My Stepbrother's Midnight Revenge

I accidentally drugged my worst enemy, and now we're locked in a room together. My back was pressed hard against the cold wood of the door, so tight I didn't even dare to breathe.

Alistair just pinched my chin, forcing my head up. He lightly bit the soft skin of my jaw, his voice dark and hoarse. "You brought this on yourself, didn't you?

Now, you're going to take every second of it, no matter how tired you get." The next morning, before I bolted, I still managed to run my mouth and mock his stamina for being pathetic.

Yet, three days later, he moved into my house. He was my new stepbrother.

That night, my dad stood right outside my bedroom door, warning me not to get on the bad side of the young CEO who now controlled everything.

Separated by just that thin wall, Alistair had me pinned tight on his lap.

He shoved his silk tie into my mouth to muffle any sound, a cold smirk pulling at his lips. "Little sister, you had the nerve to say I was bad in bed.

Let's see if you can keep from crying tonight." Chapter 1 Alistair leaned back against the sofa, his dark eyes locked heavily onto me.

His tie hung halfway loose, and I could see the faint shift of his muscles beneath his halfunbuttoned shirt. I pressed myself flush against the door.

My palms were sweating as I twisted the handle with all my strength, my voice shaking as I tried to explain, "Alistair, I didn't do this… It really wasn't me." The man didn't react at all.

His jawline tightened, and he didn't even twitch an eyebrow. He clearly didn't buy a single word. The hotel room door was locked from the outside.

While I was fighting a losing battle with the lock, Alistair tossed his tie aside and stood up, walking straight toward me. I wanted to melt right into the drywall and disappear.

Thankfully, Alistair just stepped past me and walked straight into the bathroom.

I immediately pulled out my phone and called my best friend. "Why the hell would you spike Alistair's drink with something like that?" "Wren?

Didn't you say he fights you at every turn and you've been sick of him for a long time? I was just helping you get even!" I closed my eyes.

Walking over to the coffee table, I poured myself a glass of water and downed it in one breath, trying to push down the surge of anger. "Yeah, but you locked me in a room with him." My friend went completely silent.

After a few seconds, she blurted out, "I'll get someone to unlock the door right now!" After hanging up, my mouth felt inexplicably dry.

I poured another glass of water and drank it.

When Alistair walked out of the bathroom, I was just about to drink my third glass. "Wren." He stared down at me, his face utterly unreadable. "What exactly are you drinking?" My thoughts were already starting to spin at a sluggish pace.

I looked at him and let out a slow, confused sound. Alistair closed the distance between us without a sound. He leaned in, trapping me between his solid frame and the sofa.

He stared down at me, inspecting every inch of my face. "Did you do this on purpose?" he asked slowly. "Do you… want to sleep with me?" My eyes widened.

I pushed against his chest and tried to stand. "Alistair, what the hell are you thinking? Don't you know exactly how much I hate you?" My cheeks were burning hot.

I gripped his shoulders tight, shoved him backward onto the sofa, and straddled his lap. I stared right at him, tracing the sharp lines of his face with my eyes.

Wherever my gaze landed, my hands followed. My fingertips brushed down his burning jawline, finally stopping at his tight, pressed lips.

I pressed down hard on his mouth. "Where do you even get this confidence? Haven't you noticed?

You're actually really ugly." I analyzed him with a completely straight face. "Don't you think your nose is too sharp?

And your eyes…" My voice kept dropping, lower and lower, until I didn't dare say another word. Because Alistair's face was way too close.

So close that if I opened my mouth, my lips would brush right against his. Alistair lightly pinched my cheek.

His eyes bored into mine as he asked, "Why do you hate me so much?" I shrank back just a little.

I fidgeted for a long time before I finally muttered, "Because you like Vivienne." Vivienne's dad and my dad worked at the exact same company.

But her dad held a slightly higher position on the board. Vivienne had used that over my head since we were kids, tearing me down at every chance she got.

She was easily my least favorite person in the world.

