As per usual, our shower turned into much more than just a shower, but morning sex was better than coffee. I’d never get tired of the way Blaize made me feel. I dressed in a pair of jeans and a distressed, grey cropped t-shirt with some loose strands at the seam, and Blaize's leather jacket.
Blaize dropped me off at Annika’s apartment, and I kissed her before watching her drive off. My heart hurt seeing the pain in her eyes when someone mentioned Layla or Fallon, but I was happy that she finally lowered her walls to let me in, even with the tragedy.
I walked into Annika’s apartment, hoping she remembered I was coming over today and I wasn’t walking into an orgy oron her riding someone’s dick. Instead, I found Annika pacing in the room, clutching her phone. She looked at me, and disappointment flashed through her eyes for the briefest second before she gave me a smile that didn't reach her eyes.
“Damn, the disappointed eye.”
“I’m sorry. I haven't heard from Drew, and I’m scared.” Her voice broke, and I walked to her, pulling her to me and wrapping my arms around her.
“Do you know where he went?”
She shook her head. “No, but he’s been investigating a church in Bellevue. I think that’s where he went, but I haven’t heard from him in four days. Theo and Noah keep telling me he is fine, but I don’t think he is.”
I furrowed my brows. “Why is he investigating a church?”
She sighed. “It’s not my story to tell, but Drew and his sister grew up in Bellevue. There’s an area there that’s like a cult. Very strict policies. Women can only leave for certain things on certain days of the week, and everyone listens because it’s how they were raised,” she explained, and somehow, I had a hard time picturing Drew being a holy roller. “Drew and his sister had it rough. Because Drew was the man of the house, he was treated better than his sister. She had to be obedient and obey the men. Disobedience meant being punished, and there were lots of different variations of punishment.
“All in all, after Drew and his sister escaped, he burned it down. A lot of people died, but they rebuilt. They created their own territory where they listen to only the word of God. Drew heard stories of what they do to the women there, and he wants to stop it.”
“W-why?” I knew the answer even as the word slipped from my lips.
“He doesn’t want the same thing that happened to his sister to happen to another innocent woman. He’ll do anything, but Ican’t lose him. These people use God’s name as a cover up. They are radicals and only listen to the congregation—the priest.”
“Take a deep breath. If he doesn’t come home tonight, I’ll march my unholy ass to the gates and say I want penance for my sins to get him back for you.”
“You’re the greatest friend I could have ever asked for. I’m not feeling very people-y today. Can we just stay in and watch movies?”
I told Blaize I was going to stay with Annika tonight. It’s been too long since we had a girls’ night, and something told me we need one now. Besides, it'd been a while since I updated her about what happened that night. Annika handed me a bowl of popcorn and a box of M&M’s. She crinkled her nose as I added the box of candy into my popcorn.
“That’s so gross.”
I laughed, taking a piece of popcorn and an M&M into my mouth. “Don’t hate.”
“So? What happened between you and the ice queen?”
“The night after the attack when she took me to her place at the club, I made her get on her knees and beg after she crawled to me.” Annika smirked. “And then she let me touch her.”
“The ice queen let youtouch her? How?”
Memories of that night flashed through my mind, making my pussy throb, and I couldn’t help the smile that curved my lips. “She is a work of art. Annika. The way she whimpered when my mouth was on her. God. It’s an addiction. The best part is she begged to come.”
“Blaize? Are we talking about the same woman?”
I smirked. “Yeah. I didn’t let her touch me, but it was really nice just finally being able to be with her.”
“You have hickies.”
I nodded. “Let me rephrase—I didn’t let her touch me the night I touched her. She took me to the cliffside where we talkedabout everything, and then we went home. I rode her face and got bent into a pretzel.”
“Are you happy? Because if she does some fucked up shit like that again, I am going to rip her throat out.”
I laughed, nodding. “Down, girl. I am happy. We are working on things. She is working on herself. I see her trying every day.” Her eyes flashed with a hint of concern, but I quickly reassured her. “You said it yourself, the tension between us was fiery. We finally collided, and the crash was explosive.”
Annika grabbed my hand and let out a breathy sigh. “I hate what they did to you. How they triggered you, but if you’re happy, I’m happy for you. Besides, you’re a big girl. I can’t chain you to the wall in your bedroom and forbid you from seeing her.”
“Yeah, let’s not do that. We might be into kinky stuff, but that’s not the vibe.”
“How are you? Really? There’s been a lot that’s happened in the last few weeks.”
