Chapter 25
I clutch Tee-Tee in my arms and gallop down the Defectivum steps.
Unfortunately, I’m in human form, so it’s not quite as showstopping as when I’m full centaur.
She’s laughing hard enough to bust a gut. “Don’t pee on me,” I yell so she can hear over her hysterics.
Fuck, that sound is the best in the world. Well, apart from that shuddery gasp when she comes.
Yum.
She slides out of my arms as I come to a stop outside Electis. “Nice ride?” I ask, kissing the top of her head.
“It’s always a nice ride with you, Donovan,” she sighs, wrapping her arms around my waist. As she does, a ringtone goes off in her blazer pocket. I keep her clamped to my body, but allow her to unwind a hand and remove her phone.
“Hey… with Donovan…at the tower. You OK?”
I want to kiss her neck, but it’s like half a body length below me. Oh well.
Placing a hand under her glorious ass globes, I pull her up. She keeps talking on the phone but wraps her legs around me like a monkey. Much better.
“I’ll stay with Donovan, don’t worry, Alexis,” she says softly.
Yeah, don’t worry, Professor Alexis. I’m planning on taking real good care of our magical babe.
“Miss you too, stay safe.” Once the phone is back in her pocket, I claim her mouth. Don’t give a shit if the entire student population is milling around. In fact, I prefer it; they need to see that this girl is mine.
She kisses me back, just as hungry.
Fuck, I think about the years of dirty fantasies I’ve had, and my cock aches to make them all come true. “Bedroom,” I grunt. “Now.”
The elevator is on a different floor, so I don’t bother waiting. With Tee-Tee still clinging to my front, I power up the stairs double-time. I’ve always been fit and fast, but now I realize my stamina is off the charts.
By the fifth floor, I’m not even a little out of breath.
"Fuck, you’re beautiful," I tell her, at the same time kicking the apartment door so someone will open it. Can’t be bothered to reach for my key.
Suddenly, Max rushes up from behind us and flings an arm around both me and Theo. “Is it sexy time? Ooh, I’ll get the door.” He digs out a key, a huge grin on his face. “Boom chicka bow wow.”
“Shut the fuck up,” my twin snaps as we enter.
The fun deflates out of me, and I can feel Theo reacting the same way. I let her slither down, but still keep her tucked into my body. “Wes?”
“Can you have some consideration?” he snaps. “Cosmo’s still sleeping.”
Still sleeping? It’s been hours since we got back from Havengard City.
“What’s wrong with Cosmo?” Theo’s looking at Wes with pleading eyes, desperate for him to be sweet.
Wes turns his back and stalks into his bedroom.
She watches him go, and I can see her pain.
Fuck.
“What’s wrong with Cos?” Max asks, repeating Theo’s question. “He’s not going all melancholy melly like your brother, is he?”
“Cosmo saw his dad today.” I head to the fridge and pull out beers for me, Theo, and Max.
All the serious talk deflates my poor dick. Don’t worry, buddy, we’ll get back to it soon.
“He came out of the meeting white as a sheet and feeling like shit. We took him to a healer, and he’s been sleeping it off ever since.”
Surprisingly, Max looks serious for once. “What did that twat want?”
I shrug. “Cos didn’t say. We’ll have to wait until he’s up. What about you? Where have you been?” That’s when I notice Maximus has a very familiar backpack looped over his arm.
“Hey! You found our stuff!”
“Yep, and the still is still stilling,” he replies, dumping me and Wes's belongings on the sofa, then draining the beer in one go. “I’m going to make a fucking fortune off that stuff. Augmentis triple X.”
Theo climbs into one of the armchairs, sitting cross-legged and daintily sipping on her beer. “Do you think it’s a good idea to give over-brewed, untested drugs to your customers?” she asks.
Tee-Tee isn’t exactly scolding Max, but I can tell she’s disapproving.
Max looks wounded. “Sparkles! I’m no dummy. I’ve set up a test for potency and purity. That’s where I’ve been all afternoon. Maximus Larsen is a clean supplier, sweetcheeks. These kids are lucky they have me.”
Looking a little bemused, Theo nods. “I guess so, but still…”
“But still,” I chortle. “Still, ha-ha.”
I think it’s funny, but Max is boring and serious.
“Look, princess, before I was doing this, there was a senior making Augmentis, and he cut every corner in the book. That shit put a couple of kids into psych wards. My stuff is designed to enhance gameplay. Sure, it can be abused, but I’m careful about who I sell to.
I’m not a monster, little princess, I’m a broke Kormovian, trying to keep my fees paid. ”
Theo looks sad, and I’m a little pissed at Max for making that happen.
“Larsen,” I growl.
Tee-Tee shakes her head at me. “No, Donovan, he’s right. It’s all very complex. I’m glad you take all those precautions, Maximus. I don’t like the idea of you selling Augmentis, but I understand better now. Sorry.”
