Chapter 6: Kiss in The Car

Others’ POV

"Don’t be angry, honey." Lucy's voice dripped honey-sweet venom as she traced Brian's jawline. The shopping mall's ambient noise provided perfect cover for their hushed conversation, but the tension between them was palpable.

"That useless cripple," Brian spat, his face twisted with hatred. " And that bitch—"

"Shh." Lucy pressed a perfectly manicured finger to his lips. "Patience, darling. Let them go for now." Her eyes gleamed with calculated malice. "After all, what's a wheelchair-bound cripple going to do against the true heir of Lancaster Group?"

Brian's anger melted into a predatory smile as he pulled her closer. "You're right, baby." His eyes glittered with malice. "Let the cripple play with his bride. Once I take over the company," his lips crashed against hers in a deliberately vulgar display, "I'll make sure they both end up in a bad state."

Lucy giggled against his mouth, though her eyes remained cold and calculating. "That's my man. Show them all what a real Lancaster can do."

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Stella’s POV

The privacy glass rose with a soft whir, and suddenly his car became our own dangerous little universe. His cologne – subtle, masculine, maddening – filled the space between us. I stared determinedly at the passing Manhattan skyline, but every breath drew me deeper into his gravity.

"I wasn't looking for Brian." The words tumbled out before I could stop them, my voice embarrassingly breathy. "I just needed—"

Why I should explain to him? It seems I truly betray him.

"To buy a dress?" His voice held that dangerous amusement that made my heart race. "Or to put on a show about our... marital activities?" The way he drew out those last two words sent a shiver down my spine.

Heat crept up my neck as I remembered my earlier performance, the way his skin had felt under my lips. "That wasn't— I didn't mean to kiss you." Liar , a voice in my head whispered.

"No?" He caught my chin, the contact sending sparks of electricity through my body. Those piercing green eyes captured mine, which made my breath catch. "Then what exactly did you mean, Mrs. Lancaster?" His thumb brushed my bottom lip, the touch feather-light but somehow burning.

My breath hitched at his proximity. That cologne of his seemed stronger now, mixing with the natural heat of his skin to create something dizzyingly intoxicating. Every breath filled my lungs with his scent, making it impossible to think straight. "I was just trying to—"

"To what?" His thumb traced my lip again, more deliberately this time, the gesture sending liquid fire down my spine. "To prove our relationship to that bastard?" His other hand found my waist, fingers splaying possessively against my hip.

The mention of that bastard seemed to make the heat between us only intensified. I watched the muscle in Adam's jaw tick dangerously. The look in his eyes reminded me of a predator calculating the most efficient way to destroy its prey.

"I didn't—" I started, then gasped as his grip tightened fractionally, the pressure just shy of painful but sending thrills of something decidedly not unpleasant through my body.

My God, why he is so strong?

"You didn't what?" His voice dropped to that dangerous whisper that made my knees weak and my heart race. The hand on my waist slid up slightly, thumb brushing the sensitive skin just above my hip. "Consider the consequences of your little kiss."

Before I could response, he closed the remaining distance between us. His lips covered mine with force, nothing like the chaste peck I'd given him earlier. This kiss held possession and punishment, that made my head spin and my body melt. His tongue traced the seam of my lips, demanding entrance that I was helpless to refuse.

A small moan escaped my throat as his teeth grazed my lower lip . The hand on my waist pulled me closer while the other tangled in my hair, tilting my head to deepen the kiss. My hands found their way to his chest of their own accord, feeling the rapid beat of his heart through the expensive fabric.

I need to confess, I can’t refuse his touch. And quite enjoy.

Just as suddenly as it began, he pulled back, though his hands remained possessively on my body. "Driver," his voice was perfectly steady despite his racing heart and the slight tremor I could feel in his fingers, "Stop the car."

The car glided to a smooth halt. Those green eyes studied me for a long moment, something dark and hungry flickering in their depths. His thumb brushed my now-swollen lip one last time, and I had to bite back another embarrassing sound.

"Get out."

I blinked, still dazed from the kiss and the lingering heat of his touch. "What?"

"Get. Out." Each word fell like ice, though his eyes still burned in anger. "Now."

The door opened automatically, letting in a blast of afternoon air that did nothing to cool my burning skin or calm my racing heart.

As I stepped onto the sidewalk on shaky legs,I saw something in his eyes like regret – or was it desire?

What the hell just happened?

One moment he was interrogating me about Brian, the next... God, the way he'd kissed me. Like he was claiming territory. Like he was punishing me. Like he couldn't help himself.

And then he'd thrown me out of the car.

"Bastard," I muttered, earning strange looks from passing pedestrians. The late afternoon sun beat down on the designer boutiques lining the street, their windows reflecting my disheveled appearance.

My carefully styled hair was slightly mussed – courtesy of his fingers tangling in it during that kiss. My lips were still swollen.

It was just a kiss that probably meant nothing to him.

My phone buzzed with an incoming call. Is that bastard’s calling?