CUZ: Billionaire Stepbrother Romance (2 page)

She brought me to the point of no return then pushed me over the edge. As I fell into the void, I felt the whole world shoot out of me as intense pleasure exploded throughout my body for a faint second or two. The real world quickly came back as she sat up. I reached down and put myself away with one hand while the other one was on the wheel.

“That was amazing,” I said.

“I know.”

I glanced over and she was wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. She was not the type of woman I could bring home to mom and dad.

“Good timing too. We're at your exit.”

“I wish I could spend more time with you.”

“I know.”

Does she realize I’m making fun of her? Does it matter?
I pulled off on her exit and dropped her off. Her hips swung back and forth beautifully as she walked onto the porch and then into her small house out in the middle of nowhere. As soon as she was inside, I backed out of the driveway then headed back to the highway.

Dinner was in an hour, giving me more than enough time to get back. My parents only lived about twenty minutes away from Tiffany, which was crazy. Money had fascinated me since I was a small child. I realized that Mr. and Mrs. Knight were rich years before Ashley. She pretended not to care at first, which surprised me considering our past together.

While not particularly greedy, I loved not having to worry about paying bills and surviving. Sure, I had to bow to the will of my adoptive parents a little, but they never asked too much of me. Besides, I could hide anything I really wanted from them with so much money at my disposal. They kept close tabs on me, but I had friends and helpers.

When I pulled in their long, winding driveway and headed toward the house, I made up my mind to talk to Ashley and make sure she knew how important it was for her to be nice to the people that had taken us into their lives. They had their own motives for adopting us, but their reasons were not any of our business. Bottom line, they had improved our lives.

“That you, Josh?” Ashley called from the kitchen.

“Yeah, hold on.”

After I took off my five hundred dollar leather shoes, I slid in across the wood floor in fifty-dollar socks toward the kitchen. Ashley was leaned up against the island in middle of the room. She looked hotter than usual. I wondered sometimes if she dressed so provocatively around me on purpose or not. A smile spread across her face as she walked over and gave me a hug.

“I can smell that tramp on you.”

“Geez, shut up, will you?”

I brushed her off and walked over to the sink to wash my hands.

“I'm just playing.”

“No you're not. I know exactly what you're doing.”

“You do, do you?”

I rolled my eyes as I turned off the water then flicked my hands at her.

“Hey, cut it out. I got dressed up for dinner.”

“What are you two doing in here?” mom asked as she walked in the kitchen.

“I wanted to wash my hands.”

“He was out with that tramp again,” Ashley said with a laugh.

“Don't talk like that, young lady,” Mom snapped at her.

Ashley sighed, rolled her eyes, and left the room.

“I worry about that girl sometimes,” Mrs. Knight said to me.

“She'll snap out of it. It's just a phase,” I said, not really convinced.

“You ready for dinner, dear?”

“Yeah. I’m famished.”

I followed her into the formal dining room. Father – who had never really been a dad – sat at the head of the table. Ashley was sitting to his left. I sat across from her as two servants brought in the first of many courses. Dinner went well until Ashley started playing games with her feet under the table.

She smiled mischievously at me as I scooted my chair back, desperately trying not to bring attention to what was happening. As usual, Mr. and Mrs. Knight ate quietly. While I thought of them as father and mother sometimes, they were not my parents. They were guardians more than mom and dad, not that it made me sad.

“How are your investments holding up?”

“Hmm?” I looked up at my father, startled out of my thoughts.

“Did you talk to Mr. Jenkins about securing a few more solid revenue streams for your investment portfolio?”

“Oh, yeah. He was helpful.”

“Good, good. I’m glad.”

“I’m going upstairs,” Ashley said, pushing back her chair and standing up.

“You’re being rude,” Mother said, glaring at her.

Unperturbed, she left the room. I cursed her for leaving me alone, but I’d learned a long time ago I couldn’t control her. Her independence and strength were two of the reasons I found myself so attracted to her. And then there was her body, perfectly shaped. I loved every single spot and curve of her skin.

“Have you found any suitable women to marry, yet?” Mother asked, fixing her gaze on me.

“No, not yet,” I said, shifting uncomfortably in my seat. Thoughts of Ashley excited me.

“We have a long list of suitable women. All you have to do is choose one, son,” Father added.

I nodded. “Thanks you two. I think I’m going to call it a night. Do you mind?”

“That’s fine, dear. You get your rest.”

Mother smiled at me. I returned the gesture, but inside my emotions ran the gamut from anger to confusion to lust. All the women I fucked meant nothing to me. And the ones my parents had picked out for me to marry meant even less. I pushed my chair back and stood up.

“I’ll see you two tomorrow.”

“We can talk more about your wedding,” she said with a wink that made me wince.

Biting my tongue, I turned and left the room. I took the stairs two at a time. After another long day, I wanted to lay down and relax. When I passed Ashley’s closed bedroom door, I thought briefly about knocking, but I kept moving down the hall. Once in my room, I locked the door behind me. The room looked the same as I remembered it.

Without a second thought, I took off my shirt and pants. The sun continued to set outside as I climbed onto the luxury bed that lived up to its name. I put my hands behind my head and closed my eyes as the mattress conformed itself to my body. Ashley accusing me of being a conformist bothered me more than I liked.
Why do I let her get to me?
I wondered.

