Billion Dollar Stranger - Stephanie Brother Page 0,30

that my arms are around him, holding him close. Aaron kisses my neck, along my jaw, and then pushes up onto his hands, looking down at me, nuzzling my nose with his.

“Oh, baby,” he says, smiling. “I needed that.”

I grin up at him, feeling so bloody happy as the sex euphoria clouds my mind with contentment that doesn’t fit with our situation.

Then I hear clapping.

Aaron’s head snaps up to the staircase, and he swears under his breath.

As I look over his shoulder, I can see a man at the top of the stairs. “Nice show, Aaron. Nothing quite like some live-action fucking to get me hot.”

“Oh my God,” I gasp, cowering beneath Aaron as the only way of preserving my modesty.

“Get up the goddamn stairs, Robert,” Aaron shouts, and then looks down at me with wide eyes.

“Get off me,” I bark through gritted teeth, shoving him, trembling with anger and embarrassment. Aaron starts to rise, and I scramble out from beneath him and run from the sofa, grabbing my clothes and pulling them on as quickly as I can, face hot and throat that is burning with tears I’m struggling to hold back.

“I didn’t know he was here,” Aaron says from behind me as he pulls on his underwear.

I can’t reply. I don’t trust myself to be able to talk without letting those tears spill, and the last thing I want to do is cry. I’ve just got myself out of a hideously miserable phase, and I’m not about to go back there again. I’m so furious with him for exposing me, but most of all I’m furious that I’ve allowed myself to get dragged into something where I’ve risked my feelings again. I’m just not tough enough to keep taking all the bullshit that seems to keep rolling down the hill toward me from every man I get involved with.

I don’t bother tucking in my blouse before I grab my bags and dash to the door.

“Nicole, don’t go like this,” Aaron says, walking behind me. “I’m sorry.”

“Yeah. Me too, Aaron. Me too.”

Then I leave, and I don’t look back.

14

AARON

Nicole storms out in a fit of anger and embarrassment, and I stand and watch her walk away like an impotent jackass. When the door closes, I take the stairs two at a time to find my brother lounging on a loveseat in the upstairs hallway, pretending to read a magazine.

“What the fuck are you doing here?”

“What? I can’t drop in to see my little brother anymore,” he says, grinning and tossing his reading material onto the seat next to him. “I have to say that I got to see a whole lot more of you than I expected. That was quite a show you put on with Little Miss Talk To Me. She likes your filthy mouth, doesn’t she?”

“Fuck you, Robert. That was not fucking acceptable. You humiliated her.”

“I think you did a good job of that on your own, Aaron. I had no idea you were such a kinky asshole.”

I run my hands over my face in exasperation. My brother is a nosy son of a bitch with zero discretion. It is very likely that my private life won’t be all that private in a few days. If he runs his mouth, speculation about my predilections could have an impact on AHP, especially if the gossip comes from a “reputable source.” I can see the headlines.

Worse still, it could have an impact on Nicole.

“I want my key back. And I want you to promise you will keep this to yourself. You might think that it’s fun to spread gossip about what you’ve seen, but if it connected back to Nicole, I’d be very unhappy.”

“I don’t know what to say.” Robert grins dangerously. “I think this is the first time I’ve seen you concerned about a woman’s feelings since Adrianna. Is it her little girlie panties that have you all hot under the collar or her willingness to let you blindfold her?”

The mention of Adrianna makes my blood run cold. No one has spoken her name in my presence for six years, and hearing it is like a shard of glass to my heart.

“This wasn’t a serious thing, but that doesn’t mean I’m not going to be a gentleman. The concept might be foreign to you, Robert, but it isn’t to me.”

“Oh, fuck off, Aaron, you sanctimonious prick. I’ll keep your dirty little secrets, but I’m not going to give your key back. I like having a crash pad whenever