Swap

By H K Carlton

Hailey Hollinger has it all—a great husband, a fantastic career in journalism, good friends…and one hot brother-in-law who won't stay out of her fantasies.

When Hailey was sixteen she thought her boyfriend, Brent, was the best-looking guy around. That was until he introduced her to his older brother, Mike. From that moment on she had the biggest crush on him and he became the star of all her teenage fantasies.

Hailey's all grown up now and has been married to Brent for three years. They have great careers, a nice house—they enjoy life and each other. Everything is supposed to be perfect. Except that pesky little infatuation with her husband's brother has never completely gone away. A crush, by nature and definition, is supposed to be short-lived and should diminish over time. But, unfortunately for Hailey, it hasn't, and it's beginning to mess with what she thinks should be perfection. And, if her life is so great, why does she then find herself groping her brother-in-law in the cab of his truck like some sex-starved teenager? Or the more pressing question yet—why is he groping her right back?

Author Note: This erotic romance story, which has been previously published, is written in first person, and contains cheating/adulterous themes. The material has been updated and reformatted for re-release, with a smokin' new cover, as well as additional content.

• Language: English
• Publisher: H K Carlton
• Release date: May 12, 2019
• ISBN: 9781393334354

H K Carlton

H K Carlton is a multi-genre Canadian author of romance—From naughty to nice, historical to contemporary, time travel to space travel, and everything in between. H K has over thirty titles in publication including Editor’s Choice [historical romance] The Devil Take You, and Fan Favorites [romantic suspense, mafia romance saga] The Always Cambridge Series, and [forbidden love, erotic rom], Swap.   Variety is creativity’s playground—It’s where you’ll find me

Book preview

Dedication

To Mike

&

To all the other hot, hunky, tempting brothers-in-law, out there

—You know who you are—

Thanks for the inspiration!

Trademark Acknowledgements:

General Motors Company: Chevrolet Impala, Chevrolet Bel Air, Chevy

Hot Rod : Source Interlink Companies

Hot Wheels : Mattel, Inc.

Cosmo : Hearst Communications, Inc.

My Best Friend’s Wedding : TriStar Pictures, Inc.

BIRKENSTOCK Orthopädie GmbH & Co. KG

Facebook, Inc.

Google LLC

About the Book

Hailey Hollinger has it all—a great husband, a fantastic career in journalism, good friends...and one hot brother-in-law who won’t stay out of her fantasies.

When Hailey was sixteen she thought her boyfriend, Brent, was the best-looking guy around. That was until he introduced her to his older brother, Mike. From that moment on she had the biggest crush on him and he became the star of all her teenage fantasies.

Hailey’s all grown up now and has been married to Brent for three years. They have great careers, a nice house—they enjoy life and each other. Everything is supposed to be perfect. Except that pesky little infatuation with her husband’s brother has never completely gone away. A crush, by nature and definition, is supposed to be short-lived and should diminish over time. But, unfortunately for Hailey, it hasn’t, and it’s beginning to mess with what she thinks should be perfection. And, if her life is so great, why does she then find herself groping her brother-in-law in the cab of his truck like some sex-starved teenager? Or the more pressing question yet—why is he groping her right back?

Author Note: This erotic romance story, which has been previously published, is written in first person, and contains cheating/adulterous themes. The material has been updated and reformatted for re-release, with a smokin’ new cover, as well as additional content.

Prologue

When I was sixteen I thought my boyfriend, Brent, was the best-looking guy around. That was until he introduced me to his older brother Mike. From that moment on I had the biggest crush on him, and he was the star of most of my teenage fantasies.

At the time Mike was twenty-five and newly married, but that didn’t stop my overactive imagination. I was so shy back then, every conversation I had with the man left me a red-faced, tongue-tied mess.

To this day, Mike can still make me blush, even though I’m now twenty-six and have been married to Brent for three years. I have a great career in journalism and I’m sketching outlines for my first romance novel.

Brent and I both have great jobs, although he travels a lot for work as a territory auto parts sales rep. We own a nice house. We enjoy our life and each other. Everything is supposed to be perfect—except that my infatuation with my brother-in-law has never completely gone away.

A crush, by nature and definition, is something that’s supposed to be short-lived and should diminish over time. But, unfortunately, mine hasn’t, and it’s beginning to fuck with what I think should be perfection.

Mike and his wife of ten-plus years now, Cheryl, live nearby. They seem fairly happy, too, until you look a little deeper. Which I often do. With Brent away so much, I spend a fair amount of time with Mike and Cheryl. I go out with my friends too, but Mike and I have a lot in common, and not only interests-wise—we are both creative. I have my writing and he has this passion for photography that I think I’ve finally convinced him to pursue.

