Page 86 of Failed State

Raking my hand through my hair in annoyance at his careful response, I sigh. “We all know that woman has walls a millionfeet high and has been put in a fucking fake bubble for most of her life. Whether or not that was for legit reasons, this is like… a moment in time for us. As a team, yeah, but also as more than that. So… lay it out while we get this place ready, you absolute donuts.”

Thad blinks, chuckling softly at my insult. “Right. Okay. What are we supposed to do while we confess our sins, Rory?”

Thick as bread dough sometimes—this is why dudes have so much trouble.

“Make this room comfy, relaxing, soothing, and warm, you oaf. Get blankets, pillows, candles… Order finger foods and drinks. Dim the lights. Move the furniture. You know, shit you’d do for a bear girl in her heat or whatever, man. Don’t be so dense.”

“I think he means to make a nest as dragons would for their mates.”

I beam at the reticent lizard. “Exactly! Let’s make this the safest, homiest living room in the universe. We want Vicious to know that this—and us—are her escape and her home now. Everything else in the world can fade if we’re all together.”

“Why would we do that?” Sebastian says as he pretends to yawn.

“Fuck, man. Stop that aloof vampire nonsense. Do we all like this woman or what?” I ask bluntly. “Cause if we do, thenthisis the moment to show her how much. It will lead nowhere unless she wants it to, but that’s fine, right? Because we actuallylikeher, not just want to nail her, yes?”

Huck blinks, then tips his hat back and sticks his thumbs in his belt loops. It’s a quintessential cowboy pose and I’m not sure if it’s for effect or if he simply does it blindly. “Hell, yes, I do. Have since the day I met her when they shipped me here. It’d be stupid to deny, I s’pose.”

“Same,” Thad admits as he pushes the furniture away so there’s a wide open space in the middle of the room to build. The bear is the most obvious fan of Sydney, of course, but he’s hidden it so long that it surprises me for him to flat out say it like that. “I haven’t been an angel or anything, nor has Huck, but our hearts have always been with her. She’s just never noticed, I guess.”

“I don’t think that’s true,” Sebastian muses as he walks to the kitchen and rummages around in the drawers. He pulls out a bunch of taper candles and brings them in, handing them to me for distribution. “She’s purposefully shut away the part of her that feels things like romance and sexual attraction to keep herself safe from loss. At least, that’s my read on it. It’s not my truth, nor am I reading her mind, so I cannot be certain.”

As I find places to settle them, I hum my agreement. “I think so, too, based on the conversations we’ve had privately. I’m not repeating any of that, of course, because it would be a violation. But what Icansay is that if we want her to be our girl eventually, we need to show her we can be trusted and we’re safe. That’s why I want to set this all up; I want to do it right.”

“Our girl?” Thad echoes as he tilts his head. “Who said this was a group project?”

I snort and roll my eyes at his naivete. “I just did. Plus, it’s clear you and the demon have agreed to share or one of you would have scared the other off long ago. Since you didn’t and I know that both of your kind are fine with polyamorous relationships, I didn’t worry about you protesting. I’m all for sharing and lots of other things; vampires are, too. Dragons love a hoard—even people.”

Elias tilts his head, then says, “We do. I have not had one for a long time in the camps. I find myself fond of the little rebel and my dragon agrees. We will take part.”

That’s one very definitive ‘yes’ for forming a group.

“It’s not the first time you’ve mentioned courting her for real, mage. But you didn’t make everyone state things so plainly before. Why now?” The vampire’s gaze narrows on me as I light the tapers, his arms crossed over his chest.

I sigh, frustrated with the push-back on something I know they actually want. “I’m making absolutelycertainyou’re all on-board so we don’t set ourselves up to fracture the team if someone changes their mind. Worse than that, I don’t want anyone to hurt Sydney just as she’s finding her true self now.”

“Oh,” the bear says as it dawns on him what I’m doing. “I get it. This is your way of keeping her heart from being broken by someone being an asshole suddenly.”

“Bingo.” I point to the hallway and look at the demon. “Go get blankets and pillows and shit, cowpoke. We need to make this big open area very cozy and comfy before she finishes soaking. Get along, little doggie.”

The demon rolls his eyes, but does as I ask. He heads into their room first, then the others—except for Sydney’s—to gather the necessary linens. When he comes back, he looks at me seriously. “I’m all in for the family idea if my sweet pea is. Because that’s one detail you’ve forgotten in this pact, magic wielder. Syd has to agree to it, too.”

Groaning as I stoop to arrange the blankets first, I arch a brow at the vampire and the dragon. “You two need to help. Order food. Fix drinks. Set up the TV.” Once they move, I turn back to Huck. “I’m aware of that, and I don’t plan to coerce her. I want her to come to the conclusion on her own, then discuss it. But it will never come up if she doesn’t trust us as people, then as men.”

“You missed a career as a fucking therapist,” Sebastian mutters as he peruses the menus for room service. “This shit would have made you serious money.”

Leave it to a vampire not to understand that as an upper tier sex worker, I was not only very highly compensated, but functioned as a therapist, priest, friend, punching bag, and much, much more for years.

“I’m going to leave that statement alone for now because I don’t think you truly understand my former world,” I reply in an even tone. “But the next part of this discussion is that we can snark and be playful with one another—especially in public when we play roles—but we have to support and be good to each other. Sydney never needs to feel like she has to choose one over the other because we said stupid shit like that. Got it?”

The dragon walks over to the counter between the kitchen and the living room with a serious expression. “The mage is correct about that. I think we have very different pre-Sweeps histories and even more varied post-Sweeps experiences. Judgement and condescension will not aid us in forming a team or a family.”

“You’ve said more tonight than, like, ever, man.” I grin as I fluff pillows and form a big ring on the floor where everyone will fit. “I appreciate the support.”

Thad pulls cushions off of the furniture and starts pilling them around the pillows, his brow furrowed as he makes the ‘nest’ even more comfortable. “He has, and I think that’s good, too. No one’s saying it, but if we’re all going to date Sydney and she agrees, we have to discuss some other things.”

I arch a brow at him curiously. “Just what are those, Vanilla Bear?”

“I think that’s what he means,” Huck chuckles as he drops to his knees and crawls over to help us with the pallet. “We need to discuss our own boundaries, so to speak.”

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