Blaze Page 6

  "You and Char had a special bond when we were kids," Connor says, reading my thoughts. This could get dangerous. My cheeks heat as I remember the things I've been thinking on the way here.

  "Picture a wall. Solid, made of stone. And I won't be able to hear you." My eyes flick to his brown and blue ones, he doesn't look like he's joking. Closing my eyes, I concentrate on forming a wall inside my mind. But all I can picture is the three men in front of me completely naked. My eyes pop open as an image of me naked between them is projected into my mind’s eye.

  "Sorry. I didn't mean to… well…" Connor stutters around the words. Embarrassed?

  "Did you do that?" I ask.

  "Yeah sorry ‘bout that. I can project, but I have little control." Connor says.

  Crowley pipes up, "Yea, he can project all sorts of things into your mind."

  I jump from my seat. "Did you project those dreams?" My hand reaches for my sword, my plan to sever his head from his body.

  "No!" Connor stands too, his hands out in front of him in surrender. "I can't do that. Only when you're awake and allow me into your mind, I swear." The earnest look on his face has me letting my blade slide back into its sheath. "I wouldn't do that. I haven't done that. I swear to you, Kayla."

  "It's true. He can't change or add memories." My head whips to Crowley. His eyes bore into mine. Thick black eyebrows grace his broad forehead. Light lashes frame his green eyes, his lips are kissable. Plump but stretched out in a thin line. I study him as he studies me.

  His eyes linger on the scar above my eye. A building fell on me around four years ago. My head cracked open and the scar never faded. Luckily, I made it to the farm before I passed out, otherwise, I'd have been Panda food.

  "Lucky to be alive," Connor mumbles almost to himself. We all shoot him confused looks. I'm sure mine has more than a little pissed-off-ness. Is that a word? It is now.

  "So, gifts huh? Care to explain?" I ask. The three men before me shift on their seats. Their eyes cast around the area, leading me to think they’re uncomfortable talking about it. I let out a sigh. I don't have patience for games and none of this can be real. I'll humour them until I leave and then go back to Old Yella. Hopefully with a stash of food.

  "As you know, Connor can read thoughts, send images and his own thoughts into other’s minds. Me? I'm… a Brute." I gasp loudly at Crowley's confession. He sure isn't shaped like a Brute. Usually they’re very tall. Crowley’s tall but not over the seven feet Brutes get to. Their arms and legs are trunk-like with muscle and while Crowley is muscled, he isn't overly so. "Not in the way you may know a Brute. I'm as strong as them, but I'm less noticeable."

  I eye him, checking out the straining material across his biceps. His ink looks like the same design as the tattoos on Connor's arms. I turn to Charlie, the shortest of the three of them. His golden hair and brown eyes make him appear angel-like. White lashes frame his unusual eyes. Cleanly shaven, he looks younger than he is. I turn to Connor and take him in, wetting my lips. All three of them are gorgeous.

  His eyes draw me in, the blue of his right eye is stark against his dark lashes. His left brown eye is earthy. Both sparkle in the fading light. Almond-shaped and large, they appeal to me in ways I never thought eyes could. His nose fits perfectly on his handsome face, the shadow of facial hair a little wilder than when I first met him just a couple of days ago. Lighter than the hair on his head, it looks soft and I barely stop myself from reaching out to check.

  Looking at Crowley, I frown. His wild black hair sticks up at all angles; he has that just rolled out of bed look popular in magazines before the wars reminding me again of those precious magazines of my mums. God I miss her.

  Did he style it that way? Or does he just let it be, falling as it may? He frowns back at me, but it doesn't stop me staring. His strong brows draw down over his emerald green eyes.

  "What do you see Kay?" Crowley asks.

  I blink out of my reverie. Each of them is so different, yet so similar. I can't put my finger on what makes them seem… so alike. "I don't know," I answer Crowley's question. Because honestly, I have no idea what I'm feeling right now. Curiosity? Lust? I've never lusted before. Do I… want them?

  At that moment a roar echoes around the trees surrounding us. The guys all jump to their feet. Me? I sit and sip my water. It's beginning to get cold, I run my hands down my arms as Baby makes his presence known by roaring loudly, repeatedly.

