Steven: A Billionaire Stepbrother Romance Novel (3 page)

When I pulled up to the house, I saw that the lights were on inside. The moving truck was gone, but there were two other cars there, one of which I didn’t recognize. I assumed that it was Steven’s.

I pulled up and parked behind it, then took a deep breath before hopping out of the car. Then I grabbed my purse and headed inside.

As soon as I stepped in the house, the smell of freshly baked lasagna entered my nostrils. A smile crossed my face immediately. My mom knew how to make me happy.

I heard voices coming from the kitchen as I kicked off my shoes and hung my purse up on the coat hangar near the front door.

“Sounds like Kelsey is home!” I heard my mom’s voice call out.

A burst of excitement shot through me as I walked toward the kitchen. I was about to see Steven for the second time. I walked up the tile steps that led away from the front door and then turned toward the smell of the lasagna. When I turned the corner, though, I only saw my mom and William sitting at the dining room table.

“Hey, baby!” my mom said. “How was your first day at the new job?”

I smiled and was about to respond, when I felt someone walk up behind me, placing their hands gently on my lower back.

“What’s up, sis?” a man’s voice whispered.

I recognized it immediately. The deep vibration of his voice caused my eyes to close slightly and my breathing to quicken.

“Hey...” I responded, still overwhelmed with a tingling sensation in my body. “How are you?”

Steven kept his hand on my lower back for a moment and then stepped to my side, looking down at me and smiling playfully.

“I’m good,” he responded. “Just getting settled in here.”

My mom waved both of us over to the table.

“Come on, guys,” she said. “Dinner is getting cold.”

Steven kept his eyes locked with mine for a moment. It was like he could see right through me with those beautiful blue irises. He knew. He could tell that he had a spell on me. I just knew it.

“Come on,” he said. “Let’s get some dinner. We’ve been waiting on you.”

Steven and I walked over to the dinner table and I took a seat next to my mom. Steven sat down next to his dad, directly across from me. He was wearing a light purple dress shirt. It was ironed to perfection and the top couple of buttons were open, allowing me to have a peak at his muscular chest.

“So, you didn’t answer me, Kelsey,” my mom said, nudging me gently with her elbow. “How was your first day?”

I broke my gaze from Steven’s body and then turned to face her.

“Oh, it was good,” I said. “I just spent the whole day in training. I think it’s going to work out, though. It seems like a great company.”

My mom smiled and patted her hand on my knee.

“That’s great, honey,” she said. “If it doesn’t end up working out, though, then maybe some day you can work for Steven’s company.”

I brought my gaze back to Steven, who was just about ready to take a bite of his lasagna. He smiled and slowly nodded his head.

“You never know,” he responded. “I’m kind of a hard ass of a boss, though. You’d probably learn to hate me.”

I chuckled at his response then shrugged my shoulders.

“Nah,” I said. “I’m pretty sure I could handle you. You probably aren’t as much of a hard ass as you think you are.”

Steven took a bite of food and then swallowed it down with a sip of red wine.

“I don’t know, Kelsey,” he said. “You sort of turn into a hard ass when you have to tell a hundred people what to do all day.”

My eyes widened and my jaw dropped.

“A hundred people?” I asked. “Wow...I had no idea that your company was so big.”

Steven nodded.

“Well, it’s gotten big over the past few months,” he responded. “What started out as a simple Internet business has become a multi-million dollar enterprise, practically over night. It’s great, but not everything in life is about money, you know?”

As I watched him speak, I immediately began to remember why I had felt so attracted to him from the beginning. He was charismatic in a way that was unlike anybody else I had ever met. He was so sure of himself, a calm kind of confidence. It was so attractive that I could hardly contain myself.

“Yeah, I suppose it’s not all about money,” I said. “That is, when you have enough of it anyway. When you don’t have enough, though, then suddenly it becomes more important. It’s like anything else in life.”

Steven stared at me for a moment, a look of shock in his eyes. It was as though he was surprised I had said something so profound.

“I guess I hadn’t thought about it like that,” he responded. “That’s a good point, Kelsey.”

