Free Hard: A Step-Brother Romance by Sosie Frost Page B

this somehow posed a threat to the township’s
development ordinance.
    If
only the brick could grind like my teeth. I’d wear it down in only a couple
nights.
    I
checked the time. I was supposed to be back at the college in less than an hour
to deal with student teaching arrangements for the next semester. Since I was
living at the mansion, I had to finagle a new assignment, one closer to home
but out of my assigned school district.
    That
didn’t make my advisor happy.
    Music
pumped from the stairs. I stared over the kitchen counter as Zach strutted past
me to get another Gatorade from the fridge. I averted my eyes.
    “Don’t
you ever wear a shirt?” I asked.
    Zach
flexed as he drank. He showed off his perfect body, and it wasn’t an accident. Zach
loved nothing more than teasing me with the one temptation I wholeheartedly
denied.
    I
hated that he had no shame about it. What he lacked in humility, he packed in
sheer, brute muscle. I never met a man more focused on fitness and strength
than him. It must have been a SEAL thing. I tried not to imagine him in the
gym.
    Shirtless.
Lifting weights. Grunting.  Sweating.
    “Like
what you see?” Zach offered me his dimpled grin.
    Great.
I stared. I checked my chin for drool. No wetness there. Wish I could say the
same about other places.
    I put
the phone on speakerphone while the company blared tinny music at me. I handed Zach
a glass before he took another drink directly from the milk carton.
    “Please,”
I said. “That’s gross.”
    His
eyes revealed him—an impish green that promised only trouble, aggravation, and another
night alone in bed, regretting ever sending him away.
    “You’d
had worse,” he teased.
    And
he’d never let me live it down. I wagged the glass. “You’re a guest, not a
puppy. I shouldn’t have to housebreak you.”
    “I’d
love to see you get a collar on me.”
    Nope.
Wasn’t playing. Too aggravated with the phone call. I groaned again.
    “What’s
wrong?” He asked.
    “Life.”
    “Care
to be more specific?”
    I
ended the call. Those were two hours I’d never recover. “I’ve gotta go to the
campus to rearrange my schedule, and I still haven’t sorted out the internet.”
    Zach
shrugged. “I’ll do it.”
    Yeah,
right. “I can do it when I get back.”
    “Let
me. I live here too.”
    I
arched an eyebrow.
    He smirked.
“For a little bit. Or, until you beg me to stay.”
    “Unlikely.”
    He
crossed his arms. The muscles bulged. He didn’t even notice. “My mom was also on
the deed and utilities. I can handle this one. I’ll get your name on it too.”
    I
didn’t have time to argue. Or the patience. Or the strength. Hanging near Zach
24/7 wore me down. He was sweet. He was charming.
    And
he was the sexiest man I ever saw.
    I
tried to keep the distance between us, but he knew just how to get under my
skin. It was better than under my sheets, but just barely. He liked teasing as much
as he liked fooling around, but it only wound me up. Zach had more control over
his urges than I did.
    One good
fight and my suppressed emotions and memories would boil over. We’d have
another disastrous kiss.
    Which
would lead to a good kiss.
    And
then even more.
    It couldn’t
happen. As far as I was concerned, Zach’s stay in the mansion was a business
arrangement. Strictly business until I got my trust and he shipped out
wherever they needed superheroes with egos bigger than the country they
defended.
    “Okay,
fine.” I pointed the phone at him. “Make sure I’m listed as the primary
contact. I’ll be back in a couple hours after I fix my schedule. Don’t burn the
house down while I’m gone.”
    “You
can count on me.”
    He
mock saluted and then drank straight from the milk carton.
    Damn
it, I nearly smiled. I escaped from the kitchen as quickly as I could without
looking suspicious.
    Bad
idea. Very bad idea. Worst possible idea .
    I
repeated the words in a quick cadence. It didn’t help. I sought refuge in my
car and headed