Free My Master (Stepbrother Romance #1) by Ellen Lane Page A

large and warm. “Please, call me Bill.” His crystal blue eyes sparkled when he smiled. That’s when I noticed his dimples, and my breath hitched slightly. There was nothing sexier than a man with dimples. And this man was definitely sexy. He had solid arms and muscles that begged to be touched. Yes, he was the type of man worthy of cover model status.
                  “Okay, Bill.” I pulled my hand from his and drank the rest of my champagne. Generally, men didn’t make me nervous, but something about him did. I couldn’t put my finger on why, though.
                  “Would you mind giving me a personal tour of your pieces? I’m always so fascinated with how the creative mind works and where artists get their inspiration.”
                  I wanted to tell him no, but Cora was staring at me expectantly, and I knew she’d be pissed if I didn’t give him what he wanted. And knowing he was her biggest investors, I really couldn’t fuck this up. I smiled and nodded. “I’d be glad to.”
                  He stepped up beside me and put his hand on my lower back. “Lead the way.”
                  Biting back a rude comment, I moved toward the closest exhibit, which also, thankfully, happened to have the biggest crowd around it. A flat screen TV was mounted to the wall and it showed a collage of images. Photos I’d taken. Photos Daryl had taken while travelling that he allowed me to use. Images from pop culture. Scenes from some of the biggest news stories of the year.
                  “This here is a visual representation of good versus evil. Things that bring us joy, the good in the world. And then the not so good, the evil and suffering.” It had taken me months to pull this piece together, to arrange the images in just the right order, to find a musical backdrop that fit perfectly.
                  “Stunning,” Bill said. “Tell me, Laura, what inspired this piece?”
                  I took a deep breath and looked around for Daryl, hoping he was watching and could come over to join us. But he was engaged in a deep conversation with Cora. I scowled. I knew Cora had a thing for my step brother, and it irritated the shit out of me. Not just because Daryl deserved better than Cora and not just because the two of them had absolutely nothing in common, but because I loved Daryl – as more than just a brother. It was my darkest secret, a secret I kept buried deep within me, a secret I would take to my grave. I knew there could and would never be anything romantic between Daryl and I. But that didn’t stop me from fantasizing about it.
                  I turned my attention back to Bill and realized everyone else was now watching me, waiting for my explanation.  I licked my lips and smiled. “My parents’ divorce. My biological father passed away when I was nine, and my mother remarried three years later. I was in a dark place in my life, but my step brother, Daryl, helped me get through it. The joyful images in this piece are his and he represents the good. The other images, the evil, are representative of the dark place I was in during that time in my life.”
                  “That’s so profound,” someone in the crowd murmured.
                  Bill’s hand on my back inched lower, and I took a step away from him. He might be sexy, but I knew his type, and I wasn’t interested.
                  “Shall we move on to the next?” I asked him.
                  “Absolutely.” He smiled.
                  I spent the next hour giving a private tour to Bill, but by the end, it wasn’t so private. Along the way, we’d collected several other people who were listening to me talk, nodding and offering compliments on my art. For a while, I forgot all about Bill’s wandering hand from earlier. It was nice to know all these people were here