Monster Stepbrother

by Harlow Grace

  “Yeah, you’re right. Maybe Daddy is right, maybe I should be more into Gerard. At least he treats right, not like . . . Oliver.” I broke down and sobbed.

  Quinn pulled me into her embrace, holding me as I cried on her shoulder. Sobs racked my body and I let it all out. All the anger, all the humiliation, all the hurt, and all the desolation I’d felt for the longest time came to a head and demanded to be addressed.

  When I finally stopped, I wiped the snot with the back of my hand and washed it away under the tap. I splashed my face with cold water, welcoming the coolness on my warm skin.

  “Gerard, help me get Maya to my car,” Quinn called out. All this time he’d been waiting outside, too scared to come in. But at least he stayed, at least he wanted to see that I was okay.

  Unlike Oliver.

  Chapter Thirty-One — Oliver

  I felt like the lowest of low creatures the way I’d left Maya at the campus. Something had taken over my fucking mind and made me crazy. Maybe I did inherit my father’s crazy genes after all.

  I’d stormed away from the campus, flying past her best friend and the prick I’d nearly knocked over on my way to my car. Roaring away, hitting the gas as hard as I could, I didn’t stop until I pulled up outside my condo in LA.

  Quinn will step in and take care of Maya. At least she had her best friend to lean on. And the jackass whose dick was hard for her.

  Tormented, I hadn’t slept properly since I’d left. I couldn’t focus on anything and it affected my work. Even my usual healthy appetite had waned and I'd taken up drinking instead.

  I’d been back in LA for a week. I’d tried to call Maya several times, but how could I explain to her what had happened if I didn’t even know myself? I was bad news, not worthy of her. She’d probably never forgive me.

  Another week passed and still I hadn’t spoken to her. I’d sent Quinn a text message to find out if Maya was okay—the words she wrote back nearly made me choke when I read them. According to Quinn, if I valued my life and my balls, I’d stay right where I was.

  I'd fucked up. Truly fucked up this time.

  As the weeks passed my heart grew heavier and heavier. My new boss called me in to his office to talk with me about the mistakes I had been making. It was ridiculous; I always took extreme pride in the quality of my work. But lately I had a bad attitude about everything.

  I just didn’t give a flying fuck.

  Not about work, not about food, not about what I looked like. My three week old stubble started to look more like a beard every day.

  My boss’ words played through my mind as I stared at my bloodshot eyes in the mirror.

  “Get a grip, Oliver. When you interviewed for this position we had fifteen other candidates that were equally as qualified as you. The reason we chose you was because of your dynamic personality. And fuck me if I can see a trace of that since you started here.”

  Those words had hit me hard. My life was turning to shit in front of my eyes.

  I couldn’t take it anymore. Ironically the real estate agent had called that morning to tell me that my offer on the place in Santa Barbara had gone through and the sale was being finalized in a few weeks.

  It was a sign that I had to get my shit together. I had to face Maya and talk to her, even if I had to do it through Quinn; Maya still refused to speak to me. She hadn’t taken any of my calls or answered any of my messages in three weeks.

  At first it pissed me off, and my messages reflected that. Then, after a while, the hole in my heart became so big; I just wanted to hear her damn voice, even if it was her telling me to fuck off. She’d turned her voicemail off, meaning that I couldn’t even leave messages any longer. It sucked.

  It had to change. I had to get myself face-to-face with Maya. Quinn told me that she was in fact doing remarkably well. Was she forgetting about me already? Had she hooked up with somebody else? The prick from college?

  It was time to take action. To step the fuck up and get my life back on track. Show Maya, and myself, that I wasn’t a complete loser. That in spite of the stupidity of my actions, I still wanted her.

  Because if I’d realized anything, I’d realized how fucking empty my life was without her in it. Not just the sex either. I missed everything about her—the way she bit into her lip when she was shy or apprehensive, the way she rolled her eyes when I was being overbearing, the way she looked up at me when she sucked my dick, and especially the way her face looked like a fucking angel when she slept in my arms.

  I knew what I had to do. I had to clean up my act and get my ass over there. Ten minutes later, I stepped out of the shower and dried myself off, dressing in jeans and a tight black t-shirt.

