Stepbrother: Instant Spark (Stepbrother Billionaire Romance) (Stepbrother Romantic Suspense) (2 page)

Lucy felt incredibly naughty as she took her place at the table in the reception room for the dinner that afternoon, her panties still damp from her arousal and her hair still slightly tousled from her encounter with Peter. The handsome cynic himself was seated across the room from her, but their eyes kept meeting across the room and neither could stop wicked, knowing smiles from creeping onto their flushed faces. Lucy was sure that it must have shown more on her than on him, as Peter was sitting casually back with his arm thrown over the back of his chair and his stance incredibly nonchalant, as though he hadn’t just made love to one of the guests upstairs and returned to take his place.

The flustered woman forced herself to return her gaze to the high table, where her mother was sitting with Walter, about to make her speech. Ellen was beaming from ear to ear as she tapped her spoon against her glass and silenced everyone with the sound of ringing crystal. She held onto Walter’s hand like a schoolgirl with a crush as she smiled widely at all her guests and began her speech.

“Firstly, we’d like to thank you all so much for being with us here today. We know that there are some cynics amongst you who don’t believe in second chances, but Walt and I know that we will prove you wrong. It’s been short, but sweet and when you know, you know. As I’ve always told my daughter, Lucy - where is Lucy? Oh, there she is! - Yes, as I’ve always told Lucy, love is an unpredictable thing that doesn’t follow the rules, but when it hits you, it’s always all or nothing. Today, I give to Walter my all.” The blushing bride turned to Walter with sparkling eyes and lifted her glass. “To the man I love.”

It was a sweet speech, although Lucy had heard similar before. She threw a glance over to Peter to see if the cynic was rolling his eyes and she grew concerned to see that he had grown very pale and that his eyes were wide. She frowned in confusion, but everything soon became very clear when Walter stood to give his own speech.

“Very well said, my darling. Very well said.” The older gentleman stood up on slightly unsteady legs and also gave the crowd a smile. “Really, I want to echo Ellen’s sentiments very closely. When you’ve been as unlucky in love as Ellen and I have been, everyone is always quick to tell you to stop searching. That’s it. Your time is done. But let me tell you something; you never stop craving companionship and love, no matter how many times it goes wrong. I know my son, Peter, was shocked to hear that I was getting married a third time, but if there’s one lesson in life I would want him to live by, it would be this: Life is too short to live by a rulebook and love is
always
worth the risk. I married Ellen today because I would risk anything for those beautiful eyes and that wonderful smile to be the eyes and smile of my wife. Let’s raise a glass to Ellen - my beautiful wife.”

Lucy felt the color drain from her own face as she suddenly realized why Peter had looked so shocked. She’d just had sex with her new stepbrother.

*****

“The honeymoon was just
wonderful
, darling,” Ellen gushed excitably. Lucy and her mother were once again having their weekly brunch at their favorite bistro and it was their first chance to catch up since the wedding, which Lucy had left pretty quickly after the revelation that Peter was her stepbrother. “Walt and I just loved the cruise. We met a lovely couple. I’m sure we’ll see them again.” The newlywed woman came to a pause in her narration when she realized that Lucy didn’t seem to be listening and she put her cup down slowly and tilted her head to one side in concern. “What is it, darling? You seem to be miles away.”

Lucy sighed heavily. Ever since the wedding she’d been plagued with memories of that afternoon in the hotel room and what troubled her most about the recollections is that they still excited her. She felt like she should be horrified to know that she had slept with her stepbrother, but every time she thought about how he had pulled her sleeves from her shoulders and let her dress drop to the floor, she shuddered with excitement and felt her heart beat faster. For the first time in her life, a man had gotten under her skin and Lucy just couldn’t get him off her mind. Why was it that every man she’d ever met in her life had bored her and been forgotten, but she couldn’t forget about the one man in her life who was taboo?

“I’m just thinking about how I regret not getting to know Walter a bit more before the wedding,” she told her mother. “I still know hardly anything about him. I met his son at the wedding. I didn’t even know he had a son.”

“Oh, Peter and his father aren’t close,” Ellen said breezily. “They had a big row after Walt got married to his last wife and things have been tense ever since, although Walt says that he’d finally seemed to have gotten over it. Apparently, he called his father the other day to catch up and it was amicable. He seemed to like you a lot. That’s something, at least. You made an impression on him, it seems.”

“Did I?” Lucy said in a voice that she hoped sounded nonchalant, even though she could feel her cheeks flushing. “We hardly spoke.”

“Well, I think you would both get on very well,” Ellen told her. “You’re both very stubborn. Or ‘independent’, as you’d call it. Peter’s done very well for himself, apparently.”

“Hardly surprising, considering how wealthy his father is.”

“He had a head start, it’s true, but Peter’s largely a self-made man. His company is completely separate from his father’s. Walter doesn’t keep him.”

