HIM—A Stepbrother Romance: With BONUS NOVELLA: PERSONAL

by Stephanie Brother

  My breaths were coming quickly now and everything I had held back to stay strong for Bradley—giving him my jacket, trying my best to stay calm to keep him calm, well, it all came crashing into me like a freight train. That pound of bricks. The restricted breathing. The anxiety attack.

  “Are you on any medications?”

  I nodded. “I sometimes take Xanax when an anxiety attack is coming.”

  “I’ll get you something. I also need to get you an IV and an oxygen mask.” I went weak in the knees and sat in a chair by the hospital bed. I felt spent. I felt like I was cast into angry waves at sea, seeing Bradley suffer like that. It really took a toll on me. Being freezing, fear. I shivered thinking about it all.

  “Please don’t separate us. I can’t handle that right now. I don’t want to be alone in a place like this right now.”

  “I understand, sweetie.”

  A while later, Bradley was peacefully sleeping and the doctor agreed to let me stay in the room with him.

  “Do you want to provide rescuer’s body heat?”

  “What’s that?”

  “You can lay next to him. Your body will keep his warm. Hypothermic skin is very sensitive to burns. His body will respond more naturally to his girlfriend.”

  Girlfriend.

  I nodded and smiled, the feeling of pride covering my body. It was the first time anyone had ever said it. It sounded beautiful and amazing.

  “I am. Of course, I’d love to.”

  “He’s very dehydrated and is lacking nutrients. He will probably sleep for a long time. But he’s stable so there is no need to worry about anything bad happening to him now. If you need to get up to use the restroom, just help yourself. Make sure he’s covered, though.”

  “Oh, I’ll take excellent care of him between your rounds.”

  Minutes later when it was just the two of us lying in the bed together for the first time, I kissed his cheek and brushed back his hair. “Thank God, you’re okay, Bradley.” I whispered. “I can’t lose you again.”

  And just like that, all in a day’s journey, I found myself next to him again, wrapped in his arms in a bed, waiting for the first ray of dawn to dress our skin; I just didn’t ever imagine it to be like this.

  I awoke again to the nurse checking my vitals.

  “Uh, a Mr. Fox came by a few hours ago with clothes for you and a few of your things. He said that that officer came to the estate to notify him of Bradley’s condition.”

  My heavy eyes dashed toward the bench and it brought a smile to my face. He brought my school bag and next to it was a few books, my computer and my files. It was so sweet of him to be so thoughtful. Heck, it was sweet of him to risk being stuck out in the blizzard!

  “How have your stress levels been lately?” Her question snapped me back to the present.

  “Um, through the rough. My stepfather passed, I’m in graduate school. I’ve been running from my family members. I…I’m going to be okay now, though. I am…I have him again.” My hand rested on his.

  “Well, you’re too young to be this stressed. You don’t even have children yet.” She winked at me. “Do yourself a favor. I know who this man is. Have him take you on a month-long vacation. God knows your adrenals need it.”

  “My adrenals?”

  She looked down at her chart, marking a few things off, and then adjusted Bradley’s IV and drip.

  “Uh huh. It’s responsible for your endocrine system. When your adrenals are shot, and I mean shot, like from stress, you get run down and fatigued.”

  “Well, I for sure have been fatigued like forever. What do you take for that?”

  She shook her head. “It’s not just about taking something. It’s an overhaul on your health. You treat it nutritionally and with the right supplements, but you also have to take it easy with your stress levels. Sleep more. Relax. Remove as much stress as you can because if you don’t, you can really mess up your thyroid levels and if you do want a family one day with this handsome guy, well, that can make it a long road.”

  “Huh. Never heard anything about that.”

  “It’s around if you research it. With you being on Xanax, and now this whole episode, seeing the man you love in despair like that, sweetie, you need a vacay.”

  She glanced over at my heaping pile of books and paper and whistled a long note. “And ditch those big books for one of those trashy novels. Make you feel good real quick.” She winked.

  “Oh, I don’t have any of those books.”

