I don’t bother to move away.
Blaze is on me immediately, wrapping his hand around my throat and forcing me up against the opposite wall. My backpack digs into my back.
“What was the point of that?” Blaze demands.
In this darkness, I can’t see the color of Blaze’s eyes. There’s just a hint of refracted light in those pools of black.
I part my mouth and let out a soft moan. “What… What do you think?”
“I think she wanted to get caught,” River says in a low voice that’s probably meant to sound menacing. “I think she came here expecting to be caught. Didn’t you, Pandora?”
I turn my head in his direction and extend a hand out to him. “Did you want to catch me, River?”
Despite his hold on my neck, Blaze isn’t squeezing tight enough to deny me breath. He’s been rougher with me in the past.
I lift my leg so I can rub my thigh between his legs. Blaze inhales sharply, but he doesn’t move away.
“Let go of her,” Asch says. “See if she runs off.”
“What were you doing in there?” River asks, ignoring Asch entirely.
“Can’t I come back to enjoy the fruits of my labors?” I lick my lips. “Arsonists tend to do that, I hear.”
“Oh, so you’re admitting it now?” Asch asks, and in the dim light, I can see him cross his arms against his chest.
“Like she really needed to say it,” River mutters.
“What. Were. You. Doing?” I lean forward, straining my neck against Blaze’s chokehold. He growls before bending in and pressing his lips to mine.
He still tastes the same.
I was afraid something would be different, that he’d be abhorrent to me, but no: I love this taste, I love the feel of his lips against mine, the way he squeezes my neck and bites my lip and takes what he wants from me.
I let out a soft gasp when he breaks the kiss.
“Still the same Pandora,” Blaze mutters.
“Yeah,” I answer. “Did you think I would change?”
“You never do,” River says, but the words are acerbic even as he steps forward, digging his fingers into my shoulder. “Do you, Pandora?”
Before I can respond, he leans in and kisses me, hard and demanding, his touch bruising on my skin.
I moan into the kiss, opening my mouth for him. Blaze tries to step back and give River room, but I grab his shirt with one hand. Blaze huffs and gently squeezes my neck again. My cunt throbs, and I reach up to touch River’s hand on my shoulder.
I rub the knuckle of his missing pinky.
He jerks his hand away and steps back. “Kissing you is like kissing a viper,” he mutters.
I lick my lips. “Except vipers will only attack when provoked.”
Blaze chuckles, which I count as a victory.
“Yeah? And are we provoking you or giving you what you want?” Asch asks, running his thumb over my lips.
I turn my head in his direction, and with his eyes on me, I dart my tongue out to lick his thumb. Asch shudders, but he doesn’t move his thumb away.
“I haven’t decided yet,” I reply. “You might need to try harder, Asch.”
