Dashing Devil Omnibus 1: Books 1-3, page 52
Boyd winced. “Not really. They couldn’t have been in my mind for long. I caught on because I said something I wanted to say but had decided against saying—not because it was untrue, but because I was worried it might be misleading.”
It took a second before evidence of thoughtful consideration entered Tinker’s hazel eyes. Boyd judged his words had been effective. She didn’t light up with a smile or anything, but the pout faded. He’d successfully softened the blow… without opening the door any wider. Perfect.
“Ah... Okay,” Silvie replied. “Well, that’s good.” She didn’t sound like she believed it, though.
Boyd sighed. “Then why do you sound disappointed?”
Silvie sounded aghast as she replied, “I most certainly did not sound disappointed.”
“Yeah, ya did,” Royce confirmed. “Like someone took your puppy away.”
“Sorry, Silver, but you did,” Tinker added.
Silvie groaned. “Fine! I hoped that maybe things got pushed along a little, okay? Sue me! If they were going to mess with your head, they could at least have advanced things! Then, it might have been worth pissing you off.”
Boyd sensed Silvie’s now burning rage across their Bond. While he didn’t agree with her goals, he understood her point of view. She believed he should be a lot less selective about who he Enhanced.
Boyd, on the other hand, believed Silvie and Kitsune were more than enough for him. Well… he wouldn’t say no to adding Hopewing to their little family, but that was beside the point.
Boyd chuckled before infusing irony into his tone and telling Royce, “She’s at least as mad as I am.”
He sighed before addressing his love, “Silvie, I want you to think about what you just said. Would you really rather have had me pushed even further in a direction I am not prepared to go… by whoever this was?”
There was a long pause. Boyd could feel Silvie as shed cycled through a complex swirl of emotions before settling on guilt. “No. You’re right. I’m sorry. Besides, it would have made you really angry once you caught on.”
“Oh, I’m really angry now… I’m just trying to be reasonable and supportive. Maybe you should try it sometime,” Boyd growled. “It’s also not exactly my favorite thing, that you won’t tell me who just attacked my mind.”
“I’m sorry, Darling, but I really can't,” Silvie replied weakly. “I know it doesn’t make it better, but I doubt it was intended as an attack.”
“Right,” Boyd grunted. “If you can’t tell me, at least tell Royce. I’ll trust his judgment on whether or not I need to know.”
Sorrow replaced guilt as it flowed down their Bond from Silvie. He also got a spike of apprehension from Kitsune. They must be in the same room and Silvie’s face probably reflected her reaction to his words. Or she could be listening in, like Tinker was doing on his end of the conversation.
“You… you don’t trust me?” The sadness in her voice combined with feeling just how hurt she felt was almost enough to make Boyd regret saying the words. Almost.
He needed to tell the truth—that he wasn’t sure he could trust her in this. Her goals ran counter to his own. She wanted him to take more lovers, but he didn’t want to do that to anyone else.
He almost told her just that, but then he caught sight of Tinker and remembered that Royce was also on the line. One would likely be hurt by such a statement, while the other didn’t need to witness that conversation.
Boyd decided to settle on gentler honesty. “I trust you with my life, Silvie… you know that. But we do need to talk… later. For now, tell Royce.” He turned to face his handler. “Royce, stay on the line with Silvie, please. You only need to call me back if you think I need to know who assaulted my mind, or why. If I don’t hear from you, I’ll assume you trust Silvie’s judgment in this.”
“Right, kid,” Royce confirmed his understanding before asking with a brighter tone, “Oh, how do you like your suit?”
“It’s awesome.” Boyd turned back to look at the suit he’d been so excited about a short time ago.
The intrusion into his psyche reminded him of the darker times of The Authority’s testing. And Silvie’s plotting didn’t help his mood. He tried to recover some of the excitement he’d felt upon first seeing his suit. “Tinker truly outdid herself. I was just about to try it on.”
