Nysys

by Catherine Lievens

  Only a few of them nodded, but they all walked away as fast as they could. Morin stayed where he was until they were out of sight, then turned to Nysys. “Thank you.”

  The man waved his thanks away. “It was fun. I pity you now that I’ve seen who you have to work with.”

  Morin grimaced as they started walking toward the elevators. “Yes, this office is not exactly a happy place.”

  “Well, it will be now that I’m here.”

  “By the way, where did the love come from?”

  “A spur of the moment thing. It was worth it just to see the look on the short man’s face, although I hope I didn’t just out you.”

  “No, don’t worry. I don’t flaunt my boyfriends, but everyone knows I’m gay.”

  “I hope you’re going to flaunt me, though. I deserve it.”

  Morin chuckled. He pressed the elevator button and nodded. “You do, just for that little stunt.”

  They were already on the ground floor when Nysys talked again. “So, since when are we an item?”

  “I thought we could say we’d met a while ago but only got together recently. That way my mother won’t be suspicious of the fact that she’s never met you.”

  “Fine by me. Did we meet through a common friend?”

  “Ah, yes. No offense, but you’re not someone I would usually frequent.”

  “So who’s that friend?”

  Morin had to think about that. He didn’t have that many friends to begin with, and even less who would know people like Nysys. “I have a friend called Hamilton. He’s... alternative, a bit like you. We went to college together.”

  “And how do I know him?”

  “He’s a tattoo artist.”

  Nysys looked at Morin and grinned. “Yeah, that’ll do it. If you really want to present me to the guy, I’m game. I’ve been thinking about getting a new tattoo.”

  “So you still have space somewhere?”

  “Of course I do! Maybe I’ll show you sometime.” Nysys winked, but before Morin could respond, Nysys stumbled on the carpet in the entrance of the building and nearly fell flat on his face. Morin grabbed him as he fell and stopped him, pulling him in a standing position again.

  “Ah, thanks. I should tell you I’m accident-prone.”

  “Meaning?”

  “I trip a lot, and things tend to, well, explode around me.”

  “Explode?”

  Nysys rolled his eyes. “Do I really have to explain that now?”

  Morin flagged a cab as they continued their conversation. “Well, I’d rather know if I should be careful.”

  “I just had this stupid dream of becoming a baker, and Dominic let me experiment in his kitchen. Let’s just say it didn’t work out that well.”

  They climbed in the cab and Morin gave the restaurant’s address. “What exploded?”

  “Umm, a pressure cooker, a bowl I put in the microwave, and the blender. Well, the blender didn’t exactly explode. It’s just that I forgot to put the lid on before turning it on.”

  “I think it would be best if you stayed away from my kitchen for now.”

  Nysys’ good mood seemed to evaporate. “I know, don’t worry. Like I said, it was a stupid dream. I think I’m done with it.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I’m obviously no good at it.” He turned to look outside and Morin took it as the end of the conversation. He wanted to know more, but he wouldn’t push. Not yet, at least. Once dinner was over, though, all bets were off.

  Chapter Two

  Nysys couldn’t believe it. Of all the people in the world, Morin Glass had to be his mate.

  He pressed his forehead against the cool cab window and ignored said mate. Oh, Nysys liked Morin, at least physically. How could he not? The man was hot in that polished, elegant way so many people who came from money had. The strong jaw, the brown eyes, even the laughter lines, everything called to Nysys—and everything pointed out how different they were.

  It didn’t take a genius to see Morin didn’t like Nysys all that much. As if his first reaction hadn’t been enough, he’d even asked if he could swap Nysys with someone more normal. Nysys imagined that extended to his bedroom. Sure, he was about to present Nysys as his boyfriend, but Nysys was ready to bet everything he had—even if it wasn’t much—that Morin’s usual taste ran more toward someone more similar to himself.

  “We’re here.”

  Nysys turned and nodded. The cab stopped and Morin slid out. Morin held the door open for him as he stepped out and looked at the restaurant they’d stopped in front of. It was exactly what he’d imagined. Elegant, understated, and it had to cost a kidney to eat there.

