New Brother: His Dirty Little Secret

Hailey

"Do we seriously have to meet them today, Mom?" I groaned, tugging on my boots while lounging on Mom's bed. It wasn't the boots bugging me, but these out-of-the-blue meetups she springs on me.

"Yep, that's the plan," she said, brushing on some blush, forever classy. "Before you jump into the 'why didn't you tell me sooner' spiel, I knew you'd run off to spend the night and day with Isla. That's why I dropped it on you now."

She had a point. If given the choice, I'd rather chill at Isla's than go to this sudden family gathering. Like, seriously, what's the big deal?

Coby and I already knew each other. This whole shebang seemed set up for that little demon-yeah, I'd nicknamed him that. Coby's kid, Damien or whatever, is around eleven or twelve, I guess. I was too busy on my phone when Mom mentioned him.

But here's the problem -the new brother.

Man, if he is annoying, as I suspected, I'd probably snap and grab his ear. I had no clue how small it was, but it should do the trick.

"You know I'm not a fan of kids, right?" I rolled my eyes. Mom's second marriage was cool; Coby mostly made her happy, the only person after my dad-thankfully dead-who put a smile on her face.

"Yeah, I know you hate kids," she chuckled, "But trust me, you won't hate him."

"Of course, I will. Siblings are so annoying," I cringed, "Especially the younger ones. I've seen how Isla suffers. The last thing I want is my own little demon. Couldn't you have found someone else? Someone with no children at all?"

"Hailey, calm down," Mom chuckled, adjusting her hair as she rose, looking stunning-she had that about her-always stunning and perfect, "He won't be much trouble. Damien is quite sensible."

"Sensible? That's an eleven-year-old kid, Mom!" I eyed her incredulously.

Seriously, was she kidding me?

Once again, her laughter filled the room, this time while spritzing some perfume.

"Enough talk, put this on." She handed me a delicate bracelet. She always helped me get ready because I was a disaster. Whenever I attempted it, the closet turned into chaos-messy and careless, that was me. Frankly, I couldn't care less about it. Today, with a slight chill outside, I wore a simple beige sweater and black leggings, along with a hat and chunky boots. I thanked every deity that my mother didn't force me into some elegant attire because I was terrible at that.

"You're the one getting married. Why do I have to dress up so nicely?"

"Because you're my daughter."

"That's hardly a valid reason."

"It's perfectly valid. If it doesn't suit you, find your own reason," she retorted. Spotting that I hadn't put on the bracelet yet, she seized my hand and slipped it around my wrist before dousing me with her perfume.

Ugh, I fucking hated that smell.

"Mom, no!" I hastily pulled away, scrunching my nose. "I hate that scent!"

"I hate the one you use. It's too sweet," she retorted, cringing, attempting another spray, but I pulled away.

"I prefer sweet scents. Yours are too fiery," I groaned, reaching for my usual perfume on her vanity and dousing myself in it to mask hers.

"Fine, do as you wish," she relented, donning her white overcoat and grabbing the car keys. "Come on, we can't afford to be late."

I breathed a sigh of relief when she set her perfume down, but as she headed out of the room, a thought struck me.

"Wait, shouldn't we get some chocolates for Damien?" I caught up with her. "He's just a kid! It might help him warm up to us if we bring something like that."

***

We arrived at the restaurant, which turned out to be Coby's establishment, one among the many he owned across the country. Besides being a good person, my mom made it abundantly clear that Coby was wealthy. I didn't quite get how that fact mattered, but I'd learned to keep it in mind. I suspected she emphasized this because we hadn't been in a good financial spot for most of our lives.

Maybe she wanted me to realize that now I could have everything I desired? Perhaps, yeah.

Stepping into the restaurant, Coby stood in the lobby.

I watched my mom's face light up with a broad smile upon spotting him, and his expression mirrored that joy when his eyes met hers.

