CLAIMED BY MY FIANCE’S STEP BROTHER

CHAPTER 5

DAPHNE POV.

“What mind games are you playing, Daphne?”

My father asked, the second I stepped into his office. He was already on his feet behind the desk, eyes dark, jaw locked so tight the muscle jumped.

I kept my face carefully blank. “What do you mean?”

“Don’t play stupid.” He rounded the desk in two strides. “Nathan speaks to you once and suddenly the wedding is postponed by ninety days. Explain that.”

“I was just as surprised as you when he told me. I didn’t ask him to change anything.”

He let out a short, ugly laugh. “You expect me to believe that?” His hand twitched at his side. “You better hope nothing goes wrong. Because if a single mishap happens, you will regret the day I became your father.”

“I already regret being your daughter.”

My father’s face went still. Then he surged forward, hand lifting like he meant to strike. I flinched hard, shoulders curling inward, but at the last second he stopped himself. His fist hovered inches from my face. Heavy, uneven breaths tore out of him.

“Get out.”

I didn’t need to be told twice.

I turned and ran.

I shoved through the nearest side door and stumbled into the open air, gasping. My hands were shaking so badly I had to press them against my thighs to steady them. I needed to stop being so reckless. One day this mouth of mine was going to get me killed.

“Why do you look like you just saw a ghost?”

I spun around.

Lucian leaned against the outer wall, arms folded, watching me with that same unreadable expression he always wore. I hadn’t even noticed him. The evening air suddenly felt thinner.

I scowled at him. “You are not supposed to be here.”

Lucian pushed off the wall and took one slow step closer. The light caught the sharp line of his jaw. His usual smirk was gone, replaced now with concern.

“I heard the shouting,” he said. “Your father doesn’t exactly keep his voice down.”

I crossed my arms, trying to hide the residual tremor in my hands. “So you decided to stand outside and listen? That’s not creepy at all.”

He stopped a few feet away, close enough that I could smell the faint trace of smoke and cedar on him. The same scent that had been on the sheets a week ago. My stomach tightened.

“You are shaking.”

“I’m fine.”

“We’ve already established that you are a terrible liar, so don’t lie to me.”

“Why do you care?”

He was silent for a moment. Then he said, “Because the girl who climbed into my bed a week ago looked ready to burn the whole world down. The one standing in front of me now looks like she’s already halfway to ash.”

My throat tightened as memories of his hands on my hips and the rough edge in his voice when I begged him not to stop came rushing back. I hated that my body remembered it so vividly.

“You don’t know me.”

“I’m starting to think I might.” His gaze flicked to my lips before returning to my eyes. The look alone sent a shiver of heat sliding down my spine. “And I’m starting to think the woman who was so bold and knew exactly what she wanted is still buried beneath all the obedience your father keeps trying to force on you.”

My cheeks reddened as I became painfully aware of how little space separated us.

“Don’t,” I whispered.

“Don’t what?” He took another step. Close enough now that I had to tilt my head to hold his gaze. “Don’t notice that you’re continuing a marriage you obviously don’t want because of your power-hungry father? Don’t remember how you sounded when you came apart under me? Or don’t point out that you’re still looking at me like you want me to do it again?”

I should have shoved him away and walked back inside, instead, I stayed rooted, pulse thudding hard enough that I was sure he could hear it. Fear and want tangled so tightly I couldn’t tell which one was stronger. He could destroy everything with a single sentence to his brother. He could also make me feel like the version of myself that had chosen something for once.

Lucian’s voice dropped lower, rough around the edges. “Ninety days is a long time, Daphne. Long enough for a lot of things to happen.”

“Like what?” I said desperately

A slow, dangerous smile curved his mouth.

“Like you remembering what it feels like to choose something for yourself.” His eyes held mine, unblinking. “Even if that something is me.”

Lucian reached up and brushed a strand of hair from my cheek with the back of his fingers. The touch was barely there, yet it sent a shiver straight down my spine and settled low in my stomach. My breath caught. I hated how easily my body answered him. I hated that I didn’t step back.

“Sleep on it,” he murmured, thumb ghosting once along my jaw before he let his hand fall. “I will be around.”

Then he stepped back, turned, and walked away into the gathering dark.

I stayed where I was, heart slamming against my ribs, skin still warm where he had touched me. The fear was real. The want was real. And the most terrifying part was that I no longer knew which one would win.