Chapter Nine
Asher
I get to the library and start looking through what needs done, my thoughts drifting back to Eden and the promise I made her keep for me. I’m probably being a selfish prick right now, but it beats being consumed by jealousy that she’s leaving soon and I’ll be the one left behind while Nick tours with her. I want her as much as I can get her before she goes. I don’t want to share. I want every minute with her tonight.
So I plan out our night while I’m working. Dinner at the Italian restaurant, probably, but no calling to book ahead. Someone let the cat out of the bag last time I booked us in. It wasn’t too bad but I know Eden won’t want to deal with that tonight. I wonder about the park, and the tree our names are carved into. As much as she loved it, I’m just not sure it’ll be so easy to get away with doing stuff outside again. Everything we did before was risky. Those nights were incredible, but I’m not sure how Eden would take it if photos of our intimate moments surfaced for the world to see. I doubt she’d think it was worth it if that happened.
Ronnie sighs as she walks past the front desk. I’m too busy thinking to react so she does it again, more loudly. I look up then, and she does it a third time.
“Sorry,” she says. “That one was for dramatic effect.”
“Weren’t they all?”
She rolls her eyes. “What’s up with you today? You’ve been spaced out this whole morning.”
“I have a lot on my mind.”
“Well, so do I.”
“What is it?” I half expect her to moan about wanting to leave early. That’s been her go-to whine these past few days. The new boyfriend doesn’t have a summer job, and no friends in this town, apparently.
“We’re running out of space in the history section. And the science reference section. Can’t we re-open the first floor?”
“The first floor?” I ask, starting to grin as a stellar idea for tonight flashes through my head. If I really want Eden all to myself under the stars, the first floor would be perfect.
“So we can re-open it?” Ronnie gives me a hopeful look.
I almost feel bad about shooting it down. Shaking my head, I point out the cart in front of the desk.
“You’re just trying to stall doing the annual check for the sale.” Every year we print a list of the books that haven’t been checked out in the last three years, pull them from the shelves and put them up for sale to raise funds for newer, more relevant books. Ronnie always tries to get out of the collection part of the process.
“I’m not, I swear. I just think if we had more room for students to sit in here and read, they might actually use some of the books on the list.”
Aw, she looks so earnest.
“Ronnie, I know there are well hidden corners up there. I’ve caught more than a few necking couples when that floor was open. You just want a place to hide with what’s-his-face.” Why can’t I ever remember the guy’s name? Ugh. I’m a horrible friend.
She frowns at me, as if she’s insulted, before blowing out a breath. “Whatever. I hope the surgery goes well.”
“Surgery?”
“To remove the stick from your butt. It’s jammed up there good, by the sounds of things.” She stalks off with the trolley.
I snort once she’s gone. She was definitely looking for a place to bring her boyfriend when she’s supposed to be working. Too bad for her I’ve already decided it’s where I’m going to bring Eden for our date tonight. The plans start locking together once I’ve decided, starting with calling in a cleaner to have the first floor prepped for use. One check up there reveals it’s tidy but covered in a layer of dust. As soon as I come back down, Ronnie rushes over.
“Changed your mind?” She clasps her hands in front of her.
“The operation was successful,” I tell her. “But you leave an hour early tonight and that floor is only open once I say it is.”
I call the restaurant once it opens and place an order for pick up, including wine. Then I make a few more calls. Once I’m done, I can’t keep the smile from my face. Eden’s going to love it.
Chapter Ten
Eden
The drive feels long, and I have to bite the side of my cheek to keep my mouth shut when we go past the library, because hot-damn, I want to jump out the car and go force Asher to pleasure me. What has he done to me with this impossible promise? I feel squirmy in my jeans, desperate to be naked and have some fun.
“Pull over. I should keep Eden company back there. She looks lonely,” Nick tells Eli.
“She’s fine,” Eli tells him, smiling wryly back at me in the mirror.