"Hey, lovelies," Coby strolled over to us, always impeccably dressed in a suit. Every time we met, when he was in this city, he'd just rushed from his business meetings or other official engagements. He was a busy man, and I admired how he always made time for my mom, understanding how much attention she needed to function.

He enveloped my mother in a hug. "God, I missed you."

"I missed you too, honey."

Gosh! They literally went out yesterday.

Placing a quick kiss on her cheek, Coby turned to hug me. "Hey, Hailey."

"Hey."

"I swear, every time I see her, it looks like she's aged a year less," he chuckled, stealing my hat and ruffling my hair.

"That was offensive, Coby."

"You're adorable, Hailey. I can't help it," he chuckled before leading us inside. Mom, being herself, grabbed a comb from her purse and handed it to me.

"Fix it."

"It doesn't matter. Your fiancé will mess it up again," I quipped loudly enough for Coby to hear, prompting another laugh from him. Of course, that was his habit whenever I was around. He treated me like a child, which I totally wasn't.

"You never listen to me, little brat," Mom sighed, putting the comb back in her bag as I brushed my hair back with my fingers.

"Here, take a seat," Coby pulled out chairs for Mom and then for me.

"So, where's Damien, Honey?" Mom asked as we settled into our seats.

"He had to attend to something important, love. He'll be here any moment. You know how serious he is about timing."

Wait a minute, what could a child have to attend?

Before I could even question it, I noticed Coby's eyes shifting towards the entrance. "Looks like he's here already."

I turned to the doorway expecting the brat I was waiting for, but instead, a sun-kissed Adonis strode in, dressed in a sleek black suit. His eyes were a captivating gray, his cheekbones sharp, his nose straight and defined. His tanned complexion glowed beneath the warm lights, emphasizing his chiseled features and sharp jawline, while his lips were perfectly plump and pink.

Wow!

Was he even a human?

Wait, why was I getting distracted? I was yet to meet that brat-I mean, Damien. This man who had walked in couldn't possibly be the boy I was expecting. But Coby's reaction... Could this man be Damien's caretaker? Perhaps Coby needed someone to look after his child given his constant busyness.

Yeah. He had to be the caretaker.

But then again, who keeps such a good-looking, hot, sexy, tempting man to take care of a child? Moreover, who dresses them this way? At this point... I was kind of envious of Damien, even though I hadn't met that little demon yet.

Surprisingly, the man walked over to us, and I saw Mom and Coby stand up.

"Hey, Sweetheart," Mom hugged him, to which he hesitantly returned. His stormy eyes briefly met mine, and I instantly froze in my seat.

"Hey, Madison," his tone lacked warmth, unlike his inviting face, as he took a seat opposite us, beside Coby.

"What took you so long?" Coby asked.

"The meeting went a bit longer, and there were some papers to finish. I had to wrap them up in an hour," his hands slowly moved to remove his coat, and for a moment, I found it hard to breathe.

Who was he? I know that sounds dumb, but my mom made it very clear that Damien was Coby's eleven-year-old son, whom I was supposed to treat well, like an elder sister.

It became harder to take my eyes off this man now as he put his coat away, revealing a white shirt underneath and the solid muscles beneath it as he unbuttoned the first few buttons.

Holy.

Something was wrong with me. My heart... it felt like it would fucking explode.

"Um... where's Damien?" I finally blurted out to maintain my composure.

A small chuckle slipped past Coby's lips, followed by Mom's, while the stranger's small smirk tugged at the corner of his lips, his eyes now fixed on me, shining with amusement.

"Did I say something funny?"

"Where do you think Damien is?" Mom asked, holding back her laughter.

"At school, maybe?"

"You tell her," Coby suddenly patted the stranger's back, chuckling. "Tell her where Damien is."

The smirk on the stranger's face widened, and my heart raced unknowingly, my palms grew sweaty, and my senses heightened everywhere.

