BAD LUST: A Stepbrother Romance (A Step Over the Line Book Book 1) (5 page)

“
You
think I
’
m talking about me?
”
I ask and laugh.
“
I personally don
’
t give a shit what you do,
Rebecca
.
I
’
m talking about someone
else. He has a daughter, you know. And she lost
…”

What the fuck am I doing right
now? Am I sticking up for someone?

“
You
there?
”
my mother yells
into the phone.

“
Yeah,
sorry. Whatever. It doesn
’
t
matter. You
’
re a grown
woman, that
’
s right. And
you
’
re married again. A perfect
island paradise thing I bet.
”

“
Yes.
”

“
And
he paid for it all.
”

“
Yes.
”

“
So
now you
’
re even richer,
huh?
”

“
Jake
…
it
’
s not about money
…”

“
That
’
s right. You just can
’
t be alone. You can
’
t face yourself in the mirror.
And now you need me to paint the perfect image, right? I
’
m sure you
’
ll
expect paparazzi to be there, right? Two broken families mended together.
Christ, the shit writes itself.
”

My mother sighs.
“
I expect you here within the
hour. We
’
re having a lunch
at his place. There
’
s, uh,
more news than you think, Jake. I really need you to be here. To do this. I
’
m happy right now.
”

“
Right
now,
”
I say.
“
Always
right now
.
”

“
I
’
ll see you soon, son.
”

Son.

I throw my phone on the seat and
rev the engine.

I arrive at my mother
’
s apartment and I refuse to go inside.
So I stand at the side of my car and have a smoke. She comes walking from the
apartment with a look of shock on her face.

She waves a hand at me.
“
You can
’
t smoke here.
”

“
Like
hell I can
’
t. Where
’
s the sign?
”

“
I
wish you
…”

“
You
do a lot of wishing,
”
I
say.
“
What
’
s the plan? Am I able to drive
there?
”

“
Yes,
”
my mother says. Some battles
she knows just isn
’
t worth
the fight.
“
You can drive.
But right behind
…
the car
…
”

“
The
car?
”

Need I say more. Here comes a black
car pulling into the lot. I
’
m
sure it
’
s all paid by her
new husband. I shake my head and finish my smoke. I should have grabbed some of
those little white pills from Zeke. I need to be numb and as close to death as
I can right now.

The car stops and the driver rushes
from the car. He hurries to open the door for my mother.

“
Mrs
…”

“
No,
no,
”
my mother says. She
offers that classic, beautiful smile that lures men in like crazy.
“
Call me Rebecca.
”

“
Oh,
yes, of course. Rebecca. I must say you are so beautiful in person.
”

“
In
person?
”

“
I
’
m a fan of your music,
”
the driver says.

I snort and open my car door.
“
I
’
ll
see you there.
”

“
Right
behind us,
”
my mother says.

“
Yeah,
right behind you,
Rebecca.
”

My mother frowns. It
’
s all fake. It
’
s all a dumb act. I
’
ve seen it for years.
Relationships come and go with her like me with women. Hell, it
’
s probably where I got it from.
I
’
m an asshole, thanks to
my father, and I need a new relationship everyday thanks to my mother. Talk
about a fucked up mess of a person.

“
You
know, Jake, you could support me just once,
”
she says.

She
’
s
so calm. She
’
s also so
forgetful.

“
Support
you? Yeah. Sure. Whatever you say. This is what you want, go for it.
”

She holds up her left hand and
smiles.
“
There
’
s no going for it, Jake. It
’
s done. I don
’
t need your blessing either. But
it would be a nice gesture to be there. Together. As a family.
”

“
Family,
”
I say.

I get into my car.

Family.

That
’
s
the one thing I never had.

Fucking family.

And I definitely don
’
t want it now. Not with the
surprise of a lifetime that was coming.

6.

(Jade)

I stand in
the study with my
father. He's tan and he's nervous. I rarely get to see the great Thomas Werlem
nervous, but here he is, sipping scotch from a glass, constantly putting it
down and picking it back up again. He swishes the two ice cubes around in the
glass and finishes off the amber drink. He puts it down and then faces me.

His face quickly becomes stern.
"I've missed you, daughter."

"I've missed you too."

Our relationship isn't strained,
but it's totally not normal. The way he calls me
daughter
leaves me
feeling weird. Like it's processed.
Like he's
debated on the best word to call me to keep me happy but not overly close.

"How was your vacation?"

"Well, it was more than just a
vacation," he says with a smile. "I did tell you things were going to
change, didn't I?"

"Yes."

"I've made another... oh, how
should I put it... deal."

"A deal? Did you buy an island
or something?"

