Read BIG: (A Bad Boy Stepbrother Romance) for Free Online

he reminded her with a wide grin. “Even Dad was impressed. He figures it’ll help us get the edge on Beretta in Europe.”
     
    “Wow.” She hoped the guys at Ryker treated him with the respect he deserved. Sometimes being the CEO’s son could work against a man, not for him. “Will you have anyone to buddy you while you start figuring out company strategy?”
     
    “Actually, yes.” He gave a little nod. “Dad’s hooked me up with Anders Arensen. He’s going to be my mentor.”
     
    “Oh, wow.” She tried not to let her skepticism show on her face. She couldn’t see Brad’s right-hand man having much to gain by helping Ric to the top. “That’s great.”
     
    “What’s that face for?” He raised one eyebrow at her, looking much more like the brother she’d grown up with in that moment.
     
    “What face?” She blinked, acting innocent. “I don’t have a ‘face’!”
     
    “Yeah, you do. I know you, remember?” He snorted a little laugh and she liked the way he said that. He did know her. He always had. “But I have to tell you something—he’s a large part of the reason I’m in the shape I am right now. He helped me train with their security team, and he’s taught me a lot about the business already. He’s a good man.”
     
    “Well, all right. That’s good, then.” She was reassured that he was so convinced. She liked the look of confidence on his face. “So what are your plans after the graduation party? We’ve got the trust meetings, I know, with all the lawyers and accountants. But then what? Back to Norway?”
     
    “You worried about me being overworked?” He wiped a hand across his forehead—he was sweating a little, she noticed.
     
    “You’re American,” she reminded him with a sly look. “Of course I’m worried about you being overworked.”
     
    He laughed, the sound rich and warm, as he put his glass down and began unbuttoning his shirt.
     
    “Hang on. Payne always turns the heat up too damned high.”
     
    She snuck in a moment of discreet ogling as he crossed the den to the thermostat in the hallway, sliding his shirt off as he crouched down to read the display.
     
    She couldn’t help smiling as she watched him fiercely poking at the buttons, trying to figure out how to turn the heat down. The temperature was fine for her, but if his warmth-hating Norse ways compelled him to strip, who was she to argue?
     
    The smile died on her lips as he leaned forward to look closer, bracing his hands on the wall and squinting at the panel. The pose turned his lats into smooth bands of steel running from his upper back down to the beginning of his nicely-defined six-pack. His triceps stood out like rocks, even with the mild-blurring effect of the tattoos.
     
    The track-lighting in the hallway showed his hair was nearly blonde at the temples. Annalesa released a slow, steady breath and threw a second glass of liquor down her throat. She liked the fuzzy feeling. She liked re-living this forbidden crush on him—even if he was, or had once been, her stepbrother. She reminded herself of this often, but it didn’t seem to make a difference in how she felt about him.
     
    With one final jab at the panel, he made his way back over to the bar, scratching an itch just on the inside of his hip.
     
    God, his waist was tight.
     
    Annalesa cleared her throat. “So, gossip. Is there a girl in Norway waiting for you to come home?”
     
    “I’ve had... dates.”
     
    “Just dates?” She grinned at the way he reddened a little.
     
    “I didn’t want to start seeing anyone seriously, you know, ‘til I was... I don’t know, happier with myself?” He shrugged. “But I’m not celibate or anything. It’s not like I haven’t been, uh...”
     
    “Physical with anyone?” she offered, her belly tightening at the thought.
     
    “Yeah. But that’s about as far as I’ve let things go.” He scratched the back of his neck. “It’s kinda weird for me. I spent years being