Dashing Devil Omnibus 1: Books 1-3, page 105
‘What was what?’ Mindy asked, innocently. ‘Oh, Raev, you don’t have to feel any pressure about the kid thing.’ She drastically changed the topic, ensuring Boyd couldn’t ask any follow up questions.
‘Sorry,’ Mindy continued, ‘I know that hypothetical made you wonder if Boyd is thinking about kids soon, he’s not. You just put the idea in his head, he hasn’t fully processed when or if he’ll want kids.’
Boyd felt his Changed Mind correct the ‘if’ part of that statement. He wanted kids, but only when he was sure it was safe for them.
‘Oh… never mind. It’ll definitely be a ‘when’ he’ll want kids, not an ‘if’. You have time to decide if you really want to be a mother, though, so don’t worry. I know you don’t want to let him down, but it’ll be okay. Another benefit of this relationship is that if a woman doesn’t want kids, the family can still have them through another that does. I’m not sure where I fall on it myself yet.’
Boyd brought his arm down around Raev and pulled her into his chest. ‘Of course I won’t be disappointed if you decide you don’t want kids. Silly little vixen. Things mentioned in the heat of passion aren’t promises.’
Raev blinked a few times, eyes watering a little. ‘Right. I supposed I agreed to stuff like this happening.’
Boyd felt her emotions on their Bond. There’d been a sickly, nasty feeling when kids were being discussed, but instant relief when the issue was so promptly handled. Then, he felt her decide that she didn’t like being kept on her off foot like this.
‘You’re hot,’ Raev said.
Boyd could tell that this comment was directed at Mindy.
‘Are you also into girls?’
“Kuh-he.” Mindy let out another quiet but audible laugh before continuing in their minds. ‘The answer is a little more complex than it should be, but something that should be brought up eventually. No time like the present, especially since Boyd is all calm and has reason to remain so with two of his women sleeping on him.’
She started stroking his hair with her free hand. Soothing him in advance couldn’t be a good sign.
‘Currently,’ Mindy explained, ‘I believe that I will only develop romantic love for Boyd. I do find women physically attractive and while I haven't experimented with any, I am not disinterested. I just don’t think I would fall in love with a woman. Knowing someone’s thoughts makes everything so complex. I believe getting to know Boyd has ruined me for other men, I haven’t met one that measures up.’
She paused, and Boyd sensed the ‘but’ coming.
Chapter 28
‘That said, once I’ve been Enhanced,’ Mindy explained, ‘I’m hoping Boyd will let me set a permanent anchor in his mind. One I could use to block out other people’s thoughts without having to be in contact with him. The problem is that I will always be in his head. Between that and the Bond, I won’t be surprised if I end up feeling the same love he does for all of his women.’
Boyd frowned, trying to decide if he was okay with that. It wasn’t that he would mind her being in his head. He never wanted her so far away that she couldn’t hear him again, anyway. By that logic, she could be in his head at any moment from here on—this would just make it a certainty. He wouldn’t really be that concerned about his own privacy, but his other lovers might not like the idea of her always watching through his eyes.
‘I would still be able to look away or not pay attention,’ Mindy offered.
Which meant that it was up to her; Boyd had no problem as long as she would respect his other lover’s desire for privacy. He would like a way to enforce it, if possible—just in case one of his lovers didn’t trust her word.
‘That easy?’ Mindy asked, sounding surprised.
He didn’t see why not.
‘You aren’t worried about me losing the ability to choose who I love? Losing my free will?’
Boyd hesitated. Should he be? He felt like he should, but only faintly. He recognized that he would have earlier this morning, which was a little disconcerting. To the him of now, though, it just sounded like she was making the choice upfront to love any woman he did. Her free will was preserved.
His Changed Mind added its two cents, letting Boyd know it didn’t think love had anything to do with free will—No one got to choose who they loved. It just happened.
Boyd blinked. That hadn’t felt derisive at all. If anything, Boyd felt like the other him was trying to gently teach him a valuable life lesson.
‘Okay, is it always going to be like that?’ Boyd asked.
