by Joyee Flynn
“I could see that about your madre and padre. They are very much still in love.”
I realized something then. It always struck me as childish and inappropriate the way Damian’s brothers acted with their mates, always touching and kissing. But now that I thought of it, Elena sat in Desmond’s lap sometimes and they always kissed each other hello. I’d been such an idiot.
“Ay dios mío,” I groaned, understanding now how everyone could think I was so cold.
“Care to share with the class?” my mate asked with a chuckle. I filled him in on my revelation, bracing for his response. I should never have thought he’d give me anything but a concerned reply. “You really haven’t been around too many mated couples, have you?”
“No,” I whispered, realizing it was time for the bad part of the story. “Two weeks into my training I was called to one of the councilmen’s office. He informed me that demons had wiped out my entire coven and family. There was no making up with my parents now or hoping that one day they would understand that I preferred men. Nothing. All my friends, my cousins, aunts, uncles, all of them were just gone. And then I was sent right back to training.”
“Jesus,” he hissed, drawing in a sharp breath. “Yeah, that wouldn’t traumatize any fifteen-year-old. I wish I was right next to you so I could give you a hug and comfort you.”
“For once in my life, I would have allowed it,” I admitted, feeling my cheeks heat up. “Do you see now why I act the way I do? It was ingrained in me to be this way, and I didn’t even realize anything was wrong with it or I had been traumatized until your outburst.”
“That’s not true, Cyrus,” he said quietly. “You knew something was wrong and I wasn’t happy. I’ve tried to talk to you about it and you wouldn’t. I understand what you’re saying, but I’ve given you signs before I freaked out on you.”
I winced. He was right about that. “Yes, but I didn’t think it was such a big deal, us simply getting used to how the other one acts. I saw it as your adjustment phase to understanding I wasn’t a big talker like your family was. But I did show you my love in other ways.”
“Really? And I just missed the flowers and card?” he bit out, sounding as if I was just added to the list of people he was going to punch.
And that annoyed me. “You act like I only fucked you and talked dirty to you. But I remember there being lots of foreplay and hours of nothing but kissing, Damian. I remember kissing and licking every inch of your body twice. Then I took you slowly, biting you as you liked, and not coming until you climaxed twice. After which I drew you a bath and washed your body, showing how much I treasured you. And I might not be big into talking, but when you tell me things, do I ever act bored?”
“No,” he whispered.
“No, I love to listen to you. I never fall asleep right after sex or don’t take care of my mate. Hell, you have and I tend to you. But every night I hold you in my arms, thanking god for you while you sleep or talk until you tire out. That is not how one treats a whore or mistress, Damian. You have not been fair in your assessment.”
“But the only time you show me that side of you or any love is when I’m naked. How could I think I meant more to you than just what we do in the bedroom? Sure, you were pampering me before and after sex because you knew you wouldn’t get any more sex if you didn’t. That’s what it seemed like to me.” He sniffled and my heart broke.
“Pull over,” I ordered.
“No, let’s just get home—”
“Pull over now,” I growled, smiling when I heard him sigh and saw he had turned on his blinker. We pulled over on the side of the highway and immediately I got out of the car. I yanked his door open, my heart hurting when I saw tiny droplets of tears glistening on his cheeks.
“What?” he asked, wiping them away angrily. “I’m not crying.”
“Of course you’re not,” I agreed, letting him feel that he was not weak. But suddenly, it wasn’t weak to me. Damian was able to show his feelings in ways I couldn’t, and to me that took a strong man, stronger than I was. I pulled him from his SUV and wrapped my arms around him. “I never meant to make you feel that way, amante. I was trying to show you what a treasure you were to me.”
“I get that now and I’m glad,” he sighed against my shoulder, nuzzling my neck. “But do you understand how it seemed to me? How I could think that’s how you felt?”
“Yes, and that is why I asked you to pull over.”
“More like ordered me,” he grumbled, staring at the steering wheel fixedly.
“Yes, but I am your mate and I know what’s best for you. I also knew that you needed my touch at the moment so you would not feel so alone. And I found myself wanting to comfort you.”
“For someone who’s supposedly so closed off and cold when it comes to feelings, you seem to be doing a good job right now.”
“I think you awoke something in me tonight. Flipped some switch inside of me I didn’t know was there. When I saw you dancing, laughing, I realized I’d not had a chance to see that yet, and I wanted more of that from you and in my life. I can’t say I will change my ways overnight or even have a clue what is the right thing to do at times. But I have faith you will guide me and show me the way.”
“I’ll do my best,” he sighed, reaching out and hugging me tightly. I breathed in the scent of my mate deeply. That was all either of us could do.
* * * *
Damian
We got home sometime after midnight, and I was shocked to see the whole family in the kitchen. They had been talking amongst themselves, all having cups of coffee sitting in front of them on the polished, wooden table. Some of them had changed into their pajamas, but for the most part, everyone was wearing clothes that they would normally have on during the day. When we came in, they immediately became quiet and turned their heads in our direction. I swallowed nervously. My parents didn’t look happy, and I found myself immediately blurting out, “I’m sorry.”