“Great, kid. Well, enjoy it. Silver, you still on?” Royce asked.
“Yes,” Silvie replied despondently.
“Alright. Have a good night, Royce. I’ll see you in a little while, Silvie. I love you just as much as I always have,” he promised, not wanting her to be upset, despite his frustration with his lover.
“I know, you big lug.” Silvie’s voice quavered before stabilizing as she continued in a normal tone. “Try your suit on. I want to see it.”
“See you soon,” Boyd agreed.
Chapter 17
“Disconnect,” Boyd told the system, before sighing, and rolling his shoulders while flexing his wings to shake off the negative feelings. “I’m sorry, you had to be here for that,” he apologized to Tinker.
She gave him a wan smile.
“It was rude of me. I should have stepped out,” Boyd rumbled to the little woman, who awkwardly looked around as if searching for something to say.
“N-no. It’s okay. Are you? Okay, I mean.” Tinker stumbled over the words, but her doll-like face carried such an earnest expression that it didn’t matter to Boyd.
Boyd smiled as best he was able. “Yeah, I’m fine. Silvie and I just disagree on some things.”
“Adding more women to your relationship?” Tinker asked.
It was not much of a stretch, given what she already knew and the conversation she’d just witnessed.
“Pretty much,” Boyd confirmed, turning back to the suit on the mannequin. “She believes it's for the best, while I don’t like the idea.”
“Ah… do you mind if I ask why?” Tinker tilted her head to the side, her hazel eyes filled with curiosity. Then she gasped, followed by another rapid staccato burst of words. “I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to pry. It just seems like it would be any guy's fantasy, so I just want to understand.”
Boyd chuckled, her exuberance bringing a smile to his lips. “No, it’s fine. We’re on the same team, and understanding the dynamics at play is important. You are familiar with my Enhancement Power, right? I figured they would tell you the benefits, rules, and cost if you applied to be Enhanced.”
Tinker nodded and listed off the basics: “You Enhance someone's Power by a full rank. What exactly that means varies, depending on the Powered. You can only enhance women and you do it through sexual congress. It has to be performed weekly to maintain the Enhancement and avoid withdrawal symptoms. Anyone you Enhance first becomes infatuated with you, which deepens into love after three encounters. After the fourth encounter, if done within a four-week window, that love becomes permanent—although the Enhancement is not permanent. The risk of withdrawal symptoms also abates. There is some more nuance to it than that, though, and the permanence can be avoided if you do not Enhance someone more than three times in a four-week window.”
Boyd nodded in agreement. He wasn’t looking for her to prove how much she understood. It seemed she had the gist of it.
“For one thing,” he began, “I don’t enjoy forcing women to love me. It feels… wrong. Of course, it has been pointed out to me that these women are all volunteers… that I am not forcing anything.” He sighed. “But that only helps so much.”
“What is the problem, then?” Tinker asked.
“My primary concern is that I will force a woman to love me who I am unable to love back. I worry that the permanent Bond will form and the person on the other end of that Bond will repulse me. Then this poor woman—who may not be a bad person, but just one I cannot love—will be stuck loving me forever.”
A bit of a growl entered his voice. “I could let the Enhancement fade and then send her away, but she’ll still love me. Or I could keep her around, and continue sleeping with a woman I do not love just to keep her Enhanced. I can’t imagine she would enjoy if I neglected her for all but a short time once a week when I slept with her before sending her away again.” Boyd shuddered and tried to keep the other worse things that could happen from popping into his mind.
“Ah… Yes. That explains it.” Tinker nodded sagely. “Silver believes it won’t be a problem because you are who you are. You disagree… because you are who you are.”
“Uh… what?” It was Boyd’s turn to tilt his head in confusion.
“Oh, just… Um… Okay. So I don’t really know you, but I’ve been studying you since Silver sent me your file. The way I see it… No, that’s not how to explain it.”