“Really?” Lucy said with surprise. “I’d just assumed that he’d have been living off his father.”

“No. Walt says Peter’s always been one to do things himself. I’m sure he could teach you a lot about business to help you with your own company, if you’re still insistent on being so self-sufficient.”

“Why do you always say it like it’s a bad thing? We’re not in the sixties anymore, Mom. Women do things for themselves now, you know.”

“So you keep telling me. So, do you like him?”

“Peter?”

“Yes.”

“Sure. I mean, we didn’t speak much, like I said, but he seemed...nice.”

“Good. I’m glad you get along. So, what else is new?”

“I’m going to a convention down in New York next week. It’s a three-day event. All the top designers will be there. It’s going to be great.”

“In New York? Where are you going to stay?”

“I don’t know. I’m sure I’ll find some hotel somewhere.”

“No need. Peter has an apartment in New York. Penthouse.”

“Good for Peter.”

“Now, now, darling, don’t be so sharp. Let me talk to Walt. He’ll give Peter a call and we’ll set it up. Who knows? If he’s free he might even go to the city himself and show you the sights.”

“Oh no, Mom,” Lucy objected quickly. “I wouldn’t want to bother him. I hardly know him, after all.”

“Nonsense!” Ellen scoffed. “He’s family.”

Lucy felt her stomach flip at the reminder and she blushed again, knowing what they’d done. It was impossible for her to think of him as her stepbrother when her whole body tingled every time she thought of him.

“Really, Mom. I’ll stay in a hotel. There’s no need to bother Peter.”

“Really, Lucy!” Ellen scolded impatiently. “What is this? I thought you’d said you were happy for me and Walt.”

“I am.”

“Then why are you being so difficult? You’re going to be seeing a lot of Peter, so you may as well get to know him. Besides, I don’t like the thought of you in the city on your own. I’d feel much better knowing that Peter was looking out for you.”

“Mom...”

“Lucy! Let me call him. It makes no sense for you to spend all that money on a hotel and then have to walk to and from the convention or flag down a cab by yourself. It’s dangerous for a single woman in the city.”

Lucy didn’t know what to say. Of course it made sense for her to stay with Peter. He had a place there and he could show her the sights and watch out for her, but Lucy didn’t want to put temptation in her path by staying with her sexy stepbrother. She didn’t want to fall into that kind of taboo behavior and she knew that if she was close to Peter again, she wouldn’t be able to resist. But how could she explain that to her mother without also letting on that something had gone on between her and Peter?

“Fine,” she sighed. “Call him.”

It was her hope that Peter’s thoughts would be much along the same line as her own and that he’d make some excuse as to why she couldn’t stay. He’d say he was busy at work or out of town. Lucy didn’t know what to feel then, when Peter told her mother that it was absolutely no problem for her to stay and that he’d love to show her the sights.

“So it’s all sorted then!” Ellen said cheerfully down the phone when she gave Lucy the news a few nights later. “He’ll be expecting you on Friday.”

It was Wednesday already and in the next couple of days, Lucy couldn’t stop thinking about Peter and feeling nerves twist her stomach at the thought of seeing him again. She kept swinging between terror that she’d let herself give into him and repeat that afternoon in the hotel, and hope that she would. She’d never been so obsessed with a man before.

When Friday rolled around, she found herself dressing in the kind of outfit that didn’t quite say ‘not interested’. She wore a tight-fitting black pencil skirt and a silky black camisole with a light wraparound cardigan. She pulled sheer black tights over her slim, shapely legs and pressed her feet into little kitten heels. She wore crimson lipstick on her lips and brushed mascara over her eyelashes. She stood back and looked at herself in the mirror and knew that she’d draw his attention. She almost considered changing into something less alluring, but she told herself that she was too late for the train to change her mind now. She picked up her little suitcase and headed for the subway.

Arriving in the city, she was surprised to find Peter waiting for her on the platform. She looked around in surprise, as though expecting someone else to walk out of the carriage behind her and find that she wasn’t the one that Peter was waiting for, but her stepbrother smiled when he saw her and stepped forward to plant a kiss on her cheek.

“Your mother said you’d be here about now.”

“Oh God, you’ve been talking to my mother?”

“She’s hoping that we’ll be great friends.”

“I’m so sorry for this, Peter. My mother suggested it and I couldn’t think of a way to convince her it was a bad idea without her catching on. I really didn’t mean to put you in this position.”

“Not at all,” Peter said calmly, reaching out to take her case from her and effortlessly lifting it from the ground. “I think she’s right. We ought to get to know each other. We’re family after all.”

“Did you know who I was when we met?”

“I’m afraid I didn’t. Fate has a sense of humor, doesn’t it?”

“A screwed-up sense of humor.”

