Breaking Challenges E-Book

Ann Omasta

• Herausgeber: More Happily Ever Afters
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2021

Beschreibung

The next generation of Davis twins is here, and these dashing heroes are just as sexy and full of surprises as the first set of Davis twin brothers.

Tyler Davis has finally accepted that his identical twin brother, Tristan, will always be the golden one. The only thing that truly matters to Ty is his long-term crush, Alexis Bell. He longs for beautiful, lovable Lexi to choose him.

Tristan Davis is sexy, charismatic, and charming. He’s a winner. It’s not his fault that his twin brother isn’t. Tristan knows how Ty feels about Lexi, but the gorgeous, witty, and sexy female is drawn to him, rather than Ty. What is Tristan supposed to do––turn her away?

Dirk Davis is the forgotten, neglected, and second-rate Davis. He wasn’t born as a pampered twin, but he is determined to gain acceptance into the folds of his family––even if he has to force his way in.

These three handsome heroes will face shocking twists, unexpected turns, and potentially breaking challenges on their quests for happily-ever-after endings.

Join them now as they search for the true meaning of kinship, forgiveness, and love––the trifecta of delightful Davis family traditions––because you deserve a new swoon-worthy Davis brother book boyfriend.

This novel can be read as a sizzling standalone or as Book 4 of The Davis Twins Saga.

Leseprobe

BREAKING CHALLENGES

THE DAVIS TWINS SERIES: THE NEXT GENERATION

ANN OMASTA

CONTENTS

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Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Chapter 37

Chapter 38

Chapter 39

Chapter 40

Epilogue

The Daring Desires Set

Let’s stay in touch!

Acknowledgments

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1

TYLER

I think I understand why Cain killed his brother, Abel, in the Bible story about the first murder. Don’t get me wrong… his reaction was extreme, but it can be infuriating to constantly be bested by your sibling. Believe me––I know from first-hand experience.

Even though it was many years ago, I vividly remember learning the story about the first brothers. Nana Janice had insisted we go to a fancy summer Bible school camp offered through her church. None of the parables we heard resonated with me quite like the one of Cain and Abel. While the other children recoiled at the idea of the first murder, I nodded my head because I saw where Cain was coming from.

Everyone wanted to place the sole blame on Cain and say what a horrible person he was, without questioning why God preferred Abel’s sacrifice to Cain’s. Had Cain toiled tirelessly to till the soil and provide his best produce as an offering to his Father? If so, it seemed like he had every right to be frustrated. Maybe not to the point of murder, but we don’t know what drove him to that extreme.

When I asked our camp counselor, Miss Tilly, if Cain might have been justified in his anger, her face turned pale white and she blustered in response to my inquiries. Even at the tender age of eight, I could tell that she didn’t appreciate my line of questioning. I suppose it didn’t dawn on her that I saw the way she beamed at Tristan and glared at me.

I might have been young, but I was already used to people preferring my brother. He was the golden child, and I was his inferior identical twin brother. It wasn’t lost on me that we were supposed to be identical. I share his genes, so I should be as smart, strong, fast, funny, cute, engaging, and charming as him. Unfortunately, I’m not.

It doesn’t take long after meeting us for others to sense my inferiority to my brother. People are naturally drawn to Tristan from the instant they meet him. They don’t have that magnetic reaction to me.

For the most part, I’m fine with the difference in how we’re treated. It’s not Tristan’s fault he is so charismatic. It’s just the way things are. Over the years, I have gotten used to it and managed to accept my role of living life in Tristan’s shadow. Deep down, I hold onto the hope that someday someone will choose me over him, but I try to keep that wish firmly tamped down in my subconscious.

Our parents work hard to keep things equal between us and to make sure I feel treasured. If anything, they have always coddled me a little more than Tristan because they see the differences in how others treat us. They aren’t to blame for their sons’ vastly different social statuses. It’s just the way things worked out. Despite how much I have tried to change it, I fear that it is the way things will always be.

My emotional reaction has matured from denial and anger into begrudging acceptance. People are simply drawn to Tristan, like he’s a mesmerizing sparkler. With me, it’s more of a slow burn––very slow.

