I shook my head in disbelief, unable to believe how little she cared about her own flesh and blood. “You didn’t raise me,” I muttered. “She did.”
With that, I turned and dashed back towards the hotel entrance. If no one else was going to make sure my grandmother made it out of her room safely, then it was up to me.
“They’re almost all out,” I overheard Elijah say to another staff member as I dashed past him at the entrance. He didn’t even notice me go back in.
People were still pouring out through the main lobby, and I shoved my way past a group of seemingly-drunk men on my way to the stairs.
“Hey, you’re goin’ the wrong way, sweet-cheeks!” one of them called after me. “Damn…this place might be on fire, but it’s still not as hot as that ass!”
Seriously? We were in a burning building, and this guy thought it was an appropriate time to sleaze onto women?
I rolled my eyes before dashing up the left-hand side emergency stairs, finding them empty. Everyone else must have already made it out or gone down another set of stairs. The alarm continued to blare in my ears, and I wrinkled my nose at the harsh smell of smoke which was permeating the air in the stairwell now. As I reached the small landing between one set of stairs and the next which would lead me to the second floor entrance, the cord from my dressing gown came loose and started to swing down at the floor, right in between my legs. Before I could even register what had happened, I tripped over it and flew backwards with a scream.
Clunk.
Clunk.
Crash.
I hit the previous landing with a thud, and my vision swam in front of me as I tried to climb back up. I totally and utterly failed, legs and arms too wobbly and weak to move. Every inch of my body ached terribly, especially my head and right arm, and I gasped and tried to stop my eyes from closing as a flurry of thoughts swept through my mind. Grandma…Finn…are you okay? Am I going to make it out of here? Why can’t I move?
Coming back in here had been a stupid idea. Noble, perhaps, but stupid. I’d wanted to save my grandmother, but all I’d done was put myself in harm’s way as well. I should’ve gone to a firefighter or emergency-trained hotel staff member and asked them to make sure my Grandma made it out of her room safely, but instead I’d put myself at risk like an idiot.
Too late now. I’m trapped. I can’t move.
Hindsight was a real bitch.
Feeling even woozier as the pungent scent of smoke hit my nostrils again, I finally closed my eyes, my mind drifting away to another place. Maybe this wasn’t real. Maybe this was all just a nightmare. Yes, yes…that was it. Just a nightmare. I’d wake up soon.
“Rory! Jesus fuck, Rory!”
Someone was calling my name. It seemed far off in the distance, and I tried to open my eyes again. All I could see was fuzzy greyness in front of me.
“Help…” I murmured weakly, not even sure if I was hallucinating the voice or not.
“Don’t try to move for a minute,” a calm masculine voice said a few seconds later. I felt two strong arms scooping me off the hard floor, and my eyes fluttered open and shut several times as I tried to see what was happening.
“It’s me. I’ve got you, and you’re gonna be fine,” the voice said. So familiar.
“Finn…”
“Yes, it’s me. Don’t worry, you’re gonna be okay,” he repeated, his deep voice soothing my frantic mind as I remembered everything that had happened.
“Finn, my Abuela!” I choked out. “She’s in…”
My voice trailed off as my head began to pound again, and Finn slowly carried me down the stairs, still trying to calm me. “It’s okay,” he said. “Your grandmother is fine. I went and woke her up myself, and she’s outside now. I even got her blood pressure medication from her dresser. Figured she might need it if this place blows up.”
“She’s okay,” I whispered, head lolling to the side as relief flooded through my system.
“Yes,” he said. “And so are you. You had a fall, but you’re fine. Just stay with me. Don’t close your eyes again.”
“I’m sorry,” I whispered. “I was trying to help, but…”
He cut me off. “Don’t apologize. You did what you thought was right. Everyone’s safe, and that’s what matters.”
Finn continued to reassure me all the way up until we were safely out of the building, and he carried me over to one of the ambulances which had arrived at the hotel. I heard him explaining what had happened to an EMT, and then I felt myself being lowered to a soft surface.
