CHAPTER NINE

Kyle gripped Lessie's hand as they left the mansion, his mind still reeling from his mother's unexpected words. He had come prepared for a fight, for venomous disapproval—but instead, she had given them a challenge. A warning wrapped in reluctant acceptance.

The night air was crisp, but Lessie's heart was still racing too fast to notice the chill. She squeezed Kyle's hand, glancing up at him. "That was… not what I expected."

"Me neither," he admitted, unlocking the car. "She never backs down that easily. It's unsettling."

Lessie hesitated before sliding into the passenger seat. "You think she's up to something?"

Kyle's fingers flexed against the steering wheel. "She's always up to something."

The drive back was quiet, tension simmering beneath the surface. Kyle's mother had let them walk out without a fight, but something about it didn't sit right.

And Lessie couldn't shake the feeling that this wasn't the end.

Kyle barely made it three streets away before he pulled the car into an empty side lot. He didn't speak. Didn't explain.

Lessie's breath caught as he killed the engine, his jaw clenched, his chest rising and falling heavily.

"Kyle?" she whispered, her pulse quickening.

He turned to her, his gaze dark, intense. Then, without another word, he reached across the console, cupping her face as his lips crashed onto hers.

Lessie gasped, but any hesitation vanished as Kyle's hands tangled in her hair, tilting her head to deepen the kiss. His lips were desperate, searching, as if trying to drown out everything that had happened tonight.

She met his urgency with her own, shifting toward him as his hands roamed, pulling her impossibly closer.

"Kyle," she breathed against his mouth.

A growl rumbled in his chest. "I don't want to think. Not tonight."

Lessie understood. This wasn't just about passion. This was about grounding themselves in something real. Something that wasn't their families, or the fights, or the expectations crushing them.

Just them.

Her hands slid under his shirt, tracing the hard planes of his stomach. Kyle shuddered, his grip tightening on her hips as he pulled her onto his lap.

The air in the car turned thick, heavy. Windows fogged as their bodies pressed together, his fingers digging into her waist as she moved against him, chasing the heat spiraling between them.

His lips trailed down her neck, his breath hot against her skin.

"God, Lessie," he murmured, his voice strained. "You drive me insane."

She shivered, her fingers threading through his hair as she tilted her head back, surrendering to his touch.

But then—

A sudden vibration.

Kyle's phone.

At first, he ignored it, too lost in the sensation of her, of this moment. But it vibrated again.

He groaned, reaching blindly for it without checking the caller ID. Lessie started to shift off his lap, but his grip tightened around her wrist, keeping her close.

"Yeah…" He exhaled, pressing the phone to his ear. "Lucas?"

A pause. Then Lucas's voice came through, sharp and urgent.

"Kyle, listen to me. You can't trust mother."

Kyle frowned, his body tensing. "What are you talking about?"

"I mean it. She's up to something. You barely even started your apology before she jumped straight to forgiving you, and like she was expecting it and when I called her, she told me nevermind" Lucas's voice was edged with suspicion. "And I just found out—she's having a meeting with Tiara's family."

Kyle's grip on the phone tightened, his jaw clenching.

Lessie immediately picked up on his shift, her hands resting on his chest as she whispered, "Kyle? What's wrong?"

His eyes darkened, flickering with something colder now.

"Are you sure about this?" he asked Lucas, his voice low.

"Positive. And you know what that means."

Kyle did. His mother hadn't backed down because she accepted his choices. She had backed down because she had a plan.

And that plan involved Tiara.