I kept telling myself that it was better to have a few close friends than a bunch of acquaintances. High school made remembering that difficult. Tristan was the all-star quarterback with girls falling over themselves to get near him. He was constantly in the center of a circle of his teammates and adoring fans. I almost needed to make an appointment if I wanted to speak with him, which I usually didn’t bother to do. He didn’t seem to notice my distance. He had too much going on to take note of his twin brother’s absence from his social calendar.

It wasn’t that he disliked me or insulted me. He just didn’t seem to see, or care about, the lack of me. I wasn’t on his social radar, which was fine by me. It was easier to not be near him. When I was in his vicinity, I was inevitably compared to him, and I always came up short.

We had settled into and accepted our roles as the golden boy and his shadow. Things were calm and predictable. I might not have liked it, but I understood our hierarchy. It made sense… until she came.

Alexis Bell arrived in our calm, pristine lakeside town and changed everything.

2

I’ll never forget the first time I saw her. Lexi was frolicking on the beach with her little sister. They were building an elaborate sand castle, even though they were both too old to be playing in the sand.

I was a good distance away, but her beauty still took my breath away. I stood mesmerized as the wind whipped her sun-kissed blond hair around her face. My feet were frozen in place as I stared at her, trying to figure out if she was real.

She cupped a hand over her forehead to block the bright sunlight as she looked in my direction. Lifting her other hand, she gave me a friendly wave. It took a moment for me to register that her gesture was aimed in my direction.

My heart raced and my palms immediately dampened as I slowly raised my own arm to wave back. It was shocking, yet exhilarating, that this teen beach goddess had waved at me.

Forcing my legs into motion, I moved in her direction. I was determined not to blow this moment.

When I got closer to her, I was delighted to discover that she was even more beautiful up close than my mind had imagined her to be from a distance. The beach sun had turned her skin a deep, golden tan. Her cheeks were flushed a pretty pink. I couldn’t be sure if it was from the heat or my approach.

I stopped awkwardly when I got as close as I dared. The last thing I wanted was to scare her off.

“Hi!” she said. Her voice was enthusiastic and friendly. The sun glistened on her shiny lip gloss, making her lips look wet and utterly kissable. I couldn’t help but stare.

“Hi,” I responded, trying to insert flirtation into my tone, but falling flat. I looked down at my feet and kicked at the sand, trying to think of something witty and charming to say.

She smelled like strawberries and sunshine. I was drumming up the courage to tell her that when my spine stiffened. I felt him before I heard or saw him. It was some sort of sick sixth sense about my twin.

I could tell the moment she noticed him. Her bright blue eyes were drawn to him like a magnet. They looked right past me, over my shoulder, and straight to Tristan.

“Well, hi, there,” my brother said as he joined us. His voice somehow held just the right amount of friendly flirtatiousness to draw and hold her attention. “I’m Tristan,” he told her, beaming a brilliant smile in her direction.

She looked utterly dazzled by him. I couldn’t do anything but stare. This couldn’t be happening… not with this girl. Why did he have to come along and ruin everything?

Not taking note of my distress, Tristan waved a casual hand in my direction. “I take it you’ve met my brother, Tyler.”

Barely even taking a moment to glance in my direction before gazing back at Tristan, she nodded and said, “I’m Lexi, and this is my little sister, Sara.” She thumbed the mousy girl standing behind her, without tearing her eyes off Tristan.

“Sara,” Tristan nodded and winked at the younger girl, making her giggle.

I felt frozen. I knew that I needed to jump in before Tristan stole Lexi, but I was at a loss for what to say.

Without missing a beat, Tristan took Lexi’s hand and lifted it to his lips. “Lexi,” he let her name roll off his tongue.

To say she was charmed would be putting it mildly. I was horrified to be standing there like a mute statue, watching my brother seduce the girl of my dreams. My mind slowed as if it was working through sludge. I couldn’t come up with a witty––or even logical––line to save my life.

Tristan tore his eyes away from Lexi for a moment to glance in my direction. It only took a fraction of a second for recognition to register in his eyes. He knew I was enamored with Lexi. To him, that meant the competition was on. He wasn’t able to let me have anything I wanted. Some innate drive deep inside him wouldn’t allow him to lose to me.

