by Honor James
“Moi? Connive?” he looked hurt for all of two seconds. “Never,” Talon grinned. “Doesn’t take much to upset his perfect little balance, really. But it worked and I got to talk to you for a moment. That’s all that matters,” he said softly.
“I put a patch on it for the moment,” Quincy said as he came out and then stopped. Narrowing his eyes, he growled. “You are a pain in my ass,” he muttered, taking Maya’s hand. “Next time just ask to talk to her in private instead of giving me more ulcers, damn it.”
Maya laughed. “See, I told you that it wouldn’t take him too long until he was able to figure this out,” she told him with a smile. “Trust me, my Quincy is a very, very bright man and he’s absolutely right. Next time just ask me, Talon, please? I really and truly don’t mind talking to you, so if you want to talk to me, then you need to talk to me.”
“Yeah, but it’s so much easier talking to you without big ears over here trying to eavesdrop.” Talon grinned at them both. “And if he’s working out a crisis he really doesn’t pay much attention to anything else. Besides, it’s fun to make him jump through hoops now and again.”
That had Maya laughing and she nodded. “He does tend to get very, very focused when he’s working on his electronic babies, huh?” she teased with a smile. “Imagine how he will be if and when we ever have babies. Do you think that he will be just as obsessive about any babies that we have?”
“Likely even worse than any of the changers,” Talon said and laughed at Quincy’s look. “It’s true, Q. You are rather possessive and protective of your computers and all that goes into them. I can actually see you with a baby of your own. I somehow doubt most of us will ever get to meet them before their thirtieth birthday.”
Maya laughed and shook her head. “Well I will make sure that you at least get to meet our babies before that time. I want any children that we might be blessed with able to know each and every single one of the men in the Teams and such. I really adore most of them,” she told him honestly. “So Quincy will just have to get over it,” she teased.
“Quincy will not have to get over nothing,” Quincy muttered, pulling her close to him and squeezing her tight. “Maya will just have to see things my way and accept it,”
“And on that note.” Talon grinned. “Get out of here. Q, I sent you a bunch of stuff you can check out from home, so go and start working on those Team nieces and nephews.”
Maya smiled up at Quincy and nodded. “I really, really love that idea. I adore the idea of practicing for those babies,” she admitted without hesitation. “Come on, Q, let’s you and I go home. Open a slipstream for us to slide through?”
Grunting, he shot Talon a nasty look and opened up the slipstream. Stepping through with her, he let them out into their foyer. Looking to her, he lifted a brow. “So you going to tell me what that rat wanted to talk to you about without me listening in?”
“Just telling me that I shouldn’t feel guilty about Michael and what he did as well,” she told him honestly. “And I know that I shouldn’t but I still can’t help but feel crappy about it all. I know that it’s really and truly karmic justice served but I can’t help but to feel like crap about it.”
Tipping his head, he tugged her along to the living room and sat, pulling her down onto his knee. “Why are you feeling so upset, love?” he asked quietly. Stroking her back lightly, he watched her and waited for her to tell him.
“Because you had to do what you did,” she admitted. “Because I couldn’t and didn’t speak up to try to stop him but instead allowed things to play out as they had and in return he died a horrible, horrible death.”
“One neither of us expected, love,” he said quietly. “I did what I had to do to protect you, Maya. The others in the Council Room just got lucky because I was feeling generous. He died how he did because of what he had planned. He was lying, scamming, and got caught red-handed, love. He would have been punished one way or another and he just sealed his fate by attacking the Council.”
“This is very true.” Maya knew the truth for what it was. “I love you, Q. Thank you for being mine, for loving me no matter what, and for understanding that I need you in my life, sweetheart. Thank you for keeping me, even when I seemed to be more trouble than I was worth.”
“You are not any trouble, darling,” he told her honestly. Pulling her in closer to him, he adjusted her so she was nice and close. Brushing a kiss to her lips, he smiled. “You are absolutely perfect, my darling. I am truly the blessed one. I have the most amazing and greatest mate ever.”
