Page 89 of Corrupt Obsession

How wrong he’d been.

“I feel nothing for you at all.”

Black spots marred his vision as rage engulfed him. He squinted at the road as he tried to think past the bloodlust. He lost his mind when she said that. When he realized she would never love him back. He built his life around her, and she wanted nothing to do with him.

She called him a monster, and he proved her right by giving his demon free rein. He punished her for not loving him back, for annihilating his dreams, and ruining the man he could have been. He mauled her like an animal, and she fought back with an aggression that, even now, made his dick hard. They had been stripped of all civilization, which resulted in a transcendent experience that unequivocally proved she was his equal. That field of wildflowers would always be his version of Eden and Violet, whether she wanted to be or not, was his wicked, savage temptress, Eve.

He glanced at her. She stared straight ahead, one hand loosely clutching the seatbelt resting on her chest. If she truly hated him, why hadn’t she reported him? She’d been given many opportunities to expose him, but she hadn’t. She claimed she didn’t want to break Mom’s heart, but Mom had nothing to dowith how she let him tend to her when they came home that day or how she took what she needed from his body.

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, ignoring the surge of adrenaline and the way his muscles flexed as his mind replayed her riding him. The only time Violet gave into their chemistry is when he roused her to a fever pitch, or she was too emotionally shattered to care about her scruples. Only then did she allow herself to indulge in their bond and allow it to soothe her.

The day after their violent clash, he visited the recruiter’s office to complete the enlistment process to join the Air Force. He’d put off making a final decision in hopes that Violet would come to her senses, but he was running out of time. Mom and Dad assumed he was going to a local college. He stopped talking about the military because it had upset Mom so much, but he hadn’t changed his mind. Joining the Air Force was a promise he made to his father that he always intended to keep. He had never second guessed his decision until Violet. If he went into the military, his life wouldn’t be his own. He drove to that secluded location, intending to lay himself at her feet and have her decide his future, only to be told in no uncertain terms that she wanted nothing to do with him.

Any man who had been as brutally rejected as he had, should have been instantly cured of his infatuation. To have the life of his life encourage him to have sex with other females and to label their relationship as poisonous and rotten should have made moving on a piece of cake. He ran a hand down his face, disgusted with himself. If he believed in witchcraft, he may have believed she cast a spell on him because he still yearned for her. She was a part of him, imbedded bone deep. There was no getting her out. He’d tried. There were countless girls who would have him, but the one he’d kill for hated his guts. He still lovedher and a part of him suspected that he always would. His life was a cruel joke.

He pulled into the empty church parking lot and reversed the truck to make it easier to load the supplies. He sorted through the keys Pastor Sonny had given him as he approached the chapel and lifted his head when he heard a door slam. He paused as Violet rounded the truck and passed him to jog up the steps. He couldn’t resist staring at her ass and had a vivid image of her on all fours with the red outline of his hand on her right cheek along with a bite mark that had long since faded.

Need slammed into him with the force of a baseball bat. He’d taken great pains to steer clear of her. He’d been grateful that she caught rides with friends to and from school and had spent as much time as she could at their homes. It helped him wean himself off of her, to exercise self-control, but he was starkly aware that they were alone with no one around for miles on a late, quiet Friday afternoon.

His demon salivated and flashed erotic images in his mind, snapshots of their last, devastating encounter. Depraved desires snaked through his mind, edging out the pain of her rejection. He hesitated at the bottom of the steps. The reformed part of him wanted to order her to stay in the truck or, better yet, call their parents to pick her up. She wasn’t safe with him.

But he didn’t say a word. Instead, he made his way toward her, fingers tingling, heart racing. He knew what he was going to do. Maybe a part of him had known the moment she got in the truck with him. It was always going to end this way. If he was presented with the opportunity to have her, he didn’t have the will to resist. Even if it jeopardized his freedom. Even if it wrecked their family. Nothing compared to the absolute bliss of possessing her. He would pay any price to have her. To be buried inside of her where he belonged.

