Bad Boy - A Stepbrother Romance

by Daire, Caitlin

  Now there’d been a situation with the tree in the lobby, a broken set of glass ornaments, and an assistant with a cut on her arm from trying to salvage some of them. And don’t even get me started on the menu for the annual hotel Christmas Eve bash, which was an utter disaster under Elijah’s supervision. Who the hell wanted a fancy-ass ice cream sundae on a chilly Christmas Eve? Not me, anyway, unless it was somehow made of peppermint candy canes and eggnog spiked with extra rum.

  Well, there was an idea to fix this disaster.

  I rattled off instructions to Elijah, who still seemed stressed as hell. With a sigh, I promised to be down there in a bit to take care of the situation, and I could hear the relief in his panicked voice as I ended the call.

  As I turned around, I walked straight into a wall, hitting my head. “Fuck!” I exclaimed, and a torrent of other curse words followed. I wasn’t used to this room, since I’d been living in the penthouse apartment for years before my Dad and Anna had claimed it for themselves.

  At first, I’d been pissed as hell at being unceremoniously expelled from my old suite. Of course, that’d only lasted until I’d found out Rory would be my neighbor on the lower floor, but then again, I wasn’t the kind of guy who liked to watch what he couldn’t have.

  And by now, I was fucking sure that I still wanted Rory.

  I pulled on a pair of jeans and a tee, grimacing as I stretched to get the shirt on. My ribs hurt like hell, and I could see bruises forming on my abdomen as I got dressed. Must’ve been from the fight a few days ago, not long before the family dinner.

  The events of that evening replayed in my head, and I closed my eyes. Some jackass had tried to force a girl into his car in the parking lot outside one of our bars. Thank fuck I’d been outside getting a breath of fresh air to see what had transpired, and I’d managed to get the guy off her back and beat the living shit out of him like he deserved.

  After that, I’d realized the girl was out of her mind drunk, but something seemed off, so I’d waited with her until an ambulance came and the paramedics took her to the hospital. I’d made them swear to call once they got some news, and my suspicions had been confirmed just yesterday.

  The woman was fine now, and safely at home, but they’d found Rohypnol in her blood. She’d been roofied. Roofied at seven fucking P.M. on a Tuesday night. Sadly, a situation like that one wasn’t uncommon these days—I was just glad I’d been there for her. Otherwise, fuck knows what could’ve happened.

  Still, I worried I’d made a horrible impression, rocking up at the family dinner right after my fight with the guy, who’d now been taken into police custody.

  Jesus, I’d walked into the restaurant like a fucking savage with blood on my clothes. Remembering Adelina’s—sorry, Mrs. Villanueva’s—non-impressed look and sharp words, I cringed inwardly. I couldn’t blame her for that. I’d looked like a fucking serial killer.

  Dammit.

  Even though I knew I could never have Rory, I still wanted her and her family to like me. Being liked was something I didn’t give a fuck about in regards to most people, but with the Villanueva ladies, it seemed important for my Dad’s sake.

  As I thought about them, a nagging feeling returned to the back of my head, warning me about Anna. While I liked Rory and even her spunky grandma, Anna gave me a weird vibe, like she was up to no good.

  Probably just a gut feeling that should be ignored.

  I locked the door and instinctively checked Rory’s room before heading to the elevator, but it seemed quiet, so I figured she’d left as well. Somehow, that bothered me. I preferred to think of her as safely enclosed in her room...only a door away from mine. Sometimes, a hotel could be a dangerous place, even with all the security staff.

  I punched the ground floor button in the elevator, leaning against the wall with a sigh as canned Christmas music began to play from the speakers inside it. Here I was, with a new stepmom, new step-grandma and a new stepsister, just in time for the holidays.

  Too bad the only thing I wanted from Santa was Rory in my bed, moaning and digging her nails into my back as I slid my cock into her pussy.

  Merry-fucking-Christmas.

