BIG: (A Bad Boy Stepbrother Romance) by Emme Rollins Page A

deep breath, not knowing how he was going to take what she was about to say, not turning to look at his face as she said it. “But I wouldn’t be doing you any favors if I pretended like you weren’t part of your own problem.”
     
    There was such a long silence, she thought for a moment he’d just quietly walked away. But when she worked up the nerve to turn, Ric put her gun on the shelf and pulled her against him.
     
    “You really have changed.” His eyes searched hers.
     
    “How? I’m meaner?”
     
    “No... you’re braver.” His hands pressed against her lower back, fitting her body to his in a way that brought back the memory of their kiss like it was yesterday. “The old Leesa would have bolted at the start, but... you’re still here. You actually stayed and said what you needed to say.”
     
    He sounded incredulous and she pressed her cheek to his chest, listening to the steady beat of his great big heart. She breathed him in, glad for the sudden cease-fire in their ongoing hostilities, relieved to feel his arms around her, even after she’d said the most difficult thing she’d ever had to say to him.
     
    She was proud of herself—and she understood him. She really did. What she’d said was true—but she knew the other side of it too. Ric had taken more than his fair share of crap from the world, and it would’ve taken someone superhuman to go through what he had and not be bitter or untrusting.
     
    But his arms were around her. He was holding her. That was a start.
     
    “Why did you kiss me?” His question startled her and she looked up at him. “That day—when we thought—when their plane went missing. Why did you kiss me?”
     
    “I...” She opened her mouth to answer, then closed it again. She wanted to tell him the truth—but was afraid to. Mostly she was afraid of saying the wrong thing—of saying something that might push him away again.
     
    “I have a feeling I know the answer.” He sighed. “I know you needed me. Well, you needed someone . And I was there. Convenient. Any port in a storm, I guess. I’ve been through that before.”
     
    “What are you talking about?”
     
    He shrugged one shoulder, but she wouldn’t let it go.
     
    “My stepmom.” There was a high color on his cheeks. “Not your mum—the woman my father married before. She was like that. She just... she turned to the person closest to her, when she needed someone. And I... oh fuck it, never mind. I just... I think I know what it was, for you. You needed someone, and I was there. Am I right?”
     
    “No.” Annalesa had to stand on her tiptoes to cup his face in her hands, trying to stop his rambling. “I mean, yes, I needed you. Of course , I needed you. But Ric, I kissed you because... I loved you. Love you. Very much present tense.”
     
    Her confession hung there between them for a moment, making the air feel charged, electric. She longed for him to say something, anything.
     
    But then Annalesa suddenly found her mouth covered by his.
     
    It happened as suddenly as it had before. One moment they were embracing, the next they were kissing. She melted, opening her lips to him, feeling his kiss deepening, pressing hard, everywhere.
     
    He dominated and she let him, stroking lightly beneath his tongue and along the sides as he explored the whole roof of her mouth, making her feel giddy with the force of it.
     
    Happiness and relief washed through her.
     
    Even when he pulled away, he couldn’t do so immediately. They ended the kiss slowly, face to face, still breathing each other. Eventually, he rested his forehead on hers and chuckled.
     
    “Wow.”
     
    “Mmm-hmmm.” She might be able to say something intelligent soon, but that moment hadn’t come just yet.
     
    Ric held her close, closer, and she rubbed her cheek against the hard slope of his chest. Something he’d said broke through and she glanced up at him, frowning.
     
    “Hey... you’ve never talked about your first