Chapter 7 Blaze #2
Pandora, of course, doesn’t even react. If anything, her smile gets wider. “Playing at? I’m having dinner, Blaze. You want to join us? I got only things you can eat too.” She glances at the other two. “Blaze is vegetarian. Unexpected, right? Big bad frat boy like him, not eating meat.”
I bite my lip to prevent myself from lashing out. It’s nobody’s business whether I eat meat or not. I don’t like the taste, and even if my dad had gotten on my case for being ‘picky,’ I’d managed to assert myself on that.
“I don’t want your leftovers,” I sneer. “But you need to explain a few things to me.” I grab Pandora’s wrist and pull her out of the chair.
As soon as I do, the other guy at the table stands up and grabs my arm. “Let her go, Bouchard.”
I glare at him. “Do I know you?”
Now that I’m looking at him, he does feel familiar somehow. He’s taller than I am by several inches. I’d peg him at 6’6”, even. Not that I’m intimidated by his size or his muscles. Men bigger, far more powerful than him, have tried to intimidate me and failed.
“Reaper,” the guy says. “Let go of my friend.”
Friend.
Like Pandora is allowed to hang out with other men.
I smile at Reaper. “No. And if you don’t release me, I’m going to have a chat with some people about how you tried to manhandle me. You think you can go up against a Bouchard?”
The hand on my arm tightens. Reaper’s glare gets darker. “You think I give a shit? We all know what kind of man you are. If you think—”
“Okay!” Pandora says. She slides closer to me. “Reaper, it’s cool. I was just thinking that I needed a sad, limp dick to jump on. It’ll be a nice change of pace from all the long, hard objects I’ve been sticking in me lately.”
Her joke, which would’ve been funny if it was just between us, now has my face flush red with anger.
“Pandora!” Carly hisses. She glances around. “And Reese, stop it. You’re making a scene.”
“I’m not the one…” Reaper shakes his head. “Whatever.” He lets go of me and picks up his and Carly’s trays of food. “Come on, Carly. You shouldn’t be near any of the Chaos assholes.”
Carly looks torn, glancing between Pandora and Reaper. “Pandora…”
Pandora waves to her. “Don’t worry. I can take care of myself. What’s Blaze going to do, throw me over the cafeteria table and fuck me in public?”
Yes.
That sounds like a great idea.
Take her, right here, right now, so nobody else gets any ideas about who Pandora belongs to.
I wait until both Carly and Reaper are across the room before I loosen my hold on Pandora. I shove her back into her seat and loom over her.
“What the fuck was that?” I hiss at her. “You’re playing with other men?”
Pandora smiles up at me. “Are you jealous? You weren’t this possessive when an entire fraternity was ripping my clothes off and sticking their fingers inside me.”
My breath catches.
I was jealous.
I’m still seething.
I want to knock out the teeth of everybody who saw her, even though I led them there. Every time I get another text with those pictures and videos, I imagine stabbing the sender.
They’re supposed to be my frat brothers, but I want most of them dead.
The only reason I haven’t lashed out is because nobody has said anything to my face. If it were just one or two of them… but at least a third of the fraternity participated.
“You’re mine,” I hiss, leaning in closer. “I get to choose what happens to your body. Not you.” I grab her wrist and lift her hand up to my mouth.
Pandora does nothing as I take one of her fingers and begin licking it, running my tongue along the full length, leaving it coated with saliva. Her breathing gets louder, and I see a faint blush spread across her cheeks while her pupils get wider.
I keep licking and sucking, moving on to another finger. Who cares if anyone can see us? Let them know that I can make Pandora squirm like this with my tongue alone.
She presses her thighs together, and I smirk at her.
“Got a problem?” I ask in a hoarse whisper.
Pandora leans in closer, so our lips are mere inches away from each other. “Yeah,” she answers, every bit as softly.
I ready myself for a kiss.
“Do you know where those fingers have been?” Pandora says. “I can’t even remember if I washed my hands after I cleaned Echo’s cage.”
The mood instantly vanishes. I snarl and let go of her. “What the fuck, Pandora?”
Pandora laughs loudly. “Oh, come on! Your face! You didn’t even ask.” She motions around us. “Anyway, we’re in public. You can stay if you want to share my dinner, but otherwise, fuck off.”
