StepBrother: New Rules (Stepbrother Romance)

by King, Jayna

“Wow. That long?” Ella’s elegantly arched eyebrows were raised.

  Evelyn shrugged.

  “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “The same reason I don’t tell you lots of things. I knew you’d disapprove.”

  Ella shook her head, as if she was perplexed. “Evelyn, you’re completely shutting me out. You’re being cryptic, and I’m here, trying to find out what’s gone so terribly wrong between us. Can you please open up to me? Can I ask what other things you haven’t told me?”

  “Well, for one, I don’t like chick flicks.” Evelyn realized as the words left her mouth that she’d picked the silliest thing to confess. She almost laughed out loud, but she didn’t want her mother to think she wasn’t taking the conversation—the first real one they’d had in a long time—seriously.

  Ella smothered a laugh of her own, and when Evelyn met her mother’s eyes, they both burst out laughing—as if the act was a tension release for them both.

  “Okay, so you don’t like chick flicks,” Ella said, wiping tears from her eyes as she finally stopped laughing. “Got it. I’m glad you shared that hugely personal detail with me. What else don’t I know? Is there anything more important?”

  Evelyn could feel her heart rate increase as she thought about telling her mother everything. She figured she’d take it one piece of news at a time. “Um, Will and I were going to an MMA fight tonight.”

  “Pardon my ignorance, but what’s MMA?”

  “Mixed martial arts. It’s anything goes—with a few rules, of course—and it’s the most brutal, exciting thing I’ve ever seen. This was going to be my first big live fight.”

  Ella looked slightly appalled. “You were going to a fight? Like boxing?”

  “Like boxing, but better.” Evelyn couldn’t help but get excited when she talked about it. “MMA is a fusion of different fighting styles—jiu-jitsu, muay Thai, karate—you can basically use whatever tactic you want to dominate.” Evelyn realized her mother’s eyes had gone wider, and she wondered if too much of her enthusiasm had seeped into her words.

  Ella took a deep breath and let it out slowly, as if she was using the time to calm herself down. “So you like watching MMA. Can I say that surprises me?”

  “I know it does, but yes. I love it. And what’s more? I’ve been training with some MMA coaches. Just for fun, but they actually say I’m pretty good at it.”

  “What? You mean you actually fight with people?” Ella’s expression was somewhere between shock and disdain. “Where did you learn about all of this?”

  “At the gym. They offered an introductory MMA class, and I thought it might be fun. And I love it.” Evelyn’s eyes shone as she explained. “I’m even thinking about entering an amateur MMA match.”

  “Wait a minute, you’re going to fight with someone? In public?”

  “Yes.” Evelyn’s tone was emphatic. “I do more than just yoga at the gym, Mom. I’ve been taking MMA classes for nearly a year.”

  “You’ve been doing this for a year? Why didn’t you tell me?” For the first time in the conversation, Ella’s composure seemed to slip.

  “Seriously? Why would I tell you? You’ve told me my whole life that the most important thing was to be professional and ladylike. You’ve said that visibly defined muscles on women are ugly. You don’t think strong, muscular women can be feminine.” Evelyn stood up and lifted her shirt, exposing her abs. “Look at me, Mom. I think this is beautiful and sexy and strong,” she said, running her hands over the ripples of definition in her muscular torso. “And so does Will.”

  Ella just sat still, looking at her daughter as if they were meeting for the first time. “I didn’t know.”

  “Because I couldn’t tell you.”

  “I just wanted you to have a good work ethic, to be successful.” Ella started to cry. “I didn’t want you to have to hide things from me because you thought I’d disapprove. Now I feel like a complete failure as a mother.”

  Evelyn watched her mother tearing up. “You’re not a failure. I do have a good work ethic. And I will be successful. I just may do it differently than you have.”

  “But if you thought you couldn’t talk to me, I must have been doing something terribly wrong.”

