Hard: A Step-Brother Romance (4 page)

“Yeah.”

I
exhaled. It did nothing. Something had to give. After the hangover and crazy
sex a few days ago, I didn’t trust myself to have a drink. Good thing a piece
of wedding-funeral cake awaited me at home. I needed to eat about five pounds
worth of icing and figure out what I was supposed to do.

Investments?
No idea.

Find
an accountant. That was a good place to start.

Get
a yacht? That’s what rich people did, right? Probably needed to learn to swim
first. Hell, I’d purchase a whole lake. My stomach flipped.

Maybe
I’d start small. Buy a pint of the really
good
ice-cream on my way home.

Except
I only wanted one flavor.

Vanilla
.

Oh, man
did I need something vanilla. With dark swirls of ink and enough power to knock
me on my butt and keep me there. Another night with a man like Zach would
definitely take my mind off of this insanity.

“Before
you get too excited, we have a couple particulars to discuss,” William said. He
cleared his throat,
harumping
over some of the fine print on the
contract. “Because of the…enormity of your father’s resources, the actual
liquid assets and investments were combined into your trust. You will receive
the money with your scheduled inheritance when you graduate. In…six months.”

“Five.”

“Oh.”
William squinted at the paper. “Uh, I think your father mistyped your information.”

Not
a surprise.

“In
any case, Shay, the estate and his immediate belongings—car, home, material
possessions—will be divided between his living heirs.”

His
what
now?
Heirs
?

Plural
?

The
hair on my neck prickled. I held up a hand, gesturing for William to explain
what the hell that meant. He cringed.

“I
see your father and you…haven’t spoken for some time.”

“What
heirs? I
am
his living heir.” I stiffened. “Oh, no. I knew he was
playing around while he was still with Momma. He has a secret lovechild
somewhere, doesn’t he?”

“No,
no.” William paused. “Well, not quite.”

“Oh,
Lord. What did he do?”

“It’s
not what you think. You know your father was in love with Emily Brewer. She was
a lovely lady. You would have liked her.”

I wasn’t
going to disparage a woman I didn’t know, especially one who was tragically
killed in the same car crash that took my father. But even when I learned of
the engagement, I wasn’t ready to get mani-pedi’s with my new step-mother. My
father had his life. I had mine. If we only wanted to meet up for the holidays,
all the better.

“Your
father’s wedding…” William folded his hands. “It was just for the family. A
nice celebration to bring everyone together.”

“Aren’t
they all?”

William’s
eyebrows furrowed. “It wasn’t the official ceremony. Shay, your father married Ms.
Brewer over a month ago. Completely spontaneous and romantic. He flew her to
Aruba—”

“They
got
married
?”

“And
his will was updated to reflect it. You see…Ms. Brewer has a son…”

He
didn’t tell me.

Why
didn’t even tell me? Not an e-mail. Not a call. Not even a damn
postcard
from
his wedding! I paced, clutching my stomach.

“Are
you kidding me?” I slammed a hand on the window. “My father marries some woman,
dies a month later, and
her
kid is named in his will?”

“Shay,
I told you, he thought of her family as his.”

“Well,
at least he remembered them!”

“You
were given the bulk of the inheritance, I assure you.”

“It’s
not about the money!” I pointed to the paper in his hands. “It’s about his
will!
For the past seven years, my father pretended I didn’t exist, and now he’s
claiming some other kid as his own! That’s not right. He never even wanted his own
biological
child.”

“I
understand this will take some…adjustments. But your step-brother—”

“—Do
not
call him that—”

“—Is
entitled to half of your father’s new home, and the same material goods I
mentioned previously.”

“Jesus.”

“We
might be able to work something out—especially if you wish to live at the
estate. But first we should meet with him and work out an arrangement.”

“
Meet
with him?”

William
motioned for me to sit. He buzzed on an intercom for a secretary nearly as old
as the crackling electronics.

“Sandy,
could you send Zachary in?”

Zachary
?

“You
brought her son here? Now?” I groaned. “William, I can’t have a freakout in
front of a
kid
. Please tell me he’s not some ten year old grieving
orphan.”

“No,
no. He’s not a child. He’s older than you, actually.”

Well,
that didn’t make me feel better. Not at all. Instead of a kid who might have
needed help, I’d be dealing with some adult ready to bolt from their day job
and spend all my father’s money on a Caribbean beach house.

William
stood as the door opened and an elderly secretary hobbled within the room. She gestured
the man through.

My
stomach dropped.

So
did everything else.

My
pride. My dignity. My
rage
.

Zach
Harden gave me a cocky grin and shrugged.

“Hey,
sis.”

“Oh.
Hell. No.”

Her
finger went up. Fortunately, it was her index and not the middle.

“Oh.
Hell
. No.”

Now
the finger wagged. A starting gun shot somewhere, and we were
off
.

