TEASE ( A Stepbrother Romance ) By Caitlin Daire

3

Chapter 3

Rayna

Crap. He knows.

As soon as I saw the flicker of recognition cross Jace's face, I knew my life was never going to be the same again-as long as I was in England, anyway. If Jace hadn't known who I was, I could've slowly forgotten about the night before and let it pass. I could've pushed it to the back of my mind and locked it in a little memory box labeled 'Do not open...ever.'

But no, he knew exactly who I was. It was obvious in the way that he was staring at me.

I fixed my eyes on the expensive china plate in front of me and began to stuff food into my mouth as quickly as possible in an attempt to get all of this over right away. As much as I was desperate to look up to see if Jace was still staring at me, I refused, because I couldn't let him know I was affected by his presence. It would be far too embarrassing, especially if anyone else at the table caught on. I couldn't let our parents suspect a single thing, because that would be horrendous, and I couldn't even begin to imagine the humiliating problems it would cause.

"So Rayna, are you ready to move your things in here, or are you going to remain at your friend's house for a little while longer?" Gerald asked, flashing a smile in my direction.

I stared at him, unable to comprehend anything other than Jace's presence right now, let alone speak.

"Are you all right?" Mom asked, frowning when I didn't reply.

"I think she's just got a mouthful of food," Jace said with a genial smile. He leaned forward so that only I could hear him, pretending to grab the pepper grinder as he whispered something to me. "And you nearly had a mouthful of me last night, huh?"

What? What the hell was his problem?

I shook my head and gulped, trying to ignore him. "Sorry, Gerald. I was just a bit spaced out for a sec. Anyway, I think I'll just stay with Liana for a while lon-"

"No, you've gotta move in here so we can all be a real family," Jace interrupted, smug smile still fixed on his handsome face. I stared at him with horror, silently asking 'why?' with my eyes. Surely he must find this at least somewhat awkward, and yet he was insisting I move into the manor. What the hell was he playing at? If he thought he was going to get a repeat of last night's show, he was sorely mistaken. Now that I knew who he was, there was no way I was ever going to touch him again, let alone anything else.

"I think Jace is right," Mom said. "Gerald and I are all settled in together now, and you've had enough time to hang out with Liana. Besides, you can see her anytime. You need to be here with us, so we can get used to being a family."

"I...um..." My voice trailed off as I tried to think of an excuse-any excuse-to not move in, but my mind was blank. I didn't really have a choice. I had to be here for my Mom, and I didn't want to make things awkward for her new relationship by refusing to participate in our new family, so I had to say yes.

I finally nodded and forced a smile. "Sure," I said. "I'll get my stuff from Liana's place soon."

"Wonderful," Gerald boomed as Mom gave me a relieved smile.

I dropped my gaze back to my plate, but I could feel Jace's eyes practically burning a hole in me. What a creep. Why couldn't he just let me eat in peace?

My mind drifted back to last night, and I remembered the way he'd touched me...the way he'd kissed me...the way he'd made me feel...no, I had to stop thinking about it. What was done was done, and we couldn't take it back, but that didn't mean it had to stay on my mind. The further back I could push the incident in my head, the better.