Chapter 311: Ridiculous

Yuki’s heart slammed against her ribs so hard she was certain it would burst straight through her chest.

The brass handle on the other side of the door twisted once, slowly testing the lock. The wood groaned under the pressure, a low, protesting sound that seemed to echo inside her skull.

She froze solid against Kaden, every muscle locked, lungs locked mid-breath. For one endless, agonising second he went still too, golden eyes flicking toward the door, the only movement the faint rise and fall of his chest against hers. Then the bastard simply continued as if the threat on the other side of the wood meant nothing.

His fingers slid deeper into the ruined neckline of her dress, tracing the upper curve of her breast before tugging the damp fabric aside

. Cool air kissed her skin as one breast spilled free into the chilled air of the utility room. Her nipple was already taut, flushed dark and shamelessly peaked, the sensitive tip practically begging for attention. She felt the exact moment his gaze dropped to it—felt the heat of that stare like a physical touch.

‘Stop—’ The plea tore through the mind-link, edged with something close to desperation. She didn’t dare speak aloud, terrified of being found like this—half-bared, pressed against the door, thighs slick and trembling. ‘Someone’s there. Kaden, please—don’t—’

He ignored her completely.

His mouth closed over the sensitive peak and bit down, sharp enough to send a bright, electric jolt straight to her core. A broken moan ripped from her throat before she could clamp her lips shut. Her folds clenched hard around nothing; the empty, aching hunger between her legs flared hotter, wetter, more humiliating with every second. She could feel the evidence of her own arousal coating her inner thighs, the scent of it rising thick and sweet in the small room.

Kaden’s reply drifted into her mind, lazy and unbothered, as if they were not one thin panel of wood away from discovery.

‘I know.’

His tongue swirled around the throbbing tip in slow, deliberate circles, then drew it fully into the heat of his mouth. He sucked, then kissed, then sucked again, the soft, wet sounds filthy in the quiet room. Sensation raced down her spine in dizzying waves, pooling low in her belly until her legs began to shake.

She clutched the front of his shirt with both fists, her knuckles went white. She was torn between shoving him away and dragging him closer. Another helpless whimper slipped past her lips. She wanted him to stop. God, she needed him to stop. And yet her fingers only tightened in the fabric, pulling him in.

Damn it, she thought wildly, I’m an indecisive slut at this rate. I know better. I’ve always known better. And still I’m standing here letting him— She cried internally…

He didn’t stop. He only shifted his weight, pressing her more firmly against the door so the hard line of his body pinned her in place while his mouth kept working her nipple with ruthless patience.

The edge of his teeth grazed the sensitive flesh; his tongue soothed the sting a second later. In the haze of pleasure and arousal she barely registered the distant call until Eloise’s voice cut through the night.

“Kaden! Kieran!”

Kaden heard it instantly. His eyes flickered pure gold—not with fear of being caught, but with pure, irritated amusement. Even with the alcohol clouding his emotions he could still sense exactly who stood on the other side of the door. Kieran. An evil little smirk curved against her skin.

Something dark and reckless in him wanted the door to slam open, wanted his brother to see everything—wanted the look on Kieran’s face when he realised exactly what the little wolf was doing in the dark. Yet he knew better. With Eloise standing right there, Kieran would never risk it. He would never let a scandal touch the Ravencourt name, no matter how much the wolf inside him howled for blood.

Yuki had melted against him, her body was soft and trembling against him. He could feel every frantic beat of her heart against his chest. The alcohol had loosened the usual chains on his thoughts, and for once he let the forbidden ones rise unchecked.

Bloody hell, just for tonight he wanted to listen to the ones that shouldn’t be there—the ones that always got louder under the influence. The ones that whispered how good she smelled when she was this wet, how sweet she tasted, how easy it would be to push the dress the rest of the way up and take what they both clearly wanted.

I’m a scumbag just like Father, he thought, almost fondly. Completely undone by the look of her. By the way she shakes when I touch her. By the way she still hasn’t pushed me away hard enough to mean it.

Outside, Kieran’s voice came sounding low and rough against the seam of the door, as Kieran’s presence rapidly faded away into the courtyard.

“You’re fucking lucky.”

