Burned Duet: Asher & Elodie: Fast Burn & Deep Burn (Easton Family Duet Boxsets Book 4)

by Abigail Davies

  He was at least half a foot shorter than me, and even though he was wearing club colors and gave me a look of death at being so close to him and Lotus, I didn’t back down. “She’s mine,” I told him, my voice a growl. I didn’t mean what I’d said, but I knew exactly what he needed to hear to get him to back off.

  His eyes narrowed on me and then her as he waited for her confirmation, and as soon as Lotus nodded, he let her go, causing her to stumble into me. I didn’t hesitate as I wrapped my arm around her bare waist, glued her to my side, and headed through the crowd and backstage. There was a hallway hardly anyone used back there.

  I gritted my teeth, trying not to think about the skimpy outfit she was wearing. The only things covered were half of her breasts and her damn pussy, but even then, there was little left to the imagination. I wanted her to cover herself, not because I didn’t want to see her without clothes on, but because I didn’t want to see it in this way.

  We entered the darkened hallway, and I let go of her, then ripped my arms out of my jacket. It would be entirely too big on her because I was at least one hundred pounds heavier and a foot taller, but it would cover her while we talked. “Here.” I handed it to her, but she just stared at it like a bomb about to explode.

  “What’s that?” she asked, her brows furrowing.

  “My jacket.” I swallowed, using all of my energy to keep my attention on her face and not let it slip over her body. I was in a damn strip club, and I couldn’t even look at a half-naked body. What the hell was wrong with me?

  “I don’t need your jacket,” she whipped out, slamming her hands onto her hips. “I’m a fuckin’ stripper, and you’re telling me to cover up?” She was deathly serious and had me on edge, and I didn’t know what the fuck to do.

  “Take the damn thing, Lotus.”

  “Why?” She laughed, but it was a sad kind of laugh. “The one guy in this place who makes me feel safe, and he wants me to cover up.” She shook her head. “Unbelievable.” My nostrils flared, and I was losing control. The grip I had was loosening, and the more she fumed at me, the fuckin’ hotter she became. “I’m not taking your damn jacket, Asher.”

  “Yes, you fuckin’ are,” I warned, stepping forward. She took a step back, but instantly collided with the wall behind her. “Take it and cover yourself up so I can actually have a conversation with you.”

  She stared at me for several beats, something swirling in her blue eyes. “What’s the matter? You a virgin?” The way she said the last word told me she wasn’t used to confronting someone like this, but I’d play this game if she wanted me to. I was hanging by a thread, and damn if I didn’t want it to snap.

  I let my jacket drop to the floor and took one giant step so my entire body was pressed against hers. My palms met the wall above her head, and I caged her in, loving the way she looked a little frightened at first but also safe. She was a contradiction, a puzzle I craved to solve. “Do I look like a fuckin’ virgin?” I asked, my voice low and threatening, but fuck if she didn’t have me nearly caving in as her finger trailed down the side of my forehead, tracing the scar there.

  “I dunno, Asher.” She bit down on her bottom lip. “Do you?”

  I pressed my hips against her, letting her feel what she did to me. A voice in the back of my mind told me I was taking it too far. I wasn’t being fair to her. This was her job, and just because I had a fuckin’ crush on her didn’t give me the right to act the way I was. But goddammit, I couldn’t fuckin’ stop.

  Her eyes hooded and her lips parted, signaling she liked the way it felt, telling me I was doing the right thing. “Fuck me, you’re so damn beautiful.” I lifted my hand off the wall and placed my palm on the side of her face, letting my thumb pull at her plump bottom lip. “I wanna kiss you so bad right now,” I told her, not able to look away from her eyes. I was asking for permission, but I was gonna take it either way.

  I slammed my lips down onto hers. I ran my tongue over her lips. I groaned as her hands gripped my biceps. And I drifted to goddamn heaven.