I didn’t view us as competitors, but he did. He always had, and likely always would. If he knew that I wanted something, he would do anything in his power to get it. It didn’t make sense because he had everything, but he couldn’t stand for me to win––ever. I couldn’t really even blame him for it. It was simply his nature.

The light of accepting a challenge flashed in Tristan’s eyes, and I knew my chance of earning Lexi’s heart had been eliminated before we really even had a chance to begin. I had shown my weakness to Tristan, and he would take full advantage of it.

I’ve wondered a thousand times since that fateful day, if I had just been able to hide my attraction to Lexi, would Tristan have quickly moved on to the next shiny thing? Was he truly drawn to her, or was he seduced by the idea of besting me yet again?

Time seemed frozen as we stood there. So much was happening in the heavy silence between us. I’m not sure if the sisters were aware when the dynamic changed, but I knew the precise moment when Tristan set his sights on winning Lexi. It felt like my heart was being ripped right out of my chest.

He had the audacity to grin in my direction. He looked to me like a predatory wolf, but when he turned that smile on Lexi, her cheeks turned an even lovelier shade of pink and she fluttered her long lashes at him.

My stomach soured, and I almost gagged. Why couldn’t she see that he only wanted her to keep me from having a chance with her? The scene playing out before me was my absolute worst nightmare, yet there was nothing I could do to stop it.

“Would you like to go for a walk with me to look for beach glass?” Tristan aimed the question at Lexi, who looked utterly enchanted by his attention.

“I’d love to,” she said dreamily. Her facial expression and voice both fell when she remembered her sister. “But I’m supposed to watch her.” She pointed over her shoulder in Sara’s direction.

“She can come with us,” Tristan offered gallantly. I nearly rolled my eyes when he added, “Ty can keep her company.”

And just like that, our roles were established.

3

Sara and I trailed along behind our superior siblings. Although I sensed that she didn’t mind being stuck with me, I did not care to get to know her. Lexi was the one I wanted, not her plain-jane kid sister. Besides, I thought Sara must be a couple of years my junior. I wasn’t a cradle robber.

When Tristan smoothly slid his hand out to encompass Lexi’s dainty one, I audibly sucked in a breath. It was torture to watch, but I couldn’t seem to break my gaze away.

“You might as well give up on that,” Sara informed me logically, tilting her head in their direction when she noticed my distress. “She has googly eyes for your brother, and Lexi always gets what she wants.”

I didn’t bother to tell her that I was overly-familiar with having a sibling that always won. It was too painful to admit aloud that my chances for a relationship with Lexi were over before they really began.

We walked in silence for a long time. Although I couldn’t hear what they were saying, Lexi’s delighted laughter wafted back to us, carried by the lakeside breeze. Whatever Tristan was saying was obviously captivating her. I loved the sound of her giggles, but it grated on my nerves that they were in response to my brother’s charm. He was effortlessly seducing her, while I stood silently by––helplessly watching it all unfold before my horrified eyes.

I found a brilliant blue, perfectly-smooth piece of beach glass and stooped to pick it up. My first thought was that it was the exact shade of Lexi’s eyes.

Sara marveled at it, “Oh, that’s pretty!”

Even though I could tell that she wanted the stone, I just nodded. Excited to give Lexi my new treasure, I picked up the pace of my walking to catch up with them. Sara stayed in stride with me, obviously having caught on to my intentions.

Tristan’s flash of irritation when we appeared beside them wasn’t lost on me. I held the jewel-colored glass out in front of Lexi. “Here, I just found this…”

Before I could finish my sentence, Tristan snatched the glass out of my hand. “This is almost the exact color of your eyes,” he said to Lexi, holding it up near her face to verify. After examining the two together, he finally decided, “It’s a close second, but nothing could be as beautiful as your amazing eyes.”

She fluttered her long lashes at him, obviously completely smitten. I was too stunned to speak. Not only had my twin swooped in and charmed the girl of my dreams, but now he was also stealing my discoveries and ideas. She was supposed to be gracing me with that enamored look, not him.

