BAD HEART: A Stepbrother Romance (A Step Over the Line Book Book 2)

~*~

Aurora
Hayes is the secret pen name for best selling erotic romance author Ana W.
Fawkes.

This
book is hot.

This
book is wild.

But
the heart of it all, this book is truly a romance story.

Please
enjoy. Please leave a review when you
’
re
finished.

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then make sure you sign up for the official mailing list of Ana W. Fawkes so
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~*~

BAD
HEART

by

Aurora Hayes

~*~

Jade:

Okay, fine, I keep
sleeping with him. I
’
m
not supposed to and I cannot help myself. We made a deal once
…
and broke it.

Things are getting
too risky. My father insists that I date an old friend named Hunter. He
’
s not the geeky kid he used to
be. He
’
s a man now.
Kind of handsome. He
’
s
perfect for me. Perfect for my life. Perfect to get rid of all the wrong.

All the wrong that
’
s Jake.

So Jake and I make
another deal. One last time together and that
’
s it. For good.

Jake:

I shouldn
’
t have text her. I shouldn
’
t have gotten drunk. And I
shouldn
’
t have
gotten into a bar fight and gotten arrested.

I have nobody to
count on except Jade. She
’
s
always there for me. I can
’
t
stop thinking about her. And she can
’
t
get away from me. Even when she tries to force herself to date Hunter, she
still comes back to me.

I know things are
getting more and more risky, but we both like it. It makes the entire situation
hotter.

There
’
s nothing wrong with it
…
just as long as we don
’
t get caught.

1.

(Jade)

I start to scream and he covers
my mouth. He thrusts harder, his cock burying itself deeper inside me. I strain
my eyes to look back at him as they fill with water. He
’
s fucking sexy. He
’
s fucking gorgeous. And
he
’
s fucking
me.

The craziest part?

Our parents are in the dinning
room, eating.

My father
…
his mother
…
married.

Me and Jake
…
stepbrother and
stepsister.

Yet we can
’
t stop this.

“
Fuck,
”
I manage to whisper as
his hand slides away from my mouth.

He pulls back and thrusts again.

His pointer finger rests on my
bottom lip. I lick the tip of his finger, wishing it was his cock. I
’
ve never been like
this
in my life. The good girl wannabe virgin is dead when Jake is
around. He makes me wild. He makes me bad.

I bite at his finger and he
growls, thrusting even harder.

He makes me his.

“
This
one is mine.
”

I blink fast and turn my head.
Rebecca Preatt -
my stepmother
- is standing in an elegant dark blue
dress that shimmers when she walks. She
’
s
pointed to a black piano that
’
s
on a small platform with a light directly over it.

“
Excuse
me?
”
I say, forcing a grin.

“
This
one is mine, Jade,
”
Rebecca
says.
“
The last one I
played before
…
well,
everything changed.
”

She puts her hand to her mouth and
blinks.

I stare at her, wondering if I
should feel bad. I think of everything Jake has sort of told me about his
mother. Most of it - well, all of it - terrible. He seems to think she deserved
everything that happened to her.

I
’
m
left stranded on the fence with that. She married my father on an island and
nobody told me until they were back, together, and had fucking Jake there to
witness my embarrassment. Bad enough being told your father got married and you
now had a stepmother
…
but I
had slept with my stepbrother already.

And we didn
’
t stop there.

I wanted to hate Rebecca for that,
but I wasn
’
t sure what
would have become of me and Jake.

Then again, what did it matter? We
made an agreement that nothing would ever happen again. Our last time was in
the bathroom off the dining room during a dinner. A dinner Jake wasn
’
t invited to. A dinner he showed
up to drunk. A dinner he held my body hostage for or else he would have made an
appearance and really messed things up.

That was the end for me.

“
I
’
m sorry,
”
Rebecca says as she blinks fast.
“
Sometimes it
’
s just so
…”

Her eyes are full of tears.

People start bumping into me. It
’
s damn photographers, all trying
to get a picture of the former professional pianist as she stands next to her
prized possession.

I
’
m
bounced to the back of the pack and just stand there.

Rebecca is on a platform and I
think she enjoys it. Probably way too much.

After a few seconds, my father
appears at her side. Dressed in a nice tuxedo, he slips a hand around her
waist, becoming her savior.

“
Please,
”
he says.
“
Can we give my wife a moment to
herself? Do we not all have that one thing in life that can simply bring us to
tears?
”

There
’
s
complete silence now.

“
For
me,
”
my father - the great
Thomas Werlen - continues,
“
well,
for me, it
’
s my daughter.
”

He points and everyone turns.

Now I
’
m
frozen like ice in the middle of winter. Subzero rolls through my veins as I
stand there.

Do I smile?

Do I cry?

Do I
…
what the fuck do I do?

After a few seconds, a hand touches
my back. I turn and look up.

“
Don
’
t mind them,
”
a voice says.
“
Come on. Let
’
s get out of the spotlight.
”

For a second I envision it
’
s Jake. Coming to save me. But
Jake would never dress in a tux. He would never be eloquent with his words.

It
’
s
Hunter touching me.

His hand at the small of my back. I
want to squirm away from him, fearing he
’
s
going to grab my ass. But I know he won
’
t
grab my ass. Not in public like this. Not during an important function for
business and appearance.

If it was Jake, he
’
d grab my ass. He
’
d squeeze, pinch, tease; fuck,
his hand would be up my dress. He
’
d
bend me over the piano
…

“
Hunter!
Do you have a minute for me?
”

I look to my left and a man is
standing with a glass in his hand and a smile on his face.