  “Umm, how is this going to work?”

  Dominic had given Nysys a credit card that would give him access to one of the pride’s accounts, but he really didn’t want to use it unless it was an emergency. Eating fancy food wasn’t.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Like, are we going in holding hands? Should we kiss in front of your mother? Who’s going to pay the bill?” Nysys slipped it in along with other questions, hoping he wouldn’t blush too much. It wasn’t his fault he didn’t have money. Or maybe it was, since he still didn’t have a job.

  Morin smiled, and there was none of the contempt Nysys had expected in it. “I’ll pay, of course. Both for you and my mother. I invited the two of you, after all. As for the PDA... I think we can limit ourselves to light touches. No kissing, it’s not something I normally do in public anyway.”

  Nysys briefly wondered if that was true, or if Morin just didn’t want to kiss him, but it was no use dwelling on that. “Sure.”

  He followed Morin into the restaurant, smiling at the people gawking at him. He was used to that kind of reaction. The surprise was nothing next to how his former tribe’s members had reacted when he’d dyed his hair pink or when he’d showed up with his first piercing and tattoo. Those reactions had hurt, and not only in the physical sense.

  “You’re making quite an impression,” Morin whispered as they followed the maître d’ to the table where they’d eat. Nysys chuckled and kept his eyes on the woman already seated at the table. He knew he had to convince her he was Morin’s boyfriend. If he could convince her, everyone else would probably be a piece of cake.

  He leaned into Morin a bit more and brushed his hand over the man’s ass. Oh, what a hardship that was. Nysys snickered when Morin jumped a bit and looked his way. “What are you doing?”

  “Playing the part.”

  “I’ve never had a boyfriend feel me up in public.”

  “Oh, honey. Who have you been going out with until now?”

  “Not you, obviously.”

  Nysys smiled and stuck close to Morin when he stopped at the table and looked down at his mother. “Mom, you look beautiful.” She really did. Nysys had expected an older woman, maybe a bit stuffy, with a pearl necklace and a puffy hairdo, but she was anything but.

  She was almost as out of place in the restaurant as Nysys was. She wore a bright red ample blouse over tan dress pants. Her red corral earrings were so long they brushed her shoulders, and she had a matching gold and red necklace. Her hair was straight and cut in a neat bob and Nysys could see a tiny diamond blinking from her left nostril. She stood out among the dark suits and pastel dresses in the room.

  “Pfft. Stop being a flatterer and hug me, Morin.”

  The smile Morin gave his mother made him even more beautiful. Nysys might not know him yet, but he didn’t think the open smile on the man’s face was something he gave a lot of people.

  “Now, who is this young man you’re with?”

  Nysys bowed just a bit and grinned. “Nysys Adim, ma’am. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

  When Morin’s mother offered him her hand, Nysys kissed the back of it instead of shaking it. It made her laugh, and he hoped it was a good thing. “Call me Sandra.”

  “Sandra, then. Your son is right, you
look magnificent tonight.”

  “Oh, I like this one, Morin. Where did you find him?”

  “At Hamilton’s. We got together only a few weeks ago.”

  “And you’re already presenting him? Nysys, you must be an exceptional man for my son to be so taken with you.” Her gaze went from Nysys’ hair to his facial piercings, then down his neck to his tattoos. “You’re obviously very different from his previous boyfriends.”

  “Who said I was taken with Nysys?” Morin’s tone said he was teasing, but Nysys couldn’t help the tiny pang of hurt at the thought Morin might not be taken with him. He knew the man wasn’t, and he didn’t expect anything different, not after having known each other for only hours, but still. It wasn’t nice to hear when he knew Morin was his mate.

  “Please. You wouldn’t have brought him with you if he wasn’t important.”

  Nysys managed to hide the snort that escaped him with a fake cough. If only Morin’s mother knew just why Nysys was important to her son, but most of all, just how important Morin was to Nysys.

