with a grin, my eyes desperate to connect

with Rubi's. Because I still know she's an open book, and given enough time, I'll be able to see just how strong their bond is. She refuses to look at me though, always choosing to stare at another inanimate object instead. But Adrian isn't suffering of the same predicament, unfortunately. He's acting like we're best of friends getting to hang out after years of absence, and while he shows me around the beach house I want to slam his head against the wall. This was my house first. And I'm about to make damn sure it becomes that again. "So, what do you do now, Jax?" Adrian asks and even Rubi looks up

curiously. She's been following us around the house, not even saying a thing. But I fucking hate Adrian's reassuring hand on her back, the way he strokes her hand to make sure she's okay. That was supposed to be my job, if this prick didn't ruin everything. And that's another thing - why the hell did she go out with Adrian in the first place? Was he not involved in the same bet as I was, desperate to bed her? Why did she forgive him, and not me? The unfairness of the situation burns me deep and I have to clench my teeth when I smile in response after a long, uncomfortable pause has passed. "I am a lawyer." Rubi snorts and I give her an evil

look, but she can barely hold back her laughter. "Get it all out," I roll my eyes. "I can see you think that's hilarious." "I'm sorry," she giggles in embarrassment. "It's just I never would have imagined that job for you." She laughs one last time, but then her eyes fix on mine and she becomes more serious. "Are you happy?" she wonders out loud. "Does that job make you happy?" I choose to strategically ignore the first part of her question, because what on earth would I be able to tell her, anyway? Yes, I'm happy I finally got to see you again. No, I'm not happy because you're with this surfer boy instead of me.

And yes, I am fucking furious and I'll make damn sure you're back where you belong in a heartbeat. Instead, I focus on my job, and instead of giving her some automatic bullshit answer I actually think of what I'm about to say. "Yeah," I say, a small smile playing on my lips. "It pays the bills, and I do like it." "Are you a criminal attorney or something like that?" Adrian pipes up and I look straight at him. He thinks I defend goddamned criminals? I'm about to burst his bubble. Shaking my head, I give him a selfrighteous smile. "I do pro bono work for a large firm," I explain simply. "It's average pay, but I get to work with

people who can't afford a lawyer. Cases I'm passionate about." "Oh, Jax," Rubi gushes. She steps forward and reaches for my hand, not even thinking of her actions as she smiles at me happily. "I'm so glad you found something like that. I always knew you would be great helping people." "Like I helped you?" I can't help but asking, my voice straining against the words, like my own body is trying to stop me from utter the stupid question. Rubi looks away, blushing as she lets my hand slip away from hers. She steps right back into Adrian's arms and it fucking hurts to see them together, because this girl - this woman - should have been mine.

I'm about to tell her as much, but she looks so tired, so broken all of a sudden. Adrian strokes her back to soothe her and he gives me an evil look. "Let's get you to lie down for a second," he says gently, shooting daggers at me with his eyes as he leads her away. Rubi waves at me weakly and I watch them go. . She's back to her acting, this time a new personality. And I realize the girl I had the pleasure of being with is no longer, and while I can't deny that this sexy business woman look she has going on is hot as hell, I hate that she can't be herself around that prick. Like she was with me, even if it was for such a short amount of time - I wish she could be whoever she

wants. I wonder what's holding her back. I sigh heavily, realizing I'm so tired from the trip, and this God awful conversation. My mind swimming with thoughts and images of Rubi, I leave my suitcases in the hall and set out to explore the guest house. How strange it is to be here, knowing another man has taken my place in the beach house. My fists clench and I know I'll do whatever it takes to get my place back. This isn't about pride or some goddamned bet, it's not even about my cock's appetite. This is about what my heart, body and soul all want, and they're all working with one word flowing

through my veins. Rubi.

Chapter 28 Rubi It takes me a long time to calm down after the episode with Jax. Adrian is great, bringing me my pills and a glass of water, and I fall asleep after taking them, just like always. I'm not saying it's the best solution, but at least I get to sleep off the terrible forbidden feelings that are starting to arise again.

Waking up two hours later, I feel like a new person. Adrian's off to do some work, so I get up and change in more casual attire – silky wide-leg white trousers and a skin-tight camisole. I leave my feet barefoot, my flame red hair a halo around my head. I paddle around the kitchen, making myself a cup of coffee to make sure I'll stay up for a good while longer. I have some work to finish up today, and I can't let Jax's absence spoil all of my plans. I sit down at the kitchen table, the very one where I used to eat meals with dad, Valerie and Jax when I was younger. I try to ignore the painful memories and focus on the work ahead of me.

I don’t think anyone expected I’d ever get a job. I guess my mom and dad kind of assumed I’d drop out of college on the first week. I surprised everyone by being a good student and completing a private college for Fashion Studies. Then, I did a course in interior design and this is now my job. I’ve had my fair share of clients and I love what I do. Renovating houses, making them beautiful and putting on a personal touch in every home I work on – there’s a special feeling I get every time I finish and I show the place to the family. My mom is married again. She found love completely unexpectedly, and she kind of forgot about me after it happened. It hurt a lot, I won’t lie, but I

found an unlikely ally. Valerie is someone I never expected to see again after my father’s passing. But she surprised me by keeping in touch for all these years, and I surprised myself by replying. There was something comforting about having her in my life, like the last remnant of the life I could have had had Daddy stayed with us. Clenching my fists, I move the scrapbook away from me. I can’t focus on work right now, my mind swimming with too many things. “Busy?” a voice interrupts and I turn around to see Jax standing in the doorway. I furrow my brow, unsure if I like seeing him back in the beach house. I’d prefer if he’d just keep to himself in

the guesthouse, which is like a blank slate, not full of hurtful memories. “I’m working,” I reply coldly, but if I said my heart wasn’t beating a thousand miles per hour, I’d be lying to myself. “Did you need something?” He shrugs and strolls inside the kitchen without asking if he may do so, which makes me furious. I blush, but I don’t let myself say anything, pouting instead. He grabs an apple from the fruit basket on the counter, throwing it in the air and biting into the fruit with a crunch. I’m transported back in time, remembering how much this habit used to annoy me that summer. Somehow though, it feels bittersweet. “So you and Adrian, huh?” Jax asks

me. Is there a note of anger in his voice or am I imagining it? “Yep,” I answer simply, picking up my coffee cup and taking a long sip, scalding myself with the hot beverage. I’m afraid of getting up, scared my legs will give out underneath me if I do so. “You don’t care—” Jax begins, but I cut him off. “No, I don’t,” I say. “I don’t give a fuck, actually. And I would appreciate it if you stayed out of my business.” All of a sudden, adrenaline takes over and I get up abruptly, walking right up to him and looking into his surprised face. The smirk is still present and I resent him for that. Resent him for taking the easy way out, for not being damaged

by that summer, when I’m all broken inside. “I understand you wanted to come to your mother’s wedding, Jax,” I tell him, trying to keep some semblance of calmness. “Even though I’ve been more of a daughter to her than you have a son for all these years.” I can immediately tell my words have cut deep, and if I weren’t so angry, I’d regret them. This way, it will take me a couple of hours. “You may think you can stroll back in my life and make everything okay,” I tell him coldly. “But I haven’t forgotten what happened. You made a bet about me, you prick!” My voice is raised at this point, and I’m almost shouting.

