Stepbrother Romance 2 - Consumed: A New Adult Alpha Billionaire Romance (9 page)

Was either of us strong enough to hold back? Or would we break under the force of our desire?

Ripples of heat spread through my body, each one bigger than the one before. My tongue tangled with Kent’s while my hands mapped out every inch of his body they could reach. Thick arms, broad shoulders, sculpted abs.

He pulled me toward him, and while he continued to devastate my self-control with his lips and tongue, I swung a leg over him, straddling his hips. This was absolute torture. I ached for him to fill me, to stroke away the need burning deep inside. I pressed my throbbing center against the bulge in his pants, wishing there were no clothes between us.

Someday. Hopefully someday I would feel his weight on top of me again, his thickness penetrating me, filling me.

Until then this would have to be enough. Kissing. Touching. Holding.

I reached down and tried to pull his shirt off, but he wouldn’t let me. He kept his arms tight to his sides. But his hands didn’t remain stationary. They traveled up my sides, fingertips grazing the uber-sensitive area along the outsides of my covered breasts.

I shuddered and whimpered. I would have pleaded for more if I could speak. Responding to his kiss, my body tightened, my sex clenched and unclenched. The scent of my need filled the air.

Suddenly he fisted my hair and jerked my head back.

Holy shit! A wicked thrill raced through me. His hunger was so feral.

I shivered as a white-hot jolt of electricity charged through my body. I was burning up, melting, losing my mind. One mind-blowing sensation after another pummeled my system. The soft husk of our breathing, the scent of my need blending with the smell of damp earth and life, the sight of his beautiful face as he angled back just enough to stare into my eyes.

He reached down, slipping his hand into my shorts and fingering my clit. “Someday this will be mine. Every inch of you will belong to me.”

That was a promise I needed him to keep. “Yes,” I whispered, grateful for his masterful strokes. “All yours.” My spine arched and I rocked my hips forward. Oh God, that felt so good.

“Lay down, baby.” One arm wrapped around my upper body, supporting it as he twisted to the side. Then he forced me down on the couch, onto my back. Once I was reclined, shorts hanging from one ankle, legs splayed wantonly, he shoved two fingers inside me, filling my channel. Keeping them buried deep inside, he slid to the ground and knelt between my legs. “You smell so good. I have to eat away every drop of your cream.”  Thrusting his fingers in and out roughly, he flicked his tongue back and forth over my tingling nub. With every plunge of those fingers, my body burned hotter. My stomach tensed. My legs. My chest.

Someday those fingers would be his cock. His
bare
cock. Plunging deep. Thrusting in and out, in and out, marking me. Making me his. And someday his hands would own every inch of my body. I would be his. All his.

Oh God, I was going to come.

“Come for me, baby. Come now.”

My body responded to his command. A flare of heat blazed through me. My climax was so powerful I quaked from head to toe. My pussy clamped tight around his fingers as full-body tremors rippled out from my center.

And as those tremors eased to pleasant twitches and tingles, he pulled me into his arms and held me. There was no climax for him, no release whatsoever. But he seemed okay with that. “Promise me you’ll wait for me,” he said, his voice a husky blend of desperation and desire.

“I promise.”

He pressed his lips against the top of my head. “No,
promise
me.”

I shifted so I could look him in the eye. “I do. I promise I’ll wait.”

“Will you live in the Plymouth house until we can figure things out?” he asked as he kissed my forehead. “I think that’s the only way either of us will survive.”

I didn’t think twice. “Yes. Of course.”

His beautiful face lit up and I couldn’t help smiling. Really, was it that easy to make him happy? “You will?”

“Yes, I will.”

“Thank you.” He held me so tightly and protectively a tear slipped from my eye.

Maybe things weren’t where I wished they would be, yet. I hadn’t heard the words I ached to hear. But I knew Kent did care about me. Profoundly. He did need me. He did cherish me. He just needed some time.

I wasn’t the most patient person on the planet, but for Kent Payne I could wait. He’d already proven he wasn’t the bastard I thought he was. And he didn’t just want to keep me around for convenient sex. His feelings went much deeper than that.