  Chapter Six

  Rory

  The last few weeks had passed rather quickly and uneventfully, mostly due to the fact that I hadn’t had any more run-ins with Finn. He usually got up late in the day and worked till the early hours of the morning, seeing as his main job involved managing Helvetica, the nightclub in the lower east wing of the hotel. I’d settled back into my old routine of getting up early, going to work at the startup and then returning to my new home in the hotel at around five, and I was almost always in bed and sound asleep by ten.

  Yep, our vastly differing schedules were a blessing. No more awkward hallway encounters for me.

  Today, I had the morning off work, and I was taking my Grandma to a doctor for a physical. She couldn’t drive herself, seeing as her eyes were absolutely terrible without glasses. Even though she wore her glasses all the time, the DMV had still insisted that she was no longer allowed a driver’s license, so it was up to either Mom or me to ferry her around.

  She’d been complaining of headaches a lot lately, and I was worried it might be something serious, which was the reason behind the physical. She was convinced that she was fine, and she hadn’t wanted to see a doctor at all, but I’d told her that if she honestly thought she was fine, then there was no harm in getting a checkup just to confirm that for peace of mind. She’d grudgingly accepted that, and we’d just arrived at the hospital where our old family GP, Dr. Cummings, now worked.

  “Where did you say his new office is again?” she asked, squinting at a sign.

  “Fifth floor,” I said. “The elevators are just over there.”

  She huffed. “You know I don’t like elevators. So cramped and smelly, and they always break down.”

  I grinned. “You don’t mind the hotel one!”

  She waved her hand at me. “That’s different. It’s more spacious.”

  “Well, the Crown is a luxury hotel, after all,” I said. “But seriously, Abuela, you shouldn’t have to climb five flights of stairs. The elevator won’t break down on us, I promise.”

  She rolled her eyes. “I’m not as ancient as you seem to think, and I don’t need to be treated like a broken old doll. I’m more than capable of taking the stairs!”

  With that, she marched over to the stairwell, and I followed her over with a heavy sigh. I knew why she was so grumpy at the moment. It wasn’t just because she was annoyed at being thought of as elderly; it was also because she didn’t like hospitals. Ever since her husband—my grandfather—had died at the relatively young age of forty-six, she hadn’t been able to stand being around doctors. I was pretty sure her last checkup had been over ten years ago, when I was still in elementary school.

  “Abuela,” I said, capturing her hand in mine as we ascended the stairs. “Are you okay?”

  She sighed and stopped for a second. “I’m sorry for snapping at you. This place just reminds me of…”

  Her sentence trailed off, and she sniffed as tears pooled in her eyes.

  “I know,” I said softly. “It makes you think about him.”

  “It’s not that I don’t like thinking of him,” she said. “I still think about him every day. I just don’t like being reminded of what it was like to see him in the hospital, so sick and fragile. He was too young.”

  “He was,” I said. “I’m sorry.”

  She gave me a watery smile. “Well, I still have you and your mother. Anyway, let’s get this appointment over and done with.”

  “Okay.”

  I kept hold of her hand and gave it a squeeze, and we finally reached the doctor’s office a few minutes later.

  “Adelina, you still look the same as you did fifteen years ago,” Dr. Cummings said, pretending to tip an imaginary hat at her as we walked in. He was a kindly-faced older man, probably about the same age as Grandma. “You Venezuelan ladies must
have some sort of secret youth potion.”

  She laughed. “See, Rory? Not everyone thinks I’m an old relic.”

  I giggled, and Dr. Cummings gestured for us to sit. “Even so, we still need to check out a few things. When was the last time you had your blood pressure checked?” he asked.

  My mind drifted off as my grandmother and the doctor spoke about her medical history, and a few minutes later, she nudged me. “Rory, dear, you don’t need to be here for all of this. We’ll probably be here for a while, so why don’t you run down to the cafeteria and see if they have some of those Jello cups you used to like?”

  Dr. Cummings smiled. “The green flavor is the best,” he said. “We’ll probably be about twenty minutes or so.”

  “All right,” I said, rising to my feet. “I’ll meet you back up here then.”