Instead of nodding remorsefully, Jax grabs my hips and pulls me closer and I let out a breath, feeling like I’ve been holding it in for years. But he doesn’t kiss me, he just pulls me until I’m a few inches away from his strong muscular body, glaring at me. “I made a bet with the man you are engaged to,” he tells me angrily. “What makes him so different from me? Why would you chose him over me?” “Because he stayed,” I reply weakly. “He helped me. He fucking cared, Jax, and you just left and never came back. You never thought about me after all that happened, not once. And you didn’t even say goodbye to my Daddy.” There are hot tears in my eyes, but

I’m more surprised by the change in Jax. His fingers bore into my skin and his eyes are shooting daggers. “You told me to leave,” he says angrily. “You made me swear, made me promise. I left because you wanted it, not me.” My resolve is weakening by the second, and I gently pry his fingers off my body. I know he’s right. It was my decision – one that I’ve been regretting ever since it all went down that summer. “Jax, nothing could ever happen between us, anyway,” I protest weakly, raising my gaze to his wounded eyes. “You’re my stepbrother. We’re siblings by marriage.” “But we aren’t related,” he says

furiously, grabbing my hand and clutching it to his heart. I’m looking into his eyes, seeing the desperation I so desperately need him to feel. I can sense his heartbeat over my palm and it hurts, knowing he still wants this to happen. I have to remind myself I’m an engaged woman. I have the perfect fiancé – handsome, caring, kind. I’ve already made my choice, and there’s no going back now. “Jax, there’s no point in us arguing,” I say gently, prying my hand away from his tight grip. “There’s nothing left between us. Nothing. Let’s just move on.” I leave right then, leaving him standing alone in the kitchen. I do

because I’m well aware of the fact that staying behind might convince me to do something very, very foolish. As much as I try to convince myself, I can’t deny the truth in the end. Jax Manning will always make my heart race, my blood heat up and my pussy wet. I look at the floor guiltily, well aware of the fact that his mere touch has made me wet, drenched my panties – something that has never, ever happened with Adrian. Have I made a mistake? I let myself wonder for a split second, then shake my head and purse my lips, ready to move on with my day.

Chapter 28 Jax I can’t get the scene from the kitchen out of my head. My obsession is worse now than it was when we were younger, and I’m realizing it will be harder and harder to forget about her. This trip was a mistake. I sleep terribly in the guesthouse, even though the bed is plush and fitted with expensive Egyptian cotton sheets. I

toss and turn all night long, and I wake up more tired than I was when I went to sleep. Today, we’re going to a dress fitting with my mother. I have no fucking idea why she wants me there and I’ve protested long enough to get her to agree to just have brunch after she is finished with the fitting. The idea of my mother married doesn’t bug me as much as Rubi’s engagement does. And just thinking about Adrian’s hands on her skin, the body that should belong to me… it drives me insane. I get ready with an angry expression on my mouth, taking care of my own breakfast. The guesthouse is mainly

glass, and I can’t help but sneak glances at the main house. But there’s nothing to be seen, and it looks like both Adrian and Rubi are out today. I have an insane desire to go inside the house, snoop around – maybe take a whiff of Rubi’s lingerie drawer. But I realize pretty soon I’m being obsessive, and shake the thought out of my head. I head to Newport, to a fancy place mom picked to get brunch. When I round the corner, I see a pretty terrace with white and blue decorations. So not the place I want to be. What I like even less is the huge table full of giggling women which I am about to join. “Hello, Jax,” my mother greets me

with reserve and we exchange an awkward hug. But truth be told, she does look good – glowing almost. Guess the new guy is working out all right for her. “Thought it would be just the two of us, mother,” I say with my mouth pressed in a thin line as a girl on my mother’s side dissolves in laughter. I look at her with annoyance, taking in her small frame and strawberry frame, along with an enormous pair of tits. I know this girl. “Yeah, you know me,” she says, giggling, like she just read my mind. I can’t help but smile, encouraging her to go on with a hand gesture. “It’s Susie, jackass,” she says goodnaturedly, taking a sip of her mimosa.

“God, nothing like some alcohol in the morning.” “And what is your part in my mother’s wedding preparations?” I ask with a raised eyebrow, unable to hide the smile on my face. I like this girl. She has spunk. “Keeping Rubi company,” she says simply, and gives me a wicked smile. She might as well have said she knows all my dirty secrets, and for the first time in my life, I actually feel like I’ll blush. My mother swoops in to save me, doing a round of introductions to the rest of the ladies at the table. I’m enveloped in hugs, kissed on the cheek and gushed about by a billion of relatives, of whom only one is familiar – my cousin

Cassandra, who has grown from a geeky nerd into a relatively attractive woman. We’re not related by blood, but I wouldn’t dream of touching her. One risky relationship per lifetime, please. “Yes, I am in law too,” Cassandra drones on and I try to mute out her voice and nod at the same time. For such an attractive woman, she sure is boring as hell. My eyes keep scanning the crowd, trying to catch a glimpse of Rubi. Surely she must be here as well? We all order our food and I sit miserably amidst the gaggle of women who are all intent on engaging in a conversation with me. Finally, my eyes land on my saving grace.

Rubi’s rushing around the corner, her bun in perfect disarray. She’s wearing a prim and proper floral dress that I want to tear off that perfect body right now, and a fucking headband. “So sorry I’m late,” she says as soon as she reaches us, setting down a huge scrapbook. “I had a meeting – hi, ladies!” She waves to everyone, exchanging pecks with my mother and Susie. She sits down facing me and raises her eyes, reeling back in shock when she sees me sitting there. As the conversation moves on, I smirk at her and she rolls her eyes in a dramatic motion. “You have something to say?” she asks defensively.

“You’re wearing a headband,” I point out matter-of-factly. “Yes, stupid,” she retorts, and it’s like we’re teenagers again. I’m already grinning from ear to ear, having missed our stupid banter. “Something wrong with headbands?” “No, no,” I say with a grin. “Perfect for your age – you’re fifty next year, or is it twelve?” She shoots daggers with her eyes as I laugh out loud, shaking my head. My heart swells with emotion when I see her crack a smile as well. She makes a face at me and starts talking to my mother, instead. I stare at Rubi for a good while after that, absent-mindedly picking at my plate

as I do so. I love the easy relationship she has with my mother. They are a family, and I suddenly feel like a shithead for having kept my distance all these years. The brunch goes on forever, but Rubi’s presence makes time pass faster. Pretty soon, we’re all filing out of the restaurant and I am once again assaulted by a barrage of cheek-pinching, gushing women. I say my goodbyes until four of us are left – my mother, Cassandra, Susie, and Rubi. The three women chat while my mother approaches me hesitantly. I have to admit, it fucking hurts to see her talk to me with caution, like she thinks I’m about to snap or something.

