Blaze
“It’s fucked,” Holden says to me. “You know it’s fucked. Keegan didn’t—”
I glare at him, and he shuts up. “If you say he didn’t deserve it… Because I can think of somebody else who didn’t deserve what happened to them.”
Holden makes a disgusted noise. “Yeah. Fine. Keegan’s a dick. But so’s your girlfriend.”
I can’t argue with that. I lean back in my chair. The classroom has emptied out by now, and it’s just me and Holden still here.
“If you leave Pandora alone, she won’t retaliate,” I say.
I think.
Holden flexes his hand. “You’re supposed to cover for us, not your girl. Loyalty to your brothers above all else, etc.”
“Etc,” I mimic. “Seriously, Holden? If somebody messed with your girlfriend, you’d stand by and let it happen? That’s fucking cowardly.”
“Maybe, but I also wouldn’t be fucking a girl who sleeps around with other guys. You’re fucking whipped.” Holden grits his teeth. “You don’t need to punch me for that comment.”
I laugh harshly. “I should, though.”
I try to remember how much Holden did during the gym. I remember him writing on Pandora. Mostly he stood by and watched.
Like me, except not half as bad because he hadn’t been the one to lure Pandora to the gym. He hadn’t organized it all.
Maybe Pandora should be sending videos of me for the world to see.
“Is Ezio keeping everyone in line, at least?” I ask. “Organizing all the parties and group events?”
Holden shakes his head. “No. He said parties were stupid, and if we wanted a big back-on-campus bash, we should organize it ourselves. Jeremy pointed out we usually do the charity drive around this time, and Ezio laughed.”
Huh. Here I thought they all only did the charity events because they were forced into it. Maybe there’s some redeemable qualities to my frat brothers after all.
“What about you?” I ask. “Did you pass your marketing class?”
“Yeah. That’s my internship secured.” Holden sighs. “Your dad has contacts with Asteroid, right? Peyton’s trying to get an internship there, but he’s too chicken to ask you about it.”
I don’t know why I would help Peyton, but this is the point of the fraternity.
Networking.
Helping each other.
“I’ll make a few calls,” I say. “And if everyone’s willing to give me another chance, I can see about organizing something for us.”
Holden seems surprised, but he covers it quickly. “Thanks, man. I’ll tell Peyton.” He grabs his backpack before heading out.
Ezio had said that a leader is only as good as his followers. Well, that counts for him too. If he’s not making nice with the frat brothers, they won’t be good little soldiers for him either.
I shoot Pandora a quick text, then pick up my own stuff. I put my coat on, but I don’t bother with the hat and gloves. It’s only a short jog over to Pandora’s dorm.
With classes—and the frat stuff—keeping me busy, I haven’t been able to see her in person for two days.
I miss her.
How does that happen? How can I go from not caring about anyone to wanting to see her every single day, and missing her after only forty-eight hours?
I really am whipped.
I notice somebody on the stairs up to the dorm building.
It’s Bobbi, the same woman River fought a few weeks back. She’d been at the dean’s office too, hadn’t she? And River had mentioned running into her in the tunnels, before Pandora accosted him for a jealous fuck.
According to River, Bobbi is a student here now, freshly transferred from some lower tier university.
Dyschord U doesn’t get a lot of transfers, though. It’s got a sterling reputation, but it’s also expensive as fuck and caters to a very specific type of rich and powerful.
I jog up to Bobbi before she can enter the dorm building. She’s wearing a heavy winter coat, but no hat or gloves. She must have come from somewhere nearby.
“Hey!” I say, pasting on my most charming smile. “You’re Bobbi, right?”
For a split second, Bobbi seems legitimately startled. Then she gives me a confused look. “Who are you?”
Does she really not know? She must have seen me sitting with River the other day. I don’t let my smile falter. I extend my hand to her.
“Blaze Bouchard,” I say easily. “Yes, of those Bouchards.”
She takes my hand, which have more callouses than I expect. I know she fights for fun, but even River’s hands aren’t like this.
“Nice to meet you,” Bobbi says. After a beat, she adds, “Which Bouchards, though?”
She’d have to be really blind not to notice the Bouchard name plastered over certain school buildings.
“Never mind,” I say, not really interested in figuring out if that was a joke or if she is that out of the loop. “I heard about you from River. Well, and I saw you fight him.”
Bobbi smiles this time. “Oh, River’s friend. He’s a cool guy. Although his girlfriend…”
I’m instantly on edge.
What does she know about Pandora? If she says anything negative, I’ll be tempted to punch her myself.
She shakes her head. “She’s a jealous one, huh.”
I relax a fraction. “She is,” I agree. “You probably don’t want to piss Pandora off too much.”
