Текст книги "Sweet Billionaire Stepbrother: Part 2 "

Автор книги: Harlow Grace

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Текущая страница: 8 (всего у книги 9 страниц)

27: Layla

“I’m so happy you chose to work for us, Layla. You have no idea how much our community needs you. I know it’s not as glamorous as working for one of the bigger companies, but the rewards are so much greater. You’re going to fit in well with the rest of our team.”

“I hope so,” I said, biting the inside of my cheeks as I reconsidered my decision for the umpteenth time. It was too late to change my mind, I simply had to push forward with my plans.

“I promise you won’t regret it. We’re looking forward to your arrival.  Jack will be at the airport to pick you up and bring you to the clinic. Once you settle in and find your feet, you’ll become a valuable member of our unit.”

Sweet Lord. Was I making the right decision? Running away was the best solution I could come up with at the time. But now? Funny, I could solve anyone else’s problemsjust not my own.

But running to Africa?

Tears streamed down my face as I threw a few things into an oversized bag. Besides my toothbrush, my e-reader and a few photographs, there really wasn’t much else I wanted to take with me.

Shorts, jeans, t-shirts. Check.

Plane tickets. Double check.

What I needed was to get as far away from Grayson and everything he meant to me.

Was Africa even far enough?

I had to leave to give Grayson and Sloane a chance and for the sake of my own sanity.

At least I had a job there; a way to support myself while I worked through my emotions and got a grip on everything.

How had I ever imagined things would work out for me and Grayson?

I’d never regret one single moment, the time we had would keep me going. Lucky I had a great memory and I’d made sure to burn every second of our time together into my brain. Yeah, it would be like self-torture when I recalled them, but not having those memories would be worse.

A knock on my door startled me. It was probably someone coming to tell me that Milton’s party had started and I was expected to come downstairs. The days I’d spent at Carmen’s bedside had drained all my energy and I really wasn’t in the mood for partying, but my mother would never forgive me if I didn’t make an appearance after all the hard work she’d put into it.

“Layla, are you okay? Hey, why’d you lock the door?” Taylor demanded from the other side.

Crap. I never locked her out.

With the back of my hand I wiped away the tears and shoved the bag under my bed. She’d freak the fuck out if she had any idea what I was planning. As much as I wanted to tell her, I just couldn’t. Somethings were better left unexplained. How could I look her in the eye and tell her I’d been screwing her brother and now because of that, I had to leave?

Okay, it wasn’t the only reason, but it was a huge part of it.

“Yeah, I’m coming,” I said in my chirpiest voice, hoping to fool her.

I turned the handle and pulled the door open, plastering a big fake smile on my lips.

Her face dropped. “You’ve been crying! What’s going on?” She placed a hand on my shoulder and scrutinized my face. “Is it about a boy?”

Epic fail. Taylor’s eyes missed nothing. She saw right through me like always. There’s not much point in lying to her either about it, she’d get it out of me eventually, so I nodded. “It’s nothing I won’t get over.”

Lie. Damn lie. Even I didn’t buy it.

I opened the door wider and motioned for her to come in. Taylor pushed the door closed and leaned her arse against it, narrowing her eyes as she studied my face intently. Those piercing eyes—just like her brother’s—could see into my damn soul.

“Tell me who it is so I can go kick his balls. Asshole.” The passion in her voice didn’t surprise me. She was a feisty one all right.

Oh God, if she only knew.

“No, it’s nothing like that. Hey, I’m going to be fine, I promise.”

Putting on my brightest smile, I changed the topic, wanting to take the attention off me. “Wow, you look amazing. Dad’s going to be so proud of you tonight.” I tapped a finger to my lips. “Is there a boy you’ve dressed up for? Someone coming to the party that you have your eye on?”

“Maybe,” she said coyly. “I’m not sure he even knows I’m alive though.”

