PRINCE CHARMING: A Secret Baby Stepbrother Romance (50 page)

“Well, I just happen to have a few friends in that industry. I’ll make a few calls.”

“Thanks again, Bryan. I appreciate it,” she said and left. Later on in the day she received a message from Bryan to come see him. She raced to the study, unable to believe he had worked his magic so quickly. Sure enough, a friend of his just happened to have an opening, and she was welcome to begin as soon as she was ready.

“I’m ready now,” Claire said excitedly.

“Then it’s settled,” Bryan smiled. “I’ll tell her to expect you in the morning.”

Claire ran back to her room, excited about getting out of the house. She rummaged through her wardrobe for something to wear and came up blank. But a few hours later, a couple of boxes of professional outfits arrived from one of the most fashionable boutiques in town. She went to find Bryan in his office wearing one of the jackets from the boxes.

“Bryan, I can’t accept these. It’s too much.” As she spoke the words, her hands caressed the soft jacket she wore.

“Do you always return gifts?” he asked teasingly. “Fortunately for you, I am not in the habit of taking them back.” He winked at her and went upstairs in the direction of his room.

Claire wanted to ask him what he meant but smiled as she realized he was talking about the emerald necklace Chance had sent her in St. Lucia. Chance must have told him about it. She wanted to tell Bryan she hadn’t returned it. The emerald necklace lay buried in her jewelry box, a symbol for how deep she had to bury her need for Chance.

The following day, Claire drove to the office as directed by Bryan and found the CEO happily waiting for her. After some general introductions, she was asked her opinion concerning the décor for a new office space the company had purchased. Claire showed off her expertise, and before the end of the day, she was handed the assignment and given full authority over the alterations she thought necessary. When the day was over, she left the office eager to share her experience with her mom or Chance. As soon as she got home, she went straight to find her mother.

“Hi, Claire. How was your first day?” Willow asked.

“Great. Got hired on the spot and already have a few assignments to complete.”

“That’s great! Bryan and I were hoping you’d like it.”

“He’s nice,” Claire said, referring to Bryan. “I’m glad you’re happy with him.”

“Yes, I am, Claire. He’s made me so happy.”

At that moment, Claire felt terrible about sneaking behind her mother’s back with Chance. Sneaking around was the only way they were going to be together, and she was okay with that, at least for now.

***

She was so immersed with work over the following days that she hardly missed Chance until he cornered her one morning in her room before she left for work.

“Hey, sis,” he said. “Where are you off to?”

“Work, Chance,” she said as she slipped on her stilettos.

“May I see you later? I can’t believe I have to make an appointment to be with you,” he said.

“Maybe, but I have a dinner meeting.”

“So when, then?” he persisted.

“Chance, you’ve been ignoring me. Why do you need me all of a sudden?”

“Has it come to this?” he asked and walked to her. He backed her into a corner, and as much as Claire tried, she couldn’t get around him.

“Chance, you are going to make me late,” she said, glancing at the clock on the other side of the room.

“Better late than never,” he said with a mischievous grin.

“Chance, this is a bad time,” she said as she flattened her palms against his chest and tried to force him away.

“Just let me give you something,” he told her and kissed her.

Her voice was muffled against his lips; he clamped down on her lips swiftly. She used what little energy she had against him, but she was no match for a tame Chance, much less an aroused Chance. Eventually she stopped wriggling and relaxed into his kisses. Claire could tell he was determined to take her. Something about the way he displayed forceful aggression always turned Claire on, and this time was no exception. She was ravaged with need.

She shoved him on the bed. She straddled him, yanked his sweat pants below his waist, and let his cock out. She gripped it in her right hand, hoisted her body, and drove him deep inside her. Chance’s eyes rolled back as Claire sank down on him. He gripped her hips and hoisted his, and in that position he penetrated her warm pussy slowly at first, then faster and with more urgency and need. Claire pressed down hard on his chest and gyrated as he pressed further and further into her, and just as quickly as they had started, she could feel her juices building like a tidal wave. She flooded him with her orgasm. He groaned and muttered something inaudible before she felt him sink his fingers into her hips as he came into her.

She didn’t linger afterwards. She quickly got up and straightened her skirt. “Look what you did to my makeup,” she smiled.

“Claire, are you ready?” she heard Willow call from the hall.

Claire’s eyes widened as she looked at a half-naked Chance lying on her bed. “Quick! Get up!” she urged. He yanked his pants to his waist and rushed around looking for somewhere to hide, but before he could, Willow walked in.

“Hey, Chance.” She looked suspiciously from one to the other.

“Hi, Willow,” Chance said.

“Mom,” Claire said. “Do you need me?”

“I haven’t seen you in a while. Came to see if you wanted to ride into town with me.”

“Oh, sure,” Claire said.

“Well, good luck with your new job,” Chance said to Claire and turned to Willow. “I had to stop by and wish her luck. I haven’t seen her in ages.”

“I haven’t seen much of her lately either, and that was before this job,” Willow smiled.

“Well, I better go now,” he said. When he was behind Willow, he blew Claire a kiss and disappeared into the hallway.

“That was nice of him,” Willow said. With a hint of concern in her voice, she added, “Are you okay, baby?”

“Sure.”

“You and Chance…” Her mom’s voice trailed.

“You know it’s over, Mom,” Claire said rather quickly. She hated lying to her mother, but the situation left her no choice. “Don’t worry about it.”

Willow didn’t press it. “Ready to go?”

“Yes, give me a few more minutes and I’ll be down.”

Claire breathed a sigh of relief when she closed the door behind her, grateful Willow hadn’t caught them. They had to be more careful!

