"Because you shouldn't be with Drake Carlton," I say to her instead. She draws in a sharp breath but I quickly add. "You should be with me."
Boom.
Now there's silence. She has nothing to say and I can tell by her eyes that she's not surprised.
She knew from the moment she met me that there was something between the two of us. When Linda and her joined our family, I knew the way we talked to each other, and the way we looked at one another, that we were hungering for each other's bodies.
"Sloane..." Natalie says, a bit unbalanced. You can tell she wasn't expecting me to come out and say anything like this. "We've known each other for so long."
"We have," I agree with her, taking a sip of my scotch and pushing my plate aside.
The time for eating steak is over.
I might be eating something else instead tonight. We'll see. The ball's in her court now. And you can tell just by sitting here that she's struggling with this concept.
Sure, she might've looked at me with lust and desire at the Yale Club when I crashed into her date. But looking and fantasizing are totally different from actually having.
And now she has the opportunity to actually have it. It's a bit disconcerting.
"All these years, Sloane," she tells me. "All these years and now you're finally telling me this. Is this because of me and Drake?"
Fuck that asshole cocksucker. This is about me and her. No one else.
"This is about you, babe," I tell her and reach over to take her hand. It's like an electric shock goes through her body when I make contact. She doesn't pull away, but she looks at me with wide fucking eyes. "You just being open to Drake made it all clear to me."
"Made what clear?" she asks.
"That I fucking want you, Natalie," I tell her, directly, straight up. "And I think you want me too. I think we both know that you're dying to have me just as much as I'm fucking dying to bang you."
"So romantic, Jesus," Natalie says, rolling her eyes and I smile. She's joking. Which is a good sign. "How do I know this isn't some alpha male bullshit just wanting what Drake has had?" she asks me.
"Oh it's totally wanting what Drake has had, don't doubt that for a second," I tell Natalie and her eyes go big and my admission. "Only, I've fucking wanted you since the first day I saw you and Linda and Drake introduced you. Every day since then I've wanted to rip those clothes off and devour you. Fucking make you cum and make you scream. With pleasure. That I know I can bring."
Natalie takes a deep breath. Her cheeks are flushed.
"But you were my stepsister," I say to her. "So I didn't do shit. I let it all go. And I imagined it instead when I was alone."
"You fantasized about me?" she asks, her eyes twinkling. "About having sex with me?"
I nod.
The time for hiding the truth is over. It's time to put it on the table.
Natalie finally pulls her hand away and leans back on the chair across from me. There's a long pause.
Finally, she looks at me.
"How far away is your apartment from here?" she asks me.
I smile.
"One57 is two blocks from here," I tell Natalie as I take a sip of my scotch. "Would you like to come over?"
I stand up and extend my arm to her.
She stands up and takes it.
"Yes, please," she tells me and smiles sweetly. "We have some lost time to make up for."