Stepbrother, Mine #3 (8 page)

But he wasn’t.

She made herself some breakfast, sat down in the sunny dining room, and stared out over the city. It wasn’t fair. If she had only another day or two with Mason, she didn’t want to spend it sitting here on her own.

After she finished eating, she grabbed her cell phone and checked her texts and e-mail, hoping Mason had sent her a message. No luck.

But there was an e-mail from Elli.

WTF, Dana? Are you really sleeping with your brother?

Dana frowned and clicked on the link included in the e-mail.

Her jaw dropped as she stared at the article. It was a tabloid with an awful picture of her and Mason. Out of focus and unflattering, it looked like it had been taken when she was about seventeen. She recognized it as the time she’d tried roller blading and had taken a fall. Mason had helped her up, but the angle and the way they’d cropped it made it look like he was pulling her into his arms.

The headline read:
MEDIA MOGUL SCREWING HIS SISTER
.

Oh, God. The article outright claimed that she and Mason were having sex—which of course she couldn’t deny—but they also insinuated that it had been going on ever since she was sixteen. And the reporter made it sound like she was his actual sister.

Oh, God, oh, God, oh,
God!

Did Mason know about this?

If he didn’t when he found out, he would freak out.

She slumped in the chair. And he would definitely send her away.

She bit her lip. How much would this affect Mason? Would his business be in trouble? Would he recover?

Her phone vibrated and she picked it up. A text from Mason.

Are you there?

Yes,
she tapped into her phone.

The driver will be there in fifteen minutes.

Where am I going?
she asked, worried that he would tell her to pack her bags so he could send her away.

No questions. Take off your clothes and wear only your coat and shoes.

She frowned. It didn’t sound like he was sending her away.
I only have a jacket with me.

Then the driver will bring you a coat. Strip now and wear a robe until he arrives.

Yes, Sir,
she responded.

Twenty minutes later, the doors of the private elevator in the foyer opened and the driver, in his dark suit, stepped into the penthouse. She walked toward him, her hands tightening the ties of the robe around her waist.

“This is for you,” he said, holding out a black coat. “And these.”

He handed her a bag and she peered inside to see high-heeled, red leather shoes.

It wasn’t the usual driver, but Mason probably had more than one.

“Thank you,” she said, taking the coat and bag from him.

She walked down the hall to her bedroom and shed the robe, then pulled on the coat. She stepped into the high heels Mason had sent, then walked to the foyer again.

She followed the driver into the elevator, then to the car parked outside the building. He opened the door and she climbed into the backseat, extremely aware of her nakedness under the coat.

Did the driver know?

He climbed into the driver’s seat. She pressed her knees together tightly as he turned around.

“He told me to put these on you.”

He held up a pair of red handcuffs. Not soft, fluffy cuffs, but solid metal, like real police cuffs, but in some designer red steel.

He opened the cuffs and waited expectantly. Obediently, she held one wrist out and allowed him to snap the cuff around it, then the other. The bite of the cold steel sent a shiver through her.

She sat back in the seat as the car glided forward, wondering where he was taking her.

Since this was the last day of her trial, Mason was probably going to put her through some final trial to drive her away. He wanted her to call it quits, but she wouldn’t. No matter what he did to try and scare her away.

If he wanted to be rid of her, he’d have to send her away himself.

The car soon turned onto the highway and sped away from the city. A good half hour passed, then another twenty minutes. Where were they going?

After an hour, the car pulled off the road to a big gate. The gate opened allowing the car to pass through, then they followed a long, winding driveway to a big house. She’d never seen it before, but Mason was wealthy enough to have several houses.

The driver opened her door and offered his hand. She would have liked to have one hand free to ensure her coat didn’t flash open, but with her wrists bound together by the handcuffs, he took both her hands to help her from the car and steady her as she walked.

He accompanied her to the door, then unlocked it and waited for her to enter, then followed her inside.

“Follow me,” he said.

