Marriage with my daughter's father: Darling please be gentle - Chapter 143

Chapter 143: Chapter 143: I might start thinking you like keeping tabs on me
Kalix stepped back into the room, only to find Winter standing there, her sharp gaze locked onto him.

Her eyes flicked between his face and the phone still in his hand, suspicion gleaming in their depths as he approached her.

“Tell me,” she spoke the moment he stopped in front of her, her voice cool but edged with curiosity, “were you sneaking around on someone?”

She had only stepped out for a moment — just long enough to check on Seren — but when she’d returned, she’d found Kalix standing by the window, phone pressed to his ear, voice low and serious. The moment he’d noticed her, the call had ended abruptly, the air still humming with the sharpness of an unspoken conversation.

Kalix regarded her with a glint of amusement, the corners of his mouth twitching upward. The way she stood there — arms crossed, eyes unblinking, reading every inch of his expression — made something dark and indulgent stir inside him.

Without warning, he leaned in, brushing a slow kiss against her lips. It wasn’t rushed or apologetic — it was deliberate, like a man too certain of his hold on her.

“Relax, Angel,” his voice dropped to a velvet drawl. “If there’s anyone I’d sneak around for, it would only ever be you.”

But Winter didn’t flinch from his charm. Her frown only deepened, suspicion still dancing in her eyes. “Is that so?” she murmured, stepping back slightly, folding her arms tighter across her chest. “Then why don’t you tell me who you were talking to?”

Kalix let out a soft chuckle, shaking his head like she was both infuriating and irresistible.

“Stanley,” he replied easily, lifting the phone and tilting it toward her. The call log glowed plainly on the screen. “See for yourself, sweetheart. If you want, I’ll even let you call him back.”

Winter stared at the screen, her skepticism wavering under the weight of proof. He wasn’t lying — not this time, at least. But her instincts weren’t so easily silenced.

“You know I don’t doubt you,” she said under her breath, her voice softer now, but edged with an unspoken warning, “unless I smell something fishy.”

She turned to walk away, but Kalix wasn’t finished. His hand caught her wrist, pulling her back with just enough force to spin her against his chest. His head dipped, his breath hot against her neck.

“And what exactly does that mean?” he murmured, voice low and rough. “When have I ever acted fishy, Angel?”

Before she could answer, he buried his face in the curve of her neck, inhaling the soft scent of her skin. The intoxicating sweetness lured him deeper, stoking a hunger that pulsed just beneath the surface. His lips brushed the sensitive spot where her pulse fluttered, and the sensation sent a shiver cascading down her spine.

Winter’s body betrayed her before her mind could protest — her breath hitched, her lashes fluttering shut as his mouth lingered, tracing slow, deliberate kisses along her throat.

Her hands, once folded in defiance, found his chest, palms resting lightly against the warmth of him, but she didn’t push away. His closeness, the heat rolling off him, the possessive weight of his touch — it tangled with her suspicion, blurring the sharp edges.

Kalix lifted his head just enough to meet her gaze, his dark eyes heavy with unspoken promises.

“You watch me too closely, Angel,” he whispered, voice dark and threaded with heat. “If you’re not careful, I might start thinking you like keeping tabs on me.”

Winter swallowed hard, her heart thrumming a little too fast.

“Maybe I do,” she murmured, the admission slipping past her lips before she could reel it back.

A slow, wolfish smile curved his mouth, and without giving her another second to retreat, he captured her lips with his, deepening the kiss until every ounce of doubt she’d held onto melted away.

“Then I suppose that means I should be honest with you,” he murmured, his voice low and wicked as his tongue lazily traced the seam of her lips before claiming them once more.

Winter’s lips parted on instinct, a soft, unbidden gasp slipping free. The slow drag of his tongue, the rich timbre of his voice wrapping around her like velvet, sent a shiver cascading down her spine. Her throat bobbed as she swallowed, the growing heat coiling low in her belly making it impossible to resist him.

Her throat tightened as she swallowed, trying to steady the breath that trembled past her lips, but Kalix wasn’t about to let her slip away from the moment. His hand slid along her waist, fingers splaying against the curve of her lower back, anchoring her firmly against him.

“See, Angel…” he whispered against her mouth, each word brushing her lips like a caress, “I don’t lie to you. But the way you look at me right now…” his voice dropped, deeper, rougher, “makes me want to keep a few things to myself — just so you’ll keep questioning me like this.”

Winter’s chest heaved, her pulse drumming wildly against the cage of her ribs. His words tangled with her thoughts, making them scatter like leaves in the wind. The sharp edge of her suspicion dulled under the weight of the desire simmering between them.

Kalix tilted her chin up with a gentle but firm touch, forcing her eyes back to his. The dark heat swimming in his gaze wasn’t playful anymore — it was raw, unapologetic, and possessive.

“Don’t doubt me,” he murmured, brushing his lips over hers in a barely-there kiss, “unless you’re ready for the consequences.”

Her breath hitched, her body reacting before her mind could catch up. The tension between them snapped, and he kissed her again — deeper this time, claiming her mouth with a hunger that spoke of all the things he couldn’t put into words.

The taste of him, the scent of him, the feel of his hands tightening around her waist — it drowned out everything else. Her fingers curled into the fabric of his shirt, clutching onto him as though he were the only solid thing in the world.

When he finally pulled back, just enough to meet her eyes, his voice softened, but the intensity didn’t waver.

“You’re mine, Angel,” he said, his forehead resting against hers. “And the only thing I ever sneak around for… is to protect what’s mine.”

Her lips parted, the words she wanted to say caught somewhere between her heart and her throat. The storm of emotions whirling inside her — suspicion, longing, fear, and something dangerously close to trust — left her unsteady.

But Kalix didn’t press her for an answer.

Instead, he pressed a final kiss to her temple, lingering for a beat longer than necessary, before stepping back just enough to let her breathe — though his hand remained at her waist, unwilling to release her completely.

The silence between them wasn’t cold anymore. It pulsed with something unspoken, a fragile understanding that neither of them dared break.