As soon as I walked in, I saw it plain as day on the TV. Just outside Harvey Tower, several news crews had gathered around my stepbrother, each one of them shoving their microphones in his face, yet all standing so deathly still as he spoke. Someone turned it up and I gripped my clutch tightly as I listened to what he said.
"...in cooperating with state and Federal authorities, Harvey Enterprises has exposed Harold Verger"s intent to collude with government officials in order to shut down the 39th Street homeless shelter on fabricated charges of code violations. Mr. Verger then intended to demolish the shelter to make way for a person investment project: a luxury condo development that would cater to the wealthiest citizens of this fine city. Meanwhile, hundreds of homeless would be displaced, including battered women and children for whom there was no other place to turn."
I couldn"t believe what I was hearing. Preston was actually admitting to G.o.d and country what Harvey Enterprises had intended to do just to retain a client-one with senatorial aspirations, no less. He was selling himself, Mr. Verger, his father, and his own company out to do it. But there he was, admitting everything on live television.
"Holy s.h.i.t," I murmured.
Mr. Princeton folded his arms. "You"re tellin" me."
Preston continued, "In light of this and other incidents which have come to light over the past few weeks, Harvey Enterprises will be restructuring. Mr. Harvey-my father-will step down from his position as the head of our company, and with the board of directors" unanimous approval, I will take his place."
My knees almost gave out from under me. This was huge. The only way it could have been more shocking was if a nuclear bomb had detonated in the heart of the city. But then Preston delivered one more surprise for me.
He looked into the camera and said, "There have been a lot of people who were hurt along the way, people who didn"t deserve it and who never should have been in the line of fire to begin with. As a company, we have often asked others to sacrifice for us instead of being willing to sacrifice anything ourselves. The future of Harvey Enterprises is simple: more ethics, more honesty. If that means less money, so be it." He paused. I felt like he was staring right into my eyes. "If that means those that we"ve hurt can finally see some justice now, so be it."
"I have to go," I said, turning to Mr. Princeton. "I"m sorry. I really am. And thank you so much for everything. But I have to go."
"Maddy-" he began.
I was already gone. How could I possibly stay here?
I raced through the parking garage. I didn"t even bother to get into my car. I kicked my heels off, tucked them under my arm, and made a beeline for the crowded sidewalk where people were lining up to gawk at Preston Harvey and the monumental decision he"d just made.
The reporters were all over him. They were screaming his name along with their questions, all of which was lost to the thrumming of my ears and the cacophony of the crowd. I didn"t care about any of it. All I wanted was to get to him.
In a sea of "Mr. Harvey, Mr. Harvey!", I screamed, "Preston!"
He turned and looked right at me. The news crews did too. I didn"t say a word, and for an eternity, we just stared at each other like we were the only two people in the world.
Then Preston moved forward, shoving his way through the crowd still clamoring for a piece of him. When he got to me, he tucked me under his arm and pulled me away to the curb where Mr. Fletcher and a limousine were waiting.
"Miss Hearst," he said, grinning wide. "It"s nice to see you again."
"You too, Gordon," I told him, ducking into the backseat as Preston opened the door for me before taking his place at my side.
As soon as Mr. Fletcher closed the door, silence reigned. I looked up at my stepbrother and shook my head, the tears coming before I could stop them from running down my face.
"Jesus, Preston. Why?"
"I have a lot to explain," he said gently, "and a lot to make up for. I know that. Just give me the chance and I"ll tell you everything, Maddy. I promise."
I nodded, and as Mr. Fletcher pulled away from the curb, I buckled my seatbelt and reached for the champagne cooler I knew only too well was in the limo.
"Good idea," Preston said. "Let me get that for you." And he poured us both a gla.s.s of champagne as we sat facing each other for the first time in almost a month.