  As I drove through the familiar streets back to where I planned to move once again, I formulated a plan. It all fell into place—it finally made sense. First off, I’d tell everyone that I was moving to Santa Barbara permanently. At least Mom would be happy about that. With a job in IT I could work from anywhere in the world as long as I had Internet access and a computer. I’d just have to get to LA every few weeks to catch up with meetings and report my progress on major projects.

  One and a half hours later, I stopped in front of the house. I got out and stretched my legs. I'd worked it all out in my head. I'd ask Maya to forgive me for being such a jackass. I'd make it right with her and we’d carry on where we’d left off. The thought of her refusing me never entered my mind. Little bee needed me as much as I needed her.

  Mom greeted me at the door. “Oliver, what a lovely surprise. You’ve grown a beard!” She reached out and stroked over my cheek. “I wish you'd called before you came though; we're expecting guests tonight.”

  I was disappointed that Maya hadn’t been the one to answer the door, but I'd get to see her soon enough. It was probably best to catch her off guard and in a family environment. That way she wouldn’t go crazy on me.

  I followed Mom into the house. The aroma of simmering herbs and wine filled the air. “I'm making chicken cacciatore. What are the chances that you show up to one of your favorite dishes?”

  “Hmmm . . . good timing. I'm hungry, too.” I rubbed my belly, suddenly ravenous.

  “You’ve lost some weight. Working too hard?” she asked, raising an eyebrow as she pinched my cheek as if I was still only five years old.

  “Sort of,” I lied.

  As we reached the dining room, I stopped dead in my tracks. Mom kept babbling on about something, but for the life of me, I couldn’t listen to her. All the air sucked out of my lungs as my gaze shifted to where Maya was setting the table. The way she leaned over to place a vase of flowers in the center of the table made my dick ache for her slick warmth.

  Fuck, I’d missed her.

  “Oliver, you haven’t heard a word I said,” Mom complained.

  “Um, sorry. What was that?” I answered, unable to tear my eyes away from Maya.

  “I said we’re expecting company tonight. Friends of Alec’s. Their son wants to study to be a doctor, so he’s going to work at the practice for the holidays. He’s keen on Maya too, so sounds to me like a match made in heaven.”

  Maya’s back stiffened. She kept her head down, avoiding my gaze. In fact, she completely ignored me as if I wasn’t there.

  “Hello Maya,” I offered. She pretended she didn’t hear me.

  ”Maya, please set an extra place for Oliver.” She didn’t react to Larissa either.

  My head swam as I internalized her words. Maya’s boyfriend? Christ! I thought I’d gotten rid of the little prick weeks ago. He’s a persistent little fucktard, isn’t he? Yet I couldn’t blame him. Images of Maya on the stairs that day with his dick in her mouth swarmed my mind. I was going to lose my shit tonight and kill somebody. Trust fucking Alec to hand his daughter over on a plate to the horny little fuck the second I turned my back.

  Rage gripped my insides, heat running under the surface of my skin until I was ready to fucking explode. Was Maya playing with me? Was she fucking the college jock who n
ow wanted to be a goddamn doctor so he could get her father’s blessing to be in her pants?

  “Maya?” I said tersely, struggling to keep my voice even. “Anything you need to tell me?”

  She straightened up and stared me in the eye. “No. Why?” Her eyes were cold. Hard. Unrelenting.

  “I wasn’t aware you had a boyfriend.”

  “I told you several times,“ she shrugged and turned her back to me.

  Fuck me. She had indeed told me, only I’d thought she was just trying to throw me off. What the fuck had happened since I’d been gone? How could things have changed so drastically in three weeks?

  This was way worse than I’d thought. Quinn hadn’t been lying when she said Maya was fine. In fact, she was cool as a cucumber—completely impersonal. Nothing like the feisty girl who had tormented my fucking mind.

  And all the time I'd thought I was the only one fucking her. Now she admits to a boyfriend? How long has that been going on?

  The door opened and my stepfather walked in. “Hello, my dear,” he said as he kissed my mother on the cheek. “Hey, Maya.” He kissed her forehead and lifted his chin to greet me. “Oliver.”

