Baiting the Heir

My adopted brother, Knox, the heir to the Falcone family, absolutely loathed any woman who fell for him.

So I kept my crush a secret for years, never daring to say a word. I stayed by his side as his sister, the only woman allowed to remain.

That was until my true feelings were exposed, and I realized he had been watching me make a fool of myself all along. I finally woke up, turned my back on him, and accepted an arranged marriage with a rising mob boss.

And that arrogant mafia boss kicked my bedroom door open, his eyes burning with fury.

I just stood there and laughed softly. A master hunter often acts like the prey.

Returning to my room after a boring family dinner, the first thing I saw was Knox holding my freshly washed leopard-print lingerie that was drying by the bed.

"Since when did your taste get so wild?"

He stood in front of my bed, practically naked as usual. His muscles looked like they were carved from marble, and that thin piece of fabric dangled from his long fingers.

My eyes uncontrollably trailed down the deep cut of his lower abs, landing on the loose pajama pants hanging low on his hips.

I wasn't sure if it was my imagination, but he seemed to stand a little straighter on purpose, making what little was hidden even more obvious.

My throat tightened. "Knox?"

He didn't care at all about being half-naked. His deep voice carried a lazy drawl. "Going to take a bath? I already got your nightgown out for you."

"I can do it myself."

I snatched the clothes from him. My fingertips accidentally brushed against his warm, firm chest, and my cheeks instantly caught fire.

I thought to myself that living in this house was seriously testing the limits of my sanity.

I was the daughter of the family's former Consigliere.

After my parents died, the Don adopted me and brought me into this estate.

Knox and I were siblings in name only. Maybe because we grew up together, he had zero sense of boundaries with me.

Or rather, he never saw me as a real woman.

He would casually kiss my forehead, drink the leftover whiskey from my glass, play with my lingerie, and do every ambiguous thing possible to set the air on fire.

But to him, I was always just the little sister who had kept him company since childhood.

There was no denying that Knox was flawless in both looks and body. Every woman in the family blushed just mentioning him. Normally, I should have claimed a man like him a long time ago.

But fate had a sick sense of humor. This cold-blooded heir had a deep-seated trauma.

When he was a child, he saw his mother cheating behind the Don's back before she was thrown out on the streets. Ever since then, he was disgusted by any woman who tried to get close to him.

Those beautiful women who tried to strip and climb into his bed either ended up getting kicked off his territory at gunpoint or simply vanished.

The only reason I was the sole woman allowed to stay safe in his territory was that I hid my desire for him behind a sweet, sisterly act.

He always treated me as his own, as his closest family.

Thinking of this, I often regretted staying at the estate to play his game. Being this close meant crossing the line was bound to happen. Once he figured out how I felt, I would lose even the right to stay by his side.

Because I liked Knox. I was desperate to have him.

The chilled wine slid down my throat, calming the heat in my chest. My mind drifted back to the dinner party a few days ago.

The family had just taken over some new businesses, and the Don had him step up as the heir. For the entire night, Knox's hand never left my waist.

We weaved through a crowd of politicians and gang bosses, even attracting the flashing cameras of a few gossip reporters.

An older, wealthy wife finally walked over to us.

She smiled and asked, "The young boss is holding Eden so tightly. Are you two going to announce a wedding soon?"

My hand stiffened around my glass. Before I could answer, Knox's eyes turned cold with disgust. "Don't drag us into that. Eden is my sister."

The temperature in the room seemed to drop.

Everyone looked at me with sympathy.

I took a sip of my champagne like nothing happened, but I couldn't help thinking. With the way you're holding me, anyone would get the wrong idea.

Well, maybe no one actually believed him. Or maybe men just didn't think that way.