"I take it you"ve figured out by now that everything I said to you that morning was bulls.h.i.t," he began. When I nodded, he continued. "I wasn"t sure you"d be able to forgive me... I had to get you out of there, Maddy, but I couldn"t tell you why. They wouldn"t have let me, and even if I had, there"s no way in h.e.l.l you would have left. Either way, the kind of vengeance they would have brought down upon your head would have been cataclysmic."
"They?" I asked him. "Please tell me this wasn"t all our parents."
"No," he answered. "Well, not your mother, anyway." Preston took a deep breath and loosened his tie. "No, it was my father and Jane, if you can believe it. She"s the reason he knew what happened between you and I. She"d been stalking us for a while, and that night we first made love, she snapped some pictures through the open balcony doors."
"Jesus," I breathed, shaking my head. "I don"t believe it. She was obsessed."
"Yes," Preston agreed. "But not for the reason you"re thinking. h.e.l.l, it wasn"t even for the reason I was thinking. It runs so much deeper than that." He paused again and looked me over. "Christ, you look good, Maddy. You look incredible."
I blushed. Preston looked good, too-great, in fact. Integrity had done him some good. There was a sparkle in his eyes that hadn"t been there before. I could tell he was happier with himself than he"d been in a long time, and that made me happy too.
Knowing that what he"d said was a lie changed everything. But I still needed to know why he"d said it.
"Okay," I said, "tell me more. What the h.e.l.l was Jane up to? What was she trying to accomplish?"
Preston sighed and leaned back, spreading his arms over the seat behind him. "Money," he said at last. "That particular goal goes back a ways. I acquired Jane as a sort of hand-me-down from my father. She"d been his personal a.s.sistant, once upon a time, and a little more than that too. Seems she"d been doing her d.a.m.nedest to become my new stepmother, but my father wouldn"t have it. In his eyes, she was the kind of girl you f.u.c.ked, but couldn"t turn into a housewife. He "gifted" her to me, hoping she"d settle for "the next best thing."" He sipped his champagne and added bitterly, "As it were."
I made a face. I couldn"t help it. It was just too weird. "She was f.u.c.king your father before she was f.u.c.king you?"
Preston winced. "Don"t remind me. Anyway, I guess she altered her goals to marry me instead of my father, but when it was clear that wasn"t working out, he hired her back out of pity. She began her game of seduction all over again, this time abandoning the whole marriage plot in favor of serving as his mistress. Maybe she"d never inherit his fortune, but in the meantime, she could benefit from countless secret vacations and gifts."
"Wow." It made so much sense. A strange, twisted kind of sense, but sense nonetheless. "How"d you figure it out?"
"Honestly?" Preston grinned. "I guessed. I figured if my father was cheating, it"d be with a younger woman. The one I caught him on the phone with at dinner sounded awfully insecure. He was constantly rea.s.suring her that things were better this way, that she was still special to him despite his impending nuptials, yada, yada, yada. Jane had also gone to great lengths to get those pictures, and with the way my father was trying to push her back on me, I knew there had to be something going on there. So I went out on a limb and got hold of my father"s cell phone one day, and sure enough, there were plenty of late-night calls from Jane."
"I can"t believe he let you get close enough to grab his cell phone," I said. "I would"ve thought for sure that your father would have been keeping an eye on you."
Preston laughed. "I had to play the part of the baby bird with the broken wing for a while, but my father"s a megalomaniac. At the end of the day, he was so sure he had bested me that he couldn"t help but flaunt it. He was convinced I was nothing to him, that I couldn"t possibly have anything up my sleeve. Honestly, it wasn"t a hard act to pull off. I was devastated about you, Maddy. You have to believe me about that. I understand if you can"t forgive me... I gave you a good recommendation at that law firm..."
There was still so much hurt swirling inside of me, and yet I could tell that Preston wasn"t lying. He had risked so much just to tell me the truth. Unlike the things he"d said to me that morning in his bedroom, this was all real.
"I do," I whispered. "You tore me apart, Preston. But I believe you."
