Burning Passion: My Forbidden Lover

CHAPTER 1: THE ARRIVAL

MARILYN’S POV

My eighteenth summer.

A summer I’ll never forget.

The summer I... I did the most abominable.

I can't be blamed.

I really can’t.

The forces of nature all must have conspired against me and sent the most irresistible nemesis I have ever seen.

A beautiful, attractive, stunning nemesis—disguised as a man assigned to be my father.

He…

Anyway… the story goes thus...

“Last card!!!”

Steven yelled, and I groaned, feeling my world crumble at that single sentence.

I glared at him, his grin cocky as hell, and he winked at me with all the mockery in the world.

“Just give it up. You know you’ve got no choice.”

He smirked like the devil who just won the lottery.

“Alright, you win.”

I tossed the cards onto the floor, sighing in defeat. He leaped up from the ground like he’d just scored the winning goal at the World Cup.

“Hurray! I win again!”

He danced around the living room, arms up, pumping invisible victory confetti into the air.

“How the hell do you do it?”

I asked, staring at him as he spun dramatically.

“Nope. No way. Nothing on this Earth will make me expose my secret strategy.”

I waved a dismissive hand.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. I get it. You’re Houdini with cards or whatever. Now can we get this living room cleaned up before Mom gets here with her new husband? We don’t want to make a bad impression, do we?”

He chuckled, clearly still basking in his triumph.

“What do you think our new dad will look like?”

He asked, kneeling to pick up the empty soda cans and snack wrappers we’d left behind.

I smirked.

“How else? Probably looks just like Mom. Could be a million years older, you can’t even tell with these online meetups.”

He rolled his eyes.

“I wouldn’t judge that way if I were you. Mom has a weird knack for picking good-looking men.”

I scoffed with a chuckle.

“Where the hell do you find a good-looking man over forty?”

He raised an eyebrow.

“You might be surprised.”

Steven walked off toward the kitchen while I shrugged and gathered the remaining trash. I headed outside to dump it all, bracing myself as I opened the back door, because I knew what waited out there.

And sure enough, there he was.

A brown-haired, sun-kissed temptation mowing his lawn on the other side of the fence. Shirtless. Sweating. Glorious.

I froze.

Muscles glistening with effort, arms tensed around the mower handle like it was a gym barbell. He paused, dragging the back of his hand across his forehead, wiping off the sweat.

Then he turned.

And caught me.

OH, SHOOT!!!

I blinked rapidly, my heart nearly somersaulting out of my chest as I dashed back into the kitchen like my dignity was on fire.

And there was Steven, leaning against the counter with a glass of lemonade and a smirk.

“You know, you should just get over your crush on that guy if you can’t even say hi to him.”

I rolled my eyes.

“Pfft. Who says I can’t talk to him?”

“Because you spend every summer stalking his back and sprinting like a cartoon character the moment he turns around. At this point, he probably thinks you're some sort of malfunctioning weirdo.”

I scoffed again.

“Not like I care.”

“Yeah. Exactly. You don’t care.”

He took a sip and moved toward the door.

“Oh, and by the way, I’m officially not a virgin anymore.”

I blinked.

“What?!”

He grinned.

“Yep. My girlfriend. We kinda drank too much at Joseph’s party and boom—it turned into an orgy. Damn… you should’ve been there. Everyone got laid. Even stubborn Betty.”

I clutched my chest dramatically.

“What is the younger generation turning into?”

Then I laughed.

“Wow. I’m completely blown away.”

“Believe me, sis, you should try it. Being laid feels like floating on clouds laced with pleasure. Go grab that hot neighbor and invite him for an orgy lunch before he splits his shorts from walking around with a hard-on all day.”

I blinked hard.

“What?!”

“I can tell that guy wants to take you to bed.”

I flushed crimson and shook my head.

“Yeah, right. Like he would—”

DING DONG!!

The doorbell rang. We both froze, then exchanged looks.

“Okay. Mom’s home. Time to meet new daddy Bosco,” Steven said with a devilish grin. I rolled my eyes and straightened my top.

We scrambled to make sure the room looked perfect, and Steven went to the door while I stood slightly back with a carefully rehearsed welcoming smile.

He opened it and we both sang out,

“YOU ARE WELCOME!!!”

Mom beamed at us.

I stepped forward and wrapped her in a tight hug.

