Prologue

Summer of 2020

Adrian Reed stared at Meghan parker as she dipped her toes in the water. A tiny smile graced her lips as the cold hit her skin, and Adrian's heart squeezed with the desire to go and talk to her.

But his emotions were forbidden.

Falling for his stepsister was a route he couldn't take, and he was trying to fight the flutters in his heart.

He tried to focus on his friends as they chattered among themselves, but his gaze kept sliding to her, following her as she enjoyed the summer day. He fought against everything inside of him, but there was no escape.

His second brain had the same feelings. So for the last half hour, he had fought his hard-on by imagining his grandmother naked. It was disgusting, but it needed to be done, not to fuck his stepsister on the spot.

"Did you hear what I just said?" his friend Tiffany asked. She said something else, but he stopped listening again. "Adrian!"

"Huh, what?" he answered immediately this time.

"Why are you staring at that girl? Who is she?" Tiffany demanded to know.

"She is kinda cute." Luke grinned while staring at Meghan.

"She is Natasha's daughter, Meghan," Adrian said grimly. The fact that she was his stepsister pissed him off, and it was getting harder and harder for him to hide his true feelings.

Adrian couldn't care less when his dad married Meghan's mother, Natasha. His mother passed away when he was four, and he and his dad weren't close, so the new woman in his dad's life felt like a nuisance to him.

But his feelings changed when he met Meghan for the first time.

She was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen, even though she didn't seem to know it herself. She was sweet, charming, and free-spirited. His heart hammered against his chest whenever she was close and before he knew it, he realized what had happened to him.

He had fallen in love with his stepsister.

Adrian tried his best to hide his feelings, but he was at his limit. He couldn't stand it when he saw another guy talking to her, but there was nothing he could do to stop them.

"Well? Are you gonna introduce her to us or not?" Luke pushed him.

"Alright, alright, just wait a sec," Adrian said irritably and walked toward Meghan.

Meghan looked up and smiled when she saw her stepbrother striding toward her. "Hey Adrian." She glanced at Luke and Tiffany and raised her brows.

Adrian scratched his head. He had always been comfortable around other girls, but Meghan made him feel nervous for some reason. "My friends wanted to meet you. This is Luke and Tiffany."

"Nice to meet you," she said and smiled shyly.

"Likewise. Hey, why don't you guys come over at my house tonight? My parents are out of town, so I'm having a get-together with friends," Luke smirked.

Adrian narrowed his eyes. He could tell Luke was trying to flirt with Meghan. Fucking douchebag...

"We can't come. Our parents expect us to come home for dinner tonight, isn't that right, Maggie?" Adrian looked into her eyes, daring her to oppose him.

Confusion flickered in her eyes, but she smiled without saying anything else.

Adrian grabbed Meghan's hand. "Let's go home."

"Why did you lie to your friends? Your dad and my mom are out of town!" Meghan asked after he brought her home.

"I just thought you would feel uncomfortable at the party and I didn't want to leave you alone at home," Adrian said.

Meghan looked down. "You didn't have to do that. I would've been fine. It's not the first time I stayed home alone."

"I'd rather be here with you," Adrian blurted out.

Shit, he didn't mean to make it so obvious. "I...mean, dad wouldn't like it if I abandoned you for some party."

Nice one, Adrian. Blame it on your dad.

Meghan looked down and smiled.

"Anyway...I'm starving, so let's have some dinner, shall we?" Adrian changed the subject. Luckily, Meghan didn't ask any more questions.

"It's getting late, so I think I'll go to bed," Meghan said and proceeded to leave, but Adrian caught her wrist.

Meghan looked at him questioningly. "What's the matter?"

Adrian's lips curled into a mischievous smirk. "I have a better idea."

"What's that?"

"I know where dad keeps his collection of malt whiskey. Why don't we try it out?" he suggested.

Meghan's eyes turned big. "No way! What if he catches us! He'll be so mad at me." she shook her head.

Ah, what a good girl.

"He will never find out. As you said, they are not coming back for another week. So now's our chance to have some fun," Adrian laughed.

Meghan looked like she was deep in thoughts for a moment, then nodded her head. "Okay."

"I knew you were cool!" Adrian exclaimed, making her blush.

Adrian rummaged through his dad's liquor cabinet and took out the rarest whiskey in the collection. He had no intention to get her drunk, but the thought of doing something bad together with his dream girl was thrilling. Maybe it'll help make her feel more comfortable around him. He couldn't tell if she even liked him or not. She was so hard to read!

He poured some into two glasses and sat down in front of her.

"A toast to new friendships," Adrian held up the glass and said.

"To new friendships," Meghan repeated and took a sip. She spat it out immediately, her face twisted in disgust.

"Ewww!" she yelled and gulped down some water.

Adrian looked at her for a moment, then burst into laughter. She really was a good girl.

"Alright. This isn't for you, Magpie. Stick to your apple juice," Adrian teased her.

Meghan's cheeks turned red again. "Are you making fun of me? And I told you not to call me by that stupid nickname!"

