Mine: A Stepbrother Romance: (With bonus novel Bossy!)

by Kim Linwood

  Viewers love drama? We’ll make some fucking drama.

  Liz stands to the side, the note with her clue held loosely between her fingers. She’s watching me suspiciously, and I can tell she wants to come over. Not much she can do so long as her assigned camerawoman hovers over her like a blood-sucking mosquito, though.

  If she wants it, this is her “get out of jail free” card. All she has to do to get off the show without making a scene is fail this challenge. A challenge I know she can do in ten minutes if she wants to.

  Her hair, still the wrong color, falls around her shoulders in bouncy waves. I can still feel it sliding between my fingers as I cover her gasping mouth with mine and slide deep into her welcoming body. I’d love to dwell on that thought, but instead I look at Blaze, and suddenly my shorts don’t feel nearly as tight.

  Maybe I’m exactly the blind idiot my father thinks I am—my lawyer seems to think so after our last call—but I still don’t believe what Liz and I shared was a lie, and I want the chance to find out.

  I just don’t know if good intentions are enough.

  But at least I’ll know.

  Liz

  No girls allowed.

  That’s all it says. I know right away that Hunter picked this clue for me, because there’s no way any of the others would know what he was talking about.

  I look up to find him watching me. His t-shirt cuts across his biceps and hugs his chest in all sorts of attractive ways. His hair has grown since we showed up, and it hangs down in a well-calculated, sexy mess. I could watch that man all day, every day, and it might just be wishful thinking, but for some impossible reason, I think he looks at me that way too.

  This small slip of paper can send me home, or keep me here.

  Why has he given me the choice?

  The sky is turning colors, pinks and oranges reflecting off the few clouds scuttling across it. There’s plenty of light if I hurry, but I can’t stall too long if I want to get to the clue location before dark. If I want to.

  Do I?

  Yes. Stupid question.

  No matter how much heartbreak it might lead to, I’ll take whatever time I have left with him. I try not to pay attention to the camerawoman following me. As familiar as it is now, I’ll be glad when the show is over and my every move isn’t being saved. It’s going to be a long freakin’ time before I post my next selfie.

  It takes about a half an hour to get down to the right stretch of beach. I kick off my shoes and let my toes sink into the sand. The surf rolls in slowly, white foam sliding back and forth over the sand. Now that I’m close, I don’t want to rush it.

  Not far now. A couple of half-rotten boards hang from a tree by rusty nails, the remains of my attempt to make my own version of Hunter’s hideout. No girls allowed. I grin. Is the sign still there?

  About ten feet from the crack in the cliff wall, there’s a little chest with a big X drawn in the sand. I stop and look around. It could be a trick. I know he means the cave, but maybe this is close enough?

  Conscious of being filmed, I kneel down and reach for the chest. It’s maybe the size of half a loaf of bread. Unlocked, I flip up the ornate bronze metalwork holding it shut and slowly raise the lid. Inside is yet another envelope.

  Congratulations!

  Smile, you’re on camera!

  Now get rid of her.

  Seriously? Thanks, Hunter.

  “Yay!” I jump to my feet and wave the chest around. “I found it! Um... yay!”

  Still being filmed. Shit.

  I grin like a loon and hop in place a little. “Listen, I found the thing. Do you think we can call cut on this? I really need to pee.” I cross my legs for good measure.

  The camerawoman presses a button and the little red light goes off. “Yeah, sure. That’s probably enough. You want me to stick around to walk with you, or can I head back?”

  “Go on, I’m fine! It might... take me a while...” So embarrassing.

  She quirks her eyebrow at me and shakes her head. “Right. See you later.”

  I wait for her to go, then slip between the rocks into what used to be the only place on the island that was off limits to me. I mean, I could’ve gone in. He wasn’t always there, and I could’ve snuck in. Or forced an adult to let me, but that would take away the whole point.

  I wanted him to want me there.

  It took ten years and a lot of crazy, but I finally got my invite.

