I shot her a scowl. I didn’t like people who overshared.

She laughed, and I noticed her bright, wide smile that gave her a child-like, girl-next-door sweetness. Very much in contrast to her un-child-like body that I knew half the men at that party the other night had probably taken to bed. Had Kai slept with her?

“I’m serious, though.” She nudged me, bringing me back. “Being touched is a need. Close your eyes for me.”

Huh?

“It’s an experiment,” she explained, probably seeing my confused look. “I won’t touch you anywhere personal.”

No. I inched away.

But she just followed me. “Close your eyes, and imagine I’m him.”

“Him?”

“Your fantasy.”

My fantasy? Wha—

“Indulge me for two minutes,” she leaned in, whispering, “and I’ll give you my sweatshirt.”

I let out a scoff.

But still…I’d like a sweatshirt.

Fine. Fuck it. I closed my eyes.

Without my sight balancing me, my brain seemed to start floating, but I still felt her shift next to me, and then a hand touched my stomach, making me jump.

“Do you see him in your head,” she whispered, her breath falling across my jaw. “Your fantasy. Picture him—or her—what they’re wearing, the room, how they’re coming for you.”

My eyelids fluttered, the images popping into my head on instinct.

“No,” I muttered, the word accidentally slipping out.

Her fingertips grazed my abdomen, sending delightful chills up my arms. “Yes,” she breathed in my ear. “You see him, don’t you? He’s touching you right now. This is his hand on your stomach. His body next to you. His voice in your ear. Do you see him?”

I shivered, my breathing turning shallow. I was suddenly back in the grave.

Kai’s bare chest was in front of me, and I wanted to sink my fingers into his waist and bury my nose in his neck. The faint scent of his soap and the wet earth under our shoes surrounded me, and another scent that was just Kai. It was in his hair, his mouth, his skin…

“I want you,” he gasped out, his hot breath in my ear. “I want you in my mouth.”

His hand slid up the back of my neck, threading into my hair and gripping it lightly. I whimpered, feeling my nipples harden.

He sank his mouth into my neck, and I sucked in a breath through my teeth, his lips kissing and sucking my skin. Oh, God. I leaned my head to the side, letting him in.

“I’m going to eat you so fucking deep,” he said, his possessive hand on my stomach trailing down the inside of my thigh.

I could see us on a bed, his head buried between my legs, and even though I felt the heat of a blush on my face, I wanted him there.

“You feel me?” he asked. “You feel how much I want you? I’m going to stick my tongue up inside you and lick until you’re screaming for me to let you come. You’re mine.”

My chest shook, and I moaned, feeling him nibble my ear, his hands growing more demanding, making me sweat.

“Take my hands, baby,” he whispered. “Put my hands on you.”

I licked my dry lips, not even hesitating. I grabbed his hand on my thigh, but stopped, feeling a soft, slender hand that didn’t feel like a man’s.

I popped my eyes open, seeing Alex at my side.

“Oh, my God.” I put my hand over my mouth, embarrassment wracking through me. That was all her. Holy shit. I released her hand, watching her reluctantly pull away and let out a sigh.

“He’s a lucky guy. Whoever he is.”

I shook my head, baffled at what just happened. And the somersaults still going on in my stomach.

She leaned in. “Tonight, you should remember that fantasy and finish it, even if it’s just you, by yourself, in your bed.”

No wonder Will kept her on payroll.

“Or if you want,” she said, teasing with a smirk in her voice, “call me, and I’ll finish you off.”

The pulse between my legs throbbed harder.

Fucking amazing, I thought to myself. I could take on a two-hundred-fifty-pound guy, but a twenty-year-old escort got me shy.

I was about to stand up when a shout rang out through the locker room. “Is Banks done in there yet?!”

It was Kai.

Alex hopped off the bench, grabbing her brush and pushing my hair behind my shoulders. “Yeah, she’s dry and dressed!”

“Get her out here then.”

I quickly stood up and scurried over to Alex’s locker, snatching the gray zip-up on the bench in front of it. It was long, hopefully long enough to cover the curvy parts.

I walked for the door, seeing it partly open and Kai’s form through the frosted glass. I slipped into the sweatshirt.

“I’m here,” I said, opening the door. “What do you need?”

He immediately turned and started walking, without looking at me, clearly expecting me to follow him.

“I need you to handle the front desk for an hour. The first shifter is caught in traffic.”

I made to zip up the jacket, but all of a sudden it was ripped off me from behind, and I jerked around, seeing a smiling Alex snatching it back and shoving me in the chest, out the door.

What the fuck?

She slammed the locker room door closed, and I rushed back, jiggling the knob, but she was planted against it, not letting me in.

I opened my mouth to yell but just fisted my hands, growling low.

Damn her.

“Everything slows to a goddamn halt, like people have never seen rain before,” Kai went on, still walking down the hallway. “Just scan cards, hand out towels if they ask, and answer the phones. It shouldn’t be too long.”

I tucked one side of my hair behind my ear and followed him reluctantly, fidgeting my hands and trying to cover my stomach with my arms and then my cleavage.

“I’ll show you how to use the intercom to page me if you need me,” he instructed.

I stopped at the desk as he reached over it, grabbing a set of keys and a walkie talkie.

But then something dropped in the middle of the lobby, and Kai and I both looked over, seeing Michael standing frozen with his fucking eyebrows up at his hairline. He was staring at me.

I shifted my eyes around, grinding my teeth together. Yeah, laugh it up, asshole.

Kai held out his hands, annoyed as he looked at Michael and Rika standing still in the middle of the lobby with a Gatorade spilling out on the floor.

“What’s the matter with you?” he burst out.

And then he followed their gaze, finally turning around and looking at me.

His eyebrows nose-dived, his back straightened, and he looked at me like I just kicked a puppy.

His gaze dropped to my bare feet, slowly scaling up Alex’s tight workout pants, my bare stomach, the sports bra, and my hair hanging long and free.

My fists clenched at my side.

Kai’s eyes finally met mine, and my stomach dropped. I knew that look. It was the same one he had in his eyes on that Devil’s Night, right before he chased me.

He cocked any eyebrow and turned his head toward his friends. “What are you looking at?” he growled to Michael. “Locker room’s that way.”

Michael had a grin he was trying to hold back, and Rika scowled at him.

“Breathe, asshole,” she said, and then she stomped off down the hallway.

He followed her, a choked laugh in his voice. “Babe, I was just a little shocked. It’s a huge change!”

“Shut up.”

“Rika, come on…”

And their argument disappeared down the hall.

I stood there, my head level but my gaze on the floor as I chewed the inside of my cheek. “I’ll change as soon as my clothes are dry,” I told him, looking up. “Where can I get one of those polos the other desk clerks wear?”

He didn’t answer for a moment, his gaze hesitantly glancing down and back up again.

Hooding his eyes, he walked around me, toward the hallway. “We’re all out.”

Banks

Devil’s Night

Six Years Ago

Tossing my keys on the desk, I closed the door and walked across the room, pulling the curtains closed. I peeled off my sweatshirt, kicked off my shoes, and dug in the top drawer of Damon’s chest of drawers, pulling out some boxers and a T-shirt. Yawning, I walked into the bathroom, the white marble floors feeling cool and smooth under my feet.