Chapter 1: Riley

Riley’s POV

"Let's just go Riley! You have been so cooped up in your room all day. You deserve some fun" Anna whined, trying to get me to attend Jason party. I wasn't feeling it to be honest,I'm not good with crowds especially noisy crowds.

I sighed " Okay! But I'll just stay for one hour only then I'll return home".

"Perfect!" She grinned.

When we arrived at the party, the music was so loud enough to shake the walls with every beat. There was a mess,red cups, cigarette smoke, laughter everywhere, the frat party was chaos. I should have been home finishing my paper, but Anna being a party animal she is had decided to dragged me here with promises of one last wild night before senior year.

“Truth or dare?” Anna shouted over the music with a mischievous smile on her lips.

“Dare,” I said, without thinking. I always regretted that word.

Her grin widened as she looked around the room. “Kiss him.” She pointed across the room.

I followed her gaze and froze. Leaning against the wall was a man who didn’t belong here. He was older maybe in his late twenties maybe with a lean, dangerous body marked in dark tattoos that snaked up his forearms. His blue eyes caught my sight and pinned me in place.

“You’re insane,” I hissed.

Anna just shoved me forward. “Rules are rules, Riley!” you have to do it!"

I tried to steady my breath as I walked toward the guy, every step I took made my heart beat faster than before. He wasn’t some frat boy in a backwards cap, he was something else entirely. His jaw was sharp, his mouth curved in the kind of smirk that said he already knew I wouldn’t be able to say no.

When I stopped in front of him, he tilted his head. “A dare?” His voice was deep, amused, with just enough roughness to make my stomach tighten.

I nodded, feeling heat flooding my cheeks.

His smile was slow, deliberate, like he enjoyed watching me squirm. "If you’re gonna kiss me, princess, do it. I don’t like wasting time.”

Before I could second guess my choices, I rose on my toes and pressed my lips to his. I expected him to pull away, leave or saying a snide remark but instead he didn’t hesitate.

He kissed me back,claiming my mouth,his hand sliding to my waist like he owned it. The taste of smoke wrapped around me, and my heart beat louder than the music.

It lasted only seconds, but when I pulled away, I felt branded. His blue eyes burned through me like he already knew it will be impossible to forget him.

One year later

The first thing I noticed when I stepped into the house was how quiet it was. It was not the comforting, peaceful kind of quiet but the suffocating silence. This place didn't seem like a home, more like an expensive hotel.

The second thing I noticed was the smell of the house. It was clean, expensive, and cold. Like a luxury hotel with no soul. And this was supposed to be home now?

A mansion was too big to feel like home. My mother’s laugh rang from the grand foyer as she clung to her new husband’s arm. David.

He was wealthy, powerful and pretty decent. She looked at him like he was only person in the world.

“Riley,” Mom called, “come meet your new family.”

I dragged my suitcase behind me, forcing a polite smile as David’s calculating eyes swept over me. He was at least twice my mom’s age, but dressed in a tailored suit that screamed money and control. The man was loaded!.

“This is my son, Noah!"

I heard footsteps across the marble floor, and when I looked up, my heart nearly stopped.

It was him.

The man from the party. The kiss I could never forget.

Only now, he wasn’t just a stranger with tattoos and beautiful eyes he was David’s son.

My new stepbrother!.

For a heartbeat, neither of us moved. He had his eyes set on mine, cold and sharp as glass, but underneath it flickered recognition.

We knew each other.

And we both knew we couldn’t let anyone else find out.

For a second too long, I just stood there. My pulse throbbed in my ears, and the room felt like it's has been spinning.

Noah.

His name slipped into my mind like it had always been there. I’d never asked for it at the party. I didn’t need it but his kiss had branded him into my memory. But hearing David claim him as his son turned everything into something far darker.

He wore a black shirt that clung to his broad shoulders, tattoos snaking from beneath his sleeves. His hair was messy, like he’d just rolled out of bed and couldn’t be bothered to fix it. But his eyes...those icy, burning blue eyes never left mine.

“Riley,” David said, placing a hand on my back. “This is Noah. He isn’t my blood, but I raised him as my own.”

Raised him? My stomach twisted uncomfortably. That made him my stepbrother now.

Noah’s mouth twisted but not quite a smile, more like a challenge. He extended his hand. “Nice to meet you, Riley.”

His voice hadn’t changed. Still low and dangerous. That same voice that had teased me into kissing him a year ago.

I slipped my hand into his. Heat shot up my arm instantly and I prayed my mother couldn’t see the way my chest went too sharply. His grip was firm and his thumb was brushing the inside of my palm for just a fraction too long. A silent reminder.

I remember you.

“I’ve heard a lot about you,” I managed to say, my tone was too sweet but careful.

“Likewise.” His smirk was subtle, but I caught it. He was enjoying this. The torment of pretending we were strangers while my pulse betrayed me.

Mom beamed between us, oblivious. “Isn’t this wonderful? A real family now.”

Family! The word made me want to laugh and scream all at once.

As she walked ahead with David, showing off the mansion , Noah fell in step beside me. His arm brushed mine, casual, like it meant nothing. But I felt everything.

“Small world,” he murmured under his breath, his lips were close enough that only I could hear.

I swallowed hard, forcing myself to keep walking. “You shouldn’t talk to me like that"

He let out a dark and low chuckle. “Like what? Like I know exactly how you taste?”

My steps faltered. I shot him a glare, but he only looked amused.

“Careful, princess,” he whispered, leaning in just enough that his breath grazed my ear. “We wouldn’t want Daddy to find out his son already kissed his new daughter right?.

Imagine his face if he knew his perfect little daughter had her tongue down my throat before she even unpacked her bags.”

My heart pounded so hard it hurt. He pulled away before anyone noticed, his expression was perfectly composed. To anyone else, he looked like the dutiful son meeting his new stepsister.

But I knew better.