Billionaire Stepbrother's Promise (A Forbidden Romance) Read online

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Stepbrother Holiday

  Copyright

  © 2015 Stephanie Brother

  All Rights Reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  This book is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locations is purely coincidental. The characters are all productions of the author’s imagination.

  Please note that this work is intended only for adults over the age of 18 and all characters represented as 18 or over.

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  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Stepbrother Holiday

  Chapter One

  “Clarissa, Clarissa! The ice sculpture is falling!”

  “Clarissa, what are we supposed to do? The caterer lost the appetizers!”

  “It’s an emergency Clarissa! One of the guests is allergic to orchids and has passed out by the bar!!”

  Yes, this is my life. Despite the fact that a million disasters were hurtling towards me at a breakneck speed, I was calm and collected. In my element even. What is unfolding is known only to me and my event planning crew. For everyone else, all they will see is the glamour and glitz of yet another Durant party succeed.

  I’m Clarissa Durant, and I love to plan parties. If there is any kind of party in New York, than it was most likely me in the center of it. Some rich women like to delegate it all to a planner, but I find that means that ideas and plans go missing along the way. And I like to think big. Even when I was ten years old, I was planning for my own birthday party, though I didn’t have the kind of funds then that I do now. I loved organizing the details, the surprise factor of what could go wrong each time, and the triumph in pulling it all off anyways.

  And at a party this big, the problems came in spades. I’d been nervous at first when Lilia Huntington first rang me up. I had only just gotten into New York Ladies for a Better Society. Because I wasn’t technically a Durant (my mother had married my stepdad when I was twelve), and the fact that I was only twenty, it had taken a long time to get accepted. Right away I was given the task of organizing their 150th anniversary. But I’ve never been one to shy away from a challenge-and my weeks of sleepless nights were paying off. I was even being featured on the blog NYCnow!

  After a tense few hours, we were finally in the clear. The champagne was free flowing, and all the little mistakes and disasters were smoothed over by the luxurious bubby being passed around. I know, it’s a little weird to enjoy doing work when I belonged to such a wealthy family, but I chalked it up to having grown up without. I walked out slowly into the garden, appreciating how well everything had come together. For now at least, my place at the Society was secure.

  The guests mingled under a fresh summer sky, lanterns casting a golden light from the trees above us. As the lights dimmed and we were set free from the dinner table speeches, I allowed myself a moment’s reprieve. I snagged myself a flute, watching from the sidelines. The majestic columns of the banquet hall allowed me to hide myself from view. Scrolling through my phone, I was all ready to check my emails when I noticed that I wasn’t alone.

  Aiden.

  His tux was perfectly tailored to his broad shoulders and tall frame, accentuating him instead of the other way around. He had come up next to me, hands in his pockets, gazing pensively at the crowd, and yet he found no need to make conversation. His profile was patrician, the product of New York’s finest. The beat of my heart sped up, as it always did, at the sight of him. I couldn’t help it, even though I knew that there wasn’t a chance for us. He was my stepbrother after all.

  “Hello,” I said politely.

  “Clarissa,” he said. His voice was warm and smooth, like the whiskey he held in his hand. “You look lovely tonight.”

  “Thank you,” I said softly.

  Hazel eyes regarded me slowly, his gaze panning down before heading back up towards my face. For once in my life, I didn’t mind. My red dress had a deep cowl neck that swooped just above my breasts, and the mermaid tail of my gown gave me an incredible set of curves. I knew that I looked radiant tonight, and yes, secretly, I had planned it for him. Aiden liked a woman in red.

  It sounded stupid, and wrong, to be in love with your own stepbrother, but sometimes the heart jumps in before the brain could tell it to stop. It didn’t matter at first, because Aiden felt the same way about me too. But then he was sent abroad to run the international arm of the Durant Corporation, and he came back a completely different man.

  A man who forgot his promises. A man who was cold and arrogant, but managed somehow to get a different woman every night to sleep with him. In short, he was a man who had broken my heart.

  “Aiden!!” a high pitched voice squealed, breaking into my thoughts.

  Our gaze broke, and we both turned to the left, where a tall, willowy blonde was stumbling up to us. Another one of Aiden’s conquests. Though her hair was a little ruffled, it seemed to suit her, as if she’d stepped out of a high profile fashion magazine. Her black dress clung to her long legs and fake breasts. She gave Aiden a kiss on each cheek, giggling as she almost spilled all of her drink on his tux. Yet another new date.

  “Aideeenn, I was looking all over for you,” she said with a pout.

  I wasn’t surprised. Aiden always had one woman or another chasing after him. How to get laid seemed to be the only skill he’d picked up abroad. I didn’t believe it when the rumors made their way back to me at first. After all, the Aiden I knew was loyal and quiet, more prone to reading books than chasing tail. He had a strong personality back then too, and he was always able to convince the maids to do what we’d like. It was a shame the way he wasted it now.

  “Sorry, I was just talking to my stepsister,” he replied. “How many have you had?”

  “I lost count!” she replied as if that was the whole point.

