Page 9 of Step Daddy

Kit shook his head. “No, she’s the only one I’ve had a serious relationship with.” He averted his eyes. “I’m not that great with women and living under Ted’s thumb doesn’t help. If he’s not demanding that I drop everything to do his bidding, he’s embarrassing me when I have someone over.” Kit sighed. “So, I stopped bringing anyone over.” He regarded Gareth again, his expression sheepish. “I don’t have a lot of friends in general.”

Gareth absent-mindedly cracked his knuckles. What I wouldn’t give… At the same time, he’d been adamant about leaving behind the violence and hatred he’d grown up with. His world was about love and acceptance. Life was meant to be enjoyed and filled with people you cared about. Yet here he was, enraged the way he used to be all the time, his blood pressure spiking at the mere thought of Ted and his assholery.

Gareth gave a sharp nod, a new resolution filling him. “That’s all going to change. You’re starting over. You’re beginning life, not running away from it. I’ll call my attorney in the morning, then we decide our next move. No matter what, you never have to go back if you don’t want to.” He locked eyes with Kit. “You can stay here as long as you want, can figure out what you want to do with your life after all this shit is over with.”

Kit’s eyes glistened. “Thank you, thank you so much. You have no idea how much that means to me. I was so scared.”

The compulsion to go to Kit and gather him in his arms was brutally hard to resist. They needed to retreat to their corners before he lost all resolve and did that very thing.

Gareth rose. “You’re welcome kid. Now let’s get you settled. I’ll grab you some sweats and a tee you can use tonight, and I’ll toss your jeans into the washer for tomorrow.”

Kit shot to his feet. “I can wash them. I don’t want you waiting on me, you’ve done so much already.”

Gareth was about to protest, but then realized that his usual ‘I’m the Daddy and I’m supposed to take care of you’ reasoning wouldn’t work. “Uh, sure. I’ll show you where that is, too.”

He also had to bite his tongue as Kit started gathering up the paper plates and cleaning off the table. Maybe he should head to the club to get some of this need to pamper someone out of his system before he made a terrible mistake with his brother.

* * * *

Kit lay on his side in bed, clutching a pillow to his body with the other one folded like a taco under his head. He’d been sleeping like that since he was a kid, his knees pulled up as if framing the bottom of the cushion. However, he’d never had such soft and decadent down pillows, let alone sleek cotton sheets and a velvet comforter.

He should probably be jealous that Gareth had such an amazing life with a fancy condo and beautiful things, but instead, it filled him with joy. Hope. Gareth’s transformation was proof that the destructive influence of Ted could be eradicated, that escape was possible.

Kit was also relieved that Gareth had found happiness. At least, it seemed like he had. There was something about him that hadn’t been there before. While Gareth had always been sure of himself, had never backed down from a challenge, he now seemed more comfortable in his skin. Calmer, and maybe more compassionate? He couldn’t quite figure it out. It was almost as if Gareth had switched from being focused on himself all the time to genuine concern about others. At least, he was when it came to Kit.

Kit hugged the pillow tighter. Could Gareth tell? Did his brother’s newfound concern for others mean he could see the desire in Kit’s eyes?

The last thing Kit had been concerned about when he’d run from Lancaster to seek Gareth’s help, was the attraction to his brother that had been building over the past couple years. He didn’t dare let on that he’d been following Gareth’s motocross career—he’d be mortified if Gareth ever found out. Well, at least the part where the sexy promo pictures turned him on.

Kit winced. He was such a pervert for having those kinds of thoughts about his brother. As if wondering whether he was gay, or maybe bisexual, was stressing him out enough, now he was lusting after his stepbrother.

It had to be a case of hero worship and nothing else, right? After all, he didn’t get off on gay porn or think about other men that way, so it didn’t make sense. Then again, he’d never found any kind of porn to be all that interesting. And while he’d been, if not in love then deeply in like with his ex-girlfriend, he’d been oddly thankful that Ted had been such a cock block.

Kit hadn’t been all that excited when they’d fool around. It was super weird—at least to him it was. At first, he’d assumed it was because he was kind of shy and lacked self-confidence. But then he’d started to wonder if maybe he was gay. That had led to his brief foray into gay porn, which had been interesting on one level, but useless on the level he’d been hoping for.

But his brother? All he had to do was look at a picture of him, stare into those intense blue eyes, revel in his dazzling smile that Kit wished was only for him, and he’d sport an insta-woody.

Kit sighed. He was going to hell for sure.

A soft knock sounded at the door and Kit gasped. It was like Gareth had overheard his thoughts. He gave himself a mental shake. Years of living with Ted had made him too paranoid.

“Come in.”

The moment the words left his mouth, he wondered if he’d done the right thing. Gareth entering the darkened room while Kit’s dirty thoughts still lingered seemed like a bad idea.

As the door slowly opened and Gareth peeked in, Kit quickly scooted to an upright position. A sliver of light from the hallway hit his eyes, and he guarded them with his hand, palm out.

“Oh man, sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you.”

Gareth’s roughened voice, a low tone that had only deepened with age, wasn’t helping Kit’s erection problem any. He slid the pillow he’d been hugging over his lap, hoping the gesture wasn’t too noticeable.

“That’s all right. I wasn’t asleep. Can’t shut off my mind.”

Or my pervy thoughts.

Gareth chuckled. “Yeah, same here. I just wanted to see if you’re okay, if you’ve got everything you need.”

Kit nodded. “Everything’s great.” He glanced down, staring at the pillow hiding his shame. “That sounded kind of stupid under the circumstances.” Kit lifted his head. “I meant this is great, you’re great.”

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