STEP CLOSER

Chapter1

The house looked too perfect to be real. White walls, polished floors, furniture that looked like it belonged in a magazine not a single thing out of place. Not a fingerprint on the glass, not a speck of dust on the frames lining the hallway. I hated it instantly.

It didn’t feel like home. It felt like walking into a stranger’s life.

Technically, it was. My mom’s new husband’s house. And now mine too.

I stood by the doorway, my fingers tightening around the handle of my suitcase, pretending I wasn’t dreading every second of this. Pretending I wasn’t counting the days until I could get back to my dorm, to my quiet, to my life before all of this.

“You’ll love it here,” my mom said, smiling way too brightly beside me. “And it’ll be nice having Roman around. Maybe the two of you will actually get along”

My chest tightened at the mention of his name.

Roman.

I hadn’t seen him since the wedding since I wore that pale blue bridesmaid dress that clung a little too tight and he looked at me like I wasn’t supposed to exist. That same look that made my skin hot and my thoughts wander to places they weren’t supposed to go.

I didn’t even know him back then. Not really. But something about the way he carried himself quiet, confident, like he didn’t care what people thought made it hard not to stare. I’d told myself it didn’t mean anything. He was my stepbrother now. Off-limits. Untouchable.

But the moment I stepped into that house and heard the low, familiar voice behind me, I felt everything crash down again.

“Well, well. Look who’s moving in.”

I froze, breath catching in my throat before I even turned around.

And there he was.

Roman stood at the top of the stairs, leaned casually against the railing like he’d been waiting for me to arrive. His dark hair was a little longer now, falling into his eyes in a way that made it hard not to stare. He wore a plain black T-shirt and grey joggers, but somehow he still looked like a walking sin.

His eyes met mine and held. Like he was trying to read every part of me without saying a single word.

I forced a smile, even though my heart was hammering in my chest. “Miss me?”

He smirked, slow and dangerous. “Like a bad habit.”

I rolled my eyes and tried not to let the heat rising in my cheeks show. His voice had that same gravel-and-honey roughness I remembered deep, calm, with just enough edge to make me wonder what it would sound like if he whispered it against my neck.

God, get a grip, Ariana.

“You remember Roman, don’t you?” my mom said, clearly oblivious to the tension humming in the air.

“Mmhmm,” I managed, dragging my eyes off him. “Hard to forget.”

He made a low sound, like a laugh, but didn’t say anything else. Just kept staring.

I tugged my suitcase down the hall, trying not to look back, even though I could feel his gaze trailing every step I took.

My new room was spacious, almost too big for one person. Light streamed through tall windows and painted soft gold patterns on the floor. The bed was perfectly made, the closet bigger than anything I’d had before. It was beautiful.

But I didn’t feel safe here

Not with him just down the hall. It is totally obvious he doesn't want me here.

I unpacked slowly, placing my things in drawers I didn’t want to fill, hanging clothes in a closet I didn’t want to call mine. Every few minutes, I’d glance at the door, half expecting him to show up.

And of course, he did.

I’d barely finished stacking my books when I heard a soft knock followed immediately by the door creaking open.

Roman didn’t wait for an invite.

“Your door was open,” he said.

“No, it wasn’t,” I muttered, straightening up. “You just don’t care.”

He smirked again, stepping inside and letting the door click shut behind him. “You catch on fast.”

I turned to face him, arms crossed over my chest. “What do you want?”

He shrugged, his eyes raking slowly over me like he was memorizing the shape of me. “Just checking on you”

“We’re not roommates.”

“We live in the same house now. Pretty close, don’t you think?”

He took a step closer, and the air between us shifted. My mouth went dry. I hated how easily he got under my skin. How even the way he looked at me made my thighs clench and my pulse stutter.

This wasn’t okay. We weren’t okay. He was my stepbrother..

But the heat in his eyes told me he didn’t give a damn.

“You should go,” I said, but my voice didn’t sound convincing even to me.

Roman tilted his head. “Should I?”

He stepped even closer, just a breath away now. I could smell his cologne woodsy, masculine, dangerous. My heart thundered in my chest, but I couldn’t move. Couldn’t breathe.

His voice dropped, low and smooth. “Tell me to stop looking at you like that.”

I swallowed hard. My lips parted, but no words came out.

Because I didn’t want him to stop.

That scared me more than anything.

Just then, a voice echoed from downstairs his dad, calling us for dinner. Roman held my gaze for another second, and something in his eyes i could not read. Something hot. Something hidden.

He stepped back like nothing happened. Like we hadn’t just stood on the edge of something we both knew we weren’t allowed.

“See you downstairs,” he said, and then he was gone.

I stood there for a long time after the door closed. Staring. Shaking. Wanting.

Wha

tever this was, it wasn’t just in my head.

Roman was dangerous.

And I was already getting addicted.