  Chapter Six

  ELODIE

  I spotted Leo as soon as I pulled into the parking lot. He was pacing back and forth off to the side of the main entrance, talking to himself and making crazy gestures in the air. A laugh slipped free at how weird he looked, but it was in that endearing kind of way. My usual spot near the front was open, so I pulled into it, took a quick look to see if Knox’s SUV was here, and when I saw it wasn’t, I jumped out of my car and ran toward Leo.

  “Hey!”

  He jumped on the spot and squealed, just like I did when I was a little girl. “Elodie,” he breathed out and patted his palm on his chest as if to slow his heart down. “You scared the crap outta me.”

  “Sorry.” I wasn’t really sorry because I had a huge smile on my face. I was in a good mood. The best mood I’d been in for what felt like years. “Why were you pacing?” I asked, hooking my thumbs underneath my backpack straps on my shoulders.

  “I…” His eyes widened as if he just remembered what he was about to say. “My mom won the bet.”

  “No way!” My mouth dropped open, and I flung my arms around Leo. I didn’t know what made me do it, but it felt natural like I’d done it a thousand times before. I’d never been so open with anyone, but Leo was Leo, and I didn’t doubt hugging him for a second.

  “Yes way,” Leo replied, pulling out of the embrace and looking around the lot. If I really thought about it, I should have cared who was around and whose eyes were on us, but at that moment, I didn’t give a shit. “But now they have another bet going.”

  “Oh god,” I groaned, invested in this sibling banter I had no idea about. I always wondered what it would have been like to have a brother or a sister, and I suddenly realized Leo was an only child too. Maybe that was why we got along right away? Maybe it was why I felt a connection with him that I couldn’t explain. It wasn’t romantic, more like he was the little brother I’d always known I had. We’d only hung out once, but we’d been texting on and off for a couple of days, and we’d talked about everything and nothing all at the same time.

  “What is it now?”

  “Pizza eating,” Leo said, his face carefully blank.

  “Pizza…eating?” I repeated, wondering whether I’d heard him wrong.

  “Yep.” Leo turned and started to move toward the main steps of the school, and I walked beside him. I didn’t want to admit out loud that it felt weird to be walking into school with a friend, but it really was strange. I’d walked in and out beside Knox plenty of times, but it was different. People were always watching Knox and either ignoring me or giving me the evil eye. And it was just as I thought about Knox when a horn honked. I looked over my shoulder, already knowing who it would be.

  Knox’s SUV slid into the spot next to mine, and although I didn’t make eye contact with him thanks to his tinted windows, I could feel his gaze on mine. I was near the top of the steps now, and Leo was still talking, but I had no idea what he was saying because all I could focus on was Knox as he pushed out of his SUV, his gaze set right on me.

  People surrounded him, trying to get his attention, but the longer I stayed where I was with Leo beside me none the wiser, the more Knox’s eyes narrowed, and his face screwed up. He’d never seen me talk to anyone other than him, and it was right at that moment I understood why I’d never had any friends. Because when it came to Knox, it was easier to be alone.

  “You okay, Elodie?” Leo asked, and I nodded, not opening my mouth to reply. I wasn’t sure if I could get the words out even if I wanted to. My head was spinning, my mind confused as to what was happening. I’d left the trailer happy this morning, and now I was…

  I didn’t know what I was.

  Knox’s two followers walked up to him, but he didn’t move his gaze off me to acknowledge them. I could see them looking at me and turning back to him, and I knew they were telling him I’d hugged Leo. I should have thought before I acted, but I hadn’t been thinking. I’d been livi
ng in the moment, and I knew better than anyone that I couldn’t be free like that. Every action had a consequence, and my stomach rolling with nerves told me this one would too.

  The first bell rang out, and I darted away from everyone and inside the building, determined to keep my head down for the rest of the day. But I should have known Knox would come and find me at some stage. I shouldn’t have let myself relax when lunch was nearly over. I should have been preparing myself, but I hadn’t expected him to grab my wrist and yank me into the nearest closet.

