Hothouse Flower (Calloway Sisters #2)

by Krista Ritchie

We’ve crossed one boundary, and I know we’re both the type of people to never slow down, to run around the bases at high speed. I want that with him. To freakin’ make a home run like we’re track stars on a baseball field.

“If anything, I’m…” I can’t even say it. “Wet?” He takes his hand off my ass and slips it down the front of my shorts. Holy shit. His fingers don’t go beneath my panties. He cups my heat, his eyes never leaving mine. “You’re not nearly soaked enough for me, sweetheart.”

OMG

“Why stop?” I frown. “Is it because we’re in a stairwell?” His hard gaze soaks in all of me. “Calloway, I’d fuck you in every corner of every hallway and then do it over again for good measure.” My jaw unhinges. “And I’d be more likely to fuck you in a stairwell than on a bed.” “Why?” He combs his fingers through my hair and holds the back of my head. “It’s more fucking fun.”

AHH

“Would you be upset if I dated the model from the other night again?” His reaction says it all. He sets me on my feet with firm hands, and he clenches the railing on either side of me. Anger laces his dark eyes. “Do you want to date the other model?” His words sound stilted like he tried pretty hard not to swear. “Wow, you managed to say that without cursing.” “You’re killing me.” I poke his chest with my finger. “You crushed my heart when you told me to go sleep with another guy.” “I didn’t fucking—” He growls in frustration and runs his hand through his hair. I love, love when he does that, even when he’s upset. It lights my core on fire. “I never wanted you to screw someone else! For fuck’s sake, it broke my heart telling you to even pursue another guy.” He glances at his jacket pocket and groans with more irritation. He takes out his vibrating phone and ignores the call, putting it back. “Look at me,” he says. My eyes meet his. He cages me back against the railing. “I can’t watch you flirt with another fucking guy.” I shouldn’t bring it up again, but I do. “I watched you go down on another girl.” Pain wells inside me again, my stomach tightening at the image. “You kissed her knee. You looked at her like she was beautiful—” He covers my mouth with his large hand. “Fucking stop.” He breathes heavily, a guy that runs marathons, a guy that scales mountains in minutes. “I never slept with her, but I can’t take back what you saw. I wish to God I fucking could.” He never slep...

I'M OBSESSED WITH THEM

I think I can wait that long. If we tell everyone now, I see my mom tearing him away from me. I see too many headaches and more heartbreaks. I just want something good. Something right without anything abysmal attached.

I do like surprises. But this one will be bad no matter what. Being alone with Ryke sounded like a hot, steamy vacation. Add in one of my sisters or his brother, and it turns awkward and uncomfortable…but definitely more dangerous. Danger. That is alluring. And it’s what partially drew us together in the first place. I realize, right now, that this is the beginning of something new.

I point to Daisy beside me, a normal amount of distance between us even though I’d rather be back in the stairwell, with her wrapped in my arms.

a bright, overwhelmingly beautiful smile.

i wish my smiles would get described like this irl

She’s really fucking pale, her body frailer, and all I want to do is hold her and tuck her into bed. I wear my concern outwardly, and I don’t give a shit if someone hounds me for it. I’m fucking concerned, and I’m going to stay that way.

“God, I’m so glad she didn’t come.” Connor’s eyebrow arches. “I’m starting to be thankful too. Truthfully, I’m not in the mood to handle two five-year-olds.” He pauses. “And in case you didn’t catch that, I was referring to her and you.” Lo laughs, not taking the insult to heart. See—that shit is fucking annoying. If I said that to Lo, he’d give me the cold shoulder. But for Connor, he can say whatever he wants in this mellow, chill way and get any reprieve from my brother. It irritates me so much that I turn to Daisy and hold out my hand.