  A strip of sunlight illuminates the cave, but I can’t see much. Scents of cool, damp earth mixed with seawater fill my nose. It’s funny how much the temperature drops inside. I put one foot in front of the other with care. Hunter was the one who found the cave. I’ve only been in it once before and not for long before he kicked me out.

  Scanning into the darkness, looking for signs of Hunter, I catch a movement on the ground in the corner of my eye. A mound of brown I’d dismissed as dead leaves and detritus washed in from the ocean, slithers as my shadow cuts off its access to the fading light.

  My heart wrenches painfully in my chest. A horrified squeak comes out of my mouth.

  The area might be wild, but thankfully there aren’t many snakes.

  Except for the one right in front of me, and it looks pissed.

  Liz

  I’m frozen, gulping air, when Hunter shoves me out of the way. With a quick reach, he grabs the snake behind its head and lifts it up. The three foot snake squirms and wiggles until it gets its body wrapped around his forearm.

  “Still don’t like snakes, huh?” He disappears for a minute, relocating the monster.

  I shudder in relief, my pulse still racing. They aren’t dangerous—unless you’re a rat I suppose—but I still hate them. When Hunter comes back in, I throw my arms around him. “Thank you!”

  He chuckles, the rumble growling in his chest. His hands go around my back, one sliding up my neck and into my hair. “Sorry. I guess it’s been a while since I’ve been in here. If we’d known about Blaze sooner, we could’ve done things differently.”

  The mood changes at the reminder of what’s happened, and we pull apart reluctantly. Hunter turns to a dark corner and hits a switch.

  I gasp as lights come on, slowly brightening as they warm up. Holy crap, he turned his playhouse into a man cave. Literally. It’s not obvious from the outside, but farther back, the dirt floor turns to wooden slats, and there’s a wall with a door.

  Over the door hangs a familiar sign: No Girls Allowed.

  “Like it? Come on, I’ll show you.”

  I put a hand on my hip, the other pointing. “I don’t know... I’m pretty sure I’m not allowed.”

  He grins, looking very much like the boy I used to know. “I’ll make an exception, but just this once.”

  What it’s going to look like inside, I have no idea. If you have nearly unlimited funds to make your private fort, what would you put in it? Hunter pushes aside a wooden slat and punches in a code before opening the door.

  I’m expecting the batcave, but what I get is what it would look like if a pirate decorated a dorm room. Mismatched wooden furniture fills the small space that’s packed with everything from a ship’s wheel to a stuffed parrot on the wall.

  “Petey!” That parrot used to be mine! As I look around, I see more things that I’d left behind. Most of the knick-knacks I don’t recognize, but he definitely looted my room after we left. “You thief!”

  Hunter shrugs, throwing himself into an old, overstuffed chair. “It’s not like you were here to complain.” His expression grows more serious. “Besides, Dad pretty much gutted your old rooms. I don’t know why I took some of this stuff, I just... didn’t want it to be like you’d never been there.”

  “Yeah, I saw. Your room is nice though. They did a good job.”

  His eyebrows go up in surprise. “Oh? Were you sneaking around my room?”

  I rush over to him, afraid he thinks I have even more to confess. “No! No! I wasn’t—I didn’t—it was when I talked to Danny. I swear!”
>
  “Relax, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to imply you’d done anything. Anything else I mean. Shit... Come here.” Hunter pulls me down into his lap, and I let him. “I’ve talked to Danny, and my father. Liz, I’m not happy with what you’ve done—or why you did it—but I can understand why you had a hard time talking to me about it.”

  “I never meant to hurt you,” I whisper.

  He’s quiet. “You didn’t think trying to take the island would hurt me?”

  Suddenly my lap seems super interesting, saving me from meeting his hurt gaze. “You’ve got to understand. Back home? I have nothing. She’s used it all, and keeps taking more. You have... everything.” I feel absolutely horrible. “This place was everything good in my life. I wanted it back. It sounds dumb, but I knew you could just buy something new. This island was mine.”

