All Chapters of 37 Times You Called My Name : Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

MIA POV The second I burst through the arena doors, I know I’ve made a terrible mistake. But it’s too late. My notebook is in Ryder Vaughn’s hands, and the entire Lakewood Wolves hockey team plus half the school is already watching.“Give it back, Ryder!” I scream, my voice echoing off the high ceilings like a desperate animal.The warm-up music dies. Skates scrape to a halt. Every head turns toward center ice where Ryder stands like a god among mortals—tall, broad, helmet off, dark hair messy and damp. That signature cocky grin stretches across his stupidly perfect face as he flips through my private notebook.“Oh my God, listen to this everyone!” he shouts, loud enough for the bleachers to hear. “Chapter one of Mia Thompson’s sad little porn diary: ‘I can’t stop thinking about Ryder’s hands on me. Rough. Possessive. Making me beg even though I’m still a—’”He pauses dramatically, eyes widening in fake shock.“Still a virgin!” he announces, drawing out the word like it’s the funnies

RYDER POV I slam the door of the empty locker room behind me, the sound bouncing off the tiles like a gunshot. My heart is still jackhammering from the hallway shitshow, adrenaline mixed with something sour that won’t settle.Mia’s face keeps flashing in my head—red, tear-streaked, eyes wide with pure hatred as she scrambled on the floor gathering those stupid pages. I went too far. Way too far. Again.But fuck, she makes it so easy to love her. The way she looks at me, all fire and fear, that virgin blush spreading down her neck… it twists something dark and addictive inside me. I can’t stop pushing. Can’t stop wanting to break her open just to see what spills out.I rip off my letterman jacket and throw it against the lockers. It doesn’t help. Nothing helps.“Shit,” I mutter, pacing like a caged animal.The private part starts the second I’m alone. No audience. No teammates to impress. Just me and the ugly truth.I pull out my phone and open the photos I secretly took while she wa

MIA POV I make it three blocks before the first sob rips out of me. The city blurs—honking taxis, rushing pedestrians, the indifferent gray sky pressing down like it knows what I just walked away from. My heels click too loudly on the pavement, each step echoing the word no I hurled at him like a weapon.I should feel victorious. I said it to his face. I looked Ryder Vaughn in the eyes—the man who once broke me so completely my family fled the state—and I chose dignity over desperation.Instead I feel hollow.My phone buzzes in my coat pocket. Mom. I answer immediately.“Hey, sweetie.” Her voice is thinner than yesterday. Frailer. “How did the interview go?”I swallow the lump in my throat. “I turned it down.”Silence. Then a soft, tired sigh that carves another piece out of me. “Mia… the offer was real?”“Triple my salary. Benefits. Everything.” My voice cracks. “But it was him , Mom. Ryder. I can’t. I just… I can’t.”Another pause. Longer this time. I hear the beep of

Mia POVI signed the contract with shaking hands at exactly 8:07 a.m.The ink was still wet when my phone buzzed with a hospital update: Mom had been fast-tracked into the trial. Overnight. “Miraculous approval,” the nurse called it. For one fragile second, relief crashed over me so hard I almost cried in Ryder’s sleek top-floor office.Then I looked up and saw his face.He stood behind his massive desk in that tailored black suit, blue eyes locked on me like I was prey he’d finally cornered. No smirk this time. Something darker. Hungrier. Guiltier.“Thank you,” I whispered, hating the words, hating how they tasted like surrender. “For my mom.”Ryder didn’t smile. He rounded the desk slowly, each step echoing like the skates on arena ice five years ago. “You don’t have to thank me, Mia. This was always going to happen.”The words sent ice down my spine. I stepped back until my thighs hit the edge of the leather chair. “What do you mean?”He stopped close enough that I could smell his

MIA POVI stepped into Ryder’s private suite at eight sharp, coffee in hand like the perfect assistant. The door clicked shut behind me and my stomach dropped. My desk sat right inside his office, ten feet from his. No walls. No privacy. Just glass windows overlooking the city and him watching me like I already belonged there.“What the hell is this?” I demanded.Ryder leaned against his desk, sleeves rolled up, looking too calm. “Close assistance means close. You’ll work where I can see you.”I involuntarily set the coffee down hard enough to splash on the million dollars contract files. “This wasn’t in the contract.”“Check the fine print.” His eyes darkened. “You signed. You stay.”The air felt too thick. I wanted to walk out. Instead I dropped into the chair and opened my laptop, fingers flying across keys to distract myself. He moved behind me, close enough that his cologne wrapped around me like chains.“We need to talk about the past,” he said quietly.I froze. “No.”He ignore