"Well," he began, his voice smooth as silk, "I don't know which Damien you're looking for, Bunny, but I can assure you that the Damien your mother might have mentioned is me."

Holy shit!

Hailey

My lips sealed, eyes widening as if a ghost had crossed my path, and the jolt I felt-akin to being hurled off a skyscraper's hundredth, maybe even two hundredth floor.

So, this was the little demon? He wasn't little at all. God! He did look sinful like a demon, but...

Damn it! I needed to get a hold of myself.

"B-but, Damien's eleven years old," I stammered, my words barely rising above a whisper. "How can you be Damien?"

His stormy grey eyes danced with amusement, the curve of his lips signaling he enjoyed my confusion as much as I hated being confused.

"Tell me something. What about me made you think I'd be an eleven-year-old kid?" he asked, momentarily diverting my attention to the way his lips moved and the prominent veins on his neck-God! He even knew my name... And he was too pristine-something about his orderliness and serenity clashed starkly with my chaotic nature.

Hell! This was going to be a struggle if he were the real Damien because my thoughts were far from decent. Not even close.

He couldn't be the real Damien. No way

Mom had insisted Damien was a kid. Why would she mislead me like this?

"So, you're not Damien's caretaker?" I questioned.

"Caretaker?" He chuckled, a sound that effortlessly succeeded in sending shivers down my spine, "Looks like Madison spun quite the tale for you."

"Not my fault. She was too engrossed in games when I mentioned you," Mom admitted, raising her hands in surrender. "I said twenty-six, she heard eleven-made no sense, so I left her in the dark."

My gaze shot to her.

So, she'd deceived me all those times I lamented about not wanting a sibling?

Argh! She must've relished fooling me. It was her fucking thing, no matter what.

I glared at my mother, catching her trying to suppress her laughter behind her hand, confirming my suspicion.

"How could you do this?" I asked in disbelief, and she laughed.

"Well, be glad. You'd prefer a sensible sibling over the 'little demon' you kept mentioning, wouldn't you?"

Indeed he was sensible but I didn't know why I now liked the idea of having a little brother rather than the one who sat before my eyes in all glory like a god.

"Little Demon?" Damien raised an eyebrow at my mother's statement, his gaze fixed on me, a few hair strands slipping from the grip of his neat hairstyle and framing his flawless face.

God! These moments made me question if she was even my real mom.

"Oh, she called you 'little demon' because she thought you'd be an annoying eleven-year-old kid," Mom chuckled, exposing me to everyone, "You should've seen her panic at the thought-she was literally freaking out all these days."

"Mom!" Heat rushed to my cheeks.

"Poor Hailey," Coby laughed. "That wasn't fair, Madison. Why did you do that to her?"

"I think she's still freaking out a bit more now," Damien observed, sizing me up as he poured a drink, sipping it slowly, every move of his was majestic, so calm and collected as if he was a man that could never ever make a mistake, perfected to the very way he breathed and there was something in his gaze that made me want to vanish, "She still seems afraid of the demon."

Demon? Did he call himself a demon?

God. What was I supposed to fucking make of that?

"She'll be fine," Mom reassured. "That's just her. She gets easily rattled."

"Mom, you don't have to spill everything about me," I muttered, managing a small laugh, discreetly grabbing her hand under the table, shooting her a look she happily ignored.

However, before she could utter a word, Damien interjected, "I believe she should. After all, you're going to be my sister, and the family should be aware... of everything about each other, shouldn't they?"

Everything? Okay. There was no denying he was behaving as oddly as my racing heart, and unfortunately, no one seemed to notice except me.

Fuck. I was already fucking wet....

"But-" I attempted to interject, but something about his stormy grey eyes didn't let me. They had power. Fuck, it wasn't just them-it was him as a whole-he was powerful, a presence that silenced me despite his minimal reaction.

"Alright, that's enough for now. I'm sure Hailey has nothing more to add," Mom chuckled, reaching for the menu. "Let's order. We understand how busy Damien is. We shouldn't keep him."

