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

  Unfortunately, my brain moved faster than my body. I opened my eyes, and there he was, crouched on the floor in front of me. Drake Dawson. My stepbrother.

  “Hey, Kid.” He smiled. God, that smile. The only man I’ve ever loved. My eyes locked on his, and that same familiar flush started to spread across my cheeks. For a split second, I forgot where I was. I allowed my gaze to roam over his body, taking in the expensive shoes, the custom-tailored suit, the irresistible five-o-clock shadow gracing his square jaw.

  “Hey,” I finally managed, an unexpected chill in my voice. The only man who ever broke my heart. Clutching my documents to my chest, I took a deep breath and stood up. “I… I’m in the middle of a meeting. I have to get back.” I edged around him, my heart drumming in my ears. Get it together, Emily.

  I strode back into the conference room and flashed a confident smile.

  “Gentlemen, thank you for waiting,” I began. “We could sit here all day and argue about which side has the right to decide how we schedule these settlement conferences,” I passed copies of the claims list and calendar around to everyone at the table, then took my seat. “But as Einstein said, ‘Everything must be made as simple as possible.’”

  “But not simpler.” Drake sauntered into the room, hands in his pockets. “My father used to tell me that.”

  I narrowed my eyes at him. Who did he think he was? He couldn’t just follow me in here and…

  One of the lawyers for Axis, William Brandt, stood up to offer his chair.

  “Emily, as you may know, Drake Dawson is the head of Dawson Industries,” Preston offered. “What you haven’t heard is that Dawson Industries is on the verge of acquiring Axis Oil. He’s here to keep an eye on his investment.”

  “Thank you, Preston.” Drake sat down directly across from me nodded. “Emily, is it? I didn’t mean to interrupt. Please, continue.” He leaned back in his chair, regarding me with a quiet curiosity as I cleared my throat.

  “Uh, as I was saying, I think we’re making things too complicated. We’re running out of time to come to an agreement. The simplest way to achieve our scheduling goals is just… take turns.”

  “Take turns?” Preston questioned.

  “Yes,” I continued. “We choose our highest priority claim and select a date and time for that settlement conference. We’ll pencil it in here,” I held up the printed calendar, “and then Axis chooses their highest priority claim and picks a date and time for that conference. And so on, and so on. We’re all well aware of our own priorities, so given a simple system like this, we should be able to file a scheduling order by the end of the day.”

  “Now wait just a minute,” William frowned and shook his head. “I’m sorry, but there’s a lot of money at stake here. We can’t be ruled by silly ideas like…”

  “It’s not silly,” Drake interjected. “Simple, yes. But not silly.” He turned to face William. “We’re here to solve a problem, William. We need a solution. Emily here is solution-oriented. You could learn a little something from her.” Drake flashed a smile at me, then relaxed back into his chair. I swallowed hard and looked down, suddenly taking great interest in my pencil eraser.

  “Great!” Preston boomed. “Let’s get this show on the road.”

  FIVE

  By early evening, we had pinned down a date for every settlement conference on our claims list. Under normal circumstances, I would have been beaming with pride over the success of my brilliantly simple idea. Instead, I ducked out of the conference room like a skittish mouse while everyone else was saying their goodbyes. This situation was far from normal. I’d spent who knows how many years pining over my stepbrother, to the point where I had never even given another man a fair chance. And now here he was, just popping into my work place - my life - as if he hadn’t shattered my heart into a thousand tiny bits when he shut me out. When he left me behind. Maybe it wasn’t professional to leave without saying a word, but I was willing to risk being impolite if it helped me avoid another encounter with Drake.

  I packed my things and pulled off my suit jacket, then peeked out of my office to be sure the coast was clear. With the majority of the firm’s staff gone for the night, the halls were dark and silent. As I walked to the lobby, I rubbed my hands over my bare arms to fight back a sudden chill. Just face it, I thought. Drake can’t save you. Won’t save you. You’re always going to be alone. Lonely.