“Well, hon, if he has eyes in his head he’s going to be tripping over his dick when he sees you in that dress. Especially if you show him some interest.” I was dying to know who it could be and run a mental picture of the guest list through my brain, I couldn’t think of anyone. Milton’s party was a formal affair, no under eighteens except for Taylor, so there wouldn’t be boys of her age.

“Show him? How?”

“Eye contact. It’s all in the eyes. And smile when he smiles at you. Laugh at his jokes even if you think they are lame.”

“Geez, when did you get so smart? I thought you weren’t into dating?”

“I’m not. But I listen when my friends talk. You know my brain soaks up information like a sponge . . . even useless shit.”

“Sounds useful to me. I’m going to try it on S—” she clamped a hand over her mouth, realising that she’d said too much.

This time I narrowed my eyes at her. “Sssss . . . . Seth? Seth Matthews? That’s the guy?”

She didn’t need to say a damn word. The way her cheeks flushed and she cast her eyes down told me everything I needed to know.

“Oh God, Taylor, he’s way too old for you and he’s a player. Why in the world would you want him?”

She shrugged, keeping her eyes on the floor. “I . . . um, I don’t know to be honest. It’s just one of those things I can’t explain. He makes my stomach go woozy when I see him.” Placing a hand on my arm, she met my gaze with a worried expression. “You . . . um, he’s not the guy you’re crying about, is he?”

I laughed. “Oh God, no. After the ball, we decided to stay friends just so things wouldn’t be awkward if we ever bumped into one another. But that doesn’t mean he’s right for you. In fact, I know he isn’t. And Grayson . . . he’d freak out if he thought his little sister wanted to date a Matthews.”

“I know, right? What is it with Grayson and the Matthews brothers? I understand about Hawke . . . but Seth’s done nothing to offend him, except to be Hawke’s brother. I honestly don’t get it.”

“Testosterone. Male rivalry. It’s as old as the jungle. Ever watch any episode on Discovery? Male animals have been fighting since forever to show their superiority—it’s built into their genetic code. Nothing we can do to change that any time soon.”

We both chuckled before Taylor’s expression grew more serious.

“Anyway, I came to get you to go down to the party. Grayson’s gone to pick Sloane up and Mum sent me to get you. She knows you hate these things, so she wanted me to check on you.”

My eyes grew wide. Sometimes my mother could be so damn annoying. Or was it the guilt of knowing that I was planning to escape soon that ate at me? She’d ranted for a few minutes when I’d returned earlier, complaining that she’d been worried I wasn’t going to be home in time to get ready for the party.

“You’re kidding, right? Of course I’m coming down to celebrate Milton’s birthday. It’s a big deal to him, so I even dressed up—”

“And you look stunning. That dress looks like it was made for you. Every guy tonight is going have his eyes on you.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, nobody will notice me. As for the dress, actually, I bought it in London.” As soon as the words slipped out of my mouth, I regretted them.

London.

Grayson.

Just the two of us.

My heart ached from the memory.

I swear I wasn’t wearing the dress to remind Grayson of the night he took me to dinner. It was just that I couldn’t face shopping these last few days and I owed it to Mum and Milton to at least make some effort.

The dress was a little tighter than when I wore it in London, especially around my ass and boobs, but I knew I had eaten and drunk too much in London. The three course meals that Grayson ordered and were delivered to our hotel room were from some of the best eateries in London. And the restaurants he took me to on the last few days were to die for. I was never one to shy away from good food—especially dessert. I loved the sweet stuff even though it was loaded with sugar and dollops of clotted cream the English were so fond of.

“You never talk much about that trip. I’m still waiting to see pictures you know. Grayson promised to take me to the city of my choice when I graduate as well. Isn’t he just an awesome big brother . . . well sometimes.”

I swallowed hard. Yes, he’s the best a girl could ever want.

“Um . . . I actually forgot to take photos. But it definitely was the best week of my life . . . I don’t need pictures to remind me how amazing it was.” I hesitated for a few moments as I fought the lump in my throat. “I’ll never forget it,” I added wistfully, meaning every damn word.

