The brother he watched

The worst kind of men were the ones who knew they were attractive.

Ronan Ashbourne knew.

Painfully well.

“You keep staring at me like I personally ruined your life,” he said lazily.

I blinked out of my shock immediately.

“You called me baby three times in ten minutes.”

“And yet you’re still talking to me.” His smirk deepened. “Interesting.”

Infuriating.

Absolutely infuriating.

I glared at him. “You’re unbelievable.”

“So I’ve been told.”

I turned away quickly before he could say something else ridiculous.

But the moment I moved—

he caught my wrist.

Not harshly.

Just enough to stop me.

The warmth of his fingers against my skin sent something strange through my chest.

“Relax,” he murmured. “I don’t bite without permission.”

My jaw dropped slightly.

He laughed quietly at my expression.

“Your reactions are adorable.”

“Stop talking.”

“Make me.”

I hated how effortlessly confident he was.

Like the world existed purely for his amusement.

“I should go back to my friend.”

“And I should return to my party.” He tilted his head slightly. “Yet here we are.”

Before I could answer—

another voice cut through the hallway.

Cold.

Sharp.

“Ronan .”

Every muscle in Ronan's body stilled instantly.

The playful expression vanished from his face like smoke blown away by wind.

I turned slowly.

And there he was.

Kael Ashbourne.

Dressed entirely in black.

Storm-gray eyes unreadable.

Power radiating from him naturally.

He looked between us once.

That was all.

Just once.

Yet somehow the entire atmosphere changed.

Ryan released my wrist slowly.

Neither brother spoke for a second.

But silence between them felt louder than screaming.

Kael’s gaze shifted toward me briefly.

And there it was again—

that unreadable expression.

Not anger.

Not softness.

Something in between.

Something dangerous.

Ronan noticed.

Of course he noticed.

A slow smirk tugged at his lips again.

“Well,” he drawled lazily, “this feels awkward.”

Kael ignored him completely.

“Father’s looking for you.”

Ronan scoffed softly. “Already tired of me?”

“You were gone for eight years.” Kael’s voice remained calm. “Try not to cause problems within the first eight hours.”

The words sounded casual.

But underneath them—

something sharp existed.

Old resentment.

Old wounds.

Ronan took one step closer to Kael.

“You always did enjoy acting like his perfect son.”

The temperature in the hallway seemed to drop instantly.

Kael’s jaw tightened slightly.

“Not here.”

Ronan's smirk became colder.

“Why?” His dark eyes gleamed dangerously. “Afraid she’ll hear something interesting?”

I frowned slightly.

Hear what?

But before I could ask—

Kael finally looked directly at me.

“Candice's looking for you.”

My heart skipped embarrassingly.

He noticed I was missing?

Ronan noticed my reaction instantly.

The amusement on his face became almost wicked.

“Oh,” he murmured softly. “Now I understand.”

Kael’s eyes darkened immediately.

“Ronan.”

Warning.

Pure warning.

But Ryan only chuckled.

Then he leaned closer to me one final time.

Close enough for his voice to brush against my ear.

“Careful, Lyra.”

My pulse quickened.

“Why?”

His dark eyes lifted toward Kael.

“Because my brother…” His lips curved slowly. “Doesn’t like sharing what he thinks belongs to him.”

My breath caught.

And across from us—

Kael Ashbourne looked one second away from violence.