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“Take the water, Juliet.” I put a bit of steel into my tone, enough to let her know it isn’t a request, and Juliet takes the bottle from Kerry’s hand with a roll of her eyes.
“I hope you don’t think you’re going to be bossing me around like this on the island. We’re going to have to lay some ground rules.”
The plane rumbles beneath us and I smile, letting just a hint of teeth show. It’s a gesture that’s been known to make grown men piss themselves, but Juliet remains unaffected.
Because she doesn’t know just how afraid she should be.
Yet.
“You’re absolutely right,” I concede, letting my smile widen as I twist the top off my own water bottle. I have a feeling I’m going to need to stay hydrated to properly deal with my bratty little stepsister. “So. Let’s talk rules, shall we?”
Settling back against her seat with a smug smile, Juliet lifts a hand and holds up a finger. “One, no telling me what to do.” She lifts a second finger. “Two, no telling mom and Arthur where I am. Three, I have some money, but I’ll need an allowance of some kind while I’m on the island. Four, I have a list of foods you’ll need to stock your kitchen with. Most probably won’t be found on the island, so you’ll have to figure out how to have them imported. And five…” With all five fingers held up now, she scrunches her nose, her head tilted slightly to the side as if she’sthinking hard about this next rule. “Oh, yes. Drop that ‘little girl’ shit. I don’t like it.”
It’s been a long time since anyone dared to give me orders, and yet my stepsister does so with the arrogance of someone who is used to having people obey her every word. Excitement hums through my veins at the prospect of being the one to finally put her in her place.
“Are you finished?” I ask, keeping my voice as bored sounding as possible despite feeling like a child on Christmas morning.
“For now.” Tilting her chin, she literally looks down her nose at me. “I reserve the right to add to that list as we go.”
“Good. Now we can discuss my rules for you, little girl.”
Temper flashes in her eyes as she now bares her teeth in what I have to admit is an impressive snarl. “Ijusttold you not to call me that, asshole.”
“Rule number one,” I say, ignoring her outburst for the time being. “I will absolutely be telling you what to do. And you will listen, or you will be punished.”
“Punished?” Her voice rises to an indignant shriek. “What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”
“You’ll find out soon enough. Rule number two. You do not leave my house without my permission, nor do you leave without an adult escorting you.”
“If you think for one second?—”
“Rule number three.” I raise my voice, rolling over her protests without pause. “You will keep a civil tongue in your mouth. That means no more swearing, no calling people names, and certainly no lying.”
“Oh, fuck off.” Arms crossed, she slumps in her seat, her furious glare pinned on me. “I am not following any of these ridiculous rules.”
“Rule number four. No stealing. Or any other lawbreaking. And, finally, the most important rule of all.”
“What’s that?”
This is my favorite rule, and the one I’m most looking forward to enforcing. “From now on, I am not Jasper to you. From this point forward, you will only address me as Daddy.”
Chapter Two
Juliet
What the actual fuck is happening?
Either my stepbrother has lost his goddamn mind or I’ve hit my head and this is all some kind of very messed-up coma dream. Both options seem equally plausible in their own way.
At a loss for words, I scramble to address the most immediate, pressing concern. “I amnotcalling you Daddy. I don’t even call your father that. Hell, I don’t even callmyfather that.”
The slight, teasing smile Jasper has been wearing during this entire conversation spreads to a wide grin. Not for the first time, I’m struck by how stupidly gorgeous my stepbrother is. I know my fair share of men who have paid good money for a jawline just like his. Add in the deep brown eyes and the hair that’s always just a little mussed, giving him that boy-next-door charm and it’s a package guaranteed to make even the smartest girls a little stupid.
Including me, as evidenced by the fact I’ve had a secret crush on him for nearly as long as I’ve known him. And by the fact that I haven’t punched him in his annoyingly pretty face yet.
“Good,” he says with a short, triumphant nod. “Then there should be no confusion on your part.”
Jesus, was he born this cocky or did he have to practice? Probably a bit of both, considering his father is the same damn way. And fuck me if I don’t find it hot as hell, at least where Jasper is concerned.