2

As I step out of our home, I flick my black hair over my shoulder before striding down the long pathway. It’s late, later than I’ve ever been out and I spot Rook leaning against his black matte Harley at the end, smoking, looking down at his phone. I pull my short, white dress further down my thighs, feeling nervous about this party, but I know if Rook’s there, I’ll be fine.

Approaching I notice his eyes flick upward to me before he double takes. His gaze narrows as he tucks his phone into his pocket, his chin tilting upward before he pushes himself away from the bike, which he names Darkness. When I’m close he shakes his head once, eyes raking down me.

“No. Fucking. Way. In. Hell.” He says each word comes through clenched teeth.

I roll my eyes, passing him, trying to ignore his stupid brotherly form of possessiveness.

“Fuck off, Rook.” I say, ready to get on the back of his bike, but his strong hand around my upper arm stops me, along with his glare.

“I mean it, Bunny.” He grits out before giving a head gesture toward the house, “Get your slutty ass back inside and put some pants on.”

I yank my arm free and place my hand on my hip. “Excuse me? Did you just call me slutty when you know…”

“Yes. Slut. Get the fuck back inside.”

I feel my blood boil and I narrow my eyes. “Say that again, I fucking dare you.”

He brings his face close to mine. “Slut.” He bites and I raise my hand, ready to smack his smug face, but he catches it before pinning it behind my back, pulling me close.

“Don’t fuck with me, Bunny.”

“What is wrong with you, fucking psycho!” I yell, struggling in his grasp until he suddenly lets me go.

I stumble back in my heels, fixing myself and when I lift my head, swiping my hair away from my face, I narrow my eyes, pointing my finger.

“You’re not my father, Rook. You can’t…”

“No, I’m not. I’m worse. I’m your big fucking brother,” he cuts me off.

“And it’s getting weird.” I retort which makes him raise an eyebrow before I continue. “I’m a woman… I’m…”

“You’re dressed like a hooker and you’re not one,” he throws back calmly, flicking his cigarette away and I pause, just staring at him until he closes the gap between us.

“I don’t want other guys looking at my little sister like she’s some easy piece of meat they can touch. I don’t want to have to kill my fucking friends, Eb,” he says when he stops right in front of me.

I gaze up at him, getting annoyed with this shit every single time.

“Taylor’s brother isn’t like this with her.”

“Taylor’s fucking brother ain’t me.”

“I figured. You almost sound jealous of the possibility of guys…” I trail off, glancing away but he fingers curl around my chin, tilting my head to look up at him.

He brushes through my hair gently, sweeping it away from my face.

“I do it because I love you, Bunny, that’s all,” he murmurs, his gaze flickering from my lips to eyes and I feel something flip in my stomach.

It’s not unusual for Rook to say that. He’s been saying it for years now as siblings, but he’s never said it like that—in a way that shoots straight through my soul, while staring at my lips like he wants to…. Fucking kiss me.

He suddenly wraps his arm around the bottom of my back, lifting me effortlessly and before I know it, I’m being dumped on his bike. My heart rate skyrockets as his warm, tatted hands rest on my hips a little too long. We hold eye contact as he gives them a small squeeze then lets me go, a small devilish smirk twitching on his lips.

I just stare at him, confused, until he suddenly grabs the hem of my dress, lifts it and dips down before I can even process what he’s doing.

“You better have panties on,” he sneers.

I squeal, slamming my thighs together before my leg shoots out, aiming for his balls. But he’s too quick and his legs clamp around it, stopping me before his hand shoots up, clutching around my throat. My head snaps back and he hisses aggressively against my lips to warn me.

His fingers dig into my cheeks, pinching tightly and I breath heavily through my nose, my heart thumbing loudly in my ears.

“Red,” he grits through tight teeth. “Red silky fucking panties. What is happening to my little Bunny?”

“You like looking at your sisters fucking pussy suddenly?” I shoot back through shallow breaths and squished cheeks.

He snickers, his eyes moving from my lips and eyes repeatedly.

“You shouldn’t be doing that,” I warn, and he rolls his eyes before refocusing on my gaze.

“I shouldn’t be doing this either…” he suddenly leans in to kiss me, but before our lips can collide, we hear the front door of the house open.

Rook releases me in an instant and closes his eyes as he takes a calm step back, allowing me to breathe. As I tilt my head forward, I stare at him with wide eyes, wondering what the fuck is going on with him.

“Don’t have her out too long, Rook!” Cindy shouts from the threshold, but we’re too locked in eye contact, and I struggle to get air into my lungs.

“Yeah, yeah.” He answers, his voice as cold as the way he stares at me.

“Happy New Year, you two!” she calls out again before the door slams shut behind her.

“What the fuck was that?” I ask him, but he breaks eye contact, his jaw tense.

Then after a moment, he chuckles and shakes his head. His brows raise as his wipes his hand over his mouth.

“It was just a joke… I’m fucking high,” he responds with an unbothered shrug, dropping his hand before dragging his leather jacket down his ripped, tattooed arms, leaving himself in only a tight black tank.

“A joke,” I whisper blankly, more to myself.

He takes another step forward, wrapping it over my shoulders and I thread my arms through, the heavy fabric completely drowning my small body. He lifts his helmet and shoves it down on my head before grabbing the front roughly, tilting my head up to look at him.

“If I murder anyone tonight, it’s your fucking fault, sis,” he warns.

I sigh as I turn my body, and he gets on in front of me. I wrap my arms around his waist, like I always do, but this time everything feels different. Like we’ve changed. Somethings changed. I can feel deep in my gut, and it scares me. Rook revs the engine before pulling away from the drive.

After that night, everything changed between us. Subtly at first, like the smallest crack in a dam, but it didn’t stay small for long. He made his move—unexpected, bold, and impossible to ignore. And from there, it was a long, torturous game filled with countless of other moves, each one more calculated and harder to fend off.

I resisted. I fought him, fought my fucking self, fought the growing ache that seemed to seep into every secret glance, every accidental touch, every filthy whispered word. But resisting him was like standing on a path destined to fail.

Everything spiraled out of control from then on. The lines that outlined our relationship—lines we’d both taken for granted—blurred, then disappeared entirely. He stopped pretending to care about the rules, about what was right, and I… I struggled to hold on to what little sense of control I had left. But it wasn’t enough. I wanted my brother. I wanted him so fucking badly.

Our relationship took dangerous, forbidden turns, the kind that left me lying awake at night, wrestling with guilt and desire. I tried to shove the pieces of us back into something that resembled normalcy and our family, but Rook didn’t back down. He never did. He pushed harder and firm, breaking me down bit by bit.

Until that Christmas one year later, when everything I’d tried so desperately to hold together finally unraveled.