Read Throttle MC: A Stepbrother Romance for Free Online

expression unreadable. My eyes widened as I took in what she was saying. I stifled a gasp.
    “Your... your son?” I managed to stammer.
    “Your stepbrother,” my father murmured next to me.  “And the VP of the club.”
    “I...” My mouth opened, and then snapped shut again.  My stepbrother ?  Ryker’s eyes were locked on mine.  His jaw clenched, but other than that I saw no reaction from him.
    “Your brother,” Randi corrected my father.  She looked back at me warmly and smiled.  “There are no ‘steps’ in this family.”
    I realized that several seconds had passed, and that people were looking at us.  Someone behind me cleared his throat.
    “Umm... Nice to meet you,” I croaked at Ryker. I felt frozen to the spot. I knew I couldn’t shake his hand; I was afraid I would explode into flames if his skin touched mine.
    “Nice to meet you, too.”  His deep, rumbling voice vibrated through me, as though it was touching me in all the places I had wished his hands had, back on the desert highway.  The corner of his mouth turned up in a slight smirk, but other than that, he made no sign that he even remembered what had happened between us a couple of hours earlier.
    Randi’s voice broke the tension.  “I, uh, made up the spare room... I mean, your old bedroom, at our place for you, Hadley.  I hope you’ll stay for as long as you like.”
    I glanced at her, grateful for the change of subject.  “Thank you,” I said sincerely. I took a deep breath and pushed all the swirling emotions at the news of my new stepbrother away.  “I really appreciate it.”
    My father seemed glad that the conversation had moved on to logistics.  “Hadley, you said your car was giving you trouble on the way here.  What’s the problem?”
    “It’s been sucking down oil,” I said, turning to him. I resisted the urge to look back at Ryker.  “But it’s done that basically the whole time I’ve had it. It’s no big...”
    “I’ll have one of the boys check it out, get it all fixed up for you,” he said brusquely.   
    I started to protest, but then I realized that this was his way of showing me he was glad I was home.  “Thanks, Dad,” I replied, smiling at him.
    “Of course, baby girl,” he replied, almost businesslike.  Turning to Ryker, he said, “Ryke, grab Hadley’s bags outta her car and take her to our place to get settled in.  Take the truck.”
    “You bet,” Ryker said impassively.  I opened my mouth to protest, but couldn’t think of anything to say.  He turned and strode out the door without another word.
    Lon held out his hand to me. “Give me the keys, Had.  I’ll have one of the boys work on it, get it back to you soon as we can.”
    Dumbly, I dug into my pocket and fished them out. As I gave them to him, he grabbed me and folded me into another hug.  “So glad you’re home, baby girl,” he murmured as he held me.
    “Me, too, Dad,” I said.
    Though, truth be told, I wasn’t sure I was happy to be home, after all.
     
    Outside, I found Ryker loading my bags into an aging F150 with the garage logo on the outside. “Hey,” I muttered as I walked up.  
    “Hey,” he replied, not looking up at me. He threw the last of my stuff in the back, opened the door to the cab, and climbed into the driver’s seat.  After a moment, he rolled down the passenger window and looked out at me.  “You coming?” he asked, a slight note of impatience in his voice.
    Mutely, I opened the passenger door and got in.  He started the engine, revved it once, and pulled out of the parking lot.  He turned right out of the lot, on a route I knew only too well, toward the house I’d grown up in. 
    After a minute or so, it became apparent that he wasn’t going to say anything.  My nerves were getting the better of me, and when I’m nervous, I talk.  “Did you know Lon was my dad?” I demanded.  Way to start a casual conversation, Hadley . 
    “What do you mean? When I stopped on the road