In Love With My Stepbrother

Chapter 5: Secrets on the Skin

The iron crest with the raven mark sat on the mahogany desk between us, looking like a curse under the warm lamplight of Kai’s private quarters.

"My father's family had no enemies left," I said, my voice barely above a whisper as I stared at the silver metal. "They were wiped out ten years ago in a corporate collapse. That's why my mother took me and married into your family."

"Your mother lied to you, Sienna," Kai said flatly.

He was standing near the grand window, wrapping a clean white bandage around his bare left forearm where a graze from a bullet had torn the flesh. The contrast of the stark white cloth against his sun-kissed skin and dark tattoos made him look dangerously rugged.

"What do you mean she lied?" I demanded, stepping away from the desk.

"The Vance family didn't collapse because of bad investments," Kai said, walking toward me with that slow, predatory grace that made my chest tighten. "They were the ruling family of the Northern Syndicate. They were betrayed from the inside. And the men who took them down are the same ones who funded Archer West’s family business."

My breath hitched. "Archer’s father?"

"Archer’s father is just a puppet," Kai murmured, stopping directly in front of me. The faint smell of clean soap, iron, and his rich cedarwood scent enveloped me. "The real shadow behind them wants the Vance lineage erased forever. Which means as long as you're breathing, you're a threat to them."

He reached out, his long fingers lightly gripping my chin, tilting my head back so I had no choice but to look into his dark eyes.

"And as long as you're under my roof," he added, his thumb brushing over the swell of my lower lip, "you're my responsibility."

"I don't want to be your responsibility, Kai," I whispered, my voice trembling as a familiar heat flared deep in my stomach. His touch felt like liquid fire on my skin. "I can take care of myself."

"Is that why you rushed into a gunfight wearing a silk dress?" he asked softly, a faint, dangerous smirk touching his lips. His gaze dipped down to my collarbone, where the strap of my camisole had slipped slightly off my shoulder.

"I saved your life," I reminded him, stepping closer instead of pulling away, letting my stubborn pride take over. "You owe me."

Kai let out a low, rough chuckle that vibrated through the small space between us.

"You want to talk about debts, little sister?" Before I could react, his hand moved from my chin to the back of my waist, pulling me flush against his hard, warm body. My chest pressed against his bare torso, the heat radiating off him so intense it made my head spin.

"Kai..." I gasped, my hands instinctively resting on his broad, muscular shoulders to keep my balance.

"You bled for me tonight," Kai murmured, his golden-amber eyes flashing with a possessive dark light. He brought his other hand up, his knuckles gently tracing the small scrape on my shoulder where I had hit the catwalk railing. "Your blood is on my floor. Your skin is marked because of my war. You think you can just walk away from me after that?"

"We're stepbrother and stepsister," I breathed out, though the words sounded weak even to my own ears. "People will talk. My mother—"

"I don't give a damn about your mother," Kai growled darkly, leaning down until his lips hovered a fraction of an inch above mine. "And I don't share blood with you, Sienna. Don't use that pathetic title as an excuse to run from me."

The s****l tension between us pulled so tight it felt like a physical weight crushing my lungs. My pulse hammered violently against my throat. I looked down at his lips, feeling the magnetic pull, the forbidden urge to just surrender and let him take total control.

Suddenly, Kai’s thumb pressed against a dark, raised mark just below my collarbone—a faint, ancient birthmark shaped like a crescent moon that had turned darker ever since my transformation over the summer.

As soon as his bare skin touched the mark, a sudden, searing jolt of electricity shot straight through my veins.

I gasped sharply, clutching his shoulder as my vision blurred for a split second. A strange, primal warmth flooded my entire body, making my knees buckle. Kai caught me instantly, his powerful arm tightening around my waist to hold me up.

"What was that?" I panted, clutching my chest where the birthmark burned like a hot coin.

Kai was staring at my collarbone, his brow furrowed in genuine shock. The golden glow in his eyes was blindingly bright now. He traced the crescent mark again, lighter this time, and the same hot spark echoed between our skins.

"It can't be..." Kai whispered, his voice laced with a rare flicker of disbelief.

"What is it, Kai? What's wrong with me?"

Before he could answer, the oak doors of the study burst open without a knock.

"Kai! We have a situation at the street circuit!" Marcus called out, rushing into the room. He froze instantly, his eyes widening in shock as he caught Kai holding me wrapped tightly in his arms, our bodies pressed together, both of us breathless and flushed.

Marcus quickly dropped his head, backing up a step. "Forgive me, Don... I... I didn't realize..."

Kai didn't release his hold on my waist immediately. He took a slow, deep breath, lingering in my space for one more agonizing second, before slowly letting his arm drop. The sudden loss of his heat made me feel instantly cold and exposed.

"What happened at the circuit?" Kai asked coldly, his back turned to Marcus as he adjusted his shirt, his tone instantly morphing into the icy Don of the syndicate.

"It's Archer West," Marcus reported, keeping his eyes firmly on the floor. "He's at the underground racing tracks in the downtown tunnels. He's intoxicated, loud, and boasting to the press that he took Sienna Vance's virginity before she ran away over the summer. He’s taking bets on her name."

A deadly, suffocating silence descended over the room.

The air grew so cold it felt like ice water hitting my skin. I looked at Kai. His shoulders squared, his jaw clenching so hard a muscle twitched violently in his cheek. The dark wolf tattoo on his neck looked like it was coiling to strike.

"He said what?" Kai asked, his voice deathly quiet—a tone far more terrifying than if he had screamed.

"He's running his mouth to the entire underground syndicate, boss," Marcus said nervously. "He brought a crowd. He says if you want him to stop talking, you have to race him tonight for her honor."

I stepped forward, my hands clenching into fists. "That lying bastard! I never even let him touch me!"

Kai didn't look at me. He walked over to his desk, picked up a pair of black leather driving gloves, and slowly pulled them over his long fingers.

"Get the Koenigsegg ready," Kai commanded Marcus softly.

"Kai, no!" I said, rushing to stand in front of him, blocking his path to the door. "It's a trap! Archer is trying to lure you out after the estate attack!"

Kai finally looked down at me. The golden light in his eyes had turned into a dark, murderous storm. He reached out, his gloved hand resting lightly against the side of my neck, his thumb tracing my jawline one last time.

"No one drags your name through the mud, Sienna," Kai whispered, his voice sending a thrilling, dangerous shiver down my spine. "And no man claims what belongs to me."

He stepped past me toward the door, but stopped, glancing back over his shoulder.

"Get dressed," Kai ordered softly. "You're coming with me. You're going to watch me break him."

What's coming in Chapter 6?

Chapter 6: The Rival’s Desperate Move – High-octane underground racing drama where Kai puts everything on the line to destroy Archer's reputation, while the s****l dynamic between Sienna and Kai reaches a boiling point in the high-speed supercar.