I feel him step forward. “Why not?” His voice goes lower.
“I don’t want you to make fun of me.” I lift my eyes and suck in a gasp, finding him so damn close to me.
“I wouldn’t make fun of you, Addie. I’m not an asshole.”
“You could have fooled me,” I mutter, looking away.
“Hey.” His voice is soft as he reaches out and gently grasps my chin. “You can tell me anything.”
My heart starts to pound in my chest, and a breath catches in my throat. Why does he make me feel like this? I shouldn’t feel like this. He’s my stepbrother. I thought this silly little crush died years ago. So why does it feel like my body is on fire right now?
“I have a streaming account. I playTwisted Valley.”
The corner of his lips twists up.
“See?” I sigh, taking a step away. “I knew you would make fun of me.”
“Hey.” His hand wraps around my arm, tugging me to him. “I’m not making fun of you.”
Bumping into his chest, I look up at him, lips parted. His eyes, I swear they grow a darker shade of blue.
“You don’t think it’s stupid?” I ask, my voice a whisper.
With his eyes still on my lips, he says, “I don’t think anything you do is stupid, Addie.” His eyes lift to mine. “Not everyone sees you the way your mother does. Don’t listen to her. She’s a miserable bitch.”
My brows fly up. “I thought you liked her?”
He snorts out a laugh. “Fuck no. I hate the woman, always have. I’ve only been nice to her because of my dad. But seeing how she’s been treating you?” His face shifts to anger. “Fucking pisses me off. You don’t deserve it. She doesn’t care about anyone else but herself or what people can do for her. Don’t let her get to you, Addie. She might threaten to take everything from you, but I won’t let that happen. Do you understand me? You do what makes you happy, live your life how you want to. Fuck her. She doesn’t own you, no one does. And if she tries to retaliate, my father might not do anything, but I sure as fuck won’t stand for it.”
My eyes sting, and my lower lip wobbles. The way he’s talking, it screams sincerity and passion, as if he actually cares about me.
It has my mind in a mess. Again.
I throw myself at him, wrapping my arms around his waist and burying my face into his chest.
“Thank you,” I tell him, trying not to cry.
His arms envelop me, holding me in a warm, comfortable embrace. I wish more than anything I could smell him.
“You never have to thank me, Addie,” he murmurs against the top of my head.
You know that crush I was hoping would go away? Ha! Like that's going to happen. It’s come back tenfold now.
I’m so fucked.
Would it be completely insane for me to hope there could be something between us?
Yes, yes, it would be because my Alphas hate him. He hates my Alphas. I’ve heard him complaining about them to his dad too many times. It could never work.
Yes, Damien is a real-life possibility. But he’s also not. Because he’s my stepbrother and this is just a crush. An attraction.
The last thing I need is to make myself crazy with more guys I can’t have.
What the hell is wrong with me?
How did I go from being happy with my life, oblivious to the real world, fine with crushing on my friends but knowing nothing would come from it, tothis?
I can’t have my cake and eat it too. Life doesn’t work like that, no matter how much I wish it could.
