“I told you, I'm fine.” I shakily began to leave the bathroom. “You can hang out with Nicole today, I'm leaving.” I started to pull on my clothes.
“Where do you plan on going?” James asked.
It was actually a pretty good question. I didn't know anyone in town. Well, except one person. “Anne asked if we could hang out today. I told her 'no' before, but maybe what I need is to hang out with someone who's not head over heels and sending you naked pictures today.”
James sighed loudly. “I'll call you a car.”
“No! No. It's a short walk.” I had to tell him something or else he would insist. “Look, I'm fine, really. I just need to get away from you for a little bit.”
He sighed again. “Okay. Call me if you need anything. I'll try and get some work done while you're off being irrational.”
I wanted to throw something at him, but at least he was going to let me be for the day. I was still mad at him, but it was a moment of privacy that I really appreciated. He was so protective of me that I was afraid he would go back on his word and call a car anyway. Or possibly a bodyguard. But he didn't, and today, I appreciated that.
As I slipped out the door without letting him know I was going, I knew I'd probably be back later today. I knew better than to believe I could resist him for long, but hanging out with Anne might do me some good.
But first, I had to take a detour. I asked my phone where the nearest drug store was at...
Read about my first encounter with my billionaire stepbrother!
A Baby for My Billionaire Stepbrother
“Go take the bus, freshman.”
With one cruel phrase, James had shown me exactly what kind of person he was. Refusing to give me a ride home had shown the catty girls at my high school that I was fair game. It didn't stop there. For Christmas, he gave me nothing more than an IOU. I had to listen to him making girls from our high school moan through our shared wall. Even though our parents were now married, I knew I'd never think of him as a brother.
I was right, but in the worst way. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't stop fantasizing about acts that society would consider forbidden.
Four years later, when I came home for Christmas, James was there as well. Only he wasn't just a popular high school kid anymore. He was the billionaire CEO of his own company. And whatever feelings I had for him resurfaced immediately when I accidentally walked in on him when he was naked. He relished the opportunity to tease me just as he had when we lived together, and I fell for it every time.
Only, when I left the house to do something I might regret, he saved me. It was only then that I found out that he had not only been protecting me, but he had wanted me just as fiercely all along. And, even though that IOU from all those Christmases before said that he owed me a gift, I wanted to use it to give him a gift that would last a lifetime.
A baby.