Forbidden: A Stepbrother Secret Baby Romance by Vesper Vaughn Read Free Book Online Page B

I can’t let him know that. Instead, I’m going to take my anger out on him.
    Jax grins at me. His feet move and there is a gentle scraping of woven fabric as he leans against the stucco wall. "I thought...I thought you were one of the staff," he replies evenly.
    "The staff? You think my mother would hire an eight-months pregnant woman to work an event?" I scoff. "You clearly know her just about as well as I know your father."
    "You weren't exactly forthcoming about who you were," Jax spits back.
    "I'm not in the habit of disclosing my identity to complete strangers. But at least I didn't lie about it. Mister sommelier.”
    Silence falls over us again. I am suddenly aware that the buzzing conversation from the party has stopped. I hear the screech of feedback from a microphone and panic sets into my soul. "Oh God," I say, struggling to pull my feet off of the planter and slip my shoes back on.
    "What?"Jax asks me, sounding panicked.
    "They're about to do the toast," I say, unable to heave myself out of the rickety chair. "A little help here, please?"
    Jax is in front of me in a flash. His strong hands pull me up easily, the callouses scraping the soft skin of my palms. Tingles erupt across my body. I trip slightly and fall forward into him, my belly stopping me before my tits are smashed against his chest. I suddenly realize with our height difference that my bellybutton is digging into his crotch. I feel a growing hardness in his pants and I blush. He doesn't let go of my hands quite quickly enough.
    "We've gotta go," I say, interrupting the tension-filled moment. "My mom's going to kill me."
    We run as quickly as we can with me setting a slow, lumbering pace. I'm sure I look ridiculous waddling across the pool deck toward the back room of the house. We make it to the open back doors just as my mother is taking the microphone.
    "First off, I'd like you all to meet my lovely daughter, Tessa, who is also here with my soon-to-be-born first grandchild." My mom's eyes fly wildly around the room as she looks for me. I raise my arm into the air and wave. Her eyes alight on me and then flash briefly over to Jax, who nearly ran into me after I stopped abruptly. A quick look of disapproval flashes over her face. "Ah, there she is. Wave to the crowd, Tessa." My mom plasters on a smile as the crowd applauds my appearance. "And right behind her is my new son, Jax. I'm glad to see you and Tessa have become fast friends."
    There is a cold evenness to her voice that unnerves me. I tell myself I am assigning meaning to her words that she hasn't intended. I wear a fake smile of my own as I turn around to clap politely for Jax.
    Our eyes meet for the briefest instant and I see fire flash across his eyes. It’s soon replaced by his typical, steely-eyed look and a cocky smirk. As soon as the toast is over, he’s gone.

CHAPTER NINE
    JAX
    The string music needs to fucking stop. I can't fucking take it.
    I sip my glass of whiskey in the corner of the room, hoping that I'm well-hidden behind this fern. I know my massive body is easy to spot, but with any luck my father will be occupied enough with his blushing bride and the sycophants milling around to not bother me tonight. It's the last fucking thing I need.
    I knock back the rest of the glass and hand it to a server carrying a loaded tray of empty glasses. "Thanks," I mutter, reaching instinctively into my pocket and pulling out a hundred-dollar bill. "Hey, wait a second."
    The pimply-faced server looks back at me. He looks a little scared. "Y-yes, sir?" he stammers.
    Jesus. I didn't mean to make the kid shit himself. "This is yours if you can keep that man over there-" I point to the silver-gray head laughing along with some country club asshole - "Drunk and away from me for the rest of the night. Okay?"
    The kid looks wide-eyed at the money. "Uh-"
    "There's another hundred waiting for you at the end of the night, okay?" I say.
    He gulps and nods, smiling. "Thanks, mister!"
    "Don't thank me