Bliss: A Step Brother Romance Read online

  “Stop the car.”

  She obeyed without a word and we switched places. Despite my lingering grogginess, I managed to drive faster than her. She only directed me here and there, as she was the only one who knew where that cabin was.

  “On the other side of the lake. Cross the bridge and make a right. The cabin is right at the edge of the water.”

  I followed her instructions, then stopped the car behind a dark blue truck. I didn’t even stop the engine, I just jumped out of the car and towards the wooden cabin.

  “Eva!”

  The door was locked. “Do you have a key?” I asked Maggie, who was at my side. She shook her head.

  “Step away,” I told her and took a step back myself. Then I leaned onto my left heel and plunged my right foot right next to the door lock. After several tries, I managed to splinter the wood enough so I could open it with my hands.

  A searing pain went up my shin as I ran inside.

  “The bedroom is down the hallway,” Maggie pointed. I left her crying in the living room and went in search for the bedroom.

  Easy enough to find, as it was one door of only two down that hallway. I kicked in both and finally found Alex on top of Eva.

  “Bastard!”

  She looked weak, like she was drugged or drunk, barely fighting him off. He had the upper hand and had already ripped her dress open. When I pulled him off her, he had just hiked her skirt above her hips and was working on getting rid of her panties.

  “Fucking prick!” I growled before punching him in the face. He stumbled a few feet towards the door but I wasn’t going to let him escape so I went for his shirt but missed by inches. Out of nowhere, I felt the air being sucked out of my lungs. He had sucker punched me.

  “You stupid cow!” he yelled. I heard the slap and Maggie’s small scream as he ran out.

  “Oh, no.”

  I forced myself to a standing position and followed him.

  “Call an ambulance for Eva. Stay with her!” I shouted at Maggie before bolting out the front door.

  EVA

  “David...” I managed to whisper coherently. “David.”

  “Eva, you’re gonna be alright. I called an ambulance. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

  At first, I didn’t recognize the voice, but then I saw Maggie. A wave of nausea hit me full force as I sat up.

  “Lay down. The ambulance is on the way,” she said. I fought her off and stood.

  “David.” I kept saying as I stumbled out of the room.

  “Eva, wait! You’re not well. Come back!”

  I hugged the walls all the way out. The cold seeped into my bones the minute I opened the door. It helped with the dizziness.

  I half crawled a few steps, more and more disoriented.

  “David! Baby, where are you?” It took me almost superhuman strength to shout, but once I started, I kept going. “David!”

  I thought I heard something. “The lake!”

  The dizziness and nausea held me back, but I fought it with everything I had. The noise was becoming clearer; grunts.

  “David? David!”

  The splash came before I saw the water swallow them. My scream pierced the night but it felt foreign to me, like somebody else’s voice.

  “David!”

  I tried to run towards the water, but only managed to stumble and fall on my knees at it’s edge.

  “David!”

  Someone turned the outside lights on, but it didn’t reach too far. I could barely see over the surface of the lake.

  My lungs were burning and it felt like I was ripping my throat apart, but I didn’t stop screaming. My body fought the madness back and, after a few forces heaves, I doubled over and puked. Then I screamed again.

  Nobody was around. I had to do something. I crawled closer to the water and pushed myself into it; I had to save David.

  Someone grabbed me by the waist and hurled be back on the grass.

  “No! David!” I protested, so confused I had trouble remembering where I was.

  “It’s alright. We’ll save him,” a man said before leaving me alone. I stared at the sky for what felt like hours, in a state of complete immobilization. Then, I heard the sirens.

  “Miss, can you hear me?”

  The sudden crispiness of the paramedic’s voice woke me up. I couldn’t have been sleeping, I was in a sitting position, wrapped up in a blanket.

  “Miss, can you hear me? Can you tell me your name?”

  She shoved a light in my eyes and I blinked.

  “Her name is Eva...” Maggie started to answer for me.

  “Where’s David?”

  “Who’s that, Miss?”

  “My boyfriend. Is he alright?”

  “He’s on his way to a hospital. How are you feeling?”

  “Miss, can I have a moment with you?”

  I looked up at the man in a police uniform and panicked. David wasn’t alright. Otherwise why would the police be here?

  “Where’s David?”

  “He’s being taken to a hospital, Miss. I’m officer Garrett. Miss, can you tell me what happened here?”

  “I need to get her to a hospital, officer,” the paramedic argued.

  “In a minute, Ma’am. Just let me have a word with her.”

