ANASTASIA’S POV

I swallowed hard and forced my lips into a smile. “Hey.” My voice came out softer than I expected as I slid into the seat across from him.

His eyes glimmered. Then, casually, he leaned back in his chair. “So tell me,” he said, his tone sounded playful yet serious, “do you have a boyfriend yet?"

“What?” I nearly choked, heat crawling up my throat.

Isaac’s mouth curved into the faintest smirk. “I bet you’re not a virgin anymore.”

For a heartbeat, I swore I saw his gaze darken as it drifted down lingering on my breasts, then dipping lower before snapping back to meet mine.

My breath caught, heat flooding my face.

My heart slammed against my ribs. What the fuck? Was I dreaming? Was this another one of my sick fantasies bleeding into reality?

“Well,” he continued casually, “because everyone keeps talking about how much of a good girl you are. I highly doubt that.”

I forced a smile, even as unease twisted through me. “What’s there to doubt?”

He leaned back, studying me like he was peeling me apart layer by layer. “That little facade you wear. The good girl kind. A bookworm. The type who spends her nights in her room with a blanket, reading, knitting, home early from work, asleep before midnight. Is that really all there is to you?”

I froze as I felt my throat tightening. A bookworm? Knitting? What was wrong with that? Still, the way he said it, like the words made me feel small.

“Tell me, Snow,” he pressed, voice dipping lower. “What kind of books do you read?”

My stomach dropped and panic fluttered in my chest. If he knew, if he even suspected. The facade I’d built so carefully for my parents would crumble to dust.

He couldn’t know that behind closed doors, I consumed more dark romance and filth than any good girl should.

The sound of the front door swinging open snapped the moment in half. I blinked, tearing my gaze away just in time to see my dad stride in. Relief flooded me so fast my knees almost buckled.

“There’s my big boy!” Dad’s voice boomed with warmth as he spotted Isaac.

I ducked my head, hiding the flush burning across my face as Isaac rose to greet him.

“I heard you guys are moving here next week,” Dad said, clapping his shoulder. “That’s great news. At least Anastasia can finally have an elder brother around.”

My heart stuttered. “You’re moving?” I blurted, my voice sharper than intended. Both of them turned to me. “How come nobody told me?”

“It’s just me,” Isaac replied smoothly. “Got a work arrangement.”

The words hit like a stone to the gut. He was going to be here. Close?

“Okay, dinner’s ready!” Mom’s voice chimed from the kitchen.

Dad gave Isaac another pat. “You’re doing good. It’ll be nice to have you around.” Then he walked away, leaving us alone.

Silence stretched for a beat before Isaac crossed the space between us. My pulse skittered.

“My friends and I have a party tomorrow night,” he said. “We’re going. Wear something nice. Something clubby. I bet you have one of those, Snowy.”

My mouth parted in disbelief. “What? I didn’t say I was going with you.”

But he didn’t wait for me. Without another word, Isaac turned and strolled toward the dining room, leaving me rooted to the spot flushed, rattled, and with his command still thrumming in my ears like a drumbeat I couldn’t silence. There was no way in hell I was following him to some club.

This was so shitty. My parents would never let me go clubbing, yet suddenly it was fine because it was with Isaac? The hypocrisy stung.

“Ana! Aren’t you done?” Mom’s voice rang out, and before I could answer, she appeared at my door.

I stiffened as her eyes swept over me from head to toe. She gasped softly, a hand lifting to her lips.

“Is she done?” Aunt Jane’s voice floated in as the door nudged wider.

I froze. But they froze harder.

For a moment, the three of us just stared at one another, silence thick enough to choke on. My palms grew damp as I darted my gaze between them, searching for a clue. Why weren’t they saying anything?

Then Aunt Jane broke first. Her smile was wistful, her tone touched with something almost nostalgic. “She looks just like you in high school.”

Mom’s lips curved, her eyes soft with pride. “More like you."

I steadied my breath as I made my way down the stairs, every step deliberate. The white dress clung to me like a whisper, sleeveless, with the neckline dipping just enough to frame my bust, the hem daringly high, hovering just over the curve of my back. Paired with my heeled boots, I felt taller, bolder, though my skin burned beneath the weight of my own nerves.

Halfway down, the kitchen door swung open. Dad stepped out with a dish towel in hand, humming to himself until his gaze landed on me.