  “Oh, but I do. I’ll be back soon.” She winked again. “Trust me, you’ll love this book! It will sweep you away and make you think about nothing but sunshine, feeling good and happy.” Her hands advertised the promise as she slowly made a wave in the air, like a natural born salesperson. She really made me believe her.

  Minutes later, she was back faster than Amazon Prime one hour shipping itself!

  I glanced at the cover. It was a shirtless man. Bradley looked way better than him, though, but that’s because Bradley’s a demigod. Still, the man looked pretty good.

  The title: Heat.

  “Oh honey, don’t judge. You just get past those three pages. You’ll be hooked.”

  One hour later, I felt so hot, I swear I was burning even Bradley up!

  This book really was just the trick. I was feeling loopy, happy, and blissful. I wasn’t sure if it was from the sedative drip, being cozy next to Bradley in a hospital bed in the middle of a snow storm, or being called his girlfriend, but one thing for certain was I felt heat, alright, like the title of the book, so hot, I wanted to wake him up to satiate the need that’s been buried in me for so long it was becoming a part of me.

  I was dreaming of the warmest place on the beach with the sun shining down on my face, and I was wrapped up next to him, making love on the beach. It was so sinfully sweet and he filled me so deeply just like he had promised me a day ago, when my ring tone woke me up, snapping me out of my lustful but perfect dream.

  My ring tone!

  Damn phone.

  Wait…the phones are working!

  Chapter Sixteen

  Kate

  I quickly scrambled out of bed in search for the phone that Mr. Fox so kindly packed.

  “Where am I? Why am I in here?” Bradley asked softly, sounding hoarse and week. I spun around to see his green eyes blinking back from the sunlight. Oh thank God. I held up my finger and mouthed one second as I swiped answer. It was my mom.

  “Kate! Kate! Dear, I’ve been calling you every minute since the phones started working. I was so worried sick that something happened to you and you were on the side of the road frozen to death. Are you still at home? I really wanted you to come with me to my hunkering down party in the city. You would have met some lovely people. You nodded your head and told me you were going to join me but then, wait, is that Bradley I hear in the background?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why is he asking why is he in a hospital?”

  “Because, well, we kind of are.” I cringed, thinking how worried she was about to get.

  “Oh, dear God.”

  “It’s a long story but I was in prison. Well he was—”

  “Prison! What on earth!?” I swear every room in the hallway could hear my mother’s shrill.

  “You’ve never done anything wrong in your life! What…what is happening? Am I hearing you correctly? Hello? Kaaaaaate!”

  “Mom, you can hear me just fine. You heard me correctly. Bradley was in prison for breaking into the library for some books for me.”

  “You can’t just put someone in jail like that. How did they even know he did it?”

  “Trust me, I know. It got really bad, too, with some bullying from this sheriff. He has a busted lip and then he had hypothermia.”

  “Oh, no, no, no. That Sheriff doesn’t know what he did with this future life. It’s going to be oveeeer. Can you believe that, Victoria? Bradley and my daughter were in that lousy county jail for doing nothing! Now they’re in a hosp
ital and—”

  “Mooom! Mom!” I tried to pull her back into our conversation.

  “Well, he messed with the wrong people.” I could literally hear my mother’s blood boiling like water in a teakettle. It was about blow up.“ You better believe the world will hear about this. I will make sure everyone knows about this! I—”

  Suddenly a smartly-dressed older man burst into the room like he owned the entire hospital. He held a suit and shoes and made a mad dash to the foot of Bradley’s bed.

  “Airports are working. We need you now. I have a suit. We have a meeting to be at in ninety minutes before they leave. You better thank your lucky stars for this freak blizzard that prolonged a simple decision that could have been fixed days ago.”

  “Um, hold on, mom.”

  “He’s in a hospital bed. Can’t you see that?” I reprimanded Mr.-Who-The-Hell-Do-You-Think-You-Are.

  “We can bring the proper fluids and warming devices. We need him. Now. No more delays. It’s not like he just had heart surgery. And even if he had, we would have wheeled him out just like we did his father a few years ago. That’s how important this meeting is. Billions are at stake. But of course you wouldn’t understand any of that.”

