Read Hooked: A Stepbrother Romance for Free Online

work.
    “What’s up?” I said as I walked in and put the muffins on Adam’s desk. Emilia’s eyes shot down to her coffee, staring at it for a few moments before taking a long swig.
    “Simon! Wow, are you going to make this a habit?” Adam’s eyes sparkled when he saw what I’d brought.
    “Sure, why not?”
    “Well, I’m not sure my doctor will approve,” he winked back, taking one of the chipped mugs from his windowsill and filling it with coffee for me.
    “Thanks Adam,” I said, noting Emilia’s continued silence as I grabbed a chair and sat down.
    “So,” Adam began. “Emilia and I were discussing long-term strategy for this summer, and she had a brilliant idea. Care to explain it, Em?”
    “Sure,” Emilia said, her frozen features melting as a smile began to creep across her face. It grew and grew, making me shift in my seat a little. I’d never seen her this happy.
    She was beautiful like this.
    “Starting today,” she continued as her eyes locked onto mine, predatory and cold. “You’ll be teaching the girls’ team, and I’ll take care of the boys. You’ll be on the east side of the field, across from Johnnie’s, and I’ll take the area closer to the police station.”
    I almost snorted coffee at the news. Her smile continued to shine at me like a cat who’d cornered a mouse.
    Maybe it had been a mistake to show my hand so fast. By managing the situation so well yesterday in spite of her efforts, I’d ensured she would push back hard today.
    Of course she was going to make another move in our little game, and once again, she was threatening to win big by surprising me like this.
    She’d put me in charge of the girls’ team.
    I felt glued to my seat, trying to calmly digest the news as quickly as possible.
    Right.
    Holy hell.
    The guys, sure. Violence, brutality, repressed anger. I could handle all that. It was the story of my life. I’d been there myself when I was young, and after that, I’d coached a bunch of boys everyone else had given up on. Shaped them up. Helped turn them around.
    I’d been planning on doing the same thing here, before my lovely stepsister had pulled the rug out from beneath me.
    “How many of them?” I asked, trying my best to hide the strain in my voice as I scrambled to come up with some semblance of a plan.
    “Twenty. All older teens. They’re real sweeties, you’ll see,” Emilia said lightly.
    “I’m not sure ‘sweeties’ is the word I’d use to describe them,” Adam interjected with a raised eyebrow. “But Em told me about the fantastic job you did yesterday, particularly with Shauna. I think they could all use a good male role model for a change, and it makes sense for a man of your obvious talent to deal with the more difficult team.”
    The more difficult team , I echoed silently, fixing my eyes on Emilia. The smugness on her face spoke volumes, like she was barely refraining from making some acerbic remark at my expense.
    Well, fair enough, I was thinking a few of them myself. I’d been anything but a good male role model for her, after all.
    I heard giggling from the hall. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Shauna’s orange mohawk peeking into the room just before she poked her head through the open door.
    “Hey, Coach ,” she said, snickering. “Theo said you brought muffins?”
    “I sure did! Take as many as you want,” I said, locking my eyes with Emilia’s and smirking a little myself. She might’ve ambushed me, but at least I’d brought plenty of freshly-baked bribes.
    An instant later, six young women invaded Adam’s small office, poring over the muffins and grabbing different flavors without a glance in my direction. Two minutes later they were gone with barely a mumbled “thanks,” and Emilia’s wicked smile turned undeniably mocking as I examined the carnage.
    All the blueberry and chocolate chips were totally gone, replaced by a mountain of crumbs over Adam’s desk. The banana muffins were untouched, dispelling