I DARE YOU

PROLOGUE “Is she f*****g wearing red?” The whispers hit me the second I stepped through the doors. Every head turned. Conversations died mid-sentence. Phones lowered. Someone near the punch table actually dropped their cup and liquid spilled across the floor. They were all staring at me like I’d walked in with two heads instead of one. My dress was simple. Short. Red. Nothing fancy. But apparently red was enough to stop an entire party cold. My eyes found him across the room before I even finished scanning the crowd. Ryder Rowan. He was already moving. He stood up from the couch so fast the girl next to him nearly spilled her drink. There was no smile on his face…just pure, dark anger as he cut straight through the crowd toward me. People scrambled out of his way. No one tried to stop him. No one even spoke. He reached me in seconds. “What the f**k are you doing here?” His hand locked around my arm and he pulled hard, dragging me toward the side of the room before I could answer. The grip was tight enough to bruise. Jennifer’s voice slammed into my head like a warning siren. ‘Don’t go, Isla. Please. We don’t belong in their world. You’re walking straight into your own death.’ She had begged me. Cried. Told me the rules existed for a reason and that some things at Blackridge were better left buried. I hadn’t listened. I never did when it came to my sister. I wanted to know what the hell this school was hiding. Why we were forbidden from wearing red on certain nights—nights just like tonight. I wanted to know what breaking that rule would cost. And more than anything, I wanted to know what happened to my sister inside these walls that turned her into someone who jumped at shadows and refused to speak to anyone. Ryder shoved me into a corner away from the main lights. The music still pounded, but it felt distant now. His body blocked most of the view of the room. Up close his eyes were darker than I remembered. Fury rolled off him in waves. “Why are you here?” he demanded. I yanked my arm free. “I’m a student at this university. Shouldn’t I be here?” “You don’t know what you’re doing, Isla.” His voice was low and rough. “Are you trying to get yourself killed?” “It’s just a dress,” I shot back. “What could be so serious?” “Leave. Now.” The urgency in his tone made my stomach twist. This wasn’t the arrogant hockey captain who ignored everyone. I lifted my chin. “I’m not going anywhere. You don’t get to tell me what to do.” Something dangerous flashed in his eyes. “You’re going to change that dress right now.” He grabbed my wrist again and started pulling me toward a hallway at the back of the room. People watched but no one interfered. It was like they knew better. I dug my heels in. “If you don’t tell me what the whole red dress thing is about, I’m not taking it off.” “You’re f*****g going to take it off even if I have to tear it off you.” His grip tightened until pain shot up my arm. I tried to twist free. It was useless. He was stronger and he wasn’t letting go. He kept dragging me deeper into the darker hallway, away from the music and the staring eyes. I spoke fast, breath coming harder. “There’s something you’re all hiding, isn’t there? It’s not only about this dress. The stupid rule about turning off every light in the school once it’s midnight. The rule about not making a sound at night. Not looking out your windows. The East Library we’re never supposed to enter. You know all about it, don’t you? Why we’re warned never to go into the forest. Tell me what this is all about. What secret is everyone hiding?” He stopped so abruptly I almost crashed into him. Then he slammed me back against the wall. My spine hit hard. His hands pinned my wrists above my head in one rough motion. His face was inches from mine. I could feel the heat coming off him. Smell the faint scent of cologne and something darker underneath. “You just won’t listen, will you?” he spat. “You just won’t shut your mouth and stop sticking your nose in something that doesn’t concern you.” Hatred burned hotter in my chest. This was the same guy who had destroyed my sister’s life and then walked around campus like a god. The same guy she still woke up screaming about. “If there’s nothing to hide,” I said through gritted teeth, “why all the stupid rules?” His fingers left my wrists and gripped my chin instead, forcing me to look straight at him. The pressure was almost painful. “Stop digging for answers, Isla. You’re going to f*****g get yourself in trouble.” “Then tell me,” I pushed. “Tell me why the hell there are so many rules!” Ryder’s jaw clenched so hard I heard his teeth grind. For a second I thought he might actually answer. His mouth opened. “That’s because…that’s because—” Then his lips crashed against mine. The kiss was hot and bruising and nothing like I expected. It wasn’t soft. It wasn’t careful. It was angry and desperate and completely overwhelming. His mouth claimed mine like he was trying to shut me up the only way left. One hand stayed locked on my jaw while the other pressed against the wall beside my head, caging me in. I froze. My mind went blank. My body locked up. Every thought I’d been holding vanished under the sheer force of his mouth on mine. Ryder Rowan, the hockey captain I hated more than anything in this world, was kissing me. He was f*****g kissing me.