  As I approached the intersection just outside our building, I took out my cell phone to call Brooke. I didn’t want to think about my money problems. I didn’t want to think about the pressure of my new job, or the fact that convincing my new boss to keep me on after this summer was my last hope for staying in law school. And I damn sure didn’t want to think about my stepbrother or the way his touch set my skin aflame. All I wanted was my best friend, my favorite pajamas and a bottle of wine. Brooke picked up on the first ring.

  “Oh my God, I haven’t heard from you all day! I was getting ready to call the fire department to send out a search party!”

  “Yeah, yeah. You’ll take any excuse to interact with a hot fireman,” I teased. “Do you have plans tonight?”

  “You mean aside from celebrating my favorite person’s new job? I’m thinking we start at the Hotel Zaza bar, and…”

  “We may need to hold off on the celebration,” I interrupted. “Meet me at home? I had kind of a weird day.”

  “Oh,” Brooke grew serious. “Yeah, okay. Are you alright?”

  “I’m actually not sure,” I confessed. “I saw Drake. But I don’t know if I’m ready to talk about it. I just need…”

  “Oh, honey. That’s all you needed to say. I’ll be home as soon as I can.”

  I tucked my cell phone back into my borrowed Prada bag and smiled my thanks to the doorman. As much as I loved my new work ensemble, I couldn’t wait to kick off my heels and slip into relaxation mode. But then I rounded the corner… and there he was.

  Drake Dawson.

  He was pacing between the elevators with his hands in his pockets, mumbling to himself. I watched him for a moment, my anger battling the little flutter in my chest that always seemed to happen when he was around. I wanted to go to him, to take his face in my hands and kiss him the way he kissed me so many years ago. But he hurt you. To run my hands through that thick hair and trace his muscled shoulders with my fingertips. He’ll only hurt you again. To grip his…

  “Emily!” Drake’s deep voice reverberated through my body, jerking me out of my daydream. All at once, I was angry again.

  “What are you doing here?” I snapped.

  “I had to see you,” he explained. I glanced at the handful of people milling around lobby. My cheeks flushed. As mad as I was, I couldn’t help feeling drawn to him. It was against my better judgment to invite him up to my apartment. But what I had to say to my stepbrother wasn’t fit for public consumption. I mashed the elevator button and spoke to him through clenched teeth.

  “Not here. If we’re going to do this, I’d like to maintain what little dignity I have left.”

  We rode the elevator in silence. Once inside my apartment, I left my heels and my bag in the foyer and padded into the kitchen to open a bottle of wine. Drake followed me with caution, not saying a word. I twisted the wine opener down and tugged at the cork, then cursed as I realized it wasn’t budging. Great, I thought. Yet another embarrassing moment to add to the Drake diaries.

  I pushed the bottle away in frustration, then frowned when I saw my stepbrother reach for it. I opened my mouth to protest, but changed my mind. Why bother arguing over mundane things when there were so many real issues to talk about? Besides, I knew I could really use a glass of wine. Drake twisted the stubborn cork out with a single smooth gesture and poured a glass for me, then picked up another glass.

  “Mind if I join you?” he asked. But he was already pouring.

  “Fine,” I shrugged.

  I watched him bring the glass to his mouth and sip. As he lowered his hand, the very tip of his t
ongue slid out to lick a stray drop of wine from his lips. My gaze froze on his those lips as I recalled the way they felt on mine. My heartbeat quickened, and my own mouth went dry. No matter how many years passed, the memories of that night were as vivid as ever.

  Drake took the glass from my hand and set it on the counter. His eyes locked on mine, his attention a magnetic force that rendered me unable to look away and stoked a slow, burning heat deep inside me.

  “So,” I began. “Why are you here?”

  “I wasn’t expecting to see you today,” he revealed. His brow furrowed as he reached for my arm. “You left so quickly, I…”

  “I left?!” I shouted as I wrenched away from him. “You left!”

  “You promised me forever, and you took my virginity.” Drake’s eyes widened as tears began to spill down my cheeks. “Then your dad died, and you totally checked out. It was like I didn’t even exist. And then… you just… left.”

