IN LOVE WITH DAVE: MY HOT STEPBROTHER

CARMENHis seductive stare made my skin crawl. I could feel his flirting eyes stuck on me from across the bar, molesting and undressing me with his gaze.My heart flipped as I looked over the bar to see the strange, middle-aged man staring at me. He had a smug smirk sitting on his face, never taking his eyes off me, even when he drew his cup to his lips to take a sip of whiskey.“I hate night shifts,” I mumbled to myself as I busied myself by cleaning the counter of the bar.I would shoot glares in the man’s direction, a signal that I was not interested in him, but none of it seemed to faze him as he returned my glares with lewd looks directed at my breasts.I tapped my fingers against the countertop as I checked the watch on my wrist; my shift would be over soon.Before I could breathe a sigh of relief, the middle-aged man made his way towards me with his now-empty glass.“I would like a refill,” he announced for the fourth time that night as he placed the glass on the countertop wit

CARMEN“Miss Carmen Cartier?” One of the cops, a tall and burly man, raised his brow to get confirmation of my identity.I looked at my mom, panic crossing my eyes. She blinked at me. Even without saying a word, I could tell what she was telling me just by looking at me.Act natural.I cleared my throat, looking back at the officer as I answered, “That would be me.”“I’m Officer Dunlop. LAPD.” He showed his ID card to me and my mom, gestured at the other officer beside him. “This is Inspector Bridgers.”“What brings you to our house? I hope there’s nothing wrong,” Mom said with a frown. She was so good at playing it cool.“We just came to ask a few questions. Mr. Dave Wilmer here claims that he witnessed you being assaulted. Care to tell us what happened?” Bridgers questioned.My eyes lingered on Dave for a while, my mind going blank. At first, the only thought on my mind was Max and how he had tried to get me to have sex with him. How could Dave have been a witness to it?“Tell them

CARMEN“What are you talking about?” Dave asked, staring at his father with as much confusion as I felt.Dave Wilmer couldn’t possibly be my stepbrother; not after what had happened between us. How could I live under the same roof as him? I could barely even look into his eyes without the guilt and shame, the reminder of how I had neglected my father, eating away at me.“I’m sorry we couldn’t talk about this sooner, son.” Steve grinned as he explained to his son. “Aren’t you happy? You’re the one who has always worried about me, always advising me against spending the rest of my days alone.”I looked at my mother, shaking my head. When my father got married to her, his business was booming and successful, and she changed when things got difficult. Now, she had played the ultimate trump card – she had woven another rich man into her web.My mother was a gold digger.“Yes, but…” Dave stopped himself from saying anything else. He returned his gaze to my face, frowning apologetically. Fo

CARMEN“You’re joking,” I chuckled in disbelief, waiting for him to laugh with me and confirm that he was truly joking.“Do you really think I would tell jokes about something like that?” He raised a questioning brow at me, and I shook my head to answer.I frowned, wondering if Jasper knew about it. I wondered if that was why he was trying to know me; so he could get to me, and there wouldn’t be so much strangeness surrounding our marriage.“I can’t marry him. His father is a horrible man,” I stated, my stomach churning at the thought of getting married to his son.“Frank Hayes?” Dave scoffed. “Every single one of them in that family is so stuck-up. I wonder how my father puts up with them enough to invite them to all of his parties and gatherings, honestly.”I figured that Dave had not seen Frank’s face in the alley when he rescued me that night, or he would be saying more than he already was, so I kept it in the back of my mind, desperate to forget that it ever happened.“If my moth

CARMENI stared at Dave, deciphering his facial expression and looking for one sign that told me he was joking with me.“Get married to Jasper, Carmen,” he said again as if reading my mind and trying to prove to me that his words were anything but punchlines.“What are you talking about, Dave? Why should I get married to Jasper all of a sudden? It doesn’t make sense.” I shook my head, placing my hand against the doorknob just in case he suggested something even more outrageous so that I could leave without having to hear it.“Just hear me out, Carmen.” He raised his hands as if signalling me to calm down. “If you get married to Jasper, what hold would she have on you? Agreeing to the wedding and going through with it will only put her guard down, and she wouldn’t even think I know about the video, let alone have plans to delete it.”“And what about the marriage? You delete the video and I’m stuck married to Jasper?” I questioned.“Six months. You can wait it out for six months, and you