Page 9 of Rampant

“He’s about to put an APB out on my ass if I don’t go home. I told him I needed some time to deal with everything, but he isn’t letting this go.”

As soon as my wrists were free, I massaged some circulation into them. But my attention veered to Zach’s hands, the pockets of his jeans, even the dresser. A sense of defeat threatened to strangle me. No phone, no keys. After my last attempt to get away, he wouldn’t be so careless, even while intoxicated.

He grabbed my chin. “Are you listening to me? My fucking career means more to him than it ever did to me. He’s furious that I disappeared.”

“What are you gonna do?”

His mouth curved into a smirk. “Don’t get any ideas. I’m not letting you go, if that’s what you’re hoping for. I held him off for a while longer.” He planted a kiss on my mouth before backing away. “Get up.”

“Dad won’t stay silent forever. He’ll find you,” I said, sliding off the bed to stand on weak legs. I folded my arms. “When he does he’ll see I’m still alive.”

“Don’t worry about Dad. I can handle him.” The nasty smirk never left his face. “And I can handle you too.” He wrapped his hands around my hips and pushed forward. I shot my arms behind me, palms pressing into the mattress to keep from sprawling onto the bed. Not an inch of space separated our bodies, and I was grateful for the T-shirt he’d allowed me before he left.

“I’m gonna make you love me again, Lex.” He dipped his head, gaze zeroing in on my mouth. “We’ll be together, just like we were always meant to be.”

“You’re delusional.”

“I’m pragmatic. If pain doesn’t do it for you anymore, we’ll try pleasure.”

“Stop.” As his lips neared, my hands left the mattress and pressed against his chest. “I can barely stomach the sight of you after what you’ve done.” I choked on the last word, the thought of Rafe trying to creep in again, and cleared my throat. “You forced me, Zach.Foryears.”

He jerked his head back and forth. “You can’t fake this kind of connection.” His palms slid along my cheeks, his fingers tangling in my hair as he tilted my head back. The intensity of his stare pummeled me. “You’re the only one who’s ever cared about me. Dad sure as hell doesn’t.”

“That’s not true. You’re his whole world.”

“I’m fucking tired of being his world. I’m tired of it all. You don’t know him like I do.” He swallowed hard, and his eyes glistened with a lifetime of resentment. If I thought Dad had been tough on me, he’d been harder on Zach. Pushing him to be the best, to fight rougher, meaner.Never back down, son! Don’t be an embarrassment. Losing isn’t an option.

He rested his forehead against mine. “Quitting is a relief. I don’t want to fight. The belts, the championships, none of it matters. I just want you. Everything is so easy with you, second nature, like breathing. Remember when we were kids and we’d hide under the covers every time they’d get into another fight? You made me feel needed. Wanted. Let’s just hide here forever, Lex.”

Damn him. I blinked, suppressing the burning tears in my eyes. How could one person pull me in so many directions? He repulsed me, made me furious, made me feel the most intense hatred a person could harbor…yet he still made me care. What would it take before I forgot the good times, the years when he was there for me as a brother should be? While our parents had waged war in the house, he’d been my safe place, the one who held me and told me to hang on a little longer because it would be over soon. If I’d known back then how dark he’d turn, if I’d been capable of understanding what that darkness meant, I wouldn’t have gone to him for comfort. I wouldn’t have looked at him as a brother, because that connection made hating him messy and complicated.

Zach was a minefield of which I was stuck in the middle. It didn’t matter which way I stepped, an explosion strong enough to dismember was bound to happen.

“I have to pee,” I said, needing the distraction, needing distance. I squirmed, and my bladder begged for release.

He pulled away and gestured toward the bathroom. “Come back naked. I have a surprise for you.”

“I don’t want your surprises. I want you to let me go.”

Thick brows furrowed over intense eyes filled with determination. “That’s not gonna happen.”

I turned my back to him, thinking how the eyes of someone so rotten to the soul shouldn’t hold so much beauty. The weight of his scrutiny followed me into the bathroom. After I took care of business, I deliberated removing my clothing, but self-preservation won the battle. The thought of igniting his wrath made the decision for me. I took my time undressing, then glanced down at my breasts with a cringe. Fading bruises and crisscrossed welts covered my skin in a grotesque mural of purple and yellow. I feathered my fingers over the marks of his rage, and my feet refused to move, as if they sensed the pain waiting for me. But stalling would only delay the inescapable. I had no way out.

I returned to him, avoiding eye contact, and folded my arms to hide my breasts.Notfighting him seemed wrong. I had nothing left to lose and everything to gain with my freedom.

“Bend over the bed.”

I gave a swift shake of my head.

In three strides, he grabbed my arms before hauling me across the room. I dug in my heels, pulled against his strength, but in the end he shoved me against the bed. “This is happening, Lex. Bend the fuck over and hold still, or I’ll beat the fight out of you.”

I went limp under the threat. My breasts flamed with the memory of his strikes, as if the wounds were hours old instead of a few days. Even now, each sharp bite of his switch ghosted through me. It hadn’t been a paddle to my ass, a punch to my gut or face, or a slap or bite. He’d lost his mind when he’d wailed on my body with that stick. I bent over the mattress, gripped the bedding, and waited, hoping he’d fuck me instead of beat me.

No warning. He pushed a finger in my ass, and I shrieked from the scorching burn of dry skin forcing entry into my rectum. He splayed one hand on my back, holding me in place while his finger stilled in my hole. “Don’t move.”

“Ow! What are you doing?”

“In a few minutes, you won’t give a shit what I’m doing.” He burrowed his finger in deeper, intensifying the sting. I let out a wail, terrified he was about to rape me anally.

---