She grabbed her elbow with her other hand, one arm propped under her chest. The other arm was pressed between her perky breasts which made the fabric of the thin romper cling to them even more tightly. The hand attached to that arm tapped her lips thoughtfully.
“I don’t know how to say it,” she sighed eventually.
“Just say what’s on your mind. It typically only gets complicated when you try to say things the way you think the other person wants you to,” Boyd explained. “Just being honest is so much simpler and cleaner. I’m not so easily offended that you telling me what you think will upset me—even if you think Silvie is right.”
Tinker watched him carefully for a minute before taking a deep breath and saying, “Silvie is probably right.”
She watched him for another minute as if expecting him to react with anger. Instead, he just nodded and held up an open hand and rolling his wrist, indicating for her to continue.
“Do you remember all those personality and psychological profiling tests they had you take?” Tinker asked.
“Yeah…” Boyd replied slowly.
“Well, I don’t know if you’ve ever seen the results, but they are pretty revealing. It would be simple to filter out women that you would be unable to love—mostly because it is such a small number. Assuming that Silvie has put any thought into who to bring in, and I’m certain she has put A LOT of thought into it, it won’t be a problem. The interview process was… extensive.”
This was only the second time that Tinker had used his name for Silvie. It was odd enough that he noticed the switch. It brought a smile to his lips, despite the difficult topic.
“W-what is it?” Tinker looked down and then back up shyly, with a slight pinking of her cheeks.
“Oh. I just liked hearing someone else calling Silver, Silvie.” Boyd explained. “You are the first… never mind that, though. Please continue.”
“Okay,” Tinker said softly, her cheeks darkening a shade before she continued more firmly. “Okay. So all those tests showed that you have the right mindset to love pretty much anyone. You enjoy taking an interest in other people's interests. There are not many things you dislike, as far as personalities go, and you are notably not very picky when it comes to looks.”
She got a wistful look in her eyes. “You want to help everyone be happy and to better themselves. You honestly believe anyone can be redeemed, as long as they don’t find joy in taking lives, raping people, or abusing children. Outside of those things, you look for the good in everyone.”
“Okay, that doesn’t…” Boyd started to say, but she started up again before he could finish his sentence.
“With that mindset,” Tinker interrupted with more forcefulness than Boyd would have expect from the small woman, “you could probably even love a Powered Criminal—as long as they were honestly repentant and hadn’t crossed certain lines. But a fellow Hero like the ones from the pool Silvie is pulling from has next to no risk of your fears being realized. Plus, now that I’ve seen the Bond you form in action—like at dinner earlier—I am almost certain you will come to love anyone you form it with. That level of understanding should not be underestimated.”
Boyd nodded, listening to Tinker and pondering how accurate her statements were.
She continued, “Understanding why people behave the way they do would essentially prevent or fix any miscommunications. Miscommunication and misunderstandings are what usually lead to social or relationship issues, except you don’t have to worry about that. I saw it while you were talking to Silvie a few minutes ago. You wanted to be mad at Silvie for what she said about wishing you’d been pushed further, but you weren't… not really. Tell me that wasn’t because of the Bond improving your understanding of her?”
Boyd sighed again, shook his head, and then chuckled. “I can’t.”
“And it won’t be any different with anyone else you form a Bond of that level with. You’ll understand any annoying habits they have, and they won’t annoy you as much. If they still do, you’ll be able to use your understanding to help the person overcome any negative tendencies. You will even understand how to do it without being mean.”
Tinker smiled warmly at him. “It pretty much makes you perfect husband material.”
She suddenly gasped, covering her face with both hands. “Oh, noooooo...! I didn’t say that last part. Please ignore that,” she whined.
“Hey! You should try your suit on. Enough talking, more suiting!” she all but shouted.
Boyd grinned at the petite woman’s evident embarrassment. “Alright, I’ll get to suiting. But first, thank you for sharing your perspective. I’m not sure I agree with everything you said, but I appreciate you saying it.”
