Hard: A Military Stepbrother Romance

by Swann, Lara

  “Yeah, they didn’t cover that in interrogation resistance training…”

  I returned the smile but my stomach flipped at the casual comment, and I wasn’t sure I was quite prepared to hear about the kind of life he led. I let the banter drop off as he navigated his way through the city, the light music providing a nice backdrop to the warm sun glinting down, despite my initial objections.

  When we turned onto the interstate he ramped the truck up, the mostly empty scenery rolling past at a crazy speed while he weaved easily between lanes and cars. My eyes lingered on him, as they had done more often than I would have liked the last few days, admiring the strength he handled the vehicle with and the way his powerful presence dominated the not-insignificant space of the cab. My curiosity got the better of me a few moments later and I couldn’t resist asking the question that had been on my mind all week.

  “So, what do you think, then?”

  He grunted as I drew him out of wherever his thoughts had been, looking over at me with a question.

  “About our parents, I mean.”

  His face closed off the way I’d seen it do so many times and he just shrugged.

  “Not much.”

  I waited a moment, until it became obvious that was all he was going to say.

  “You don’t think much of them being together?”

  “No, I just don’t think about them.”

  The tension in his shoulders said otherwise and I bit back the sudden flare of irritation at his evasion. He didn’t owe me an explanation, or a blow-by-blow of what he felt, but somehow it hurt that he was shutting me out the same way he did with everyone else. Which was irrational, but…I’d never been my most rational around him. I gave up with a shrug, chiding myself for the interest.

  “Alright.”

  There were a few minutes of silence, punctuated only by the swinging of the vehicle from lane to lane - it occurred to me I should probably try to reign in his nonchalance towards speed limits, but the blur outside the window had suddenly become appealing. Finally, when I’d almost forgotten the awkwardness, he sighed and shrugged against some of the tension, appearing to make a decision.

  “It’s just not worth thinking about, you know? I’ve seen this song-and-dance before, never ends well. No point getting invested in it, one way or the other.”

  I wasn’t expecting that, but then as I thought about what I knew of his childhood, I realized that while this might be a major intrusion into my life, Seth had deliberately built his so that it couldn’t disturb him.

  “Cora’s been married before?”

  “Engaged…married…yeah.”

  As much as I’d felt ambivalent about the whole thing, concern for my father flickered through me.

  “You think their marriage isn’t going to work out?”

  My tone had him turning towards me for a moment, his eyes flicking between the road and my expression. He cocked his head, seeming surprised.

  “You want it to?”

  “Of course I do! He’s my father.”

  That should have been explanation enough, but he considered it for a few quiet moments, and I couldn’t help feeling he was judging me for that viewpoint.

  “Do you not?”

  He just shrugged again, and I guessed I wasn’t going to get much more.

  What was more worrying was the idea that Cora had been engaged or married so often that Seth didn’t seem to consider it worth anything. I wondered whether my father knew - he had to, right? He’d know what he was getting into, he was sensible that way. I bit my bottom lip as I considered it, wanting to ask Seth more about all that but not having a clue how to phrase it in a way that wouldn’t give offense.

  My expression must have given my thoughts away - either that or the drumming of my fingers on the side of the door - because he kept looking over at me, and eventually sighed again.

  “You really care, huh?”

  I managed not to glare at him. Why was that so difficult to understand?

  “My father deserves a chance to be happy, and he’s a good guy. Do you really not care?”

  “I never saw you as all that keen on the whole thing.”

  “That’s not really the point - it’s not about me. Whatever I might think…I wouldn’t want it to go badly for them.”

  He was silent for another few moments before reaching out to cup my chin, tilting my head back to meet his eyes. I wanted to bristle at the uninvited touch, but having his strong hand there brought back his mouth coming down over mine, the memory of the passion that had always followed that demanding touch heating my blood instinctively. His eyes glanced away from me every few moments to check the road, but even so I eyed his one hand on the wheel warily. If it hadn’t been that our speed had slowed back to something resembling normal, and there seemed to be no other cars around, I would have probably freaked out at him to pay attention to the road.

