BRIX: A Stepbrother Bully Romance (A Rebels Havoc Book 1)

by Brooke O'Brien

  “What would you prefer, Ivy? Are you thinking about me sneaking into your room, crawling into your bed next to you when you’re asleep at night?”

  “What?” My eyes widen in shock. He can’t be serious.

  “Tell me you’re not picturing it now. Fuck, I’m gonna be hard as a rock lying in my bed tonight, thinking about you in the room next to mine waiting for me.”

  “You’re out of your mind.”

  “Am I?” he asks, leaning in closer, “What will you be wearing for me?”

  I press my hands against his chest, pushing him away. He stumbles, falling back against the wall on the opposite side of the hall.

  “If you come in my room, the only thing waiting for you will be a swift kick in the balls.”

  Turning on my heel, I storm off, leaving him bent over at the waist, laughing behind me. I don’t have time for his bullshit.

  Four

  Ivy

  I ended up stopping into the Whiskey Barrel later that day. Turns out the owner, Jayde, was in a desperate need for help, which worked out for me since it meant she had me starting the following weekend with a full schedule ahead. Tonight was my first night, and I couldn’t stop the nervous jitters when I showed up.

  “Here, we’ll have you wear this.” Jayde tosses me a black shirt to wear. She catches me off guard, reaching one hand out to grab it before it hits the floor.

  “Works for me.” I hold the Whiskey Barrel t-shirt in front of me, checking the size.

  “I’ll have a couple tank tops for you in a day or so. I’m waiting for the shipment to get in.”

  I slip the shirt over my head, tying the cotton material at my waist and cuffing the sleeves. Jayde smiles warmly at me before turning to head back to the front of the bar.

  A cute blonde turns the corner, stopping in front of the time clock, grabs a card, and swipes it through the reader before sliding it back into the rack on the wall.

  “Hey!” She smiles. “You must be the new girl.”

  I recognize her from the night I was here with Kyla, as she slips her phone in her back pocket. Her makeup is done and her hair curls in waves over her shoulder. She’s beautiful, and I’m willing to bet she makes a killing on busy nights.

  “That would be me. I’m Ivy.” I reach out, shaking her hand.

  “Oaklyn.”

  “Nice to meet you.”

  “Back at ya. You ready for tonight? It’s going to be a busy one.”

  “Bring it on. I desperately need the money.”

  “A Rebels Havoc always brings in a crowd, so be ready.”

  I hadn’t even realized they’d be playing again tonight. Brix and I have managed to stay clear of each other the past few days. It’s one thing to be surprised and find out your mom went off and got married. It’s something else entirely when you realize your new stepbrother is the same jackass who used to get off on making your life a living hell growing up.

  It’s for the best if we avoid each other for the rest of the summer. Although it’ll be hard to do with him sleeping in the room right next door to mine, I’ve gotta try.

  The night kicks off, and Oaklyn is right; it’s busy. It’s shortly after eight o’clock when the bouncer near the door mentions we’ve hit capacity. A Rebels Havoc isn’t even set to take the stage until nine.

  I’m able to sneak away for a quick minute to run to the bathroom. I swiftly wash my hands before I slip out the door, past a crowd of people leading back out to the dance floor. There’s a swarm of people standing near the stage, waiting for the band to start. I hear him before I see him, his mouth pressed against my ear. Glancing down, I see the ink covering the top of his arm banded around my waist, holding me against his front.

  “Don’t you think you should fix your shirt? You’re a little underdressed.”

  “Excuse me,” I bite back, pushing his hand away, turning to face him.

  “I said, fix your shirt. No one wants to see that.” He reaches for the toothpick sticking out of his mouth, gesturing toward me like the way my shirt is knotted is the most outrageous thing he’s ever seen.

  “Well, that’s funny. Wasn’t it just a few days ago you were saying how you were picturing sneaking into my room to have, what was it you called it, hate-sex with me?” I hold my hands up using air quotes.

