Chapter 20 Pandora
PANDORA
Carly and Reaper had declined to join me.
That shouldn’t piss me off. It’s fine if they don’t like clubbing.
It’s okay that Carly hates loud music and prefers to stay at home and watch bad movies with her new bestie.
I mean, Carly’s new friend is a Nyxie and Nyxie are tight with the fucker who raped Carly, but why shouldn’t Carly enjoy a chill night with that bitch!
No, no.
Tanya isn’t a bitch. Tanya just happens to like the same stuff as Carly.
And Reaper had frat activities. He wouldn’t lie to me about that.
Or maybe he would. I don’t know him well enough to know if he’s lying.
Other people are more fun than me anyway. Or less crazy. Same difference.
I lean against the club wall and scroll through Carly’s social media posts. She reviewed an indie movie last night, and she and Tanya have a whole conversation, back and forth, about what their favorite parts of the movie are.
I make a frustrated sound and go back to my chat history with Asch, but he hasn’t responded again.
Guess he doesn’t care if somebody fucks me in the toilets.
I tuck my phone back into my bra. My charm is in there too, in the small pocket I’d sewn because I’d rather lose a stupid phone than River’s finger.
After adjusting my skirt once—and discreetly patting my thighs to ensure the knife is still in my pocket—I head out to the dance floor.
I let out a small sigh of relief once I’m finally in the throng of people. The music is loud, the bass reverberating through me, and that’s exactly how I like it. I don’t want to focus on anything but moving my body right now.
Blaze and River got rid of Tate for me.
When Blaze had sent me the photo, my chest had been so close to bursting.
But I haven’t seen him or River or Asch since.
Two days of nobody wanting to talk to me. Two days of people avoiding me in campus halls. Two days of whispers and rumors and yet another professor asking me if I need time off or medical attention or whatever the fuck they think is wrong with me.
I place my hands on the shoulders of the nearest guy. He gives me a wide grin and mouths something I can’t understand over the roar of the music.
He’s hot enough. Bleached blond hair, nice body, fancy clothes. His dancing isn’t bad either.
I get closer to him and drag my chest along his.
He’s so warm, like everybody else around me.
He’ll do.
He’ll have to do, since Blaze and Asch and River aren’t here.
But when the guy leans in, his lips approaching mine, I avert my face so he doesn’t get more than my jaw.
What’s wrong with me?
This is why I came here. I’m mad at everybody, and the world is fucking pissing me off, and anyway I don’t owe anything to anyone.
I’m sorry, Blaze had said.
Had he meant it? Or was he lying so I’d stop hurting his frat brothers?
Shit.
I dig my fingers into the other guy’s skin. He jerks back and frowns at me, shaking his head.
Whatever he says to me, once again inaudible over the music, has him pull away and shift toward some other woman.
I turn around and keep dancing. With my eyes closed, I can pretend that I’m part of a single large body. Every person here is dancing to the same beat, and we’re connected, part of a hive mind, existing only to writhe in this pit of human flesh.
Somebody else fills the space in front of me and places his hands on my breasts. That’s kind of presumptuous. I open my eyes, and this time it’s a guy my height with dark curly hair and a wicked smile.
He keeps touching me, and I let him because there’s no reason not to.
When he jerks his head, I nod. He takes my hand and leads me off the dance floor, through the throng of people.
Bathroom fuck.
Or maybe bathroom stabbing.
Or both at the same time?
As we get closer to the entrance to the bathrooms, I notice that there are two tall figures right next to the door.
My smile widens when I recognize them.
Asch strides forward first, grabbing my wrist to yank me away from the guy I’d been about to fuck.
Or stab.
“Hey!” the guy shouts. “She’s with me!”
I nod. “I was. You can’t just pull me away from a sure thing.”
“You already have a sure thing,” Asch says, his hand tightening around my wrist. He glances at the guy with an appraising look.
River steps in between Asch and the other guy. “She’s already taken,” he says over the sound of the music. “You can fuck off now.”
I grin widely. “He doesn’t have to.” I look at the guy. “You don’t have to. You could fight them off. I believe in you.”
The idea of Asch and River throwing down over my honor makes my cunt pulse.
The guy’s eyes dart between the three of us. “Uh… Yeah, no thanks. Have fun with her.” He walks off.
Boring. Doesn’t he have any manly pride?
Some of the others in line for the bathrooms laugh.
One of the women catches my gaze and says, “There’s no fucking way that small guy could take them.
