Mykel moves quickly, going outside. Alarick gets down on his knees beside me, and I can see the grin on his face. “Do not laugh, Alarick,” I warn him.
He helps me try to stop the water by covering the spray with large hands until Mykel can turn it off.
I hear chuckling behind me and see Cohen, Bohdi, Briella, Merleigh, Kendric, Samson and Cova all standing, staring down at me, grinning. Briella giggles the loudest, and then they all full on laughing just as the water goes off. I release the pipe and stand, no doubt looking like a drowned rat. Alarick stands behind me. “Do not laugh at me,” I warn again, waving my finger at them.
I take a step, slip in the water, and land on my ass with a cry. The laughter becomes hysterical. Booming male laughs and feminine female giggles all fill the room. I just let myself fall onto my back, close my eyes and exhale, pressing my hands to my face. “Why does this shit always happen to me?”
“Why are your clothes half off?” Mykel asks, and I pop my eyes open to see him kneeling down beside me and reaching in beneath the sink.
“I was trying to stop the water. You’re welcome.”
“With a shirt?” he asks me. “A shirt was going to stop the rapid flow of water from a busted pipe?”
Well, when he puts it like that . . .
“I was desperate,” I say, sitting up and glancing down.
I’m wearing a crop top and my nipples are so hard they’re budding out through the white material. It’s a freakin’ wet T-shirt competition and I’m the only competitor. Mykel’s eyes drop to my breasts and when I look at the other guys, there are more than one set of peepers on them. I cover my breasts and cry out, “You bunch of perves!”
“Babe.” Cohen chuckles. “You got your tits on display. We’re goin’ to look at them.”
“They’re not on display!” I protest. “I had to use my top to . . . oh, never mind. Help me up.”
Cohen steps over with a chuckle and reaches a hand down to me. I glance at Mykel as he helps me up and see his eyes are locked on mine in a rather intense stare. I’ll never understand this man for the life of me. Never.
When I’m on my feet, I cover my breasts with one arm and give a sheepish wave with the other. “What are you all doing here?”
“We’re havin’ a night off,” Kendric tells me, holding up a bag of marijuana. “You can’t come to us, so we’re comin’ to you.”
“Is that weed?” I ask, my eyes smiling before my mouth does.
“Fuck yeah it is.”
“And we’ve got alcohol. Lots of alcohol.” Briella grins.
“God yes. You all read my mind!” I nod, smiling. “Let’s get this cleaned up and get this party started.”
“Sounds good to me,” Briella claps. “Merleigh, Cova and I will grab some towels.”
“You ladies got this sorted. I’m goin’ to set up.” Kendric waves the little bag and then walks outside.
“Slacker!” I call after him.
Bohdi and Cohen give Mykel a hand to fix the busted pipe and once we’re all cleaned up, I get changed into a dress and a pair of Converse, and run a brush through my hair. Yep, I’m the girl who wears Converse with a dress, I also don’t give a crap because you gotta be who you gotta be. I spray some perfume on and then head downstairs to the back patio where everyone is sitting.
Mykel has the grill going, and the smell of cooking burgers makes my stomach rumble. I find a seat and pull it over next to Merleigh. She smiles at me when I sit down. “How are you, honey?” I ask her.
“I’m going well. How are you? I heard what happened the other night. I’m so sorry.”
“Yeah, it was a bit scary. Did anything like that ever happen to you?” I ask her, curious.
She nods. “I got drugged once, but it was from the man who I was being sold to. He drugged me and then took care of me so I’d trust him.”
Oh, well, now that’s strange.
“Do you think that’s what Dax did?” Briella asks, leaning forward.
“Of course he did,” Cova mutters. “That’s what he does.”
Cova is still broken, so damned broken. Briella told me she can’t stop loving the man who paid for her. Briella’s worried Cova’s going to do a runner to get back to him. She’s come down from her drug haze, but she’s still not happy about being here. Briella is trying hard to make her see that life here isn’t so bad, but she doesn’t want to be part of it.
I understand that.
Her mind is a very fragile place and for years, she’s been used.
She was favored by the man who took her, and he tricked her into believing he was the best thing for her.
I haven’t spent near as much time with Dax as she did with her captor, and yet I ended up kissing him and then feeling the same confusion. Imagine that happening for years.
My heart aches for her. It really does. I hope we can convince her to stay and be with us in this better world.
“I don’t actually think he did,” I say. “I think it was one of the other girls.”
“That’s what he told me, too,” Cova mutters. “It wasn’t the other girls; it was him. It’s what he does. He makes you trust him. He makes you think you’re special. Then he sells you and walks away without even blinking.”
My heart twists.
“Did he . . . did he ever try to kiss any of you?”
They both look at me, and judging by the shocked looks on their faces, that would be a no. Which means I’m right in sensing that the way Dax is with me is not how he was with them.
“No,” Merleigh says. “No, he was never affectionate. He
