SadieThe last thing I wanted to do was having a conversation alone with Cyrus, but I couldn’t exactly ignore a direct summons. When I walked into his office, my breath left me in a rush when my eyes landed on him. He sat behind his desk in a dress-shirt and tie with his sleeves rolled up past his forearms. His hair was slightly mussed, and he looked so powerful and sexy, I wasn’t sure how I was going to get through this interaction.The memory of our last kiss flashed through my head, and my body shivered thinking of the pleasure he’d given me. I had to push the thought out of my head. I couldn’t let myself lose control around him again.“Thank you for coming to speak with me, Miss Bruns,” he said. “Please, have a seat.”I took a little comfort in the fact that he was calling me Miss Bruns again. Using my first name had felt far too…intimate.Making my way across the room, I sat in one of the chairs in front of his desk and kept my expression carefully neutral and polite.“What can I
He spun us around. Moving toward his desk, he took one arm and swept the surface clean before laying me down on top of it. He kissed me again as he squeezed and groped my breasts. His lips left mine, and he trailed them along my jaw and down my throat. I whimpered as he kept going lower. He stopped at my chest and took one nipple into his mouth, sucking it as he pinched and tugged at the other.It was too much, and yet, it wasn’t enough. I was pulsing between my legs, more and more desperate for release with each second that passed. As if he could sense my racing thoughts and desires, Cyrus moved from my breasts and made his way down my belly, stopping long enough to push my skirt up and pull down my underwear. He pushed my thighs apart and released a heavy breath that I felt against my tender flesh.“You’re gorgeous,” he growled, his eyes devouring me. With a smirk, he glanced up to meet my gaze. “I wonder if you taste as good as you look.”I let out a little cry when he lowered his
Cyrus“Cyrus? What’s the matter, baby? You don’t look like you’re having a good time.”I barely kept myself from rolling my eyes at my date’s childish whining. She clung to my arm, shoving her breasts against me and suffocating me with her cloying perfume. I glanced at her and scowled. Not long ago, I’d have found her overly-contoured face and surgically sculpted body appealing, but tonight…she wasn’t doing it for me.“I’m tired,” I grumbled, taking a deep drink of my scotch. It was the third or fourth one I had already. I couldn’t remember, but I also didn’t care. I wanted to get drunk, so I could numb this throbbing ache in my chest.This pain was all Sadie’s fault. I shouldn’t be this torn up inside over her, but I couldn’t get her out of my head. She’d burrowed her way into my mind and planted roots. I wanted to rip her out of there, so I could get some damn peace, and I’d thought going out with someone else would help. The woman next to me, Brittany, had been all but throwing her
Frowning, I looked out the car window. We were parked by the curb in front of the townhouse and it took my addled brain a few moments to realize what it was that had my driver so startled.Ralph.He stood at the bottom of the front steps, his hands in his pockets and shoulders slumped. He stared at the car expectantly. Was the bastard waiting for me?With a snarl, I got out of the car and slammed the door shut behind me.“What the hell are you doing here, Ralph?” I barked, stomping toward him. “Didn’t I warn you what would happen if you came here again?”I saw his throat work as he gulped, and I could tell he was nervous as he gazed up at me.“I…I want to talk to you about Megan,” he stammered. “I want custody back.”I stared at him, momentarily struck speechless.“Are you kidding me?” I spat. “Have you lost your goddamn mind?”He shook his head. I could tell he was trying to be brave, but I obviously intimidated him. Good. I wanted him to tremble in fear whenever he was around me.“I
SadieI paced the floor of my room, too stressed and in my head to go to sleep. Cyrus had gone out on a date. A date! I knew I shouldn’t care. I should actually be glad. If he was with someone else, that meant he was moving past me.Yet, the thought made my stomach twist so hard, I thought I might be sick.I had no right to feel this way. After all, I was the one who rejected him. I’d practically run out of his office after he’d given me an incredible orgasm that had made my eyes roll in the back of my head. It had been so incredibly selfish of me, but I’d panicked. Sex was a line that I knew we shouldn’t cross, but we kept inching closer and closer to it. I felt out of control when I was in his arms, and that scared me. I’d never felt like that with anyone before.What was I going to do? I couldn’t keep going like this. I couldn’t hide in my room and pace back and forth every time he went out with someone else. I couldn’t just avoid him whenever things got awkward between us. Still,
“Yes,” he growled with a nod. “Touch me.”I gazed into his eyes. He stared back at me, his gaze slightly glassy but hungry and desperate. I couldn’t remember a man ever looking at me the way that Cyrus did. As if he would simply die if he couldn’t have me, especially at that moment, when he was drunk and not fully in control of himself. His armor was down, and he wasn’t trying to hide just how much he wanted me.It was intoxicating, and my head began to swim with a combination of lust and giddiness. Holding his gaze, I slowly undid his pants and slid my hand inside past his underwear. I wrapped my fingers around him and watched his jaw clench as a groan slipped past his lips. His hand remained between my legs, his fingers rubbing my sensitive flesh as I stroked his hard length.Our breaths mingled as our lips hovered so close together, we were practically kissing, but we held back as we continued to gaze into each other’s eyes. As I watched pleasure dance across his face, my own pleas
