Silvie seemed to be content as could be, and he remembered the steady drip feed of his love he was sending her.

  Zoning in on the Bond he shared with Raev, Boyd checked on her state. She was bored and starting to get a little horny. Part of Raev’s change included a rather interesting effect to her libido.

  So far, she’d only seemed marginally more amorous than Silvie was—though Boyd wasn’t sure his silver-haired-lover represented a realistic baseline. If he was asked to guess, he would say that most women were more like Mindy. Intimacy was important to her, and was something she enjoyed, but some evenings were better spent on shared or individual activities than doing the horizontal tango.

  What made Raev’s libido so interesting, was that once she got turned on, she stayed turned on. If she got a little horny, she stayed a little horny until she achieved a full release. Boyd made a mental note to address that at some point.

  It also made him a little curious as to what had gotten her so worked up. Then he remembered that she was likely in Mindy’s company… with Mindy’s new body… in that outfit.

  ‘Kuh-he. Hello.’ Mindy said into his mind, likely drawn from her conversation with Tinker by his thoughts of her. ‘Oh, no. I actually just said a quick hello and then apologized to Tinker. Then, you put your hand on her back like that to lead her here, and she didn’t want you to take it away, so she stayed quiet like we were talking. I was gathering Raev so we can meet for lunch.’

  It was at that point that they walked out of the hall and into the large kitchen area. A counter separated them from the majority of it—across which he saw Daisy fluttering around on her wings. He was distracted from the brightly colored iridescent fairy woman by Mindy coming up the stairs at the center of the U.

  Where he was on the end gave him a great vantage point on a somewhat comical scene. Mindy, who was already tall and in those ridiculous platform heels, was wearing a skirt that was on the short side. She walked up the stairs in front of Raev. His fox-featured lover’s tails stood rigid and fluffed up, her ears were at stark attention, and she was bent just slightly forward at the waist. Meanwhile, her chin was tilted up.

  She couldn’t more obviously be staring at Mindy’s ass if she was trying to. And Boyd could sense she wasn’t particularly trying to, either. She was just mesmerized by it.

  It had to be the garters, Boyd decided—not that he could blame her.

  ‘Oh yes, Raev is definitely interested in cuddling. And more… so much more. Kuh-he.’ Boyd noted the extra little sway in Mindy’s hips and chuckled. ‘It’s been a while since I’ve wanted to be desired. Humor me.’

  By then, she’d reached the top of the stairs and Raev took a couple quick steps to come up beside her, waiting for them as they approached. Raev must have said something that Boyd couldn’t hear, but he sensed a playful wickedness over the Bond from her.

  Mindy said something back and they both laughed, Mindy swishing her skirt back and forth.

  ‘You were right about her filter… or lack thereof,’ Mindy sent him.

  As Boyd’s group approached, both smiled and Mindy stepped forward. “Hi, Tinker, it is nice to actually meet you.”

  Boyd kept his hand on Tinker’s upper back for comfort. Mindy didn’t close the gap to shake hands or anything like that.

  “Oh, wow…” Tinker said with a little awe. Her gaze had been down, lost in thought while they walked. She’d likely just caught sight of Mindy for the first time. “You’re… uhh… you’re tall.”

  Mindy laughed one of her little laughs. “The heels help.” She bent one knee and twisted her foot up to the side in demonstration.

  Boyd could almost feel Tinker’s eyes widen. Or maybe they actually did. “Jeez. Yeah, those would help. I’m sorry I thought the worst of you.”

  Mindy just smiled to reassure her.

  Raev got his attention from behind her. The kitsune’s eyes found his, moved to Mindy, then raked up and down her, before returning back to him before widening comically while she mouthed ‘wow!’.

  Boyd grinned and nodded his agreement.

  “Alright. Sit, you lot,” Daisy said from behind him.

  She fluttered past him, a large round pizza balanced on each outstretched hand, three more pizza trays floating along behind her, with a full pitcher and five glasses already filled with ice water trailing in their wake.

