StepBrother: New Rules (Stepbrother Romance) (9 page)

Evelyn took a deep breath before she continued. “You’ve encouraged me to be honest, and I shut you down at every turn.” She reached out and put a hand on his thigh. “I was wrong. You were right.”

Though she thought about continuing, Evelyn decided to stop talking, let the words that had gushed from her sink in. William looked at the floor, as if he was trying to organize his thoughts. When he finally spoke, Evelyn heard the compassion in his voice that she’d come to treasure so much.

“Are you and your mother okay?”

“Yes.” Evelyn smiled at him. “You would have been proud of me. I told her everything. Us, MMA, my plans for school—everything.”

“And?” he asked, looking deep into her eyes, as if he was looking for something there—some indication of how she felt.

“And she took it okay. I was surprised, actually. I thought it would be…”

William stopped her by taking her hand. “I mean you. How do you feel?”

William’s fingers intertwined with hers gave Evelyn strength.

“I feel like a huge weight has been lifted from me. You were right, Will. I should have been honest from the start. Holding everything in—hiding things and keeping secrets—only hurt me.” She paused. “And I hurt you in the process. I’m sorry, Will.”

“So what did you tell Ella about you and me?”

“I told her we’d been seeing each other since the Hillford’s terrible Christmas party. I told her you supported me, believed in me.” Evelyn took another deep breath. “And I told her I was in love with you.”

William didn’t say a word.

“Our relationship doesn’t have anything to do with my mom and your dad. We started seeing one another before we knew they’d end up married, and the only thing I’d change about it is I’d have listened to you and been open about it earlier.” Evelyn shifted to face William fully. “Being in love with you is the most wonderful thing that’s ever happened in my life, and I was a fool to have hidden it. I’m not ashamed of being with you. I’m proud of it. I only hope my stupidity hasn’t fucked everything up. Can you forgive me?”

William took a deep breath and shook his head, and when Evelyn saw the serious expression on his face, she felt panicked. It hadn’t occurred to her that he really might not forgive her.

Still shaking his head, William withdrew his hand from hers. “I don’t know, Evelyn. What you did—refusing to be honest for so long—I think…” He paused and looked into her eyes. A tiny smile appeared on his lips. “I think I may have to spank you before I can forgive you.”

Relief washed over Evelyn, and she burst out laughing, covering her mouth with both hands in an attempt to muffle the noise. “Oh, my God, I thought you were serious.”

“Oh, but I am,” he answered, a seriously sexy smile on his face. He leaned toward her, brushing her hair with his lips as he whispered in her ear. “You’re going to pay for this. I’m going to torment you, tease you until you beg me for an orgasm.”

Evelyn’s eyes widened as she imagined the scene. She remembered the hard kiss he had forced on her in the kitchen, and she felt herself get wet between her legs.

William took her face between his hands, pulling her toward him. “You’re going to beg me to fuck you, Evelyn. And I will, eventually.” He grabbed for her hips, lifting her up and pulling her to straddle him on the couch.

Evelyn could feel his erection through his jeans. “I can feel that you want me,” she whispered. “You want to be inside me, don’t you?”

“Oh, I will be. I’m going to bury myself inside the woman I love. I’m going to make love to you, Evelyn, and I’m going to take my time about it.”

William stood up, hands underneath Evelyn’s ass. She wrapped her legs around him and kissed him, hard.

“Take me to bed, Will,” she whispered.

They made it to her bedroom door fully clothed, but once inside, there was a mad rush of hands unbuttoning and pulling clothes off, leaving them finally completely naked. The light streaming in through Evelyn’s windows highlighted bare breasts, along with the ripple of William’s abs, as he bent to kiss Evelyn’s shoulder. He ran his hands over her curves, tracing her hips with his fingers, before stepping back to admire her fully.

“Evelyn, you’re beautiful,” he said, pulling back the covers on her bed. “Lie down.”

She did as she was told, and before William could bend to kiss her, she stopped him with a hand on his chest. “I love you, Will. I have for longer than I realized.”

The smile that played over his lips was all she needed.

William stood next to the bed, and as Evelyn turned her head, she realized his huge erection was at an ideal height. The forceful kiss they’d shared earlier that evening combined with his taking control had her so turned on, she decided to play a more submissive role than usual.