He’s being a rock. I love it. It also kind of makes me want to push him to see how much it would take to break his resolve, but then that’s kind of what Nick’s doing with me. It’s so messed up.
I’m so not letting one of the guys hold me to this kind of promise again if they’re not going to stay in bed with me all day. It’s just not fair.
“We’re stopping soon to get your disguise,” Eli informs me.
I look out the window of Eli’s police car. The streets of Haleton are reasonably quiet, but still. If they leave me in a parked car alone chances are someone will see me. If they recognise me, it’ll be a pain.
“Let Nick get it, and we can circle back to pick him up,” I suggest, knowing I’m probably risking him buying a French Maid uniform for my disguise, and deciding to live with it.
“Good idea,” Eli says with a nod, before he pulls up outside a party supplies store. He turns to Nick. “Get her some kind of tourist shirt and some wigs and hats. She can decide what she wants to wear while we drive to the zoo.”
“Seems a shame to cover up that gorgeous hair,” Nick murmurs, glancing back at me.
“It’s one of my most recognisable features.” The platinum blonde is natural and I rarely do anything to it, besides the occasional temporary pop of colour. Any time I’ve wanted to sneak around, a natural looking dark wig and sunglasses are usually part of the disguise.
“Well then I guess we should cover it, because we sure as hell won’t be able to do anything about your other most recognisable feature.” He grins as his stare makes it obvious what he’s talking about.
Trust Nick to bring up my boobs. I shake my head. “Get the stuff bought, and be quick about it. We’ll be back in five.”
Eli gets moving as soon as Nick leaves the car.
“He never stops, does he?” He laughs as we drive away.
“Pretty much, never.” I have to smile.
We go around in a circle twice before Nick comes out of the store. He has a huge bag that he passes into me, before getting into the passenger seat without a fuss. I laugh as I start to go through it.
“Did you just do a trolley dash or something?”
“Or something,” he says with a smile.
There’s all kinds of random stuff in the bag. Halloween costumes and accessories as well as wigs and a couple of T-shirts with amusing slogans. With my chest, I tend to avoid anything that draws the eye toward it directly, so I’m not keen on wearing something with a sassy one-liner emblazoned across the front. I rifle through until I find a baggy dark blue shirt that has an LAPD logo, and slip it on over my fitted shirt. My breasts look a little less imposing in the loose shirt.
“Thanks,” I say, with a wry smile.
I pick out the wigs and choose the dark brown that looks the most natural. It takes ten minutes to get my real hair squished and flattened under the cap, by which time we’re almost at the zoo. I pull out a pair of sunglasses that were probably made for a Blues Brothers costume and settle back in the seat.
“You look like a new woman,” Eli tells me as he gazes back through the rear view at me.
“I don’t know,” Nick says as he glances back over his shoulder. “She still looks like a Goddess to me.”
“Of course,” Eli agrees. “But she could just be an extraordinarily beautiful tourist now. No-one’s going to instantly realise she’
s the biggest rock star on the planet.”
And even if they do, they don’t know I’m out for the day with two of my boyfriends. All that will change once I break the news, which will be on the tour promo trail, in just a couple of days. I swallow hard at the thought of it.
I know I’ll get hate. People don’t like what they don’t understand. But it’s hard enough carrying the secret that I’m a Goddess. I don’t want to lie about who I am inside. I don’t want everyone to think I’m just going through a wild streak. This is my life now, and I love it. Every damn minute.
Chapter Eleven
Nick
Asher’s text takes me by surprise. I thought he was busy at work when he ignored me joking about being cock-blocked by my partner in crime. Turns out, he has secret plans for Eden tonight. If they included me, I might be a little more excited. As it is, I’m actually still kind of buzzed. She’s going to love what he’s planning, but it’s only a surprise if I keep my mouth shut.
It takes a toilet break inside the zoo to get a spare minute with Eli to talk about it.
