Dashing Devil Omnibus 1: Books 1-3, page 19
It was okay because he and Silvie loved each other, and as long as that remained true, neither of them would suffer. He didn’t want anyone to go through the experience of having to love someone who didn’t love them back. Especially not when you mixed in the fact that he’d have to have regular sex with the woman.
How could he go through with that? It seemed cruel to even consider.
Boyd understood flings, seeking and finding pleasure without the need or want for love. He knew there were plenty of long-term relationships like that, too. People who enjoyed each other physically but not as companions. He didn’t think that could possibly work if there was love mixed in by only one of the parties.
How could that not hurt? Would she eagerly wait for each weekly session when he deigned to pay her any attention? No, he wouldn’t do that to anyone… he couldn’t do that to anyone. It had to be someone he could love.
Unfortunately, understanding why it was acceptable to him with Silvie didn’t help as much as he had hoped. He would have to be willing to commit to a relationship with any woman he Enhanced—a relationship that would essentially be a marriage. After that fourth time, it would be forever… for her at least. Would it be fair to Silvie? Boyd knew if he were to find out that Silvie loved another man romantically, it would devastate him.
She’d said she was okay with him sleeping with other women… encouraged him to, even. But loving another woman, someone who wasn’t his Silvie, was different. He resolved to find her and talk about it after this next set of weighted pull-ups. Boyd had figured out as much as he could on his own; he needed her perspective from here.
As if summoned by this decision, the door to the gym slid open and Silvie came floating through the door, followed by Kitsune. “Last but not least, here’s the gym. As you can see, we’re fully equipped.” A grin teased the corners of her full lips. “And for at least a couple hours a day, this room, too, has an excellent view.” Silvie waved an arm in his direction as he finished the set.
“I’ll say…” Kitsune replied in her velvet tones, giving him another frank once over with her bright emerald eyes.
Boyd glanced down at himself. He was rather swollen and ripped after the intense workout. Also shiny. He burned hot and didn’t sweat a lot, so he always ended up with more of a glow than dripping in sweat.
“Holy shit, does that say twenty tons?” Kitsune gasped, peering closer at the device hanging from the belt around Boyd’s hips.
“Huh,” Silvie said, pressing a finger to her lip and giving him a worried look. “That’s actually a bit low, Boyd. Are you feeling alright?”
“Cool… Down…” he replied between reps, giving her a reassuring smile.
Looking at her now in the light blue sundress, all cheerful and bright even in her concern for him, reminded Boyd that everything would be alright. As long as he had Silvie, everything would be okay. Always.
“Twenty tons… as a cool down… and he’s only A-ranked?” Kitsune murmured softly.
If Silvie heard her, she didn’t feel the need to respond. “Oh, good!” Silvie perked right back up, giving Boyd a bright smile. “Have you had enough time to think things through? Are you ready to talk, now, and for a proper introduction?”
“Yeah… Just-a… Sec….” he grunted as he continued to do pull-ups all the way through pressing himself above the bar.
“See, he just needed to find a place to vent his anger, like I said,” Silvie explained to Kitsune.
Her eyes never left him, following his figure up and down through a dozen more repetitions—although they never seemed to rise high enough to meet his own. They settled a bit lower, instead.
At Silvie's words, a grin that could only be called ‘shit-eating’ came to Kitsune’s lips. “Well, this is certainly one place he can vent his feelings… but I can think of better ones.” Her delivery was deadpan but the wink she gave him exposed the game.
Boyd dropped down and bent to unclasp the belt at his waist that connect to the machine.
As he did, Silvie giggled. “Careful, dear. Don’t push too hard or you’ll make him blush.”
“Oh, that would be just terrible, wouldn’t it?” Kitsune replied innocently. “Didn’t you say he’s adorable when he blushes, though?”
Boyd straightened up and grimaced at Silvie.
She gave him an unabashed sparkling smile in return. “What? It’s not like it’s a lie.” She floated up before he could react and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Mmmm, always so warm after a workout.”
Unconcerned with his sweat, she pressed her body against his, attempting to absorb his warmth. Boyd thought she felt wonderful through the thin material of her sundress.
“Feeling better?” she whispered in his ear, for him only, though he noted that Kitsune’s ears had perked in their direction.
He wouldn’t be surprised to learn that she could hear even the softest whisper. Boyd just nodded against the side of her head.
“Glad to hear it,” Kitsune said, confirming that she heard the whispered words. “I’m not going to lie, hearing you shout at whoever you called got a little scary for a moment there. More ‘sexy-scary’ than ‘run-away-scary’, but still. What’s a girl to do if a big man like you decides to take all that pent-up anger and frustration out on her poor little body?” She batted her long-lashed eyes prettily at him, her tail lazily swaying back and forth behind her.
Silvie coughed, snorted, and then broke out in a fit of giggles against Boyd before floating back and away. She pouted when she saw his face and coed, “Aww, she’s just messing with you, you big lug.”
Boyd could feel his own scowl deepen, which made Silvie giggle again. He frowned at her once more before turning to Kitsune.
“If Silvie didn’t clear things up, none of my anger or frustration was directed at you, Kitsune. I’m sorry if I made you feel otherwise,” he said rather earnestly to the young woman.
