The Stepbrother 2: Noah

Creed-

Noah startled me when he approached.

I think I’d been sitting looking out the windows for hours, mind blank.

He crouched to my chair.

“Tell me what you need, Creed—what you really need to get through this sadness I see in you.

I know Maine's death has been hard on you, but I don’t want us to go backwards.

Your blood pressure is finally stable, and you’re due for a healthy pregnancy.

Just tell me what I can do to make things better… anything,”

he paused, then added, “anything that isn’t dangerous.”

I felt tears starting to well up again.

Scrunching my nose, I stared into Noah's eyes, feeling the weight of his concern.

“I don’t know… Just fix it.”

He pulled me into a hug.

"Let's get away for a while, just the two of us," he whispered.

"Somewhere peaceful, where you can heal.

I know the perfect place."

Two hours later, I woke up on a plane.

I blinked, disoriented, and found Noah lying in the bed beside me, his eyes watching me with quiet intensity.

He smiled when he saw I was awake, reaching out to smooth my hair behind my ear.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

I asked, feeling the heat of his gaze.

“Because you’re beautiful, and you’re mine.”

He pressed a tender kiss to my nose, making my heart flutter.

Then he pulled out a small velvet box and opened it to reveal a necklace with a delicate diamond pendant.

"It’s made from a strand of Maine's hair," he said softly.

“Noah… this is the most thoughtful gift.”

My voice broke as I placed soft kisses on his face.

He carefully fastened the necklace around my neck, his fingers lingering on the clasp.

"I wanted you to have a part of Maine with you, always."

I pulled him closer, letting my lips trace over his face, starting gentle but turning hungry, greedy, until I was tugging at him, silently begging for more.

"Ohhh, please…”

I whispered, a soft whine escaping, fingers clutching his arms, digging nails into his skin.

He finally shifted over me, filling the space I’d left open for him, and my thighs parted instinctively, giving him all the access he needed.

“Noah, please.”

He teased me, gliding his hard length between the folds of my wetness, just enough to make my breath hitch.

“Creed…”

he breathed, hovering over me before bending his head to drag his tongue over and between my breasts.

He circled his tongue over my right nipple, and it felt so good that a tiny moan slipped from between my pursed lips.

He grazed his teeth over my collarbone while still rocking against me.

I was nearly delirious.

He nipped at my bottom lip while his big hands massaged my hips, his fingers digging into the flesh.

“Tell me you love me, Creed.”

“I love you,”

I whispered.

It was true, but at that moment, I would have said anything he wanted me to.

"Open your eyes and tell me."

I hadn’t realized they were closed.

I shook my head, struggling to comply.

“Please, just fuck me.”

“Give me what I want, and I’ll give you what you need.”

His hand slipped between us, and he pressed himself to my opening, poised, holding himself back until I met his eyes.

“Tell me,”

he murmured, his lips brushing mine.

“Say it again.”

“I love you,”

I nearly yelled.

With a smirk curving his lips, he finally started to sink into me.

I wanted to wrap my legs around his waist, but I couldn’t because of my stomach; I settled for gripping his ass, pulling him deeper.

He groaned from the back of his throat.

“So fucking wet.”

He ground his hips into me, repeatedly brushing against my overly sensitive clit.

His mouth was on me, his hands everywhere, as if he wanted to worship me and devour me at the same time.

His thrusts were precise, hitting their mark over and over.

My breath got stuck in my lungs, and his kisses made it even harder to breathe.

Our noses brushed up against each other's as our lips and bodies moved together, chasing ecstasy.

Finally, Noah sucked in a deep breath and groaned.

My body shuddered, clenching around him as wave after wave of pleasure washed over me.

He held me through it, rocking into me, spilling into me draining us both.

When Noah’s breathing returned to normal, he pulled out of me and shifted us so I lay with my back to his chest.

He pulled me close, peppering kisses along the nape of my neck.

“I love you, Creed, and everything will be alright."

I heard him, but I was so tired.

My eyes felt too heavy to keep open.

I wanted to tell him I believed him, but I couldn’t.

I let sleep take me.

Hours later, I woke up in the back of an SUV, fully dressed in jeans, a sweater, and a thick wool coat.

Blinking, I sat up and saw nothing but snow stretching as far as the eye could see outside the windows.

I looked over to find Noah reading through papers.

“How long was I asleep? Where are we?”

My voice was a hoarse whisper.

“Twelve hours.

You slept through everything but sex,”

he chuckled, looking at me with that soft expression he reserved just for me.

“We’re in Valdez, Alaska.”

“Alaska?”

I said, confusion knitting my brows. “Why?”

He folded the papers carefully, like they were something precious.

"This is why I let my grandparents stay with us.

I needed them away from their office and home so I could gain access to their records and figure out their angle.

Going through paperwork, I found an unopened bill—one from almost fifteen years ago.

It was from an accounting firm that’ is still paying the bills for a house my father bought here before he died.

