Thea fucking Knight is nothing more than a smartass girl with reckless curves and a death wish.

I don't know who or what lit a fire in her ass but challenging me was a dumb move.

Has she forgotten what I can do to her?

With one snap of my finger, I can shatter her world and send her back to a time when she trembled at the sight of me.

Everything in you is so rotted that you can't help but be a despicable human being.

Her words are like a fiery arrow to the chest. I guess the truth will do that to you but it's a double hit when the person delivering said truth is constantly twisting my mind in a maze of contradiction.

One minute, I want to claim her lips, kissing her until we're both panting while the next I have this overwhelming urge to wring her damn neck.

The girl is a nuisance and needs to be eliminated from my mind, my fantasies, and my life.

I grip the door knob as flames of molten anger start at my feet, travel up my legs, and threaten to incinerate my self-control. Inhaling a calming breath doesn't work because my pride requires retribution and satisfaction will only come when I feel her erratic pulse under my fingertips as she gasps for air.

Is it sick that I want her nails scraping down my arm as she fights to breathe or to watch the life slowly dim from her sultry eyes?

I wont kill her, of course, just toy with her a bit until I can taste her fear on my tongue.

Before I realize it, I'm twisting the cool brass but common sense swoops in saving me from doing something stupid like ordering her to strip and get on her knees.

I grit my teeth and force one foot in front of the other until I'm in the locker room. Most of the guys are finishing up as I strip out of my uniform, grab a towel and head to the showers.

As I wash away the grime from football practice, I find my thoughts being dominated by Thea pressed against the wall, restrained yet bucking like a wild animal.

I was so ready to destroy her for nosing in my business when my traitorous dick got to twitching like it was ready to pop right out of my pants.

Not the first time I've had that reaction around her and each time I'm left dumbfounded because she's everything I shouldn't desire. For one, she isn't my girlfriend and two, she doesn't fit into my world.

Thea is the fat girl, the outcast, and the easy target. She also reminds me of someone I left behind many years ago. That alone should kill the lust bubbling inside of me but when I catch a whiff of her sweet coconut scent and trace the curves of her shapely hips, all my objections seem pointless.

I brace my hands against the tile, my already stiff cock stirring, and hold my head under the powerful spray. A groan works its way up my throat when I imagine all the wicked things I would do to her if we weren't enemies. But, we are, and all my dirty fantasies abruptly take a plundering drop out of a ten-story window.

Once I'm dressed in a pair of sweats and a t-shirt, I grab my things, say my goodbyes to the few guys lingering in the hall and make my way out to the student parking lot.

In the short time since practice ended, the temperature has dropped and I breathe in the cool air to chill the steam still shooting from my ears.

When I get to my Explorer, I toss my bags into the back then hop in the driver's seat. I start the ignition just as Thea walks out with Coach Shaw and my back goes rigid.

My first thought is that she's ratting me out, crying to Coach that I assaulted her.

The little snitch.

My second thought is that Coach is going to lay into me like a battering ram and might even bench me Friday night.

Unlike my step-father, I actually have respect for the man and don't need Thea putting me in a bad light with my coach.

Maybe you should've weighed the consequences before raging out like a steroid induced lunatic.

What the hell ever.

I guess there could be an argument that I went too far but I've been stewing all night and all day. Between my step-father and Thea, my temper needed an outlet and the latter got the brunt of it.

Out of everyone to witness my shame, it just had to be the one person that wouldn't piss on me if I was on fire.

I was shocked shitless the moment I spotted her peering around the brick wall which quickly bled into anger because the girl I've teased for years finally had the ammunition to return fire.

And I hate her all the more for it.

To Thea and everyone else at school, I'm the jock with a bad attitude and a hard exterior. There is no way someone like me would get pushed around by a pompous asshole in an Armani suit.

Yet, there I was getting manhandled as if I couldn't lay Anthony out with a single punch. I held back, like always, and took his crap to protect the two people I love the most in this world.

Frustrated with myself for backing down, my step-father for being a slimy piece of shit, and Thea for always seeing more than she should, I punch the steering wheel.

In front of me, the two are laughing and it would seem that I have nothing to worry about.

You would think that would put me at ease. Well, it doesn't because she's smiling bright as if what happened in the washroom isn't affecting her.

Something tells me this new Thea is going to be a problem.

My phone chimes, interrupting my morose thoughts.

Ashlee: Hey, want to come over?

I tap my phone debating if I should. What better way to work off my frustrations than between my girlfriend's legs?

Devon: I'm beat. Going home to eat then crash.

My mind and fingers seem to be on a different page than my libido.

As sexy as my girlfriend is, Ashlee barely gets my blood pumping and I expend more energy pretending to be turned on than the act itself.

Hell, might as well blame Thea for that too.

Ashlee: Fine. You're no fun. 😞

I drop my phone in the cup holder and watch as Thea shakes her head before Coach gets in his truck. When he pulls away, she starts her trek home like always on days we have practice.

I find it odd that she doesn't have a car. It's not like the kids around these parts don't have parents who'd lavished their children with whatever their heart desires.

I drive off, creeping behind her as she plugs in a pair of pink earbuds. Instead of paying attention to her surroundings, her face in her phone. I purse my lips at her carelessness. Although, I doubt anyone would snatch her off the road in this town.

Regardless of how safe Westlake is, there'll always be an asshole waiting in cut ready to unleash their darkness into the world.

Today, that asshole happens to be me.

Up ahead is a puddle from the heavy rain yesterday morning. For a split second, I rethink my actions as my moral compass struggles to point North. Pressing on the gas, I fly past her causing muddy water to splash over her legs.

She jumps in shock and I stop a few feet ahead, grinning when her eyes narrow on my SUV. Vibrating like a geyser ready to explode, she stomps over baring her teeth.

"My bad, Triple T, I didn't see you there." I tell her after rolling down the passenger window.

"How the hell didn't you see me, you jerk?"

I shake my head. "See, I was going to offer you a ride but now that you've insulted me," I trail off and shrug my shoulders.

"Oh, please, I wouldn't accept a ride from you if I was walking a mile on broken glass." She volleys back and I love how her nose wrinkles when she gets upset. I even love the daggers shooting from her eyes and the way her cheeks darken to a golden russet color.

Realizing that I've used the word 'love' twice in connection to Thunder Thighs Thea, I give myself a mental slap to clear away the crazy.

"Mile on broken glass, huh? Well, let's hope it doesn't come to that." I drape my arm over the stirring wheel and a cock a brow. "Be careful getting home. I would hate for something to happen to you, piggy."

Growling, she stomps her foot. "Go screw yours-"

Before she can finish her statement, I speed off, leaving her screaming to the sky and doesn't that just make my day.