“Greta!” I call but there’s no response and I search for her until I find her in the kitchen. She’s sitting up on the kitchen island while trying to teach Baldur tricks and she’s so consumed by her new project she doesn’t notice me.
“Roll over,” she demands while Baldur looks at her with narrow eyes as if this is beneath him. Finally he gives in and Greta rewards him with a cherry praline. “Good boy!” she cries and a reluctant smile tugs at my lips.
“You shouldn’t do that,” I rasp and she twitches, turning to look at me. “Chocolate’s poisonous to canines.”
Panic floods her face. “Oh no, I didn’t k...know.”
I shrug. “He’ll be fine. Mostly liquor in them anyway.”
Biting her lip, Greta slides down from the island and murmurs, “Where were you? You don’t seem drunk.”
“Took care of some things,” I reply and she wrings her hands. Tilting my head to the side, I add, “If you have any intention of telling me what that idiot was doing at our place, this would be a good time to do so.” Rage flashes in me again and my grip around the sink hardens.
“Dame Blanca sent him. She was sick and he’s her best student apparently...,” she trails off when I clarify,
“I meant what he was doing by our pool eye fucking you.”
Greta twitches before a somber look floods her face. “I’d rather not tell you,” she murmurs and the rage turns into agony. Did she invite him into that pool to seduce him? Can’t be. My pure Greta would never do something like that.
“Please,” I whisper in a strained voice. “Just tell me.” Before I drive myself crazy with conclusions.
“Dacre,” she murmurs, looking down at her hands and her face flushes when she bites her lip. “I’ve beenbad.”
Crossing my arms over my chest, I jerk my chin. “What’ve you done?”
Glancing at me like I’m some raging judge, she slowly shakes her head. “I’m too embarrassed to tell you.” Her eyes turn shiny. “So ashamed.”
“Greta..., you can tell me anything.”
The shade of her face turns the color of poppy and my body reacts with carnal urgency. She’s irresistible to me like this. There’s nothing like her in my world. She’s one of a kind. Unique like a rare gem and I want her to shine only for me. Overwhelmed by my desire for her, I take a step closer but she pants and recoils.
Dammit this is my fault. The kiss could have made her warm up to me but I was too enraged to make it romantic. I just took her mouth up against that wall like I was going to hurt her if she didn’t comply and I tense.
“That scared of your own stepbrother?” Her own stepbrother who would never hurt her. Never let anyone mess up a precious hair on her head. I may be a monster but I’m nothermonster.
“What were those men doing in your office?” she says in a low voice and her eyes are big and apprehensive. “Are you a k...killer?”
A muscle ticks in my jaw and I exhale, “Mobster.”
The world stops turning for a moment.
My little stepsister’s stunned but since she’s going to be mine she’d had to find out one day anyway. Awaiting her reaction, I expect for her to burst into tears or something but instead she’s paralyzed with surprise. It makes me want to hold her and tell her it’s not something she needs to be afraid of and I want to put my mouth on her again.
She tenses when I take another step closer and I stop, my eyes narrowing with aggravation and disappointment. “You’re never going to let me near you, are you?” I groan and the misery coats like cement over my chest.
“Dacre, wait...!” Greta blurts, reaching out but I’ve already walked away to give her space.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Greta
Rubbing my forehead, I moan from frustration. That wasn’t me rejecting him. That was me beingstunned. Not only am I being blackmailed but the stepbrother I’ve been living with this past year was a freaking mobster all this time.
No wonder I was half terrified of him, without completely knowing why.
Organized crime meets the upper echelon.
What are the odds?