  "Con get Kayla into home base. Charlie with me." Crowley sounds semi panicked. I giggle, the sound shocking two of them enough they turn to face me, freezing mid-step.

  "Oh God, is she mad? Did the wastes break her mind?" Charlie's words make me tut. Mad? As a hatter, my mother used to say.

  "No. She just knows what that is." Connors’s face has what I now realise is his ‘mind communication’ face. All frowny and serious. He’s no doubt telling the other two I have a lion as a dog.

  "No fucking way," Crowley and Charlie say at the same time. Turning as one, which is freaky as fuck, they both look to Baby at the same time. Standing tall and proud, my boy prowls towards the three men. His teeth showing, the look of murder in his golden eyes.

  "The fuck man? Should we kill it?" I jump to my feet at Charlie's words.

  I close the distance between him and me quicker than should be possible. Nose to nose I say, "You touch one hair on his head, and I will skin you alive. Ya hear?" Charlie swallows audibly as Baby presses against my hip, his energy wrapping around me. I feel protectiveness roll from him in waves.

  "Okay! Okay. Back off guys. That thing has no issues ripping heads off for Kayla. I've seen it." Connor says.

  I move my eyes from Charlie's face to look at Connor. That's right lads, me and Baby take no shit, give no quarter.

  The two men back away. Crowley frowning, Charlie with his hands up in defeat. Again, I find myself giggling. Five minutes with three gorgeous men and I've lost my mind.

  "Down boy." I pat Baby's head and he sits on his butt. "He won't harm you unless I tell him to or if you try to hurt me. I'd suggest you don't think about hurting either of us," I say loud enough for the three of them to hear clearly. Mistakes could cost lives. I need to make sure they know we don't mess around when it comes to each other's safety.

  Baby and I sit at the edge of the man-made clearing. Connor and Charlie disappeared around an hour ago. I didn't question where they went. It's none of my business. Crowley circles the perimeter, passing me several times without so much as looking at Baby or me. Which is just fine and dandy with me. They left me with so much to think about, so many questions. I needed to be alone. They all seem to be respecting that. I spent most of my life alone, just Baby and I for the last few. Idle chit-chat and small talk are just not my forte. So, I sit and stare out into the trees.

  A state-of-the-art alarm system laced between the surrounding trees ensures we won’t be caught unaware should Panda stumble upon our little camp. Our? Eek. I want to go back to me, myself and I. All this we bullshit unnerves me. On his third pass, Crowley stops a few feet from me. Arms crossed over his broad chest, he stares at Baby laying in the grass cleaning his fur of blood and gore.

  "He won't bite," I say quietly. Crowley's eyes flick to mine, a dark brow raised. "Baby," I call softly. The animal rolls over, his side hitting my hip, legs in the air as he begs for tummy rubs. I oblige and start to scratch the thick patch of fur between his front legs. My dog’s so soft, yet vicious. Crowley moves to sit at my other side, opposite to where Baby lays. Why are these guys so scared of a dog? Baby’s protected me for years, never once hurting me. I roll my eyes and settle against the tree at my back.

  "So…" Crowley starts. "A lion huh? That's…. different."

  "Yup. Lion. Dog. Four legs and a tail. That's my Baby," I answer. Different? Maybe.

  "Badass." He sounds impressed.

  "I didn't choose him. He chose me. But yea… badass," I say, watching Baby peel the bark off a tree stump with his claws. A solitary bird chirps a song ab
ove us. I let myself smile a little at the beautiful sound.

  "I remember that smile. You loved music when we were kids," he says fondly.

  Seems everyone remembers me, but me. I sit up a little and squint my eyes at the mountain attempting to start a conversation with me. "Yea, so about that. What happened?"

  He leans back on one arm. "Connor's dad sent his men to bring him back to the city. He needed an heir." He shrugs his muscled shoulder; I barely stop myself from licking my lips. "Took the three of us with him, your parents fought back. So, did ours. Things got out of hand and a grenade was thrown."

  Damn. Grenade? What the fuck.

  "We tried to come back sooner Kayla," Our eyes lock. I see regret in his and I wonder what mine hold. "But it was impossible until you turned twenty."

