Puck Me Harder: A Stepbrother Romance [BL]

Micah’s POV

Munch on what? His chest?

Is he completely insane? I frowned, my eyes involuntarily darting right back down to his chiseled, bare torso. A sudden, intense flush crept up my neck, my mouth watering despite my sheer panic.

’Okay, fine, maybe munching on him wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world...’

But I had to get a grip. I needed to escape before my father and brother realized I was missing from my room.

Shaking off the fog, I pulled my phone out of my pocket and quickly tapped into my call logs. My fingers trembled as I selected Noah’s contact, blocking his number without a second thought. I did the exact same to my father before sliding the phone onto my lap.

"Ready?" Damon asked, his tone dropping its teasing edge.

I gave a firm nod. I couldn’t believe this was happening. I was officially playing the unfilial, rebellious child, running away from home for the very first time in my entire life.

Damon started the car, the engine roaring as he drove us straight toward his family’s estate. The ride was suffocatingly quiet. I pulled up my news app, scrolling through headline after headline... every single outlet was blaring live updates about the sudden, tragic death of the prime minister’s daughter.

Damon shot a quick glance at my illuminated screen before focusing back on the dark, wet road. "You really shouldn’t be looking at that news, Micah."

"But she’s actually dead..." I whispered, lifting my head to meet his sharp profile. "Was she... the girl from yesterday?"

Damon gave a slow, solemn nod. He was always brutally, completely honest with me, an unvarnished quality I deeply appreciated.

"Don’t think about it right now," he said quietly.

A heavy, suffocating knot tightened in my chest as the dangerous question clawed its way up my throat. "Did... did Noah kill her?"

Damon nearly slammed on the brakes. The car jerked as he violently pulled the steering wheel, his head snapping toward me with terrifying intensity before he forced his eyes back onto the road.

"Did you find something, Micah?" he demanded, his voice thick with sudden tension. "Is that why you called me to get you out?"

My heart pounded violently against my ribs, so hard I was terrified he could hear it. My hands locked into a vice grip around my knees. Should I tell him? Should I tell Damon about the horrific death list hidden inside Noah’s dark desk? What if Noah had a reason? What if revealing it put Damon directly in the line of fire?

A wave of overwhelming panic washed over me. I swallowed hard, forcing myself to violently shake my head. "I... I didn’t see anything," I lied, my voice cracking.

Damon let out a deep, shuddering exhale. Reaching over the console, he gently ruffled my messy hair before turning the wheel, pulling the car into a massive, gated estate driveway and coming to a stop in front of a grand building.

He cut the engine and unfastened his seatbelt, but paused before opening his door. "I should warn you before we go inside..." he muttered, glaring at his own front entrance with a look of frustration. "It might get really chaotic in there. I just hope you can endure it."

"Uh... okay?" I replied, my brow furrowing. What on earth could be so chaotic inside the terrifyingly untouchable Damon Silver’s home?

We both climbed out. Damon grabbed my heavy school bag from the backseat and led me straight through the massive double doors. Standing right in the grand foyer was a beautiful, middle-aged woman dressed in a sharp, crisp black uniform.

"Welcome to the Silver mansion, child," she greeted me, offering a remarkably warm, gentle smile.

Yet somehow, an invisible, bone-chilling dread crept straight down my spine.

Damon instinctively took a step back, cowering slightly behind me. "Hello, old woman," he muttered.

"Young Master Damon," she purred, turning her head as her warm smile vanished into thin air, replaced by absolute, terrifying strictness. "Where on earth have you been? You didn’t forget about your plans with the twins, did you?"

"I didn’t!" Damon yelled defensively. It was utterly shocking to see the fearless, arrogant Damon Silver looking genuinely terrified of a housekeeper. "Look! I’m even wearing the costume!"

He pointed down at the yellow fireman suspenders bunched clumsily around his waist.

The woman’s eyes dropped straight to his completely bare, tattooed chest. Her expression twisted in anger. Without a second of hesitation, she reached out and smacked him hard across his back! Thwack! She didn’t stop, repeatedly smacking him as he groaned.

"How vulgar of you! Showing up like this right in front of our guest!"

"You crazy old woman!" Damon winced, dropping my bag onto the marble floor as he tried to protect his back.

"Damon!"

"Is that Damon?!"

"Damon is finally back!"

A chorus of high-pitched, energetic voices echoed down the grand staircase. I whipped my head around, my eyes widening as two identical little boys came sprinting down the steps, wearing matching mini-firefighter suits. They looked so overwhelmingly cute my heart instantly melted. I desperately wanted to run over and squeeze their

chubby cheeks.

"We waited so long for you, Damon!" one pouted, crossing his little arms.

"Yes, yes!" the other nodded feverishly.

"Nanny thought you were flaking out on us, so she was already getting ready to take your car keys away," the first one added.

"Yes, yes!" the second repeated with another vigorous nod.

Suddenly, the whole picture clicked into place. This was the chaos Damon had warned me about. He wasn’t an only child... he had two adorable, hyperactive little brothers.

In a split second, both of their bright, curious gazes snapped directly away from Damon and locked straight onto me. I flinched, freezing completely under their intense scrutiny.

The first twin tilted his head, inspecting me from head to toe with wide, inquisitive eyes. "Huh? Is this your girlfriend, Damon?"

A sudden, scalding heat exploded across my face, my entire brain completely short-circuiting as my jaw hit the floor.

’What?! Girl... GIRLFRIEND?! I’m a boy!’