Chapter 18 THE CHAOS AFTER THE DATE
NOVA'S POV
"I've wanted to do this since the day you came back," Elias whispered against my lips.
Then he closed the distance.
His lips pressed against mine and every single thought in my head scattered. Soft at first, testing, like he was giving me one last chance to push him away.
I didn't push him away.
Instead, I grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him closer, kissing him back with everything I'd been holding inside for weeks. For years, maybe.
He made a sound low in his throat and his hand tightened on my waist, the other sliding into my hair.
The kiss went deeper, hungrier, like we were both starving and had finally found something to satisfy us.
His tongue traced my bottom lip and I opened for him without thinking. Tasted him. Let him taste me.
This was insane. This was Elias. One of the brothers who'd made my life hell when I was a teenager. One of the men I was living with. One of the men I worked for.
But I couldn't stop. I didn't want to stop.
His hand slid from my waist to my lower back, pulling me even closer until I was practically in his lap. I could feel his heart pounding against my chest, matching the frantic rhythm of my own.
"Nova," he breathed against my mouth, then kissed me again before I could respond.
I was drowning in him. In the taste of him, the smell of his cologne, the heat of his body against mine.
In the way his fingers tangled in my curls, the way his other hand pressed into the small of my back like he was afraid I might disappear.
A sharp knock on my door made us both freeze.
We broke apart, breathing hard, staring at each other with wide eyes.
Another knock. "Nova? Are you still awake?" Callum's voice came through the door.
Elias's jaw tightened. He didn't move away from me, didn't let go.
"Just a second!" I called out, my voice coming out rougher than I intended.
Elias finally released me and stood up from the bed, running a hand through his hair. His lips were swollen from kissing. His eyes were dark and wild.
"Nova?" Callum knocked again.
"I'm coming!" I scrambled off the bed and tried to smooth down my hair, my t-shirt, anything that might give away what had just happened.
Elias moved to stand next to my dresser, putting distance between us. But the way he was looking at me—like he wanted to throw Callum out and pick up exactly where we'd left off—made my stomach flip.
I opened the door.
Callum stood there in dark pants and a white button-down with the sleeves rolled up. His gray eyes immediately went past me to Elias, then back to my face.
"What's going on?" His voice was carefully neutral but I could see the tension in his jaw.
"Nothing. Elias was just checking on me after my first day." I tried to sound casual but my heart was still pounding.
Callum's eyes narrowed slightly. He looked at Elias again. "That's all?"
"That's all," Elias said, his voice steady even though I could see the muscles in his arms were tense. "Just making sure she ate something."
"And did she?" Callum stepped into my room without being invited, closing the door behind him.
Now both brothers were in my bedroom and the air felt heavy, charged with something I didn't want to name.
Callum's eyes tracked down my body and back up, something flickering in his expression. "Your lips are swollen."
My blood turned to ice.
"What?" I touched my mouth automatically.
"Your lips." Callum moved closer, his eyes locked on mine. "They're swollen. Like you've been kissing someone."
The room went completely silent.
Elias didn't move. Didn't speak. Just stood there watching his brother with an unreadable expression.
"I wasn't—" I started.
"Don't lie to me, Nova." Callum's voice dropped lower, more dangerous. "I can see it on your face. I can see it on his face." He turned to look at his brother. "What did you do?"
"What I should have done six years ago," Elias said quietly.
Callum's entire body went rigid. "You kissed her."
"Yes."
"Are you out of your mind?" Callum took a step toward his brother.
"Probably." Elias didn't back down. "But I'm not going to apologize for it."
"Stop." I moved between them before this could escalate into something worse. "Both of you just stop."
They were both staring at me now. Callum with barely controlled fury. Elias with something that looked like possession.
"There is no us, you both need to give up." I whispered.
"There's always been an us." His hand came up to cup my face, his thumb brushing across my still-swollen bottom lip. "You just weren't ready to admit it."
I should have stepped back. Should have told him to leave. Should have done anything except stand there staring up at him while my heart tried to break out of my chest.
"This is crazy," I said.
"Probably." Callum's thumb continued its path across my lip. "But I'm tired of pretending I don't want you."
"Both of you want me?" The words came out strangled. "That's not how this works. That's not—"
"We've shared everything our entire lives," Elias said from behind me. "Why would you be any different?"
I turned to look at him, then back at Callum. "You can't be serious."
"We're completely serious," Callum said.
"This is insane. People don't—this doesn't happen in real life."
"It's happening right now," Elias moved closer. "The question is, what are you going to do about it?"
I looked between them. Both of them were staring at me like I was the only thing that mattered. Like they'd burn down the world if I asked them to.
"I need you both to leave," I said finally. "I can't think when you're both here looking at me like that."
"Like what?" Callum asked.
"Like you want to devour me."
"We do want to devour you," Elias said simply. "We're just being polite about it."
"Leave. Please." My voice broke on the last word.
Callum studied my face for a long moment. Then he stepped back leaving me and Elias alone again.
He walked to the door and opened it. Elias followed but paused next to me.
"That kiss," he said quietly, just for me. "That was just the beginning."
Then they were both gone and I was alone in my room with my racing heart and my swollen lips and the knowledge that everything had just changed.
I collapsed onto my bed and stared at the ceiling.
What had I just done?
I'd kissed Elias. And Callum had basically admitted he wanted to kiss me too. And they'd both implied they were willing to share me.
This was insane.
My phone buzzed on my nightstand.
I grabbed it, grateful for the distraction.
Text from Matthias: Sweet dreams baby girl, can't wait to see you on Thursday.
Guilt crashed over me like a wave.
I'd just been kissing Elias while planning to have coffee with Matthias in three days. While both brothers had just admitted they wanted me.
What was I doing? What kind of person was I?
I set my phone down and rolled over, burying my face in my pillow.
This was going to end badly. I could feel it.
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