The Brother I Was Never Supposed to Want

Chapter 28

Sunlight filtered through the boarded-up windows of Nathan’s bedroom, casting jagged stripes across the rumpled sheets.

Ava lay curled against his chest, listening to the steady thud of his heartbeat. Her body ached in the most intimate places, a delicious, grounding reminder of the night before.

She had given herself to him completely, and he had taken her with a gentleness that still surprised her, even as his hands left faint bruises on her hips.

Ava lay awake, heart thudding steadily against her ribs as she watched Nathan sleep. His face, usually carved from stone and violence, looked almost peaceful in repose. One arm was draped possessively across her waist, as if even unconscious, he refused to let her go.

Her body ached in ways she had never imagined. Sweet, tender places still throbbed from where he had been so careful with her the night before. She had given him her virginity, and he had taken it like a man receiving something sacred. But now, in the cold light of day, doubt crept in like smoke.

What had she done?

Nathan stirred, eyes opening to find her watching him. A slow, dangerous smile curved his lips. “Regrets already?”

“No,” she whispered, though it wasn’t entirely true. “Just… scared of how much I want this. Want you.”

“Good,” he murmured, tilting her chin up so their eyes met. “Fear keeps you alive in my world. I’ll keep you safe, Ava. You and Alex. That’s a promise.”

She wanted to believe him. Last night, with his blood on her skin and his body moving inside hers, it had felt inevitable. Now, in the cold light of morning, reality pressed in. The broken glass. The bodies. Isabella’s warning.

He rolled her beneath him in one fluid motion, caging her with his powerful body. Blood from the stitches on his side had seeped through the bandage overnight, a stark reminder of the violence that had preceded their passion. Yet his touch was gentle as he brushed hair from her face.

“You gave yourself to me last night,” he murmured, voice rough with sleep and hunger. “No taking it back, Ava. You’re mine now.”

He kissed her deeply, possessively, and for a while, the world narrowed to just them, his hands exploring her curves, his mouth worshipping the marks he had left on her skin. When he entered her again, it was slower this time, more deliberate.

Ava gasped at the stretch, still sore but aching for more. Nathan watched her face the entire time, whispering praise and dark promises until she shattered around him with a broken cry.

He followed soon after, burying his face in her neck as he spilled inside her. “Perfect,” he growled. “So f*****g perfect.”

---

A soft knock interrupted them. Nathan tensed, then relaxed when Alex’s small voice called out.

“Dad? Ava? Are you awake? I made toast. Kind of.”

Ava smiled despite everything

Alex’s excited voice eventually pulled them from the haze. The boy had “helped” make breakfast again, slightly charred toast and overly sweet orange juice.

She slipped on one of Nathan’s shirts, it swallowed her, and opened the door. Alex stood there with a plate of slightly burned toast slathered in too much butter, his eyes still puffy from the night before.

“You okay, little chef?” she asked, kneeling to his level.

He nodded and hugged her tightly. “The bad men are gone?”

“They’re gone,” Nathan said from behind her, pulling on a black t-shirt. His voice carried that quiet authority that made people obey. “And they won’t come back here.”

Alex seemed satisfied. He tugged Ava’s hand toward the kitchen. “Come eat. I helped make coffee, too. It’s strong like Dad.”

The three of them sat at the replacement table Nathan’s men had brought in overnight. It felt almost normal, Alex chattering about his drawing, Nathan watching them both with a rare softness in his eyes.

But Ava caught the way Nathan’s gaze flicked to the windows, the extra guards outside. The danger hadn’t disappeared. It had only paused.

He beamed when Ava praised him, climbing into her lap as if she had always belonged there.

“You’re staying now, right?” Alex asked hopefully, looking between her and Nathan.

Ava’s throat tightened. Nathan’s hand found hers under the table and squeezed.

“We’re figuring it out, buddy,” Nathan said, voice steady. But his eyes held a warning when they met Ava’s, "don’t promise what you might not be able to keep."

After breakfast, Nathan dressed for his empire. Black suit, crisp shirt, the mask of the ruthless CEO firmly in place. He kissed Ava hard before leaving.

Later that morning, after Alex was safely with his grandmother Victoria for the day, Nathan drove Ava back to her apartment. The city felt different now, sharper, more threatening.

“I have meetings,” he said, parking outside her building. “But I’ll have men watching you. Discreetly.”

Ava turned to him. “I need to work on my murals. I can’t hide forever.”

Nathan’s hand tightened on the wheel. “I know. Just… be careful.” He pulled her in for a deep kiss, possessive and lingering. “Last night wasn’t enough. Not even close.”

Heat flooded her cheeks. “For me, either.”

He watched her until she was safely inside.

...

Alone in the penthouse, Ava tried to work on her sketches, but her mind kept drifting. The warmth of Nathan’s touch warred with the memory of gunfire and broken glass. When her phone buzzed with a message from Ethan, she nearly ignored it.

We need to talk. In person. About my brother. He’s not who you think.

Against her better judgment, she agreed to a quick public meeting at a café near her old studio.

Ethan looked wrecked when he arrived. “You’re already in too deep,” he said without greeting. “Nathan doesn’t do relationships. He obsesses. He’s had eyes on you for years, long before we broke up. Photos. Files. He was just waiting for me to f**k up.”

Ava’s stomach dropped. “You’re just trying to get me back.”

“I wish that was all this was.” He slid a USB drive across the table. “Look for yourself. And watch your back. Richard is choosing sides, and it’s not Nathan’s. The family is splitting. You’ll be caught in the middle.”

She left the café shaken, the drive burning a hole in her pocket. When Erica called next, Ava almost didn’t answer.

“You’re making a mistake, little sister,” Erica said sweetly. “Nathan Walker destroys everything good he touches. He’ll get bored of playing house and move on. Or worse, his enemies will use you to hurt him.”

“Stay out of my life,” Ava snapped, hanging up.

---

Nathan returned earlier than expected, tension radiating from him. One look at her face, and he knew something was wrong.

“Talk.”

She told him everything, Ethan’s accusations, the USB, Erica’s warnings. Nathan listened in silence, then pulled her into his arms.

“Yes, I watched you,” he admitted quietly. “For years. I saw you painting that mural in Brooklyn, and something in me shifted. I wanted you then. But Ethan had you, so I waited in the shadows. I protected you the only way I knew how. What I feel isn’t some cold obsession, Ava. It’s the first real thing I’ve allowed myself in a long time.”

He kissed her then, slow and deep, pouring everything into it. They barely made it to the bedroom. This time, there was an edge of desperation. Nathan took her against the wall, her legs wrapped around him, thrusting hard and deep while murmuring how she belonged to him.

Ava came apart with his name on her lips, tears mixing with pleasure. Afterward, he held her close, stroking her back.

“Richard is pressuring me to cut ties with anything that makes me vulnerable,” Nathan said into the quiet. “Ethan is feeding him lies because he can’t stand losing you. But I’m not letting any of them take this from us.”

His phone rang. He answered, expression hardening.

“Rossi is testing my borders after last night. They want a meeting.” He glanced at Ava. “They don’t know about you yet. I intend to keep it that way.”

But as night fell over the city, Ava couldn’t shake the feeling that the shadows were growing longer. She had chosen the dangerous brother. Now, the dangerous world was choosing her.