  “Bradley?”

  He clenched his jaw and a low growl roared in his throat. I’d never heard that from him before. I didn’t know whether to expect to see him shape shift into an angry lion, a hungry wolf or what. But I did know one thing, my heart felt like a deflated balloon. I didn’t want him to leave.

  “No, Peter, I think you don’t understand a lot of things. I’m coming. And apologize to my st—to my girlfriend.”

  My eyes grew wide, my cheeks flushed.

  “Oh, well whatever. She looks a lot like Mrs. Rainshaw’s daughter.”

  And just like that, my heart was in my throat as the man I had envisioned cozying up to by a fire, making homemade soup to warm him, the man that was supposed to curl up with me, at home, was being called away.

  But oh he called me his girlfriend. So that did a topsy-turvy with my hormones and mood!

  “And is she attending the meeting, too?” he asked sarcastically.

  “No, you prick. She needs to get back to the city to be with her family.”

  “No, I mean in the copter. The Chengs are in there right now. She can’t distract the deal.”

  “The Chengs are in the copter?”

  “You must have really had a few cells freeze over. Yes, the Chengs are in the copter to sign the deal. Their flight is leaving in less than two hours. Which is why you need to put this suit on in less than five minutes.”

  He sat up and his hand ran through his hair. I could tell he was dizzy and still not feeling his best. My worried eyes ran to meet the leech’s very own eyes. His jaw clenched and he stood still before he charged toward the bed and helped him up.

  “Well, you look like hell. But I suppose you’ll do. Here.” He pressed the suit into his body. The blankets fell at his ankles and I instantly worried about him.

  “Mom? Can I call you back? I’m…coming back to the city with Bradley. So there’s no need to send a car for me.”

  “With his girlfriend? Why wasn’t she at the funeral?”

  “I’ll fill you in later. Look, sorry. I have to grab my books and my bag. I’m sure it will thrill you to pieces to know I have nothing to wear and will need to go shopping.”

  I could feel her excitement transmitting all the way through the ice and melting all the snow: shopping!

  Even in his weakness, Bradley still looked pretty damn sexy. His hair totally sported that Edward Cullen vampire look that I just loved ever since I first saw the Twilight films. I suddenly became extremely self-conscious of my own attire and all-natural look.

  I felt incredibly awkward since, well, I was in lounge clothes that Mr. Fox so kindly brought me so I wouldn’t have to leave Bradley’s side—a black lounge set from BeBe. Although they were cute and high-end, thanks to my ever-so-thoughtful mom who stocked my dresser for me when I came home to lounge, I hadn’t asked Mr. Fox to bring any of my other more suitable clothing for meeting important businessmen.

  At least I had my cute Ugg boots and BeBe winter jacket trimmed in faux fur to cover up all that spandex my mother insisted women with a figure should wear. I could hear her Housewives tagline in my mind: “If you’ve got it, flaunt it.” But she knew my rule of all rules. No real fur. I didn’t care if the Pope would be in attendance or of the Queen of England herself requested me to wear it. I didn’t wear fur.

  “Girlfriend, are you afraid of heights?”

  Any other question from any other well-dressed man would solicit a smile on my face at the familiar gay-friendly lingo. But this man, Peters, was anything but happy or gay. He acted like he had a gigantic broomstick stuck up his rear.

  “You know, I have a name.”

  “Well, what is it?”

  Right. Well, about that. I bit my lip, a habit I never knew I had until I saw Bradley again this past week. Crap. I didn’t want him to put the pieces together. After all, he did say I looked like Mrs. Rainshaw’s daughter. Of course I sort of looked like her. I was her! But today, I had no make-up on; my trademark long locks were pulled up in a high bun. I had my glasses on for reading. I didn’t have the Rainshaw look going on that mother always insisted I sport. I could get away with it.

  “Emily. It’s Emily.” I let out a worried breath.

  “Well, Emily, do you possess any of those high-end ear speakers that your generation insists on wearing everywhere that you can listen to on our little journey back to the city?” His voice was as dry and monotone as burnt toast in the desert.