I’ve done more damage than I thought. I hope there’s still time to fix everything. “Jax,” she starts, a small smile playing on her lips. That makes me feel like there’s still hope for fixing all the shit I’ve messed up over the years, and a good look at my mother reveals she wants the same. “I’m very glad you came.” I look her straight in the eyes, my smile genuine. “I’m very glad to be here. You look beautiful, mom.” It feels awkward calling her that, like I’m still a kid – but the smile that lights up her face in the next second makes me feel like it was worth it. I take her small hand in my own and grin.

“I can see you’re happy. And I hope in the future, I get to be the one to put that smile on your face sometime, too.” She looks genuinely shocked, but happy, making me wonder if I am really such a jackass. Sure, I sleep around, I do stupid shit – but I always thought I still had a good grasp of what’s right and what isn’t. Guess not. I smile encouragingly at my mother as the other women join us in front of the restaurant. “Shall we go to the harbor for a walk?” Rubi suggests. My cousin sighs dramatically, waving a hand in the air. “Rubi, I must get to your house. I forgot my notebook when we met for the hen party.”

“Oh,” Rubi seems surprised, chewing her bottom lip. “Well, Adrian is there – are you okay with him helping you search while we do some window shopping?” Another sigh. “I guess.” She searches for her cell phone and gives us all a wave. “Anyway, must dash. Have fun, ladies.” I give her a weird look as she saunters off, but then the rest of the woman start chattering off and walking away. I look at them retreating, wondering what the hell I’m supposed to do. I sure as hell don’t like window shopping, but for some reason, it made me feel better being in my family’s company.

Rubi turns around, looking at me over her shoulder. “Come on, slowpoke,” she calls after me and I smirk at her, walking over to them and exclaiming I will not partake in their shopping. Secretly, I can’t wait to spend more time with Rubi, and my mom, too. Susie can be the comic relief.

Chapter 29 Rubi The next few days pass in a flash – I have some projects to finish up at work, so I’m out of the house for the better part of the day. Jax stays out of the way and I’m not sure whether I like or hate that. Adrian and I spend time together in the evenings, but ever since Jax waltzed back into my life, I haven’t been able to sleep with him.

He noticed. You bet he did. Today, his mouth is set in a thin line as we go to bed. “I suppose I’m not getting any tonight, either?” he asks with an annoyed expression and I look at him with surprise. He’s not usually this vulgar. “Come on, Adrian,” I say tiredly. “I’ve been working such long hours. Can’t you wait a couple of days?” “While you sleep with your stepbrother behind my back?” he asks with a raised voice and my eyes widen at what he’s suggesting. He sighs heavily right away, giving me a placating look, his arms outstretched. “I’m sorry, honey.” “You know what?” I ask calmly,

climbing out of the bed, my slip feeling too revealing all of a sudden. “I’d prefer sleeping in the living room.” “Babe, come on,” he says lamely, but I raise a hand to stop him, giving him a cold glare. “You don’t get to talk to me like that,” I say matter-of-factly. “Ever again.” I don’t give him a chance to reply and just leave, heading downstairs and putting together the sofa bed. The fact that he doesn’t come after me, even to offer me the bed so he can take the couch, is offensive and hurtful. Maybe I’m doing the wrong thing, the nagging voice in the back of my head begins again, and this time around, it’s

even harder to keep it quiet. I settle on the sofa bed, but I can’t sleep at all. I end up tossing and turning for hours, but around 2 a.m., I admit to myself I won’t be able to sleep a wink. I get up and make myself some tea, snuggling up with the cup on the sofa. My eyes keep glancing at the guesthouse, but all the lights are out. I guess Jax is sleeping better than I am tonight – and judging by the snoring coming up from upstairs, so is Adrian. I am deep in thought when a voice interrupts my thinking, and I realize it’s coming from the basement. Furrowing my brow, I head towards the stairs that lead down there. I’m not afraid of the dark, but the

creaky, dusty stairs still scare me. Nonetheless, I head down there, turning on the lights with a shaky hand. A huge tabby stares at me from the middle of the room and I smile slowly. I move to the side of the room covered in white sheets and open the small latch to the outside, and in three swift jumps, the cat is out of there. The latch obviously closed after it jumped in, trapping it inside. I’m about to head back upstairs when my eyes land on a pile of stuff stored away down here. I know what’s under all these white sheets – memories. I don’t mean to do it, but my legs carry me over to one of the boxes by themselves. I take the sheet off, and dust

flies in my face, making me cough like crazy. Because I’m suddenly feeling nostalgic, I end up sitting on the floor, going through boxes and boxes of mementos from the summer we spent here together, four years ago. So many things remind me of Daddy. Yellowed photos, curling at the edges, from when I was just a kid. And then recent ones, with him thin and sallow. They make me wonder how on earth I didn’t notice the cancer eating away at him. Tears flood my eyes as I pull out more things. My ratty teddy bear. An old friend. Each thing I find tells a story, and as

time passes, my tears start flowing freely. I don’t let myself cry in front of others, not even Valerie, who has become a dear friend since that faithful summer. But today, the floodgates have opened. I come across a notebook, one of the leather bound black volumes dad always used to scribble down his thoughts. Opening it absent-mindedly, I try to find comfort in the slanted handwriting I used to know so well. But as I go over his handwritten notes, some of the words jump straight off the page. Sorry … Jax … daughter … understand. I look at the notebook in confusion,

turning it over in my hands. I flip to the first page, and right there, in capital letters, there is my name. Confused, I start reading the small notebook, and my eyes widen as I absorb the text like it’s my sustenance. I’ve stumbled across something important… something that could have changed the course of my life had I found it in the right moment. My dear Rubi, I don’t have much longer in this world. But I wanted to leave you this letter. I wanted to tell you some things, to let you know I understand. I know about you and Jax, Rubi. You never knew how to keep a secret, dear, and the walls in this house are thin –

plus, you shout when you’re on the phone with Susie! I know he left because of what you wanted, but for what it’s worth, I think you made the wrong decision. I met Jax when he was at a low point, Rubi, but even then, I knew he was one of the good ones. Still, when I found out about you two, I wanted to kick his teeth in. I was angry as hell at him for leaving. I never told Valerie, honey. But after some time passed, I saw how miserable you were. And I want you to know, you have my blessing. You should be with the man that makes you happy, and if Jax is that man, so be it. I’ve done some stupid stuff in my

life, but my biggest mistake was not staying true to myself. I’ve loved two women, and I left a child with one of them. I will regret that for the rest of my life. Rubi, I don’t want you to make the same mistakes as your old man. You need to call him, make him come back. Please, Rubi The writing stops abruptly and it sends a pang through my heart when I realize he stopped because he probably couldn’t carry on – he got too weak. And after he passed away, we stashed everything down here, because it was too painful to go through Daddy’s stuff. My hand flutters to my chest as I realize what this means.

