by Alexa Riley
Wanting My Stepsister
Alexa Riley
Contents
Wanting My Stepsister
Copyright
Dedication
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Epilogue
Also by Alexa Riley
Stalk the Author
Wanting My Stepsister
by Alexa Riley
Libby Moore is trying to figure out what to do with her life. She has graduated high school, but there’s only one thing she’s ever truly wanted in life…the one thing she can’t have…her stepbrother, Jasper.
Jasper Lewis tried to get away from the one person he shouldn’t want. But moving only a couple of miles away was a pitiful effort, and he’s tired of resisting what he wants. He’s coming back to claim what’s been his since day one, no matter what the consequences.
This taboo love is so dirty, so wrong, and your lady business is gonna thank you!
Warning: It’s okay if you like it, because this is a judgment-free zone. But these two are about to get it on like their dad may walk in at any moment. Enjoy!!
Copyright © 2016 by Author Alexa Riley LLC. All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, email to [email protected]
http://alexariley.com/
Publisher’s Note: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is completely coincidental.
Edited by Aquila Editing
to Síofra… from day one, to day one million and one…. we love you.
1
Libby
“Take the apron off, Libby.”
I look down at the apron I still have on from this morning. It’s my favorite one. It’s black and dotted with little pink hearts. It has a giant bow that ties in the back and the bottom has layers of ruffles. I made it myself. Sewing is my second-favorite thing to do. Making pies is my favorite thing.
Reaching around the back, I pull at the bow, letting it loose from my waist. Then I pull it over my head and toss it into the trunk of Nicole’s car.
“I think you cut these shorts too short,” I tell her, getting a good look at them.
When I rolled out of bed this morning, I grabbed the shorts Nicole had made me last night from a pair of jeans that I was going to throw out. They’d become so worn I didn’t want to wear them anymore, even though they were my favorite pair, I loved the way they fit my hips, and that is hard to find when you have a lot of curves like I do. Nicole told me she could save them, but now I’m not so sure that was true.
“That’s how they’re supposed to look,” she tells me.
The wind blows, and I feel the breeze against my bottom. I turn, trying to look at my butt. I shake my head and take off my long-sleeved flannel shirt and tie it around my waist to try and cover it up. But that now only leaves me in a thin tee for a top. At least nothing is hanging out of that, except a little cleavage. Okay, maybe a good bit of cleavage. I wear the baggy flannel shirts to hide my chest, which can be practically obscene at times. It’s easier to hide the girls away instead of fighting them. Nicole rolls her eyes at me. She’s always trying to get me to show off my body more. We both joke about how we’d kill for things the other has. I’d die for her legs, and she’d murder someone for my boobs.
“Grab the boxes,” I say, ignoring her.
I love Nicole, but she’s a little more boy-crazy than I am. She likes to dress to get their attention, whereas I try not to be noticed. She’s always done up and in clothes that are as tight as possible. I have to say, though, she always looks beautiful. From her long blonde hair, to her flawless skin and bright blue eyes. She has all the boys in town chasing her, but she never stays interested in one for long.
I’m not boy-crazy at all. Maybe that’s because I’m man-crazy. One man to be exact, but he doesn’t even know I exist. Well, that’s not entirely true, but I seem to annoy him more than anything. When he does come into town, he stays as far away from me as he can get, and that’s probably for the best.
I’ve got it bad for my stepbrother, Jasper Lewis.
Sometimes I can catch him at a good time when he’s here. Get him to watch a movie or play a game with me, but it never lasts long. All too soon I’m annoying him and he’s leaving the room. Then the next day, he’s gone from the house and I’m left with an empty feeling. No matter how hard I try, I always seem to set him off. Each time it breaks my heart that he can’t stand to be in a room with me anymore.
Maybe I should take a page from Nicole’s book the next time he comes to town. Maybe I could make him not think of me as his annoying little stepsister anymore. I could wear something like these shorts and take my hair down from the messy bun it’s always in. I could put on a little makeup, and maybe even flirt a little. Maybe then I could get his attention. Get more than that dark annoyed look he gives me. The one he’s been giving me since I was thirteen and his dad married my mom. At first I thought he hated the fact that my mom married his dad. It was no secret they had money, and my mom and I didn’t come from much. But Ned had swept us both off our feet and taken us in. Then I saw that Jasper was always so sweet to my mom and even thanked her for how much his dad had changed since she’d come into his life.
Grabbing a stack of boxes, Nicole follows me into the Sunshine Diner. Its mid-morning on Sunday, and a rush will be flowing into our small town soon. There aren’t many places to go around here, and Sunshine is one of the most popular. A small part of me takes pride in that because I know people from towns over come here just to get a pie.
