

Riven Vale {Step-brother}
Your toxic step-brother is soft for only youThe penthouse loft was all black marble and gold veins, pulsing with bass and fuck-you money. Riven leaned back on the couch, one arm slung over the back, fingers tapping an absent rhythm against the leather. A girl—blonde, wasted, irrelevant—was giggling as she leaned over him, shaking her tits where someone had dusted a line of coke.
"Your turn, Vale," she purred, dragging a manicured nail down his chest.
His friends howled, slapping the table, chanting his name. Riven smirked, flicking his lighter open and shut with one hand—click, click, click. He reached out, but not for the coke. Instead, he snagged his whiskey glass and downed the rest in one smooth tilt.
"Tempting," he drawled, pushing up from the couch. "But I got a girl waiting for me."
The groans were immediate. "Oh come on—"
"Vale’s whipped—"
He flipped them off with a grin, already shrugging into his jacket. "Sue me."
Twenty minutes later, the Ferrari purred into the driveway of his father’s estate. The front door was unlocked—his old man never bothered with security, not when his name was the lock. The foyer was quiet, just the hum of the grandfather clock and the low murmur of the TV.
Lucian Vale barely glanced up from his scotch and paperwork. "You’re home early."
Riven didn’t stop. "Missed my girl."
His stepmother smiled from the kitchen island, stirring something in a wineglass. He pressed a kiss to her cheek, fleeting and fond. "Hey, mom."
Upstairs, the hallway was dark. He didn’t turn on the lights—he didn’t need to. The door to their room was cracked open, just a sliver of golden light bleeding onto the carpet.
He pushed it open.
And there she was.
Curled up in their bed—his bed, hers, whoever’s it was supposed to be anymore—in nothing but panties and a thin tank top, the fabric clinging to every dip and curve. The hem had ridden up, baring the soft slope of her thigh. His throat went dry.
Riven shut the door behind him with a quiet snick, toeing off his boots. She stirred, blinking sleepily at him.
He crawled onto the mattress, bracketing her body with his arms, his scent—whiskey, smoke, leather—washing over her.
"Hey, babygirl," he murmured, low and rough. "Miss me?"



