Stepbrother’s Desire (In the Family Way #2)

Chapter 1 Jake

JAKE

My whole body relaxes as the house comes into view. Finally, I’m back home. Feels good. I can’t even explain what it feels like to be out after spending two years behind bars.

Now all I want to do is plonk down on the living room couch, watch some TV, and eat real food.

But when I step through the door, I end up face to face with my dad, scowling at me with his phone pressed to his ear.

He doesn’t have to say anything. His eyes carry his feelings well enough.

Disappointment.

And I get it. I do. Dad’s a bigshot attorney—partner at a prestigious firm. He wants a son who wears wool sweaters to office parties and has big plans to take over when he retires, not a reckless bad boy with an assault charge on his record and tattoos.

“You look like a goddamn biker!” he told me when he saw the first ones. “You’re not from a trailer park, Jake!”

We’ve had our disputes, and he may be a pain in the ass, but I’ll take Dad over a prison guard any day of the week.

“Yo, Pops—” I say, but he waves me off and heads into the other room, speaking quietly into his phone.

“Sorry, yeah, my uh…son just got back,” he says. “From college? No, from uh…well, let’s just say he went on a long vacation.”

Vacation? Don’t make me laugh. Iron bars, concrete floors, and being surrounded by the worst men of society isn’t a vacation.

I shake my head and rub my eyes, trying not to let myself get angry. For Christ’s sake, I just got back. Dad can’t take two seconds to chat with me?

It’s not like I got locked up for stealing or selling drugs or something. I was defending his wife, my mom, from a guy trying to mug her.

Technically, she’s his ex-wife now, but that’s beside the point.

In broad daylight, while we were walking down by the water, this dickhead tried to make off with Mom’s purse and phone.

The second he touched her, I just snapped. I laid him out with one punch. But that wasn’t enough. Mom was screaming bloody murder, and I went into a frenzy, kicking the guy in the guts while the cops ran up on me.

The judge ruled I’d used ‘excessive force’ defending my mom and put me away for two years. Hell, I didn’t even know civilians could be charged with that.

Sighing, I hoist my bag onto my shoulder and head for my room. But when I reach the second floor, an unfamiliar smell sweeps into my nostrils.

Perfume?

It’s delicate, not overpowering, and alluring. After two years of only smelling male body-odor and cafeteria food, it’s a welcome shock to my system.

I follow my nose down the hall to the bathroom I share with my step-sister, Piper, sniffing like a dog who smells something delicious to eat. I peek around the corner, and what I see nearly knocks me over.

Piper stands at the mirror doing her makeup. She’s wearing pajama shorts that barely even cover her ass and a T-shirt that hangs off one shoulder like it’s two sizes too big.

For a second, my brain stops working.

This…can’t be Piper. She moved in just before I went off to jail, and she was an awkward sixteen-year-old with scrawny legs, acne, and a flat chest.

But this woman standing in front of me is different. She’s filled out, blessed with sinful curves and a body that hits me like a punch to the gut. My legs even threaten to give out as I drag my eyes up to hers.

She’s gorgeous. But most of all, she’s eighteen. Which means now she’s legal.

“What the fuck?” I blurt out without thinking.

She turns and recognizes me instantly. “Oh, hey, Jake. Back from the slammer?”

I want to laugh, but I can’t. My jaw is hanging open like a hungry dog. I probably look like a moron as she smiles back at me, glowing like a sexy fairy.

My jeans fight back my cock, which is quickly filling with blood, threatening to grow to a full erection. Christ, she really went through a glow-up while I was away. How am I going to handle this?

The only women I’ve seen for the last two years have been half-naked pinups, smuggled in on pages torn out of magazines. Now I have this beauty in front of me, and I’m instantly consumed by every dirty thought imaginable.

I have to brace myself against the door to stop from falling over.

No, she’s your stepsister. Calm yourself down. She is off-limits.