  “Your… your virginity?” Drake asked. A hundred questions were painted on his face, but that was the only one he managed to vocalize. He ran a hand through his hair. “Em, I…”

  “God, Drake! You are infuriating! With everything I just said, that’s what you heard? That I was a virgin? I swear, everything is about sex for you!” I flattened my palm against his abdomen and tried to push passed him, but he caught my wrist in his hand.

  “Not everything,” he said. “Not with you, at least.” I pulled back and frowned at him.

  “What does that even mean?” I challenged. “I’ve read about all your conquests. Every month, there’s someone new. It’s always been that way. I was stupid to think I would be any different.”

  “But you are, Em. You are different,” he insisted. “Why do you think I never settled down? None of those women ever meant anything to me. How could they, when all I could think about was you?” Drake’s confession hit me like a knockout punch. I clutched at my belly as I began to sob. He was saying all the right things, but how could I ever trust him again? You can’t trust him. You can’t trust anyone, I thought.

  “No! You don’t get to do this to me again,” I yelled, pushing him back as I tried to escape the kitchen.

  Drake wrapped his arms around me, drawing me into the solid mountain of muscle his body had become. I clawed at his shirt, fighting to break away, but he held me close, stroking my hair and whispering to me in his low, rich baritone.

  “I fucked up, Emily. Is that what you need to hear? I blamed myself. I blamed us. As if what we did somehow caused his death. I didn’t know how to deal with his death, so I decided not to deal with it at all. I know now that I was wrong. I fucked up, and I lost the only other person who ever mattered to me. I lost you. I started to reach out to you so many times, but I was afraid. Afraid you’d hate me. But I never stopped loving you, not for one minute. I just fucked up,” he repeated. “I fucked up.”

  I buried my face in my stepbrother’s neck and wept. I wept over the tragic loss of Drake’s father, and over the abuse I’d had to endure from my mother in the wake of his death. I wept for the pain Drake had suffered, and for the years we could never get back.

  “Shhh. It’s okay, Em. It’s okay. I’m here.” Drake tilted my chin up and smoothed his thumb across my tear-stained cheeks. “Will you let me be here for you? Be here… with you?”

  Such a simple offer, and yet it left me breathless. I looked up at my stepbrother, my heart thrumming in my ears. He brushed his thumb across my lower lip, and I sucked it into my mouth, grazing my teeth along his knuckle while I stared into his eyes. It tasted of salty tears and… him. The way I imagined every other part of him would taste.

  He dipped his face down, planting a soft, sweet kiss on my forehead, then drew back. His eyes searched mine, seeking permission, approval. Acceptance.

  “Yes,” I volunteered. “Yes.”

  Relief washed over Drake’s face. At last, he kissed me.

  His tongue danced against mine with a greedy lust, plunging, exploring. When he pressed his growing bulge against my thigh, I moaned into his mouth and lifted the hem of my sheath dress so I could grind against it. The sweet agony of his thick package, all wrapped up in those designer suit pants, gliding across the crotch of my satin panties was enough to make me come undone right there.

  “Bedroom,” I murmured between kisses, pointing across the living room to my door.

  Drake scooped me into his arms and carried me to my room, closing the door behind him. He eased me onto the bed, reaching behind me to unzip my dress before pulling it over my head in one swift motion. I lay back on the pillows before him and unfastened the clasp of my bra, allowing my breasts to spill out into my cupped hands.

  My stepbrother let out a long, low growl before lunging toward me, his eyes dilated with wild desire. Taking one breast into his mouth, then the other, Drake flicked his tongue against my nipples until he coaxed them into stiff peaks. I writhed beneath him, relishing every ounce of pleasure as Drake licked and kissed his way down my abdomen and nibbled at the fleshy mound at my center, finally stopping to dip his tongue between my folds, teasing my honeyed nectar to the surface.

  Drawing my clit into his mouth with a gentle suction, Drake plunged a finger inside me, then two. His hands moved with precision, quickly locating my most sensitive spot and massaging it with his fingertips until a delicious pressure took hold of my body. Then suddenly Drake was inside me, his stiff cock stretching and filling me, taking me, owning me. He moved in and out of me, driving slow and deep as he we kissed and everything around us seemed to fall away. My hips moved with his rhythm, riding him, savoring the rush as he exploded into me. My climax surged from my core, vacuuming all sound, all sight, all sensation from the room except him… my Drake.