“Hey,” I say, as his gaze trails after Eden.
He’s been in security detail mode over her the whole morning. I much prefer it when he’s in a less protective mood. He’s less wet-blanket-like then.
“Let Asher have his day, Nick.” He sounds wryly amused.
“Guess I’ve been kind of persistent, huh. Well, I was only going to tell you Asher texted me.”
“He did?” He glances my way now that Eden’s entirely out of his sight.
I nod. “He needs us to drop her off at the library at seven. He said he’ll bring her home when she’s ready to come home, but it’s a surprise. He has a whole thing planned.”
“A surprise?” He raises an eyebrow.
“It’s nothing too big,” I say quickly, wondering if the same thing popped into his head as it did into mine when I started to read the text.
A proposal would be weird given the already unusual relationship we’re all in. I doubt he’d do something like that without giving some kind of heads up. I doubt Eden would accept it without speaking to all of us first either.
He nods. “Okay.”
“We should leave before five to make it in time.”
“I know how time works, Levine.”
He’s a little prickly today, more so than usual. I decide to ignore it. He’s probably finding it as hard as I am to not grab Eden and kiss her all over. Being told I can’t have something is oddly intoxicating. It makes me want it so much more. And I was hardly on the fence about wanting this before. Oh, Eden’s going to be in trouble when I can finally have her again.
She comes back out the bathroom and Eli exhales a quiet sigh of relief. He’s on edge escorting her around like this. It must kind of suck to have to be on high alert like he is. I haven’t noticed anyone looking at Eden strangely, though we did get some odd looks when she decided to take both our arms when we started walking through the section with the big cats.
“Oh, wow,” she says, letting go and going over to watch the lions. “They’re stunning.”
“Not half as stunning as you,” I murmur close to her ear.
When she glances my way, I know she’s rolling her eyes at me under her shades, even if she is smiling.
“They’re dangerous,” Eli says when I step closer to the enclosure to get a damn good look.
“Almost everything’s dangerous, given half a chance,” I tell him.
Eden shudders as feeding time begins. The lions are thrown huge chunks of meat. They devour them greedily. Like I would Eden’s sweet cunt, as Asher put it. Such a profane word for a gentleman, though I’m not surprised. He’s got a seriously kinky side to him. I wonder what he’s planning for her tonight, and I have to go back to watching the damned lions feast on their meat. I’m getting too turned on just thinking about what he’s going to do with her. Damn that guy. Taking any sexual options off the table for us, and then dragging me into what he plans to do? That’s just evil.
“Let’s go see the monkeys,” I suggest.
Eden looks at me, stepping back from the enclosure. “You want to see the monkeys?”
Sounds like she doesn’t believe me. Don’t blame her considering I’ve been complaining about this whole day being non-sexy. Maybe I should have leaned into it more. Considering how much my cock is throbbing in my jeans right now, it would be less painful.
I shrug. “There’s nothing sexy about throwing shit.”
She laughs, and Eli shakes his head at me, but they both follow when I walk away.
Chapter Twelve
Eden
The zoo takes my mind off my seemingly insatiable lust. I feel closer to Eli by the end of the day, even if he has kind of acted like a bodyguard the whole time. I don’t let myself wonder why that endears me so much. I just have a hard time letting go of his hand when Nick announces that it’s time to head back to Rapture.
I glance at my phone. If we head back now, we’ll be home before Asher is. Which wouldn’t be a bad thing, though I do wonder how much Nick enjoyed the day.
“Bored already?” I take off the sunglasses as we head to the car. I can’t wait to get the damned wig off. It’s been itchy as hell, and it’s only gotten worse as the day got hotter. I removed my own T-shirt when I went to the bathroom in the zoo, or I would have sweated my boobs off within another hour. I can’t wait to get home and take a nice, relaxing bath, before Asher gets home to ravish me.
“Nah, it’s been fun.” Nick kisses my cheek before he rushes to the car and opens the back door the second Eli unlocks it for me.
