Page 41 of The Rise

“They were bullshit! You can’t say that shit to me and then decide you made a mistake, Hunter.”

“You don’t want this!”

“I wasn’t sure what I wanted!” I argue back at him.

“And what? Now you know?” Lightening cracks across the sky, lighting up Chaos and making it look eerier than it already is, but my focus is on Hunter.

“I’ve been thinking about it since the chapel.”

“That’s not long enough.”

“I’ve been thinking about it since you pulled that knife from my hand!” He runs his hand through his hair, looking angry and sexy all at the same time.

“And what, Lana?”

“And you’re right, Hunter. I’m just like you, except I’m scared. I’m scared to death to let you in.”

“I wouldn’t hurt you, Lana, not like they did,” he screams at me. I know what he’s saying, and I get it. I don’t believe that Hunter would hurt me the way they did, either.

“I know that now.”

“Do you?” he asks, cocking his head to the side to study me.

“I do. Because you hurt me in the best ways possible, Hunter.” I walk closer to him, and right here in front of Chaos, I do what he always orders me to do. I drop to my knees in front of him. I lift my head and look up at him, and I see the blazing inferno in his gaze. He lowers his hand to my cheek and softly strokes it before sliding his hand around to the back of my head, gripping my hair in his hand. He tugs so my head tips back, and I’m at his mercy.

Then he leans down and spits on my face and my pussy clenches. He knows what he’s doing to me. With his free hand, he reaches for the spit and runs his fingers through it just like he did before and then shoves his fingers into my mouth.

“Do you have any idea what you’re doing, Lana?” he asks me. I shake my head. I don’t know what I’m doing. I have no fucking clue, but what I do know is that I want to do it all with him. Hunter releases my hair and pulls his fingers from my mouth.

“Stand up,” he demands. I stand to my feet just as the rain starts to sprinkle down on us.

“I made a vow to you, Lana, and I meant every word of it.”

“And I made a vow to you, too.”

“And you mean every word of it?” he asks me.

“I do.”

Chapter 19

Hunter

The days have passed slower than usual, and I don’t know why. Maybe it’s because I’m so amped up I can barely stand still. I’ve taken my aggression out on Lana, just like I’m doing now. I have her chained to my favorite spot on the wall, this time facing away from me.

I raise the whip and then snap it across her ass, listening to her scream from every hit. My mind is a mess, and I can feel myself slowly slipping away. There’s no bringing me back, either. It’s the mess that is my mind taking me to a dark place.

I raise the whip and do it again and again before changing it up to the paddle. The little round globes of her ass glow red, and that’s all I can see. Red. I can see Hoax out of the corner of my eye, pretending to be on his phone, but I know he’s watching me.

I drop the paddle and unhook her arms and legs, letting her stand on the floor before she turns to look at me with tears running down her cheeks. I cock my head to the side and study her face. She’s so goddamn beautiful when she’s crying for me.

“I’m only going to say this once, so make sure you listen to me.” Lana watches me closely as my hands begin to tremble. Hoax knows it’s coming, but she doesn’t. And I almost feel bad for her about that.

“Hunter, you’re shaking,” she says looking at my body as it all begins to tremble.

“Run, little rebel. You need to run and hide because if I find you, I’m going to hurt you,” I tell her truthfully. I’m crumbling. I’m falling apart, and there’s no stopping it. There’s no stopping me. Just like Hoax said, we all break at some point, and this is mine.

“You won’t hurt me,” she denies, pressing her hands to my chest. Fuck, it feels like fire burning straight through me. Hoax gets up and leaves the room.

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