“Can I suck your cock?” she asked, eyes wide, in an expression she knew William would enjoy. She ran her tongue over her lips as she drew nearer. “Will you let me take your huge, hard cock in my mouth before you fuck me with it?”

“Open your mouth,” William ordered.

Evelyn rolled to her side and did as she was told. She took the head of his cock, hard and throbbing, into her mouth. Wrapping her fingers around the shaft, she forced him deep inside her throat, feeling him push his hips toward her, driving himself deeper. She wasn’t sure she could take much more of him, but she found that she could, opening wider and forcing the head of his cock deeper in her throat than ever before.

William moaned, and she could feel his control starting to slip. She pulled him out of her mouth.

“Do you want me to swallow your come, Will? Do you want to blow your load in my mouth?”

He didn’t answer in words. Taking hold of the back of her head, he pushed his cock back inside her mouth, sliding the head past her tongue, deep into her throat. Evelyn moved back and forth, working him a little further down her throat, taking pleasure in knowing she was about to make him lose all control.

When she knew he was nearly there, Evelyn forced herself to take all of him, something she hadn’t thought possible. Her lips touched the base of his cock, and she felt him spasm, pouring hot come into her throat. He came hard, head thrown back and hand holding her in place, refusing to let her go until she’d taken every drop.

Evelyn lay back, licking her lips. “So, will you accept my apology?”

William looked down at her. “What apology? I don’t think I remember my own name.”

She laughed and scooted over, making room for him to join her in bed. “Oh, it’ll come back to you, no pun intended, of course.”

He stretched out beside her with a huge sigh, pulling her closer, until her head rested on his chest. “Now, don’t think I’m letting you off the hook, my love. I’m taking a breather, and then I’m going to tease you until you beg me to put you out of your misery.”

“Duly noted.” She ran her hand over his chest, savoring the feel of his muscles beneath her fingers.

William played with her hair. “Did you mean what you said earlier?”

“I said a lot earlier, but I meant every word of it. What in particular are you curious about?”

“When you said you were in love with me?”

“I did. I am in love with you. I just feel like a fool for having taken so long to see it.”

“I’m glad you finally came to your senses.”

Evelyn lifted her head and propped herself up on her elbow, tracing his jawline with a finger. “Me too. Will, you’ve made me believe in myself. I always knew I could be successful, but I thought I had to do it Mom’s way. You made me see that I’m strong enough to chart my own course.”

“And you’ll always have my love and support.”

Evelyn was surprised to feel tears come to her eyes. “It means more than you know to hear you say that.”

“So how do you think this will all play out?”

“Well, I imagine we’re going to have some explaining to do tomorrow, especially to your dad. I don’t know exactly what Mom told him tonight.”

“He’ll be fine. At worst, he’ll just be disappointed in me again. I’m used to that.”

“Hey,” Evelyn said, poking him in the chest. “Quit that.” She leaned down and kissed his cheek, feeling his stubble on her lips. “Sounds to me like you need one of your own pep talks.”

“What do you mean? It’s obvious that he doesn’t think I’m worth much of anything.”

“Maybe that’s because you let him treat you that way. You know you’re a talented chef. If you’d quit seeking his approval and just do your own thing, I think he’d respect you more.”

“Listen to you, little miss confidence.”

“You just need some of your own medicine. I believe in you. You believe in yourself. One day your dad will see it, too.”

“I guess I just need to have a little faith, huh?”

“Exactly.”

William pulled Evelyn’s face toward him. “Give your stepbrother a kiss.”

She giggled, kissing him quickly. “What will people say when they find out?”

“Not a goddamn thing I care about. I want you, and I’m going to have you.”

Evelyn could feel the beginnings of an erection pressing against her thigh as he turned to face her.

“I’m not going to get much sleep tonight, am I?” she asked.

“Not a wink.”

Evelyn awoke to William’s erection poking her in the thigh, while his fingers sought out her breasts.

“Again?” she asked, through a yawn. “How can you possibly?”

“How can I not? I woke up with a gorgeous woman in my bed.”