"Thanks, Maddison, but I'm quite full. Had lunch on my way here."

"But I asked you to join us for lunch, Damien. Why did you do that?" Coby questioned, a frown etching between his brows, confusion evident.

"Maybe I felt more at ease eating with my colleagues?" Damien replied with a kind of sarcastic smile, taking a sip of wine. Coby's expression faltered, mirroring my mother's.

Okay...

Something was definitely amiss.

Something about his smile was....Really off. It left a tension hanging thick in the air and I hadn't noticed it until now.

"Damien, we've spoken before, haven't we? This isn't-" Coby began.

"It's alright, honey," Mom interjected before Coby could continue, her tone overly cheerful. "He works all the time, he must have been hungry. No problem at all. At least he could make it."

"Thank you for understanding, Maddison. I really didn't expect that," Damien flashed another smile, lacking warmth yet again.

What was his deal? He seemed entirely disinterested in being here.

From the outset, I sensed something amiss, but I didn't anticipate this level of strain between him, Coby, and my mom.

My mother's smile wavered at his words, but she tried to hold it, silently signaling Coby not to react.

Was this typical? Damien's cold behavior toward my mom and his dad? Was he always like this, or was he simply against this marriage?

My mom was nothing but nice to him, there was no need to behave like a cold-hearted jerk when god had given him such beautiful features.

A genuine smile would suit him better rather than a sarcastic one.

I stayed quiet, avoiding Damien's gaze that seemed fixated on mine, never once wavering throughout the entirety of the lunch. The tension hung thick, and his unwavering stare added an uncomfortable layer to the strained atmosphere and a new speed to my already racing heartbeats.

So far, I could say-my new brother spoke of nothing but otherworldly sinful elegance I should have cared less about and trouble. Trouble for me....

Hailey

Time drifted as we placed our orders and the dishes arrived, the waiter attending to us. Damien Black seemed preoccupied, his attention split between his phone, intermittent calls, and three glasses of wine that adorned the table by the end of our lunch. He barely spared a glance in my direction, yet I found myself stealing looks at him, sizing him up every now and then.

And the conclusion was infuriatingly clear-he was flawless.

Throughout the meal, I'd been desperately searching for imperfections. Why, I couldn't quite fathom. Perhaps it was a feeble attempt to convince myself that he was human, fallible, or maybe-more plausibly-the reason I refused to acknowledge: to give myself cause to deny...liking him.

I didn't know why I wanted to dislike him. But I just wanted to. Real bad.

This whole situation was fucked up, and I was acutely aware of it. But awareness did little to guide my actions.

I was not naive. I knew my stuff. I knew when I was attracted to a man and right now, the man before me, I was attracted to him in ways I couldn't fathom. To the point that I could imagine him when fingering myself-well, call me shameless but that's what I felt. He truly had the kind of face girls would love to imagine between their thighs.

"Well, Damien, Madison, and I are planning to take a drive. Could you possibly drop Hailey off at the apartment on your way to the office?"

Coby's announcement caught me off guard, nearly causing me to choke on my food. I shot wide-eyed looks at him and then at Mom.

"What?"

"You never let her in on the plan in advance, do you?" Coby chuckled, glancing at Mom as he stood up.

"If I had told her, she wouldn't have come," Mom chuckled too, rising from her seat. So, this was their ploy? They'd ordered lightly for themselves, scheming to bond with my newly discovered older brother of seven years?

Shit! This was messed up. I couldn't bear to meet his fucking gaze, let alone share a car ride with him.

Tugging at Mom's dress , I shook my head in a silent plea to dissuade her. Damien noticed, yet he chose to remain silent.

What was he thinking? He'd been ominously quiet throughout lunch, and I could only imagine the tension building during the impending car ride.

"Damien, honey, do you have time? I don't want to cause any trouble for you. If you're too busy, Coby and I can drop her off before we head out," my mother said.

