Tasting 84

84-She Is Everywhere

Nora:

“You’re going to paint her?” I questioned, my gaze piercing into his.

“Why’s that such a terrible thing to do?” he asked, his eyes delving deeper into mine.

I dropped my head to calm my breathing before lifting it again, noticing how intensely he had been

observing me for a reaction.

“Do that, and I will go around h**g up with all your buddies every night,” I whispered as I rose onto

my tiptoes, locking eyes with him and daring him.

His surprise was faint on his face, but I knew he was good at hiding his true feelings.

“Well, lucky for me, I don’t have any friends,” he shrugged.

“Fine, then I’ll help you make some friends and then h**k up with them,” I retorted, and after a few

seconds of staring into my eyes, he finally began to chuckle, causing me to lower my body and

realize how foolish I sounded.

“You’d go to such lengths to prove a point?” he raised an eyebrow, making me ponder what point he

was making.

“Alright. I won’t pains her naked only if–” he paused, and with my

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I must have sounded even more foolish because his laughter compelled me to lift my head and look

at him.

“I meant, only if you insist,” he clicked his tongue, narrowing his eyes to make me feel guilty. “Quit

being so thirsty for me. I’m your stepbrother, remember?” he straightened up, almost as if he forgot

his own statement.

“Now, say it,” he remained at my level, his face inches from mine as he demanded I ask him not to

paint her.

“Don’t paint my friend,” I demanded without hesitation.

“I won’t,” he agreed, bringing his face even closer.

“And if she asks you–” I continued, setting up terms while pushing him away with the force of my

finger against his chest, “why not! You tell her that it’s ber se you find it inappropriate to paint your

stepsister’s friend ed. Got it?”

..

I noticed how his eyes danced around, following my body language with a smug smile on his face.

“You’re kinda cute,” he said, not making it complicated. It seemed more like an observation.

“Okay, thank you!” I shrugged, trying to appear proud.

“Now go before I start painting you again,” he muttered under his breath as he pulled away from

me.

I left the studio, and while walking back to my room, I saw Ryker walking upstairs with his cell phone

in his hands.

“Who are you texting?” I started the conversation in a very casual manner. I bet even he was

surprised that I asked him.

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that question.

“A friend,” he replied, slipping his phone into his pocket.

“Really? Are you talking to April?” I raised my brow and noticed how he squinted his eyes to give it

a thought.

“Who?” he reacted genuinely, but you never know. For all I knew, he could be seeing her behind my

back and pretending to care about me at the same time.

“April-!” I raised my brow, and he finally nodded his head.

“No! Although she does send me some very cheeky and questionable messages, but I haven’t had

time to respond to her,” he mentioned her name with a frown of disgust on his face.

I stopped suddenly and blocke s way, facing him, “What kind of messages?”

He was taken aback by my audacity. I don’t know what had been going on with me, but I had been

super courageous in demanding things from Ryker and Cain ever since I found out they were my

stepbrothers.

“There was this weird picture she sent, and then she followed it with the usual excuse that she was

sending it to someone else,” he replied, leaning against the wall and folding his arms over his chest

while watching my face.

“What kind of picture?” I demanded, even more harshly this time.

“It was, you know, the ones girls send to their boyfriends,” he

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replied with an eye roll.

“But you’re not her boyfriend,” I grunted, and he deepened his eye contact with me.

“Duh!”

“Then why? And show me the picture,” I crossed my arms even tighter as numerous thoughts

started to flood my mind. What could it be? Did she send him nudes?

“Nora! I deleted the conversation, he replied in a serious tone.

“Why? Were you hiding something?” I asked with a stern look.

“No! Because I didn’t want any random girls’ nudes on my phone. It’s as simple as that,” he

shrugged, but he confirmed it was her nudes, and my face fell

“But if you want to know how she was posing, I can recreate it for you,” the moment he said that, I

pouted and tried to leave in

anger.

I was so mad, even when I shouldn’t have been. I don’t remember ever being that jealous. Was the

mate bond strengthening?

“Hey!” he grabbed my arm and pulled me back to stand before him again. “I promise I didn’t even

cast a full glance at it. I don’t want to know about her or anyone. I’m way beyond those kinds of

things. I have my goals set and my eyes on just one person only. I might not have shown it

previously, but I have my reasons.” Honestly speaking, I liked this version of him more than anything

else.

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Even his grasp around my arm was so gentle, and the way his fingers faintly massaged my skin to

calm me down brought a smile to my lips.

“Okay, I’m sorry for acting like a fool,” I uttered in guilt. I didn’t want to scare him off with my

possessiveness.

“It’s okay. I like you that way, controlling and demanding,” his eyes narrowed into mine, his lips

speaking in a husky tone, and everything began to fade away in the surroundings until I heard

someone open my bedroom door, and I had to free my arm and step away from Ryker.

“Oh, there you are. I’ve been waiting for you!” it was Natalya again.

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