The Live-In Temptation (Steele Brothers of Starlight Cove #2)

by Brighton Walsh

“She was waiting up for you,” Mom said, her voice barely more than a whisper. “Said she wanted to make sure Daddy got home safe.”

And, hell yeah, I’d let him boss me around in the bedroom if he did so in that voice. Put me on my knees and tell me to open up, Daddy.

He might’ve been an ass, but being on the receiving end of that glower and his I’m going to ruin you and you’re going to like it vibe? Ten out of ten, would recommend.

The point was, she was sunshine chaos, a decade younger than me, and absolutely the wrong choice in every measurable way.

All day and all night in a confined space together with only a very independent four-year-old to serve as a buffer? Absolutely not. I’d either get fired or fucked—maybe both.

It was pretty perfect. So perfect, in fact, I had to keep reminding myself it wasn’t mine.

“I might be younger than you, but I’m sure there are things I can teach you.”

All I knew was I couldn’t pretend anymore, and I was damn tired of trying.

A smile swept across her face—bold and bright and vibrant—and her pure happiness stitched up a part of my heart I didn’t even know was broken. “That’s what Mommy used to say!”

I was quickly coming to realize that, when it came to Chloe Bradshaw? Zero was exactly how much self-control I had.

“Fuck it,” I muttered before cupping her face and kissing her like I was going to lose her before I’d even had the chance to have her.

Be my dirty girl, and come on my cock in the bathroom while you’re on a date with another man. Show me exactly how much you love it when I fuck you.

And I sure as hell should’ve remembered what he looked like in turnout gear. Spoiler alert: like sin and safety had a very hot, very off-limits baby.

“Gonna fuck you like I’ve been fantasizing about since that first night. Gonna ruin you for anyone else.”

Her grin widened, her shoulders relaxed, and she looked…content. She looked like mine.

But god…in that moment, I wanted it to mean everything. Wanted to believe it wasn’t just tonight…wasn’t just this. Wanted to believe that maybe—maybe—this was something else. This was something more. And those thoughts terrified me most of all.

I wanted to believe him. Wanted to live in a world where a man like Xander Steele wanted me that completely. That desperately. That reverently.

“You think I care about a little blood, baby?” He moved his thumb faster against me, dragging his lips up the column of my throat to my ear. “I’d fuck you in a goddamn war zone if it meant being inside you.”

I’d learned a long time ago that wanting didn’t mean keeping. And Chloe? Wild, beautiful, radiant Chloe? She was never mine to keep. And she sure as hell wasn’t meant to stay.

“You look like every inch of you belongs here—right here. Just waiting for everything I want to give you.”

And you love it, don’t you? Love how I take you. Like you’re mine.” “Yes.”

I shouldn’t have stayed this long. Should’ve left before she needed me. Before she loved me. And I definitely should’ve left long before I fell in love with either of them.

I wasn’t supposed to let Emma fall in love with her. I wasn’t supposed to fall in love with her.

The words I wished fiercely were true. “I’m yours.”

I’d fallen in love. Me—the girl who never stayed. The girl no one ever asked to stay. And now, I wasn’t sure I’d survive what came next.

I’d learned a long time ago, it didn’t matter how much I loved something or someone or how badly I wanted to be a part of it. That didn’t mean it would be mine to keep.

“I’m saying I want to add to that list for the rest of my life, Chloe. I want to give you adventures every day—whether we do that in Starlight Cove or we continue your yearly trip to Sedona or we swing by the elephant sanctuary in Thailand. It means I want you to go on the greatest adventures of your life. But I want you to experience them with me and Emma.”

I snuggled closer, allowed myself to be wrapped up tight in his arms, content with the fact that I was finally home. And I was never leaving again.