GRIND: A Stepbrother Romance

by Stephanie Brother

She shrugged, but pointed right at me. "No, I know that. But instead, you're aging yourself faster than you should from all this stress over the bar exam, and now dealing with Joshua and that fiasco!"

  What do I tell her? That he was a poor lover? That he never cared about me? How he was completely pragmatic and always had a routine with every single thing in life? I know how my life would've always been… boring, unfulfilled, and always second fiddle to Olivia in Josh's eyes. Plus there's the fact that his sisters are purely evil, rude, rotten debutantes with snakes for hair.

  I explained to Sage how there'd been a big fight between Josh and I when he wouldn't stand up to his mother after some of the shitty things we both heard her say about me. "You're right, Sage. I feel like I've aged ten years just by being around that toxic family. Screw the Banks."

  Sage nodded and patted my leg, giving me a sympathetic smile. "I'm just sorry you're going through all of this at once. I know it still has to be hard on you."

  I'd broken off the engagement right before the new year, knowing I couldn't go through another year of not standing up for myself and what I wanted in life. I thought about how I was supposed to be getting married this summer and volunteering at the Junior League so I could get my hours in and make it 'official.'

  It wasn't like Josh was actually going to allow me to 'work' at a law firm, anyway. He always used to tell me how 'cute' it was that I'd gone to law school, and how 'a woman's job is to be on the arm of her man, or on the board of a non-profit.' All he thought I was good for was popping out his kids and reinforcing these same beliefs with them.

  Even though I had made it pretty clear why I was leaving, Josh had called out to me down the steps of the Banks’ ridiculously large mansion, begging for me to see reason. He was under the misguided assumption that it was the stress of the bar exam and the holidays with his high strung, hard to please family that caused me to walk out the door and avoid his phone calls. The fact that he was so thick and couldn't see around his own arrogance was enough for me to call it quits right there.

  I chewed on my lip, wishing I didn't just bring all that back up to the surface of my mind, and playing it off, reached for the nearly empty bottle, eliciting a chuckle from Sage.

  "Oh, I'm glad you're both here! Who's ready for some delicious food?" Mom boomed across the room as she fixed one of her earrings. Behind her, a tall and handsome older man walked in, waving at us.

  "Hey there." Sage greeted him with a wave back.

  The man ran his hand through his salt and pepper hair, fixing an award-winning smile on his face. "My oldest son will be over in just a bit," he said to Mom and Sage. He turned his attention to me and nodded. "Hi Aly, I'm Randy."

  I sat up as he held his hand out, and I slowly shook it, trying to piece together who he might be. At least he seemed nice.

  "I should help your mom out in the kitchen real fast," he added, before nodding to me again and walking toward the large industrial kitchen in the back.

  I quickly turned to my sister. "Who was that?"

  Sage giggled. "That's Mom's new restaurateur boyfriend. And oh my gosh, he's freaking rich, too! Way richer than Josh's family, I'm sure of it!"

  Anyone who was richer than the Banks was probably too rich. "Are you sure about that?"

  "Totally."

  From somewhere inside the kitchen, Mom yelled out, "Randy's son Jackson is the best chef at Randy's flagship restaurant, you know, the one by the Watson vineyard? Well, he's trying out a new catering menu and we’re the lucky tasters tonight! Randy's other son will be by in a bit to join us, too."

  "I had no idea Mom was dating someone new," I admitted, standing up and smoothing down the red blouse I'd worn over. "But at least there's good food in it for us."

  Chapter 4

  LIAM

  * * *

  Jackson came strolling down the walk, clapping me hard on the shoulder. "Glad to see you finally wrenched yourself away from the spa to hang out with us plebeians," he said, grinning. "I hope you're hungry."

  "When am I not hungry?" I replied, my stomach picking that opportune moment to let loose a loud rumbling. "What's for dinner?"

  I followed him back inside the warm and glowing house, feeling instantly energized by all the inviting colors and décor that encompassed the open foyer. It was nothing like the minimalist look I had going on back at my place, but I still liked it.

  My brother ignored me, instead taking a chance and slipping past our father, who was standing incredibly close to and smiling over at a pretty, older woman with her brown hair swept up off her shoulders.

