Billionaire Stepbrother: Autumn (Our Forbidden Year Book 2) by Emilia Beaumont Page B

noises as it continues to fills the area… It reminds us both, perhaps, of our broken selves, our ever present flaws.
    Lex looks away, and I notice a barely visible shake of his head, as if he’s trying to erase the last few seconds… or weeks. Almost inaudible, I hear him mutter, “…not the way it should be.”
    Turning back to face me, his hand lifts from my wrist, and gently, ever so lightly with his fingertips, he raises my chin so that my eyes rest upon his.
    “I’m sorry,” he whispers. His face suddenly turns to stone, as if he were a robot, and his emotion–chip was deactivated. “I’m leaving.”
    I scrunch my face up in confusion. I search his eyes, trying to find the real meaning in his words. Why was he saying this? This was not my Lex. Where was the dominance, my punishment? He’s given up. This is not how I wanted to win!
    I look again; he’s serious and perfectly calm as if there never was and never will be another storm between us.

Chapter Two

    M y mind goes blank; I can’t think what to say to him. The words fail to leave my lips. How can he just leave? He can’t just forget what we have.
    Not believing him, I manage to stutter, “What? Why? You can’t go.”
    For a second, his crystal blue eyes fill with regret, a trace of emotion… but his rigid face tells a different story.
    Lex pulls the silk robe free from my hands and shakes it out. He holds it out upright, clearly wanting me to slip it on. This feels so weird; he’s normally so anxious for me to be naked. After a few moments his fingers make a delicate knot, and the silk belt is securely tied around my waist.
    I step forward, hoping my closeness will encourage him to explain himself. I need to feel his body up against mine. I start to reach for his cock, but he carefully pushes me away like a meal he’s finished with. His warm hands cup my face and hope spreads through me. He won’t leave me; it was all just a silly game. Please let it all be a game…
    Lex stares at me, but his eyes don’t engage with mine; I am made of glass and he’s looking right through me. I go ice–cold.
    “I’m bored with you,” he declares with malice, and my stomach drops as if it’s been tossed out the window like trash, my heart along with it. He lets go of me and walks away, never glancing back.
    I push back the pain and use it to stoke the raging fire of anger that is quickly bubbling to the surface.
    “You’re a liar!” I yell at his back, trying desperately to dam the tears that threaten to tumble down. My mind is racing. What can I say to make him turn back?
    “Lex, don’t go,” I plead. The past few weeks have been a big ball of ecstasy; emotions flying everywhere, letting him do things to me I never thought I’d do. But I find myself longing and needing those touches now. We can’t be over. I can’t have been one of his playthings. I thought I was more than that to him.
    It was a mistake to say it, but I said it anyway. The words fell from my mouth whether I wanted them to or not.
    “Lex, I love you.”
    “You mean nothing to me,” I hear him say, and the pain in my chest increases. He doesn’t look back; he keeps marching towards the elevator as if I were inconsequential, no longer worth his time.
    I want to shout and declare my love to him again and again, to make him see reason, but I bite my tongue. I walk after him, my bare feet padding across the tile floor, and I keep my eyes fixed upon his retreating back.
    “Lex! You can’t just leave me.” I launch into a run as he steps into the elevator, and I fully realise this is not a game; he’s not playing. This is real; this is the end, game–over.
    The reflective elevator doors slide shut just as I arrive; too late to stop them closing. I prod the lift buttons frantically, but it’s no use; I’ve never been able, or allowed, to step out of this apartment since that very first night. Lex has full control over Chamberlin Tower in his father’s absence. And he is able