Given Damien's preoccupation with a string of important phone calls since the beginning, I anticipated a polite refusal. However, to my surprise, he nodded. "Sure, I can drive her home. It's no problem."

A smile spread across my mom's face at his response. "Thank you, honey, and I apologize for the trouble."

"Great! Then Madison and I will head off," Coby announced, patting Damien's back, whose unexpected gaze had locked onto me, unyielding. Mom leaned in and placed a kiss on my cheek.

"Finish your lunch and then head out, alright?"

"I can just take a cab. He seems busy anyway," I stammered, desperately trying to avoid this unwanted journey home.

"Cab? No way," Coby intervened firmly. "Damien has already offered. It's not a big deal. You don't need to worry, Hailey."

"B-but..."

"Do you not want to share a car with me, Bunny?" Damien's voice interrupted, seemingly unaffected by our parents standing nearby. "Or is there someone else you'd rather be with?"

His words now hung in the air, charged with an unexpected intensity. My heart raced, caught off-guard by his directness, his gaze piercing through my defenses.

My cheeks burned red.

This jerk.....

Why did he have to say that before both Coby and Mom?

"No! It's not like that. I just..." My attempt at coherence faltered as I struggled to articulate the truth. I didn't want to share a car with him, but admitting that outright was out of the question. His towering figure, rippling muscles, and simply his presence hinted at an effortless ability to throw me off of this fifteenth floor and the thought sent shivers down my spine.

"So, it's a boyfriend thing," a sly smirk played on his lips.

"No! It's not that. At all," I blurted out.

God. It truly wasn't about having a boyfriend....because I never had one. Well, I had a few flings, few kisses and makeout but nothing more that.

"So, what is it then?" He arched an eyebrow, folding his arms across his chest, his smirk a constant fixture on his face.

This man was devilishly clever, a different breed altogether. A type of devil I hadn't known existed till now at this very moment as I watched him.

So, devils could exist beneath human skin. And Damien was one of them.

"Hailey has never been in a relationship, Damien," my mom intervened, chuckling lightly. "I can assure you, it's not that. She's just a bit nervous, but she'll take the ride, won't you, Hailey?" Her stare communicated a clear message-don't mess this up.

Was she genuinely expecting me to foster a good connection with this demon? He was too captivating to be real and too intimidating to handle. I didn't want to be in his presence, let alone share a car ride without damping my panties.

But fuck! What option did I have? I was screwed.

"Fine, I'll go with him," I finally let out a defeated sigh.

I mean there was no point in arguing cause I literally had no fucking options left.

"Good," Mom's smile mirrored Coby's as they bid us goodbyes and disappeared from view.

Now, it was just Damien and me.

Our eyes locked, and I felt my breath catch.

"Um...shall we go?" I ventured, breaking the silence that hung between us.

"Your mom instructed you to finish your lunch," came his straightforward response.

"I'm full."

"You don't appear full, and you've hardly eaten anything. So, cut the act and finish your lunch, Bunny."

What was with that nickname? Did I resemble a bunny? No chance. I gave myself more credit than that.

"Don't call me that..." I murmured under my breath.

"Why not? It suits you," he chuckled softly, his voice carrying a husky undertone that sent a shiver down my spine, threatening to raise goosebumps on my skin, "By the way....Do I really make you nervous, Hailey?" My request to refrain from using the nickname suddenly felt like a terrible mistake.

I never would've asked him to call me by my name if I knew it would sound like that.

Fuck! I really needed to get a hold of myself.

"Not at all," I stammered, attempting to deflect, "My mom just said nonsense. I'm not nervous."

"Okay then. Finish your lunch," he shrugged, surprising me with his quick agreement. I observed as he returned to his phone, engrossed in his own affairs.

Deciding to keep to myself, I focused on my lunch, attempting to ignore the persistent flicker of nerves dancing within me.