BAD LUST: A Stepbrother Romance (A Step Over the Line Book Book 1) by Aurora Hayes, Ana W. Fawkes Page B

be down in a few
minutes. ”
    She slams the door in my face. I
take a deep breath and inhale the sweet, warm scent of her soap and shampoo. I
make fists and put my head back.
    I need … something. I fucking need Jade. Maybe just one
more time.
    Yeah, right.

 
    8.
     
    (Jade)
     
    I walk into the dining room
and it looks like a goddamn circus. My father at the head of the table,
standing with a glass of scotch in his hand. Rebecca sitting to his left in a
beautiful yellow dress. Her hair pinned up with a yellow flower that matches
the dress. She looks elegant, but I can ’ t
be sure she ’ s happy.
    When I look at Jake, my heart skips
a beat. I can ’ t help that
it happens. He ’ s in a black
t-shirt, his face scruffy, but his eyes dark and deadly as he looks at me. My
mind thinks about him at my bedroom door. Standing there, making comments about
my nipples. I had no clue he ’ d
be at the door so I hurried and just put on a shirt. The shirt rubbed against
my nipples and made them hard. And, plus, it was freaking Jake at the door. At
my bedroom door. Sending all my fantasies running wild.
    He ’ s
bold enough to have his leather jacket hanging off the back of his chair.
Imagine this long dining room table oozing with fanciness … and here ’ s this rough looking bad boy at the table with a
leather jacket on his chair. He ’ s
a rebel and he ’ s so hot.
    But that ’ s not it.
    There ’ s
two chefs, standing with platters of food. There ’ s
two other people with cameras. And someone with a notebook. This is going to be
spun into a story. I can already see business magazines picking up the story.
How Thomas Werlem spent his finest years managing a multibillion dollar company
while raising a daughter on his own. Now he ’ s
married and looking to the future. The man who does it all. The man who can
have it all.
    “ Please,
Jade, have a seat, ” my
father says.
    “ Jade,
you look beautiful, ” Rebecca says.
    I ’ m
not wearing anything fancy. But I am still wearing that white shirt Jake caught
me in.
    I take a seat right between my father
and Jake.
    I quickly feel Jake kick his foot
against mine. I try to save face and not make any kind of movement or sign that
he ’ s kicked me.
    For the next hour we are
photographed as we talk, eat, and force smiles. My father brings up new
potential companies to invest in. He talks to me about perhaps working closely
with him with a couple of them, learning the ins and outs of becoming a venture
capitalist. He even looks at Jake, pretending to care about Jake ’ s hobbies. That ’ s when I learn that Jake likes
to build things. He ’ s not
just big and athletic - and a complete asshole - but he ’ s kind of smart. He likes to work on old cars and
build motorcycles. Definitely not the kind of person you ’ d see stalking around the campus of West
Wutherford.
    I ’ m
almost in shock by the time he ’ s
done talking.
    That ’ s
when the photographer snaps a few more shots and the reporter asks a few more
generic questions about my father ’ s
aspirations to run for office. The entire thing goes to plan, which makes my
father happy. He has another glass of scotch.
    “ How
about a glass for me? ” Jake
asks.
    A bold question to my father. He
never shares his scotch unless there ’ s
money involved in some kind of deal.
    “ Sure
thing, son, ” my father
says. “ Let ’ s get you a glass. ”
    Jake takes a sip of scotch and
smacks his lips together. “ Definitely
better than the shit I drink. ”
    “ Jake,
the language, ” his mother
growls.
    “ Sorry, ” Jake says. He holds up his
glass. “ Definitely better
than the fucking shit I drink. ”
    His mother shakes her head in
disgust.
    “ So, ” my father says. “ I ’ m
a little confused. ”
    “ Why? ” I ask.
    “ You
two are lying. ”
    He points to me and Jake. The
scotch is working its magic on him. This is not his second glass, that ’ s for sure. Maybe his second
with dinner, but not total