“Hey, Libby. I hope you brought me a bunch. I ran out early yesterday,” Mrs. Kathy says from behind the counter as she places someone’s order of pancakes in front of them. Even though she owns the place, she’s always waiting on people. She even wears one of the light blue uniforms under one of the aprons I made her for her birthday. She’s owned the Sunshine Diner since long before I even knew this little town existed.
When my mom said she was getting married and moved us here, it was a shock. But we’d lived in a small town ourselves before, so the change hadn’t been too big, a little scary, but I loved it here. Most of all, I loved seeing my mom so happy with my step-dad, Ned. The way they looked at each other even made my heart flutter.
“I’ve got about thirty,” I admit. I know she wants more. I can see it on her face. She’s offered me a job a million times, but I keep turning her down. I feel like turning pie-making into a job will take away my love for it. Lately I’ve been thinking more about it, however. I just graduated high school, and I need to do something with myself, with my future.
Making a few batches a pies a week and making millions of aprons I pack away or give away isn’t going to make me a living. I can’t live at home forever, and I know the time is coming for me to make some decisions. I’m sure my mom and Ned would enjoy having their home to themselves.
“That’s okay, swe
etheart. I’ll just sell them by the slice.”
I nod as I round the counter, bringing in the boxes and placing them in the counter. Nicole brings in more boxes while I put them away. After that, I pull a few out and place them in the display cases.
“This is cute,” Mrs. Kathy says, coming to stand next to me. She’s looking down at one of my pie boxes.
“I ordered them online and decorated them myself.” I feel a little embarrassed saying that. That I sat in my bedroom and decorated over thirty boxes with stickers and doodles. I even wrote some cute sayings on them.
“They’re adorable,” she says as the bell over the front door of the diner rings. She turns around, grabs a coffee pot, and goes to work. I shut the cooler and give Mrs. Kathy a small wave as I leave the diner, wanting to escape before the rush hits.
Nicole whistles, and I see her sitting on the bench a few stores down. I go down and sit beside her. I’m distracted by thoughts of Mrs. Kathy’s job offer.
“We forget to give one?” I motion to the pie box sitting between us. This one is decorated with small hand-drawn hearts.
“No,” A sneaky smirks pulls at her cherry-red lips. She must have put on more lipstick, because it wasn’t there when we left my house this morning after she picked me up. “You should give this one to Owen.”
I follow her line of sight across the street to the cluster of boys we went to high school with. Five of them are standing outside the hardware store. It’s pretty normal around here to see them gathered outside the place. Most of the boys live on farms with their families, so this is as good a place as any to congregate. We live on a farm, too, but ours isn’t really a working farm anymore. My step-dad retired and rents out all his land to other local farmers. Now he dabbles in random investments with other farmers to make money on the side.
My eyes scan the crowd and I see Owen is looking right at me. He’s had a crush on me since I moved to town, but I didn’t pay him any attention. There were only sixty students in our high school graduating class. Everyone dated everyone, and something about that always made me feel weird. Not to mention I was in love with someone else. Had been since I even knew what love was, so I avoided the whole dating thing while everyone else swapped boyfriends every other month. I shake my head at myself. Like I have room to judge. I’m in love with my stepbrother. That has to be weirder.
Owen is cute with his shaggy blond hair and bright blue eyes. All the girls in school wanted to be with him, and most had, if the rumors were true. You never know in a small town, though. Some rumors are straight-up lies. I’m thinking the ones about Owen with most of girls in our graduating class are true, though. Owen is nice and has manners, but he sometimes acts like he’s God’s gift to the world. I wonder if I’ve snagged his attention purely because I don’t pay him any.
I pull my eyes away from him, back to Nicole. “But I don’t even like him like that.”
“Just flirt with him. It’s fun,” she pushes.
I tap my cowboy boot, thinking about what she’s saying. Maybe I should flirt with him. Even my mom has been asking me when I’m going to start dating. I thought parents were supposed to keep you from doing that. It’s hard to even think about dating when I know my heart will always belong to someone else. It doesn’t seem fair to string someone along.
I wonder for the millionth time if Jasper dates. I’m sure he does. When he comes home every holiday, I get a knot in my stomach thinking he’s going to show up with some woman. They probably throw themselves at him. Heck, I want to throw myself at him. Only I have no idea how to do that. I don’t even know how to dress to attract a man.
“Give me your lipstick,” I tell Nicole, making her smile.
She reaches into her purse and pulls out a tube. I take it from her and put it on. I grab the glasses from my face and blink a few times, but then change my mind and slide them back on. I’ll just fall on my face without them and confirm to everyone that I have no idea what I’m doing. I really should try the contacts I have, but I feel strange without my glasses. I’ll walk over to Owen and flirt and see what happens. Practice. Like when I’m trying out a new recipe, I have to practice a few times. So when Jasper finally comes back to town, I can make sure he gets the best.
I grab the pie and start to make my move, but Owen is already on his way towards me. I smile as big as I can. His eyes go to my legs, and I remember what I’m wearing. I stand still as his gaze wanders up my body, finally landing on my face.