It didn’t matter if they ran the risk of being caught. He would take her anytime, anywhere. He didn’t give a fuck if it was in God’s house. If sex was all he could have of her, he would take as much as he could until she reported him, or someone put a bullet in his head. He was an addicted maniac. There was something terribly wrong with him for wanting someone who despised him. But he didn’t care. He’d take her hatred and disdain. He’d take her fighting. He’d take whatever she gave him as long as he gother.

He kept his eyes downcast, maintaining the role of chastened stepbrother. If Violet looked into his eyes, she’d know what was coming. There was a fine tremor in the hand that inserted the key in the lock and turned it. He pushed open the door and Violet stepped through. He watched her walk down the aisle between the pews. Cast in the light that came through the massive stained-glass windows, she looked ethereal, untouchable. No matter how many times he claimed her, she remained maddeningly out of reach.

Hands on hips, Violet surveyed the empty stage. What was she thinking? He gave the church a cursory glance. This is where their parents married and where they’d come nearly every Sunday for four years. He spent countless hours here praying, worshipping, volunteering. He spent a significant portion of his summer renovating this church… For what? To have God laugh in his face and take from him the only thing he’d ever wanted?

Fury heated his blood. He’d been a good son, taking care of his mother when his father died. He studied diligently for good grades, worked hard to attain his skills as an athlete and earned his money through manual labor. He didn’t cheat or steal. He had one dream. One weakness. One thing he desired above all else. He thought God placed Violet in his life because she was meant to be his, only for God to be one of the reasons Violet was convinced they couldn’t be together.

Violet had quoted every scripture about how God judged the sexually immoral, and how sex outside of marriage went against God’s design. He would have let Mom and Dad catch them in the act if he thought they’d force her to marry him. But he suspected their parent’s remedy would be to bury their indiscretion instead of trying to rectify it. They would be relieved to ship him off to the military and ensure they had no future contact with each other, which left him with no leverage to bind Violet to him.

God and Violet had been major pillars in his life. They guided and shaped him. He gave them his all only to walk away empty-handed and heartbroken, with his best friend and soul mate lost to him for all time. God had played him for a fool, tormenting him with false visions and hopes that would never come true. Didn’t God know what happened to faithful men who weren’t rewarded? They stopped praying and took matters into their own hands. If being the good guy didn’t get him what he wanted, what was the point of restraining himself?

He drew in a deep breath, taking in Violet’s powdery scent mixing with the smell of old Bibles, furniture polish, and wood pews. He didn’t have it in him to be gentle, loving, or patient any longer. He was desperate, deprived, and starving. With graduation just two months away and his ship date for the military pending, he had mere weeks left with her. He wasn’t going to abstain. He was going to gorge, knowing, no matter how much he indulged, it would never be enough.

As if Violet caught the tail end of his thought, her head whipped around. The moment their eyes collided, hers flared in instant recognition.

“You promised.”

Her voice was nearly soundless even in the hushed, quiet sanctuary.

“I’ve done my best.” His voice was gruff with lust. “I’ve never been able to keep my promises where you’re concerned. I can’tbe around you and not…” He swallowed hard and extended his hand, palm out. “It won’t be like last time. I can be gentle.”

When she recoiled, his hand balled into a fist and dropped to his side.

“Don’t run,” he ordered, knowing it would trigger primitive instincts that he was trying to stifle. She deserved gentle. She deserved sweet. If she came to him, if she allowed him to touch without fighting, he could control his rampaging demon, but if she… His control vanished as Violet bolted down the aisle.

If the back door had been unlocked, Violet would have escaped. Instead, she wasted precious seconds fumbling with the lock and had to dash away before he could get his hands on her.

She leapt up the stairs, intending to cross the stage, to reach a door on the other side of the sanctuary, but she didn’t make it. He flattened her on the steps.

“You can’t do this here!” she hissed fiercely.

He was pleased her warrior spirit was back. That meant he didn’t have to rein himself in. He could indulge his demon’s appetite and give them an experience that would be etched into their memories for all time.

“Why not here? God already knows what we’ve done,” he said as he flipped her onto her back and unceremoniously yanked her pants down.

---