The Stepbrother Bargain (Book 1) Read Online Free

of all, my company didn’t find
manuscripts.   They published textbooks,
finding academics to write books on subjects they’d already come up with.   And even if they had solicited manuscripts from writers, it wouldn’t have been my
job to look through them.
    My title may have been assistant ,
but I was more of a glorified receptionist.   I answered phones, got coffee, sent out packages… I
suspected the only reason they’d slapped the assistant label on me was so they
could justify making me do whatever they wanted.
    I sighed and was about to head back out
into the room when I heard Cage’s voice through the bathroom door.
    He must have been on the phone.
    “No,” he said.   “No, I’m not going to tell anyone.   They’ll put the pressure on.   No, I’m not sure they were following me… Of course they know
where I am, they always know where I am…. ”
    He must have started pacing around, because
his voice began fading in and out, allowing me to hear only snatches of the
conversation.
    I stayed in the bathroom, not wanting to
intrude.
    But a couple minute later, Cage knocked
on the door.   “You almost ready?”
he barked.
    “Yes,” I said, giving my lips one more
swipe of pink gloss.
    I opened the door.
    Cage stood there, wearing a suit –
dark grey, with a crisp blue shirt and grey tie.   His hair was still damp from the shower, but instead of
making him look messy, it only made him look fresh and put together.  
    He was so beautiful he took my breath
away.   I wondered what it would be
like to go through life like that – being so good-looking that people
would just stop and stare.
    His eyes raked up my body, taking in my
full hips, my breasts, my legs.
    His gaze both turned me on and made me
feel uncomfortably exposed at the same time.  
    Then his phone beeped with a text, and a
shadow moved over his face as he read it.  
    “Is everything okay?” I asked gently.
    “It’s fine,” he said, sliding his phone
into the inside pocket of his jacket.   “Just paparazzi.”
    “Oh.”  
    But something about the way he sounded
led me to believe it was more than that.   Whatever it was, his mood had darkened considerably.
    He pushed past me to the door of the room
and opened it, then motioned me to walk into through into the hallway.
    I hesitated, not sure how I felt about
the two of us going down to the rehearsal dinner together.   It seemed more of a boyfriend/girlfriend
thing to do than a stepbrother/stepsister thing.
    Stop.   You’re just being silly.
    You’re
letting him in your head again.
    I took a deep breath and followed Cage
out of the room.
    We waited for the elevator in silence,
Cage tapping his foot impatiently.
    As soon as the doors opened and the car
had started its descent, he pushed the button to stop the car, and it lodged
between the third and fourth floors, stopping with a sharp grinding sound and a
lurch that made my stomach drop.
    “What are you doing?” I demanded,
reaching over to hit the release.   But Cage grabbed me, his hand tightening around my forearm.
    “No.”
    “What do you mean, no?” I asked, trying
to wrench out of his grasp.
    But he held me firmly and pushed his body
up against mine, so that my back was pinned against the side of the car.   His eyes burned with lust, the frustration
that had been there replaced with a look that was almost crazed. One hand was
on my waist, and the fingers of his other brushed over my cleavage.   “You are driving me crazy,” he
said.   “Do you know how fucking hot
you look in this dress?”
    Longing filled my body, the result of
years of pent-up desire for him.   But I knew why he was doing this now, had seen it play out a million
times before.   Whenever Cage got
upset or frustrated, he’d bury his sorrows in some poor girl.   He’d have sex with her or take her out
and hook up with her, then discard her as soon as he’d worked out whatever was
bothering him.
    And I refused to be his distraction.
    But