My Dad found out about me and Jax in the later stages of his illness, and despite everything that was going on, he accepted it. He admitted being angry at first, but there wasn’t even a word about us being stepsiblings. He didn’t even care about it. Eyes filled with tears, I put everything back in its place, clutching the black notebook to my chest. I cover everything with the dusty sheets and try to be as quiet as possible when I climb the stairs. I cuddle on the sofa bed, the notebook pressed to my heart. The tears have stopped, but that doesn’t mean I’m not hurting. Because I am – and worse than ever.

If only I had found the notebook when Daddy died. If only I could go back. If only I weren’t engaged. If only I were braver… I shut my eyes tightly, trying to convince myself it’s not too late yet. But try as I might, I know Jax has moved on with his life, and so should I. What happened between us could have blossomed into a romance, but the spark was extinguished by my father’s death, and now it’s too late to start a fire. The realization doesn’t make this any easier though, and as I fall into a fitful sleep, I dream of Jax. Always Jax. Only Jax.

Chapter 30 Jax The wedding is drawing closer, and with it, my time in the guesthouse will come to an end. I haven’t seen Rubi much these days, but Adrian always seems to be around. He has this weird attitude towards me – half animosity, half friendliness. It makes me severely confused as to what he wants to accomplish.

I’m not sure whether he knows what happened between Rubi and me. He might, or he might be completely in the dark. However, I’m sure he at least suspects something, shooting me those warning looks. Truth be told, I never followed up with our bet. I could’ve gotten that car, which would’ve made life a lot easier at the time. But I chose not to, knowing it would be like dirty money, hurt already by what went down between me and Rubi. Adrian’s upgraded his ride since then and now drives a BMW. We haven’t spoken of the bet once, like it’s a subject neither of us dare broach. It’s been days since the brunch I hate

with all those women, and I’ve been trying to see Rubi for a while now, but it seems like she keeps dodging my company. Finally, my chance comes on a misty morning when I wake up early, like someone had just called my name. I have an urge to go to the beach, and I do so right after taking a quick shower, my hair still dripping with wetness. I’m wearing swimming shorts, thinking I might as well take a quick dip in the sea. The beach is wet and misty, and it’s hard to make out anything in this weather. As I walk along the shore, I make out a form a few feet away, and as I near it, it becomes clear that it’s a woman. Not any woman – it’s Rubi.

Her hair is down for once, just how I like it, in disarrayed waves around her shoulders. She’s wearing a slip and it looks like she just came here straight from bed. “Morning, darlin’,” I call out so as not to scare her. Her eyes float towards my figure hesitantly, and she smiles at me. That smile might be the end of me – every single time she gives me the time of day, my heart does funny things. Suddenly all the things I’ve been doing for the past few years seem utterly stupid. The endless procession of girls in my bedroom, the models, beauties, all those women – they all pale in comparison to Rubi. She is the sun, and

they’re moths drawn to a flame. I’ve been fooling myself, and I hope I haven’t realized that too late. “Morning,” Rubi replies sleepily, her arms wrapped around her body to protect her from the coldness of the early hour. “What are you doing up so early?” Her eyes are red-rimmed and I wonder briefly is she’s been crying, my hands tightening into fists. If that jackass made her cry, I’ll make personally sure to knock his teeth out. “Felt like a swim,” I say instead, not revealing any of my worries even though my mouth is pressed into a tight line. I grin at her and she gives me a suspicious look. “What?” she asks worriedly, patting

her hair. “Dare,” I say on a whim and her eyes widen as she remembers the game we played all those years ago. “Jax…” she protest weakly, but I’m not having any of it. “Skinny dipping, right now,” I tell her, smirking at her as she looks at me with shock and horror. I knew she wouldn’t dare to do it, but I love pushing her buttons. I slide my swimming shorts off with one swift motion, loving the way her eyes become glued to my cock. I flex my muscles, feeding off of her attention. She gulps and I don’t give her another minute to enjoy the view, rushing inside the water through the mist and screaming her name as I dive into the

waves. When my body breaks the surface of the water and I re-emerge, laughing with the cold of the ocean, I see her on the beach, clothes still on. “Come on, darlin’,” I call out to her, and it seems to be the incentive she needs. She slowly takes off her slip and I make myself look away – not because I’m a gentleman, but because I’m fairly sure if I see her naked right now, I won’t be able to resist her any longer. It’s been hard enough fighting my feelings for this whole week. She shrieks as she wades into the water and I swim with the current to reach her shivering body. Now I can’t

help it, even though I know what I’m doing isn’t right. She’s engaged. I had my chance, and I fucked it up. But resisting is out of the question as I wrap her writhing naked form in my arms, pressing her trembling body against my own. Rubi’s eyes are as wide as saucers as she looks into mine, her hands hesitating, but finding their way around my neck nonetheless. “Rubi,” I groan, and I know she can feel my cock throbbing between us even though the water is ice cold. I see the inner turmoil in her eyes. She knows what’s right, but she also knows what she wants, and those two things are most definitely not the same.

“Please, let go,” she moans softly, but her hands grip me even tighter as opposed to her words. “No,” I say decidedly. “Not this time around.” Our hearts beat in unison and I know it’s just a matter of time before we both lose it. Her breasts pressed against my body, she wraps her legs around me, just above my waist. I take a sharp intake of breath and look at her worriedly, trying to let her know I won’t be able to hold back much longer. “Please, Rubi,” I whisper against her wet hair. “Think it through, darlin’. Choose me. It’s always been me, not him. You need to realize that.” She shakes her head, the wet strands

of hair falling in her face. I tuck them behind her ear gently, my hands shaking from the cold sea. “You’re mine,” I tell her fiercely, and she refuses to meet my eye. “I’m not,” she says weakly. “We’ve been over for years. This is so fucked up.” Her voice is breaking over the words, heavy with forbidden feelings and emotions. And then I say something I’ve never, ever said before in my life. Not to a girl I’d been sleeping with, not to a parent, not to anyone. “I love you, darlin’,” I groan, realizing the words are true as they come out of my mouth.

