ALAYNAAt first, I think I’m dreaming as if it were the first time Brandon kissed me. He feels so familiar—a lost lover I’ve yearned for. I give in to the kiss, letting him devour my mouth. He groans at my response. His kiss grows relentless and more demanding. And right when we can’t get enough of each other, wishing to feel more, he picks me up and brings me to his lap. His hands are all over my body, pulling me harder against him. We are panting between each other’s mouths, my nails slashing into his shirt as I try to pull him closer.
I moan, and it doesn’t matter. At this moment, he is mine and mine alone. My fingers grip his back as his tongue plunges into my mouth aggressively, gaining much more access. Brandon has become fierce and confident. He used to be gentle with me, and I was always careful while touching him before. My hands are freely gripping his biceps, then his muscular chest, tangling in his hair. He is so passionate, and he knows exactly what I need.
I can taste the lingering flavor of whiskey in his mouth, but it’s too delicious. I moan hard, unable to contain my feelings anymore, as he moves down my neck. I’ve fallen for him like a starving woman, kissing and touching him with no shame, grinding myself against him. Every single cell in my body has awakened. I’m so aroused that I want more and more of him. While his mouth and his tongue continuously explore my neck, his free hand pulls my dress out of the way.
I gasp. “Is this all right?” I breathe. “Here?”
“Of course this isn’t. Oliver’s out there,” he whispers harshly, “and here we are. If you don’t calm down, then Oliver has no chance. Panicking is never the answer to a situation like this. It only leaves the risk of mistakes. But isn’t this better?” He brings his mouth back to my neck and runs his tongue over my skin, sucking and licking. Marking me“I want you still, Alayna. I want to be deep inside you. I want your legs around me. Again. I may have tried to fix things differently than your expectation, but it’s not over between us. It never is.” He grips my waist and presses me down on his hard erection.
“But whose fault is that?” I say breathlessly.
“I know, baby. I know.”
I shut my eyes when he slides his hands into my dress and cups my breasts over my bra. But even with that obstacle, my skin feels ultrasensitive. At that moment, I don’t care anymore if we are in his car in the middle of nowhere. I haven’t felt this good since the first time with him. The sounds he makes, his groans, his hard breaths, and his words only made me want him more. No man has ever affected me this way. It’s only him. There’s still a part of me that hates how my body reacts. He hurt me, yet I still want him like this?
“Say that you still want me,” he demands now, massaging my breast.
“I never stopped.”
“Then why did you kiss him?” he says in a deep, dangerous tone.
I bite my lower lip, my breath hitching. “You didn’t want me.”
“So you run to him, hmm?” He glides another hand inside my dress. “Say that you want me and only me. Say it.”
“I still want you, and only you,” I whisper. “Always.”
He puts his forehead against mine. “Good. At least I know we’re clear.”
Clear? Then now what?My head lightens, gathering my thoughts all together. I don’t know what scheme he wants to pull right now, but he certainly knows how to confuse a woman. I don’t know what his game is anymore.
At the back of my mind, Cassius’s face appears. I don’t want to make another mistake again. I can’t take any more betrayals.
“Brandon, this doesn’t feel right,” I murmur.
“It doesn’t feel enough that you’re sitting in my lap?” He smirks. “My mouth marking you as mine?”
“You know why. You’re with your first love now, and Cassius is—”
He deeply kisses my mouth again. “You’re missing the point. I’m not with Pauline.”
I scowl. “Am I supposed to believe that?”
“Yes. Other than that, Cassius knows very well that you can’t be his. You can’t I move away from his lap and smooth my shirt as I settle back into my own seat. “But this... I’m betraying him. I may not be sure of what I feel for him, but kissing a man who’s in a relationship with someone else is also wrong.”
“Pauline needs my help. I need hers, but that’s it.”
I look directly into his beautiful eyes. “I needed you too, Brandon, and you abandoned me. You claimed it was for protection, but all it did was push me away.”
“I told you, right? Whatever is happening, you just have to trust me.”
“What is it that you want from me, Brandon?”
“Wait for me.”
My chest feels like it’s exploding again. “I’ve waited for you long enough, and you still want me to wait? How long?”
“I have battles I need to face, and all I’m asking from you is your understanding.”
That’s it?
He still can’t be with me.
There are no promises, just empty words I can’t hold on to. He doesn’t seem to want to let go of his first love either.
What else can I do? But I need him like this, even if it is the only way I can have him.