“Sit,” my father ordered with a nod as he pointed to the two empty chairs at the end of the table. I went to do as he said, but Cyrus held my hand, the firmness of his grip preventing me from moving.
“With all due respect, Padre Marius, Damian has had a trying day and I think it best he get some rest.”
My father raised an eyebrow, otherwise schooling his features and keeping his face blank, something he only did when he was really pissed and trying to keep his temper under control. This was not good, and I didn’t want my mate getting in a verbal match with my father after the revelation he’d had.
“This won’t take long. He’s your mate, but he’s still my son, and I wouldn’t do anything to harm his health, but this needs to be discussed now. We assembled the whole family. So sit down and listen.”
I felt Cyrus go stiff and rubbed his arm to reassure him that it was going to be okay before he could reply. “Don’t. I know you’re not used to being around a family or having parents boss you around, but they do it out of love, okay? We don’t keep things inside in this family.”
“I’ve noticed.” He snickered, calming right back down. “Okay, amante. I will behave.”
“That’s part of what we wanted to talk to you about,” my mother said gently as we sat.
“Yes, we’ll get to apologizing to Cyrus, but first.” My father narrowed his eyes at me. “You’re in trouble. Three weeks ago you were out at a club, drugged, tortured, and went through hell. We come home and no one knows where you are, your mate is frantic, and your phone was turned off.”
“Oh shit,” I whispered, feeling like a total jackass.
“Yeah, oh shit is right. Damian, you’re an adult so it’s not like you have to ask permission to go out, but in light of what the fuck happened recently, don’t you think you should have been more considerate?” The tone of his voice was very stern.
“Yes, Father, and I’m sorry,” I answered, nodding in agreement. “I wasn’t thinking and I never meant to make anyone in the family worry. I promise to pull my head out
of my ass next time.”
“It was my fault,” Cyrus said as he pulled me onto his lap. I let out a yelp of shock but didn’t fight him. Granted, I was worried we might break the chair, but since this was such a big step for my mate, I thought it was worth the risk. “I have not been the mate I should be and Damian was upset, needing to get out of the house and think.”
“While I appreciate you saying that, and even understand the circumstances, that doesn’t change the fact that Damian acted poorly in the way he handled it.” My father glanced at my mother, brushing some hair out of her face before taking her hand as if silently asking if she had anything to add. As I looked at my mother, I noticed she was pale and tired, and I felt a pang of guilt.
“You almost died on us. We’re not trying to be jerks but we were all worried,” she said quietly. “Don’t do that to us again.”
“I won’t. I’m so sorry. I wasn’t thinking,” I whispered, feeling like horseshit for even giving them a moment’s worry. “I’ll attach some GPS to my butt and a two-way radio. I won’t turn off my phone or run off again.”
“GPS to your butt, huh?” she asked, trying to fight the smile that was pulling at the side of her mouth.
“Sure. They’ll hook me right up at RadioShack. I can get one of those cool beacons that beep and flash like you see in the movies.”
“Smart-ass,” my father and Victor said as one, and a few people chuckled. “I should ground you to your room.”
“Yeah, that’s not much of a punishment now that I’m mated, Father,” I replied with a snicker. Cyrus buried his face in my neck, shaking as his laughter rumbled through his chest. I patted his head, realizing I could be making him uncomfortable. “We play a lot of chess.”
Then my mate just threw back his head and roared in laughter, holding me tightly to him.
“Nice to know you’re back,” Victor said, giving me a wide smile. “We’ve missed you.”
“I was here. Just trying to figure a few things out and adjust to being mated,” I replied, not wanting to betray what Cyrus had told me.
“And that’s where we come to the apologies,” my mother said when my mate calmed down. “Something clicked with me the other day when your file came across my desk.” She glanced down at her hands, fidgeting, and I knew she was lying. Interesting. Now the question was if she looked up my mate or already knew what was in his file. “Desmond and I were alive when your coven was slaughtered. It’s the reason certain security procedures were put into place.”
“How old were you when it happened?” my father asked, going back to his normal calm, loving demeanor. I knew he’d only gotten pissed because I’d worried the family. He wasn’t an unreasonable man.
“Fifteen,” Cyrus answered, clearing his throat. “I was away at training. It was right after I went through my transition.”
“I’m sorry for your loss and your tragedy,” Victor said gently, his normally harsh look softening. “We were worried about Damian. He’s important to this family and we love him. I hope you will understand that and forgive us. We never thought as to why you might have such difficulty being around us and showing Damian you care.”
“Are you asking to be forgiven?” Cyrus asked as he glanced around the table. I saw all my brothers nod, but not looking fully repentant. “Because I was planning on thanking you in the morning for stepping in. I’m not a fan of the way you did it, but you helped me understand my mate at a time I needed it. I am glad you acknowledge that it’s not easy being the outsider in such a tight-knit family.”
“Thank Patrick for that,” Stefan said, shaking his head. “He read us all the riot act about not making things easier for you. He knows something about how hard it is to adapt to having a family all of a sudden.”
“I just said that fate wouldn’t have mated Damian with a dickhead so there had to be something more going on than we knew.” My little brother-in-law shrugged his shoulders and gave me a wink. Goofball.
