ROMANCE: Mason (Bad Boy Alpha Male Stepbrother Romance Boxset) (New Adult Contemporary Stepbrother Romance Collection) (263 page)

Conner pulled away from me with a smirk. “Let’s go,” he said and I could see the excitement building in his eyes.

He made to leave but I stopped him, turning him back to face me. “Thank you,” I whispered and I hoped that he would know it was for more than the jacket.

In a matter of minutes we were flying again, a feeling I would never get enough of. I had one arm wrapped around Conner and the other followed the wind, ducking and diving as the cool salty sea breeze passed us by. It was incredible; I would never get enough of chasing the sunrise, seeing the bright orange glow of the sun emerge over the rolling hills. Far too soon the bike skidded into our field and the gentle rumbled died away, leaving us in silence.

Conner didn’t offer me his hand this time; instead he lifted me from the bike and into his arms. Our helmets lay at our slide as he pulled me into his chest, holding me tightly to him in a way that only he could. As the wind whipped at my hair he brushed the blonde-brown strands away and simply smiled at me, a full smile. “I didn’t think I would see you again,” I admitted after a moment.

His eyes darkened a little as he took in the sadness in my voice. I hadn’t wanted to spoil the moment but I just couldn’t let it sit between us, I couldn’t let it go unspoken. “How could I ever give up teasing you?” he asked, flicking my nose.

I jumped out of his arms and stared at him. “Did you really just flick my nose?” I asked, stunned.

Conner shrugged but I could easily see he was trying to keep his laughter in. “Perhaps,” he said far too sweetly.

Faking a look of innocence I walked around him and pressed my chest against his back, slowly bringing my lips against his ear. “Now it’s your turn,” I whispered and poked him in the side, right where I knew it would be the most sensitive.

Before he could react I took off running, dodging around the bike as I heard his loud groan. I barely had a head start and as I crossed the field; I knew he was gaining fast, but I had surprise on my side. I jumped to the left, heading in the opposite direction as he raced behind me. Once I knew I had put enough room between us I turned my head, sticking my tongue out at him. His laugh only just reached me as my foot collided with something hard and I flew forwards.

A piercing scream broke free from my lips as I landed head first in a hedge. The small branches brushed against me as the leaves softened my fall. Conner came into view laughing loudly; the laughter didn’t last long as he fell head first along with me. My eyes slammed shut as I waited for the impact, but none came; slowly I let them open again to see Conner awkwardly balanced above me, a cheeky grin plastered on his face.

“What’s so funny?” I questioned with a frowned as I pulled a stray twig out of my hair.

“Looks like you proved me wrong,” he laughed. My face screwed up in confusion for a second before it finally occurred to me what he was talking about.

“I told you I would,” I grinned as his contagious laughter spread easily to me.

Slowly the sound died away and silence took its place, only disturbed by the soft sounds of our breaths, perfectly in sync with one another. Conner’s arm relaxed so his body pressed down on mine, it wasn’t painful, just enough so I could feel his heartbeat and just enough to let me feel the warmth in his body. His eyes found mine, searching my face, the green so intense I could hardly breathe. I watched each of the shades mix perfectly with the next to form the seamless unique color I loved.

“Nat,” Conner breathed making me smiled, I had really grown to love my nickname, the nickname only he used.

I reach up and gently cupped Conner’s face, feeling for the first time the softness of his stubble and the firmness in his jaw. He groaned under my touch and leant into my hand as his fingers brushed through my hair, trailing down the subtle contours of my face and over my waiting lips. I couldn’t help the moan that so easily parted my lips as his finger traced my mouth, feeling each and every line. His fingers ran down my neck and shivers raced to keep up with his exploration.

I hadn’t thought there was anything better than the feeling of flying but as Conner’s lips met mine for the first time I knew there was no comparison. My senses swam with the gentle touch of his lips against my own, so soft at first, enough for me to taste the sweetness that was unlike anything else I had ever tasted before. I pulled him closer, crushing his body against my own, telling him that I wanted him and showing him that I needed him.

My lips parted as he deepened the kiss, his hands running quickly through my hair, pulling my head gently to meet him. I moved faster, desperately claiming his mouth as he did mine. Breathless I pulled away, just long enough to look into his bright green eyes; just long enough to see the desire and love that filled them. It only lasted a second before his teeth caught my lip, pulling me forward back into the kiss that I craved. The feelings, the sensations and the desperate desires were all addictive. Even as his stubble grazed my chin and his unique scent washed over me I knew I would never be able to get enough of it, enough of him.

