Reborn, I Dumped the Cold Heir novel Chapter 5

"He's my brother."

"One's a Kingsley, the other's a Lennox. You call that a brother?"

Christian was the adopted son of the Lennox family. The entire city knew this. Chloe couldn't fathom why Julian was suddenly acting so venomous about it.

"My family's business is none of yours, Julian. Keep your opinions to yourself."

Her tone was glacial. She slid off the bed to gather her clothes, but the moment her feet hit the carpet, her legs buckled.

Chloe instinctively reached for the bedframe, but Julian moved faster. His hand clamped around her waist from behind, pulling her back. Her spine collided with his firm chest, the intense heat of his skin searing right through his shirt.

She stiffened and shoved him away immediately. "Mr. Fairfax, I'm perfectly sober now. We're done for the night."

She quickly began straightening her clothes. She had been pushed too far, and her fingers betrayed her with a slight tremor, causing her to mess up her buttons twice in a row.

Julian sat there, watching her with a cold, detached gaze. After a long silence, he finally spoke.

"Why the panic? I don't make a habit of forcing women who change their minds."

He suddenly reached out, gripping the misaligned button. He undid it smoothly, his long fingers deliberately grazing her collarbone as he fastened it correctly.

Chloe shrank back instinctively. Julian's eyes darkened. Gripping her waist, he dragged her close again. When he spoke, his voice was suffocatingly tender, almost intimate. "I'll be remembering this little slight..."

He finished the last button, but his hand lingered, his thumb trailing up to tilt her chin.

Forced to look up, they were so close their breaths tangled. She could clearly see the unsated desire burning in his eyes. Without warning, he lowered his head and bit her lower lip—not hard enough to break the skin, but laced with an undeniable edge of punishment.

"We have all the time in the world, Chloe," he murmured against her mouth, his voice raw.

In her past life, when she heard those words, she had mockingly shot back: How much time exactly?

This time, Chloe only felt a bitter wave of irony.

They certainly did have time. Enough time for him to personally escort another woman to replace her a year from now, while she bled out in a forgotten warehouse.

Chloe shoved him away, snatched her purse, and turned to leave.