Page 49 of Sinister

“By who?” I finally work up the courage to ask and hope to all fuck that Chaser doesn’t sense the jealousy in my tone.

He leans into me, his mouth touching my ear. “Not by your brother, don’t worry,” he whispers so low that I barely catch his words.

I swallow before turning to glance at him. He hasn’t moved an inch and our noses brush against each other. His electric stare bores into my skin and lights it on fire. I’m caught in his gaze and am unable to form words for a few seconds to tell him his answer was not what I was meaning. A long pause stretches between us but neither of us move.

“It’s not what I meant.” I shift and grab my glass of water on the table after a few seconds of being trapped in his stare.

Chaser remains leaning toward me, staring as I drink. A huge grin greets me when I look back at him.

“What?”

“Nothing.” He licks his lips and takes his glass from the table, clinking it to mine. “To debauchery and mayhem. To hell with the rules society thinks we need to follow.” He winks and sips his water.

I’m dumbfounded with the meaning of his words. Do they all know I secretly get turned on by my own adoptive brother? I ignore that train of thought when Sin saunters through the tables and heads straight for me, like he knows I was thinking about him. I avert my gaze and focus on the table centerpiece, not wanting to make eye contact with him again. Once he’s seated, the waiters all emerge from the back of the hall and start to serve dinner and drinks. It's an alternate drop and you have a fifty fifty chance of ending up with something you hate. Lucky for me, I get the braised duck and mashed potatoes and I devour it in minutes. Formal dinner manners be damned.

The waiters keep the wine flowing and I’ve drank three glasses before dessert is served.

“I think the two of us are going to bleed them dry tonight.” Baron clinks his glass to mine.

“It’s the nicest wine I’ve ever tasted.” I look at him and smile.

“It’s from my parent’s winery in the south of France. I’ll let them know you’re a fan.”

“Wow. I had no idea your family owned a winery. Please, tell them they have mastered the art of wine making. This is delicious.” I smile at him and take another sip.

“I’ll definitely tell them when I go back for the break. They’ll be pleased to know someone is a fan.”

“It would be so beautiful in the south of France.”

“I don’t really take any notice. My dad puts me to work at the winery when I’m there.” He laughs.

“Sounds like these three and Raphael’s orders.” I indicate to Chaser, Sin and Rome.

“Hey, you make it sound like it’s bad. I love doing things for Raphael, especially if they’re extra fun things.” Chaser raises his eyebrows.

“Extra fun things. You mean when you-”

Chaser places his hand over my mouth to shut me up. “What she means is fun things.”

I pull his hand off my mouth and glare at him. “I’m not that drunk that I’d spill family secrets. What I was saying was, I don't even know anymore, I’ve lost my train of thought.” I giggle.

Chaser takes my glass of wine from me and hands me my water. “That’s enough alcohol for you for a while.”

Drinking the entire glass of water, I place the empty glass back on the table a little louder than I had anticipated, garnering the sour looks from both Charlotte and Sin. I poke my tongue at her and it’s totally fucking worth it because she looks down her perfect nose at me in utter shock. The judgy glare from her pisses me off.

“What? You’re lucky I didn’t flick you the finger, Queen Charlotte.” I burst into fits of giggles and am joined by Baron and Henry who’s seated next to him.

Chaser shakes his head at me and chuckles. “Keep that up and Sin will punish you.”

My eyes widen and I clear my throat, trying to get my head straight. “He can try.”

Chaser moves so he’s in my space, his hand lazily resting across the back of my chair. “I wouldn’t test him, Monroe. He’s a little more liberated being away from his parents.”

I swallow the warning and glance sideways at Sin. He’s watching our interaction intently, his hypnotic stare trained on me, making my skin tingle. It’s like looking into the eyes of a monster, all dark and gloomy with a storm about to unleash its fury, destroying everything in its path.

Chaser moves back into his spot but my eyes are still locked with Sin’s. His vicious glare promises lascivious undoings and forbidden desires, ready to tarnish any innocent fragment left in me. Tearing my gaze from his, I breathe again, the air surrounding me thick and clammy making it hard to regain my sanity. I’d been so preoccupied that I hadn’t noticed anything around me and that dessert had been served.

Looking down at the white chocolate lava cake with gold flecks and tiny blue flowers for decoration, I breathe a sigh of relief and ignore the interaction I just had with my adoptive brother. I can’t allow myself to be affected by him like this. Maybe my imagination is heightened or chaotic from the amount of alcohol affecting my brain.

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