He nodded somberly. "I know. And I know that apologizing doesn"t cut it. But I am sorry. Do you want to know the rest?"
"Yes," I said, gulping down the rest of my champagne before pouring another gla.s.s. "Let"s hear it. I want to know exactly how you took them all down."
Over the next several miles, Preston explained everything to me just as he"d promised. After he"d become certain that Jane and his father were involved, he"d spent the next several days "confiding" in her. He"d done everything short of getting intimate with her to convince her that he"d "seen the light," and that he wanted her back. He spoke at length to her about her relationship with his father, all while wearing a recording device. And then, once he had what he needed, he"d presented that tape to my mother.
Predictably, she"d been furious-and, as Preston told it, a little heartbroken too. She"d taken the whole thing straight to his father, which had ensured Jane a security escort from Harvey Tower in front of all the friends she"d made, and more than that, she"d never work in the city again as long as the Harveys were around.
In an attempt to salvage things with my mother, Mr. Harvey had felt obliged to take her on a one-week "pre-honeymoon" to work things out. Preston took that opportunity to put in a few calls with state and Federal authorities concerning his father"s illicit and unethical dealings with a senate candidate-after he"d gone through his father"s files in his absence, of course.
Once the authorities had what they needed, they"d come down hard on Mr. Harvey and Mr. Verger while Preston had gained immunity-after all, his father had been blackmailing him, and thanks to Jane, he had the pictures to prove it-and as a result, the board of directors had no choice but to vote Mr. Harvey out of his position, as was in their best interests. Since he"d been groomed for the position since childhood-and since this stipulation was part of the corporate bylaws anyway-they"d unanimously agreed to put Preston in his place, and the rest of it I"d seen play out on the news conference on TV that afternoon.
It was an incredibly well-orchestrated plan, and frankly, I was in awe of just how perfectly it had gone. But I was also p.i.s.sed, because it seemed pretty unnecessary for him to have said what he did before.
"They threatened to come after you, Maddy," he finally explained. "They would have ruined your life... Or worse. And they"d frozen all my a.s.sets until I forced you to go, so our plan of running away together wouldn"t have worked. I needed you to be so convinced I was a monster that you didn"t come back until everything was settled."
"And is it now?" I asked him. "Settled, I mean."
"As much as it can be," he said. "I have my money back, as well as unfettered access to the company"s finances, too. In addition, I get to direct our future endeavors-and that means the shelter on 39th Street stays right where it is."
"You"re incredible," I said, laughing as I let it all sink in. "I can"t believe you did all this." But one thing gave me pause. "How"s Mom taking it?" I asked him.
"Not well," Preston answered. "I"m afraid I"m no longer going to be your stepbrother. I know you"re broken-hearted over it, but we"ll just have to get past it, somehow..."
I punched him in the shoulder, and he cringed dramatically. "Shut up. You"re serious, though? They"re not getting married?"
Preston laughed. "My father is very possibly going to jail, and even if he"s not, he"s been disgraced. She blames him for everything, while he blames her for being out of the country while I turned him in to the authorities. Really, they"re perfect for each other. I don"t see how it wouldn"t work out."
I shot him a look and he added, "Don"t worry. I"ve made sure she won"t have a thing to her name. I gave her a nice little going away package. And then I told her never to come back. I hope that wasn"t overstepping it."
"It wasn"t," I a.s.sured him. "I cut off all contact a while ago, and I don"t regret that decision one bit. I"m glad she"s out of my life. Speaking of which, why didn"t you let me know any of this sooner? If you"d explained, I would have stayed away until it was through."
"I tried," Preston said, "but you wouldn"t take my calls. And you changed your number, remember? Didn"t you listen to any of my voicemails? I just a.s.sumed you"d given up on me. That press conference was a last ditch effort to get through to you. I thought for sure you"d never want to see me again. But despite everything..." He softly, tentatively laid his hand on mine. "I had hope."