The EMT did a few basic tests to make sure I wasn’t concussed, and then she looked at my right arm.
“Doesn’t look broken,” she said. “It looks like it’s just going to be badly bruised for a while, but we’ll bring you in to the hospital anyway, just to make sure. You’re a lucky girl, you know.”
I nodded weakly, and then a frisson of joy shot up my spine as Finn grabbed my hand and squeezed it. I was sore and exhausted, but feeling him close to me, touching me…that was all I needed to feel happy again.
“Thank you,” I said softly before launching into a coughing fit.
I didn’t know what else to say to him. ‘Thank you’ wasn’t enough, but how could I possibly express the sheer gratitude I felt towards him right now in only words? I wanted to thank him in more ways than that…I wanted to grab him, tear at his clothes, kiss him, lick him, taste every inch of him and screw him senseless, just to show him how much I wanted and appreciated him for being here for me tonight.
He’s your stepbrother, the logical side of my mind reminded me, as it always did.
Screw logic.
Maybe I did have a concussion, but either way, it wasn’t enough to stop me from wanting Finn more than anything. I didn’t just want to sleep with him. I wanted to wake up with him too, spend every day with him.
The other week, I’d thought that my feelings for him were most likely a fleeting sexual infatuation, but I didn’t think so anymore.
After what had happened tonight, I was quite sure that I was actually falling for him.
Chapter Fifteen
Finn
The hotel fire had been fucking horrible. Not because it destroyed that much—it didn’t in the grand scheme of things, only four rooms—but because I was still shaky thinking about how I’d almost lost Rory. When her Mom had told me she’d gone back inside to find her grandmother, I’d raced back in to find her lying prone on the stairwell like a broken doll, and for a split-second, I’d thought she was dead. That image of her lying there was seared into my retinas, and the events of that night had helped me realize a stark truth once and for all.
I was truly in over my head, falling in love with a girl I shouldn’t have even looked at twice.
Fantasizing about screwing her for the last few weeks had been one thing, but love?
That was a whole different ball game.
Whenever we were together, it became harder and harder to fight my feelings for her. I wanted her so fucking badly, and I knew it was coming to a point where I wouldn’t be able to resist telling her how I felt. That point had been coming for weeks now.
It had been three days since the fire now, and as far as I knew, Rory’s bruised arm was recovering well. As much as it killed me to stay away, I’d made sure to busy myself with work for the last few days and stay out of her path to ensure nothing more happened between us. Even squeezing her hand the way I had when the EMT had been checking her out had been too much…fuck, it had been enough to bring everything back; every memory of her lips on mine in that elevator, every fantasy of fucking her, every thought of being with her and only her.
Today, I was working at my side-gig at the hospital, and I was getting ready in my room. The hospital gig was something I’d picked up ages ago, despite having my hands full at the hotel. I had my reasons for doing it, but overall it was just something I wanted, needed to do. Not that I spoke of it to anyone—I could just imagine the shit I’d get from my friends if the
y found out I was dressing up as fucking Santa Clause for a bunch of kids. Besides, I wasn’t one of those assholes who liked to brag about the charity work they did.
I always got dressed at the hospital, but I had to get my costume ready at home. By now, it was a yearly tradition for me to volunteer at the hospital, dressing up as the jovial fat dude who brought presents to children. I’d even dabbled as the Easter bunny a few times when their usual guy was busy, but I preferred Santa.
Something about that red hat, enormous belt buckle and the fake beard made the children happier than ever, and I loved seeking them shriek with excitement as I entered the room. With Christmas only a week away now, the kids were probably more excited than ever to see me wander into the ward, and I couldn’t wait to get to work.
I was about to put my costume away in my duffel bag when my front door opened and someone entered the room, quick as a flash. I realized it was Rory, and heat consumed my cheeks as I moved in front of my bed, trying to hide the Santa suit that was on full display on my bedspread.
“Hey,” she said, sneaking a look around the room.