His approval sent a smile across my face that I couldn’t control. I shifted in my seat and then reached forward, grabbing my glass of red wine and taking a sip.

Steven kept his eyes locked on me for a moment and then looked away. The rest of the dinner went like this. There were brief moments of conversation, followed by Steven and I looking at each other quietly. At first, it felt kind of awkward and I did everything I could to make sure that my mom or William didn’t notice. But it wasn’t long before I started to not care as much. Besides, there was no real harm in some simple conversation and eye contact between Steven and I. At least, that’s what I had to keep telling myself.

––––––––

A
fter dinner, my mom and William went straight to bed. I knew exactly what was going on. They were freshly married and were in the “honeymoon stage.” This involved countless hours of sex, I knew. Luckily, though, I couldn’t hear it from my side of the house. And thank God, too. I don’t think I would have been able to stay there for very long if I had to listen to that all the time.

Steven and I sat at the table by ourselves after our parents went upstairs. We sipped on red wine and I felt myself starting to get a buzz. Each second that went by I found myself beginning to feel hornier and hornier.

“So, how old are you, Steven?” I asked, after setting down my empty wine glass. “I feel like I’ve gotten to know a lot about your business, but not really much about you.”

Steven sat back in his chair, putting his hands behind his head.

“Well, I’m probably quite a bit older than you,” he responded, chuckling. “But if you want an exact number...”

I nodded my head.

“Of course I want an exact number,” I responded.

Steven looked at me for a moment and then said, “I turn thirty-four this August.”

My eyes widened and a look of shock crossed my face.

“No way,” I said. “You don’t look older than twenty-five. I don’t believe you.”

Steven shrugged his shoulders.

“Well, it’s true,” he said. “My dad is an old man, you know? He’s a lot older than your mom. You’ve got a couple of old guys hanging out in your house.”

I began laughing at his comment, but was still shocked that he was thirty-four. He looked so young, even with the trimmed stubble on his face. His demeanor was full of youth and vigor, something that I thought most people probably lost by the age of thirty. I guess that I was wrong, though.

“Yeah, well, I guess you’re only as old as you feel, right?” I said.

Steven nodded and then leaned forward, placing his elbows on the table.

“I want to show you something,” he said, instantly changing the subject. “Come on. Let’s go upstairs.”

He then stood up from his chair, turning to walk out of the kitchen. I followed his lead, feeling a bit excited.

“What do you want to show me?” I asked, as we made our way toward the bottom of the stairs.

Steven continued walking as he responded.

“I have something I want to give you,” he said.

An excited smile crossed my face as we walked upstairs towards our bedrooms.

“Can I least change out of these work clothes, first?” I asked.

Steven chuckled and nodded his head.

“Of course,” he said. “Just meet me in my room.”

Once at the top of the stairs, Steven disappeared into his room and I stepped into mine, closing the door behind me. I quickly removed my skirt suit, setting it on the chair next to my desk so that I could get it dry cleaned before I wore it again. Then I undid my bra, tossing it into the dirty laundry. After that, I skipped over to my dresser, finding a pair of comfy sweat pants to wear. I slipped them on and then pulled a simple t-shirt over my head. It felt so good to get out of those stiff work clothes and back into pajamas.

I wonder what the surprise is that Steven has for me...

I took a quick glance in the mirror then pulled my hair back into a loose ponytail. I turned to the side, giving myself a once over. My sweat pants were tight, hugging my small curves and making my ass look amazing. It was a look that I was sure would impress Steven, even though I continually told myself that that shouldn’t be a goal of mine.

“Well, let’s see what this surprise is,” I whispered.

Then I stepped out of my bedroom and turned down the hallway. Steven’s door was right next to mine, so I was there in a second. His door was open just a crack and I gently pushed on it, poking my head inside.

“Hello?” I called out, quietly.

I glanced to the right, where I saw Steven with his shirt off. He was wearing black sweat pants and was in the middle of looking for a shirt to wear. When he heard me call out his name, he immediately turned to face me.