“Yes, well, Damian and I have talked and are working through our issues.” He paused and I glanced at him to see he was sharing a look with Victor. “You were right. He is like live sunshine. I won’t forget that or shield that part of him anymore.”
“Seriously? We’re so not going to keep referring to me as sunshine,” I growled while shaking my head vehemently, partially because I was embarrassed that they thought so highly of me. Well, I was pretty sure it was a compliment.
“You saw him dance.” Victor snickered, not making it a question.
“Yes, he moves beautifully for one so big and muscular,” my mate replied, and I felt him get hard under my ass. I ignored it and stared daggers at my mother.
“Don’t you dare,” I growled when she smiled widely.
“What? What are you hiding from your mate?” Cyrus asked firmly.
“Family secret.” Micah snickered, shaking his head and smirking.
“Really? You told Micah?” I groaned. Now there was no way everyone wouldn’t find out.
“I saw you dancing around in your tutu when you were young,” he said, trying his best to hold in his laughter.
“Ass. Hole.” Because everyone wouldn’t know now what we’d been talking about. “It’s not my fault Mother never got a daughter.”
“That’s not why I hired a ballet tutor,” she defended, crossing her arms over her chest. “It wasn’t about you being girly or only having boys. You were just so graceful as a child and you danced around all the time. I thought you’d like it and be good at it.”
“How long did he take lessons?” Cyrus asked. The jerk had a wide smile on his face as well. “And do male dancers wear tutus?”
“No, he wanted one.” She giggled, bringing her manicured hand up to cover her mouth. I groaned and rolled my eyes. “Granted, he wanted a blue one because he said boys wore blue, but it was still a tutu. He started when he was five and was done with it at seven or eight. I think he realized someone would find out if he did it much longer.”
“No, I just realized that I was doing it for you, but you were getting into it for me. I never really liked it,” I said honestly. “But I still have the tutu. It was cool.”
“Oh, amante, you are a gem.” Cyrus chuckled, the deep sound vibrating through his chest and into my back. “I must see this tutu one day.”
“Yeah, but for now, we all need to get to bed,” I said with a yawn. The day had wiped me out, and I wanted nothing but to sleep. Hell, for the first time since I’d met my mate I didn’t even want to fuck like rabbits. I was that tired. I think Cyrus got the message and understood because we quickly said our good nights and headed for bed.
A little while later we were snuggled into bed, wrapped around each other under the soft, warm covers, and for the first time it felt right to me. We weren’t two strangers sleeping together anymore. Granted, we were both strange, but we weren’t strangers.
I could deal with strange as long as there was also love.
Chapter 7
Cyrus
I soo didn’t want to go to work Monday morning. I’d spent the whole weekend with Damian and not just in bed. We went for walks together, the gym to work out together, and even that steak house he’d wanted to go to. I liked the little town we were near and the shop owners all recognized Damian. My mate was truly one of the people with a golden heart that cared about everyone.
He knew the bakery owner just had another grandchild and dropped off a gift from the family. And the lady who owned the pizza shop, her boy just came back from war overseas and Damian knew that, too, and offered his help if either of them needed anything. And they all loved him. He was like that guy from Cheers that everyone called out his name when he walked into a place and everyone adored him.
When he introduced me as his new husband, most were accepting. A few gave us shocked and scandalized looks but then seemed to let it go because it was Damian and he could do no wrong. Part of me didn’t know if I was tripping on drugs or if someone had slipped something in my coffee. I mean, people
weren’t really like this with each other. At least, not in my experience.
But now it was Monday morning and I wanted to be back in bed with my mate. He was back to work today as well, light duty and all, but still back. Actually, he was taking what was basically a field trip, riding with a load of ultraviolet munitions such as ammo, specialized guns, and grenades to the Midwest High Council. We were leaving a few of our tech guys there to teach them how to start production of their own before our guys flew back.
It seemed when Riley and Stefan came up with the bullets, they had no idea the chain reaction it would cause. For the first time in our history, it seemed as if we were no longer putting a Band-Aid on the war with the demons… But we were actually starting to win. Oh sure, we’d never get rid of all of them, but the tables were turning. And it gave our people hope.
I was just putting my lunch in the fridge of the hospital break room, laughing at how my mate had slipped in a dirty note about what he wanted to do to me tonight, when I smelled something rancid. It took me only a second to realize that it wasn’t expired food.
Oh god, Riley, I thought and raced into my office. I grabbed the hidden sidearm from my desk that I kept there and ran at blinding speed, following his scent into his lab. There, outside the door, getting ready to pounce, were two demons. They stood there in tattered, dirty clothes. They had their mouths open in cruel grimaces, and I could see that their fangs were distended. I shot them as I kept moving, throwing the door open and stepping into the lab, ignoring their high-pitched screams behind me.
Riley’s head snapped up and his jaw dropped open as he dropped the beaker he had been twirling. It smelled acidic, explaining why he didn’t smell the demons. “What the fuck?”
“We have company,” I answered quickly, grabbing a couple more guns I’d stashed around his lab.
