Page 20 of Corrupt Obsession

She was so far off base that he gawked at her before he shook his head. “No.”

“They were hoping you would ask one of them out before we started school.”

“I’m not interested in them.”

“Aha! But you are interested in someone?” she asked with great interest.

When he realized he’d been staring at her mouth for a few seconds, he forced himself to look down at what he was doing. He cleared his throat. “I’m not interested in anyone.”

“I’m going to find out at some point. You won’t be able to hide it from me!” she called over her shoulder as she headed to the bathroom.

He worked until Mom forced him to take a break and eat something.

“You seem troubled, son.”

He hadn’t been able to meet her eyes as he reassured her that he was fine, just tired and ready to go home. If she only knew… He didn’t bother telling Mom that Violet slept in his tent. It wouldn’t occur to her that anything inappropriate would happen because she saw Violet as her blood daughter. But she wasn’t. And he wasn’t truly her brother.

He glanced at Violet who slumped against the door, fast asleep. He considered offering his hoodie for her to use as a pillow, but saw they were already in their neighborhood. As the SUV went over a bump, her breasts bounced. He quickly looked away, inwardly cursing. He was so screwed.

Now that the paper-thin platonic wall had disintegrated, it was impossible to switch his mind back to seeing her as a sibling. Thankfully, only he and God knew that he’d crossed a mental boundary. At least he hadn’t done something monumentally stupid like jack off in the tent or cop a feel. He wasn’tthatfar gone. He had to find a way to act normal around her because it wouldn’t take long for her to notice he was acting different. They were extremely close, and he didn’t want to risk ruining their relationship by exposing his feelings or introducing things she wasn’t ready for or interested in if she truly saw him as a brother.

He straightened as Isaac pulled into the garage beside Mom’s SUV. Neither Mom nor Violet stirred as the garage door came down.

“We can unload tomorrow,” Isaac said as he hopped out of the SUV and eyed his sleeping wife. “You got Vi?”

His stomach clenched. “Yeah.”

Mom and Violet were heavy sleepers. He had been carrying Violet to bed or cars or wherever she happened to fall asleep ever since their parents got together. This was nothing out of the ordinary. Or, it hadn’t been until he realized staring at her too long could make him hard.

He got out of the SUV and came around to Violet’s side. Dad draped Mom over his shoulder. He used the same hold on Violet and followed Dad into the house, detouring to Violet’s bedroom while Dad continued down the hallway to the master bedroom.

He hit the light switch with his elbow, illuminating Violet’s pastel bedroom. He flicked back her covers before he gently deposited her in bed. She smiled as she sank into the plethora of pillows.

“You’re the best,” she murmured with her eyes closed.

He mock scowled. “You made me carry you when you could have walked?”

“Umm hmm.”

“Like I said, you’re a brat,” he said, trying to sound irritated as he brushed her tangled hair away from her face.

“But you love me, anyway, don’t you?”

His hand stilled before he retracted it.

Her brows bunched together. “Jesse?”

“You know I do,” he said gruffly.

She sighed as she turned on her side and burrowed into her pillows. “I love you, too.”

“Sleep tight,” he said before he turned off the light and went through their connecting Jack and Jill bathroom to get to hisroom. He flopped on the bed and stared at the shadowed ceiling as he came to terms with the fact that his life had just turned upside down.

Chapter 4

JESSE

4 MONTHS LATER

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