Make Her Purr

By Verity Arden

Jake is living the dream. A successful motorcycle workshop and a lifestyle to envy. Until he's asked to babysit his stepsister.

How much trouble can a twenty-year-old specialty cake maker get into?

Only Darcy's done a whole lot of growing up since he was last home. She's still a brat, and trouble is her middle name.

She's off-limits. He's supposed to be looking out for her; he definitely shouldn't be tracking her or threatening to put her over his knee.

Jake's about to break all the rules. Turns out Darcy needs a man with a firm hand, and he knows just how to make his girl purr.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Three Spires Creative
• Release date: May 18, 2024
• ISBN: 9798224546626

Book preview

One

Jake

How did I let myself get roped into babysitting my stepsister?

Their second honeymoon, our parents are calling it. I’m glad they’re finding time for each other again. Not so much that I’m left watching Darcy as a result.

It’s been four years since I’ve returned home for anything other than brief visits. It feels strange as I drive my Fat Bob into the gravel driveway knowing I’ll be staying here for a whole month.

A Harley is not exactly subtle, so they’ll know I’m home.

Home? After my city apartment, this rambling French-style country cottage with its bramble-covered walls and natural landscaping is like stepping out of time. While I enjoy my fast-paced life, it’s only now I acknowledge this cottage still feels like home.

She’s twenty, I pointed out when I spoke to my father about it over the phone. She doesn’t need a babysitter anymore.

Margaret worries, he said. We’ve never been away this long before, and well, you know how accident prone Darcy is. Nothing’s changed. Margaret’s convinced we’ll come back to find she’s broken something or herself.

Fine, I’ll do it. What else could I say? Reading between the lines, dad’s probably worried about her too.

Darcy is the definition of clumsy, although I don’t imagine she’s that much of a danger to herself. Either way, our parents will worry if I don’t do this. It might even ruin their vacation. And that clinches it.

My dad was in a dark place when my mother left him, saying she was a free spirit or some shit and couldn’t be tied down with responsibilities. She’d been sleeping around, I found out later. At the time, I only knew she would disappear for days before turning up and fighting with dad. It was a relief when she left and didn’t come back.

A few years later, dad met Margaret, and I realized not all women came with a crazy switch. She had a seven-year-old little girl, and her asshole husband had walked out on her when the kid developed a condition that was racking up medical bills. Some asswipes have no place being allowed to breed. If I ever cross paths with the gutless cretin, I’ll be sure to acquaint him with my fist.

My father wooed Margaret for two years straight before she trusted him with her heart and accepted his proposal. Even as a teenager, I knew she was the real deal. A kind-hearted woman who now runs a successful specialty cake business. At least until last week when she officially handed it over to my stepsister, Darcy, and joined my father in early retirement.

If they want a second honeymoon, I’m sure as hell not going to stand in the way. I can inconvenience myself for a month. Sure, I’m going to miss the city lifestyle and my motorcycle workshop. But I can ride over a couple of times a week and do most of my work remotely. I have a great manager in place who can handle the day-to-day.

I don’t expect to see much of Darcy anyway. At twenty and now running a business—which is fucking hard work, as I would know—any downtime, and she’ll likely be out with friends or a boyfriend, and pissed about me hanging around. How much trouble can a cake designer get into, anyway?

Also, me and the phrase responsible adult don’t exactly mix. I run a motorcycle shop for custom upgrades, with orders booked well into next year. I always had a soft spot for Harleys, but I love all bikes. When I was thirteen, my dad bought me an old Harley 883 Sportster. I stripped down that beauty and restored it until it purred.

Doesn’t hurt that when you own a shop like that, finding enthusiastic pussy isn’t