CHAPTER 18 THE ALMOST KISS
They hadn't kissed yet.
But sometimes, the deadliest moment is the one right before the kiss.
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The room wasn't a room anymore.
It had become a trap woven from their breaths, from the male bodies trapping her from both sides, from the wild thumping of her heartsomething both Viktor and Diego could hear all too clearly.
Evelyn's body was pinned between them, but for the first time... she wasn't sure she wanted to escape.
Diego whispered right by her ear, his voice like fire licking her skin:
"That sound earlier... you know what we want after hearing it, right?"
Evelyn tried to stay calm, but her voice betrayed her:
"I... don't."
"Doll," he chuckled softly, his breath hot against her sensitive earlobe, "you react like that and claim you don't know?" His hand slid from her waist to her hip, pulling her closerclose enough for her to feel the intense heat radiating from his body, like a fire smoldering inside him. Diego's strong masculine scent wrapped around her, overwhelming every other sense.
At the same time, Viktor laid his large hand on the back of her neck, his long, strong fingers stroking slowly down her neck.
So slowly that she shivered with every touch, like an electric current racing down her spine, waking every dormant nerve. He wasn't rushinghe was savoring every second of feeling her smooth skin under his fingertips.
"Evelyn," he murmured, his deep, husky voice laced with sweet menace, "you're standing between two men losing control. And you haven't stepped back."
She swallowed hard, her throat dry as hot sand, forcing the words out: "I... haven't decided."
Viktor leaned down, his warm breath brushing straight against her lips, carrying mint and a hint of strong liquor.
"No." He stopped just a breath away, that fragile distance enough to burn away the last of her patience. "You've decided. Your mouth hasn't said it. But your body has."
Diego's hand pressed against her lower belly, steadying her as her knees suddenly buckled, like all her strength had drained away. He squeezed lightly, letting her know he was her only support right now.
"We both feel every tremor," he whispered, that half-smirk full of power. "One man might be wrong. Two? Never."
Evelyn wanted to arguethat she had no intentions, that this was pure panicbut right then, Viktor tilted his face, his lips grazing hers in the lightest ghost of a touch, barely there. A brush made of air alone, a promise not yet formed. But it jolted her entire body like a high-voltage shock.
She gasped sharply, like a stifled cry: "Viktor...!"
He didn't close the gap. No kiss. But he wouldn't let her pull away either. He was playing a dangerous game, and she was completely at his mercy.
"You react like this..." he whispered, his voice a sweet curse, "...and you think I still believe you don't know?"
Diego's hand slid up her side, tugging her thin dress tight against her curves, his breath hot on her neck, raising goosebumps. "Doll, if you shiver just a little more... I'll kiss you right here at the nape." The words were a threat, but laced with irresistible pull.
She turned her head to dodgethe only reflex she had left, a weak bid to break free from the suffocating trap. But it was her biggest mistake. Turning exposed her neck completelyand Viktor saw it instantly. His eyes flashed with possession.
His hand slid from her nape down her back, tilting her up so his lips hovered at the most tempting spot, her collarbone bare under thin skin.
Diego let out a low laugh, full of triumphant edge: "You just offered your neck to him, Evelyn."
Her face burned red, heart pounding like it might burst from her chest, voice shaky despite her effort: "I... didn't mean to."
Viktor's voice dropped low, like a storm about to break, intense and terrifying: "Intentional or not... you've just invited me." Then he leaned in, his lips a single shiver away from her neckjust one more beat and every limit would shatter.
Evelyn breathed hard, her chest feeling like it might explode. And her bodybetraying her willshivered for real. One clear beat. Undeniable.
Diego gripped her hip tighter, his whisper a cruel confirmation: "There. Hear that, Viktor? She just said 'yes' with her body."
Viktor didn't kiss her. He held at the very brinkenough to cloud her mind with unfulfilled craving, with agonizing anticipation. He wanted her desperate, begging.
"Evelyn." His voice was raw, burning, barely controlled, like a beast holding back instinct. "If I kiss you now... the war between us ends. But another one starts."
She stared at him, eyes wide, reflecting the two men burning her alive: "What war?"
Diego answered from behind, lips brushing her ear, tone teasing and dangerous: "The war to see... who makes you moan first."
She choked on her breath, heat flooding her face, every cell ready to ignite. Her legs went weak; Diego had to hold her with both arms or she'd collapse.
"You twodon't"
"Don't what?" Viktor asked, lips still hovering by hers, eyes sharp as daggers. "Don't kiss you? Don't touch? Or don't make you lose control first?"
She opened her mouthbut her breath broke into a ragged gasp, a tiny sound that echoed like thunder in the deathly quiet room.
One sound was enough. Both men gripped her tighter, like they'd gotten the signal.
Diego's fingers traced up her spine, pausing at a sensitive spot mid-back that arched her slightly. "Doll... just lean into one of us a little... and we won't stop."
Evelyn tried to stand straight. Tried with everything she had left.
But Viktor tugged her waist lightly. Diego held her hips.
And her bodybetraying herleaned.
Not much. Just a centimeter. A tiny move, barely there, but enough to shatter every defense.
Enough for Viktor to whisper in victory, his voice a predator's growl: "You've chosen."
He lowered his lips
...but his lips never met hers. Diego yanked her back at the last second, a sharp pull that threw off her balance.
The two men locked eyes over her shoulderclashing like sharpened blades, no more games or pretense. And Evelyn realized something scarier than any kiss:
They'd just started a real war over her. No metaphors anymore.