“What is there to disagree with?” Tinker scoffed with a blend of embarrassment and consternation before dropping her hands and forcing a stern expression onto her face. “It’s science, even if it is social science—no opinions were involved, just facts. Scientifically, you can love any non-murderers, rapists, or child abusers. You also have a personality type that makes you prone to forming multiple close relationships.
“Sure, if there wasn’t a driving force pushing you to form a multi-faceted romantic relationship, you’d probably stick with forming multiple close friendships. There is an outside driving force, though, so the multi-faceted relationship just makes sense. It’s not like you’ll allow yourself to neglect someone who needs your attention. So there isn’t a downside… for your partners, at least.”
Boyd shook his head and held up his hands in front of him, understanding when it was time to retreat. Tinker was dead set that Boyd should take more lovers as well. Maybe there was some self-interest involved, on her part, since she obviously wanted to be one of them, but she’d backed her argument up with logic and facts he couldn’t argue with.
Boyd wasn’t a scientist, so his view on the utility of personality and psychological profiling was a bit different. He didn’t believe the results meant anything once reality got involved. He wasn’t going to convince her of that tonight, though. Nor did it mean he should ignore what she had said.
He decided to think it over while he put on his new suit which, now that he’d had some time to move on, he was excited about again. It helped that Royce didn’t call him back—meaning that Silvie’s assessment of Boyd not needing to know who had messed with his head was probably correct.
That was something of a comfort. Boyd didn’t want to have to worry about Silvie’s judgment in such things. Looking at it in just the right way, he could frame the situation so that it further built the trust between them. It was just another example of Silvie’s judgment being right, even though he didn’t agree with her.
He wondered, not for the first time, if he should simply give in and just do as Silvie wanted him to. Would it be so bad to have a group of Powerful women in his life who were all madly in love with him? It’s what The Authority wanted, too, even if they were the ones who had initially trained him to be opposed to modifying another’s thoughts and feelings in such a way.
Boyd had to remind himself that now was not the time for deep thoughts. Instead, he walked back into the chamber to figure out the shorts. “Seriously, Tinker, thank you for telling me your point of view. I’ll think on what you said.”
“See?” her high-pitched voice said. “Yet another example of why you're perfect for the type of relationship Silvie is trying to build. You listen, even when you disagree. More than that, you think about what is said.”
Tinker made a frustrated sound. “You don’t understand just how rare that is! Especially amongst Heroes. Being so powerful makes people so… I don’t know… so rigid. Not you, though, you stay flexible, kind, and thoughtful. I don’t know why you think falling in love with you is a bad thing. Trust me, it’s not.”
Boyd chuckled awkwardly, starting to get uncomfortable with the complimentary tone of the conversation. “Okay, okay. Complementing time is over. Suiting time… You said to pinch the seams at the top, right?”
“Oh!” Tinker spun around, causing her braided hair to fly up. “Yes, pinch at the top then drag your pinched fingers down, like you are holding a zipper. It will part all the way down.”
Boyd followed her instructions and pulled the shorts off the mannequin easily—likely why they’d been designed that way. Hopping into a pair of briefs might seem quick and easy, but something like this would allow him to remove or put them on in nearly any circumstance. Hell, he could probably get them on in mid-flight, if he had to.
The front was laced closed to a ridiculously low point. Boyd could see Silvie’s hand in that design element. But there was also a black panel under the laces that made it much less obvious. That, combined with the tassets on the belt, would mean few people would ever know that Boyd was essentially running around in his underwear.
He slipped them on and found that they didn’t require zipping up along the sides—the material formed a strong seal on its own. Even applying a decent amount of his strength didn’t part the seams once they’d reformed. They fit him snuggly from all angles and left next to nothing to the imagination.
To Boyd’s surprise, the front also hardened once the seal formed. Tapping the leather over his sensitive bits gingerly made a thunk sound. Feeling brave, he gave it a firmer rap and discovered it provides his twig and berries some decent protection.