  “You know, Mom, I don’t think you did anything wrong. The problem was mine. I think it was more that I needed to be strong enough to risk disappointing you. I needed to find a way to come out of hiding and be my own person.” Evelyn thought for a moment, handing Ella the box of tissues. “You know, it was Will who made me realize that.”

  “Will knows all of this?” Ella blew her nose, somehow still managing to look composed while she did.

  “He does. In fact, he’s the one person on the planet I feel completely comfortable with.”

  Ella frowned. “I can’t decide whether I’m happy you’ve found someone who understands you, or if I’m sad that person isn’t me.”

  “Mom, you’ve been there for me my whole life. It’s time that role shifts to someone else.”

  She didn’t sound convinced. “I suppose.” Ella’s eyes widened. “Oh, my goodness. Does Malcolm know?”

  “No. Or at least he didn’t. I don’t know if Will will tell him or not.”

  “Well, I have to. I can’t keep secrets from him.”

  “I wouldn’t expect you to, Mom. What do you think he’ll say?”

  “I don’t really know. Malcolm’s relationship with Will is complicated, to say the least.” Ella looked up at her daughter, her eyes red from the tears she’d shed. “Is there anything else I should know while we’re at it?”

  “Just one more thing. I’m changing my major. I want to be a physical therapist. I have an appointment to talk to my advisor about it next week.” Evelyn exhaled, feeling like a ton of bricks had been lifted from her shoulders. “And that’s everything. You know it all now.” She flopped down to sit on the edge of her bed.

  Ella took a deep breath and released it slowly. “Okay. It may take me a while to process all of this, but I have an idea.” She stood up and held out a hand to her daughter. “You, me, and a pint of Ben and Jerry’s. What do you say?”

  Evelyn took her mother’s hand. “Perfect.”

  Chapter Eight

  It was after midnight when Evelyn heard the front door open. Her mother had gone to bed hours before, when Malcolm had returned home from work. The evening had turned out to be a good one, as far as Evelyn was concerned. She and her mother had talked about Evelyn’s change of career plans, and they’d agreed to leave the discussion of William and Evelyn’s relationship for another time. Evelyn wasn’t sure if her mother and Malcolm would talk about the newly revealed relationship, but she’d decided she would no longer try to manage the situation. If they wanted to talk about it, she’d let them talk about it.

  She’d cleaned up the evidence that she and her mother had devoured all of the ice cream in the house, and settled back onto the couch to wait for William to return home. Part of her was afraid he wouldn’t return. Part of her wanted a little more time to think.

  When she heard his footsteps coming up the stairs from the front door, she turned on the light next to her.

  “Hey,” was all she could think to say.

  “Didn’t realize anyone was still up,” he answered, running his hand through his wavy hair, messing it up in a way Evelyn found irresistible.

  “I was waiting to talk to you.”

  “So talk.”

  Evelyn looked up at William as he leaned against the door jamb. He looked more closed off, more defensive than usual, and she knew it was her fault. It was her constant dancing around the status of their relationship, worrying about concealing the truth, that had hurt him and forced him to retreat into himself as a means of self-preservation. She knew she needed to make amends, and she intended to start right away.

  “Will you sit?” she asked.

  He sat on the couch, wordlessly putting more space between them than he typically would have, and Evelyn accepted his need for dist
ance.

  “Will, I owe you an apology. Actually, I guess I owe you a lot of apologies.”

  He was inscrutable, and Evelyn started to worry that maybe she’d finally pushed him too far.

  “You have offered me a gift—something precious, and I never realized how much it meant to me until I faced losing it.” Evelyn thought about reaching out for William, trying to bridge the distance between them with a physical connection. She stopped, though, and forced herself to keep talking. “You’ve given me love and support that I didn’t really deserve. You’ve given me the freedom to be myself, something no one else has ever given me.”

  Evelyn took a deep breath before she continued. “You’ve encouraged me to be honest, and I shut you down at every turn.” She reached out and put a hand on his thigh. “I was wrong. You were right.”

  Though she thought about continuing, Evelyn decided to stop talking, let the words that had gushed from her sink in. William looked at the floor, as if he was trying to organize his thoughts. When he finally spoke, Evelyn heard the compassion in his voice that she’d come to treasure so much.

