Page 25 of Stepbrothered by the Mountain Man

Chapter Eight

Levi

Maya drags her heels into the hardwood. “What if—”

I cup her face. “Maya, I’ve already claimed you as my own. You’re mine. No matter what anyone says, we’re not going back, angel. We discussed this last night.”

“But—”

“No buts. I won’t hide the fact that I’m in love with you anymore. Not from the guests, the mountain residents, and certainly not our parents. We’re connected now. Bonded. My seed is in your womb and it will be again tonight. No going back.”

“No going back,” she breathes as I pull her into a long kiss.

I lace my fingers through hers as we enter the dining hall for breakfast the next morning. I can feel her palm shaking in mine, but I squeeze it three times. I love you.

She squeezes back, but I can feel her hesitation as everyone turns to us.

Dad eyes our linked fingers and smiles, before shoveling some scrambled eggs down his throat. “See, I told everyone it’d all work out. Just some sibling rivalry.”

I pull out Maya’s chair and tuck her back in before sliding beside her and taking her hands in mine again.

“Dad, Kat.” I clear my throat. “There is no sibling rivalry between Maya and me. I don’t view Maya as a sibling. I never have and I never will.”

Kat drops her fork, and it clatters loudly against her plate. “What are you saying?”

“Mom, he’s saying that we’re family, but not in the way you want us to be,” Maya says, fiddling with a curl by her ear.

At their confused expressions, I blurt, “I’m in love with Maya. I’ve known since she was eighteen, but I tried to squash those feelings away for the sake of your union.”

“I-I...” Dad trails off, looking at Kat, who looks like she’s about to faint. “In love?”

“We tried to hide it. To kill it,” I say. “I didn’t want to cause the family any drama, but the more time that passed, the more I realized that Maya is my soulmate. My future wife.”

“Wife?”

“Yes Dad, my wife. There isn’t another woman out there for me.”

“Is this why you kept saying you wouldn’t get married or have kids?” Kat asks softly.

Dad looks surprised at this, then just as suddenly it’s as if he’s drawing his own conclusion. “Is that why you were so adamantly against it whenever I tried setting you up with a girl from the bay?”

“It didn’t feel right,” I say, stroking Maya’s fingers with my thumb.

“But your ages,” Kat says. “You’re both so young. Especially Maya. You haven’t really lived to know who’s all out there. Someone other than...well, your stepbrother.”

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