Car note, electricity, water—the whole nine yards."

I frowned, trying to understand.

“Who do you think is living here?”

He shrugged.

"I don’t know, but we’re about to find out." Just then, the SUV came to a stop.

Another car pulled up behind us, and I glanced back to see four men climbing out.

“And who are they?”

“Security,”

he said, giving me a look.

“You don’t think I’d come and bring my pregnant wife to a strange house in the middle of nowhere without protection, do you?”

I shook my head, still trying to process it all.

Noah reached for my hand, his grip warm and reassuring.

“Ready?” he asked.

I nodded, swallowing the knot of anxiety that had formed in my throat.

Together, we stepped out of the SUV.

The frigid air bit at my skin, and I pulled my coat tight around me.

The house was a large, two-story structure with blacked-out windows, giving no hint of what lay inside.

As we approached the front door, the bodyguards fanned out, creating a protective barrier around us.

Everything felt surreal—like a scene from a movie, except there were no cameras, no director, and no script.

Noah pressed the doorbell, and we waited in silence, listening to the faint chime echo beyond the door.

Seconds ticked by, each one feeling longer than the last.

I glanced at Noah and saw the slight clench in his jaw, the only sign of his own tension.

Finally, we heard footsteps approaching from inside the house…

Troy-

"What’s wrong, Troy? You've barely spoken to me in days, and you're in bed at noon." Scarlett's concerned voice pulled me from my thoughts.

I looked up to find her, head cocked, eyes narrowed, watching me from the doorway of our bedroom.

I ran my hand down my face before answering.

“I was just thinking… Where would we be if I hadn’t forced you into my room that night?”

I had been high as hell and angry, not thinking straight.

“Sometimes I feel like I forced you to love me, to have children, to do everything—and that’s why it’s all a clusterfuck now.”

I could feel tears prickling in my eyes.

Maine was dead, Creed barely spoke to me, and I found out my bandmate was having an affair with my son when I had to send an investigator looking for him after he didn't show up to his sister’s funeral.

My life was spiraling.

Scarlett walked into the room, her bare feet silent on the rug.

She looked so beautiful to me in her Erykah Badu T-shirt and big panties.

We’d changed a lot over the years, gained weight, our hair was turning gray, but her beauty never changed for me.

The bed shifted when she sat, then lay down next to me on her back, looking up at the ceiling fan. I was on my side, just staring at her cheek.

“Do you really think you could have forced me to spend nearly thirty years with you? I didn’t need you for money or fame—I had my own."

“No, But—”

I started, but she cut me off

"I love you, Troy.

I love the life we built.

That’s why I didn’t actually sign the divorce papers.

I thought about what life would be without you, and my chest got tight. I know what happened to Maine has you feeling like you failed. But you didn’t. Life is just fucking chaotic. Did we get lost in our own little bubble and miss things we shouldn’t have? Yes. But that’s just life."

My throat clog up at hearing Maine’s name.

Burying my daughter had felt like burying a piece of my soul, and the pain felt like it would never go away.

I reached out and took Scarlett's hand, wishing I could feel the softness again, but my burns had messed up the nerves in my hand.

I was still healing.

She turned her head to look into my eyes, her own filled with tears.

"I'm sorry, Scarlett.

We’re supposed to be working on our marriage, and I can’t even get out of bed.”

I sighed, feeling defeated.

"I just...

I miss Maine so much, and everything seems so messed up right now." I kept thinking about how I could have saved her if I’d done this or that.

“I didn’t know what to do with the guilt.”

I felt like I was drowning in it.

Scarlett reached up and brushed a tear from my cheek, her touch soft.

"I miss her too, Troy, every single fucking day.

But we can't blame ourselves for everything that's happened."

I nodded, trying to regain my composure, but a sob slipped out.

I felt so weak, crying like this.

Scarlett crawled on top of me, blanketing me with her body.

She held me tight, her mouth close to my ear as she began to sing softly, "I gotta find peace of mind, I gotta find peace of mind...

I know it's possible."

Her voice and the words calmed my racing heart.

It took me a while to compose myself.

Evening had turned to night, and the only light came from the tiny slivers peeking through the slats on the window.

Scarlett had long ago stopped singing, but she remained by my side, lying next to me.

“I think we need to separate,”

she finally said.

I opened my mouth to object, but she cut me off.

“Just for a few weeks.

You need to go to Creed, visit DJ while you’re there, and I’ll go to Jason.

Dr.

Avery said they need time, but she doesn’t know our family like we do. If we give Creed or Jason too much time, it’s not going to get better. When my granddaughter comes, I want our family healing. I want DJ to be able to visit and not see us sad.”

She was right.

We needed to find a way to heal our fractured family, and maybe some time apart was the first step toward that goal.

With a heavy heart, I nodded in agreement, willing to do whatever it took to mend what I knew I had a hand in breaking.