Stoned: A Billionaire Stepbrother With Benefits Romance (My Brother's Keeper Book 1) (5 page)

“I…I don’t know what this is,” she said,
sobering even as the afterglow faded. Glancing down at her ring,
thinking of home and Tom working long hours at the university,
trying to make a better life for both of them, she suddenly felt
like crap. “But we can’t do this again. I…we had an itch that
needed scratching or some tension from today and that’s all this
is.”

“You didn’t kick me out and you could have,”
he countered, his voice level but strained.

“I was stupid and weak. I can’t,” she said,
holding up her left hand where the diamond still glimmered. “I just
can’t. I owe my fiancé more than that, and, besides, your
reputation is legendary. I’m just another notch, aren’t I?”

His eyes seemed to cloud over and that
sensitivity, that earnestness she’d seen before in their brown
depths faded away. Robert stood then and adjusted his pants and
suit jacket. It only occurred to her then how far they’d
gone---Hell, they’d gotten her off---but he hadn’t even bothered to
undo his damn tie.

“I guess you are, Goldilocks. See you
around.”

With that, he stalked back out of the door,
and she should have felt relieved, felt like she could take a cold
shower and put it all behind her. Tom was a good man, and she
hadn’t actually cheated, nothing too serious had happened. Hell,
Robert hadn’t even gotten undressed and she’d kept her damn skirt
on.

Except she knew those objections were hollow,
that what she’d done had been a betrayal. She just had to hurry
through this conference, to maintain her resolve, and it would be
easier back in New York. It wasn’t like their firms had anything
directly to do with each other, and she wouldn’t feel as confused
back in Tom’s arms.

Yes, exactly, that was it.

But even as she started the shower, Allison
knew she was lying---lying to her fiancé, lying to Robert, and,
most of all, to herself.”

Her alarm went off far too early. The first
session of the day was going to be at eight and she needed to be
bright-eyed and bushy-tailed for it. It wasn’t freaking likely.
She’d slept terribly last night. Her mind had been half plagued by
nightmares of what would happen to her if Tom ever found out but
then the most erotic and intense dreams of Robert, of what a large
part of her wished had happened during the night instead.

Shaking off the exhaustion, she trudged over
to the kitchenette and grabbed a complimentary bottle of water.
“God, this is going to be the worst day.”

In a bid to keep from falling more deeply
into her stupor, she clicked on the TV and flipped through Maury
telling poor women who was or wasn’t the father, an inane morning
show segment on a puppy rescue, and finally settled on CNN. The
news crawl, however, didn’t make a damn bit of sense. Couldn’t make
less sense if it had been written in Gaelic.

Communications mogul Gabriel Shepard married
Mary Stone, mother of advertising scion, Robert Stone, in Monaco
last night.

She blinked.

There was no way that could be true.

No way.

She launched herself to her bedroom and
rummaged fast for her cell phone in her purse. “Come on,” she
muttered even as she heard the click of the call dialing on the
other end. “Dad, pick up.”

Finally, on the sixth ring, a groggy voice
answered on the other end. “Hello? Ally is something wrong?”

“Wrong? Are you kidding me? You just got
married in Monaco? Tell me CNN got it wrong.”

“Oh.”

“Oh what?”

“I was hoping that the tabloids and other
press leaks hadn’t happened yet. Look, I wanted to get a chance to
tell you earlier. It was so fast. We hit it off over the roulette
tables, and she’s just phenomenal. I haven’t felt this way since
your mother.”

“I don’t understand.”

“I’m married, Ally, and I can’t wait to get
back to the States so that you can meet her. She’s a total
angel.”

“You’ve known her less than seventy-two
hours.”

“And I’m not getting any younger, and, at my
age, I have to seize this feeling when I have it. You know what I
mean?”

Allison blushed on the other line and,
unbidden, her mind called up images of last night, of Robert’s
intense and startling sincere eyes. No, that was just some
aberration, some fantasy brought on by too much stress. It wasn’t
real, and you couldn’t just give in to desire like that. What her
father was talking about was foolish.

“You married someone you barely knew? I mean,
Hell, what’s her maiden name? Her blood type? Favorite color?”

“I’m seventy and not five, Ally, you don’t
need to look after me. Point is, clear your calendar next week.
I’ll be having you over to meet Mary. I’m so happy, and I hope you
like her.”

She swallowed and bit back a comment about
apparently really liking her son. “I…that’s great, Daddy,
congratulations.”

“Love you,” he said.

“You know I do too,” she replied, clicking
off the phone.

Oh God, I just had the best orgasm of my life
with my stepbrother.

Oh God, everyone at the conference last night
just saw my kiss my stepbrother.

And I have to go back down there right now or
I am going to lose my job!

You won't believe what happens when Allison
goes back to the conference.

Will she be able to save her relationship
with Tim?

Can she resist the dangerous allure of Robert
Stone?

Will she follow her heart or obey her
body?

Find out in My Stepbrother's Keeper Book Two:
QUIVER

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When she's not dreaming up new forbidden
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has found her happy ending with her husband and two wonderful
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