Free Greed: A Stepbrother Romance by Stephanie Brother Page B

handle. At least too much for me to handle.

“It’s just so typical of you.” She spoke softly, her voice laced with disappointment. It set me on edge, fuelling my own anger too. “As soon as things don’t go the way you want it to, you bail. You always bail.” Her face pink, she moved closer, her brown eyes glittering with the anger that refused to relent. “You never stick around. Not to talk or work things out. You run. You run like a fucking coward.”

The air felt alive somehow. My skin was too hot despite the light sweater I had on. My heart beat faster than normal. A coward? She thought I was a coward? For years I’d fought against what I felt for her until all I could do was disappear. How the fuck did you ‘talk’ or ‘work’ out a situation where you had fallen in love with your stepsister?

“And what about you, Mac?” I stepped toward her, crowding her space. When she backed up, I followed. “Wanna know what you do when the going gets tough? You ignore it. You stick your damn head in the sand and act like if you pretend it isn’t happening it’ll go away.”

She pressed against the dresser and stared up at me with wide eyes. Her lips parted, she breathed fast and deep like if I was blocking her oxygen. I intended to do just that. I was going to kiss her so hard, she’d hit me to let her go. No amount of rationalization was going to stop me either. I was a coward? Far from it. She was about to learn that much.

“Newsflash, Mac, either you run, you fight, or you give in.”

She licked her lips. “Reid, I—”

“And you know what?” I fisted my hand in her hair, pulling her head back so every bit of her attention was focused on me. Her features were conflicted, growing desire warring with deepening anger. My cock was as hard as stone and I decided that maybe kissing her was not the only thing I needed to do to her today.

I bent my head so she could feel my lips move against her jaw as I spoke.

“I’m fed up of running, I’m fed up fighting, so I think I might as well give in.”
     
     
     
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    Excerpt from Speed: A Stepbrother Romance :
     
    His car was exactly what I expected. Black, expensive and fast-looking.

"Sorry for the ride," he said, as he opened the passenger door for me. "This is a rental. Most of my cars are nicer than this."

I didn't respond; I just slid into the deep seat, trying not to expose any more of my legs, which was an impossible task. Axel stood at the door, watching my every wiggle, and I realized too late that he was looking down the front of my low-cut blouse. It was an unexpected rush; I was no longer the awkward teen he barely noticed. He was noticing me, and I could tell he liked what he was seeing.

Axel got behind the wheel and accelerated aggressively as he pulled out of the lot. I got a thrill from being pushed back in my seat as he sped onto the highway.

As he drove, I realized our conversation patterns had changed. I guess he considered his interview over, because now he was asking questions about me, whereas in the restaurant, I don't think he'd asked any.

He asked how long I'd lived in the area, how I liked my job, and why I'd chosen my field of work. He listened, and asked thoughtful follow-up questions, and I felt myself relaxing.

I also noticed that he'd stopped the aggressive flirtation, and I had to admit I missed it, even though I knew I shouldn't.

We arrived at his lot and he drove slowly down the bumpy, unpaved driveway. The framework that had been erected made it clear that his house was going to be huge, a mini-mansion. It looked even bigger than his dad's house that I'd lived in with Axel. No workers were there; they must have been done for the day.

He parked in front of what looked like it would be the garage, and hurried around to my door before I had a chance to open it myself. I tried to get out of the car gracefully, but there was no doubt he got a