  The door slammed behind us, and the resounding click of the lock rang out. I was stuck in the darkened space with him, and with his body blocking the door, there was no way out. The tension built as the silence stretched, and I opened my mouth, not knowing what I was going to say, but nothing came out. I didn’t know what to tell him because I never knew which Knox I was going to get.

  “You forget me or something, El?” I winced at the nickname and backed up a step. My instincts were kicking in, telling me to get as far away as possible, but I was trapped with nowhere to go. I shouldn’t have felt like this, not when it came to the person who was meant to care the most about me. Our reality was just an illusion. A mirage to fool those around us, because deep inside, it was nothing but rotten. I knew it. He knew it. And yet, we carried on the same as we always had.

  “You disappeared all weekend,” Knox went on, and the sound of his boot tapping on the tiled floor told me he’d stepped closer.

  “I was…I was working.”

  “Bullshit,” he gritted out. “I went there.” I swallowed the lump building in my throat at his words. “And you weren’t there. So where the fuck were you, huh?” His voice was lower now, threatening, warning me he was going to strike any second. My gut was telling me to do or say anything to get away from this conversation, but my head was telling me not to back down from him.

  “I was working,” I insisted because I was. I’d worked extra hours so I could afford this weekend’s dance competition, although I still didn’t have enough to cover the rent but I couldn’t worry about that right now. I had to take on what was in front of me, no matter how much facing Knox had me on edge.

  “You’re lying to me, El,” he murmured, and a second later, his soft touch whispered up my arm and over my neck. “I don’t like it when you lie to me.”

  “I know,” I managed to stutter out. “I’m not lying though, Knox. I promise I’m not.”

  I heard rather than saw him shuffle closer, and then his body was pressing against mine, soft and gentle, nothing like the harshness I’d felt the last time we’d been alone. Maybe what had happened the day at the lookout had made me pull away from him, but I was a fool if I thought I could walk away from Knox. He owned me, at least, he liked to think he did. He may only have been eighteen, but he had more power in his little finger than the entire school put together. He had sway, and I couldn’t afford to go against that.

  He didn’t answer me with his words, not that I’d expected him to. He was waiting, taking in what I’d told him as he decided what to do, and all I could do was wait him out. Wait to see what he would say. Wait to see his reaction.

  His hand drifted to the side of my face, and his breath fanned over my skin, and then his fingers were gripping my hair. He yanked me, causing my neck to snap to the side. “What did I tell you about that fuckin’ nerd?”

  “I—”

  “You didn’t listen.” He pulled my hair even harder, making my scalp burn with pain. “You never goddamn listen.”

  “I’m sorry,” I croaked out, reaching up for his arm and grasping his wrist.

  “I trusted you, El.” He let his words hang in the air and pressed his forehead to mine. “Don’t make me regret it.”

  “You won’t,” I replied, tilting my head up. I could just about make out his features through the darkness now that my eyes had adjusted. His piercing stare met mine, a warning loud and clear in the depths of his eyes. He could destroy me if he wanted to, and then I’d have nothing. At least that was how it felt. It would all be over soon. All I had to do was make it to the end of the school year.

  So, for now, I’d play his game. I’d say whatever I had to say to satisfy him. I’d take whatever he threw at me. Because his threat wasn’t one he wouldn’t follow through with. Knox wasn’t the kind of person who said one thing and did another. He said what he meant, and he did what he said. I knew that better than anyone.

  I swallowed as I kept my gaze connected to his, showing him he could trust me. I’d never given him any reason not to. Not outwardly anyway. I kept secrets from him, but they were secrets I kept from everyone. Secrets I didn’t let myself dwell on. My privacy was just that—mine.

  The school bell rang out, but he didn’t make a move to let go. My last class of the day was French, and if he didn’t let me out, I’d be late. And being late was an automatic deduction on my next paper. A deduction I could not afford to get.

  “I’m really sorry, Knox.” I didn’t mean the words that came out of my mouth, but I knew saying them would appease him. Finally, his grip lessened, and he let go altogether. But he didn’t step back. He stayed in my space, drumming his point home.