Alistair frowned slightly, looking as if he hadn't understood a single word I said. "Who do I like?" The temperature in the room was silently creeping higher.

The heavy, stifling heat was making my heart race in panic.

I swallowed down the uncomfortable heat and laid out the hard facts against him. "Freshman year, I literally saw your car pick her up at the campus gates." The more I thought about it, the angrier I got.

I slapped my hand flat against his cheek to punctuate my words. "Vivienne bragged! That the guy! Picking her up! Was!

Her suitor!" Chapter 2 Alistair pulled my hand away, his explanation completely dismissive.

He merely stated that he had lent that car to a friend for a while before moving back to the States, and that he had never once liked Vivienne.

I nodded slowly, putting on a look of utter realization. "Well, you're ugly.

It's completely normal that she wouldn't want you." Alistair's lips curved into a halfsmile, and he didn't even bother arguing.

Thinking he didn't believe me, I stared at him and said entirely seriously, "Like your eyes…" I stared at his thick, trembling eyelashes, murmuring a soft demand, "Stop moving…" Driven by some unknown impulse, I cupped his face and pressed a kiss right over his eyelid.

The restless heat clawing at my chest settled a little.

My voice came out soft and completely melted as I tried to negotiate with him. "If I kiss it, it stops moving, okay?" Alistair's Adam's apple bobbed.

The look in his eyes darkened heavily. Seeing that, I dipped my head and pressed my lips right against his Adam's apple.

Alistair closed his eyes, throwing his head back against the sofa.

A low, muffled groan slipped from his chest. "Wren." "Hmm?" I stopped inspecting his throat and looked up at his face.

Alistair's voice was completely hoarse. "Who taught you to tease a man like this?" My entire head felt like it was spinning. I couldn't process his words at all.

The man sat up, grabbed my hand, and placed it flat against his messy shirt collar, right over his buttons. "Wherever it moves, you kiss it, is that right?" I rubbed my burning ears and nodded.

Alistair brushed the tip of his nose—the exact nose I'd just insulted—against mine.

He coaxed me, his tone slow and deliberate, "And if my mouth moves?" I leaned in, barely brushing against him.

My voice came out completely sugary, like a melting gummy bear. "Then I have to kiss that, too." Every time Alistair murmured a single word, I pecked him again like a little bird.

Until Alistair answered a phone call. "Sir, I'm already downstairs in the hotel lobby.

I'll bring the team up to unlock the door immediately and bring you the meds." Hearing the word "unlock," I unconsciously shrank deeper into the sofa.

I looked up at Alistair, my vision blurred. "Does that mean I can't kiss you anymore?" He hit the mute button.

His thumb carelessly stroked my jawline. "If you kiss me, are you going to take responsibility for me?" I stared hungrily at his lips, which looked exactly like chilled jelly, and nodded with absolute certainty. "I'll take responsibility.

I'll take it." Alistair took the phone off mute and issued his order to the other end. "Don't come up." "Why… sir?" He scooped me straight up into his arms, his voice dropping to an impossibly dark rasp. "I already have the cure." He hung up the phone.

Alistair claimed he had only drank half a glass. I couldn't wrap my head around it.

How did my symptoms completely fade after an hour when I was the one who chugged two full glasses? Yet, he still looked like he hadn't gotten a single ounce of relief.

Whenever I tried to play dead or broke down begging for mercy, he ignored all of it. He even found the time to sneer at me. "You brought this on yourself, didn't you?

Now, you're going to take every second of it, no matter how tired you get." No matter how much I tried to explain that I didn't drug him, he refused to believe a single word.

The next day. Just my absolute rotten luck. The dosage must have been way too high. When I woke up, I had totally blacked out.

All I could remember was drinking those two glasses of water, my brain turning to total mush, and Alistair carrying me into the bedroom.

I turned my head and looked at Alistair, who was still fast asleep, his arms wrapped securely around me. I immediately made my conclusion!

