Broken: Round One (Broken #1) (9 page)

“Oh, I have the right girl.”

I cringe and squeeze my eyes shut as he licks the side of my face with his gross, slimy tongue. My gag reflex starts twitching, my throat cramping as the wetness soaks into my pores. I’m going to throw up.

“Really, Kitten? You couldn’t have stayed out of trouble for an hour?”

My eyes shoot open at the sound of a familiar voice. My attacker releases my hair and I stumble backwards until my hand finds a weak railing. As I lift my shirt to wipe my face, I see Jai drive a powerful fist into my attacker’s mouth. If this were a cartoon, the spider would have been forced from his skin. I shuffle back as the sleazy guy crumbles to the floor, grasping at his mouth and moaning loudly. Jai steps over him and towards me. I cower at the size of him and the aggression in his steps. He flexes his hand at his side, balling it up before relaxing it once more.

“What are you doing?” he demands, his jaw clenching.

I rub at my face with my shirt. “I was looking for you.”

“You shouldn’t walk around here without me. You could get hurt.”

I lower my shirt and scowl at him. I see plenty of women walk around here—some not even wearing clothes. If I want to walk around, I should have that right. I don’t need to be babysat by Jai. I’m a grown-ass woman.

“You might call me Kitten, but I am not one. I can take care of myself.”

He flicks his eyebrows, his mouth morphing into a smile of complete mockery. I hate it. I hate being treated like a child.

“Okay, Miss Lioness, tell me, how were you going to handle that situation?”

I cross my arms over my chest. “If you gave me a little more time, I would have done something.”

He shakes his head. “When you’re in a situation like that, you don’t have time. The trick is avoiding the situation before it even has a chance to happen. He had you by your hair. You were as good as his if I hadn’t shown up when I did.”

As good as his? Is he implying that I wouldn’t have been able to fight him off? I may be a smaller woman, but I am fucking fierce. I’d die long before I let anyone do something I didn’t want done to my body.

“You asshole!” the man growls, pulling himself to his feet.

Jai and I watch him as blood trickles from his mouth and down his chin.

“You’re going to fucking regret th—”

I shoot forward and cock my knee. While his attention is on Jai, I drive my foot forward with full force and I connect perfectly. Right in the baby-maker. He yells in my face and grips my shoulder. His breath smells horrid, like copper and rust, and his knees click together. I shrug out from underneath him and he drops to the floor. I don’t know if that kick is going to come back to haunt me, but for now, it felt nice to do. My heart-rate has elevated to dangerous levels, threatening to burst through my chest and I peer sideways at Jai, who smiles down at me. It’s reassuring.

I smirk back at him. “Say it.”

He angles his head. “Say what?”

“You’re impressed. Admit it.”

Jai smiles, a full-blown smile, one I haven’t seen before. It lights up his features and exposes his perfect white teeth. “How about I buy you a drink instead?”

I raise my eyebrows, interested. “And when and where am I going to collect it?”

He flicks his head towards the tunnel behind him, in the opposite direction of our nook. I haven’t ventured any further into the tunnels down here, but if there’s a place to ‘buy’ drinks, I’m sold.

We pass lots of fighters on the way. Some drunk. Some sober. All scary. For the most part, I keep my head down and stick close to Jai. About a mile down one tunnel, we pop out at yet another large opening. Whoever designed this underground system was clever. Every mile or so there are large open tunnels in the floor, allowing any excess water the previous tunnel didn’t catch to filter down. Being as close to the river as this industrial site is, I’m assuming they’ve also taken into account any flooding from there, thus ensuring the spillage from the river doesn’t flood the lower areas.

What amazes me most about this particular space are the naked people. Men. Women. Everyone. As naked as the day they were born. I notice the smell in here is different to the other tunnels. Various fruity aromas of pomegranate, peach, pineapple and apple, as well as manlier, earthier ones, flood into my nostrils. My attention rests on the steady stream of clean water that seeps from a small pipe above. It spits out the water, allowing at least twelve people below to wet their cloths and clean their bodies. Granted, it’s not the kind of shower that can efficiently wash away all of the day’s grime or relieve a back ache, but at least it’s something.

“This is the wash area.”

I grip his arm and squeeze. “Wait. A wash area? There’s a wash area?”

I watch people brush their teeth and rinse out clothes. All this time? All this time there has been a wash area and he never told me?

Jai nods and I glare up at him.

“I found it last night.”

That explains why he felt so nice to touch and his breath smelled of mint. Fresh, delightful mint. “And you didn’t tell me?”

He smirks. “I was distracted by other things.”

I look away from him as his eyes search my face for a reaction. I thought it’d be easy to address last night with him and play it off as nothing, but the thought alone is enough to make my blood simmer deliciously. God. Why does he have to have such a nice face? Boys are much easier to talk to when you don’t want to lick them from head to … well, head. I like those boys. They make me feel normal, not tingly.

“Now you know it’s here, let’s go to the bar and get a drink. You can wash later.”

I shake my head. Screw washing later. I need to be clean now. I need it more than I need air, more than I need anything. A gross grease covers the surface of my skin, my hair is oily and I’ve worn the same panties two, or is it three, days in a row. I will kill anyone who gets in my way.

“Where’s the bar?” I ask, deciding to skip pointing out the unrealistic notion of there being a bar down here.

He outstretches his arm, the ropes of muscle lengthening with it, at the tunnel directly in front of us. Out of all the nooks and crannies Jai chose, he had to choose the one down the end with the toilet. Just my luck. I’d be much happier down here.

“You go, I’ll meet you there.”

He gives me a once-over before he exhales. He knows it’s a lost cause, so he leaves. When he’s gone, excitement bubbles inside me like nothing else. I’m smiling widely, stupidly, as I inch towards the falling water. I pause a few feet out from a woman washing her long, auburn hair. At her feet sit all of her products, from body wash to shampoo, and it smells divine.

