TASTE: A Stepbrother Romance Read online

  I saw a path to the west of the secluded bungalow. It looked like it crawled down toward the shore. From the front of the house, the ocean seemed miles away. But I wondered if the rock strewn path went where I thought. My boss was otherwise occupied and from the looks of the movie he’d been watching, he could be busy for a while.

  Starting down the steep cliff, I felt my smartphone hum. It was my sister, Kris. She called me only when she wanted something. And we weren’t even close. I switched my phone to silent and continued down the cliff side.

  Maybe I could get to the beach for a little bit. I wouldn’t be gone long. I’d have a look around, be back, and Driver would never know the difference.

  The shoreline came up to my feet in no time. The path was a short hike down and I was standing on the shore watching the water crash onto the sand. The night air was balmy, and the ocean was often ten degrees or so cooler.

  I touched my toe into the water, then squealed. I glanced around the beach and couldn’t see a house. Except for Driver’s, which was yards from the coast. I guessed this scenic shore was why the rich enjoyed their life. It was a perfect place to strip naked and skinny dip without anybody seeing. I stripped off my clothes and raced into the water.

  I dove under the foam, and swam beneath the surface. The tension in my neck and shoulders ebbed away, and I broke the surface, feeling light and free.

  That's when I saw my boss staring straight at me.

  I spotted my clothes at his bare feet. I stared at him covering my breasts with my arm. The water splashed around my hips and I paused. “Well? You going to turn around?”

  Driver stood, then he spun his back to me. I ran through the surf and tugged my clothes over my wet body. I wished I’d had a scarf or a towel to wrap around my hair. Wondering how long it would stay wet before it kinked. I’d got my skirt around my ankles when I saw Driver turn. “Stay still,” I said.

  He turned around anyway. “Consider my attraction part of your bonus.”

  I stared, wondering what he meant. When I noticed the bulge stretching down one side of his slacks, and it continued to grow. I hiked up my skirt and headed for the cliffside. Driver cut off my retreat.

  “I suppose I don’t have to tell you I like the beach. I bought this stretch of land for the view. It’s a nice view.” I glimpsed my boss closing in, and I tried to circle around him. He matched me toe to toe. “And this evening, it has gotten a whole lot better.”

  Here we were, on his secluded beach front property, and no one around but the two of us. “I work for you, Mr. Fox. That’s all.” He blocked me again and I looked at him, pissed. “Is this another one of your ‘tests’?” I saw him gaze me head to toe, as a grin spread across his handsome face.

  “You passed that test back at the house. And I believe I’m who you’re testing now?”

  “What is that supposed to mean?” I asked. Driver gripped my shoulders. “I’m your assistant, Mr. Fox. At your beck and call.”

  “Only because I’m paying you.” Driver gripped me tighter and I felt my blouse slip down my shoulders. “That’s no longer enough.”

  Driver dipped his head and drew me close, crushing me against his hard chest as he kissed me.

  Chapter Nine

  Driver dropped to the sand taking me with him.

  “We can’t do this! I’m not one of your women you can just turn on and turn off like a light.”

  “I turn you on?” The rasp of his tongue did things to me I’d never imagined. He ran his palms over my tits and I felt his erection prodding my scantily clad body. His size was almost too much to hold as I tried to slip away and my hand knocked against his erection. His cock bobbed and lengthened, and I gasped as his hardness angled up my belly.

  Somehow he’d undone his pants. He cupped my ass and lifted me in his arms. “Great night for a swim.” He ran into the waves and we collided in the foam. He dragged me onto his chest crushing my breasts as he dipped his tongue inside my mouth. We kissed in the water, as he pushed my skirt aside and thrust his big cock in and out, over, and again. He held me still while he rammed his pole deep inside me. The water buoyed us as he ravaged me until I begged him to go harder.

