Rival - E.J. Knox

From Elizabeth Stevens, writing as E.J. Knox, comes.
The King's cleaner. The good girl playing bad girl. And a price not usually paid between stepsiblings.

Rowan Finch is a thug. Protected at the top of a hierarchy at the right-hand of a king. He takes pleasure from being cruel and sadistic, and his ability to deal with dead bodies. I'm a good girl behind the façade, but I want him to show me what it's like to be bad.

My life's never been good. Not even fine. My mum's dragged us from one shitty stepfather to another and through so many schools I've lost count. It's a wonder I maintain my A average. Her latest husband? Rowan's father, who is ten times scarier than his son.

So, when my brother gets himself into another shitstorm, I do the unthinkable. I ask Rowan for a favour. Turns out, it's a favour he's happy to grant.so long as I pay his price. But does my brother's life mean more to me than my morals? Maybe.

Because Rowan's price? It's me. Where he wants. How he wants. When he wants. Rowan's price is one I'd happily pay for no favour. Not that ever I'd tell him that.
I'll let Rowan bully me and use me, but can I let him love me? I don't know that either of us can. All I know is that my stepbrother's the most real thing I've ever felt.

This is a dark, angsty, contemporary high school bully/enemies-to-lovers, stepsibling romance with enough steam to melt your screen. Do not engage in public consumption unless your poker face is impenetrable.
Do not read if you don't like bossy alpha males claiming what's theirs, a nerdy but feisty heroine determined to keep what independence she can, unlikely friendships, snarky love-to-hate-them side characters, or bad boys with secret hearts of gold.
This book is set in Australia and therefore written using Australian English. This will affect the spelling, grammar and syntax you may be used to. It might come across as typos, awkward sentences, poor grammar, or missed/wrong words. In the majority of cases (I won't claim it's infallible, despite all best efforts), this is intentional and just an Aussie way of speaking (it took my US beta readers a bit to get used to). I can't say 'the' Aussie way, since we seem to differ even within the same state. Just think of us as a weird mix of British and US vernacular and colloquialisms, but with our own randomness thrown in. I still hope you enjoy it, though!
Contains possible triggers.