OH, not ryke being the most jealous man alive

“You’re younger than Rose by seven years, and while I don’t take that much stock in ages, she still feels weak if you console her. In Rose’s mind, that’s her job.” “But you can console her?” Daisy asks. “I’m her husband, her equal.” I can sense Daisy reading into that last word. Her shoulders fall at the idea of not being equal to her sister, at being less somehow. “Hey,” I nod to Daisy and shake my head at her. “Don’t overanalyze what he’s fucking saying.”

he knows her so well

Even though Connor is being honest—that Daisy isn’t the sister Rose would turn to for anything—it still hurts her. She tucks her hair behind her ear again and then disappears into the bathroom. Connor notices her quick exit. I take a step towards him and lower my voice. “I swear to fucking God, you need to work on your tact around Daisy.” “First off, don’t swear to God around me. He’s not listening when I’m in the room. And secondly, I thought she could handle it. I’m misreading a lot of things today. I admit that.” He clenches his teeth, something he rarely does. “If you need to go home, go home,” I tell Connor.

i love when he gets protective

I know we just had our first kiss, but I want to do so many things to her, with her. One of the reasons why I’m glad we’re not telling anyone—it forces us to go slow. I would have fucked her in the stairwell if Connor and Lo weren’t here right now. And then I’d fuck her again on the bed. But this heightens everything. Drawing it out will make our first time even better. And I want it to be so fucking amazing. I glance from her breasts to her eyes. She registers the signal and crosses her arms over her chest, her face heating already. “This almost never happens to me,” she says under her breath. “Stop imagining me fucking you,” I breathe, “and maybe it won’t.” I brush a flyaway hair out of her face. She smiles like I guessed her thoughts correctly. “That doesn’t sound fun.”

OMG

Lo won’t stick up for me where Connor is concerned. If someone else said that to me, maybe. But I’m just supposed to take Connor’s shit because he’s Connor.

now it makes sense why ryke doesn't really like connor, he's jealous of connor and lo's friendship

But I also imagine her with another guy. And that stops me from thinking this is so wrong. Turn back now, Ryke. I won’t ever turn back. This is it for me. I want to make this fucking work as best I can. Her mouth falls, a heavy breath escaping. And then she smiles so fucking bright. I take my hand off her as soon as I sense my brother returning to the room. Daisy is so flushed that she turns into her pillow to collect herself. I love watching her feel those sensations—especially after hearing how much she’s been denied them. I want to put her in a state of euphoria more than anything.

She’s a woman who can’t let go of a fucking grudge.

real

“Don’t break my phone, please,” Connor says in a controlled voice. “That’s my lifeline to my wife.”

“I need to talk to you,” he says quietly. He looks angry. His deep blue eyes pierce me in accusation, and his fingers are digging into my skin. He rarely shows this kind of emotion—and he’s letting me see it on purpose. He knows. He knows I’ve been keeping her problems a secret, and he probably gathered that they stemmed from a traumatic event. I don’t want to talk about her issues with him. “Maybe later,” I say, stepping out of his hold. “Ryke, this is serious.” “You don’t think I fucking know that?”

i love how much they care

“Not according to the smartest guy in the goddamn room.” “The world,” Connor corrects him, hiding his anger from my brother. “Being smarter than the three of you really isn’t that big of an achievement.” He pauses. “No offense.” “I’m fucking offended,” I retort. “Oh, sorry,” he says flatly. “I don’t really care about your feelings.”

LMAO

I watch her foot cramp and her calf muscle spasm, and she brings her leg to her chest and massages it herself with a wince. Normally that’d be me. But I stand at the edge of the bed, close to coming clean about everything right here. I just want to hold her. Even if I told my brother the truth, I can see Lo kicking me out of the room, tossing my bag in my face, telling me to get on a plane. Like he said before, he let me into his life, and it seems like I went after his girlfriend’s little sister like a predator. That was never my fucking intention. Sure, I want to fuck her. But it’s more than that. It’s always been more than that. I stay quiet and rub my jaw, so much taken out of me tonight. If I do right by her, I do wrong by him. I wonder if the only way to move forward is to unearth my past with my brother. I don’t know if I’m ready for that shit storm. I just want to forget with him—but I wonder who’s been the stronger brother all this time.

“Can you tell me about it?” he asks, his hands warm on my jaw. I hold his wrist to keep him here, not wanting him to break away from me just yet. “You know what happened,” I whisper. “You were there.” I’ve repeated it to my therapist before, and it still feels the same. It still feels like the past, but why does it constantly creep up to scare me? I want to let it go. I’ve tried to let it go, but it won’t let go of me. “Just two sentences, Dais.” As I remember the event, cold washes over me, and I shiver. He draws me closer to his body.

