�Never. I�m not interested in you,� she lied.

�You�re not interested in me?� His tone suddenly turned angry, much to her surprise. He yanked her wrist, grabbed her waist, and pinned her against the door. �Are you sure you�re not interested in me?� He growled, his voice is husky.

�Oh, certainly,� Renee said boldly. �If I was interested in you, I would have done it long ago, and we would have had many children. I would not have allowed Briar-� Before she could finish her sentence, his lips found hers.

His soft kiss took her breath away. Her mind went blank, and she forgot to protest. She felt herself softening into his kiss, like prey surrendering to a predator.

Stefan smiled against her lips, pleased with her response. �On the contrary � you seem to be very interested in me.�

Renee�s mind went blank as Stefan�s lips claimed hers passionately. She pushed everything to the back of her mind and grabbed Stefan�s collar, snarling, �If you want to kiss me, do it properly.�

Pulling him down to her, she kissed him back with a hunger that surprised them both.

That wasn�t the first time they�d been this close � when they had gotten drunk back then, they had been even more reckless. Back then, they could blame it on the alcohol, but they were both sober now, so the aftermath was surely going to be messy.

As a result, they both instinctively came to a halt.

Renee sat on the carpet, leaning against the door and breathing heavily. She tugged at her hair agitatedly as she tidied her clothes. �I must have been insane to do that! Don�t overthink it � it�s only normal in such a situation.�

Stefan�s raspy voice revealed hints of suppressed longing. �I understand.� He coughed softly. �I feel the same way.� He subconsciously moved closer to her, and they sat next to one other on the floor.

Renee looked at him defensively. �What are you doing?�

�I told you I suffer from PTSD. Let me rest on your shoulder for a while.� Before she could protest, Stefan leaned on her shoulder.

Renee gritted her teeth, but she couldn�t bring herself to push him away. Unknowingly, hours passed. The room remained dark and silent.

�Why hasn�t the problem been solved yet? Is this the extent of the Hunt family�s capabilities?� Renee burst out finally, having reached the end of her patience.

Stefan seems to have dozed off, and drowsily opened his eyes. �You still haven�t figured it out, have you?� He mumbled quietly.� This is no accident � it was done on purpose. Just go to sleep. There�s no way you�re leaving this place unless��

�Unless what?� She asked eagerly as though a glimmer of hope had suddenly appeared before her.

�Unless you achieve their objective.�

�What do you mean? I don�t get it.� Renee stared at him quizzically.

�If I�m not mistaken, this is the work of my foolish mother. Her purpose is for you and me to reconcile. So�� He hesitated for a few seconds before replying flatly, �They won�t let us go if we don�t create a commotion.� Stefan�s theory was indeed correct. JrNovels.com