Loving a man, I’d been told, was a sure road to ruin. If that was true, I had already traveled too far down that road to turn back. But maybe Mom had been wrong. By allowing herself to take the risk, she’d found love and happiness.

Maybe, just maybe, if I could be patient, I would too.

The End

T
he Favor of a Review

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*****

Please turn the page to find out what happens next, in the final book in the STEPBROTHER ROMANCE TRILOGY,
ADDICTED
.

Don’t miss the gripping conclusion to Kent and Shayne’s story in
Stepbrother Romance 3 - Addicted
!

STEPBROTHER ROMANCE 3- ADDICTED A New Adult Alpha Billionaire Romance

And now the sizzling conclusion of STEPBROTHER ROMANCE

I love him. I can’t live without him. But he doesn’t love me.

Kent Payne is one of those guys. You know the kind. Easy to hate. Hard to love. The kind that crawls under your skin and turns you into a babbling idiot who thinks of nothing but which parts of your body you want his hands on next. Yep, that’s my stepbrother, Kent. And lucky me, I’ve fallen in love with the womanizing pain in the a@@.

He could crush my heart into a million broken pieces, but you know what? I don’t care. We can’t keep our hands off each other. We’ve tried. So we have a few
minor
(major) things to work out. It’ll happen. It’s do or die for both of us.

Because we’re both about to face something major…

SAMPLE

“I’m afraid to love you, Shayne,” Kent shouted, tossing his hands into the air. Quieter, calmer, he added, “That’s the bottom line.”

At last we were getting somewhere. I was chipping away at his defenses, and finally seeing the real Kent, the one that was vulnerable and real. “Why?” I demanded.

“Because.” He crossed his arms over his chest, averted his eyes.

Crap, there it was again. That stupid wall. Right there. Standing between us. It was big. And ugly. And I hated it more than I hated anything. Because it kept us apart.

But this time I wasn’t going to let it. “You need to give me more than that, Kent. I deserve more than that.”

He looked at me and nodded, shoved his fingers through his hair, roughly raking the waves. “Yes, yes you do. But I can’t talk about it. And if that doesn’t tell you what you need to know, then I don’t know what will.” He grabbed the doorknob and yanked.

This time I jumped in front of the door before it swung open.

How many times had he walked away from me when things got rough? How many times had I allowed him to run, instead of forcing him to stay, face the problem, and talk things out?

Several. Several too many. I was done being a doormat. Done!

Kent Payne was not going to trample over my heart anymore, only to come back later, beg me to “talk about it,” and then skirt the real issue.

There was something serious going on with this man. Something he didn’t want to face, or didn’t know how to face. It had nothing to do with the fact that I was now his stepsister. Or with how other people would treat me if they discovered we were in love.  Or even the fact that he was still legally married to his wife. This went far deeper than those.

Was I helping him by letting him keep running from it, whatever the
it
was? Absolutely not.

If there was any hope for us at all, we had to face this.

Head on.

Together.

We could do it. Together. We had to.

Or else…

Please turn the page for a special sneak preview of SURRENDER.

For fans of Sylvia Day’s CROSSFIRE series, a story of dark lust and decadent pleasure.

SURRENDER
by New York Times Bestselling author Tawny Taylor

Kensington

Coming May, 2014

I was his.
To touch.
Anywhere.
Any time he wanted.

Abby is ready to agree to anything to stop her brother from going to prison, but Kameron Maldondo, the owner of MalTech Corporation, is asking for the unexpected. Enthralled by his commanding brilliance, she agrees to be his assistant, at his beck and call for whatever he needs--whenever and however he wants. What that means is for him to decide and for her to submit to. Frightened yet fascinated by what he promises, Abby becomes a willing captive to his caress, undone by his peerless touch, a quivering submission to an aching need for complete carnal surrender. . .

SAMPLE (unedited)

Chapter 1

I closed my eyes. I pulled in a long, deep breath. I exhaled. My mind was racing, images flashing behind my eyelids.

Those eyes.

The sharp blade of a nose.

The chiseled jaw.

Those lips.

Those lips.

My heart was pounding. Hard. I felt a little dizzy.