  He scoffs, looking at something over my shoulder before his eyes find mine once again. I swear to God, I want to smack the smug look off his face. The only reason why he’s even treating me like this is because he’s mad that I rejected him. Twice.

  “Rejection isn’t a good look on you.”

  His eyes narrow, clenching his jaw. He knows I’ve called him out.

  “Nah, Poison Ivy. I hated you then just like I hate you now.”

  The mention of the name he used to throw at me still stings like it did all those years ago. He was the instigator of all the bullshit I went through. The mere mention of the name makes my blood boil.

  He’s full of shit, and we both know it. If he thinks I’m the same scared girl who’s going to cower in the corner, he has another thing coming.

  Pressing my palm against his chest, I step in closer to him, removing all distance between us until we’re standing toe-to-toe. Wrapping my hand around his neck, I pull him until our foreheads are nearly touching.

  The move takes him off guard. The subtle scent of his cologne hits me, and for a second, I wish he was anyone else other than who he is to me. I swear I can feel his heart hammering against my hand, his breath feathering across my lips. His eyes narrow, falling on my mouth. I wonder if he’s thinking the same thing I am, before meeting my eyes once again.

  Lifting my leg, I carefully brush my knee over the front of his pants. If I didn’t know better, I’d swear I could feel his hard dick straining against his zipper. His jaw ticks from the movement when I quirk my eyebrow up at him, a smirk lining my mouth.

  He knows I’ve caught him.

  “I think your body gave you away.”

  Running my hand down his chest further, I stop when I reach his waistband. His eyes drop to my hand, waiting for my next move, when I step back, releasing my hold on him.

  “Like I said, Brix, rejection isn’t a good look on you. That’s the closest I’ll ever get to your disease-infected dick. No worries though, by the looks of this crowd, you’ll have no problem finding a place to get it wet.”

  The arrogant grin returns. He slips the toothpick back in his mouth. Not bothering to waste another second of energy on him, I shoulder past him through the crowd back toward the bar.

  I feel terrible for getting caught up with Brix. I left them hanging longer than I intended. Judging by the line forming, they’re in desperate need of my help.

  Stepping behind the bar, his voice filters through the speakers surrounding us.

  “Well, hello there.” His voice is deep like it’s dipped in sex.

  The women in the crowd cheer and I can picture the arrogant smile on his face without even bothering to look up at him.

  “Fuck yeah.” He laughs. I give in and glance over. Even from here, I know he’s staring right at me. “I’m lookin’ to bring one of you home with me and want you yelling just like that, all night long.”

  He punctuates each word with his hips thrusting toward the crowd.

  “Where were you?” Jayde asks, coming up behind me to grab a bottle of vodka.

  “Sorry, I had to run to the bathroom. The line was long.”

  She hesitates for a second, flipping the bottle to fill the shot glass in front of her. For a moment, I worry I’m busted for lying, wondering if maybe she caught me talking to Brix.

  I reach into the cooler, grabbing a bottle of beer before popping the top and sliding it across the bar, swiping the cash off the counter to ring up the order.

  Jayde doesn’t respond, turning to head back into the cooler to refill the ice. I’m relieved. I need this job; the last thing I want is to burn a bridge on my first night.

  Madden starts on the drums as T
ysin joins in before Brix starts to sing. I recognize the song from the first night I was here. It isn’t hard to get lost in the sound of the music.

  The last time I watched them play, I had been so distracted watching Brix, I hadn’t paid much attention to Tysin and Madden. Growing up, Kyla was always dragging me out to the garage to watch them play. She’d deny it if Madden ever found out, but I knew even back then it was more about being around Tysin than anything.

  He was the sole reason she wanted us to come out last weekend. Not that Madden would ever let anything happen between them, but it didn’t stop her from hoping.

  Tysin is dressed in a t-shirt that says, “You’re killin’ me Smalls” with a giant picture of Biggie Smalls on the front. He has gauges in his ears and a chain hanging from his jeans. His hair is covered by the backward hat.

  Madden, on the other hand, is disguised behind his drum set wearing a hat, along with a pair of shades covering his eyes.

