“He's … ” I struggled for the right word to describe Patrick Browne and decided an overly analytical dissertation on the looks of Addi's boyfriend would not be appropriate. I need to get out more. Luckily, Addi's arrival would pretty much guarantee that. “Gorgeous, babe,” I told her, examining the splotch of freckles across her beloved's nose, and the way his skinny arms struggled with a box marked heavy as shit in scrawling black Sharpie. Okay, so maybe gorgeous wasn't exactly the right word, but what was I going to tell my best friend about the love of her life? I'd seen plenty of pictures of him and had always managed to avoid commenting on his looks. I'm such a shallow bitch, I thought as I smiled and wished I didn't have Florian around to compare every Tom, Dick, and Harry against. I decided to let my comment stand as is and moved on to checking out her boyfriend's brother when Flor stepped in front of me, arms crossed and smirking.
“Hey Addi,” he said, giving her a friendly hug, that stupid smirk still stuck to his lips. “Hope your trip didn't suck too much dick.” I cringed at Flor's crudeness, but at least I knew Addi was used to it. She looked Flor up and down and then smiled, not at all interested in him. It was one of the reasons we'd stayed so close all these years: she was one of the few girls I'd ever met who hadn't developed a crush on my stepbrother, and wasn't using me to get close to him. I knew for a fact that she didn't even find him attractive. For whatever reason, skinny Irish boys had always been Addi's thing. Maybe it was the accent? “Or should I say, hope you didn't suck too much dick during your trip.” He nodded his chin at Addi's boyfriend, Patrick, and his brother.
“Nice to see you, too, Flor,” she said evenly, “and nice to see you're still an annoying asshole.” The two of them stared at each other for several long moments, the bad blood between them sizzling in the gentle autumn sunshine. Addi let her eyes swing over to mine. She knew how I'd once felt about him, even knew about the shrine and the missing box. And she'd never judged me for it, not once. I loved her for that. “Let me get the guys over here, so we can get the introductions out of the way. They're both shy by nature, so it might be awkward.” She paused to give me another look, opening her brown eyes wide enough that I knew I was supposed to pay attention. The fact that they were rimmed in bright blue and silver eyeshadow didn't hurt either. “Just give 'em both a chance for me, okay?”
I nodded and Addi moved away to grab them. She knew how picky I was when it came to men. I tried not to pretend that growing up around someone like Florian hadn't gone and screwed it all up for me. He was tall and muscular, with full lips and hair as soft as silk that he barely styled but always managed to look good anyway. The scar on his chin was – for whatever reason – a big turn on for me and the myriad piercings and tattoos he'd collected over the years didn't hurt either. Plus, he worked at a tattoo shop and inked skin for a living. Somehow, football stars and science nerds and bankers and even CEOs … none of that did it for me. I think Flor, in our many years living together, had somehow infected me with this dangerous, funky streak that I didn't know how to express.
“She's setting you up?” he asked, face all a-scowl again. “On your moving day? What if this guy is a freak and he starts stalking you or something?” I ignored my brother's overprotective urges and tried to keep my mind from correcting me. Step. Stepbrother. Not brother. As if I needed to be reminded.
I reached back and scooped my hair into a messy ponytail, snapping a hair tie from around my wrist to hold it in place. Sweat was already beading on the back of my neck and my palms were moist with nervous energy. I closed my eyes for a brief second, pretending Flor's body heat wasn't warm and comforting against my right arm.
“This guy is Addi's boyfriend's brother. She's known him for three years, Flor. Back off.” I opened my eyes, plastered a welcoming smile on my face and moved forward to meet the guy. Flor's hand on my upper arm froze me in place. He'd been careful, ridiculously careful, not to touch me since the night we shared our single and only kiss. And I mean careful. He didn't push me playfully anymore after that, didn't grab my arm to stop me from leaving during a fight, didn't even let his leg brush mine when we sat in the back of a car together.
I looked over at him with a puzzled expression and found the same mirrored on his perfect face. He dropped his hand and stepped back.
“Abigail,” Addi said, drawing my attention back around. I was sure my pupils were huge and my lips parted, that I looked half-paralyzed with the emotions that were boiling up in my belly. Well, maybe not emotions. Maybe they were hormones and maybe, just maybe, they weren't from my belly, but my – “This is Patrick's brother, Dorian.” I reached out a hand, letting my eyes meet the new guy's. They were green, like Flor's, but not as intense, more like a new sprout than the thorn of a rose. I want to get punctured; I want to bleed.
