Rejected by the Alpha, Claimed by his Brother
Chapter 77: _ Fuck, I Kissed Her

Chapter 77: _ Fuck, I Kissed Her

I hadn’t meant to do it.

That’s what I would tell myself later—what I would insist, what I would swear on my life.

But right now? Right now, with my lips mashed tenderly against hers like she was sugar and I was water. Like if I greedily took too much, she might melt.

Hence, I handled those lips with utmost care. I was incapable of thinking about anything except how sweet she tasted.

Dios mío.

It was soft. Too soft. Softer than I ever imagined a kiss could be. Not that I had imagined it. Of course, I hadn’t. That would be absurd. Completely ridiculous.

And yet...

The moment my lips touched hers, something inside me exploded. María José, the girl I had convinced myself was nothing more than a fragile little sister, had lips as soft as summer rain, and I...

... I was enchanted.

An overwhelming warmth trickled down my spine, stealing the breath from my lungs. Her scent—violets and honey—was intoxicating, enveloping me in a way that made my thoughts sluggish.

I should stop.

I should absolutely stop.

But the kiss was so sweet, so impossibly delicate, that before I knew what was happening, I was leaning in again, chasing the feeling.

But of course, it was a mistake.

It had to be a mistake.

Once again, I planted my lips on hers after taking a moment to catch my breath. Why the fuck was Hugo so damn silent?

Say something you bloody hypocrite!

Something had to be wrong.

Every fiber of my being screamed at me to pull away, to erase this moment before it settled into reality. But I didn’t.

Instead, I remained there, breath mingling with hers and frozen in the quiet intoxication of her presence. The gentle rise and fall of her chest, the sensation spreading between us, the way her red hair fanned out like flames against the moonlit sheets—it was a spell, and I was caught in it.

This time, it wasn’t so hesitant with the kiss. This time, I took it so much like she was the answer to the void I’d always felt in my chest.

The one that made me feel like I had no place in the world, like my father couldn’t be my father anymore and my brother couldn’t be my brother anymore.

As though, María José, despite not bearing any blood relation to me, was all the solid I needed to fill those little spaces inside of my heart.

She sighed softly in her sleep, a sound so delicate it sent goosebumps erupting across my flesh. My fingers twitched where they rested near her cheek, itching to move, to touch, to explore.

One gulp. Two gulps. Three gulps, and I was about to touch her. To feel the warmth of her skin on mine when Hugo finally deemed it fit to speak.

"Not to be a Debbie Downer, but once you touch her, a little reminder that there’s no turning back tonight, Axel."

Bloody hell.

What the fuck was I doing?!

I yanked myself back so suddenly that I nearly fell off the bed. My heart thumped, my breathing ragged, and the horrifying realization of what I had just done hit me like a damn freight train.

I kissed María José.

I—the man who had been swearing up and down to protect her like a brother—kissed her.

Twice.

Worse, it felt so good, that I nearly never wanted to stop.

As if sensing my panic, María José stirred in her sleep, her brows furrowing like the kiss ending meant the end of a particularly joyful dream to her. Then, her lashes fluttered.

Oh no.

No, no, no...

Was it strange how I was just noticing just how enchanting those green eyes of hers were as they blinked open?

For one suspended second, she didn’t react. She simply looked up at me, dazed and confused, as though she wasn’t sure where she was or why I was looming over her like some sort of creep.

Then, it slowly dawned on her.

She was a pretty girl in her prime. I was a man who wasn’t supposed to be here. It was late into the night and I was in her room.

Her eyes widened, hands above her mouth.

Well, at least, she wasn’t thinking of screaming; I thought.

She screamed.

Loud. Goring. The kind of scream that could wake up every single person in this villa, including Don Diego himself.

What would he think of me?

Of course, he’d take advantage of the situation. He might label me a creep who was acting so virtuous just because I wanted to get under his daughter’s pants.

I dashed forward, clamping my hand over her mouth while panic made my hair sprout at the ends.

"¡Cállate! Shh! It’s me! It’s me!"

María José scrambled back, gasping against my palm with her entire body shaking. I quickly removed my hand, raising both in surrender as she clutched her bedsheets like a shield.

"Wh-Who are you?!" she stammered, her voice quivering with fear.

I blinked. Who am I?!

For the love of—did she think I was some random man who broke into her room in the middle of the night to kiss her?!

Okay, technically, that’s exactly what happened.

But still!

"It’s me," I said quickly, shifting into the moonlight so she could see my face properly. "Axel."

Her breathing steadied. The panic in her eyes faded just enough to be replaced by something else—shock and maybe even disbelief.

"Axel?" she repeated, still gripping her sheets.

I nodded.

She stared at me like she couldn’t believe it. Her hands quivered lightly as she slowly, slowly, lowered them from where they had been fisted at her chest.

Then, suddenly, she gasped.

Her fingers flew to her lips, eyes going impossibly wide in a way that would convince anyone they were about to pop out of their sockets.

Oh no.

Oh, hell no.

She remembered.

Her head jutted toward me, horror and realization conflicting in her gaze.

"Did you—" she paused, swallowing hard with her fingers still pressed against her lips. "Did you just—kiss me?"

Oh, now I knew the Moon Goddess planned to come fuck me up tonight. She never liked me anyway.

Nice game, Your Holiness.