  The smell caught his nose next: meat, cheese, and sauce. He followed his nose, guiding Tinker and Silvie to the dining area, trusting the others would follow. Daisy set one of the pizzas she was carrying by hand down at the head of the ten-person table.

  Boyd could see a lot of meat. Deciding that this must be his seat, the back clearly having been designed for his wings and tail, he deposited Silvie in the seat to its right and sat down. He pulled a blinking Tinker into his lap instead of letting her find her own seat, pulling her back into his chest with his left forearm across her stomach to secure her.

  “Uhh... What’s happening?” she asked. Her voice was a little anxious, but Boyd only sensed excitement across the Bond.

  “You’re feeling uneasy and insecure. He’s reacting to that,” Mindy explained, waiting for Raev to take her seat out of respect for some hierarchy.

  Boyd would probably have to keep an eye on silly stuff like that.

  Raev didn’t seem to support that type of thing, either, sitting to his left but a seat further away, leaving the spot next to him open for Mindy.

  “Thank you. Seriously.”

  Raev shrugged with a smile, eyes fixated on the pizza trays that had settled on the table. “You filled me in enough to know that you’ve really missed him. Thanks for giving me the chance and all, but I think stuff like seating arrangements and access to Boyd should be need based, not on something dumb like seniority.”

  “Kuh-he.” Mindy giggled with a small smile.

  Boyd was overjoyed to see that her cold mask wasn’t going to be used in front of the others.

  “You and Boyd really think alike. We’ll have to work all that out, but first…” Mindy turned to the still fluttering fairy woman. “Daisy, thank you so much for the food.”

  Boyd turned to Daisy for the first time. She still wore the same outfit, just with a white Daisy-sized apron over it. She fluttered off to the side, politely waiting to ask if anything else was needed, and clearly not planning to sit with them.

  “It was literally nothing,” she replied. “There is a pizza machine. A machine! It makes pizza… like from dough… in like five minutes. It can make up to five different large pizzas at a time. I watched it.” Her iridescent eyes were a little wide with wonder.

  “I really just pressed some buttons. That said, does everyone see something they like? Mindy said two meats, a pepperoni, a veggie, and a pepperoni with onions and banana peppers. I figured that since she can read minds, it was a safe bet.”

  “Where is Laura?” Boyd asked.

  “She’s still going through the inventory in the clinic, but I’ll share a pizza I made for us with her when she is done,” Daisy said. “Does dinner at six sound good? I’m planning a pasta with grilled chicken for those who like meat and a side salad,” she asked.

  Once again there was a round of mutters of ascent. For some reason, everyone seemed to be vaguely unsteady—something about Daisy’s tone or mannerism discouraged a real conversation. Boyd wondered if it was related to the seemingly magical waitress abilities she’d professed to have mastered.

  “Okay,” Daisy clapped her small hands together. “I’ll see everyone at six o'clock sharp. Please wash your hands before dinner.” Then, she floated away on fluttering wings.

  “Um…” Tinker said after a moment, head leaning into his chest as she looked up at him. “I’m really okay, I can…”

  Boyd gave her a gentle squeeze with his forearm across her stomach.

  “Okay. Um… can someone pass me a slice of the pepperoni?”

  Silvie passed Boyd an empty plate and Tinker one with a slice of pepperoni on it.

  “You don’t have to feel guilty,” Mindy said as everyone gathered their food.

  Raev just pulled the other meat pizza tray in front of herself.

  Boyd didn’t particularly see the need to put the slices on the plate but did so because he was worried about making a mess on his companion. He started with only three slices, because that was all the plate could hold.

  “He does it almost as much for himself as for you,” Mindy explained. “He can feel what you are feeling, now. If something is wrong, helping fix it literally makes him feel better.”

  “Oh, right.” Tinker muttered. “Shoot, now I’ll feel guilty about feeling bad things.”

  “No.” Boyd grunted, giving her another gentle squeeze. “Instead, you’ll share your bad feelings and let people help. Especially me.”

  “Okay,” Tinker responded quickly, but she didn’t sound or feel like someone who had been chastised. She normally had more to say, though, and when she didn’t speak up, he began to worry that he’d been too harsh.