CyrusI had never felt such an intense and mind-numbing fear. The moment I’d heard Megan’s scream, I’d grown instantly sober. All thoughts of what I and Sadie had just been doing vanished from his mind.Sadie was right beside me as we sprinted up the stairs and down the hall to Megan’s room. I burst through the door and my eyes instantly settled on my niece, who sat up in her bed, sobbing.“Megan? What’s wrong?” I asked.She didn’t say a word, unable to speak around her cries, but she pointed to the window. I rushed across the room and threw it open. There was a tree branch that hung so close, its branches nearly scraped the glass of her window. I hadn’t realized the tree was that close to the townhouse. I looked all around, but I didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. The street below was quiet and empty but well-lit with streetlights. It would be difficult for someone to hide from view, even at night. I didn’t see anyone walking along the sidewalk. A couple cars drove by, but neit
That did seem to comfort Megan a bit more. Sniffling, she lifted her head from Sadie’s chest and turned her face toward me. Her face was red and her cheeks were streaked with tears. It gutted me to see her so distraught, and I wanted to hunt down Ralph at that very moment and beat him bloody.“Okay, Uncle Cyrus,” she murmured. She moved from Sadie’s lap and climbed into mine, curling up like a kitten. I gazed down at her a moment, stunned. I wasn’t exactly the guy people turned to for comfort, and yet, here was this tiny girl, putting all her trust in me to keep her safe and calm her fears.Looking up to find Sadie gazing at us with a soft expression, my heart began to race. She reached over and laid her hand on my shoulder. We didn’t say a word, just hovered around Megan, offering her what comfort and security we could. I wanted to hold her and never let her go. I never wanted to see that tear-filled expression on her face ever again. She continued to cry and whimper, but the sounds
Hazel“It’s not a thing, honest,” I say quickly. My foot starts tapping nervously of its own accord. “We just, um…we just kissed once, and now we’re friends.”I turn my face to the window, heat fully spreading over my cheeks. Why am I even telling him this? That I was kissing someone? Where are my boundaries?“You kissed?” He sounds surprised. For a moment neither of us says anything, and the awkwardness in the car gets hot and palpable. “That’s not nothing, sweetheart,” he finally continues. “Kissing is, well, it means something.”“Oh my God, stop please.” I cringe and turn further towards the window. This is too uncomfortable. I cannot have this conversation with my dad.Luckily for me, he doesn’t push it. He laughs, probably not wanting to have this conversation either, and says, “Okay, fine.”I turn on the radio and he asks me about my day, and when we get home and get out of the car, he looks over at me with a curious look and says, “Kye, eh?”I roll my eyes. “Oh my God, stop.”B
Xavier I drop shrimp into sizzling garlic butter, the pan spitting and hissing. The chaos mirrors the storm inside me—anger at Melanie’s selfishness, carefully hidden for Hazel’s sake. I sip my riesling, keeping my calm façade intact.When dinner’s ready, I call Hazel and plate the food. Her familiar footsteps on the stairs are comforting, but when I see her, I freeze. For a moment, it’s Melanie—the same bright red hair, slim shoulders, and lean frame. Hazel has grown so much, and for a fleeting second, I almost imagine my wife is back.I serve the pasta and pour another glass of wine, offering Hazel a smile. She’s so much like Melanie it’s startling. The resemblance is uncanny—her body slim and delicate, yet striking—but her face is softer, her icy blue eyes wide and innocent, free of Melanie’s hardened edge.Hazel devours the meal like she hasn’t eaten in days, and worry twists in my chest. How could Melanie abandon her own child?“What did your mom say before she left?” I ask, alr
Blurb:What happens when the one person you shouldn't want becomes the only one you crave?Hazel Holland’s life is a mess, and the last thing she wants is to crawl back to her stepfather for help. But Xavier Rochat isn’t just her rock—he’s all broad shoulders, commanding presence, and forbidden temptation. Living under his roof again stirs feelings she knows she shouldn’t have, but she can’t stop thinking about those strong hands and the way his voice makes her knees weak.Xavier has always seen Hazel as the girl he helped raise—but she’s not a little girl anymore. She’s stunning, tempting, and entirely off-limits. Resisting her is a battle he’s losing, especially when she makes it clear she doesn’t want to play by the rules.Their connection is wrong, dangerous, and too hot to resist. But how long can they keep their hands off each other before everything explodes?My forbidden stepdaddy is a raw, forbidden romance full of tension, temptation, and heat that will leave you begging f
