Stepbrother Bear: The Complete Set Read online

  STEPBROTHER BEAR

  The Complete Set

  Rosette Bolter

  Also By Rosette Bolter

  Shared By The Dragon Clan

  Badass Dragons

  Worshiped By The Bear Kings

  Engaged To The Vampire Twins

  PART ONE

  CHAPTER ONE

  He was a bastard to me from day one.

  Not just to me, but to me especially. You could ask the members on my side of the family that still remember him. Or the teachers from high school. At fifteen years old he used to skulk around the hallways there with his shaved head and eyebrow ring always getting him into trouble. Somewhere between being caught selling dope to seventh graders and another student finding a loaded gun in his locker, the school coordinator was pushing to have him expelled. Right back in her face, he launched a sexual harassment suit, going as far as to claim the teacher had tried to blow him in detention and said once he was eighteen he should move in with her.

  All bullshit. All lies.

  He got expelled sure enough, but not without having that coordinator resign soon after. My father was so annoyed he sent him away to military school to straighten him out. That was almost five years ago, and I hadn’t seen him since.

  My stepbrother.

  My arch nemesis, Aiden Phillips.

  Why oh why, am I even thinking about him today?

  “You’ll never guess who I got a call from last night,” my stepsister Lara said looking around the table. “Are you ready for it…? Aiden.”

  A bolt of electricity struck the back of my throat.

  “Aiden? That’s your brother, isn’t it?” replied Lara’s best friend Madison Davis. “The one who went to military school?”

  “Uh-huh,” Lara nodded. “I couldn’t believe it. No one’s heard from him in at least two years.”

  “How strange,” remarked another friend, Rebecca Stirling. “What’s he been doing with himself all this time?”

  “He didn’t say,” Lara said. “Actually he didn’t say much at all. But one thing he did ask about – was you, Bianca.”

  I sat upright in my chair. I thought I hadn’t heard right. “Pardon me?”

  “He asked if you were coming to the wedding.”

  The wedding.

  Yes, it was all about to happen.

  Lara, who was a couple of years older than me, had gotten engaged last year to an up and coming executive at an advertising agency, by name of Ryan Decker. Since then time seemed to have rollercoastered, and now we were already here, eating breakfast at a restaurant, the morning before Lara and Ryan’s big day.

  I shook my head, that cold feeling in my throat refusing to go away. “What did you tell him?”

  “I told him you were coming, duh,” Lara shot back. “Then he wanted to know if you were married as well, or if you had a boyfriend –”

  “What?” I thundered loudly. “What’s his Goddamn problem?”

  “Not sure,” Lara said. “But I think he was just trying to find someone to go the wedding with who he knew wouldn’t have a partner.”

  My mouth dropped in front of them.

  A voice popped into the back of my head: Don’t say or do anything stupid.

  “Don’t worry, I told him to get bent for you,” Lara said.

  “Phew,” I sighed. “After all that crap we went through when he was around before … I’m happy to never see him again.”

  “He is coming to the wedding though,” Lara confessed. “I couldn’t say no about that.”

  “He’s coming?” I stammered.

  “What table is he on?” Madison asked. “I thought we were all full up.”

  “Yeah…” Lara muttered cutting her toast. “Mom and Dad said they’re happy to sit outside during the reception. They really wanted to be sure he would come.”

  “But Mom and Dad are sitting next to me!” I exclaimed.

  “Not anymore,” Lara grinned.

  CHAPTER TWO

  I wasn’t even thinking about Aiden when the blue motorcycle roared into the wedding resort’s car park, leaving a cloud of smoke behind it. This wasn’t my day. This wasn’t about me. When my stepmom asked me what was wrong later that morning as we were getting changed into our dresses, I couldn’t bring myself to tell her. After all, how selfish of me to even be worried about this. And the thing was Aiden would be twenty years old now, just like me. No longer a rebellious teenager, but a grown up and responsible adult. He probably had his whole life together now. And he’d be mature enough to treat me with the respect I always deserved.

  The wedding ceremony was to be held outside in roughly half an hour. Ryan and his two best men had been here all day helping set up for the function. I was standing out in the green grassed area just opposite where the ceremony would take place. Family, friends, everyone was already out here with just a few stragglers arriving about now.

  Laura and her bridesmaids were in the upstairs part of the resort, inside one of the bedrooms where she and her new husband would be staying in overnight.

  I guess we were all feeling nervous. But it was a happy kind of nervous.

  This was interrupted by the rampaging motorcycle that nearly crashed into someone’s car as it skidded to a halt. Every single person out on the grass area turned to the adjacent car park to see who on earth had made such an entrance. Ushered voices were asking, “Who is that?” “Does anyone know them?” “Is it someone who works at the resort?”

  Whoever they were, they weren’t dressed for the wedding.

  Head to toe in dark leather, the motorcyclist stepped off his bike and stared at everyone from behind the confines of his helmet. He then put his hands together and started clapping for an unknown reason.

  And then it hit me…

  Was it?

  Could it?

  He pulled off the helmet and let it fall to the ground beside the bike. Underneath we could now see the handsomely brazen face of the young man who occupied it. His eyes lurched forth unrelenting towards the stunned party, and then he began to make his way over.