As long as I’ve known Mike, he’s worked in construction. I also know he hates it. Especially now that he’s getting a little older and his back and his knees have started to protest the constant activity. I mean, thirty-five isn’t old by any means, but it isn’t just his body that it’s taking a toll on. He isn’t happy, and I know from experience what a rush it is to have an article published, or some kind of recognition for a job well done. Mike’s photographs are really good, and I know in my heart that he could make a go of it, if he would just give himself the chance.

And how do I know all this? Well, even though we do a lot of things together as couples when Brent is home—which isn’t often—lately it’s just been Mike and me. We find ourselves spending more and more time together. Cheryl is often busy with her newest get-rich-quick scheme or charity events. To her, life is all about money, and other people’s perceptions of her and the life that she and Mike have carved out. She wants people to think that she and Mike live a whole lot more comfortably than they really do.

And my husband, Brent—when he isn’t away on business—has a passion of his own. And it isn’t me. Currently, she is housed in the garage under a custom-fit car cover. She is sleek, shiny, and midnight black with four hundred and six cubic inches of raw power, that I can’t compete with.

Chapter One

I walked out onto the back deck where my friend from college, Kate, and my sister-in-law, Cheryl, sat comfortably in my luxurious new deckchairs. Katie handed me a wine cooler, as I threw myself into the overstuffed cushion.

I don’t know what to get Brent for his birthday. Any suggestions, ladies? I asked, hoping for a burst of inspiration.

Get him a new shammy to polish his hot rod with, Kate suggested cheekily, knowing full well how I felt about the third wheel, so to speak, in our relationship. I’d complained to her on more than one occasion that he spent more time with the shiny machine in the garage than with me. God knows he’s probably worn out the one he’s got by now, Kate added.

Mmm. I glared at Kate. Lucky girl, gets rubbed down more than I do.

Kate laughed.

Oh, don’t be so hard on him, Cheryl said. At least he’s at home, Hailey. He’s not off running around. And he thinks you’re just as hot. She pointed the neck of the bottle she was holding at me. The first thing he’ll do when he walks through those doors is grab your ass and plant a big sloppy one on you. We’ve all seen how he gropes you. It was fine when you two were teenagers but, Jesus, now it’s just gross.

Sounds like you’re jealous to me, Cheryl, Katie shot back in my defense.

"Jealous? Me? Of them? Cheryl choked. Hardly."

I was instantly pissed off at the slur, that maybe we were not worthy of being envied. I narrowed my eyes at her, while she swiftly backtracked.

"What I meant was, you two are still practically newlyweds. Wait until you’re married as long as Mike and I—then you’ll have plenty to bitch about."

My irritation mounted. From where I stood, she had absolutely nothing to complain about. Mike was awesome. I mean, I realize you always think the grass is greener...but I could pinpoint more faults in Cheryl, than I could in Mike, not only in her character, but she was also the crux of many of the problems within their marriage.

Physically, the brothers resembled each other quite a lot. Both tall, six foot two-ish, blond, blue-eyed, and muscularly built—Mike because of his work, and Brent because he worked-out at the gym, or was constantly wrenching on some sort of machine. You knew right off that the two men were related, but that was pretty much where the similarities ended. Brent was outgoing, boisterous, and opinionated. He was constantly on the go, and always needed something to do to occupy his time and his hands. A new project, whether it was home improvements, or restoring his newest four-wheeled obsession. He couldn’t just relax and have a few beers, or watch a movie.

Mike, on the other hand, was quiet and intense. Introspective. Like me, he was a homebody—which Cheryl couldn’t stand. She wanted to be out and about, seen with the movers and shakers. Yet she used those connections and donated her time volunteering in the community. From raising funds for sick children to finding homes for abused animals, the work she did for charity was nothing but inspiring. Though I had never quite been able to get a read on whether her contributions actually came from a sincere place, or whether it was simply a means to an end for her. However, the why didn’t matter. She did a lot of good things for deserving people and that was something I could get behind. And Brent and I did so frequently. If we were unable to contribute in person or monetarily, I had no problem highlighting the causes on my blog, or using my connections to drum up interest. While Brent did the same, often able to hook her up with either some sponsorship or freebies from the many auto parts suppliers and corporations he was in contact with, on a daily basis.

Strangely though, Brent had always butted heads with his sister-in-law. Cheryl didn’t care much for Brent, and she made no bones about it, but the sentiment was mutual. Sometimes I wondered if that animosity carried over to me. I often thought Cheryl only tolerated me because she had to, and not because she truly liked me. I hesitated to even call her a friend.

