Triplet Temptation: My stepbrothers are triplets novel Chapter 5

~ELENA~

Nico stretches out on my reading nook like he owns it. One leg propped up, his shirt still half unbuttoned, and that smug devastating grin playing on his lips.

I lean against the doorframe, arms crossed.

“You always make yourself this comfortable in a girl's room?” I ask.

He shrugs, unbothered. “Only when the girl looks like she's dying to ask me to stay.”

I scoff.

“In your dreams.”

“Oh sweetheart…” he glances at me through those thick lashes. “You've already been in my dreams.”

My cheeks burn. This man is impossible.

I walk past him, pretending not to care and sit at the edge of the bed.

“You're always this flirty with your stepsisters??” I ask.

“That's when she's beautiful and sexy as hell” he murmurs.

He clicks his tongue.

“You're not really my sister. Not by blood. Not by bond. And definitely not by heart.”

He leans forward. “So I don't see you as my stepsister.”

He stands, then begins prowling around the room like he's been here before.

He taps the edge of my dressing table and picks a book I had kept on it while unpacking.

“Romance novels?” He says with a smirk.

“Guilty.”

“Seems you like books. We have a library with so many books in the house” he says.

“Really?” I squeal in delight.

I love books.

“Yes,” he says.

“I can't wait to read them. I've read a lot of books and I want to read more” I say.

“Any of them involve falling for your stepbrother?” He teases me.

I throw a pillow at him. He catches it easily.

His eyes flick to mine, something unreadable in them.

Silence stretches between the both of us. Not awkward…. just charged.

“So” he says eventually. “Tell me something real.”

“Like what??”

“Why did you move here??” He asks. “Heard you were living in America and studying there.”

I hesitate.

“My mom got married after my father's death” I say finally. “And I didn't want her to feel guilty for dragging me into it. So I came along.”

Nico stares at me.

“Ooh, alright.”

“And I'm still getting to know my new stepfather” I say.

“Lorenzo??”

I stare at him in disbelief.

“You address your father by his name??” I ask.

He shrugs his shoulders. “It's not a big deal.”

“Wow” I mouthed.

He walks over towards me, his presence suddenly too close, too warm.

“Can I ask you something??” he says.

I nod.

“Did you meet any of us recently before moving in here?”

My eyes widen.

“Why…why do you ask??” I say.

“You've got this look in your eyes since you got here. Like you're haunted. You looked like you recognized one of us.” He replies.

I open my mouth, then close it.

“I don't think I've seen any of you before moving here” I lie.

He smirks.

“Are you sure, little dove??”

I gasp softly.

The one at the club called me “baby doll” and now he's calling me “little dove”

He's not the same person.

Or is he??

“Yes, I'm sure” I lie again, daring him to talk about the kiss if he's really the one.

“If you say so, little dove,” he drawls.

His eyes hold a sinister look in them.

My ribs begin slamming against my ribs.

He leans down, brushing a lock of hair off my cheek.

“I really want to know what your lips taste like. I've imagined kissing you since I set my eyes on you today” he whispers in my ear.

Then he stands straight.

“But not tonight,” he smiles. “Tonight I'm just here to keep you company.”

He turns away, moves back to the reading nook like nothing happened.

I exhale shakily.

He's dangerous and straight forward.

In a different way from Vincenzo.

Vincenzo is cold, unreadable like a loaded weapon.

But Nico??

He's the fire you know is going to burn you—but you still reach out to him anyway.

We end up talking for hours…. nothing important. Just past relationships, which makes me realize that Nico is a playboy, books, music, and how he once dyed Riccardo's hair pink while he slept.

I laugh more than I should.

When he finally stands up to leave, he pauses at the door.

“You've got a secret, Elena,” he says softly. “And I can't wait to figure it out.”

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