But they have the opposite effect from the one that I want and Rubi looks at me with so much fear it breaks my heart to see her torn this way. She rips her body out of my embrace, leaving my hands searching for her warmth in the cold ocean. Rubi starts swimming away, and for some reason, I don’t try to catch up, clenching my hands into fists instead. I watch her retreating figure, pangs of pain claiming my heart as she gets farther and farther away. I want to call out after her, pull her back in. But once again, I know it needs to be her choice – she has to be the one to come back into my arms. I’ve fucked up once before and it

wouldn’t be right to fool her again. Watching Rubi slide out of the water, I can’t make myself look away. Her body is even more beautiful now, her waist tiny and her tits full, her ass insanely tight and tempting. I lick my lips as she pulls the slip right over her wet body, throwing one last look at me over her shoulder. She’s so fucking beautiful, my little mermaid. Rubi walks away, leaving me and my throbbing cock alone in the ice cold water. It’s like a cold shower which I so desperately need. But a smile still plays on my lips, because I have another trick up my sleeve. And this time around, I’m not

letting Adrian claim the main prize. Rubi needs to be mine.

Chapter 31 Rubi I know I have to leave the beach as soon as our bodies touch. Not because I don’t want Jax’s hands on me, but because I want them so badly… And I have to make things right before anything happens between us. After finding the notebook, my mind is made up. I still don’t know whether I want to be with Jax, or what the right

choice is here, but I am certain in the knowledge that Adrian is not the man for me. If I really loved him, I wouldn’t have all these feelings for Jax, and I most certainly wouldn’t try to act on them. Besides, the way Jax makes me feel will never compare to the blandness of Adrian’s touch. My mouth pursed, I go back to the house and find Adrian has already left for work. Even though I want to have this conversation straight away, I make myself go about my day, working on designing a newly married couple’s bedroom. It relieves some of the tension, but come lunchtime, I decide to go to Newport and visit Adrian in his office.

I slide his engagement ring off my finger, staring at the huge sapphire on it. It’s beautiful, but it’s probably the single beautiful thing in our relationship. I’ve been fooling myself for a long time, living a life that I never wanted. I’ve been keeping my eyes firmly shut, seeing the residual light through the darkness. But now it’s as if a whole new world has opened up, a dreamland of vivid, gorgeous colors. And I know I won’t be able to live with my eyes closed anymore. I push the ring inside my purse and drive to Newport, parking in the lot under Adrian’s workplace. I didn’t call ahead, knowing he might say he’s busy working – but I just can’t wait any

longer. I need to tell him now. His assistant is out when I come to the office, but the receptionist knows me well and lets me through. I stride to Adrian’s office, a beautiful room with gorgeous wood paneling I helped him decorate. He got promoted last year, earning his own office and a beautiful view of the beach. I knock in my signature way, letting him know it’s me, then open the door. My fiancé is sitting on his office chair, the one I picked for him lovingly, choosing a buttery cream color to calm him while he works. His trousers are unbuttoned and there’s a woman on her knees in front of him, sucking on his cock.

I just stare at the scene in front of me, feeling absolutely nothing. I’m empty. Completely devoid of feelings and emotions. Adrian looks up, his mouth open in a surprised o-shape. “Rubi,” he groans, and I realize he hasn’t seen me yet. He’s calling my name as some woman sucks him off. Sick. It’s fucking sick. “Yeah,” I say weakly, and his eyes find me standing at the door, widening in horror. “Rubi!” he says in a raised tone, rushing to get up, his trousers falling to the floor in the process and revealing his erect cock, still slick with the other woman’s saliva. I can’t move, still glued to the

doorway as I stare at the disaster in front of me. The woman on her knees gets up slowly, facing away from me. She’s wearing a pencil skirt and begins buttoning up her blouse before turning towards me, her mouth pursed in a tight line. I recognize her immediately. “Cassandra?” I ask. She smirks at me, wiping her mouth with her palm which makes me cringe since the action is so vulgar. It’s Jax’s cousin, the woman who has been helping me organize Valerie’s wedding. On her knees. Sucking off my husband-to-be. “Get the fuck out, Cassandra,” Adrian spits out as I just stare and stare. She grabs her purse and laughs shrilly as

she leaves, shooting me an evil look on her way out. I have enough strength in me to grab her wrist as she passes me and she stops in surprise. I’ve mentioned I’ve changed a lot since the first summer in this town. I’ve become calmer, softer, gentler. But the scene I just saw has left me raw and emotional, and for once in my life, I let my real personality shine through. “What are you gonna do, slap me?” Cassandra asks mockingly, laughing shrilly as I hold her limp wrists between my fingers. “You’re useless, Rubi. As a woman and as a lay, or so I’ve heard.” Her words should cut deep, but instead they make me feel intense fury. “No,” I reply sweetly. “I don’t need to

slap you. Reality will do that for me, dear.” She looks at me in confusion, but I’m not done with this bitch yet. “You think you’ve won, Cassandra?” I ask her coldly as she stares at me defiantly. “You have nothing. You’re a taken man’s whore, and he’ll never take you as anything else. You’re the worst scum.” Her resolve falters as I lean in closer, getting ready to deliver the final blow. “And don’t think I don’t know why you’re so involved in the wedding, hoping to inherit something if Valerie passes,” I spit in her face and she looks guilty, letting me know I’ve hit the nail on the head. “You won’t get a damn cent. Why

don’t you go find someone else to take advantage of now? Your job here is done,” I finish with a syrupy-sweet voice and she rips her wrist out of my hand as I sigh heavily. “Actually, I’ve changed my mind,” I finish. “I think I will slap you.” And the sound of my hand hitting her cheeks resonates in the room. “You can go now,” I let her know sweetly as she clutches her reddening cheek in shock. She rushes out of the room in a hurry, not looking back once. And then it’s just Adrian and me, my heart pounding faster than ever as he strides towards me. “Rubi,” he says desperately, and my eyes are focused on his crotch. His zipper is still undone, and for some

reason, that bothers me more than the fact that I just found him cheating. “I never meant for it to happen,” he begins, the words rushing out of his mouth, meaning shit to me. “It was nothing, she didn’t mean anything. She was just a fuck…” “Just a hole to put your dick in when I wouldn’t let you?” I ask matter-offactly, and he looks away, looking completely broken. But I didn’t do this to him – it’s a pain he inflicted on himself. I dig in my purse, pulling out my engagement ring and handing it over to him with a cold expression. Adrian groans out loud, running his hands through his surfer blond hair, leaving it

in disarray. “No, Rubi, I won’t take it back,” he says desperately. “Don’t you understand? You’re all there is for me. I fucked up, I know. I fucked up so badly.” His voice is full of remorse, his words ringing true in my mind. I know he’s telling the truth this time around, but it doesn’t mean anything to me. My mind was made up when I left the house an hour ago. But I let him go on, enjoying the torture he must be going through. He fucking deserves to suffer for doing this to me, betraying my trust in the worst way possible. “Rubi,” he continues eagerly, trying to grab my hand, but I move away from