  He looked mighty pleased with himself, like he’d just won the fucking jackpot. He smiled warmly at my mother. “Our guests will be arriving soon. Let's go have a quiet drink on the patio before they arrive. I'm sure Oliver and Maya can set a table by themselves.” He slid his arm around Mom’s waist and walked her to the patio door.

  As soon as they were out of reach, I leaned toward Maya and whispered in her ear. “You’d better have a fucking good explanation as to what’s going on, Maya. I’m not liking this one bit. We have an agreement, remember?”

  Suddenly we’d taken ten steps backwards. My mind was in a whirl. Bile rose in my stomach as I placed my hand on her arm.

  “What the fuck is going on, little bee?”

  Her eyes turned down, staring at the floor. That was never a good sign with Maya. I squeezed her arm—hard.

  “I . . . I told you I had a boyfriend before you . . . before we—” She shrugged, her green eyes huge in her face. “You didn’t want to listen. As far as Daddy is concerned, Gerard is perfect for me.”

  “What? Fuck,” I said on a heavy exhale. This was blowing my mind.

  Her skin had turned paler than I’d ever seen her, even after she’d nearly bled out. She was acting strange—cold as fucking ice. If she screamed at me, hit me, showed some sort of emotion, I’d be able to deal with it a lot better than this.

  “Daddy’s so excited that Gerard wants to be a doctor. He’s taken him under his wing. We’ll both be working at the practice during the holidays.” Her tone was cheery, as if she were speaking to a stranger.

  “Did I not tell you that you were mine? Did I not say I wouldn’t let another man touch you?” I growled.

  She pulled her shoulders back, challenging me. “So what do you want to do, Oliver? Tell my father you’ve been fucking me blind? And then what, Mr. Smartass?”

  All the air left my lungs. I couldn’t breathe. “Maya, I swear to God, if he fucking touches you, I’m going to cut his balls off and then snap his fucking neck.”

  Shit just got real. This was as fucked up as fucked up could be.

  Chapter Thirty-Two — Maya

  My grades were slipping and I was struggling to focus in class. Every waking moment I spent thinking of Oliver, wondering what he was doing, convincing myself that I hated his guts, especially after the way he’d abandoned me.

  Somehow I’d managed to avoid Gerard since that day on campus. At first it was easy—he’d gone to Europe for two weeks with his parents and I only had to deal with him via texts. His pride was still smarting from the way Oliver had thrown him from the house and treated him in front of everyone on campus. Yet he said it just made him even more determined to be with me.

  Of all the nights Oliver chooses tonight to show up?

  I’d dreaded this day, and now it was here. I’d tried to tell Gerard that I didn’t want to be his girlfriend, but he just laughed it off and said we’d talk when he got back from his trip. He said that he’d forgive my monstrous stepbrother for being such an asshole. How could I explain that the stepbrother I detested and always complained about had become my lover—no, my owner?

  “Just play along, and everyone will be happy,” I said smiling up at Oliver with confidence I definitely didn’t feel. My palms were clammy and my knees trembled—I should’ve worn pants instead of a damn dress.

  “Are you fucking serious? You’re going to play along with that? In front of me?” His eyebrows knitted into a deep frown. Oliver King was pissed off and not afraid to show it.

  “Just act like the asshole you’ve always been—that should fool everyone.”

  “Fuck little bee, I just want you to know that tonight your ass is going to burn. If he touches you—“

  “What then, Oliver? Maybe you should just leave. You’re fucking good at it.” I tilted my head and stared right through him. “You’re the one who is never going to be touching me again, not Gerard.”

  “Maya. We need to talk.”

  I didn’t want to hear it. “Come to think of it, it may actually be easier on both of us if you just left now.”

  His jaw clenched a few times and he opened and closed his fists. “Like hell. I’m still planning exactly how I'll snap his dick, and then maybe his neck.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Always so dramatic, brother dearest.”

  As much as this charade was tiresome, it was payback for all the times I’d watched his hand disappear under the table when Bianca had slept over. By the expression on her face, the way her lips parted, and the glow on her skin, I always knew exactly where Oliver’s hand was. It wasn’t her knee. Or even her thigh.

  “Don’t do this, little bee.”

