Page 34 of The Rise

I step inside, and that’s when I see her. I thought she was in bed, but I guess I was wrong.

“What are you doing in here?” I ask, startling her a little.

“Just sitting.”

“In the gym?”

“What’s the difference?” Now, she looks up at me, and I can see the look on her face. She’s trying to hide from the world in here. She’s trying to hide from what they did to her. A sick part of me wants to make her talk and rehash everything he did to her. I want to know every fucking detail of what happened to her when she was there for so long. And maybe I will. Maybe I’ll make her relive it all.

“You want to keep that attitude?” I ask her. She shakes her head. I walk over and run my hand over her head. “Good girl.”

“Do you want me to leave?”

“No.” I walk away from her and start my workout, but my eyes keep drifting back to her. She sits with her head down, her knees pulled up to her chest. I don’t like seeing her like that because she’s stronger than that.

“Get up.” Lana lifts her head and looks at me strangely before climbing to her feet.

“You think you’re weak because of what they did to you. You think you’re weak because of how they hurt you. But you’re not weak, Lana. I watched you stab a man to death out there,” I say, pointing toward the door.

“That doesn’t make me strong. I was pissed,” she says.

“Then get pissed, Lana. Get pissed and handle your business because there’s no way in fuck you’re going to survive me if you can’t handle your past,” I tell her.

“What does that mean?” I cock my head to the side and stare at her.

“What have I done to you?” I ask her seriously now.

“What do you mean?”

“Just what I said. What have I done to you?”

“You’ve fucked me.” Now I laugh.

“What have I made you feel when I was fucking you?” she shakes her head before crossing her arms over her chest.

“So many things. Degraded. Embarrassed. Special.”

“There’s more, right? I’ve made you feel more than that?” She nods her head. “And I’m not done, Lana. So if you can’t handle what I’m going to do to you, then you need to say so now. This thing between us is real. I know you can feel it. I fucking feel it. Anyone around us can see it. And I’ve already told you I’m not letting you go, and I meant it. Now, I need to know if you’re strong enough to stand by my goddamn side. That you’re strong enough to handle me when I’m at my worst,” I tell her. She watches me, her eyes boring into mine. She knows what I’m asking her, and I hope like hell she can see herself the way I see her.

“Why do you want me?” she asks.

“You’re strong. You’re beautiful. You’re everything I could have asked for in a woman, but deep down? You’re as fucked up as I am. And that does something to my soul. It calls out to yours, little rebel. If there was one fucking thing in this fucked up world I believe, it’s that you were meant to be here. You were meant to find me, and I was meant to keep you.” Lana stands there, not saying a word. She pulls her shoulders back and lets her arms fall to her sides.

“I’m not weak, Hunter.”

“I know you’re not.”

“I’m not going to let them rule the rest of my life,” she says keeping her head held high.

“Exactly.”

“I’m not going to be their fucking victim anymore!” She screams as I smile at her.

“Then prove it, little rebel. Prove it to me. Prove it to yourself.” Before either of us can say anything else, she rushes me. She leaps into me, throwing her arms and legs around me before her mouth comes crashing down on mine. Her kiss is different. It feels different, as if a fucking weight has been lifted off her. She takes what she wants from me. My cock hardens in my jeans as I walk over and slam her back into the mirrors. Lana bites into my lip until I taste blood, and I growl into hers.

When I pull away, she stares at me for a long minute.

“Don’t thank me. I can see it in your eyes. That isn’t what this is about. This is about us. This is about being able to handle what I’m going to throw at you because what I’m going to do in front of you isn’t going to be easy for you.”

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