Claimed by My Ex's Half-Brother-Chapter 202 Only me

Victoria’s POV

I continued my explanation, "If Mona was just looking to climb the social ladder, she wouldn’t care who the man was as long as he had money. Even though Lawrence Sterling is older, he doesn’t look it at all. If he were in entertainment, he’d absolutely be one of those charming silver foxes that everyone falls for. He’s still full of magnetism—"

"Ahem!"

Damien cleared his throat, cutting me off before I could finish praising his father. My wolf Nora stirred inside me, reacting to his displeasure.

"Lawrence is hardly that impressive," he growled, pulling me tighter against his warm chest. "Old and unattractive. Yet you rate him so highly?"

I could smell the change in his scent – smoky cedar with an undertone of jealousy. Arthur, his wolf, was clearly unsettled. I bit back a smile, realizing Damien was actually jealous of his own father.

"What? I’m just being objective," I defended myself, feeling his arms tighten possessively around my waist. "If you asked anyone else, they’d say the same thing."

Though I’d only met Lawrence Sterling a few times, I had to admit the man had exceptional genetics. Both Ethan and Damien were devastatingly handsome, especially Damien with looks that could make both humans and wolves stop and stare. Lawrence might be older, but he barely looked past forty. Not that I had any interest in him whatsoever.

"Only people with vision problems would think that," Damien muttered against my hair, his breath warm on my neck. "Lawrence Sterling is nothing special. You’re not allowed to look at him anymore. Only me."

I laughed, the sound vibrating between us. "Are you seriously jealous of your own father? I don’t have those kinds of feelings for him."

"If you did, we’d have a serious problem," he replied, his voice dropping to that deep, possessive tone that made my wolf purr. "I’d have to punish you until you belonged only to me. Make sure that after having me, you’d never look at another man again."

"As if I’d be attracted to just anyone," I scoffed, trying to redirect the conversation. "Don’t insult my taste. I’m trying to discuss something serious here. So you think Mona might end up with Lawrence and dump Ethan?"

Damien’s fingers traced lazy circles on my hip. "It’s not a possibility—it’s already happening. Did you really think I don’t have people in the Sterling house? I’ve got someone at the hospital too. A nurse entered the room and caught Mona and Lawrence embracing. They’re quite bold at home as well. Lawrence has threatened the staff to keep quiet."

"Wow..." I processed this information, genuinely surprised.

So Damien had known all along.

"Marcia Cross must be incredibly oblivious," I mused. "How has she not noticed her daughter-in-law and her husband carrying on right under her nose?"

Seeing my interest in the topic, Damien’s jaw tightened slightly. "Are you really this invested in Sterling family drama?"

"I’m just fascinated by the mess," I admitted. "Your family is absolute chaos. It’s like a reality show no one would believe."

"I am not part of the Sterling family," Damien corrected firmly, his fingers gripping my chin to make me look at him. "I have nothing in common with them. I’m nothing like Lawrence or Ethan. When I choose someone, it’s only ever going to be that one person."

I could hear the sincerity in his voice. He was worried that his father and half-brother’s behavior might tarnish how I saw him. The one thing Damien couldn’t change—and clearly hated most—was sharing blood with Lawrence Sterling.

"Why are you getting so worked up?" I placed my hand on his chest, feeling his rapid heartbeat. "I never said you were anything like them. I’m just enjoying the drama from a safe distance. I can’t wait to see Ethan’s face when he discovers his wife and father have been sleeping together. It’ll be priceless."

I couldn’t help but feel relieved I hadn’t fallen for Mona’s trap yesterday. Otherwise, she might have tried to pin the pregnancy on me somehow.

Mona was truly foolish to try and set me up. Even if she’d succeeded, I would have had a way out—the child she was carrying wasn’t Ethan’s anyway.

"Instead of imagining their drama," Damien murmured, his lips brushing my ear, "why not focus on how incredible we are together?"

I rolled my eyes, but couldn’t stop the shiver that ran down my spine.

"Kiss me," he whispered, "and I’ll tell you something important."

"About what?" I asked, trying to maintain my composure despite his proximity.

"About those so-called assassins from yesterday."

That caught my attention immediately. "You found out who they are?"

I was surprised. I hadn’t even had time to look into the matter yet. After returning home last night, Damien had kept me thoroughly occupied until we’d both collapsed in exhaustion, sleeping until just now. I’d completely forgotten about the incident until he mentioned it.

"I did," he confirmed, his eyes gleaming with satisfaction.

"Tell me," I demanded.

"Kiss me first." His face was inches from mine, close enough that I could count each of his long eyelashes.

I raised an eyebrow. "I could just find out myself, you know."

"But I already have the information right here," he countered smoothly. "Why waste time investigating when I have answers? Besides, if you look into it yourself, you’ll probably ask Kane, and if your grandfather finds out, won’t he worry?"

I bit my lip, reluctantly admitting to myself that he had a point. Grandfather would definitely be concerned if he knew someone had sent assassins after me. Plus, I hadn’t even figured out how to tell him about Damien and me yet.

"You can’t tell Grandfather anything about this," I warned him. "I’ll handle it my way. I need time to prepare him before dropping the ’us’ bomb."

"Agreed," he said simply.

"So tell me—who’s behind this? Who tried to have me killed?"

"I told you the price." His lips curved into that infuriating, sexy half-smile, his eyes dark with desire. "One kiss."

I sighed dramatically and placed a quick peck on his cheek. "There. Now talk."

"That was pathetically insufficient," he complained.

"You said ’a kiss,’" I argued. "You didn’t specify where or how. I definitely kissed you, so no backing out now."

Damien gave me a look that was equal parts exasperation and hunger. If I wouldn’t kiss him properly, he’d clearly take matters into his own hands.

Before I could react, he captured my mouth with his. My eyes widened in surprise as his lips claimed mine, but my body instantly responded, betraying my feigned indifference.

"Mmm..." I couldn’t help the soft sound that escaped me as he deepened the kiss, my wolf Nora howling her approval within me.