  The legal age of adulthood in the new world was twenty. At that age, you could marry, have children and choose as many partners as you wished. My mother chose three. Her mother before her had nine. How she managed nine men was beyond me. I didn't even want one, did I? Out of nowhere Crowley produces the thickest magazine I’ve ever seen.

  "I found that book a few years ago. My crew are on scavenger duties. I remember you loved to read when we were kids. So, when I saw it, I kept it." His face gives nothing away, blank of all emotions.

  Book? Like the ones on my device? Wow. He kept this for years in the hopes of finding me one day and giving it to me?

  Something foreign stirs in my chest. Something unsettling. I run my hand over the cover, the picture reminds me of the wastes I call home with its burnt trees A simple design, yet I’m drawn to it, even without knowing what it’s about. Day Zero. It's beautiful despite all its flaws, the edges have been nibbled on and the pages are crinkled. It's one I've never read before, my device having only so many. I can’t wait to read it. I finally drag my eyes from my new pretty to stare into Crowley's. His bright green eyes are darker in the moonlight. They hold some kind of emotion I don't have a name for.

  "Thank you." My voice is soft and small. A slow smile spreads across his face as he stands and walks away. I hug the book to my chest. I can muster feelings for a book, but not a man? Perhaps I'm more broken than I realised.

  I just want to murder the man that killed my mum. These three are in my way. Now Connor’s with the others, I really should leave, but I can’t seem to make myself do it. Baby wanders over to me and in true Baby style, throws himself onto the ground like his legs were suddenly gone. "Hey handsome." I run my fingers through his fur, the motion soothing. "So, lion huh?" He lifts his golden eyes to me and lets out a small whine. "This is fucked up, boy." I tickle his ear and his back paw comes up and bats the air. His tickly spot. "Those men?" I jerk my head to the side, indicating the camp behind us. "They say I'm theirs. That they have these freaky powers." My body slumps a little as I begin to relax. Baby puts his head on my knee, and I rest my forehead against the top of his. It can't be right though. Can it? I mean… this isn't a book. Special powers can't actually be real.

  Looking around me to make sure no one is near; I take my device out of the pocket on my thigh and turn it on. The photo that greets me lifts my spirits. It's Baby and me, we'd just taken down a deer. Our faces are gaunt and bloody but we’re smiling so broadly that all of our teeth are showing. How a dog, I mean lion, can smile is beyond me. But he is. His teeth bloody with bits of fur caught in them.

  We feasted on that carcass for months. I smoked it and then dried it out in a shack at my mother's farm. She'd been so proud of me, her love pouring out of her and I soaked it up. Unlocking the screen, I pull up the gallery and scroll through the photos I took since finding this thing. Mum said it was a mobile phone, but I'd never heard of it. Apparently, you could call people on it. And send textual? Textile? Something like that.

  "It's very old Kayla, be careful with it. It could be the last working one on the planet."

  My mum made sure no one outside of our family saw it. They'd take it from me, then I'd have to kill them. After I was raped, and I killed Tac, my mum said I changed. I never told her what happened, but my trips away from the farm got longer and longer. I'm sure she guessed, but she never did seem like she was happy. I guess now I know why. My brother's death.

  Tears start to sting my eyes as I flick through pictures of my mum, my dads and the farm. I close it down and open the reading thing. There are books on my device, and I'd read them a million times over, never getting bored with the stories. Seven by the same person. Magic books. All set in the same school, each story a different year as they grew older. Fascinating. The ginger one’s my favourite. A little bit of an idiot but loveable, nonetheless.

  One of the other books has a bright purple cover, the redhead on it shining on the background. Never Ever. A girl who thought she was a regular human but was really the Queen of the sea. Her men had various powers. Lots of sex, oh my, the sex. I'm pretty sure there should be another because it ends without the full story being told. I wonder what happened to that girl? And was she indeed pregnant?

  The last one with its black background and a hand holding an apple is about a normal girl who goes to live with her father where she meets several supernatural characters including the love interest, Edward, who’s a vampire. She befriends a werewolf too. No sex in this one. Unfortunately, danger follows when rogue vampires become interested in her. Again, I'm pretty sure there was another because it ends oddly.

