by C. M. Steele
Sleep Tight
Best Friend Series
SLEEP TIGHT
When Erin’s party plans hit a snag, she must ask her stepbrother Pearce to PLEASE let her have the sleepover at his house. A group of females in his place was a nightmare he wasn’t prepared for. He agreed against better judgement, but what happened led to the best decision he ever made.
Pearce Kraven was working on his twelfth novel when his world tilted on its axis for the second time in his life. Both times changed the man he had become, but this time it was for the best.
Lynne Davies had no idea her best friend was keeping the biggest secret she could imagine. Pearce Kraven was her brother. What a bitch! How could she do that to her? Lynne fashioned herself a super fan of Mr. Kraven’s work and meeting him would be a dream come true. Why would her best friend keep her from meeting him?
Copyrighted © 2016 C.M. Steele
All Rights Reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced, copied or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system without written expressed permission from the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination and are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is purely coincidental.
Cover design: C.M. Steele
Cover Image: Shutterstock
The use of actors, artists, movies, TV shows, and song titles/lyrics throughout this book are done so for storytelling purposes and should in no way be seen as advertisement. Trademark names are used in an editorial fashion with no intention of infringement of the respective owner’s trademark.
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All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior express, written consent of the author.
This book is intended for mature adults only. Contains sexual content and language that may offend some. Suggested reading audience is 18 years or older. I consider this book as Adult Erotic Romance.
Sleep Tight
Best Friend Series
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Epilogue
Chapter 1
The weather was about to get violent outside today, but I was having a bigger battle inside my home. My agent was on the phone again and not happy with me at all. That was tough shit on his part. He knew the rules coming to work for me. The public and I weren’t to meet. I wrote and delivered crime novels to the world. They didn’t need to see my face or talk to me in person, and I had told him that several times.
“Can you please tell me why you refused their contract for the two book deal? It’s a great offer with a shit ton of money on the table.” He knew damn well why I refused it. What Roger thought was that I’d skim it and miss the must make public appearances clause. It would help the publishing house if I did because I was considered handsome, but I didn’t write for the money. I wrote for the stories.
“What part of public appearances are not an option do you not understand? It was made very clear that I would need to do a book signing tour after the second book’s release. That’s not going to fly. So, the contract was a waste of everyone’s time.” I was pissed because in all the discussions I made it absolutely clear that I wouldn’t do it.
I had published with a small publishing company that no one really heard of, but my books made it to bookshelves by my second release. It was then that I met Roger. At just eighteen, I had no idea what would happen before the year was out. Things were chaotic and wild as I tried to navigate through the waters of public success. No one knew I was eighteen and my bio put me at thirty. During that first year, I’d become wealthy on my own accord. Someone bought the movie rights to my first two books and adapted them into screenplays. I couldn’t believe what was happening or how I became the center of attention for a short time. The fans were trying to get to talk to me. This was before the massive social media aspect for writers that was now littered all over Facebook. It was the year that I found myself the recipient of a deadly stalker. “You can’t stay locked away in your own little bubble forever, Pearce. You need to live again.” I tried that shit and almost died.
“What the hell is it with everyone saying I need to live again. I’m twenty-four and love the life I have right now. I don’t need friends that are fake. I don’t trust women for shit, and I have my immediate family.” I heard Dexter whimper on the floor next to my chair. “And I’ve got Dexter. What else do I need?”
“You’re in the prime of your life. Maybe travel the world. Date exotic women, breathe fresh air or some shit.”
“I’m happy. I wouldn’t be in the prime of my life if she’d had a bit better aim. I’d be decomposing in a pine box. I don’t need to travel to be happy. I live for the love of writing. If I change my mind, you’ll be the fifth person to know.”
“Damn it. One day, you’ll see that you’re tired of being alone and it’ll be too late.”
“I’ll take it into consideration, but I’m still not going to do a public signing. It’s completely out of the question. I’ve got to go, Roger.”
“Call me…” I hung up on him because he wasn’t going to give up. This wasn’t the first time we’d had this conversation. He thought almost five years of recovery was plenty to get over the past. Fucker had never been stabbed in the chest while he slept. I wasn’t the sociable person before I almost died. Now I was completely antisocial. My family tried to get me out, but I wasn’t ready. I don’t have a reason to want to change. I don’t get lonely. I do get horny, but watching some porn and stroking off solves that problem really fucking quick.
I got up to stretch my legs. "Ready to go out?" Dexter and I headed out to the back yard for now. The skies weren't looking too friendly for a walk to the trail he liked. He was a massive St. Bernard with a lap dog mentality.