his touch, too disgusted to feel his skin against mine, even if it is for the last time ever. “I fucked up. I’ve just…” “Just what?” I ask softly, needing to hear his reasoning behind what’s been going on, even if it doesn’t change a thing between us. Adrian raises his gaze to mine, his eyes broken just like his soul. “I’ve been living in Jax’s shadow for four years,” he says, his voice heavy with emotions that make me blush. “You never talked about him, never mentioned him. But it’s always been him – if you hadn’t found out about the bet, you’d still be with him. That’s why I told you, because I wanted you for myself.” He tries reaching for me again and I

move away once more, so his hand falls away empty. "I tried so fucking hard to be enough for you, Rubi,” he says heavily. “I tried to make you happy, tried to give you everything you wanted.” I look into his eyes and am surprised to see them brimming with tears. But what’s more surprising is the fact that it doesn’t make me feel a thing – not remorse, not glee at his pain. Not a goddamn thing. “As soon as he came back into your life, I knew I’d never keep you. We could get married, have children, but you’d always want him. He’d always be the one that got away.” His words are true, even if I don’t want to admit it.

“That doesn’t excuse you sleeping with Cassandra,” I say, already tired from this conversation. “No, it doesn’t,” Adrian agrees. “But I never loved her. Always, since that summer four years ago, you’ve been the one for me. And I’m sorry, so fucking sorry, Rubi, that I can’t be the same for you.” His voice breaks and I look at his body doing the same as he wipes his eyes furiously. His confession may be heartbreaking, but it just makes me feel embarrassed for him, and even more for me. I’ve been stuck in a loveless relationship for four years. I’ve broken this man so badly, and I’ve transformed myself into someone I

don’t even want to be. I bite my bottom lip, fighting back my own tears. “I’m sorry, Adrian,” I admit with defeat. “I’m sorry I treated you like shit.” We’re both quiet for a long moment and I take his hand next, opening his palm. I place my engagement ring firmly on it, folding his fingers over it. “Keep it,” I tell him forcefully when he tries to stop me. “You’ll find a girl who deserves it more than I do.” I know he’s about to object, but I press a finger to my lips and smile weakly at him as I retreat from his office. “I’ll send the movers with your stuff to your parents house,” I tell him,

already deciding that it’s for the best. “You’ll have everything in a couple of days.” Then, I turn abruptly on the heel of my feet and rush outside, needing the fresh air to wake me up from this nightmare. I ignore Adrian’s voice calling after me, needing the closure right away. Stepping out on the pavement, the scorching heat hits my face, but it feels damn good. And for the first time in four years, I feel hopeful. My stride is relaxed, my hips swaying as I walk towards my car. I mentally promise myself to never change who I am for a man again. From now on, I am Rubi Lynn – the real thing. What

you see is what you get.

I arrive at the house and seek refuge in my old bedroom, which is the only place in the house I left unchanged. I fall back on my bed and have the sudden urge to call Susie. She’s always been there for me these past few years, always had my back. I wonder how she’ll take my news. She answers her phone right away. “What up, Rue?” she asks enthusiastically. I contemplate how I should tell her what happened, but before I can stop myself, I’m already blurting the truth. “I

broke up with Adrian.” A long pause follows after which I hear a strange noise on the other side of the line. “Sue?” I ask worriedly. “Are you okay over there?” “I’m laughing,” she admits. “Finally you see some sense, you stupid woman!” I actually move the phone away from my ear and stare at it in shock. Susie has always been supportive of my relationship with Adrian. “Huh?” I ask in confusion. Susie sighs heavily, her voice laced with giggles, just like when we were younger and used to gossip on the phone for hours. “It was about time, Rubi. He wasn’t right for you, and deep down, you fucking knew it.”

I let her words sink in, realizing she’s totally right. But it’s a realization I needed to come to by myself, and I appreciate that she didn’t tell me her real thoughts sooner. “I know what prompted this,” Susie says with more seriousness this time around. “I always knew he’d come back for you, Rue—” “Stop,” I cut her off, knowing she’s talking about Jax. “No,” she says stubbornly. “Not this time. You’ve been a fool, my dear, and it’s time to fix that, before it’s too late.” My heart starts pounding, my eyes fluttering through the window towards the guesthouse. I see Jax standing in front of the window, wearing shorts slung low

on his hips, a glass of juice in his hand. He raises his free hand in greeting, pulling it out of his pocket and making his shorts slide lower. I gulp. “It’s play time,” Susie gushes over the phone.

Chapter 32 Jax My mother is getting married today, and my heart is pounding like it’s my day of doom, not hers. I have something planned for today, and it might be the very thing my future balances on. I haven’t seen Rubi since yesterday at the beach, and I have no idea what she’s feeling and thinking. I’ve been around the house, too, but she never

answered the doorbell, so I took it as a hint and spent the extra time to prepare the surprise I have planned. I start getting ready, knowing my mother expects me at the venue in an hour. I got a tux specifically for the occasion, and I feel like a goddamned penguin on it. The fact that some of my ink is still visible under my sleeves makes me feel a little better. Looking at my reflection in the mirror, I take a deep breath. I’m taking a big step today, and I hope it is in the right direction. I fucking hope it pays off, because I’m realizing my life up to this point has been a farce. A car is already waiting for me and I get in, my palms clammy with sweat. We

arrive at the destination too quickly, and I’m not ready yet. A too-enthusiastic wedding planner tucks a rose in my buttonhole, meanwhile yelling into her headset and hissing instructions to her bedraggled-looking assistant. Both of them are attractive, and it surprises me that it’s just a fact I acknowledge, not something I want to act on. Had this happened a month ago, I’d be eager to get them both in my bed – possibly at the same time, you know, get those disagreements out of the way. But today, my mind is preoccupied, swimming with thoughts of one particular redhead. “You go see your mother now,” the planner says tiredly. “She’ll be waiting

for you to make last minute arrangements. You’re walking down the aisle in 20.” “What?” I ask in confusion as she tries to slide away, gripping her wrist in my hand. “What the hell are you on about?” “Your mother,” she repeats like I’m brain damaged. “You are walking her down the aisle in 20 minutes.” “But I don’t even know the man she’s marrying,” I protest, but the woman strides up closer to me and gives me a venomous look. “Listen, pal,” she spits out. “That’s the plan and you better go with it.” She waves her notebook in the air. “Do you want me to hit you with this? Because I

will do it!” I can’t help but laugh at this neurotic woman, which seems to piss her off even more. She will hate me in a couple of hours, but for now, I’ll go with her plan. I nod, raising my arms in the air in sign of defeat. She huffs and puffs for a second longer before stomping off to deal with another pre-wedding disaster. I head towards the back of the hall where my mother is supposedly waiting for me. There’s a big door in the back, and I knock on it hesitantly, half hoping no-one will answer. What is a guy supposed to say to his own mother on her own wedding day, anyway? Unfortunately, the door opens and a

woman I don’t know ushers me in. “Okay, he’s here,” she says in a panicked voice. “I’ll go deal with the flowers, and you two can have a nice little talk.” She’s so nervous the nice little talk sounds more like forceful torture to me, but the woman rushes outside and I’m left alone with just one more person in the spacious white room. “Hello, Jax,” a soft voice greets me and I see my mother sitting down in front of a vanity table. She’s in her wedding dress already, a baby pink gown that looks great on her. She looks beautiful. I stride over to her, leaning down and giving her a kiss on the cheek as we both look at our reflections in the mirror.

