Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
Izzy
One minute I’d been walking across campus and my gaze had skidded and stopped on Reid in the training yard with Mercy. The next, I was beside them. I didn’t even have enough time to hide the fact that I was jealous as hell before they were both looking at me.
This had to be a new god-thing. Super speed or some crap like that? I wasn’t sure, but I already didn’t like it.
Reid walks toward me with an unexpected grace.
He’s completely filled out his school uniform.
The material strains across his broad shoulders, and I swear I can almost see his six-pack under his shirt.
For some reason, I can’t catch my breath as I look at him; I feel unreasonably angry.
I liked Reid when he was just a scrawny guy that people dismissed as a “nerd.” Would Mercy be all over him if she’d seen him then?
I didn’t think so.
“What’s up?” he asks, as he comes to stop beside me.
My gaze collides with Mercy’s. “Let’s talk somewhere else.”
He nods and follows me.
I pick a path at random, trying to stride ahead of Reid, but his long steps easily match mine.
Along the way, some students nod or wave, while others go out of their way to avoid us.
Despite my mood, it surprises me a bit to notice the changes in the other students.
It seems every day this place becomes just a little less hostile.
I guess we’re growing on some of our favorite students.
That probably had more to do with Reid than any of us.
Even though I’d tried super hard to be kind to everyone and show them we weren’t a threat, it hadn’t missed anyone’s notice how hard Reid tried at everything.
Even his little sparring lessons with Mercy had led to more and more students slowly making their way to class through their training area.
I think they liked seeing that he didn’t give up, but also that he was a good sport about it all.
It made us seem more human, and less…almighty.
When we reach the untamed gardens on one side of the school, my emotions start to feeling like they’re crackling under my skin. I keep walking until we get to a more private area, and then I whirl on him. “We need to talk.”
“You said that,” he says. “But what do we need to talk about?”
What did we need to talk about? “We slept together.”
His entire body goes rigid, and his gaze darkens. “Yes, we did.”
“Did it mean anything to you at all?”
I swear, his brain stops working for a minute. “Wh-What? Of course it meant something to me! You’re the one who didn’t want to tell anyone or focus on it right now.”
He’s right, but I hate that he’s right. “Well, I’m ready to talk about it now.”
“Okay.” He steps closer to me, so close that I can catch the soothing smell that’s all Reid. “I think we should start dating.”
It’s my turn to stare dumbly at him. I’d wanted to talk about this when I’d seen him with Mercy. Seeing him with anyone else made me realize that with all the chaos here I couldn’t risk losing him again.
But now, now I kind of regret jumping into this conversation without thinking things through. So, I’d just have to find the words to say how I feel, even if I didn’t say it the right way.
“I want to be with you too.” I take a deep breath. “But I can’t lose the guys again.”
His brows draw together. “I don’t want you to lose them either.”
“So, what do we do?”
His lips quirk into a smile. “We do what we should’ve always done. We share you. I mean, we’re already kind of doing that. No one kicked my ass when they found out I was with you, but that also didn’t stop them from pursuing you. I want you, Izzy, but I don’t want to lose them either.”
It feels like a weight has lifted from my chest. “So, you think they’ll be open to this idea too?”
“All you can do is talk to them about it.” He touches my cheek tentatively, his gaze full of affection. “Nothing to lose, right?”
My cheeks heat. Was I really going to talk to the boys I’ve loved since we were kids and selfishly claim them all as my own? The answer was simple: hell yeah. If they could accept me. But the idea of asking them when they rejected me once before sets my heart racing.
I still repeat his words. “Nothing to lose. Right.”
Reid leans in closer and brushes the lightest kiss along my lips. “Just talk to them.” His gaze lifts to above my head. “Speak of the devil.”
I whirl around and see Wilder striding toward us. If I thought Reid had gotten huge, well, Wilder had always been a massive jock. Yet, I swore, every day he got bigger now. I wonder if he’s even bigger than the god inside him, Odin.
