Claimed By My Billionaire Stepbrother

He stepped closer, those hypnotic grey eyes of his holding me in a trance. I took another step back, trying to calm my racing heart. I was supposed to hate this arrogant bastard! He'd done nothing but infuriate me since the second we met.
" Aren't you tired of pretending.... flower?" He asked. His voice was pure sex. The dirty, intoxicating kind...and I could feel myself heating up.
" I'm not pretending. I want nothing to do with you, so stay away and leave me alone!"
He chuckled, a dark yet erotic sound, That's where you're wrong..." He began, stalking closer until my back hit the wall, " This thing between us.... it's not a matter of want. It's a matter of need. Of an urgency so profound it threatens to end me. I don't simply want you, Layla, I fucking need you!"

Eight years ago, 17 year old Layla Stevens met Adam Crest in a jail cell—her for breaking and entering, him for a far darker crime. One he hadn't committed. Their paths crossed for mere minutes, but it was long enough to leave a mark Adam couldn't shake.
Now, years later, fate has a twisted sense of humor. Adam’s father is marrying Layla’s mother. Adam is hell-bent on winning the woman who unknowingly branded herself into his soul. But Layla’s walls are high, and every time he tries to break through, sparks fly and tempers flare, igniting a tension that refuses to burn out.
What started as a fixation quickly morphs into something deeper—an emotional tug-of-war layered with buried trauma, guilt, and a chemistry that won’t quit. But the past doesn’t stay quiet for long, and when a near-tragedy forces them to confront their feelings, long-held secrets begin to surface.
As feelings grow and lines blur, Adam is forced to confront everything he’s tried to bury, including the terrifying thought of being truly seen.
Can two broken people find peace in each other, or will their haunted histories tear them apart?
✨A steamy romance tangled with secrets, unresolved pain, and the kind of love that dares to heal.✨