‘What did I miss?’ Raev asked, curiously.
‘The other Boyd communicated with conscious Boyd. It’s not really a full personality, just part of him that’s held separate. You had something like it, but you absorbed yours naturally. It’s just a part of you now. It got a little feisty when I dulled those memories we talked about.’
That made Boyd curious, what memory or habit had his lover wanted to change?
‘No, it isn’t something you need to know about,’ Mindy told him. ‘I just censored a few unpleasant memories from her time in her PAC. Now isn’t the time to discuss them, nor is it something she needs to process further. She was through the worst of it, I just fast forwarded the healing process a few years.’
‘Thanks for that, by the way,’ Raev added gratefully. ‘You talking about it just now made me remember a few things. They are less upsetting now. Don’t be upset with her, Big Guy, I jumped at the chance to ask for it. I’ve been waiting for a mind Powered I could trust.’
‘Of course.’ Mindy smiled. ‘Think nothing of it, I was happy to.’
Boyd doesn’t need the Bond to know how happy being trusted would make Mindy. He wondered briefly just why Raev so completely trusted the woman she had only met hours before.
‘She trusts me because you clearly trust me. It really is that simple for her. Just like it’s that simple for you to trust Silvie or me. Raev, since you’re wondering about your other you, it took on the form of a giant fox with nine tails. Sound familiar? It might have appeared in dreams or been an imaginary friend?’
‘I had some dreams with her in my early teens for a bit after my Change,’ Raev confirmed. ‘She was gorgeous and really nice. I liked her. We ran, played, and did all sorts of stuff with each other in dreams for a few weeks.’
Mindy nodded, ‘That was probably it, or her, since you’ve gendered her. All Changed have something like her. They are sometimes called gestalts, although it’s not completely accurate. The thought is that they from during a Change to help the Changed with learning to control their new bodies, but that’s just a theory without any evidence to support it. Most Changed absorb them once they get used to controlling their new limbs or bodies. Sometimes they end up like Boyd, though, and those are the ones at risk of what The Authority calls going Primal.’
‘What happened to him?’ Raev asked, turning concerned green eyes on Boyd.
He wanted to know, too.
‘In part, his training took.’ Mindy shrugged. ‘He was so dead set on suppressing negative emotions to be the perfect little Hero that he was unconsciously using his Power to do so. It might have happened without the emotion suppressing training, but that guaranteed it. The general cause is pretty simple, but not a guarantee. You said you liked your gestalt, your other you. What do you think would have happened if you didn’t? What if she was scary instead of gorgeous? Maybe she had big sharp teeth and was a little grumpy isn’t of being nice?’
‘I mean, I was pretty young. I guess those dreams would have been more like nightmares.’ Raev wasn’t sure how to answer, but she tried.
‘You might even find yourself running away from part of yourself.’ Mindy took over, having a point to make. ‘Pushing it away. Fighting it. Especially if you’d been trained to fight for as long as you could remember. If you were particularly strong willed or had a Power that let you, you might even put it in a little box and lock it away.’
‘Well… shit.’ Raev voiced Boyd’s own thoughts rather succinctly. ‘That doesn’t sound good for you.’
‘No, it certainly is not.’ Mindy’s tone was grave. ‘Boyd is strong willed, no doubt about that. While his Power isn’t suited to building complex mental constructs like a prison, it helped. After locking this part of himself away, he kept shunting his negative emotions away, too, trying to be a good little Hero, not thinking about where they were going. Every time he got mad or wanted to hurt someone. Anytime he experienced jealousy or greed. Lustful thoughts inspired when a young woman drew his eye. The times he needed a day off but thought he was being lazy, so forced himself to train anyway.’
‘Double shit.’ Raev once again successfully voiced his own thoughts. He wasn’t sure if they had melded because of Mindy’s Power, or they just thought alike. ‘So, now what?’
Mindy smiled warmly. ‘Well, Boyd just has to accept that he is a human being that experiences those emotions. Then we can slowly and carefully reintroduce his gestalt to him.’
