Semua Bab The Playboy Stepbrother's Rules: Bab 31 - Bab 40

The coastal property sat low against the water, all glass and pale wood. Cars pulled up one after another. Staff moved between them with clipboards and polite smiles.Troy finished speaking to the woman with the room list before Alex could open his mouth.“End suite,” Troy said. “Two keys.”Alex stood a few steps behind him, bag strap tight in his hand. Stolas was further down the path with his father. Their eyes met once. Stolas looked away first.The suite was quiet when the door shut. Wide bed. Low sofa. Balcony doors that showed a strip of dark beach. Alex put his bag down beside the armchair near the window and stayed there. He pulled a book out, opened it, and fixed his eyes on the page.Troy locked the door. He set his own bag on the bench at the foot of the bed and unzipped it without hurry. Alex kept reading. The words did not connect.After a minute Troy came to stand in front of the chair. In his hand was a small black pouch. He turned it over and let the contents fall onto

The first warning came during the late afternoon session.A staff member stepped into the meeting room and spoke quietly to Silas near the front. Silas frowned, checked his phone, then stood and addressed the room.“There’s a coastal storm moving in faster than expected,” he said. “Roads back to the city may close by evening. We’re extending the retreat by one night. Rooms will remain available. We’ll adjust tomorrow’s schedule accordingly.”A low murmur moved through the group. Chairs shifted. Someone near the back muttered about flights. Troy’s hand, resting on the table near Alex’s folder, moved slightly closer until his fingers almost touched the edge of the paper.Alex kept his eyes on the open page in front of him. One more night. Same suite. Same locked door. Same watch.Silas answered a few quick questions about logistics, then dismissed them for the afternoon. People began standing, collecting phones and jackets. The sky beyond the glass had already turned a heavy, solid grey

The mansion felt too still after the retreat.Alex stepped into the front hall with his bag and the faint smell of salt still clinging to his jacket. Bridget appeared from the kitchen, wiped her hands on a towel, and looked them both over.“You two look exhausted,” she said. “Roads were bad?”“Storm delayed us a night,” Troy answered. “We’re fine.”Bridget’s eyes moved to Alex and stayed there a second longer. “You sure?”Alex nodded. “Just tired.”She let it go, but not without another glance. “There’s food if you want it. Silas is in the study.”Troy steered Alex toward the stairs with a light pressure at his back. Upstairs, he followed Alex into his room and closed the door.“Phone,” Troy said.Alex unlocked it and held it out. Troy scrolled through the recent messages, paused on the partnership channel, then handed it back.“No new private contacts while we were gone?”“No.”Troy watched him for a moment. “Unpack. Rest. Don’t go anywhere tonight.”He left. The door clicked shut.A

Alex walked farther than he meant to.The argument kept replaying in pieces his own voice saying *sex toy*, the still look on Troy’s face, the way the kitchen had gone quiet after the words landed. He didn’t go back for his phone or a jacket. He just kept moving until the streets changed and the buildings got older and lower.Kevin’s walk-up looked the same as the last time. Alex pressed the button for 3B and waited.A crackle. Then Kevin’s voice, rough with surprise. “Yeah?”“It’s me.”A short pause. The door buzzed.Kevin opened the apartment door in a T-shirt and sweatpants, hair messy. His eyes moved over Alex once no jacket, no bag, expression scraped raw and the irritation that usually lived in his face shifted into something sharper.“What happened?”Alex stepped inside. “I walked out.”Kevin closed the door. “Walked out of where?”“The house. We argued. I said things I haven’t said before. Then I left.”Kevin stared at him for a second, then dragged a hand down his face. “Sit

Troy went out again the next night.The first bar was the same one from before. He ordered a drink, left it half-finished, and let someone find him. This time it was a man he’d slept with once months earlier—easy, familiar, no expectations. They barely spoke before leaving together. The apartment was closer than last time. Troy fucked him with the same controlled focus he always used, finished, and was already reaching for his clothes when the man tried to pull him back down.“Stay a bit.”“No.”“You’re in a mood.”Troy pulled his shirt on. “Don’t talk.”The man sat up, offended. “You’re the one who came looking for this.”Troy looked at him once. “And I got it. That’s the end of it.”He left before the other man could answer. Outside, the night air did nothing. He sat in the car with both hands on the wheel and stared at the dark street. The physical release had lasted less than a minute. Under it there was only the same scraped-out feeling he’d been carrying since Alex walked out of