Page 116 of Masked Sins
I haven’t given him any indication that I want this with him—with my stepbrother. Aside from the kiss earlier today, as far as he knows, I’m about to walk out of Inferno.
But that’s the last thing I want to do.
Instead of sitting up, I reach for his hand, placing my palm against the back of his hand.
Hishand. Orion’s.
He spasms at the contact, and when I drag his hand to the space between my thighs, his eyes flutter briefly. I drag the hem of my dress up my hips and place his hand against my core—against the silk panties I know are currently soaking wet.
Something low and primal escapes his lips.
I use my other hand and reach forward, pulling his mask off, and his face comes into view.
He should be a painting. He should be studied and worshipped for centuries to come. His scythe-shaped eyebrows. His full lips. His deep, blue,genuineeyes—the way the blue bled into the black of his pupils, like a kaleidoscope. Every single emotion he’s feeling plays across his features. Shock. Arousal. Adoration. Supplication. He’s never been able to hide how he feels, ever the Scorpio.
How have I gone this long without realizing it?
“Layla—”
His voice breaks on my name.
“I need more,” I tell him, moving my hips up into his waiting hand. “Please.”
Everything inside me feels like it’s on fire. I’ve never been this turned on—never been this wanton and needy. I’d hump his hand if he’d let me. The friction I need feels so close, yet impossibly far away.
It feels like he’s already embedded in my mind, and maybe that’s because of the hypnosis, or maybe it’s because it’sOrion.
The gangly teenager who showed up on my doorstep one day, giving my eight-year-old self her first crush.
The cool high schooler who helped me with the bullies in middle school.
The stepbrother who helped me with my math homework, and Spanish tests, and watched my audition dances hundreds of times.
“Layla,” he says again, his voice frayed.
He looks down at me, his expression unsure. Just moments ago, he was commanding me so beautifully, but right now, exposed and laid bare for me…
He can’t hide behind the mask anymore.
He can’t hideanythinganymore.
And neither can I.
The feelings are too raw. Tooreal. Too much.
“Please, Orion. I needyou. Touch me.”
I see the resistance snap behind his eyes. His pupils bloom, and his expression grows hard and resolute as he moves one of his fingers underneath the band of my silk underwear. A burning sensation sears through my veins, scorching every nerve ending, every trace of his fingertips against my delicate skin. One of his fingers swipes through me, and then?—
He stiffens, and his eyes flick to mine with a sharpened, dark expression. Slowly, he scoots away from my face down to my hips, and when he pulls my panties to the side, he sits back on his heels and uses his free hand to cover his mouth.
“Oh fuck,” he growls, looking at me with black eyes. “You’ve got to be kidding me, Layla.”
His voice sounds sotortured.
“Do you like it?” I ask, lifting my hips to show off my VCH piercing. “No one’s ever seen it before. Well, except for the guy who did it?—”
He snaps.