  “I need to go to class,” I finally told Knox, my voice low and my tone unsure. He was on the edge of something, and I needed to be careful not to push him off because I wasn’t sure what would happen if I did. I had an inkling, but I didn’t truly know. And that was what scared me the most—the unknown.

  He stared down at me, and I held my breath, waiting…

  Then his stance changed, and his arm hooked around my shoulders like we hadn’t been locked in a silent stare-off. Like he hadn’t grabbed my hair. Like he hadn’t hurt me.

  His grip was firm, but not hard enough to make me wince. He wanted to make sure I knew he was there. I adjusted my eyes to the bright hallway as he opened the closet door. It was full of students going to their last class of the day, and I could feel their stares on us as we walked away from the closet.

  “Meet me after school,” Knox growled in my ear, and one look up at him told me whatever had happened in the closet wasn’t over, not by a long shot. I had two options, I could refuse and stand my ground, not knowing what would come next from him, or I could go along with it, just like I always did.

  “Okay,” I whispered, choosing the easy way rather than the hard, rocky path. I didn’t have the energy to climb the mountain and go against Knox’s words. Time. I needed time to be on my side and make the rest of the school year go as fast as it could.

  My stomach dipped as I spotted the classroom for French. I wouldn’t be late, which meant I wouldn’t get an automatic deduction, but I wasn’t sure what else I had given up for it. I’d bowed down to Knox in the closet, and I hated myself for it.

  “Watch where you’re going,” Knox growled and darted to the left, still holding on to me. I slipped and grabbed hold of his T-shirt to try and stay on my feet, but it was no use because he let go, and I went tumbling to the floor. My palms slapped on the ground, causing a vibration to ricochet up my arms, and I gritted my teeth, thankful my hair had fallen forward to shield my reddening face.

  “Sorry,” another voice said, and at the tone, I whipped my head up, my eyes wide. Shit. Shit, shit, shit.

  “You should be,” Knox gritted out, and I scrambled back onto my feet and toward him. I had to diffuse the situation.

  “Knox,” I pleaded, grabbing his arm to pull him away.

  “It was an accident,” the voice said again, and I moved my gaze to him. Blood was spurting from Leo’s nose, and his expression was full of confusion. Fuck. What the hell had Knox done?

  “Fuckin’ nerd,” Knox spat out and yanked his arm away from me. His stare met mine, a clear warning in his dark eyes, and I knew then it hadn’t been an accident like Leo had said it was. Knox had spotted him and made a beeline for him to send a warning. Knox continued to look at me for several seconds, and my stomach dipped. He was a coiled snake, ready to str
ike, and I felt like the only target. I opened my mouth, not sure what I was going to say, but he spun around and darted down the hallway, away from the situation.

  I was frozen to the spot for several seconds, unsure what to do and where to go, but my gut knew there was no way I could leave Leo like this, so I bent down and winced at the blood still pouring from his nose.

  “What happened?” I asked, although I already knew. I was trying to make small talk.

  “I was just walking past,” Leo breathed out, his chest heaving. “And then I was falling, and my face smacked into the lockers.” I looked behind him, spotting the dent his face had left in the metal.

  “Damn.” I stood and held my hand out for him, not caring at this point whether Knox saw or not. He could warn me all he wanted, but it didn’t mean I’d heed to it. I’d always done as he said, whether he’d verbalized it or not, but it was different now. Things were changing. I was changing. I wasn’t sure if this sudden urge of not caring if he saw would last.

  Leo placed his hand in mine, and I helped him up, groaning at putting all my weight into it. He stumbled, then righted himself and tried to laugh it off, but the gurgled sound had me cringing. None of this would have happened if it wasn’t for me, so I whispered, “I’m sorry.” I kept my arms outstretched in case he stumbled again, not that I’d be able to keep him up because he was taller and wider than me. He definitely didn’t look like a fourteen-year-old kid. But luckily, the nurse’s office was right next to the school office, and we were only one hallway away from it.

  “Huh?” Leo frowned and turned to face me, his hand still cupped under his nose. “Why are you sorry?”