Thank fuck Taylor had already turned toward the door. “Time to party. Let’s forget about guys for a while and just have fun,” she said as she reached to the stairway outside my room.

Blinking back a few stubborn tears, I followed her blindly. Dammit, I didn’t want to spoil my carefully applied eye liner and mascara it had taken me forever to get it just right. I was aiming for sophisticated and smudged make-up would ruin it all.

Sloane would no doubt be a knock-out and had gone all out to look her best. She’d babbled on and on about it for weeks, making my damn head hurt with her obsession about Grayson. She couldn’t string two sentences together without using his name. She had it bad—almost as bad as me.

Guilt ate at me. I’d listened with growing dread of how she was fantasising about having sex with Grayson. Every nerve in my body wanted to scream out and tell her that he was mine.

Only he wasn’t. Our stolen times together were just that.

Stolen.

Illicit.

Dangerous.

But I was too far gone to want it any other way. I’d take every crumb, every second he’d given me. I could feast for nights to come on those memories. When I was all alone in my bed, my body ached for his, my soul longing for him.

28: Grayson

I’d raced to Sloane’s house to pick her up and then made it back to the house in record time. She’d called me nearly every single fucking day for a week after Dad invited her, asking me questions like what was my favorite color and fragrance. It seemed she was going all out to try and please me. She was sweet, and very lovely—for some other lucky guy.

The more I tried to act casual and be evasive, knowing that it didn’t matter what the fuck she did to try to impress me, the harder she persisted. If only I could tell her that it wouldn’t change how I felt about her because I was already in love with her best friend.

Sloane made small talk all the way, the best I could do was to nod or answer her back in monosyllables.

“Alice has let me help her plan this party. It’s going to be spectacular. Milton is such a lucky man to have found her the second time around.”

“Yeah, that’s true,” I agreed. Only because it brought Layla into my life.

In my opinion, it was the smartest move my father had ever made.

I parked the car and frowned as I rounded the front of it to open the door for Sloane. The whole damn Matthews family had just arrived and the valet was busy helping them get parked. I clenched my teeth. How I was going to stay calm all night with both of the brothers there I didn’t know. One was bad enough, but two? Disaster waiting to happen

If Seth lays as much as a finger on Layla . . .

Sloane took my hand and climbed out of the car. She followed my gaze to where the Matthew’s family stood before waving at them, all cheery and smiley, as if she wanted them to notice us together.

“Oh, look, Seth is here. I bet that will make Layla get out of her funk. She’s been acting strangely ever since the ball. She won’t tell me anything about what happened between them two. Yet I’m damn sure something big happened.”

I quirked an eyebrow. “Oh? What makes you say that?”

Even though I knew Layla wasn’t into Seth, I still couldn’t control the wave of jealousy that flooded my veins. He was probably going to try his best to charm the panties off of her in front of me and there wouldn’t be much I could do about it. Fuck.

“I’m sure she lost her v-card that night. But she insists she didn’t let Seth fu . . . um, you know.” She laughed awkwardly. “She has a glow that wasn’t there before. You know, the kind a girl only gets when she’s crazy for a guy. She can’t fool me.”

“Is that right?” I couldn’t help the smirk that crossed my face. If I was the guy who made her glow—fuck yeah.

The fact that Layla had been avoiding me like I had the plague since I returned from the U.K. didn’t help much. I needed to talk with her and find out if she was okay. I needed to tell her that London had been the best experience of my life and I’d missed her when she left. Since the moment she waved goodbye at the airport, London seemed dark and gloomy, a perfect reflection of my mood.

Seven years wouldn’t have been enough time to explore each other completely and do all the things I wanted to do to her, never mind seven days. I had to finally tell Layla that I wanted her and only her, that I couldn’t think of anything else besides her.

“Let’s go around the back. I’m not in the mood to try to be polite to the Matthews. Do you mind?” I’d already placed my hand on the small of Sloane’s back and was steering her in that direction. I wanted to be out there as soon as possible.

Watching Seth.

Watching Layla.

