“Shower’s mine!” Sakane shouts as he runs inside, and Ego chases him inside with a screech.
Cato shakes his head, sunlight turning his beard a brighter copper as he drags his hand over it with a sigh. “I guess I’m rooming with the two of them?” When I offer him an apologetic shrug, he only scoffs a quiet laugh. “Fair. I suppose I’d rather be trapped with them than whatever debauchery is about to happen inside your room.”
“Cato!” I hiss, my cheeks burning as they darken in a flush.
Johannes and Chakri chuckle as Cato thanks them once more, and he tosses me a smile before he closes the door.
It’s genuine and familiar, and it says that no matter how much things have changed, we’re still okay.
Chakri leads us a few doors further before passing me the key to our new room. She tells us they’ll come by to check on us in a few hours after we’re rested and will make sure we’re fed.
As she walks away, a new voice calls from behind us.
“Well, lookie here. I didn’t expect to find you as my neighbor, pretty.”
Xeni
Atallmansaunterstoward us with a little too much pep in his step, and my stomach bottoms out. I’d know that blond knot of hair anywhere after staring at it for hours, and the scar cutting across his cheek is unmistakable. His face looks different in the daylight, harsher and more real, but I recognize him in a heartbeat.
The memory of that night on the road flashes unwelcome in my mind. I glance between Bash and the approaching man, discomfort swelling in my gut as I take a take step back.
“Pretty?” Bash repeats
Jealousy brews in a storm behind his eyes. It’s low pressure and sharp edges… the kind that rolls in slow but hits hard. His jaw tightens until the muscle flickers, but the man isn’t paying him any attention.
He strolls closer, pinching his lip as his eyes rake my body. “Never thought I’d see you again, honestly, but this is a delightful surprise. Shit, you’re even prettier in the daylight, aren’t you?”
Completely ignoring Bash, he leans in and drags a finger over my forearm, oozing confidence and ill-placed presumption.
“What the fuck?” Bash snaps as he grabs me by the arm, yanking me back against him protectively. “Who the fuck are you, and why thefuckare you touching him?”
The man looks at Bash for the first time, giving him a judgmental sweep of his eyes. “He’s a jealous one, then, ain’t he? You’ve gone and got yourself a man, then, I suppose. Guess seeing them pretty lips stretched over my cock was a onetime deal. That’s alright. Would’ve been nice to have a repeat performance, but my imagination has worked just fine until now.”
He winks at me before shooting a leering smile at Bash, then disappears into his room.
Bash’s hand tightens around my arm as he throws the door open, and I’m hauled inside. Darkness swallows the space as Bash slams the door shut with enough force to rattle the frame. He releases me and drags a hand over his hair as he paces, tension radiating off him in waves.
“Bash, it isn’t what it sounds like.”
“So you didn’t suck his dick?” he snaps, then shakes his head before I can answer. “Nope.Nope, I don’t want to know. It doesn’t matter. Itdoesn’t. We weren’t together, and I wasn’t there, and you’re allowed to—”
I grab his upper arms and stop him. “Will you look at me?” I ask softly.
Bash purses his lips as he turns to face me, eyes stormy but searching.
“I didn’t touch him. He just…thinksI did.”
Bash’s gaze moves toward the wall with his jaw tight, like he could stare through at the guy on the other side. “Explain.”
“You already know about my vehicle breaking down on the way here. A guy—thatguy—pulled over and offered me a ride. It saved me several days of walking out there on my own, and he didn’t seem dangerous, so I agreed… with the caveat that he expected…paymentfor the trouble.”
Bash’s lip twitches as he glares at the wall again. “Piece of shit.”
“Pretty much, yeah,” I agree, then shrug. “He was nice enough. He didn’t force himself on me or anything, but I didn’t want to risk making waves.”
Quieter, I admit, “I used my powers on him.”
The anger on Bash’s face shifts to calculation as he processes my words.
