Chapter 226
Chapter 226:
By late afternoon, I needed an escape. I retreated to the stone terrace of the Sanctum’s secluded garden, hiding behind the screen of my laptop and a tall glass of iced lemonade.
Out on the manicured green lawn, bathed in the golden afternoon sun, Kain and Jaxon were wrestling. Kain effortlessly lifted the giggling seven-year-old high above his head before lowering him gently to the grass. My chest ached. It was a picture-perfect display of fatherly devotion, awakening a desperate, primal yearning for a complete family.
He loves Fletcher Banks, my mind hissed, desperately trying to extinguish the dangerous fire in my heart. They can adopt a pup. You are just the incubator.
As if sensing my chaotic thoughts, Kain set Jaxon down. He straightened up and looked across the expanse of the lawn, his gaze locking directly onto mine.
The playful uncle vanished in a single heartbeat. The storm-gray of his eyes darkened, flashing with a sudden, feral, molten gold. It was a quiet, intensely focused, and terrifyingly primal stare. In that moment, the garden disappeared. I felt like the only prey in his vast territory, pinned down by a predator deciding exactly how to devour me.
My heart hammered a frantic rhythm against my ribs. My blood boiled, rushing to my cheeks. Unable to withstand the sheer, masculine heat of his gaze, I clumsily broke eye contact, pretending to type furiously on my spreadsheets.
A minute later, the heavy tread of his boots sounded on the stone terrace.
Kain walked up to the iron table. He smelled of fresh grass, warm sunshine, and the intoxicating depth of ancient cedar. Sweat gleamed at his temples, highlighting the sharp, ruthless cut of his jaw.
He didn’t ask for permission. He reached down, his large hand wrapping around my glass of iced lemonade. He brought it to his mouth, wrapped his lips around the very straw I had just used, and took a long, deep drink.
𝘛𝗿𝖾ո𝘥і𝗇 𝘰𝗻
I sat frozen, my eyes helplessly tracking the slow bob of his Adam’s apple.
Kain lowered the glass. The tip of his tongue darted out, slowly licking a stray drop of moisture from his bottom lip.
“Thanks, little wolf,” he murmured, his voice a gravelly, amused rasp.
The indirect kiss sent a violent, undeniable spark shooting from my fingertips straight to my core. My heart executed a wild, traitorous flutter. I couldn’t blame this on a political performance for the Pack Doctor. There was no audience here. The raw, biological reality of his attraction was tearing my logical defenses to shreds, leaving me drowning in a terrifying, beautiful confusion.
Adelina POV
The phantom heat of Kain’s lips on my lemonade straw still burned in my memory twenty-four hours later. I sat stiffly on the plush velvet sofa in the penthouse living room, desperately trying to rebuild the icy walls that his indirect kiss had melted.
The sprawling space was practically drowning in wedding samples. Mrs. Thorne, the elite Pack wedding planner, had draped swatches of silk and velvet across the glass coffee table, alongside elaborate sketches of moonflowers and white roses.