Page 6 of Puck My Stepbrother

I wanted to take a shower—anything to help me relax and feel better. If I was really lucky, maybe it would take my mind off of everything, but I wasn’t counting on it.

I knew better.

I slung a towel over my shoulder and headed down the hall to the bathroom, where I heard the hiss of the shower running.

Of course.

Levi must’ve been in there. No one else was in the house right now, and of course he’d managed to occupy the thing I wanted to use exactly when I wanted to use it. One more thing to adjust to.

I waited outside the door, my back to the wall, checking my watch here and there, knowing Levi would take his sweet time. And why wouldn’t he? He was Levi Dunn. The guy practically owned the freaking place, didn’t he?

When I closed my eyes, I pictured Levi in the shower…naked. Hot water sprayed over his magnificent body as his hands cascaded up and down his sudsy chest and abdomen. The thought alone caused a stirring below the belt. I didn’t mind indulging the fantasy, no matter how much of a pain in the ass he’d always been.

Why stop what I’d been doing for years?

Then I heard the water die, followed by the rattle of the shower curtain rings dragging along the rod. I checked my watch again, deciding Levi had overstayed his time in the bathroom by far too long.

And then the door opened, some steam escaped, and out stepped Levi, wearing only a towel.

Oh my God in heaven…

He stopped in front of me, presenting his body to me as if putting himself on display.

At first, I only gazed at his chest, partly because Levi was at least five inches taller than me, but also because his was the most developed upper body I’d ever seen up close. Okay, it was almostentirelybecause I’d never seen such a developed upper body up close.

Levi Dunn rippled with muscle. Oh sure, he’d kept in great shape for as long as I’d known him, but I’m telling you he could’ve appeared on the cover ofMen’s HealthorFitness Monthlyif he’d wanted to. Beads of water hung on his chest and shoulders like he hadn’t dried himself off completely.

Take a deep breath,I told myself.Nice and slow, in and out.

“Quim, how the heck are ya!” he said. “Oh, wait a second…”

Starting late in elementary school, Levi would intentionally screw up my name, calling me Quim instead of Quinn. You know, because he was so fucking funny. Some shit never changes.

I tried not to roll my eyes at him. I guess I succeeded, because he said nothing more about his little “slip.”

“You waiting to get in there?” he asked.

“Uh…yeah.”

But I couldn’t stop staring at his bare torso. My eyes stayed fixed on his chest for a few more seconds before following the chiseled muscle of his abdomen lower and lower, where I found a trail of hair that led into the towel. And when my eyes shifted even lower, I noticed a bulge straining against that towel.

And then I needed to take another deep breath. My heart hammered. I almost gasped.

Look at his eyes, you idiot, I told myself.If you don’t, he’s going to notice you gawking at him, and then God knows what he’ll do to you.

So I looked up at him, and he smiled back at me. It wasn’t as ridiculous as his elation over stealing my bedroom, but this was definitely out of character.

“You know,” he said, “we’ve got to get something going.”

“What are you talking about?”

“We’re going to be stepbrothers, aren’t we?”

“Yeah.”

“And we live in the same house.”

“Uh-huh.”