‘That’ll change him, won’t it?’ Raev asked.
Boyd remembered this part of the conversation from earlier, but Raev deserved to be part of it. It cycled through in much the same way. ‘Ultimately yes, but only a little. Boyd will still be Boyd; he’ll just be his complete self. More him.’
Raev agreed that it didn’t sound so bad, and he got the distinct impression he was kept out of part of the conversation, based on the arousal he felt rising in Raev. As if on que, while he was feeling Raev’s rising arousal, Tinker made a little sleepy sound that blended a sigh with a moan. It somehow combined adorable innocence with a sexy little rising tone. As she made this new and interesting noise, she shifted around and woke, shimmying a little in place.
Boyd had been proud of the fact that he hadn’t woke stiff as a board, given the circumstances in which he’d slept. His shorts offered next to no barrier. Tinker’s snuggly fitted body suit was soft, but not very thick, either, and his cock was nestled between her thighs, at its typical size. The combination of the unexpected sexy sound and the friction generated by her firm thighs shimmying around caused him to stiffen quickly.
“Hmm?” Tinker murmured curiously at the sudden movement beneath her. Boyd could feel that she was still half asleep through their Bond, not conscious of what she was doing when one of her hands reached down to investigate the bulge pressing between her knees.
“Tink, wait…” Boyd groaned as her little hand wrapped as far as it could around his girth, giving it a questioning squeeze. This, of course, caused him to go from roughly half mast to ready and raring to go. He was fairly sure it lifted her lower half up off him a little, but that may have been his ego sensing what it wanted to do.
Her hand didn’t release him immediately, either, giving him a short little pump before her senses awakened enough for realization to hit—which was followed by full wakefulness and a gasp from Tinker. “Oh no!” she squeaked, snatching her hand away as if it was wrapped around a hot coal. “I’m so sorry!”
Raev snorted, evidently putting together one plus one and realizing what had happened. Silvie began to wake, trying to tuck into Boyd’s side and fall back asleep for a little longer. Tinker, however, was trying to figure out how to get away from him, and he felt panic rising in her.
He decided to hold her in place. It was a gamble, given the fact that his hard on wouldn’t fade immediately. “Hey, hey, hey,” He rumbled softly. “It was an honest mistake. I’m sorry for not being able to control myself. I started it.”
Tinker pushed against him weakly, but he didn’t sense revulsion from her, just embarrassment at the situation. “It’s natural for men to wake up like that. I’m the one who just grabbed it without asking.”
“It wasn’t a pleasant dream that caused it,” Mindy laughed softly. “It will be good for her to hear this, sorry Sunshine. Tinker, it was that sexy little noise you made when you were waking and your thighs rubbing against him that did it. He’s very attracted to you—you and only you caused that erection.”
Boyd sighed softly, but if it helped, it helped.
“Oh.” Tinker stopped pushing away. “Really?” She didn’t sound like she believed it but let her thighs rest against him again. Her hazel eyes found his, apprehension making them wide.
Boyd nodded and admitted with a weak smile, “Yes, the noise and shifting got me halfway, then you touching it finished the job.”
“R-really?” Tinker’s eyes got a little wider.
It was almost too much to handle when combined with the topic and her doll-like face. “Yes,” Boyd confirmed. He chose not to mention that it was in part because he was feeling Raev’s rising arousal at the time, as well.
“Oh my!” She buried her face in his chest.
He could feel the heat her cheeks gave off with her blush, but it might have been his imagination. There was an equal amount of excitement balancing her embarrassment on their Bond.
Silvie was still half asleep but had heard enough that he could feel happiness and amusement from her. Raev shared the general sentiment, although she also had a little pride mixed in, too. Whether it was for Tinker or for him, Boyd couldn’t be sure.
After a moment Tinker asked, “Uh… now what?”
“You caused it, it’s yours to take care of if you’d like.” Raev offered up his dick as if it just made sense.
“Oh!” Tinker gasped, tensing on top of him.
Boyd could feel the excitement spike on their Bond, but trepidation swirled up along with it. She wasn’t ready for this… not yet.
