Free Bad Boy - A Stepbrother Romance by Caitlin Daire, Alyssa Alpha

Cummings gestured for us to sit. “Even so, we still need to check out a few things. When was the last time you had your blood pressure checked?” he asked.
    My mind drifted off as my grandmother and the doctor spoke about her medical history, and a few minutes later, she nudged me. “Rory, dear, you don’t need to be here for all of this. We’ll probably be here for a while, so why don’t you run down to the cafeteria and see if they have some of those Jello cups you used to like?”
    Dr. Cummings smiled. “The green flavor is the best,” he said. “We’ll probably be about twenty minutes or so.”
    “All right,” I said, rising to my feet. “I’ll meet you back up here then.”
    As I headed out the door, I caught a glimpse of the back of a man in a Santa costume ducking into another hallway that led off to the left. The children’s ward was at the other end of this floor, and I smiled at the thought of all the kids being brought a little extra cheer by the hospital Santa.
    It was awful for kids to be sick—or anyone for that matter—but it was sweet that some people went out of their way to make them feel at least a little better, especially around Christmas time. Maybe one day I could even volunteer here myself. I’d have to look into it.
    My phone buzzed in my bag, and I pulled it out to see a message from Dana, asking if I was free for drinks sometime this week. I replied, and we had a short back and forth texting session for a couple of minutes, and then I turned right and headed towards the stairwell before remembering that I was alone now. Elevator it is. Turning around yet again, I briskly headed towards the elevators, and just as I yawned and closed my eyes for a split second, I crashed right into…you guessed it.
    Finn, my evil stepbrother.
    What the hell was he doing here? He’d just rounded the corner, and he looked as shocked to see me as I was to see him.
    He regained his composure almost immediately and looked down at me, a playful grin on his face. “Hey,” he said. “What are you doing here? I thought you had work at the software place during the day.”
    “I had to bring my Grandma in for some tests,” I said, my voice stiff. His mention of my job had reminded me of our pseudo-date at Clancy’s, when I’d told him all about what I did and what my future ambitions were. I hated being reminded of that night, because it brought up all the feelings I’d been trying to suppress ever since. “What are you doing here?”
    He opened his mouth to say something, closed it, and then opened it again. Weird. Was he nervous?
    “Oh, you know, just getting a plastic surgery consultation about a penis reduction,” he finally replied, eyes glinting with amusement. “Maybe a bicep reduction too. These bad boys are just too dangerous, don’t you think?”
    He jokingly flexed his muscles at me, and I snorted and folded my arms. “Sure, sure. More like you’re getting your biweekly STD panel.”
    He chuckled and held his hands up, palms facing me. “Oh, I guess you got me there,” he said. “Gotta stay healthy, right?”
    “Sure. Whatever. Anyway, I’ll see you later,” I mumbled, stepping around him.
    Unfortunately, he was also heading towards the elevators. He winked at me and gestured towards the buttons beside the door. “Going down?” he asked.
    “I swear to God, if this is a setup for some kind of oral sex joke, I’ll throw you down the elevator shaft,” I said.
    He chuckled. “Someone’s a little touchy today. Seriously, though, are you going down?”
    “Yeah. Ground floor,” I said.
    “Me too.”
    He pressed the down button, and the elevator dinged a moment later.
    “After you, milady,” Finn said, bowing and nodding towards the open doors.
    I rolled my eyes, but a hint of a smile played on my lips. “Thanks,” I mumbled.
    The doors closed, and it was just the two of us heading down in the elevator. We’d only been inside it for about five seconds when it made a