A Deal with My Ex’s Rival

Chapter 4: Kiss Me, Make Him Jealous

• ADRIAN'S POV •

“Get the hèll away from her, Adrian, before I break your jaw!”

Nathaniel’s voice ripped through the corridor.

I turned, still holding Celine’s purse. My half-brother stood several feet away, his fists clenched as if he were ready to carry out his threat.

I almost laughed.

“Is this how a decent man behaves on the day he announces his engagement to the world?” I asked. “Throwing a tantrum over another woman?”

“Stay out of this, Adrian.”

“Gladly. But you’re the one who came charging out here, screaming like a jealous boyfriend.”

His nostrils flared, and his jaw clenched as he fought to keep his temper under control.

Behind me, Celine shifted uneasily. She’d looked ready to disappear into the floor earlier, and I couldn’t figure out what had suddenly given her the nerve to stand her ground.

“Celine!” Nathaniel barked, turning on her. “Get away from him. Now!”

She said nothing.

“I said, get away from him and go home. We’ll discuss your unruly behavior later.”

I nearly laughed. Nathaniel had spent his entire life expecting people to jump whenever he opened his mouth, but Celine wasn’t moving.

Instead, she lifted her chin.

“No!”

Nathaniel’s eyebrows shot up. “What?”

“I’m done listening to you, Nathaniel. You don’t get to order me around whenever you feel like it.”

Now that was interesting.

I knew Celine Ward. Or at least, I thought I did.

We’d known each other since high school, back when she was quiet, sharp-witted, and capable of lighting up a room with a smile. I’d liked her almost immediately, though I’d been too young and too proud to admit it.

Unfortunately, she’d only ever wanted Nathaniel. She’d followed him around with those hopeful eyes, and everyone had assumed they were in love and destined to end up together.

Including me.

Nathaniel stepped closer, his patience clearly running out.

“Celine, don’t test me. You’ve pissed me off enough for one evening.”

She hesitated, then turned toward me.

Before I could ask what the hèll she was doing, she grabbed my lapels and yanked me down to her height.

Then she kissed me.

My mind went fücking blank.

Her lips crashed against mine, wiping every thought from my head. Years ago, I’d imagined kissing Celine more times than I cared to admit. I’d buried that foolish little fantasy long ago, convinced she would never want me the way she’d wanted Nathaniel.

I’d accepted that.

Or at least, I’d forced myself to.

But I’d never imagined she would kiss me like this.

Her hands tightened around my jacket as she rose onto her toes. She kissed me fiercely, without hesitation, without apology, and without giving a damn who was watching. I should have pulled away.

Instead, I wrapped an arm around her waist and kissed her back.

Her lips parted beneath mine, and I tasted the strawberry gloss on them. When her tongue brushed mine, I met it hungrily, pulling her closer until there was barely any space left between us.

My c**k stirred against my trousers.

Fück.

I’d wanted this woman for years, and now she was in my arms, kissing me like she wanted me just as badly.

The problem was that I wasn’t stupid enough to believe it.

She could be using me to get under Nathaniel’s skin, and I was letting her do it because some pathetic part of me still wanted to believe that, for once, she’d chosen me.

That thought should have been enough to make me stop.

It wasn’t.

I tilted my head and deepened the kiss, tightening my grip on her waist as she pressed closer. Her body fitted against mine, and every shred of common sense I had left went straight to hèll.

When her tongue met mine again, a low growl escaped my throat.

I was in trouble.

And just when I was getting lost in the kiss, Celine abruptly tore her mouth away from mine.

I barely had time to catch my breath before she leaned close to my ear.

“I’m so sorry. Please, just play along.”

Her breath brushed my skin.

I went still, trying to make sense of what the fück had just happened. She pulled back and shot me a desperate look before turning toward Nathaniel.

Ah.

So that was it.

My brother looked ready to tear me apart with his bare hands. His face had gone red with rage, and his lips pulled back in a sneer.

I almost laughed.

“How dare you?” he roared. “How dare you kiss her? Have you fücking lost your mind?”

I arched a brow. “What’s the matter, Nathaniel? Jealous?”

He lunged at me.

I barely had time to brace myself before he charged, his fist c****d back and his eyes blazing with murderous rage. I was already preparing to smash his fücking nose when a sharp voice cut through the chaos.