I swallowed back the dark thoughts swirling in my brain.
“Nice to meet you,” we said in unison and then smiled shyly. Flor was suddenly there at my shoulder, ruining the moment like he'd done so many other times with other boys. I swear, after that night, that kiss, he took up the brother mantle and he ran the gauntlet with it. He intimidated new dates, threatened exes, and essentially made my dating life a living hell. I was even under the suspicion that he still thought I was a virgin.
Dorian glanced over at my stepbrother, his pale throat moving in a nervous swallow as he released my hand and reached out for Flor's. The two men stared at each other for a long moment before Flor put a wicked smile on his face and shook his hand.
“How's it going?” he asked, like he actually cared – which I knew for a fact that he didn't, not unless this guy's intentions had anything to do with getting me into bed. And then his only mission was to make sure that didn't happen. I appreciated the idea that he cared enough to take an interest, but it felt like too little, too late. His familial concern did nothing to replace that empty, icy ache he'd left me with. “I'm Abi's brother.”
“Stepbrother,” I corrected while Addi rolled her eyes to the frigid autumn sky.
“They've been living together since they were five,” she told Dorian, wrinkling her nose a bit at the nervous beads of sweat popping up on the man's pale forehead. He had bright red hair, like his brother, and thin pink lips. But, unlike his younger sibling, he had nicely muscled arms, a wide sexy chest and an obvious six pack.
“Since Abi was five; I was eight,” Flor corrected and then turned away, satisfied that he'd screwed up the meeting well enough that Dorian wouldn't even consider asking me out on a date. I narrowed my eyes as I watched him hop back into the truck and then turned back to Dorian, reaching out to loop my arm through his.
“Can I get you something to drink?” I asked, guiding him towards the steps to our apartment. “I ran to the grocery store this morning and stocked the fridge full of stuff. If you want it, I probably have it.”
Dorian cast yet another glance towards Flor and then smiled down at me, letting me guide him into my new house and my new life.
Whether Flor liked it or not.
First
Second
Third
Fourth
Fifth
Sixth
Seventh
The House of Gray and Graves
The House of Hands and Hearts and Hair
The House of Sticks and Bones
The Feed
The Hunt
The Throne
Indigo & Iris
Indigo & The Colonel
Indigo & Lynx
Tasting Never
Finding Never
Keeping Never
Tasting, Finding, Keeping: The Story of Never
Never Can Tell
Never Let Go
Never Did Say
Losing Me, Finding You
Loving Me, Trusting You
Needing Me,Wanting You
Craving Me, Desiring You
Paint Me Beautiful
Color Me Pretty
Real Ugly
Get Bent
Tough Luck
Bad Day
Born Wrong
Dead Serious
Doll Face
Heart Broke
She Lies Twisted
Hell Inc.
A Werewolf Christmas (A Short Story)
Fuck Valentine's Day (A Short Story)
Clan of the Griffin Riders: Chryer's Crest
DeadBorn
Broken Pasts
Crushing Summer
Taboo Unchained
Taming Her Boss
About the Author
C.M. Stunich is a self-admitted bibliophile with a love for exotic teas and a whole host of characters who live full time inside the strange, swirling vortex of her thoughts. Some folks might call this crazy, but Caitlin Morgan doesn't mind - especially considering she has to write biographies in the third person. Oh, and half the host of characters in her head are searing hot bad boys with dirty mouths and skillful hands (among other things). If being crazy means hanging out with them everyday, C.M. has decided to have herself committed.
She hates tapioca pudding, loves to binge on cheesy horror movies, and is a slave to many cats. When she's not vacuuming fur off of her couch, C.M. can be found with her nose buried in a book or her eyes glued to a computer screen. She's the author of over thirty novels - romance, new adult, fantasy, and young adult included. Please, come and join her inside her crazy. There's a heck of a lot to do there.
Oh, and Caitlin loves to chat (incessantly), so feel free to e-mail her, send her a Facebook message, or put up smoke signals. She's already looking forward to it.
www.cmstunich.com, www.facebook.com/cmstunichauthor, twitter.com/cmstunich, www.goodreads.com/cmstunich
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Bad Nanny Excerpt
Stepbrother Inked Excerpt
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