  One finger stroked my cheek with unexpected gentleness and I fought the instinct to lean into that hand as he gave me the reassurance I hadn’t quite managed to ask for.

  “If it helps, I do think this time is different.”

  His hand shifted up to touch the hair tied back in a ponytail before his fingers trailed down my neck and withdrew, leaving me with a shiver of sensation that had me biting my lip for another reason entirely. He turned his attention fully back to the road and I brought myself out of the semi-daze.

  “What do you mean?”

  One side of his mouth half-curved into a smile and he shook his head as he glanced over at me.

  “God, you’re never satisfied, are you?”

  “What?”

  “You can’t just take something as it is, hmm? You have to know why, and how, and talk it half to death first.”

  I could have been insulted, but his eyes were sparkling as he looked over at me, a fond exasperation that made me shake my head back.

  “Taking you at face value has never seemed a good idea.”

  He snorted in response.

  “Ahh, baby, I’m as direct as they come.”

  That was certainly something I remembered well - and even when it came to our relationship, it had been me that had read far too much into it. He’d always claimed it didn’t mean anything…

  Except that one time.

  I shrugged the thought away, happy that the mood had lightened and unwilling to compromise that with the constant playback of memories that were better untouched. I turned back to him, but he’d lapsed into silence again and I couldn’t quite let the original question go.

  “You’re really not going to say anything else?”

  A grin spread over his face and he laughed.

  “Sure, baby. I was just waiting to see if you’d ask again. Point proven.”

  Prick.

  But my mouth was quirking in a smile, and I didn’t really object to his comments - it had always been better to understand and judge for myself, even if the endless questions drove him crazy. And we still had a couple of hours left in the car, it would be damn boring if neither of us attempted conversation.

  “So? What did you mean?”

  His eyes lit as I prompted again, but he finally relented.

  “Your father’s better than most of the guys Mom usually goes for…more stable too. She’s always gone after the bad-boy type before, and that has a tendency to end badly.”

  Amusement hit me at that idea and I looked over at him, a casual up and down.

  Now what did that remind me of?

  “Yeeah, I can see that.”

  Confusion flickered in his eyes for a moment, before he caught the implication.

  “Hey!”

  His voice caught with laughter though, and I just smiled, enjoying the way we’d slipped back into those old, easy patterns. It was undeniably better than the awkwardness of the last week, that was for sure, and I was surprised to find him pretty good company when he wasn’t being an ass. Maybe this whole wedding-and-family thing wouldn’t be so bad.

 
“So you like him then? My father?”

  I didn’t know why that felt important to me, but it did. I wanted Seth to like my father, to approve of his mother’s choice - there were enough people who judged him badly without really knowing him. Not that Seth knew him, but still—

  “As a guy?”

  “Eh, maybe…more as your mother’s fiance.”

  I wasn’t really sure what I was looking for, but the way his light gray eyes turned stormy told me I’d hit on something. He looked at me long enough that the air turned thick in an almost-familiar way.

  “As my stepfather? Well, he’s a damn sight better than any I’ve had so far…except for this one overwhelming disadvantage, which I’m not particularly inclined to forgive.”

  The emphasis on that last part had my heart thumping hard against my chest, sudden desire coiling through me and making me glad I was already sitting down. There was something in the controlled ferocity there, a power that could beguile any girl when it was so obviously down to her.

  Damn. Maybe he’s not quite as over it as I thought then.

  I didn’t quite dare to respond to that, letting the music playing in the background take over as I looked back out the window and waited for the intensity to fade. It didn’t feel safe to engage when everything was so tight and close between us, but I had no idea how to stop it from happening - ignoring it seemed the best course of action.

