Stepbrother Bastard (27 page)

“
He
’
s
perfect,
”
Brian breathes.

“
He
’
s
ready to talk some terms, is what he is,
”
Cash grins rakishly,
tucking his hands into his jeans pockets.

“
Of
course, of course,
”
Brian sputters, sweeping his arm toward
the conference room.
“
Carol and I can walk you
through the whole thing. It is such a pleasure to have you working on this. I
find your whole story incredibly intriguing, I have to say
…”

Cash
cocks and eyebrow at me over his shoulder as Brian leads him off to the
conference room. Allie moves to follow them, freshly printed contract in hand.
Carol turns to me as they make their leave, admiration and excitement shining
in her eyes.

“
Excellent
work, Maddie,
”
she
says, laying a hand on my shoulder.
“
I
can
’
t
believe how quickly you were able to move on this.
”

“
Thanks
Carol,
”
I smile, surprised by her
praise. Approval isn
’
t exactly something she
regularly dispenses.

“
He
’
s
the ideal centerpiece for this campaign,
”
she goes on, eyes glued
to Cash
’
s
retreating form.
“
Rugged, manly,
no-nonsense
…
and sexy as the day is long.
”

“
I
’
m
inclined to agree with you,
”
I allow, watching my boss straight-up ogle
my lover
’
s
sculpted ass.

“
I
wish I
’
d
known
he
’
d
be working for us someday before implementing that workplace sexual harassment
policy,
”
she sighs wistfully.

I
fix my eyes on her, alarm bells clanging in my head.
“
What
policy is that?
”
I ask, trying to sound casual.

“
Maddie,
”
she replies, crossing her
arms,
“
This
is a modern workplace. Brian and I made sure to write protections for all our
employees into the company charter. Didn
’
t
you read the fine print in your contract?
”

“
Oh.
Right. Of course. The fine print
…”
I reply, my voice
strained.
“
But just to refresh my memory
…
?
”

“
We
have a zero tolerance policy for office sexual harassment,
”
Carol informs me,
“
And
just to make sure there
’
s no chance of any
confusion cropping up, intra-office relationships are strictly forbidden. We
’
ve
had to let more than a couple people go over the years for trying to pair off
on the sly.
”

“…
You
don
’
t
say,
”
I reply, feeling the
color drain out of my face.

“
Oh
yeah,
”
she nods,
“
You
’
d
be amazed what people think they can get away with. But you know something,
Maddie? The truth always comes out in the end.
Always
…
Anyway! We
’
ve
got Cash Hawthorne in the ReImaged web now. We should make sure there
’
s
no way for him to wiggle out, yes?
”

I
stare at her for a long moment, at a loss for words. But as usual, Carol can
’
t
spare a second to gage my reaction to her proclamation. She claps her hands
together and sets off for the conference room, leaving me in the dust. I stand
perfectly still as the chaotic office whirrs around me, rooted to the spot as
the weight of this latest revelation comes crashing down on me. Just when Cash
and I thought we were in the clear
…

A
surge of emotion rises inside of me, and I
’
m
shocked to find a burst of laughter escaping my lips. I clasp a hand over my
mouth, trying to contain a peal of giggles at the absurdity of this twist in
events. Not a week ago, a blow like this may have sent me reeling. But now,
after everything Cash and I have been through already, I can
’
t
even work myself up to being distressed. So we
’
re
officially forbidden from being together not only by the law, should our
parents ever make their relationship binding, but also by our shared placed of
work. The move that was supposed to solve all our problems has only doubled
them. By rights, I should be freaking out.

But
hey, what
’
s one more insurmountable obstacle
when you
’
ve
got a man like Cash Hawthorne as a partner?

Pulling
myself together, I square my shoulders and march off toward the conference room.
Cash and I may not be the most traditional couple, or even an official couple
at all, but lack of a title has no bearing on how devoted we are to each other.
I
’
m
always up for a good challenge, but I
’
ve
never been as
committed to seeing one
through than I am right now. I have no idea what the future holds for the two
us, or even whether that future will encompass a week or a lifetime. But I know
that I
’
d
risk everything to find out.

And
if
that isn
’
t an act of love, I don
’
t
know what is.

THE END

…for now

Read below for an excerpt from the next book in the
Stepbrother Bastard Series!

