Acts of Mercy: A Stepbrother Romance (Men of WRATH Book 5)
Acts of Mercy: Part 2 – Chapter 19

“Happy birthday, Little Red.” A deep voice pulls me from my sleep, and at first, I think I’m dreaming.

Hudson’s on the edge of my bed, his strong hand pushing away the hair from my eyes. The only word that could describe the look on his face is sheer adoration.

“Hudson?” I scrunch my nose, unsure if what I’m seeing is real or a figment of some dream.

“Yes, baby?” He gives me a soft smile as if him waking me up and calling me baby is the most natural thing in the world. Is he on something?

“What are you doing here, and where are our parents?” I sit up, looking around the room, trying to see if someone else is in here with us.

Nope. Just us.

“They’re in the mother-in-law suite. They haven’t come in for breakfast yet.” He hands me a small red box, a sparkle of excitement shining in his eyes. “I wanted to give you your present before anyone else was up.”

It’s my eighteenth birthday, and the reason our parents are still lingering in Dallas after the fiasco of a wedding yesterday.

To say that yesterday’s nuptials served enough drama for a lifetime would be an understatement, and I’m not only talking about Hudson’s ex. Poor Aiden and Charlotte had to deal with their own issues, marring William and Bella’s special day.

I’m just glad everyone is safe and the worst is behind us.

“Well, aren’t you going to open it?” Hudson cocks a brow, looking at me expectantly.

A slow smile spreads across my lips as I open up the box, the interior revealing a keychain with a depiction of a wolf and a set of keys I know all too well.

My nose scrunches and brows furrow. “Big red?”

“Big Red for my Little Red.” Hudson’s face splits into a grin. “She’s ready. Want to go see?”

I grab onto the keychain and giggle. “If I’m Little Red, then does that make you the big bad wolf?”

Hudson smirks, pressing a chaste kiss to my lips and pulling me by the hand toward the door. Thank god I have shorts and a cami on. The last thing I’d want to be doing is flashing our parents if they’ve managed to make it into the house.

As soon as we step foot in the garage, my jaw drops. Front and center is Big Red, but she’s all shiny and new. She has a fresh coat of paint, new tires and a massive bow on top of the hood.

“Hudson. Oh my god!” I screech, running up to the driver’s side and pulling the door open. “Oh my god! She’s fully restored! How?”

“As soon as I saw her, I knew she needed some love and care.” He walks around to the passenger side and hops in. “I wanted her for myself, but after realizing who you were…” His smile drops and something flashes in his eyes, “and what she meant to you, I couldn’t take her. Anyway, she’s now part of the family, and there’s no way I could’ve left her unattended. She may be your baby, but she’s in our garage, and no car here is left behind.”

My eyes well up with tears, the car in its current state bringing back so many memories. “He would’ve loved seeing her like this,” I whisper, unsure if what I’ve said is even audible.

“Happy Birthday, baby.” Hudson reaches over, his thumb wiping away a tear. “I hope you love your surprise.”

“I love it.” Closing my eyes, I try to soak up all the happiness this has brought me. I look deep into Hudson’s eyes, my hands firmly on the steering wheel. All in an effort to keep them off of him. “This is the only tangible memory of my father. When he left, mom threw out all of his things. And then when he died… Well, I was too young to go and collect the things from his apartment and the only reason my mom agreed to pick up Big Red for me was because we needed a car.”

Hudson’s thumb wipes away a rogue tear. “How old were you when he passed?”

I roll in my lips, trying to stop myself from crying. After a minute, I finally answer, “Fourteen. It was an accident on the oil rig he was on.”

Hudson sucks in a sharp breath. “That’s how old I was when I lost my mother. Cancer.”

The one word hangs between us, heavy and dark.

I don’t apologize like people typically do after they discover you’ve lost a loved one. There’s no need. He knows this type of pain as much as I do. The torture is clearly written all over his beautiful face.

Needing to ease his pain, I let one of my hands release their death grip on the wheel. Slowly, as if not to scare a cornered animal, I let it make its way to his.

Our fingers lace, the heat of his palm replaceing mine and melding us into one. How could this feel so right?

“Maybe,” my voice comes out shaky, the intensity of our connection making me vibrate with pent up energy. “Maybe we can take Big Red on a road trip together.”

His eyes flit to mine, his mouth curling up on one side as his eyes drift to the back of the truck.

“What?” I whine. “My daddy used to take me on road trips all the time. Those were some of the happiest memories of my life, and lord knows we both need a little happy in our lives.”

His eyes warm as his hand squeezes mine. “You make me happy, Little Red. This. Knowing you love your birthday gift. It makes me so damn happy.”

I beam. This gift is special. I know it is.

This one act of kindness fuels my inner strength and makes me hop over the bench into Hudson’s lap. “I’m not sure where this is coming from or how long it will last, but you calling me baby and giving me such a thoughtful present is more than I could’ve hoped for on my birthday. Is it selfish to want it all the time and not just for today?”

His eyes flit back and forth between mine. “No, baby. It isn’t selfish. But it’s impossible. You’re my stepsister. It’s wrong. Dirty and wrong.”

Hudson’s eyes replace my lips, the lust behind his gray orbs taunting and driving me over the edge of restraint.

I bite my lip and, as if on cue, his cock twitches against my ass, making me groan.

This feels anything but wrong. In fact, nothing has ever felt so good and right.

Unwilling to take no for an answer, I push. “But… it’s still my birthday and this birthday girl has wishes left unfulfilled.”

