“You’re terrible,” I laugh, stepping quickly away from him as he reaches to give my ass a little squeeze.
“And you’re blushing,” he smiles, stepping up to the doors, “Get it together, Porter. This is a place of business.”
In unison, we step through the front doors of ReImaged. At half past ten, the place is already buzzing with activity. A dozen employees mill about the open work space, collaborating and generating new ideas. Allie is sitting at her desk across from mine, already hard at work. But as her eyes flick up toward me and Cash, she goes absolutely still, openly gaping as we make our way across the room.
“Allie, I’d like you to meet Cash Hawthorne,” I smile, more than tickled at her utterly baffled expression.
“Hey there,” Cash says, extending his hand, “I hear we owe you one, Allie.”
“Oh, it was…no trouble…” she says dreamily, shaking Cash’s firm hand. Even with all her experience with men, Allie is still struck dumb by the sight of Cash, here in the flesh. And honestly, who wouldn’t be?
“Why don’t I go wash the open road off my face before I meet your bosses?” Cash suggests to me, looking around my office as if it were an alien planet. Something tells me this is the first time Cash has set foot anywhere that could be considered corporate.
“Bathroom’s just through there,” I tell him, pointing the way.
He tucks his helmet under a sturdy arm, nods at Allie, and leaves us alone at her desk. The second he’s out of earshot, my best friend springs up out of her chair with an elated shriek and throws her arms around me.
“Who’s your best friend in the entire world?” she grins excitedly, red curls quivering with vicarious excitement.
“You, and then some,” I grin back, “I can’t believe your little scheme worked out, but I’ve got to say…You’re a genius.”
“So you guys worked everything out?” she presses, her green eyes wide with glee.
“In a sense…” I tell her.
“What does that mean?” she asks, cocking her head.
“It means…Cash is going to take this job as a reason to be in Seattle for a while,” I explain, “And we’ll see how it goes.”
“I’m sure that you’re more than enough reason for him to come here,” Allie points out, “But the job is a nice cover for you two.”
“What do you mean, ‘cover’?” I ask her, trying and failing to sound innocent.
“I mean, you two have a convenient excuse to do what you desperately wanted in the first place and make a go at being together,” she replies. “So. You’re welcome.”
“Allie, I…actually have no idea what I would do without you,” I tell her, in awe of her insight, “Seriously.”
“You’d be having lackluster sex with Paul 2.0 and kicking yourself for not living a little,” she shrugs, “No big mystery, Maddie.”
Cash reappears, freshened up and gorgeous as ever. It’s mind-blowing, seeing him here in this familiar place. But it’s not jarring, like I expected. If anything, his being here makes me feel even more at home. Allie’s right—it’s like we needed some kind of permission to give into what we really wanted.
To her, it must seem incomprehensible that we’d need an excuse, being grown adults and all. But if she knew the underlying circumstances, I’m sure our hesitancy would make a lot more sense. To be perfectly honest, I still have to actively force the family-oriented worries from my mind. In the wake of my mom all but disbanding the Porter clan, I still can’t shake the feeling that I’m betraying her somehow by sticking it out with Cash. I just hope that being a “bad daughter” in her eyes will get easier with practice. It’s not as though I’ve ever been able to change her mind.
“Well, well…” Carol’s husky voice rings out across the room. “Who do we have here?”
Allie, Cash and I look around to see the two founders of ReImaged heading our way. I smile gamely at Carol and Brian, playing it cool though my heart is pounding like a sledgehammer against brick.
“Carol, Brian, this is Mr. Hawthorne,” I tell my bosses, “I hope you don’t mind I invited him in this morning for a meeting. He was so enthusiastic to jump on board this campaign that I figured, why wait?”
“No reason I can think of,” Carol goes on, her eyes glued to Cash’s sculpted features. I’ve never seen anything ruffle my boss’s feathers, but the very sight of my handsome new recruit has her gobsmacked. Even Brian, the straightest white dude anyone’s ever met, stares at Cash with something approaching reverence.
“He’s perfect,” Brian breathes.
“He’s ready to talk some terms, is what he is,” Cash grins rakishly, tucking his hands into his jeans pockets.
“Of course, of course,” Brian sputters, sweeping his arm toward the conference room. “Carol and I can walk you through the whole thing. It is such a pleasure to have you working on this. I find your whole story incredibly intriguing, I have to say…”
Cash cocks and eyebrow at me over his shoulder as Brian leads him off to the conference room. Allie moves to follow them, freshly printed contract in hand. Carol turns to me as they make their leave, admiration and excitement shining in her eyes.
“Excellent work, Maddie,” she says, laying a hand on my shoulder. “I can’t believe how quickly you were able to move on this.”
“Thanks Carol,” I smile, surprised by her praise. Approval isn’t exactly something she regularly dispenses.