  “Oh my gosh!” my stepmom cried out suddenly. “That’s Aiden! That’s my son!”

  My whole body went completely numb as my stepmom ran out to him, embraced him, kissed his cheeks, and went back for another hug. I noticed there was no sign of Aiden hugging her back.

  “Give it a rest,” I heard him say. “You’re embarrassing me.”

  “Oh right, sorry,” his mom went on. Then she turned to the rest of the group. “It is him! It’s my son!”

  Aiden walked in front of her and stepped out towards the group.

  His first gaze was out towards the chapel where Ryan and the best men were, still staring at him.

  He then swung round and gazed along the rest of the group.

  Even though I was staring right at him, his eyes never met mine at all.

  “It’s great to be here,” Aiden declared. “Sorry I’m not suited up like the rest of you.”

  “Oh nonsense,” my stepmother squealed behind him. “We’re just so glad you’re here.”

  “Good,” Aiden nodded. His eyes focused on our aunt and uncles. And then our grandparents. “That’ll be the end of it then.”

  What initially seemed like an aloof statement from him, came with it a dire warning for anyone who chose to criticize him. Proving though that he ultimately didn’t care what anyone thought of him, he walked out through the middle of the chairs set up in front of the chapel, and kept going past them ignoring Ryan and the best men.

  He stopped whereupon he reached the edge of the lake, and undid the fly of his pants.

  Some continued to watch while others turned in dismay.

&nb
sp; Once he was finished, he walked back again the same way, his face showing no sign of emotion whatsoever.

  Although Ryan was near seething with anger (and a friendly hand was placed on his shoulder to calm him down), nobody, not one person, dared to say a word.

  CHAPTER THREE

  When Aiden first saw me, he burst out laughing.

  No, I don’t mean when we first met as kids – I mean right here, at the wedding in front of everybody.

  Stupid me, I thought there must’ve been a reason he was laughing. I put my hands to my forehead expecting to find bird shit or something else I hadn’t realized was there, but no.

  My regular, everyday face was cause for laughter enough.

  “Is there … something wrong with you?” I asked slowly.

  He shook his head, stifling the chuckles. Then walked over from where he was.

  “Bianca, Bianca, Bianca,” he chanted on his approach. “My little stepsister. You haven’t changed a bit.”

  “Oh. And you find that funny.”

  “That dress you’re wearing,” he said, “looks like it belongs to Mom. You should have worn something more revealing. So you could show off that body of yours.”

  “Excuse me?”

  He stood next to me, and nodded to where the groom and best men had gone back to work. “I knew you wouldn’t be with anyone. Your face has always been a pair of glasses away from being called ‘dorkus-malorkus’.”

  Oh Jesus. Here he comes with the nicknames again.

  “But seriously, one of these guys would take pity on you if you gave them enough cleavage. And then you know, you can finally show all those people that hated you that you’re finally happy.”

  “What?” I stammered. “Who hates me?”

  He put his arm around me. “I’m serious, which one do you want? I’ll chat him up for you.”

  I pushed him off of me just as my stepmom was walking over.

  “Hey Bianca,” she said. “Be nice. Your brother was trying to give you a hug.”

  I looked back to Aiden and his face was drooped at the ground like a sad puppy dog.

  “He didn’t even say hello,” I exclaimed.

  “Just give him a hug,” Mom insisted. “He’s your family.”

  He looked up at me, a small smile forming on his face.

  He opened his arms. “Come here, Bianca.”

  Oh gawd…! I can’t believe this is happening!

  He pulled me in with his broad, muscular arms, and I landed against the hardness of his leather jacket.

  “That’s it,” Mom purred, walking away. “Everyone happy…”

  “You’re a dick, you know,” I whispered to him.

  Then I felt his hands moving down towards my backside.

  He grabbed hold of my left buttock and squeezed it. Twice. “Honk, honk.”

  “Son of a bitch,” I squealed, pushing him away.

  “Whoa, settle down,” Aiden said, laughing it off. “Just jokes.”

  “You’re crazy,” I said, shaking my head.

  “You can’t blame me though, right?” he shot back. “Someone’s gotta give that thing some attention.”

  As I pondered my next rage induced comeback, Aiden blew me a kiss and muttered, “Sweet dreams, sis.” Then he turned his back to me.

  Perhaps that was the part that hurt most of all.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  As we made our way to be seated before the ceremony, I could still feel Aiden’s hands all over my backside. They weren’t there of course. But the fact was that they’d left a rather large impression on me. To be honest, I didn’t understand why he had done it. Was it just a natural occurrence for him to wreak havoc wherever he went? I guess he hadn’t changed at all then. At the same time, I couldn’t help but wonder why I felt I was being the one singled out…

  Our family was sitting on the left side. Ryan’s on the right. Before selecting my seat I waited for Aiden to go first to be sure he wouldn’t sit next me. As far as I could tell, thankfully, he wasn’t even remotely interested in me anymore. He was standing at the back of the chairs where most of the taller gentlemen were. He was on the edge of it, leaning towards Ryan’s side to chat up some young female relatives of his.