We played a little fetch then he did his business, of course leaving me with the task of cleaning up after him. It would be nice if he'd do it himself but that was out of the question. The instant the first drop fell, Dexter ran to the door. He knew me already and rain was a deal breaker. I personally liked the rain, but a wet, muddy dog trampling through the house wasn't cool.
Leaving him to rest in his doggy bed, I went back to my laptop and opened a new document. I had my notes and thoughts ready to start my next book. It was due for its first round of editing in two months. Typing away, I let the next three hours pass me by. Dexter came to get his next meal fed to him. I was walking to fill up his bowl when I remembered I was supposed to be at my parents’ house in the next thirty minutes. There was no way I would make it there on time. My stepmother, a normally tolerant woman, didn’t like people late to dinner. Usually that people was me.
I fed the dog and washed up
before I rushed out of the house. Their place was a good thirty minutes away, but in Chicago traffic I was looking at a minimum of forty-five minutes. I heard my phone ring through the Bluetooth system of the car as I hit the expressway.
“Hey, what’s going on, Dad?”
“Dinner is almost ready. How close are you from the house?”
“I would say about another thirty minutes.”
“Okay, well, Erin accidentally dropped the noodles on the floor and we’re all out. Can you run to the store and pick some up before you get here?”
“Absolutely. Any particular brand?”
“She prefers Barilla.” We were having spaghetti tonight, so I knew what kind of noodles. I preferred the same brand. I find that they cook better for me.
“Anything else you need me to pick up?”
“Donna wants some vanilla ice cream. Any kind will be fine. It’s for your favorite.”
“Apple pie ala mode,” we said it at the same time.
“Yep, so if you could that would be great.”
“I’ll stop off at the store and be there in about an hour.”
“Be careful.” We hung up as I pulled off the expressway. The rain had already stopped, so the traffic started moving faster than I expected.
I stopped at the local store about a mile from their place. It was kind of busy, but that was pretty common. Clutching the handle to a hand basket, I went on the hunt for what I needed, hoping no one recognized me. Having moved into my own place after what happened, I didn’t come to the store in my parents’ neighborhood often. Within ten minutes, I was out of the store and on my way to their house. The entire time I was in the store, I had a feeling that I was being watched. It probably was just paranoia about the past. My stalker was sitting in a very uncomfortable mental hospital. She should have been in prison, but they treated her like she was fragile.
Pulling up next to my dad’s SUV, I got out and rushed into the house. I knew my stepmother would be anxious to have dinner served. It had to do with having a strict family upbringing. I didn’t care. I ate when I was hungry, which for my size was often.
“You made it.” My stepmother greeted me at the front door, taking the shopping bag from me. They lived in a modest home that my father bought after my mother left us. They loved the simple life, so they didn’t have maids or anything. Most of the work was done by my stepmother or my stepsister Erin. “Go see your father in his office. I’m going to finish up dinner.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
I went looking for my father who was reading a book. I knew it was my last one and one of his favorites. “You know, son, this book has everything in it. There’s so much passion for your characters.”
“Thanks, Dad. Hello to you, too.”
“I get caught up in these. Sometimes I don’t mind that you hide away with that imagination of yours.” I arched my brow at him because he didn’t care for me always staying away from the living world. He was almost as bad as my agent.
“What are you playing at? I know you.”
“When I read this I see the talent. When you talk about an upcoming release I see the brightness in your eyes. Donna has reminded me time and again that seeing you happy is more important than you giving me some grandkids.”
“Grandkids?”
“Yeah, you have to go out and meet women for that. I’ve decided that I’ll just have to wait for Erin and consider her babies my own grandkids.”
“Sorry. Maybe one day I will, but I doubt any time in the near future.”
“So, I won’t push you anymore. Anyways, how’s the writing going?”
“I’ve just started my latest story and I think it’s going to be my wildest yet. I was late because I got into a rhythm and knocked out seven chapters.”
“Wow, that’s a lot.”
“Yeah, but I stopped at a good point and now I can move onto the next part of the story after I get home.”
There was a knock on the door before Erin walked herself in. “Mom said dinner’s ready. Hello to you, too, Pearce.”
“Sorry, Erin, your mother sent me in here asap; blame her.”
“I know. I’m just busting your chops. But we better hurry before Mom comes in here on the hunt. She’s already annoyed with me today.”
“Was the pasta cooked?”
“Nope, but I spent twenty minutes scouring the floor for stray pasta noodles. Some went right under the fridge. Totally not cool. So…”
We all walked into the dining room where the plates were set up. I ate on my kitchen nook most days. This was a fancy set up, but that was the way Donna was. Dinner was going well for a while before my father brought up the trip they were going on next week. “But, Mom, it’s not fair. You can’t have your trip this weekend. It’s supposed to be our last hurrah for me and my friends before we go off to college. A sleepover with all us girls. Can’t I just have the party here while you’re gone?” Erin whined to her mother.