“I’m glad that you think so, darling, because this is the best thing, you are the best thing that has ever, ever happened to me. I love you, Quincy, and together you and I are going to make changes in the Magic world.” Well, he would. She would simply stand at his side and be there for him should he need her.
“You will, too, darling,” he said quietly with a smile. “I need someone there to smack me when I’m getting all off my rocker with power.” Hopefully that day never came, but if it did he knew she’d beat him silly until he saw reason. His little mate would keep him toeing the line properly.
“Don’t you worry, love, I will keep you right and properly grounded in the today world. I will ensure that you always know that I will be right here to ensure that you don’t do anything whacky or crazy.” Maya loved him too much to let him do anything that might give him any type of trouble or anything like that.
“I know you will, darling,” he whispered softly. Hugging her in tight, he kissed her gently. “I love you Maya,” he murmured with a smile. “Never change, darling. You are perfect and amazing as you are. But if you feel the need to become even more perfect and amazing, go for it. Nothing else though.”
Maya snorted in laughter. “Yeah, I never see that happening but should I decide to try for saintly, darling, I will let you know,” she told him with a wink. “Love you, babe. I really do.” Giving him another squeeze and wink, she then asked, “All right, so we are home. Now what do we do?”
“First we eat and then we go and get naked.” He smiled slowly. “And really, it’s dealers choice on which comes first. Naked then food, food then naked, makes no never mind to me.” Shrugging out of his jacket, he hung it up. “But first for me, I need to go put everything away in the vault.” Yeah, he was all badass Royal magic guy now but he still felt better armed to the teeth.
“You put your things away, darling, and while you are doing that I’m going to get myself naked, and before you come out I suggest that you get naked as well, darling. I need you, you need me, and we both need food so it only makes sense to get naked now.”
Pasting on a shocked look, he blinked at her in faux horror. “Nekkid, around the food?” He gasped and chuckled. “I will ensure I’m stripped down for full inspection, darling,” he promised. Well, except his dog tags. Those he would likely leave on. She did seem to like using them to yank him around.
“Good,” she said with a grin. “I need you, darling, naked. I happen to really, really love it when we are both naked together,” she assured him happily. “Oh, leave your dog tags on though, please. I love, love, love to be able to tug those.”
“Trust me, darling, I know.” He grinned and headed for his office with a chuckle. Like a ring through a bull’s nose, she used them to steer him about and he willingly went. Yup, when they said a bond-mate had you by the nuts, they weren’t kidding, and he’d have it no other way.
“Just as you love to grab my hair and tug me exactly where you want and need me,” she told him happily.
Not very polite of him obviously and quite frankly, he hadn’t realized he did that! “Really?” he asked her curiously. “I’m sorry, love. I haven’t hurt you, have I?” he asked, worried. He was pretty sure that she’d tell him right off if he had but…damn it! He was doubting himself with her again. Why couldn’t he just get past that?
“Oh god no, you didn’t hurt me!” she assured him. “Honey, do you know how much I love it? I totally get
so very excited when you do that. I swear it makes me come harder and harder each and every single time.” Which was the Gods’ honest truth. When he tugged and pulled at her hair, it was like he was stroking and pulling at her nipples or clit. She came each and every single time.
“You would tell me if I hurt you, right?” he asked her softly. He wasn’t a changer so he didn’t have that naturally inherent boosted strength. But as a Warlock he could draw magically and have more strength than even changers. He could hurt her really badly without even realizing it.
“If you hurt me I would tell you. No questions, no hesitations. I would always tell you, darling, if you hurt me,” she assured him. “Just as I would hope that you would tell me if I were to hurt you, too, right? I’m not a weakling and the fact that I can pull magic as well”—she shrugged and looked at him—“I need you to be sure to tell me if I hurt you.”