“Aww, Sparkles, ain't nothing to stew about. Talking of stew, I’m fucking ravenous. Anyone else? I’ll call for food.”
I mostly have nothing but getting Theo alone and naked on my mind—the need to hold her, claim her never ceases—but now fucking Max mentions food, I realize I’m starving.
“I could eat,” I tell him. “But order something that can be here quick. What about you, Tee?”
“I’m easy,” she says, then blushes as Max wiggles his eyebrows at her. “Oh, stop it.” Tee throws a cushion at him, but it misses by a mile.
Max is already on the house phone, calling the dining staff. “Thai for five, stat.”
Thai, yum.
“So,” Max says, “what are we going to do while we wait for food?” He arches his fingers, cracking the knuckles. “Feel free to continue what you were doing. I’m happy to watch.” Another cushion is flung at Max. “You’ve really gotta work on your aim, Sparkles. Not very divine goddess of you.”
He laughs, Theo laughs, and I start cracking up as well. The next second, Wes flings open his door. “For fucks sake,” he hisses.
“Wes,” Theo’s voice cracks, the lightness instantly drained. “Please, Wes. Can we sit together for a little bit? Maybe we can talk, and something will jog your memory?”
“Hard pass,” he growls.
A solitary tear runs down Theo’s face as Wes stalks into the kitchen area, pulling himself a beer from the fridge. I have absolutely no idea what to do in this situation.
I’m saved from having to choose between punching Wes and hugging him by a loud knock on the door. “Yes?” I snap, swinging it open.
“You’re fucking back!” Johnny Duville leans against the frame, eyes glittering. “You fucking came back.”
“Yeah, yeah.” I go to close the door again, but Johnny puts a foot in the way. “What?”
“First game of the season on Sunday, are you match-ready?”
Fateball? Never going to turn that down. “Sure.” Movement catches the corner of my vision, and I see Max flattening himself against the wall.
He puts a finger up to his lips. I stifle a chuckle.
“The team is meeting with Coach Feniks in five for a strategy review,” DuVille says. “It’s compulsory, you can’t play if you don’t go.”
“That is a problem,” I tell him, “because I have no intention of going to your meeting, and every intention of playing.” I try to shut the door again, but DuVille's foot stays solid.
“Come on, Hart. You fucking owe us. Thirty minutes of your time won’t kill you.”
“You should go, Donovan,” Theo says, coming to join me in the doorway. “Thirty minutes until food’s here anyway.”
“Ugh, fine.”
◆◆◆
Even though the tactics talk and video clips of our upcoming opposition get my blood pumping, I’m still eager to head back to the apartment as soon as I can.
Fateball is excellent, but Tee-Tee and Thai are better.
I let myself into the apartment, remembering to be quiet in case Cos is still snoozing. The room is dark, and only one lamp is switched on. As my eyes adjust, I see Theo curled up on a seat on the far side of the room.
On the floor, sprawled around the coffee table, Max and Wes are concentrating on something. My eyes seek out Tee-Tee again. She meets my gaze, and I pick up on the vibe, slowly making my way over to her.
Don’t know what’s going on, but Wes isn’t snapping at anyone currently, so that’s a start. “What’s happening?” I whisper in Theo’s ear.
“Max and Wes have been going through all the photos on Wes’s digital camera. I’m just keeping out of it, but I think,” she looks at me with hopeful eyes, “I think it’s helping.”
I snuggle next to her and watch the scene.
I’ve never in my life seen Max so gentle.
“Focus on this one,” Max says in a hushed voice. “That’s from Dono’s Fateball match against Montrose Academy. It was an away game. We all rode bikes there. Ring any bells?”
Wes frowns. “I-I think so? But they’ve played Montrose so many times, maybe I’m thinking of a different season.”
“It was the first time I’d ridden with you and Dono. Borrowed a bike from Gordon, his Kawasaki.”
“Kawasaki,” Wes echoes.
“Donovan took the piss out of its green paint job the entire time.”
Wes shakes his head. “The green was funny? I don’t understand.”
Max flicks through a load more shots until he settles on something else. “This SD card goes back fucking ages. What about this? Skiing in Switzerland.”
“Were you there?” Wes asks.
Max scoffs. “Hardly. Don’t have the triple-billion-platinum-plutonium bullshit credit card for that kind of thing; I’m your broke friend. But do you remember the trip?”
“Skiing, yes. You are too poor to ski.”
That’s a weird response.
“Rub it in, why don’t you, buddy?” Max grumbles.
Food arrives, so Theo and I busy ourselves with containers of pad thai and the like in the kitchen area.
I know we are both still intently listening to Max and Wes, though.
“Wanna try something more recent?” Max asks.
“I don’t know…I…” My twin looks up and locks eyes with me. “I’m not sure if I want to.”
Max knocks his shoulder against Wes’s. “No worries, bro. We can leave it for now. One step at a time, and all that.” He gets up and stretches. “Food! Fucking yes.”