Pushing boundaries.

DELANCEY

Kaius was a fucking jerk. A horny pervert. And I hated how vulnerable he made me feel with his presence.

Especially because I wasn’t easily intimidated.

If Mum pushed through with the wedding with Viktor and wanted me to live with them, then—I didn’t want to consider what would happen.

“No, Delancey,” Mum shook her head. “I’m not letting you leave this house until the wedding is over.”

My brows shot up. “What? Why?”

She signaled at the cleaner, showing her a spot she’d missed. “You’re kind of… unstable right now, and I don’t want other people to get hurt because of your reckless behavior.”

Unstable? Reckless? I snapped. Because I’d smashed a glass on someone’s head two days ago?

She considered me crazy, too?

Just because I was seeking permission to attend a party?

“I can’t believe this.” My head tilted. “How long do you intend to keep me confined to your house?”

“As long as you’re not hurting people, Del,” she raised her head at me, sounding calm yet annoying. “Especially yourself.”

My chest puffed up, and my breaths slipped off irregularly.

Was I supposed to consider her actions as caring? Loving? Considerate? No.

My fists clenched. Viktor must have manipulated her to make that decision.

“I know your empty-headed fiancé did this,” I spat, fury surging through my veins. “Well, let him know that he’s never going to be the boss of me.”

“Language, Delancey,” Mum warned with a sharp tone. “You’re living under his roof.”

“I don’t care! I don’t want any of this. You fucking forced me—‘

“—I’m heading out. Tell Viktor not to blow my phone by the time he gets up.”

That was all he had to say—Kaius. He’d reached for the door before saying those words.

I felt like exploding as I stared at him. Veins were throbbing in my forehead as I glanced at him, a smirk etched at the corners of his lips.

He was mocking me, and I could feel the sweet satisfaction that was plastered on his face.

“Be good. And have fun.”

“Seriously, Mum?” I gasped. “You’re letting him go, and not me?”

She was even encouraging him to have fun. But me? When it came to me, I was unstable.

Mum paid no attention to me. Instead, she stood up to meet the event decorator that had walked in.

Turning to me, her hands patted my shoulders gently, like she was hoping her words would make me feel better.

“Kaius is a responsible guy. If I were you, I’d emulate and learn a few things from him.”

*

If she thought that her words would stop me from attending the biggest party in the city, then she was wrong.

I snuck out of the house, deliberately waiting till after she went to a gala with Viktor.

By the time the clock struck 10 pm, I was at the party venue, dressed in a halter-neck backless dress that stopped on my thighs.

“Tickets, please?”

I had none. I’d seen the invitation on social media and felt it wouldn’t be necessary to get one.

“I…I don’t have any.”

“Then you can’t go in.”

Rude. Or maybe he was just doing his job.

The big, hefty bouncer shifted his attention away from me to the next person in line, ignoring me like I wasn’t attractive enough to get in without an IV.

If it was any normal day and in a situation where I wasn’t desperate, I wouldn’t spare him another glance. Or beg him like he was something special.

But I had to. I hadn’t dressed up to stay outside the gates with other stranded people.

“Just this once,” he muttered, already waving the next person forward. “Go.”

I leaned in anyway, brushing a quick kiss to his cheek before he could stop me.

I almost puked afterward, already irritated that I’d done that.

Inside wasn’t as crowded as I’d thought, and I already knew why. More than half of the population there didn’t have tickets.

Only the few inside did.

I blended in without any hassle. It was a regular thing for me. I was always the life of parties.

“Delancey?”

My heart skipped a beat when I heard my name. Who could possibly be there that knew me?

I turned around, glass in hand, still sipping the whiskey that had been offered to me.

Heat crawled up my spine when I saw him. Dressed in a black leather jacket and neat black pants. His hair was still as disheveled as I remembered.

And I hated myself for that reminder.

“Devin?”

He grinned, scratching the back of his head. “What are you doing here?”

My stupid ex-boyfriend who’d had the nerve to cheat on me with my best-friend, and then asked me not to overreact.

He might have thought that he could stand in front of me again or that he could act like he wasn’t a total jerk. But I had plans for him.

“Stay out of my way.”

“Feisty,” he whispered. “I thought you’d changed.”

‘Keep calm, Del. He’s not worth it.’

He wasn’t going to ruin my night. I’d snuck out only for one motive—to have the best night of my life before rehab.