“You would definitely hear me squawking like a wounded beastie if you hurt me,” he said with a grin. “Trust me. I’m a complete wuss when it comes to pain. Last time I stubbed my toe, I had to have crutches for almost a month because the agony was so great. Always throbbing and aching and if you looked at it, it hurt even more. It was horrendous.” That he’d “stubbed” it when Aiden dropped the weights on his toe was beside the point. It had hurt!
“Oh dear god, seriously?” she asked with a wide-eyed look. “No, I really and truly don’t like that at all. I don’t like that you have such a low pain tolerance.” God love him, the poor man had no pain threshold. She worried for him. It wasn’t that he was a skinny geek like most people would think a techie was. He was well built, muscular, and an absolute dreamboat. However, he had no pain tolerance. That just wasn’t good. At all.
Quincy nodded, wide eyed, at her as his lips began to twitch and he burst out laughing. “I’m kidding, babe.” He laughed at her look. “I had a set of weights dropped on my foot. That’s why the crutches.” He chuckled, wiping his eyes. “I actually have a fairly high pain tolerance, unless I bump that foot, and then you will see a grown man crying his eyes out.”
“Well hell, that makes a huge-assed difference.” She then frowned, cocked her head to the side, and asked, “What else is it that you have led me to believe one way and you are actually feeling another? Or had another? Because I have a feeling that I’m missing something else, darling, and I really hate that feeling.”
Frowning in genuine confusion, he tipped his head. “What do you mean, love?” he asked. “I honestly can’t think of anything else, but if you point your sometimes-not-very-bright male in the right direction, I might figure it out with your help.” He did have his moments of absolute stupidity. It had to be the male gene just cooked his little noggin’ from time to time.
“I don’t know, love. I just have a feeling that I have missed something. I don’t get it either. I feel as if there is just a little something that I might have assumed that wasn’t reality. So tell me, what is it that I have assumed that was wrong, darling mine?”
Staring at her in genuine confusion, Quincy shook his head. “I don’t know, Maya,” he said softly, taking a step back from her. He didn’t like where this was heading and he was lost to start with. “I’ve been nothing but honest with you, Maya. I’m sorry if you feel otherwise but I can only give you the truth I’ve always known.” Taking another step back, he shifted. “I’ll go and work instead of eating if that’s all right with you. I’m not feeling very hungry right now, love,” he murmured and headed for his office with the odd sensation of having been kicked in the gut.
Maya reached out and stopped him. “Don’t leave me. Not like this. You take things too heavily upon yourself, honey.” She reached out and stroked a hand to his cheek and then she knew. “I know what it is,” she whispered. “Our first night together.” Her eyes got wider and then she began to grin. “I was a virgin, but you weren’t, were you? Oh lord, I kept going on and on about it.” She ducked her head and pressed her forehead to his chest. “Lord, you must think that I’m such a dork.”
Oh, that…Yikes! Pulling her into his arms he brushed a kiss to her lips. “You were and are the sweetest person I know, darling. I loved the fact you were so excited about it. I wanted to say something but I didn’t know how or what to say and not get my head taken off,” he admitted honestly. “I’ve also never thought of it since.” Quincy nuzzled at her cheek. “Are you mad?” he asked in concern. Women were weird creatures on the best of days, but something like that, hell, he didn’t know what would set one off.
“No, not at all.” She looked up at him and added, “But please never walk away from me? The way that you were about to now. When you get upset with me, when you feel like I’m ‘attacking’ you or whatever, face me. Quincy, we are stronger as a team, as a unit than we are apart and I need you to know that. I love you. I really, really love you but you need to trust me, too, honey.”
Ducking his head, he nodded. “I’m sorry, love.” He rubbed a hand up and down her back. “The only excuse I have is that it’s still new.” That, and he was used to facing things on his own. That mentality had gotten him in trouble before and likely would again. It was who he was. It was how he’d survived for so many years. Sharing was hard for him. His natural defense was to close off and watch warily.
