Chapter two

Seattle. My greatest nightmare.

Thankfully, my overbearing big brother had sent me urgent cash to come back home. In his words: “I'll feel better close to family.”

After checking the boxes at security, I picked up my bag and walked out of the airport. I searched through the crowd until my eyes landed on my name scribbled on a paper: “Dallas.” I smiled, looking up. My face fell the minute our eyes met.

Ryder Callahan. My brother's best friend. The reason I ran far away from Seattle.

He still had that bad boy vibe, but he was older now—taller, standing at about 6’7 with a huge, brooding frame. Tan lines peeked from his grey sweatpants and black shirt.

I sucked it up, head held high, and strode toward him. I didn't say a word, leaving my box for him to carry while I headed off to book a taxi.

“I drove,” he calmly said, putting my bags into his massive 2025 Range Rover. Hearing his voice made something in me melt, a cold shiver running down my spine.

“I want to book a taxi. You can drive back home.”

I couldn't care less. All I wanted was to not be around him right now, at least until I got back home.

“God,” he said, pinching the bridge of his nose.“Dallas, get in the fucking car. Now.”

I stood my ground.

“And I said I’ll book a taxi. You don’t have to be a bully when it’s clear someone doesn’t want to be around you.”

He paused, and I thought he’d given in, until his brooding figure loomed over me. Before I could say a word, he picked me up like a piece of cake and splayed me over his shoulder.

“OMFG! Put me the fuck down!”

He slapped my ass, and I squealed, excitement somehow jolting through me. With the amount of stares we were getting from people, I buried my face against his back and let him carry me back to the car.

He put me in, goosebumps spreading over me like a second skin. Saying nothing else, he shut the door, rounded the car, and slid behind the wheel.

I was about to protest, to do something to annoy him.

“Not a single word,” he warned, and I kept quiet the whole drive.

That’s the thing about Ryder fucking Callahan. He somehow has a hold on me, and I listen to his every command like a fucking pussy.

This wasn't part of the plan. I thought he was in another country, just like Jax confirmed the last time I asked about him.

Ryder Callahan was not just any man. He was the darkness I begged to ruin me at 20. He fucked me, had me bent over my kitchen countertop while my brother never suspected a thing. It's been four fucking years, and I'm a woman now—I can decide if I want him around or not.

“You look different,” he said after thirty minutes of utter silence.

“Yeah, thanks.”

“Prettier too.”

My cheeks warmed.

“Hotter. You've grown an ass,” he joked.

God, he was still so sexy.

“Why are you here now? Why are you showing your face?”

He paused, his answer lingering on his lips. But Ryder is a calculating man. He thinks about everything he's about to say before he says it. But this was different—this was about us—and I expected his genuine answer.

But I was wrong. He is still the same selfish jerk.

“Yeah, I thought so.”

“I just got back two weeks ago. I asked Jax to not tell you. Look, I want us to start afresh, no feud between us.”

“I don't hold anything against you.”

He scoffed, rubbing his fingers down his face.

“Don't lie about it, Dallas. It's glaring to everyone that you hate me.”

“I don't hate you. I just feel indifferent toward you, and I think indifference is quite fine.” My face was out the window, hands crossed over my large chest.

He didn't say a word until we got back home.

My family mansion still looked the same: a grand estate with towering columns, tall antiques lining the halls, and bright lights shining through its glass windows. I got out of the car and was hit with a wall of muscle. Soon big hands pushed me to his chest. My brother, Jax, squeezed me like I wasn't a living, breathing thing.

“Dally!”

“Okayyy, that's enough. You're squeezing me, Jax.”

“It's never enough to hug my kid sister.”

I pulled away fast, just in time before I ran out of breath. My hands pressed on my chest while I gasped for air and watched Jax's cocky smile.

“You still look like…you.”

Since he took over running the company, his closet had been crying for a change. He was literally always in a black or gray suit. At least some color would do him good.

“How was New York?” he asked, tucking both hands into his pockets. I rolled my eyes, avoiding the topic and the advice that usually came with it.

“Well, I'm here, and that's all that matters.”

“That son of a bitch, Jackson. When I get my hands on him, he'll be sorry.”

“You both literally have the same name. I guess we could say the same about you.”

“We don't, and that's not what's important. You're back home now, and you get to see Mom and Dad.”

I gulped as I straightened, tucking my nervous hands into the pockets of my jeans skirt. He could tell I was scared of meeting my parents, so he placed a hand on my shoulder for comfort.

“I'll be with you every step of the way.”

Sudden footsteps approached, and soon after, a brunette stepped out of the house. I paused, unable to help but stare. Blue eyes, about 5'11. Her hair cut even in a sleek bob, her skin shining under the sun with a porcelain sheen and that Seattle sunny glow. She had on tiny bum shorts that hugged her hips and a see through shirt draping her stomach, revealing her glittering belly button piercing. It was giving; Victorian model reborn. She wasn't just sexy, she looked crafted by a god.

“Omg, did you finally listen to me and decide to get a girlfriend, Jax?” I teased.

“Oh, that's Ryder's girl. Melissa.”

The words gut-wrenching punch. My heart did a back flip and I turned to Ryder who just stood there. No words—nothing. Just the truth clearly in his eyes.