Stepbrother With Benefits Read online

  Stepbrother with Benefits

  Lana J. Swift

  Stepbrother with Benefits

  Copyright © 2015 by Lana J. Swift

  Email: [email protected]

  Follow on Twitter: @LanaJSwift

  This story is intended for adult audiences only. It contains graphic detail of sexual situations and language which may be considered offensive by some readers.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are solely the product of the author’s imagination and/or used fictitiously.

  All sexually active characters portrayed in this work are 18 years of age or older.

  Amazon Edition License Notes:

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Amazon.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  Contents

  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

  Contact the Author

  Other Books

  Chapter One

  “Your destination is ahead, on the right.”

  Jack squinted through the slush-covered windshield of his compact SUV, struggling to find anything even vaguely familiar about the cityscape passing by outside. The black wiper blades beat furiously back and forth across his vision, whirring and clicking incessantly, but ultimately making little headway against the constant barrage of fluffy snowflakes that drove against the glass. During the past hour, the right half of the windshield had become completely obscured – with the stiff rubber blade skipping uselessly over a frozen crust of ice, and making it difficult to see much of anything out that side.

  It didn’t help that Jack had only visited this particular downtown neighborhood once before, late last August while helping his younger stepsister move into her first college apartment. Back then, the inner city street had been bright and sunny, with people milling about the sidewalks and the twin rows of tiny front yards all green and vibrant with grass and flowers.

  But now, late on a snowy Sunday night in darkest February, Jack was alone on the road. The world outside seemed cold and desolate, with every horizontal surface covered in a thick layer of white that turned potential landmarks into an unfamiliar alien landscape.

  “You have reached your final destination.”

  Slowing his SUV at the direction of the navigation system’s soothing and vaguely British-sounding female voice, Jack came to a stop in front of a nearly hidden driveway leading to an eight-story apartment complex.

  This had to be the place. He could vaguely recall the distinctive wavy metal roof over the main entrance, and how the one corner had been bent upwards.

  Using his blinker despite there being literally no one else around, Jack turned into the pristine white visitor’s lot and pulled into one of many empty parking spaces. Shifting the SUV into “Park”, he left the engine running and the heat blasting out the vents.

  Leaning back, the Jack stretched his arms and yawned, then laced his fingers together and cracked his knuckles. Thanks to this unforecast blizzard, the normally hour-long drive from his prestigious suburban home to the west side of downtown Chicago had somehow morphed into a grueling three-hour arctic trek. As a result, he felt stiff and tired... but most of all, famished, since he’d skipped dinner.

  Tugging off a pair of thermal leather driving gloves, Jack scrutinized the 1960s-era yellow-brick apartment building through the partially obscured windshield. Although the fresh covering of snow made everything look clean and bright at first glance, to his eye the building revealed its true age and chronic lack of maintenance through the peeling brown paint on the metal balconies, and the dark streaks of rust staining the spalling bricks.

  Was this really the same place he’d helped Ellie and her friends move into only five months ago? It somehow seemed nicer back then.

  With a sigh, Jack rubbed his cramping hands together to warm them. No matter his personal thoughts, this was Ellie’s life now... and so long as his little sister was happy, then he should be happy too.

  As late as this past Friday, Jack hadn’t even planned on visiting his nineteen-year-old stepsibling. But during one of their routine chats he’d let slip that work needed him in the downtown office for the first half of this week, and Ellie immediately latched onto the idea that he should come stay with her. His original plan had been to check into a nice downtown hotel on the company dime, but Ellie thought it would be so much more “fun” if he crashed at her cramped college apartment.

  Of course, there was a catch. Ellie already had three roommates claiming each of the private bedrooms, so the best accommodation Jack could have was the couch in the living room – which he’d been assured was “okay”. Although Jack was only in his mid-twenties and quite fit by his own estimation, he’d already served his time crashing on beat-up couches, and knew he’d end up paying for the bodily abuse come morning.

  Still, Jack would happily put up with almost anything for Ellie’s sake. The last year had been particularly hard on the both of them, and they’d only seen each other once since she’d started college.

  The bitter truth was, family was all Jack had left in this world. He would not – could not – allow the two of them to drift apart like so many adult stepsiblings did.

  Jack closed his eyes, the hypnotic swishing of the wiper blades lulling him into a nostalgic daydream. Incredibly gifted in creative design, he’d been recruited straight out of college by a top marketing firm that hoped to reach a younger audience. What Jack hadn’t been told, was that as low man on the totem pole his job would be mostly symbolic – involving flying back and forth between corporate offices and sitting in on meetings, like a youthful but generally inconsequential prop.

