Pandora #2
I don’t know; I think combining Blaze and babe is hilarious.
“See? I keep telling you her sense of humor isn’t funny,” Asch says. “You’re the one who encourages her.”
I glance over to River, who’s suppressing a laugh. “River thinks it’s funny! I should rename Blaze in my phone, actually.”
“You could also rename me,” River suggests.
It must really grate on him that he’s Cry Me A in my phone, but if he stops being a crybaby, I’ll change it.
“The more you tell her that, the more likely it is that she’ll leave you that way. Or make it worse,” Asch tells him.
Carly huffs. “Okay, if you’re going to flirt, that’s really our cue to leave. Samantha, do you want to join me in the caf?”
“Yeah, I’m out of here,” Samantha says, getting up. She skirts around Blaze to grab her bag. “Thanks for the session, Pandora. I really do appreciate it.”
Wow. She actually sounds sincere.
River steps aside so the two of them can leave.
That leaves me alone in the training room with three big, strong men. I extend my arm toward Asch. “Come here, boyfriend, and give me a kiss.”
Asch approaches me, offering a hand to help me to my feet. “Come and take it, girlfriend,” he replies, only to grimace. “Nope, not saying that. It sounds weird as fuck.”
River rolls his eyes.
I get close enough to Asch so I can see the small flecks of gold in his hazel eyes. His dark brown hair is too short for me to grab. I wonder if he keeps it like that on purpose.
He rests a hand at the small of my back, then leans in to kiss me—deep, hard, intense.
Like he means it.
“Is that what you wanted?” Asch asks me.
I smile against his lips. “I don’t know. I think Blaze might do it better.” I turn to Blaze, and he steps closer so he can demonstrate his own kissing abilities.
It’s not better, but it’s different. Blaze drags his teeth against my lips and gives me a hint of pain as he kisses me. He cups my breast and squeezes it. I’m sure if I wasn’t wearing a sports bra, he would have attempted to pinch my nipple too.
I moan and part my mouth for him. Blaze takes the invitation to plunge his tongue into my mouth and absolutely devour me.
River wraps his arms around me from behind, and as soon as Blaze breaks away from the kiss to catch his breath, River spins me around so he can claim my mouth in a kiss of his own.
It’s lazy, free of demand but intense anyway because it’s from River. I reach up so I can run my hands through the curls at the top of his head.
This is so different from how we kissed over a year ago now, when we hadn’t been sure of each other.
When we’d hurt each other.
River breaks the kiss and nips at my ear. “You saved the best for last.”
Blaze huffs loudly. “Or she was disappointed by your lackluster kiss after she had me.”
Asch snorts. “Maybe she’s like Goldilocks, trying to find the kiss that’s just right.” He smirks at me, taking my hand in his and lightly squeezing. “So tell me. Which one of us was it? We’re big boys. We can take it. Or try harder next time.”
I bite my lip, pretending to think about it. “You know… I think it was Samantha, actually.”
Asch tugs me close to him, pressing our chests together as he pulls me away from Blaze and River. “Somehow, I doubt she’s going to hook up with you. I think we’re safe,” he murmurs, claiming another kiss.
I hook my leg over his thigh. “You keep kissing me like that, and I’ll want to do more than spar in this room…”
“I don’t see the problem with…” Blaze starts, but he trails off and groans. “No, wait, we came to find you for a reason.”
“Unimportant,” River says promptly. He tries to tug me away from Asch, who keeps a firm grasp on me.
This is why having more than one man is important. I have to keep them on their toes and focused on pleasing me.
That, and if one of them is busy, I can always grab another one. There’s too much of me for any single person to handle.
My chest tightens, but I ignore that sensation.
“Actually, yeah, unimportant,” Blaze agrees. “But I don’t think the gym is the best place for us to fuck.” He hops on the mat briefly. “Even with the mats, your knees will get sore, River.”
“There are worse reasons to have sore knees,” River replies. “But that can only happen if Asch stops hogging her.”
“It’s not the best place to fuck, and we did have something to talk to you about, Pandora,” Asch says, though he kisses my neck in a way that’s not conducive to having any sort of productive conversation at all.
Besides, important conversations are boring.