  “Did it ever occur to you that it’s the same for me?” Hunter sighs. “Okay, maybe not exactly the same, but the years I was here with you, were the most normal and fun of my life. I’d never had that before. My mother dumped me with my uncouth American father as soon as the honeymoon daze wore off. My father raised me, but he rarely looked past the stream of money that was coming in from my maternal grandparents to keep his mouth shut about their daughter’s behavior.”

  He fixes me with those stormy blue eyes, and I can’t stop myself from stroking his cheek. I’d fixated on his wealth, ignoring that he’s just as screwed up as I am, just with more money. Rich and broken beats the hell out of poor and broken, but we’re both a mess.

  When he kisses me, I’m right there, meeting him with my own demands. He’s on his feet, taking me with him. We tumble down onto the single bed, and his teeth graze my neck, making my hips rise to grind against him.

  He’s rock hard against my stomach. Our light summer clothes do little to hide his excitement. Taking my wrists in one hand, he pins them over my head, pressing me into the soft mattress. His other hand roams my body, eagerly exploring my sides, my hips, my breasts. I moan into his mouth as he takes it, our tongues playing tag as we devour each other.

  I want him so fucking bad. It’s been way too long.

  I’ll never get enough.

  I wrap my leg around his hip, pulling him towards me. He puts his free hand on my thigh, sliding his hot palm along my skin until he’s under my shorts, cradling my ass.

  “Too many clothes,” I say in frustration.

  He laughs. “Way too many.”

  It doesn’t take long for us to fix that particular issue. We race to strip ourselves, and each other. He throws me back down onto the bed before my bra has even slipped off my arm. I fling it away, not caring where it lands.

  His rough hands find my breasts, cupping them and rolling my sensitive nipples between his fingers. If I weren’t already so on edge, it might be painful, but right now, it feels perfect.

  The only thing missing is his cock. Every roll and squeeze makes me feel empty and desperate inside.

  “Fuck, you’re amazing,” he growls against my ear. “I need you now.”

  “Yes,” I hiss, pushing up to get him exactly where I need him.

  He sinks deep in a single, smooth motion that takes my breath away. The feeling of his thickness stretching me is perfection. Hot, long and thick, he fits me like we were designed for each other.

  Out here, by ourselves, we don’t have to sneak around or be quiet. My screams of pleasure blend with his deep guttural groans as he ruts into me like a beautiful animal.

  When I come, it’s fiery and brutal, flooding me with prickly heat that radiates out from my core to the very tips of my fingers and toes. I can’t tell if my eyes are open or closed, all I see is white.

  He swears as my body tries to pull him over the edge with me. “Shit, I can’t. We forgot—”

  “It’s fine, I’m safe.” It’s more than fine, it’s amazing.

  My words are all it takes to do him in. Another few thrusts into my pulsing sex, and he can’t hold back. He swells and presses deep before flooding me with a long groan. If I could, I’d hang on to this moment forever.

  Hunter eases down, catching himself on his elbow so he doesn’t crush me under him. Without pulling out, he kisses me gently while I return the kiss, and add a few hip wiggles to take advantage of the extra friction. He reaches down and cups my breast.

  Maybe we’re not quite done.

  Hunter

  Leaving Liz while she sleeps, all naked and gorgeous, is fucking hard. At least in the cave she’s safe from anything Blaze might cook up to get her out of the picture. What she’ll do when she sees what I left her, though... I’m putting everything on the line and hoping it’s enough.

  There’s nothing I can do but wait and see if she shows for the final competition. As I walk back to the estate with the rising sun at my back, I really fucking hope she does.

  After I arrive, I check in with Dad to make sure everything is set for today’s shoot. If it were up to me, we’d just arrest the fucker and get it over with, but I have to admit, it’ll be fun to watch Blaze’s plan implode on camera.

  It’s early, but since Danny has never had any mercy about waking me up, I barge right in. The room is darker than my cave at midnight, but the switch that pulls back the blinds sorts that right out. Early morning sunlight floods the room.

  “Wakey, wakey, eggs and bakey!” I clap and look over, expecting to find him glaring at me sleepily from his cot.

  It’s empty.

