Page 16 of Wicked

She’s a vortex threatening to pull me under, and I’m unsure how long I can resist her.

Tonight’s dinner could be a tipping point, a precipice I’m too aware of. It’s a dangerous game we’re playing, teetering on the edge of the taboo. And I’ve never been good at resisting my urges.

7

ELLA

Isit across the table from Remy, trying my best not to look at him. Every time I do, he’s staring at me as if he can see right into my soul.

Leo sits on my left, giving me that hungry look that makes my heart race for all the wrong reasons. Luca is the only one talking as he sits on my right, mainly making stupid comments. Remy is his usual grumpy self, not saying a word.

“Has everyone decided what they’d like to order now?” The server asks, breaking the tension at the table.

I smile at him. “Yes, I’ll—”

“Men first, Ella. That’s the rule in our household,” Luca says, smirking at me. “I’ll have the shawarma.”

Remy’s jaw clenches, but he doesn’t reprimand his youngest son. “Ella, what will you have?” he asks.

“The falafel, please.”

The server nods and writes down my order.

Remy orders the Kleftico, and Leo orders a chicken dish. The server leaves, and a more awkward silence ensues. Seriously, what was I thinking when I invited them to dinner?

“So, Remy, what are your interests?” I ask, wanting to break the ice.

Leo and Luca both snicker. “Yeah, Daddy, what do you like doing in your spare time,” Luca says, trying to imitate my voice and failing.

I now know what it feels like to have annoying brothers.

Remy takes a sip of his whiskey, puts the glass down, and says, “I don’t have any.”

I arch a brow. “None at all?”

He shakes his head.

Leo leans toward me. “So interested in your stepdaddy, but what about your two stepbrothers? We’re more likely to bite.”

Luca laughs and waves his hand dismissively. “It’s no use. I’ve tried.” He winks at me. “She flatly refused a wild night with me.”

Heat radiates from the pit of my stomach across my skin. “You two are disgusting. I’m your stepsister, for God’s sake.”

I can’t help but look at Remy when I say that and notice the odd look in his eyes.

My stepbrothers may not tempt me, but my stepdad, on the other hand... I’m so fucked up for thinking about him in that way.

“Taboo sex is the best sex around,” Leo teases.

I swallow hard, sipping my cocktail and tearing my eyes away from Remy. I will need a few of these to make it through dinner. “Fine. What interests do you have, Leo?”

“Fucking,” he says, as if that constitutes a hobby.

I wrinkle my nose. “You need to get a life, then.”

Luca laughs. “Right. He spends far too much time in the strip club. It’s pathetic.”

“Screw you, Luca. At least I’m not wasting my life teaching.”

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