by Ryli Jordan
“We drive to the runway!” Michael said excitedly. “And then—whoosh! Up into the sky!”
“Exactly,” I agreed, amused with how he was practically vibrating with excitement. “And where are we going?”
Michael frowned and began counting on his fingers, clearly trying his hardest to remember all the places. “Italy, France, Spain, and...uh...I forget the 'nother one.”
“Portugal,” I reminded him. I reached over and caught Charlotte's hand, smiling gently over at her. “This is going to be fun,” I promised her.
“You don't have to keep telling me that,” she said, grinning as well. “Unless you're trying to conceal the fact that this really isn't going to be fun and you're dragging us here for an absolutely miserable summer in Europe...”
I laughed and kissed the back of her hand. “Hardly.”
Even as I sat there, I could feel the weight of my grandmother's engagement ring sitting in my pocket. I'd picked it up from Aunt Elaine's just the day before, but I'd been thinking about it for a couple months now. The timing of the trip and everything else just seemed right. I was excited for this, for us.
I smiled over at Mikey's excited face as we took off, leaving home behind for now as we started a new chapter of our lives together. Sure, this wasn't the trip to Europe that I'd spent most of my twenties planning—but I had a feeling this was the start of something even better.
THE END
BONUS STORY 2
Warning! Hot, taboo romance awaits…This is a standalone novella, with complete satisfaction guaranteed. No judgment zone. Enjoy!
Kate
Anyone would be lying if they didn’t lust after David. Keeping my feelings at bay after my mom’s wedding was like torture. I knew I couldn’t have him. I knew he was off limits. Our relationship could never go there -- or could it? I know my fantasies of him were already on fire! Now he’s back in the states from London giving me a holiday package I just can’t resist.
David
I’m exactly the kind of billionaire everyone loves to hate. I enjoy being single, vaping, and giving women what they want most in bed. Little did I know that my time off for the holidays would really feel like home in more ways than one. I’m stuck in close quarters with my rod throbbing for Kate and I can’t do nothing about it.
There’s one little secret, this hot beauty is my stepsister. As the saying goes, you want what you can’t have right?
Mature audiences only, 18 plus!
Chapter One
KATE
I didn't think I'd managed to sleep soundly through the night in the six months since I'd met David. It seemed like every night, I came awake gasping and writhing against the sheets, caught up in the phantom memories of his hands gently stroking down my curves...spreading my legs and plunging his fingers inside of me...kissing a heated line down from my mouth to my breasts…
And now, it was affecting my naps as well. I'd never been the type to dream during short naps, but… I slipped my hand between my legs, marveling at how wet I already was.
But it wasn't really a surprise, given the dream that I'd had. I always imagined David's stronghands playing me like a well-tuned instrument. Of course, I had no way of knowing what it would actually feel like to have his solid, muscular form pressed up against my soft curves. I had no idea what his hot, throbbing length would feel like gripped in my palm—or better yet, slotted up between my legs, buried deep inside of me.
But I could imagine.
I practically moaned as I slid my fingers inside myself. I had long since quit feeling guilty about using him as material to get off to. He might be my stepbrother now, but we weren't related by blood, and besides, he was dangerously handsome. What did it matter if I got off to thoughts of him? Nothing would ever come of it.
I whimpered as I brushed my fingers across my clit, keeping the fingers of my other hand working inside of myself. The dream had already gotten me so close, and it wasn't long before I was coming hard, biting my lip to keep from breathily gasping his name.
Slowly, I brought my eyes open.
At some point, I was going to have to sort through my feelings for David. I had an unhealthy amount of like for him—especially considering he'd been on an extended business trip for the past six months, so I'd only really seen him for the two weeks leading up to the wedding. I hardly knew the guy; for all I knew, he might be a total asshole. Granted, there had been witty banter between us, and he'd been able to make me giggle. But this fixation was mostly just based on physical attraction.
And now that David was back in town, I didn't need to be embarrassing myself tripping over words at family dinners or anything like that.
Speaking of which… I sighed and swung my legs over the side of the bed. I squinted at the clock—5:45pm. That gave me plenty of time to get ready for David's welcome-back dinner that night. I pulled out the green wool dress I'd been planning to wear for the occasion, smoothing my hands over the thick fabric. Then, I went to take a shower and start the process of getting ready.
I made it to Mom and Alex's house at the exact same time as David did, walking up the front walk just as he was pulling into the driveway in his flashy silver speedster. I vaguely remembered Mom telling me he was staying in a fancy hotel downtown; I didn’t really understand why since he could stay for free at our parents’ house, but then again, I had never had hundreds of spare dollars to just toss around.
I waved to him and waited for him to stop the car and get out. It would have been rude to head inside without waiting, right?
I gave him a hug that probably lasted a beat too long, but it just felt so good to be pressed against his warmth. “Hey David,” I greeted. “How was London?”
David shrugged, grimacing a little. “Cold. Rainy. Grey.”
I laughed a little and shoved at his shoulder. “Come on, I'm sure you had an amazing time.”
David gave me an impassive look and then nodded towards the front door. “We should probably get inside, I guess.”