Just like the first time, an electric charge swept through me as Preston touched my hand. I shivered in a way I hadn"t dreamed of since the last time we"d been together. When I looked into his eyes, it was like all feeling returned to my body. I was alive again, all because Preston had touched me again.
"I missed you so much," I whispered to him.
Preston cupped my face in his hands. "I missed you too," he told me. "You"re like the oxygen I breathe, Maddy. I can"t live without you."
He kissed me hard on the mouth, pulling me into a tight, pa.s.sionate embrace. The city pa.s.sed us by, but I wasn"t aware of any of it. All I knew was Preston"s love and desire, and it was all I ever wanted to know.
It had been too long since he"d held me like this, too long since I"d felt anything but agony at his absence. "I want you," I murmured into his mouth, knowing that I didn"t have to say it, but needing to anyway.
"We"ll be home soon," he whispered back, tangling his fingers through my hair. "I need you more than anything, Maddy, and in a few minutes, we"ll have each other again."
I shook my head. "I can"t wait that long," I told him. Then I pressed the b.u.t.ton that put the tinted, soundproof divider between us and Mr. Fletcher up, and I lifted my blouse up over my head.
Preston smirked and shook his head at me, but he couldn"t tear his eyes away from my b.r.e.a.s.t.s. As I released them from my bra he pulled it away, taking one in each hand as he kissed me again, his fingers brushing over my skin with such reverence I thought I would burst into tears right there.
"I"m so sorry," he said over and over again. "I wish there had been some other way..."
"Make it up to me," I told him, pushing his head down between my thighs.
Preston sank to his knees in front of me, pushing my skirt up my hips and sliding my panties down my calves as he gingerly kissed his way up my legs. He took his time, caring nothing for what was happening outside the limo, focusing only one my body and how many ways he could make it sing under his expert caress. I leaned my head back and moaned as he pulled me toward the edge of my seat, and when he pressed his lips against my aching womanhood, I felt my core shudder and hum with delight.
"Preston," I breathed, grasping his hair. His tongue made one long lick from my entrance to crest of my v.u.l.v.a and I sighed, arching, my nipples puckering in the cool air conditioning as he spread my folds with his fingers.
"Every day of my life," he said between licks. "I"ll do this every day of my life if it means you"ll forgive me."
"Oh, Preston," I said again, shivering as he began to torture my bud in earnest. "I already do."
But that didn"t stop him. I knew it wouldn"t. I had been counting on it.
He slid one of his fingers inside of me, using it to brush my sweet spot as his lips wrapped around my tender nubbin and sucked gently. I reeled, my heels on his shoulders as he devoured me. I felt like the only woman in all the world at that moment, like nothing that had happened to either of us had ever mattered. We were all there was, all there ever would be. I closed my eyes, squirming as Preston brought me to the edge of oblivion, holding me there as I moaned his name and inhaled his scent with every labored breath I took of him.
"Don"t stop," I urged him, pulling on his hair as a wave of pleasure shook me. "Jesus Christ, Preston. Don"t ever stop!"
"Never," he promised, getting back up onto his knees. He laid me back against the leather seat, climbing on top of me as we kissed again and I tasted my sweet nectar all over his lips.
I whimpered and pressed up against him, my fingers quivering as I worked each b.u.t.ton on his shirt. I swept it away, reveling in the sensation of his smooth, broad chest pressed against my own. I could feel his abs ripple against my taut tummy, could feel the weight of him pressing down on me in all the right ways. Involuntarily I parted my legs for him, letting his hips rest in the valley between them. I didn"t even have to think about making love to Preston. It was something as natural as blinking, as breathing in the air around me. My body acquiesced to it before the question was even asked in my mind.
