Page 156 of G.O.D.S Omnibus

“Just follow me. I need to put my bag in my room.”

He doesn’t argue, even though I expected him to, and he follows me silently up to my room. Dumping my bag on the floor, I kick off my shoes and sigh. Davis stands awkwardly in the centre of the room, so I close the distance between us, taking his hands in mine. Looking up at him, I meet his chocolate eyes and smile. “I’m sorry.”

“What for?”

“Leaving after we had sex, I didn’t realise...”

He closes his eyes. “I should have said something, but I was embarrassed. How do you tell someone that you’re an eighteen-year-old virgin? One who saved himself, even after the girl he loved died, because no one ever compared to her.”

“I’m glad you waited for me,” I say, dropping his hands and wrapping my arms around his waist. “Even if you weren’t sure if I was her.”

“I think deep down I knew. When I locked myself in the bathroom, I was mad at myself for not waiting until we knew for certain. I felt like I betrayed you. While I know some of the guys didn’t wait, and I get why, every time a girl touched me, it made my insides crawl, like tiny bugs were eating away at me. Jolie, I was made for you, to love you. My head couldn’t move past that.”

Someone knocks at the door and Marlow pops his head in. “Can I come in?”

At my nod, he pushes the door open more, then comes into my room.

“How many girls have you slept with?” I ask, turning my attention to Marlow.

He stills and locks eyes with me, unsure how he should answer the question. “Why? That dickhead told you he was a virgin, didn’t he?”

“Don’t avoid the question, Marlow.”

He sighs. “Fine, two not including you. One was a few months after you died. I needed to forget—the pain was too much. It was a horrible experience.”

“You were a child,” I gasp.

“Yeah, I know. The other was when I was sixteen—I thought I would try again. I’d started questioning if maybe I was gay. Though I didn’t mind blow jobs, as I could close my eyes for those.”

“Okay, enough sex talk. I need to shower. Did you need something? I never asked why you came up here.”

“No, I came for Davis. We’re making you dinner and while we have watched numerous YouTube videos, they say we should put it on a few hours before we want to eat.”

“I better not die today. Kai made the cake, and now you two are making dinner.”

“We couldn’t exactly ask Petra to come over. We have been hiding when she comes to clean, and it doesn’t look hard to cook a roast. The oven does most of the work.”

“If you say so. I can burn water, so I’m not a good judge of how hard it is.”

Davis drops a kiss on my forehead, then they leave to start dinner and I take my shower, making sure I shave and wash everything. Having so many guys and so much sex, I like to keepon top of being smooth. I still think I’m insane for demanding we all be together, but in my defence, I was mad and spewing words from my damn mouth before I thought things through. Will we all stay together after we take down Mr Z? Maybe, maybe not. I can’t imagine what it would be like for all of them to have to share me.Maybe I need a few sister wives.As soon as I think about it, my gut pools with jealousy. Even thinking about another woman touching what is mine is too much. This is fucked. I need to ask Brennan how to get hold of my medical records, the ones that contain my abilities. How it’s possible to be connected to so many people and why? Why two teams? What experiment is he really running?

I know Mr Z originally told Team Zeus that their sixth member, their female, died at birth, and it fits with the timeline for when my mother lost her first child. But that child was not like us. What was the original experiment? I need some answers.

Once I’m dressed in a cute Tupac T-shirt dress, a messy bun, and a pair of ankle socks, I make my way downstairs. The smell of garlic in the air is making my stomach rumble.

All the guys are seated at the table, presents piled on top. It’s been a while since anyone bought me anything. A foster parent here and there may have got me something small. But the one friend I had never knew when my birthday was, nor did the cheater ex-boyfriend. I had never wanted to celebrate a birthday without Trace. The thoughts send a pang of sadness to my gut, and I make a beeline for him. With my memories returned, I now remember all my birthdays before I went away, but just knowing Trace is here makes this one so much better.

I climb into his lap, getting myself comfortable as his arms wrap around me. “Are you ready to open your presents?” he asks, his words fanning across my neck, making me shiver.

“Hell yes!”

Trace picks up the gift directly in front of him and hands it to me. Ripping it open, I squeal when a bright-blue furby is revealed. “I always wanted one of these, but Mr Z would never let me have toys.”

“I know, Star. You would always ask me to sneak you to the toy store to try to find a blue one just like this. We could have gotten in so much shit for straying off course, but you always had us wrapped around your little finger.”

“I love it.”

Marlow hands me his gift next, and I unwrap a handful of brand-new shirts. “Since you keep stealing mine.”

---