She's Too Busy Winning to Watch Him Cry novel Chapter 496

"Are you worried about me?" Rowan asked, turning his head to look at her. "Even Caleb managed to speak up for me in there. What about you? Standing there in silence—what were you thinking?"

"Whatever my mom said is exactly how I feel." Lyra dug her nails into her palms. She was already prone to the cold, and the freezing air made her shiver. "You really shouldn't come around anymore. I don't want to upset her."

Fine, powdery snow drifted down, settling gently onto their shoulders and melting into damp spots on the tips of their hair.

"Your family is certainly warm. Just not to me," Rowan murmured. He reached out, taking her slender fingers in his and gently rubbing her freezing skin. "But what can I do? I want to hold on to my warmth, too."

Lyra's heart skipped a beat, and she quickly searched his eyes.

The man's gaze was dark and intense, all traces of his calm dining-room facade completely stripped away.

Unable to hold back, she blurted out, "Are you a psycho?"

She was terrified he was about to snap. He was already unhinged enough; if he went completely over the edge...

Before she could process the thought, his towering frame leaned in, completely engulfing her.

Rowan pulled her tightly into his arms, caging her shivering body against his chest. He lowered his head and captured her lips. The kiss was gentle but laced with an inescapable, suffocating possessiveness, melting away the winter cold in an instant.

Lyra fought with everything she had until she finally shoved her way out of his embrace.

Taking a half-step back, Rowan gently framed her chilled face with his hands. His thumbs tenderly brushed against her flushed lips as his voice dropped to a low, husky whisper. "I'm not mad. So don't be mad either, okay?"

"Neither of us will be mad."

"Lyra!" Delilah's sharp voice echoed from the house.

Rowan dropped his hands. His eyes lingered on the tips of her ears, which were red from the cold, before he spoke with total restraint. "It's freezing. Go inside."

"You're not coming back, are you?" She had already resolved to draw a hard line with him. She never wanted to be tangled up with him to begin with, and tonight had to be the final straw.

Now that her mother had officially taken a stand, she had nothing left to hesitate over.

"Go inside," Rowan repeated.

...

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