Stepbrother's Gift

My billionaire stepbrother owes me.

Years ago, James thoughtlessly gave me an IOU instead of a Christmas present.

I thought I had pushed him out of my mind, but years later, I found myself sharing a home with him again.

Just like before, he teased me at every turn. And just like before, it only made me want him more.

In one moment, our relationship changed forever. I found out firsthand what had made all those girls moan while we had shared a wall years ago.

Now it’s time to collect on that jerk’s IOU. Even though he's a billionaire, the thing that I want from him isn't money. I want a gift that will last me a lifetime...

A baby.

***

His eyes stared at me, and for the first time they strayed from my face. As he looked over my figure, I saw a flicker of the darker desire I recognized from his car. It was something.

I knew just what to do. I pulled my purse around and opened it, digging for the card.

“Are you all right, Allie?” he asked.

“Just give me one second,” I said. I found it. I took out the card, rubbed it between my fingers for luck and courage, and set it on his desk. “Here.”

He picked it up. A grin spread across his handsome face as he recognized it. “You still have this?” He laughed. “I always figured you would have thrown it away as soon as you passed a trash can.”

“I still have it.”

He looked up at me, then checked both sides of the card. “No expiration date. That was foolish of me.” He looked every bit the professional businessman while looking over this contract, and it turned me on even more. “Okay, well I’m a man of my word. What do I owe you?”

I tried different ways of saying it in my mind, all of them sounding strange, artificial, wrong. But as the silence drew out I gave up, and just said what I felt. “You,” I squeaked.

“Me?” he said.

“I want you,” I said again. “That’s why I came here.”

It sounded silly, like some over-wrought scene from a badly directed movie. I waited for him to laugh, but he didn’t. He played with the card in his fingers and stared at me. Finally he stood up and walked around his desk. He handed me the card.

“You want to tell me what’s really going on here?”

“What happened in the car...”

“That was a stupid mistake,” he said, his voice darkening. “And I’m sorry for it. I crossed a line with you I had no right to cross.”

I shook my head. “That’s not what I meant.”

“There’s nothing else to say about it.”

“Of course there is. I know you’re my...”