One by one, they exploded inside me, over me, in my mouth, and all I could taste and smell was the comingling of all our bodies.
Time meant nothing to any of us, and when one was spent, the next took over, but I, I was never done.
And I never would be.
I would have happily died in an orgasm-induced stroke.
23
Sasha
I didn’t remember falling asleep, but when I woke, I was entrenched in a pile of limbs atop the bed with the sound of soft snores around me.
And something else.
Someone’s phone was ringing, but I had no idea who’s.
It took me a minute to separate myself from Harry and Bash, who barely stirred when I rose from the bed.
I had to grin when I saw Dan and Graham almost snuggled together on the floor at the foot of the queen-sized bed. I was sure they hadn’t gotten there by design, and I kind of wanted to take a picture for posterity.
The ringing phone, it turned out, was mine. It was the new one I’d picked up in Inverness when we’d gone on my shopping spree.
A quick glance at the clock told me that it was eleven at night. Jesus, we’d literally been going at it all day.
I blushed and snatched up the phone, knowing that there was only one person with the number—Alex. I’d texted her to avoid a long discussion just after I’d activated it and warned her not to give the number to anyone, but that had been hours ago.
Was she just getting my text now, or had I missed other calls?
I guessed I was about to find out.
“Hey,” I murmured in a low voice. “What’s up?”
“Are you alone?” The alarm in her voice sent shivers of apprehension through me, and I glanced at the seven shattered bodies splayed all over the hotel room.
“Yeah. Why?” I lied, ducking into the massive bathroom and closing the door.
“Shit, where are you? Are you inside the lab?”
“I’m in the bathroom.” At least that was true. “What’s going on?”
“I’ve been looking into Mirror, Mirror like we talked about, and I’ve already found some interesting things.”
The prickles on my skin were like hard balls. She still knew nothing about the attempt on my life, let alone that I was in Scotland with the drillers. I’d tell her I’d found safety after she told me what she learned.
“You were right,” Alex continued, her voice breathless. “Your company is into some pretty shady shit.”
“Tell me about it,” I mumbled, but she wasn’t listening.
“From what I can see already, they seem to have a subgroup working for them,” Alex said.
“What does that mean?”
“Well, as you suspected, the environmental side of the company is a front. What they’re really doing is finding a way to create more chemical fuels and possibly even warfare.”
“Jesus Christ,” I muttered. “How could I not have seen it?”
“You weren’t party to what was really going on. There is a whole base of operations that researches ecological aspects, but that’s not where Mirror, Mirror makes their money. You couldn’t have known. That’s why it took so long for you to get funding to Iceland in the first place.”
She was losing me as I tried to keep up with what she was saying.
“Why?” I asked blankly.
“Because they couldn’t justify the expense without having a real reason to send you. The moss collecting was just a front, just like everything else you’ve been doing. You’re really there so they can test their chemical product on the environment. Sasha, you have to come home.”
I gritted my teeth.
“I can’t.”
“You can’t—are you even listening to me? You don’t have a real job. It’s a front. You’re a paid actor, and you didn’t even know it.”
“I understand what you’re saying, but I still can’t come home. It’s okay, Alex, I’m safe.”
“You aren’t safe! You know too much! What if Queenie finds out what you know?”
I inhaled and closed my eyes, sinking onto the edge of the jacuzzi tub. “She already knows that I know,” I confessed. “She tried to kill me.”
There was such a long silence that I was sure Alex had hung up.
“I hope that’s your idea of a stupid joke.” Her voice was surprisingly controlled when she spoke.
“It’s not.”
“Okay, that’s it. I’m coming for you. Where are you? You better tell me where you are right now!” The panic in Alex’s words broke my heart, but I couldn’t go to her, not when Queenie knew about my life. It would take her and Mirror, Mirror ten seconds to find me in New York. No, I was in the safest place I could be.
“I’m not in Iceland anymore,” I explained. “But I promise, I’m not in any danger.”
I shouldn’t have made that promise. For all I knew, Queenie was flying to me as we spoke.
“You better start explaining before I get on the phone with every law enforcement agency on the planet,” Alex choked, and I knew she meant it.