Love All Out - Part 3 (A Stepbrother Romance) Read Online Free PDF Page A

“We’ve had a few bumps in the road, but I think we’re all starting to feel like family.”
    James shifted his weight and gave me an impatient look. I knew he was as anxious to leave as I was, so I started walking towards the front door. Steve and David took the hint and followed me, with James bringing up the rear. We walked the men to their company truck, exchanged goodbyes, and then continued on to the barn in a tense silence.
    ***
    “Willow, you’re going to have to talk to me eventually,” James insisted. He stood in front of the stall and watched as I strapped Mayhem into his headstall and slid the bit into his mouth.
    “Please, James, I can’t do this right now,” I told him, feeling my face grow warm with the effort not to cry. “I just need a few hours to myself. Is that too much to ask?”
    “Lucas didn’t text me this morning,” he continued, completely unfazed by my pleas. “And I don’t believe for one second that your message was from an old college friend. We have to talk about how we’re going to deal with Bradley.”
    “There’s nothing to talk about, because there’s nothing we can do,” I argued. “We’ll meet him tomorrow and find out what he wants. We can’t make any plans until we know what we’re up against. And who knows? Maybe he won’t ask for anything too terrible. Maybe it will be easiest to just give him what he wants.”
    James narrowed his eyes and lowered his voice, gritting out, “Willow, the best defense is a good offence.”
    “Don’t quote sports clichés to me,” I hissed as I pushed open the stall door and moved past him. I walked to the opposite wall and heaved my saddle over one shoulder.
    “Let me do that,” James insisted. He grabbed the saddle by its horn and lifted it with one hand. He carried it into Mayhem’s stall, placed it gently on his back, and knelt down to fasten his girth strap.
    “Don’t clench it just yet. He holds his breath,” I warned.
    James looked up at me, his eyes still angry slits. “I know how to saddle a horse, Willow.”
    Mayhem finally exhaled and James tightened the strap. “I saddled Seven this morning, so don’t think you’re getting out of here without me. There’s got to be a way to get out from under Bradley’s thumb. I’ve been thinking about it and the most obvious way is to just tell the truth ourselves.”
    I was horrified by the suggestion. “You know we can’t do that,” I gasped and then took a deep breath. “It could completely ruin my reputation.”
    James led Mayhem out of the stall and handed me his reins. I put my left foot in the stirrup, but James put a hand on my shoulder and anchored me to the ground.
    “Willow, there’s no guarantee Bradley won’t share those pictures, even if we do go along with his little game. The truth won’t be nearly as shocking or scandalous if we tell it ourselves. If we get ahead of the story, we’ll be sympathetic. If we let Bradley tell it, we’ll be sexual deviants.”
    He doesn’t care about getting ahead of the story. Regardless of who tells it, the result will be the same. I’ll be the laughingstock of the racing industry and everything I’ve worked so hard for will be destroyed.
    I was insulted that James thought I wouldn’t see through his plan. “You don’t care about my reputation at all,” I hissed. “You just want to tell everyone and get it over with so we can be together. You don’t care what it costs me.” I pushed his hand off of my shoulder and stood up in the stirrup.
    Before I could swing my right leg over Mayhem, James wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me backward.
    “What the fuck are you doing?” I asked. I tried to wiggle free from his grip, but I quickly discovered that my efforts were futile. I shook my foot loose from the stirrup and fell into his arms. James spun around, set me on my feet, and pinned me against the wall. He held my hands against my sides and covered my mouth with his.
    I tried to fight him and