No, I don’t want dinner.
But I don’t want to go home to make my own food, either. I sigh and sit down next to Pandora.
“Fine. But admit it, you were into it,” I grumble. I take an edamame pod, checking carefully that it isn’t an empty shell.
“Oh, definitely,” Pandora says. “If I didn’t currently hate you, I really would let you fuck me in public.”
“Well, you’re on my shit list too,” I answer defensively. “I need the stuff you stole from the frat. My father’s going to start asking questions.”
“I really don’t care,” Pandora responds. Her phone dings, and she looks at it with a small scowl. “Oh.”
“Oh?” I ask, getting closer to look at the phone screen. It shows a group chat that’s named Twinsies.
“No, I was hoping River responded to my text.” Pandora lays her phone facedown on the table. “Asch only answers like, once every ten messages. You’re the only consistent one.”
“Asch is ignoring you?” I repeat. “Well, good.”
Pandora’s brow furrows. “Good? Why? Don’t you have hot fantasies about me with Asch?”
“No!” I answer sharply.
We both stare at each other.
“What?” I demand.
She shrugs. “I mean, that’s a total lie. I don’t need to be a mind reader to know that.”
“It isn’t a lie.”
It might not be entirely true, but it’s not a lie either. Because Asch definitely can’t be with Pandora.
He can’t be with somebody who delivers heads as trophies.
Pandora pats my thigh. “Come on. Remember our date? It was really hot with the three of us together. It’d be even better with River too, and—”
“Shut up,” I hiss, grabbing her hand. “Stay away from Asch. Don’t talk to him, don’t touch him, don’t so much as look at him.”
Pandora’s eyes widen, but not with fear. Her lip curls into a slight smile, and of course she thinks she’s figured something out.
She leans in closer, kissing my jaw briefly.
“I’m going to touch him, Blaze. I’m going to destroy him, the way you fuckers tried to destroy me.
He’s going to be crying and begging. I’m going to make him lap at my feet like a good little dog.
And when I’m through, Asch is going to curse the day he ever met you.
He’s going to hate you. There’s nothing you can do about it. ”
My vision goes hazy.
I wrap my hand around her throat, squeezing hard enough that when Pandora opens her mouth, no sound comes out.
“You are going to crawl back into the hole you came from, you sadistic little snake—” I growl.
“You have the attention of half the cafeteria,” Asch says from right behind me. His voice is detached and cold, so unlike his normal tone when he talks to me. Except for lately. “Just FYI.”
I let go of Pandora and turn to face him. “Yeah? Go announce it to the other half, then. Everybody should get to see what happens when somebody pisses me off.”
Go away, Asch.
Pandora makes a show of coughing. “Boys, boys. No need to fight over me. There’s enough of my cunt to go around. Hell, invite the entire frat, if that’s what you’re into.”
My fists clench, my head growing hot with even more anger.
No, no, no.
Asch circles around so he can look at both Pandora and me, and his expression is as aloof as his voice had been despite the way his jaw sets hard. “I don’t want your loose cunt,” he says. “Forgot Blaze doesn’t appreciate warnings when he’s doing stupid shit in public.”
“Stupid shit?” I repeat. “No, I simply don’t appreciate my subordinates questioning me.”
Fuck.
I want to apologize as soon as the words are out.
I don’t think of Asch as a subordinate.
But I know that’ll hurt him. I know it’ll make him finally give up and leave me and Pandora alone.
Asch lets out a harsh laugh, but I can see from his expression that I’ve wounded him. “Not your subordinate anymore, Bouchard.” He glances at Pandora, and while I think he’s about to say something, he turns and walks away instead.
My fists itch with the need to lash out.
Pandora lets out a short whistle. “Wow. Trouble in paradise, huh?” She grins at me. “Looks like my job will be easier than expected.”
There’s a fork on a table, and I imagine taking it and stabbing Pandora’s thigh or neck or eye.
But Asch was right that people are staring. Several of them have their phones out. I can get away with a lot at this university, but assaulting a woman in public isn’t one of them.
I storm away from her.
The entire way back to the house, I have this awful sensation of my heart getting ripped to shreds.