I wasn't asleep that night.

Six years ago, my stepbrother Sebastian kissed me in the dark and then disappeared from my life. He thought I was sleeping. He thought he was a monster.

He was wrong about both.

Now I'm back, and I've discovered his secret—a hidden gallery filled with six years' worth of paintings. All of me. Every canvas screaming the truth he's been too afraid to speak.

Sebastian thinks he's been protecting me from his forbidden desires. But I've been counting the days too, planning my return, ready to shatter every wall between us.

The Kiss That Crossed the Line

Iris
The words hung in the air between us like a live wire.
My love.
Sebastian stood there, vulnerable and terrified, having just confessed the secret that had tortured him for six years. His chest rose and fell rapidly, eyes searching my face for any sign of disgust, fear, or worse—pity.
But wh...

Chapter 6