Pulse: A Stepbrother Romance Read Online Free Page B

to her.
    “You aren’t on birth control?”
    She shook her head. “The hormones give me problems, so I took a break from it.”
    “Well, there’s not a lot we can do at this point. You can get a morning-after pill tomorrow if you want to—that should help. It’s not like I’m an expert on these things.”
    She lay back against the pillows, and I noticed a tremor run through her leg. The aftereffects of the massive orgasm I’d given her still ran through her.
    “Damn, that was good though. Do you mind if I crash here?”
    I grunted an agreement. “We’ll have to do it again soon. In the morning, maybe.”
    The look she gave me was odd. “We’ll see about that.”
    So much exertion and excitement wiped me out and could feel the sleepiness creep over me. The last thing I summoned the energy to do was hit the remote and shut off the music.
    ~
    Remnants of a magnificent dream chased through my memory as my consciousness pulled together from the depths of sleep.
    The night before came back in a rush and I grinned as I stretched.
    I could do with a repeat performance of that.
    Something about hooking up with Leah differed from any other woman I’d ever been with. It had been so natural, so primal. We had fit together so well, as though we were meant to be together.
    I rolled over and sent an arm around her.
    It closed on nothing.
    What?
    I sat up, but there was no sight of Leah to be found anywhere except for a few long, brown hairs that stuck to the bedsheets on her side.
    “Leah?” I called as I padded out to the living room.
    The bathroom was empty, her clothes and purse absent. I scratched my head as I stood there in the nude.
    She must have had to leave for something. I’d call her later. There was no chance I would let a woman like that slip through my fingers. She was a breath of fresh air—a distraction from the monotony of the rest of my life. Someone who could show me the path to change.
    A loud beeping filled the apartment and I growled. After that experience, I did not want to go into work and face the same warehouse filled with the same morons I’d been dealing with on a day to day basis for the past nine years.
    Wants didn’t pay bills, so I went through the typical morning routine and headed down to the docks.
    A large sign hung over the entrance to the massive building.
    JJ Wilson and Sons, Ltd.
    “You’re late,” said the eponymous JJ as I walked in the door. A permanent frown wreathed his face underneath gray hair. A pair of dirty coveralls over a white shirt might as well have been a uniform—it was the only thing I had ever seen him wear.
    “No, I’m not,” I said as I continued walking through. “I’m five minutes early.”
    The elder man harrumphed and went back to reading his paper.
    The path looked clear to my forklift and I sighed in relief. I did not want to face anyone this early in the morning.
    “Chris.”
    I jumped a little and immediately regretted it. Derek leaned against the wall that partitioned the offices, lunch and change rooms from the rest of the big open building. He’d hidden until I rounded the corner.
    “Where the fuck did you go last night?” he said. “We needed you to ferret out those fuckers who shot Recker, and you disappeared on us. You’re the only one who knows what they look like.”
    I set my jaw and leaned against the wall myself. “I didn’t want to go on a glorified witch hunt, Derek. You knew that, but you got everyone all riled up anyway, just to serve your pride.”
    “My pride has nothing to do with it,” the other man said. “What about Recker’s pride? What about our friend, Chris? How do you think he feels knowing you bailed on avenging him last night?”
    “He feels nothing at all, Derek. Not anymore. No good can come out of chasing down a couple of thugs.”
    The forklift sat just out of reach. Why did Derek have to be standing here?
    “No good? And what happens the next time they shoot one of the crew? Their blood will be on