Chapter 3

After long hours of different lectures, with Liza by my side of course, it was finally time to go home.

And that was when I realized something very important.

I had no transportation.

And worse, I didn’t even know my home address.

I pulled out my phone and dialed Dad’s number. It rang then went straight to voicemail.

I tried again three times and it was still the same.

I lowered the phone slowly, exhaling through my nose. The air was getting cooler now, the sky dimming into that dull shade between evening and night.

Great.

Just great.

I shifted my bag higher on my shoulder and leaned slightly against the metal gate, pretending like I wasn’t stranded. Like I was just… waiting.

Students passed me every minute. Seconds turning into long stretches of time.

Liza had stayed with me at first but I had asked her to go, assuring her that my Dad would be here soon.

I had just met her today and the last thing I wanted was to start being a burden. I hated being a burden. My mom used to say I was one. Not always directly. Sometimes it was in the sighs. The tired looks. The subtle complaints disguised as concern.

I pushed the thought away. This wasn’t about my pathetic past, this was about getting home.

Another thirty minutes passed. And the gate area slowly emptied until only a few students remained. The security guard glanced at me, like he was debating whether to ask questions.

I was just about to dial Dad again when the low rumble of an engine cut through the quiet. A bike slowed as it approached the gate and stopped right in front of me.

I blinked. The rider removed his helmet, shaking out soft blond curls.

Roman.

“There you are.”

I straightened slightly, surprised. “Me?”

He grinned, easy and warm like we were already familiar. “Yeah. Alec said I should pick you up.”

My fingers tightened slightly around my phone.

Alec knew I was supposed to be picked up and he let me stand here for hours? A slow wave of irritation spread through my chest.

Roman tilted his head, studying my expression. “You’ve been waiting long?”

I forced a small, polite smile. “Not really.”

A very obvious lie.

His eyes flicked to the nearly empty gate, then back to me but didn’t call me out on it. Instead, he handed me a spare helmet.

“Hop on,” he said gently. “It’s getting dark.”

I hesitated for a second.

I had never ridden a bike before. I took the helmet and put it on, adjusting it clumsily before climbing onto the seat behind him. My movements were stiff, cautious, like I was afraid the bike might collapse under me.

“Hold on,” he said.

My hands hovered awkwardly in the air for a moment before I lightly grabbed the back of his jacket instead of his waist.

Less… intimate.

The engine roared softly as the bike pulled forward.

The moment it moved, my breath caught slightly. The wind hit my face, the motion felt so unfamiliar, causing me to tighten my grip unconsciously.

“You okay back there?” he asked, voice raised slightly over the wind.

“Yes,” I replied quickly.

Pause. Then, quieter, “It’s my first time.”

He laughed softly, sounding amused. “First time on a bike?”

“Yes.”

“Well, I’m honored.”

I rolled my eyes even though he couldn’t see it.

He was… nice. And dangerously good-looking up close. I hadn’t properly noticed earlier at the house, but now, sitting behind him, I could see the details more clearly. The relaxed posture. The easy confidence. The kind of face that smiled often and meant it.

Very different from Alec.

“I can’t believe your friend let me stand at the gate for hours when he knew I needed a ride.”

Roman went silent for a second.

“He’s probably busy, or just tired to come”

My irritation sharpened.

“Well, I’m going to reprimand him when I get home,”

Roman let out a small chuckle. “Good luck with that.”

Soon, the bike slowed, pulling into a familiar driveway. Our driveway. He killed the engine, and I stepped down, feeling the sudden chill of the evening air.

"Thanks, Roman," I said, pulling off the helmet, my voice a little breathless.

He turned, his eyes, dark and intense, fixing on mine. "Anytime, Jenna. Really. If you ever need a ride, or just to get away from the Grumpy Gus, you know who to call." He winked, a flash of white teeth in the dim light. "Just don't tell him I said that."

I laughed, a genuine, unforced sound. "My lips are sealed."

He watched me walk up the door before he left. The house was quiet as I slipped inside, only the scent of Anna’s cooking welcoming me.

"Jenna, is that you honey, you're home!" Anna’s voice floated from the kitchen. "Dinner's almost ready!"

"Be right down!" I called back, my voice still a little shaky from the bike ride. I trudged up the stairs, my mind already rehearsing the scathing lecture I’d deliver to Alec. He was going to regret ever being born. This was it. No more Mr. Nice Jenna. I was done with his bullshit.

I was about to turn my doorknob when a sound, low and guttural, reached me. A moan.

My steps faltered. What the hell?

Another sound, louder this time, a woman’s voice, followed by a rhythmic thudding that vibrated through the floorboards. My eyes widened. No. Way.

The anger I’d been nursing all evening flared, eclipsing everything else. So this was why he couldn’t pick me up. This was why he let me stand there, alone for hours. He was too busy getting off.

I stalked to his door, my hand already raising to hammer a furious fist against the wood, to unleash every scathing word I’d meticulously crafted on the ride home. But as my hand closed into a fist, I saw that the door was slightly ajar.

My fist froze inches from the door and curiosity pulled me closer.

I pushed the door open just a bit, my eyes adjusting to the low light, immediately locked onto the scene unfolding before me.

Alec was bent over, his hips thrusting with a primal rhythm. A woman was on her knees in front of him, her head thrown back, her hair a wild cascade of dark curls. Her mouth was open, a soft, breathless cry escaping her lips with each powerful plunge.

My eyes widened, tracing the taut line of Alec’s back, the flexing muscles of his ass as he drove into her. He was naked from the waist down, his dark hair a messy halo around his head. The woman’s ass, round and pale, jiggled with every impact. I could hear the wet, slick sounds of skin meeting skin, and a strange heat bloomed low in my stomach, spreading through my veins.

I shouldn’t be seeing this. I knew I shouldn’t. But I couldn’t tear my eyes away.

The woman’s moans grew louder, “Oh, God, Alec… yes… like that…” she whimpered, her voice raspy with desire.

He grunted in response, a low, animal sound, his hips ramming into her with renewed force. I watched, transfixed, as his body tensed, his shoulders bunching, his ass clenching with each deep thrust. My own body responded, a slow, electric ache igniting between my legs.

My clit tingled, a faint throb starting to build. It was wrong, so wrong, to be aroused by this, by watching my stepbrother fuck another woman. But the sight was undeniably alluring.

The way his body moved, the sheer power in his thrusts, the woman’s uninhibited cries—it was all intoxicating.

His head was thrown back, eyes closed, a mask of pure pleasure etched on his face. He looked utterly consumed, lost in the moment.

And I felt a strange pang, a mix of envy and a desperate, unfamiliar longing. I wanted to feel that. I wanted someone to look at me like that, to lose themselves in me like that.

Then, his eyes opened and I knew I was fucked because the moment those dark eyes snapped to mine. Recognition, and anger flashed in their depths.