” She glances at River and Asch. “But there’s two of you, and only one of her…
You need another person to keep things even. ” She licks her lips suggestively.
My good cheer drops, and I itch to reach down toward the small pocket on my dress, where I’ve got the knife.
“Oh, trust me when I say she can handle both of us,” River says, and like magic, his hand goes to press against where I have my knife hidden. His other hand wraps around my wrist to stop me from reaching in.
It’s like he knows me.
“The real question is if just two of them can keep up with me,” I say. “I feel like we need a third guy…”
“Nope,” Asch says. “Don’t be greedy, Pandora.”
River snorts. “Have you met her?” he mutters.
“She hasn’t!” I say glibly. I wave to the woman. “Nice to meet you. Can we cut in line so we can fuck in the toilet stall?”
A few people laugh, and even the woman who tried to flirt with Asch and River giggles. But she also shakes her head. “No way. I have to pee real bad.”
I pout in disappointment.
“I’m not fucking you by a toilet anyway,” Asch says.
I move closer to him, River’s hand still around my wrist, and press my body against Asch’s. “Then dance with me, at least. Let me see you get all hot and sweaty.”
Asch wraps an arm around me. “Who says I even know how to dance?” he retorts, but he starts to lead us back in the direction of the dance floor.
River tries to let go of me, but I grab his hand and squeeze tightly, forcing him to stay close to me. He lets me drag him along, and Asch clears a path through the dancers until we’re near the center of the dance floor.
He turns back to look at me, quirking a brow, and I wonder if he does actually know how to dance.
I let go of River’s hand so I can raise my arms and start dancing. I have River behind me, Asch in front, and they shield me from all the other bodies gathered here, pressing in on us. The beat of the music is loud, pounding through my flesh and demanding that I give in to it.
Asch’s hands squeeze my hips as he pulls me flush against his body, and he leans in. I expect him to kiss me, but he nips my bottom lip instead before pulling back with a smirk.
I smirk back at him and place one hand on his chest, rubbing his nipple through his shirt.
Huh.
It’s a nice shirt, actually. Slightly fancier than his usual button downs, with a silky texture that shimmers in the flickering lights.
His dark pants are nice too, tight in all the right ways.
I look over my shoulder at River, and I realize he’s dressed in club gear too—tight pants, tight shirt, his hair styled with more gel than usual.
“You got dressed up for me,” I say, but of course my words are lost in the music.
Asch tilts his head, not looking like he caught the words, but he doesn’t yell at me to repeat myself.
Instead, he follows my lead, one of his hands starting to ghost its way along my body.
The touch gets firmer when he reaches my breast, squeezing it lightly while he thumbs my nipple through the tight dress.
I lick my lip and lean into the touch. River steps closer, making my ass brush against his crotch, and I pointedly thrust back.
I can’t hear anything over the music, but I imagine that he’s groaning as he grabs my other hip and grinds against my ass. His cock is getting hard, more and more prominent against my body as he grips the hip Asch had let go of to pull me closer to him.
I crane my neck to look at River, and he leans in to capture my mouth. I moan against his lips—then again when Asch squeezes my breasts and starts sucking on my neck.
We’re in the middle of the dance floor, with hundreds of bodies around us, but we might as well be alone. My entire body vibrates with desire, with that steady beat of music that seems to thump in time with our breaths.
They came for me.
They want me.
Asch’s teeth graze my throat before he goes back to licking and sucking on the skin. He’s abandoned the pretense of dancing, focused instead on me. Behind me, so has River, whose hand slides from my hip to my waist then farther down, until he’s toying with the bottom hem of my short dress.
He wouldn’t. Not here.
A thrill runs through me.
I reach for River’s hand and encourage it further. His large, hot hand cups my pussy, and he rubs it through the fabric of my lacy panties.
“Do it!” I shout into the music.
River kisses the other side of my neck even as his fingers slide beneath my panties. Asch’s body is shielding us from view, but even if it wasn’t, I’d still do the same thing.
I’d still want the same thing.
Asch doesn’t stop kissing along my throat, his hands squeezing my breasts and teasing my nipples while River’s fingers work magic.
He rubs my clit insistently, expertly. Hard to believe this is the same guy who’d refused to eat me out. He’s so confident in his movements, I wonder how many women he’s practiced with.
Better for them if I never learn their names.
I place my hand on Asch’s neck and dig my nails into his skin, making him shudder.