Page 37 of Yours

The first time I laid eyes on her, she’d been crawling around on the top bunk in Leena’s dorm room, wearing a pair of shorts that were just a little too short, her legs bare and golden in the late afternoon light. She’d been making her bed, cursing under her breath as she fought with the fitted sheet, and I’d walked in without knocking, expecting Leena to be alone.

She’d frozen the moment she noticed me, her wide green eyes locking onto mine. For a second, neither of us spoke. She’d just looked over her shoulder at me as she perched on that bunk, her red hair messy, her cheeks flushed, her hands gripping thewrinkled sheet and her ass cheeks peeking out from beneath her shorts. She stared at me like she was daring me to say something about it.

And in that moment, I’d decided.

One day, I was going to have her.

It wasn’t just the way she looked—though that had certainly caught my attention. It was the spark in her eyes, the fire in the way she didn’t back down even as she climbed down from the bunk, her chin lifting as she asked:

“Do you always just walk into rooms uninvited, or is this a special occasion?”

I’d smiled then, slow and deliberate, and her cheeks had flushed a deeper shade of pink.

“Depends,” I’d said, leaning against the doorframe. “Is it always this interesting when I do?”

She’d rolled her eyes, muttered something about me being an ass, and turned back to her bed. But I’d seen the way her hands shook slightly as she tucked the sheet into place, the way her jaw tightened when she realized I wasn’t leaving.

That had been a few years ago, back when Leena and Kiera were just freshmen at Columbia. I’d barely known her then, but I’d known enough.

And now, years later, with her standing next to me in this elevator, her fingers brushing my arm, I wasn’t going to let her go.

She wasn’t just my little sister’s best friend anymore.

She wasmine.

The elevator slowed to a stop, and the doors slid open to the quiet expanse of the private garage. My car was waiting where I’d left it, sleek and black against the polished concrete, and I felt Kiera’s hesitation as I stepped forward, her hand still holding my arm.

“This isn’t over,” she muttered, her voice low, but edged with the same defiance I’d seen in her eyes all those years ago.

“No,” I said simply, my lips curving into a faint smirk. “It’s not.”

Because I wasn’t done with her.

Not by a long shot.

CHAPTER 13

Ronan

Kiera hesitated just outside the car, her hand resting on the doorframe as if she were debating whether or not to get in. Her hair fell in loose waves over her shoulders, the deep green of her gown catching the dim light of the garage.

She looked like she belonged in a ballroom, not in the shadowy underbelly of my world.

I stepped closer, my hand brushing hers as I guided her into the passenger seat. She didn’t protest, though her narrowed eyes told me she wanted to. Instead, she settled into the leather seat, her posture stiff and guarded, like she was ready to bolt at the first sign of danger.

I closed the door behind her, rounding the car and sliding into the driver’s seat. The quiet hum of the engine filled the air as I shifted into gear, the vehicle gliding smoothly out of the garage and onto the quiet streets of the city.

For the first few minutes, neither of us spoke. Kiera stared out the window, her arms crossed tightly over her chest, her jaw set. But I could feel her glancing at me out of the corner of her eye, her curiosity burning as brightly as her defiance.

“Where are we really going?” she asked finally, breaking the silence.

“Dinner,” I said, my eyes on the road.

Her brows furrowed, and she turned to face me fully. “Dinner?”

“Yes, Kiera. Dinner. You need to eat.”

She scoffed, leaning back against the seat. “I thought you’d be too busy planning my next punishment to bother with dinner.”

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