He froze. Then his face flushed red. “Anastasia,” he gasped, his voice sharp with shock. “Change. Right now. That dress is far too short!”

My stomach dropped, guilt rising hot in my throat, but before I could even respond, a voice cut through the tension.

“She looks pretty.”

Isaac stood at the base of the stairs, arms folded loosely, that faint smile tugging at his lips as if he’d been waiting just for this moment. His green eyes flicked up, catching mine, and the way he looked at me made my knees wobble.

“Uncle,” Isaac continued smoothly, his tone confident, almost protective. “She’s gonna be with me all night. I assure you, she’s fine.”

The words curled in the air, heavy with double meaning only I seemed to hear.

Dad hesitated, jaw tight, but Isaac’s calm certainty seemed to disarm him.

Before the silence could stretch, Aunt Jane’s heels clicked against the floor as she appeared behind him. She glanced at me once, then at Isaac. “Isaac, drive safe!” she called with casual cheer, as if the matter were already settled.

My heart raced as Isaac motioned toward the door, that smile never leaving his face. And all I could think was what the hell had I just agreed to by walking down in this dress?

ANASTASIA’S POV

Club? More like a house party. I let out a long breath and scanned the room as bodies pressed together, laughter ricocheting off the walls, a sticky throng warmed by cheap perfume and spilled drinks. I still didn’t know why he’d dragged me here only to abandon me. Isaac was everywhere and nowhere at once, going around with other women and letting them lean into him the way moths cling to a porchlight. Bullshit.

Being here only made it worse. It hammered brutally that what I wanted was ridiculous. He wasn't looking at me. He was looking at them. God, I had been such a fool to let myself hope. To imagine a cousin could want me like that.

I rolled my eyes and lifted my drink like it might steady me. I’d tell myself to forget him, to maybe forget him, but forgetting didn’t come easy when every laugh and tilt of his head tugged at something raw inside me. Forgetting Isaac Hayes felt like trying to forget a song stuck behind my teeth. Impossible.

“Hey.” A hand settled behind my shoulder and I jerked, turning on the reflex.

“Hey.” My answer came too quick and my eyes slid over him, cataloguing the dark jacket and smile. I remembered. Isaac had introduced us when we arrived. Jake Colton. 

I laughed, the sound a small, surprised thing. “You’re Jake?”

He grinned. “Yeah. You remembered?”

“You were the only one he introduced me to.” I lifted an eyebrow.

He cocked his head. “Lonely?”

I inhaled, sharper than I meant to. “Not really. But I wouldn’t mind if you’d drink with me.” I tucked my glasses up the bridge of my nose like an anchor.

The room felt blurry at the edges, the drink pinning a warm haze to my skin. Conversation with Jake started easy, smooth like sliding along the surface of a slippery floor. I could feel a presence at the other end of the room, though. Those green eyes glued at me but they were not my problem, I told myself. He’d brought me here and left me to be ogled by women I would never match. They were in his league. I wasn’t, cause right now. He was hot cake. Pretty boys were always hectic. 

“So, Ana,” Jake said, nodding toward the back of the house. “Wanna join me?”

“The pool?” I blurted, half-laughing. “I— I have a fear of water. I don’t—”

“We’re not going to swim. Maybe we could catch up?” He smiled, and something in my throat loosened. 

I let my voice slide into a shade lower, more playful than I felt. The drink, maybe, but I was sure it wasn't Jake.

He reached for me, hand drifting close and then it stopped. An arm wrapped around his wrist. I glanced sideways. Isaac was there with his jaw tight and those fucked eyes narrowed.

“That’s enough,” he said, clipped.

“Come on, man. She still wants to hang,” Jake laughed, but my attention was fixed on Isaac. 

Isaac looked at me. “Do you?”

I opened my mouth to answer and he turned back to Jake. “She doesn’t. Leave. While I’m asking you nicely.”

Jake’s smile thinned. “She’s just your cousin. She can make her own decisions.”

“I’m fine. You don’t need to act like this,” I protested, but my voice wavered when his piercing gaze found mine.

He was eight years older than me. Believe me, those gazes were piercing and I shrank instantly.