  As I headed out the door, I caught a glimpse of the back of a man in a Santa costume ducking into another hallway that led off to the left. The children’s ward was at the other end of this floor, and I smiled at the thought of all the kids being brought a little extra cheer by the hospital Santa.

  It was awful for kids to be sick—or anyone for that matter—but it was sweet that some people went out of their way to make them feel at least a little better, especially around Christmas time. Maybe one day I could even volunteer here myself. I’d have to look into it.

  My phone buzzed in my bag, and I pulled it out to see a message from Dana, asking if I was free for drinks sometime this week. I replied, and we had a short back and forth texting session for a couple of minutes, and then I turned right and headed towards the stairwell before remembering that I was alone now. Elevator it is. Turning around yet again, I briskly headed towards the elevators, and just as I yawned and closed my eyes for a split second, I crashed right into…you guessed it.

  Finn, my evil stepbrother.

  What the hell was he doing here? He’d just rounded the corner, and he looked as shocked to see me as I was to see him.

  He regained his composure almost immediately and looked down at me, a playful grin on his face. “Hey,” he said. “What are you doing here? I thought you had work at the software place during the day.”

  “I had to bring my Grandma in for some tests,” I said, my voice stiff. His mention of my job had reminded me of our pseudo-date at Clancy’s, when I’d told him all about what I did and what my future ambitions were. I hated being reminded of that night, because it brought up all the feelings I’d been trying to suppress ever since. “What are you doing here?”

  He opened his mouth to say something, closed it, and then opened it again. Weird. Was he nervous?

  “Oh, you know, just getting a plastic surgery consultation about a penis reduction,” he finally replied, eyes glinting with amusement. “Maybe a bicep reduction too. These bad boys are just too dangerous, don’t you think?”

  He jokingly flexed his muscles at me, and I snorted and folded my arms. “Sure, sure. More like you’re getting your biweekly STD panel.”

  He chuckled and held his hands up, palms facing me. “Oh, I guess you got me there,” he said. “Gotta stay healthy, right?”

  “Sure. Whatever. Anyway, I’ll see you later,” I mumbled, stepping around him.

  Unfortunately, he was also heading towards the elevators. He winked at me and gestured towards the buttons beside the door. “Going down?” he asked.

  “I swear to God, if this is a setup for some kind of oral sex joke, I’ll throw you down the elevator shaft,” I said.

  He chuckled. “Someone’s a little touchy today. Seriously, though, are you going down?”

  “Yeah. Ground floor,” I said.

  “Me too.”

  He pressed the down button, and the elevator dinged a moment later.

  “After you, milady,” Finn said, bowing and nodding towards the open doors.

  I rolled my eyes, but a hint of a smile played on my lips. “Thanks,” I mumbled.

  The doors closed, and it was just the two of us heading down in the elevator. We’d only been inside it for about five seconds when it made a weird clanging sound and the lights started flashing, and finally, it lurched to a halt.

  Well, so much for what I’d said to my Grandma earlier about the elevator not breaking down….

  Now Finn and I were stuck in here together for god knows how long.

  Alone.

  Chapter Seven

  Finn

  The elevator lurched to a stop. As if on cue, the lights blinked several times, the whole thing shook, and then it came to a standstill, obviously broken.

  Rory and I exchanged looks. It wasn’t the first time I’d been stuck in an elevator. Having lived in a hotel for the better part of my life, this wasn’t out of the ordinary for me, so I just leaned back against the wall, sighing. Judging from all my past experiences, we were probably going to be stuck here for a while.

  “So…do you come here often?” I joked, giving Rory a side-eyed glance.

  She rolled her eyes and sighed in frustration. “Let me guess, the next thing you say will be that you wouldn’t mind making me come here often,” she said, making air quotes around the word ‘come’.

  I chuckled. “I wasn’t going to say that, actually, but I like it. Very smooth.”

  She sighed again and looked around. “We have to get out of here. I need to take Grandma home after her appointment, and then I need to get to work,” she said, pulling her cell phone out of her bag. “Ugh, I don’t even have cell service in here.”

