Page 72 of The Forbidden Note

The night we met, I genuinely had no idea he was only eighteen and a student in high school. But what’s my excuse for trembling under his touch and pressing my naked body to his now?

I hate who I’m becoming.

And yet, I can’t stop the transformation as much as a werewolf during full moon.

The only defense I had against Zane was distance.

And now…

Now my biggest temptation—

The boy with the sky-blue eyes who can undo everything that matters to me—

Is sleeping down the hall.

“Gracie, are you alright?” Mom asks.

“Huh?” I glance up distractedly.

“You usually tear into chocolate chip pancakes.” Mom tilts her chin and says proudly to Zane and Finn, “She eats like a horse. Don’t let that slim frame fool you.”

“Mom.” I groan.

“I didn’t know that,” Zane says.

“No?”

“Miss Jamieson never eats with us at lunch.”

“Gracie, why don’t you eat with your brothers?”

I cringe. Why does she keep calling them my brothers? “Teachers don’t eat with students, mom.”

“Yes, they do.” Zane arches a brow.

“You should eat with them on occasion,” Mom says. “Family bonding is good.”

“Yes, it’ll be good tobond.”

My eyes zip to Zane and narrow. We don’t need any more ‘bonding’. Especially not the naked kind.

Soul bonds? Those are a different thing. I’ve heard that every time someone has sex, their soul bonds with their partner. If so, Zane probably has a million different souls attached to his.

I’m just one of many.

I drag my gaze back to the eggs.

“Here you go. Strong coffee. Two creams. Two sugars.” Zane sets the cup on the table.

His biceps flex as he bends over mom and gives her a charming smile. The tips of his hair are slightly damp from the shower and the way it hangs over his face makes my fingers itch to brush them back.

“You sweet thing.” Mom pinches his cheeks.

It’s so weird seeing her coo to Zane like he’s a baby. I’m surprised that he’s allowing her. The Cross brothers are menaces at Redwood Prep. They part crowds and send freshmen skittering into hiding places. With their tats, muscular chests and dark personas, they don’t seem like the type who’d appreciate mom’s form of coddling.

But Zane smiles at mom.

And Finn seems amused by her coddling.

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