Hunter takes his hand off my back
and offers it to the man.
“
Hank.
How are you?
”

“
Terrific.
Such a beautiful event tonight, isn
’
t
it?
”

“
Music
is the art of the soul,
”
Hunter says.

He
’
s
so fake. Just like my father.

“
I
was hoping we could
…”

“
Tell
you what,
”
Hunter says.
“
Let me take care of my beautiful
girl here first. I
’
ll be
right back here in a five minutes. Deal?
”

“
Deal,
”
Hank says.

They shake hands again.

Hunter looks at me and we walk.

“
Hank
operates a few farms in upstate New York. Made his money on Wall Street and
then bought up the family land and some old family friends land. He needs me to
help him restructure everything. I
’
m
not really into agriculture, but the opportunity could be amazing. Depending on
market analysis
…”

I stare at him. The words hit me
but they don
’
t sink in.
Everything is business. Everything, all the time.

We round a bend and there
’
s another room with more people.
The building is an old library attached to a private music college. Through
some funding and donations, my father and stepmother were able to refurbish and
clean up the library and turn it into a music hall. Just another step forward
for the good image of Thomas Werlen.

Hunter takes me to another bar that
’
s been set up for the event.

“
Mingle,
”
he says to me.
“
You
’
re famous around here.
”

“
And
what should I say?
”

“
You
know what to say. I
’
m sure
your father has taught you.
”

Hunter smiles. He doesn
’
t even realize how much of an
ass he sounds like all the time. He can
’
t
help himself. It
’
s like it
’
s built into him or something.

When I first met Hunter, he was a
total dork. He was tall, skinny, wore big glasses. He had a goofy bowl looking haircut,
and when he breathed too hard, his nose would wheeze. I always caught him
looking at my chest. It wasn
’
t
my fault that I
blossomed
early. Then he was kind of just gone. Right
after we turned sixteen.

When he was a little older he hit
big with business and investments. His glasses were gone thanks to laser eye
surgery. His haircut was a two hundred dollar job he got done each Friday
afternoon. His nose didn
’
t
wheeze anymore (not sure if that was done surgically or not). He was still a
little taller than me but I ended up growing more than he did in height. He was
still skinny, but a built kind of skinny. I mean, he had nice lines of little
muscle throughout his body.

We still hadn
’
t fucked, which was good.

This was just dating. My father
forcing him and I to be together, trying to drum up rumors about us. Anything
to keep me far away from Jake
’
s
strong and wonderful arms. Not that our parents knew what had happened between
me and Jake though. That would be a disaster if they found out.

But it had only been a few times.

That
’
s
it.

And it would never happen again.

“
Jade,
are you feeling well?
”
Hunter asks.

“
Why?
”

“
You
seem so distant. Is something wrong?
”

I look up at Hunter. I don
’
t want to be with him. I should
just blurt it out. But we
’
re
in New York. So far from what I always called home. I needed the night to just
go by and then I could get on a plane tomorrow and go home.

“
I
’
m just tired,
”
I say and lie.
“
This is just so much.
”

Hunter touches my lower back.
“
You
’
re right, it is. Can I confess something to you?
”

I nod.

Hunter crouches down a little.
“
It
’
s
all bullshit.
”

He smiles. I smile.

“
What?
”
I ask.

“
This
whole thing. Everyone trying to power fuck each other.
”

“
You
really think that?
”
I ask.

“
But
it
’
s important,
”
Hunter says.
“
For everyone. Including me and
you. To your left right now is a reporter dying to catch me kiss you. I
’
m not going to do that. But I am
going to kiss your cheek. Feed the machine a little. You stay put and have a
drink.
”

Before I can speak again, Hunter
kisses my cheek.

When he walks away, I turn my head
and find a woman ten feet away, camera in her hand. She waves and I throw her
the finger. Her eyes go wide and she rushes away.

I hate being photographed. It
’
s all a disaster to me. I don
’
t want to have my picture
anywhere.

A young bartender brings me a vodka
and cranberry. I don
’
t know
why I ordered it. The second I taste the vodka, it makes my stomach flip. I
haven
’
t had vodka since
that night in my room. When I got really drunk. And touched myself. And Jake
came in the room. And he tasted my body. And then I threw up.

I rub my forehead and take another
sip.

“
Well,
there you are,
”
a voice
says.

I turn and smile big as Rebecca
stands with my father.
“
Here
I am.
”

“
Not
too much,
”
my father says
and points to the glass.
“
We
have to keep composure.
”

“
Of
course,
”
I say.

“
Where
is Hunter?
”
He asks,
looking way too excited.

I wish my father got that excited
when looking for me or talking to me. Or anything to do with me. I
’
m basically an asset. Ever since
my mother left us, by raising me alone, he became a good man and I became a
valuable asset.

“
He
is talking with someone,
”
I
say. I look and point.

My father rushes away, calling
Hunter
’
s name. My father
has a dream that Hunter will become the son he never had. Of course, to do
that, Hunter and I must marry.

Cringe.

“
You
okay?
”
Rebecca asks with a
smile.

She
’
s
very pretty. But there
’
s
something hidden about her. Maybe that
’
s
why Jake is angry with her. Because everything is fake.

“
I
’
m fine,
”
I say.
“
Just
watching the clock for this thing to end.
”

“
I
know it
’
s quite the evening,
but it
’
s for a good cause,
”
Rebecca says.

I wonder when the last time she
talked to Jake was. Or what really happened to her and why she doesn
’
t play piano anymore. The
questions linger on the tip of my tongue, but I don
’
t ask them. I
’
ve
already sort of kicked the hornet
’
s
nest by sleeping with her son -
my stepbrother
.