  I did my best to keep my focus on tending bar, but it was difficult with the way Brix talked to the crowd in between songs. At one point, he took his shirt off. Watching women grab at him, nearly pulling his pants down, had me wincing, and I wasn’t sure why.

  He really didn’t have an ounce of dignity.

  “Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it. He’s always like that,” Oaklyn snickers, shaking her head.

  It takes me a second to piece together who she’s talking about until she nods her head toward the stage.

  “Brix.”

  “What about him?”

  “The look of disgust is written all over your face, girl.” She laughs. “He’s always like this when they play. He loves feeding off the women in the crowd. He’s quite the attention whore.”

  “Oh, trust me, I know! We grew up together. I’m just amazed women actually find this attractive.”

  Oaklyn giggles awkwardly but in a way that says she’s guilty and I’ve called her out.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean, I’m sorry…I didn’t mean to offend you.”

  She waves me off. “He has many layers to him and can be really sweet when he wants to be. We’ve never hooked up or anything. I’ve been here when he’s come in to drown his sorrows a time or two, though.”

  The thought of Oaklyn and Brix together has me looking around the bar, wondering who has been with him. Why do I even care who he’s slept with?

  Maybe because he’s tried to sleep with me, too? Or maybe it’s because I’ve felt the pull toward him and I’ve actually given it thought?

  The images die, though, the moment I start thinking of how he spoke to me in the hallway earlier. Oaklyn said he has many layers, more like multiple personalities. He’s always been hot and cold with me, going from one side to the other.

  If he thinks he can get to me this summer, he’s dead wrong.

  Five

  Brix

  “Thanks for comin’ out tonight. We’re A Rebels Havoc, we hope you enjoyed the show.”

  Pressing my foot against the speaker, I lean over into the crowd touching the hands of those in the front row.

  “If you’re single, stick around. We don’t have to let the good time end here.”

  Standing back, my eyes search the crowd as cheers ring out.

  Despite her blatant hatred for me, I’ve caught Ivy watching us a few times while she’s been bartending. She may play it off like she hates me, but I saw the way her body reacted to my touch. The subtle tremble that raked through her, how her hands grabbed onto my forearm, holding onto me and not at all pushing me away. Not at first anyway.

  Stepping off the stage and into the dressing room, I grab my handkerchief from my back pocket and wipe the sweat dripping from my brow. It was a packed crowd tonight and a ton of fun. Whiskey Barrel is one of my favorite places in town to play for this very reason.

  “She really has you in knots, doesn’t she?” Tysin jokes. It takes me a second to realize he’s talking to me.

  “‘Scuse me?”

  “You heard me. That last comment at the end about being single. It got anything to do with Ivy rejecting you and talking shit about your diseased dick?” Tysin chuckles, his grin nearly taking over his face. He holds a fist in front of his mouth, attempting to contain his laughter.

  “I don’t give two shits about what she has to say.”

  “Is that right?”

  “Yeah. Why don’t you worry about your own dick?”

  “I think you care a lot more than you want to let on.”

  “What makes you fucking think that?” I ask, picking up my hat from the table in the back where we left our stuff sitting. Pulling it over my head, I lean against the edge of the table and cross my arms. Tysin is always quick to run his mouth, and I’m sick of his bullshit.

  “The first night she was here with Kyla, you were all up on her, hoping she’d come home with you. The second you found out who she was, and she rejected your ass, you were back to being the same piece of shit you were to her years ago.”

  My eyes narrow, knowing he’s only doing this to get a rise out of me. I’m not going to give him the satisfaction.

  “I could have her ass eating out of the palm of my hand if I wanted to. I’m not fucking interested in her. I didn’t recognize her from all those years ago, but it doesn’t matter. Now, I just like getting a rise out of her.”

  “Mmmhm.”

  I clench my jaw, taking the three steps separating us. We stand toe-to-toe. Tysin’s mouth curves up on the edges, loving how he’s getting under my skin.

