The Brother I Was Never Supposed to Want

Chapter 27

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Ava’s heart slammed against her ribs as Isabella stood in the doorway, elegant and lethal in her tailored coat. The warmth of their family dinner evaporated instantly.

Nathan’s hand stayed firm on Ava’s shoulder, a silent claim. Alex clutched his family drawing, eyes wide.

“I’m sorry to interrupt,” Isabella said, her smile razor-sharp. “Richard needed these documents signed tonight.” Her gaze drifted over the candlelit table, the half-eaten meal, and Ava. “Though I see you’re… occupied.”

Nathan’s voice was cold steel. “You could have waited.”

“I could have.” Isabella’s eyes lingered on Ava a beat too long. “But delays have consequences in our world. You of all people should know that.”

Ava stood, gently steering Alex toward the hallway. “Go to your room, sweetheart. I’ll look at your drawing soon, okay?”

Once Alex was out of earshot, the tension thickened.

Isabella handed over the folder but didn’t leave. “She’s pretty, Nathan. Soft. The kind of softness that gets people killed.” Her tone dripped false sweetness. “I’d be careful. Attachments are liabilities.”

Nathan’s jaw flexed. “Leave, Isabella.”

She smiled, but her eyes were bitter. “As you wish.”

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She had barely stepped outside when chaos erupted.

Headlights flooded the street. Tires screeched. The front window exploded in a shower of glass as two masked men burst through, guns drawn.

“Walker! Your territory is shrinking. Rossi says it’s time to pay up!”

Gunfire cracked through the house, suppressed shots tearing into walls and furniture. Nathan moved like a shadow of death. He shoved Ava hard behind the kitchen island.

“Stay down!”

Isabella, still just outside the door, drew a concealed pistol and fired back with professional calm, hitting one intruder in the shoulder. Nathan took the second man head-on.

The fight was brutal and short. Nathan slammed the attacker into the dining table, wood splintering beneath them. Fists and elbows flew. Blood sprayed across the floor as Nathan took a vicious hit to the ribs but answered with merciless precision, a knee to the gut, followed by a brutal strike that left the man unconscious.

Silence fell, heavy and ringing.

Nathan rose, chest heaving, blood streaking his face and knuckles. His eyes locked on Ava with raw, terrifying intensity. He crossed the room in seconds and pulled her up, crushing her against his bloodied chest. One hand cradled the back of her head as if she might vanish.

“Are you hurt?” The question was rough, almost desperate.

“I’m okay,” she whispered, fingers gripping his shirt. The smell of gunpowder and blood should have repelled her. Instead, it sent a dark, confusing thrill through her veins. This was the real Nathan, the man the city feared.

Isabella stepped back inside, holstering her gun. “Rossi’s testing boundaries. They’re getting bolder.” Her gaze flicked to Ava, calculating. “You might want to keep your new… distractions quiet. Weaknesses get exploited.”

Nathan’s arm tightened around Ava. “I said get out.”

Isabella left with one last lingering look, jealousy and warning mixed in her eyes.

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Nathan’s men arrived like ghosts, cleaning the scene with chilling efficiency. Alex was calmed and put to bed under heavy guard. Only then did Nathan find Ava in the master bathroom.

He was shirtless, fresh stitches along his side where a bullet had grazed him. Blood still stained the sink. He looked every inch the mafia king he hid from the world.

Ava stood in the doorway, pulse racing.

“You should run from me,” Nathan said quietly, watching her in the mirror. “Tonight was only the beginning. My world is blood and violence. You deserve better.”

She stepped closer instead. “I’m tired of what I ‘deserve.’”

Something in him snapped.

He turned and backed her against the wall, caging her with his body. Blood-stained fingers tilted her chin up. His thumb traced her lower lip, leaving a faint red smear.

“I’ve waited two years, eight months, five hours, and twenty-six minutes for you, Ava,” he growled, voice low and possessive. “I won’t let Rossi or anyone else touch what’s mine. But I won’t force you into this darkness either.”

Her breath hitched. The danger, the blood, the raw power radiating off him, it should have terrified her. Instead, heat pooled deep in her core.

She kissed him first.

It was hungry, desperate, and edged with darkness. Nathan groaned, lifting her effortlessly.

His hands were rough yet reverent, mapping her body like a man who had ached for years. Teeth grazed her throat. “Tell me to stop, and I will,” he rasped.

“Don’t stop,” she breathed, arching into him.

Nathan claimed her mouth again, deeper, more possessive. For the first time, Ava glimpsed the terrifying depth of his obsession and realized she didn’t want to escape it.

You should run from me,” he said quietly.

She came closer. “I’m tired of running.”

Something in him snapped.

He backed her against the wall, caging her with his body. Blood-stained fingers tilted her chin up. “I’ve waited years for you, Ava.

Their kiss was fierce at first, teeth and desperation, but Nathan slowed when he felt her trembling. He pulled back, searching her face.

“I want this,” she whispered, voice shaking but certain. “I want you. All of you.”

Nathan’s eyes darkened with lust and something deeper. He carried her to the bed and laid her down gently amid the lingering chaos of the night.

His hands moved with surprising tenderness as he peeled away her clothes, kissing every inch of newly exposed skin.

When he settled between her thighs, bare and aching for her, he paused. His fingers brushed against her, feeling her untouched tightness.

Realization hit him.

“You’re a virgin,” he murmured, voice rough with surprise and restraint.

Ava nodded, cheeks burning. “I wanted it to be you. Even before I knew why.”

Nathan closed his eyes for a moment, fighting for control.

When he opened them again, the possessiveness was still there, darker, hotter, but layered with reverence.

“I’ll be gentle,” he promised, kissing her deeply. “Tell me if it’s too much.”

He took his time. His mouth worshipped her breasts, her stomach, the inside of her thighs until she was writhing and slick beneath him.

Two thick fingers worked her open slowly, curling and stroking until pleasure overrode the slight burn. His thumb circled her c**t with devastating patience.

When she was trembling on the edge, he positioned himself at her entrance. The broad head of his c**k pressed in, stretching her. Ava gasped at the fullness, nails digging into his shoulders.

“ Breathe, baby,” he whispered against her lips. “That’s it… good girl.”

He rocked forward inch by inch, murmuring praise and filthy promises. “So tight… so perfect. Taking me so well.” One hand stroked her hair; the other gripped her hip, holding her steady as he finally seated himself fully inside her.

The sting faded into deep, aching pleasure. Nathan stayed still, buried to the hilt, letting her adjust while he kissed her senseless. When she started moving her hips, seeking more, he began to thrust, slow, deep rolls that dragged against every sensitive spot.

Blood from his knuckles and side smeared across her skin, marking her in the most primal way.

The contrast, his violence and her innocence, only made it more intense.

“Look at me,” he growled softly when her eyes fluttered shut. “I want to see you come on my c**k the first time.”

The command, paired with the perfect angle of his thrusts and his thumb returning to her c**t, sent her over the edge. Ava cried out, clenching around him as waves of pleasure crashed through her.

Nathan followed moments later with a low groan, burying himself deep and spilling inside her. He collapsed over her, careful not to crush her, and pressed tender kisses to her forehead, her cheeks, her swollen lips.

“Mine,” he whispered against her hair, voice dark with satisfaction. “Finally mine.”

He then slowly traces her body with his tongue and fingertips

...

Outside, New York glittered indifferently. Inside, the brother she was never supposed to want marked her as his.

But shadows were already lengthening. Someone had watched the attack from the street. A quiet message was sent.

Rossi now knew Nathan Walker had something more, someone, worth protecting.