Tempted by My Ex’s Brother

FOURTEEN

Lily's POV

A part of me already knew I would be moving into Dante’s penthouse after the engagement banquet.

The moment we stepped inside the penthouse, I felt my breath pause. It was huge, quiet, spacious, all clean lines and soft lighting, but not cold the way I expected a place like this to be.

He shut the door behind us, and the soft click echoed too loudly in my chest.

“So,” Dante said, shrugging off his jacket while his eyes flicked to me, “I should show you where everything is. You’ll need to know how to navigate the place.”

“Right,” I murmured, pretending to be composed even though my heart was misbehaving. He led me through the living room first. High ceilings. Floor-to-ceiling windows showing the entire city. Everything looked expensive and almost too perfect, like a place meant to be photographed, not lived in.

“You can use anything you want here,” he said. “Don’t ask for permission.”

“That might take a while to get used to,” I admitted.

He glanced at me with a small, unreadable smile. “You’ll adjust, I know you will.” he said softly. We went down the hallway, he walked In front while I followed behind. He pushed open a door, revealing a bedroom, it looked simple, elegant, spacious. The bed looked large enough for three people, and the sheets looked untouched.

“This is yours,” Dante said. “Your clothes will be brought in tomorrow morning. Tonight, just use whatever you need from the wardrobe.”

I nodded slowly. “Thank you.” I let out a sigh. He didn’t answer. Because the moment I looked up, I realized he wasn’t looking at the room at all. He was looking at me. And not with the polite, distant focus he usually had. Something heavier. Hotter. His gaze moved over me slowly, almost like a touch, and my pulse tripped so violently I had to shift my weight just to hide how unsteady I felt.

The atmosphere changed, quiet turning into charged, stillness turning into something that pressed against my skin. Then he said it. Those words that I was expecting. “I want you, Lily.” he said in a deep voice.

The words were blunt, unrestrained, nothing like the controlled tone he usually used. My breath caught. His eyes stayed locked on mine, dark and sure, and I felt heat rise straight up my throat. “You… you shouldn’t say things like that,” I whispered.

“It’s the truth.” He didn’t even flinch. “And I don’t plan to pretend otherwise.”

My pulse drummed loud enough that I wondered if he could hear it.

“Dante…” I tried to step back, but he moved too, just one step, but it erased the entire space between us. My back brushed the edge of the doorframe.

His voice dropped. “If you’re going to run, at least let me do this first.” he whispered

“Do—?”

My words were stuck in my throat when I felt him suddenly pull me by my waist, I hit his hard chest and looked up at him. His eyes were dark and filled with desire. He slowly leaned down and I knew what was coming. For some reason, my eyes went shut and I felt his lips press against mine, he kissed me.

There was no audience this time, no banquet hall full of people watching, no pressure to play a role. This kiss was different—deeper, hungrier, unfiltered. His hand cupped my jaw, tilting my face up as his mouth moved against mine like he’d wanted this all night, all week, maybe longer.

My body betrayed me instantly. I melted, without thinking, without resisting, without anything except pure instinct. Heat rolled through me so sharply my knees actually weakened. I gripped the front of his shirt to stay upright, and he deepened the kiss like he’d been waiting for that exact reaction. God. I didn’t even recognize myself in that moment.

But the intensity, the closeness, the way my heart felt like it was being squeezed, hit me all at once. Too much. Too fast. Too overwhelming. I suddenly felt panic rising in me.

“I—I need a second,” I blurted, stepping sideways and nearly tripping over my own feet. “I just—I need to breathe.”

Dante straightened slowly. His expression was unreadable again, but his eyes were still dark with the echo of that kiss.

“Lily—”

“I’m sorry,” I said quickly. “I just—just give me a second.

I didn’t wait for a response. I retreated into the bedroom he had shown me earlier and shut the door behind me, leaning against it with shaking hands. My heart was racing. My lips tingled. My body felt hot in places I didn’t even want to acknowledge.

What was wrong with me?

I slid down onto the edge of the bed, pressing both palms to my cheeks. The memory of the kiss replayed too vividly. How firm his mouth was. How sure his hands were. How easily I’d responded. And how terrifying that realization felt. I stayed there until my breathing returned to something normal. Until the flush faded enough that I could look at myself in the mirror without wanting to disappear.

Eventually, when I couldn’t hide any longer, I forced myself out of the room. Dante had left the room and I let out a breath of relief, my face still flushed red.

He was in the kitchen finishing up dinner preparations. He looked so calm, collected… and aware of everything. I cleared my throat. “Dante?” I called out.

He looked up. “Feeling better?” he asked with a small smile.

“Yes. And I… I need to set a rule.” I said a bit nervously. His eyebrow lifted slightly, but he didn’t interrupt.

“No more kissing,” I said, the words tumbling out faster than I meant them to. “At least not like, like earlier. It’s too much. Too intimate. I can’t think properly when it happens.”

He studied me for a moment, his eyes steady, almost too perceptive. “I understand,” he said finally.

“In exchange, our first treatment session begins tonight" he said and eyes widened.

“Tonight?” I whispered and he nodded with that knowing smirk.