CHAPTER TWO
RYAN’S POV
“Won’t you invite us in?”
My mother’s voice snapped me out of the fucked–up spiral my brain was trapped in. I was just standing there like a damn statue, towel barely hanging on my hips, water still dripping from my chest while I stared at the one girl I never thought I’d see again. Anna
My little sister.
I cleared my throat quickly, forced the tension out of my shoulders, and stepped aside like my body wasn’t shaking from the inside out. “Yeah… sorry, Come in.”
I didn’t look at her. I couldn’t.
But the second she walked past me, her scent hit me hard. Sweet, soft, and warm. It smelled like vanilla and strawberries. It smelled like trouble. I gripped the door handle so tightly I thought it might snap off, just so I wouldn’t do something fucking stupid, like reach out and pull her into me and bury my face in her neck.
“Give me a sec,” I muttered, already heading down the hallway before I could say something else. I needed clothes. I needed to pull myself together. I couldn’t sit there with her in just a fucking towel.
I changed fast. Threw on a black shirt and some jeans, ruffled my wet hair with a towel, and come back out to see them already seated. Mom was in her usual calm posture on the couch, and Anna… she looked too damn comfortable, as if she belonged here, as if this was already her home. My eyes didn’t want to leave her, but I forced them to. I couldn’t risk meeting hers. Not now. Not when I could already feel my control slipping.
“Would you like something to drink?” I asked them.
“Just a glass of water for Anna,” Mother replied.
I went straight to the kitchen, poured a glass of cold water, and handed it to her. She smiled. God, that smile. The some smile that used to follow me around the house back then, the one that crept into my dreams and ruined me,
“Thanks,” she said softly.
“No problem,” I replied, sitting on the single couch opposite them, making sure there was enough physical space between us.
My apartment was big, more than enough for just one person. Three bedrooms, each with its own bathroom and a view of the city skyline. A modern kitchen, an open–plan living and dining area, a glass table I barely ever used, and a massive block leather sectional I’d picked out because I didn’t want anything that looked too cozy. No maid, no cook, no company. Just me, the privacy, and my work. I liked it that way. I needed it that way.
Until now.
Mom started tallding about how Anna just got accepted into Nivelle University, right here in the city, and how it was a huge deal because the school was insanely competitive. I nodded. I was proud of her. I really was. Despite everything, despite my own twisted thoughts, I still saw her as the same determined girl who never gave up anything.
“Congratulations,” I told her, still not looking at her face.
on
1/3
+26 BONUS
“Thanks, Ryan,” she said again, this time sounding a little nervous, and that made something in my chest tighten.
And then Mom dropped the bomb.
“She’ll be staying with you.”
My heart damn near stopped.
“What?!”
I didn’t mean to sound that loud, but it just come out. I sat up straighter, eyes darting between the two of them.
“Anna… what? No. No, Mom. That’s not… that can’t happen.”
Mom frowned. “Why not?”
“She can stay in the dorms,” I said quickly, trying not to sound like a man losing his mind. “Or I can get her her own apartment. Somewhere close to campus. Somewhere safe.”
“The dorms are full. And I don’t want her living alone. This place is safe, close to the university, and I know you’ll take care of her. That’s what big brothers do.”
I almost laughed. I almost fucking laughed out loud.
Take care of her?
Fuck, if only she knew.
If she knew what the fuck I thought about Anna. If she knew what I dreamed about. If she knew that I had to take cold showers and jerk off alone at night just to stop myself from losing control. If she knew that I hadn’t stepped foot in that damn house for five years because every single day I was around Anna made me feel like I was going
insane.
If she knew that the reason I couldn’t be her big brother anymore was because my body wanted her in ways I couldn’t explain, couldn’t justify, couldn’t control.
She wouldn’t be saying any of this.
“Mom,” I stood up. My head was spinning. I dragged a hand through my hair, paced to the window and back. “You can’t do this. You don’t understand. I can’t-”
“Why not? You’ve got the space, Ryan. You’ve always looked out for her. She’s your little sister. What’s the big deal?”
She said it so easily. Little sister. As if that was all she ever was to me. As if I hadn’t been haunted by the memory of her lips on mine for the past five fucking years. As if my body didn’t react to her every time I thought about that
kiss.
“It’s just… it’s not ideal,” I said tightly, not looking at Anna, not even glancing her way.
Mom sighed. “Ryan, please. I just want her somewhere I know she’ll be safe. Can you do that for me?”
Safe?
I was the danger.
I clenched my fists and turned to Anna for the first time since she walked in. She was sitting there, hands folded on her lap, eyes wide and hopeful. God, she looked so damn beautiful it hurt. My wolf stirred inside me, restless,
pushing against the wall I’d been trying so hard to keep up.
“Is that what you want?” I asked, my voice low, strained, row.
Her
eyes met mine and she nodded.
“Yes.”
And just like that… I knew I was fucked.