Right now though, I wasn’t about to argue with her. I wasn’t the confrontational type. I fumed in silence, or complained to Brent after the fact. Besides, even though I could write a thought-provoking article that sometimes created a firestorm of controversy, face-to-face, I was no match for the sharp-tongued woman sitting across from me. I did my best work on paper, where I could write and edit again and again, until it was perfect. But in person, I was an awkward, stuttering mess, especially when provoked or upset.

Sooo, what’s the cause of the week, Cheryl? Kate asked, de-escalating the tension.

I sent Kate a grateful nod. She winked in response.

Ohhh! Cheryl sat up a little straighter and her face lit with excitement. I’ve got several things on the go. We’ve got a silent auction coming up—still trying valiantly to keep the library open.

Mmm, that’s a good cause. I’m all for the books, I said.

That’s because someday you want to walk into a library or a brick and mortar store and see your own book there, Kate teased me.

Well, yes, you’re right, I can’t wait to have a book of my own. But my bigger worry is what would we do without books? What if something, God forbid, happened to our technology, as we know it? What if we couldn’t access the Net? We would have no source of information, and as a society we would be well and truly fucked without books.

There she goes again, Cheryl, Hailey is already plotting out her next article.

She wasn’t wrong. Don’t scoff, Katie, I said, "what if you couldn’t access Google?"

Now you bite your tongue, Katie responded, her eyes flashed in dramatic fashion.

And what else are you working on, Cher? I prompted.

We’ve also got a golf tournament coming up benefiting the Children’s Health Foundation. Do you think Brent would be interested?

Absolutely not, I said with a laugh. Brent wasn’t much of a golfer.

Yeah, Mike wasn’t keen either. She frowned.

But we’d be happy to donate to the foundation, I offered.

Me, too, Kate piped up.

Sweet. And what else... Cheryl tapped the arm of the chair. Oh, yes, Hailey, I was going to contact you about this one—to see if you could post on your sites or run a piece—we’re trying to reunite a veteran who is suffering from PTSD, with his K-9 partner. The sergeant was injured while on deployment and sent home for treatment, but his dog was put back in rotation.

Oh, wow. I really hope that one works out. E-mail me the information and I’ll post it asap.

Good. We’re having a terrible time with the military.

I might be able to help you out on that front, too. Fresh out of college, I did an interview with Mable McConnell, who is now in charge of Veteran Affairs for our area. She scared the bejezzus out of me back then, but oddly, we’ve stayed in touch. She’s a good friend. I’ll give you her number. She’s a real hard-ass, and one hell of a lady. She’ll get some results. I wouldn’t be surprised if that dog is back in the country by the end of the month. I raised my wine cooler in salute, before taking a drink.

Thanks. Cheryl sat back, and inspected her fingernails as if she were bored out of her mind.

There was an uncomfortable lull in the conversation. Katie grinned, and rolled her eyes at me.

Brent’s birthday, ladies? I reminded, bringing the conversation back around to the original topic. Help me out here!

Why don’t you go to one of those car shows that he loves so much? Cheryl suggested. Maybe one of those big events, out of state. I’m sure that would please him. When was the last time you did that?

Now normally I wouldn’t have taken the statement for anything other than it was, but there was something in Cheryl’s tone along with the rather odd expression on her face that didn’t sit well.

I glanced over at Katie. She smirked and raised a perfectly shaped eyebrow, which made me think I had not misinterpreted at all.

So, what had she meant? When was the last time I’d accompanied Brent to a car show? Or when was the last time I’d pleased him? I decided on the former—we had no complaints in the pleasure department. Well, that wasn’t completely true, either. He was away far too much for us to do too much of that. But we sure made up for it when he was home.

I shrugged. You’ve seen one car show, you’ve seen ’em all. I mean seriously, row after row of ’57 Chevy’s, in every color imaginable. Uh-gah!

Oh, just give him a bit of your precious time, Cheryl said, with a dismissive wave of her hand. You used to go to those things all the time, as I recall, when you two were just dating, before you got married. You used to follow him everywhere. Now that you’ve got him, you don’t make the effort to support any of his interests.

I bit my bottom lip to stop my mouth from dropping open in outrage. I couldn’t believe she was saying that to me. That was the pot and the kettle right there. I could have said the exact same thing to her about Mike. I was hurt by her words and I fired back before I thought better of it. "Oh? And how is Mike’s photography going, Cheryl?"

Her eyes flashed, before she glared at me.

"Well, you would know more about that than I, since you’re the one pushing him to do such a foolish thing. He talks to you about that nonsense. Not me. He knows better."

"So, I should support my husband, but you can’t see your way clear to do the same for yours?"

"What does he need my support for? You’re all over that. In fact, you’re just feeding into the crazy idea that he could