“Tinker, she was kidding, weren’t you Raev?” Boyd asked pointedly.
“Mostly,” Raev admitted. “I didn’t think she’d want to, but that feels like a good rule to set. You get first dibs on any boners you trigger.”
“Absolutely not,” Boyd ended that idea before it got off the ground. “Too many ways to abuse it. Plus, please don’t treat me like something to pass from bed to bed.” He sighed.
“Awww, Big Guy,” Raev snuggled into him, “I didn’t mean it like that. You, of course, have final say over who gets the D. I’m just saying, if a girl goes through the trouble…”
“So, let’s say I have a night planned with you, but Silvie comes along just before it starts and gets me up. Now she’s got dibs?” Boyd grumped, pointing out the first simple way a rule like that could be taken advantage of.
“Oh, no, that would be bitchy as fuck.” Raev settled back on her elbow. “Okay, I see your point. Unwritten rule, then?”
“I expect if someone is seeking his attention because they actually need it, he’ll sense that and give it to them,” Mindy inserted herself. “And if he senses they are attempting to interfere with another of his women’s plans, I expect he’ll react differently.”
Boyd hoped he never had to deal with things like that.
“Fair point. Gotcha. No need for a boner resolution rule,” Raev agreed.
“Um?” Tinker rolled onto her side and pointed, bringing their attention back to her unanswered question.
Boyd chuckled. “Just because I get a hard-on doesn’t mean something needs to be done about it. It’ll go down on its own. Not every erection needs to be addressed.”
“This one does,” Silvie inserted herself into the conversation. With those words came a surge of her need for him through their Bond. It was strong as he’d ever felt it.
“But, if you wouldn’t mind giving us some privacy…” Boyd trailed off, hoping that Tinker would understand.
“Right! Of course. Um, I should go check something in the lab, anyway. Um, what time is it? Daisy said dinner was at six, right? She seemed pretty firm on that.”
As Tinker talked, she started pulling away. This time it felt important to her to leave, so Boyd let her crawl back off of him. It wasn’t about embarrassment or anything negative, she legitimately wanted to get out of the way as soon as possible so that ‘her’ erection could be taken care of.
The concept was a little strange to him, but also sweet in its way.
“Um, see you later?” she asked shyly as she stood up on the bed near his feet. Her eyes weren’t on Boyd’s face, though.
“Of course.” Boyd chuckled again. It was like she was hypnotized; he was tempted to swing it back and forth to see if her eyes would follow it.
He felt a spike of amusement and boldness on their bond, as Tinker glanced up to his face, grinned, and said, “Oh, I was talking to him.” She nodded towards his dick, winked, turned red as a tomato, and then spun around to hop to the floor.
Boyd started it, letting out an honest laugh after a moment of surprise, but everyone joined in the laughter. He was mindful this time not to let his voice reach ear-splitting decibels.
Tinker leaped from the foot of the bed, sprinting as fast as she could for the door, but he sensed her joy at getting everyone to laugh. She could tell they were all laughing with her, that they all liked her flirty little joke.
Boyd managed to control his laughter just enough to call “You sure will!” before she got to the door, and he felt the thrill it caused her.
He may have formed their Bond during a stressful misunderstanding, but he was already glad that he had. Not only had it seemed to boost her confidence more than anything else that he’d tried, but he also liked having a sense of the lovely inventor. She deserved nice things, and he would make sure she got them.
“I’m so proud,” Raev wheezed once her laughter died down enough. “I know I like just took her under my wing, but she’s grown so quickly.”
“The real Tinker is going to be so awesome,” Boyd confirmed.
“Just like the real you,” Silvie sighed, rolling on top of him in Tinker’s place.
“You think?” Boyd asked. He was still nervous about that situation, but Mindy had made it sound both good and necessary.
“Mhmm. Like I said, I’ve seen him a few times.” Silvie settled on him much the same way Tinker had been, but her more average height made the contact different. She reached down between them and into his shorts, taking him in a much more purposeful grip. Working her hand up and down, she continued, “I lured him out the other night.”