“Right. My dad’s been quiet since… well, two weeks ago. I called my mom too, and she hasn’t said anything.” Blaze leans against one of the mirrored walls, probably smearing his entire body outline onto the glass.
“Asch and I drove out to the hotel last night,” River adds. “It’s all packed up now, not a single hint of what it used to be. It’s got leasing information on it, even.”
“After which I tried to feel out the local cops, but my dad must have gotten to them since nobody wanted to return my calls,” Blaze finishes.
Asch’s eyes are intent upon mine. “But that doesn’t mean we’re giving up,” he says. “If Ezio’s alive, he won’t stay away for long.”
I dig my nails into Asch’s skin, and he hisses when I drag them down his arm.
“And no, you can’t kill him,” River interjects before I can say anything.
“I absolutely can,” I mutter. “If I hadn’t had to rescue Samantha, I would have.”
“Okay, you can’t kill him yet,” Asch amends. “We have to bide our time, Pandora. We don’t have enough information, and we don’t want you to end up in jail.”
I know he’s right. I want to save all the women who’d been there that night, not just Samantha. I want to prevent another Rachel.
I still need to find out who, exactly, murdered Rachel. Zayden recruited her, but he wasn’t the one who cut her apart.
That monster is still out there.
“I guess.” I sigh and lean back against River’s chest. “But this is boring. Let’s talk about something more fun.”
“Boring isn’t the word I’d use,” Blaze says. “What do you want to talk about, Pandora?”
I smile at him. “Papa said he had a lot of fun meeting you all over Thanksgiving and would love to host you again.”
Asch shudders, and he finally releases me. “That would be a hard pass,” he says. “Your family is interesting and all, but I think your Papa—and your Daddy, and your uncle, and everyone else—hated all three of us.”
River nods in agreement. “We’re not good enough for his destroyer of worlds,” he says.
Blaze’s smile is brittle, but he says, “I’m not afraid of your Papa, Pandora. And your mom seemed to like us just fine. Mostly.”
I laugh, because I don’t believe for a second Mama liked them. She’s just very aware she can’t control who I pick.
“If by ‘liking us,’ you mean she wished that one of her men would drop us off the edge of a cliff, she loved us,” Asch replies.
“Yep, that’s what I meant,” Blaze agrees. “Glad you can read my mind, Asch.”
“He doesn’t have to read your mind to know that,” River comments. He sighs. “Okay. Let’s get out of here. I think all of us have some studying to do if we hope to pass finals.”
That’s another thing that’s boring, but I remember my not-so-great biochem test grade. I really, really don’t want to fail this class and have to retake it.
“Fine, fine.” I give them both a peck on the cheek. “Let’s go be responsible study buddies. Whoever finishes their studying first gets to eat me out.”
Blaze laughs and shakes his head. “If you get done first, are you going to contort yourself to eat yourself out?”
I giggle, and that has Blaze laughing even harder while Asch and River both stare at us.
“Oh come on!” I complain. “It was funny!”
“If you lack a sense of humor,” Asch says.
Even River shakes his head. Spoilsport.
“All right, I’m out,” Asch says. He steals another kiss, then turns for the exit with a wave at me.
“Yeah,” River agrees. “I’ll text you later, Pandora.”
That leaves me and Blaze. I tilt my head toward him. “Want to meet up with Monica and do a group study session?”
Blaze’s brow furrow. “Why?”
I grin. “To make her jealous that you’re together with me, duh. And so she can learn what a dick you are.”
Blaze chuckles and pushes off from the mirror. Yep, he definitely smeared his sweat all over it. “She got the hint already. About me being off the market, not about me being a dick.”
“Right, and she needs to know the dick part.” I hook my arm with his. “Come on, indulge me. I promise I won’t be distracting at all.”
“You’re definitely distracting,” Blaze argues as he leads us out. “I’ll study with you at the library. My group project with Monica is done though, so there’s no reason to let you terrorize anyone anymore.”
“I wasn’t going to terrorize her!” I protest.
“I meant me.” Blaze and I laugh, and I kiss his jaw.
As we make our way to the lockers, though, I think about everything else that’s still undone, about all the women who are locked up and desperate and scared.
The knives under my skin threaten to shred me apart.
This is why I need to study. If there’s nothing I can do right now, it’s better I focus on passing my classes than spiraling into a bloody mess.