Stepbrother's Unbridled Passion Boxed Set (2 page)

Chapter 1

Chloe
–
Present

Excitement rushed through Chloe as she raised her fist, poised to knock on the door of her stepbrother Ryker's apartment. In a couple of weeks, she'd be starting classes at Cambridge and she was overwhelmed with eagerness. However, she had one little problem; she had no place to stay since all of her funds were going toward her books. Thankfully, Ryker had offered to let her stay at his place while she attended classes.

Chloe had to admit to herself that being able to move out of her parents' house in Bangor, Maine, gave her a feeling of independence that she’d always craved. The fact she was going to finally get to spend some time alone with Ryker made her even more excited about the move. Despite spending the past couple of years attempting to persuade herself that she didn’t have romantic feelings for him, she was never able to fully convince herself.

A couple of years after the incident at the hot tub, he left home and went to the police academy and then took a job on the Boston police force. In those two years of living with him, they'd developed a close bond – as siblings. Despite herself, she'd continued to long for it to be more, however, Ryker had remained oblivious to her interest.

Now, three years after the hot tub ordeal, Chloe was no longer a kid and a part of her hoped he'd see her as the woman she'd become. In the past, he’d seen her as a dorkish little girl he would tease and call "Chirps." Even dating and sleeping with a couple of his friends didn’t seem to change his view of her.

Taking a deep breath in to calm her rattled nerves, she knocked lightly and waited. There was no answer. A frown touched her face, as she contemplated what she would do next – she had nowhere to go. Where was Ryker and most importantly, why was he not answering his front door? It was Sunday morning and Chloe knew that he had the weekend off so he should be home.

She knocked again, a little harder this time. Inside, she heard some noises and the chatter of voices, followed by heavy footsteps coming toward the door.

Chewing at her bottom lip, she attempted to look casual despite the racing of her heart at the prospect of seeing him after close to a year.

The lock clicked and the door was flung open to reveal Ryker. Her breath caught in her throat as her eyes scanned his amazing body – naked from the waist up. His black lounge pants hung low on his hips, showing off his well cut abdominals. As her eyes travelled upwards, she took in his well formed muscular chest and powerful shoulders.

"What are you doing here, Chloe?"

Frowning, her eyes met his as she motioned toward the luggage the cabbie had lugged up two flights of stairs for her just moments before. "Ummm. I'm going to be living here? Remember?"

She attempted to brush past him, but he stood his ground, blocking the entrance to his apartment. Running a hand through his short, dark hair, Ryker looked back over his shoulder and into the apartment. "Yeah, but you weren't due here until tomorrow."

"Well, I was ready and came early. Don't be a dick, let me in. What's wrong with you?" She grabbed the handle of her suitcase and attempted to push her way past him to be stopped for a second time.

Stepping out into the hallway he pulled the door closed behind him and stepped closer to her, lowering his voice. "Listen, can you maybe come back in an hour or two?"

Crossing her arms over her chest she glared up at him, her 5'4 frame eclipsed by his larger one, which was almost a foot taller. "You know what? It's 9am and we're in downtown Boston. There's a drunk passed out in the lobby of the building and I'm not familiar with the city. So to answer your question, no, I cannot come back. Let me in. Now!"

He sighed. "Fine. Five minutes, please."

Pulling out her cell phone she hit her contacts button and showed the display to him. "If you don't let me in in five minutes, I'm calling your mother."

A grin tugged at the corners of his lips, his dark green eyes gleaming with amusement. "Seriously, you’re calling Mom on me?"

"Damn right, big brother, and you know how she can be."

His jaw clenched. "All right. Five minutes. Promise." He disappeared back into the apartment before she had a chance to say another word, followed by the sound of the deadbolt locking behind him.

Chloe's eyes scanned the dingy hallway of his apartment building. It left a lot to be desired – peeling paint, a couple of burnt-out sconces and scuffed and dirty ceramic floors. It was a far cry from her parents’ five-bedroom, 5,000-square-foot home in Bangor. "Welcome to the real world, Chloe," she muttered to herself.

Voices sounded from within the apartment and it dawned on her what was going on. Ryker had a girl inside. A coil of jealousy formed in the pit of her stomach. The voices got louder and she couldn't help but put her ear to the door in an attempt to hear what was being said.

The door opened suddenly, nearly toppling her over, if she hadn't grabbed onto the wall to support herself. She blushed, looking up to see an annoyed, leggy blonde woman in a tight blue tube dress that left nothing to the imagination standing before her.

The woman's blue eyes glared at Chloe with a hostility that made her take a step back and shift uncomfortably from foot to foot. What was with the dirty glare Chloe had no idea, but whatever the woman's deal was, she didn't want any part of it.

"Sylvia, come on. Don't be like that." Ryker appeared behind the woman, but she ignored him, continuing to glare at Chloe with open hostility.

"You know what Ryker,
maybe
I'll call you sometime." She brushed past Chloe, purposely slamming her elbow into Chloe's upper arm.

"Ow, what the hell?" Chloe frowned as she rubbed her arm and watched the woman strut down the hallway. Once the woman disappeared down the stairs Chloe turned to Ryker, eyebrow raised. "I thought you were supposed to be arresting hookers, not taking them home."

Ryker's expression changed from annoyed to amused as he chuckled. "Yeah, well don't ever pick up women at bars. Not worth the headache."

Chloe rolled her eyes at him. "Hmmm. I'll try to remember that. I just hope you double wrapped it on that one."

Leaning past her, Ryker grabbed her two largest suitcases. "When did my sex life become your focus of interest?" He turned and walked back into the apartment. "Your room is this way."

