Page 58 of Hell on Wheels

I snort, covering my mouth with my hand as I laugh. “So many dicks. And tails. And tongues. And hands. I’m going to walk funny for days.”

His chest puffs and I grin at the flush that creeps up his neck. “Hell yeah, you are.”

Watching as he soaps up a loofah with a body wash that smells delicious, I sigh happily. Damon starts at my toes and works his way up my legs, making sure to clean every inch of me. The soap stings a little in the various bites and cuts, but it’s not the first time I’ve felt that. I wasn’t lying when I said I like it on the dark side.

Claws, fangs, and some blood aren’t new to me.

“Reb did okay, even with his reservations,” I murmur as D washes my torso. “I knew it was going to be hard for him when I threw the challenge out.”

“Ahh,zuccherino, he’s just stubborn. He won’t hold out for long. We made progress tonight. He was on the bed, touching you, and painting you with his come by the end.” Damon winks at me. “That’s a good start.”

I tilt my head as I look at him, chewing my lip as I consider whether I want to say this or not. “Maybe you’ll get comfortable, too.”

He frowns. “But Iamcomfortable with you. I even had my demon out.”

Mm hmmm—denial is not just a river in Egypt.

“Damon, you know what I mean.”

“Rogue, I definitely do not,” he counters as he runs the loofah over my arms.

Sighing, I press my lips together, deciding if I want to push. He needs it, I think, and if we don’t address it now, it might becomea problem later. If I weren’t me, I’d let it go, but alas… “D, you have a thing for Archie. The others are blind if they don’t see it.”

His eyes widen and he looks like I smacked him in the face with a smelly fish. “What? I… no. Rogue…”

Arching my brow, I grin at him. “Hey, it takes one to know one, D. I had a thing for him, too. He’s hot as fuck in that beefy jock golden boy way. And his dick ismagnificent, just so you know.”

Damon turns bright red and I laugh softly, pausing his scrubbing to cup his face. He ducks his chin; the shyness emanating from him like an aura of insecurity. I can sense the difficulty he’s having, and it makes me want to nut punch his father. I’m sure that’s where this shit is coming from. But it doesn’t have to and I can help.

“D, I don’t know for sure if Archie’s interested, but… I have a feeling he might be a little curious.” His head lifts and he looks at me curiously. “I know you’re scared because it might fuck up the group. I was, too, and we both know Reb is right now.”

“I’ve never even told Angelo,” he whispers.

“Angelo probably knows; he’s not dumb.” I grin a little and shrug. “We’ll all be in some close quarters now that I’ve mated with most of you. It's a good time to test the waters. I think it will work out better than you expect.”

His brows furrow, and he shakes his head. “I don’t know,zuccherino.What if I fuck everything up when we need to be as close as possible?”

“Does that sound better than Reb’s BS when you say it? To me, it sounds like scared boys. I took the lead to help us get past this—and it was scary as fuck. But in my gut, I know Rebel is the lastpiece of my puzzle. Maybe Archie is a piece of yours and you’re a piece of his? Why would you risk not finding out?”

Damon gets quiet for a moment, turning me in my seat to face away so he can work shampoo through my wet hair. “You’re right, but I don’t know many people as brave as you, Rogue, Those chicks beat the snot out of you and you went stomping out in public right after. You fear nothing, whereas I fear… a lot.”

“That’s what you think?” I laugh and shake my head slightly as he massages my scalp. “Damon, I’m terrified all the time. Mostly emotional shit that can break me, especially since Mina. But I put on my big girl thong and face head on because I don’t have any other option. Reb’s the only one who’s ever looked out for me, and I can’t make him do it all the time.”

“Hey!” he says, yanking on a strand of my hair lightly. “We’ve always helped him, you know.”

Turning, I look over my shoulder with a tiny grin. “I know. But I had to learn to do it myself, too. And so do you… Angelo can’t fight this battle because it’s inside of you. If you want Archie, go for it. I’m not going to be upset. Fuck, the image in my head is hot as hell. I wouldn’t mind if you wanna play with Javi or Reb, either.”

“No incest, huh?”

I narrow my eyes, giving him a sour look. “It’s bad enough Rebel won’t stop calling me ‘little sister.’ Don’t be gross, Damon Gemini.”

He smirks for a second, then pecks me on the lips. “Okay, Sparkles. I’ll think about it. Now let’s finish getting clean so we can have a meeting about this stupid mob thing we have to deal with.”

Good deed of the day accomplished.See? I can be a good girl when I want to.

Fight Song

Rogue’s words last night were eye-opening. She was dead on about my crush on our hockey playing golden boy, and I’ve been wondering who else knows ever since. Obviously not my asshole twin—he would have tortured me about it by now. Reb’s so oblivious he missed Rogue being in love with him, so I doubt he has a clue. Javi is the one I worry about; he’s very sharp and notices more than the others.

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