Fast Burn (Burned Duet 1)

“Don’t fuckin’ touch me,” he ground out.

I wanted to retort the same damn words, but his grip was so tight I could barely breathe. I clutched at his arm, not heeding his warning, and tried to push him away.

“You’re a fuckin’ whore.” He reeled back, and I flinched as wetness flew over my face. Did he spit on me? “You’re worth nothing. Nothing.”

“Then why are you here?” I lashed out, my words coming out broken. “Why are you here if I’m worth nothing?”

“Because!” he roared, moving his hand off my throat and clutching the T-shirt I was wearing. His other hand wrapped around my head and he yanked me off the wall. “You’re fuckin’ mine!”

I gasped for breath, feeling the burning in my throat, and I was sure he’d done more damage than ever before, but I wasn’t going to back down. I was going to fight, not for anyone else, but for me.

“No, I’m not!” I stared into his dark eyes, seeing the rage so clearly and uncontained. He was too far gone. “I’ve never been yours, and never will be—”

Stinging ricocheted across my face, and it was only a second later I realized he slapped me. But once wasn’t enough for him. He followed it up with a backhand, making sure the ringing in my ear was well and truly there. I felt the blood burst into my mouth, and I licked at it and laughed. He didn’t have anything on me. Not anymore.

“You can hit me until I’m covered in bruises from head to toe.” I straightened, showing him I wasn’t the weakling he thought I was. I was strong. I’d always been strong. I just hadn’t known it. “It doesn’t matter what you do. You’ll never have a piece of me.”

His chest heaved with each of his breaths, and I was sure I saw smoke coming out of his nose at how angry he was, but I didn’t care. I’d told him the truth. It didn’t matter what he did to me because I’d survived him already. I’d come out on the other side and—

“That’s where you’re wrong.” His fingers clawed at my hair as he yanked on it. My scalp burned as he pulled me across the living room and toward my half-open apartment door. “You’ll never be done with me. Never.”

“Get the hell off of me!” I screamed, not liking that he was trying to get me out of my apartment. What was he trying to achieve? Why had he come here? I clawed at his arm, digging my nails in until I drew blood, and finally he let go of me and threw me down onto the floor. My forehead smacked off the table and everything went blurry for a couple of seconds, but I knew I couldn’t keep my back to him. I couldn’t let my guard down. I turned, letting my ass hit the carpet just for one second so I could get my bearings.

“Fuck!” He roared, a literal roar. “You’re gonna pay for that, bitch.” I pushed my hands into the carpet, trying to get up, but I wasn’t quick enough. He flung himself at me, his head down and shoulders out, and his body slammed into mine, his shoulder barging into my chest and winding me.

My breath whooshed out of me and I couldn’t get it back. It was stuck and I was starting to panic. Everything was happening too quickly. My head spun and pain exploded over my face as his fist slammed into my cheek, causing me to stop fighting for a second. But that second was all he needed to get me exactly where he wanted me.

“You need to be put in your place.” He lifted up a little, his face so close to mine I could feel his breath fanning over my skin. His hands grasped my waist and I finally gasped a breath. “And it looks like it’s gonna fall on my shoulders.” His gaze met mine, and there wasn’t a trace of the Knox I’d grown up with. Gone was the loving boy who stuck up for me to everyone, and in his place was evil—pure evil.

His hand wormed its way down my body and the sound of a zip rang out. It took me a second to understand what he was doing, and I panicked. “What—” He gripped the waistband of my jeans and yanked them down in one swift motion, exposing me to him. “What are you doing?” I panicked, my hand reaching for the material, but I couldn’t gain traction. They were gone before I’d even gotten the chance. “Knox, stop it!”

I tried to crawl backward, but his heavy body was on top of me and I couldn’t move a muscle. I couldn’t get away from him, no matter how hard I tried. I slapped at his face and used all my strength to push at his chest, but one grip of my wrists was all it took to hold them above my head. I was trapped with no escape in sight.

“Please, don’t,” I begged. “Please, please, Knox.”

“Fuck yeah, beg me,” he groaned out, and a sob built up in my throat. He wasn’t going to back down. He wasn’t going to get off me. He wasn’t going to—

The room spun as he lifted his hips, and in my subconscious I knew what he was going to do next. I knew I should have fought like hell. I knew I should have done anything and everything to stop him, but my mind shut down. My brain tried to protect me from what was about to happen, but it had no influence over the physical pain I felt.

He pounded into me, and I screamed out as he tore me apart. I wasn’t ready for him. Not like I had been with Asher. God. Had that only been twenty-four hours ago? How could I have been the happiest I’d ever been one minute, and then the next…this.

Maybe Knox was right. You could take the girl out of the trailer park, but you couldn’t take the trailer park out of the girl. He was showing me what he thought of me. How he viewed me. Maybe I deserved this. Maybe this was what my life was meant to be. I’d been shown a glimpse of a better life today, but it was an illusion. An illusion I could never be a part of.

I rolled my head, my gaze connecting with the kitchen counter where I’d been the happiest. His fists hitting my ribs didn’t gain a reaction out of me, and neither did his painful grasp of my hips. Nothing mattered to me anymore. Nothing.

I’d been wrong when I’d told him he’d never own a piece of me.

He’d stolen the last piece of the puzzle. A piece I’d never be able to get back.