I breathe an enormous sigh of frustration. “This is kind of giving me whiplash. Could you take me to Vermont now?” I say, refusing to look at his painfully gorgeous face.
He guns down the car engine but speaks once more. “My feelings didn’t change, Alayna. I hope you can believe that.”
“But it doesn’t change anything. You still can’t be with me. You can’t tell me anything either.”
“You still have me, Alayna. You will always have meI can’t believe that after everything I’ve been through he’ll just do whatever he wants. I’ve tried to move on, and this is how he wants to handle this? Does he think I’m stupid? He’s being unfair.
When we reach Vermont, Cassius and Casey are already in the hotel lobby. Cassius sprints toward me as soon as he sees me and pulls me against him. I can’t breathe.
“Thank God! I thought you left the club first. I was so worried.” He releases me and searches my eyes. “Are you okay? You look pale.”
“I’m fine.” I look over my shoulder at Brandon, who is watching us like a hawk. He strides furiously toward us, but Casey approaches and hugs him.
“Brandon, where is Oliver? We thought you were with him?” she asks.
Brandon wipes his face in defeat, and he stands there still.
“You said we were in danger. Is this true?” Casey asks again.
“Brandon? Where’s Ollie?” Cassius asks with his arm still on my waist.
I remain silent. I know what happened, but I can’t seem to find the right words to say it. It is too much.
Brandon’s eyes darken. “I’m sorry,” he whispers. “They took him.”
“No“You son of a bitch!” Cassius charges toward his cousin, ramming his fist into his face. Brandon hits the floor with a sickening thud.
I stand frozen. My emotions twist my insides, knowing I couldn’t have done anything to stop it.
“Before it was Alayna, and now my brother?” Cassius roars. His face is aflame, a vein jumping on his neck. “How hard are you going to make things for us?”
Brandon forces himself to get up, touches his jaw, and then twitches his neck to the side, showing his bloody split lip
“Hey!” Casey immediately runs toward Brandon, still crying. “Cassius, just what the hell did you do? That isn’t his fault.”
Brandon lets out an infuriating smirk. He wipes the blood with the back of his hand.
“Are you laughing?” Cassius advances toward his cousin again and pushes his chest. “Do you think this is funny?”
I grip my hair with both fists. “Stop it, please! Just stop it!”
Cassius steps back. Two hotel security surround us, but Brandon halts them. “It’s all right. Everything’s fine.”
“But, Mr. Lucien, we’re afraid we need to—”
“We’re checking in here in a few moments. This is a simple family matter, please.”
The two guards nod and step back but stand at a cautious distance.
Cassius shakes his head in disbelief. “Who else is going to get hurt for you? Casey? Who’s next? Me? My parents?”
The man I know as gentle, kind, and composed is suddenly fuming. Well, I can’t blame him. It’s his brother’s life on the line, but it’s not Brandon’s fault either.
“Cassius, Ollie is my brother too,” Casey tries to explain. Her face and eyes are already swollen from tears. “But instead of blaming Brandon like this, why don’t we start looking for him?”
“No!” Cassius bellows. “He has to know the trouble he put us in. While playing the hero for someone else, he’s neglecting his own family.” He points his finger at Brandon. “You could’ve done something to end this, Brandon, but what the fuck are you doing?”
“Cassius, Casey is right,” I add. “We won’t get Oliver if we don’t start to look for him.”
Cassius grunts, but he eventually calms down.
“I spoke to one of them. They have his phone,” Brandon says.
“What did they say?” Casey asks wretchedly.
His eyes survey the place. “We shouldn’t talk about it here.”
Cassius squeezes his eyes shut and pinches his temples. “Let’s get moving then and get my brother back. Casey, Alayna, go to the suite first, please. I need to speak to Brandon alone.”
Casey nods. “Of course.”
I watch the two stride in the opposite direction until they’re out of sight. Casey and I walk to the elevator. She loses her balance. I immediately catch her.
“Casey!”
“Oliver’s been kidnapped, Alayna....” She starts to cry again. “On my birthday.”
My emotions get carried away, and I weep with her.
No words leave her mouth again, only quiet sobs and continuous tears rushing down her cheeks. I can’t help but feel guilty. It should have been me. Brandon said I was their real target, but they took Oliver instead.
“They’ll find him,” I assure her. “And Oliver is strong. He’ll survive.”
“You’re right.” Casey forces an empty smile and wipes her tears away.
“Come on, Case. Let’s get upstairs.” All we can do now is wait.