  “Don’t call me that. My name is Maya.”

  The pained expression on his face made my heart squeeze. I also knew exactly how that felt. Watching and being powerless to do anything about it was one of the worst feelings I’d ever had. Funny how the tables had turned.

  Moments later we were joined by Dad, Larissa, and their guests. Gerard beamed from ear to ear when he saw me. He’d picked up about five pounds since I’d last seen him. Grinning, he walked over toward me and pulled me into his embrace, going straight in for a kiss before I had a chance to brace myself. I just barely managed to turn my face in time to feel his lips wet my cheek. His cologne wafted to my nostrils, and although it was probably expensive, it made my stomach turn. There was only one man who could turn me on by the way he smelled alone—and he didn’t need cologne to do that to me.

  I thought I heard a low growl from behind me, but I couldn’t be sure. Really? Oliver was going to go all alpha male here, in front of everyone? Suppressing a nervous giggle, I let Gerard hug me for a moment longer before pulling away.

  ”Must’ve been a good trip, Gerard,” I said dryly.

  “It was, babe, but I missed you,” he said, still holding on to both of my arms. “Look at you, all suntanned and lovely.”

  “Babe?” Oliver growled in my ear. Startled, I pulled away completely and went over to greet Gerard’s parents.

  “Oh Maya, you have no idea how much our boy missed you. Next time we do a trip, I insist you come along. Gerard is no fun when you aren’t around. All he wants to do is sleep and eat. He needs you around to keep him occupied,” Mrs. Langford said, smiling.

  “Yeah, you should’ve come along—just like in high school. We could’ve had sleepovers every night,” Gerard said. “I miss those days.”

  Five pairs of eyebrows shot up virtually at the same time. I laughed, then slapped Gerard’s arm. “Silly boy, sleepovers are for kids. Besides, you snore.”

  My stepbrother nearly choked on the olive he’d just popped into his mouth. I smiled sweetly and without looking in his direction, I turned on my heels and quickly excused myself to go to the kitchen to check on the dessert I was baking. Every time I opened my da
mn mouth, I said the wrong thing. It was safer in the kitchen.

  Maybe not. A minute later I heard footsteps behind me as I took the brownies from the oven. I didn’t need to turn my head to see who it was. The hairs on the back of my neck stood straight up.

  “Sweetheart, it's so good your boyfriend is back in town. Now you can spend most of the holidays with him,” Larissa said in her most syrupy voice. “And isn’t it nice of Mrs. Langford to invite you along to their next trip?”

  Sweetheart?

  Before I could reply, Oliver joined us in the kitchen. He placed his hands over mine and took the hot baking tray from me, along with the oven mitts. “No, Maya’s not going anywhere with that jerk. She stays here. This is her home as much as anyone else’s.” The tone of his voice invited no arguments.

  My mouth dropped open. Oliver had never spoken to his mother like that. Shocked, my hand went to cover my mouth. What the hell was he doing? If he made a scene . . . oh God.

  As if that wasn’t enough, my father and Gerard appeared as well. Was there a memo about the dinner party being in the kitchen that I hadn’t seen? Dad had his arm around Gerard’s shoulder as if he was a long lost son or something to that effect, singing my domestic praises.

  “Daddy, I've been baking these brownies since I started high school. Gerard’s had a taste before,” I said, irritation building in my gut.

  “I’ve had her sweet cakes,” Gerard said, a wicked grin on his face. “And all I can say is they’re the sweetest I’ve ever tasted.” Was he purposely riling Oliver while he had my father by his side? Payback for being chased from the house by my stepbrother? Years ago I would’ve high-fived him for a smart-ass comment like that. Now I was horrified as I watched Oliver’s face turn red, a vein ticking in his tightly set jaw.

  This was becoming a nightmare. Back in the dining room, my father allocated Gerard the seat next to mine. Not that Oliver ever sat beside me before, but it was just so damn obvious what my father was trying to do that it was actually embarrassing. Gerard, of course, gloated. For now, he had the upper hand and he knew it. He grinned at Oliver as if he had won the battle, his cockiness growing as my father kept making him feel like an important guest, commenting on how lucky I was to having such a “smart young man” as a boyfriend.