To this day, I can remember how the fury rushed through my veins in that moment. If I’d had a weapon, I most certainly would have used it on Tristan. He always ruined everything for me, but this was too much to take.

When he gave me his classic ‘I win again’ grin, I nearly came unglued. It seemed almost like he relished taking what I wanted. I wondered for a brief moment if I might have been wrong all these years. Perhaps Tristan was the evil twin after all, not me.

That reprieve was short-lived because I quickly remembered my vivid fantasies of murdering my own brother, or at least maiming him beyond recognition. Despite how much I wished it could be different, I was, and likely always would be, the Cain to his Abel.

When your twin brother is always the hero, the only role left to play is the villain. Like it or not, I feared that was my lot in life.

I stared at Lexi’s seashell pink, perfect nails as my brother brought her hand up to his lips for a sweet kiss. There was no denying that he was smooth––especially not when she started giggling like a silly schoolgirl.

Having had enough, I stalked away. I knew they wouldn’t bother to follow me, and that was just fine. I’d had enough of their sickening budding relationship. My best chance with Lexi would be if Tristan quickly tired of her and moved on to his next conquest. Unfortunately for me, that was not how things worked out.

4

It was the longest summer of my life. Tristan and Lexi were inseparable. Their constant togetherness caused both sets of parents to meet and become friends. That left me to entertain Sara.

When I complained to my mom about having to spend all of my time with Lexi’s pesky little sister, Mom told me that I was being selfish. The anger welled inside me, almost to the breaking point, but I managed to hold it in and fume silently. I wasn’t the one being selfish, but no one else seemed to see that.

With each passing day, Tristan weaseled his way further into Lexi’s heart. She already looked at him like he could walk on water, so the prospect of her crush on him growing seemed impossible; yet somehow, he managed to make her dazzling blue eyes light up more every time she saw him. It was nauseating.

I was counting down the days until the end of summer. We lived on the lakeshore year round, but Lexi’s family was only here for the season. As much as I couldn’t stand the thought of her leaving, I didn’t want to witness her ever-growing feelings for Tristan any longer.

When I asked Sara if they would be coming back next summer, the tug of guilt in my stomach over the hopeful look that sprang into her eyes was undeniable.

She answered, “Yes, I think so. I’ll probably grow a lot by then. I might even be as tall as you.”

Knowing that I needed to shut down any hopes she was harboring before she got her heart broken, I said, “You’ll never catch up to your sister.” The devastated look on her face before she masked it made me feel like a total ass, but I didn’t want her to feel the way I currently did, so I refused to amend my statement.

I knew what it was like to care for someone who only had eyes for my sibling. My intention had been to let her down easily before her feelings for me grew. Instead, I think I ended up making it worse.

Sara covered her mouth and ran off in tears. I cursed and slammed my hand into the outer wall of my dad’s pole-barn where he built his boats. It wasn’t my brightest move, but I blame it on my being an angry, frustrated, horny, and jealous teenager, who wasn’t thinking with the head on his shoulders.

In search of an ice pack for my already-throbbing knuckles, I opened the office door to my dad’s massive, pristine facility. If I live to be a hundred, I’ll never forget the horrendous sight inside the building.

Tristan had my sweet, innocent Lexi backed up against Dad’s latest creation––a one-of-a-kind, handcrafted wooden boat that had been sanded and glazed until it gleamed. I heard Lexi moan as she laced her fingers through Tristan’s hair at the back of his neck. He was kissing her hungrily, like an uncouth monster. Unfortunately, from the sighs and encouraging sounds she was making, there was no doubt that Lexi liked what the ape was doing to her.

Lexi’s shirt was partially unbuttoned and one of my brother’s hands was inside, groping her perky breast underneath her pretty, lace-trimmed bra. I had imagined my own hand and mouth on that tantalizing mound of flesh so many times. The visual of my brother’s hand––so like my own––doing exactly what I ached to do was almost unbearable. When I saw his other palm begin snaking its way up her leg inside her short, swingy skirt, I couldn’t take it anymore.

I ran outside and retched in the grass.

The sight of him intimately touching the girl of my dreams was etched on my brain. As much as I would have liked to un-see or forget it, I couldn’t. That horrid vision even haunted me during my sleep. I woke up drenched in sweat, shaking, and distraught night after night.