  ‘She is realizing the full extent of what the Bond means now that she is experiencing it.’ Mindy spoke into his mind. ‘When Silvie told her about it she couldn’t really conceptualize it because she’s not very in tune with her own emotions. She recognizes in you someone who is emotionally wise and is already starting to wonder about the benefits of having someone like me around. She just chose to trust you, is all. And yes, we should talk about my powers… let’s let everyone eat first, though.’

  Everyone else, even Tinker, had set in to eating. Raev was already a slice deep. Boyd joined in and quickly caught up to Raev, carefully eating off to the side to avoid unfortunate spills onto his lap’s occupant.

  Of course, continuously glancing down to make sure he hadn’t dribbled on her reminded him of what Tinker was wearing while she sat in his lap. Her skin-tight pink suit’s cleavage window was still undone just beyond halfway down her chest, and he caught himself leaning in to glance at the exposed portion of her perky chest.

  Tinker only had a single slice, but he was learning that her appetite was proportionate to her size. She also ate slowly, finishing the slice in the time it took Boyd to finish half of his entire pizza. Of course he didn’t stop there.

  The pizza was delicious. The crust was perfect. The cheese just slightly browned and plentiful without being too thick. The sauce had been spread in a perfect layer, slightly sweet but with a solid zest. His pizza was heavy on the meat, meaning the perfect amount. For something made by a machine, the result was spectacular.

  Then, he realized he recognized it. Silvie had brought home pizzas like this from this secret little pizza place she’d refused to tell him the name of. The boxes were unmarked, and she never gave him a single hint about where it was from.

  About three months back, every Tuesday and Friday she would bring one home. She would ask him how it was and wanted details each time about what wasn’t perfect. Every round got a little better, a bit closer to his ideal pizza. Then, after the very last time when he’d declared the pizza perfect, this mystical pizza place had closed. That was two months ago.

  “Kuh-he. Someone’s in trouble.”

  Boyd glared at Silvie.

  She glanced up from her second slice of pizza to Mindy across the table and then over to Boyd. Her face cycled through a few emotions that matched the general confused swirl that came down their Bond as she tried to figure out what she’d done.

  Eventually, she gave up and pouted, “What?”

  “Tell me you did not fly out here twice a week to make pizza in the machine.” He let a little playful menace enter his voice, giving Tinker another little squeeze to assure her he wasn’t actually mad. “You got it dialed in to be the perfect pizza for me. Then you told me the secret pizza place that was making the best pizza I’d ever had closed, all because you didn’t want to come out here anymore.”

  A chagrined grin split Silvie’s lips. “Okay. But that’s not what happened. Davis found out about it and shut me down.” She switched to her best approximation of Davis’s voice. “You can’t fly back and forth to a secret base all willy nilly… or something like that.”

  The ‘willy nilly’ didn’t really sound like Davis, but Boyd got the point. He softened his glare—marginally. He had mourned the passing of the secret pizza place in his own way, by trying and failing to recreate the recipe.

  “Still mad?” Silvie gave him puppy dog eyes.

  “You let me try to figure out this recipe for weeks,” he grumped, taking another slice. “You could have at least hinted that I would have it again one day.”

  “This is fantastic. A machine made this?” Raev asked, immediately taking another bite.

  Boyd had taken a lead on her, on account of his bigger mouth, but he had paused to chat and Raev started pulling ahead.

  “Mhmm. It’s super easy. I’ll show you later,” Silvie chirped, happy to change the topic.

  Boyd glowered at her while he ate the next slice, but its sheer deliciousness overwhelmed his already anemic frustration with his lover. She had provided the pizza in the first place, after all.

  Silvie who giveth, taketh away.

  He cleared his throat. “Speaking of later, we are apparently taking a post lunch nap. Sound good?”

  “Oh, Mindy told me. And yeah. I understand Tinker will be joining us, if her throne didn’t already make it obvious. I can see why, loving the modifications to your suit.” Raev glanced over at Tinker's chest.

