Redemption: A British Stepbrother Romance (23 page)

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our copy of Redemption
: A British Stepbrother Romance includes two free bonus novels. The first of these is Foster: A Stepbrother Romance.

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I
’d lost her
.

Where had she gone? She was beautiful and fully deserved the opportunity to place her lips around my cock later tonight.

Somewhere in this room of lawyers and other equally boring people was an absolutely stunning young woman who’d caught my eye while I’d been stuck talking to one of the partners at my firm. By the time I’d ended the conversation, she’d disappeared.

I cast my gaze around the room, but couldn’t find her. Still, there was plenty of time and I only needed ten minutes to work my magic. Better make that fifteen. Women at networking functions always took a little more effort, and you had to pretend to be interested in their careers first.

When did I become one of those lawyers who went to networking events?

Lawyers and potential clients mingled and partook in the weird dance that was professional networking, talking to people for long enough to get a business card and know whether they might be any use.

This gathering was hosted by one of the large law firms right here in downtown Washington, D.C. I hated these events, but I had to get my name out there, and this function was so close to my office, I’d be an idiot to miss it.

Nearly everyone here was in their forties, apart from the eager looking young attorneys desperate to further their fledgling careers by sucking up to some of the partners. There were even a few law students milling about hoping to make connections and land a job to help repay the six figures of debt they would have on graduation. I didn’t envy them, but that didn’t mean I could be bothered to help them either.

I needed a drink. I headed to the bar and settled for a European lager. It was either that, or a cheap-looking wine. The firm could easily have paid for better quality, but they didn’t want people having too much to drink. Serving shitty wine was a subtle way of making sure the guests limited their intake.

A fellow M&A lawyer from another firm had cornered one of my old law school buddies and was currently boring him senseless with talk of all the deals he’d closed recently. I knew he would rather do anything other than talk about work, so I decided to help him out.

“Tom, how are you doing?” I said loudly, shaking his hand and thrusting myself between him and the partner. The relieved look on Tom’s face as we made small talk made it clear that he was pleased to see another human being and not just a robot.

“Thanks for that, Foster,” Tom said, as the old partner wandered off without so much as a business card to show for his efforts. “Are all these events so fucking boring?”

“Pretty much,” I replied. “I don’t go to many, but I never find lawyers much fun to drink with. Even in law school the parties were dull.”

“Speaking of law students, there’s a fair few of them here tonight. No doubt they’ll approach you at some point and kiss some ass. I just had some smarmy little junior associate from another firm try to act like he’s a partner. He must only be a year or two out of law school.”

Both Tom and I had moved so quickly up the ranks that we forgot we were only five years out of law school ourselves. It felt like we’d been lawyers for at least a decade.

“Speaking of entitled brats,” Tom said, as he flicked his head to the side, motioning to a young attorney in an expensive suit. “That’s the one. Try to stay away from him if you can.”

I thanked Tom for the advice, but I didn’t need it. The kid stood out from a mile away as being some rich jackass who probably got a job at daddy’s firm. Okay, so I worked at my mom’s firm, but that was different. I wasn’t a slimy little prick like this kid, for one thing.

“He’s got a face you just want to punch,” I remarked.

“I miss the good old days where we used to go out and get in fights instead of staying in and studying.”

“It’s a miracle we ever got admitted to the bar.”

I kept an eye on the young associate as he walked around like he owned the place, in a suit that looked way too expensive for someone who should still be paying off law school loans. I tracked him with my eyes as he walked over to the bar. He turned back with two glasses of wine and handed one to a young blonde in the corner of the room.

The
young blonde. It was her. The one I’d spotted earlier.

She was fucking beautiful. If we were in a bar, she’d have hundreds of men hanging off her every word. It said something about the crowd here that no one else seemed to have noticed her, except the slimy guy now trying to chat her up.

Screw networking; I needed to have a bit of that. Her long, blonde hair draped teasingly down her back, just begging to be pulled on in the throes of passion. She broke out into a forced smile at what was probably a bad joke from the kid, but fake or not it still lit up her face.

I needed to see those lips wrapped around my cock.

She wore a knee-length skirt, but I could see enough of her ass to picture the scene as I yanked up her skirt, tore down her panties, and went to town on that pussy. I wouldn’t quite have described her as petite, but she was definitely on the slim side and her breasts protruded from her frame, hugged tightly by her white blouse. I’d had bigger breasts in my hands, but hers were more than ample considering her frame.

This night might not be such a waste of time after all. She looked a little uptight, but so do a lot of women. That doesn’t stop me charming the panties off them--literally--and having them end the evening a lot more satisfied and less uptight than when they started it.