“He’s the ideal centerpiece for this campaign,” she goes on, eyes glued to Cash’s retreating form. “Rugged, manly, no-nonsense…and sexy as the day is long.”
“I’m inclined to agree with you,” I allow, watching my boss straight-up ogle my lover’s sculpted ass.
“I wish I’d known he’d be working for us someday before implementing that workplace sexual harassment policy,” she sighs wistfully.
I fix my eyes on her, alarm bells clanging in my head. “What policy is that?” I ask, trying to sound casual.
“Maddie,” she replies, crossing her arms, “This is a modern workplace. Brian and I made sure to write protections for all our employees into the company charter. Didn’t you read the fine print in your contract?”
“Oh. Right. Of course. The fine print…” I reply, my voice strained. “But just to refresh my memory…?”
“We have a zero tolerance policy for office sexual harassment,” Carol informs me, “And just to make sure there’s no chance of any confusion cropping up, intra-office relationships are strictly forbidden. We’ve had to let more than a couple people go over the years for trying to pair off on the sly.”
“…You don’t say,” I reply, feeling the color drain out of my face.
“Oh yeah,” she nods, “You’d be amazed what people think they can get away with. But you know something, Maddie? The truth always comes out in the end. Always… Anyway! We’ve got Cash Hawthorne in the ReImaged web now. We should make sure there’s no way for him to wiggle out, yes?”
I stare at her for a long moment, at a loss for words. But as usual, Carol can’t spare a second to gage my reaction to her proclamation. She claps her hands together and sets off for the conference room, leaving me in the dust. I stand perfectly still as the chaotic office whirrs around me, rooted to the spot as the weight of this latest revelation comes crashing down on me. Just when Cash and I thought we were in the clear…
A surge of emotion rises inside of me, and I’m shocked to find a burst of laughter escaping my lips. I clasp a hand over my mouth, trying to contain a peal of giggles at the absurdity of this twist in events. Not a week ago, a blow like this may have sent me reeling. But now, after everything Cash and I have been through already, I can’t even work myself up to being distressed. So we’re officially forbidden from being together not only by the law, should our parents ever make their relationship binding, but also by our shared placed of work. The move that was supposed to solve all our problems has only doubled them. By rights, I should be freaking out.
But hey, what�
�s one more insurmountable obstacle when you’ve got a man like Cash Hawthorne as a partner?
Pulling myself together, I square my shoulders and march off toward the conference room. Cash and I may not be the most traditional couple, or even an official couple at all, but lack of a title has no bearing on how devoted we are to each other. I’m always up for a good challenge, but I’ve never been as committed to seeing one through than I am right now. I have no idea what the future holds for the two us, or even whether that future will encompass a week or a lifetime. But I know that I’d risk everything to find out.
And if that isn’t an act of love, I don’t know what is.
THE END
…for now
Read below for an excerpt from the next book in the Stepbrother Bastard Series!
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EXCERPT
Stepbrother Bastard (A Hawthorne Brothers Novel) (Book Two)
Prologue
The Bear Trap Bar
Montana, USA
Adrenaline spikes through my already boozy blood as I slam the bathroom door shut behind me. Flattening my back against the flimsy wooden barrier, I turn to face my unexpected companion for the evening. He towers above me in the dimly lit space, his sculpted features rendered all the more intense by the low light. His close cropped chestnut hair, dark stubble, and effortlessly cool style caught my eye from the very first second I saw him a few weeks ago. But in such tight quarters as these, every enticing aspect of him is amplified. The sheer pitch of my fascination with him renders me all but speechless as I drink in the sight of him, alone with me at last.
He’s easily six feet tall, with a balanced, controlled body well conditioned by a lifetime of athletics and hard work. His cut, perfectly shaped muscles are rippling with barely contained desire. And as visceral as this moment is, it’s still hard to believe that what he desires is me. God knows I’ve been fantasizing about finding myself alone with him for weeks on end. But now that we’re here together, I’m almost overwhelmed by the hugeness of his want. The staggering, powerful presence of him. My breath catches in my throat as he plants his hands on the door above my shoulders, caging me in with mere inches of space between us.
“You sure you’re up for this?” he growls, his dark green eyes smoldering in the dim light of the bar bathroom.
I draw myself up with a defiant stare, keeping my eyes trained on his face…no matter how overpoweringly gorgeous it is. Reaching around behind my back, I slide the door’s heavy bolt into the locked position. The satisfying, metallic click rings out loud and clear in the small room, despite the cacophony of music and voices roaring in the bar proper. It’s the last night of classes at the university nearby, where I’m just finishing off my junior year. Thank god I decided to ditch the frat-sponsored school-spirit shit show on campus in favor something a little more exciting. Or rather, someone a little more exciting.
“Does that answer your question?” I breathe, all but vibrating with anticipation.
He cocks a perfectly sculpted eyebrow at me, keeping me penned between his powerful arms.
