Read Hard: A Step-Brother Romance for Free Online

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.
    “ Until …?”
    I
flashed the dimples. “…Until I was balls deep in you. But who in their right
mind would stop then?”
    She
didn’t implode on the spot. A good sign.
    “That
is exactly my point.” Shay poked at my chest. I was sure she imagined the abs
she accidentally stroked beneath. “Who in their right mind would…would…” Her
hands covered her face again. “Oh my god, I had sex with my brother.”
    “Step-brother.”
    “I’ll
let you do the talking when we’re crashing outside the pearly gates.”
    I
sighed. “Come on, Shay. Harmless mistake.”
    “Which
time?”
    Uh-oh.
“Which time what?”
    “You
and Sergeant Hard were balls deep plenty of times that night. When did you realize who I was?”
    Once,
I navigated through hostile territory with no radio communication, ammunition,
or GPS while under heavy fire. That was less dangerous than her question. I
rubbed my head.
    “Uh.”
No sense lying. “The first time.”
    “The
first— the first time ?” Shay fell silent. Her eyes—the most perfect mocha
darkness—stared at me, wide-eyed. “You…we…spent all night together! And
you didn’t tell me! You didn’t even try . God, you’re a pig! I can’t
believe I ever let you touch me.”
    She
moved to escape. I made the reckless decision to grab her hand. She spun to
slap, but I took that hand too, pulling her close.
    Today,
she smelled of lilacs. Another lock of ebony hair slipped from her pony tail
and caressed her soft cheek. She fumed, practically shaking from anger, but the
heat pooling in me transferred to her. I leaned in and lowered my lips to hers
so that I might have whispered an apology or stolen another sin.
    “A
piece of paper says we’re family,” I said. “Just a stupid marriage license.
You’re still you, I’m still me. We had a good time. Don’t ruin it with guilt.”
    “I’m
not guilty, I’m pissed.”
    “Don’t
be pissed either. We had fun.”
    She
didn’t believe me, but, Christ, did I want to prove it to her. It’d be too easy
for me to haul her up, wrap her legs around my waist, and slam her against the
wall.
    And
she’d love it. Beneath the anger? I recognized a girl more ashamed of her
sexual inhibition than anything a marriage certificate dictated about our
formal