  “Well, we knew each other before we got together, actually. Maybe he just thought it was time for us to meet.” Nysys told Sandra.

  She looked amused and Nysys hoped it meant she wasn’t offended by him and his appearance. A lot of people were, and Nysys knew it, which was why he took care to exaggerate. While he had started doing it for fun, he could admit he kept going to piss people off more than anything else. It worked, and he got to find out how ugly they were without having to wait.

  “Those are beautiful designs, Nysys.”

  Nysys knew Sandra was probably talking of the floral tattoo that ran from his wrist to his neck since it peeked from the collar of his shirt. “Thank you.”

  “Did you draw it yourself?”

  “Actually yes, I did.”

  “You’re an artist.”

  “Not really.” He hoped this was not the moment when she asked what he did for a living, because he had no clue what to answer.

  “I think you are. Do you work in the arts?”

  “Nysys is studying to be a baker, Mom.”

  Nysys narrowed his eyes at Morin, but it was too late. Sandra’s eyes were on Nysys again. “Really? Then you are an artist, even if you don’t work with paper or paint.”

  “Thank you.”

  Nysys kicked to his side, making sure he hit Morin and not the table. Moring jumped a bit in his seat and frowned at him. He mouthed what, and Nysys scowled.

  Sandra chuckled on the other side of the table. “I think you two will be good together.”

  Both their heads whipped toward her. “What?” they exclaimed in chorus.

  Sandra chuckled again. “See? It won’t take long before you can finish each other’s phrases, you’ll see. You already communicate without words.”

  Nysys groaned. He knew why they seemed to be so in sync, of course, but he had no intention of telling Morin they were mates. He really didn’t want to be rejected, and he knew that was what would happen. Besides, he didn’t trust Morin.

  He pushed the thoughts away. He was there to show Dominic he could be responsible, that he was a worthy tribe leader and council member, not to get himself a mate. Not even when the universe had dropped that mate right in front of him.

  * * * *

  The food was good, not that Morin had expected anything different. What he hadn’t expected was the easy conversation going on between his mother and his so-called boyfriend.

  He knew his mother was a bit unconventional, but she looked meek next to Nysys, and he’d never thought they’d get on so easily. He’d actually thought his mother would’ve had something to say about his newest relationship, but she had accepted Nysys easily.

  “I’ll be right back.”

  Morin looked to his side. Nysys was up and putting his chair back under the table. He gave Morin a small smile and let his hand linger on Morin’s shoulders as he passed behind him on his way to the bathroom. Morin tried to suppress the shudder that danced along his spine, but when he looked at his mother, the sparkle in her eyes said she had seen it.

  “I like him.”

  Morin smiled. “I like him, too.” It was the truth. He didn’t know Nysys, but the little he did know he liked, pink hair and all.

  “I wouldn’t have thought, not when I first saw him, but I think he could be the one.”

  Morin took a sip of his wine. “The one?”

  “Don’t play stupid, Morin. The one for you. The one you’re going to spend the rest of your life with. If you play your cards well, of course, and if you don’t do anything stupid.”

  “I don’t know, Mom. I like him, really, but we’re so different.”

  “I don’t think you are.”

  “Really? Are you sure we’re talking about the same guy?”

  Morin’s mother made a little wave in the bathroom’s direction with her hand. “I’m not talking about the physical aspect. In that regard, you two couldn’t be more different, it’s obvious. I meant mentally, emotionally.”

  “Mom... really, we haven’t been together that long. Don’t start planning our wedding just yet.”

  Morin saw his mother give another glance in the bathroom’s direction, then look around. Once she was satisfied—of what, he wasn’t sure—she leaned forward in her chair and put her hand on top of one of his. “The two of you have the same deep-seated need to make your father proud. Well, I know it’s your father in your case, but not who it is in his, but you understand what I’m saying.”

  “The last thing I want is to make dad proud. You don’t know what he did, Mom.”

  “Not yet, but we’ll talk about that later tonight. Now I’m talking about you. Both you and Nysys want to make someone proud, and you both fight the idea and try to do the exact opposite.”