  Her warm hazel eyes crinkled in the corners as she stepped forward to greet me. “Hello, you must be Randy’s youngest. It’s nice to finally meet you.”

  I shook her hand and politely smiled back. “Yes ma’am, I’m Liam. Kay, right?” I asked, pointing back to her. My father had toyed with a few very young women, some barely out of college, so to see him with a beautiful woman closer to his age left me both impressed and very curious.

  Her smile was easy-going. “That’s me! Welcome to my home, please feel free to have a seat at the table. I think your brother is almost finished putting together our dinner for the evening.”

  The long, rustic dining room table and its matching benches looked as though they had been carved right out of a tree, and as I walked over to it, tracing my fingers along the excellent handiwork, a familiar voice pulled me out of my thoughts.

  "I'll grab the salad bowls, you take these," the female voice said from behind me. "Wait, Sage. Take the napkins, too."

  A pretty younger woman who was more my father’s type walked around me and started working on the place settings at the table, pushing her long brown hair away from her face once she was finished. She also had the same hazel eyes as Kay, and when she saw me looking at her curiously, wondering where I could have recognized her from, she raised an eyebrow at me and looked over my shoulder at someone else.

  "I'm Liam," I said to her, sticking my hand out.

  This really had her eyes going wide. A soft gasp behind me made me instantly turn around, and as soon as I saw Aly Waterhouse's beautiful hazel eyes, I easily put it all together. "Oh, hello," I stumbled, shock running wild through my veins.

  Aly pursed her lips at me, struggling for something to say, when Kay stepped in. "Aly, this is Randy's son, Liam. Liam, this is my oldest daughter, Aly. And that's Sage," she explained, nodding her head in the younger girl's direction.

  Somehow managing to pull everything together in a split second, I cracked a wide smile, not able to believe my luck. "It's nice to ah, meet you, Aly. And Sage."

  Aly's face flushed a deep pink, reminding me of how warm her face was only hours ago when I had my face between her thighs…

  "You too," she squeaked, twisting a bracelet around her wrist.

  My eyes never left her and her sweetly blushing face as we all finally sat down at the table, the smell of roast lamb wafting over us.

  Aly was clearly trying to play it cool, which I found endearing and cute considering the things she’d let me do to her voluptuous body earlier. When everyone started digging into Jackson's latest trial by fire meal, roast lamb rib chops in a Bordelaise sauce, I sneaked a glance at Aly and was pleased to see I wasn't the only one having trouble keeping my eyes on my own plate.

  "Delicious, Jackson, as usual. What did you say this sauce was made of?" Dad asked, swallowing his food.

  My brother leaned back in his chair, wearing his smug satisfaction without a hint of humility. "It's made from Bordeaux. Kay happened to have a perfect bottle of Margaux on hand, plus some fresh black peppercorns…" His voice droned on, and I effectively tuned him out. Growing up in a family that only spoke in gourmet food terms made it easy for me to nod along as if I was paying attention, even while I was still catching glimpses of Aly, who kept having to clear her throat.

  "Fascinating. I daresay that there's not a bit of that which I truly understood, but whatever you did, it's fantastic, son," Dad
replied as he looked over at Kay with a smile. "I may own the place, but you must pardon my ignorance when it comes to the art of cooking itself. I’m a damn good businessman, but Bordelaise sauce, healing massages, sports injuries? I leave those up to the professionals. Jackson, here, went to Le Cordon Bleu in Paris. Graduated top of his class, too. You've never tasted a tiramisu until you've tasted his. I better watch out because he could open up a restaurant that would put The Cheesecake Factory to shame. Good riddance with those quick-buck franchises! My son here puts his all into his food."

  I had to keep from rolling my eyes, the way Jackson was practically preening like a peacock. When I looked back over to Aly, she was having some kind of silent conversation with her younger sister.

  Ever one to keep the conversation going, my father turned his attention to Aly. "Your mother told me you took a trip to my spa today. How did you find it?"

  It was almost comical the way her eyes went wide as she froze her arm in mid-air, a lump of potatoes sitting carefully on the edge of her fork. "Oh, yes, um. It was very... relaxing."

