Stepbrothers: Justin & Gabe E-Book

H.G. Ellis

• Herausgeber: H.G. Ellis
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2024

Beschreibung

Justin if barely hanging on, then a debt is called in, and he thinks he'll have to pay it off with his body. That's when Justin meets his stepbrother, Gabe.
Gabe is a wealthy workaholic who is grieving the loss of his younger brother when his troubled stepbrother comes into his life. Justin needs a job and Gabe can't turn him away. He hires Justin as his personal assistant then demands he move in. Gabe is a man who is used to getting his way. Even when Justin becomes too much of a temptation for him, Gabe can't let him go.
The arrangement turns into a lifeline for both of them, but Gabe has enemies who want to use Justin against him.

Leseprobe

Stepbrothers: Justin & Gabe (MM Romance)

By H.G. Ellis

Copyright © 2024 H.G. Ellis

All Rights Reserved.

No part of this publication may be used, reproduced or transmitted in any form without written permission from the author or publisher, except in the case of brief quotations used in reviews.

This book is a work of fiction. All characters and events depicted are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

All characters engaging in sexual acts are eighteen years or older.

Any person depicted is a model.

This novel contains material intended for mature readers.

Stepbrothers: Justin & Gabe

MM Romance

H.G. Ellis

Chapter 1

~Justin

The door to the roof of my building doesn't lock securely. Anything sharp will unlock it. I just slide in the switchblade I always carry and get it open. To look at me, no one would think I was the kind of guy to carry a switchblade, though recently I have noticed people edging away from me, like I give off a bad vibe.

My hair is super short, and the dark circles under my eyes are a permanent feature now. My clothes are loose on me. I probably look like a scarecrow as I stand on the edge of the rooftop. My clothes flap in the wind which stings my eyes.

From where I stand, I can see the gray, cloud covered sky between the buildings and also mountains in the far distance. My mind is blank, as gray and murky as the sky.

Time crawls along until my phone sounds making me jump. It didn't startle me bad enough to make me fall. Nothing seems to be bad enough to make me do that. I step away from the edge to answer my phone. I have to. It's Royce.

He's a guy I only met about a month ago. All I know about him is that bad people are afraid of him, and he doesn't hesitate to shoot someone in the leg just to make sure his friends are paying attention. When that kind of guy calls, you answer.

"Hello, Justin. I remember you owing me a favor," he says.

"Yeah. What can I do for you?" I ask after I swallow and take a shaky breath. His voice brings back what happened in that warehouse, where those guys forced me to go. The moment of fear, of hopelessness, surrounded in the dark, it's all too vivid, and I have to make myself focus on Royce's voice on the phone and what he's telling me.

"There's someone I want you to meet. He's been feeling down. There may be something you can do for him."

"OK," I say but it's not at all OK. Royce probably thinks I do it for money. Other guys thought the same thing. Some didn't take no for an answer. That's why I carry the switchblade now.

"Just a little meet and greet then you and me will be square," Royce tells me.

"Right," I say numbly while being terrified of what Royce might want me to do with this guy.

I owe Royce my life, but right now I don't know that my life is worth all that much. Still, I believe in paying my debts, so I agree. Once he ends the call, I head down to my one room apartment to get ready, to try to make myself look like something other than roadkill.

That call from Royce brought back so many bad memories. He saved me, but there is too much in my past that hurts and haunts me. I'm barely hanging on.

What I have can't be called a life. I breathe and keep myself alive but I don't know why. I guess I'm alive because I haven't stepped off that ledge yet. I did almost step into traffic, right in front of a truck. Then I thought about the driver. It wasn't fair to involve anyone else.

Sometimes that last step is the only future I can see. It would be better than what almost happened with those guys. Or with Dane and... I can't think about my mom right now. I can't.

I'm going to pay off my debt to Royce. I'll stop thinking and feeling and just go, do whatever I have to do. It's the price I have to pay for still being alive.

As I follow the directions Royce texted me, I find myself on the riverfront, the most expensive part of Tidedale where the buildings line the shore and their windows reflect forests and the hills across the river. I stop in front of a massive apartment building. This is a weird place to go to pay off my debt to Royce. I expected something seedier, maybe a motel.