“Missed you so much, Mom.”

She stroked my back.

“I missed you too, baby. How’s college?”

“Cool.”

Steven pouted dramatically.

“You didn’t ask me about school.”

She laughed.

“Oh, I know you’re always alright. Aren’t you a big boy?”

He beamed like a child who just got praise for making toast.

“Alright,” she said, holding out her hand, “I’d like to introduce you two to Fredrick…”

I turned, my breath catching as I finally noticed the man behind her.

OH. WOW. WHAT IN THE HEAVENS…

He stepped forward, smile like sin wrapped in velvet, eyes locked onto mine like he could see straight through me.

“Hello, kids,” he said in a voice that melted right into my skin. Smooth. Rich. Seductive.

HOLY… MOLLY!!!

I stood paralyzed, caught in his gaze like a moth to a flaming god. It took Mom calling my name to jolt me out of my trance.

“Marilyn.”

I blinked, confused and breathless.

“Oh.”

I chuckled nervously.

“I’m so sorry. I just… I got confused.”

He smiled at me.

“It’s alright. I get that all the time.”

Still, those hypnotic blue eyes didn’t leave mine, and it was driving me absolutely wild.

CAN’T HE STOP STARING AT ME?!!!!

God!!!!

He’s so beautiful.

How is this even possible?

He’s older than Mom, right?

But she actually looked older than him.

Did she just dip her hands into the fountain of youth and pull out this masterpiece?

I folded my arms and watched her cling to his arm like he was some prized trophy. She looked so… satisfied. Radiant.

Steven was right.

Mom really landed a catch.

And what burned me up was that this damn catch hadn’t looked away from me once since entering the room.

“I’ll be right back. Let me get some drinks,” Mom said, heading for the kitchen.

“Sure. I’ll come with you, Mom.”

I was halfway toward the kitchen before she spun around.

“No, no, no. Stay back and keep your daddy company. I’ll handle it. You don’t have to.”

“But—”

“No buts, Marilyn.”

She smiled sweetly and disappeared into the kitchen.

I groaned quietly and turned to find Fredrick reclining like a Calvin Klein ad, legs crossed, and still watching me.

“You don’t have to avoid me, Marilyn. I don’t bite.”

He said my name like it was dipped in caramel.

I blushed so hard I felt my ears burn.

“I wasn’t running from you,” I mumbled, sitting on the farthest sofa from him.

Steven dropped beside him, grinning.

“So, new dad…” he started.

“It’s good to meet you. Welcome to the madhouse.”

Fredrick smiled, still too gorgeous for real life.

“I like you already. You’re way more welcoming than your big sister over there.”

I turned just in time to see him wink at me.

HOLY SHIT!! DID HE JUST—

I blushed even harder, my heart hammering against my ribs.

“Uhh… I’ll be right back. I think I left something on the lawn.”

I turned to go but—

“Are you sure about that? Or is that just another excuse to get away from me?”

I stopped mid-step.

“It has nothing to do with you… Dad.”

I threw the word like a hot coal and made my exit.

He smiled to himself, then turned to Steven.

“Your sister is a little feisty. How old is she?”

Steven grinned.

“She’s eighteen. Just turned eighteen last month.”

Fredrick’s eyes lit up.

“And what about you? How old are you?”

Steven chuckled.

“Sixteen. And you?”

Fredrick leaned back, the leather groaning beneath him.

“You might not believe it, since no one ever does, but… I’m forty-five.”

Steven's jaw dropped.

“What?! You’re forty-five?!”

Fredrick laughed, the sound rich and easy.

“Yes, my boy. The young-looking gene runs strong in my bloodline.”

Steven grinned wide.

“Damn, I thought you were like twenty-eight or something. I really thought Mom made a mistake this time.”

Fredrick laughed again.

“No. She didn’t.”

“So… do you play football?”

“Don’t worry. I play almost every game there is.”

Steven's eyes lit up.

“Awesome! I’ve got practice every weekend, and I seriously need someone to train me. My teammates bully me for sucking.”

Fredrick leaned forward with a conspiratorial smile.

“Then I’ll come with you. We’ll wipe that smugness off their faces.”

Steven beamed.

“I knew it wasn’t a mistake you walked into our home.”

Fredrick’s gaze slid toward the door Marilyn had exited through.

“Yeah. It’s definitely not a mistake.”