  I raised an eyebrow at her as if to dare her. "We aim to please, Ms. Waterhouse," I chimed in, looking between her and Dad, who was, of course, blissfully unaware.

  "Yes, that's good to know. You went in for a massage, correct? I've had several done myself. It's amazing how refreshed you feel once you walk out of there. Especially if you happen to take a dip in one of the hot tubs, or even the sauna when you need a good sweat."

  I chuckled into my wine glass, unable to hold it in.

  Aly's cheeks looked as though they'd never return to their usual color. "It's just Aly, actually."

  I nodded, still smiling. "I'll remember that."

  "A tip, Jackson. Maybe try whipped potatoes next time," Dad cut back in, frowning as he swallowed his food. "I apologize, everyone, it seems the potatoes are a bit hard."

  Looking at Aly through part of my glass as I took another sip, I mumbled, "They're not the only things," just loud enough for her to hear me. At the moment, I was having a difficult time keeping my raging hard-on to myself. Every time I tried to distract myself, my mind always seemed to wonder back to Aly's creamy thighs and her heavenly scent and taste. Her sweet pussy was like drinking nectar from the gods. Nectar that I needed desperately to bury my cock inside of.

  "Son, you amaze me sometimes the way you manage to throw back your wine. You're in the company of a prestigious somm, in the heart of wine country. Savor, my boy, savor!" Dad said, swilling around his own wine glass. "Besides, what else is hard on your plate? Or are you just giving Jackson a hard time because of poker night?" His quick wink made me roll my eyes.

  The news that I had lost $10,000 at my brother’s house last week had spread like wildfire. I was practically legendary for my biggest mistake.

  "The carrots," I murmured, as I stared directly at Aly across the table from me.

  She chewed on her lip and looked back down at her plate, unblinking.

  ALY

  I need to get the hell over this, stat. I'm a professional and he's just some man in his twenties, still living like a college student. He probably still lives at home too, I mean why wouldn't he when he's richer than God? Sure, he's hot as hell, but this is just insane. What happened earlier today was a fluke—those things don't just happen. I need to let all of this go and move on…

  It was easy enough to tell myself all these things, but every time I glanced up, I saw Liam's icy blue eyes staring me down, a playful smirk on his face. That damn dimple in the corner was driving me crazy. Maybe I was going crazy, especially for letting him, a stranger, go down on me in a public place. What in the world had I been thinking?

  I knew he had to be a man-child, one of those guys that did whatever the heck they wanted to, everyone else be damned. But it didn't really explain why he was working at his father's spa. If he could get away with doing very little and still have money to easily tide him over, why was he employed there to begin with?

  My mind was working overtime, wondering what made Liam tick, but my body was a different story. Chills ran across my skin when I saw the way the tendons in his hand flexed as he used his fork and knife on the roast lamb. The way they jumped under his tanned skin, running along the muscular length of his forearm, only to disappear under the sleeve of his shirt… it reminded me of how perfect his hand looked on the cusp of my hip.

  I bit at my lip again, desperate to wring the dirty thoughts from my brain. I'd always wanted more passion, and Josh had never really shown it to me. Now, as Liam sat across from me, I could feel myself getting wetter each time he caught my eye. Where was all this coming from?

  I took in a deep breath and forced myself not to look at Liam anymore, my eyes focused only on the gourmet spread on my plate. As flushed as the wine had made me, I drank very little of it and instead tried to cool off with my glass of ice water.

  "Are you sure you're not coming down with a fever, sis?" Sage asked me once I finished my sautéed vegetables.

  I steadied myself. "Nah, I'm fine," I whispered back to her. She simply shrugged and downed the rest of her wine, pushing the glass aside.

  If I thought I was going to make it out of the dinner unscathed, I was wrong. Liam had every intention of toying with me at every turn.

  Picking up a rather sturdy piece of asparagus, Liam eyed it and nudged his father. "These are some thick, long spears. I've never seen asparagus like this. Where did it come from?"

  "Oh that," Mom chuckled, helping herself to more wine. "Aly has this amazing little garden out back she's been tending to ever since we've been here. That's where we pulled those from."