She had done nothing wrong, even if she was trying to tease him.
“Oh, no… Silver explained everything. Don’t worry about it. Besides,” another coy smirk graced her lips, “I don’t think I’d mind if you sent some of that intensity my way.”
Boyd blinked. The fox woman was either very forward or just enjoyed messing with him. Either way, there were only so many ways for him to react. He could ignore it, which would either be considered a rejection or would just encourage her to up the ante. He could also acknowledge it, but not respond. That could only be another form of rejection—which he didn’t really want to do. Not yet, at least.
He wished he’d had a chance to talk to Silvie alone before encountering Kitsune again. That left three options he could think of: play it cute and let it embarrass him; offer up a proportionate response; or, up the ante. His instincts told him the last option was the right one to use with this woman.
He put the growl in his voice that Silvie responded to so well, “Careful, it might be more than you can handle.” He raked his eyes up and down her body with deliberate slowness.
“Hmrr.” Kitsune purred at him, cocking her hip out and holding his eyes with her own emerald gaze. “Can’t play tough with me, Big Guy. Silver told me all about how careful you are not to hurt your partners.”
“Oh? I thought they warned you about my Mental Domination,” Boyd rumbled, taking a single step closer.
“They did, but…” Kitsune started to say.
Boyd cut her off as he took another step closer to her, closing the distance between them and making her look up to hold his gaze. “You didn’t consider that she might just have been telling you what you wanted to hear?”
He finished removing the remaining distance between them and leaned down to growl into one of her white-tipped fox ears. “Maybe I made her go out and find me a beautiful woman for me to take. To make mine.”
Her ear flicked back and forth, and he watched as her tail lash side to side behind her, whooshing through the air. Boyd could smell the shampoo she’d used, it was spicier than Silvie’s… definitely some cinnamon to it, but there was more there than that. It suited what he’d seen of her perfectly.
Silvie giggled from beside them. “I know you’re trying to scare her off, Darling, but I’m afraid you’re having the opposite effect. I think you’re using your aura effect unconsciously—that, or it just got really hot in here. If you keep that up, she’s going to climb your body and mount you right here and now.”
Boyd gasped and took a step back. He’d tapped into his Power subconsciously, both to learn what she would like to hear from a partner and to make sure his words had the desired effect. Boyd normally had a handle on his aura, which impacted people in one of two ways, depending on the individual.
Although it had been tested, what caused the difference in reactions hadn’t been fully determined. What they did know, was that if someone was remotely attracted to him, it boosted that attraction exponentially. Otherwise, it seemed to make him that much more intimidating or imposing.
He used to slip in controlling it all the time, but it had been a while since his last aura error. It required a minor—if constant—effort of will to keep it off, rather than to turn it on. He must have relaxed his grip on it instinctively, too. Boyd re-established his control over his aura and checked on Kitsune.
Looking down he could see a flush that brightened the tops of Kitsune’s fair cheeks. Her mouth hung open. And while her eyes tracked him, they looked to be fully dilated.
“Shit,” he rumbled. “I didn’t mean to do that.”
“Hmm, it’s not like I wasn’t provoking you,” Kitsune purred at him in that velvety voice of hers.
Boyd couldn’t help but wonder what it might sound like under other, more intimate circumstances. She gave a slow blink, and when she opened her eyes, they were back in focus.
“Message received,” she said as she tried to pull herself back together. “You can push back when you want to. That’s good. It’d get boring, otherwise.”
As she turned, Kitsune brushed the soft and fluffy tip of her tail across his bare chest. She raised it high and added a sway to her hips as she strutted away. Boyd noticed two things immediately. The first was the way her tail drew his eye right to that firm butt he’d taken note of earlier. The second was that she wasn’t wearing heels.
Instead, she wore a pair of shoes that allowed her to walk on her toes at all times. The heels of her feet were so small that it almost looked as though they wouldn’t function the way a normal person’s heels were intended. It was more like she had an extra joint in her lower legs and very small feet.
Her tail swished from side to side as strutted towards the door before looking back at him over her shoulder. “Remember, though, I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t already interested. You should watch just how hard you push.”
She threw him a wink. “I’ll go unpack, Silver. Is there a set dinner time, or do we eat on our own?”
“We eat together, I’ll come and get you when it’s almost ready,” Silvie called back.
“Thanks, babe,” Kitsune said and smiled at Silvie. “I’ll see you later, Big Guy.”
Boyd had no idea how she managed to purr at him from that distance, but somehow, she did it anyway.
“You still haven't introduced yourself properly.” Silvie pouted as Kitsune left the gym and the door slid closed behind her.
“I think we might be well past proper introductions, my love,” Boyd replied with a chuckle.
Chapter 21
“It does seem to be going better than I expected. I figured we would have to get you a lot more worked up before you would start flirting back.” Silvie’s cheer ruined any chance for Boyd to stay upset about her blatantly acting against his expressed wishes.
He rolled his eyes as he grabbed a towel and heads towards the gym’s shower, Silvie floated along behind him. “Not even going to pretend to be on my side on this, huh?” he asked good-naturedly.
