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

felt…happy. I wasn't totally unaccustomed to the emotion, but that I could feel happy in this house, near the presence of the most disgusting piece of filth that had ever lived, was an insane turn of events.
    Almost as insane as sleeping with my stepsister.
    Not that I regretted it, not even a little bit. In fact, I couldn't wait to do it again. When Mia and I had been in the shower, it had taken every ounce of self-control not to take her again. It was only because I realize she was sore that I had held off. I was hoping she would feel better by tonight, but if not, I could control my animal urges at least another day.
    When I entered my mom's room, her nurse was just finishing up her bath, wiping down Laura's face, and she nodded to me with a friendly smile. She was probably ten years older than me, but there was a hint of interest in the nurse’s eyes. I didn't feel even a twinge of curiosity or a twitch of my dick. I was too consumed with thoughts of Mia to have any interest in other women.
    Man, that wasn't a good sign.
    My mom's eyes were bright, and she seemed alert today, indicating her pain medicine must be working, at least for now. I sat down in the chair beside her bed, asking, "Have you eaten anything?"
    She gave me the ghost of a smile, her painfully cracked lips curving upward just a bit. I winced along with her, because I could see the pain even a simple smile caused her. Right then, I couldn't wait for her to die. That sounded terrible, but I didn't mean it in a heartless way. There was nothing that was going to make her better. At least after she was gone, she wouldn't hurt anymore. While she was still here with me though, I was determined to take advantage of it and spend as much time with her as possible. I still felt so guilty that I had let eleven years lapse without trying to contact her.
    Shortly after I had run away, I had tried calling once. Of course, Dirk the dick had answered the phone instead, and though I hadn't spoken, he seemed to realize it was me. He had told me to disappear and stay gone, or I wouldn't like the consequences. When I had summoned the nerve to speak, because he had still left me a stuttering mess at that point, I had demanded to know what consequences. I still remembered his chilling words, spoken eleven years ago but just as crisp in my mind: "You might be out of my sphere of influence, but your mother isn't."
    Of course that terrified me as a seventeen-year-old boy, especially with my history of the bastard, but I couldn't believe now, as I sat by her bed with her hand in mine, that I had allowed it to intimidate me for eleven years. Would he have hurt my mother? I didn't know. The simple truth was by disappearing, I had made it easier on him, and if he had chosen to hurt her, I wouldn't have been around to stop him anyway. He had succeeded in driving us apart and running me off. I didn't know if that had always been his goal, or if he had just taken advantage of the opportunity when I had run away, finally having reached the end of my endurance.
    She squeezed my hand softly, her expression gentle. "How have you been, my boy?"
    A sad smile curled my lips at the use of the sweet endearment. I hadn't been a boy for a long time, at least mentally. I think I had grown up within two weeks of moving into the Gaithway household. "I'm doing all right." It was a modest answer, but I was doing better than all right. I hadn't won a championship yet, but I’d won one more matches than I’d lost, and I had a few endorsements. I was currently ranked in the Top Five of the Light Heavyweight division, and my prospects were fantastic. I was going to make it big, and both my agent and Lila agreed and believed in me.
    "I followed your fights sometimes."
    That surprised me, and I tilted my head slightly. "You watch UFC?"
    She smiled softly. "No, actually I don't. I was at a store one day, and they had a TV paying highlights of some match. I saw LeChance versus Domino, and when they shot to