“Hey,” Wilder greets us, and there’s a shyness to the way he says the word that makes my heart flutter.
“Hi,” I say, a little breathless.
“I saw you guys going this way, but I didn’t want to interrupt…”
Reid grins. “You know you’re never interrupting. But Izzy was just looking for you.”
Holy hell, Reid is trying to help me talk to Wilder. I don’t know whether to be grateful or not, though, because my heart is racing and my cheeks are flushed. This is moving faster than I expected.
Wilder’s hazel eyes meet mine. “Really?”
“Uh, yeah.”
He grins. “Well, I was kind of hoping to coax Reid into practicing some of our moves on the mats, but we can just go hang out, if you want.”
I plant my hands on my hips. “Hey, I could be just as good a sparring buddy as he is!”
Wilder’s brows rise. “Alright then! Let’s go.”
As I start marching toward the gym, the guys exchange a look that makes me uneasy. Did I really just agree to practice with Wilder? Damn it, what had I gotten myself into?
Halfway to the gym, a big shifter with an armful of tattoos stops in our path. “You headed to the gym, god-man?”
“You know it, alpha-dog!” Wilder exclaims.
“I just finished my session and kicked AJ’s ass! He was like, ‘Bro, how you liftin’ so much?’ And I was like, ‘God-man showed me some new moves.’”
To my surprise, they pound fists together.
The shifter grins as he steps out of our way. “As Mr. Time says, if I learn to work off that anger, I won’t go punching people at the DMV again when I get out.”
“That’s right! You got this, dog-man!”
The shifter walks away looking proud, and when Wilder looks back at me, his smile falls away. “What?”
“Nothing,” I say, but I can’t hide the surprise in my voice. “Just, when did you start making friends around here?”
He shrugs, his cheeks heating. “It’s just…a lot of the guys in the gym have never had the kind of training I had at our school. They appreciated me showing them some new ways to work out.”
“The same kinds of moves you’re going to show me?”
His cheeks heat, and he mumbles, “Hell, no.”
As we walk across campus, a nervous silence grows between us.
He gives me an awkward nod when we reach the changing rooms and go our separate ways.
I put on the short gym shorts and tank top, cursing myself for not having a sports bra in my locker.
But then I decide to screw it and just rock my braless boobs.
When I leave the changing room, he’s waiting for me, his big body leaning against the wall. The instant he spots me, his bored expression disappears, and his gaze travels over me, lingering on my breasts.
Did I think rocking my braless boobs would be no big deal? I suddenly want to melt into the floor.
“Ready?” His voice is oddly husky.
I nod.
We leave the massive open room of the gym, and he snags a key off the wall, unlocks a door, and gestures for me to go in ahead of him. Only the emergency exit sign lights the room, a room with nothing but a mat on the floor.
To my surprise, it smells nice in here. A little musty, as if rarely used, but also clean and new. Much nicer than the giant mat in the main room of the gym we’ve been forced to use for our classes.
Wilder closes the door behind me and tosses the key to the ground.
I jump a little, strangely nervous as I turn to face him.
Wilder stares down at me with such intensity that I shift under his gaze. “What’s going on with you and Reid?”
Okay, I didn’t exactly expect that. “He doesn’t want me dating other people--”
“Fuck!” he interrupts, his voice hot.
I freeze. “What’s wrong?”
He runs his hand through his blond hair in an angry gesture. “This is what we were worried about! You choosing one of us, and it destroying the rest of us.”
Destroying? I lick my lips as I stare at him. Wait, when did they have this conversation? Was it lately?
Or was it years ago, when they shut me out?
“And now, it’s happening,” he goes on. “And I want to hate Reid for it, but I just wish I was man enough to step up instead.”
I feel my cheeks heat, shocked by his words. “You didn’t let me finish. Reid doesn’t want me dating other people…except, well, except he thinks I should date all of you.”
The room grows so quiet that I swear I can hear the wind whistling outside.