  “Sir, you can talk to her when...”

  “I want to see David,” I intervened.

  “What happened here, Miss?”

  I frowned. Too many people were talking around me. Strangely enough, it was quiet, despite the deafening noise from the police officers roaming around, asking questions and looking for things in the grass.

  “Can you tell me what happened, Miss? Eva?” The policeman crouched in front of me, trying to make eye contact. I looked away.

  “He tried to rape me.”

  “Who? Your boyfriend?”

  “No! Alex.”

  “Who’s Alex, Eva?”

  “He’s my brother. Her ex,” Maggie explained.

  “I was at the party. I saw David, he was in bed with another girl... I... I had some drinks, and Alex came. And I went with him. Why did I go with him? Oh, God...”

  “What party, Eva?”

  “Where’s David? Where are you taking him?” I asked on a more demanding tone.

  “He’s going to a hospital, Miss. He’s...”

  “What hospital? I want to see him!”

  Sudden panic took over my mind and I started screaming David’s name.

  “He killed him! David! I want to see David! I want to be with him!”

  The policeman tried to put the blanket back on my shoulders but all I could see was Alex forcing me on the bed. I pushed officer Garrett with all my strength and when the paramedic tried to restrain me, I fought her off.

  “David! Help!”

  “We need to sedate her! John!” the paramedic shouted as officer Garrett grabbed my hands.

  “Help! Take me to David! I need to be with David!” I screamed before I felt a sting I couldn’t quite locate. Then I puked again.

  ***

  My knuckles had turned white from how hard I was squeezing David’s hand. I couldn’t take my eyes off his sleeping face.

  “Just wanted to check everything was alright, Miss,” the nurse said from the door.

  “Yes, thank you. Everything is fine.”

  And it was. Everything was finally quiet.

  David had been sleeping all through the morning and long after noon. He had woken up a few times, but didn’t seem able to talk or be aware of his surroundings. The doctors told me it was because of the drugs in his system.

  I understood perfectly. I, myself, was still feeling weak from last night. But everything was OK, David was alive and safe.

  “Hey,” I heard his voice. It was quiet, but it sounded like the loudest thing for me.

  “Hey, baby. You’re awake.”

  He squeezed my hand back and smiled. “Are you OK, babe?”

  I nodded, tears choking my words.

  “Come
here, don’t cry,” he said and raised his hands for a hug. I leaned in and pressed my head against his cheek.

  “What about...?”

  “He’s been arrested. Everything is fine, baby. You saved me.”

  He hugged me tighter and I let my weight next to him.

  “I’ll never let you go,” I said to him.

  “I’ll never leave you,” he replied.

  We spent minutes in silence. I couldn’t stop crying.

  “Hey, why are you crying now? Everything is fine, baby,” he whispered, caressing my hair.

  I nodded.

  “Come on, baby. What do you say — stop being so dramatic?”

  I lifted my head and softly punched him in the stomach.

  “Ouch!”

  “I’m sorry, baby. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

  “Gotcha!”

  “You dick!”

  “Come here and kiss me.”

  I pouted, but couldn’t keep it up for long. I wanted badly to kiss him, so I did.

  “I promise you, I will never leave you,” he reiterated.

  I smiled bitterly. “That seems almost impossible.”

  He looked me in the eyes; he understood. How could we possibly be together? Our parents were together, which meant we had to be apart.

  I started crying again. I didn’t want him to see, so I looked out the window.

  “You know what? I don’t care,” he said, with finality in his voice.

  “You don’t?”

  “It makes you cry. I hate that. And it means we can’t be together. So, yeah, I don’t care. I want to be with you.”

  “I want that too, but...”

  “No, you know what? I’m going to talk to my father. I’ll tell him everything. I want to be with you, I need to be with you. And I’ll make that happen.”

  His conviction made me smile. “Speaking of your father, he’s going to be here any minute. He called.”

  “I’ll tell him then.”

  I rose from his side and walked to the window.

  “You think long distance would work for us?” I asked.

  “Who said anything about long distance, baby?”

  “Well, I study here, and you work...”

  “I can transfer here.”

  I opened my mouth to argue that his career couldn’t possibly benefit from such a thing, but then a thought sprung to my mind.

  “It would be easier for me to relocate. I can transfer credits easily.”

  He grinned. It made me happy to make him happy. If he was willing to make such a change in his life, it was only right I was as well.

  “I’d do anything for you,” I said. I wanted him to know how I felt.

  “I love you, baby.”