CHAPTER 15

Things were more or less the same for Claire and Chance over the next few days. They snuck around and shared stolen moments every chance they got, despite the many close calls.

However, Bryan was busy entertaining more guests so he could introduce his new family to his friends, which forced Claire and Chance into uncomfortable social gatherings.

“Oh, another one of Dad’s holiday gatherings,” Chance said as they sat through yet another party “Boring.”

“It’s not so bad,” Claire shrugged. “I could get used to this.”

“No. This is one too many for me,” he said, setting his glass down on the counter. “I have an idea.”

“I don’t think I want to hear it.”

“I bet you do. Let’s go do something fun.”

“Not now, Chance,” Claire said, turning her head so Willow couldn’t read her lips. “My mother has been looking at us for a solid minute. “

“I don’t think we can fool her no matter how we try,” Chance said, smiling.

“Well, at least I can try,” Claire said. She saw a girl waving at Chance. “I think someone needs you.”

Chance looked in the direction Claire pointed and groaned. “My dad’s friend’s daughter. She’s a pain. Wait right here. I’ll be right back.”

“Don’t think I can wait,” she said as she watched Chance walk towards the woman, a pang of jealousy hitting her.

Claire was forced to watch as the girl drooled over him and playfully run her hands over his chest. She also noticed that Chance was trying to get her off him. Finally, Claire had had enough of the show and disappeared upstairs to her room. For the rest of the day, she didn’t seem him.

***

Chance sat as the jet’s engine roared in his ears, drowning all the crazy thoughts he had in his mind. He was on his way to a one-week business conference to represent his dad, who couldn’t make it. His whole mind was focused on Claire. Things had gone too far between them, and he didn’t know what to do about it. At first she was just another pawn on his chessboard, but almost overnight she had become more. He had tried to resist her by staying away, but that hadn’t worked. He even tried to distance himself from her and pretend he was into other women, but when she seemed like she didn’t care, he had panicked and ran back to her. If only he knew what to feel and how to feel about her. All he knew was that his feelings for her were growing, but he didn’t know how to handle it.

When he returned a week later, he found Claire in her room going over colored fabrics and matching textures and tones on a wooden surface.

“Hey,” he said as he leaned against the door jam. “What are you doing?”

“Hey Chance,” she said and returned her attention to her work. “You’re back.”

He walked inside and looked over her shoulder at the fabrics she was arranging. “You’re pretty good at this.”

“Thanks,” Claire said without looking at him.

Chance pulled the chair up next to the bed and twiddled his thumbs. He sighed and looked everywhere but at Claire. “I don’t know…” he began, but nothing followed.

“What?” she asked.

“Claire, I’m sorry, but this…Gosh!” he said. He got up and kicked the chair away from him. He raked his hand through his hair and stood silently, his back to her. “This isn’t going to work.”

“What isn’t going to work?” she asked.

“Us!” he said. “I’m not sure if I’m ready for this…for us! Everything has been different since we got back and my life is…I always have to think about what you want or how it will affect you. I can’t live the life I’m used to, and I can’t be with you how I want to be, either.”

“Are you breaking up with me?” Claire asked gently. “You won’t be the first.”

“Gosh no, Claire. It’s not like that. I just don’t know what else to do,” he said. “I mean, look at us. You said it once, remember? If they don’t split, then we are doomed. We can’t continue like this.”

“We knew what we were getting into from the very beginning. You persisted even after they got married. I wanted to stop this in St. Lucia. And now that we are all the way in, you want to back out?”

“You know it’s not like that, Claire.” He tried to touch her. She shrugged him off. “I’m just confused.”

“You are a little more than that. You are spoiled and selfish.”

“Come on, Claire, give me a break. I was stupid enough to think this would work. You and I both knew how crazy this was going to be.”

“So you’re choosing to end this relationship instead of fighting for it?”

“I didn’t mean it like that,” he pleaded.

“But that’s what you’re doing. Did you come here to talk to me about it, or just let me know what you’ve already planned to do?”

“I don’t want to fight,” he said at last. “I came to say maybe it would be better if we are just siblings.”

Claire narrowed her eyes at him, then went back to moving around the fabric on the bed. “I have work to do.”

Chance opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. He sighed and left. When he did, Claire got up and closed the door behind him. She slid to the floor, her back against the door, and cried. Life was certainly unfair to her. When she was spent, she lay on her bed and fell asleep. It was a long night, and the morning didn’t bring any better luck. She did her best to avoid leaving the room so she didn’t have to see Chance, but as she ventured into the kitchen, he was leaving. She froze when she saw him, and her heart sped up in the same moment. He nodded and walked past her like she had never meant anything to him.

Claire’s hands trembled when she removed the cup from the coffee machine. Everything was against her; even the coffee tasted bland in her mouth. She had no sense of anything. She felt numb, even though she had rationalized that she needed to put one foot in front of the other, one day at a time, and soon he would be a distant memory.

“Oh Claire, there you are,” Willow said as she breezed into the kitchen. “I need to go to the other side of town with Bryan. Do you think you can catch a ride with Chance?”

Claire sputtered on the coffee. “Can’t I borrow one of his cars instead?”

“You know you don’t know your way around yet,” Willow reminded her. “Let Chance take you.”

“I’m sure Chance has other things to do,” Claire said. “He can’t be bothered babysitting me. Besides, all I need is a GPS and I’ll be fine.”

“I bet, but I just asked Chance and he said it was fine,” Willow persisted.

“Well, maybe you should have asked me if I’d like to go with him.” Claire placed the cup in the sink with most of the coffee in it and walked out of the kitchen.

“Hey, is everything all right?” her mother asked.