The next morning, I wake to the sound of my alarm blaring through the room. I’m one of those people that set their alarm for the last possible second leaving no time for the snooze button, so I hop up quickly and move to the bathroom in the hall. I’m in the shower when the thoughts of last night come flooding back. Did I really consider confessing the truth? I have got to get these feelings under control. Gabrielle, you’re eighteen and James is thirty. Even if he wasn’t your brother, what makes you think he’d be interested in you? You’re in your freshman year of college and he’s climbing the ranks of a Fortune 500 company. He has his own apartment and lives by himself. You live in a dormitory with a roommate.

He’s your brother.

You’re his sister.

It’s incest.

Sort of?

You could never.

He would never.

It isn’t natural.

And yet, loving him feels as natural as breathing.

I head out of the bathroom, my towel wrapped firmly around me and my shower cap still planted on my head when James all but runs past me towards the kitchen. I can smell that he’s showered, and I take a deep breath, inhaling the sexy scent. I frown when he doesn’t even utter a hello, but I shrug it off knowing that James is even more useless than I am without at least one cup of coffee.

“Make me one, splash of cream no sugar please!” I call after him as I move into the guest room to get ready for the day. I’m surprisingly not nervous about the exam, but my nerves are still all over the place about last night. After pulling on a pair of tights and a plaid tight mini skirt paired with an oversized sweater, I run my straightener I keep at his apartment over my tresses a few times before running my hands through it. I apply my usual makeup, spending a little extra time on my mascara to make my lashes appear even longer before heading into the kitchen where I see James completely dressed. He’s wearing a navy suit with a white button down shirt and a vest underneath as well as a tie. I try my hardest not to bite my lip in response to the lust coursing through me over how handsome he looks. Not to mention the confidence he exudes which is just as sexy.

“You look nice.” Understatement of the century. I set my bag on the counter and grab the coffee that he made for me.

“Thanks.” He grunts without looking up from his phone and I narrow my gaze at the fact. If James and I are in the same room, his focus is usually on me. So for him to not even look up when he’s talking to me? Weird.