“Go ahead, you guys. I'm not done with Kim yet." Braden made annoying kissing noises while Michelle giggled."Fine with me," Kim said. He pulled his shirt over his head and threw it to the ground. Sweat glistened on the tight muscles of his chest. Standing under the orange glow of the setting sun, he looked like a golden statue brought to life."That's not fair." I struggled to swallow past the sudden dryness of my tongue. "That's distracting."He flashed me a grin that ignited a fire low inside me. "That would be the point. Call it a tactical move."Braden used the tree to pull himself up. "Well, boys and girls, I think it's time we moved along. This fight is about to lose its PG-13 rating."Michelle nudged him in the side. "I think it's cute."Something prickled on the back of my neck and I turned to find Quentin staring at me with a look between confusion and pain. As I tried to decipher its meaning, Kim used that moment to snatch my wrist and twist it behind my back. He pulled me in, pinning me against his chest, and lowered his head to place a kiss just below my ear."I may need to take notes." Braden pretended to open an invisible notebook. "So, what do you call this martial arts style, Kim? Kung fu-ling around? How about jujits-you-some?”

“Riiiight," Braden said, jogging to Michelle's side. "Nothing says How have you been? like a punch in the face." He pushed a stray lock of auburn hair beneath a bandana."Which reminds me." I held my hands up in a fight stance and motioned him closer with my fingers. "I haven't had a chance to say hello to you yet, Braden.""Funny." He rolled his eyes but didn't move.”

“After he'd gone, I slammed the door shut and, after the day I had, wasn't the least bit surprised to see my closet door open and Whitley stick his head out."Son of hibachi," I muttered. Now I would have to add burning all of my clothes to my list of things to do."What?" He exited the closet with a smile. "I don't even get a hello?"I held up a finger. "Wait right here."He shrugged.I shut the door behind me and marched back into the living room and pointed at Dr. Wendell. "You. Come with me. Now."Wide-eyed, he rose from the couch and followed me to my door. Before I opened it, I turned to him. "You said part of your job was to protect me, right?"He nodded, his brow knit in lines of confusion."Just to prove how bad you suck at your job, look at this."I swung open the door and Whitley waved from his perch at the end of my bed.Dr. Wendell's mouth dropped and he took a step back. "Wait. What is-who is that?""That"-I gestured to the boy on my bed-"is Whitley, aka Zeami, aka the psycho who tried to kill me, steal my powers, and burnt down my house."Whitley smiled. "Guilty as charged."I folded my arms and glared at Dr. Wendell. "If you're supposedly protecting me, how could you let my past-life murderer walk right into my bedroom and hide out in my closet?"Dr. Wendell shook his head, his skin a shade paler than it had been moments ago. "But I-I didn't-how-" He looked at Whitley. "How did you get in here?"Whitley rolled his eyes. "Through the door. Duh."Dr. Wendell pushed me behind him, bringing his shaking fists in front of his face. "It doesn't matter. If you want to kill Rileigh, you're going to have to get past me.”

“I pulled him in and kissed back, and he threw his hands through my hair, his tongue licking hard over mine, picked me up by my thighs and wrapped them around him, he had a leather couch in his office and he threw me onto it, he quickly yanked his tie off and ripped his shirt off. I lay on the sofa looking over his sculpted chest, his deep pecks his hard abs, he came at me and grabbed my hair, he pulled it back exposing my throat, he kissed from my jaw down to my collarbone.”

“The shot doesn't come. He stares at me with the same ferocity but doesn't move. Why doesn't he shoot me? His heart pounds against my palms,and my own heart lifts. He is Divergent. He can fight this simulation.Any simulation."Tobias," I say. "It's me."I step forward and wrap my arms around him. His body is stiff. His heart beats faster. I can feel it against my cheek. A thud against my cheek. A thud as the gun hits the floor.He grabs my shoulders-too hard, his fingers digging into my skin where the bullet was. I cry out as he pulls me back. Maybe he means to kill me in some crueler way."Tris," he says,and it's him again. His mouth collides with mine. His arm wraps around me and he lifts me up, holding me against him, his hands clutching at my back. His face and the back of his neck are slick with sweat, his body is shaking,and my shoulder blazes with pain,but I don't care,I don't care,I don't care.He sets me down and stares at me, his fingers brushing over my forehead, my eyebrows,my cheeks, my lips.Something like a sob and a sigh and a moan escapes him,and he kisses me again. His eyes are bright with tears. I never thought I would see Tobias cry. It makes me hurt.I pull myself to his chest and cry into his shirt. All the throbbing in my head comes back,and the ache in my shoulder,and I feel like my body weight doubles.I lean against him, and he supports me."How did you do it?" I say."I don't know," he says. "I just hear your voice.”

“The other ninja righted himself and moved beside her. "Any last words?" he asked.I rolled my eyes. Why did people always ask you that before they killed you? It wasn't like you were going to say something that would make them change their minds."Yes," I answered. The first tendril of power pushed though my wound and wisped the hair around my head. If I was going down, at least I would take them down with me. "Why did the chicken cross the road."She hesitated and glanced at the guy. Her eyes were scrunched in a way that I knew she was frowning under her mask. The other ninja looked at her and shrugged.I licked my dry lips. "To escape the onslaught of exploding ki headed his way.”

“What’s three?” I asked, hoping to move away from this uncomfortable topic.The smile pulled at his lips again.“Three.” One of his hands cupped my face and the other slid around my back. He pulled my body against his and my heart began to pound. I took advantage of my free hand and pushed at his chest.“I don’t think so, Lily,” he said. “If you want to get rid of me, you’ll need to do better than that.”I drew a sharp breath and tried to wiggle away, but he held me firmly in place, watching me struggle. He grinned as he lifted me up onto the sink.“What are you doing?” I started to panic. “Someone could come in!”“If they see us, they’ll just turn around and get out of here,” he murmured, lips touching my ear. “No one crosses me.”His hips pressed against my knees, opening them, pushing my skirt up my legs. I gripped his shirt, clinging to him so I wouldn’t fall into the sink. His hand pushed into my lower back. I gasped as his body fitted against mine.Heat flooded my chest, my pelvis. I thought I would drown in it.“We can’t—” His lips stopped my words. The kiss just made me dizzier. I dug my fingers into his shoulders.“You said you didn’t want to be left alone.” His tongue flicked over my cheekbone. “This is me pestering you.”“Aren’t you breaking the rules?” I could barely get the words out. “What about the union?”“I’d rather have you on my own terms.” His hand slipped between my thighs.All strength fled my limbs. “I can’t breathe.”“That means you like it.” He kissed me again.”