My Stepbrother's Dirty Little Secret novel Chapter 253

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Chapter 253

I looked at Raphael, and he looked just as shaken as I felt. He went completely stiff, his jaw tightening until a muscle pulsed in his cheek. He wouldn’t look at me. He shifted in his seat, suddenly putting distance between our bodies, his movements jerky and uncomfortable.

“So,” he said, his voice distant, like he was talking to a stranger, “We’re even now.”

The giddy warmth in my chest turned to lead. I felt sick. My body was still buzzing from the contact my lips still tingling, but my brain was screaming at me. Why was I feeling this way? Why was I acting like he was someone could just… kiss outside of sex?

I forced a small, shaky smile and nodded, even though I felt like I was going to throw up. “Yeah. We’re even.”

I turned away fast, my hands trembling as I started grabbing my books and laptop. I didn’t look back. I needed to get away from him, away from the garden, and away from the terrifying way he made me feel. Raphael stayed seated, staring at the roses with a look of pure stone, both of us trapped in a silence that felt like it was about to explode.

I practically stumbled back into the house, the cool air of the hallway doing nothing to stop the fire burning in my cheeks. My bare feet slapped against the marble floors as I sprinted up the stairs, my books clutched to my chest.

I burst into my room and leaned my back against the door, breathing hard. My heart was a frantic, messy drumbeat in my ears.

What is wrong with you? I shouted at myself in the silence of the room. He’s a Capone. He’s the man who owns your life for the next six months. You don’t kiss men like him. You don’t feel giddy when they look at you.

The warmth I had felt on the terrace now felt like a fever I needed to break. I felt like a traitor to my own skin. My body had reacted to him without my permission and not our of lust, and that scared me more than any threat.

I threw my laptop onto the bed and flipped it open, the bright light stinging my eyes. With shaking fingers, I opened a private tab and typed in the one name that used to mean safety, just like Raphael did a few moments ago when he shouldn’t, Raphael shouldn’t be anything to me.