For the first twenty minutes, I’m fine staying seated with my legs crossed. After thirty passes by, I can’t feel either ankle and need to stretch out my legs.
Kaiden cusses and moves the laptop out of the way before turning his attention to me. “I can’t keep watching you fidget. It’s distracting me from this borderline awful movie.”
“You could pick something else.”
“I’m invested now.”
Rolling my eyes, I wince as my stiff knees crack and extend out. They feel better once straightened, so I stack a couple pillows behind me and scoot back against them.
“Are you finally comfortable?”
“Not when you’re in here,” I mutter, not really meaning to say the words out loud.
He chuckles. “Don’t worry, Mouse. I don’t do virgins.”
I gape at him. “Wh…how…you can’t just say stuff like that! And what does that even mean? That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.”
Now he’s full on laughing, leaning back and shaking the mattress with his rumbles.
I smack his chest. “You’re going to wake up our parents. Be quiet.”
“What?” he muses, grinning. “Are you afraid they’re going to find us alone in your room together? What will Daddy Dearest think?”
He’s making fun of me.
I reach for his laptop and start to close it, but he stops me with a heavy sigh. “Would you relax? They don’t care. It isn’t like I’m some random guy in your bed.”
My brows go up to say, aren’t you?
He bumps my arm with his elbow. “I already told you, I’m not going to ravish you. You’re not my type, Mouse.”
My eye twitches. “I’m sure.”
Restarting the movie, I go to focus solely on that when he pauses it again. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“What?”
“You look pissed.”
“I’m not—”
“Don’t bullshit me.”
I sigh loudly. “All I’m saying is that I’ve heard the rumors at school. You’re the man whore sports star who can get any girl he wants. I’m not surprised I’m not that kind of girl.”
“Because…?”
Is he kidding me? “For one, I’m your stepsister. For another, I don’t look anything like the girls I see you flirting with. Oh, and regardless of you insisting you don’t hate me, you’re not the friendliest person to me either.”
He shifts his body toward me. “Firstly, I don’t really do the label thing, so don’t call yourself my stepsister, Cinderella. Secondly, you’re right. You need to gain at least thirty pounds to look like the girls I hang around, and thirdly, I’m not friendly toward anyone.”
I guess he has a point about his demeaner toward people, so there’s no point in arguing it. Before I can even try, he’s tilting my chin up with two of his fingers and grinning wickedly. I hate the tingly feeling I get in the pit of my stomach from the contact, or how my heart goes into overdrive when I see his dark eyes lighten when they’re up to no good.
I tell myself it’s because I’m not used to people touching me like this—being close. I’d react this way to anybody who would do the same thing. Yet, my brain tells me otherwise. I could meet someone tomorrow who would dare to defy Kaiden’s instructions just to speak to me, and I wouldn’t feel airy and light and nervous and numb all at the same time with them.
“Frankly,” Kaiden murmurs in a tone so low it caresses my skin, “the only reason I’m not going to fuck you senseless is because I’ve seen what one little touch does. Imagine what I’d do to your body if I got between those pretty little legs of yours.”
I stop breathing.