And
I deserved it. That’s why I hadn’t asked for her number after she writhed in my
sheets. We were going to meet up sooner rather than later. I only hoped I’d
have enough time to grab some of my old gear. A Kevlar vest maybe. A pair a
handcuffs if she lunged…or if she forgave me.

“This
isn’t happening.” Shay didn’t let me speak. “You aren’t serious.”

The
attorney panicked, knotting his fingers together.

“Uh,
son, do you know each other?”

In
every way imaginable. I dodged the question.

“Yes,
sir. We ran into each other a few nights ago.”

And I
hadn’t been able to get it out of my head since. At least it was something good
to remember when Shay inevitably jumped me and succeeded where eight ISIS
agents failed. I took a seat across from the attorney and hoped some form of
the legal system would protect me from bleeding all over the office.

To
her credit, Shay was just as beautiful angry as she was naked, trembling, and
completely exposed to me. And
that
was a hard look to beat.

She
acted tough, but she was a quart of trouble squeezed into a pint-sized carton.
The skirt, the glasses, the low barrette in her hair pinning back the luxurious
ebony locks. I didn’t know if I wanted the vixen or the princess, but damn if
they didn’t mesh into the perfect woman.

…A
very pissed off woman, as she had every right to be.

But
I wasn’t going to stress about our night together. My biggest regret was
blowing the chance to re-live the most erotic sex of my life. Shay was a
one-of-a-kind woman, even if she was, technically, my
step-sister
. You
just didn’t get that kind of kink anywhere. That was a special brand of
off-the-shelf, bargain-bin, sell-it-out-of-the-trunk-of-a-1980-Pontiac-in-a-flea-market-parking-lot
kink.

“I
can’t believe this,” Shay said. “This has to be some sort of joke.”

William
nervously laughed. “What a small world, huh?”

I smirked.
“Small isn’t the word Shay would use.”

“This
is ridiculous.” Shay stared at William. “There has to be some kind of mistake.”

“No…”
William shrugged. “Zachary Harden is the son of Emily Brewer, your father’s
wife. He is your step-brother, and he’s named in your father’s will.”

I shrugged.
“I can show you ID, but I’d think you’d recognize me by now.”

Even
with clothes on.

Shay
wasn’t amused.

I
shouldn’t have been so confrontational, but damn she was pretty when angry. I knew
it was wrong, especially since she was my step-sister, but after Shay left, I
jerked off in the shower to the memory of her clenching around me. Three days passed
and I could still feel her lips over my cock, imagine her warmth surrounding
me, and still smell the tease of apple and pomegranate on my pillow.

It was
the wrong kind of fantasy to have, made worse by the current situation.

I was
now an incredibly rich man.

And
I had to face an irate woman demanding a metric shit-ton of explanations.

She’d
be lucky if I could even answer. Just getting to the attorney’s office was a
trip and a half. For the past week, Georgia flooded with rain. Suddenly, we had
nothing but clear skies and an obscenely bright sun determined to burn through
my retinas and set my goddamned head on fire. The migraine this morning nearly
kept me in bed, but a billion dollars got me into the shower.

The
money opened the world to me—even if I wanted to travel to the places other
people wouldn’t dare. Iraq. Afghanistan. Iran. Syria.
Those
where the countries
where I was supposed to be, fighting and protecting. I didn’t belong in some
bumbling attorney’s office in the middle of Atlanta. I had my fill of
sweet-tea, it was time to get my ass back into the service.

Though…some
things they only made good in the south.

Shrimp
and grits. Pecan pie. Shay Franklin.

She was
definitely my favorite meal. My favorite entertainment. My favorite night life.
If she could be wrapped up in a care package and sent overseas, my morale—and
other things—would definitely rise.

“Shall
we…uh, discuss the situation?” William asked. He offered Shay a chair that
would probably get slammed over my head.

“We
have
nothing
to discuss,” she said.

William’s
nervous chuckle cracked under her stare. “Not so. There are quite a few pieces
of property which will transfer to both your names, including your father’s
newly purchased estate.” William dropped two house keys on his desk. “It might
get pretty complicated.”

“No,
it’s not complicated.” A single curl of Shay’s hair loosened from her tie. It
bobbed in front of her face, just waiting for me to tuck it behind her ear.
“He’s not getting a goddamned dime. And that’s the end of it.”

“Shay,
this is a legal matter.”

“No,
this is a
family
matter.”

I couldn’t
help but smile. “But we are family now.”

“Don’t
start.” Her eyes widened.
Now
she realized how badly we fucked up by
spending the night together. “We are
not
family. You’re just an arrogant
asshole who thinks he struck it rich. I’m going to make sure you don’t get one
cent of my father’s money.”

I
don’t know why I did it, but rolling over an IED nearly a year ago gave me some
confidence. “
Our
father’s money.”

Shay
reached for her purse, either to beat me or storm out of the office. William leapt
up, preventing her from leaving. He clapped his hands together.

“I’ll
get us some coffee. Really, now, this
should
be a time of celebration.
Both of you have suffered a loss, but you’re inheriting a life-changing amount
of money. This might be the best thing that’s ever happened to you two.
Especially since you
are
family. Neither of you are alone anymore.”

