My worst fears are confirmed, when Knox laughs callously under his breath.

I can feel every ounce of color drain from my face. “Oh, my God.”

“Technically, we did sleep together,” he states through a cloud of smoke. “But I didn’t fuck you.” He snickers. “You couldn’t pay me enough to do that.”

Relief flows through me. For once, we’re on the same page.

I notice my jeans, heels, and corset on the floor and I’m about to pick them up, but Knox halts me. “What’s the last thing you remember?”

Normally I’d tell him to go fuck himself, but a flicker of concern slashes across his face, rendering me speechless.

“Dammit, Stray,” he gripes. “Quit standing there gaping at me like a fucking idiot and answer me.”

I chew on my thumbnail, trying my hardest to think. “I uh…I was talking to Ken Ruckman by the lake. He was telling me how he got into Notre Dame on a football scholarship.”

Knox takes a long drag of his cigarette. “Was he wearing his letterman jacket by any chance?”

“How do you—”

“Answer the question.”

“Yeah.” My mind flits back to the events of last night. “He gave it to me when I got cold.”

I’m not prepared for his next inquiry.

“Did he force you to drink anything?”

“No, Ken didn’t force me, but I had a sip of his beer.” Realizing where he’s going with this, I quickly add, “The same beer I saw him drinking out of.”

Surely if he slipped something into my drink, he wouldn’t drink out of it himself before and after.

Same goes for Traci and Staci and their jungle juice.

Although, Staci did get herself another cup after she handed it to me, but I thought she was just being nice.

Then again…I can’t seem to recall anything after that.

It’s like my memory is a database that’s been wiped clean.

“Aspen,” Knox grits out, pulling me from my thoughts. “Tell me you’re not that dumb.”

“I thought they wanted to be friends,” I whisper, feeling so stupid I could cry. “Why would—”

“Who?” Knox growls, making me jump.

“Staci and Traci.” I look down at my feet. “They gave me something to drink at the party—”

“Jesus,” he interjects, bringing the cigarette to his mouth. “I know your mom is a space cadet, but I didn’t think she passed the dumbass gene on to you. Don’t you know not to take a drink from any—”

“Yes, I do,” I yell because it’s hard enough realizing I screwed up without having him rub it in my face. “However, I didn’t think it was a big deal because I saw Staci take a sip before she gave it to me. Everyone was drinking at the party and I just wanted to…” my voice cracks and I stop talking.

Knox stabs his cigarette out in a nearby ashtray. “Wanted to what?”

“I wanted to have fun and fit in, okay?” I swallow the tears prickling the back of my throat. “I wanted to see what it was like to be popular and—”

A sardonic snort cuts me off. “Well, congrats. You’re definitely popular now.”

I raise a brow. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Getting out of bed, he swipes his phone off the nightstand. “Here’s some advice, Stray. When two bitches who have always been cunts to you invite you to hang out…don’t fucking do it.”

I start to speak, but he twists his phone around and what I see and hear next nearly brings me to my knees.

“You like sucking this big cock, don’t you, Aspen?” someone who sounds exactly like Ken Ruckman says.

I close my eyes when the sounds of me gagging fill the room, and I want to scream at him to shut it off because I don’t think I can take anymore.

“Good news is it will only be up for a few more hours,” Knox states dryly as I hear Staci and Traci laugh on the video. “Bad news is, I’m pretty sure everyone at school has already seen it.”

“Thank you, captain obvious,” I choke out, trying my hardest to keep my impending tears at bay because I refuse to give him the satisfaction of watching me break.

Because he’d enjoy it too much.

Another horrifying thought hits me, and it takes every ounce of self-control not to curl up into a ball on the floor.

I woke up in his bed.

If there’s one thing I know about Knox, it’s that he not only enjoys tormenting me…he loves teasing and enticing me first—drawing me in like a moth to a flame.

Only so he can watch me burn.

“Let me guess,” I say, my voice a painful rasp. “This is where you open the closet door, hold my underwear up, and tell a bunch of guys I smell like tuna?”

He raises a brow. “Wh—”

“This is where you confess it was all your idea?” I interject. “That you convinced Staci, Traci, and Ken to go along with your plan to set me up?” I take a step forward, so disgusted I could puke. “God, you’ve really done some sick, horrible shit to me before, but this takes the cake.”

If I didn’t know any better, I’d say the bastard almost looks offended. Almost.

“You think I had something to do with this shit?”

“No, I don’t think,” I say, closing the space between us. “I know.” I hold his stare, mustering up the bravado I don’t quite feel yet…but I will.

“You’ve fucked with me for the last time.” Rising on my tiptoes, I brush my mouth against his ear, because I want him to hear this. “And now? I’m going to fucking ruin you.”

His hand wraps around my wrist, and he walks forward until my spine meets the wall behind me. “Go ahead and try…I dare you.” He grips my chin with his free hand. “Maybe then you’ll learn not to make threats you can’t carry out.”

“Oh, it’s not a threat, Knox. It’s a fucking promise.” I’m positive the smile on my face looks downright psychotic, but I don’t care. “First, I’m gonna tell your daddy all about what you did to me. Then, I’m going to file a police report.” I run my finger down his cheek. “And finally, I’m going to stand in a courtroom and make sure justice is served.” I point to my mouth. “And the smile on my face right now? Take a good, hard look at it. Because you’re going to see it again when they send you back to the goddamn asylum where you belong.”