Anti-Stepbrother

He was—I didn’t know what he was. Considerate, sensitive, rational—those were all things he was not. My anger grew more and more as he kept talking. I had to get out of here. If I didn’t, I was going to blow up, and I didn’t want to say something I’d regret later.

I stood and gestured to the door. “I’m going to head out. I just wanted to check on you. I see you’re still alive.”

I meant to leave after that, but he caught me. He touched my arm, pulled me in for a hug. I stiffened, but he didn’t seem to mind. He buried his head in the crook of my neck.

“Thank you. I mean it. Thank you for coming. It means a lot.” He let go, leaning back but still holding me in his arms.

My heart would’ve soared not long ago.

He smiled down at me. “I’ve taken you for granted. I’m sorry, Summer. I really am.”

Standing there, in his arms again, and with those words carrying a note of sincerity—my heart still did another somersault, and I hated myself.

I stepped back until his hands fell to his side. “I’ll see you later, Kevin.”

He waved. “See you. Don’t forget to call your dad. Thanks!”

He shouted the last word at me as I hurried down the hall. Once through the basement door, I leaned back against it.

I closed my eyes and cursed. Fucking hell.

“So you do have feelings for him?”

I recognized Caden’s voice, and my heart froze.

Caden looked delicious.

That was my first thought as I stood there, unsure what to say. Jerking away from the basement door, I tried to speak, but my jaw had ceased working for some reason.

He had a beer in hand, his jeans riding low on his hips. His tattoos peeked out from under his shirt. It was nothing except a simple white T-shirt, but holy goodness—it was a sight, hugging his body. I could see every stomach muscle he had. They bulged, stretched, and shifted as he lifted that beer to his lips.

I licked my lips, and I even knew I’d licked my lips. Goddamn.

Then I clued in to one simple fact: the annoying Kevin flutters were gone.

Caden laughed bitterly, moving around me. “I thought you would at least lie, but no. Gotta hand it to you, Stoltz. You’re honest to a fault.” He moved past me and glanced down with a half-smirk. “Thanks for that.”

“Wait.” I turned with him, following him down the hallway and out a back door. “What do you mean?”

We crossed the backyard, and I followed Caden inside the shed. It was like a mini apartment. A coat rack hung to my left with a bathroom right in front of me. The first part of the room was a living room, with a sectional couch in front of a large projector screen. The kitchen was against the back of the shed, and as I stood there, taking everything in, Caden set his beer down on a counter and ducked behind the bathroom into a bedroom. He left the door open as he reached up to pull his shirt off.

My heart jolted.

Holy mother of—desire like I’d never felt before rushed over me. It started low and exploded. I should’ve looked away, but all restraint was gone. I found myself tracing every part of him, even the muscles leading down into his jeans, which, as he finished tugging a shirt down, dipped even lower.

Primal lust rippled in me, taking a dizzying hold, and when Caden lifted his head, his eyes finding me, he saw it. I knew he did. He paused, his eyes darkening in response. Then that damned smirk was back, and he came toward me.

My heart leaped to my throat.

He was going to touch me…nope. He didn’t. He went right past me, his arm grazing mine as he asked, his breath teasing my ear, “Want a beer?”

Then he was gone, moving a safe distance away.

The refrigerator opened behind me. I didn’t move. For a second, I stood with my back to him and tried to get control of myself. I raked my hands through my hair and silently cursed. My hands were trembling.

I’d always been in control around Kevin. Always. I might’ve been delusional, seeing things that weren’t there and convincing myself he was half in love with me too, but the entire time, I’d had total and complete control.

I saw Caden with his shirt off, and I damn near wet my pants. Literally.

I drew in a ragged breath.

“I know I’m hot, but don’t get ahead of yourself.”

This was so embarrassing, but I forced myself to turn around. He held a beer out for me, his smirk too suggestive and cocky for his own good.

He added, “It’s called the rebound. It’s a knee-jerk response.”

I took the beer. It was cold. I wrapped both my hands around it and was half tempted to rub it over my face. “What are you talking about?”

“I don’t know what Matthews did to you, but it’s obvious he broke your heart.”

The lust was fading…kind of…it was on a low simmer now. “On a scale from one to ten, where ten is being blatantly billboard kind of obvious, where do you place me?”

He studied me for a beat. “An eight.”

I sucked in my breath. “Are you serious?”

He sat at one end of his couch and kicked his feet up on the coffee table. I took the other end, sitting sideways so I faced him.

“Just because of the first night. If I hadn’t seen you that night, I’d never know.”

“Really?” I could breathe easier.

“You’re attracted to me because I hurt the person who hurt you.”

I gave him a dubious look.

“Or not?” His eyes narrowed, thoughtfully.