Kai smirks over his shoulder at me. “If she turns whole, restrain her. Don’t kill her. Maybe we can figure out what’s really going on once we have a way to pry answers out of her.”
I flip him off, and he chuckles as he turns and leaves me with Gage and Ezekiel. Gage strips down to his boxers, like Ezekiel already is, and he climbs into bed on the other side of me.
Gage makes a conscious effort not to touch me, and I roll my eyes. “Just take him out of here after he goes to sleep, and we both get what we want,” I tell One.
“Do it, and I’ll punch you when I wake up,” Ezekiel says in a muffled voice against his pillow.
Gage snorts derisively, rolling over to put his back to me.
I stare at the TV, as Ezekiel picks up the remote and rewinds it, not even looking. Somehow, he starts the movie at the exact right part. It distracts me from the fact I really don’t want them in my room, and I sit up as my clothes change.
Ezekiel lifts his head, then laughs under his breath before shaking his head. Gage turns his head to look at me, then rolls his eyes as I sit in my Pinocchio outfit.
“Tell me what popcorn is like,” I say absently, riveted as poor Pinocchio barely escapes. But I can feel his heavy heart from here. It’s like he can’t catch a break.
I know the feeling, little guy.
“Salty, gets stuck in your teeth, and not really all that filling, but weirdly addictive,” Ezekiel answers in a quiet, almost sleep-rasp voice.
“Sounds perfect,” I say with a small grin.
Gage is already sleeping, I realize, when he subconsciously rolls over, his hand slipping through my waist. The peaceful expression on his face has me rolling my eyes and feeling rooted to this spot regardless of the dire consequences.
“If I turn whole and you guys tie me up, I can promise I’ll use my protective powers to protect myself. And I won’t even feel bad about it.”
Ezekiel smiles lazily, his eyes never opening. “If I tie you up, I can promise you that you’ll enjoy every fucking moment of it.”
Not sure why I feel a wicked little shiver up my spine, considering I’ve already decided I’m too good for them.
Deciding it’s safer to stare at the TV than talk to Ezekiel, I sit rigidly. I’ll get up if my eyes feel heavy again.
My mouth opens for a yawn, weirdly enough. But no way will I…fall…asleep.
Chapter 22
My eyes fly open, and I hold really still as the pressure on my waist has my entire body warming up. Two different hands are touching me there, holding me to them, as two very hard bodies press against my sides.
I fell asleep.
Watching Pinocchio.
And now I’m a real girl.
Between two real killers.
And I’m frozen in place, because I don’t want to be tied up or killed.
Trying not to breathe too heavily, I start to sit up, careful not to disturb them.
The hands on my waist tighten, as I struggle to do the simple task of lifting my body. This…is not what I expected. Gravity is a real bitch, and I’m not used to feeling it.
It takes more effort to rise up than I expected, and the hands slide to my lap abruptly when I forget about them—and gravity. I go still, not even breathing, as the two men on either side of me stir ever so slightly.
There’s a back door on this wing. I can slip down the stairs back here and be out before they even notice me missing. I’m also faster than them, so that shouldn’t be an issue.
Except…gravity. I hope that doesn’t affect my speed.
Ignoring all the raging hormones in my suicidal, traitorous body, I carefully remove their hands from my lap, gently placing them on the bed.
Just as I’m about to try to slide down the bed, a hand darts out and snags my arm so unexpectedly and roughly that I cry out.
Ezekiel jerks awake, and I turn to look at Gage as he stares at me with wide, wild, hungry eyes, his grip on my arm tightening to be almost bruising.
Our eyes stay locked, as I accidentally stay frozen in horror like a statue. His nostrils flare, and he looks to be visibly straining not to do something terrible.
“Tell me that’s bad, and I won’t touch her,” Ezekiel says, his breath whispering across my shoulder, the heat of it causing my eyes to roll back in my head as a full body shiver wracks me.
Now is so not the time to be a woman. I’m almost certain it’s unnatural to forget one’s life is in danger at a moment like this.
A groan is pulled from Gage’s throat, and before I can blink, he moves in a blur, coming at me so fast I can’t stop him.
His lips crash against mine almost violently, and I try to bite him, only to have him shove his hand in my hair, aggressively turning my head to give him better access as his tongue sweeps in and steals my fight.
My hands fly to his shoulders, and two other hands move to my waist, as a set of incredible lips find my neck. Both of them touching me, surrounding me, intoxicating me with sensory overload…is almost too much.
Gage’s hand starts tearing open the buttons of my shirt, when reality smashes back in.
Fear spikes my blood, and I shove him them both off, stunning them for just a second as I throw myself off the bed…and crash through the floor in my phantom form, falling all the way downstairs.
A scream leaves my lips when I go from ghost to whole again, and land hard on my side in the downstairs library. Pain shoots up my side, and I groan while cursing my luck.
“Did you hear that thump?” Ezekiel says from above me as feet hit the floor.
“She’s whole again,” Gage answers, dark excitement in his tone.
Feet start pounding down the staircase immediately, as Gage shouts, “She’s a real fucking girl, boys!”
Ezekiel’s dark laughter follows that. With every ounce of strength I have, I push to my feet, and I…stumble around like a baby deer on one of those nature shows.
My legs feel weak, shaky, and not at all like I expected. Everyone makes walking seem so easy.
I kick out of the ridiculously uncomfortable wooden shoes, since those seem to be wreaking havoc on my flimsy ankles.
I barely catch myself against the desk, and I push my knees back straight, straining as a cold sweat breaks out over my skin. Fear prickles the back of my neck as they near the door, and suddenly I feel the weight leave me as gravity ceases to exist.
Looking down, I fist pump the air, seeing my phantom body is back, and I race through the library wall, darting toward the back door. But then…I’m falling and sliding, pain shooting through me again.
A silent curse gets swallowed when I look down at the useless piece of shit legs that are flesh again.
What the hell is going on?!
I can’t tell if I’m leveling up or short circuiting.
When I get my glorious, weightless body back, I push up and race through the walls, getting as far away from the nearing voices as possible.
“Where the fuck is she?” I hear Gage snap.
“What the hell is going on?” Kai snaps, his voice muffled through the many layers of walls between us.