“One bad apple can spoil the bunch…”
Please refrain from spoiling this book for yourself or others.PrologueKadeEvery man regrets certain things in his life, and most of them have to do with a woman.
I should have known from the moment June Wildfox appeared on my doorstep, holding her mother’s hand, that she would end up being my downfall. It was an instant infatuation. Those clear blue eyes, that pale skin. Her silky mass of dark waves. She was a walking obsession for me from the moment I met her.
She was off-limits from the start. And I never could resist a bite of forbidden fruit.
My name is Kade Miller, and I’ve made a huge mistake. A mistake of such epically shitty proportions, my life might fucking go up in flames at any given moment.
Problem number one: I’ve been in lust with my stepsister for years.
Sweet, innocent June, whom I first saw with her hair in pigtails wearing a cute little pink dress and with muddy knees. Naïve, easy to tease June, whom I bullied throughout her childhood.
And then, when she was a teenager, I gave her the worst punishment imaginable. I ignored her. I pretended she didn’t exist, and I didn’t give a damn.
Well, I fucked it all up. She’ll never buy that I hate her now.
Because here’s problem number two: I just fucked June Wildfox.
My twin brother Parker and I had a plan. A good fucking plan.
We wanted to take what was rightfully ours and reclaim my father’s fortune. But I never, not once thought I would become lost in those soft blue eyes, the curve of her breasts, or her hair falling down her naked back like a waterfall.
I hated her. Only months ago, I wished her dead. Hurt.
I wanted revenge. We both fucking did.
I was sure it would work. We both fucking were.
June would pay, and we’d get what our father had worked so hard for.
But as I look at her form under the duvet, her chest rising and falling softly with each breath she takes, I realize I care for June. I want to protect her from the darkness festering in my soul. The darkness she ignites with her fucking innocence. All fucking gone now because I took it in my fist, and I crushed it.
Just as I did fifteen years ago.
I’m torn between loyalty to my real sibling and a budding love for this girl—no, woman, because I just made her that—and this decision will tear me apart. I already know that.
I stroke her silky soft hair; my lips lightly brush her porcelain skin. She breathes a sigh of pleasure, and I rub my temples, realizing just how utterly fucked I am.
As far as regrets go, June Wildfox’s no-longer virgin pussy tops my motherfucking list.1June“What would you like to wear today, Miss Wildfox? How about your new Chanel two-piece?”
“I don’t care,” I groan, pulling my feathery-soft pillow over my head. “God, Maggie. Please shut the drapes. Nobody should be awake at this time of day.”
“But Miss Wildfox, it’s time for your four thirty a.m. yoga lesson!” Maggie clicks her tongue, torturing me by pulling the duvet cover off me.
“Please, Maggie, can’t we move it?” I’m pulling at strings, but I don’t want to get up and face another day of my boring routine. It doesn’t bring me any joy. Nothing has for freaking months. “I’m so exhausted… I’ve gotten up before five a.m. for six weeks in a row!”
“I’m sorry, Miss, but your schedule is jam-packed.”
I want to cry, but instead, I push my legs down to the hardwood walnut floor and stretch my limbs like a cat. “It’s okay, Maggie. It’ll calm down at some point, I’m sure. Any word from Kade or Parker?”
I should really stop asking at this point. Even my maid feels sorry for me. Well, they probably all do. I have four maids who work in shifts because some days, I’m on my feet for twenty hours. Each one looks at me with pity when I mention my stepbrothers.
And as I stare with empty hope at yet another one of her embarrassed-for-me frowns, I realize they’re just never going to call.
“Why don’t they want to talk to me?”
“Not this again, Miss Wildfox,” Maggie begs, groaning. “They are mean boys. You don’t want boys, Miss Wildfox. You want a man.”
“They’re my brothers.”
“Stepbrothers,” she reminds me. This time, I don’t fight her on the statement. The truth is, I only see one of them as my brother. The other is… well, the other one is Kade. “You will have to forget about them, Miss Wildfox. Keep yourself busy, and you will move on in time. They don’t deserve your energy.”
“Maybe I don’t want to move on. Maybe all I want is...” My words falter off, and I bite my bottom lip.
“Would you rather be in pain?” Maggie muses. “Hurting by blaming yourself forever? No, Miss Wildfox. It’s time to move on, don’t you think?”