Page 63 of G.O.D.S Omnibus

He pokes his tongue at her and continues. “Jolie here belongs to them.” I cut a glare at him and he shrugs. “What? It’s true.”

“I don’t belong to anyone, thank you very much.”

“Girl, I wouldn’t be complaining if I were you. Have you seen them?” Danika says animatedly.

Looking over at Jimmie, I catch him staring at Kai with hearts in his eyes. Glancing sideways, I see Kai is eye-fucking him back.

I grab Kai on the thigh and dig my nails into his leg. He doesn’t flinch, just looks over at me and smiles.

I lean in and whisper in his ear. “Hurt him and the Gods will be the least of your worries.”

I release him, and he smiles at me and leans in to whisper, “Don’t worry, Wildflower, there is enough of me to go around.”

I freeze at being called Wildflower. Why does it sound so familiar? It feels like a memory that is just out of reach, and I can’t quite put my finger on why I recognise it. I throw him a look, but Sinclair interrupts my thoughts.

“What’s with the secrets?” she asks.

“I was just telling Kai you’re all single pringles. If he doesn’t want to die tomorrow, he needs to have a reason to sit here.”

Sinclair laughs and Danika bats her eyelashes.

“I volunteer as tribute,” Jimmie declares, raising his hand, and I shake my head at his enthusiasm. “Kai should come over tonight.”

“I don’t know.” Eyeing Kai suspiciously, I have a feeling he will break Jimmie’s heart.

“It would piss Boston off when he gets home. You know he will check the security feed,” Jimmie says.

“Looks like you’re invited to a sleepover tonight,” I announce, and everyone laughs. Damn Jimmie, he knew right where to hit to get his own way. Pissing off Boston is my favourite pastime.

“And why is there a sleepover on a school night?” Kai asks, raising his brow. “Besides, you’re all eighteen.”

“Don’t be a judgy pants, okay? Jolie thinks she is all of a sudden scared of being in that big house alone and?—”

“I’m not scared! I don’t come from money, and these big houses make some weird-ass noises.” If I didn’t like Jimmie so much, I would hurt him for telling a stranger that I’m scared to be home alone.

They continue to tease me until the bell rings. Kai is in my next class, so we say goodbye to everyone and head off to get through the rest of our day.

After school, I race home to order some supplies. A teacher made a comment about her dog going missing and that they were lucky it had a tracking device embedded in its collar. After asking her where she ordered it from, she emailed me the link. I want to know where these guys are at all times. While online, I also managed to find some recording devices.

I don’t know what to believe or who to trust. Summer seems to think that if the guys believe I’m this Zircon girl, they won’t ever hurt me. I wonder which of the guys is the weakest link; Case seems to be the most affected by this girl. I need to get them to trust me.

Some people say I use sex as a weapon, and it’s partly true. I do love sex, that temporary connection, a feeling of being wanted. For a minute I almost feel guilty about planning to seduce Case—he seems so damn sweet—but then I remember they know something about Trace. Sending him a message seems the place to start.

Me

Hey

He doesn’t respond straight away, so I sync my phone to the Bluetooth sound system and jump in the shower to wash away the day.

“Hand in My Pocket” by Alanis Morissette blaststhrough the room as water cascades over my body. I belt out the lyrics and they make me feel closer to Trace—he would always put on her music when I felt down. I soap myself up and dance to the music, using the shampoo bottle as a microphone.

The song changes to“You Oughta Know,” but when the line about going down on someone in a theatre comes from my lips, I don’t expect to be answered.

“I’m down for that.”

A few things happen simultaneously. I scream and slip on a half turn, landing in a heap on the bottom of the shower, and Kai ends up bent down in the shower, sweeping my hair from my face with a gentle hand as he looks me over.

“Are you okay?” he asks.

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