“Just love me, Quincy. Talk to me. Don’t walk away from me. Never walk away from me, honey. Don’t close down. Don’t close me out because that hurts me. Truly hurts me.” She tried to get him to see the truth. “No matter what happens, darling, no matter. Always talk to me. We will always be able to work things out but only if you talk to me. Shutting me out only hurts us both.”
Nodding, he hugged her to him tighter. “I never want you to hurt, love. I’m sorry I hurt you,” he whispered quietly. “This is all new and scary to me, babe. I’ve never once had anyone actually depending on me for much of anything. And no, the Teams don’t count because there are no emotions involved in the interactions.” Well, a bit of friendship but even that was stiff most days.
“There is friendship there and a family bond of sorts, darling. You don’t see it but I do, love. All of you are your own little dysfunctional family, but you are all healing. Slowly but surely, you are all healing.” She looked up at him and added, “It’s all right, love. Just always talk to me from this point out or I am not to be held accountable for my actions.”
Narrowing his eyes on her, he tipped his head. “What do you mean by that, darling?” he asked curiously and, yes, a little suspiciously. She’d sounded very determined and slightly evil when she’d said it. Had him a bit on the worried side of things. One never knew with women just what they were capable of.
“Just saying that if you don’t talk to me from this point out, don’t share your worries and fears, then I’m going to do something very nasty like…” She had to think for a moment and then she came up with, “Like take you to the mat or make you sleep on the couch or”—her eyes lit up—“take your electronics away from you until you do talk to me.”
“I have more at the office,” he said and smiled at her peeved look. “I will talk to you, love,” he promised softly. “But it’s not always easy for me. I was alone a long time and, even with the Teams, we’re not exactly all about the circle of yakking and such.”
“Well you are no longer alone, darling. You were never alone. You just never let anyone in, love,” Maya told him softly. “Now you have me though and you know as well as I do that I will badger you until you give in and tell me exactly what is on your mind and what’s bugging you. I love you, darling, but it is the way that it should be. We are a pair for a reason, mister man.”
Smiling at her words, he nodded. “I like when you badger me though,” Quincy said. Touching her nose lightly, he tipped his head. “You wrinkle up your nose ever so slightly when you’re in a determined mood. It’s kind of sexy actually.”
“Well then, I will make sure that I badger you often,” she teased with a wink. “Because I love you and I never want you to forg
et, even for a nanosecond, just how much that you are loved,” she explained. “By golly.”
“Seriously?” he asked, staring down at her. “‘By golly’ is the best you can manage?” He shook his head. “You really need to hang out with the Teams more if that’s the best you can give me, sugar,” Quincy teased with a growing grin.
“Oh I have a full arsenal of words that I can use, darling. I just chose at this moment not to use them.” Maya winked at Quincy and added, “Besides, I seriously doubt that you would let me spend much time with the Teams before you started to cook their rears for being too rough with me.”
She had a point there. He’d kill them all if they so much as damaged a single hair on her head. “You can hang out with them, love. I never said there should be any arm wrestling or battle royals going on,” he pointed out. “I think they’d all like to get to know you, too, actually,” Quincy murmured softly, running a finger down her cheek.
“Only as long as they will teach me self-defense as well.” At his look, she shook her head. “I need to know how to protect myself with something other than magic, Quincy, and we both know that if you and I started to train we would end up naked and, well, that’s not how I intend things to happen with an attacker. I know that I’m safe here, but I still need to know, please?”
Nodding slowly, he figured it couldn’t hurt. “I’ll see if Allister will teach you,” he said quietly. “He’s the most easygoing and least likely to harass you.” Unlike his evil twin brother. “He’s a Dragon but he’s trained others before of the magic realm and is good at it. He’s got infinite patience and amazing control. Just watch out for Aiden, his evil twin.”
“Why don’t you train me?” she asked with a frown. “Or train with me, rather? I want to spend time with the men because I really do want to get to know your friends but I would like it if you were there as well.”