  He seemed content to leave it at that as well, and after a little while the silence turned companionable again. Finding a bag of peanuts helped too, and we started attacking them together as we got closer to our destination. I’d forgotten how good a road trip could be for clearing the mind, and Seth interrupted my thoughts just as they were heading in the direction of his question.

  “So, you going to tell me why we’re heading to San Francisco?”

  I felt the beginnings of a flush and tried to ignore how hard it was to admit my plans to anyone. Somehow, it always came out sounding silly - the misguided pursuit of someone who didn’t quite know what she was doing.

  But at least you’re trying, now.

  “I found a few internship opportunities here, and wanted to get a feeling of the place - whether I might like to live here for a bit.”

  My voice came out more defiant than I would have liked, especially since he just glanced at me and nodded, but I persevered anyway.

  “I’ve got some addresses for work placements, potential housing areas…”

  I bit my lip as it occurred to me that he probably hadn’t pictured this trip as an opportunity to taxi me around to the random places I wanted to visit - simply getting me here was more than I’d really expected. But there was plenty to do in San Francisco, so at least he wouldn’t be bored.

  “You could just drop me somewhere and we could meet later in the evening for the return trip?”

  This time he raised an eyebrow with one sharp shake of his head.

  “No way, babe. I’m not letting you out of my sight.”

  The protective vibe I caught there had me pausing for a moment, but I continued on.

  “None of that stuff is going to be very interesting, Seth.”

  “You think I’m going to let you wander around a large city alone, going who-knows-where without any way to assure your safety?”

  Irritation flared at being treated like a child.

  “I am twenty-one, you know! I can take care of myself.”

  “Not if you think that’s a good idea, you can’t.”

  Before I could object, he reached over to the papers I’d started looking through again on my lap, pulling them forward and scanning the addresses.

  “Tenderloin…the Mission district? Seriously…not leaving this truck without me.”

  I grit my teeth as his comments mirrored the concerns I’d been ignoring. My annoyance at his attitude was only compounded by the way I felt secretly relieved that he had no intention of leaving me.

  “Fine. If you must. Just don’t get in my way.”

  His breath huffed out as he deposited the papers back on my lap and we turned off towards the center.

  “Babe, you seriously need to work on how to say ‘thank you’.”

  I grumbled back at him, but the idea of having my own Navy SEAL protection was more appealing than I wanted to admit. Unfortunately, so was spending some more time with my infuriating stepbrother.

  Chapter Eight

  Bella

  It was all perfect until we got to the housing.

  We’d found the couple of places I was considering for internships without too many problems, just a few missed turns and exchanged curses from navigating the unfamiliar city. The curses were more directed to each other than the road, too - Seth seemed a frustratingly calm driver…unless I riled him up, anyway. I guessed if you were used to driving while getting shot at, crazy traffic didn’t seem such a big deal.

  Since this trip had been completely unplanned, I hadn’t had a chance to contact anyone from the labs to ask to discuss the positions in further detail - and I didn’t even know whether they would’ve let me do that - but it gave me a picture and idea of the type of places I could be working in, and I couldn’t help getting excited at the idea, however premature it might be.

  Kaylee would be thrilled at the whole trip - after she got over not being invited - randomly turning up on the doorstep of somewhere I was considering living and working had that romantic feeling she loved. I’d smiled at the thought of regaling her with the possibilities of a new city, and not even Seth’s arrogant guidance could distract from my enthusiasm.

  At one of the crime labs, I managed to work up the nerve to go in and inquire, and although the receptionist couldn’t help me much, a couple of guys on their way out for lunch were more than happy to take me with them and let me pepper them with questions. They didn’t work with the area that was offering the internship, but their fun stories about the place were enough to make the trip worth it even without visiting anywhere else. After so long studying, the thought of doing something real appealed to me even more than I’d imagined.

