Caught RED Handed.

Chapter 5

Julian (Simeon) Pov

Allison.

Or, as I had known her for one unforgettable night: Red.

Seeing her downstairs in the foyer, standing next to Sarah, had felt like a sudden, violent jolt to my system. I had spent the last two months trying to track down the sharp-tongued, captivating woman who had vanished from my bed before I woke up, leaving nothing behind but lingering scents of vanilla and cherry—a deadly combination—and a bruise on my ego.

To find out she was the daughter my new stepmother wouldn’t stop raving about was a twist I hadn’t expected, but one I was absolutely going to explore

Allison choked out, her voice trembling as she tried to find her footing. She stepped slightly in front of her friend, a pathetic attempt at a shield. “What do you think you’re doing? 

“Sarah is on a call with my father, completely occupied,” I said, walking slowly into her space. The room was shrinking with every inch I closed between us. “And downstairs, I was playing by her rules. Up here?” I closed the gap. “We’re playing by mine.”

I let my eyes trail down her body, watching the way her chest heaved with each breath. She was terrified—her pulse visibly fluttering against her throat. Yet beneath the panic, I could see that same fierce spark in her eyes that had driven me mad at the bar. She wasn’t as brave as she wanted the world to think.

All my attention on the pretty little deer—or fox—right in front of me, and I couldn’t wait to sink my teeth into her. A wicked smirk pulled at the corner of my mouth.

As I stood towering over her, the intoxicating scent of her hit me instantly, obliterating two months of frustration. I reached out, my fingers gently catching a strand of her hair, twisting it around my finger as I brought it to my nose, forcing her to tilt her chin up to look at me.

“What do you want, Julian, if that is even your real name?” she said. Defiance earned a laugh from me. There’s the brave girl I know. My hand let go of her hair, instantly wrapping around her waist and pulling her flush against my chest. I forced her chin up with my other hand, making her maintain eye contact.

“Settle down. That’s no way to greet your new stepbrother,” I said.

Allison’s eyes flared with pure rage. She didn’t look like a trapped deer anymore—she looked like a dog ready to bite. “Stepbrother? You have got to be kidding me. You lied about your name at the bar, and you’re lying to my mom, pretending we just met.”

“I didn’t lie about anything, Red,” I said, my grip tightening on her waist, anchoring her small frame against mine. “Simeon is my middle name. I just didn’t feel like sharing the family legacy with a beautiful stranger who was planning on slipping out of my bed before sunrise.”

“Let me go,” she hissed, her hands pressing hard against my chest. “I mean it, Julian. I’m leaving.”

She wrenched herself out of my grip with a sudden burst of energy and bolted toward the door. In two strides, I easily overtook her. Just as her hands reached for the door handle, I slammed my hand flat against the door above her head. The heavy thud vibrated through the wood, cutting off her escape. I pressed my body completely against her back, trapping her between the door and me.

“You’re not going anywhere,” I growled against her ear.

Allison spun around, her back hitting the locked door, her eyes wide as she found herself cornered. The air between us was practically vibrating, thick with a dangerous, intoxicating heat that neither of us could deny.

Slowly, I leaned down, trapping her between my arms on either side of her head. My eyes dropped to her lips—the lips I had been thinking about for the last couple of months.

“Do you have any idea what it’s been like?” I growled as my face hovered inches from hers. “Two months, Red. Two months of waking up to a cold bed, wondering where you went. I missed these lips. I missed the way you taste. And now you’re living under my roof?”

A breathless gasp escaped her mouth. Her defiance melted into pure, unadulterated desire as my breath brushed against her skin. She looked up at me, completely consumed by the roaring tension building between us.

I didn’t wait another second. I slammed my mouth down onto hers.

The kiss was explosive—a desperate, possessive reclamation of that night at the bar. Allison let out a soft moan against my lips. Her hands instantly flew up to grip my tailored jacket, pulling me closer instead of pushing me away. I tasted the sweet, sharp hint of vanilla and cherry as her mouth parted for me, destroying any boundaries we were supposed to keep. My hands slid down to her hips, lifting her slightly against the door as the heat between us threatened to burn the entire room down.

The sharp, heavy sound rattled the very door Allison was pinned against, sending a violent shockwave through both of our bodies.

“Ally? Darling, are you in there?” Sarah’s cheerful voice carried straight through the door, sounding entirely too close “I just wanted to check on you before I head down to the office with your stepdad!”

We both froze as we heard the door knob slowly twist. Allison’s breath hitched in absolute horror. Her hands were still tangled in my shirt, her lips swollen and flushed from my kiss. My body was still completely flush against hers, my hand tightly gripping her waist, blocking the very door her mother was standing on the other side of.