Bree let out a screech from my phone, and I looked down at the screen in a panic.
"What?" I asked, worried something bad had happened.
Instead she was gaping at me, her mouth open. "Um, MK, did you forget to mention the half-naked Adonis lying in your bed?"
I shot a look at Kody, and he just grinned like a smug fucking cat. "No, I didn't forget. He just lost his shirt and wanted to borrow one of mine. I think he wants that baby-blue lace crop top."
Bree just erupted into giggles, shaking her head. "Gossip," she ordered me. "Tomorrow over coffee. No excuses."
"Yes, ma'am," I replied with a grumble, then ended the call as she continued to cackle on the other end.
"That's interesting," Kody murmured as I tossed my phone onto the dresser and gathered the appropriate underwear for my outfit. "You don't gossip about your love life with your bestie? I thought that's what all chicks did."
I snorted a laugh. "No, Kodiak Jones, that's apparently what boys do. Otherwise how the hell did Archer find out those dirty details about what happened with Steele at the fight?"
Yeah, I was still salty on that. There wasn't even a question of him kissing and telling about our sexcapade after Bree's party. For one thing, we'd been loud enough to give the entire house a front row seat. For another, my stalker's telephoto-lens pictures did the deed for us.
Kody gave me a nod of acknowledgement. "Don't hold that one too hard against him, babe. His loyalty to Arch runs deeper than blood, and back then we didn't know you like we do now."
I huffed, folding my arms across my towel and making sure it was firmly tucked in place. "It was only a month ago, Kody."
His brows lifted. "A lot has changed in a month."
A door slammed somewhere in the house, and Kody glanced at the time on his chunky black watch. "I better go try on that lace crop top of yours," he said, sitting up with a delicious crunch of his abs. "See you downstairs, gorgeous." Casual as fucking anything, he smacked a quick kiss on my mouth, then left the room.
I pressed my fingers to my lips, feeling the print of his touch there like a ghost kiss for way too long after he was gone.
Eventually, I gave myself a mental shake and quickly got dressed—after triple-checking that the blackout blind was still firmly in place over my window. I hadn’t opened it once since getting those telephoto-lens pictures. I’d rather live in the dark, thank you.
Bree's choice of a black pleated miniskirt, black scoop-neck, form-fitting top, and a belt made of loose, interlinked chains really worked out well. The whole thing was topped off with some black high heels that almost looked like they had laces up the front of the foot. All in all, I looked like some kind of gothic, sexy schoolgirl—a win-win because it echoed the slutty outfit I’d worn on my first day at SGU. The one Archer had felt so inclined to douse in orange juice.
Giving myself a quick once-over in the mirror, I smiled. Bree had good taste.
I hoped the guys thought so, too.
Not that it should matter what they thought of my outfit, of course, but also... I couldn't push it out of my mind. Damn it.
35
The mask Archer handed me before we got out of the G-Wagen was made of red leather with small devil horns attached. Kody and Steele both slipped identical masks over their own faces, while Archer's was black.
I smiled, wondering if this was just a coincidence or...
"Cute," I commented as we got out of the car, "these remind me of Bree's favorite book."
Steele and Kody didn't react at all, but Archer—the one who'd chosen the masks and kept the black one for himself—allowed the corner of his lips to pull up in a sly half grin.
"I find time loops fascinating," he murmured, confirming my suspicions about the masks being a deliberate nod to a romance novel. He brushed past me without another word on the subject and led the way toward the old warehouse where lights and music indicated the party was happening.
I bit back my own smile, having no clue what to make of that statement. For one, I'd never even seen Archer crack so much as a magazine, let alone a chunky-ass book. For another, the book in question was a reverse harem romance. Meaning the main character—Karma—had more than one love interest and they never made her choose.
Did that mean Archer would be okay with that lifestyle?
Ugh. Come on, MK. Hell didn't just freeze over.
"You going to stand there all night?" Steele asked me, grinning. "Or are we going to have some fun?"
The way his mask hid the top half of his face made his smile so much more alluring, so much sexier. Not that he needed any help in that department.
With a sigh, I slipped my own mask on and took his outstretched hand. I laughed as he pulled me along faster, running a bit in my high heels to catch up with Kody and Archer.
The four of us entered the party together, as a unit. Damn, if that didn't feel kind of awesome. There was heavy security at the main door, checking names off a list and stamping everyone’s wrists as they entered, but they just waved us through. Clearly Archer was recognizable.
At the far end of the warehouse, a raised booth had been erected, and an alien-costumed DJ was rocking out to his own tunes while people went nuts below him. The track was familiar, and my brow creased while I tried to place it.
"Wait, isn't that guy kinda famous right now?" I asked Kody, pointing to the bouncing alien. Then again, he was in a full costume, so it could just be some punk-ass kid hitting "play" on his laptop.
Kody nodded. "Probably. The girl throwing this gig is a bit of a snob, so she'd have happily thrown a stack of cash around to get the real deal."
That sparked my curiosity. We were over on the poorer side of Shadow Grove, in the industrial area that had been abandoned for probably fifty years or more. So who was this girl throwing a Halloween Party with a Ministry of Sound DJ in attendance? And more to the point... why did the guys need to attend?
"I suppose it’d be a waste of breath to ask what business you're doing here tonight," I commented, folding my arms under my breasts. It was cold as shit, and while I'd thrown a leather jacket on before leaving the house, my legs were bare. My tiny skirt didn't exactly cover much.
"Pretty much," Archer replied, his eyes hard and cold behind that black leather mask. "Kody, you got this?"
"This?" I repeated in a snarl, knowing perfectly well he was referring to me. Despite how much calmer I’d felt since showering, I was still a bit prickly, and if Archer wanted a fight, I was all too happy to provide one.
The big guy clearly had better things to do, though, as he just gave Kody a meaningful look before disappearing into the crowd.
"Don't worry, Hellcat," Steele said to me with a smirk. "When we're done here, I'll hold him so you can get a free punch in."
I snorted a laugh, and his gray eyes twinkled behind his mask. With a small nod to Kody, he followed in the direction Archer had gone.
"Stuck on babysitter duty again, huh?" I teased Kody as we made our way through the crowded warehouse to find the bar. "Don't tell me Archer needs Steele's particular skills again tonight?"
Kody shrugged. "Ideally not. But you never know how these things will go." He guided me ahead of him with a hand on the small of my back. It wasn't a sexual thing, but there was something about that gesture that sent girly flutters through me.