She followed the driver down a long hallway, then through a door. This was a different version of the Dark Room. It felt more ominous somehow. The walls were dark-gray brick, the ceiling black. There were chains on one wall and a big cupboard that probably housed his devices. And very little furniture in the room. Just one large chair—like a throne—located near the center of the room.

The driver led her toward the chair, but stopped several feet away, basically in the center of the room. He pressed a button on a remote control and the clanking of a heavy chain startled her as it dropped in front of her. Before she realized what was happening, the driver clipped the chain to her handcuffs, then used the remote to retract the chain, pulling her hands above her head. It kept going until it became uncomfortable, stretching her arms upward, pulling her almost to her toes.

“Oh, can you lower it a little, please?” she asked, her shoulders already starting to ache.

But he ignored her as he set the remote control on the arm of the big chair, then walked out of the room, closing the door behind him.

She turned a little, staring at the door, aghast. Then she lost her balance on the precariously high heels and her foot tipped over. The shoe fell to the side and slipped away, so she was forced to stand on her toes.

After a few moments, the uncomfortable position with one shoe on and one off became intolerable, so she kicked the other one off, too, and stood on her tippy-toes.

This wasn’t like Mason to leave her alone and in discomfort.

She bit her lip. Except when he’d bound her to the chair.

What challenge was he going to put her through now? Whatever it was, she would prove to him she could handle it.

But the bite of the metal against her wrists, now chafing painfully as she found it harder to hold her body high enough, made her question how long she could hold out.

She heard the doorknob turn and her gaze jerked to the door.

Finally, Mason was here.

But to her complete shock, the man in the doorway was not Mason. It was her stepfather.

“What are you doing here?” she asked.

“Shut up, girl.” His nasty, flat-gray eyes focused on her as he walked toward her.

Her skin crawled as his gaze dragged up and down her body. Did he know she was naked under the coat?

She had always been uncomfortable around him, as if he wanted something from her he shouldn’t want. But luckily she’d never found herself alone with him before.

He stepped in front of her and she cringed. Then he smiled and, to her horror, ripped the zipper of her coat down and pulled it open.

She gasped, mortified. He pulled a pair of scissors from his jacket pocket, then he cut away the bulk of the garment, leaving only the sleeves and the upper part of the back. Now she stood here, totally exposed to him.

Oh, God, this can’t be happening.

He leered at her, staring at her heaving breasts. Finally, he dragged his gaze to her face.

“I’m sure you probably think your brother, Mason, is going to come and find you here, then spirit you away to safety.”

She couldn’t hide that truth from her eyes and he laughed at the sight. An evil, disturbing laugh.

“You might as well get that thought out of your head right now.” He pulled a paper from his pocket and unfolded it, then held it in front of her face. “Mason sold me your contract.”

The paper was the recent contract she had signed with Mason with a note scrawled on the bottom in Mason’s handwriting stating that he was transferring the contract to his father.

“But he wouldn’t do that.”

“Are you calling me a liar, girl?” He snatched the paper away and shoved it back in his pocket.

She locked gazes with him, but couldn’t hold it. Her memories of cowering from him as a teenager were too raw in her mind. Her stomach was tied up in knots and her cheeks blazed with heat at this intensely disturbing situation.

“Why would he do such a thing?” she finally uttered hoarsely.

He laughed. “Mason has unusual tastes. He is perverted in his sexual interests. He likes to push the limits into forbidden territory.” His sharp gaze locked on hers, holding her mesmerized. “He liked the illicitness of fucking his sister.”

“Stepsister,” she corrected.

He just shrugged. “Did you know he also fucked his step
mother
?”

Her eyes widened. “No. He wouldn’t have.”

He just laughed again. “You are a stupid little cunt, aren’t you.” His gaze dropped to her breasts and her breath caught at the blatant lust in his eyes. “But I don’t give a fuck how stupid you are. I’ve been longing to fuck you since I first laid eyes on you.” He grinned, making her blood run cold. “Now I finally get the chance.”

