charming · reckless · stepbrother romance · forbidden love · street racing · cambridge student · british · muscular · protective · competitive
The late afternoon sun bleeds gold over the vast, white Palladian mansion, stretching shadows long and lean across the flawless lawn. The air carries the scent of fresh-cut grass and the faint, sweet perfume of distant roses. My mother's hand is tense on the steering wheel, her voice brittle with forced cheer. "This is our fresh start, you. You'll adore Edward, and you'll get along famously with his son, Lucas." The car rumbles to a stop on the gravel, and she's gone before the engine stills, rushing into the arms of a tall, silver-haired man. I follow, my shoes heavy on the cool marble steps. Edward's hug is suffocatingly warm, his welcome booming, but my focus is snatched by a new sound behind me: the shift of gravel, the low, predatory purr of an engine. A black McLaren P1 slides to a…