“Hey, what’s up?” I asked.
“Not much. Sorry for barging in,” she said. “Your room was unlocked, and I just…I wanted to talk to someone.”
She looked so lost in the middle of the room, like a tiny glass doll in a huge store. A need to take care of her consumed me, and I smiled.
“Hope it’s okay,” she continued. “I know you’ve been really busy for the last few days helping your Dad sort out the insurance stuff after the fire. I just didn’t know where else to go.”
I tried to be reassuring as I nodded. “Is your Mom busy?”
“Yeah, I guess.” She looked unsure of herself, sidestepping from one foot to another. “She’s not my first call when I need to talk, anyway.”
I nodded again. I’d only been living with Rory and her family for about a month or so, but it was obvious she wasn’t very close with her mother. Anna must’ve had her when she was pretty young, and their relationship wasn’t as close as the bond Rory had with her grandmother.
“Anything I can help you with?” I asked, trying my hardest to cover up the Santa suit lying on the bed. So far, so good. It seemed like Rory was too caught up in her own stuff to even notice it.
“Not really.” She sighed and rubbed the bruise on her arm. “I mean, I’m fine, but I guess I just need someone to talk to.”
She sat down on an armchair in the corner of the room, and I plopped down on the bed, directly on the Santa suit. My eyebrows furrowed together. I was worried now. Rory was usually so happy-go-lucky, and I wasn’t used to seeing her this upset.
“What’s up?” I said.
She fidgeted, biting her bottom lip and staring at the floor before finally speaking up. “It’s Grandma,” she said softly. “She had another checkup the other day. We got the test results from the doctor, and they…aren’t great.”
I could hear her voice getting shaky, and in that moment, I didn’t give a fuck whether she saw my Santa suit or not. I just wanted her to be okay, so I got up and walked over to her, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder as I kneeled down in front of her.
“What happened with the results?” I asked.
“Well, it’s probably nothing.” Rory’s voice was so shaky it was killing me. I hated seeing her like this. “Just some discrepancies from the last time they took the tests...and she’s so freaking stubborn, she won’t listen to the doctors at all. She says she feels fine and that she’s been taking her meds, so therefore she is fine…but the results apparently say otherwise.”
“I’m sure everything’ll be okay. Tests can be wrong.”
”I guess…but I’m not sure. I think maybe she’s been forgetting to take her meds every day or something. I know I’m probably overreacting, but I just worry about her, you know?”
“Yeah, I know exactly how that feels,” I said. I really did. “Try not to worry, I’m sure everything will be just fine. She’s a tough one. Remember the way she lectured me when we first met? I thought she was going to reach across the table and put me in a headlock.”
Rory nodded, half-smiling and sniffling at the same time, and that drew the line for me. Without meaning to, I leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss against her forehead. It was probably a huge mistake, but the way her eyelids fluttered open to look at me made my heart melt and my cock stiffen.
“Thank you,” she said softly.
I smiled. It was nothing. I’d just wanted to make her feel a little bit better.
Her eyes floated away and landed on something behind me. She only looked worried for a moment longer, after which her look was replaced with one of surprise.
“Oh my god,” she said as she got up, moving away from me.
“What?” I asked, already on the defense. I turned around and got up, checking to see what had caught her attention. Of course, my eyes landed on the Santa suit right away and I figured she’d seen it. “Oh, shit.”
“Is that what I think it is?” she asked.
“Um. Depends what you think it is, I guess,” I said, my cheeks reddening.
She put her hands on her hips and raised her eyebrows, a look of mischief in her eyes. “I should’ve known…you’re into creepy festive roleplaying stuff, aren’t you?”
I grinned. “Yeah, sure. I like to dress up as Santa and spank all the naughty little elves,” I said. “By the way, I wouldn’t mind coming down your chimney, if you catch my drift.”
Her eyes crinkled around the sides with amusement. “Ho ho ho…hey, that suits you, because you’re a giant man-ho!”