“Happy wedding day, mom,” I say sincerely, giving her a big smile. She returns a sad smile and it is then that I notice the tears in her eyes. I kneel down in front of her, the concern in my eyes palpable. “Is something the matter?” I ask worriedly. Mother shakes her head weakly, like every motion is an effort. Her hand flutters to her cheek, wiping a stray tear that has escaped from her eyes. “I just… I don’t think I ever expected to be getting for the third time.” She laughs and I smile in order to calm her down. It’s probably just a case of pre-wedding jitters. “Listen,” I say, my voice calming. “I hold no grudges against you, mom. I

never expected you to stay with my… dad. Not after what he did.” “I’m not talking about your dad,” she admits, and as soon as the words are out of her mouth, I realize what this is all about. “Tony?” I inquire and she nods with a soft sob, more tears falling from her eyes. I take a fabric handkerchief from my breast pocket, offering it to my mother. “It will ruin the way your suit looks,” she protests weakly and I grin. “You think I give a shit?” I ask her, the smile plastered to my face. She wipes her eyes, a smile play on her own lips to my surprise. “He was so proud of you, Jackson, and you weren’t

even his son. He loved you so much…” “I know he did, mom,” I tell her, stroking her hand. For the first time, I’m noticing how prominent her veins and freckles are, like she’s aged twenty years. It hurts me to see it, knowing I should have been more present all these years. “I loved him too, and I hope he’d be proud of me today.” “He would,” mom nods vigorously, and she’s about to go on when I interrupt her. “He’d be proud of you too,” I say firmly, and she looks at me with the surprise evident in her gaze. “It’s true, and I can prove it,” I say, grinning again. That gets her attention. “How on earth could you prove

that?” she asks curiously. I get up from my knees, winking at my beautiful mother. “You’ll have to get married first to see,” I say cheekily and she shakes her head, laughing at me softly. “I guess I will, then,” she says, getting up as well. I look her in the eyes, getting ready to walk her down the aisle. “Tell me the truth,” I say as a final thought lodges itself in my mind. “Is this guy a good one? Or will I have to beat him with a stick one of these days?” “Jax,” she protests, but she’s smiling. “He’s great. You’ll see soon, I hope.” I kiss her on the cheek. “Let’s go, then.”

And I take my mother’s hand, leading her towards a happy new future. Now if only life had one in store for me as well… We’ll just have to wait and see. Not long now.

The ceremony is over fairly quickly, and I’m thankful to my mother for skipping the church rites this time around. She thinks it inappropriate; I believe love doesn’t need God’s blessing. Either way, she looks happy for the first time since Tony passed. Her husband is a nice, round man with a cheerful smile and a hilarious snorting laugh. Apparently, he’s loaded,

too, but to be honest, I don’t give a shit about any of that, because the way he and my mom look at each other makes me think she might be happy again with him. I don’t get to talk to Rubi, but when I walk my mother down the aisle; my eyes are glued to her in her pretty lilac bridesmaids dress. It clashes spectacularly with her hair, but that makes my heart swell with feelings I never knew I had. She glances at me a few times, but her eyes are mainly on the star of the day – my mom. After the ceremony, we all sit down for lunch and to my annoyance, Rubi and I are on completely opposite sides of the main table with my mother. I eat my food

and smile politely, but my heart is beating insanely fast, getting ready for my big plan. And finally, it’s time for speeches. Rubi is one of the first ones to speak. She rises slowly, tucking her beautiful hair behind her ear and grinning at the crowd. “Hello,” she says sweetly. “Things are about to get pretty weird. Are you ready?” A murmur goes through the crowd and I look at her with interest. “My name is Rubi Lynn,” she goes on, smirking at someone who gasps next to her. “That’s right, I’m Valerie’s second husband’s daughter. Inappropriate? Maybe.” The murmurs continue but I just stare at her, waiting for her to go on. She

looks so strong, confident – beautiful. Fuck me, I’m whipped. “Valerie loved my dad very much. But what none of us expected was that she would love me,” Rubi continues, her eyes finding my mother as they smile at one another. “I was a sullen teenager, angry and angsty. And despite all that, Valerie was like a mother to me. She stayed when my dad got sick. She took care of me when my own mother preferred to stay away. I can safely say I have two mothers, and Valerie is one of them.” Now, the crowd is sighing as she goes on, already moved by her speech. “I have no doubt my dad and Valerie would live happily ever after. But the

thing is, we write our own fairytales. And I believe Valerie’s started writing the best one yet.” Rubi raises a glass in the air, toasting my mother who returns the motion with tears in her eyes. “To Valerie and Bert,” she says, and a wicked grin comes over her face. “Make the wedding night one to remember.” She winks and Bert nearly chokes on his champagne which makes me laugh as quietly as possible. I have a quick second to wonder what the hell is going on. Rubi is a completely different person today – much more like the girl I met that first summer. And I want her more than ever. My eyes are glued to her as the

speeches go on, and finally, the microphone makes its way to me. I’m not big on public speaking, but I’ll make an exception tonight. I get up, clearing my throat and smiling at my mother. “I’ve always been shit with words,” I begin and the crowd murmurs again at my profanity. I don’t care, though, because my mother’s eyes are shining proudly, and that’s all that matters. “And Rubi put everything pretty perfectly. So instead of feeding you some crap, I think we should hear from someone else. Someone who was an inspiration, a father and a friend. And today, he would rejoice to see us smiling. So,” I raise my glass, “Let’s smile.” Everyone follows obediently and

glasses clink as I turn on the projector. The screen twitches and everyone looks at it in confusion as a figure appears on it. The man in the clip looks terrible. Sallow, thin, bald. Sick. But he is smiling. “Hello, Valerie,” he says with a tired voice as the crowd looks around in confusion. I check to see my mother’s and Rubi’s eyes glued to the screen, just like I needed them to be. Then, I lean back in my chair and wait for the clip to finish. Tony clears his throat painfully. “I’m sorry, I’m a little bit under the weather,” he jokes in the clip. “I wanted to come here and haunt you from the past…” He