“Oh yeah,” I continue with a weak smile, “after that, you used to watch movies with me every night.” He rolls his eyes. But he knows that one night he spent with me turned into a week and then a month. And we never really looked back. Every night, the television would play in the background, and I’d drift off. When I woke up, a blanket would be tucked around me and Ryke would be gone.

She let me live on my own, and in doing so, I was able to live close to Ryke. I could have stayed with Rose, but she was already so worried about Lily and Lo’s addictions. I knew if I lived with her, she’d be consumed by my problems too. And I wanted her to live her own life. I didn’t want to be the center of attention or cause anyone more grief. Pulling Ryke into my mess was enough of a burden. I couldn’t imagine doing that to more people I love. Ryke runs his thumb beneath my eye. “Those ten months when you moved back home—they drove me fucking insane.” “Why?” “It was ten months I couldn’t placate your anxiety, I couldn’t shield you from anything that came through your doors. I wasn’t a hallway away, not a floor, not a room. I was a half an hour from you, Dais.” He pauses. “And we both fucking know it was those ten months that changed you.”

omg

I eye Ryke’s bruise again and my stomach flips. I slide the gold ring off my finger and put it in his hand. “Here. You can have this back.” I’ve already apologized for hitting him. And he did what he always does when I say I’m sorry for things I can’t control. He glared. Ryke appraises the ring, and his features darken. “I gave this to you. I don’t want it back.” He grabs my hand, and instead of just handing it to me, he slides it slowly on my finger. We’re about to be alone together for the first time since the stairwell. If the elevator would ever get here, that is. “You didn’t give it to me,” I rebut. “I won it in a poker game.” “Same fucking thing.” I wear the ring a lot. I had it resized to fit my thumb, and the jeweler told me that the design on the front was an Irish coat of arms. A family crest. I never brought it up, but now that we’re together, I kind of want to.

aw

“Truth,” he says, “I don’t want you to take off the ring. I’ve fucking loved that you wear something of mine.” I smile. Loved. I wonder for how long.

AW

He leans forward to press the button, but instead of hitting my floor, he taps the 28. “Are we going for a ride?” I ask him, my lips pulling higher. “You are.” The doors shut, and he turns on me with this masculine power that draws me towards him in curiosity and need. He’s my wolf. And instead of biting me, he kisses my lips passionately, our bodies igniting as soon as they connect.

OMFG

I’m usually told to give hand jobs and go down on guys. I love that I now have choices, able to do whatever my mind wants.

i love how comfortable and free she feels with him

Our lips find each other, as though they can’t be apart for long.

Ryke comes back to my side. “So you like my hair?” he asks with raised brows. I stand on the tips of my toes and run my fingers through it, knowing he’ll let me now. But even so, the tension winds between us, causing my body to curve towards him like a magnetic pull. We really need to find more time together. “It’s soft, and I love that it’s long enough for me to grab.”

“Shouldn’t your first fucking question be: what were those girls saying?” I shake my head. He glared at the girls after we started talking in English, so I figured they must have been eavesdropping and whispering about us. “You accused them of listening to our conversation, didn’t you? And then she said something snarky back.” I smile wide and wag my brows. “Am I right?” He tilts my chin up. “When did you get so fucking smart?”

they know each other so well

“Does Lo know?” I ask. He frowns. “About what?” “Russian, French, all of that.” He shakes his head. “No. It doesn’t matter.” “But…it makes you, you,” I say. “It’s a part of who you are, isn’t it?” His jaw hardens. “It’s not a part I like to fucking remember, Daisy.” Being controlled by his mom, he means. I think he chooses to forget so much from his childhood that it’s made him into some shadowy figure that’s just as tormented as his brother. I stand on the tips of my toes and kiss his cheek. “Thanks for telling me the truth.” The elevator doors open, and I head out of them. He catches my hand, intertwining his fingers with mine as we enter the hallway. It was a quick, impulsive gesture, one that has my heart on fire.