“Shit,” Tom muttered. I’d forgotten he was still there. “Our IP attorney just spotted me. I’m going to have to spend a few minutes with him. I can introduce you if you like?”

“No thanks,” I replied. “I have someone else I need to meet.”

I pulled out my phone just to look busy, and leaned against the wall near the chick I would be seeing naked in hopefully no more than three hours’ time. It immediately became clear that she already knew the entitled prick currently trying to chat her up. They could be colleagues, but she sounded deferential to him and nervous when she spoke.

Her name badge marked her as April Rhodes, a summer associate at Cooper & Cooper, and a first year law student at a nearby school. His name badge pegged him as Zach Cooper, a second year associate at the same firm.

I knew exactly what was going on. The summer was nearly over, and he’d likely been flirting with the poor girl the entire time. Now he was making his move.

“We should go out for drinks soon,” I overheard Zach say. “Not at an event like this. Somewhere a little more intimate.”

“I’m going to be busy once school starts,” April responded. “I won’t really have time for that sort of thing.”

Well done. You turned him down and gave him a way to retain his pride. Now let’s see if he takes the hint.

“Nonsense,” Zach said dismissively. “You’ll have plenty of time. Remember, the goal of going to law school isn’t to get great grades, it’s to get a job as a lawyer. I can make that happen.”

Jesus Christ. He was a second-year associate, not a fucking partner. Except he had the surname Cooper. Ah, that explained a lot. I’d thought he looked like the type who’d landed a job with his dad’s firm and I’d been right as always.

“I don’t think it would be appropriate,” April said, quickly changing from one excuse to another.

I didn’t have a lot of experience at being rejected by women, but surely it had to be obvious to Zach that he didn’t stand a chance here. Could some men really be that clueless?

“As of next week, we won’t be working for the same firm anymore,” Zach responded. “We can do whatever we want.”

April blushed and swept a loose strand of hair behind her ear. God, she looked fucking stunning when she was lost for words and red in the face. I would have her the exact same way later on, except she’d be horizontal and not as quiet.

I’d never imagined myself getting hard in front of a group of old lawyers, but right now April had me growing in my pants, and she hadn’t even noticed me yet. Or at least, she was pretending not to have noticed me. Women always spotted me in a crowded room. I stood out from a mile away, and never more so than I did right now.

In addition to being taller than most people here, I was the only one who bothered to work out on a regular basis. My large frame was impossible to miss among the combination of lawyers who either ate too little or too much. None of them exercised; it took time away from billing. April must have noticed me, but she was doing a good job of not looking this way.

“I want to work for Cooper & Cooper next summer and after law school,” April said. “I can’t do that if we’re dating.”

“You do realize you won’t be working for my firm if you don’t get a good appraisal from me?” ‘
My firm
?’ Fucking asshole. “I don’t want to have to tell the partners that you are uncooperative and not a team player.”

Come on, April. Stay strong
.

“I guess I could think about it,” April said softly.

“Look, let’s get out of here now,” Zach said. “We can go somewhere else and have some privacy.”

Zach placed his hand on her upper arm. To any casual observer it would look like a gesture of goodwill, but I could see his fingers gripping her arm with enough strength to be threatening.

There was no way I was going to stand for that, and neither was April. She tried to pull her arm away, but he held on tight.

That was all the excuse I needed.

I walked over to Zach and stood up straight, casting a shadow over him that he noticed immediately. He turned round and looked up at me like a deer caught in the headlights.

“I’m going to give you one chance. Let her go and you don’t get hurt.”

W
hy was
it guys always felt the need to flex their muscles in front of women at the worst possible times?

I was handling the situation. Okay, I wasn’t doing a great job of handling it, but I’d managed not to draw any attention to my unwanted conversation with Zach. Now this towering mound of muscle was going to make a scene while he tried to look like a knight in shining armor.

I’d seen him standing nearby reading work emails. It’s not like anyone could miss him. His suit was tailored to fit snuggly around his muscular chest, which was practically bulging out through his shirt. It looked like he could make all the buttons pop off just by flexing his pecs. Although I wouldn’t have minded seeing that.

He hadn’t bothered with a name badge, but I couldn’t blame him for not wanting to put a pin through that expensive suit.

Zach still had a hold of my arm, but that didn’t seem important right now. I looked up at the man until my eyes found his. They were a deep green, and they matched my gaze with an intensity that I initially mistook for passion, until I realized it was anger. His jaw looked tense and his lips were pursed, as he breathed heavily through his nose and turned his attention to Zach.