She gasped as his hand covered her breast and squeezed.

Oh, God, no. This couldn’t be happening.

She heard the sound of the door opening and banging against the doorstop. She jerked her head around, desperately hoping it was Mason. That her stepfather was lying and Mason was here to save her.

But Maria stood in the doorway.

Her stepfather scowled. “What the hell are you doing here?” he demanded.

“I can be anywhere the hell I want,” Maria answered as she walked into the room, staring at Dana with seeming disinterest. “So you finally got the brat naked and helpless. Well, enjoy the view while you can, because that’s all you’re going to get.”

He scowled. “How did you know I was here?”

“You are a stupid fool. The staff are far more loyal to me than to you. When you gave the driver instructions to bring her here, he texted me to let me know.”

Sparks flared in his eyes. “I’ll fire that fucking—”

“That’s all right. I’ll be promoting him to a better position. But right now, I’d say you have other things to worry about. Like what Mason’s going to do to you once he finds out what you’ve done.”

Dana started at the sound of a door crashing open and loud footsteps on the hardwood floor of the hall.

“Ah, that sounds like him now.”

Mason’s frame filled the doorway, and at his first sight of Dana suspended by the chain, naked, he bolted into the room , straight for his father. His fist connected with the man’s face, knocking him to the ground. His father growled and pushed himself to his feet, but Mason knocked him down again.

“You fucking stay right there, or I’ll make it so you can never stand again.”

Dana had never heard Mason so angrybefore.

“I told you that I’d kill you if you ever touched Dana,” he said as he pulled off his coat.

Dana felt the chain lowering and realized Maria had grabbed the remote. As Dana’s feet rested on the floor, taking more of her weight, she felt wobbly. Mason threw his coat around her, then scooped her into his arms.

He glared at his father. “I’d like to follow through on that promise right now, but I have more important things to attend to.”

He carried Dana from the room. As soon as they were in the hallway, Dana saw two policemen waiting there. Mason nodded and they strode into the room where Maria and Mason’s father were waiting.

“I’m so sorry that happened, Dana,” he said as he carried her to the front door.

A limo was waiting outside and the driver—the one who usually drove Mason—opened the door. Mason set her on the leather seat inside, then got in beside her.

He put his arm around her and she leaned against his comforting body. Then she began to tremble.

He held her tighter, pressing his lips to the top of her head. “It’s okay, baby. You’re safe now.”

“He told me you sold my contract to him.” Her voice came out small and hoarse.

“I would never do that.”

“He said…” She gazed up at him. “He said you only wanted to be with me because you liked forbidden, illicit sex. He said…”—her lip trembled—“that you had sex with my mother.”

He frowned. “That’s a lie.”

Relief washed through her, but she bit her lip. “He actually said your stepmother.”

“He means Maria. I had sex with her—you know that—but not since she married my father.”

“Oh.” She clung to him, glad it was over.

He stroked her back as he continued holding her in the comfort of his arms.

“You don’t have to worry about my father hurting you again,” he murmured. “He’s going to be up on kidnapping charges, and my private investigator discovered that quite a few of his business practices are questionable. And he hacked into my computer, and my phone. He’ll probably be put away for quite a while.”

When they finally got home, he gave her a drink and drew her a nice, hot bath. The warmth of the liquor settled into her and calmed her. When she stripped away his coat and climbed into the warm, sudsy water, she insisted he join her. He sat behind her and just held her close.

After the bath, they sat together on the couch in the living room.

“So what now?” she asked.

“As I said, my father will wind up in prison for a very long time. I’ve also bought up controlling interest in his company.” His jaw clenched. “I had promised my mother before she died that I’d do my best to help him stay on his feet, and I wouldn’t do anything to show that we had been anything but a happy family. Family had always been so important to her. But my father…” Mason scowled. “He always made that difficult. When he leaked our relationship to the press, however, and in the worst possible light, he made that promise I’d made to Mom impossible to keep.”