“I wasn’t planning on even interacting with her.” Bobbi glances around us again. Another student walks past us and inside the building. “Anyway. I have an errand to run.”
She doesn’t wait for me to respond before she jogs off.
Weird. She’d been on her way into the building, hadn’t she? Why is she leaving now? I shake off the discomfort and continue inside.
Pandora is already waiting when I knock on her door. She pulls it open instantly and practically leaps into my arms. I grunt and grab her hips to keep her from falling.
“Hey, babe,” Pandora says, planting a kiss on my lips.
I kiss back, ready to lose myself in her body, her taste.
I really can’t get enough of her, ever.
“You’re freezing,” Pandora comments. “You walked outside? Let me warm you up.”
“I walked from my class to here,” I say. “It was barely five minutes. And…” I trail off when I spot something. “Was the doorjamb always scratched up like that?”
Pandora follows my gaze. “Nope. It happened sometime over the break.” She tightens her legs around me. “Ignore that. Carry me to my bed and ravage me, fine prince!”
I roll my eyes and smile, even though I’m completely on edge now. I set Pandora down, take my coat off, then crouch by the door to get a closer look.
“You didn’t think to mention this?” I ask Pandora.
“Well, if I mentioned it, it would freak Samantha out,” she says.
When she sees that I’m not going to let it go, she throws up her hands in frustration.
“I know, okay? I double-checked the locks, I did a sweep for bugs. There’s nothing here that I could find.
If somebody broke in, they didn’t leave anything behind. ”
“Fuck.” I get up and run a hand through my hair. “Fuck.”
Pandora peers at me, her brows furrowing. “Do you know something I don’t?”
I take her hand and drag her into her bedroom, shutting the door behind us. Then I pull her into her too-small bed.
Pandora squeaks and smiles, immediately snuggling against me. “Sex as a distraction? That’s usually my tactic, but I dig it.”
I shake my head, then press my lips against her ear. “My dad hired an assassin,” I whisper.
If somebody is spying, I don’t need them to know that we know.
Pandora gives me the smallest of nods before she begins kissing me. When her lips are by my ear, she whispers, “Who?”
I doubt the name will mean anything to her, but I whisper, “Lynx,” back.
Part of me had hoped that my mom was wrong. She doesn’t know much about this side of the business, after all, and Lynx could be… anything. But with everything that’s going on, I’m not going to cling to that delusion.
Pandora bites her lip to suppress a laugh. “Are you serious?”
“Your uncle’s moniker is Slayer,” I point out, but after a beat I laugh too. “Fine. Keep your guard up, that’s all. Yeah?”
What I want is for Pandora to move into the house with me and River and Asch. She’d be so much safer with us, but I know she won’t consider it while Samantha needs protecting, too. Maybe I should call her Papa and suggest he send bodyguards to keep an eye on her, at least.
But Dyschord U is meant to be safer for us. Nobody wants to start a turf war in a place where every student has important ties.
“I’m always on guard,” Pandora says with a grin. She reaches down to cup my cock through my jeans. “But what I want right now is to be on your dick.”
I groan at her dumb joke, but it makes me laugh, too.
How does she manage to always be so upbeat?
Until she isn’t.
My eyes land on her chest. There’s a heart in there. I’ve felt it. I’ve had my palm and my ear against it, desperate to reassure myself that she’s still here with me.
And, later, to check that she really was hallucinating.
How does she not know the strength of her heartbeat, how loud it thuds in her chest? Her heart pounds stronger than any other I’ve ever felt.
I place my hands on her hips and lift up the hem of her shirt.
Pandora smiles at me. “Done being serious?”
“I’m always serious,” I complain with a smile. “You just never treat me seriously.”
She grinds against me, and I move my hands to her ass to squeeze it. She groans and spreads wider, but the pants are in the way.
“Strip,” I order. “I want to see all of you, Pandora.”
“You too.” Pandora climbs off of me.
I hurry to strip off my shirt and pants and toss it all to the foot of the bed.
Pandora winks at me while she does a much more deliberate strip tease, slowly lifting the shirt over her head while she shakes her ass and jiggles her chest. The bra she’s wearing this time is hot pink, with a bow in the center.
“Do you wear those all the time, or do you put them on when you think you’re about to get laid?” I ask as Pandora unbuttons her jeans.
“Only when I think I’m about to get laid,” Pandora answers. She winks and adds, “Which means I’m wearing them all the time.”
I smile back at her, lowering my hand to my cock to slowly stroke myself while she teases me with her movements.
She unclasps her bra and tosses it at me. It lands on my chest, dropping down onto my hand, which is stroking my cock.
“You’re such a slut,” I say affectionately.