Escape: A Stepbrother Romance Novella by Stephanie Brother Read Free Book Online Page A

on the TV.  And every time it happened I’d feel so
sad.  Did you remember me, Brandon?”
    “Yeah,”
he says.  “All the time.  But it doesn’t change anything.  We’re on opposite
sides now.  And you being here could threaten your livelihood and your life. 
So, as hard as it is for me to say this, you need to go.”
    “You’re
not tied here,” I say.
    “You
don’t understand.  This is where I belong now, Sammie. There are people in
there that won’t let me walk away, and they won’t want me to have something to
lose.  You understand?  I know too much now, I’ve done too much.”
    “What
have you done?” I ask, not really sure I want to know.
    “Things
that could get me put away for a long time.”
    “Oh,
Brandon.  What happened to you?” I say and he flinches.  My heart sinks,
knowing I’ve made a mistake. I’ve hurt his pride.  “I just miss you so much and
I hoped that I could change your mind.”
    He
shakes his head but his eyes stay on mine, filled with love and regret.  I move
my hand from his arm to his cheek and turn to press my forehead against his, my
eyes closing as I take the seconds I have to feel him.  Two tears slip from the
corners and run in cool streams down my cheeks, dripping from my jaw. 
    “Don’t
Sammie,” he murmurs.  “Don’t make this harder for me.”
    “How
can it get any harder?” I ask.  My sadness seems to weaken his resolve. He
slips his hands into my hair and holds us close.  I don’t expect it but his
lips graze the corner of my mouth and it’s like a jolt of pure lust.  He
exhales against my skin and I turn, just a fraction.  When his lips touch mine,
it’s just a glance but I feel it everywhere.  My mind feels like it’s going to
explode, and I can’t hold myself back.  I want him too much and that desire is like
a force of nature, twisting and pulling inside me.  I press closer to him, our
lips joining with more pressure and I lick out at the inside of his top lip,
needing to taste his mouth.  As if he has the same idea, the very tip of our
tongues touch and it’s just too much to bear without moaning.
    I
regret it as soon as I do.  It seems to jolt him from a dream-state because he
pulls back, looking at me like he’s woken up to discover himself doing
something terrible.
    “Sammie…”
he says in a way that sounds part warning, part apology.
    I
pull back and swipe and my face and then rest against my seat.  Brandon stands and
turns and I see him cupping one of his fists in his other large hand, the
picture of frustration.  After a few deep breaths that are obvious from the way
his back rises and falls, he turns and pats the car. 
    “You
go on now, it isn’t safe for you here.” His voice is so firm I know there is no
arguing.  My voice has been lost somewhere in that mind-blowing kiss.  “And get
rid of my tail.  He’s not going to see anything you want to know about.”  He
waits while I raise the window and then turns, striding across the road. 
    Fuck. 
That didn’t go as I’d planned at all.  I mirror his deep breathing to push down
all the terrible feelings I have inside.  I wish I’d never taken that phone
call from Adam.  I wish I’d never walked into that interview room and seen my
stepbrother again.  But I know my thinking all that is stupid because I’m so
damn glad I got to touch him again, even if it was fleeting. 
    I
start the car and just as I’m about to pull away I catch sight of a man on the
other side of the street.  He’s smoking a cigarette, just out of the shadow of
an alleyway on the opposite side from Jackson’s.  Rake thin, with dark hair
that curls up over the collar of his blue jacket, he’s creepy looking.  I glance
back at the bar.  Brandon has disappeared inside.  When I look back at the man
he’s still staring and the nerves on the back of my neck prickle in a wave.  I’m
being stupid, maybe because Bran has been so adamant that us seeing each other
is somehow