Sloane laughed. “Oh okay. You seem eager to get to the party. Thirsty?”

“Yeah, I need a long cold drink,” I said. “I’m still a bit jetlagged and dehydrated from my flight back.”

“I’m so jealous that you took Layla to London. I so wish I was who had gone. I’ve been dying to go to Europe. Maybe next time you go I could come?” Sloane fluttered her eyelashes at me coyly.

My chest tightened at her words And I had I cleared my throat before I spoke. “I won’t be going back there for a long while. I’ve given up my apartment and moved my stuff out. I’m starting my new job at Forbes International in a few weeks. I’ll have no time for anything if Dad has his way—he’s throwing me in the deep end for being a bad son.”

Sloane lay a hand on my arm. “Well, I for one am glad you’ll be staying in Sydney. I like you Grayson, I really want to see more of you.”

Talk about shooting straight. This chick was definitely not afraid to speak her mind. Honestly, I admired that in a person, if only she wasn’t gunning for me.

I stopped short of the party and pulling her hand through my arm, I led her in the opposite direction. It was time I put Sloane straight. I couldn’t carry on with the charade when my heart just didn’t want her.

She beamed as we made our way to a garden bench nearby. Shit, she’s thinking I’m going to say things she wants to hear.

“Let’s sit here for a moment. I need to tell you something.”

“Sure.” Her eyes glimmered in the light. Fuck, this wasn’t going to be easy. I stood beside her, one foot up on the wooden bench. I leaned forward as she smiled up at me.

“Sloane, I like you very much—”

“Oh, Grayson, I like you too—”

I held up a hand to stop her before she said something that would feel awkward about when she heard what I had to say. She froze immediately, her back stiffening.

“I owe it to you to be honest with you. Right now, I’m not looking for a serious relationship. I’m about to start a new job . . . one that’s going to be challenging as fuck.”

She let out a long breath and laughed. “That’s not a problem. If all you want right now is a fuck buddy, I’m all up for that. But if you haven’t noticed yet, I have a voracious sexual appetite—”

I quickly placed my fingers on her lips. “Sloane, listen to me. You keep making assumptions . . . wrong ones. I’m trying to tell you that as much as I like you, there can’t be anything between us.” I cleared my throat. “I’m not looking for a fuck buddy either.”

Her eyes grew wide and large. “You . . . you already have one? Who?” she blurted out.

I shook my head. “No, nothing like that. I just don’t have the time or place in my life for anything like that right now.”

Not wanting to tell Sloan about Layla and me until I’d spoken to our parents first, I was trying to play it as natural as possible. She wasn’t making it easy for me, I had to bite my tongue not to blurt it out.

“You must be kidding. A man like you? I bet you can’t go a day without sex.” She jumped to her feet and took a step closer to me, pushing her ample breasts against my chest. “Try me, Grayson. You won’t be disappointed.” Her eyes filled with lust. She stood on her tiptoes and kissed me, her hand moving to my groin and cupping my package. “I’m a great fuck.”

I placed my hand over hers to remove it. She gripped me tighter, slipping her tongue into my mouth and making moaning sounds as she brushed her tits against me.

I’m only a man and I could feel my dick hardening. I hadn’t fucked since London and my balls were full and eager for action.

“Sloane,” I said, loosening her grip on my balls and holding her by the wrists. “No.”

“But your dick likes it. Let me show you how good my mouth is, Grayson. Sit back and let me suck your cock, then tell me you don’t want it . . . don’t want me.”

Something caused me to look towards the pool area where the party was in full swing. Confused green eyes met mine. I inhaled sharply.

It’s not what it looks like, I wanted to scream but it was too late.

Layla had already turned and left.

Fuck.

29: Layla

It killed me to see Sloane with Grayson and his balls cupped in her hand, no less.

But what did I expect?

Sloane had Milton’s approval, she was the one he wanted for his son. Despite all of the animosity going on between the two men, Grayson had probably decided to go along with his father’s wishes.

Smart move. I had to give him props for that, even if I hated the idea and it shredded my fucking heart.