This bastard definitely tricked me and used me as a human antidote. Chapter 3 Right then, Alistair woke up. Our eyes met.

He pulled me tighter into his chest, resting his chin heavy against the side of my neck.

His voice was thick with sleep. "I'm sorry, last night—" It was just an accident. "It's fine." I cut him off, keeping my tone completely light.

I sat up and tossed a careless glance over my shoulder. "I didn't take it seriously, Alistair." His face went blank, his gaze turning to ice as it locked onto me. "What does that mean." Thinking about the fact that he was still chasing Vivienne, my chest tightened.

I let out a slow breath, biting down hard on my inner lip so I wouldn't expose a single crack of panic.

I grabbed my clothes with quick, sharp movements, keeping my voice deadpan. "It means, the second we walk out of this room, I hope we both forget last night ever happened.

I really want absolutely nothing to do with you." Alistair sat up.

He didn't blink once, just kept those dark eyes burning into me, letting the blankets pool around his waist. "Wren.

Are you messing with me?" I was too focused on shoving my arms through my sleeves to really process what he said.

But right before I left, I made sure to casually tear him down. "Your technique is garbage and you barely lasted at all.

Make sure your future girlfriend keeps her mouth shut, otherwise you'll never be able to show your face in our circle." I timed it perfectly.

The second the last word dropped, I slammed the door shut behind me, completely cutting off any chance for him to fire back.

Right at the hotel entrance, I ran straight into Vivienne and her little followers. "Well, if it isn't Wren. Coming out of a hotel first thing in the morning?

Real classy." Originally, my heart was hammering against my ribs, and I had my head down, just wanting to slip away unnoticed.

But the second she opened her mouth, the sheer venom in her tone made me laugh. I intentionally raised my voice, throwing it right back at her. "What did you just say, Vivienne?

Everyone who stays at this hotel is trashy?" In an instant, every head in the hotel lobby snapped toward us. The gazes pinned Vivienne down like a thousand tiny needles.

Her chest heaved heavily.

Her heels clicked hard against the marble as she lunged forward, shoving me hard in the shoulders. "Are you psychotic, Wren?" Caught completely off guard, I stumbled backward until my shoulders slammed heavily against the glass door of the hotel.

Losing my balance, my left ankle twisted sharply beneath me. "Hiss—" A sharp gasp of pain tore from my throat.

Before I could even launch myself back at her, the sound of heavy footsteps coming up from behind me snagged Vivienne's attention.

Her follower let out a breathless gasp. "Vivienne, do you know this gorgeous guy?

It looks like he's walking straight toward you." Vivienne rolled her shoulders back, pulling off that perfect, spoiledprincess posture she had perfected. "He's been chasing me for a long time.

I was actually just debating if I should finally say yes." The heavy footsteps closed in.

I gritted my teeth against the searing pain in my ankle, leaning on the door frame as I hurried out. I didn't dare look back. Not even once.

But their voices still drifted out, scraping against my ears. "Hey handsome, I've got a question, don't take this the wrong way… Why do your clothes look so messed up?

You look just as wrecked as that girl we just tore into." Alistair's voice was too low, a deep rumble I couldn't make out.

Then came the girl's voice again, pitching up eagerly. "Oh! Well, that makes sense." "Pulling an allnighter for work, of course you wouldn't have time to fix yourself up!

That's totally normal!" I blinked my stinging, dry eyes and forced a small, tight smile. Thank god I took the initiative to draw a hard line with Alistair just now.

It was glaringly obvious. He wanted absolutely nothing to do with me either. Chapter 4 After that day, Alistair called me once. I instantly hung up and blocked his number.

Just to be safe, I even went out and changed my phone number entirely. But three days later, there was no escaping him. I saw him again. Right inside my own house.

My dad's new wife—Eleanor—had officially moved in with us. And she didn't come alone. Alistair came with her.

Eleanor gently patted my hand, introducing Alistair to me. "Wren, I haven't mentioned this before, but this is my son, Alistair." "You can just call him your brother.