“Nathaniel! What is happening out here?”

Veronica stood at the banquet hall entrance, her eyes darting between her fiancé, Celine, and me. Her mouth fell open as she took in the scene, but she quickly snapped it shut.

Nathaniel stopped dead.

For a split second, I thought he would swing anyway. The bàstard looked ready to throw a punch and deal with the consequences later.

Then he glanced over his shoulder at Veronica.

His arm dropped, but the fury on his face remained. Celine watched him, her chest rising and falling rapidly. She didn’t run or apologize. Whatever had possessed her to kiss me, she was going to see this through.

And I wasn’t about to leave her hanging.

I wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her against my side, still smirking.

She stiffened, clearly not expecting me to take the performance this far. Then she rested her head against my chest and slipped an arm around my waist, playing her part like she’d been doing this for years.

I looked straight at Nathaniel.

“Got a problem with me kissing my woman?”

His face went dark.

“Your woman?” he spat. “What the fück is going on between you two?”

Celine lifted her head and met his eyes.

“What do you think?”

Fück.

I almost laughed. This was the same woman who had struggled to get a word out earlier, yet here she was, poking a furious Nathaniel Frost with a stick and daring him to bite.

I lowered my head and kissed the top of hers. Her hair carried a faint vanilla scent, and it dragged an old memory out of the place where I’d buried it.

I shoved it back down.

“By the way, Nathaniel,” I said, tightening my arm around Celine’s waist, “when were you planning to invite me to your wedding?”

His jaw locked. A muscle jumped in his cheek.

“I’d hate to miss it,” I added. “Especially now that I’ll be bringing my woman.”

“Adrian, you fücking bàstard!”

“Nathaniel!” Veronica snapped.

She stormed toward us, her heels striking the floor with sharp, angry clicks. Disgust twisted her mouth as she took in the scene.

“Let’s go inside. Everyone is waiting for us.”

Nathaniel didn’t budge. His attention remained fixed on Celine, and beneath all that rage, I caught something I hadn’t expected.

Pain.

Not wounded pride. Not embarrassment over being challenged in public.

Pain.

The sight unsettled me more than his threats ever could.

Nathaniel had spent years treating me like a stain on the Frost family name. I’d returned the favor by making sure he never forgot I could go toe-to-toe with him in business and beat him at his own game.

But I’d never seen him look at anyone the way he was looking at Celine.

Veronica seized his arm.

“Come on,” she snapped. “Let’s leave these losers to entertain themselves.”

I smirked. “Careful, Veronica. Save that attitude for someone who gives a damn what you think.”

She shot me a murderous look, but Nathaniel finally let her drag him toward the banquet hall.

He looked back at Celine as they walked away.

Then he did it again.

Even when Veronica pulled him through the doors, he twisted around for one last look before disappearing inside with her.

Very fücking interesting.

I waited until they were gone before turning to the woman pressed against me.

Celine immediately pulled away.

“I’m sorry,” she mumbled. “I know that was completely inappropriate, and I shouldn’t have dragged you into my mess, but—”

“You’d better have a damn good explanation for that.”

She clamped her mouth shut.

“I had to respond.”

“You had to respond?” I repeated, staring at her in disbelief. “Celine, you grabbed me, shoved your tongue down my throat in front of my brother, and then whispered for me to play along. I think I deserve a hèll of a lot more than that pathetic excuse.”

Her cheeks flushed.

“I can explain.”

“Fantastic. I’m all fücking ears.”

She glanced toward the banquet hall, then grabbed my hand.

“Not here.”

Before I could protest, she dragged me down the corridor. I glanced at our joined hands, then at the stubborn, beautiful woman pulling me along, and decided to let her have her way.

For now.

We stepped outside into the cool evening air. Guests crossed the hotel driveway while a valet hurried toward a waiting car, but Celine kept moving until we reached the parking lot, away from the people milling around the entrance.

Then she spun around to face me.

“I can explain,” she repeated.

I folded my arms across my chest.

“Then explain.”

I waited, fighting the urge to grab her by the waist and kiss her again. That was the last thing I should have wanted after discovering she’d probably used me to piss off my brother.

Unfortunately, my body hadn’t received the fücking memo.

I clenched my jaw.

“Why did you kiss me, Celine?”