The Billionaire's Step - Complete Series (Forbidden Billionaire Stepbrother Romance) by Michaela Adams Page B
Authors: Michaela Adams
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carefully watching her. Cora wondered what he was expecting. She understood name changes. Of all people, she most certainly understood. It didn’t change anything about how she felt about him.
“I was Julian Denton and my father was Patrick Denton,” Julian continued, giving her the same expectant meaningful look.
A memory stirred in the furthest reaches of her mind. Cora remembered screaming. But there had always been screaming in her life. It was hard to separate the vast sea of screaming and abusive memories.
But looking up at Julian, she suddenly also remembered a roof. She remembered sitting under a night sky with a canopy of tree branches while a sixteen year old boy tried to comfort her.
She remembered the boy sitting with her at night when she was too scared or battered to fall asleep. She remembered him making sure to stop by her elementary school to give her lunch money. She remembered him sheltering her just as Gloria’s fist fell down, thudding him hard on the back.
Cora’s face felt numb and her fingers tingled with coldness. She had tried so hard to forget everything from her childhood. Even as a child, she would routinely try to forget the previous six months or year of her life. It was a sheer defensive mechanism. The less she remembered all the hurts and pains of her life, the more likely she’d find strength to carry on.
But she suddenly remembered how hard she had cried that night when she had woken up in Gloria’s station wagon, hundreds of miles away from the only kind of family she had ever known and the only boy she had ever trusted.
“You…you said you’d…always be there for me,” Cora whispered, her voice broken and ragged. She had cried so hard she had thrown up inside the car, which had angered Gloria into another rage fit.
Julian face roughened at her words, shadowed with harsh regret and guilt. He pressed his forehead against hers. “I know I did,” he said, just as brokenly. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry…Karen.”
Nine
It was as she had been electrocuted. As soon as she heard the name, Cora wrenched herself away and jumped off the bed.
Karen.
She hadn’t heard that name in years. Even Gloria didn’t call her that anymore. Standing by the bed, breathing hard as wave after wave of memories crashed against her, Cora stared at Julian who had slowly risen from the bed.
How had she not seen it? She remembered that long nose, those wide lips. She remembered that squinted expression when he was concentrating or that cold steely gaze when he was angry.
Oh god. This was Julian . The man she had grown to love and want was the same boy who had sheltered and protected her those many long years ago. How many months as a child had she wept over him and cried out his name? And how many hidden drives, aliases, and drunken beatings had it taken before Cora had buried the memory of him?
“Julian,” she whispered, wanting to say the name aloud. Even with the bed between them, Cora felt like there was hardly any breathing room. She had thought it would be complicated to get involved with a multi-millionaire CEO. That was a cakewalk compared to getting involved with her former stepbrother turned multi-millionaire CEO.
Cora remembered how Gloria would scream at her every time she even dared to mention Julian’s name.
Gloria!
Cora gasped, a hand to her mouth.
“What is it?” Julian asked concerned. “Are you okay?” He took a step towards her but Cora immediately took a
“I was Julian Denton and my father was Patrick Denton,” Julian continued, giving her the same expectant meaningful look.
A memory stirred in the furthest reaches of her mind. Cora remembered screaming. But there had always been screaming in her life. It was hard to separate the vast sea of screaming and abusive memories.
But looking up at Julian, she suddenly also remembered a roof. She remembered sitting under a night sky with a canopy of tree branches while a sixteen year old boy tried to comfort her.
She remembered the boy sitting with her at night when she was too scared or battered to fall asleep. She remembered him making sure to stop by her elementary school to give her lunch money. She remembered him sheltering her just as Gloria’s fist fell down, thudding him hard on the back.
Cora’s face felt numb and her fingers tingled with coldness. She had tried so hard to forget everything from her childhood. Even as a child, she would routinely try to forget the previous six months or year of her life. It was a sheer defensive mechanism. The less she remembered all the hurts and pains of her life, the more likely she’d find strength to carry on.
But she suddenly remembered how hard she had cried that night when she had woken up in Gloria’s station wagon, hundreds of miles away from the only kind of family she had ever known and the only boy she had ever trusted.
“You…you said you’d…always be there for me,” Cora whispered, her voice broken and ragged. She had cried so hard she had thrown up inside the car, which had angered Gloria into another rage fit.
Julian face roughened at her words, shadowed with harsh regret and guilt. He pressed his forehead against hers. “I know I did,” he said, just as brokenly. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry…Karen.”
Nine
It was as she had been electrocuted. As soon as she heard the name, Cora wrenched herself away and jumped off the bed.
Karen.
She hadn’t heard that name in years. Even Gloria didn’t call her that anymore. Standing by the bed, breathing hard as wave after wave of memories crashed against her, Cora stared at Julian who had slowly risen from the bed.
How had she not seen it? She remembered that long nose, those wide lips. She remembered that squinted expression when he was concentrating or that cold steely gaze when he was angry.
Oh god. This was Julian . The man she had grown to love and want was the same boy who had sheltered and protected her those many long years ago. How many months as a child had she wept over him and cried out his name? And how many hidden drives, aliases, and drunken beatings had it taken before Cora had buried the memory of him?
“Julian,” she whispered, wanting to say the name aloud. Even with the bed between them, Cora felt like there was hardly any breathing room. She had thought it would be complicated to get involved with a multi-millionaire CEO. That was a cakewalk compared to getting involved with her former stepbrother turned multi-millionaire CEO.
Cora remembered how Gloria would scream at her every time she even dared to mention Julian’s name.
Gloria!
Cora gasped, a hand to her mouth.
“What is it?” Julian asked concerned. “Are you okay?” He took a step towards her but Cora immediately took a
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