  “You mean Beats by Dre?”

  “Whatever. You’ll need to put them on as soon as we leave this room. Actually, I prefer you do that as soon as possible. And I need to hear the decibel of your jamming music so loud that your entire Soul Cycle class could sweat to it. Capisce? Comprende?”

  I rolled my eyes.

  “I don’t work out there. That’s so cliché.”

  He made me feel so nervous, so scared. He was as intense as that guy on ABC’s Shark Tank, the mean one. Mr. Wonderful they called him. On that note, “Whatever you say, Mr. Wonderful,” I mumbled, reaching for my earphones to set them on, not caring about any aftermath from his tight lips. I pulled up my playlist and set Kanye West’s All Day. I instantly felt the endorphins surge through me. This song helped me get amped to run for miles.

  Mr. Wonderful’s lips moved as if speaking to me, but I shrugged my shoulders and pointed to the beats, I can’t hear you, asshole! Meanwhile, I gathered my books, my laptop, and files and piled them up in my book bag. I slid my Ugg boots on and wrapped my coat around me.

  The bathroom door swung open and I nearly dropped my bag. I went weak in the knees at the sight of him in a suit.

  It was such a James Bond moment. That instant transformation of a classic gentleman. Stop everything and stare because honey, he sizzled in a suit. Dang, he sizzled. I was a sucker for suits. I wanted to take him right here right now. The way he ran his hands through his hair. That navy blue pin striped suit that hugged his body so perfectly was about to push me over the edge. No guy had ever made me feel this all worked up before. The white crisp shirt. The red pocket square that commanded a presence, my eyes dropped down to his shiny loafers, and hot damn he was a sight for sore eyes.

  He smirked at me as looked at my earphones. He started to walk toward me but Peters put his hands on his shoulders and spun him around to start walking. Mr. Wonderful frantically waved his hands around signifying, “Let’s go! Let’s go! We don’t even have a New York minute.”

  And just like any typical New York minutes, it happened and disappeared as fast as fire fly lights in a summer sky. We landed at the private airport and that was my final stop. It was clearly noted and made so obviously clear that where the gentlemen were headed, I was not welcome.

  Mother met me and we had lunch in the city while she arranged my trav
els back to South Africa. I had to get back stat for my defense. There was no way I could wait around no matter how badly I wanted to.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Bradley

  “Yes. I broke into the library on Lincoln street on February 22nd to retrieve a few volumes of books that my family needed for a very important matter. It was never my intention to offend anyone. I was going to bring the books back and pay for the window to be fixed.”

  “What my client means to say is, as many of you know, the Rainshaws are benefactors to many of the art programs in the Hamptons as well as this library.” He cleared his throat. “He was treated as a barbarian in the 1800s. In the middle of a winter storm, with no heater, he was left without a blanket or any way to keep himself warm, stark naked, and Officer Watson decided to pour a bucket of ice water over my client to taunt him. Oh yes, and it’s on video. Furthermore, he was tripped on the way to his cell, on purpose, where he busted his lip as you can clearly see on his swollen face the abuse he endured. He bled for hours. He laid in a cell for over twelve hours nearly freezing to death. He would have died had Kate Meadows not helped him out of his cell, and if Officer Watson with his courageous help had not driven my client for much-needed care at the hospital. This is not America’s way of doing justice.”

  Shutters from dozens of cameras went off in the lull moment.

  “Thank you.” I held up my hand wanting to get my point across and not have any more interruptions or political guidance from someone else. I was feeling like a pussy with his words. But he was right, I was treated unfairly, I just didn’t want to look like a wimp, even though technically I could have died no matter how much of a bad ass I tried to be. You can’t fight nature.

  Nervous flutters filled my chest at what I would say next, what I really needed to say next.

  It’s time, Bradley. Now or never. The whole world is watching. You know that whole, “my life flashed before my eyes” type of saying? In one very second, I was brought back to my mother passing away and the wish she gave to me. Remember the Rainshaw value. Remember our integrity. Do what’s right when the time is right.