His text said to go up to the top floor. Here that means the penthouse. A doorman lets me in and directs me to a private elevator. I can't see a single hint that he knows I don't belong here or that I can be here for one reason only. That is a true professional.

On my way up, I can only hope I don't look as horrible as I feel. Before heading here, I jumped in the shower, shaved real quick and put on a clean shirt and jeans. The last of my clean clothes. They don't make me look any better and I can't imagine why Royce picked me for this kind of thing.

He would have never sent me on an errand like this if he knew me, if he knew about my past. That night in the warehouse, he saw how I acted when those guys attacked me, how I shut down, but he probably thought that was all about them and what they planned to do to me. Partly it was, but I was also reliving the past, the way I always do if any man tries to touch me.

I'm not the guy for this job, but I didn't know how to tell Royce about my trauma. It's not something I can talk about. If I try, I fall apart.

As I get off the elevator, I find myself in a hallway that's all marble and fancy wallpaper. I approach the door to the penthouse and then my legs fail me. I'm short of breath and I know I can't go through with this. I can't even move to turn back, to take the elevator down and run away.

Panic has me rooted to the spot. I'm too afraid to do anything. I don't know what Royce will do if I fail him. He shot a guy to save me. He won't understand if I back out. A guy like him, he'll make me pay one way or the other. I know it.

Gripped by indecision and panic, trying to get myself under control, I stand halfway between the elevator and the door to the penthouse. Then suddenly the door opens and a man with piercing blue eyes stares at me grimly.

"Are you coming in?" he says though the look he wears would be more appropriate if he was kicking me out.

"Umm, Gabe?" I say since Royce only gave me his first name.

"And you're Justin, the interruption to my day," he snaps at me. "The doorman said you were on your way up, but you took your time. Come in."

This guy is incredibly good-looking and that makes me think that he can't possibly be Gabe. A guy as gorgeous as him, who lives in a place like this, he could have his pick. He wouldn't need Royce to send guys over to him, especially someone like me. Unless he's into something really nasty... Damn. My vision goes dark at the edges and I grab the doorframe.

"Are you on something?" he asks and puts out his hand like he wants to make sure he catches me if I fall. That's unexpectedly nice of him.

I can only shake my head and that makes me feel dizzy. Maybe I should be on something. This would be a lot easier if I was high.

"Are you...?" I'm gasping out the words and can't finish. I try again. "Are you him?"

"I'm Gabriel Eckland. And you're so pale you're almost gray. Better sit before you fall down."

When I don't move, he takes my arm and leads me inside through an entryway and into a spacious living room decorated in stark colors, furniture with modern lines, abstract paintings on the walls. Soon I'm sitting on a leather sofa and then Gabe is pushing a bottle of water into my hand. It's very cold and I find that bracing. After I take a sip, I do feel a little bit better, but I'm still too aware that I'm in way over my head.

Furtively, I take a quick glance at Gabe as he sits on the other end of the sofa and stares at me openly. By the tired look in his eyes, I think he must have had a sleepless night, maybe a lot of them. His sandy hair is kind of messy and the stubble on his face is almost a beard. He has on an expensive looking but rumpled, dark blue shirt, untucked, and a pair of jeans, and he's barefoot.

"I'm Justin," I tell him and can't remember if I already said that.

"I know. And you still look unwell," Gabe says.

I turn my eyes away to check out the view out the glass doors so I don't have to face what's next. But then I risk a quick glance at Gabe again and notice that his eyes are on the view as well and that the expression he wears is as grim as when he opened the door to me.

I remember what Royce said about him being down and how I was supposed to do something for him. Surprising myself, I almost want to reach out to him, touch his face or hug him or something. Weird. I must really be out of it.

That's not like me. I'm not into guys when I have a choice about it. Which right now, I don't.

So far Gabe is only gazing into the distance. The silence between us feels heavy, and when he finally speaks, I jump a little at his deep, gravelly voice.

"Maybe you'll feel better if you eat something." He gets up and goes to the kitchen. "Come on."

As I follow him with halting steps, for the first time I notice the large kitchen full of dark gray, metallic surfaces.