“I don’t
want his type of company,” Shay said.

I
grinned. “I thought we had a nice time together.”

“Next
time I’ll drown in my drink.”

“Wouldn’t
have been nearly as fun.”

William
faked a smile. “That’s the spirit. I’ll get us some coffee and let you two hash
this out before we discuss the will.”

I
nodded. “Thank you, sir.”

The
door closed. I expected Shay to launch at my neck. She didn’t. Instead, she
stung me with a scowl that shamed me so much my mother would have blushed…if
she weren’t dead. Though, hell, even when she was alive she botox’d her cheeks
beyond human expression. Between the fake tits and whatever the hell she
injected in her ass, my mom seduced Darnell Franklin and finally secured a
man’s fortune for herself just before the end.

But
she did it. She married him, got the money for all the summer homes and
prescription drugs she wanted, then died before they built the second home in
the Hamptons. Everything passed to me. Shay had every right to be pissed.

I’d
still take the money. I needed something to change my luck. This was it.

Shay
said nothing. It was better than cursing me out, though I knew she could
deliver every profanity she promised. I remembered her sweet and sultry words, teased
from a tongue that had no business feeling as good as it did on my cock.

I
shouldn’t have gotten hard again, but even angry, she was the sexiest woman I
ever saw.

“You…”
She gritted her teeth. “You are going to move your ass outta here. By the time
you get to your car? You’ll forget everything that
my
family’s attorney
said. This.” She waved around the office. “Is none of your concern.”

“I know
you’re mad.”

“Mad?
No. Na-uh. I’m not mad.” She pointed me toward the door. “If I was mad, that’d
mean I’ve give one goddamned fuck about you.”

“Last
time we were together you gave quite a few fucks about me.”

“Are
you serious?” Shay edged closer to me. “You think you get to smile and flirt
and then take
my
father’s money and skip out of here?”

She couldn’t
intimidate a swatting kitten, but I wasn’t going to give her leverage over me.
I stood, and my bulk towered over her.

I couldn’t
train while I was in the hospital, and my physical therapy didn’t include a
trip to the weight room. But after I recuperated, I didn’t just get back in the
saddle. I tamed a new horse and bought the fucking ranch. I trained better,
worked harder, and it showed. My strength wasn’t for bragging rights. It saved
my ass in the middle of Tikrit. And now I was bigger and badder than ever.

Shay
Franklin didn’t scare me, but she’d bring me to my knees for another reason.

“What’s
wrong, sis?” I asked. “We’re family now. Cut me a break.”

She
hesitated, and I saw the wheels turning. She wondered if she could get away
with saying something insulting. Her relationship with her father was no
mystery, but I said nothing about my mother during our night together. She left
the dead relatives out of our fight.

“So…are
you just some big pervert then?” She asked.

“Pervert?”

“We
had…” Shay covered her eyes. “Sweet Jesus, we might have committed a felony. I
don’t even know if what we did was legal. You’re really sick, you know that?”

“No,
I’m not.”

“We
slept together.”

Best
night of my life. “Yeah, so?”

“
So
?”
Her voice shrilled. She clenched her fists. “Did you
know
?”

“Know
what?”

Her
kissable lips pouted. She had no idea how sexy she was, even when poised to
attack.

“Did
you know that our parents got
married
?” She didn’t let me answer. “Did
you know I was your
step-sister
? Was this just some sick, twisted game?”

“It’s
not a game.”

“Great.
I’m a fetish then. You son of a bitch. You should come with a warning.” She
drew an imaginary square around my face. “You could be the poster child for the
sexual predator list.”

“Whoa,
whoa, whoa.” I held my hands up. “I’m no predator.”

“Then
what was the other night? You
deliberately
found me. Don’t tell me I was
some random notch on your bedpost.”

I chuckled.
“Baby, you
broke
my bedpost.”

“Screw.
You.”

And
she was off again. I stepped in front of her before she made it to the door,
careful to keep my namesake out of range of her kick.

“Do
you want to know what I was thinking that night?” I asked.

Shay
really wasn’t in a conversational mood, but she wasn’t holding anything sharp.
No clear and present danger. Unfortunately, the most passionate woman I ever
met was armed, locked, and loaded with her sights aimed for our family jewels
or the space between my eyes.

“I came
to the bar and saw a beautiful woman who looked upset and alone,” I said. “I
thought someone stood you up. I really only hoped I’d grab your number.”  

Her
arched eyebrow said more than she revealed, but at least I could imagine her
unspoken words were polite. She crossed her arms.

“Can
you look me in the eyes and say you didn’t know I was your step-sister?”

“Yes,
ma’am.”

“Oh,
don’t sass me. I’m not in the mood.”

“Shay,
I didn’t realize you were my sister. Not until…”

I
didn’t mean to say that, but I stumbled headfirst into the enemy trenches. She
bristled.