Red Ribbon

Chapter One

"Shit!" I exclaim, swiping my books off the marble counter as the wild, new puppy of my best friend scurried on by. I huffed, this is a kitchen, not a doggy daycare.

"Sorry, Cosette!" Melrose cringed, finally catching the rogue German Shepherd pup, "He is such a good boy, I promise! Just not when new people are around, he gets a little too excited," She shrugs as the dog violently squirms against her hold. Melrose gritted her teeth in newfound annoyance while I chuckled.

"No, no, it's fine. It's not like I have anything to do or anything. Like maybe study for our exam?" I chirp, gesturing to my books, "Honestly, I get it. Like, who needs Statistics for a fashion design major?

The dog finally won the tousle, breaking free of Melrose's grip before proceeding to prance around the expansive kitchen. My heart pounded as I watched the little nuisance zigzag around the velvet chairs, newly installed appliances, Indian cotton towelettes, and real silverware. I cleared my throat as the puppy lost his footing before sliding on his side into a cabinet filled with expensive, delicate china.

"Mel, should we put Bentley somewhere where he's... I don't know..." I stretched the last word, humor lacing my tone, "Not going to cost your family thousands of dollars in repairs?"

She took out her phone, fixing her bangs while fluttering her lashes, "It's fine, trust. Daddy hasn't even been here in like four months he wouldn't even notice a few broken plates," She fixes her lip gloss as she speaks.

I quietly giggle before returning my gaze to my Stats book, "One day, I'm going to abduct you and steal your family fortune," I remark, and a wholly laugh bursts from the girl beside me. I twist to see her pointed smirk.

"You're so cute, Cosi. I'd love to see you try," She stretches her arms before snatching up the sniffing puppy at her feet, the poor thing yelping in shock. "I'm going to take Bentley outside real' quick, can you answer the door if anyone knocks? My brother is in town for some uh—family business," She explains.

"Yes, I got it!" I snap my head in her direction, seeing her clip a matching leash to Bentley's studded, leather collar, "That's it, I've made a new plan! I'll just marry your brother and take your family's fortune!" I joke, hearing her humorous snort from the next room over.

My heart stopped, however, as a deep and raspy, "Hmm," sounded from the hallway to the entrance hall, "Do I possibly get a say in my upcoming nuptials?" My attention snapped to the doorway, specifically the tall, bruting man leaning against the wall. He looked the same yet so different.

Same wavy black hair, same tan skin, same blue eyes, but he was different in other ways. He was big. His shoulders were probably double the size of my head while his arms had noticeable muscle roping down his forearms and were covered in lacy tattoos. His thighs matched in muscular strength.

I bet he could crush my head like a watermelon with those bad boys. Why is my mouth watering?

He cleared his throat, and I quickly returned my gaze to his eyes. My cheeks heated as I realized my head was positioned to where he assumed I was checking out the size of... him. Which I was, but he doesn't need to know that.

"If you're done with your gawking, I'm looking for my maddening juvenile of a sister." Fire builds in my chest at his crude tone, well that certainly has changed as well.

"Why don't you go find her yourself, Kallias?" I ask and he merely raises a brow.

He stalks toward me at an uncomfortably gradual pace. I tried focusing back on my textbook until his rich cologne met my nose, causing me to peek my eyes at his white-button up clad torso. His abs shadowed through the fabric, and I gulped.