"What? Magpie? It fits you since you sound like a little bird," Adrian chuckled.

"I don't sound like a bird!" Meghan cried.

Adrian almost felt bad as she was taking him too seriously but held himself back from apologizing. It was too much fun to tease her and watch her turn red.

"You do sound like a bird, always chirping near my ears with that annoying voice."

"You take that back!" Meghan giggled and pushed me.

"Hey, don't push me!" Adrian laughed and reached out to grab her, but she shoved him again.

"Don't come near me, you jerk!" Meghan cried out, but her eyes were smiling.

That's it, he needed to punish her for misbehaving. He lifted her and threw her on his shoulder. She was tiny, so he had no trouble carrying her to the living room.

"Ugh! Put me down, Adrian!" she shrilled and struggled to get down, but he held her tightly.

Adrian dropped her on the couch like a sack of potatoes and then hovered over her. His green eyes bored into hers.

Something snapped inside him as their eyes met. The closeness of their bodies became unbearable. Adrian reached out and grazed her lower lip with his thumb.

"Um...what are you..." Meghan said timidly.

"I always wondered what it felt like to kiss those lips," he whispered.

She let out a small gasp as he slid his hand under her shirt. Adrian expected her to scream at him and smack him, but she stayed still. It was as if she was frozen in shock.

Adrian realized he was going too fast, but he slowly felt himself losing control. Tonight, he wanted to give in to his darker side and convince his stepsister to be his.

She grabbed his hand but didn't push it away from her body. "Adrian, you..."

"Can I kiss you? Let me kiss you just once, Maggie," Adrian said. The desperation in his voice made him feel like a pathetic loser, but he didn't care.

"Okay," Maggie whispered, and that's all he needed to hear.

Adrian kissed her lips slowly. The first touch of her lips against his was feathery light. His heart fluttered uncontrollably and he had barely kissed her.

She closed her eyes and grabbed the back of his neck. And soon, she was kissing him back.

She doesn't hate me, Adrian thought. His chest felt light again.

She gasped against his mouth as he pushed up her shirt and bra to expose her breasts and then caressed them. His hand started to explore her body, then stopped at the waistband of her shorts.

"Wait, Adrian. We can't go any farther. You are my brother," she said in a hoarse whisper.

Adrian pulled his shirt over his head then tossed it on the floor. "I'm not your fucking brother, Maggie," he growled.

He took her underwear off and she let him. His body felt like it was on fire. It was getting harder and harder for him to resist slamming into her, but he knew he had to be patient and take it slow with her.

Adrian didn't know how much he wanted her until now. He couldn't control his feelings. He knew falling in love with his stepsister was the worst thing he could've done, but it was too late to go back now.

"You can tell me to stop. I'll stop if you want me to," he said and kissed the top of her breast.

"No. I...I want you too, but I'm scared Adrian," Meghan said in a raspy voice. Her eyes looked hazy, as if she was in a daze.

Adrian's chest tightened. He forgot how innocent she was. "I won't hurt you Maggie. I'll be gentle."

He positioned himself between her legs and firmly pushed inside her core. Adrian groaned in pleasure as their body connected, making Maggie cry out and dig her nails on his back.

She is all mine, Adrian thought. It was all he could think of while making love to her.

*****

A week had gone by since that night. Adrian tried to get close to Meghan again, but she couldn't even look him in the eyes, let alone be with him again.

This wasn't how he imagined things would go. Why was she avoiding him? He decided to confront her after school.

He caught her at her locker and cornered her. "Why are you avoiding me?" he demanded to know.

"I've been meaning to talk to you about the other night. I just...I couldn't muster up the courage to face you." She avoided his eyes.

"Face me? What are you talking about?" Adrian narrowed his eyes. He wondered if she regretted what happened between them.

"What happened between us the other night was a mistake," she said.

"MISTAKE! How can you say that to me? It was no mistake. We both knew what we were doing." Adrian slammed his palm against the locker behind her, making her flinch.

"I'm sorry if I made you angry, Adrian, but I'm right. It was a mistake because we are supposed to be brother and sister."

"STEP brother and sister. We aren't related, Maggie, so stop saying things like that," he gently grabbed her chin and lifted her face.

"It doesn't matter if we aren't related. Our parents are married to each other so you and I can't happen."

"Maggie, please...."

"Also, I decided to go back to Boston to live with my father again," she declared, making him stop in his tracks.

"What? No you can't!" Adrian protested.

"I made my decision. So from now on, we pretend like the other night never happened," Maggie insisted. "Besides, I only had sex with you because I didn't want to go back to Boston as a virgin.

Adrian felt as if his whole world shattered. He could not tell her how he felt now because it looked like he meant nothing to her. "What the fuck did you say?"

"I figured doing with you give me some experience on how to be good at sex so I can make things good with my real boyfriend," she said curtly.

This bitch. She really wanted to play with his heart.

I will make her pay for this one day, he thought to himself.

"So is this goodbye?" he said slowly.

Maggie looked the other way. "This is goodbye," she whispered.