All The Truths (Lies & Truths Duet #2) by Rina Kent

Me, full of rage and deep-seated pain.

Ari, fragile and sometimes cold.

It takes me fifteen minutes to reach our house and then head to my room. For a moment, I stop in front of the room opposite mine.

Her room.

Since her father’s death at the beginning of the year, Reina’s been living with us.

With me.

In person, but never in mind.

My fists clench on either side of me as I remember the fucker’s words.

She begged for my cock.

He could have been lying. I should believe that, but he was in no state of mind to think of a lie after I beat him nearly to death.

Besides, after all Reina has done, what makes this any different?

I close my eyes to push the thought of her away, but the sucking sounds she made from under that table as he stroked her hair assault my brain. She sounded like a fucking porn star.

I should’ve killed that motherfucker.

“What…what happened?” Her slightly breathy voice makes my eyes open.

Reina stands at her doorway in her sleeping shorts and top. They mold against her athletic body like a second skin.

A temptress. She’s always been such a fucking temptress.

Her eyes that usually hold no emotions widen a little as she takes in my bloodied hands and shoes, my clenched fists and jaw. I bet I’m a sight to behold.

“What’s with your hands? Why is there blood?” She approaches me and reaches a hand out as if to touch me before she quickly drops it to her side, realizing who she is and who I am.

Reina doesn’t touch me. She doesn’t even let me kiss her. The few times I tried, she shut me off so hard, it still draws a black hole in my chest.

But she begged for the teacher’s cock.

She lets the other football players flirt with her as if she’s single.

As if I don’t fucking exist.

“Have you been hitting people again? What is wrong with you?” She folds her arms over her chest, building that invisible wall between us.

I fucking hate it when she does that.

At this time, I have no room to think, let alone act rationally.

The rage that’s been plaguing me since the afternoon has mounted and heightened to dangerous levels.

I thought beating that sick fuck would satiate it, but it’s made it worse.

Or rather, his words did.

I storm toward Reina and wrap my hand around her throat, my bloodied hand with the busted knuckles. Reina barely flinches as I slam her back against the wall.

“You.” My mouth hovers inches away from hers. “You’re what’s fucking wrong with me, Reina.”

Her face reddens—from the lack of air—but she doesn’t struggle. She doesn’t attempt to push me off her.

A statue.

A cold, lifeless statue.

Why the fuck have I ever thought she could be something else?

I release her with a roar, my tendons ripping with tension. Then I slam my fists on either side of her face, ripping my knuckles even more.

Fresh blood trails down the wall as I pant, staring down at her. She watches me back with eyes so blue, they could drown me.

She doesn’t even blink, just stands there.

But for the first time in a long time, a tear slides down her cheek. It’s only one single tear, but it creates havoc in her gaze.

For a moment, her eyes fill with a deep sense of sadness, and it guts me. It rips me open and cuts me into pieces.

I don’t think when I lower my head and slam my lips to hers, biting them, devouring them. Reina is that forbidden fruit, something that tastes exquisite because it’s sin. Her mouth trembles and I take the opening to thrust my tongue inside. I feast on her, on her breaths and the softness. On her taste and even her fucking coldness.

She doesn’t kiss me back. Reina never kisses me back, but at least this time, she doesn’t push me away, she just lets me kiss the daylights out of her while she stands there, both her hands glued to her side.

Then, as if realizing she shouldn’t let this happen, her hands fist and she shoves me an arm’s length away. Her chest rises and falls with exertion, matching the rhythm of mine.

“Forget me, Asher,” she whispers. “I don’t deserve whatever you’re doing for me.”

“Forget you?” I wrap my hand around her throat again. It doesn’t cut her air off this time; it’s only firm enough to keep her in place, to feel her pulse and know she’s indeed a human, not a robot. “You think that can happen with a snap of a finger? If I could, I would’ve done it ages ago.”

As quickly as her vulnerability showed, she tucks it away again and her cold self comes back to light, like ice that never melts.

“We’re toxic,” she says. “That’s all we are.”

“And it’s your fault, prom queen. The next time you let anyone touch you, I’ll fucking murder them.”

“You wouldn’t.”

“Try me. You keep bringing out my ugly side, and I’m curious to see how far I’ll go.” I release her with a shove and stalk back to my room.

After I strip, I stand under the cold shower for more than twenty minutes, my cock hard and pulsing.

Every second, I fight the urge to barge into her room and fuck her while choking her. I don’t care how, I just have to fuck her, claim her, teach her she’s fucking mine.

Knowing Reina, she’ll only let me touch her if I rape her.