“Is that what you want?” His voice is barely louder than a whisper.
I can’t find the words to tell him yes, not when he’s looking at me like that, so I just take a tentative step toward him, biting my lower lip.
That small step toward him is all he needs.
He moves closer, closing the space between us. His gaze never leaves mine as he leans down to me, his lips inches from mine. He seems to be waiting for me to tell him no, but I’m doing everything in my power not to scream yes.
When his lips finally meet mine, my head spins. I cling to him, his lips soft at first, and then growing harder and more certain with each second that passes. A tremble moves through his body, and I press myself closer to him, glorying in the thin material of his workout clothes.
His tongue sweeps into mine, surprising and delighting me, and then my tongue meets his. He groans, and I realize that I can feel his erection straining against my stomach.
I have the sudden urge to grab his hard length and show him just how much I’ve wanted to touch him over the years.
But I would never do that. Fortunately for me, I can feel the god inside of me lending me a strength and confidence I’ve never had before.
It’s like one minute I’m scared to say the wrong thing or do the wrong thing, and then, I’m just… not.
Breaking our kiss, I lock gazes with him and reach down. My hand wraps around his length, and his eyes widen. “You’re big, Wilder. Big everywhere.”
He’s breathing hard. “Izzy…”
I feel the smile that twists my lips. “I’ve waited a long time for this, Noah, so don’t make me wait any longer.”
He nods, still looking shocked. His hand digs into the back of my hair, and he starts to trail kisses down my neck. I feel eager and excited, and I feel his mirroring emotions as I stroke him slowly.
A groan tears from his lips, and he shudders, his forehead resting against my throat. “Izzy, you’re pushing me too far.”
I’m panting as I tell him, “No, I haven’t pushed you far enough yet.”
He lifts his head. “You have no idea what I want to do to you.”
A thrill moves down my spine. “Show me.”
But before he can touch me again, a thought comes and goes like lightning, and I shift into the shape in my mind. A second later, Wilder shouts, “Shit!” and leaps back from me.
I laugh hysterically, even though I don’t know why. “What? Don’t want a piece of this?”
He looks baffled. “Why the hell would you want to look like Van now?”
Hell, there’s something wrong with me, because I grab my newfound dick and shake it at him. “What? This isn’t doing it for you?”
He groans. “Izzy, please, any shape but that.”
Another idea flashes into my mind, and I feel my body shudder and change again.
Wilder takes one look at me and puts his hand over his face. “Aiden? Are you serious?”
I start dancing around, letting my dick swing around. He peeks at me between his fingers and I can see his cheeks turning red. But I don’t care. Feeling balls and a cock between my legs has got to be the strangest thing I’ve ever experienced. And, let’s face it, it’s hysterical.
Finally, I sigh and shift back into regular old Izzy. Even though I kind of wanted to try hitting on Wilder in Aiden’s form and see how the hell he’d respond. I guess my idea was only funny to me.
“You’re insane,” he says, finally dropping his hand.
I grin, race up to him, and wrap my arms around his neck. “Sometimes I hate the gods, but sometimes it’s nice to just…embrace that part of myself. You know? It makes life more fun.”
He shakes his head. “Maybe if you’re Loki. Odin is all, ‘Heal this, think about this differently’. It’s annoying.”
I smile and run my hands through his hair. “Maybe it’s a good thing. Maybe we need each other to balance things out.”
“Oh, hell,” he mutters.
“What?”
He shakes his head. “I thought my dick had taken a permanent vacation after seeing you shift into the guys, but apparently, it’s too horny to care.”
I grin. “Good, because I’m not done with you yet, Wilder.”
“No?”
I take a step back from him and yank my shirt off.
His mouth drops.
“Better?”
He snaps his mouth closed. “Uh…wow.”
Hooking my fingers into my shorts, I tug them off too.
Standing in nothing but my underwear, I grin at him. “What are you going to do with me now?”
“I can think of a few things…”