Ever so slowly Conner parted from me; he cupped my chin and placed the softest of kissed against my forehead as I leant into him. He pulled himself up taking the pressure off me; I frowned up at him making him laugh lightly, such a carefree laugh. Shaking his head he pulled me up with him and placed me softly in his lap. I rested my head against his chest and felt the rhythm of his heart. Gently his chin rested on my head and his arms snaked around me, keeping me close.

I turned slightly to look up into his eyes, the eyes that shone so brightly now. “Will you keep me safe Conner?” I whispered.

Conner’s eyebrows furrowed as his eyes watched mine with an intensity I didn’t think was possible. “Always,” he said and I knew that he meant it. Of all the things I could have predicted this wasn’t one of them and I was glad, not because I didn’t want it, not because I didn’t want him but because I did. As I sank into the warmth of Conner’s chest I knew I would take the unexpected over the predicted any day of the week.

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BONUS

GRABBED

(book 1)

By Elisa Elliot

“I came to the wedding Mom; why do I have to come to this?”

“Stephanie,” her mother sighed, exasperated, “it’s for a good cause; it’s a fundraiser for goodness sake! I don’t understand why you don’t like Joseph so much. You know, he’s not trying to replace your dad, honey.”

Stephanie waved away her mom’s concern. “No, it’s not that I don’t like him, and I know; he and dad are total opposites. It’s his son I don’t like.”

“What? Jeffrey? He’s such a sweet boy.”

“That ‘sweet boy’ is twenty-two Mom, and a cocky asshole.”

“Language, Stephanie.”

She rolled her eyes, brushing a long strand of carefully straightened red hair behind her ear. “He walks around like he’s God’s gift to women. And he’s so full of it. Everyone knows he has money; he doesn’t have to shove it in the rest of our faces.”

“You have money too now, sweetheart.”

“No,” Stephanie argued, crossing her arms instead of publicly readjusting her bra under her ridiculously tight black dress. “Joseph has money, and by extension, you do as his wife. I’m just the daughter you brought along.”

“Baby-”

“I mean don’t get me wrong Mom, Joseph’s great, and I’m of course ridiculously thankful that he paid off my student loans, but he and Jeffrey aren’t our type of people.“

“You mean poor?”

“Sure, why not. We’ve never had money and maybe that’s a good thing if, when you get some, you turn into Jeffrey.”

“That’s not-”

“Did someone say my name?” someone asked in front of them, making them look up from their hushed conversation.

Joseph’s driver had let them off a little ways away from the hotel in which they were housing the fundraiser and they had just reached the entrance where Jeffrey and Joseph were waiting for them.

Joseph was a sweet man somewhere in his fifties. He had a very George Clooney-esque look with his neat and yet just a bit scraggly salt and pepper facial hair and a smile that you couldn’t help returning. He wore what Stephanie could only assume to be a very expensive suit with coattails that belonged in an old movie and a black bowtie that was just a bit crooked.

His son, however, was just the opposite. In a very ‘too cool for school’ attitude, Jeffrey had forsaken the required dress attire and instead wore a pair of dark wash jeans, a white V-neck and a black leather jacket.

“I see you dressed down for the occasion,” Stephanie quipped.

“Hello to you too,” Jeffrey smirked, taking her hand and kissing the back of it quickly with a wink. “And I just came back from a race.”

“I wish you would stop that silly little hobby of yours,” Joseph sighed, taking Stephanie’s mother’s hand in his. Those--what are they?--sport bike motorcycles are hardly safe.”

“That’s the rush of it, the fun of it all. The danger. Right Steph?”

“Stephanie is fine,” she said with a strained smile, ignoring her daughter’s admonishing look of exasperation.

“Well,” Joseph said, trying to avoid any more tension, “why don’t we all go inside,; dinner should be served soon.”

Stephanie sighed, putting on a smile as she followed her mom and stepfather into the building, Jeffrey falling into step beside her.

The ballroom of the hotel they had booked was huge. The hotel itself might as well have been a castle it was so large, with ornate arches and tall columns, and a decorative chandelier or wall sconce every few feet.

