Free Stepbrother: Stepbrother Seduction (Stepbrother Obsessions Book 1) by Linda Cooper

had been only a day.
    “I had to tell them, Danny.” She let the words out with a sigh. “It was getting out of hand, and they were acting like I was out there being some kind of out of control slut or getting taken advantage of by some predator. I’m sorry, but I had to tell them.” She looked over at him, searching his face for his reaction.
    “Shit,” he replied, his head dropping to his chest for a moment. She watched his chest rise and fall, wanting to hold him and comfort him somehow. What must he be feeling about all of this? It couldn’t be any easier on him. But she just held his hand tightly and hoped for the best. “How did they take it?” he whispered, not looking at her.
    “You dad wasn’t too terribly upset; just surprised. He was actually pretty pissed at my mother for her reaction. The long and short of it is that she is disappointed in me and thinks U ruined her marriage. She’s supposedly going to pack her bags and leave him and find us an apartment. She said something about homeschooling me until college. She wants us away from you and your dad like it’s all you guys’ fault. It’s ridiculous. I hope she’ll come to her senses soon. The good news is this means our secret’s out, Danny. We don’t have to hide anymore. We can be together out in the open and not worry about it. And we’re 18. It’s not like they can legally keep us apart.” She smiled over at him, trying to look positive. She felt like she had nothing else to lose. Like all the pain would be his.
    Danny shook his head, and she wasn’t sure what to make of it. “This changes everything, Tanya. I can’t let this go on. We can’t be together anymore, I’m sorry.” He let go of her hand, and she felt her heart drop down to her stomach and shatter into a million pieces.
    “But, I thought you loved me, Danny. I thought you wanted to be with me. We almost had a baby together, and we don’t have to hide anymore! What more do you want?” Tears were streaming down her eyes as he stood up and looked at her with those baby blues she had gotten so used to looking into.
    “I do love you, Tanya. But our love for each other is nothing compared to what our parents have. They have loved and lost so many times just to find each other. They will never get over this and reconcile as long as we’re together. And you’re right that we almost had a baby together. And I’m sorry that that life, that future is lost. But it’s also a good thing. They could never look at that grandchild without thinking of what happened between us.”
    “Our love is nothing?” The question was ringing in her ears over and over like a church bell. It was terrible. She pinched herself hard, trying to wake up from this nightmare she was standing in.
    “Nothing,” he growled out before walking away. He didn’t even bother to walk her back in. As she began to cry, she grabbed her abdomen in pain. She was still hurting, and she probably shouldn’t be crying or be under such stress. She made her way back to her hospital room as quick as she could and picked up the phone, dialing her mother’s number.
    Her mother didn’t answer. She was probably driving. So, Tanya left a voicemail. Praying she would get it. She couldn’t face Danny again after that. She couldn’t go home and pack her stuff where she had been with him so many times. She couldn’t melt under his blue icy gaze. “Mom, please pack my stuff for me while you’re there. I don’t want to go back.”
     

Chapter 14
 
    Tanya walked down the hall and into her room, or what used to be her room. She looked around fondly, finding it hard to believe it had been almost a year since she’d stepped foot in there. Her mother and stepfather had only lived apart for a couple of months after the incident at the hospital, but her mother had kept the apartment for Tanya to live in. She and Danny had hardly spoken during that whole time, and now she was a college girl having got into to her dream