Page 16 of Little Stranger

He tilts his head from side to side.I think so.

I slip off the sweater, revealing my tight shirt, and his pupils expand; he’s looking at me like he hasn’t seen me in just a shirt before. I sleep in a nightdress sometimes, so why is he looking at me like he wants to eat me?

“Can I hear it?” Chancing my luck, I add, “Even just say my name. Or, like, laugh.”

No.

I stay still, and he leans in, nudging me with his shoulder.You need to take something off.

“You said no, so you take something off.”

I answered your question honestly.

I snort a laugh and shake my head, pulling a sock off—he narrows his eyes at me, and I toss the sock away.

“Do you see me as a sister? Because a lot of my friends have brothers and they’re… different than what we’re like together. I can’t imagine them cuddling in bed or playing this game, for example. So, yeah, am I a real sister to you?”

Biting the inside of his cheek, he shifts in place and slips off his flannel, dropping it on top of my sweater. The contrast of my baby pink against his black is like a symbol of us—the innocent cheerleader and the tall, mysterious smoker whose clothes always match his black hair, the person everyone steers clear of or stares at when we’re out in public.

When our parents are with us, we do look like siblings who are just opposites, but when we’re alone—just me and Malachi—we look odd together.

I gawk at him with uncertainty. “You won’t answer my question?”

No. He spins his rings around his fingers then signs,Your questions are boring.

I roll my eyes even though my insides are like lava from him refusing to answer my question. Either he thinks it was inappropriate, or he has a secret like me.

“Do you have any piercings?” Silly question, considering his face is clear, his ears have none, and I don’t think he has any nipple—

Yes.

I frown, my eyes raking over him. “What? Where?”

He reaches for the back of his neck, snatching off his shirt, messing his hair in the process. He doesn’t try to fix it as he throws the shirt at my face. The strong scent of his sandalwood cologne fills my nostrils, and I try not to make it obvious that it drives me a little wild, my cheeks growing hot.

I can’t help but let my gaze fall down his chest—the tensed abs from the way he’s sitting, the tattoos.

Why are you staring?

I tut. “I wasn’t.”

Liar.

“Mom and Dad are going to be so weirded out if they walk in and see us.”

He shrugs.Ask me something else.

His dismissal of the chance of us getting caught is kind of annoying. He might not care about the consequences, but I actually have a conscience and care what they think.

Especially as Mom wants me to choose between Adam and Parker as my suitor. I mean, both are a hugeno, but I need to pick.

“Why do you want to see me?”

I already told you. I want to look at your body.

My face heats with a blush he can definitely see. “Why? You’ve seen me in swimwear, and there was that time you walked in on me in the shower.” I’d screamed, but he hadn’t seemed at all fazed as he’d grabbed one of my towels and leaned against the sink, waiting for me to finish. He had his own bathroom, but we’d just woken up, both of us covered in sweat from our interlinked body parts, and he couldn’t be bothered to go to his own room.

I want to see all of you.

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