He licks it off and then kisses her back, gently. “Is this what happens when you pick a fight on a guy three times your size? If so, I may do it more often.”
“I’m not rewarding you for your bravery,” she says, dropping her hand to this thigh. “I feel bad for you because you’re so stupid.”
“Hey!” he says in mock anger. “Not cool.”
“Good thing you’re handsome. And you’ve got those super skills.”
She can’t help but notice his eyes change color when she flirts with him and there goes his heart, kicking in to high gear.
“Are you talking about my, uh,” he swallows, “unique skills or the more, hmm, intimate ones?”
She can’t help but laugh. Quinn is adorable. Not much more experienced than her, but what he does know, he knows well. Like how to quicken her pulse and make her want to get closer. She knows he got in that squabble with Draco over a sense of protectiveness for her. It’s his biggest flaw. It could be worse.
Before she can give Quinn an answer about his skills, footsteps pad down the hall. Owen walks in. His hair sticks up in a thousand directions and he’s shirtless, with cotton pants slung low on his hips. He heads straight for the coffee and says nothing before taking his first sip.
“Morning,” he finally says, rubbing his lower stomach. With a little more space and a sense of the dormitory being for all of them and not just Astrid’s apartment, there’s a new sense of ease in everyone.
“Good morning,” Quinn replies. Astrid can’t keep her eyes off of the well-defined V carving his hips. Quinn’s hand lowers to her thigh. It’s too early in the morning for such conflicting interests.
“How did you sleep?” she asks him.
“Great, until your cat came in and sat on my chest at 3 a.m.”
“I noticed he’d left me.” She shakes her head. “I told you to close the door.”
“I forgot.”
She squeezes Quinn’s hand, a promise to continue their discussion later and stands. “I think we need to spend the day training. For real training.” She digs into her pocket and pulls out the vial Draco gave her yesterday.
“You’re kidding,” says Quinn.
“Nope. Running into Blaze was terrifying and there wasn’t anything I could do. I do think the protection kept him from actually hitting me with the fireballs, but it didn’t stop the place from going up in flames or me being injured. I know by practicing that there is more to my power than I thought. You both must be the same. It’s time to test it. Push our limits. We can’t trust anyone out there but ourselves.”
“And you trust this Draco guy?” Owen asks. “Why? You don’t know him, and his boss is crazy—not to mention our nemesis. She may have sent him to fuck with us, Astrid.”
“I do trust him,” she says, although she can’t completely say why. It’s a sense she gets from him. A feeling, and that is the only thing she’s ever been able to rely on. He does seem loyal to Demetria, but that loyalty may mean that she and her teammates need to get better. Do better. “I spent all night thinking about it. The doctors are the ones that made us unable to use our powers against one another, but what I realized is that it limits us. We can’t help one another, either. You can do your thing and I can do mine and we can cobble together a team, but the big stuff, protecting one another—fighting with each other—we can’t do that. I think they added the glitch so that we can’t bind together and fight back.”
Both men absorb this. It’s a big concept, one they’ve never talked about before.
“You may be right. It may just be a handicap but on a personal level it means more for you, psychologically and emotionally. It removes the protection, Astrid,” Quinn says. “That means you can’t turn off your empathy. Ever.”
She knows what he means. During sex she’ll be able to read him. Owen too. She’s thought over every angle. “It’s a risk I’m willing to take.”
“As, I don’t know,” Owen says. A line of worry appears between his eyes.
He and Quinn share a look, one that excludes her, and it pisses her off.
“Are you scared I’ll feel something you don’t want me to?” she asks, challenging them both.
“No,” Owen says, holding up his hands. “You read me already and it was fine—good, even. Got us on the same page about a few things, but Quinn is just being logical. All of this is so new, we don’t need you hyper-exposed if you’re not ready.”
She looks at Quinn, wanting to hear his excuse, but the only thing he says is, “You’ve barely had a chance to enjoy it.”
“Then I’ll have to figure out how to control it better, won’t I?” she says, knowing deep down that’s the answer. She also knows she’s not afraid to feel these men, know their hearts. But like every step in her life dealing with her senses, she’s had to face it head on. It doesn’t get more head-on than this.
Owen agrees first. “I’m in. And support whatever decision you make.”
They look at Quinn. His jaw is tight, his heart pounds violently. He’s scared. Of what? Losing her? She’ll prove him wrong. Finally, he nods his agreement.
“Let me go change,” Owen says, grabbing a doughnut and leaving the room.
“You sure you’re okay with this?” she asks Quinn.
“Nope. I can’t answer that the way you want me to.”
“I won’t force you.” She touches his cheek and he winces.
“Promise me you’ll let me know if it’s too much.”
She nods and seals it with a kiss on the lips. It’s the only thing she can offer, and she hopes it’s enough.
*
“Who’s going first?”
The question comes from Casper, who is linked up via a live feed and speaker system in the training room. The guys did it while Astrid was in the hospital.
“The Goblin may want to play video games all day, but he needs to stay in the loop,” Quinn told her later.
Owen winked. “No cameras in the bedrooms, though.” It’s their own going joke now that Casper was holed up with his games, the internet, and a shit-ton of porn.
“I will.”
Owen drinks his shot of soda mixed with the PD-1 Draco gave them quickly and without hesitation. Quinn, to her surprise, does the same. He made a decision. He’s resolved. It’s one of the things she likes about him.
Ironically, she’s the one that has to push every argument, every fear, and every second thought out of her mind.
“You don’t have to do this,” Quinn reminds her.
She doesn’t reply, just takes the shot. Seals her fate. It’s to protect her—protect them all. Her gloves are firmly on her hands. She hasn’t been wearing them around her teammates lately. Her gloves have always provided comfort—now they feel like chains. Hot and confining.
“Let’s get started,” she says, slamming the glass on the counter. Owen holds his hand up and they slap high-fives.
“I’ll go first,” Owen announces, walking to the middle of the room. “I’ve been working on something since my memories started coming back. If I can perfect it, I think it will make what we just did worth it.”
Astrid sits on the counter next to a work sink. Quinn leans next to her, arms crossed.
Owen stands perfectly still. His arms are outstretched and his face is furrowed in concentration. Astrid has no idea what he’s doing; there are no objects to manipulate or alter form. But after a moment she sees it and jabs Quinn in the arm. “Dude,” she whispers, afraid to break his concentration.
The air in front of Owen shimmers. Shifts. He cups his hands over a small area and pulls them apart, like he’s gripping the air with his fingers. The sound of fabric ripping tears through the room. At the very center of the distorted area, a bright dot appears. He holds it for a minute, but then his arms drop, his body drenched in sweat.
“What the hell was that?” Astrid asks, almost afraid to know the answer.
“He fucking ripped open a hole in the universe,” Casper says over the speaker.
“For what? Why?” She asks. Science has never been her thing.
“An escape route,” Owen says. “I’m not there yet, but I’m getting closer. And once I get the variables together I can think of where I want us to go, open a portal, and off we go.”