  What was I doing? I thought for moment. He was my boss and I was always a good girl. My mama would have a conniption if she was alive. Screwing a man I’d only just met. He pulled me with him onto the beach and he laid on top of me in the sand. His long body rested over me as he found my heat and drove his hard cock into me hard and steady.

  He threw me onto his stomach and had me ride him with my back to his face. I slid up and over him, turning to face him and took him to the hilt. His eyes rolled back as he held my hips. He shoved himself hard inside me, making my body clench as my teeth chattered.

  He ravaged me on the sand by the surf. And he gave me himself so fully I exploded into a thousand stars. Hearing him talk dirty as he drove his hard stomach against my slit.

  “You like that, don’t you?”

  “Yes,” I said.

  “Want me like the porn you saw me watching.” I froze realizing he knew I’d been peeking. But I looked in his hungry eyes and could only ride him faster. He felt so good as he told me the creative ways he intended to violate me. Suddenly, he stilled, and I shuddered as I felt him burst, filling me with his seed.

  I collapsed onto him as he showered me with kisses in the night.

  “That’s right,” Driver growled.

  I heard the waves rolling and crashing passionately inches away from us.

  “You’re mine.”

  Chapter Ten

  I woke up to the rap of knuckles on my door. “Yes?” Jenks entered and I dragged the duvet to my chest.

  “The master expects you this morning.”

  He was right. Driver had said he has breakfast before work. Or was it exercise? He’d given my hips and thighs a serious workout last night on the beach. I tried to ignore the tingle I had. Driver Fox had begun my orientation with his special brand of welcome. I couldn’t remember bringing myself to orgasm so fiercely. I’d had to learn to pleasure myself after the few men I’d dated couldn’t handle making love. Well, Driver and I hadn’t made love; it was just sex.

  I held my forehead in my hand, realizing suddenly what I had done.

  “Is anything the matter, Miss?”

  Oh, nothing much. I only slept with my boss my first day on the job. Oh, and I learned he is a beast when he screws. I have the tender nipples to prove it.

  I shook my head.

  “Very well. I took the liberty of preparing your breakfast. I didn’t see a reply to my query during your swim. I hope eggs over easy and pancetta with a honey-buttered croissant will be fine?”

  “Yes, I’m sure anything you prepare will be delicious. You know how to cook. The most complicated I get is slapping a sandwich together at midnight.”

  “Not any longer, miss. And your wardrobe and stylist will arrive after your meeting with the master. A new schedule I received from you has a window open today. I added an appointment per the master’s request. Your new itinerary should have been sent to your phone.”

  Jenks closed the door but not before I got to him first. “Jenks? Where are you from?”

  “England, miss.” He nodded and then left me. I was sure he knew what had happened, but I was grateful that he hadn’t mentioned anything about it. I stopped in the middle of my shower.

  I had a stylist appointment?

  ***

  The balcony on the main floor of the mansion overlooked the cliffside. I sat across from Driver, making a point to sit with my back facing the cliff. He read a paper while Jenks set a glass of bright green gook in a tall crystal glass in front of him.

  “Your breakfast, sir.”

  “Thank you, Jenks.”

  I watched Driver take a healthy swig from a concoction made of greens, parsley and whey powder. And some kind of vegan protein called Spiru-Tein. I caught up with Jenks to ask for coffee and saw that he had already made me an espresso.<
br />
  “What is he drinking?” I whispered.

  “The master has a vegan protein supplement daily. He says it counters the side effects of a vigorous workout and a low carb, high protein diet.”

  Protein as in meat, I bet. I returned to my boss with my espresso and he was eyeing my bikini top and Daisy Dukes. “Get a good long look. This is all I have until I have my appointment with the stylist.”

  Driver folded his newspaper into perfect quarters and gazed at me. “Morning.”

  I told him I didn’t expect him to be the kind of man who repeated himself.

  “Some things bear repeating. You’re beautiful.”

  “How did you know I wouldn’t run the minute the sun rose?” I glanced across the table and saw Driver regard me coolly.

