Page 3 of Rejected by My Stepbrother Alpha (Billionaire Shifter Club #1)

W illpower

Asher

I could feel Ivy's body heat coming off of her through the thin material of her dress.

The warmth was inviting, drawing me closer into her orbit.

Her heart beat against my chest rapidly, matching my own heart's rhythm.

My hands were wrapped tightly around her waist, and I couldn't stop myself from gently tracing the soft silk of her dress with my thumb.

Was that what my stepsister's skin felt like?

No, Ivy's skin would be smoother than silk.

She looks stunning.

On their own accord, my eyes traveled down to Ivy's beautiful face.

I swallowed when I saw that her plump lips were painted a pale pink.

I wanted to personally thank the designer of the white dress that she was wearing.

I couldn't even see the whole thing since I was still holding her against my chest, but the sight of her cleavage made my hands shake.

She was staring up at me with those shining blue eyes that always tested my self-control.

But the strongest desire I had for Ivy wasn't physical in nature. There was this irrational tug in my chest whenever I was near her. The intense longing I felt for her defied all logic .

I didn’t want to feel this way about my stepsister.

Obviously, it was morally wrong. But there was another reason why I shouldn’t be reacting to Ivy with anything other than cool indifference.

Ever since my father had met Ivy’s mother, I suspected that Ivy was working with her manipulative gold digger mother.

Even though both of them always tried to put on an act like they wanted to be a family, I didn’t trust either of them. That was why I moved away after our parents got married last year. But when my dad had a heart attack, I realized that home was where I was needed.

But living in the same house as Ivy was killing me.

When I ran into her after a shower and I saw the way her eyes were studying my naked torso, I almost took her beautiful face in my hands and kissed her.

I planned on getting my own place soon, but I wanted to make sure my father was one hundred percent better before I did.

Whenever Ivy was near me, my eyes would always go to her and usually never leave. Normally, I could mask my attraction for her behind my anger that she was working with her mother, but right now, with her soft body pressed against me, I couldn’t hide my desire for my stepsister.

My dick hardened when she bit that plump lip of hers, and her sharp intake of breath told me that she had felt it against her warm center.

“Asher,” my stepsister breathed out, and all of a sudden, we were both leaning in.

Ivy’s long eyelashes fluttered close, and all I wanted was to press my lips against hers.

No!

I cleared my throat and stood, taking Ivy with me.

Her eyes shot open in surprise, and her scent invaded my senses. Ivy always smelled like honeysuckle—an intoxicating, sweet scent that no perfume on this planet could recreate. Tonight, she also smelled like champagne. Had she been drinking?

Once she was steady, I took a huge step away from her until my back hit the wall. Everything inside of me was begging me to take her back into my arms, but I fought the instinct and clenched my fists as I stared at her with narrowed eyes.

Ivy’s shoulders slumped, and the hurt expression that crossed her face caused a pang of guilt in my chest. But I reminded myself that this was all an act. Ivy didn’t want to be with me. She was working with her mother.

“Ivy,” I said coolly, trying to convey the resentment I felt for her, knowing that she was working for her mother.

“Asher,” she responded in the same icy tone and played with that silver necklace she was always wearing.

Over the past few weeks, I noticed that she always played with that necklace when she was nervous.

Or maybe this was her simply acting nervous.

Maybe I didn’t even know the real Ivy after all.

Her blue eyes shot down to my white tie.

“We match,” she said with surprise in her tone.

I studied her dress again. Her gown was form-fitting. Was she wearing anything underneath it?

Our gazes locked together, and that intense pull tugged at my chest, luring me closer to her.

Wouldn’t it be so easy to close the distance between us?

Don't even think about it.

Goddess, Ivy was driving me so insane that I was talking to myself now.

“Yes, we match,” I responded and crossed my arms. I made my tone impatient on purpose.

“Your mother’s stylist—which is a frivolous expense, by the way—thought that the family should all be dressed using the same theme.

My father is wearing a silver tie to match your mother’s dress.

Now, shall we get going, step-sis? We don’t want to be late. ”

I strode toward her and offered her my arm. I was messing with her, deliberately trying to throw her off this little seduction game that she was playing by reminding her that we were technically related by marriage.

But Ivy wasn’t thrown by my act. She straightened her shoulders and looped her arm through mine.

I couldn’t help but begrudgingly admire her at this moment.

She was acting differently from all of our other encounters.

Ivy had always seemed like a shy girl who could barely look me in the eyes.

Had the champagne given her liquid courage?

Ivy gave me a determined look and tightened her hold on my arm.

Her touch made me hard again.

“Lead the way, stepbrother,” she said and winked.

Oh my…

How was I going to survive the night?

I’d only been at the gala for an hour and a half, and I already wanted to leave. I'd been to a ton of events like these, and it was always the same. Extravagant decorations, open bar, and the CEO’s of most of the companies in our kingdom networking the whole time.

Usually, I’d enjoy something like this, but all I could focus on was Ivy.

Jealousy clawed at my chest as I watched successful man after successful man chat her up.

They brought her glasses of sparkling water and tried to charm her, and by the huge grin on her face, she was loving every second of it.

I was glad to see that she wasn't drinking any more champagne tonight, though.