My father laughs. It's such a dry
laugh. He points to me and nods. "Your personality is contagious, Jade.
I'm happy to have you here."

"Thanks," I whisper.

"This is a little more life
changing than a business deal. Come with me, I want you to meet a couple
people."

"Meet a couple people?"

"Yes, come."

My father leads me from the study
and down the long hall to one of the living rooms. There I see a woman standing
with her back to us. She's in a tan dress that looks elegant and fits her slim
figure.

"Rebecca..." my father
says.

And right before my eyes, Rebecca
Preatt turns around and looks at me. She smiles big, a smile that's as big as
her brown eyes. I remember her as a famous pianist. Someone who had everything
and then just dropped off the face of the earth.

For a second, I think my father has
brought her to teach me piano. To give me private lessons.

But then my father puts a hand out
and Rebecca offers her hand. He gives her a tug, smiles, and says, "Come,
my love."

My love?

I'm floored. My father takes
Rebecca by the waist and kisses her. Once with his lips, then a quick, yet deep
kiss, with his tongue. The image is forever tattooed in my mind.

I step back and try to assess what
I'm seeing. My father kissing someone who used to be famous. Rebecca Preatt.
The mother... of...

I feel something touch my back.

"Whoa, easy," a voice
says.

I spin around and yell,
"Jake!"

There he is. Jake freaking Ziggen.
The guy who was at the cafe last night. The asshole who stood up and applauded.
The sexy man who threw me to a bed and fucked me until I couldn't move. Until I
couldn't feel anything but endless pleasure...

He grabs my face with his hand.
I reach up and touch his hand. His eyes are burning at mine. This is the moment
when he should say something romantic.

"Your pussy is so fucking
tight, sweetie. God. Damn."

Not quite romantic, but
considering the setting, this does the trick.

He holds my face so tight as he
fucks me. I'm so full. It's impossible to feel this much pressure between my
legs. But my body keeps giving way to him and for him.

I lift my feet off the bed and
bite my lip. I think about things I've seen online and in movies. I lock my
ankles around his lower back and pull at him. I want more. Fuck, I want so much
more. I can't get enough right now. I feel like a greedy bitch because this is
really the first time I've ever been fucked
…
and I. Want. More.

"Look at you,
sweetie," Jake growls at me. "Holding me fucking tight. You like me
fucking you hard. You crazy slut... my crazy slut..."

"Crazy slut," I
whisper.

I remember him calling me that
now. I want to smack him again.

"Hello? Jade?"

I turn, my cheeks red, my father
staring at me.

"What?" I ask.

"Did you hear me?"

"No..."

"I said... you two know each
other?"

"Campus," I say.
"It's not that big."

"Actually, it's very
big," Jake says.

I look back and he grins at me.

He's a fucking asshole. And he
smells like smoke. And cologne. And I want to fuck him again.

"What's happening here?"
I ask.

"Well," Rebecca says with
a big smile.

"Jesus, just say it,"
Jake says. "I can't believe she doesn't know."

"Know what?" I ask.

My father steps forward. He takes
my hand in one hand while holding one of Rebecca's in the other. "Listen
to me, Jade. This is very dear to my heart. I am not a man to be alone. You
know that. I am meant to share my heart. And... well... I've found someone to
share it with."

"Rebecca?" I whisper.

"Yes," my father says.
"We're..."

"You're dating her?" I
ask.

My mind races with what Jake and I
have done. It's not all bad, right? It's not like they're...

"Married," my father
says.

I pull my hand away and step back.
"What?"

"They got married on an
island," Jake says.

I look back at him, eyes wide. My
hand is shaking. I want to slap him so hard. He knew about this? He knew our
parents... for how long? Did he... when we...

"Jade?" Rebecca asks.
"Your father tells me you play piano."

I turn back, again, feeling dizzy.
I'm not sure what to look at or what to say. So I nod.

"You know, I can't play much
anymore..."

Jake scoffs. "Give up the act.
I'm sure we all know what happened."

The tension in the room is
instantly thick. My father thrives off this stuff.

"Good hell, son, what happened
to your hand?"

He moves the uncomfortable
attention to Jake's hand. When I look at his hand, I gasp. His knuckles are all
cut up from beating the hell out of that guy last night.

I'm blushing even more now.

Jake holds his hand up. "This?
I beat someone up." Then he adds, "Jade was there."

"Wait a second," Rebecca
says. "You two were together last night?"

My mouth is open. I'm shaking my
head.

"Not together last
night," Jake says. "Right?"

He's grinning at me, tempting me.
Fucking with me.
 

My mind keeps scrambling. I feel
lost, confused, every emotion possible.

“
Jade
was where last night?
”
my
father booms.

