ESCAPE: A Stepbrother Romance (These Wicked Games Book 2) Read Free Page B

fu— so upset about…”
    “What? Tell me.”
    “What happened to you.”
    I shake my head, frowning. “Happened?”
    “At the airport.”
    “It wasn’t—”
    “At home. Everything. I just want to protect you, and I keep failing.”
    “No.” I lean my head against him. And instantly feel better for doing so. Like we’re in our own little bubble, and nothing else matters when we’re like this. When we’re together.
    He places his hand on my head, stroking my hair. “You smell like chicken wings.”
    I laugh and elbow him.
    “I’m just being honest.”
    “Jerk.”
    “So you’re okay with staying with Amélie for a bit?”
    I groan. “Why’d you have to remind me?” I’m quiet for a minute, then ask, “Why can’t we get a hotel?”
    “I can’t check in under my own name. And I don’t want to risk calling anyone.”
    “What could calling someone hurt? You think they’d tell the news?”
    He gives his head a slight shake. “That’s not what concerns me.”
    “Then what?”
    “Stop.”
    I bite my tongue and take a deep breath. “Cade. I just got chased, tackled, and strip searched. I deserve to know what’s going on.”
    “Are you saying it’s my fault?”
    “No! Just… I wish you would tell me more.”
    He kisses my forehead. “Don’t worry. I’ll take care of it. I’ll take care of you. I won’t fail again.”

Chapter 5
    We pull up to an apartment building on Wilshire Boulevard.
    “Would you like us to wait, sir?” the driver asks.
    “No.”
    “Very well.”
    “I’ll keep your assistant updated,” the attorney tells Cade.
    Cade nods, and we get out and head into the building.
    “Nice digs,” I say, looking around the lobby as we walk through it.
    “Digs?”
    I shrug one shoulder.
    “This way,” he says.
    I follow. “You know, getting chased wasn’t fun. You owe me for this.”
    We reach the elevators, and Cade presses the button. “I’m already buying you a first class ticket.”
    The doors open, and we enter. I lean back against the rail, and he faces me after selecting a floor.
    “To SF,” I say, looking up at him. He’s so close. I can feel his heat. I wonder if the elevator will jolt. Hope it does so he falls into me. “It’s like, thirty minutes.”
    He smiles. “I didn’t realize my li—” His smile falls.
    I punch him lightly. “It’s okay. Little sister? I’m your stepsister. It’s not that weird.” I see the look on his face, and wonder if I made a mistake. “I mean, I’m not saying you like me, or anything. But, I mean—”
    He grabs me by the waist and kisses me, pinning me back to the wall, his crotch pressing hard into my stomach.
    I’m too stunned to kiss back.
    He lets go. “Fuck.” He puts a hand to his head. “I’m so fucked up. I couldn’t help myself. You looked so—” He shakes his head. “Fuck!” He turns and punches the elevator door, leaving a huge dent.
    I want to reach out, touch him. Want to hold him, to be held. But that would just make things worse.
    “Look, Mags, I just—”
    The elevator door opens, and we both look. There’s no one there.
    We watch as the door slowly shuts.
    We begin ascending again.
    “That’s odd.”
    The tone of his voice makes me study his face. “You seem, um, concerned.”
    “It’s probably nothing.”
    “What is it?”
    He shakes his head. “No. It’s nothing.”
    The elevator doors open again, this time on our floor. Or rather, Amélie’s.
    I follow him to her door—a location he must know well by now. He used to come here often enough before he left.
    “Are you going to knock?” I look at his hand to see if maybe he hurt it, but it looks fine.
    He looks me up and down. “God, it’s a good thing she thinks of you as my sister.”
    He knocks on the door.
    I want to ask what he means by that. Would she get jealous of me? No way, not someone who looks like her, not unless she thought—
    The door opens. “Cade!” A tall girl in a silver, sequined dress and high heels