Betrayed by My Ex, Marked by His Alpha Emperor Brother novel Chapter 41

Chapter 41: Chapter 41

Elara’s POV

The silence after my words was deafening.

Kaelen’s hands stilled on my face. His thumbs stopped their gentle stroking. Those dark gold eyes locked onto mine—burning, searching, as if he needed to be absolutely certain he’d heard me correctly.

I didn’t look away.

My pulse was hammering so hard I was sure he could hear it. The apartment was dark except for the pale wash of moonlight spilling through the living room window. Somewhere behind the almost-closed bedroom door, Valerius breathed softly in his sleep.

Kaelen’s jaw tightened. A muscle jumped beneath the stubble along his throat.

“Say it again.” His voice was barely above a whisper. Raw. Strained, like a rope about to snap.

“I said—”

He didn’t let me finish.

His fingers slid into my hair—both hands, deep, gripping at the roots—and his mouth crashed into mine. The kiss started with a devastating softness that lasted a fleeting heartbeat before it turned into something else entirely. Something consuming. His lips parted mine. His tongue swept in, hot and demanding, and I tasted salt from the sea air and underneath it all, just him.

The air between us thickened. It was everything at once—the brine of the harbor still clinging to our skin, the lingering sweet scent of my child on his shoulder where Valerius had slept against him, and that deep, warm sandalwood musk that was purely Kaelen. It hit the back of my throat like smoke.

I broke first.

My hands moved on instinct, sliding beneath the thin cotton of his rolled-up shirt, palms flat against his stomach. The muscles contracted under my touch—hard ridges of heat, tensing and releasing. I dragged my fingers upward, tracing every line, every scar I didn’t yet know the story of, pulling the fabric with me.

He groaned into my mouth. Low. Guttural.

I pulled him closer. Felt the unmistakable, rigid evidence of how much he wanted this pressing against my hip. My stomach clenched. Heat pooled low and liquid between my thighs.

Kaelen moved.

He walked me backward. Blind. His mouth never left mine—dropping from my lips to my jaw, teeth grazing the hinge, then lower. His lips found the column of my throat and I gasped, my head falling back. He kissed a hot, open-mouthed trail down to the curve of my shoulder, tongue pressing against my pulse point until I whimpered.

My back hit the wall beside the window.

Moonlight flooded across us both. It turned his dark hair silver-blue. Made his gold eyes glow almost feral when he pulled back just enough to look at me.

His chest was heaving. So was mine.

He didn’t speak. Just hooked his fingers into the hem of my wool sweater and pulled it over my head in one rough motion. It dropped to the floor. Cool air hit my bare stomach, my collarbones, and I shivered—not from cold.

His gaze raked down. Slow. Deliberate. Like he was memorizing every inch.

“Kaelen—”

“Quiet.”

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