  See? We have a twenty-something guru; we’re in touch with today’s youth!

  All the jet-setting initially seemed like a perk, but after six months of practically continuous travel the novelty wore off, and the whole ordeal of living out of a suitcase became tiresome. One night when he was drinking alone in a downtown San Diego bar, Jack decided enough was enough. His new ambition became to prove to his bosses that he had the knowledge and drive to head up his own marketing team – which would allow him to work out of a single office, put down proper roots in his hometown of Chicago, and eventually find that someone special to share the rest of his life with.

  The gods of fate must have been listening to Jack that night, because it wasn’t long afterwards that he met Johanna, the driving force behind his rapid rise to success.

  They’d met – in of all places – on an airplane. With one of his frequent flights back to Chicago cancelled due to maintenance issues, Jack found himself re-booked on a later flight in the very last place any seasoned traveler would want to be: middle seat, coach, on a four-hour afternoon haul.

  As one of the last passengers to board, Jack could barely hide the disappointment on his face as he approached his assigned row and found a fat man occupying more than his fair share of the aisle seat, and an unattended little girl sprawled by the window. He knew beyond any doubt that this flight was going to be
hell... but as it turns out, his misfortune had a silver lining. Because the very last passenger to board the flight had been assigned next to the mother of the little girl three rows back – who was desperate to trade seats so she could be near her daughter. Before Jack knew it, the girl was gone and he was sitting beside the most strikingly beautiful woman he’d ever met. An angel... in a pantsuit!

  Naturally assuming that a stunning woman in her early twenties would be happily married, Jack kept to himself and tried to ignore the way his heart fluttered every time he stole a sideways glance.

  But as is almost inevitable in situations of forced proximity, an innocent conversation soon sparked as Jack and the woman commiserated over the trials and tribulations of long-distance air travel. As they chatted, Jack inexplicably found himself sharing intimate personal details – things he’d never told anyone outside of his immediate family.

  The next thing he knew, the pilot was on the overhead speaker asking everyone to put their seats into the upright position for landing. Amazingly, the two of them had been talking for over three hours straight! It turns out that not only hadn’t Johanna ever married, but that they shared an uncanny amount in common – from hobbies and interests, to foods and favorite movies... even quirky little details, like how they both enjoyed lightening storms.

  Over the course of the flight, Jack had grown so comfortable talking with Johanna, that it truly felt like he’d known her his entire life. For the rest of the week he went about in a giddy high, head stuck in the clouds – leaving his bewildered friends and co-workers to wonder just what had happened on this last trip!

  Shortly afterwards Jack and Johanna met for dinner, and then once again, and by the time their third date rolled around, Jack knew he was deeply and hopelessly in love. A mere glimpse of Johanna’s brilliant smile would lift his heart and make him feel like he was floating on air, while the sound of her voice could wash away the stresses of even the most trying day.

  After four whirlwind months of courtship, Jack was certain he’d found his one true soul mate and devised a surprise proposal – Johanna accepting his sparkling diamond ring with tears of happiness.

  Jack thought his life course was set, but fate had other, far crueler plans in store for him. Because on one frigid winter’s night, while Jack was away on business... that boundless happiness was cut tragically short.

  Fourteen months ago, just four months before their planned spring wedding date, Johanna was involved in a multiple car pileup during a freak winter blizzard. The police report stated that no one person was at fault; that sudden whiteout conditions made it impossible for anyone on the highway to see that the traffic ahead had already stopped. Only Mother Nature could be blamed, a fact that had been of precious little comfort to Jack. He remained in deep seclusion for weeks after the accident, barely able to function as he grieved for the loss of his beloved bride. It was only through the efforts of his sister, parents, and close friends, that some semblance of normality was eventually restored to his life.

  Glancing outside at the snowflakes streaming down through the bright yellow parking lot lights, Jack felt tears welling up behind his eyes.

  “Ah, Johanna...” he whispered to himself wistfully, fidgeting with the fingertips of his gloves. “I don’t know how I’ll ever be able to love anyone again...”

  Just then, there came a rapid knocking on the frosty side window of Jack’s SUV.

  Wiping the dampness from under his eyes with the sleeve of his coat, Jack peeked through a small clear patch in the glass and found Ellie trying to peer inside. Taking a deep breath, he pushed his sadness aside and forced a smile onto his face. After all, this should be a happy day – because he was getting to see his one and only stepsister!

  Pressing the button to lower the driver’s window, Ellie literally threw herself through the opening and hugged Jack as though she hadn’t seen him in years.