“Not quite,” he laughs, his voice ragged around the edges, “Try again.”
“Wh-what?” I stammer, trying to keep up. At 21, I’m hardly inexperienced with the opposite sex. But even though this guy only has a few years on me, he’s making the other men I’ve been with look like little boys. It’s been a long time since I haven’t been the more dominant partner in the bedroom…or, uh…bathroom, as it were. But where this particular man is concerned, I hardly mind. In fact, I actually find myself wanting to let him take the lead. And that is absolutely a first.
“I need a yes or no,” he goes on, easing his perfectly balanced body toward me. My very cells are screaming to feel him against me. If he would just come a little closer…
“Would I have come back tonight if I didn’t want this?” I point out, resisting the urge to throw myself into his thickly muscled arms.
“To be honest,” he murmurs, eyes flicking down to my almost-quivering lips, “I’m having trouble getting a read on you. And let me tell you, that’s not something I’m used to. You’re gonna have to tell me outright what it is you want, here.”
“Why don’t you let me show you instead?” I shoot back, letting my hands trail down his rock-hard chest.
“Come on,” he says, his full lips spreading into a rakish grin. “You already put it into writing, didn’t you? What did that note of yours say again?”
“You’re such an asshole,” I mutter breathlessly, trying to fight the blush that rises in my cheeks.
“Oh, that’s right…” he goes on, letting his torso brush deliciously against mine. He leans in close, his breath warm against my neck. Those firm lips brush against the shell of my ear, sending a shiver down my spine. “You want me to ‘Nail you to the wall and fuck you dirty’. Wasn’t that it?”
“That…Uh…That was the gist of it,” I gasp, my thighs clenching together as a thundering rush of need courses through me.
“Say it then,” he demands, brushing a lock of caramel blonde hair away from my face, “Tell me what it is you want, Sophia.”
“I…I just…” I sputter, lowering my gold-flecked blue eyes.
“You’ll tell me, won’t you,” he says firmly. It’s not a question.
I force a deep breath into my lungs, gathering up every bit of courage at my disposal (liquid or otherwise). I’m not usually one for nerves, having conquered my stage fright at the ripe old age of four. Usually, that steadiness carries over into my romantic life…but not now. Not with him. For the first time, I don’t feel like I’m performing desire, I’m experiencing it. Turns out, there’s a pretty big difference—a difference so big that it almost frightens me. But if I’ve learned one thing from my life as a performer, it’s that sometimes you’ve got to follow the fear if you want to find the truth.
“Luke,” I start softly, my voice low in my chest, husky with lust.
“Yes?” he replies, his smoldering green eyes hard on my face.
I take his face in my hands, my fingers resting against his scruffy, razor sharp jaw, and lock my gaze onto his.
“I want you to nail me to the wall,” I whisper, “And fuck me dirty.”
A blaze of fiery need erupts in his emerald gaze as he takes me in. For just a second, he looks genuinely amazed that I’ve risen to the moment. I may have never had a man like him before, but maybe he’s never had a woman like me either.
I let my lips part, a snarky jab at the ready to defuse the achingly intense moment. But before I can utter another syllable, he’s pinned me to the wooden door with his powerful, tapered hips. A gasp escapes my throat as he snatches my hands from his face and holds my wrists firmly above my head. My entire body lights up like a flare as he brings his mouth to mine, kissing me hard and fast as he presses his incredible form against me.
My back arches as I open my mouth eagerly to his, letting his tongue sweep against mine. Our mouths move together, hungry and searching. I’m stretched out tautly before him, and he explores my dancer’s figure
with his firm free hand. My nipples go hard as he runs a hand slowly down my side, memorizing the lithe shape of me. He grins as he brushes a thumb over one of those erect peaks, pleased at how quickly he’s turned me on.
“How long have you been waiting for this?” he growls, freeing my wrists as he kisses down along my throat. His lips leave sparks of sensation in their wake as they trail along my skin, and it’s all I can do to keep putting one word in front of another.
“How long? Oh…Only since your very first class,” I laugh breathlessly, writhing under his intoxicating touch.
“Hmm,” he replies, grabbing me firmly by waist, “I’ve never met someone who was so turned on by personal finances. Kinda kinky…”
“It wasn’t so much the subject matter as the it was the person delivering it,” I smile, trying to catch my breath.
“That’s good to know,” he grins back, his voice straining with need, “It’d be a real shame if you just wanted me for my brain. The rest of me wants in on the action, too.”
He shifts his hips ever-so-slightly, and I feel the hard, unbelievable length of him press firmly against my thigh. My eyes go wide as I stare up at him, amazed by the enormity of his desire for me.
“Yeah…I get that,” I breathe, letting my hands slide down his cut torso, “Though I have to say, I wouldn’t mind getter a better…feel for it.”
Stepbrother Bastard Page 16