  “Well don’t have too much, Nikki,” he said with a big grin. “I’ve been wanting to try out-“

  “Okay! That’s enough,” I said, holding up a hand. “I don’t want to hear what kind of weird, crazy things you two do in the bedroom.”

  “Whoa little sis, where’s your mind at?” he said.

  He raised up his eyebrow at Nikki, who fell into another fit of laughter.

  “Oh gosh Aiden,” she laughed. “I wouldn’t be surprised if we did end up there… hm?”

  My cheeks burned. It was always like this. One way or another, Aiden always made me feel like I was uncool and prudish. I mean, was it really any wonder that I wanted to move out so I didn’t have to deal with his endless parade of women every morning? It rubbed salt into the wound, the way he showed off his conquests, as if I hadn’t once wanted to be in their place too.

  Before I could say another word though, the chairwoman of the Society glided up to my side and cleared her throat. She barely reached my shoulders, even with her cloud of white hair piled high. Dressed in a pink Chanel tweed suit, she hardly looked like the matriarch of upper crust society.

  “Clarissa?”

  “Hello, Mrs. Huntington,” I said, leaning in for the lightest of hugs. “What do you think of tonight?”

  “It’s marvellous! I just knew it was going to be wonderful!”

  “Thank you,” I replied, pleased by the complime
nt. Mrs. Huntington had been vehemently opposed to me directing the party, but I guess she had conveniently forgotten that now. “I’m glad you approve.”

  “My dear, I don’t just approve,” she said, “I think I’d like to make you our official hostess!”

  “Official hostess? Why Clarissa that’s quite an honor,” Aiden said exaggeratedly. “I don’t think there’s ever been a hostess as young as you.”

  “Quite right dear, quite right,” Mrs. Huntington said, patting Aiden’s cheek. “My, you’ve grown quite a bit since I last saw you Aiden.”

  Mrs. Huntington’s sun Harrison was good friends with Aiden, until Aiden bought the biggest luxury yacht in the world from right under his nose. Harrison retaliated by purchasing Aiden’s favourite football team. The two have been fighting ever since. If you asked me, they should just whip out their junk and decide who’s the biggest, but there wouldn’t be any fun in that would there?

  “I’ve been incredibly busy these past few years unfortunately. I think father is preparing for retirement, and wants to make sure that I’ll be able to do justice to the company.”

  “Well dear, I’ll see you tomorrow at the charity gala at least?”

  “Gala?”

  Crap. I had been hoping that Aiden wouldn’t hear about the gala. I was supposed to be introduced to a man that night that my friend Jenny had set me up with. It was the first time in months that I was dating. For some reason, one way or another, Aiden always managed to put them off. He’d tell embarrassing stories, or pick fights-do just about anything to make sure that I was miserable and alone. It was yet another reason that I should have hated him, though it never quite worked.

  “It’s yet another one of Clarissa’s ideas to help out the charities from the Society. There’s going to be a silent auction, and all the proceeds will go to that lady’s charity of choice. I have to say, I thought it would be quite staid, but word has gotten out, and I do believe there are even some Hollywood stars who are joining in. I’ve never had so many young people participate or RSVP to a Society event!”

  “Well, I’ll definitely be there tomorrow then Mrs. Huntington,” he said smoothly, looking at me over the top of her head. “It sounds like a worthy cause.”

  “It is, it is. The Society always tries to return its good fortune back to the city. But I must keep moving. There are still so many people to thank for coming.”

  With another round of air kisses done, Mrs. Huntington floated away.

  “So, what are you auctioning Rissa?” Aiden asked, using the pet name that he’d given me when I was a kid.

  “Nothing,” I said shortly.

  There was another reason that I hadn’t wanted him to come to the gala. That was because I planned to unveil my own party company. I hoped that all the publicity that the gala was getting would mean that the company name would become known that much quicker if I made it an item for auction.

  I hadn’t been expected to do much ever since my mom remarried. My stepfather was a pretty traditional guy, and he thought that bringing the money home should be left to the men of the family. He approved of me joining the Society, but the fact was, everything I had and was came straight from him. I was grateful of course, but I didn’t like it one bit. I wanted to be able to stand on my own two feet, to be able to point to something that couldn’t be taken away from me.

  “Oh come on. Maybe I’ll even bid on you.”

  His eyes were dark and intense as they looked at me, and I couldn’t help but think that there was an undercurrent to what he was saying. I blinked, trying to figure out the meaning in his gaze. But then the moment passed, and Nikki piped up.

  “Yeah, don’t worry, we can bid on you.”

  I looked over at Nikki. She wouldn’t last the end of the night. Poor girl. They never did. Each one of them always thought they’d be able to hold onto Aiden. None of them ever did. It was another reason that I could never get involved with him.

  “I don’t need your pity bid Aiden,” I said as I turned away. “I hope you two have a good night.”

  I quickly walked away from the pair of them and back into the crowd. I spend most of that night nodding and smiling, pretending that I cared about how every one of them just loved what I had done with the party. But I wasn’t really listening at all. I was just thinking about Aiden.

