STEP SECRETARY (Billionaire Bareback Taboo Steamy Romance) Read Online Free Page B

elevator and unlocking the door. “It really makes me feel like I’m the only tenant here, you know?”
     
    I nodded. I’d never lived in anything but houses before. Sometimes they were run down and small, but at least they were houses… I had no idea what it’d be like to have your neighbors on the other side of the wall from you, or to live without a backyard to run and play in.
     
    I couldn’t imagine that Jacob would have very much room in an apartment, either. To me, apartments always conjured images of cramped spaces with crappy fixtures and decades-old appliances. So when Jacob opened up the doors to his penthouse, I was in complete shock at what I saw on the other side.
     
    His apartment was even more spacious than his mother’s house had been. I gazed in awe at our surroundings, each blink of my eyes revealing splendors more intriguing than the last. This was nothing at all like an apartment, with its glimmering hardwood floors, patio complete with a Jacuzzi, and enough room for a whole family to live in. I couldn’t believe my eyes.
     
    “Jacob,” I breathed, “do you actually have the whole floor to yourself?”
     
    He chuckled. “I do. I wanted something that seemed like an actual house, but was close to downtown. And here I am, right in the heart of it, with this place.” He smiled at me. “You’re welcome to stay as long as you like, you know. It’s not like I’m running out of room here, or anything.”
     
    “I can see that!” I laughed, still marveling at the vastness of his home. “Holy shit. This was not what I was expecting.”
     
    “I’ll take that as a compliment,” he replied, grinning as he took my suitcase and began walking toward a hallway. “Come on. I’ll show you to your room.”
     
    I followed him, but couldn’t stop staring at how glamorous his penthouse was. When he’d moved, Sarah had told me he’d ended up in some pathetic apartment, as though he’d had to sacrifice the stability and expansiveness of a home by escaping her wrath. What I saw now confirmed for me that she was only bitter he’d turned on her, and that I was much better off living with him than I was under her rule.
     
    I practically skipped down the hall, grinning like an idiot as my stepbrother led me to my room. It was even bigger than the one I’d had back at home, although that had barely been larger than a closet. Sarah had seen to it that I got the space meant for a live-in maid. As old as the house was, it might have even been slave quarters at some point… It was her way of letting me know what the pecking order was.
     
    “Feel free to decorate it,” he told me, setting down my things on the queen-sized bed. “Seriously, I don’t mind. Anything you need, just let me know.”
     
    I nodded, trying not to beam too brightly, but I knew my happiness was written all over my face. “Thank you so much, Jacob. This means the world to me, but… I couldn’t possibly ask you to spend your money on decorations...”
     
    “It’s cool,” he answered, wrapping his arms around me in a tight hug. “I remember what it was like. I want you to treat this place as your home now, Amber. I want you to feel like you can make it your own. Besides, I’ve been trying to spend my money for years but every time I check the account, it keeps getting bigger. Compound interest on top of the stocks Granddad left me…”
     
    Then he paused, looking down at me. His blue eyes were glazed with regret and concern. “I… I don’t think I ever apologized to you. You know, for my mom.”
     
    “You don’t have to do that,” I told him, and I meant it. Her sins were her own. I never held Jacob responsible for any of it, and I’d always hoped he knew that.
     
    But he shook his head at me and gave me a squeeze. “She’ll never do it on her own, and somebody has to say it. It makes sense for it to be me.”
     
    “Jacob…” I began again, but the look on his face silenced me. He was determined, and