  “Are you and your mother okay?”

  “Yes.” Evelyn smiled at him. “You would have been proud of me. I told her everything. Us, MMA, my plans for school—everything.”

  “And?” he asked, looking deep into her eyes, as if he was looking for something there—some indication of how she felt.

  “And she took it okay. I was surprised, actually. I thought it would be…”

  William stopped her by taking her hand. “I mean you. How do you feel?”

  William’s fingers intertwined with hers gave Evelyn strength.

  “I feel like a huge weight has been lifted from me. You were right, Will. I should have been honest from the start. Holding everything in—hiding things and keeping secrets—only hurt me.” She paused. “And I hurt you in the process. I’m sorry, Will.”

  “So what did you tell Ella about you and me?”

  “I told her we’d been seeing each other since the Hillford’s terrible Christmas party. I told her you supported me, believed in me.” Evelyn took another deep breath. “And I told her I was in love with you.”

  William didn’t say a word.

  “Our relationship doesn’t have anything to do with my mom and your dad. We started seeing one another before we knew they’d end up married, and the only thing I’d change about it is I’d have listened to you and been open about it earlier.” Evelyn shifted to face William fully. “Being in love with you is the most wonderful thing that’s ever happened in my life, and I was a fool to have hidden it. I’m not ashamed of being with you. I’m proud of it. I only hope my stupidity hasn’t fucked everything up. Can you forgive me?”

  William took a deep breath and shook his head, and when Evelyn saw the serious expression on his face, she felt panicked. It hadn’t occurred to her that he really might not forgive her.

  Still shaking his head, William withdrew his hand from hers. “I don’t know, Evelyn. What you did—refusing to be honest for so long—I think…” He paused and looked into her eyes. A tiny smile appeared on his lips. “I think I may have to spank you before I can forgive you.”

  Relief washed over Evelyn, and she burst out laughing, covering her mouth with both hands in an attempt to muffle the noise. “Oh, my God, I thought you were serious.”

  “Oh, but I am,” he answered, a seriously sexy smile on his face. He leaned toward her, brushing her hair with his lips as he whispered in her ear. “You’re going to pay for this. I’m going to torment you, tease you until you beg me for an orgasm.”

  Evelyn’s eyes widened as she imagined the scene. She remembered the hard kiss he had forced on her in the kitchen, and she felt herself get wet between her legs.

  William took her face between his hands, pulling her toward him. “You’re going to beg me to fuck you, Evelyn. And I will, eventually.” He grabbed for her hips, lifting her up and pulling her to straddle him on the couch.

  Evelyn could feel his erection through his jeans. “I can feel that you want me,” she whispered. “You want to be inside me, don’t you?”

  “Oh, I will be. I’m going to bury myself inside the woman I love. I’m going to make love to you, Evelyn, and I’m going to take my time about it.”

  William stood up, hands underneath Evelyn’s ass. She wrapped her legs around him and kissed him, hard.

  “Take me to bed, Will,” she whispered.

  They made it to her bedroom door fully clothed, but once inside, there was a mad rush of hands unbuttoning and pulling clothes off, leaving them finally completely naked. The light streaming in through Evelyn’s windows highlighted bare breasts, along with the ripple of William’s abs, as he bent to kiss Evelyn’s shoulder. He ran his hands over her curves, tracing her hips with his fingers, before stepping back to admire her fully.

  “Evelyn, you’re beautiful,” he said, pulling back the covers on her bed. “Lie down.”

  She did as she was told, and before William could bend to kiss her, she stopped him with a hand on his chest. “I love you, Will. I have for longer than I realized.”

  The smile that played over his lips was all she needed.

  William stood next to the bed, and as Evelyn turned her head, she realized his huge erection was at an ideal height. The forceful kiss they’d shared earlier that evening combined with his taking control had her so turned on, she decided to play a more submissive role than usual.