  I looked away from him, and quietly made my way along the edge of the seating. I sat down in one of the middle rows next to one of Lara’s friends, a girl named Nicole Gibson.

  She leaned over a moment later and squeezed my arm. “Isn’t this exciting?”

  “I’m excited,” I said trying not to blink.

  “How was breakfast this morning? Was she nervous? Freaking out? I know I would be.”

  “I think she’ll be okay,” I said. “Lara’s a strong woman.”

  “Mmm,” Nicole nodded. She looked over her shoulder a moment.

  “So was that your brother who rocked up on the motorcycle?”

  “Lara’s brother as well,” I muttered.

  “Of course.” A pause. “Did you see him take a piss in the lake? Pretty disgusting.”

  “Yeah. He’s always been like that.”

  “And he isn’t even dressed properly.”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “Do you know if he’s single?”

  I stared at her, my eyes widening. “I haven’t seen him in years.”

  “I saw him talking to you before. I thought you guys were a couple for a moment,” Nicole joked.

  “Can we not talk about Aiden right now?” I said, holding back my anger.

  Nicole bit her lower lip while she nodded. “Aiden,” she whispered. “His name is Aiden…”

  Underneath my chair, where no one else could see, I lowered my left hand, and curled it into a fist.

  Eyes ahead, Bianca. You can do this. Think about how much you love Lara and how happy you are for her. Forget about him. He is nothing. He is nothing. He is just so nothing at –

  “What’s that you’ve got there?” boomed a deep voice from behind my chair. “Is it for me?”

  Before I even had a chance to turn around, his fingers were pushing into the middle of my fist, breaking it open.

  Upon seeing it was Aiden who was crouched on the ground beside me, I slapped him violently in the face.

  He stared back at me, his mouth open in shock.

  Several people in the rows in front of me turned their heads.

  “I’m sorry,” I murmured. “Sorry everyone. He just gave me a fright.”

  “Way to overreact, lol,” Nicole quipped.

  “Mind if I sit here?” Aiden said, getting into his place on the grass beside me.

  “Yes,” I said firmly. “Stand up or find a chair.”

  “But the grass is so comfortable,” Aiden said. “Like, you just have to sit on this grass.”

  “Hi,” Nicole said, leaning over me. “I’m Nicole. Friend of Lara’s.”

  “Oh, I didn’t see you there,” Aiden remarked, sitting up a bit. “You’re hiding behind this ugly thing on the chair here.”

  I looked at Nicole, my eyebrows raised.

  “Just kidding, sis,” Aiden said and then smacked me in the arm with his fist.

  “Ouch,” I said, reeling back.

  “Too hard?” he mused. “I owed you one anyway from the time you hit me.”

  “Great…”

  I turned away a moment and he punched me again.

  “What the fuck was that for?” I hissed.

  “Now you owe me one,” Aiden said. “Come on, touch me.”

  “Stop it, you brat.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry, did I … hurt you?” he said climbing to his knees. “I think I can see tears.”

  I looked away from him.

  No tears. No tears at all.

  I’m not crying over this…

  “Seriously, there are tears. Wow, that’s so gross. Can you see them, Nicole?”

  Nicole smiled, glad to finally have some attention. “Um… She does seem a little teary.”

  “Just let it out,” Aiden whispered, putting his hand on my leg. “
Be your ugly self.”

  Nicole gave a short giggle.

  “Kindly remove your hand,” I said.

  Aiden took his hand away. “Okay.”

  My eyes moved over him, and I wasn’t sure if I was blind with tears, anger, or poisonous hate. “That’s enough.”

  He nodded. “I know.”

  I then heard Nicole gasp.

  “Look,” she said. “They’re coming.”

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Ryan was standing by himself to the right of the celebrant. His two best men, who would soon join him, were dressed a little differently than he was, wearing white shirts underneath their jackets, with white flowers hanging out of their breast pockets.

  Ryan’s getup stood out from theirs, wearing a deep purple shirt and flower, with an exquisitely refined jacket. As the bridesmaids and best men approached the isle, everyone became silent and watched with eager eyes. Madison and Rebecca looked absolutely gorgeous wearing shiny beige dresses with ribbons in their hair, each clutching a bouquet of flowers as they were walked down the isle with the best men on their arms. When they reached the front the girls went to the left, and the boys to the right. Anticipation was building. Suddenly, there was music blaring out of the loudspeakers behind us.

  Lara and Dad appeared at the front almost everyone stood up immediately and began to clap and cheer. Lara looked half embarrassed, but overridden by her joy than anything else. Without realizing it I was now in a state of relief that the ceremony had begun and I could relax from the irritation that had been caused to me previously.

  The music soon died and everyone returned to their seats as the celebrant proceeded to conduct the ceremony via a hands-free microphone.

  At this beginning though, as I watched, I felt something descend lightly to the back of my neck. I suspected it was a fly or something, but I didn’t want to swat it away. My attention was where it should have been.

  All at once it was moving. I put my hand to it and grabbed something large and fury – upon seeing it was a mouse I threw it and screamed.