I followed him inside, trying not to feel hurt by his obvious brush-off. I trailed after him into the dining room, where Mom, Alex, and David's cousin Luke were waiting. “Hi everyone,” I greeted, leaning in to hug Mom and kiss her on the cheek. “It smells amazing in here.”
Mom smiled at me. “We're having a minor feast, apparently,” she said, shaking out her napkin and placing it in her lap. She smiled over at my stepbrother. “It's wonderful to see you again, honey. How was London?”
David sighed and dropped into the seat next to Luke, leaving me the seat across from him. “It was fine,” he said. “Just fine.”
“You don't sound like you enjoyed yourself very much,” Alex commented.
David rolled his eyes. “Dad. Look, I'm sorry if I don't have much enthusiasm, but I literally just got back home this morning, and I'm jetlagged as all hell.” He gave a very fake smile. “But if you need more pep in your lives...”
I winced; no wonder he was acting so brusque. No one really seemed to know what to say in response to him. Finally, Mom cleared her throat. “Well, why don't we get some food in you? I'm sure that'll make you feel better. Bet you didn't get many home-cooked meals in London.”
The maid began bringing in our plates, laying them down one by one in front of us.
David turned pointedly towards Luke. “What have you been up to lately, Luke? How's the job search been going? Or haven't you started on it yet?”
Luke scowled at him. “Shut up, dude,” he muttered under his breath.
“Luke, you aren't job-searching, are you?” Mom asked, looking curiously at the man.
David arched one eyebrow, giving his cousin an incredulous look. “Oh really?” he asked. “You didn't even tell them that you were fired?”
Lucas slammed down his cutlery, giving David a look that could kill. “Dude, what the hell. I mean, as though it wasn't bad enough that you fired me from your company, but–“
“You didn't do any work!” David cried exasperatedly. H
e spun to face his father. “Dad, seriously, I can't believe you're letting him live here like this. You know why he got evicted, right?”
Luke stood abruptly, his chair screeching against the wooden floor. “David, shut up,” he hissed. “Seriously, man, what the hell are you trying to do?”
David sat back lazily, smiling patronizingly at his cousin. “Apparently,” he said, glancing between his dad and my mom, “Luke got arrested for dealing cocaine. They threw out the case because there was no proof that the drugs weren't just left behind during this party that he'd had earlier in the week, but his landlord didn't want him in the same building as their sixteen-year-old daughter—with good reason, I'd say.”
Luke covered his face with his hands. “Not cool, man,” he muttered. He looked earnestly at our parents. “I really wasn't dealing,” he said earnestly.
Mom looked appalled. Alex looked like he didn't know whose neck he wanted to wring first, Luke's or David's. “Did you really need to bring this up at the dinner table?” he hissed at his son.
David shrugged. “Whoops.” He grinned crookedly and stood, dropping his napkin into his chair. “Does this mean dinner's over now? As much fun as this has been, I think it’s time I went home to sleep.”
“Sit down,” Alex snapped at both of them. “Remind me again how old the two of you are—you’re acting like children.” He scowled back and forth between the two of them. “Now Luke, why don't you explain what's really going on. Bearing in mind that David seems to know more about your story than you've been telling us over the past couple weeks.”
Luke didn't sit, though. Instead, he remained standing behind his chair, white-knuckling the back of it. “Everything that David's just told you is true,” he gritted out through his teeth. “Like he said, the jury exonerated me, so it isn't something that's going to go on my record or anything like that. There were some news stories about it, though, which is how my landlord found out about it. And how HR found out about it.”
“And then I fired him,” David said simply, challenging the table with his eyes. “We simply can't have someone with a record like that on our payroll—I don't care whether it's on your official record or not. We're pushing to grow our UK branch, plus expand to elsewhere. Your actions jeopardize that. And it's not like you were the most reliable worker anyway.” He sneered. “In fact, I bet you can't even tell me one project you actually worked on the whole time you were employed with GDC, Ltd.”
“He's just afraid people would accuse him of nepotism if he let me keep progressing in the company,” Luke explained to their parents. “I do an excellent job in the design department, and everyone seems to know that except for him. And furthermore, he has never even been down to the design department to see me at work firsthand. He's only–“
“Going by what other people have told me,” David acknowledged. “Which seems to belie your statement that 'everyone knows' that you do an excellent job.” He folded his arms across his chest, arching an eyebrow at his cousin.
“So you've been living here under false pretenses,” Alex finally cut in, frowning at Luke. “You have no job, no place to live—and yet you're going out drinking most nights and...frolicking...with young women left and right—don't think we've been oblivious to the women that you've brought back here.” He shook his head. “I'm afraid if you want to continue living here, there are going to have to be some rules laid down.”
“I'm not fifteen!” Luke cried, looking aghast.
Alex shrugged. “Then quit acting like it. Now sit down and finish your dinner.”
“I'm not hungry,” Luke snapped, slamming his chair back forwards and stalking from the room without a backwards glance.
There was a long silence in the room. I took a bite of my dinner, hoping it would prompt everyone else to follow. Unfortunately, that didn't work.
