Reluctantly, he lays down and I straddle him. “Put your cock inside me.”

With one hand on my hip, he reaches between us and lines himself up with my entrance.

His expression darkens as raw hunger illuminates his face. “Sit on it.”

I squeeze my eyes shut as I rise up on my knees and then sink down, focusing on the way he stretches me as he fills me up.

Slowly, I start moving, tilting my head back as he raises his hips, matching my rhythm, our bodies in perfect sync.

His rough voice cuts through the fog. “Stray.”

I know what he needs.

Reaching down, I take his hand and place it on my throat.

I expect him to start squeezing, but he doesn’t. He wraps his arm around my back instead, pulling us into a sitting position.

His thrusts deepen as he kisses my cheeks, my chin, my lips.

Our skin sticks with sweat as we rock into each other and he presses his forehead against mine.

Oh, God.

This is so different…so intimate.

He holds my gaze as we exchange the same breath. “Aspen.”

There’s so much stark emotion contained when he says my name—hate, love, want, desire, obsession—all of it tangled into one.

Just like us.

He changes positions again, this time pushing me so I’m on my back.

I stare down between us, watching him enter me again, before his muscular body hovers above me.

His hands find mine, interlocking our fingers together before pinning them to the mattress.

His thrusts grow deeper…hungrier.

Like he needs this every bit as much as I do.

I close my eyes as a kaleidoscope of emotions pass through me and the friction between us builds, but he cups the back of my neck, demanding I look at him while I come.

I hold his gaze as my second orgasm rips through me, this one even more intense than the first.

A needy moan leaves me as I squeeze around him, giving him everything I have and holding nothing back.

I thought love ended the day my dad died. That I’d never be capable of feeling that emotion for someone ever again.

But I was wrong.

Because it’s here between us—entangled in all our lies and ugly secrets.

It grew, despite our hatred—because it was stronger than we were.

And it will stay with us forever…like a scar that won’t ever heal.

He licks the column of my throat before his teeth scrape my flesh. A deep groan rumbles out of him as he pumps one last time and spills inside of me.

All I can do is hold on to him—tighter than I’ve ever held on to anything before—as he collapses on top of me.

His eyes search mine as he sweeps my hair off my face, like he knows the words he wants to say, he just doesn’t know how to say them.

But it’s okay, because I know he will one day.

“I know,” I whisper as tears blur my vision. “I feel it, too.”

Chapter 54

Aspen

I wake with a jolt, wondering if I overslept until I glance at the alarm clock on the nightstand.

I breathe a sigh of relief when I see it’s just after seven a.m.

I’m not sure if Knox is planning on going to school today. Although, there’s really no point. There’s only a week left until graduation, but for all intents and purposes we’ve already graduated, because we’ve both passed all our tests and classes.

Yawning, I turn over in bed. “Wake up, sleepy—”

He’s gone.

For a moment I’m worried, but then I notice a note addressed to Stray on his pillow.

He probably ran out to get breakfast.

Smiling to myself, I unfold the letter.

My heart skips several agonizing beats as I take in his words.

Stray,

I’ve written this letter so many times now I’ve lost count, but no matter how I say it, or what words I choose to put on this paper…the end result will still be the same.

You’ll be angry and upset.

Hell, you may even hate me again.

I get it. If it was me who woke up one morning to find you gone, I’d be going out of my fucking mind.

But this isn’t what you think.

I know you think I’m leaving you while you’re at your worst, but it’s me.

I’m at my worst.

All my life my father said I’d never amount to anything, and for the longest time I believed him.

Because I never had a reason not to.

Unlike you, I didn’t have a dream college. I also didn’t have goals, aspirations, or an occupation that made me light up from the inside out whenever I talked about it.

Fuck, Stray. Most days, I didn’t even know if I would make it out alive to see the next sunrise.

I’m not abandoning you, because that implies I’ll never be back again.

I will.

I just need to get my shit together first and make something of myself.

For me and for you.

In the meantime, I want you to focus on you.

You’ve wanted to get into Stanford for as long as I’ve known you and I want you to have every single thing you’ve worked your ass off for.

I also want you to smile, go to parties, make new friends, blow a test or two, sip some fancy drinks with dumb pretentious names while you study at the local coffee shops, bake a fuck-ton of cupcakes, and turn down every guy who hits on you…because they will most definitely hit on you.

Point is, I want you to live, Aspen. More than live. I want you to grab life by the goddamn balls and fucking fly.

And no, I don’t expect you to wait for me. But I’ll sure as fuck be waiting for you.

Because you were the only person who ever helped me.

And you’ll own every part of my fucked-up soul until they put me in the ground.

They say strays always come back...

But this time, I’ll be the one coming back to you.

I don’t know when...but I will.

I promise.

Always yours,

Knox

P.S: There’s some money in my dresser drawer. It’s only a couple thousand, but I’ll send you more after the house sells. I know you don’t want to, but take it.

P.P.S: Seriously, Stray. Take the fucking money.

Chapter 55