  “You have a mighty low opinion of me, don’t you?”

  What did that jibe mean? We’d had sex, not made love. His brow tightened and I pushed my food from me while he downed the rest of his green drink without blinking.

  “I’m here to do a job.”

  “I don’t have sex for kicks. Let me be clear. I choose my employees for their talent. Not their oral and—other skills.”

  He pushed back from the table and left me sitting there. I cut Driver off on his way to the kitchen. My breasts poked out from the sides of my bikini halter, while I felt my ass jiggle a bit as I walked.

  “You think I slept with you because I needed to get my rocks off. You were good, but nobody is that good.” I pressed past him and headed to my room.

  “When I’m touching you, there isn’t a nook or cranny left unsatisfied,” he said as he grabbed my arm with more force than I expected.

  I shrugged out of his grasp, rubbing my arm. “I’m not one of your tarts or office sluts you can knock up, then smooth talk. We had sex. It was nice. That’s all. If I wanted to babysit, I’d hire myself out as a nanny.”

  I made it to the stairs, then Driver stepped in the way. I went to the elevator instead. “And where do you think you’re going?”

  “Where do you think? I took this gig because I believed you weren’t like the gossip rags said. By the way, I saw the files your previous assistant had. First look at them, I think you have a chance at taking your company IPO.”

  My boss glared, his eyes dark and brooding. “What are you? Some kind of spy for my competitor rag?” I stared at him like he had grown another head. Which wasn’t a stretch to believe, given the size of his ego.

  “I don’t have time for this crap,” I said hitting the button to the elevator. “I told you what I found because I believe in you. Not because I can’t keep my panties on for a pampered, manicured, hot-shot magazine mogul who wouldn’t know when a woman liked him for himself if she scrawled it across his—” I let my gaze drop to his sweatpants that were tenting with his erection as I spoke. “Tasmanian Devil.”

  I returned downstairs at breakneck speed.

  “I’ve messaged my resignation to Aimee. And tell Jenks he’s the man,” I said, carrying my overnight tote to the foyer.

  “I asked you a question.” Driver said, standing in a tailored suit near the door.

  “You’re the billionaire whiz. You figure it out. Oh, and I left my notes about how I think you can steer your company onto the NASDAQ. Wipe that dumbass look off your face. I minored in business when I was in my first years of college. And I realize I should be starting my own business, instead of hiding behind a computer. And working for somebody else. I guess I should thank you,” I said holding out my hand.

  Driver took it and squeezed it, our eyes connecting. And I knew that both of us were remembering the hot night we shared.

  “Send my day’s hours worked to Aimee, please? And as for the bonus?” I said. Looking him up and down this time. “You’re good, but if what the gossips sites are saying about you is true, you’re about to get in high water about the women you’ve been bouncing from New York to San Fran. And you’re going to need one heck of a PR spin,” I turned and waved to the taxi I’d called. “If the allegations I read about you seducing women and firing them are true.”

  Driver stared and said I should reconsider. But he didn’t know I’d read a file the last assistant forwarded to Aimee. She’d all but busted a cap in his ass. Accusing him of offering her a job to get her between the sheets. Then she’d written she was pregnant. I wondered how many other women were waiting in the wings. All ready to name him their baby daddy.

  “Thanks. It’s been real.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Aimee phoned the minute after I’d flown back home.

  “Hi. Thanks for everything,” I said.

  “Whoa. There is a note I have here from Mr. Fox. He authorized a full month’s pay. He added I am to double it. Anything you want to tell me?

  I sat down near my door, shocked.

  I filled Aimee in on my day—and most of my night. Then I asked if the job as virtual assistant was still mine. I know I’d probably burnt as many bridges with Driver as there were in the state. But I couldn’t bow down to any man. Even if it meant I’d beg for crumbs. I hoped Aimee’s reply was “Yes” or I’d be up the creek.