  I checked my phone. “Same.”

  She looked about as happy to hear that as a hungover person going through their sent messages folder after a night of boozing. “Well, can’t you do something? You’ve always lived in a hotel; you must know what to do with elevator stuff like this.”

  “Not much to do.” I shrugged, pointing towards the alarm button. “Press that and someone will rescue us sooner or later.”

  “Ugh…why are you so useless?” she snapped. She was getting visibly upset now, her cheeks reddening as she huffed and puffed and continuously pressed the alarm button.

  “That’s not very nice,” I replied, barely able to hide my grin.

  “Well…you’re not very nice,” she said, turning to me with a flustered expression.

  “Ha. What an original thing to say. You have the comedic ability of a leek, you know.”

  “Shush,” she grumbled.

  Her finger jabbed the button again and again, as if she expected the elevator so start moving all by itself. “That’s not going to help,” I said as she moaned in frustration.

  “I don’t want to be stuck in here with you,” she replied.

  I hated to admit that her words stung a little. I knew she wasn’t my biggest fan, given the manner in which we’d first met, but it wasn’t like I was some serial murderer, trying to slice her open, or a pervert peeking under her skirt with my cell phone for up-skirt creep shots.

  In fact, I thought I was behaving in a civil way, trying very hard not to stare at her, which was a hard feat to accomplish. Her deep breaths were making her breasts strain against the blouse she was wearing, and the sight was tempting as fuck.

  I opened my mouth to say something else, but she shut me up with a venomous look. I motioned locking my lips and throwing the key away and then watched in silence as she tried desperately to get a reaction out of the control panel in the elevator. By now, I was fairly certain the power in the panel had gone off, but of course, I wasn’t allowed to speak, so I just stared at her futile attempts with amusement.

  Rory glared at me, and I innocently averted my eyes, pretending I was mesmerized by the ceiling of the elevator. She was getting more annoyed by the second, and as the minutes ticked by and nothing happened, I could feel her frustration, the air in the tiny elevator thickening with tension.

  “Why is nothing happening?” she finally asked me, and I gave her a wide-eyed look, shrugging. Rory finally gave up. “Can you please start talking again?”

&nbs
p; “Panel’s busted,” I said. “The button isn’t working. Someone will have to manually make it move again.”

  “Can you do that?”

  “No, has to be from the outside.”

  She sighed again, groaning once she realized we were at the mercy of the always-busy staff in the hospital. I noticed she was shivering as well, which made sense. It was freezing in this elevator. Feeling like a prick for not noticing how cold she was sooner, I slid off my hoodie and passed it to her.

  She gave me a quizzical look, and I shrugged. “Aren’t you cold?” I asked.

  She nodded, offering me a small smile as she took my hoodie and put it on. “Thanks, Finn,” she said in a soft voice, averting her eyes from mine.

  The hoodie was enormous on her, almost reaching down to her knees, and seeing that made my lips quirk up in a grin. For a few moments, we waited in silence, but there was a nagging question in the forefront of my mind which annoyed me more and more with each passing second.

  I needed to know the answer.

  “Is it so bad being stuck in here with me? I mean, I know you think I’m a dirty liar, and maybe I am, but is it really that bad?” I asked. When Rory didn’t answer right away, I perked up, thinking of a game to play with her while we were waiting for the repairman to get us out of here. “Tell me three people who would be better company than me in a stuck elevator.”

  She shot me another annoyed look, but I could see a hint of a smile on her face. “Donald Trump,” she finally said.

  I gasped in mock outrage. “You cannot be serious,” I said, a hand fluttering to my chest as I sighed dramatically. “You’d be stuck here tending to his wig and listening to a political rant. Give me someone else. You can do better than that.”

  “Err...” She was thinking hard now, and I was happy I’d managed to distract her.

  I knew people tended to get nervous and claustrophobic in situations like this, and I wanted Rory to stay calm. If joking around was the way to do that, I was willing to swallow my pride and make fun of myself.

  As long as she felt safe.