  “I love you too.”

  Me standing next to the window and him in bed was too great of a distance for me, so I sat next to him again, holding his hand.

  “Wouldn’t everything be perfect?” he asked. “We’d live together, and I can take care of you.”

  “Hold on for a second, cowboy. First, I have to nurse you back to health, then we can talk about who’s taking care of whom.”

  Laughing must’ve hurt him, as he pressed a hand on his midriff and looked like he was in pain.

  “Are you OK, baby?”

  “Yeah, I’m fine.”

  I reached a hand and caressed the spot where Alex hit him. He stopped my hand and interlaced his fingers with mine. We shared a smile that spoke louder than any words.

  Our moment was interrupted by the buzzing of my phone. I glanced over to the nightstand and my smile disappeared.

  “What is it, baby?”

  “Nothing.”

  “Come on, baby. Tell me,” he encouraged me, kissing my hand.

  I shook my head. “It’s just... I’m so sad I’ll be doing this to my mother. She’s only starting to go out again and here I am, hurting her.”

  “You’re not hurting me, baby.”

  I jumped up when I heard my mum’s voice. She was standing in the door, next to George. I was so ashamed, I started crying.

  “It’s alright, Eva. Really.”

  “Mum...”

  She came and hugged me, her perfume enveloping me like a protective shield.

  “We wouldn’t have worked out anyway,” George said. “We didn’t quite click.”

  “What?”

  “Oh, no, don’t worry. Your mother is a very nice person,” he said, raising his hands defensively.

  “Isn’t that what they usually say?” Mum joked.

  They exchanged glances, grinning like they had made a secret understanding.

  “So, we’re good?” David broke the silence.

  “Yes, we are,” Mum replied, squeezing my shoulders.

  “You’re going to be fine?” I asked her quietly.

  “Yes, baby. Don’t worry about me, I’m a big girl. Are you alright?”

  “Yes, Mum. I am now.”

  I looked at David, overflowing with happiness. He smiled back and everything really seemed alright.

  “And, if it bothers you, your mum and I never slept together,” George added, grinning.

  “Dad! Too much information!”

  My mum started laughing, followed by George’s low chuckle. Even I couldn’t help but smile.

  “Needless to say, we’re moving in together,” David stated and grabbed my hand.

  THE END

  Tender Touch

  A Bad Boy Romance

  Cristal Pierre

  Chapter 1

  “Ooooh yeeessss, mmmmmm”

  “Hhahahahahhaa oooooooooo, yes, right there, right there, right there baby”

  “You like that huh you sexy bitch?”

  “mmmmmhahahahahhmmmm. Lick my clit, you asshole, lick it harder”

  Janine Williams threw a pillow at the wall over her in frustration.

  She looked at the wall clock. 3 AM.

  “How the fuck were they still going at it?

  Who has such stamina? How is the guy not dead yet?” Janine wondered, frustrated, but too tired and sleepy to get up and fight with Stacey next door.

  This had been going on for quite some time now.

  Every night her neighbors would decide to have mad, passionate sex, that would go on till wee hours of the night. They loved getting everyone on the floor involved in their animalistic, loud lovemaking

  It had been going on for a month now and Janine had just not been able to sleep at nights anymore.

  Janine Williams had just moved to L.A. two months ago with stars in her eyes. No, she was not here to be an actor or an entertainer. She wanted to be a publicist. She was an Oklahoma girl with big dreams. She had always wanted to get into Public Relations. She was majorly interested in managing celebrity careers and was fascinated by the idea of choosing to live in Los Angeles for that.

  L.A. was where the celebrity scene was. The country’s top celebrity image management companies were here and she had desperately wanted to get into PWR.

  PWR’S illustrious client list included the likes of Renee Zellweger, Jasonny Galecki, Blake Lively, Viggo Mortensen to name a few. PWR was known for their strict adherence to professionalism and brilliant networking skills. They only took the best interns under their kitty and polished them like diamonds. Basically, their expectations from their workforce was very high.

  Janine had been top of her class while studying MBA in Public Relations at Columbia University. She had worked really hard to get to the top and all her ideas had been applauded at school events, competitions and exams.

  It had been a long and tortuous road but she had not regretted anything. Except, of course, her parents had stopped talking to her years ago.

  Janine was a from a very conservative Oklahoma family full of accountants and financial advisers. It was safe, comfortable and boring. She hated safe. She was grateful for a very comfortable childhood, but she had not wanted to choose a life working in finance.