Stepbrother's Lust: A Forbidden Mafia Romance

Reagan’s POV

"It wasn’t."

The words left her mouth before she could stop them.

I raised an eyebrow.

"...Then what did you want?"

She froze.

A moment ago she’d looked ready to tear my head off. Now she couldn’t seem to find a single word.

Interesting.

Several seconds passed while she searched for an answer, her gaze drifting everywhere except me. She opened her mouth, closed it again, then sighed quietly.

I gave a small nod.

"I thought so."

I could’ve kept pushing.

Eventually she’d have answered. People usually did when enough pressure was applied.

But forced answers had never interested me.

Anyone could corner someone into talking. Watching them arrive at the answer themselves was far more revealing.

Rose wasn’t nearly as unreadable as she seemed to think. She hid behind sarcasm, irritation, and the occasional insult, but every now and then something slipped through a pause that lasted a little too long, a look she held for a second before turning away, shoulders that tensed whenever the conversation caught her off guard.

She probably thought she was hiding it well.

The interesting part wasn’t that she cared, It was how determined she was to convince herself she didn’t.

I turned to leave.

"No."

I stopped and glanced back.

"What?"

She didn’t answer right away.

I’d seen Rose angry before. She’d glare, shout, storm off without looking back.

This wasn’t that.

She looked... conflicted.

Like she wanted to say something but couldn’t quite bring herself to do it.

She kept looking at me as though she wanted answers she’d already convinced herself she wouldn’t like.

I’d given her exactly what she’d seemed to want two days ago.

Distance.

Yet she still looked dissatisfied.

I’d given her exactly what she’d seemed to want two days ago. Distance. Yet here she was, looking even more frustrated than before. Rose was turning out to be far more complicated than she’d probably admit.

After a long silence, she finally spoke.

"...Who was she?"

"Who?"

"The woman."

So that’s what this was about.

A quiet laugh slipped out before I could stop it.

Her eyes narrowed.

"...What’s funny?"

"You."

"Excuse me?"

"You thought I went on a date."

"I never said that."

"You didn’t have to."

She folded her arms.

"You still haven’t answered."

I studied her for a moment before taking a slow step closer.

"...If I did..."

My voice lowered just enough.

"...Would it bother you?"

Her lips parted, but nothing came out.

"W-What?"

"I asked a question."

"It..."

She broke eye contact.

"...It has nothing to do with me."

I held her gaze for a moment.

"So... no?"

"...Exactly."

I almost smiled.

That answer had come far too quickly.

People telling the truth rarely rushed to defend themselves.

They simply answered.

Rose had needed time to convince herself first.

I wondered if she even realized she’d answered my question.

Most people worried about what they were going to say. They rarely noticed everything they did before saying it.

The hesitation, The way they avoided your eyes, The little pause while they searched for the right lie. I’d learned a long time ago that words were the easiest thing to fake.

Everything around them?, Not so much.

It made reading people surprisingly simple. You just had to know where to look.

She’d been biting the inside of her cheek, I’d noticed she did that whenever she was frustrated.

She probably didn’t realize anyone else had or even funnier if she was unaware of that little trait"

She looked away as soon as the words left her mouth.

She’d changed her tone halfway through the sentence too.

Whether she admitted it or not wasn’t my problem, though watching her deny it was unexpectedly entertaining.

Before either of us could say anything else, my phone vibrated.

I already knew who it was before I looked at the screen. One of my men. He wouldn’t interrupt unless it mattered.

I answered.

"...Yeah."

There was a brief pause.

"I’m coming."

Another.

"I know."

He gave me the location and confirmed she was already waiting.

Nothing unusual.

I slipped the phone back into my pocket to find Rose watching me. The moment our eyes met, she looked away as if she’d been caught.

"...Something important?" she asked, trying a little too hard to sound casual.

"I’m needed."

"By who?"

I studied her for a moment before answering.

"...She’s waiting."

Her brows knitted together.

Confusion came first.

Then disbelief.

By the time irritation settled across her face, I already knew exactly what she’d assumed.

The corner of my mouth twitched despite myself.

"...She’s waiting?" she repeated.

"You just got back..."

She held my gaze.

"...and you’re going to her again?"

I didn’t answer.

There wasn’t much point correcting her. Watching her reach the wrong conclusion was strangely amusing, and from the look on her face, she was far more bothered than she’d ever admit.

Besides, explaining would’ve only led to more questions.

Who had called, why I was leaving, where I was going...

Questions I had no intention of answering.

The less Rose knew about that side of my life, the better.

I turned and headed for the door.

"Reagan."

I kept walking.

"You’re unbelievable."

Her voice followed me into the hallway.

"That’s all you can say?"

I let her words hang in the air behind me.

Explaining myself would’ve ended the conversation and oddly enough I wasn’t in a hurry for it to end.

"You unbelievable piece of shit."

A quiet breath escaped me.

Not quite a laugh.

Maybe I should’ve corrected her.

But watching Rose get flustered was proving to be far more entertaining than I’d expected.

Outside, the afternoon air was cooler than I’d expected.

I slipped my hands into my pockets as I walked toward the waiting car.

One of my men was already standing beside it. The moment he saw me, he straightened.

"Boss."

I acknowledged him with a nod before getting in.

He didn’t ask why I’d taken so long.

As the car pulled away, I looked back once through the window. The house disappeared behind the gates.

Odd.

I’d left the conversation exactly where I wanted it. So why was I still thinking about it?

That girl was exhausting.

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