i love how open and honest they are with each other

Lo texted me earlier that Connor bought out Hermes for Rose, having to ship most of the items back to his house.

i need connor so badly

“Go England!” a drunk guy shouts with an English accent, pumping his fucking fist into the air. That fist also has a beer in it. His friends chant a victory song, even though they lost to their South American rivals.

a very normal british thing

I turn my head and find a leering guy who edges too close to her. No camera in his hand, but he’s touching her fucking hair. And a scissors sticks out of his pocket. I immediately push back his fucking arm, giving him a warning glare. I’ve been to court three times for smashing cameras. I even punched a “pedestrian” and was charged with assault. Even if that fucking pedestrian was peering into Daisy’s apartment window with binoculars. I couldn’t prove it. He said he was bird watching. And he was on the street, public property. Such bullshit. He throws up his hands like I’ve infected him or something. Fucking A.

i'm so glad daisy has someone like ryke with her

She puts on a good front when we’re outside. She’s not alarmed or scared like Lily usually is. She’s just energetic and lively. At night, when she’s alone, that’s a different story.

literally so thunder by lana del rey coded

There’s something hypnotic about the light going in and out on a beautiful girl. One second I can see her fully, the playful smile and bold green eyes. The next second, she hides in the dark of the night completely. It also scares the fuck out of me. There’s three feet in between us. For every step I take forward, she takes one back. And in those dark moments, I wonder if she’ll be gone for good. I imagine the light flashing and she’s no longer smiling. And then with the next burst of light, I picture fear in her eyes. That one possibility pushes me to Daisy like a soul-crushing force. And I grab her by the waist, about to spin her around, but she suddenly stops. Our bodies knock into each other. Everyone is watching. The tension is enough to choke us. “Move,” I tell her roughly. “Or I’m going to throw you over my fucking shoulder.” She stays put, her smile growing. And I’m fucking glad I now have an excuse to carry her. Daisy annoying the fuck out of me—that’s a common back and forth we have in front of the paparazzi. I swiftly pick her up, my hands on her hips, and I toss her over my shoulder. She lets out a laugh, and I rest my palm on her ass. Yeah, her father doesn’t really fucking like me. This won’t help. Connor thinks I’m an idiot to do things that put me in a bad light—especially since I don’t bother to clarify my intentions. But in the end, they’re going to think what they want to think. I can’t empty my soul to every person who thinks I’m an asshole. I can’t eve...

i love ryke sm

hand. But no matter if regret flashes in his eyes, he watches with a cold, dead gaze like I deserve this shit. Like this is my penance for ignoring him for over twenty years. I set the glass down. And it takes me a moment to process the weight of what happened. I just broke my eight years of sobriety.

OH NO

We face each other, unresolved hate strung between us. He doesn’t know anything about my childhood, and I don’t expect him to ask. All I wanted was a chance to undo what I had done wrong. To be there for him, to be his brother, and Lo makes it so fucking hard. He never gives me a reprieve like Connor.

THEY JUST NEED TO COMMUNICATE

I raise my brows at her, and she has to look away from me, too giddy. Daisy has never been like that around me. I thought she would be flustered by me when she was fifteen, but instead, she had no trouble holding a conversation. It always felt like we were meant to be friends.

soulmates fr

He’s slept with her. I can see it in his eyes. And if not that, they’ve fooled around. A territorial rage consumes me for a minute. I want to wrap my arm around Daisy, but we can’t exactly do that in public.

Daisy is right. She’s not good at dancing, but that has never stopped her from doing it. And I fucking love that she doesn’t give a shit.

Over my dead fucking body. He reaches out to wrap an arm around her shoulder, to bring her in for a fucking hug, and I step between them. “Sorry,” I say, “you’re not teaching her how to grind on your fucking dick.” Ian lets out a short laugh. “I don’t think she needs you to tell her what she can and cannot do. She’s a big girl.” “Yeah,” I tell Ian. “She’s also my fucking girlfriend.” I don’t break his gaze, but I can feel Daisy’s smile fill her whole face beside me. She grabs my hand, restlessly bouncing up and down on her toes like she wants to kiss me but realizes she can’t.

