Suddenly, Ken stands up and snatches his backpack off the desk. “On second thought, tonight won’t work. I have this…thing.”

My mouth drops as he heads for the door, and it takes everything in me not to scream.

Knox didn’t even have to utter a single word to put the fear of God into him.

I know he’s intimidating and scares everyone at school—hell, make that the entire freaking town— shitless of him, but this is ridiculous.

Furious, I slam my textbook shut. “I hate you.”

As usual, the asshole stays silent.

Because he never says a single word to me.

Not unless it’s an insult.

I’ll never know what I did to make him hate me so much, but I will not waste precious moments of my life trying to figure it out.

As much as I’d like to make friends and go out on dates—especially with hot football players—there are more important things I want out of life.

Like to get a scholarship and be able to attend a good college.

Have a stable career.

Because it would be nice to not see an eviction notice taped to the front door every few months.

Not sparing him another glance, I grab my things and march out of the room.

I’m changing out books in my locker when someone seizes my arm.

“What—”

I don’t have the chance to finish that sentence because Knox tugs me down the empty hallway.

“Are you out of your damn mind? Leave me alone.”

I might as well be speaking another language though, because he only tightens his grip and walks faster.

A minute later, he opens the door to what looks like a storage closet and shoves me inside.

Trepidation twists my stomach. Knox has terrorized me since the moment I stepped foot inside Black Mountain, but he’s never trapped me before.

As if sensing my fear, his lips curve in a malicious grin.

I hate the way my breath catches.

Because while he’s the biggest asshole on the planet…he’s also dangerously attractive.

Full lips, tan skin, dark hair shaved close to the scalp, a sharp jawline that looks like the gods carved it from granite, prominent cheekbones…a stubborn chin that’s currently clenching in contempt.

However, it’s those unusual, piercing, harsh eyes that never fail to hold me captive.

I’d give just about anything to know why—despite how intimidating and scary he is—he looks like the most broken person I’ve ever seen.

Shaking that thought from my head, I make for the door.

However, he stands in front of it, blocking me from exiting.

“What is your prob—”

I don’t get to finish that sentence because his hand slides to the back of my neck and his mouth crashes against mine.

What the hell?

Everything freezes…except my heart, which feels like it’s exploding.

It’s my first kiss..

The fact Knox is the one doing it is just…weird.

I should probably stop him. I hate his guts and he doesn’t deserve to kiss me.

But I can’t…because he’s kissing me like he just swallowed poison and I’m the antidote.

At first there’s no tongue. Just greedy lips.

But then he growls, low and deep, and everything changes.

I rest my hands on his shoulders, my knees going weak as the fingers on my neck tighten and he coaxes my mouth open to feed me his tongue.

He tastes like cinnamon and uninvited desire…wrapped in pure evil.

Head spinning, I fall into the kiss, sinking fast into the black hole he’s imprisoned me in.

I should end this madness and make him apologize. Not only for stealing my first kiss—because that’s exactly what he did—but for all the torture he’s inflicted.

I’m about to break away, but his free hand slithers up my leg, disappearing under my skirt.

Despite the need coiling inside me, my chest constricts and my nerves reach new heights.

Especially when he presses me against a shelf and tugs my panties down my legs.

At sixteen, plenty of my peers are having sex, so it’s not like this is unusual. However, I’m still trying to wrap my mind around how in the span of a few minutes I’m going from experiencing my very first kiss to…whatever he’s about to do.

“I’ve never done this,” I whisper against his mouth, feeling so vulnerable I could cry.

His entire body tenses before he edges away.

A condescending smirk twists his lips. “I can tell.”

His words are the equivalent of a slap, but I won’t give him the satisfaction of knowing how much they hurt.

Head held high, I go to shove past him, but he opens the door, beating me to it.

I was prepared for Knox to be an asshole, because he always is.

What I’m not prepared for is to see a group of guys from the football team—Ken included—huddled right outside the closet.

Knox holds up my white-cotton panties like a trophy. “She’s a purebred fire crotch. The carpet matches the drapes.”

A few guys snicker.

Until Knox sniffs his fingers and makes a face like he smells something rancid. “Bitch smells like tuna though.”

With that, he stalks off.

And I wonder if it’s actually possible to die from embarrassment.

Or from hating someone so much.

11th grade.

Aspen

The priest is talking, but I can’t hear a word he’s saying.

The only thing I can focus on is the coffin beside him.

The one containing my father’s body.

Leo puts his arm around my shoulders and kisses my temple.

As usual, he’s the only one here for me.

Sure, my mother is in attendance, but she’s buzzing around the room socializing, like my father’s wake is a party she’s hosting.

The first tear rolls down my cheek, but I quickly wipe it away. I don’t want to fall apart in a room full of people. Especially when I hardly know most of them.

My chest squeezes and I swallow the needles in my throat.

I don’t understand how this happened.

I mean—I’m not an idiot so I can comprehend that apparently, my father was a swindler.

Evidently, he convinced a bunch of people to invest in a retirement home.

And then stole their money.

He fucked with the wrong person though, because two years later he was found in a parking lot with a bullet in his head.