There were butlers on either side of the large dark oak door to the ballroom who gestured them in with deep bows. The room was packed with rich men and women flaunting their wealth in their designer dresses and suits, champagne was in the hand of every adult, and it wasn’t any of the cheap stuff.

Stephanie wondered how much renting the ballroom cost. The price would probably make her head spin. A room in the hotel likely caught a couple of thousand dollars a night, at the very least.

Joseph lead them to the very front of the room, pulling out a chair for Stephanie’s mother and gesturing kindly for Jeffrey and Stephanie to take a seat. She groaned internally; of course she would have to sit next to Jeffrey for the rest of the night.

She looked around for some sort of program, realizing that she didn’t even know what the fundraiser was for. She raised an eyebrow when she finally found one, surprised. She had no idea Joseph was a cat person. Let alone that he knew so many rich people that were cat people as well.

“Gotta love cats, right?” Jeffrey said quietly, spooking Stephanie with just how close he was. “Calm down baby, I don’t bite,” Jeffrey said, and then smirked, “unless you want me to; then we can have some real fun.”

“If you count fun as me vomiting in repulsion, well then yes, we’ll have lots of fun.”

“You’re so fiery red; I like that.”

Stephanie grunted, leaning away and downing a glass of champagne, motioning for one of the waiters to bring her another one.

“Hitting that kind of fast aren’t you?”

“I can handle myself; it’s that Irish blood.”

“Ohhh, nothing sexier than a woman who can handle her liquor.”

“Back off Romeo,” Stephanie grunted, thanking the waiter when he brought her one, and taking another off his tray that she was sure she’d need later.

“Or what?”

“Or I’m not sure I can abstain from beating you over the head with the nearest blunt object.”

Jeffrey smiled, something that Stephanie refused to admit looked attractive on him, as he leaned in. “Well, like I said, I like to live dangerously.”

Stephanie would have responded, but she was interrupted by the first speaker of the night calling everyone to attention. He was an old man, with Albert Einstein-like hair and a bit of a quirky smile. Yep, he definitely looked like a cat person.

His speech wasn’t too extraordinary; a lot of nice pleasantries with a joke or two thrown in for the audience to laugh politely at. What the speech did have, however, was longevity. It was now the third time Stephanie had covertly checked the time on her phone under the table and, after looking back at the program, groaned as she realized there were ten more speakers.

Her mom gave her a look, and Stephanie smiled sheepishly in apology, hoping to communicate that she’d keep her misery internal from now on.

About halfway through the third speaker’s speech about the importance of getting cats out for walks as often as their dog counterparts, Stephanie received a text.

Wanna get out of here?

She looked up, shooting a sideways glance at Jeffrey who was resolutely focusing his attention on the speaker. She looked over at her mom and Joseph, her mom’s attention was on the woman speaking and Joseph’s attention was on her mom.

She glanced back down at her phone, cautiously typing back.

Are you crazy? We’re at the head table.

Your point?

That’s rude, and while you may be okay with that, I’m not.

After she finishes speaking, before the next comes on stage, leave, I’ll follow you out after ten minutes.

The woman will be speaking then.

Yep

Stephanie rolled her eyes; of course Jeffrey had no qualms with being rude. She knew she should say no. For her dignity’s sake, she really wanted to. But as she tuned back into the speech and attempted to focus on the merits of cat aerobics, she knew she had no choice. She had to get out of there before she fell asleep at the table. She glanced at her mom, feeling a bit bad for abandoning her, but she knew Joseph would take care of her. So, with a quick look at Jeffrey, who was still focused on the speaker, she steeled her resolve and waited impatiently for the woman to finish.

Finally, after five more minutes of boredom, the speech ended and Stephanie excused herself as politely as he could, mumbling something along the lines of having to go to the bathroom. Joseph nodded in acknowledgement and her mom gave her a skeptical look but didn’t say anything as Stephanie hurried away before the next speaker could step up to the podium.

-x-x-x-

Stephanie looked at her phone for the third time; it had been nearly twenty minutes since she’d left and, despite herself, she was beginning to get worried. Perhaps Jeffrey had gotten stuck or something had happened to him.

“Looking for me?”

Stephanie jumped as Jeffrey whispered in her ear. She crossed her arms, entirely unamused.

“You’re late.”