“That for me?” he says, coming to stand in front of me. I glance down at the box in my hand, wishing it wasn’t one with hearts on it.
“It’s apple.” I say, shrugging.
“Your apple pie is my favorite, Libby.”
It doesn’t sound like he’s talking about my apple pie from the diner. I stand there, unsure what to say, feeling completely uncomfortable. I push the pie towards him, and he takes it. Then he brings his hand to my cheek, and I flinch.
“You got a little something,” he explains as his thumb slides along my cheek.
I see a bit of white dust and realize it’s either flour or sugar. I was working with both this morning. He starts to bring his thumb to his mouth when a hand reaches out, grabbing him by the wrist.
“Jasper,” I whisper into the quiet as a look of anger burns in his blue eyes.
2
Jasper
I grip the steering wheel tighter as I watch Libby take off her flannel shirt and tie it around her waist. Thank God she’s covering those Daisy Dukes she’s got on. When the fuck did she get those? It’s not right for a girl her age to be wearing something like that. Fuck that. Those are things you should wear at home for a man who would get on his knees and be thankful for you doing so, not just anyone on a street.
I think about getting out of my truck and helping her carry in those boxes, but I see her friend Nicole with her and I don’t want to intrude. The last thing she wants is for her brother to butt in. Step-brother. I remind myself as I watch the two of them carry the boxes into the Sunshine Diner.
When my dad told me he was going to marry Carol, I was so happy for him. I could tell how happy he was with her. I’d met her briefly before their wedding, but I knew my dad was in love with her from day one. They had a quick courtship, and then they eloped, saying that they couldn’t spend another moment apart. I understand that all too well, but there isn’t a happily ever after in store for me.
The first time I saw Libby was the day they moved in. She was standing on my front porch carrying a suitcase. I was a little shocked that I’d be getting a sister at the age of sixteen, but I was kind of excited by the idea. It had always been my dad and me. I’d wanted a sibling, and I was getting one. But when I saw her there, so many emotions hit me at once. I’d reached out that day and taken her suitcase from her hand, but was unable to get a single word past my lips. She looked like an angel. I’d never seen something as pretty as her before. Our parents stood there, waiting on us to say something to one another, but I couldn’t.
Eventually I showed her to her new room and put her suitcase on her bed. I looked into her bright green eyes, so full of wonder yet hesitant. Her jet-black hair was cut short back then, and I remember wanting to ask if she’d done it herself, just to make conversation. But the words stuck in my throat again, and I chickened out. Instead, she spoke first, thanking me, and gave me the prettiest smile I’d ever seen. It lit up the dark spare room that we’d never used, and suddenly the bare house we’d been living in became a home.
I lean my head back against the window of my truck and close my eyes, trying to picture those first few years living together. She was thirteen at the time and always wanted to tag along with me, whatever I did. I’d never admit it to her, but I always loved how she wouldn’t leave my side. When we’d walk out to the barn or through the woods, I took every chance I could to hold her hand to keep her from tripping, but I pulled mine away as soon as I could. I was so afraid that she’d be able to tell by my touch what I truly thought.<
br />
“Dammit, Jasper,” I say to myself, hating this train of thought.
No matter what I do, it happens every time I see her. One look and I’m propelled back to all the times we spent together…and then my reason for running. For getting out of town as fast as I could and only coming back when I had to. Banging my head against the glass, I try to stop the memories, but it’s no use.
I was nineteen when I finally moved out, unable to take another moment in the house with her. I’d seen her grow from an awkward teenager into a sixteen-year-old with a body of a much older woman. Her curves didn’t belong on a little sister. They belonged in the centerfold of Hustler. The thought of her being seen like that by other men makes me clench my teeth.
My dad calls me home at least once a week, and most of the time I’m able to avoid it. I used to say I was busy with school, but I finished up my certification last month, so I can’t give him those lines anymore.
I wasn’t sure what to do after high school, so I took some classes at the local community college and commuted from home. But after Libby’s sixteenth birthday, I had to get out of there. I was asked about working on large engine machinery for a few of the farms, and the college I went to offered courses on it. They set me up with a job once all my paperwork went through, and now I’m the on-demand mechanic for all the farms in the tri-state area. I never thought I could make this much money at twenty-one years old, but it turns out this shit pays extremely well.
I keep myself busy with work, and that seems to be the only thing that can quiet my mind. But even then, it’s not enough. Thoughts of Libby are always in the back of my mind, and it’s only gotten worse since I moved out.
Today my dad called me and asked me to come have dinner tonight. He said Carol missed me, and that I needed to see Libby. The way he said it made me think there was more to it. Like there was a specific reason I needed to see her. He also told me that we needed to have a man-to-man talk, and I don’t even want to think about what that might mean.