  “Oh my god, Jack! I’m so happy that you’re finally here!” she exclaimed in joy. “But what the hell are you doing sitting out here in the cold? Come on in already!”

  Jack returned Ellie’s affections with a rather generic pat on the arm. “Sorry, sis – just a little wiped after the bad drive is all! And, I’m kinda stressing about what I need to finish for work tomorrow... guess I might’ve drifted off.” He hoped she would accept the little white lie.

  “Oh come on!” she replied with a derisive snort, retracting through the window so Jack could open the door. “You’re totally brilliant in like every way, and I just know you’re gonna do fantastic like usual!”

  If only Jack felt nearly as confident in himself!

  Smiling warmly at Ellie, it was only then that he noticed that his sister wasn’t at all dressed for the freezing cold weather – wearing nothing more than a thin T-shirt, a tight pair of sweatpants, and bright summer sneakers.

  “Good god, Ellie,” he scolded, “where’s your jacket? Get back inside before you catch your death of cold!” As these words came from his mouth, Jack realized this was the exact sort of thing their mother would’ve said.

  Ellie shivered and hugged her arms across her chest. “Yeah, well, if I hadn’t looked out the window and seen your car sitting down here for like forever, then I wouldn’t have bothered to come!”

  “Okay, well... I’ll be up in just a minute, all right? I still have some stuff to sort out for tomorrow, and I don’t want you to freeze.”

  “Okay, bro – but just a minute, okay? Everyone’s excited and waiting for you! Remember, it’s apartment 312. And you don’t need to buzz, since the damn lock’s broken again.”

  Ellie turned and dashed across the frigid parking lot, slipping and sliding in the snow but never once falling, until reaching the safety of the lobby entrance.

  Jack shook his head in amazement as he watched his sister disappear though the double doors. Ellie had always been such an independent and precocious young girl: the kind that instinctively knew the difference between right and wrong, but still insisted on testing everything for herself. In her early teens, Ellie had been a real handful to their folks as she explored the outer limits of her boundaries... and it didn’t look as though college life had tempered that free spirit in the least.

  Finally shutting off the engine and opening the door, Jack stepped outside and retrieved his luggage, laptop bag, and a selection of long plastic poster tubes from the passenger row. Locking the SUV, he trudged through the parking lot’s accumulated covering of snow, his winter boots making loud crunching sounds as he went.

  Jack had always figured his college days were well and truly behind him... so spending four nights with a group of wild teens was either going to bring back a flood of great memories, or drive him stark raving mad!

  Chapter Two

  AApproaching the door for apartment 312, Jack hesitated before knocking. He took in the poor condition of the apartment building’s interior: the worn, stained carpeting, the flickering florescent lighting, the battered metal doors that looked like they had twenty coats of paint too many. Loud rock music blared from inside the apartment behind him, and he could hear more than one baby crying from further down the hall.

  This certainly wasn’t the Ritz Carlton. Hell, it didn’t even warrant Motel 6!

  Dropping his heavy luggage, Jack reached up to knock on the door, when it suddenly flung inwards on its own.

  “Jack!” screeched Ellie, grabbing his elevated arm and promptly yanking him inside the apartment. She hugged him close.

  Jack’s heart leapt at his sister’s second but equally as warm welcome. “Whoa there, sis! Hold your horses,” he protested halfheartedly. “I’m real happy to see you too, but at least let me bring my things inside!” Jack tried to turn around to grab his bags from the hall, but Ellie refused to let him go.

  A female voice came from the side. “For god’s sake, El! Let your brother take his coat off. It’s sweltering in here!”

  Finally unlatching from Jack, Ellie stepped back and giggled, still holding her brot
her’s hand tight. “Oh Jack... I’m just so thrilled you could finally come and see me!”

  “And don’t forget about me!” commented the other voice, which belonged to Elizabeth – Ellie’s longtime best friend, and the one who’d convinced his sister to move into this place. Jack didn’t know whether to thank the girl... or throttle her!

  Beth – as Elizabeth preferred to be called – was a petite and rather cute nineteen-year-old, probably no more than ninety pounds soaking wet, with the top of her head barely reaching Jack’s shoulders. Her long hair was a naturally shocking shade of red and reached midway down her back, beautifully complementing her porcelain white complexion and the adorable scattering of orange freckles across her cheeks. She was dressed in a baggy and quite faded red college sweatshirt that hung loosely to her upper thighs – and to think, that was probably still a size small – along with skin-tight blue leggings.

  “Good evening, Mr. Wilson,” she stated firmly, in an artificially deep voice and with a stern expression. She clasped her hands behind her back and rocked softly on the balls of her feet.