He groaned, hiding his laugh behind his hands as he scrubbed at his face. "Okay, let's do this again. Those tiny panties are legitimately driving me insane, and if I don't rip them off you soon, I might actually die."
"Dramatic much?" I teased, cocking my hip in order to draw attention to the panties in question. "You're the one who wanted to do this in the middle of the night while we're both half-naked."
Kody leveled a flat glare at me. "No one ever accused me of being smart, babe."
I rolled my eyes, folding my arms under my breasts. "You don't fool me, Kodiak Jones. Nothing seems to slip past you." I paused and pondered that. "Except last week when Steele made you think he was fucking around with another girl."
"That was just mean," he grumbled. "I was blinded by outrage on your behalf, babe. He'd been moping around like he was head over heels in love with you, and then all of a sudden he's banging some random chick? I was ready to break his fucking nose."
Nothing gave me more warm tingles than hearing a guy threaten violence to defend his girl’s honor. Yeah, I was totally aware how fucked up that made me. I also didn't give two shits, so there was that.
Crossing the padded blue mats, I reached up and looped my arms around Kody's neck. "You'd hit your friend for ruining his chances with me? That's all kinds of sweet, Kodiak Jones, but shouldn't you be encouraging him to fuck it up?"
His hands gripped my waist, his palms warm on my bare skin where my T-shirt had risen up. "I'd happily make him bleed if he ever hurt you, gorgeous. And I don't need him to fuck it up just so you'll pay attention to me. Humans have infinite, untapped possibilities, and I fully believe we're capable of equally strong emotions for more than one person." He dipped his head, bringing his lips to mine for a teasing kiss. "I'm also not so insecure I need him out of the picture. I know full well you want me just as badly as I want you."
He pulled me closer, bringing our bodies flush together and showing me just how much he still wanted me, even after an hour of failing his self-defense tutorial. He must be in pain by this stage, and I was about three steps away from begging to take care of it.
"That's a very mature mindset," I murmured. "So, you're okay with—"
"What the fuck are you two doing?" Archer's grouchy voice cut me off, and my shoulders bunched with tension automatically. His heavy footsteps padded across the floor, and I didn't bother turning around to face him. Why bother, when I could see him in the full-length mirrors behind Kody?
"Arch," Kody greeted his friend on a sigh. "You're up early."
The surly shithead just grunted a noise and made his way over to the section of the gym set up with cardio equipment. "Couldn't sleep," he muttered, then scowled at my back. I was perfectly aware that my ass was on full display, but seriously, he could kiss it.
"Seems like that's a common problem around here," Kody commented, releasing my waist and taking a small step away. "I was just trying to teach MK some basic self-defense moves to help if she gets grabbed again."
Archer curled his lip in a sneer. "Fuck knows she needs it."
I glowered. "She is right fucking here, dickwad."
He swung those cool eyes my way, condescension dripping from his pores. "What a shame your pants aren't, though. Or were you about to learn some of Kody's special grappling moves that don't require clothes?"
My temper flared. "You'd know all about those, wouldn't you, big man?"
“Sounds like something you’ve been fantasizing about, Princess. You worried I’ll upstage you?” Archer sneered, calling me on my bullshit insult.
I snorted a laugh, not willing to back down. “Hate to tell you, Sunshine, but this is a pants-less party you definitely won’t be invited to. Ever. Not unless Hell suddenly freezes over.”
"Alright, that's enough," Kody announced as Archer's glare narrowed and his lips parted for what was sure to be a cutting comeback. "Arch, just go and warm up. MK, fucking ignore him. I swear the two of you feed off each other's anger sometimes."
Archer and I shot each other dark glares before Kody tugged on my hand and pulled my attention back to what we'd been doing. Self-defense training. Well, if Kody wanted