“Is it really necessary for me to be here?” David gritted out, directing the question at his father.
Alex gave him a dark look but didn’t say anything. He stabbed a bite of meat and put it in his mouth, chewing slowly. After a long moment, David began eating again as well, radiating frustration. We finished the rest of the meal in silence.
Chapter Two
KATE
David was out of there like a flash when the meal was done. “God, can you believe that?” he asked me as I came out the front door. He pulled his vape away from his mouth and exhaled a plume of smoke, looking dangerously sexy in his black leather jacket and jeans.
I leaned against the opposite porch rail, waiting for him to elaborate. When he didn't, I shook my head. “You kind of were the cause of all that,” I pointed out.
The man gave me a sidelong look. “Sure,” he said. “Luke has no right to be living here, does he? I can't believe they're just letting him...leech like that.”
“Well, yeah,” I said. “It's not like they don't have space or the money to put him up for a little while until he gets his feet back under himself. And anyway, it's not really any of your business, is it?”
David rolled his eyes, shoving his vape back into his pocket. “Look, do you need a ride home?”
I paused, taken aback. “You've been acting like an asshole all night,” I said flatly. “And now you want to offer me a ride home when you don't even know where I live?”
David sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “That offer is expiring in five—four—three–“
“Okay, okay,” I said, waving my hands. “Yeah, I'd appreciate that. I'm only about a mile or so from here. Towards the city.”
“Come on, then,” David said, waving me towards his car with him.
I slid into the passenger's seat and had barely buckled my seatbelt when he threw the car into reverse, skidding backwards down the driveway. “Jesus,” I muttered under my breath.
“Relax,” David said, rolling his eyes. “I've been driving like this for years.”
“Why are you being such a dick tonight?” I snapped.
“Maybe I'm always like this,” David countered. “You don't know me.”
“True,” I agreed, frowning at him. “But I don't think you're normally like this. So what's up?”
David sighed. “I don't want to talk about it, okay. Can you just give me directions so we can get to your place?”
I glanced out the window but kept my eyes mostly trained on him. “Go left at those lights up there,” I instructed. “But if there’s something bothering you, you know you can talk to me, right? We’re...kind of family now.”
“It's just been a long flight,” David said. “And I'm only home for a month, but there are all the holiday events and all sorts of family bonding time while I'm back. What I really want to do in that time is work from home and lounge around in my underwear all day. I deserve some time off.”
I swallowed hard, trying not to picture what he must look like lounging around in his underwear on his no-doubt plush leather sofa. “So you were trying to stir up a little family drama to get out of the family time?” I asked.
David sighed again and ran a hand back through his hair. “Yeah, I guess. Where am I going up here?”
“Left again,” I said, without even bothering to look. “Why didn't you just tell them that you need some personal time?” I asked. “You didn't have to go after Luke like that.”
His face twisted. “It's better that I go after Luke like that. The kid needs to clean up his act, and I'm not the only one who thinks that. He's not going to do that if our parents are babying him and letting him live there rent-free with no job. God knows what he's even doing with his days, although shagging random girls is a likely possibility.”
“Are you jealous?” I asked, unable to stop myself.
David gave a short bark of laughter, glancing over at me. “Are you implying that you think I'd have any trouble getting a girl into bed with me?”
I stared at his dark eyes and bit my lower lip, trailing my eyes down his chiseled jawline. “Probably not,” I admitted. I shook my head and pointed down t
he street. “It's that house over there.”
David pulled into the driveway and stopped the car. “Are you going to invite me in for a drink?” he asked, staring straight ahead.
I continued to watch him for a long moment. “All I have is water, juice, or vodka and juice,” I finally said.
David crooked a half smile. “That's fine.” He slipped out of the car and headed up onto my front porch, waiting as I slowly came up the walkway after him.
I felt a bit fluttery at the idea of having him there in my house with me. Quickly, I did a mental run-through of the state that I'd left the house in that evening. Granted, the place was nothing compared to the posh penthouse I knew he lived in, but it was cozy enough.
I unlocked the door and led the way inside. “I'd give you the full tour, but there's not really much to see,” I said, laughing a little self-consciously. “Bathroom's through that door, though, and you can make yourself comfortable on the couch or wherever. What did you want to drink?”
David shrugged. “Let's get started on the vodka and have a little bonding time, hmm?”
“Sure,” I said weakly, even though that really sounded like a horrible idea. I went into the kitchen and grabbed two glasses, plus the vodka and juice. “So how was England really?” I asked lamely as I came back into the living room.
David shook his head. “Nope. I don't want to talk about England.”
“Then what do you want to talk about?” I asked, feeling a bit of frustration.
David rubbed at his eyes. “Sorry,” he looked over at me, looking genuinely upset at my tone. He pulled me into his arms, much to my surprise. “Sorry,” he mumbled against my hair. “I just need a little human contact. I've been so focused on being...professional lately that I just need… I just need to talk to someone normal.” He pulled back away and laughed a little. “Sorry, I know that's a little over-the-top, I just...” He trailed off, looking uncertain.
