Takeover: A Step-Brother Romance (The Legacy Book 1) by Lana Grayson Page A
Authors: Lana Grayson
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every violation and suppressed pleasure worth it.
He wouldn’t take me because he could .
He’d take me because he wanted me.
And because he dared to touch me, he’d be the first brick I destroyed in the Bennett Estate.
Nicholas delivered me to the mansion. I stumbled off the motorcycle, but he pointed to the columned portico framing the front door.
“Wait there.”
The brief ride was humiliating enough. I wasn’t taking orders from Nicholas, especially if he thought I somehow belonged to him. He had tracked me down like a hunter stalking his prey and dared to kiss me without my consent.
At least, I didn’t think I consented.
My lips tingled, along with other places I’d be damned to admit. Nicholas twisted my senses, but it wasn’t just the indignity of his touch that chiseled my resolve into dust. He was the most sensual and attractive and dangerous man I had ever met.
My own step-brother trapped me in a perilous game I couldn’t win, not if my body ached for something darker. I unsuccessfully exhaled the overheated air from my lungs.
I wasn’t waiting for him. It was too risky to see him again before I learned how to endure the intensity of his stare without falling apart.
If I planned to survive this, I’d have to master Nicholas before he completely dominated me.
I studied the monstrous prison again. The spires clutched for the sky. The dark Corinthian stone blighted the natural beauty of the forest. The hundreds of windows stared at me in wicked accusation, as though they realized I wrecked an elegant dining room to escape from a dungeon of pure extravagance.
I edged through the front door. The foyer greeted me with silence. Nothing was bright in the house. No white marble, no delicate art or soft furniture. Dark tiles and splashes of crimson framed the centerpiece of the foyer—the grand staircase which would lead only to my ultimate violation.
Stairs. My chest hurt just looking at them.
I was certain Darius Bennett installed an elevator within his private sanctuary of opulence and secrets, but I’d be damned if they’d catch me using a crutch. God only knew what they’d do if I revealed the asthma.
One step.
Nice and slow.
A breath.
Second step.
This was pathetic. By the time I made it to my room, Nicholas might have found me, tortured me, and slammed me within my bed.
Third step—
“My dear…where do you think you’re going?”
Of course Darius would find me. I missed my breath, but I didn’t give him the pleasure of watching me pale. I continued my leisurely pace up the stairs.
“Get down here now, young lady.”
His words lulled soft and the perverted whisper of young lady unsettled me. He didn’t speak it to be kind. He meant it like a step-father.
And the implication sickened me.
I hid my disgust. “I’m going to my room to think about what I’ve done.”
“I said get down here . I won’t ask you twice, child.”
“Fuck you.”
He moved faster than I expected. I managed to rush only two steps before he was upon me. His hand tangled in my hair and yanked my head back.
I thought he meant to pin me.
I shrieked a breathless cry as he threw me down the stairs. I bounced once before landing hard against the tile of the foyer. I burned with tears.
No one had ever hit me.
Not my father. Not my mother. Not even Josiah and Mike when I would roughhouse with them. No one ever hurt me.
Or pushed me down stairs.
I had to get out of here.
I struggled to my feet, but Darius grasped me before I rose. He hauled me against him, twisting a hand in my hair and pinning me a thick arm over my waist.
His sneered whisper clutched my heart.
“You’ve misbehaved, my dear. I am very disappointed in you.”
His fatherly, bitter tones rumbled felt dirty and wrong. I kicked, but even without asthma I couldn’t match a Bennett’s natural strength. Darius dragged me into the dining hall, aiming for where I tossed his chair through a plate window to
He wouldn’t take me because he could .
He’d take me because he wanted me.
And because he dared to touch me, he’d be the first brick I destroyed in the Bennett Estate.
Nicholas delivered me to the mansion. I stumbled off the motorcycle, but he pointed to the columned portico framing the front door.
“Wait there.”
The brief ride was humiliating enough. I wasn’t taking orders from Nicholas, especially if he thought I somehow belonged to him. He had tracked me down like a hunter stalking his prey and dared to kiss me without my consent.
At least, I didn’t think I consented.
My lips tingled, along with other places I’d be damned to admit. Nicholas twisted my senses, but it wasn’t just the indignity of his touch that chiseled my resolve into dust. He was the most sensual and attractive and dangerous man I had ever met.
My own step-brother trapped me in a perilous game I couldn’t win, not if my body ached for something darker. I unsuccessfully exhaled the overheated air from my lungs.
I wasn’t waiting for him. It was too risky to see him again before I learned how to endure the intensity of his stare without falling apart.
If I planned to survive this, I’d have to master Nicholas before he completely dominated me.
I studied the monstrous prison again. The spires clutched for the sky. The dark Corinthian stone blighted the natural beauty of the forest. The hundreds of windows stared at me in wicked accusation, as though they realized I wrecked an elegant dining room to escape from a dungeon of pure extravagance.
I edged through the front door. The foyer greeted me with silence. Nothing was bright in the house. No white marble, no delicate art or soft furniture. Dark tiles and splashes of crimson framed the centerpiece of the foyer—the grand staircase which would lead only to my ultimate violation.
Stairs. My chest hurt just looking at them.
I was certain Darius Bennett installed an elevator within his private sanctuary of opulence and secrets, but I’d be damned if they’d catch me using a crutch. God only knew what they’d do if I revealed the asthma.
One step.
Nice and slow.
A breath.
Second step.
This was pathetic. By the time I made it to my room, Nicholas might have found me, tortured me, and slammed me within my bed.
Third step—
“My dear…where do you think you’re going?”
Of course Darius would find me. I missed my breath, but I didn’t give him the pleasure of watching me pale. I continued my leisurely pace up the stairs.
“Get down here now, young lady.”
His words lulled soft and the perverted whisper of young lady unsettled me. He didn’t speak it to be kind. He meant it like a step-father.
And the implication sickened me.
I hid my disgust. “I’m going to my room to think about what I’ve done.”
“I said get down here . I won’t ask you twice, child.”
“Fuck you.”
He moved faster than I expected. I managed to rush only two steps before he was upon me. His hand tangled in my hair and yanked my head back.
I thought he meant to pin me.
I shrieked a breathless cry as he threw me down the stairs. I bounced once before landing hard against the tile of the foyer. I burned with tears.
No one had ever hit me.
Not my father. Not my mother. Not even Josiah and Mike when I would roughhouse with them. No one ever hurt me.
Or pushed me down stairs.
I had to get out of here.
I struggled to my feet, but Darius grasped me before I rose. He hauled me against him, twisting a hand in my hair and pinning me a thick arm over my waist.
His sneered whisper clutched my heart.
“You’ve misbehaved, my dear. I am very disappointed in you.”
His fatherly, bitter tones rumbled felt dirty and wrong. I kicked, but even without asthma I couldn’t match a Bennett’s natural strength. Darius dragged me into the dining hall, aiming for where I tossed his chair through a plate window to
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