Deceit of the Stepbrothers (2 Wicked Stepbrothers 1 Innocent Girl 2)

And his touch is soft, but damning. Because I know whomever I choose in this game, Blane will always be the one that I want. As much as I want to forgive Aiden, as much as I want to help him, I want his brother. Always Blane. My Blane.

We wait for hours for Aiden to come back, and I nearly fall asleep in Blane’s arms as he murmurs it will all be okay in my ear, over and over again.

And then we forget about Aiden. Forget what he’s done to me.

Blane carries me to my bedroom, placing me gently on the silk sheets.

He makes to leave, but I ask him to stay. So he does.

And he doesn’t fuck me. Doesn’t make love to me.

What he does is caress my body with a thousand soft strokes, like a butterfly’s wings flitting across my skin. And somehow, that makes it all a little bit better.

When I’m drifting off to sleep, a sound interrupts my almost dream.

My cell beeping with an incoming text.

Blane grabs it before I even raise my head off the pillow, and he grips it so tightly his knuckles whiten. “Who is it?” I ask sleepily.

He tosses the phone on the bed without answering me, and sits up on the bed with his head in his hands.

I reach for the phone and read the text, my heart pounding.

“I know you’re there, you fucker. And I’m going to kill you for taking her from me. You may have made Emme a dirty slut, but I’m going to be the one to ruin her for you. I’ve only just started …”

I whimper and then I’m back in Blane’s arms.

I know Aiden won’t come back today.

But I know he’s out there, waiting for his moment.

Waiting to claim me and take me from his brother once and for all.

Chapter 12

I am torn, being pulled in half by the decisions I’ve made, the feelings I have for two forbidden men, both of them my stepbrothers.

I am only 21 and I have gone through so many bad things, I wonder how I haven’t succumbed to the dark side yet. My name is Emme Ford and I am going to break in half.

“You fucker,” Aiden murmurs into his brother’s ear, as I scream my head off. He has his hands wrapped around Blane’s throat. “You stupid fucker.”

Two brothers.

One is light, the other is dark.

They both want me for all the wrong reasons.

They both love me.

And I love both of them.

As I lie in one of the brother’s arms, I wonder about the other. Because this is how it has always been with us – The Rule of Three, not one, not two. Always Blane, Aiden and Emme. Always.

We lost our footing for a little while, wandered around broken without each other.

But it is only now that I am realizing maybe two is better than three.

Maybe one needs to be left alone to wander my himself, not in the other two’s company.

Maybe, the last one is so broken the two cannot help him.

And even though it breaks me to know this, I know I can only choose one brother.

I replay the events of the last month in my head as my heart beats wildly in my chest, wrapped in the arms of one man I never want to lose. But to keep him is to lose another.

I am an orphan, my parents gone.

All I have left are my two stepbrothers, and I know now my love for both of them will tear us apart. Just like yesterday, when the twins had their first fight because of me. They would kill each other for me. One for love, the other for revenge.

I think of Blane.

Sweet, strong, reliable Blane.

Blane, who lied to me, betrayed me, hurt me, took advantage of me.

Blane, who claimed he loved me all the while breaking my heart.

Blane, who promised me he’s had feelings for me since we were both teenagers, but only managed to confess how he felt when he found it would benefit him.

I think of Aiden.

Crazy, wild, laughing Aiden.

Aiden, who has been my best friend since the day I met him. Who comforted me, loved me, even when his brother did not. Who always stood by my side, and protected me.

Aiden, who I knew in some part of my brain has been in love with me for the past few years, but never did anything about it.

Aiden, whom I denied because of his brother, because I was lost in the lie.

I look at my stepbrother lying next to me. They’re so alike, they look just like each other. Sometimes it’s hard for me to differentiate between the two, and just for a moment, I let myself believe they’ve morphed into one person, so I don’t have to choose.

But staring at the man in my bed, I know I’ve made my choice.

Whether I chose the right brother, I’ll never know. But there’s still time to change my mind …

I can choose a life of happiness and a nagging in the back of my head, or a life of danger, living on the edge, always afraid for my life, but blissfully happy in those rare moments when the sun shines

through the clouds.

Both decisions will make me happy.

Both will destroy me.

I am lost.