“My bed, you mean,” she pointed out.

“Maybe our bed, at some point,” he said, kissing the side of her neck.

Evelyn turned in his arms, kissed him on the end of his nose, and pulled away. “I would love to spend the day in bed with you, but at some point we have to go out there and face our parents.”

William sighed. “I know you’re right. I just don’t want to spoil such a perfect night by following it with a shitty morning.”

Evelyn pulled on William’s shirt and buttoned it, rolling the sleeves up. “Nothing can spoil last night, Will. Your dad may be hard on you this morning, but I’m here for you. You can take it and move on.” She pulled a clean pair of yoga pants from a drawer.

William got out of bed and put on his jeans. “Guess I’ll go topless,” he joked.

“I like you that way.” Evelyn walked around the bed and put her hands on his chest. “It’ll be fine. We’ll face them together.”

“I suspect you just want coffee,” William grumbled as Evelyn paused with her hand on the doorknob.

“You’re right. It’s all about the coffee.” She met his gaze. “Ready?”

“I guess I can’t stay in here all day.”

The pair walked down the hall toward the kitchen, where they could hear the quiet voices of their parents.

“Morning,” Evelyn said brightly, acting as if she didn’t have a care in the world.

Ella and Malcolm echoed her greeting, and Evelyn pulled two coffee mugs from the cabinet.

“Sleep well?” Ella asked.

Evelyn looked at her, unsure whether she was making an off-color comment. “Um, yeah, thanks.” She decided to play it safe and assume the question was an innocent one. She sat down at the table. “Malcolm, did Mom fill you in?”

Malcolm was typically impossible to fluster, but his index finger twitching on his coffee mug betrayed his inner turmoil. “She did.”

Evelyn looked over at William, who stared at his coffee.

“Well, since I’ve made such a mess of everything by keeping things to myself when I should have been more honest, I thought maybe we could start fresh today. Maybe talk through a few things?”

Malcolm nodded. “I think that’s wise. Ella and I have some concerns we’d like to share with you.”

William lifted his gaze from his mug. “You just need to know before you say anything that I’m in love with Evelyn, and she loves me. Anything you say needs to factor those things in.”

Malcolm looked at his son without saying anything for a few moments, the silence making the room an uncomfortable place to be. Evelyn fidgeted, stilling only when William put a hand on her knee under the table.

At last, Malcolm turned to Evelyn. “You’re younger than Will, if only by a few years, but you’ve been far more sheltered than he. Will made some mistakes early on, and he hasn’t always been what I would consider an upstanding young man.” He held up a hand as Will started to interrupt. “Let me finish. I just want to make sure you know what you’re getting yourself into, Evelyn. I want to make sure you’re not just picking the easy option that’s close at hand. I wonder if we didn’t make a mistake moving the two of you in together so quickly.”

Ella leaned forward. “It’s not that we don’t think you’re both wonderful people capable of making up your own minds. It’s just that we don’t want to see either of you limit your options. You’re both so young. What you want may—probably will—change over the next few years.”

Evelyn and William looked at one another, as if they were deciding who should speak first.

Evelyn decided she should. “It’s my fault that things have happened the way they have. If I’d been honest from the start, you’d understand that Will and I are very sure about our relationship. We haven’t always agreed on everything, and when we’ve disagreed, it was because Will was wanting me to be more open than I was ready for. He was right, and I was wrong.” She turned to Malcolm. “Your son is one of the best men I’ve ever met. He’s a hard worker, a real friend, and he deserves your respect.”

William picked up where she left off. “And it’s not like we’re rushing out to get married or start a family. We both have career goals. I think you should trust yourselves as parents enough to support our decisions.”

Malcolm looked down at his watch. “I don’t have time for this. I have to get in to the hotel early.”

Ella frowned. “Malcolm, can we agree to continue this discussion tonight?”

“I guess so.”

William brightened. “I’ll handle dinner.”

“That’s fine. I hate to rush out, but I really have to.” Malcolm kissed Ella and left the room.

William stood up. “I have to run, too. I need to get in to work early, if I’m going to shop and prep for everything in time for dinner.” He dropped a kiss onto Evelyn’s head.

“Need a sous chef?” she asked.