“We didn’t know any better. There’s nothing to feel ashamed about. Let’s just forget about the wedding and enjoy this weekend, hmm? So, you’re going to a convention? What’s that about?”

“I’m an interior designer,” Lucy explained to him, feeling her nerves begin to melt away when he spoke to her so calmly and quickly assured her that there was no need to feel awkward. “The convention will showcase the work of other interior designers and designers of furniture, accessories, upholstery...that kind of thing.”

“Sounds interesting.”

“You’re kind. I bet it sounds boring as hell, doesn’t it?”

“No, not at all. I like that you’ve got your thing.”

“What’s your ‘thing’?”

“I turn failing businesses around.”

“Oh wow. How does that work?”

“I buy up businesses that are struggling and I reinvent them, merge them, sell them for parts...whatever it takes to make them profitable again. I’ll take on anything. I have hotels, restaurants, pharmaceutical companies, construction firms...I’ll try my hand at anything.”

“That’s impressive.”

“Not really. I had a good investor to get me going.”

“Your father?”

“He bought me my first company and I went from there. I paid him back in full within three years and since then, everything I’ve earned has been my own.”

“He must be proud.”

“I think he is. How about your mother? She must be proud that you’re making it on your own.”

Lucy laughed out loud. “You’d have thought, right? No. She thinks it’s a cardinal sin for a woman to be an entrepreneur. She thinks I should spend my time trying to catch a man, learning how to cook and keep a home. She’s upset she doesn’t have grandkids yet.”

Peter laughed at her description of her mother and smiled. “At least I don’t have that to worry about. No mothers nagging or grandchildren.”

“Where is your mother?”

“She passed away about five years ago.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. My father passed away when I was about five. It’s tough.”

The charming man said nothing, but simply smiled sympathetically and raced up the stairs out of the subway, gesturing around at the city with open arms. “New York!” he declared loudly. “Have you been to the city before?”

“Once or twice, when I was younger. I’ve never stayed for more than a few hours before.”

“Well, this weekend we’ll do the whole shebang. Empire State Building, Central Park, Times Square...anywhere you want.”

Lucy smiled at him warmly. “Thanks for this Peter. I know this is all a bit strange.”

“I told you - there’s no need to feel strange. What happened, happened. It’s not the end of the world. I’m glad to have you here. I could use a break from work and where better than New York City?”

The young woman smiled and began to feel like maybe everything would be all right after all. Peter wasn’t acting flirtatiously and he seemed to have put everything that had happened at the wedding to the back of his mind and so Lucy decided to do the same too, to take his advice and just enjoy her time in the city. She couldn’t deny that she didn’t still feel that spark around him, but as long as he kept his distance, she was sure she could be strong enough to do the same and, who knew? Maybe if they resisted each other long enough, their one time together in the bedroom would seem like a distant, distant memory.

Lucy looked up at him and knew that she’d never forget. Peter simply took her breath away. He was dressed today in a pair of smart grey pants and a crisp white shirt with the top two buttons left open and no tie. He also wore a long grey overcoat that made his broad shoulders seem even broader and he had just a day’s stubble on his cheek which Lucy thought gave him a rugged charm. He was incredibly attractive and his confidence and good humor only made Lucy warm to him even more.

He took her to his apartment, which was right in the heart of New York City in the penthouse of the most elite apartment block in the city. It was the kind of building with bellhops at the doors and a porter at a desk to greet the residents as they came and went. The porter greeted Peter by name as he entered and handed him his mail. Peter thanked him and they headed towards the elevator to go to the penthouse. Lucy spun slowly on her heel behind him to take everything in as they went. The building was incredible, unlike anything she’d ever seen before. Everything was pristine. Peter looked back over his shoulder at her and smiled.

“You get used to it,” he told her with a wry smile. “The luxury.”

“Doesn’t it ever feel like too much?” Lucy asked him incredulously. “All the porters and staff all around? I’d imagine I’d feel suffocated surrounded by all these people all the time.”

“When you work as hard as I do, even a ‘hello’ from the porter counts for a lot. His name is Ben. He’s a great guy, actually. Two girls in a soccer team.”

Lucy smiled. “You get to know the porters that well?”

With a light laugh, Peter shrugged and gave Lucy a smile. “Wouldn’t you?”

Lucy had no idea whether she’d be on first name terms with the porters and security staff of an apartment complex like this, although she supposed if they were people she saw every day, that she’d probably get to know them pretty well. She liked that Peter took the time to chat with the staff. It meant that he hadn’t let his fortune go to his head. Lucy couldn’t remember who it was who once told her that you should never judge a man by how he treats his equals, but by how he treats everyone else. It seemed to her that Peter had the makings of a good man and she wistfully thought of how wonderful it would be to live in a place like this with him, laughing and joking with the staff and having dinner parties with the neighbors. Then she scolded herself for having such outrageous thoughts. Her stepbrother was out of bounds.