All Chapters of Between Two Rourkes : Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

Lyra's POV{•FIVE YEARS EARLIER•}I should have known better than to fall in love with a contract.But Cassian Rourke had never been just ink on paper to me.Not when I was fifteen and he explained calculus to me during recess, not when I was twenty and he offered me money for my father's medical bills in exchange for a marriage of convenience, and certainly not on the day I signed my name next to his and told myself that maybe, eventually, proximity could turn this agreement into something real.But it's been five years now. And we lived more like roommates than two people who wore matching rings.My eyes drifted to my reflection staring back at me from the blurry mirror.Tonight, I planned to make Cassian see me as more than a contractual bride.He answered on the forth ring, his voice a little groggy."Lyra. Hey."There were audible keyboard clicks in the background."How would you feel about having dinner with me tonight? I made your favourite."He chuckled into the phone and I f

Lyra's POVThe eyes were similar to his, striking pale blue but warmer somehow. This man was taller, maybe six-four. And his skin was sun-kissed caramel where Cassian's had been light porcelain. His hair was darker, almost black instead of Cassian's platinum blonde hair. And his features, while similar in structure, were less softer."Hi," I managed to mutter. I shifted Eleanor higher on my hip and tried to remember how to breathe. "You must be..""The tenant, yeah." He grinned a lazy, easy grin."Sorry if I startled you. You looked like you had seen a ghost there for a second."I forced a laugh that sounded hollow even to my own ears. "No, I just... you reminded me of someone for a moment. My mistake."Eleanor chose that moment to grab a fistful of my hair and yank. Hard."Ow—Eleanor, baby, gentle."The man's grin widened, and he crouched down slightly to be at Eleanor's eye level. I then realized he had a split tongue, and black gemstone studs on his ears."I smell mischief in you.

Lyra's POVHis tongue was clearly forked, and pierced. And it kept swiping at the bottom of his lip. It was incredibly distracting for an eerie reason.What was so mysterious about the kind of music he listened to?"What are you all of a sudden?"I didn't know the answer to that myself."Um, whatever. As long as it's not satanic or I don't know... something that will possess my daughter and I if we accidentally hear it."He smiled."But music is meant to possess one's entire being. That's the whole point of the melody."He actually smiled.Not a grin. Not a... wolfish predatory smirk.But it was gone as soon as it came."Hard pass. I'll rather listen to my own kind of music, thank you."He shrugged."Suit yourself, I'll be settling in. My trip here was quite long."______We reached the west wing doorway.“Well,” he said, surveying the space. “Not bad. Bigger than my dorm back on my former campus.”“You are in college,” I said flatly. Reminding myself of the fact.“Graduate student,”

Lyra's POVLuca was more than pissed this time. His feline eyes had gone dangerous."Maelis, you have no right to call Cassian here. You have no right to stalk me, or to stalk Lyra. This is her house, in fact, this is practically an invasion of privacy. This is—""Oh, shush, boy. Shush." Maelis waved her hand dismissively, then clapped her hands together. "Cassian should be here any moment now."As if on cue, I heard footsteps.Before I could even process it, a shadow fell across the doorway covering Maelis."Lyra."His voice was cold. Devoid of any emotional warmth, unlike what I remembered.My lips parted, but I couldn't bring out any words. They stuck in my throat like stones.Cassian pushed his way past his mother without ceremony. Luca immediately stepped in front of him, crossing his arms."Back off, brother," Luca said firmly. "She did not invite you in. Step back outside.""Move, Luca. You goddamn betrayer""No. I did not know prior to my arrival here. I only found out when I

Lyra's POV"What's in this for you, Luca?"Maelis asked the same question I had burning in my mind.And I really looked forward to hearing the answer."Don't think for a second that I believe this sudden proposal is out of the goodness of your heart," she continued, taking a step closer. "You've never cared about people before. You avoid Rourke gatherings like a plague and you've made it abundantly clear that you want nothing to do with this family. So what are you getting out of this little arrangement?""Maybe I'm just tired of watching the Rourke family get their way every single time.""Spare me the martyr act," Maelis snapped. "You want something. You always want something. Money? Early access to your trust fund? A way to spite your brother? What is it?""Not everything is a transaction, Maelis.""In this family, it is." She gestured around the room with one perfectly manicured hand. "Nothing happens without a reason, nothing is given without expecting something in return. That i