“Do it, and I’ll punch you when I wake up,” Ezekiel says in a muffled voice against his pillow.

Gage snorts derisively, rolling over to put his back to me.

I stare at the TV, as Ezekiel picks up the remote and rewinds it, not even looking. Somehow, he starts the movie at the exact right part. It distracts me from the fact I really don’t want them in my room, and I sit up as my clothes change.

Ezekiel lifts his head, then laughs under his breath before shaking his head. Gage turns his head to look at me, then rolls his eyes as I sit in my Pinocchio outfit.

“Tell me what popcorn is like,” I say absently, riveted as poor Pinocchio barely escapes. But I can feel his heavy heart from here. It’s like he can’t catch a break.

I know the feeling, little guy.

“Salty, gets stuck in your teeth, and not really all that filling, but weirdly addictive,” Ezekiel answers in a quiet, almost sleep-rasp voice.

“Sounds perfect,” I say with a small grin.

Gage is already sleeping, I realize, when he subconsciously rolls over, his hand slipping through my waist. The peaceful expression on his face has me rolling my eyes and feeling rooted to this spot regardless of the dire consequences.

“If I turn whole and you guys tie me up, I can promise I’ll use my protective powers to protect myself. And I won’t even feel bad about it.”

Ezekiel smiles lazily, his eyes never opening. “If I tie you up, I can promise you that you’ll enjoy every fucking moment of it.”

Not sure why I feel a wicked little shiver up my spine, considering I’ve already decided I’m too good for them.

Deciding it’s safer to stare at the TV than talk to Ezekiel, I sit rigidly. I’ll get up if my eyes feel heavy again.

My mouth opens for a yawn, weirdly enough. But no way will I…fall…asleep.

Chapter 22

My eyes fly open, and I hold really still as the pressure on my waist has my entire body warming up. Two different hands are touching me there, holding me to them, as two very hard bodies press against my sides.

I fell asleep.

Watching Pinocchio.

And now I’m a real girl.

Between two real killers.

And I’m frozen in place, because I don’t want to be tied up or killed.

Trying not to breathe too heavily, I start to sit up, careful not to disturb them.

The hands on my waist tighten, as I struggle to do the simple task of lifting my body. This…is not what I expected. Gravity is a real bitch, and I’m not used to feeling it.

It takes more effort to rise up than I expected, and the hands slide to my lap abruptly when I forget about them—and gravity. I go still, not even breathing, as the two men on either side of me stir ever so slightly.

There’s a back door on this wing. I can slip down the stairs back here and be out before they even notice me missing. I’m also faster than them, so that shouldn’t be an issue.

Except…gravity. I hope that doesn’t affect my speed.

Ignoring all the raging hormones in my suicidal, traitorous body, I carefully remove their hands from my lap, gently placing them on the bed.

Just as I’m about to try to slide down the bed, a hand darts out and snags my arm so unexpectedly and roughly that I cry out.

Ezekiel jerks awake, and I turn to look at Gage as he stares at me with wide, wild, hungry eyes, his grip on my arm tightening to be almost bruising.

Our eyes stay locked, as I accidentally stay frozen in horror like a statue. His nostrils flare, and he looks to be visibly straining not to do something terrible.

“Tell me that’s bad, and I won’t touch her,” Ezekiel says, his breath whispering across my shoulder, the heat of it causing my eyes to roll back in my head as a full body shiver wracks me.

Now is so not the time to be a woman. I’m almost certain it’s unnatural to forget one’s life is in danger at a moment like this.

A groan is pulled from Gage’s throat, and before I can blink, he moves in a blur, coming at me so fast I can’t stop him.

His lips crash against mine almost violently, and I try to bite him, only to have him shove his hand in my hair, aggressively turning my head to give him better access as his tongue sweeps in and steals my fight.

My hands fly to his shoulders, and two other hands move to my waist, as a set of incredible lips find my neck. Both of them touching me, surrounding me, intoxicating me with sensory overload…is almost too much.

Gage’s hand starts tearing open the buttons of my shirt, when reality smashes back in.

Fear spikes my blood, and I shove him them both off, stunning them for just a second as I throw myself off the bed…and crash through the floor in my phantom form, falling all the way downstairs.

