Mated To My Obsessive Stepbrother novel Chapter 239

Chapter 239

KASMINE.

I was equal parts disappointed and happy.

I opened it.

Jake:

“Hey, babe. Noticed something weird in my system. Same bug showed up on yours, too, two weeks ago, remember? I think it might’ve spread from Kester’s since they are all in the same proximity. All three systems were on the same network recently, also. Mind if I check his, too? Might be safer that way.”

I blinked at the message. Then blinked again, because… what?

First off, what the fuck was he doing at the office? It was past eight PM on a Saturday.

Me: “Jake, what are you doing at work? It’s a Saturday night.”

My thumb hovered over the screen as I added another message.

“Also… what do you mean by ‘same proximity‘?”

I pressed send and leaned against the marble sink counter, exhaling slowly.

The phone buzzed again.

Jake:

“I forgot my wallet in the office yesterday. Came to pick it up and decided to run a couple of quick checks on the system. My antivirus flagged something weird. I remembered your PC lagging earlier this week, so I did a little digging. I think the bug is on Kester’s, too. Could’ve been transferred through our shared cloud drive or internal server.”

I squinted. Cloud drive? Internal server? My brain wasn’t processing the tech lingo. Not with the dull throbbing in my head and the sour taste still clinging to my tongue.

I typed slower this time.

Me:

“Jake, if you think there’s an issue on Kester’s PC, why not just ask him for access?”

I rinsed my mouth again, staring at my reflection in the mirror. My skin looked too pale, and my lashes were slightly wilted. I didn’t look like someone read for any kind of celebration.

The phone buzzed again.

Jake:

“You know Kester won’t let me anywhere near his stuff. I’m just trying to help. This isn’t about privacy–it’s about security. The system’s been acting off, and I figured I should do the right thing before it spreads further.”

hesitated.

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Chapter 239

It wasn’t like Jake to push. But he was the nosy type when it came hours debugging my laptop just because I said a file took too long

Still, something about it didn’t sit right.

systems and programs. He once sat through three straight open.

But I was too tired to argue. Too emotionally drained to overthink.

And really… it was just a password. Kester had given it to me a couple of weeks back to download something for him when he was. out of the office. It wasn’t a secret. Not to me.

I sighed.

Me:

And his eyes made my breath hitch–wild, glassy, blazing with something unfiltered and dangerous.

And then his hands were on me… One large palm at the side of my neck, the other cupping my cheek, fingers splayed against my jaw. His touch was fevered. The scent of his cologne–dark wood and citrus and sin–wrapped around me like a noose.

And then he kissed me.

Chapter 239

Hard and frantic.

Like a drowning man latching onto the only breath he could find.

1 gasped, caught between instinct and longing. His mouth crashed against mine, stealing air, stealing thought, stealing everything.

Heat rushed through me, wiping out my equilibrium, My hands pressed against his chest just to keep myself upright. My knees felt like wax.

When he finally pulled back, we were both breathing hard.

His eyes locked on mine.

“You have five seconds to say no, baby,” he said, voice totally low, rough and wrecked.

I opened my mouth, but nothing coherent came out.

My brain was trying to catch up with everything all at once–the kiss, the look in his eyes, the fact that June was in the hall waiting for him while he was here stealing moments.

Then–buzz.

My clutch vibrated against the sink counter behind me.

I knew this time, it had to be the hospital.

My hand darted for it, but Kester caught my wrist mid–reach, still peering deep into my eyes. His gaze flicked to my mouth and back up again.

“I thought as much,” he said and crushed his lips to mine once more.