Free Stepbrother Troubled: The Complete Series by Sybil Ling

her work and from her heart and brain trying to pull her in two different directions.
    “Blair, can it wait until another time?” she says. “I just had a long day at work, and I-”
    “No!” he says, his voice still low but with a harsh tone to it.
    Emily freezes where she is, her heart rising up to her throat. Even after literally not even seeing each other for weeks, it’s crazy that Blair has such a strong hold on her.
    “I need to show you now,” Blair says. “Emily please, I … I need you.”
    Those last three words melt their way into Emily’s heart and she knows that, even if her life depended on it, she wouldn’t be able to say no to her stepbrother.
    “Okay,” she finally says, her voice sounding weak in the dark, empty foyer. Emily walks towards Blair, his burning blue eyes on her the entire time. As she approaches the doorway Blair steps to the side, allowing her through. She passes by him, trying not to look him in the eyes. But the smell of him draws her, and it’s all she can do not to reach out and touch him, hold him, draw him closer to her.
    Emily steps into the garage where she sees his immaculate working environment again, the tools organized perfectly along the side wall, with a different car from last time parked, and the skeleton of a Harley Davidson motorcycle sitting upright, the casing lying on the ground, heavily dented.
    Emily turns around and almost cries out in surprise: Blair is already standing right behind her. His eyes are on her, burning into her, and Emily finds herself at a loss for words. With him so close to her, she has trouble remembering why she was so mad before. She wants to be with him again, but part of her mind holds her back. He doesn’t want you, she tells herself. He’s troubled, and he’ll just hurt you again. Don’t let him.
    “What did you want to show me?” Emily asks, secretly happy at the icy coldness still in her voice. Blair’s expression doesn’t change, but she’s certain that she can see something more behind his eyes. Or perhaps I’m just wishing that there’s something more? Come on, Emily, get a hold of yourself!
    “I made something for you,” Blair says, glancing briefly over her shoulder, into the garage. She turns her head to look behind her, but she doesn’t see anything that would resemble a gift. The only things here are that motorcycle and the car.
    “Well, what did you make me?” Emily asks, crossing her arms in front of her.
    “That,” Blair tells her, nodding behind her, and Emily blinks at him. She looks at the car again — a glossy-looking Volkswagon Beetle — and turns back to look at Blair. Again, his expression hasn’t changed, but she can see happiness behind his eyes.
    “What did you say?” she asks.
    “I have a client who had a car he was going to get rid of,” Blair explains. “He was going to take it to the dump, but I bought it off of him. Twenty dollars is all he wanted. I’ve been spending the last three weeks working to fix it up for you, and it’s finally done.” Emily’s mouth is open, and finally Blair smiles — an actual, honest smile that lights up his whole face in a way she’s never seen before. “Do you want to take a look?”
    “Blair, I …” Emily starts, but Blair holds up a hand to quiet her.
    “Please … just take a look.”
    Closing her mouth and giving a silent nod, Emily walks towards the car, accompanied by Blair. The vehicle is in incredible condition, considering that it was about to be thrown out. Inside are shiny leather seats, and the paint job looks brand new. Emily runs her hand over the roof, feeling the smoothness of the metal.
    “I had to weld over some parts that were too damaged by the rust,” he tells her. “But I ran it through an emissions and safety test, and it passed both.”
    “Blair … I don’t know what to say,” Emily mutters. “This is … I can’t accept this.”
    “Emily … I need to talk to you. I need to apologize, again, for how