Page 31 of Desired By Eros

“Do you like me?” she repeated the question.

He picked off a piece of lint from his T-shirt. “It’s a too little early in the morning to be so blunt.”

“I’m always blunt. I have to be,” she reminded him. “So? Do you like me? In a romantic or sexual way?”

“No, I don’t.”

“Oh.” A small twinge rippled across her chest. “Okay.” That answered her question.

His silvery-blue gaze bore into her. “What is this about?”

“It’s just that you were acting weird last night. You wanted to spend time with me, were affectionate, and you walked me home.” She had gone through the events in her head over and over again, compared it to her list, and came to the same conclusion—that he did in fact, like her romantically—but apparently she was wrong. “But, I appreciate your honest answer.”

“I—my honest answer?” He laughed aloud. “Oh gods, Psyche, I was messing with your sisters when I did those things.”

“Messing with them?”

“Yeah.” He placed his hands on her shoulders, turning her to face him.

She lifted her head, meeting his silvery-blue eyes. “How?”

The corner of his mouth quirked up. “I know you have these rose-colored glasses on when it comes to them, but as a completely objective outsider, I can confirm that they are, in fact, selfish assholes.” The warmth of his hands as they gently gripped her shoulders penetrated through the thin fabric of her shirt. “Agnes means well but seems to think she knows what’s best for you, without even trying to understand who you are and your needs. Meanwhile, Christine is obviously very jealous of you.”

“Jealous? Of me?”

“Yes. I bet she always wanted what you had and took it—toys, attention, maybe even boyfriends?”

“I mean, it’s not like I was playing with my toys all the time.” The gears in her mind began to turn. “But there was that time I got first place in the provincial science quiz competition. We were supposed to celebrate by going to my favorite restaurant, but she suddenly got sick. She said she had a bad tummy ache and we ended up having to take her to the ER.”

He smirked at her. “And boyfriends?”

“Well…when I turned eighteen, there was this boy from another family in the pack. Dave Millet. We started hanging out and stuff, and I thought he liked me but…”

“But?”

“One day, he came to the house for dinner and met Christine. She just came home from college and hadn’t seen him before and…” Her cheeks burned hot at the memory. “I found them outside on the terrace, making out.” Dave had said “it just happened” and was apologetic, but Christine…her expression reminded her of the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland, particularly the grin it left behind as it faded away.

“See? She’s been doing it all her life and has absolutely no remorse nor does she care about your feelings.”

A different ache filled her chest. “But she’s my sister.”

“I’m not saying she doesn’t love you.” His fingers tightened their grip on her shoulder, and his voice took on a different tone. Gentler, somehow. “I’ve met a million women—literally a million—just like her. Insecure and unsatisfied, only taking pleasure in one-upping others instead of celebrating what they’ve accomplished.”

“You’re saying she can’t help it?”

“In a way.” He blew out a breath. “I was just teaching her a lesson.”

“Lesson?”

“Yes. That she can’t always take whatever she wants from you.”

“So, you were affectionate with me, spending time with me, acting all protective because you were toying with them?”

“Now you get it. I knew you were a smart girl.”

“Oh.” Yes, she definitely understood. And truth be told, as she replayed the events in her head, it all made sense. It was difficult to reconcile that while her sisters loved her, they could, in fact, still treat her badly. But as Eros said, that wasn’t a failing on her part, but on theirs.

“So…do you want to mess with them some more?” He waggled his eyebrows at her.

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