I hadn’t even talked to him yet. How would I ever convince him not to throw my baby brother in jail?

Pull it together girl.

Twenty-three. Twenty. Three. That was how many times I’d heard Joss say, “Abby, I’m in trouble. Big trouble,” since our father died. Twenty-freaking-three times too many.

If it wasn’t for the fact that I knew Joss could pull through this crap and get himself together, I wouldn’t have bothered stepping in to drag him out of one scrape after another. But I did. Because, despite his long, difficult struggle with addiction, Joss was a good person. He didn’t go out of his way looking for trouble. Trouble seemed to always come looking for him.

And this time there might not be anything I could do about it.

Breathe.

If Kameron Maldonado, owner of MalTech Corporation, decided to report my brother’s alleged crime to the police, he could end up in jail. For years.

My brother. A felon.

Breathe.

My brother. In prison.

Breathe.

The only family I had left, gone.

Breathe.

My sweating palms were sticking to the leather couch. I dragged them down my thighs. My scratchy polyester skirt wasn’t going to dry them. But I did it anyway. When I heard the door to my right rattle a little, my heart skipped a beat. I jerked my head, glancing at it then at the young woman sitting behind the reception desk directly in front of me. She was staring at a computer screen.

I glanced at my watch. Twelve, twenty-five. I’d been sitting here for almost a half hour. My appointment had been at twelve.

God, this was torture.

The doorknob rattled again, and once more panic charged through my body. My head spun. The door swung open, and my breath caught in my throat.

Kameron Maldonado stepped out, moving out of the doorway. He was smiling over his shoulder, at the man behind him. “We’ll get together later this week to talk about the details. Thanks.” Kameron extended a hand, and the man shook it.

The visitor returned Kameron’s thank you and then, as he passed me, gave me a fleeting look before waving goodbye to the receptionist.

I turned my attention back to Kameron. He was standing next to the door, looking at me.

“Abigail Barnes?” he asked.

I nodded, stood on wobbly legs that felt boneless and heavy. Not expecting a handshake, but preparing for one anyway, I dragged my palms down my legs again as I shuffled toward his office.

After a quick, formal introduction and a brief handshake, Kameron closed his door behind me, circled his desk and stood, waiting for me to sit in the chair facing him.

My stomach twisted.

Of all the situations Joss had put himself in, this was by far the worst. Not only had he put his job in jeopardy, but mine too. Somehow I had to convince this man not to fire us both.

I sat, back straight, body stiff, heart thumping so hard I could hear it.

“How can I help you, Mrs. Barnes?”

“Miss,” I corrected. My mouth was dry. I licked my lips, but that did nothing to help. My tongue was as dry as the Sahara.

He nodded, “Miss Barnes.”

“I’m here on the behalf of Joss Barnes. My brother.” A huge lump of something coagulated in my throat. I tried to swallow it. It didn’t budge. I tried again.

Kameron’s brows lifted. “Are you all right, Miss Barnes?”

Swallowing a third time, I nodded.

He stood, strolled to the cabinet recessed into the wall behind me and opened a door. Within a second, he was standing over me, a cold bottle of water in his hand.

I accepted with a weak “Thank you,” unscrewed the cap and sipped.

“Better?” he asked as he leaned back against his desk.

I nodded.

Looming over me, he crossed his thick arms. God, he was big. Intimidating. Extremely intimidating.

“Your brother is in serious trouble, Miss Barnes. If what I heard is true, he not only violated more than one clause of his employment contract, but also broke the law. I was told he stole company property and sold it. I can’t let that go with a warning.”

We were so screwed.

Feeling utterly defeated, I nodded. “I understand.” My nose was starting to burn. Dammit. This was just too much. It was all too much. Our father’s death. Mom’s disappearance. And my brother’s rebellion and addiction. I was a fighter. I was a survivor. If I hadn’t been, my brother and I wouldn’t be where we were today. But I was too young to deal with this much crap. Every time things started to turn around, something new would come up and drag me right back down into the gutter.

When would life stop kicking me around? When?

My hands were shaking as I lifted them to drag my thumbs under my eyelashes. My eyes were burning now too. A sob was sitting in the pit of my stomach, but I was holding it in. Holding my breath.

