Getting Mine: A Stepbrother Romance Read Free Page B

We didn't have any of the same classes together, so the only way he could've heard it was by someone else. What did they say about me?
    “Yeah,” I said, trying to remember how to act normal. 'How are you so much hotter than the other seniors?' I don't say that. “And you're Arson, right? Like when people set things on fire?”
    Arsen gave me a flat look.
    Really? Really! What the hell was that! I felt my cheeks begin to flush red, which was devastating for my pale complexion. I screamed on the inside. I knew it was a different spelling, was I trying to be funny?
    Would it be weird if I ran away right now, dropped out of school and hid in my room for the rest of my life?
    “At least I'm not named after the lamest holiday” Arsen cracked a smile at my obvious discomfort. “How bout I call you 'Val' instead?”
    “Sure,” relief washed over me. It was completely in my head, but I loved the way the nickname rolled off his tongue. Another quick look at him and I knew I was in trouble. God, this was going to be such a long school year.
    I finished petting the dog, then pulled a red ribbon scrap from my backpack and tied it around his collar. The ribbon was from the dress I'd be wearing as Juliet, in the play we were doing this year in Drama. “Hey, you should name the puppy 'Romeo.'”
    Almost as if he was trained to do so, the puppy flipped back onto his paws, then proceeds to start humping my leg.
    “Romeo, huh?” Arsen's cool smile cracked into a laugh. “He's obviously got good taste. Maybe I'll have to give the dog a chance after all.” Arsen teased and I felt my organs start to melt. “You wanna walk with me to school?”
     
     
    Present.
     
     
    “Don't be a diva, Val. Give Romeo a chance.” Arsen shrugged the heavy backpack off the one shoulder he was carrying it on. Arsen absently looked around at the inside of my massive apartment.
    I watched his reaction. Some part of me was really hoping to impress him. 'Look what I did without you! Why did that matter to me? The last thing I wanted was to be alone with Arsen in my home with no cameras around to force me to keep up appearances. Even as I thought it, I felt a familiar blush heat my face. And other places.
    Damn him.
    Hearing his name, the golden retriever barked and wagged his tail. His nails clicked against the freshly polished wooden floor of my condo. He was so big now! Hard to imagine that this was the same ball of fluff that attacked me.
    “Not a snowball's odds in hell.” If it wasn't for Romeo, I might have never talked to Arsen at all. I knew right away that it had to be all or nothing with Arsen. I was worried that if I fell in love with Romeo again, then...
    “Everyone knows that dog's make the best security system.” Arsen gave me a look that used to turn my knees into rubber.
    I swallowed hard, hating that it still did.
    “Oh, just in case someone bypasses the security on the first floor by repelling through one of my windows.” I swept an arm out toward my floor to ceiling, palladium windows that overlook the wraparound terrace and the whole of Boston's inner harbor.
    “Exactly.” Arsen winked, choosing to take my obvious sarcasm at face value. God, this man was frustrating. I just wish he wasn't so damn charming about it. “Besides, you used to love dogs.”
    “Yeah, I grew out of that.” I took a hard look at the man who crashed back into my life as abruptly as he disappeared from it so many years ago. “I grew out of a lot of things.”
    Arsen's cockiness faded into a knowing glance. 'You can't outgrow me, Val,' the look said. I felt pressure to blurt out 'Yes, I can!' But I held my tongue. Somehow I felt that lie still on my face, and quickly shifted my gaze toward the kitchen. I needed something to wet my suddenly dry throat.
    He was the only man I'd ever met that could break me down with just a look. Even the thought of Arsen was scandalous. The damage he could do to my career, to the life I'd worked so hard to