“Oh, hey,” he said. “Sorry. You caught me before I could finished getting dressed.”

Jesus...don’t be sorry...
I thought quietly to myself.

He was even better looking with his shirt off. The muscles of his chest and abs were defined to perfection. He looked like a carved statue, the ideal body of a man. He was masculine, toned and powerful looking. And immediately, a moist heat presented itself in my crotch.

“Wow...” I said, not even thinking about the words that were coming out of my mouth. “I take it you work out?”

Steven blushed a little bit, somehow embarrassed by the fact that his little stepsister was commenting on his body.

“Uh, yea,” he responded. “I try to take care of myself. I don’t want to end up being some fat old man one day.”

I laughed and rolled my eyes.

“I highly doubt that’s going to happen.”

He shrugged his shoulders.

“Well, you never know,” he said. “Stranger things have happened, right?”

Steven grabbed a tight, blue t-shirt out of his dresser and slipped it on. As he pulled it down over his chest and abs, a feeling of disappointment came over me. I could have looked at that body all night if he had let me.

“So...what did you want to show me?” I asked.

Steven’s eyes lit up.

“Ah, yes,” he said. “Let me get it.”

He then began digging through the cardboard boxes that were stacked against the wall of his room. He obviously hadn’t had time to unpack everything yet. After a moment of digging, he pulled what appeared to be a picture frame out of one of the boxes.

“Here it is,” he said, as he proudly stepped toward me, holding the frame out in front of him.

I took the frame from him and flipped it over.

“Um...it’s a framed dollar bill?” I asked.

Steven laughed and then responded, “Good observation. But it’s not just
any
dollar bill. It’s the very first dollar I ever made with my own business. It’s brought me a lot of good luck over the years. I want you to have it.”

I lifted my eyes from the dollar bill and brought them to Steven’s.

“You want
me
to have it? But I don’t even own my own business...”

Steven smiled and then stepped a little closer, placing his hands on my shoulders and looking me straight in the eyes. His light touch took my breath away and I felt like I could just fall into his arms right there.

“It’s for good luck,” he said. “And I don’t need luck any more. I’ve figured out how business works. I want to pass on the luck to you. Maybe some day you can start your own business.”

I clutched the framed dollar bill tightly and then brought it to my side, holding it with one hand.

“Thank you, Steven,” I said. “That’s so thoughtful of you. I’ll put it on my wall and maybe it will bring me the same luck that it’s brought you.”

Steven kept his hands on my shoulders for a second longer and then slowly pulled them away. Then he cocked his head to the side, looking at me quizzically.

“There’s something on your mind, isn’t there, Kelsey?” he asked, his blue eyes once again staring right through me.

I blushed immediately. He was right, there were lots of things on my mind. Most of which, I wasn’t quite ready to tell him about, though.

“I guess a part of me is wondering why you decided to live here if you’re so successful in your business,” I said. “I mean it sounds like you’re rich. Why would you want to live in this crummy little house?”

As soon as the words came out of my mouth, I began to regret them. I realized almost immediately that it was an offensive thing to say.

Steven smirked, though, and then shrugged his shoulders.

“It’s like I told you at dinner, Kelsey,” he said. “Not everything in this world is about money. I wanted to stay here so that I could get to know you and your mom. You guys are family now. And if I didn’t commit to spending some time here while looking for a house to buy, then I probably would never have the chance to really get to know you. My business takes up most of my time, you know?”

I felt flattered. Here was a man who had all the money in the world, yet he decided that he wanted to live with my mom and I for a little while just to get to know us.

“That’s really sweet, Steven,” I said, as I unconsciously bit my bottom lip. “I wish that there were more guys out there as sweet as you.”

Steven’s eyes moved quickly up and down my body, giving me an obvious once over.

“And I wish that there were more girls like you in the world,” he said, as he stepped close to me once again.

This time, though, he placed his hands on my hips and gently pulled me close to him. Instantly, I began to let myself go. There in that moment, we were alone. My parents were on the other side of the house. Anything could happen.