Page 1 of Burn it Down

PROLOGUE

LAKYNN

SIX MONTHS AGO — AGES EIGHTEEN AND TWENTY

CASTLEBROOK FALLS

The late afternoon sun barely cuts through the chill of the morning. It’s the kind of cold that clings to your sweater sleeves and makes your nose sting. Still, I don’t go inside. I like it out here too much. The quiet mostly, but the clean air, and the way the dogwood tree bows just enough to make it feel like the world is tilting in my favor doesn’t hurt either.

I’ve got a book in my lap, open but unread. The story takes place in Ireland, the country I want to visit most in the world. I don’t really have a travel bucket list, just one destination. Maybe someday, and that’s all I can hope for. My fingers are stiff from the cold, but I keep them pressed to the pages anyway, as if pretending to read will make my thoughts behave. It doesn’t work, it never does.

I hear the slam of the barn door before I see him.

My heart jumps, but it’s not because I’m startled. Riven Kozlov. My not-quite-brother. My only real friend. My unrequited secret.

We were both adopted by Dimitri and Karina Kozlov in our early teens. They have one biological son named Lucas and he’s the same age as Riven, but they couldn't be any different from one another. Riven came to live with the Kozlovs before me. People say he was quiet, broody, with a haunted kind of silence that keeps everyone else at a distance. Everyone but me. I came to live here a few months later, and from what I’m told, the moment I stepped into the Kozlovs' home, he softened. It was subtle, but they noticed. It was the quiet way he started hovering nearby me. Sitting beside me at dinner. Walking protectively close even when we were in a group. I once heard someone say, “That boy breathes a little easier when she’s in the room.”

He never said much. He still doesn't. But Riven doesn't need words when his presence says everything. And lately, it's been saying a little too much, giving me hope for something that can never be.

Just a few nights ago, our Dimitri found us on the porch swing. I had my head in Riven’s lap, his hand absently stroking my hair, the blanket wrapped around both of us. We weren’t doing anything wrong, but it didn’t matter. Nearly as soon as he stepped inside the house, Karina came barreling outside to get a look at us. She reminded us, again, that we were meant to be siblings. That what we have isn’t normal. She made sure to reiterate that we’re family.

But we don’t feel like siblings, and living here with these people has never felt like a family.

Riven’s boots crunch through the frosted grass, and I don’t need to look up. Lately, I can’t control the blush that heats my neck and face when his eyes sweep over me. His walk is slowand steady, like he owns whatever ground he touches. The scent of sweet hay and rusted metal hits before he even reaches me. He must have seen me while he was feeding the horses, which is the real reason I’ve been sitting out here, freezing my butt off. Things are awkward all the way around, but I crave being near him. I want his attention no matter the reason he’s giving it to me.

"You’re gonna freeze out here, Lake," he calls, voice rough like he hasn’t spoken yet this morning. Knowing him and the way he hates small talk, he probably hasn’t. I like that he breaks his habits for me, because he doesn’t do that for anyone else.

I finally glance up as he rounds the fence. The navy blue work coat he’s wearing is unzipped and his hands are a rosy color from the cold. No gloves and an open coat negates his entitlement to comment on my state of dress. I won’t say that out loud because it makes me feel good when he worries about me in any capacity. His light brown hair is damp, which tells me he overslept and rushed out of the shower to take care of the morning feed. A few strands fall across his forehead and when he pushes them back absently, my throat tightens. I want to do that for him. I want to be able to touch him whenever I want.

"It’s not that bad," I say, my voice lighter than I feel.

He doesn’t answer, instead he glances around like he’s surveying the entire property. Only when he’s satisfied does he walk straight to me and drop down onto my blanket like he’s done it a hundred times before.

Because he has.

His body heat immediately cuts through the chill, his thigh brushing mine as he stretches out beside me. I try not to react, but it’s impossible. He’s too big, too warm, too close.

My skin tingles the second he touches me. It's always been like that. There’s this electric pull between the two of us that ignites every nerve ending in my body. Even now, sitting inchesapart, my nipples tighten against the inside of my bra, and heat pools low in my belly. My thighs clench, desperate and aching only for him. There’s plenty of men in Castlebrook Falls, but my body only reacts this way when he’s close to me.

He leans back on his elbows, breath fogging in the air. "You pretending to read again?"

I nudge him with my shoulder and roll my eyes petulantly. "You pretending not to be nosy again?" He knows I’m here for him, but that doesn’t mean I have to say the words and make him any prouder of himself than he already is.

His smirk is lazy, familiar, and meant just for me when he says, "You’re shivering. Come here."

It’s not a request.

He shifts, one arm opening like an invitation. And I hesitate. Just for a second. But it’s enough.

His brows pull together. "Lakynn."

That’s all it takes because I’m moving toward him as if he’s got some kind of magnetic pull.

I curl into his side, my cheek finding the space between his shoulder and chest. His arm slides around me, anchoring me like he always does. It’s probably wishful thinking, but it feels like he needs to hold me this way. Like he can’t help himself.

He groans as he hugs me, and it’s a soft, involuntary sound almost as if he's finally found relief. I like to think that touching me quiets something inside him.

His hand settles on my hip. The gesture feels heavy, possessive, like I belong to him. There’s a protectiveness in the way his fingers curl and press against me.

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