EpilogueSadie – One Year LaterI gazed down at my baby, my son, in absolute wonder. My heart swelled in my chest with so much love, I thought it would burst. I was exhausted, and my whole body hurt, but I didn’t care. All that mattered was my little boy, that he was healthy and whole.“Are you feeling up to visitors?” the nurse attending to me asked in a soft voice, careful as to not disturb my sleeping baby.I smiled at her and nodded. “I am.”“I’ll let them in, then,” she replied with a grin.Turning, she made her way out of the room, closing the door behind her. I turned my gaze back down to my little boy and couldn’t help the smile that curled my lips.He was so beautiful. Tiny and pink and perfect.I couldn’t wait for his daddy and sister to meet him.At that moment, the door to my room opened back up, and the nurse returned with Cyrus and Megan in tow. Cyrus had been with me during the labor, but had gone out to wait with Megan while the baby was cleaned up so he could bring h
CyrusThe silence stretched between us for several long moments, and with each second that passed, I grew more and more nervous that she was going to say no.Her expression flickered between so many emotions so quickly, I couldn’t fully decipher what she was thinking.At length, she slowly said, “Are…are you asking me to marry you because you genuinely love me and want to…or are you just afraid of losing me after everything that happened with Ralph?”“Oh, baby, no,” I assured her with a firm shake of my head. “I love you with my entire being, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want us to raise Megan together and be a family. I swear to you, this has nothing to do with Ralph.”I held her gaze, praying she believed me. I was ready to do whatever I had to in order to convince her I was being entirely serious.To my complete relief, though, her lips curled into a smile, and she blurted, “Yes! Yes, Cyrus, I’ll marry you!”I surged to my feet, pulling her from her chair. Wr
Sadie It was hard to break that bond between a child and parent, and no matter what Ralph did, I think there would always be a part of Megan that wanted that connection with him.“I hope so,” Cyrus told her. “He’s going to try. That’s what’s important.”Megan regarded him a long moment before saying, “I’m glad he’s going to try.”Cyrus smiled softly. “Me, too. I promise you, Megan, I’m going to take care of you and protect you no matter what. Okay?”The corners of her lips curled up at that. “Okay. I love you, Uncle Cyrus.”“I love you, too, Megan,” he replied. Then, he looked up at me. I couldn’t help but smile back at him. My heart swelled, and I fell even more in love with him at that moment. I wanted to explain my feelings to him in more depth, but we needed to talk away from Megan. I didn’t want to confuse her even more as Cyrus and I tried to figure out the stuff between us.“All right, is there anything else you want to talk about?” Cyrus asked, turning back to Megan.She blin
SadieA week after Ralph’s arrest, things finally felt as though they were getting back to normal. Ralph was charged with breaking the restraining order. True to his word, Cyrus didn’t press any other charges. Ralph would spend a little time in jail before his trial, and then, it was up to the courts to decide his fate.I didn’t worry about him, though. I focused on Megan and helping her overcome the latest trauma she’d been through. I hated that she’d gone through so much at such a young age. It wasn’t fair. She deserved so much better. I wanted to make it my mission in life to make up for all that she’d suffered. I wanted all this mess with Ralph to fade into distant memories for her. I wanted her to be happy. More than anything else in the world, I wanted her to just be a normal, six-year-old girl.We were out on the terrace one day, coloring, when she looked up at me and asked, “Sadie? Is my daddy gone forever?”I frowned at her and replied, “What do you mean, sweetie?”She hesita
Ralph stared at me. I could tell he wanted to argue.I waited for him to say something, anything, that I could use to shut down any chance he had left of getting close to Megan.To my surprise, though, he reluctantly nodded. “All right…all right. I’ll…I’ll do what you say. So long as you promise you won’t stand in Megan’s way if she wants to see me someday.”I regarded him a long moment before releasing a long sigh. “I promise. I won’t stand in her way. And I promise that I will take excellent care of her.”Ralph dropped his head, looking defeated.“I know you will,” he whispered.At that moment, I heard Sadie rushing back to us.“The cops are on their way,” she gasped when she reached me. She looked between me and Ralph and then gave me a relieved smile. “I’m glad to see everyone is still in one piece.”“Barely,” I grumbled.She wrapped her arm around mine and hugged it.“Thank you,” she whispered.I smiled down at her, but I then caught movement out of the corner of my eye. Turning
CyrusI was at the very end of my control. My temper was about to snap. I kept reminding myself of Sadie’s words. Of my promise to her, but it was getting damn difficult to hold myself back. Ralph would just not give up. He kept pushing and pushing, bringing up Kate’s name and claiming Megan as his.It was infuriating. He kept saying he was a changed man, but he wasn’t taking responsibility for what he’d done. He wasn’t owning the fact that Kate wouldn’t have driven off the road that day if he hadn’t chased after her. I didn’t care that it was an accident. I didn’t care that he thought he loved her.In the end, it didn’t matter. It didn’t matter because Kate was still gone. And she was gone because of him.“You know what, Cyrus?” Ralph growled. “You think you’re so high and mighty. You think you’re so much better than I am, but the truth is, you failed Kate just as much as I did.”My whole body went cold. “What the hell are you saying?”Ralph had the gall to glare at me. “If you thou