“I know,” he grinned, sticking his hands in his pockets and shrugging. “It’s intentional; I like to build anticipation.”

“More like dread,” Stephanie muttered.

“Oh, come on red, you know you can’t resist me,” he smiled, slinging an arm around her shoulder and leading her towards the parking lot.

“Where are we going?” she asked, taking his hand and pulling his arm away from her.

“If I told you that it would ruin the surprise.”

“What surprise?”

Jeffrey laughed, shaking his head, “You just don’t listen, do you. Think fast.”

Stephanie let out a breath as he hastily tossed a round black object at her. She turned it over, eyes widening as she realized it was a helmet.

“Oh no, there is no way in hell that I’m getting on that over-polished bike with you at the helm.”

“Oh, come on, don’t be such a girl.”

“Excuse me?” Stephanie said, indignant.

“You heard me,” he grinned, patting his bike. “Besides, it’s perfectly safe, nothing to worry about.”

“I trust the bike, with all that money it’s bound to ride smooth; it’s the driver I don’t trust.”

Jeffrey scoffed, spinning his keys carelessly around his pointer finger. “I’ve never even gotten so much as a speeding ticket.”

“Not for lack of trying; the only reason you haven’t been ticketed is because your father knows the police chief. That doesn’t mean you’re a qualified driver.”

“Alright princess, if I’m such a terrible driver, why don’t you drive?”

Stephanie was silent for a moment, eyes narrowing as she tried not to punch that smug smile off his face. She was a full-figured and curvy girl who wasn't used to much male attention. She decided this time she was going to be gutsy.  Finally, she sighed, grabbing the keys from his hand and straddling the bike, “Fine, I will."

Jeffrey looked at her incredulously, before throwing his head back and laughing. “Oh, come on sweetheart, I was just joking. No need to go and get us both killed.”

“Oh please, I’ve been riding bikes before you learned to ride, just hold on and try not to swoon over what real riding looks like.”

“You know, that almost sounds kind of kinky,” Jeffrey winked, putting on a helmet of his own and sitting on the bike behind her. “If we get a ticket, you’re on your own.”

Stephanie looked back at him, lifting her visor and giving him a solemn look. “We’ll only get a ticket if we get caught, now come on rich boy, let’s go.”

She grinned as Jeffrey, who had been casually leaning back in the seat, wrapped his arms around her curvy waist and clung to her for dear life as she started the motorcycle and peeled out of the parking lot.

Stephanie had missed this, feeling the wind in her hair and seeing the world whipping by her quickly through the tint of her helmet’s visor. She had missed the rush of riding, the feeling of limitlessness that the open road gave her. After her parents had divorced, she and her father never went riding anymore. It was only now that she realized how much she regretted that fact.

“Where’d you learn to ride?” Jeffrey yelled over the sounds of the night and the wind.

“My dad,” Stephanie said, not wanting to go into any more detail. She turned, not knowing where she was headed but loving the journey nonetheless.

After about ten minutes of riding aimlessly, Stephanie finally decided it might be good to pick a destination. “Where were you planning on taking me anyway?” she asked over the roar of the engine.

She felt Jeffrey shrug against her, and with his movement realized that she had been enjoying the warmth of his body. She rolled her shoulders, attempting to rid herself of the feeling.

“I don’t know,” Jeffrey said after a moment, “I was planning on making it up as we went.”

“Any ideas yet?”

“Nope, it’s all you baby.”

Stephanie rolled her eyes at the pet name but thought it was best not to argue, and instead focused on where she wanted to go. After a few more minutes of driving, an idea finally came to her and she hung a left, taking them to her destination.

“So where are we going Captain?” Jeffrey asked, nestling his chin on her shoulder and squeezing her a bit tighter as he shifted a bit.

She turned, offering him a tiny little secretive smile before focusing back on the road. “You know if I told you it would ruin the surprise.”

Jeffrey chuckled at his own words being thrown back at him as he sat back, deciding to just enjoy the ride.

After about fifteen more minutes of driving along roads that were becoming less and less populated, Stephanie finally slowed the bike until they came to a stop along the top of what appeared to be a large hill. After she shut the bike off, Jeffrey climbed off, cordially helping Stephanie climb off and, despite having a tiny peek first, politely looked away as she adjusted her dress that had hiked up during the ride.