Does he see the holes all over my skin?
Can he tell how I’ve been sliced apart and barely stitched together?
I need to stop mixing my metaphors. Hallucinations. Same difference.
“Is tucking me in all you’ll be doing?” I ask as I bring my arms up around him.
“Of course not,” River replies, kissing from my ear to my cheek, then to my lips. He kisses me hard, urgently, then murmurs quietly, “I thought I was going to lose you.”
I trace the length of his jaw. “I’m indestructible. You know that.”
“I don’t think you actually are,” Blaze says. He’s freshly showered, his hair still damp, and you’d think that would have made him relax, but he’s actively glaring at me.
“I so am. Remember that time I got kidnapped as a baby? If my baby self survived, then adult me will have no problem!” I smile again, and it hurts like my cheeks are being cut open.
River’s arms tighten around me. “You need to be careful, especially until this boils over.”
“Ifwe get through that in one piece,” Asch mutters.
“Don’t be so pessimistic,” River retorts, glancing over his shoulder at Asch.
“It’s not pessimistic. It’s realistic,” Asch replies with a shrug. He spins around in the desk chair once, then sighs. “All right. So we’ll figure it out. Blaze?”
“I have a few ideas.” Blaze runs a hand through his hair, mussing it up even more. “But they can wait. River, stop hogging Pandora.” He extends his hand to me.
River mutters, but after kissing me again, he releases me and steps to the side so I can walk past him to Blaze.
I sit down on Blaze’s lap and wrap one arm around his shoulder. He settles one hand on my hip and uses the other to stroke my hair.
“Fuck, Pandora. When Asch and River came out without you…” Blaze kisses me briefly. “I’ve never been so fucking scared in my life.”
I kiss him again before answering, “I’m sure you were. What about when I had you tied down and had my knife against your ribs? Way scarier.”
Blaze shakes his head. “No. No, it wasn’t.”
Oh.
Well.
I cling to Blaze so no other pieces of me can fall off.
“Good thing your fancy sports car can keep up with a nondescript white work van,” I joke.
Asch gets up from the chair so he can get on the bed behind me. “We’re lucky he didn’t get too far ahead of us,” he says. He kisses the side of my throat. “And that he didn’t realize Samantha was wearing her earpiece.”
“Good thinking with that, Blaze,” I say. I tilt my head so I can get Asch’s lips in a proper kiss.
Asch kisses me hard, urgent, and he runs his hand up and down my back. “How are you doing?” he asks when he pulls away.
Does he know about the bits of me that are coming apart?
“I’m doing better than Samantha,” I say. “And probably better than River, and you.” I push down on the bruise on Asch’s jaw.
He hisses in a breath. “Yeah, well. I’d love to say we’re just that good, but I think we got lucky that they underestimated us for too long.”
Blaze pulls me away from Asch to kiss me again. “I wish I’d managed to shoot Ezio. I’ll do it next time.”
I let the cuts on the corners of my mouth split wider. “No way. I’m the one who gets to eviscerate him. I’m alreadyplanning the art installation.Joie de vivre, featuring Ezio’s entrails.”