We both cracked up at that, and the sound of Rory’s laughter was like music to my ears, as much of a giant fucking cliché as that sounded. I finally managed to stop laughing a moment later, but a grin was still firmly in place on my face as I watched her trying to stifle her own giggles.
Christ, she was hot…and impossible to resist.
I strode across the room towards her, grabbing her by the hips and pulling her closer. Her laughter immediately dried up, and she took a sharp intake of breath, her mouth popping open in surprise.
“Thanks for the compliment,” I said, my lips only inches from hers. “But the suit is actually for my job.”
“Sure it is,” Rory replied, her words strained as she struggled to keep her cool at being so close to me again. “Since when do you dress up as Santa at the hotel? What’s it really for? Costume party?”
“It’s really for work. But not here at the hotel.” I smiled at her, finally stepping away and folding the suit on the bed. I could sense Rory’s confusion, but I figured if there was one person I could tell my secret to, it was her. “In the hospital,” I added.
Her forehead wrinkled with confusion. “What?”
I knew I’d have to explain it all sooner or later. It wasn’t an easy story to tell, and even though it had been years since it all happened, I hadn’t forgotten. I never would.
I busied myself putting my suit in the bag as I started talking. “Remember that time we ran into each other in the hospital?”
And made out in the elevator and almost dry humped each other? I silently added.
“...Yeah.”
“Well, I wasn’t there for a penis reduction, contrary to popular belief.”
“Because your penis is already tiny?”
“Hilarious, but no, that’s not it,” I said.
I gave her a tight smile over my shoulder, and then I closed the door of the closet. It was getting increasingly hard to look her in the eye.
Part of the truth finally seemed to dawn on her. “Wait…it was you I saw in the Santa suit that day! I saw a Santa go around the corner, and then three minutes later you appeared. I had no idea it was you,” she said.
I nodded. “I volunteer at the hospital when I have free time. This time of the year is especially busy with the Christmas season, so yeah, sometimes I’ll even wear a Santa costume. I was supposed to go there this morning but m
y shift got held up till this afternoon. I was just putting my stuff in my bag when you came in.”
I knew what was coming. She’d want to ask why I worked there, and I’d have to tell her. A long, awkward silence followed my admission, and I could sense her fidgeting behind me as I made my bed. Anything to stop me from looking at her, because I was suddenly certain I’d fucking break down if I so much as dared a look at her.
“Wow,” she said. “I didn’t know...I’m sorry, I honestly thought the suit was a joke costume when I saw it a few seconds ago. Why do you do it?”
The inevitable question and now, the inevitable answer, made my heart ache. I sat down on the bed, fixing my gaze firmly on the floor.
“I’m not sure you know much about my family,” I said. “My Dad was obviously married before your Mom.”
“Yes,” Rory said softly, still standing in the middle of the room. “I know you lost your mother, Finn. I’m really sorry.”
I waved my hand as if to say it didn’t matter, even though it fucking did. Even after all these years, it still mattered.
“Yeah. My Mom and Dad had me when they were pretty young. They had another kid, too,” I said, my voice as bland and impersonal as I could manage.
This was the hard part. The part that always tore out my heart and shredded it to pieces.
My gaze firmly on the floor, I kept telling Rory the sad fucking tale that was my life.
“My little sister, Kristin. She...she was a few years younger than me. We were pretty close. She, err…got diagnosed with cancer when we were younger. And from then on, it was just doctors, appointments, and fucking chemo. A lot of fucking tests, and not a lot of damn answers. She was so brave, though. The bravest person I’ve ever seen. She never complained, not once, even when she was in horrible pain. She’d just smile and say she was looking forward to seeing Santa in December, and that maybe he’d make her better for Christmas. She never got better, though. She passed away when I was seventeen. She would’ve been fifteen now, if she was still around.”
I could hear Rory shuffling behind me, but I needed to stay strong, so I kept looking down and kept talking, the only way to hold back the dam.
Bad Boy - A Stepbrother Romance Page 13