Step Brother

Chapter 25

A heart stopping scream makes me jump awake. I try to sit up but Maddox's heavy arms around me don't allow it. Looking around the room, I spot Brooke in the doorway. "Finally!" she says, her hands up as she looks up at the ceiling. "Thank you. You've finally realized they should be together!"

Rolling my eyes, I lay my head back down and look at Maddox. He smiles at me before brushing a kiss against my forehead. "Good morning," he whispers.

"Good morning," I reply quietly.

I lean forward and kiss him. It's a slow, passionate kiss. We pull apart when we hear Brooke in the background. "Aww."

"Get out!" I yell, throwing my pillow at her.

She dodges it, laughing. "Okay, okay."

After she closes the door, Maddox and I are left alone once again. He runs a finger up and down my spine as I stare into his eyes. "This is the first time in four years that I've actually woken up happily," he says. "Four years since I last woke up next to you."

Laying my head on his chest, I take in his scent. He has always smelled so good. It's one of the things I loved about him. "I moved on," I begin. "I -"

"What did he to to make you so willing to be with me?" he asks.

I bite my lip. Will he think that's the only reason why I came to him? "I told him about us," I admit, looking at the wall.

"And?" he pushes me on.

"He had work to take care of back home so he left - said he'd be back in a few days. Then... the other night, my friend Chloe texted me. She asked if we were still together because he was there without me," I sigh. "I didn't get it to the next morning and when I replied, she said oops and sent me a video. He let her go down on him."

Maddox hugs me to his chest and kisses my forehead. "You deserve so much better than that," he murmurs.

I do know that. I refuse to let that man crush me - I'll stay strong. And I'll move on. "We've been together for three years and he refused to do anything with me. Sometimes I wondered if maybe I was doing something wrong but he just wouldn't let anything happen between us. I mean, you told me you loved me before he did. And I'm engaged to him!"

By now, tears are flowing freely from my eyes. He wipes away my tears as he rolls me to my back. "Don't cry, princess," he whispers. "I'm happy I could tell you I loved you before that asshole did."

He let's me cry while he holds me in his arms for what feels like forever. Thankful that he's here with me, I press my lips against his. Seconds later, he's straddling over me. We pull our lips apart when there's a knock on the door. "What?" Maddox groans.

"The front desk just called and said we had an hour before checkout," Brooke yells.

"Okay," he replies.

When he leans down to kiss me, I turn, making him groan. "We have a plane to catch," I say.

I gently push him aside before climbing out of bed. As I dress, I feel his eyes on me. "I hate planes," he admits. "They scare the hell out of me."

"I'll make you forget about your fears. But if you make us late, you're going to have a horrible trip back," I smirk.

When he hears this, he jumps up from the bed.

****************************

When we get back to town, we drop Brooke off before going home. Maddox stops at the bottom of the stairs and smiles. "I had fun."

Leaning back against the door, I smile at him. "Me too."

"I'm going upstairs to shower."

I nod and he goes upstairs. When I hear my moms voice coming from the kitchen, I walk towards it. A very familiar figure stands, talking to my mother, wearing an expensive black suit. My mom laughs at something he says and I clear my throat. "Hadley," Caleb smiles. "I missed you. What happened to your phone?"