Even though I had figured they probably shared some level of physical intimacy, actually seeing it with my own eyes was traumatizing to my hormonal teen brain. I’m not proud of it, but the idea of finding a way to get rid of Tristan, so that I could be there to comfort Lexi through her heartbreak crossed my mind more than once.

It wasn’t the first time, nor would it probably be the last, that I fantasized about not being a twin. My life would be so much better if Tristan wasn’t always right there, besting me at everything. Perhaps if he hadn’t been born, I would be the golden child. I could be the winner, who got everything he wanted, rather than the second-class citizen, who paled in comparison to his brother.

As much as I didn’t want to, we ended up spending much of the remainder of the summer in each other’s company. Lexi was in charge of keeping an eye on her little sister. When Lexi batted her long lashes at me and asked me to come along on their adventures to keep Sara company, I was powerless to resist her. I would have preferred to sulk in my room, but I couldn’t have denied her anything when she gazed at me with those gorgeous cornflower blue eyes.

I grudgingly dragged along behind my brother and my crush to the movies, the harbor, the ice cream shop, the beach, the pier, the Ferris wheel, and anywhere else their hearts desired.

It was obvious on our adventures that Sara was continuing to develop a significant crush on me, despite my best efforts to quell it by being a grumpy pain in the ass. The more of a rude jerk I tried to be, the more Sara seemed to like me. If only that tactic worked for Lexi, but Tristan was already filling the role of ‘arrogant bad boy’ in her life.

Even though I couldn’t stand the thought of Lexi leaving, I was anxious for summer to come to an end. I knew that Tristan wouldn’t be able to keep it in his pants during an entire school year, so I was counting down the days until Lexi and her family returned to their home, which was also in Michigan, but no where near the coast.

I hoped that the following summer when Lexi’s family returned to Harbor Shores, she would have wisened up to Tristan’s womanizing ways and be ready to focus her time and attention on me––the brother who truly cared for her.

The clock ticking down the time to their departure was obviously starting to concern Lexi. We were at our usual table at the ice cream shop when she said, “I’m going to miss these delicious treats so much when we go home.” She emphasized her words by taking a large bite of her strawberry ice cream cone with the chocolate shell coating that she loved.

“You gonna miss anything else, baby?” Tristan leaned in and kissed her on the lips, not caring about the other patrons in the shop––including me––being forced to witness it.

Their public displays of affection made my stomach churn, but I couldn’t help wondering what her ice cream-cooled lips would feel like against mine. She already smelled like strawberries, so the addition of chocolate would only make her delightful scent that much sweeter. I leaned back in my chair so I could look around at anything but them. I needed to put additional physical distance between us.

The crazy fantasy of leaning across the table to find out exactly what those cool, sweet lips would taste and feel like was overpowering, but I knew that acting on it wouldn’t work out in my favor.

“I guess I might miss someone else,” Lexi teased my brother, batting her lashes prettily.

“Is that so?” He was leaned in, gazing at her. His lips were practically back to touching hers. He was exactly where I longed to be.

Lexi surprised us all by saying. “Of course. I’m going to miss Ty.”

It was obvious she was teasing and flirting with my brother, but I savored her words nonetheless. Evidently having enough of my mooning over her sister, Sara rolled her eyes. “Oh, he’s going to miss you, too.”

I wasn’t surprised that she had noticed my continued crush on Lexi, but I wondered if the other two knew about it as well. If they were aware of my feelings, they really didn’t care because they constantly flirted and kissed and carried on as if no one else was in their vicinity.

“Ty, huh?” Tristan asked her, tickling her side and making her giggle.

“Oh, yes,” she teased him further. “I don’t know how I’ll survive for nine long months without him.”

It was exactly what I wanted to hear, but I knew her kind words about me were only said to flirt with Tristan. The bait worked, he lunged at her, and they kissed like there wasn’t another soul in their deliriously happy orbit. I finally had to clear my throat when Old Mrs. Guthrie pinched up her face in distaste from a nearby table.

Proving that he had a tiny bit of decency left, Tristan pulled back. I’m not sure I would have had that much strength in the same situation.