  “Yes, it is yours. But I don’t accept your resignation. Whatever happened between the two of you must have been profitable.”

  I asked why.

  “Because in the years I’ve been by Driver Fox’s side he has never, never, given anyone a second chance. Unless I’d intervened.”

  “What are you saying, Aimee? What does he want?”

  “You’ll find out yourself. You have a meeting with him tomorrow at the pier. Reservations have been made for eleven. I’ve sent them to your phone. And Skye?”

  I paused from unpacking. “Yes?” I couldn’t believe Driver was asking to see me.

  “I’ll support anything you decide. You’re the best damned worker we’ve had in the short history of the new company. Your wardrobe and stylist will be standing by if you stay. Cheers.”

  “Thanks, Aimee.”

  Driver Fox was an alpha dog I hadn’t planned on knowing. And the sexiest man I’d met in a long time. Stop it, girl. Stick to your guns. Don’t forget he is white and interracial relationships are tough enough without working together. Different colors didn’t often mix. But he seemed so damned genuine, I thought. I checked my text deciding whether I should take the meeting, or go with my plan to break out on my own. Something I’d been toying with for ages, but wondered if I could make bank.

  I sat, wondering what Driver could possibly have to say after we said good-bye. I decided to start looking for new work, but after a long nap. I didn’t even bother to check voice mail. Sleep was what I needed. And time to dream.

  Chapter Twelve

  The bistro at the wharf was elegant, and I found Driver waiting for me dressed in a custom suit. His hair was combed and not over his face like I was used to seeing him. He looked at home in the upscale restaurant. Which didn’t surprise me, considering the contents of the menu.

  Driver stood as I sat at his table. The waiter cruised by, and Driver told him that we’d order later. I’d have commented how nice it must be to live large, but I had to play everything close to my chest. Driver wanted something, and if he summoned me back in a day? It had to be good.

  “I want to do this in-house. You can come back and work for me. But you’ll have to come up with a plan to tidy up Fox-Regency’s latest slug from the media.”

  I’d quit only eighteen hours ago. What could tip Driver’s company on its side that fast? “I’m listening,” I said.

  “You’ve seen firsthand that I’m a man who lives by his own rules. That doesn’t always work well with the moral movers and shakers in this biz. I guess I’ve let myself get painted into a corner with the media and news’ portrayal of me as a playboy. By now, you know I’m—complicated. If you rejoin the company, I need you to hop on a media spin on this and you’ll start right away. Because the reputation companies I’ve had Aimee look into are all hype. I need a handler, and you’ve pr
oved you’re not one to let yourself be tricked or played unless you allow it. With the right repositioning, I can trump these allegations.”

  Did he mean the stories about him seducing women on his staff weren’t true? “You’re saying they aren’t true?”

  “Of course they aren’t.” Driver struck the table with his fist, drawing stares from the guests around us. “Skye, I believe someone’s trying to take my company. My father built it from the ground up. I’m not going to let whoever is after it succeed. Do you understand?”

  I nodded.

  “Good. Do it, and I’ll be finished with this, once and for all.”

  I picked at the hem of the two-piece suit I wore. It was in one side of my closet with my old school yearbooks. Behind my mother’s wedding dress.

  But now I had a decision. Coming back to Driver’s company was one thing. How often would we be around each other was a concern. Not because we’d slept together, but because I had called him on being a philanderer, and now I think was right. He’d realized I could think fast on my feet—or off them.

  A waiter set down freshly squeezed juice and a silver platter topped with croissants. Driver tasted the green health drink the waiter had sent. I asked for Earl Grey instead.

  “Is it me, or don’t you still have a healthy appetite?” I looked across the table over my china cup. I hadn’t been hungry since our riff a day ago.

  “What else would you expect, if I were to return?”

  “Nothing has changed. I now need you to either put a stop to the gossip and rumors about my using women, or create a spin that turns attention away from Fox Regency and back onto Fox Magazine. Should be simple enough.”