  True to his word, Seth stuck with me the whole time, and any inclination I might have had to feel bad about that was eclipsed by his tendency to provoke and tease, keeping me in that frustrating state where either hitting or kissing him would feel appropriate. And there was only one of those my too-easily-wound-up body was fixated on. Still, my exciting future was more than enough to keep that thought at bay, and I figured I’d get over it eventually.

  All this time with him was bound to get boring, right?

  But then we got to looking at a few of the housing blocks I’d highlighted on the map, and everything started going wrong.

  The sun was sinking down in the sky as his relatively unobtrusive shadowing became increasingly uncomfortable. His eyes scanned the shadows of every road and alley we passed and his whole body vibrated with a high-alert tension that started making me nervous. When we’d been in school, he’d been cocky and confident most of the time I’d seen him, but this was different - a fierce predator poised ready for action. Confidence didn’t come close. Dangerous might fit better.

  Part of me was fascinated by the change, and the small insight into the life he led outside of these unassuming civilian clothes - but mostly I was irritated at his increasingly abrupt comments and unnecessary concerns.

  “Time to head back, Bella - it’s getting late.”

  I looked around at the rather dismal looking building facades, the occasional gatherings of homeless people we passed adding to my nerves, but I shrugged it off.

  “It’s fine. I just want to look at a couple on the road down here…”

  The gathering twilight was making it hard to read the street signs, and I’d gotten turned around a little, but I was almost there now - I was sure of it.

  “You’re not living here. You’re not even walking any further down this street. It’s dangerous.”

  The implacable command in his voice rubbed me the wrong way and I
turned to glare at him.

  “Don’t be ridiculous - plenty of people walk this street all the time. It’s fine.”

  “Rich girls with fancy jewelery don’t.”

  His eyes didn’t even meet mine, too focused on a narrow alleyway in front of us, and I felt my stomach clench. I hadn’t even thought about the matching gold-and-emerald necklace and earrings I wore - or my mother’s signet ring. I glanced down at the designer handbag I’d grabbed without thinking when I left the house and bit my lip.

  Was I really that naive?

  Or maybe he was just being an ass again…

  “One more place. Then we go.”

  Even if the advice was worth considering, I wasn’t going to respond to demands and orders. Leaving soon was probably a good idea - on my terms, and after I’d seen at least something I’d come for.

  With that, I strode forward, ignoring his curse behind me.

  “Fuck, Bella - you’re not living here.”

  My reply was cut off as he jerked towards me a moment too late to snatch me from the hand that wrapped around my wrist, yanking me into the alleyway I’d stopped in front of. My scream was cut off almost immediately by a hard slap against my cheek, then I was spun around until I was facing Seth again, a sharp object pressing against my throat. I cut off the crazy simultaneous urges to scream, cry, laugh, run, as my mind exploded in chaos.

  “Gimme everything.”

  I could barely breathe, didn’t even know what he was referring to until my wild eyes finally caught - and held - Seth’s deadly calm gaze.

  “Do what he says, Bella.”

  Seth’s steady voice gave me an ounce of calm, enough to stop me breaking down in hysterics, anyway.

  Oh god, oh god, oh god…it’s going to be alright, right? He knows what he’s doing. He’s done this before. Surely he’s done this before…

  The knife pressed harder against my throat and I couldn’t stop the small cry.

  “You betta listen to your boyfriend, girlie.”

  “He’s not my…”

  Seth’s expression turned incredulous for a moment, and I almost laughed.

  Okay, not the time to debate semantics.

  Instead I slowly shrugged the handbag off my shoulder, my other hand reaching up to fiddle with my earrings until I had them off, putting them both in one of the pockets before hesitantly reaching up to the necklace to do the same. The knife was in my way and as I paused, the guy appeared to realize my predicament - reaching around to the front and yanking it off hard. I shuddered and bit my lip as his fingers brushed against my skin before the clasp broke and he quickly pocketed it. Obviously not impressed by my speed, he reached forward to force my ring off my hand, and my stomach twisted at the idea of losing one of my few mementos from my mother.