His voice takes control of the
situation. The room falls silent. I feel my heart skip a beat, fearing his
wrath if he knows where I was and what happened with Jake. I see Rebecca slink
back, already afraid of my father.

But Jake doesn
’
t back down. He steps at my
father.
“
Someone tried to
touch her.
”

“
Excuse
me?
”
my father asks.

“
We
were on campus,
”
Jake says.
“
I was coming back from a
drop in basketball game.
”

“
Basketball
player?
”
my father asks.
“
You
’
ve got the size for it.
”
He smiles and nods.
“
I
played rugby myself. Then I tore my meniscus and that was it for me.
”

“
I
just play,
”
Jake says.
“
I don
’
t believe in the team bullshit stuff.
”

The room goes silent again. My
father eyes me. Then eyes Jake.
“
What
happened with Jade?
”

“
I
saw her standing near a set of steps. Smart people building.
”
Jake nods and winks.

He
’
s fucking winning my father over
…

“
Then
I saw some asshole standing near her, touching her elbow. She pulled back once,
twice, and then he stepped toward her. I don
’
t
know what happened. Something just clicked in me. Maybe because I know
…
you know, we
’
re close now
…”

Jake looks at me. The sincere eyes
that looked at my father are no devilish and sexy.

We
’
re close now.

“
This
is true?
”
my father asks.

“
Yes,
”
I whisper. I
’
m no stranger to lying. And the
way Jake is looking at me, I feel there
’
s
going to be some heavy duty lying going on in my life.

“
I
walked up to the guy,
”
Jake
says.
“
I pulled him back.
He spun around and called me a motherfucker. I saw the look in Jade
’
s eyes and I snapped. So
…
I
…
hit him.
”

“
I
’
m calling the university right
now,
”
my father bellows. He
points a finger in the air.
“
Like
hell this happens to my daughter.
”

“
He
wasn
’
t a student,
”
I cry out.

Jake doesn
’
t realize who my father is. He won
’
t just call the university, he
’
ll call the damn President of
the university. He
’
ll show
up. He
’
ll have security
cameras installed. He
’
ll go
through the list of students and make me find out who the guy is
…
the guy that doesn
’
t exist.

“
He
wasn
’
t a student?
”
my father asks.

“
No.
He was just some drunk moron. Thinking he could talk to me and touch me. I was
fine
…”

“
Looks
like Jake really saved you,
”
my father says. He looks at Jake.
“
Thank
you,
son
.
”

Son.

My mind snaps back to a more
current reality.

“
You
’
re married?
”
I ask.

“
Yes,
”
my father says.
“
Rebecca and I have been dating
for a short while now. We
’
ve
kept it all quiet. The press has been after us, but we kept things cordial and
quiet. Until we got to the island. I couldn
’
t
wait anymore. And what better way to step into the political world than to show
a blended family like ours.
”

“
So
we
’
re a political strategy?
”
Jake asks.

“
Jake,
don
’
t start,
”
Rebecca warns.

“
I
feel strongly for your mother,
”
my father says.

“
Fuck
that,
”
Jake growls.

Well, so much for winning my
father over, right?

“
Wait,
”
I yell.
“
I get a turn to freak out.
”

Everyone looks at me.

I can
’
t
handle it.

So I turn and run, bolting from the
living room. I want to cry, but I
’
m
angry. I
’
m angry that my
father does things like this. This is by far the craziest. Worse yet, he
’
s brought Jake Ziggen into my
house. The bad boy asshole that fucks women for fun.
The bad boy asshole
that fucked me for fun
…
because I begged him to.

And now he
’
s
…
what
…
my stepbrother
?

The thought makes me shiver. It
’
s weird but tempting.

I stop walking and try to listen.

“
I
’
m sorry,
”
my father says.
“
She still has a hard time. I
mean, after her mother left us
…”

“
It
’
s okay,
”
Rebecca says.
“
I would never ask her to feel
anything but honest.
”

“
You
’
re a good woman, Rebecca.
”

“
Give
me a break,
”
Jake
says.

It makes me smile. I hate that he
makes me smile right now.

“
Jake,
”
my father says.
“
Why don
’
t you talk to her? You had a
moment last night. Maybe she trusts you. I can
’
t help the way I speak sometimes. My mind is always
in boardroom mode. I hope I haven
’
t
offended you
…
or
your mother. This is not a political move. This is a move for my heart. My
family. My life.
”

The words sound so good and smooth.
I can see my father saying that into a mirror, making sure he looked believable
while speaking them.

“
Yeah,
I
’
ll talk to her,
”
Jake says.
“
Sure thing. You two stay there.
Okay?
”