Why did I even care? I was certain that Ivy was working with her gold-digging mother. And I knew that their plan didn't stop with Ivy's mom simply marrying my father for his money.

My father told me yesterday that Evelyn—Ivy’s mother—wanted him to change his will and leave everything to her.

Evelyn’s reasoning was that if something happened to my dad, she was older and wiser and would split the money evenly between Ivy, herself, and me.

My father had told me that Evelyn even wanted him to leave BloodMoon Enterprises—my father’s company—to her.

Even though my father had been training me to take over his business since I was a child.

I had attended my first boardroom meeting when I was six.

I was certain that Evelyn had enlisted her daughter's help to seduce me. I believed that Ivy was trying to distract me so that her mom could have time to force my father to change his will. Even though we were step-siblings, I wouldn’t put it past that woman to use her daughter in that way.

How could I be attracted to my stepsister, especially when I was almost positive that she was intentionally seducing me for her personal gain?

Of course, there was the slight possibility that I was wrong.

Maybe Ivy wasn't in on her mother's plans.

Sometimes when she looked at me, the lust in her eyes felt so real…

But that was probably just wishful thinking.

During the gala, our eyes kept meeting by chance. I always looked away at once, but Ivy’s gorgeous blue eyes became seared into my mind.

I scrubbed a hand down my face and loosened my tie.

Would I always be at a loss when it came to Ivy’s true intentions?

The only good part of the night was making a speech at the beginning of the gala honoring my father.

It was an amazing experience to highlight his accomplishments as an Alpha and a businessman.

Now, my dad was across the room with Evelyn.

They were speaking with Silas Shepard. I wasn’t surprised to see a tight smile on my father’s face as he spoke to his business rival.

Ever since I could remember, my dad had told me that he had never had a good feeling about Silas and his business practices.

Of course, Evelyn was all smiles and charming while speaking to Silas.

All that woman cared about was status and appearances.

Tonight, it seemed like she had charmed everyone at the gala, perfectly playing her role as my father's doting wife.

I was the only one who could see past the mask that Evelyn put on for the world. She was nothing but a greedy gold digger, and Ivy was her puppet.

I loved my father, but he was blinded by love.

It was difficult to watch the strong, capable man who was my role model and best friend be manipulated by Evelyn.

But I didn’t blame my father. Evelyn was a good actress.

And for all of my life, my dad had grieved my mother, who had died giving birth to me.

When he met Evelyn, my dad thought he had found his second chance at love and put everything he had into his relationship with her.

It was my job to protect my father now since he had always looked out for me my entire life. And I would protect him and everything that he had worked so hard for from the two women who wanted to take it from him.

As my father nodded at Silas and turned away from him, he gripped the wooden cane that he had been using ever since his heart attack.

The sight of my father struggling was horrible to see. I had to fight against the instinct to go and help him, knowing that he wouldn’t accept the help because he was too proud.

A tap on my shoulder was a welcome distraction. My heart began to beat rapidly as I considered the fact that it could be Ivy. Then, I cursed myself for my obsession with my sneaky stepsister.

When I turned around, it was only a server holding a tray that held a single glass of champagne on it. I ignored the crushing disappointment in my chest at the fact that it wasn’t Ivy standing there.

“Sir, someone ordered you a glass of champagne,” the server said and handed me the glass. “Enjoy.”

Without another word, he turned and walked away.

I sighed as I looked at the bubbles floating to the top of my drink.

All night, people had been offering me drinks. A few of them were business rivals of my father’s—Silas Shepard, Ginger Howard, and Connor Maxwell. All the others were my father’s employees, business associates, and my fellow pack members. But I had managed to politely decline them all.

I was afraid to even have one drink. I needed to keep an eye on Evelyn and I didn't dare lose control around Ivy. I couldn't allow her to seduce me and distract me from my mission. I toasted the ballroom, not knowing who had been the one to go out of their way to order me the champagne.

I held the glass in my hand without taking a sip as I walked around the room, trying to network while keeping my eye on my father and Evelyn. My gaze kept straying to Ivy, who was talking to the vice president of a finance company. I didn’t remember the guy's name, but I wanted to break his nose.

Remember, she’s playing you.

I turned toward the bar, planning to leave my full glass of champagne there, but then I heard a burst of loud laughter coming from across the room. It had come from Ivy.

As I watched her throw back her head and giggle at something the vice president said, jealousy tore through me.

One drink wouldn’t hurt.

I drained the glass of champagne, finishing it off in one go.

Part of me wished Ivy hadn't attended the gala tonight.

The rage boiling in my blood as I watched her flirt with man after man confused the hell out of me.

Why did I have to feel this strongly toward my stepsister?

Why did I feel like this about someone who I was certain was working with her gold-digging mother?

My hands clenched with anger when the vice president, whose name I couldn't remember, laid a flirty hand on her arm.

Don’t touch her.

I couldn't think straight, and I was dizzy with rage.

But after a moment, the dizziness didn't fade.

I swayed slightly on my feet and experienced an intense head rush. I sat down at a nearby table and gripped the edge of the table.

Then, the room around me began to spin.

My pulse quickened, and sweat dripped down my neck.

What the hell was happening to me?