  Finally, it was late enough that I could leave without anyone noticing. I hailed a cab and returned home to the Durant penthouse. It occupied three floors in one of the best blocks in New York. We even had our own private elevator.

  As soon as I got past the door, I slipped out of my four-inch heels, letting my tired feet sink into the plush carpet. Usually I’d get a bowl of ice cream and start going over how everything went with Jenny, but I didn’t have it in me tonight. I was drained from all the stress finally lifting off my shoulders.

  I walked up the stairs and down the hall to my bedroom. Along the way I paused at Aiden’s door, stopping for a quick glance inside. It hadn’t changed much in all those years. Books lined the across from his bed, which I remembered from when we used to hang out together. There was the big, red couch that he refused to let mom get rid of, and even an old travel chest that held his childhood toys. It was strange, that despite the fact that he’d changed so much, his room was still the same. It gave me a little hope that maybe somewhere beneath his brazen playboy exterior, the Aiden I knew was still inside.

  Since there was a small chance that Aiden could bring Nikki back with him soon, I kept walking back to my own room. I reached my hands over and pulled down the zipper behind me back, letting the red dress fall. Whatever hopes I had hung on that dress slipped off with it. I wasn’t wearing a bra tonight, and I could see my nipples hardening into stiff peaks atop my rounded globes.

  I laid down, spread eagled on my bed for a few minutes before I did what I did most nights when I thought about Aiden. I leaned over the side, and carefully withdrew an old hoodie that I had stashed beneath it. It had belonged to Aiden. He had given it to me to borrow on one of the last times I saw him. I meant to give it back, but it smelled so much like him, and I found out soon after that he was gone. It was all I had. The smell was probably gone by now, but I still liked to think that it was there. I inhaled, letting the scent linger in my lungs.

  Slowly my hand trailed up my thigh in the dark night. I envisioned myself unzipping his hoodie, revealing the hard planes of his stomach. I wanted to run my hands all over his chest, to touch every last bit of him. With my other hand I began to circle my breasts, already tight and ready. My feather light touch was his tongue, his mouth, his teeth as teased me. I wanted to feel the weight of his body heavy on top of my own, pinning me down with the promise of desires fulfilled.

  I arched my back as my hand pushed my panties aside, whispering his name. How many times had I done this? I lost count. He’d brought so many women home over the years, and through our shared bedroom wall, I could hear them all as he satisfied them, their screams covering my own moans as I slipped my fingers into my folds. They were already slick with anticipation, and my practised hand pumped in and out, a poor replacement for my own stepbrother’s cock.

  Heat raced along my skin as I pleasured myself, my fantasies unravelling now with the lust of the moment. I had to shut my eyes tightly as I twisted and pinched one nipple and then the other, sending jolts of pleasure from my sensitive breasts to my core.

  Aiden would circle slowly, planting kisses up my thigh instead of dashing for my womanhood, enjoying the taste of my body. I could already see his head between my legs, winding me tighter and tighter, circling around my pulsing entrance, until even his breath would make me buck my hips up once, twice, three times with an overwhelming need.

  “Aiden!” I cried out, as I made myself climax.

  I curled up tight against the flood of pleasure that washed over me. My breath hitched, and I rolled onto my side, my face up against his hoodie. My whole body prickled with warmth. Why, why, why was he still the only one that coul
d make me feel so good?

  Why did it have to be him?

  Chapter Two

  The night of the charity gala was warm and clear. I could see the stars glittering over us, and the full moon shone a silvery glow on the gardens. I’d made sure that fairy lights were strung up across the whole back half of the patio and gardens and genuine crystals refracted the light so it felt almost as though it had been day. It had been a good idea hosting it in a park garden. It felt more exclusive and luxurious. I’d outdone myself, even I could admit it. The grounds were stately, and everyone was in a state of good cheer (fuelled by copious amounts of wine of course).

  I’d pulled out all the stops tonight. I was even a little excited by the idea of meeting someone. I was ready to be loved again. My sapphire coloured gown skimmed my body but did not hide, and the ruche in the back emphasized my hips. I’d pulled my hair into a low chignon, and I’d worn my best and favourite pearl earrings. I thought I’d tidied up pretty well.

  The auction was to be held later in the evening, but people had already started before that. It was a good time to see and be seen after all. I walked through the gala hall and into the garden, breathing in the warm floral scent in the air. Tonight was special, and for once I left most of the details to my assistant.

  “Clarissa!” Jenny called out.

  I looked over and saw her with her boyfriend and another guy sitting at the one of the garden tables. That must be Samuel, I thought. He was apparently one of her boyfriend’s pals. He intrigued me because he hadn’t come from old money, and I hoped that would mean that we’d have common ideas and goals about things. He had started up a tech company focusing on app development, and Facebook supposedly was going to buy one of them very soon.

  “Hey! Everything looks so good tonight,” Jenny said as I came closer. We hugged, and she whispered, “I’m glad you finally got here. I’ve been talking you up!”