I wasn’t supposed to be here. Not in this house. Not living under the same roof as him.
But college was over, I was broke, and my mom’s new marriage meant I now had a stepbrother I’d never met before—Jace.
And from the moment I saw him, leaning against the kitchen counter in nothing but sweatpants, tattoos peeking from under his sleeveless tee, I knew I was f****d.
Not in the innocent way.
He looked up at me like he already knew every thought that flashed through my mind. The way my eyes dragged over his abs. The way my lips parted when he licked his thumb after eating a slice of apple. His gaze was cool. Unbothered. Dominant.
That word… stuck in my throat like something unspoken but thick with weight.
“Riley,” he said, low and deep. “Didn’t know you’d look like that.”
“Like what?”