I needed to get out of there. I couldn’t cry in front of this man. No.
Nonono
. I stood too fast and felt myself stumble. He caught me, fists clamped around my upper arms. Our gazes locked.

Something really strange happened. A crazy, unexpected bolt of electricity charged through my body. I heard myself gasp.

His eyes widened slightly. “Don’t go.” He gently forced me back into the chair. “I haven’t finished yet.”

What was there left to say? Was there any chance he was going to help me?

Afraid to hope anything decent could come out of this mess, I nodded and waited.

He released me, stared down, arms crossed over his chest once again. “Your brother has put me in a hell of a position.”

“Is there anything I can do?” I asked, my voice cracking.

His eyes narrowed slightly. He tipped his head to the right. “Why? Why are you so willing to put your neck on the line for him?”

What kind of silly question was that? “He’s my brother.”

“But he just about got you thrown out of here. You understand that, don’t you?”

Just about?

Just about!

I wasn’t fired yet.

“Yes, sir. I do,” I said, screwing and unscrewing the cap on the water bottle I clasped in my hand. “If my brother was a complete lost cause, I wouldn’t have bothered trying to help him. I would’ve let you fire him. Hell, I would have stood by and watched him be arrested, too. But I can’t. Because I know there’s more to this situation than you and I know. He’s not a bad guy. Sure, he’s hit a bump or two lately. He’ll get it figured out.”

“Maybe you’re right. Maybe there is more to this situation than we know. But, say he is guilty, what do I do with him until I figure out what really happened?”

“Good question.”

“If he did do it, how could I risk keeping him on, knowing he might steal something else?”

“Another good question.”

Leaning closer, he placed one hand on each arm of my chair, trapping me. I felt myself pushing back into the chair. I could smell his cologne, could see the flecks of silver-blue in dark, dark gray-brown eyes the color of my favorite chocolates. I could feel the warm caress of his breath on my face.

My heart jerked again. But this time it wasn’t because I was afraid. No, I was...warm. I was breathless. I was staring at his lips and wondering what they might taste like.

What was going on?

“How long have you been working for us, Miss Barnes?”

“T-two years,” I stuttered, my gaze locked on his mouth. What was he getting at? What was he thinking?

“Hmmm.”

My gaze inched up, following the line of his aristocratic nose to those dark eyes again. I saw something there, the flicker of something obscure, something wicked. My heart rate tripled, quadrupled, maybe. “Sir? Please don’t fire me. My job is our primary source of income. Our father died. It’s been really hard on us both, but especially Joss. He was only thirteen and a boy with no father--”

He leaned closer. “I’m sorry about your father.” I was trapped, his body like a big wall hovering over me. Why was he standing so close? Why was he looking at me like
that
?

“Sir?” I murmured when he inched even closer. I’d never had a boss act this way with me before. If I didn’t know better, I would swear he was…he was…

His head dipped down. Now, his mouth was hovering over mine. Not inches. No. It was a tiny fraction of an inch from mine. His breath softly caressed my lips. Warm. Sweet.

Was he going to kiss me?

Was he expecting some kind of bribe? A payment in return for my job?

I was frozen. Shocked. Unable to move. Unwilling to move. It was wrong for him to use his position to try something like this. Wrong. Illegal. Unethical. Immoral.

But wow, was he a beautiful man. Sexy. Intelligent. Mysterious. I wanted him to kiss me. My lips were tingling already, and he hadn’t even touched them yet. My blood was pounding hard through my body, too. My heart was slamming against my breastbone. I let my eyelids fall shut, enclosing myself in darkness and swirls of red.

“Miss Barnes?”

“Sir?” Something soft brushed against my lips. And again. Little sparks of electricity sizzled and zapped under my skin. Heat whooshed through my body, up to my face, down between my legs.

The intensity of my body’s reaction took my breath away. And still I couldn’t move. A crazy impulse popped into my head. I wanted to throw my arms around his neck, tangle my fingers in his silky hair and pull him to me.

I can’t do that. I can’t.

***

Please turn the page for a special sneak preview of
RAW
by Tawny Taylor.