  Liam's eyes lit up with the sexiest, most mischievous look he could manage. I was sure I was going to die in a fit of embarrassment. "This huge thing came from your garden, Aly? They must have been hard to handle."

  I shrugged, but I felt so naked out in the open that all I wanted to do was sink under the table. And maybe get a good look at the hard… carrots Liam was referring to.

  "It's not difficult, ripe asparagus like those are pretty easy to pry. Randy, Jackson, where do you usually buy your produce from?" Mom evenly replied, obviously not getting any of the entendre.

  "We have a local farm that supplies us for now. You look mighty satisfied over there, bro. Was it good?" Jackson replied as Liam leaned back in his seat, still looking cheeky as ever.

  "I certainly think so! This lamb is so soft and lush; the sauce is splendid," Mom said.

  "Mm, yes. It practically melts in your mouth. I could eat it all day. Tender, juicy… I’d lick the sauce off the very plate." The wicked look in Liam's eyes made me squirm in my chair.

  My insides were aching, blazing from all the torture of having Liam and his magic fingers and mouth so close to me. And he knew it, too.

  Everyone laughed as Liam picked up the plate, pretending to take a bite, before setting it back down, his eyes never leaving my face. I closed mine momentarily, images of Liam's tongue darting out against my core flooding my mind.

  "Surely not in the company of ladies, Liam! Such theatrics!" Randy laughed and rolled his eyes playfully at his son. "I tell you, we've been all over the world, stayed at the grandest of hotels, and my boys still act like they were raised in a barn… Speaking of traveling," he began, glancing over at Mom, who was pink in the cheeks too. "Aly, Sage, Liam… Kay and I have a surprise for you tomorrow. We're all heading to our winter home in Vail in the morning for a little weekend getaway. Jackson will join us Sunday morning, after his weekend shifts."

  Next to me, Sage squealed, clapping her hands over her mouth. "Oh my gosh, that sounds amazing! It's so gorgeous there this time of year!"

  Forcing myself not to check for Liam's reaction, I plastered on an excited smile. But deep down, something else was stirring. A whole weekend pent up in the same house as Liam Satterwhite?

  How was I going to make it until Monday?

  Chapter 5

  ALY

  * * *

  S
lipping off my shoes, I sighed as I shut the door behind me. It was so nice to be back in my own surroundings for the moment, even though as much as I knew I needed sleep, I was going to have a hard time getting my mind to stop reeling from the day’s events.

  Dinner had been one uncomfortable yet sinful accord, and now I was going to have to try and get plenty of sleep before waking up at the crack of dawn in order to get ready for our trip to Vail.

  What exactly were the chances I was playing with here? How utterly ironic was it that the deliciously sexy masseuse from earlier found me naked and alone in the sauna, and felt it necessary to eat my pussy as though it were a gourmet meal, taking his sweet time? And then not only does that same masseuse show up at my mother's house later for an actual gourmet meal, but he's Mom's rich boyfriend's son? The same son who will be joining us this weekend in a place known for its romantic winter cabins…

  It was all too much. I flopped down on my bed, my head spinning. It seemed impossible that all of these things had happened in that exact order, and that I was going to be face-to-face with my dirty little secret all weekend long.

  Curling up under my covers, I stared at the wall across from me until my eyelids grew heavier and heavier…

  The flurries rushed around my face, the wooden lodge barely visible as I pushed my way through the thick drifts of freezing cold snow. All I could hear was the sound of the wind roaring with all its might. I knew if I didn't hurry up and reach the lodge, I'd be a goner.

  Only a few more steps…

  The lodge door flew open as I stepped inside, the snow pushing me over the threshold, and I turned to quickly shut it behind me. Brushing the fat flakes of snow from out of my hair and off my coat, I threw my hood back and hung the coat up on the hook on the wall, taking a good look at my new haven.

  It was small, small enough to really only serve two people. The loveseat that sat in front of the TV was covered with a thick quilt that I pulled over and around my shoulders as I took a seat in front of the fireplace. The flames licked at the logs, the fire already blazing for me. I let the chill dissolve into warmth and sat there waiting expectantly.