I step inside and haul off the wig, stuffing it into the bag. Eli gets in and starts the engine. I breathe out a blissful sigh as the air-con kicks in and cools me down.
“Are we stopping for dinner on the way home?” I’m starting to feel hungry. Lunch ended up being a soggy portion of fries from a food stand inside the zoo when Nick realised he left the sandwiches he’d made for our picnic on the kitchen counter.
“There’s a great place for milkshakes right before we leave town,” Eli says. “Asher has dinner plans for you.”
I raise an eyebrow. “He does?”
“He has some surprises for you,” Nick cuts in, earning a frown from Eli.
Shivers of delight dance up my spine. Asher has surprises? And all of my men are in on them? I can’t wait. “This is why we left when we did.”
Eli shakes his head. “You’re not supposed to know that.”
“I didn’t spoil what it is,” Nick says.
I wonder how I can surprise Asher. I look at the bag, and the sexy costumes Nick bought. I know Asher loves it when I wear something elegant that shows off a little bit of skin, hinting at what I have going on underneath. I wonder how he’d feel about something a little more blatantly revealing.
As soon as Nick realises I’m rifling through the bag, he turns around in his seat to watch me. His smile catches my eye, before he speaks. “I knew you’d like the idea of dressing up.”
“These are so trampy,” I tell him, wondering how the hell any woman can wear them out in public as actual costumes. The skirts are cut scandalously short. I can see how they might be hot for bedroom fun though. I discard the nurse’s uniform and the maid’s one. I don’t think either would be Asher’s thing. “Are you taking me straight to him?”
They glance at each other. Oh, they’re so taking me straight to Asher.
“Okay, then I need a place we can stop and I can take a shower and change.”
Eli nods. “I have a place. It looks kind of creepy, but trust me, it’s fine inside.”
“You have a creepy place she can take a shower?” Nick sounds curious. “Do you own a motel with your dead mother or something?”
Eli laughs off Nick’s comments as I continue rifling through the bag. Black fishnet stockings, hmm. I look at what’s supposed to be a witch’s dress and think about it. “Damn. It’s too bad I don’t have heels today.”
“
Did you get to the bottom of the bag yet?” Nick asks.
I guess I didn’t. When I delve deeper, I find red pointed-toe heels in my size. And something more interesting than the slutty witch outfit. I smile. I just found the perfect dress up for tonight’s surprise. Wait a second. “Asher isn’t planning on taking me out anywhere is he?”
I was assuming not, considering his plan involves jealously hoarding my body with his. Still, I wouldn’t want to pick the wrong thing to wear if it turns out he plans on taking me out first.
“He’s not taking you out,” Nick confirms, drawing another look from Eli.
“I won’t ask anything else,” I tell them, checking my purse and smiling at the red lipstick that matches the shoes. I’m all set to surprise Asher when we get back.
Chapter Thirteen
Nick
Eli pulls in to the creepy-ass abandoned gas station and I raise an eyebrow at him. He rolls his eyes at me as he kills the engine. At least it’s daytime. Any ghosts or cannibals or whatever wouldn’t attack unless it was dark, right? I shudder as I get out of the car.
“Are we sure we’re not going wake up any serial killers by being here?” I have to ask.
“It’s just run down. There are no psychos lurking, I promise.” Eli sounds amused, which is a good start considering he’s been in a mood for most of the day.
He opens the door for Eden and she climbs out with her hands full. I rush around the car to help her carry, and also to find out what she picked. She hands me the heels and stockings, keeping her purse and one of the black outfits in her hands.
“So there’s a shower in here?” Eden asks with a dubious expression on her face.
Eli nods. “There’s an apartment above the store. Everything’s still working. I use it sometimes instead of my apartment in Haleton. The store’s kind of dusty but we won’t be in there long.”
Bad Blood (Rock Goddess Reverse Harem Book 5) Page 3