  An explosion of movement on my bed is followed by a very feminine shriek. “Danny!” Bianca sits up, clutching the sheets to cover herself with one hand and shaking my jackass of a best friend with the other. “Danny!”

  “Huh? Wha...?” He rolls over, presenting an unfortunate view of his pasty white ass in the process. “Hunter! Bloody hell. What’re you doing back? What time is it?” He flails his arm over the nightstand until he finds his phone and blinks at it.

  “What am I doing back? What the fuck are you doing in my bed?”

  He yawns. “You weren’t using it. I’ll change the sheets.”

  “I don’t even... Bianca?”

  She ducks her head behind Danny’s back and groans, while he sits up straighter and yanks at the sheet until she’s completely covered. “Leave her out of it.”

  “I’m not the one who tucked her into it!” I wave my hands. “Whatever, I don’t care what you two are doing. I just wasn’t expecting it to be in my bed.”

  “It’s bigger than mine.”

  I grin. “Too fucking right!”

  “Is there a point to your middle of the night cockblocking, or are you just being a wanker?” He completely ignores my jab.

  “Why so narrow-minded? Can’t it be both?”

  That earns me a two-finger salute.

  “Fine. I’m going to go get breakfast, but I need your help getting everything ready, so if you could get your ass germs off my sheets—I mean his, Bianca. I’m sure your ass is fine—and join me, that would be appreciated.”

  Danny slaps Bianca playfully through the sheet. “It is quite fine, isn’t it?”

  The curvy lump under my sheets moves like a striking serpent.

  “Ow! She bit me!” He jumps and glares accusingly over his shoulder.

  I raise an eyebrow at him.

  “Yeah, fine, I deserved it.” He grins. “Biters are more fun anyway.”

  “She’s too good for you.”

  “Don’t I know it?” Danny looks down fondly at the figure doing its best to ignore our childish back-and-forth. Her slender shoulder shakes like she’s either laughing or crying. Since Danny’s still smiling, I’m going to assume it’s laughter.

  “Are Bianca and the other girls ready for today?”

  He nods. “Everything’s set. Did you square things with Liz?”

  I run a hand nervously through my hair. Her scent clings to my skin, and if I crawled back into her bed, she’d be crying my name before the sleep was cleared from her eyes.

  But more than that?


  I have no fucking clue, and it scares the hell out of me.

  Liz

  This is not a pillow. I wake up with my face pressed against the cool, finished stone wall of Hunter’s cave. Last night—I assume it’s last night since the cave doesn’t have windows—comes rushing back, hitting me like a cold shower.

  I roll over, but the other side of the bed is empty and cold. Drawing a deep breath, I inhale the scent of his cologne. My body aches all over, but the low throb between my legs is anything but painful.

  Hunter’s gone.

  A thick envelope on his beat-up center table, propped up against a faintly glowing lamp, grabs my attention before I have time to consider how I feel about him not being here. My name is scrawled across the front in bold block letters. Too curious to worry about getting dressed, I hop quickly out of bed, grab the envelope and slide back under the covers. Inside are a few pieces of paper topped with a note.

  Liz,

  Please don’t think this is me paying you to leave, or bribing you to stay. I’ve thought about what happened to you and your mother, and this is what’s right. There are no conditions. The decision is yours. There hasn’t been time to finalize everything, but it shouldn’t take more than a few days if you decide it’s what you want.

  -Hunter

  What the hell?

  I skim read the printout under the note. It’s a short series of emails from Hunter to his lawyer, going back and forth about the current market value of the island. The number they settle on makes my head spin. Mom got two million dollars in the divorce settlement. This is... way more than that.

  All very impressive, but I don’t understand why he’s given it to me.

  Not until I get to the next page.

  It’s an outline for transfer of the island and all included properties and assets to me, for half the figure he reached with his lawyer.

  My gut reaction is anger.

  How dare he mock me like this? Half of an impossible sum is still freaking impossible!

  Then I see the check attached to the back. Addressed to me.

  Blood rushes to my head, ringing in my ears. “Oh. My. God.” Breathing is suddenly a chore, as if there isn’t enough oxygen around me. The number on the check matches the full value of the island.