Three

Ashley

When I got upstairs in my room, I locked the door to the hallway but not the bathroom one. I hoped that Josh would knock and come to visit as he had done many times when we were growing up. We had talked about everything with me lying in bed and him on the floor, both of us looking up at the ceiling. Before I laid down, I checked my email on the MacBook Air on my desk.

To my surprise, I had another message from the woman helping me find my birth parents. I opened the mail without sitting down. My eyes widened in surprise as I leaned over the back of my chair and read the message. She had dug up an address in New Orleans where the book containing my past might be located. Even better, she had already reached out to the owners of the property.

I walked back over to my bed and laid down. If they had suffered through Katrina, the owners of the old house would have probably been relocated somewhere else in the country. I loved a good mystery, and I had to find out if the family bible with my family tree was stored in the old house damaged by the biggest hurricane of 2005.
I can’t believe I’m making progress!

Instead of waiting for the woman to find the owners, I thought about traveling to New Orleans. I might be able to find the house on my own and check it out. If I was lucky, and crafty, I might be able to get Josh to pay for the whole trip and go with me. My mind slipped into overdrive as I tried to come up with a way to get him to go without telling him the truth.

As plans ran through my mind, I heard him close the door to our shared bathroom.
Is he going to bed instead of whoring around?
I took a deep breath, telling myself it was wrong to get excited, especially with our parents downstairs. We had been close growing up, but we never crossed any lines. The sexual tension between us had built up to intolerable levels, at least for me.

I crawled out of bed and crept across the floor. The wood creaked slightly. In the silence, it sounded so loud. My heart raced in my chest as I pressed my ear against the door. No sounds seeped through the wood, so I reached out and turned the handle slowly. When the door opened to a dark and empty bathroom, I took a deep breath.

You should go to bed. Just go to bed
. Ignoring the voice in my head, I took a few steps across the room and knocked on his door. I instantly regretted it and turned around in a hurry. Before I could get back into my room, the door opened. Josh stood in the doorway, wearing nothing but a pair of boxer briefs. His hard, muscular chest and amazing abs looked so delicious and tempting.

“What’s up?” he asked.

“Huh?” I looked into his eyes, trying not to ogle his body. “It’s nothing. I thought I heard something.”

“Just me. About to go to bed. We can talk in the morning if you want.”

He closed the door a few inches.

“Wait,” I said.

“What is it? I’m really tired.”

“Do you have a few minutes to talk?”

His eyes stared into mine, neither of us looking away.

“Sure,” he said finally, opening the door the rest of the way. “Come on in.”

“Do you have a robe or something?” I asked as I walked into his room in our parents’ house.

He cracked a smile. “What’s this? Sis is suddenly a prude?”

“I’m not your sister, Cuz,” I said, smiling.

It’s been so long since he called me that. I missed it.

“Have a seat.” He walked to his closet and got out a white robe.

Fuck. Why did you have to open your mouth?
I scolded myself.

As he put it on, I remembered I didn’t want to be distracted by his hot body. I sat down on the edge of his bed, watching him. He came over and sat down next to me. Only a foot or two separated us. Blood raced through my veins as I tried to keep my cool. I looked into his eyes, still not sure what I was about to say.

“I need your help.”

“Are you pregnant?” he asked.

“What? No. What makes you think that?”

Am I getting fat?

“The tone of your voice.”

“What about it?”

“I don’t know. It’s like your nervous or something.”

I AM nervous
, I thought before I said, “No, it’s not that. I wanted to ask you a favor.”

“You need more money?”

“Well, yeah, I always need more money, but that’s not it.”

“Well?”

I took a deep breath, biting my bottom lip. “Can we go on a trip?”

“What kind of trip?

He moved slightly, and his robe opened, giving me a glance at his rock hard chest and tattoo.

“I want to go to New Orleans.”

“Why?”

“You’ll think it’s silly.”

“Just tell me, okay? It’s been a long day and I’m tired.”

“It’s about our parents…”

“Damn, sis,” he interrupted. “Not that shit again.”

“It’s real this time.”

“How am I supposed to believe you?”

“I told you why I made up that story before.”

“Yeah, but how do I know you’re not doing it again?”

“You can trust me,” I said, putting my hand on his thigh.

He sighed, moving back a little. Part of me wanted to lean forward and kiss him, get it over with, but I resisted the urge and made puppy eyes. A smile spread over his face.

“Why you gotta do that to me?” he asked.

“Come on, Joshie. It’ll be fun. You’re not working right now, and you definitely have the money.”

“If I do this, it’s over. No more searching for our parents. They’re gone, and we can’t change that fact.” He reached out and put his strong, powerful hand on my bare shoulder, causing me to flinch.

“But what if…”

“Life isn’t what-if, it’s what we make of it,” he said, standing up.

Kiss him. Kiss him now!

I stood up, feeling faint. Even his smell turned me on.

“Think about it, okay?”

“I said we can do it,” he said, crossing his hands over his chest.

There goes my show.

“But you had stipulations.”

“And?”

“Fine. Goodnight, Cuz.”

I turned and walked to the bathroom, closing the door behind me. Once back in my bedroom, I got undressed and climbed into bed. Thoughts of Josh and everything else ran through my mind, keeping me from falling asleep. Eventually, I drifted off to the land of dreams. He was there too. No matter where I turned, he was there for me.

Four