Hard: A Step-Brother Romance by Sosie Frost Page A

books.
    How
dare she?
    How
dare anyone insinuate that I was buying my way through school?
    So
my father bought my car. So he paid outright for my tuition. So he ensured I
had enough for books and the best meal plans and other amenities.
    I
sunk into the leather interior of my Mercedes. The HD display lit up under my
fingertips.
    The car
had air-conditioned seats.
    I
banged my head against the wheel. I knew what it looked like, but I wasn’t buying my way through life. I worked my butt off!
    Still,
it was going to be hard to convince anyone while I sipped a mai tai from the comforts of a resort-styled infinity pool overlooking my tennis courts
and gardens. Not impossible, but the golden spoon in my mouth garbled my defense.
    Damn
it.
    At
least I had the reassignment, though a two-hour commute would have been Momma’s
way of telling me to take my lumps before the lord himself started flipping
tables in my kitchen.
    I couldn’t
worry about the gig or Professor Sweeten. I still had enough time this afternoon
to wrestle with Dad’s investment portfolio. The stocks transferred smoothly but
the retirement funds needed a bit of finagling. I had no idea what I was doing
with any of it.
    Suddenly,
lounging in the pool all afternoon didn’t sound so bad. If Zach didn’t
steal it. The man was a literal seal and spent most of his time swimming laps.
If he could keep to one side of the resort-styled pool, he might have been good
company. As much as it pained me to say it, he had been fun so far.
    Zach
could reach the top shelves in the kitchen for the popcorn. And he didn’t mind
binge watching entire seasons of shows at once on Netflix. He also killed a house
centipede for me, which should have canonized him as a goddamned saint.
    He
hadn’t made a pass at me. Hadn’t tried to kiss me. And he let me hold the
remote.
    So
far, the sexual deviant was a perfect gentleman. His promise rang in my head.
    The
next time he came into my bedroom, he wasn’t leaving till morning.
    Thoughts
like that didn’t make the trip home any better. I pumped the radio and tried
to think of anything but how fun a forbidden all-nighter would be.
    Sin.
Disaster. Perversion.
    Muscle.
Power. His lips…
    That offer .
    I
screeched the car to a halt before I made it to the garage. I parked behind a
little, red Porsche that hadn’t been there when I left.
    Who drove
the midlife-crisis-mobile?
    I
edged out of the car, and my heels clicked against the walkway. The front door
abruptly opened.
    A little
blonde bunny slipped outside. She squeezed Zach’s hand goodbye.
    Oh.
He had to be kidding me.
    I
crossed my arms and let my arched eyebrow do the talking. Blondie got the hint.
She fluttered her hair over her shoulder and batted her eyelashes at Zach. Her
baby-blues stared at him with some intelligence, but she was still
screwing around with a guy in a house that didn’t belong to either of them.
    He was
such an asshole . My shoes were too good to kick his ass out.
    First
a snotty professor who insulted my character, and now a step-brother man-whore who disrespected my home, inheritance, and my father’s estate?
    No
wonder he earned his nickname. The bastard got hard for anything that let him get
close enough. If his petty officer waggled near me again, he’d be wise
to go on high alert—defcon one. One word, and I’d go nuclear.
    “Zach.”
The blonde had a soft, sultry voice, and she wore a perfume to match. I’d never
get that rosy scent out of the furniture. “Promise me you’ll do as I say.”
    He smiled,
but the dimples didn’t dig in deep. The dog knew he got caught. I was surprised
he could even feel shame.
    “Always,
Gretchen.”
    She
hummed. “Why don’t I believe you?”
    “Because
if I listened, I’d never have to call you again.”
    “You’re
probably right.” She donned a pair of designer glasses and glanced me over
before turning back to him. “I’ll see you next week.”
    I pushed
past him into the house. He scheduled his