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“You’re wrong.” Cora throws the words at me like a gauntlet.
I stare at her. No one ever stands up to me like that. No one.
She goes on, oblivious to the pressure building in my lungs. “One night a week isn’t fair to any of you—or to me—when I want to be with you all more often. And it’s insulting that you think I’d treat anyone like a favorite. I happen to like all of you, and I happen to want to spend time with all of you, and I happen to be perfectly cable of being fair about how I spend my time with my guys. I mean, come on, Jud. Give me a little credit.”
“My guys.”Damn, but she’s grown in confidence this week. Despite my frustration at being challenged, I can’t deny it’s fucking nice to see her settling into her role here and asserting herself. Still. I can’t have her making her own rules.
I’mthe Judge here.I’mthe leader.
I stand my ground. “Start doubling up or taking nights off or fooling around with some of my crew during the day—” Jesus, am I really saying these things to Cora— “you know what you get? Hurt feelings. Jealousy. A pissed-off crew. And six pissed-off men is the last thing I need, especially when we’re gearing up for battle. The answer’s no. We keep things as they are. Final answer.”
One of her winged eyebrows lifts in indignation. “Even if it means I don’t get to enjoy what’s mine whenever I want?” Cora asks. A wiggle of her ass rubs my dick just right. How the hell did she go from the girl Grim and I found, to this little vixen in a single week?
It’s my turn to narrow my eyes. “Seems to me you’re getting plenty of enjoyment without it. Maybe I should take my gift back. I mean, you haven’t even named it, yet.”
She tosses her head. “No Indian giving.”
“That’s an offensive term,” I say. My jealousy is cooling as my dick thickens under her ass.
“Whatever. You can’t take it back, and I’ll name it when I feel like it. It’s a big decision. I need more time.” Leaning into me, she crosses her legs, and the action puts added pressure just there. Goddamn,she knows what she’s doing. “Look.” Her face goes serious. “You can’t ask me to be a girlfriend to seven men and then dish out a whole bunch of rules that make me feel like an object instead of a person. I have feelings, Jud, and you all have feelings too. I liked what we did the other morning. And I liked what I did this morning with Grim and Doc. And what I did with Shep.”
GrimandDoc? And Shep? Jesus. My kitten’s been busy. On one hand, I want to ask exactly what she did with them, but on the other, I probably don’t want to know.
“Don’t forget whatwedid, little one,” Rev says.
She tugs her lower lip between her teeth. Her lashes lower as her gaze turns his way. “I’ll never forget that,” she says, and there’s that jealousy again.
Rev too? Christ, am I the only one whohasn’tenjoyed Cora today?
Cora turns my attention back to her with a cool hand on my cheek. “Can I ask you something?”
I don’t answer. I’m feeling defensive. Ganged up on. Jealous. Leaders shouldn’t feel any of those things. My molars grind together hard enough to turn glass into sand. If I open my mouth, I’ll probably say something I’ll regret.
Cora doesn’t need an answer. She plows ahead. Bravely. Reasonably. “Why do you think the Working brought me here?”
That stops me. I look to Rev. Has he been talking with her about the Working? I’m still not sure I believe there is a “Working,” but Rev talks about it every Sunday, and our Gifts had to come from somewhere, I suppose.
“Answer the question,” Rev says.
“I give the orders around here.”
He motions with one hand, as if to say,point taken, now shut the hell up and answer the goddamned question.
To Cora, I say, “You’re here because we need you.” I believe that much.
“And becauseIneedyou,” she says, hand on the center of my chest, over my heart. “The eight of us? We were meant to find each other. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that each of you seems to genuinely like me and that I like all of you. I mean, what are the odds of that?
“This? All of this, it has to be for a reason. If you put up a bunch of rules around what we have together, it’s going to stifle whatever that reason is. But don’t take my word for it. Let me show you.”
She gets off my lap and bends at the waist to untie her boots. Her denim-clad ass is within grabbing distance, and it makes me salivate. No matter where this is going, I’m not going to change my mind, but to say I’m curious would be an understatement.
Chapter 22
Cora
I tried acting seductivewith Rev last night, and he laughed at me. I’m not going to make that mistake again. But I’m beginning to understand that I don’t have totryto be attractive to any of my guys. I could crawl out of a dumpster wearing a potato sack, and they’d think I was beautiful. I don’t get it, but I’m starting to believe it.
So, I’m not going to put on any kind of production here. Jud and Rev would probably enjoy a strip show, but I’ve never been any good at anything other than basic high-school-gym dance moves, so I don’t waste my time. I simply kick off my boots, peel off my socks, drop my pants, and lift my sweater up and over my head. There’s nothing underneath because I couldn’t find my bra after my time with Grim this morning, and I still need to wash all my new underwear. As I turn around and face Jud with my hands on my hips, I’m completely naked.