cackles and it pleases me when I hear my mother follow. “No, Valerie. I am here to tell you I am proud of you. I am happy for you, because you learned how to live again. There’s no use in sitting back while life passes you by. You need to be happy, for me, and for Rubi, and for your son, Jax.” My mother dabs her eyes with a handkerchief as her new husband kisses her gently. I look at Rubi next, knowing the next part is equally as important. “And Rubi,” he continues as she blinks back heavy tears. “Please know…” His eyes are filled with tears as he looks into the camera, like he’s here, really speaking to his daughter. “Please know that I’ll always love

you. Even when I can’t hold your hand anymore, I’ll be your dad.” The clip fizzes out to nothing, the image disappearing from the screen and everyone is quiet for a long second, my heart beating wildly in my chest. Then a clap erupts, cheering and happy smiles. Just like Tony would have wanted. I get patted on the back, thanked and kissed by my affectionate mother. As she looks at me, I know there’s still a chance for us to rebuild our relationship, and that makes me fucking grateful to Tony. But my mind is preoccupied with a certain redhead, and as soon as they let me go, I look at her place at the table to find it empty.

My brows furrowed, I scan the room for her. But Rubi Lynn is gone.

Chapter 33 Rubi I run out of there, unable to take any more. As soon as I see my father’s face on that projection screen, all the memories start rushing back and it just hurts too much to handle. So I use the moment when everyone claps Jax on the back to rush out of the stuffy, crowded room. I walk aimlessly along the shore, my

heart pounding wildly, the tears not quite falling. I fucking hate them for that, knowing they would relieve the tension. But it seems like I’m frozen in this strange state. My legs carry me over to the beach which is deserted. It’s misty again, with plenty of silver-lined grey clouds. So ironic. “Rubi!” a voice calls out to me suddenly. I’d recognize the sound of Jax calling my name anytime, anywhere. And I know it’s him, but I don’t want to turn around. Don’t want to give him another chance to hurt me as badly as he did before. So I keep on walking. I hear his footsteps after me, trying to catch up and try to quicken my pace even

though I know he’ll catch up eventually. And so he does, grabbing my elbow as he nears me and breathing heavily. “Where are you going, darlin’?” he asks softly, the concern plain to hear in his pained voice. “Away,” I answer him simply, the words more of a murmur than anything else. “Away from what?” he insists, and I rip my elbow from his touch, turning towards him with angry eyes that could turn him to stone had they the power to do so. “From you, from Valerie, from my dad,” I say angrily, my voice shaking with the heavy words, knowing I’m about to hurt him. “Can’t you see, Jax?

I’m too weak. I can’t handle all this. I can’t take any more pain, because I’m already in pieces.” He steps in front of me, his body imposing and huge against my small frame. “No, I can’t see,” he growls, tipping my chin upwards like he’s done so many times before. “You know what I do see?” I just stare at him defiantly as he goes on, my heart beating wildly in my chest. “I see a little girl who’s still afraid. A girl who’s been running all her life. You dad’s gone, Rubi, and that’s never going to change,” he says harshly, the words rough and painful. I want to spit in his face, but I am so helpless, all I can

do is swallow back a reply and stare at him with red-rimmed eyes. “But other things could change,” Jax continues more gently. “You’ve been running from me, darlin’, and I’m the one who can make this better. It’s been four years, four goddamned long years, and I’m not going to waste any more time.” “I broke up with Adrian,” I suddenly blurt out and Jax’s pupils widen in shock at my admission. But before he can say a thing, I start talking again, admitting the truth I’ve been holding back from yesterday. “He’s been cheating on me… ever since you came to the house. With you cousin, no less,” I snort angrily, giving Jax an evil glare like all of this is

actually his fault. “Cassandra?” he asks incredulously, and I give a solemn nod. To my surprise, Jax dissolves in laughter as I stare at him angrily. “What the fuck? Is that funny to you, jackass?” I demand, ripping myself from his embrace. “You’re such a prick, Jax!” “It’s not that,” he shakes his head, still laughing. “But I can’t believe he tried to replace you with goddamned Cassie.” He looks at me more seriously now and I gulp loudly waiting for his next words. “He’s a goddamn prick, Rubi,” he says with his teeth clenched. “And I was one, too, for making that fucking bet with him.” I turn away, but he takes my chin

between his fingers, making me look back at him. I struggle but give up in the end, even though the subject still makes me feel vulnerable. “You have to listen,” he says insistently. “It was never about that fucking car. It was about you, Rubi, it’s always been about you. I hated the way they all looked at you, but I knew I could never have you myself… I saw it as the one way to get you, if only for a night.” I look at him hard, and I realize he’s telling the truth, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he swallows hard. “Trust me,” he growls low in his throat. “I never meant to fall in love.” And my heart soars. He leans in closer until our lips are

almost touching and I tremble under his touch, so gentle yet firm. “I’m going to kiss you now,” he promises me with a low growl. “And if you tell me you feel nothing, absolutely nothing for me afterwards, I’ll walk away.” Jax doesn’t wait for me to answer, instead lowering his lips to mine. My body responds, and I am unable to hold myself back. Melting into his embrace, my body fits the contours of his perfectly. I’ve been craving those lips for fucking years, needing his touch like the air I breathe. He deepens our kiss, making it rough and demanding as he plunges a tongue in my mouth, his hands wrapping possessively around my waist. I’m

losing myself in his touch, his kiss, his scent, and I know with dead certainty I will never be able to go back… Not this time around. “Nothing?” he groans against my lips, moving back for just one second. And I already miss him, already need another goddamn taste. But I don’t answer, licking my bottom lip instead as my body trembles like it’s recovering from the loss of his touch. “What do you feel, Rubi?” he insists, grasping my throat between his fingers lightly. It feels so goddamn good, that motion which should be rough, but feels loving when he does it. Possessive, but so amazing… “I feel…” I begin, my voice breaking

as I struggle to get the words out of my throat. “I feel loved,” I admit, and it’s as if a dam has broken as more words spill from my lips, thirsting for his kiss. “I feel like I can’t go on without you. Can’t go on without being me. And,” I bite my lower lip gently, “the only way I can be me is with you.” He stares at me hard, like he’s trying to discern if I’m telling the truth, and a small smirk begins to play on the edge of his mouth as I stare at him incredulously. “Knew it,” he groans and tries to kiss me again, but I slap him away. “You prick! So self absorbed, I cannot believe it,” I exclaim loudly, my brows furrowing as he laughs out loud. “Oh, how I missed that firecracker,”

he says, taking me firmly around the waist and pulling me into his embrace. And once again, I am helpless as he smirks in my face, that teasing expression already back in his eyes. “No going back now, darlin’,” he growls, claiming me with another delicious kiss.

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