Don’t bring up your night with her, you fucker. But he does. “Did she tell you that we hooked up during your break?” “Do you want me to rip your head off?” I ask. “Because I’m close to breaking your fucking neck.” Ian licks his lips again. “I’m just laying it out there. You deserve to know the truth. She even moaned when I stuck my finger in her asshole. Did you know she liked that?” I fucking punch him, my knuckles socking his jaw hard. He knocks into the high-table, beer bottles shattering on the floor. He raises his hands in surrender really quickly. “Whoa, whoa,” he stammers. “I don’t know where you fucking come from,” I tell him. “But where I grew up, a guy would get more than a sucker-punch to the fucking face for what you’ve said to me.” “I didn’t think you were seriously together,” Ian says, touching his reddened jaw like I’ve damaged his career. My body is begging my mind to go and claim Daisy with more than just words. Fucking kiss her.

i need a man that will defend my honour like ryke defends daisy

And she howls again and points at the full moon. “Like my mating call?” she asks me. “I don’t see any fucking guys responding to it.” “I do,” she says with a smile, staring right at me. “Right. If that’s true, then I’ll be humping you later, sweetheart.” My eyes lighten a little more because this time—there is fucking truth to our banter. “Doggy-style or are you just going to be grinding on my leg?” “Not your leg.” “Higher?” “Well what’s the other alternative? I’m not going to fuck your ankles.” She raises her hands in defense. “There are some people into feet.” “I’m into pussy. Now you know.” My unfiltered response causes her to flush. She grins. “I should howl more often then.” She’s cute. She always is. I’d kiss her if I could, but I need to check on my brother.

i love their banter sm

He’s staring at the sky like he wishes he could settle among the stars for fucking eternity and never have to live this life. I hate that look. It’s one that I used to wear when I was fifteen, kicking shit over and screaming at the top of my lungs. I’d end up exhausted, collapsed on the grass of my yard, and I’d look up at the fucking sky and think what am I doing here? Why the fuck am I in this world? Living shouldn’t be this painful. My life had no meaning until I decided to turn around and meet my brother. I can’t lose him to this disease…or because of the choices I’ve made. Connor has his hand on Lo’s shoulder, his lips moving like he’s talking him down from a fucking cliff. I feel like I put him there.

“She pushed me out, and then she got swept in it. I couldn’t find her…” She sobs into her hand and then points at the center of the riot, where so many men are brawling. I don’t think twice. I just go back in, another elbow ramming my back. A head knocking into my jaw. I shove and push and dig my fucking way through the people. And then I see her. She stands shakily. Blood trickles down her forehead, the source by her hairline, like someone ripped the strands, like they could’ve been caught in something. She teeters, disoriented. I try to reach her, but a couple guys shove me back and punch me in the face. I’m too fucking concentrated on her to feel the pain. I tear through them, hitting them back with as much force. Daisy touches her forehead, blinking a couple times to clear her vision. And then she meets my gaze, and relief floods her eyes.

OMG

So much fucking blood, beginning to turn my white shirt into something red. My heart is in my throat. I can barely breathe. I make it into an area where people frantically try to find their friends, calling out to them in French, German, English, Russian, pressing their phones to their ears. I can’t even look for my brother. I just think hospital. She needs a fucking hospital. I take a trained breath, cradling her in my arms.

OMG

With Daisy in my arms, I can fucking run that in fifteen minutes or less. I mumble thank you, and I just fucking take off. Her head bounces against my chest only a couple of times before I adjust her. I have carried this girl so many times in my life. But this time—this is the absolute worst. I run. One hundred and fifty miles per hour. I don’t fucking stop. Not for anything. I just keep going. It’s what your good at Ryke. It may be the only thing.

I HAVE GOOSEBUMPS AHH

“I can’t leave her,” I say. I can’t fucking leave her. It takes me a moment to realize the nurses’ lips are moving—that they’ve been talking in French. They switch to English, thinking I can’t understand them. My mind is all over the fucking place. “Sir, you need to sit down. We’ll get you cleaned up and looked at.” “Come here,” the other says. She leads me to a chair in the hallway, out of the waiting room and next to a large white scale and counter. “I can’t leave her,” I say again. “I have to go back there.”