  “Can I suck your cock?” she asked, eyes wide, in an expression she knew William would enjoy. She ran her tongue over her lips as she drew nearer. “Will you let me take your huge, hard cock in my mouth before you fuck me with it?”

  “Open your mouth,” William ordered.

  Evelyn rolled to her side and did as she was told. She took the head of his cock, hard and throbbing, into her mouth. Wrapping her fingers around the shaft, she forced him deep inside her throat, feeling him push his hips toward her, driving himself deeper. She wasn’t sure she could take much more of him, but she found that she could, opening wider and forcing the head of his cock deeper in her throat than ever before.

  William moaned, and she could feel his control starting to slip. She pulled him out of her mouth.

  “Do you want me to swallow your come, Will? Do you want to blow your load in my mouth?”

  He didn’t answer in words. Taking hold of the back of her head, he pushed his cock back inside her mouth, sliding the head past her tongue, deep into her throat. Evelyn moved back and forth, working him a little further down her throat, taking pleasure in knowing she was about to make him lose all control.

  When she knew he was nearly there, Evelyn forced herself to take all of him, something she hadn’t thought possible. Her lips touched the base of his cock, and she felt him spasm, pouring hot come into her throat. He came hard, head thrown back and hand holding her in place, refusing to let her go until she’d taken every drop.

  Evelyn lay back, licking her lips. “So, will you accept my apology?”

  William looked down at her. “What apology? I don’t think I remember my own name.”

  She laughed and scooted over, making room for him to join her in bed. “Oh, it’ll come back to you, no pun intended, of course.”

  He stretched out beside her with a huge sigh, pulling her closer, until her head rested on his chest. “Now, don’t think I’m letting you off the hook, my love. I’m taking a breather, and then I’m going to tease you until you beg me to put you out of your misery.”

  “Duly noted.” She ran her hand over his chest, savoring the feel of his muscles beneath her fingers.

  William played with her hair. “Did you mean what you said earlier?”

  “I said a lot earlier, but I meant every word of it. What in particular are you curious about?”

  “When you said you were in love with me?”

  “I did. I am in love with you. I just feel like a fool for having taken so long to see it.”

  “I�
��m glad you finally came to your senses.”

  Evelyn lifted her head and propped herself up on her elbow, tracing his jawline with a finger. “Me too. Will, you’ve made me believe in myself. I always knew I could be successful, but I thought I had to do it Mom’s way. You made me see that I’m strong enough to chart my own course.”

  “And you’ll always have my love and support.”

  Evelyn was surprised to feel tears come to her eyes. “It means more than you know to hear you say that.”

  “So how do you think this will all play out?”

  “Well, I imagine we’re going to have some explaining to do tomorrow, especially to your dad. I don’t know exactly what Mom told him tonight.”

  “He’ll be fine. At worst, he’ll just be disappointed in me again. I’m used to that.”

  “Hey,” Evelyn said, poking him in the chest. “Quit that.” She leaned down and kissed his cheek, feeling his stubble on her lips. “Sounds to me like you need one of your own pep talks.”

  “What do you mean? It’s obvious that he doesn’t think I’m worth much of anything.”

  “Maybe that’s because you let him treat you that way. You know you’re a talented chef. If you’d quit seeking his approval and just do your own thing, I think he’d respect you more.”

  “Listen to you, little miss confidence.”

  “You just need some of your own medicine. I believe in you. You believe in yourself. One day your dad will see it, too.”

  “I guess I just need to have a little faith, huh?”

  “Exactly.”

  William pulled Evelyn’s face toward him. “Give your stepbrother a kiss.”

  She giggled, kissing him quickly. “What will people say when they find out?”

  “Not a goddamn thing I care about. I want you, and I’m going to have you.”

  Evelyn could feel the beginnings of an erection pressing against her thigh as he turned to face her.

  “I’m not going to get much sleep tonight, am I?” she asked.

  “Not a wink.”

  Chapter Nine

  Evelyn awoke to William’s erection poking her in the thigh, while his fingers sought out her breasts.