Adding more fuel to the fire, I wiggle my ass, rubbing my core against his impossibly large bulge.

Hudson hums, his eyes closing and his head dropping back against the seat. A slow smile spreads across his luscious lips, and it takes everything in me not to taste them.

“Oh, and what are these wishes you speak of?”

I try to get off his lap to straddle him, but his hands dig into my hips. Hudson pulls me down onto his hard cock, sliding me away before forcefully pulling me back against him, the action making both of us groan.

Why can’t he give in? Just this once.

Reaching down with my hand, I cup his balls over his sweats and squeeze gently. “I want you, Hudson Andrew Maxwell. I want to feel you deep inside of me, splitting me in two, until the only thing I know is your name.”

Hudson hisses, his hot breath hitting my neck as he bucks his length into my ass. “Fuuuuuck, baby…”

Hudson

Her tight little ass grinds on my aching cock, and what little willpower I had threatens to break. Yes, she’s finally eighteen—though it never really mattered here in Texas. But her age wasn’t really what was holding me back.

She’s my sister. Stepsister. But still.

“Hudson,” she mewls against my neck, her breath hot against my already sensitive flesh.

Every time I’m around her it’s as if my body is a conduit, coming alive at her touch. “Baby, I don’t think we should.”

She pulls her face from the crook of my neck, her big green eyes carrying so much hurt it breaks my heart. “I know you want me. Why? Why can’t we just be?”

My hand reaches up to caress her beautiful face, my thumb brushing up and down her prominent cheekbone. She’s fucking stunning.

“Yes, I want you.” I thrust up so she can feel my hard length pressing into her delicious slit. “But it’s not that simple.”

My eyes narrow, mind flitting through all the consequences our being together would cause. I don’t give a shit about me, but she’s so young and the onslaught of judgment that would be thrown her way would be devastating.

“Do you know what this,” I motion between us, “could do to your reputation? How hard it would be for you to replace work once you graduate, or what it would be like if you wanted to join the junior league?”

Her face puckers as if I’d spoon fed her castor oil, “First, fuck the junior league. That’s my mom’s idea of fitting in. Second, I’m not some delicate flower you need to protect from other people’s judgment.”

Her slender fingers replace the hem of my shirt, slowly sliding up my abs and making me groan. This woman is going to be the death of me.

How can I resist her touch?

Needing to feel her heat, I slide my own fingers down the waistband of her shorts, revelling in the gasp it elicits.
My thick digit traces the seam of her plump lips, dripping with her desire. What I’d give to shove my length into her, fuck her raw, leaving her sated and complete.

“So wet for me, baby.” My words come out choked, my will to hold back all but dissolved.

Alyssa whimpers, her eyes flaring at my touch. “Please, Hudson. More.”

I close my eyes, knowing I’m going to hell for this, but I’m unable to stop myself.

The base of my hand presses against her hardened pearl as I slowly slide two fingers inside her warm and waiting cunt. Instantly, she contracts around me, her head burrowing deep in the crook of my neck.

Music. The sounds we’re making are nothing short of music. Her heat slurps as I push and pull inside her, our breaths becoming heavy and labored. “God, baby. You’re so beautiful like this. Hungry. Needy for my touch.”

I’m about to rip her sleep shorts off when the door to the garage flies open. “Hudson, there you are.” My father’s voice echoes through the attached warehouse, his eyes focusing on the cab of the shiny red Blazer.

Well, this is fucking awkward. It’s clear Alyssa is sitting on my lap, her face buried against my body. Jesus.

I’m thankful that at the very least, he can’t see where my hand is located.

He’d lose his fucking mind.

Silently, I slide my hand from Alyssa’s panties, my hand cupping her pussy once safely outside.

Mine. The one word echoes through the fog of lust we’re still sitting in.

Gently grabbing Alyssa’s hips, I slide her off of me and open the passenger door.

“Dad. Did you need something?” I walk toward him, cool demeanor in place. It’ll be a snowy day in hell before I let him see he’s ruffled my feathers.

Had he walked in a couple of seconds later, he’d have found me balls deep inside of his stepdaughter. And that is something I’ll never admit to him, despite the judgmental eyes that track my every step.

“Lynora and I were looking for the birthday girl, wanting to give her her birthday present.” His eyes cut back to the Blazer where Alyssa is slowly lowering herself from the passenger side. “I see you gave her her present already.” His jaw clenches as he motions to the massive bow on top of the truck.

I nod, not feeling the need to elaborate. Before Alyssa reaches us, his hand lands on my shoulder, fingers digging into my traps. “We’re talking. No running this time.”

I shake his hand off, pulling away from his hold. “Nothing to talk about, Dad.”

“James, is my mother up yet?” Alyssa dons a smile I know is forced, her face still flushed with the embarrassment of being caught in a compromising position with her stepbrother.

Watching her like this is sobering. If she can’t handle the judging eyes from her stepfather, there’s no way in hell she’ll survive the condescending vomit that the Dallas elite will be spewing.

I did the right thing staying away.

“She’s up and looking for you.” My dad puts on a smile that would fool most, but not me. I know he’s seething underneath that relatively warm exterior. “Let’s all go sit for breakfast. I’m sure your mother is dying to give you your surprise.”

Alyssa nods, stepping in front of us as she walks into the hallway and away from what could’ve been a massive mistake.

Not wanting to suffer any more of my father’s wrath, I quickly follow. If he wants to talk, he’ll have to do it on his own.