  Morin slid his hand from under his mother’s and drank more wine. He had the sensation he was going to need the buzz before the night was out. “You can’t know that.”

  “Why not?”

  “You can’t read his mind. Maybe he just likes being different.”

  Morin didn’t deny he’d wanted to impress his father. He’d tried to do just that for years, but nothing had worked. Now that he knew the truth, he wasn’t sure he wanted to impress the man anymore.

  Morin’s mother opened her mouth to say something, but she just smiled over Morin’s shoulder instead. “He’s really a stunning young man, and so fragile. Take care of him, Morin.”

  Morin nodded, even though he was confused as hell. Sometimes his mother was too perceptive, and he didn’t know how to deal with that.

  He felt a hand land softly on his shoulder and slide down his arm as Nysys moved next to him to sit back down. Acting on impulse, Morin took that hand in his and turned it, then placed a small kiss on the palm. He didn’t know what had made him do it, but he was glad he’d followed the impulse when he saw the blush creeping on Nysys’ cheeks.

  Nysys took his hand back. “What was that for?”

  Morin shrugged. “Just to show you I care.”

  Nysys tilted his head to the side as if trying to read Morin. “That’s nice to hear.”

  “Do you want dessert, boys?”

  “Ah, no, thank you. I don’t think I could eat anything more,” Nysys answered.

  Morin nodded his approval. “Why don’t the two of you head out and flag a cab while I pay the bill?”

  “Are you taking me home?” Morin’s mother asked.

  He nodded in answer. It was a habit they had when they got together in New York. Morin always stopped by for a coffee before going home, and they talked quite a bit.

  He looked at his mother and Nysys as they walked out, their heads close together, still chatting. Morin could only imagine what those two could be up to, and he wasn’t sure he wanted to.

  Once he’d paid, he followed them outside and found them standing next to a cab. The door was open and Morin gestured for Nysys to slide in, b
ut his mother went in before him, shooting Morin a sly smile. He sighed and waited for Nysys to sit next to her before following him.

  It was a tight fit, and Morin looked at his mother as he wondered why. He saw she had her purse between her body and the cab’s door and realized what the sly smile had been about. She was taking as much space as she could so that Nysys and Morin were pressed together, and it was working. Even with Morin plastered against the door like he was, Nysys was too close for him to be entirely comfortable.

  Morin could feel him along his side, warm and hard. He could even feel Nysys’ breath puffing on his neck, and his body reacted in a very inappropriate way. Morin felt his cock twitch, then start to harden as Nysys’ hand landed on his thigh. The gesture seemed to be unconscious. Nysys was talking with Morin’s mother again, his other hand gesturing as he explained something to her, but Morin’s dick didn’t seem to care.

  He had to do something, though, because he really didn’t want to pop wood in front of his mother. Morin grabbed Nysys’ hand from his leg and twined their fingers together. Nysys looked at him briefly and his cheeks flushed a bit when he appeared to realize what he’d done, but Morin just smiled at him and squeezed his hand.

  It was soft, the skin perfect and pale, and he couldn’t resist stroking his thumb over the knuckles. Nysys’ hand tensed, then relaxed again, and he never looked Morin’s way. Morin tried to listen to the conversation his mother and his boyfriend were having, but his brain couldn’t seem to connect.

  It was still churning over the information he’d received earlier about his father’s trial, over what Morin was going to have to tell his mother, and more importantly, over the killer who was after him. He still didn’t know who had hired the hit, even if it probably was someone on the company’s board of directors. They were the ones who had the most to lose from Morin closing the labs and dedicating part of the company’s profits to the survivors. He had already siphoned a good half million into a separate account that was dedicated to that, and it hadn’t made the board happy.

  They couldn’t say anything, though, not if they wanted to keep their jobs. It wouldn’t take much for Morin to report what his father had done to the police, even if he’d have to change the facts. They were also scared of the shifters, especially now that they were organizing themselves.