Not that I could blame any man who fell for Sloane. She was breathtaking, smart and sexy. I never understood why she wanted to be friends with geeky me when she could have been best buddies with the cool kids in school.

From the many sexual encounters she’d told me about, Sloane knew just how to get a man to eat out of her hand and beg for more. Clearly she had Grayson just where she wanted him.

I was happy for them. Really.

At least that’s what I kept telling myself. I had to come to terms with it or I’d crumble.

“Hey babe, you look amazing tonight.” I looked up to see Seth standing a few feet from me. He looked handsome in a tight fitted pants and pale blue shirt of which he’d left the top three buttons undone so that his smooth, sexy chest was on display. He took a step closer to me, holding out both his arms as if he wanted a hug.

Still dazed by what I’d just seen, I needed a freaking hug more than anything, so I simply stepped into his embrace and let his big body enfold mine. He smelled so good, and the way he held me close was exactly what I needed in that moment. I buried my face in his chest, feeling his hand on the back of my head.

“Hey, you,” I mumbled into his rock hard chest.

“You okay?” His gruff voice was laced with equal parts of surprise and concern. Bet he never expected me to walk into that so easily.

I placed both arms around his waist and let him squeeze the bejesus out of me. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just needed a hug.” I slowly released the breath I’d been holding. “Thank you.”

“Anytime sweetheart, anytime. Just yell whenever I can help you with that, okay?” The hand on my back slipped down to my arse and pushed gently until my body was flush against his.

“Feel that? Just for you, babe.”

His erection pushed into my stomach. Oh God, that wasn’t my intention at all. Why were men such animals? I took a deep breath and pushed against his chest.

“Seth. It’s not like that.” With wild eyes I looked around for an escape, only to be met with four steel hard blue eyes staring at us; one pretty face with a slack jaw, the other had a face like thunder and was grinding teeth his together.

“Layla,” both said at the same time. My stepsiblings weren’t happy, that much was clear. Crap.

Seth turned his head and when he saw Grayson he took a step backward, letting me go. I had no idea what happened to the lump in his pants because I was too busy wondering where Taylor and Grayson had come from so suddenly. Wasn’t Grayson still in the garden with Sloane? And Taylor—her eyes were on fire as she glared at me.

To crown it all Sloane appeared behind Grayson, shooting daggers at me.

“Grayson, where’s the fire?” she asked as she hooked into his arm and pulled him away.

This night was turning into a nightmare. Every way I turned somebody was upset with me. Thank fuck I was leaving soon. This was all just becoming too overwhelming.

“Layla, there you are.” As Mum came toward us she flashed everyone a smile but me. “Why did you take so long to come down? I could have used some help earlier.”

That was the last straw. Why was I the bad guy here?

Five seconds later, Milton spotted us and came barging toward us.

What now?

“Well, nice to see you’re all catching up and having a good time.” He put an arm around Sloane and kissed her cheek. “I’m hoping my son is smart and snatches you up soon. I’m ready for grandchildren, so don’t make him work too hard to catch you, okay?”

Sloane giggled with delight, but my eyes were on Grayson. For once I couldn’t read him. He looked annoyed as fuck, but I couldn’t tell who he was angry with.

As for Milton’s little speech, if he had pointed a gun at me and shot me at point blank it would have hurt less. He was hell bent on getting Grayson and Sloane together and usually whatever Milton wanted, Milton got. He was a Forbes, it was a given.

Sloane smiled up at Milton. “I feel like part of the family already.”

My stomach turned. I was going to be sick. Maybe I should throw up all over my best friend’s pretty dress? For just a moment the green eyed monster turned me into somebody I didn’t know I’d ever become.

Instead I excused myself and turned away as Taylor moved closer to Seth and started chatting to him. He seemed so taken with her that I was already forgotten. As I reached the stairs, I turned to see Milton grip Grayson and Sloane by the arm and lead them to the dance floor with my mother following them with an encouraging smile.

Perfect.

Just fucking perfect.