  Sitting in Boyd’s lap put her at about the right height for the table, but he wondered if her height had been accounted for in at least one of the chairs.

  Tinker glanced down and, while he couldn’t see her face, Boyd felt a rush of embarrassment run through her, so he was sure she was blushing again. It was adorable how easily she blushed, and he wondered just what shades of pink she’d turn when he claimed her.

  Boyd once again tried to shut the invasive thought down, but again found his Power non-responsive to his request.

  Tinker reached up as if to close the cleavage window, but Raev cut in with “Noooo, leave it. It looks really good, and this will be a good way to build up a little…” Raev’s physical voice muted to a buzz in his ears.

  Boyd recognized Mindy’s influence, there. He could still hear Raev and Silvie encouraging Tinker always to wear her suit that way, while Mindy explained what had happened in his head with his Power.

  ‘I saw it that time. I can’t be sure, but I think you attached that part of your Power to the other you. Which makes sense, you have always disliked your Mental Domination, mostly because of that childish name. I can’t believe they started telling you to call it that when you were six. Seriously, they should really let kids name their own Powers and should wait until they are older. I digress. You denied that part of your Power so hard that you ceded control of it to your other self.

  ‘Now that it can see what is going on out here, it denied you the use of your Power in this case. That is probably what happened the other time you noticed, too. That thought came from that part of you, so obviously it doesn’t want it shoved aside.’

  She groaned in his head. ‘This is my fault. I am sorry. At the same time, I was going to be working on that terrible habit of yours anyway. Banishing your own thoughts like that is okay as a metaphysical practice, but you are literally shunting them away. You aren't properly processing them, or what they mean about who you are, you’re just denying them altogether.’

  He was sure the explanation should probably concern him, but after the day’s revelations, it seemed like a small thing.

  ‘You seem to have been in contact with him. I just need to know if he was a danger to anyone here for now.’ Boyd thought the words in his head, not wanting to interrupt the conversation happening out loud. He felt like the other him was just as protective of his lovers, but that could cause harm, too, if taken to extremes.

  ‘Absolutely not.’ The mental words came out firmly. ‘Well, he may have already bedded Tinker and I if he had complete control. I agree that postponing a physical relationship will benefit your romantic relationship. It was the opposite with Raev, so I’m glad that worked out. I saw that thought; no, he would not try to use your Power to convince anyone. Tinker would consent if you pushed even a little, and mean it, but that doesn’t mean it would be good for her. Consent is just as important to him as it is to you.’

  There was a brief pause. ‘Look… everything that is important to you is important to him, except perhaps taking the time to get to know a woman before making her yours. He is fine with letting the Bond, or Devotion, handle all that.’

  Boyd grunted out loud and it made Tinker jump in place. He gave her another gentle squeeze.

  “... and always make sure to stand a little closer to him so he has to look down. Then tilt your head back to clear his view, not all the way though. Keep it so you are still looking up with your eyes, so they’re nice and big,” Silvie finished explaining how to draw Boyd’s eye to Tinker.

  He chose not to comment. Boyd knew he’d already opened the door for Tinker; trying to shut it again would be indecisive and cruel.

  “Okay,” Tinker replied seriously. “None of that sounds like too much.”

  “Good,” Silvie smiled warmly back. “With Boyd, it is honestly the thought that counts. Now that you’ve formed the Bond, most of that advice is to help you get in the mindset of seeking his attention when you want it. If you want his attention, he’ll sense that and give it to you—unless he’s busy with something he can’t abandon, of course. For now, it will only be when you’re actively seeking it, though. Once you’re at the Devotion level he’ll probably sense it before you do, so you won’t even have to try… not that you shouldn’t. Everyone wants to feel wanted.”

  Boyd had eaten another slice during Mindy’s explanation and was now eyeing the last one on his tray. Raev was in a similar position, and he felt her notice their matching final slice. Her emerald, oval slit eyes came up to his and he could see the challenge in them.

  Boyd knew that it was on, so he leaned forward just a bit, scooching Tinker forward with a little ‘eep!’.

 

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