“What's wrong with you, man? She's just your cousin, not your girl!” Jake snapped and almost immediately Isaac’s fist found his cheek. He punched him so brutally. Jake staggered back, a grimace breaking over his face.

“I said that’s enough!” Isaac growled.

The music paused, and the whole house was focused on us. This was so embarrassing. My head cleared in an instant. I reached for Isaac, my fingers finding his arm.

“Isaac!” I called. He spun on me. His eyes were hot and furious and then, before I could register it, he gripped my wrist and hauled me upstairs.

A door slammed. He swung it shut behind us and the world narrowed to a single room and his breath. “What the fuck, Ana?” he barked.

I blinked, so stunned and indignant. “I—what are you doing? You were the one who dragged me here! I should’ve been home. Why would you bring me to a party like this and then leave me alone while you...” My words tumbled out faster than I meant. “Let those girls touch you? Let them kiss you? And I can’t even...” The sentence broke on a breath I hadn’t planned to take.

He scoffed and his jaw went tight. “Good girl?” He sounded bitter, with a hint of dangerous amusement that flickered behind his eyes. “You can’t wait to be kissed? Wait to be fucked?” he snapped, and the words stung.

I frowned, feeling my face tighten. “What’s wrong with that? You had all those girls touching you. Why can’t I?”

“What?” He sounded incredulous.

“What were you expecting me to do?” The words tumbled out before I could stop them. “Sit here and watch you kiss or fuck those girls? I shouldn’t even be here. And now you act like I can’t breathe without your permission. What?”

Silence dropped like a thick curtain shielding light.

“So you wanted to make out with him because you were jealous of me? That’s pathetic.” He laughed and they sounded like a brittle thing. “What then? Did you want me to pick you instead? To fuck you instead of them?”

“Yes!” It escaped me before I even thought. My chest heaved. The room tilted. Heat and embarrassment rushed to my face.

Then his angry face softened but for a fraction of a second and then a smile that didn’t reach his eyes tugged at one side of his mouth. Like we both realised something even in the silence. It was silent, but it screamed. 

"You think I didn’t notice?" he murmured. "You put on that good girl act for your parents, for my mom. But not for me, Snow. Those looks they give you away. I can tell when you’re staring. I can tell what goes on in that mind of yours, even now."

Hearing him say it made something inside me both bloom and crack.

ANASTASIA’S POV

"You think I didn’t notice?" he murmured. "You put on that good girl act for your parents, for my mom. But not for me, Snow. Those looks they give you away. I can tell when you’re staring. I can tell what goes on in that mind of yours, even now."

Hearing him say it made something inside me both bloom and crack.

"Well, nobody is here, Snow. I'll ask again, are you a virgin? Or do you have some boy knocking you off?" 

My gaze tightened. "What if I do?" 

He frowned and released immediately, "then I won't be able to do this," he said and before I could think, his large hands clasped around my neck. I stumbled back, but his other hand caught my waist, tugging me back to him.

Shit.

I groaned against his lips crashing, and seizing my lips in brutal force. My eyes gaped wider as I felt his hands grab my butt squeezing it so tight while he kissed me so hard that I could barely breathe.

His grip on me was merciless, but the worst part was how my body didn’t resist. 

It leaned into him, traitorously hungry for more. My lips burned under his and my lungs starved for air and yet the ache in my chest was nothing compared to the heat pooling low in my stomach.

When his mouth finally tore away, I gasped, dragging air into my lungs as quickly as possible only for it to shatter again when his tongue flicked against my throat, hot. His hand stayed firm around my waist, pinning me, while the other slid lower, cupping me as if he already owned every secret part of me.

“Answer me,” he growled against my skin, his teeth grazing the hollow of my collarbone. “Because if no one’s had you… Snow,” his fingers pressed harder, “then I’ll be the first. And the last.”

I shuddered. The rush of shame and desire tangled until I couldn’t tell them apart.

His mouth claimed mine again until I couldn’t tell where his breath ended and mine began. My body felt like it wasn’t mine anymore, the way it responded, arching, trembling and craving every press of him.

In a blur, Isaac lifted me effortlessly and tossed me down onto the bed. The mattress dipped beneath my weight, but before I could catch my breath, he was looming over me while stripping his shirt away in one fluid motion.

