But it wasn’t all Leo’s fault.

I was the one who kissed him.

Tears burn my throat. I try to push them down, but I can’t.

They pool in my eyes, and before I can stop myself, I start crying so hard it hurts to breathe. “I’m sorry.” I force myself to meet her gaze. “I’m so sorry.”

I expect her to look at me with revulsion, because it’s what I deserve, but she doesn’t.

She’s looking at me with pity…

And that only makes me cry harder.

Reaching down, Knox grabs my elbow. “Let’s go.”

Hot tears pour down my face like rain as he pulls me to my feet.

I wish I knew how to make them stop, but I don’t. He’s filleted me wide open, forcing me to confront all the ugly parts of myself before leaving me to bleed out.

It’s the slowest, cruelest kind of death.

But the worst part is…I can’t even blame him.

Because it was my fault.

Chapter 30

Knox

Aspen’s such a mess she can barely walk to the jeep without her legs buckling underneath her.

I wish she would have told me the truth when I asked, but she didn’t.

Therefore, she had to learn her lesson the hard and painful way.

I open the passenger side door, but she plants her feet.

She’s still sobbing, but the look she shoots me is so full of hatred, I feel it in my bones.

“Get in.”

She tries to run away, but I catch her by the waist and tug her back to me. “Not so fast, Stray.”

Her loathing for me is practically rolling off her in waves as she kicks her legs.

Grinding my molars, I grip the collar of her white button-down shirt and shove her against the jeep. “I gave you a choice.”

I tried so fucking hard to get her to trust me enough to be honest with me.

But she failed. Ergo, that shit is on her, not me.

“I hate you.” She spits in my face as another sob escapes her. “I hate you.”

She doesn’t hate me…she hates herself.

She hates what she did.

She hates what he did.

She hates that I held up a mirror and forced her to look at herself without the façade she likes to put on.

Because she isn’t a perfect girl who gets perfect grades and lives a perfect life while wearing her perfect fucking pearls.

She’s raw and real.

She’s flawed and fucked up.

She’s also angry as hell.

Reaching up, she scratches my cheek. For as long as I’ve known her, she’s always kept herself in check. Always managing to compose herself right before she goes over the deep end…but right now, she’s like a feral animal that’s unhinged.

And fuck me if it doesn’t make my blood boil and my dick hard.

I crush my mouth against hers, biting and sucking her lips so hard I’m positive they’ll be bruised.

Her fingernails scrape my back and I grunt, the pain making my cock throb that much more as she opens her mouth wider so I can feed her my tongue.

“I hate you,” she chokes out against my lips, her breathy voice still thick with tears as I explore and tease her mouth.

I bet I can make her hate me even more.

On a new mission now, I open the backseat door. Then, gripping her plump ass, I lift and toss her into the backseat.

I climb in after her, my hands tunneling under her skirt where I find her panties damp and warm before I peel them down her legs.

“Knox—”

Hauling her up, I shift us into a sitting position and make her straddle my lap. “This is the way you liked to fuck him, right?”

The fire is back in her eyes when she snarls, “Fuck you.”

I thrust, rubbing myself against her pussy. She’s so soaked she creates a wet spot on my pants.

One I’m gonna make her lick up.

Placing my hands under her armpits for leverage, I twist her around in my lap, then push on her lower back until she leans forward.

“What—”

In one fluid motion, I tug her legs, positioning her so her head is in my lap and her thighs are on either side of my face.

I push her skirt down. “You left a mess on my pants, Stray. Clean it up.”

“No—”

I run the length of my nose along her slit, collecting her juices on my face as I inhale her. “You sure about that?”

With a whimper, her tongue glides along the fabric.

Gripping her hair, I tug down my zipper. “Good girl. Now take out my cock and lick that.”

I suppress a groan when she pulls me out, then sheathes me with her hot little eager mouth.

I spread her pussy with my fingers, stretching it as far as it will go before I lower my mouth and thrust my tongue deep inside her, extending it as far as I can.

Liquid heat fills my mouth as she squirms below me.

“You know why Leo didn’t know I made you come last night?” I flick my tongue ring against her swollen clit and she moans around my cock. “Because he’s never done it before.” I suckle the sensitive bud as she gags on my dick and the sounds of me eating her fill the jeep. “He doesn’t have a clue how you look when you come.”

I circle my tongue in steady little swirls around her clit. “He doesn’t know how wet your pussy gets when you’re so turned on but trying your hardest to fight it.” I suck her pussy lips until I find her hole again and tease that with the tip of my tongue. “The way this pretty little cunt tightens around you like a vise before squeezing and riding your fingers.”

Aspen shakes and trembles beneath me. She’s so close to coming, I can taste it.

Anger mixed with envy races through my veins.

“Sit up.”

When she does, I wrap my hand around her throat and bring my lips to her ear. “Now squat over my dick like you’re gonna fuck it.”

As soon as she rises up on her knees, I drag the head of my cock through her lips, gathering her wetness. “You wanna get fucked?”

Her shame is tangible right before she whispers, “Yes.”

In one fell swoop, I push her forward and spread her ass cheeks.

“Knox,” she breathes as I work my cockhead into her tight little hole. “I’ve never…oh, God. That hurts.” Choking back another sob, she slaps the seat. “So fucking much.”