I turned around to leave, already feeling my chest tighten and fingers fidget. And that wasn’t a good sign for either of us, because whenever it did, it was always messy.

“Hey, I’m still talking to you.” He grabbed my wrist before I could take a step.

I snapped. “Let go of me.”

Attention was turning to us now. People were staring, cameras recorded, and I was starting to fume.

I hated being the center of attention. Badly.

“You’re not going to walk out on me, you crazy bitch.”

Crazy. The word snapped something loose. My fingers curled tighter around the glass.

He was still holding my wrist when I lost it. I gulped down the whiskey in my glass in one shot, ignoring the sting and lifting it over my shoulder.

I aimed for his forehead, gritting my teeth as I attempted to strike. But a hand caught me right in time, forcefully snatching the glass from my grasp.

“What the fuck, Lacey?”

He stepped forward before I could spin around, his familiar scent of lavender wafting through my nostrils.

I froze for a split second, unable to breathe or find my words.

Without saying another word to me, Kaius tossed the glass to the floor, sending it crashing close enough to land on the feet of Devin.

He yelped in pain.

I took a step back, watching him step in to handle my fight. The crowd hollered, phones lifting as if they’d paid to watch this.

I heard Kaius’s name ripple through the noise—mostly from girls.

Which irritated me also.

“She told you to leave her alone,” he said flatly, folding up his sleeves. “Why didn’t you?”

Devin, still recovering from the earlier pain, thought it was wise to keep acting tough.

“I was talking to my girlfriend. Who the fuck are you?”

Kaius chuckled, a sound that was laced with danger and fury.

“Me? Here… what’s this?”

He raised his clenched fist in Devin’s face and, without waiting for a response, threw it right at the center of his nose.

Devin staggered, crashing down to the floor.

Kaius stepped over him, his figure hovering over Devin’s body on the floor.

“That’s me,” he said. “Her stepbrother.”

I hated to admit it, but it was a proud moment for me. And maybe having a stepbrother wasn’t a bad idea.

Okay. Maybe I was wrong. I’m retracting my statement because Kaius was on my neck after the fight was over.

“You weren’t allowed to go out tonight,” Kaius reprimanded me, eyes boring deep into my soul.

“But you were,” I shot back.

“Don’t compare yourself to me.”

“Why? Because you’re a man? And I’m some mentally unstable lady?”

He paused, moving his eyes over my body. Or maybe it was my outfit he was staring at.

“Did Madeline see you?”

I rolled my eyes. “In this? How old do you think I am? Five?”

He stepped forward. “That’s the problem. You keep flaunting orders, acting like a bratty kid. Look what you’re putting on,” his fingers pointed at my dress. “More than half of your body is exposed.”

“And?” I straightened. “More than half of the girls yelling your name inside were less covered than this.”

He ran his fingers through his hair smoothly, averting his gaze for a brief moment.

“You’re going home,” he whispered, earning my furrowed brows. “You’ve had enough for one night.”

Kaius tried to grab my wrist, but I flinched his hands off. There was no way I was going back with him when I’d barely gotten there.

“I’m not leaving. Not when I’ve barely spent thirty minutes here.”

“Are you waiting till you kill someone?”

I shrugged my shoulders. “Maybe.”

“You’re psycho.” It wasn’t anything new. “You almost killed that guy in there.”

“Until you stepped in and punched the life out of him,” I said. “Which was commendable, by the way.”

He laughed, a sound that didn’t make my chest tighten but left my stomach fluttering.

“You really are desperate to be here, aren’t you?”

I stared at him, ignoring the whistles men were blowing at me. Slowly, I nodded.

He crossed his arms. “Was that why you kissed the bouncer at the entrance? For a pass?”

I froze. He saw that? Just how much did he see tonight?

I swallowed, my cheeks burning.

“You have no idea—‘

“—I’ll let you stay.” He moved closer to me, and for the first time, I found myself retreating. “But you don’t get it for free.”

I’d gotten to the end of the wall after trying to move away from him. Kaius didn’t stop coming closer, and it got worse when he cornered me, his palms placed on the wall, pinning me right in front of him.

My lips quivered, eyes staring at his face in a bid to hide my vulnerability.

“W-what?”

“Kiss me,” he said, voice low. “The same way you kissed him—like you didn’t care who was watching.”