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EXCERPT

Stepbrother Bastard (A Hawthorne Brothers Novel) (Book
Two)

Prologue

The Bear Trap Bar

Montana, USA

Adrenaline spikes through my already boozy blood as I slam
the bathroom door shut behind me. Flattening my back against the flimsy wooden
barrier, I turn to face my unexpected companion for the evening. He towers
above me in the dimly lit space, his sculpted features rendered all the more
intense by the low light. His close cropped chestnut hair, dark stubble, and
effortlessly cool style caught my eye from the very first second I saw him a
few weeks ago. But in such tight quarters as these, every enticing aspect of
him is amplified. The sheer pitch of my fascination with him renders me all but
speechless as I drink in the sight of him, alone with me at last.

He’s easily six feet tall, with a balanced, controlled body
well conditioned by a lifetime of athletics and hard work. His cut, perfectly
shaped muscles are rippling with barely contained desire. And as visceral as
this moment is, it’s still hard to believe that what he desires is
me
.
God knows I’ve been fantasizing about finding myself alone with him for weeks
on end. But now that we’re here together, I’m almost overwhelmed by the
hugeness of his want. The staggering, powerful presence of him. My breath
catches in my throat as he plants his hands on the door above my shoulders,
caging me in with mere inches of space between us.

“You sure you’re up for this?” he growls, his dark green
eyes smoldering in the dim light of the bar bathroom.

I draw myself up with a defiant stare, keeping my eyes
trained on his face…no matter how overpoweringly gorgeous it is. Reaching
around behind my back, I slide the door’s heavy bolt into the locked position.
The satisfying, metallic click rings out loud and clear in the small room,
despite the cacophony of music and voices roaring in the bar proper. It’s the
last night of classes at the university nearby, where I’m just finishing off my
junior year. Thank god I decided to ditch the frat-sponsored school-spirit shit
show on campus in favor something a little more exciting. Or rather,
someone
a little more exciting.

“Does that answer your question?” I breathe, all but
vibrating with anticipation.

He cocks a perfectly sculpted eyebrow at me, keeping me
penned between his powerful arms.

“Not quite,” he laughs, his voice ragged around the edges, “Try
again.”

“Wh-what?” I stammer, trying to keep up. At 21, I’m hardly
inexperienced with the opposite sex. But even though this guy only has a few
years on me, he’s making the other men I’ve been with look like little boys. It’s
been a long time since I haven’t been the more dominant partner in the bedroom…or,
uh…bathroom, as it were. But where this particular man is concerned, I hardly
mind. In fact, I actually find myself wanting to let him take the lead. And
that is abso
lute
ly a first.

“I need a yes or no,” he goes on, easing his perfectly
balanced body toward me. My very cells are screaming to feel him against me. If
he would just come a
little
closer…

“Would I have come back tonight if I didn’t want this?” I
point out, resisting the urge to throw myself into his thickly muscled arms.

“To be honest,” he murmurs, eyes flicking down to my
almost-quivering lips, “I’m having trouble getting a read on you. And let me
tell you, that’s not something I’m used to. You’re gonna have to tell me
outright what it is you want, here.”

“Why don’t you let me show you instead?” I shoot back,
letting my hands trail down his rock-hard chest.

“Come on,” he says, his full lips spreading into a rakish
grin. “You already put it into writing, didn’t you? What did that note of yours
say again?”

“You’re such an asshole,” I mutter breathlessly, trying to
fight the blush that rises in my cheeks.

“Oh, that’s right…” he goes on, letting his torso brush
deliciously against mine. He leans in close,  his breath warm against my neck.
Those firm lips brush against the shell of my ear, sending a shiver down my
spine. “You want me to ‘Nail you to the wall and fuck you dirty’. Wasn’t that
it?”

“That…Uh…That was the gist of it,” I gasp, my thighs
clenching together as a thundering rush of need courses through me.

“Say it then,” he demands, brushing a lock of caramel blonde
hair away from my face, “Tell me what it is you want, Sophia.”

“I…I just…” I sputter, lowering my gold-flecked blue eyes.

“You’ll tell me, won’t you,” he says firmly. It’s not a
question. 

I force a deep breath into my lungs, gathering up every bit
of courage at my disposal (liquid or otherwise). I’m not usually one for
nerves, having conquered my stage fright at the ripe old age of four. Usually,
that steadiness carries over into my romantic life…but not now. Not with him.
For the first time, I don’t feel like I’m
performing
desire, I’m
experiencing
it. Turns out, there’s a pretty big difference—a difference so big that it
almost frightens me. But if I’ve learned one thing from my life as a performer,
it’s that sometimes you’ve got to follow the fear if you want to find the
truth.