The sound snapped the last of the haze like a whip. The look of dazed pleasure on Yuki’s face vanished in an instant. She shoved hard. Her open palm cracked across Kaden’s cheek with enough force to rock his head sideways. He staggered a half-step, copper blooming on his tongue where his teeth had cut the inside of his lip. The faint metallic taste filled his mouth; the sting in his cheek burned hot.

She scrambled to yank her dress back into place. Her fingers were clumsy and shaking as her chest continued heaving. One breast still threatened to spill free; she shoved the fabric higher with a furious little noise and clutched the torn neckline closed with one fist. Her glare could have cut glass.

“You are crazy, Kaden,” she hissed under her breath. Her voice was low but still sounded furious, trembling with leftover adrenaline and something darker. “He could have caught us. Do you have any idea what that would have done?”

He laughed, the low deep sound filled with dark amusement, the sting in his cheek only making the sound darker. He touched the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand and came away with a smear of blood. “Already regretting it now, snow?”

She clutched the torn neckline tighter, knuckles white. Through the mind-link her voice came sharp and shaking, still too scared to shout out loud even though the immediate danger had passed.

‘I fucking hate you, Kaden. What do you want from me? Just fucking let me be, or you won’t rest until you ruin me.’

Something complicated flickered through his golden eyes—something that looked almost like pain before it was swallowed by that same reckless smirk. The smile widened, slow and deliberate.

‘Maybe I want that, snow… I do want to ruin you.’ A beat of silence stretched between them, thick and charged. ‘You already ruined me. Why can’t I return the favour?’

Her eyes went wide. Her face burned with anger and something far more dangerous. “You are fucking impossible,” she spat, still keeping her voice barely above a whisper. Then she spun and fled, bare feet slapping against the wet stone, tears already blurring her vision as she shoved through the door and into the corridor.

Why the hell does she keep doing this? The thought chased her like a living thing. She knew she should stay away. She had told herself a hundred times. Why did she keep falling into the same trap, letting him touch her like that, letting her body answer even when her mind screamed no? She never asked for any of this. She never asked to be this weak.

She had barely made it past the first turn when a hard arm locked around her waist and the world tilted. A scream rose in her throat—

“Scream,” Kaden murmured against her ear, his warm breath fanned against her skin, “and everyone finds out.”

She twisted hard in his grip, her heart was hammering so loudly she could hear it in her ears. “What the hell are you doing?”

“I’m faster than you.” he casually replied, then his wolf ears popped out with that long tail

Half-shifted strength flooded his limbs; she felt the change in the hard lines of his body, the sudden power coiling beneath her. He launched them both upward in a powerful leap, landing lightly on a narrow ledge three floors above the courtyard. Wind tore at her hair and the ruined dress. The cold air was sharp enough to sting her eyes. She squeezed them shut against the rush and pressed her face into the solid heat of his chest, the only solid thing in a sudden world of open air and falling space. His heartbeat was steady against her cheek. Hers was not.

Two more bounding leaps. The ground dropped away beneath them; the wind howled in her ears. A balcony railing appeared under his boots with a soft thud. He pushed the glass door open with his shoulder, stepped inside, and dropped her unceremoniously onto the thick carpet of her private dressing suite. The impact jarred through her bones.

When she opened her eyes he was already gone—nothing left but the lingering scent of night air, the faint metallic trace of the blood she had drawn from his lip, and the open balcony door still swinging gently in the wind. The cold night air whipped across her face for a second longer, then settled.

Yuki stood slowly, legs unsteady. The full-length mirror showed her appearancw without mercy:

Her hair was damp and tangled from the pool and the wind, one breast still half-exposed and marked by the faint imprint of his mouth, dress clinging wetly to her thighs and riding up on one side, shoes missing somewhere in the courtyard below, the unmistakable sweet-musky scent of her own arousal thick in the air around her.

The only thing that remained perfect was her waterproof makeup, still flawless while the rest of her looked thoroughly, completely ruined.

She stared at the stranger in the glass—flushed cheeks, swollen lips, eyes still clouded—and clenched both fists until her nails bit into her palms hard enough to hurt.

This was completely ridiculous.