Hate me

Knox

Rain splatters against my windshield so hard it sounds like rocks hitting pavement as I pull into the driveway. 

My shoulders sag as I cut the engine, a potent mixture of anger and resentment swirling through my system. 

Clenching my hand into a fist, I punch the steering wheel and scream into the darkness. 

“Fuck!” 

I punch it again for good measure, enjoying the flicker of pain that runs up my hand and forearm. 

With a grunt, I hop out of my jeep and into the pouring rain. I’m about to walk inside, but a figure lying in the street in front of the house snags my attention. 

Trepidation sparks through me as I cautiously approach the body. 

What the fuck…

The muscles in my chest draw tight and I freeze when I see Aspen lying there motionless, the hard rain beating down on her limp frame. 

Kneeling, I grab her wrist, ignoring the surge of relief that spirals through me when I feel her pulse. 

“Aspen,” I bite out, shaking her shoulders. “Wake the fuck up.” 

No response. 

Goddammit.

I should leave her here to teach her a lesson about going to parties and getting so loaded she passes out…but then it dawns on me that this shit isn’t like Aspen. 

And she didn’t go to that party alone. 

It’s only then I register the faint smell of puke wafting off her and notice the button and zipper on her jeans are undone. 

It doesn’t take a fucking genius to figure out that something isn’t right. 

I shake her again, harder this time. “Dammit, Stray. Wake the fuck up.” 

Nothing. 

Muttering a curse, I haul her into my arms. She makes a gagging sound when I stand, and I manage to push her head to the other side just in time for her to puke. 

Fucking hell. 

Her eyes flutter open and the confusion swirling in them quickly turns to sheer terror when she looks up and sees me. 

A violent shiver wracks her body and I faintly hear her mumble, “Please, don’t kill me,” before her head lolls to the side and she passes out again. 

I trek up the pathway to the house, intending to take her to her bedroom, but I find myself walking around back, entering through the side entrance that leads to the basement where I sleep. 

Even though she’s still unconscious, a tremble runs through her and her teeth start chattering. If I don’t get her out of these wet clothes soon, she’ll probably get sick. 

Good. 

Gritting my teeth, I drop her on the floor beside my bed. Wincing, she curls her arms around her midsection, almost like she’s trying to protect herself from the boogeyman. 

She looks so fucking pathetic it’s all I can do not to laugh. 

“You fucking owe me,” I tell her as I yank her off the floor and put her on my bed. 

Her back bows as I place her in a sitting position and work to get her top off. 

“Dammit. Stay still,” I growl, realizing it’s fucking pointless because it’s not like the bitch can comprehend anything right now. 

When she hunches forward, I take the opportunity to undo the zipper located in the back and toss the damp corset on my floor. Then I shove her so she’s lying on the mattress and attempt to take her jeans off. They’re soaked too, though, making the task that much harder. Kneeling in front of her, I shove my hands under her ass and wrench the tight, wet denim down her legs. 

Along with her little black panties. 

Fuck. 

I clench my jaw, opposing the way my cock twitches before it starts to thicken. 

Most girls shave or wax everything until they look prepubescent—because society tells them that’s what men prefer—but not Aspen. 

While most of her cunt is smooth and bare, she intentionally left a neat, tiny strip of pubic hair…as if silently proclaiming a big fuck you to anyone who might doubt the validity of her natural hair color. 

Instinctively, I lean forward, smelling her scent and getting a better view. Her lips are every bit as pouty and plump as the ones on her face.  Impulsively, my hand reaches out to touch her, but I swiftly come to my senses and yank my hand back. 

Aspen stirs, her thighs parting ever so slightly as her chest heaves, causing one pale pink nipple to pop out of her bra. 

I groan, my cock swelling painfully in my jeans. 

I could unzip my pants, whip it out, and give her no fucking choice but to take every inch of me. 

But then she’d know the truth. 

That as much as I loathe her with every fucking fiber of my being…

I’m also completely fucking drawn to her. 

And I know deep down she feels the same. 

We’re like two magnets…the electrical currents ru

I fucking hate it. 

Hate her. 

Disgusted, I haul her underwear back up her thighs, pull a dirty t-shirt out of my hamper and slip it over her head. 

After shoving her to the other side of my king-sized bed, I decide to do some digging. 

I know Aspen went to the party with Staci and Traci, two popular—and a

Grabbing my phone, I pull up Instagram. The only reason I have the app is to keep tabs on Aspen. Since her profile is private and I knew she’d never accept a request from her nemesis, I had to create a sock puppet account.

Lighting a cigarette, I click on her profile. She rarely posts updates—and when she does, it’s just stupid bullshit like nature, coffee, and baked goods. However, Staci and Traci are insta-attention-whores and like to tag people in everything. 

Sure enough, when I click on the icon to see the posts Aspen’s tagged in, there’s a new one posted by Staci.  

Traci is at the wheel of her car, giving the camera the finger while Staci’s arm is wrapped around her. In the backseat is Aspen…awkwardly smiling like she’d rather be anywhere else. The caption states—party time with my bitches, followed by a million dumb tags. 

Blowing out a puff of smoke, I click on Staci’s thumbnail because there’s no way in hell her page is private. However, instead of bringing me straight to her profile, it forces me to see a reel of stories. There’s a brief video of her pouring some beer into a red solo cup, a picture of her making a kissy face at the camera, one of her and Traci dancing near the bonfire, and another fucking kissy face photo. I’m about to exit out of the app, because looking at this shit is making me lose brain cells, but then another video pops up on my screen. 

It’s dark and grainy, but it looks like the back of a car based on the view of the rear window. The camera suddenly shifts downward and what I see next has my blood boiling. 

A guy is grabbing the back of Aspen’s neck, even though it’s obvious by the way her head is hanging limp in his lap that she’s out of it. 

“You like sucking this big cock don’t you, Aspen?” a familiar voice taunts, but I can’t quite place it. 

The video cuts off, but another one immediately gears up. 

“Open,” the guy instructs. 

The camera juts up slightly. Not enough to show his face, but enough that I can see the black and red letterman jacket he’s wearing. 

A second later, a gagging sound infiltrates my ears. 

“Yeah, that’s it,” the guy says, followed by the sound of laughter.