My eyes betrayed me, raking down the lines of his chest. His lean muscle flexed with every movement until I froze at the ink etched by his left breast. A tiny shape like infinity. My throat tightened. I wanted to ask but his voice cut through the storm of my thoughts.

“Tell me one of those sick fantasies you’ve had about me, Snow.” His words were mocking but there was something else there too, like a dare.

Heat flared in my face, crawling down my neck. I opened my mouth, but the words tangled on my tongue. My heart slammed against my ribs so hard I thought he could hear it.

His lips curled into a smirk as he leaned closer, so close I could taste the heat of his breath. 

“Don’t act shy now. You think I don’t know?” His hand slid up my thigh making my pulse stutter. “Every time you looked at me… you were imagining this.”

“Yes,” I whispered, so faint I almost hoped he hadn’t heard it. But the gleam in his eyes told me he had.

“If you want to be a good girl,” he murmured, his lips brushing my ear, “then spread those legs for me.” His voice was low and I felt the words more than I heard them sliding down my spine, curling heat deep inside me.

My breath shuddered as I obeyed, parting slowly under him.

"You know, Ana. Good girls don't dream about fucking their cousin. They don't have these sick fantasies like you do." His lips trailed down my neck so warm making me shiver with every kiss lower, lower, until he hovered above my chest.

I could only watch him with my wide-eyed eyes and when his hand came up to cup my breast. His rough palm pressing through the thin barrier of fabric. With one sharp tug, he freed me and the cool air hit my bare skin at the same moment his eyes locked with mine.

The sight alone unraveled me.

He leaned in with his mouth parted. The hot pull of his lips around my nipple tore a moan from me. My head fell back, arching into him as pleasure shot through me. 

His tongue flicked and sucked with a rhythm that made my thighs tremble, while his other hand rolled and teased the other peak until I thought I’d lose my mind.

“Isaac—” the name broke from me on a gasp.

His mouth was relentless, sucking harder, then easing, only to circle my nipple with his tongue until my breath broke in stuttered gasps. 

My fingers tangled in his hair without thought, tugging, holding. So desperate for something I didn’t even have words for. But Gosh, I was doing it. My fingers were in his hair. My cousin's hair.

When he finally lifted his head, my chest rose and fell wildly, every nerve in me stretched taut. He didn’t look away, not once. His eyes pinned me, dark and burning, while his hand squeezed and kneaded until I whimpered from the raw ache between my legs.

“You like that, don’t you, Snow?” he murmured, his lips brushing the skin his mouth had left marked. “You like me ruining you like this.”

Heat shot through me along with shame and hunger twisting tight. I couldn’t speak or even deny him because I wanted more, so I only nodded with my cheeks flaming and my body betraying me with another arch into his touch.

His smirk curved before he captured my lips again, dragging me into another bruising kiss. 

His tongue swept mine fiercely while his hand stayed tangled in the fabric around my breast tugging and exposing more of me to him.

And I let him. God help me, I fucking let him. I let my damned beautiful cousin.

His mouth left mine only long enough to whisper against my ear, “Get naked.”

The words hit me like fire so blunt and so commanding, that my damned body reacted before my mind could. 

My fingers fumbled at the straps of my dress, pushing it down until cool air brushed against bare skin and I was left exposed beneath his gaze. My heart thudded so violently I thought it might break free.

Isaac’s eyes darkened as he looked at me like a predator savoring the sight. Then he moved lower, his weight shifting on the mattress until he was between my thighs. His hands parted my thighs slowly. The rush of heat there made me tremble, part fear because I shouldn’t be doing this and part an unbearable anticipation. Hell, I wanted it. I was aching for him already.

“Isaac,” I whispered, my voice shaking.

“Yes?” he answered without looking up, his eyes were fixed on the thin scrap of lace still covering me. Slowly, he hooked his fingers into the fabric and peeled it away.

I shivered as he kissed down one thigh and then the other. His lips scorched trails that made me ache everywhere. When his gaze finally lifted back to mine, his mouth curved into that infuriating smirk.

I tried to close my legs, shame and nerves knotting tight inside me, but he only chuckled so amused. “Don’t Snow.”

His hands were almost gentle, as he pushed my knees apart again bit by bit until I was open for him, trembling, wet, and aching so badly it hurt.

And the way he looked at me, so hungry and unrelenting made the shame burn hotter than the pleasure.