  I lay there wordless, my expression slack, my limbs heavy. Drake smiled at me, rubbing his cheek on the inside of my thigh in a demonstration of pure adoration. Drake took my hand in his, rolling his thumb across my knuckles for a few moments before he spoke.

  “What we just did was incredible. I could spend all night, every night, just pleasing you.”

  “Mmmm. Yes, it was,” I agreed. But even in the afterglow of our lovemaking, the shadows of the pain he caused lingered over me.

  “When I saw you today, I knew I would do anything to keep you from slipping through my fingers again. I’m going to do things right this time,” he promised. “I hurt you. Badly. I realize that. I don’t ever want you to feel I’ve taken advantage of you.”

  “Drake, I…”

  “Shhh,” he placed a finger to my lips and sat up. “Just listen. I know about the trouble with your trust fund,” he explained. “I know how hard you’ve worked, and why. But you don’t have to work so hard, Emily. I’m ready and willing to take care of every need or want you’ve ever had. I just want to make you happy.”

  “Drake, I don’t need you to pay my way through life,” I protested. I narrowed my eyes at him and edged away. “I don’t need…”

  “Emily,” he begged. “Stop. Just listen. For once, can you please just listen?”

  “Fine,” I huffed, crossing my arms.

  “I’m ready and willing to take care of you. But I also know you’ll never feel comfortable as long as someone else holds the keys to your financial future,” he continued. “So I have a proposition for you.”

  “Like… a business deal?” I curled my lip.

  “No, not exactly a… Damn, Em. Do you have to make everything so difficult?” he laughed. “More like… an offer.”

  “What kind of offer?”

  “Well, a wise man once said, everything must be made as simple as possible.’” Drake paused and took a deep breath, then reached into the pocket of his suit jacket and pulled out a small blue box.

  “Emily Price, I have loved you for as long as I can remember,” he began. He flipped the top of the box open, revealing a stunning princess solitaire in a platinum setting. My eyes widened, and my jaw dropped open.

  “I’ve been carrying this damn
thing around for the last four years, trying to get up the courage to reach out to you. But I wasn’t good enough for you then, not by a long shot.” Drake’s eyes brimmed with unshed tears as he flashed me a shy smile. “Hell, I’m probably not good enough now. But I’m finally ready. I promise to try every day to be the man you always needed me to be.”

  “Drake,” I whispered, my voice barely audible. “I don’t want to marry you for your money. That’s not the solution.”

  “Then marry me for my love. Marry me because I don’t want to spend another day wishing I could call you mine. Marry me because I can’t live without you.”

  All at once, the past no longer mattered. All that mattered was being with him, loving him.

  “Drake… I love you. Yes,” I threw my arms around him. “Yes!”

  “What’s mine is yours, Em. It always has been. But once we’re married, you’ll gain access to your own trust fund. You’ll finally be free of your mother’s control. You won’t ever have to live under anyone’s thumb again.” Drake promised. “It’s going to be you and me, Em. Forever.”

  “Forever.”

  Stepbrother Confession

  It had been after my high school graduation. I’d gone to a big party with a bunch of people from my class. Someone had rented a hotel room and there were probably 60 people shoved into a suite at the local Holiday Inn. Dancing and drinking and making out, until the hotel shut it down and told everyone that wasn’t on the guest list that they had to leave or the hotel was going to call the cops.

  Kids scurried out of that hotel like cock roaches. I had been doing shots of vodka and some knock off brand of energy drink that tasted more like cough syrup than it should have and I was feeling pretty good. I couldn’t call Mom and Dad. They weren’t stupid, but they didn’t approve of underage drinking. I would get a hell of a lecture. Not to mention, it was barely even midnight! I was feeling good and wasn’t ready for my party to end.

  So I called Erik. I knew he’d come get me, I knew he’d take me back to his place and we’d play video games and he’d probably even let met keep drinking.