She was used to getting everything she wanted. There hadn’t been a time where they said no until today. Rumors had been flying around that my stepsister had become a true party girl, even though technically she wasn’t of age. I was surprised that her mom didn’t cave, per her usual. Maybe she’d finally had enough with social media rumors spreading about.
“Pearce, can you please tell her to let me have the party?” she turned to me and asked. We’d been close as stepsiblings could be, even with the age gap between us, so I was always there for her when she needed a friend. Our parents got married when I was eighteen and Erin was twelve. She followed me around all the time. I didn’t mind until the day things changed forever.
“The fact that Donna is actually telling you no comes as a big surprise, and truthfully, it’s about time,” I said, lifting a glass to my lips with a smirk.
“What!?’ I thought you were on my side.” She continued to whine.
She was right. I tried to make up for my initial anger after the incident and took to being nice to her without really knowing her. “I usually am, but since she never says no, she must have a really good reason for it.”
“Because her best friend Lynne and that Thompson boy were having sex in my bed,” my stepmother admitted.
“Well, at least it wasn’t this one over here that Ellis was doing,” I offered Donna. Ellis wasn’t from the best family around, so she would have flipped if it was Erin in the bed with the boy.
She didn’t handle her role as parent so well. It was give Erin everything and hang the consequences. Erin was in the car crash that killed her father, so Donna was scared that she’d lose her. Catching someone fucking on her brand new bed must have come as a shock and a deal breaker.
“Shut up, Pearce,” Erin bit out at me.
“That’s my cue. I have a lot of work to do today. My public relations manager actually wants to meet face to face and you know how I am about that. He wants me to meet the people and my fans. I’m too handsome to keep my face hidden he said.”
“You are handsome, Pearce. It’s only natural for them to want to exploit it,” Donna said kindly. I looked a lot like my father so of course she thought I was handsome.
As an author, there were so many things to do other than writing. I wanted to just write, but it seemed that no one gave a shit about what I wanted. The publicity people wanted to rebrand me. It was all over the place and I wasn’t happy with the way everything was going. Why couldn’t things be simple? I wanted to write, publish, and have peace and quiet.
I gave my squirt of a little stepsister a kiss on her head and walked to the front door. Before I could get out the door, Erin called out for me to stop. She ran up to me, her mother following behind. “OMG. Wait. I have a perfect solution to my problem. Don’t you love me, big bro?” Erin asked with wide eyes, batting them prettily like that was going to work on me.
“I do, but I know what’s already going through that big head of yours. And the answer is no.” There was no way I would host it at my place. It took forever for me to
feel comfortable with going out after what happened to me. Leaving was hard and letting people other than family to the house was never an option.
“Please, please, please. We’ll be good. I promise. I’ll make sure we even walk Dexter for you. Please with sugar on top?” I knew this was going to be a big mistake, but I could use someone to walk Dexter. It wasn’t that I was afraid of people, I was just an introvert. Some would argue that I wasn’t living my life, but when I do what I love all the time, what was I missing? In my opinion…nothing.
She kept looking at me like a kid that has lost her puppy. The scrunched up look on my stepmother’s face told me she was banking on my answer. Maybe if I agreed, Donna and Dad would leave me be about dealing with people. They were worried that I would never meet someone who I could love and have a family with. Their concern was valid. I didn’t have friends and I didn’t date. I looked at their faces and caved. "Fine. You can have the sleepover at my house."
"Yay! Thanks, Pearce," she squealed, jumping up and down like the teen she was. Her birthday was next week and she would be eighteen.
She wouldn’t stop bouncing and squealing until I grabbed her shoulders. "Calm down. If this is how it's going to be I might have a change of mind."
Erin shook her head vigorously. "Oh no you don't, Pearce. I'm not letting you. I promise they'll behave."
"I have a deadline, so... " She put her hand to my mouth, shushing me.
"I know you do, my brilliant, awesome brother." She hugged me again. I loved her so it was easy to cop to her pleas. She ran from the front hall as soon as her phone buzzed.
"Thanks, Pearce. I know you like your privacy," my stepmother said, patting my shoulder.
"No problem. I know how she can be and how you want to make her happy."
"If she would stop hanging with some of these girls I would have let her have the party here. Especially Lynne. I caught her strolling out of my bedroom and inside was a naked Ellis in my bed. She gasped and ran from the room"
