Chapter 4: Wolf in a Collar

At the fight club, the manager said his name, but he spoke too fast. I wasn’t sure if it was Dillon or Dylan, and now I thought… it seemed more like the latter. If I wasn’t mistaken, Silver Hollow’s richest family, the Carter family, had just welcomed their playboy son back from Europe—named Dylan Carter. Supposedly bold, vengeful, pays back any slight a hundredfold, a real troublemaker. The kind I’d usually avoid.

Hearing my question, the boy stopped, turned, and calmly replied, “Dylan with a ‘y,’ Carter with a ‘C.’”

Oh. I breathed a sigh of relief. The name and surname were different. I was overthinking it. Still, I couldn’t shake the feeling I’d heard the name before.

Dylan answered, then went into the bathroom. But just as he was about to close the door, I called again, “Wait, I remember you stuffed an ID into your bag when you left the fight club. Mind letting me see it?”

Dylan froze. His hand on the doorknob tightened—and broke it off.

My eyes widened. I knew it!

The air was silent for a long time. Dylan, face pale, asked, “Ma’am, don’t you trust me?”

My smile didn’t change, but my heart sank a little. “How could I not? I just want to know more about you. Don’t you mind?”

Dylan swallowed, sweat beading on his forehead. After a long stare, he looked away first. “I… I…”

My patience was gone. My face turned cold, my gaze pressing down on him. “I’ll ask again—will you give it or not?”

A few seconds later, Dylan’s stiff back suddenly relaxed. He walked over to his backpack, took out an ID, and handed it to me.

I looked at the name: ‘Dylan Carter.’

Really?

I tossed the ID back, half laughing, half exasperated. “So you weren’t lying. Why were you so nervous?”

Dylan scratched his head sheepishly. “The photo on the ID is so bad, I was afraid you’d think I looked ugly…”

I hadn’t even looked at the photo. The real person was right in front of me—who cared about the picture?

After that, my suspicions about Dylan were temporarily put to rest. I let out a silent breath. For now, that was enough.

We each went to shower. Dylan finished first. When I came downstairs, he was already waiting on the couch.

Between adults, sometimes you don’t need any extra prelude. Just a glance, and the air is full of temptation.

I don’t know who hugged who first, or who kissed who first. In the gaps between breaths, I mumbled, “Go… go to the bedroom.” My heart was pounding in my chest.

At that, Dylan’s beautiful eyes widened slightly. He scooped me up and carried me steadily to the bedroom.

With the door closed, all sounds were sealed inside. Just us, nothing else.

Turns out, what he whispered in the ring yesterday was true.

The next day, when I left the apartment, my legs were trembling. Dylan stood at the door, looking at me with longing.

“Ma’am, when will you come again?”

I stroked his smooth cheek. “When I have time. I left a card on the nightstand—take what you need.”

Dylan nodded, nuzzling my palm contentedly. Really like a clingy puppy.

...

I wasn’t half-hearted with Dylan. Over the next two months, I kept my promise of ‘I’ll come when I have time.’

I mean, come on. If I spent that much, I was going to get my money’s worth. I’d only stayed at that loft two or three times a week before, usually when I was too lazy to go home. But now… at least five times a week. The other two days were for Dylan to recover—after all, too much of a good thing isn’t good. The kid’s still young.

One day, as usual, I finished work, grabbed my car keys, and hurried out of the office. I spent all day hunched over documents, and the kid was worried my neck would get sore. At noon, he texted me, saying he’d learned some massage techniques and wanted me to try them tonight.

I’d bought that loft five years ago, never bothered to decorate it. It was cold, like a model home. But since Dylan moved in, there was something new every day—a few more bouquets on the table, more LEGO models on the shelf, more plushies on the bed. A few days ago, he got a Polaroid and made me take a thick stack of photos with him. Now they were all stuck on the bedroom wall—smiling faces everywhere you looked.

Without realizing it, it actually looked like a home.

After a long day, having a warm, comfortable place and a thoughtful, gentle lover was exactly what I needed. It was impossible not to look forward to it.

But when I arrived and opened the door, I saw an unexpected scene. I froze in the doorway, surprised.

On the couch, a man and a woman sat facing each other across the coffee table, both on edge. Hearing me come in, the girl turned, pointed at Dylan, and asked, “Auntie, who is he?”

I frowned. “When did you get back? Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?”

My uncle’s granddaughter, Madison, sat there pouting. She used to be attached to me, but after heading to Europe two years ago, we lost touch. I didn’t know why she suddenly showed up.

Madison pouted. “I came back yesterday, came for a friend’s party, dropped by to see you. I texted you, maybe you didn’t see it.”

Oh, right. My personal phone is on silent when I work.

“Auntie, you still haven’t told me who he is?”

I glanced at her. “Don’t be nosy.”

At that moment, Dylan came over to take my coat and squatted down to help me change shoes, like it was the most natural thing in the world. I felt a flicker of warmth at the simple gesture.

Madison suddenly understood. “Ah, I get it. Auntie, this is your new boy toy, right?”

Although Madison called me aunt, she was only five years younger than me—twenty-two—and never held back. She always said what she thought, no filter.

I didn’t deny it. I took the tea Dylan handed over, took a sip, then pointed at my shoulder. “Massage me.”

Dylan smiled brightly, walked behind me, and started massaging my shoulders skillfully. I had to admit, after just a few presses, I felt much better. Dylan must have really practiced.

As time went on, I felt more and more that bringing Dylan home was the right choice. Obedient, well-behaved, quiet. He looked cool on the outside, but was passionate in private. If he could always be like this, I wouldn’t mind keeping him for a lifetime…

A lifetime?