Stepbrothers' Darling

by K.A. Knight

I dance like nobody’s watching. Leaving everything else behind. I twirl and grind as the beat controls me. That’s when I feel it... Eyes. It’s my turn to be watched.

The arty one, Asher, I think, with the blond shaved head. Bray, with the tied back brown hair, muscles to die for, flirty smirk, and nose and lip piercings. Shit... and then Cyrus, the grumpy giant, whom I wanted to climb like a tree.

I’m not broken. I’m not angry. I’m not alone. I just am.

I’ll sleep with the whole fucking football team in the living room if I want to. My body, my fucking choice.

We’ve just claimed Blair as ours to protect, and we protect ferociously and permanently.

What Crew owns, they protect. I’ll look after this broken little heart of hers and never let anyone close to it again. It’s a promise.

Being a friend doesn’t mean blind adoration, it means calling you on your shit when you need it.

“Friends can break your heart too, sometimes deeper than even a lover, because you expect them to always be there and have your back, and when it ends... it’s like grieving a loved one.”

Family has no secrets, and Blair is about to find out she has been adopted into us and she has no choice. She’s Crew. Forever.

“Here’s the thing, baby,” Bray says, turning to watch as I huff and fight off Cyrus. “We claimed you, you’re ours.” He shrugs with a smile. “No one will ever touch you again.”

“You want to come, baby girl? You want to fuck? Then fine, but it will only be with one of us.”

“We’ve never had anyone protect us, claim us, or threaten people for us before. It’s always the other way around. It was nice. You’re changing our lives, Blair, for the better.”

“Promise me you won’t let me hurt you all. Promise me you won’t let me break your hearts.” My head jerks up, and I meet her worried eyes. I capture her chin and pull her closer, kissing her. “I won’t,” I murmur truthfully against her lips, “because it would be worth the pain.”

“My girl do that?” I smirk, nodding my head at the fresh cut. “And I thought I couldn’t love her more.”

“We all have our pasts,” Bray offers sadly. “Things we wish we could forget... trauma we only think about in the dark.”

I search their eyes, which are open and sincere. These three men fill all those empty, broken pieces of me, making me whole. Cyrus’s strength. Bray’s laughter. Asher’s hopes.

“Blood in, blood out. Family isn’t always blood, but who you are willing to spill blood for.”

Love is all-consuming. When you’re in it, it’s a beautifully imperfect high. Then when it’s over, you feel like you might die, like you can’t breathe or survive without them.