Since the day I first met you
, she wanted to reply, but bit her tongue. Instead, she shrugged and said, "Just giving you some sisterly advice." Grabbing her remaining two bags, she followed him, closing the door with her heel. "I hear getting herpes sucks."

Ryker laughed. "I'll keep that in mind."

Chloe eyed Ryker's tight, muscular ass under his pants as he walked ahead of her. It was wrong, so, so wrong, she knew this, but she couldn't help it.
It isn't like he's my real brother
, she tried to justify her infatuation silently. It was an argument she’d had with herself more times than she could remember.

"Well, this is going to be your room." He set her bags down inside it and flicked on the light. The overhead ceiling fan came on as light illuminated the small space. "It's not much compared to home, but..."

The room was sparsely furnished with a bed, nightstand and dresser, and the walls an off-white. "It's fine." She smiled up at him. "I'm a college student getting free rent; I'll take what I can get."

~*~ TT ~*~

Ryker

Ryker watched Chloe survey the bedroom with slight embarrassment. He had planned on spending the day sprucing it up for her arrival the following day. His embarrassment over the bedroom was nothing, however, compared to her catching him with Sylvia. Sylvia had been a drunken mistake from the previous evening – nothing more.

One-night stands were not something he made a habit of, not anymore at least. He liked to think he’d outgrown his man-whore behavior, but he'd been as horny as hell lately, largely because Chloe was coming to live with him. He'd been avoiding going home to Bangor to visit because of her, more specifically because of his attraction to her. He’d decided it was better to keep the temptation at arm’s length than fight the urge to pull her into his arms and kiss her pouty glossed lips, and pull her curvy body tight against his cock. The sight of her with Calvin in the hot tub was still branded on his mind and pissed him off all over again each time he thought of it. That was the moment he’d realized how much he wanted her, and a twisted part of him wanted her even more because she was off limits.

Her living with him was going to be dangerous, but what choice did he have? She needed a place to stay and she'd worked hard to get the scholarship to pay her tuition, the least he could do was offer her a roof over her head for the duration of her studies. His attraction to her was his problem, not hers. Ryker knew he had to find a way to deal with the raging desire she evoked within him simply from looking at her and smelling the floral perfume that had been her favourite for years.

"I think I can do something with this," she said more to herself than him, pulling her lower lip between her teeth as she examined every inch of the room.

As she scrutinized the room, Ryker examined her gorgeous frame. She was wearing a pair of faded blue jeans that hugged her round ass to perfection and a form-fitting purple satin button-down shirt that had one too many buttons undone. From his vantage point, it gave him a perfect view of the contours of her breasts and the black lace bra containing them.

He growled at himself and looked away, feeling like some sort of pervert for sneaking a peek at his little stepsister's breasts. How in the hell he’d spent several years living with her at his folks’ place without doing something about it, he had no idea. Taking a deep breath, he raked a hand through his hair before stealthily making his way to the door; he needed to put as much distance between them as possible.

"Hey, did you say you were making me breakfast?" Chloe called after him.

Ryker paused at the doorway, a grin touching his lips. "Nope. Don't believe I did." Unless her cooking skill had improved dramatically, he figured he'd be doing most of the cooking for the both of them. He was sure she'd attempt to pitch in, but truth be known, he preferred she didn't in that respect.

"Could you?" she asked, her voice sweet and low, with much flattery lurking in it. He was instantly taken back to their younger years. Chloe hadn’t changed in that regard; she knew exactly how to get what she wanted.

His grin widened. "All right."

"I'll cook you supper in return." She chuckled lightly.

Dear God, I hope not
, he sniggered to himself, leaving the room and heading for the kitchen.

*****

Chloe

As Chloe put her clothing away in the dresser and closet, she wondered if she'd seen what she thought she had, or if it was just wishful thinking.

God, I just got here and I’m already reading more into his actions than what’s real
, she groaned inwardly. She was sure when she was checking out her room, Ryker had been checking out
her.
She really thought she was past her teenaged crush on him. Aside from his outburst at the hot tub, he'd never shown any interest before or after, so she knew she had to be mistaken. But, she was equally as sure she had seen a slight bulge pressing against the flannel lounge pants he was wearing.

Not possible, he can’t be interested
, she reasoned with herself, dismissing the thought because he'd just spent the night with the blonde. Why would he be with someone the day before she arrived if he had even a remote interest, right?

Hanging up her final blouse, she stashed the suitcases under the bed and wandered into the kitchen. Was he really interested? Wasn't he? Would it be smart to even try to find out? Having secret fantasies of her stepbrother was one thing, but to actually initiate something with him was a gamble.

The delicious smells of bacon and eggs frying made her stomach grumble as she entered the kitchen. Upon setting eyes on Ryker she was slightly disappointed to see that he'd pulled on a grey t-shirt with Boston PD printed across the chest.

"Something smells delicious." She walked over to him, and slid her fingers along his lower back as she came to stand beside him at the stove.

His body tensed at her touch, but quickly relaxed as he looked down at her, his green eyes piercing into her brown ones. "It's almost done."

"You cooking me Sunday morning breakfast; just like old times." She gave him a playful hip bump as she grabbed a piece of bacon from the plate he'd just placed it on. “Whenever the folks were away.”

"Not quite like old times," he said as he bumped her back and their eyes locked for just long enough to send a shiver through her. Clearing his throat and looking slightly uncomfortable, he reached into the overhead cabinet and pulled down a couple of plates, dividing up the food. Eggs, bacon, home fries and a slice of toast were arranged onto each of the plates before he handed her one.

"So what do you mean by not
quite
like old times?" she asked sitting down at the small wooden two-person kitchen table and popping another slice of bacon into her mouth.