CHAPTER 493: OTHER MAN’S SCENT

Evaline:

The moment Oscar drove the car past the massive iron gates, the sky finally gave up its restraint.

Sheets of rain slammed against the windshield hard enough to blur the world into silvery streaks.

Just an hour ago, it had been warm and bright... practically cheerful. Now, at barely three in the afternoon, the world looked like dusk had arrived hours early.

Oscar barely finished parking when I shoved the door open and sprinted toward the house. I still got hit by icy droplets, cold enough to sting where they touched my bare skin.

I burst inside, breathless, hair slightly wet.

Oscar was right behind me.

Before I could wring out my braid, a maid hurried over with a towel. Oscar plucked it from her hands with a polite nod and stepped in front of me. His palm slid to the back of my neck as he gently tilted my head forward.

He dried my hair himself.

"You are cold," he murmured in a low voice, like almost a reprimand.

"A little rain never killed anyone," I whispered, but my voice wasn’t steady. He had that effect on me... quiet intensity that turned the simplest action into something dangerously hot.

His eyes flicked to mine. "Go shower, sweetheart. Hot water. Now."

"I’m going to check on Lioren first."

Before I could move, the maid spoke gently, "Young master is sleeping, My Lady."

I exhaled.

Oscar’s mouth tilted. "Then you should shower... unless you need me to drag you there."

Normally I would flush and wave him off.

But the storm outside had crawled under my skin, mixing with the residual adrenaline of combat training and the ache of missing him... and suddenly I wasn’t shy at all.

I lifted my chin.

"Join me, then."

He froze.

His eyes widened just a fraction - shock first, then dark amusement, then hunger, unmistakable and unfiltered.

He stepped closer.

"Are you sure you know what you are inviting?"

My heart thudded, heat curling low. "Do you think I’m being clueless?"

His throat bobbed with a hard swallow.

"Eva..." He leaned in - one more inch and his lips would have brushed mine...

And then his phone rang.

Of course.

He closed his eyes, exhaling through his nose in a way that told me he was seconds away from throwing the damn phone into the rainstorm. He finally answered in a clipped voice.

"Yeah, River..."

The moment River’s name left his mouth, his expression softened. He was still annoyed, but just a little since it’s his brother.

His free hand slid to my waist, pulling me closer for a moment as he listened to his brother. He pressed a lingering kiss to my forehead before reluctantly pulling away.

"I’ll be in the study," he mouthed silently, brushing his thumb across my jaw.

Then he disappeared down the hallway.

I headed up the stairs, climbing slowly, my pulse still racing from the near-moment that had almost turned into something very different.

But the second I reached the top landing, I felt him.

Kieran.

He leaned against the wall near my room, arms folded, looking beautiful in that dangerous, untouchable way only he could manage. His eyes softened when he saw me.

Then... he inhaled.

Just one breath.

And everything about him changed.

His shoulders tensed. His nostrils flared, and his eyes darkened.

His gaze locked onto the jacket around my shoulders.

Kyros’ jacket.

Wait! He couldn’t be-

His jaw flexed.

"You are wrapped in someone else’s scent."

His voice wasn’t loud. But the quietness... raw and clipped... hit harder than shouting ever could.

"Kieran, it’s Kyros’-"

"I don’t care," he murmured, stepping forward.

He didn’t look angry... not exactly.

Possessive. Fierce. A little unravelling.

And absolutely done with pretending he didn’t want more.

"He gave you his jacket," he continued, his eyes moving slowly over the fabric. "And you walked the entire way home smelling like him?"

"It was windy," I muttered. "And freezing. He was just being nice."

"He’s a good kid," Kieran said darkly. "But you are mine."

Before I could react, before I could take a breath... he was on me.

His hand slid around my waist, firm and deliberate. The wall came up behind my back as he backed me into it gently... but with a clarity that made my pulse jump.

The jacket slipped from my shoulders and fell to the floor in a soft thud.

He braced one arm above my head, the other tracing the side of my face before sliding into my hair.

"Mine," he repeated, softer this time but his voice was still rough like gravel dragged over velvet. "And my brothers’."

Heat flooded through me, hot and dizzying. My fingers curled into the front of his shirt on instinct.

His forehead dropped to mine.

"You have no idea how hard it is for me to be away from you," he whispered, his breath warm against my lips. "You think I don’t feel it every damn day - wanting you this close? Wanting to pull you against me and kiss you until you can’t breathe?"

My breath hitched.

"Kieran..."

"Evaline." My name on his lips was a plea and a command all at once.

He angled my face up... and then he kissed me.

Stars.

It wasn’t gentle.

It wasn’t testing.

It wasn’t hesitant.

It was consuming.

His mouth slanted over mine with a hungry, breath-stealing intensity that made every nerve in my body flare awake at once. His hand tightened in my hair, tilting me exactly where he wanted me, deepening the kiss in a way that made my knees tremble.

I gasped softly against his lips... just enough for him to slip in deeper, taking the sound with him.

He swallowed every breath, every soft whimper.

His thumb traced my jawline, slow but claiming, while his other hand slid to my hip, pulling me flush against him, anchoring me in place as if he feared I would disappear.

Heat unfurled through me... slow at first, then rushing like wildfire.

My fingers fisted in the fabric of his shirt, pulling him closer, answering his intensity with my own. His lips moved against mine in a rhythm that grew hotter, hungrier - each kiss deeper than the last.

The storm roared outside.

But the one inside the hallway was louder.

He broke the kiss only for a second... just long enough to breathe against my lips, voice low and shaken.

"Tell me you don’t want this," he whispered, "and I’ll stop."

My heart slammed against my ribs.

I met his eyes - darkened, burning, vulnerability hidden beneath all that fierce possessiveness.

"I want you," I breathed.

Something in him snapped.

With a soft groan he kissed me again... deeper, slower this time but somehow even more intense, a kiss that curled my toes and stole every coherent thought from my mind. His lips explored mine with a reverence that contrasted the hunger - a perfect, devastating mix of both.