Free Romance: TOXIC (Forbidden, Pregnancy, Taboo Romance, Stepbrother Romance, New Adult Short Stories) by Celia Styles

I now know that that kind of love can happen twice.”
    “Now, isn’t that nice?”
    The loud, rude voice came from the French doors leading onto the porch from the sitting room. Sara’s stomach dropped to her toes as she turned and recognized Tony Smith, one of Elliot’s business acquaintances—at least, that was how she’d been introduced to him. Sara suspected he was more of a troublemaker than a businessman. She didn’t know what Elliot was up to in his spare time, but it couldn’t be good if he did it with Tony.
    Tony frightened her. He’d shown up in the stables once, a little less than a month ago, and caught her up against the wall of Shadow’s stall while she was mucking it out. If the stable boy hadn’t shown up just then, she was pretty sure what came next would not have been pleasant.
    Elliot was already making his way through the several hundred party guests to confront Tony. Sara followed, determined to let their parents shine in this one moment if it killed her. By the time she got to the doors, Elliot had already ushered Tony inside. They were arguing quietly near the center of the room, if their body language told her anything, too quietly for her to guess what it was about.
    Then Tony spotted Sara over Elliot’s shoulder and began to laugh.
    “Did you come to protect your little brother, sweetheart?”
    Elliot didn’t even look at her. “Go back to the party, Sara.”
    “You’re ruining everything. You know that, right?”
    “Sara…”
    “They’ve been planning this night—that speech—for months. And the two of you are ruining it.”
    “Go back outside, Sara,” Elliot said, his tone so controlled that she almost didn’t recognize it. “I have this handled.”
    “Is that what you have?” Tony asked. “You have me handled? I hate to break it to you, brother, but you have very little handled.”
    “Go back outside,” Elliot repeated.
    “Why don’t you tell her, brother? Why don’t you tell her what you are? What we are?”
    Tony suddenly rushed around Elliot and grabbed Sara by the shoulders, shoving her backward. She cried out as his fingers pressed into her flesh so hard that she was could almost feel the bruises forming.
    “Let her go.”
    Tony slammed her against the far wall, smiling as he bent low, acting for all the world like he was about to kiss her. Sara turned her face away in disgust just as he whispered, “You will make a perfect replacement.”
    Elliot rushed up behind Tony and kicked his feet out from under him. Sara cried out as his hands were ripped from her shoulders as he fell. Tony immediately rebounded, jumping to his feet and throwing a punch that hit Elliot square on the chin, causing him to fly backward and slam into mother’s collection of Faberge eggs, shattering half of them as they rained down around him. A few guests had followed them inside, including Kayly who cried out—though Sara wasn’t sure if she was crying for Elliot or the expensive knickknacks.
    Elliot began to throw an answering punch, but he met Sara’s eyes and the anger almost instantly melted from his own. Instead, he grabbed Tony by the arm and dragged his struggling body out of the room with an impossible amount of strength. A second later, the whole house seemed to vibrate with the slamming of the front door.
    “What the hell is going on?”
    Nicholas had come into the room, Sara’s mother close behind him.
    Sara would never forget the shrill pitch of her mother’s scream.