Page 109 of Runaway Magic
“Oh.” Cym’s tiny mouth turned down in a pout. “I don’t know how I feel about that. I’m not a huge fan of being locked up.”
Fourteen sighed. “I know. It’s only when I’m asleep, and…” Fourteen took a deep breath and confronted the elephant in the room. “You can always order me to release you.”
Cym’s eyes darted to meet Fourteen’s in alarm. “No. I’m not doing that again. No one ever gets to force you to do anything against your will again.” Cym’s tears were gone and his eyes were frigid. “I’ll make sure of it.”
Warmth bloomed in Fourteen’s chest, and for the first time in his memory, he knew what it felt like to be cared for. He’d chosen the right person to follow. The right person to protect with his life.
He just needed to make sure his person followed the rules.
Fourteen decided to start with rule one. “No more running. I can’t keep us safe if I don’t know where you are. And Iwillkeep us safe.” He used the wordusbecause he had a sense that Cym would be more likely to comply if he knew Fourteen’s own well-being was also at stake. “We’re a team now.”
Fourteen didn’t bother to phrase it as a request. They were a unit, and Cym would get used to the idea eventually.
“You still want that?” Cym’s voice was uncertain, and his gaze went back to hovering over Fourteen’s shoulder.
Want it? For fuck’s sake. It no longer mattered if Fourteen wanted it. Heneededit. It was so much more than a mere want. It was a craving. A desperate shout deep in his soul. If Fourteen didn’t get this, the entire world would burn.
Instead of voicing the brutal truth, he simply said, “Yes.”
The relief on Cym’s face was instant. “Thank the gods. I mean, yes. Yes, we’re a team. All the way.”
“Good.”
“No more running, I promise. Unless you’re running with me. Does that sound good?”
No, it didn’t sound good, because Fourteen hated the idea of running away from anything. He’d rather kill the shit out of whatever was coming for him, but he wasn’t ahimanymore. Fourteen was athemnow, and he needed to make concessions. “Affirmative.”
“Hmm… You don’t like that do you?” Cym wrinkled his nose in thought and shifted his weight back to inspect Fourteen’s face. “You get more soldiery when you don’t like something.”
“I’ll deal with it.”
Cym gave him a brilliant smile and leaned down to give him a kiss on the nose. “I like this talk. You’re good at give and take.”
Fourteen snorted. No, he wasn’t, but he’d learn to be. Cym’s magic was a huge help in allowing his brain to access basic human concepts and emotions. All serious discussions between them would have to involve cuddling from now on. Otherwise, Fourteen was likely to fall back into soldier mode. The soldier—the Cold— wasn’t good at compromise. His methods for solving problems mostly involved killing.
Cym’s magic had helped him break free of the chains binding his mind, but he was still who he’d been raised to be. Twelve years of being the puppet of a monster had shaped Fourteen into what he was now. His own brand of monster.
Fourteen looked forward to finding out exactly what that meant for him.
Hopefully, Cym would too.
Fourteen stopped thinking when Cym leaned down and kissed him again. It started out as soft, sweet little kisses over the bridge of his nose and across his cheeks, but when Cym’s lips found his, they were right back where they started.
Fourteen hard, panting, and aching to be inside Cym.
He had more to say. He was sure of it.
Too bad his brain wasn’t in charge anymore.
There was a loud pounding on the door, and Cym jumped a foot into the air.
“Who the fuck is that? Did they find us?” Cym went from mild lust to terror in a split second.
“It’s okay. We’re safe.”
“Safe? Umm… where are we, exactly? I forgot to ask.” Cym tapped his index fingers together and looked down in embarrassment.
“We need to work on your situational awareness.”