He slipped his strong arms around me, his biceps bulging and quaking as he lifted me up to his mouth. In the s.p.a.ce between us I unb.u.t.toned and unzipped his pants, pushing them down his legs along with his boxer briefs until I could feel his hard flesh brushing against my mound. He was so stiff, so swollen for me that I knew it must be painful. I let my hand wander over it, teasing his shaft with my fingers as I traced every vein that ran from root to tip, making him shudder and groan.
"Maddy," he gasped into my ear. His breath was sweltering hot. "I need you."
"I need you too," I told him, wrapping my legs around his waist as he took the invitation and dove inside of me, striking deep and true.
I threw my head back, my hair spilling over the seat behind me as Preston captured my throat in his lips. He placed soft, lazy kisses all along it, each press of his mouth inspiring in me a new kind of pleasure I"d never felt before. I wiggled as he teased, sighing and shivering, digging my nails into his shoulders as he pumped steadily into my warm, wet chasm. There was a tenderness in his touch this time, a desperation that transcended mere carnal need.
Preston wasn"t f.u.c.king me this time. This time, we were making love.
I hid my face in the curve of his neck, m.u.f.fling my cries of ecstasy on his flesh. He only allowed this for a few moments before he took a handful of my hair and pulled me away from him, gazing into my eyes as he said, "Look at me."
I bit my lip, my cheeks flushing with shy desire. He smiled and kissed each one, showering that redness with affection as it lit up my freckles like the lights on a Christmas tree.
Preston drove into me again and again until finally he sat back on his heels, pulling my hips up onto the tops of his thighs and knees. He held me with one hand as the other drifted to my p.u.s.s.y, his thumb grinding into my c.l.i.t as I seized and shouted, clenching him between my thighs as I gasped for breath.
"f.u.c.k! Preston!"
"c.u.m for me, Maddy," he said. He sounded more like he was begging than commanding. It thrilled me all the same. "Please, baby. I want to feel you around me. I need to feel you..."
I grasped my t.i.ts in my hands, tugging and toying with my nipples as bolts of bliss jolted into my core. A tension was building, one that had been waiting quite some time for release, and when the dam finally burst I careened headlong into a beautiful abyss.
I writhed uncontrollably, my inner muscles clenching down around Preston"s c.o.c.k and milking it for all it was worth as wave after wave of rapture overtook me. It was like a tide was sweeping me out into an endless sea, pulling me down into depths I could not fathom, a.s.suring that I would never breathe again as I sank and sank. And yet I didn"t care. I wanted those waves to drown me, to pour over me and wash every ounce of my being away. But Preston kept me grounded. He held onto me, watching as his face twisted with pleasure, gritting his teeth as his own pa.s.sion consumed him just as it had consumed me.
"Maddy," he groaned. That word left his lips like a prayer, and a moment later, he worshipped me with his seed.
He fell forward and I caught him, kissing him over and over as he filled me in the way I"d needed ever since we"d last seen each other. That sensation of wholeness returned to me, and for the first time in weeks, I felt utterly at peace with him and with myself.
We lay together for innumerable moments, entwined in one another and unwilling to let go. Tears were br.i.m.m.i.n.g in my eyes again. The tidal wave of my pleasure had been replaced by one of emotion, and I couldn"t stop the sobs wracking my body as Preston kept me safe in his arms.
"Hey," he said, finally drawing away from me. "You know who deserves a happy ending?"
"We do," I said, laughing as I blinked the happy tears from my eyes. "We f.u.c.king do."
Preston smiled. He brushed the last tear away with his thumb. "You"re d.a.m.n right," he told me. "And I think I know just the place to make it happen..."
Stepbrother Fixation.
If you"d told me three weeks ago that I"d have Maddy out on my boat cruising through the Caribbean, I would have said you were crazy. Back then she was still my soon-to-be stepsister, it looked like my father had won, and I"d firmly believed I"d chased away the love of my life for good.
Now here we were, just the two of us aboard my boat, the shadow of impending relation no longer looming over us. We were finally, completely free, and it was the best feeling I"d ever had.