"Don't just stand there," Gabe tells me and points at the stools on the other side of the kitchen counter. Then he opens the fridge with a sigh. "I don't even know if anything is still good in here."

I don't want to eat but it's not like I want to do anything else either. I just watch as he dumps takeout containers in the trash one after the other until his fridge is basically empty. That's not a good sign, not that I want any food.

"I can't really eat anything much," I tell him, but he acts like he didn't hear me.

"There's probably something edible in the freezer." He pulls out two frozen meals and sticks them in the microwave. "I'm not a good host, I guess," he grumbles.

While the microwave is going, I fidget and Gabe shoots me a glare so I just stare at the giant marble counter. He pulls out two bottles of water and slides one to me. It almost slides right off the counter before I barely catch it and I earn another glare from Gabe. I already left one bottle on the coffee table. Did he forget that? Is he nervous too?

Once the food is done, Gabe opens one container and sets it in front of me along with a fork then sits next to me. At first I just stare at the food as stream rises from it, and he doesn't touch his either.

It's only when he sees that I'm not eating mine that Gabe opens his container then warns me, "Watch out, it's hot. I guess I should have put this on plates, but we already covered that I'm a bad host."

The way he's talking seems so odd to me, but it's not like I know what's normal when it comes to going places to give sexual services. I poke at the food, but even the aroma of the high-end frozen meal doesn't entice me. The food gets pushed around and I only have a bite or two. It turns out that Gabe isn't eating his either. His head is down and he's sitting very still.

"This smells good. I wish I could eat more," I tell him trying to draw him out of his dark mood.

At that, he frowns at me so maybe I should let sleeping dogs lie and pretend to eat. "I knew someone who would devour food right off my plate if I didn't eat it fast enough," he says but his voice is so low, I'm not sure if he meant for me to hear him.

But I did hear him and now I'm wondering if the person he's speaking about is an ex. Is he suffering because of a break-up? I don't know why, but I feel like that can't be it. There is something very dark about his vibe, something final, something familiar, like the thing that went wrong in his life can never be fixed.

I shut my eyes on that thought and hear him say, "Don't force yourself to eat. I don't want you making yourself sick."

"Right," I say and just drink some water.

We both give up on the food, but now I don't know what comes next. He doesn't seem to be in any hurry to move things along, and since he's not paying any attention to me, I stare at his profile then my eyes stray lower and I can't help but notice his incredible body.

There is no way someone like him needs help getting guys to jump into bed with him or do whatever else he wants. So what the hell is going on here? I know the answer can't be good and the grim look in Gabe's eyes as he turns to me confirms it.

"You don't look anything like you father," he says out of the blue.

"What? How would you know my dad?" I ask. Maybe he has me mixed up with someone else.

"What do you mean how? He's married to my mother, Christie Eckland. What kind of question is that?"

He looks dismayed, and I just stare at him. What the hell is going on here?

I'm so confused, but I still try to explain myself. "I haven't spoken to my father in a long time. I don't know anything about him." I definitely don't know anything about any marriage. My father failed me when I needed him most, so I haven't been keeping up with the latest news about him.

"Your father hasn't said much about you either," Gabe admits.

"My father doesn't like to be reminded that I exist," I say coldly. Gabe looks like he wants to argue but just sighs. Maybe he recognizes the truth of what I said.

"Are you telling me you came over here without even knowing who I was?" Gabe asks.

"Royce said..." I think back to what he actually said, try to separate it from what I assumed. For so long all anyone wanted from me was to force me into sex, so I thought Royce sent me here for that. But he never actually said it. "He said he wanted me to meet someone."

"And he didn't tell you I was your stepbrother? Do you always do whatever Royce tells you without question?" Gabe asks.

How am I going to explain that? I keep it simple. "I owe him so here I am."

"I assume he at least told you about the job," Gabe says.

"He didn't give me any specifics," I say so I won't have to admit what I've been thinking all this time.

"I need someone to do a few things, keep things in order for me around here." He waves at the empty fridge and the freezer looked empty too after he took out the two frozen meals we didn't eat. "It's just simple chores. Would you be interested in that?"