Her body is in perfect shape. When I say perfect, I’m talking slim hips, flat stomach, big natural boobs and long legs. Yeah, there’s no way I’m getting naked in front of her.

I slip my hands under the water and let the warm liquid run over the skin on my hands. It feels … indescribable. I close my eyes and let a lazy smile curve my lips only to open them again a second later when the woman next to me toys with a loud plastic. I try not to stare as she bends over to free a baby wipe from its packet, but I fail. To my surprise, when she straightens her posture, she extends the clean wipe to me.

“Forget your stuff, did you?” She assumes in a thick, Russian accent.

I start to shake my head and explain my situation, but then I change my mind. “Yes, wow, thank you.”

The woman beams at me, and sadly, her smile doesn’t match the rest of her physique. Missing teeth isn’t a feature I was expecting on someone so perfect in every other way. I run the cloth under the water, then press it to my face. I hold it there, allowing my pores to soak up as much moisture as they can before I scrub them clean.

“You’re not getting undressed?” she asks, lathering her chest with soap.

“No. Not in front of all these people.” I glance around.

Men and women line the walls, watching and enjoying the crowd of naked people. The last thing I want is attention of the wrong kind. I want to avoid another situation like the one I just had with Spiderface.

“Your man doesn’t stay to protect you? If he stayed you could get naked.”

My man? Oh, she means Jai. I snort. “No. He’s waiting at the bar.”

The woman points across the room to a tall, broad-shouldered bald man. “You see him? He is my guy.”

Her guy watches her, his stare not once leaving her body. I don’t blame him. I find it hard to keep my eyes away too. She’s flawless. I run the wipe down the back of my neck.

“How long have you two been together?”

“A day and a half.”

I pause, confused. Did I hear her correctly? Did she say a day and a half? “You met here?”

She nods. “It took me a long time to realize it, but it’s best move to find lover and protector down here.”

I frown. “Why?”

Her bright, green eyes brighten with laughter and she swats at me.

“For safety and to secure position. It’s not safe for women down here. We must survive.”

She retrieves her bottle of shampoo and holds it out. I don’t hesitate holding out my hand, and she squeezes a generous amount inside my palm. With a warm smile, she gathers the rest of her stuff and trots across the room to her ‘lover’. He swats her on the ass the second she gets within arm’s reach and I frown. Ew. Imagine being touched so intimately by someone you barely know. I catch on to my train of thought just as it finishes. I can’t talk. I’ve known Jai a few days and he’s already touched my most intimate place. 

I tip my head back and let the water dampen my hair, then, I run the shampoo through the strands and let it soak for a few minutes. While that’s doing its thing, I gather rogue shampoo bubbles from the top of my hair onto my wipe and scrub the rest of my body with it. When I close my eyes, I imagine I’m alone and in my apartment, enjoying a nice warm shower.

After I wash out my hair, I make an attempt to get my panties off without taking off my shorts. Somehow, I manage it. I even manage to borrow a squirt of body wash from the girl to my left to clean them with. I don’t know what’s more disturbing, the fact I’m cleaning my underwear with body wash or that I’m excited I get to wear the unappealing cotton fabric again in a few hours’ time. Who knew it’d take getting trapped underground with no toiletries for me to love my cotton underwear.

I contemplate stuffing my panties into the pocket of my shorts, but decide against it. Instead, I head back in the direction of our little space so I can lay them out on my bed. I want them aired out and I want to change my clothes while I’m at it too. Now my skin is clean, the fabric that grazes it feels … soiled. I’ll change into something else, then meet Jai in the bar for a drink.

I cross my fingers hoping the drinks are alcoholic because booze is the only thing that will help me keep a straight face when I sit before Jai, panty-less and clean.

Words

Warm air blows around my exposed calves. Oh God, it feels good to be clean. Is there a feeling better than cool, damp hair on your warm back when you’re struggling to breathe through the hot air?

I brush my fingertips along my bare stomach. I’ve never dressed like this before. I’ve never shown my belly button or exposed my hips. Still, I keep my head high and walk with confidence as I make my way back into the washroom. More people are showering now than they were before. They look happy, completely relaxed, and it makes me want to take off my clothes and do it all over again. I watch the quick succession of droplets that fall from the pipe. It’s amazing how such little allowance feels like a torrential downpour when you need it most. I, for one, will never complain about the pressure of my shower at home ever again.

I keep walking and head into the tunnel Jai pointed out earlier. A mile down, I pop out the end and right into a bar area. Of course, it doesn’t actually look anything like a bar, but I get the point. It’s a place you come to buy drinks. I scan the large area, looking over people that crowd around crates and shake their tin cups as they tell epic stories. There is no music, only the sound of cheerful conversation. My favorite kind.

On the other side of the room, I see a hand go up and it leads me directly to Jai. On the crate he leans on, two tin cups sit, filled with synthetic confidence in liquid form. I peer into them as I approach.

“Whiskey,” he announces, nudging my cup as his eyes flit to my bare stomach.

His analyzing gaze makes me feel self-conscious as well as overheated. A few seconds in and his presence is already forcing my pulse to hit overdrive and my skin to prickle all over. I expected to feel less heat between my legs now I’ve experienced a small piece of Jai, but if anything, it’s multiplied tenfold. I want to lick his chest and kiss his lips. I want to feel his rough hands all over my body and between my legs once more. Trying my best not to squeeze my thighs together, I lower myself onto the little stool across from him, thankful the crate hides the majority of my naked stomach.

“I thought the black halter wasn’t your style?”

“It’s not,” I say, reaching for my cup. “But it’s the only thing that matches these leggings.”