But he doesn’t. Instead, he grabs the back of my neck, turning my face up to meet his before he kisses me like I’m the air he needs to breathe in order to survive.

He explores every inch of my mouth, leaving no stone unturned.

I feel the armor I’ve built around me begin to crumble like cheap plywood with every hungry stroke of his tongue.

I faintly register the sound of his jeep door opening before he tears his mouth away and bends me over the backseat.

I hate that he has this much control over me.

That he can hurt me so much, yet I still crave him.

I dig my nails into the seat, desperate to hold on to some semblance of control as he yanks my panties down my legs.

“No.”

The sound of him tugging down his zipper has my blood pressure climbing and my nipples pebbling.

I hiss when he spreads my ass cheeks and holds them open—exposing all of me—before I feel the head of his cock nudge my entrance. “Tell me you don’t want this.”

“I don’t want to want this,” I whisper, the last of my willpower shattering like glass.

Because everything was so much easier when I hated him.

His gruff voice cuts through the air. “That makes two of us.”

With that, he pushes forward until he’s buried deep inside me.

“Fuck.”

His thrusts are fast and brutal—punishing—yet rewarding at the same time.

I scratch at the seat, tearing the upholstery as he gives it to me exactly the way I need it.

“I hate you,” I croak out, because I can’t tell him how I really feel.

I can’t tell him that he drives me crazy and he’s a psychopath, but I feel like he’s the only one on this earth who actually gets me.

I can’t tell him I never felt for Leo even a fraction of what I feel for him…and I’m petrified I never will with anyone else.

Reaching around, he strums my clit like it’s his personal instrument, causing little shocks of electricity to pulse through my body.

“That’s it, Stray.” He circles his hips before pumping them faster. “Give me what I fucking want.”

Pleasure spikes through me and my orgasm strengthens like a brewing storm as he wrenches it from me.

A deep, throaty groan tears out of him, the carnal sound reverberating in my chest as liquid heat fills my pussy.

I can’t tell him that even if he killed Candi and Shadow…my heart would still try to find a way to excuse it.

Despite my brain and conscience knowing better.

Tears spring to my eyes as I fight to catch my breath.

I have to know the truth.

“Did you kill them?” I choke out, and for once I almost hope he doesn’t answer, because I don’t want to lose him again.

His voice is so low I almost don’t hear it.

“No.”

Chapter 38

Aspen

Leaning against the headboard, Knox brings a cigarette to his lips and lights it. For such a terrible, disgusting habit, he sure makes it look sexy.

Then again, I’m still on a post coital high from our second round shortly after we came home.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t last long because an image of Candi’s necklace infiltrates my mind.

“Why was Candi’s necklace under your bed?” I hold up a hand. “I believe you when you say you didn’t kill her. I’m just wondering why…you know.”

You had a dead girl’s necklace in your room.

His dark brows pinch, and a stream of smoke leaves his mouth. “You sure you really want the answer to that?”

I blink, not understanding. “Of course, I do. Why wouldn’t—”

I stop talking when I realize. Goddammit.

“You had sex with her.”

He shrugs like it’s no big deal.

Disgusted, I reach down for my money bag. After the incident in the jeep, I went back inside the club to collect my things. Of course, Knox followed right behind me like a bloodhound tracking a scent.

Fortunately, Heather and Violet worked tonight, so they kept it safe for me.

Knox takes another drag of his cigarette, studying me intently. “You’re upset.”

I dump the contents of the bag onto his bed so I can count the money I made. “Upset that my boyfriend’s a whore?”

Yeah, I am.

He gives me a wolfish grin. “Last I checked, you benefited from my whore ways.” The smile slips off his face and his expression grows serious. “Aspen.”

I hold up a finger so I can finish counting the hundred-dollar bills in the pile. However, he doesn’t wait.

“I don’t do girlfriends.”

My heart thuds, hard and pained because his words sting. Maybe I jumped the gun before by calling him my boyfriend, but I figured we were finally past the point of playing games and it was a given.

I mean, yeah, he’s also my stepbrother and that will no doubt make things awkward, but…

I close my eyes when I realize. Once again, I found myself in a relationship with someone who can never truly be mine.

“But you have no problem making me your dirty little secret, huh?”

Just like Leo.

God, I’m such an idiot.

But at least I know exactly where we stand now.

Or rather, where we stood…because I will not be someone’s surreptitious option again.

I deserve to be a priority, dammit.

To be kissed and claimed in front of everyone.

I’m worthy of more than the scraps he’s offering me.

“I think we should just be friends.”

A flicker of relief flashes across his face. “Right. Friends who fuck.”

It takes everything in me not to smack him. “No…just friends. No fucking.”

He looks like he smelled something rancid. “That’s not gonna work for me, Stray.”

I shrug. “Too bad. I’m not putting myself through another Leo situation.”

I can tell I’ve made my point because he falls silent as he tokes away on his cigarette.

Turning back to the pile of cash on the bed, I continue counting my money. It’s more than I’ve ever made in a single night before. A lot more.

“Looks like I’m going to have to do a repeat performance,” I mutter. “I made over a grand tonight.”

Knox’s jaw tics. “There will be no repeat performance.” He stubs his cigarette out in the nearby ashtray only to immediately pull another one out of the pack. “I told you, you’re done.”