He just moved back to the States recently, and his new place isn't fully renovated yet. Wren, do you think we could let him crash here for a while?" I wanted to scream.

He has so much money, couldn't he just rent a penthouse somewhere?! But meeting Eleanor's gentle, pleading gaze, the rejection completely died in my throat.

It morphed into a stiff, "Of course, Eleanor.

No problem." My throat felt completely tight and dry, like it was stuffed with cotton. "…Make yourself at home… brother." Alistair let out a dark, unreadable scoff.

He didn't say another word. For the rest of the day, Alistair's expression remained entirely flat. It looked like he had completely forgotten what happened three days ago.

Until dinner time, when my dad suddenly looked up and asked, "Wren, do you have any free time tomorrow?" "Uncle Richard's son is the exact same age as you, a junior in college.

He saw your picture and wants to set up a time to meet. What do you say?" The classic, painfully blunt parentarranged blind date.

I aggressively poked at the rice in my bowl, debating how the hell to get out of it.

Alistair suddenly broke the silence. "She doesn't have time." Then, he offered a slow, deliberate explanation to the two adults. "My little sister asked me to help her edit her paper tonight." He slowly lifted his eyes, his heavy gaze landing right on my face. "It's highly likely we'll be pulling an allnighter." My dad didn't suspect a thing.

He just nodded. "Alright then, we'll set up another time." My chopsticks clattered straight onto the table.

My dad looked at me, completely confused. "What's wrong, Wren?" Alistair looked entirely in control, leaning back in his chair.

Under the increasingly suspicious stares of my dad and Eleanor, I forced a nod and gritted out every single word. "My brother… is exactly right." I waited until 11 PM, and Alistair still hadn't shown up.

I let out a heavy breath of relief, grabbed my slip dress, and headed straight into the bathroom.

Right as I finished drying my hair and stepped out of the bathroom, a sharp knock hit my bedroom door. It was the absolute last person I wanted to see.

I cracked the door open just an inch and forced a polite smile at Alistair. "It's way too late tonight, brother.

We can just edit the paper tomorrow." He let out a harsh scoff, making absolutely zero effort to lower his voice. "Wren, cut the crap.

Either you let me in right now, or we settle our score right out here in the hallway.

I really don't mind going downstairs right now and giving them a highly detailed description of how you slept with me and ran." My head snapped up.

I stared at the man, my chest heaving. The sheer audacity of him twisting the blame back on me. My dad's room was also on the second floor, and it wasn't far away at all.

A loud metallic click echoed down the hall—the sound of his doorknob turning. Without a second of hesitation, I yanked the door open and dragged Alistair inside.

The very next second, the heavy, familiar thud of my dad's footsteps drifted out into the hallway. A heavy, dark intensity flared in Alistair's eyes.

His large hand gripped my waist, lifting me effortlessly and pinning me down onto the edge of the desk.

He leaned in, crushing his lips against mine. "Mmph…" It was an aggressively dominant kiss, completely suffocating.

He invaded every inch of my space, leaving me absolutely nowhere to hide and no room to breathe.

Chapter 5 My dad stopped right outside my bedroom door. "Wren, are you asleep?" Left with absolutely no choice, I bit down hard on Alistair's lip, forcing him to finally let me go. "Wh… what is it, Dad?" I fought to steady my ragged breathing, every single nerve in my body stretched to the absolute breaking point.

Meanwhile, Alistair had already unknotted his tie. He moved with agonizing leisure, slowly wrapping the silk around my wrists, loop by torturous loop.

His lips trailed scorching heat down from my forehead, stopping right at the tip of my nose.

The man wreaking havoc on my senses couldn't care less that my father was standing right outside.

His deep voice dropped to a rough, gravelly whisper. "Little sister, what exactly did you mean by pathetic stamina?

If you consider two hours bad in bed, then your big brother is just going to have to double the service tonight." My dad's voice drifted through the door again. "If you're not asleep, can I come in