"I guess," I say. I still haven't recovered from the whiplash of what I just found out, but I try to focus on what Gabe is telling me.

I guess this is a job interview with my stepbrother. I had pretty much given up on getting work and just resigned myself to getting kicked out of my hovel of a one room apartment when my money ran out, and then...

I guess this means Royce wanted me to take this job. It would be weird to work for my stepbrother who I didn't even know about until now. But how did Royce know about him?

"So Royce knew we were stepbrothers even though I didn't," I say.

"He 'claims' he met you by chance then discovered who you were afterward," Gabe says. For some reason he sounds suspicious, but I'm still confused.

"And how do you know Royce?" I say though maybe I shouldn't ask. Gabe seems like some kind of rich, business type. Royce is all kinds of shady.

"We're in business together." His tone makes it clear that's all he'll say about it, so I leave it at that. He starts talking about the job, the pay and hours and I only half hear him. This is all too weird.

Not to mention I was ready to do it with my stepbrother with no questions asked. I've sunk so low. Still reeling from all this, I miss some of what Gabe is telling me about this job.

It's not like I'll refuse. Whatever deal he's offering, I don't have much choice but to take it since it's now obvious that's what Royce sent me here for. "Sounds fine," I tell Gabe.

"We have a deal then," he says with finality and I immediately get scared, feel like I should run while I can. Run from what? It's just a job.

It's also a lifeline that I wasn't even looking for. But here it is in the form of my stepbrother.

Chapter 2

~Gabe

I had no intention of hiring anyone until the moment I offered the job to Justin. I agreed to meet my stepbrother mostly to humor Royce and a little bit out of curiosity. His father never talked about him and that made me want to meet him.

Then I end up asking him to work for me. Royce said that Justin needed a job desperately and that I just as desperately needed someone to keep me from keeling over from hunger.

Then Justin nearly did pass out practically on my doorstep. He's so thin and pale. It's like looking at a ghost.

Nothing Royce said prepared me for how worn down and starved Justin looked. I couldn't just let him leave. He is obviously even worse at taking care of himself than I am. I had to do something for him.

Justin is gone now, and I'm still reeling from meeting him and hiring him. Then I text Royce to make sure my stepbrother doesn't have a drug problem. If he does, he's going straight into rehab. Royce assures me he's not on drugs.

"He's had some troubles." That's all Royce will say. I already know that his mother died a few years ago. There might be more, but that one fact is enough. Losing my dad was hard enough though we weren't that close. Losing Derrick was hell. Still is.

I don't sleep much, haven't since Derrick died. I lie down, try to make my mind go blank and wait for the night sky out my window to turn a pale gray. This morning, I feel more animated maybe because Justin is supposed to report to work.

He took the job, but I don't know if he'll actually show up. He seemed shell-shocked after my job offer, like he couldn't quite absorb it as a fact. Still, that's hardly a good reason for me to be on pins and needles wondering if he'll be here.

Justin shows up a little early and looks almost as nervous as yesterday. As I let him in, he asks if I have any instructions.

"Get the kitchen in order," I tell him.

"In order?"

"Use your judgment," I say a little impatiently. "I don't want to think about food, drinks, dishes. Take care of what needs taking care of. Stock the kitchen so it looks like someone actually lives here. That might get my aunt off my back about that one thing at least."

Actually Aunt Brenda has wanted me to hire a housekeeper for a while instead of just having a service in to clean and get out. But I think my aunt was picturing someone matronly to keep me fed, and not a guy barely in his twenties who looks like he couldn't fry an egg.

I can't wait for my aunt to meet Justin. Maybe that's why I really hired him. Since he's so thin, I tell him, "Help yourself to anything you want." Then I remember the state of the fridge. "Or fill up the fridge then you might have something to help yourself to." I give him a wry smile. He just stares blankly, like a sleepwalker.

Justin seems to be about ten steps behind, but I just keep going. "This is your phone and a credit card as back up. The phone is set up for payments." I hand them over and he stares at them like he has never seen a phone or a credit card before.

While he turns his blank, blue-eyed stare on me, I tell him as encouragingly as I can, "I'm sure you'll figure it out." With that I leave him to do whatever he wants about the kitchen and go to my office.