Tangled With The Other Brother

Chapter 07⁓ You Tasted Good, Bambina

Elena's Point Of View

I didn’t even think.

It was like my body acted before my brain could catch up. One second I was glaring hard at something Jaxx said… something ridiculous and shallow, and the next, out of the corner of my eye, I felt him.

Graham.

Tall. Brooding. Furious.

That same furious glare I knew too well. And for some damn reason, it still had the power to send chills spiraling down my spine.

I panicked. I absolutely panicked. And the first silly, absurd thing that came to my mind? I turned to Jaxx and kissed him… Hard.

His lips were warm. Firm. Surprised. His body went rigid for half a breath as my mouth moved against his. He wasn’t responding, not yet. I could feel him frozen under the weight of my sudden boldness.

But I needed him to. Right now. I needed him to make it real.

I breathed the words against his mouth, lips brushing as I whispered with desperate urgency, “Don’t ask questions. Just… kiss me back.”

His hand, which had been holding his glass lazily moments ago, dropped it.

And then I felt it, a shift. The tension in his shoulders, the way his jaw unlocked, the slow tilt of his head… and then he kissed me back.

Oh, he kissed me back.

God, it was a dangerous kiss. It tasted like bourbon, rebellion, and something else I wasn’t ready to name. It was deep, commanding, like he was owning my mouth, stealing my breath, and warning me that he wasn’t a puppet I could use.

I wrapped my fingers around his neck, pulling him closer, pressing into him like we were two magnets violently snapping together. And when I was sure Graham had seen enough, when I felt his fury like a flame at my back, I pulled away slightly.

Jaxx’s eyes were molten when they met mine, his lips red and curved in a slow smirk.

“You really want to play with fire, Bambina?” he rasped, voice dark velvet. “'Cause you just lit the match.”

I smirked, grabbed his hand, and pressed it to my waist. “Take me somewhere,” I said breathlessly. “I’ll explain everything, just…” I glanced past him again. Graham was storming forward, muscles tense, jaw clenched like he was holding back a roar. “Now.”

Jaxx didn’t hesitate. He tightened his grip around my waist like he was claiming me, then tugged me behind him. We weaved through the club, past drunk girls and VIP guards, down a velvet-lined hallway. I could barely breathe. My heart was pounding in my throat, loud and erratic.

When we turned a corner, he slammed me gently against the wall.

My back met the cool marble and I gasped, not from pain but from the intensity in his eyes. Jaxx pressed himself flush against me, one leg sliding between mine, one hand reaching under the slit of my dress, skimming the bare skin of my thigh.

“What are you doing, Bambina?” he whispered, hot breath dancing against the shell of my ear. “Ain’t you supposed to hate me?”

I shivered.

Damn him. Damn the way his voice sounded like sin. Like smoke and s*x and trouble wrapped in leather.

“It’s just the alcohol,” I muttered, refusing to meet his gaze. “Don’t flatter yourself.”

“Is that what we’re calling it now?” he murmured, brushing his lips just beside mine, not quite kissing me. “Because that felt like something real.”

I scoffed. “You’re not that special.”

“Liar.” His voice was almost amused. “Your pulse is screaming louder than your mouth.”

I narrowed my eyes and pushed against his chest… not hard. Not really. But he let me go anyway, stepping back just enough for air to rush between us.

“I needed to get someone off my back,” I snapped, adjusting my dress. “You were the closest human male next to me.”

He leaned against the opposite wall like he had all the time in the world, c*****g a brow. “And you couldn’t think of anything other than kissing me?”

“It was effective, wasn’t it?”

He smirked. That devilish smirk I remembered from a long time ago. The kind that made girls drop their panties without a second thought. “Oh, very,” he said, slow and sultry. “Especially the way you moaned a little at the end. Think I imagined that?”

“I hate you,” I growled.

“It’s mutual, Bambina.”

My breath hitched.

That name.

He still used that damn name. Like I hadn’t tried to erase every part of our history from my memory.

Before I could respond, he reached for a key card and slid it into the door beside us. It clicked open. He held the door for me.

And I walked in.

The room was stunning. Black velvet walls, gold accents, soft ambient lighting. Everything screamed luxury. But I didn’t have time to admire it.

Because the door clicked shut behind me. And suddenly, he was in front of me again, caging me in with his presence.

“You know,” he murmured, stalking toward me like a panther, “I could sue you.”

I blinked. “Excuse me?”

He smirked again. “For assault. Unwanted touching. For nearly giving me a heart attack in public.”

“You’re unbelievable.”

“And you’re drunk. And reckless. And in my space now.” He tilted his head. “Care to explain what that little performance was about? Or should I guess?”

I swallowed. “You saw him, didn’t you?”

“The dude that looked like he wanted to murder me with his bare hands?”

“That’s my husband,” I said, staring him dead in the eyes.

His expression didn’t change. Then he whistled. “Damn. And here I thought you were just dramatic, not deranged.”

“It’s complicated.”

“It always is with you.”

I looked away, tension rolling through my spine. “He and his family... they’ve been controlling my every move. Judging me. Treating me like property. I had to make a point.”

“And I was your point?”

“You were the closest man with a pulse!” I exploded. “I didn’t have time to think.”

Silence.

Then Jaxx stepped closer again, lowering his voice, his eyes softer m, but still burning. “And what now, Elena? You think you can just crawl into my world, use me to shake your husband, and walk away untouched?”

I froze.

“I didn’t mean to…”

He cut me off by lifting a strand of my hair, twirling it between his fingers. “Oh, but you did. And now we’ve got a problem.”

“What problem?”

He leaned in, his lips brushing my cheek. “You tasted good, Bambina,” he whispered. “Too good.”

I felt my knees weaken.

“You think I’m the same man you left behind?” he murmured. “You’re wrong. I’ve changed. And if you keep playing with fire…”

He cupped my jaw, thumb dragging along my bottom lip.

“...you’ll burn.”