  “I bet by the end of the summer, not only will I fuck her, but I’ll send her heartbroken ass back to wherever the fuck she came from.”

  “You want me to bet you you’ll fuck your stepsister?”

  “You heard me.”

  “You really are the asshole she thinks you are.”

  “I’ll tell you the same thing I told her, I hated her then, and I hate her now. I don’t give a shit what she thinks of me. Hell, I don’t give a fuck what you think, either.”

  “Well, this oughta be interesting.”

  Tysin grabs the can of beer from the ice bucket left on the table, pops the tab, and takes a long pull. He tips his beer toward me before he ducks out of the room and into the packed bar.

  “You don’t really mean that, do you?” Madden asks from behind me.

  “Stay out of it, Madd,” I reply sternly, brushing him off.

  “No, dude. You can’t tell me you’re actually going to go through with this shit, are you?”

  He looks at me, trying to read my emotions, and I hate how he can always see through me.

  “Man, you really can be a prick sometimes. Ya know that?”

  “I hadn’t heard that before.” I roll my eyes. “What’s it to you anyway? Am I stomping on your pussy grounds?”

  He barks out a laugh, shaking his head. “Nah, man. She grew up with Kyla, they’re like sisters, but it’s not what you think. Just let it go, will ya?”

  “I need a beer,” I say, grabbing one from the bucket before I shoulder past him and head to join the rest of the bar.

  For the rest of the night, I do my best to stay clear of Ivy. Oaklyn stops by our table, refilling our bucket with beer. They’ve already decided they’re going to call an Uber for a ride. I’m not about to leave my truck in the parking lot overnight, so I only have a couple beers throughout the night, wanting to be okay to drive home.

  The bar is nearly empty when I head out. The sun has long since gone down, and a storm has started to roll in. Raindrops beat down on the cement as I make the jog across the lot toward my pickup.

  I fully planned to bring home a chick with me. In fact, there was this sweet-as-sin blonde I’d been eyeing most of the night. She was wearing a sexy dress with fuck-me heels. Despite picturing those heels digging into my back, I said fuck it and left. After my conversation with Tysin and Madden, I was in a piss-poor mood and ready to go home.

  Climbing into my pickup, I lift my shirt to wipe the rain from my
face before I make the short drive. I’m turning onto Franklin Street, only a couple miles from my house, when I see a car pulled over on the shoulder with their caution lights on.

  It’s difficult to make out the car with the rain falling hard against my windshield. I don’t think anything of it until I get closer and notice the rust bucket parked on the side of the road looks exactly like Ivy’s. As soon as I pass her, I pull over on the shoulder and put my truck in park.

  I hold my hand up, shielding my face from the rain when I hop out. There’s a strange smell coming from her car, mixed with the scent of moisture in the air. Right away, I know she has some sort of leak. It can’t be good for her to drive, even if it’s only a short distance away. Not to mention, it’s late and not safe for her to be walking alone, on top of the cold and the rain.

  Approaching the driver’s side, Ivy’s form is barely visible beneath the rain beating against the car.

  Pounding my hand on the window, I shout through the glass, “You alright? You want a ride?”

  “What the hell are you doing here?”

  “I saw you pulled over on the side of the road. What the hell does it look like I’m doing?”

  The rain picks up, hammering down on me, soaking my hair and shirt in the process.

  “Do you want a ride or not?” I shout.

  “No, it’s fine. I’ve got a way.”

  “What’s that exactly? You gonna walk home in this by yourself?” I ask, holding my arms out around me.

  “I’m not an idiot, Brix. I know more about cars than you think I do. I’ll figure it out for myself.”

  I’m standing here outside her car with the storm rolling in overhead and she still wants to sit here and argue with me. I swear, she’s the most infuriating woman I’ve ever met.

  Holding my hands up in surrender, I take a step back. “Fine. More power to ya.”

  I turn to head back to my truck when she rolls down the window and hollers, “Wait!”

  Glancing over my shoulder at her, I see the struggle on her face, not wanting to ask me for help. “Can you give me a ride home?”