  Just as it starts up and words appear on the screen a twig snaps to my left and I drop the device like it's on fire.

  "Kayla, you ok doll?" It's Charlie. I shuffle my foot until my holey boot is covering the screen.

  "Yes." Clearing my throat, I fake an itch on my ankle, slipping the device into the side of the old leather.

  "Can I sit with you? Connor and Crowley are going to drag some water back for boiling," Charlie says.

  "There's a lake near here?" Please say yes.

  "Yup. It's not big…" Before he finishes I'm on my feet.

  "Which way?" I ask, hopping from foot to foot, my eyes wide.

  "Err… I'll take you." He almost looks excited. Bloody hell! Water!

  I follow Charlie through the trees in silence. He, however, won't shut up. Not hearing a word he says, I watch his hair blow in the slight breeze as the moonlight makes it appear white. It's so dark I can barely see where I’m going, but my senses are well honed. I manage to make it all the way to the water without breaking anything or falling. When we get there Connor and Crowley are standing in the small river. The black and silver liquid up to their hips, their torsos bare.

  My mouth hangs open, catching flies. Imaginary drool running down my chin as the faint moonlight highlights the ridges of their abs. Oh fuck me. Crowley is using some sort of pan to scoop up water and pour it over his head. Droplets run down his tattooed chest as he shifts, exposing two hollows that run down either side of his stomach. My eyes follow their direction to a patch of hair. A gasp leaves my mouth before I can stop it, making all three men look at me. Ground… take me now.

  "Kayla…" someone says. I'm not sure who since my heartbeat is loud in my ears, drowning out all noise. My mouth goes dry. I don't even blink as Crowley wades out of the river. His eyes on mine, he makes no move to hide his body. I lick my cracked lips as he steps onto dry land, my eyes roaming his body without my permission.

  "Like what you see, Kay?" Huh? Did he say something? I can't... His dick, my thighs clench, blood roars inside my head. Unable to swallow I try to speak. What comes out is a little squeak, and the grin on his face grows even more. Thick, long, wet. The veins on it are like snakes running down its length. Huge, the sight of it makes my pussy clench. He’d tear me in two with that thing! Nah ah, that’s too big to fit in here.

  "Are you ok, sweetie?" Charlie asks.

  Finally, I peel my eyes away from Crowley's huge cock to look Charlie in the eye. His long golden hair catches the moonlight drawing my gaze away from this guy’s third leg and reminding me the wig is still on my head; i
tchy, dirty.

  "Take it off, sweet face." Turning to Connor only to be met with his naked body my knees nearly buckle. "We don't bite," he says with a lopsided grin. The hard ridges of his body do things to mine that I can’t begin to explain or put a name to. The designs on his arms glint with wetness, his nipples are hard. He's completely hair-free. How does he do that?

  "Not hard anyway," Crowley adds. Damn. Those two are so comfortable with their bodies, standing before me naked doesn't seem to faze them. I flick my eyes down to Connor's cock, immediately wishing I hadn't. A moan forces its way out of my lips as I stare at his huge appendage. Just as I'm about to take a step back to get away from them, images of Tac slash through my mind. Charlie brings me back to reality.

  "Take the wig off Kayla. Wash your hair while you can, here." He holds his hand out to me, a square block of white in the palm. "It's soap." Huh? My mum makes...made, this flaky powder stuff that smelled like acid when I was little that she called soap. It didn't look like this thing. I remind myself I’m no longer that young girl. Tac can’t hurt me, or anyone else ever again. If these three guys think they can take advantage of me, not only will Baby tear them to pieces but I’ll chop off their dicks and feed them to the Panda while they watch.

  "Smell it Kay. It's good." To punctuate his words Charlie sniffs the block, hums low in his throat then thrusts it towards me. Hesitantly I reach up to my wig with one hand and take the soap with the other. I bring it to my nose and without even having to draw in a big breath like Charlie did, I can smell something sweet. That's all I need to whip off my wig and shake loose my golden hair.

  It comes to my waist in loose waves from being tied up so tight all the time. It's greasy and dirty. It looks nothing like Charlie's. I run my fingers through it only to get them caught several times.