Page 110 of Heartless Stepbrother

I hated my body for reacting.

I hated the way heat pooled low inside me, the way my skin felt too aware of him, the way my breath betrayed me with every unsteady inhale.

He noticed all of it.

Of course he did.

Riley lifted my phone between two fingers like an offering, or a weapon, and let his gaze sink into mine.

“You don’t want me to send this,” he said, voice a dark caress. “But you’re not telling me to get out.”

His eyes flicked down my bath foam covered body, then back to my face.

“You’re not even covering yourself.”

Humiliation and something far more dangerous twisted inside me.

“Why would I?” I forced out, even though my voice was barely steady. “You’re the one invading my bath.”

His grin was slow, wicked.

“Trust me, Luna.” His thumb hovered over thesendbutton again. “If I were invading your bath…”

His gaze traced the line of my throat, the rise of my shoulders, the way the water clung to me.

“…you’d know.”

My heart tripped, stumbling into something breathless.

Riley leaned in just a fraction more, close enough that the steam between us felt electric, and murmured, “Now… do you want me to erase this message?”

A pause.

“Or do you want to keep pretending you don’t like the way I make you feel?”

Riley’s thumb hovered over the send button.

Not touching it.

Just close enough to make my stomach drop.

“Delete it,” I said quietly.

He smiled like I’d just offered him something sweet he planned to ruin.

“I could,” he murmured, voice slipping low. “But then I’d miss out on something I want more.”

My breath caught. “What do you want?”

His gaze lowered, moving over the curve of my neck, the slope of my shoulder, the bubbles sliding down my skin. He dragged his eyes back to mine, nothing playful in him anymore.

“Stand up.”

My heart slammed against my ribs. “No.”

His smile deepened. “That’s what I thought you’d say.”

He lifted the phone. “Which is why I didn’t ask.”