Page 104 of Riot's Thorn
“You don’t want to clean up?” Rigger’s brow lifts.
“No.”
“Okay. Then you can load the bodies up and take them out to Levi.”
“Wait. What? No.” He shakes his head. “Not doing it. That guy creeps me out. Last time I took him a body, he told me he likes the slope of my nose.”
Lucky, Dutch, and Satyr cackle while Rigger just grins. “From what Jenson told Navy, it’s not just your nose that leans a little to the left.”
“Shut the fuck up. Get one of the prospects to do it. They’re already loading the bodies anyway.”
“Levi isn’t creepy,” I say. “He just loves the human form. He paints in his free time and is actually pretty good. He even gets gallery showings sometimes.”
“Really?” Mustang asks.
“Did you ever ask him why he likes the slope of your nose?”
“Fuck no.”
“That’s your problem. You don’t take time to understand people who might not be as outwardly open about who they are.” I don’t know where the words come from. I didn’t even know I could articulate the way I feel when they speak badly of someone different. Levi is a lot like me and has very specific interests, but also, like me, he’s learned to not talk about them because people pin us as being odd.
“The more you know,” Dutch says, bringing his hands together before lowering them in the shape of a rainbow.
“Was that an NBC educational commercial reference?” I ask.
“Yup. Good one, huh?”
“Yes,” I say, not having thought about that in years. “Now, can we load up the bodies so Bart isn’t suspicious? One of us will have to wait at the guard station and buzz him in.”
“Me.” Dutch raises his hand. “He’s never seen me, and my tattoos can be hidden under clothes.”
“Okay.”
It takes three hours to get everything back the way it was because Lucky was right; getting blood out of the grout is difficult. The cement out front was challenging too. Also, the chef had to be dealt with. Our doctor patched her up, and we made sure she understood what would happen if she told anyone anything. She seemed to get the idea when she booked a one-way ticket home to Spain. Her work visa was ending soon anyway. Problem solved.
“How long do sex parties last?” Rigger asks, pacing the foyer.
“For you? Like, ten minutes?” Lucky shrugs.
“Shut the fuck up. I’ll have you know, I have the recovery time of an eighteen-year-old. I’m like the Energizer bunny.”
“I think Judge might win in a stamina competition,” I say.
All eyes turn to me, but Mustang is the one to speak up. “How do you know that?”
“Killer told me he practices Tantric sex and can maintain an erection for hours. She also said he can give her an orgasm just by embracing and looking into each other’s eyes. I tried to read up on it because what man wouldn’t want that kind of power, but I can’t sit still for long enough. Plus, I like more primal play. Actually, a Dom/sub relationship interests me a lot. Only during sex, though.”
“Fuckin’ A, bro,” Lucky says.
“If you want to learn more about being a Dom, let me know.” Satyr slaps me on the back.
“You’re into that shit?” Mustang asks. “How did I not know?”
“I knew,” Rigger says.
“Me too.” Lucky raises his hand.
Rigger’s phone rings, and he puts it on speaker so everyone can hear Dutch from his position at the gate. “Look alive. I just buzzed Bart’s car through.”
