Page 31 of Raine
“Shut the fuck up, Acheron, before I do more than throw my stupid phone at your dumb car.”
“I dare you.”
“That’s a stupid thing to say to someone like me.”
“Yeah, you’re right, little girls don’t know how to fight back.”
An emotion I can’t name races down my spine and pools in my lower gut, anger fermenting with the whirlwind of feelings moving through me. I don’t know what drives me to do what I do next, but when I lift my leg up and kick Acheron’s dash, leaving a small dent in the upholstery, I know I’m in the shit.
Shifting down gears, he wrenches the wheel to the right, and we find ourselves on the side of the road. His hands white-knuckling the steering wheel before he opens the door and rounds the front of the car.
I don’t know what possesses me, but I lean over and hit the lock button, looking out the passenger window to see a sinister-looking grin on his face.
“Open the fucking door, Raine.”
Adrenaline pulses through my veins, my blood spiking at his command. I shake my head weakly, knowing damn well Acheron is the one bear I should not have poked.
“If you don’t open this fucking door, you’re going to wish you had when I get my hands on you.”
I hesitate, reaching for the door and then flinging my hand back from it like it was made of fire.
“Have it your way,” he says, that fucking smirk pulling his scar tighter and making my belly coil at the same time.
Acheron reaches into his pocket slowly, and I watch with bated breath, thinking this prick is about to shoot the window out because I won’t open his damn door, but he does something else, something that makes me realize he already anticipated my next move and was giving me the option to lessen the blow by accepting I had fucked up.
My eyes dart to the ignition and then back to his hand, watching the car keys swing back and forth. He clicks the button, and the door unlocks. I unbutton my belt and launch myself over the console to escape him, my heart smashing against my ribcage.
Before I have a moment to process what the fuck I’ve landed myself in, his hand snakes around my ankle, pulling a scream from my throat as he jerks me out of the car.
I look around frantically, searching for a way out and knowing I didn’t strap my knife or gun to me. I was driving with Acheron, I thought I wouldn’t need it. Fucking rookie move.
He slams me up against a tree, my eyes popping wide when I stare up into his lapis blue pair, noticing the glaze that has formed over them.
Lifting me up by my throat, my feet scrape against the dirt, and I claw at his hand, hating the fact that my body is betraying me with the restriction of air.
“When I dared you, I really didn’t think you were that stupid, but clearly you are. What did you think would happen when you kicked my fucking car, Raine? Humor me,” he dares, raising an eyebrow at me.
Wetness coats my fingers, and I know I’ve drawn blood with how hard I’ve been raking my nails into his flesh. Collecting saliva in my mouth, I do the only thing I can think of and spit in his face.
He lowers me slowly to the ground, his hand still firmly around my throat, his lips ratcheting higher, and showing me his straight white teeth.
Acheron leans in, the scent of cherry from his gum and the joint he smoked earlier encompassing me. His breath brushes against my ear, and anticipation sits hot and heavy in my belly.
What the ever-loving fuck is wrong with me?
“I’m only going to say this once, Raine, and you’re going to be a good girl and do as I say. Lick. It. Off. Every last bit.”
My eyes narrow, my blood reaching octane level as I choke out, “Fuck. You.”
He squeezes harder, his face leaning closer to mine, and then he sniffs me. He fucking sniffs me.
“Hmm. You know what I smell, Raine? Your fear and…lust. You made a mess, so clean it the fuck up.”
I didn’t fear him for the reasons he was probably thinking; however, self-loathing was definitely prominent because in this moment he was making me feel alive.
Sucking my lip into my mouth, I chew on it until the taste of copper spans my palette, a telltale sign that I’ve broken the skin. My head and body are warring with each other, my mind almost winning until he grinds his hard body against mine, and I feel every chiseled piece of him through his suit.
“What’s it going to be, Raine? Am I going to have to force you, or are you going to do it on your own?”