A scream leaves my lips when I go from ghost to whole again, and land hard on my side in the downstairs library. Pain shoots up my side, and I groan while cursing my luck.

“Did you hear that thump?” Ezekiel says from above me as feet hit the floor.

“She’s whole again,” Gage answers, dark excitement in his tone.

Feet start pounding down the staircase immediately, as Gage shouts, “She’s a real fucking girl, boys!”

Ezekiel’s dark laughter follows that. With every ounce of strength I have, I push to my feet, and I…stumble around like a baby deer on one of those nature shows.

My legs feel weak, shaky, and not at all like I expected. Everyone makes walking seem so easy.

I kick out of the ridiculously uncomfortable wooden shoes, since those seem to be wreaking havoc on my flimsy ankles.

I barely catch myself against the desk, and I push my knees back straight, straining as a cold sweat breaks out over my skin. Fear prickles the back of my neck as they near the door, and suddenly I feel the weight leave me as gravity ceases to exist.

Looking down, I fist pump the air, seeing my phantom body is back, and I race through the library wall, darting toward the back door. But then…I’m falling and sliding, pain shooting through me again.

A silent curse gets swallowed when I look down at the useless piece of shit legs that are flesh again.

What the hell is going on?!

I can’t tell if I’m leveling up or short circuiting.

When I get my glorious, weightless body back, I push up and race through the walls, getting as far away from the nearing voices as possible.

“Where the fuck is she?” I hear Gage snap.

“What the hell is going on?” Kai snaps, his voice muffled through the many layers of walls between us.

I’m mid-stumble all of the sudden, once again on those baby deer legs. Barely restraining the cry of frustration, I clutch the dining room table, looking at the closet in the living room.

But before I can make it, Kai is suddenly appearing in front of me, a dark smile twisting his lips as he rakes his eyes over me. “Not exactly the sexiest thing you could be wearing, but clothes are always optional.”

He’s suddenly on me, shoving me against the wall, and becomes the only thing holding me up when his lips find mine. He groans into my mouth as he presses against me, and through his thin boxers, I can feel just how turned on he is.

I kiss him back, my hands sliding up to the back of his neck, as I pull back my knee and shove it up as hard as I can.

With a cry, Kai breaks the kiss and stumbles back, doubling over as he cups his balls and groans.

“Tie me up now, dickhead,” I gloat, then squeal when he lunges at me again.

I feel it when my body shifts this time, turning into my phantom phase, and he passes right through me, crashing against the wall so hard plaster falls off in clumps. Then he turns his narrowed gaze at me.

I flip him off with both fingers, then run like hell before I can get cursed with those useless legs again.

“She’s down here!” he calls out.

I dive into the closet in the billiard room just before I turn whole again, and I wobble on unsteady legs as I hang out with all the pool sticks and stuff, panting heavily.

Running is tiring when you can feel gravity, damn it. My phantom form was just dense enough to keep me from floating away, but I was still effectively weightless. I hate gravity. It’s a total pain in the ass. And I need more practice with my legs before I have to run for my life.

“Where the fuck did she go?” I hear Jude snap, and Kai laughs darkly.

“I don’t know, but she tastes too damn good to be anything less than terrible for us.”

“You fucking idiot, you kissed her?” Jude groans.

“My dick still hurts from how good she felt. And from how painful she felt too. Vicious little thing,” Kai adds.

“Where’d she go?” I hear Gage snap.

Focusing really hard, I try to single out the feeling of transitioning from one form to another, harnessing the emotions that led to each. If I’m not short circuiting, maybe my level-up includes a package where I can be either or.

I’d really like to be untouchable in this moment.

It’s hard to concentrate when they’re tearing the house apart in search of me, but when I feel myself go weightless, I open my eyes and breathe out a sigh of relief, seeing right through my hand.

Concentrating again, I manage to turn back whole, feeling the energy surge through me with the awareness and crisp senses that come with it. It feels good to be a real fucking girl, but it’s also terrifying.

The door swings open, and my gaze darts up as Jude releases a slow, dark grin. Before the worst of them can get his hands on me, I smirk, and he passes right through me the second he lunges.