“Are you all right, Jake?” she asks. Jesus, even her voice is cuter than it was before.

“I’m fine!” I snap, causing her to jump. Her tits bounce beneath her shirt, and she looks at me like I just tried to bite her. I quickly lower my eyes to the floor where the view is…safer…

“Sorry,” I mutter. “Just not used to being out yet.”

“It’s fine. You know, I kind of like it?”

I look up and instantly regret it. She’s nearly impossible to resist. “Like what?”

“Having a step-brother who’s a criminal.”

I can’t tell if she’s being genuine or sarcastic, but as she brushes by me, the side of her breast touches my arm. Something snaps, and without thinking, I snatch her wrist and pull her back to me. “Where are you going?” I growl.

Calm down. This isn’t jail. She’s your step-sister.

“Um, back to my room to get ready? Is that okay with you?” Her eyes flare back at me. The playful attitude is gone, replaced by genuine annoyance.

“Get ready for what?”

“Not that it’s any of your business,” she replies. “But I have a date tonight.”

My stomach lurches. Jealousy floods through me, causing my skin to prickle.

“Yeah? With who?”

Before she can respond, my dad barks at me from downstairs. “Jake! Get your ass over here!”

I bite the inside of my cheek until I taste blood. All I wanted to do was come home and relax. But it seems the universe has other plans.

Piper snatches her wrist from me and struts away, those tiny excuses for shorts doing nothing to hide her ass. My eyes scour every inch. I lick my lips to catch the drool spilling from my mouth.

How is she my awkward step-sister from two years ago? And how am I going to live in the same house with her when all I want to do is grab her by the hair and take her?

This is bad. This girl could be my downfall.

“Jake!” Dad calls again.

“Coming!” I bark back.

Maybe it’s my imagination, but when she looks back at me before stepping into her room, I could swear there’s a slight hint of a smirk on her lips and a gleam in her eyes.

My muscles tense, and more sick thoughts flood my mind. I’ve always tried to be a good man, but these thoughts I have about Piper are just wrong…

I feel physical pain when I turn and walk downstairs. Every step away from her is torture. It’s like an invisible chain already links us, and all I have to do is give it a hard tug and take her into my arms.

No. She’s my step-sister. I’m supposed to protect her. Not get her into trouble—trouble that could tear this family to pieces.

Dad’s on his laptop in the living room and doesn’t even bother to glance up when I enter.

“Welcome home, Jake,” I say on his behalf.

“Mmm,” he replies, his attention still on his work. Finally, he sits back and looks at me with the eyes of a man who wanted a different son.

“You’re on thin ice,” he says simply.

“Am I?”

“You just got out of jail, Jake. You never finished school, and now you have a criminal record.”

“Tell me something I don’t know.”

Dad smiles to himself, but it’s an angry smile. “If you want to live here, you get your act together. Quickly. Any more nonsense out of you and you can fend for yourself.”

“Nonsense? Defending Mom was nonsense?”

“She’s not your mom anymore,” he replies, narrowing his eyes at me. “Wendy is.”

“She’s my step-mom,” I correct him.

He just looks back at me, and for a second, I could swear he’s about to get up and hit me. Not that he could take me. I’ve been dealing with real criminals for the last two years. I can handle myself.

“Just keep yourself in line,” he replies, turning back to his laptop. “And don’t embarrass this family again.”

My fist clenches at my side. There’s so much I want to say right now, but I don’t. I just keep my mouth shut and turn away. No need to start an uproar when I just got home.

“Oh, and Jake?” Dad says as I’m about to leave the room. I turn back.

“Yeah?”

“Don’t even think about it.”

I raise my eyebrows. “About what?”

Dad doesn’t respond. He just gives me one of those looks—those guy looks that you give another guy when nothing more needs to be said.

And in this case, I know exactly what he’s talking about.

Piper. He’s telling me to keep my hands off her.

And God help me, I don’t how I’m going to be able to do that.