“This is me being on your side,” Silvie replied charmingly. She floated up next to him and bumped her hip into his.
“How do you figure?” Boyd asked as they entered the bathroom. It had six good-sized showers and two large tubs complete with jets and a bank of sinks.
“I’m helping you figure out how dumb you are being about this,” she said before pulling her sundress off over her head and letting it drop to the ground. Silvie was still wearing the blue lingerie from earlier, and Boyd wasn’t sure which stopped him in his tracks—the words or the unexpected view.
“So I’m being dumb?” he grumped as he restarted his brain and moved towards one of the showers.
“Yes, Darling, you are. Let’s not focus on that though. I recognize a thinking session in the gym when I see one. What have you figured out so far? Maybe you are less dumb than earlier.” She slid out of her panties and unclasped the bra, both falling to the ground and joining the dress.
With a sigh of resignation, Boyd let his shorts drop and held the door to the shower open for Silvie. She floated in under his arm and kissed him on her way past. She got the water going and held her arms out before waving him forward. He stepped forward into the warm rain and let it start rinsing his sweat away as he organized his thoughts. Silvie was running a wet soapy cloth over his back, guiding his wings open to rinse and wash between the leathery folds by the time he figured out how to put it. Simple was almost always better.
“Well, I figured out why I don’t feel guilty with you,” he admitted.
“Hmm?” She made an inquisitive sound as she kept working on washing his wings. They didn’t sweat or get dirty all that often because they stay folded most of the time, but she knew he liked the sensation.
“It’s because we love each other, and I know I’ll never neglect or hurt you… because you’ll never have to love someone who doesn’t love you back,” he rumbled. “I don’t really know how to apply that to someone else, though.”
Silvie giggled. “Less dumb… but still a little dumb.”
She cleared her throat and continued in the faux imperious tone she sometimes used when she wanted him to play along. “It’s so simple it should be beneath me to explain, but I will… if you ask properly.”
“Please enlighten me, oh great one.” Boyd chuckled as he began to scrub his chest.
Silvie swatted at his hand and said, “Stop that! I’m washing you, hands off.”
Boyd chuckled again and dropped his hands to his sides. Silvie was still working on his wings, there was a lot of area to cover. He let himself sink into the feeling. They weren't all that sensitive—at least not the back of his wings—but were not lacking in feeling completely.
“You just said it, Darling. For you to be okay with the cost of your Enhancement, you have to be able to love and give the Enhanced the attention they need from you,” Silvie explained.
“Well that’s not as simple as it sounds now, is it?” Boyd grumped. He thought that she was making light of the problem, but it was a pretty heavy one for him.
“How is it complicated?” Silvie asked as she positioned his wings to scrub his back. She was a little quicker and more efficient here, but it still felt nice.
“It’s love… how is it not complicated? Especially since I already love a beautiful and exquisite woman. If I start other relationships, won’t I be neglecting you?” Boyd queried.
Her tone made it clear that he was missing something. “Love doesn’t have to be complicated and you don’t have to neglect me just because you love another woman.”
She floated around in front of him and began scrubbing his chest and neck. She wasn’t really paying attention to what she was doing, instead looking into his eyes. “Honestly, Darling, I don’t need most of the attention you pay me. I revel in it, of course—you spoil me so well. But do I need it? Not at all. You could spread the love you give me over six women and they would all still have more than enough.”
She smirked. “That’s not how you’ll do it, though. I know you better than that. Your love isn’t a pool, it’s closer to a bottomless well. You won’t run out no matter how many people you love. I can feel it.”
Boyd made a contemplative sound, needing a moment to think about that. Was that really how it worked? It didn’t sound right.
“Plus,” she continued, “you are forgetting that we are Heroes. Most of us gave up on the idea of love when we signed up. ‘Love is a weakness’… how many times were we told that in training? Love can be targeted and wielded against you.”
Boyd nodded. Now she was saying something that he understood.
“We aren't even supposed to love the city or the civilians we protect. That made this opportunity unique for any Hero who hasn’t fully given up on love. It’s a rare case where The Authority will not only support a relationship, but actively encourages one.”
Silvie paused, studying his face. “Think about it from their perspective… this is a chance to experience love without having to hide it. Even if it was going to be a one-sided love, a lot of women still see that as a perk, not an expense. If it gets out that you’ll love them back, I’m sure we would get triple the volunteers.”
She was right about the training. Love was a noose you tied around your own throat according to The Authority’s Mentors at their PAC. Sex was fine, as long as you kept it casual, something that couldn’t be used to compromise you. Boyd recognized that this training was a major part of why he was so hesitant in the first place.
If he loved every woman he Enhanced, each one would be a potential hostage or could otherwise be weaponized against him. He heard the growl emanating from his throat before he realized he was doing it.
“Then there's that.” Silvie giggled, paying more attention to cleaning him. “Anybody that tries to use our love against us is in for a rude awakening. You sent the message this morning about what happens to someone who messes with one of your women rather succinctly.”
“One of my women?” Boyd asked, taken aback.
“Of course, Darling. Be honest, if it was Mind Witch out there today, would you have reacted any differently?”