I breathed a sigh of relief as he looked away from me. Being under his gaze had been like hiding in a cupboard in a horror movie--I had to stand completely still and not make a sound or I would end up devoured. In this case, that might not be so bad.

As I exhaled, a small shiver spread from the back of my neck throughout my entire body, leaving an aching warmth between my legs. This man was bad news.

“Who the hell are you?” Zach asked, looking up at my suited knight. Zach looked woefully inadequate up against this man, but he had the arrogance not to realize it.

“It doesn’t matter who I am. You need to take your hand off her arm now,” the man ordered. “I’m not going to say it again.”

“We were having a private conversation,” Zach said, sounding slightly less sure of himself now. The man’s biceps were bulging through his suit, whereas Zach’s suit hung off him limply. Zach hadn’t brought a knife to a gunfight, he’d brought a spoon, and not a particularly good one at that.

“Alright, if you insist,” the man said. “We can deal with this the painful way. Painful for you, anyway.”

“No,” I snapped, finally finding the strength to speak. “I don’t want to make a scene.”

The career office at law school had been clear on the topic of behavior at parties and networking events--don’t get noticed. Have a few drinks, but not too many. Be reserved, but not afraid to speak when spoken to. The office never specifically said don’t get into fights, but I suspected that was implied.

The man put his hand on Zach’s wrist and pulled the hand off my arm with ease. I saw Zach wince in pain, but he quickly hid it as he tried to salvage some pride. The man put his hand on Zach’s back and pushed him towards a nearby fire escape. I cringed as the door opened, expecting an alarm to go off, but it didn’t, so I followed them through. At least now we were out of sight of everyone else here.

“This is assault,” Zach whined, as the stranger threw him up against the wall.

“Actually, this is battery,” the stranger replied. “Don’t they teach you anything in law school?”

“I’ll sue you for this,” Zach said. I looked down and saw that he was only in contact with the floor by the tips of his toes. The stranger had lifted him into the air, so they were close to being face-to-face.

I wouldn’t have minded my face being that close to his, even if he did look rather angry right now. Angry could be exciting.

Damn it, April, calm down
.

“No, you won’t,” the stranger said confidently. “You’ll keep quiet, and we’ll keep quiet about how you tried to blackmail this young lady into going on a date with you. Is that how you get all your dates, Zach?”

“That wasn’t what happened,” Zach said, as he tried pathetically to free himself from the stranger’s grip. Why couldn’t I work at a firm with lawyers like him, instead of people like Zach. Not that he would’ve even noticed me, but something nice to look at over lunch would’ve been nice.

I used the time while the man had his back to me to shamelessly check out his ass. His suit jacket covered some of it, but what I could see was more than enough to have me subconsciously lick my lips. I’d barely touched the wine, but there was definitely a chemical reaction going off in my body right now. What other reason could there be for me wanting to sink my teeth into a man’s ass? I’d never even thought about that before, let alone done it.

“Can I trust you to leave the lady alone?” the man asked Zach.

Zach nodded, beads of sweat running down his forehead. The man hesitated for a few seconds and then finally let go. Zach dropped to the floor, gasping for breath, and looking like the pathetic low-life I knew he’d been from the moment he introduced himself to me on my first day in the office.

The man turned to look at me. His face was still taught with anger, but that didn’t quench the passion burning between my legs.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

I nodded, brushing some hair behind my ear, even though it wasn’t in my way. His face relaxed into the most perfect smile I had ever seen and for a few blissful seconds I forgot about Zach leaning against the wall, still trying to catch his breath.

“You’re done for at my firm,” Zach yelled.

“Ignore him,” the man said. “Let’s go back outside.”

“You’re never going to get a job. Fucking bitch.”

The man stopped just as his hand was about to open the door. I felt a heavy gust of air on my shoulder as he exhaled, trying to control his temper. It didn’t work.

“Sorry about this,” he said, before turning round and swinging his fist hard into Zach’s face.

Zach hadn’t been expecting the punch, although even if he had, I doubted there was much he would have been able to do about it. His body slammed back against the wall, before he dropped down to his knees in front of the stranger.

To give Zach his dues, he didn’t know when to quit. Blood poured from his mouth, but he grabbed onto a handrail and tried to stand up. The punch had left him dazed, so he promptly lost his footing. He kept a firm grip on the rail, but that just made his balance worse. Suddenly he disappeared from view as he slipped halfway down the flight of stairs.

The man looked down at him, but made no offer to help him up. “He’s still breathing,” the man said, before turning his deep green eyes back to me. “You want to get out of here?”

I nodded. I wanted to go wherever he was going.