“I get bored easily.” Max grinned as Quinn’s laughter followed them up the stairs. “Just so you know, I don’t mind if you keep using the bond a little in the bedroom,” he drawled, yelping with a startled laugh when Caius tripped up the last steps.
“Noted.”
IT SNOWEDagain overnight, dropping another few inches.
Max braved the elements enough to sit on the swing bench on the porch, breathing in the crisp fresh air. He learned within minutes that the cold no longer bothered him. The moment he started to feel chilled, the flames rose up beneath his skin to keep him warm. As nice as that was, he didn’t want to think about how nightmarish summer would be.
He tipped his head back to watch Aradia climb up the post at one end of the porch and sail to the other side, a burst of wind magic keeping her in the air. Naming her seemed to have unlocked some familiar ability that let her access her own magic, though she seemed to still be learning how to control it.
He pushed the bench back and let it swing forward, the metal training device forgotten beside him. The day was far too nice to bother with studying or training. There was a restless itch building inside him, but he wasn’t sure what to do to relieve it.
The door slid open, and Quinn poked his head out. “Hungry?”
“Starving,” he groaned, getting to his feet. He wasn’t sure if it was because he had free access to the kitchen or because magic drained so much energy, but he was hungry all the time now. He settled at the counter as Quinn set a plate with a grilled cheese sandwich in front of him. He eyed it with a wrinkle of his nose. “Not that I’m complaining, but we really need to learn to make something new.” Aradia swooped in to land beside him with a bark of agreement.
“Believe me, I’ve tried. Nothing else I’ve made is edible.”
“Nothing?”
“I made mac ’n’ cheese once. It was lumpy and crunchy.” Quinn pointed at Max’s face of horrified disgust. “Yeah, that’s what Cap and Lukas looked like when they ate it.”
Max shuddered and bit into the sandwich, thankful it tasted normal. “Are they still out?” Lukas had returned late last night, and he and Caius had left earlier for supplies.
“Yeah, they said they’d be a while.” Quinn sat with his own sandwich and bumped his knee against Max’s. “So I was thinking we could take advantage of their absence.”
Max choked as he inhaled a chunk of bread, feeling his ears burn even as he drained his water. “Advantage how?” he wheezed.
“We’ll think of something. You still haven’t been down to see my lair yet. I’ve got tons of games.”
“Okay.” He suspected Quinn didn’t mean to play games, but he appreciated the option. He’d started to think Caius was full of it and that Quinn and Lukas weren’t interested in him now that Caius had staked a claim, especially since Caius never brought it up again. He had to wonder if Caius really meant it when he said he wouldn’t mind, or if Caius would stop wanting him.
“What are you worrying about?”
Max sighed and cursed Quinn’s nose. “Caius said you might want to, you know, but….”
Quinn tilted his head. “But you’re worried it’ll change things between you two?” When Max nodded, Quinn smiled. “Max, he claimed you. Not even the Order is taking you from him.”
“You mean the bite mark?” he asked, dragging his finger over the faint scar on his neck. Caius was obsessed with it, constantly touching or licking or kissing it. “I thought it was some territorial shifter thing.”
“Well yeah, it’s that too.”
Max shook his head. “It can’t be a claiming. I’m not a shifter.”
“A mhuirnín, this isn’t the Middle Ages. We can have a claiming with non-shifters.” Quinn grinned and waggled his eyebrows. “Sometimes we even share.”
“Really?” he asked, not sure he believed that.
“Don’t believe the movies. Sure, some shifters are territorial fuckwads, but it’s the twenty-first century. Cap wouldn’t have let us bind you if he wasn’t willing to share.”
“Have you two…?”
“Had sex?” Quinn chuckled and shook his head. “No. He had a thing with a general a few years ago, but it didn’t last long. He’s not really my type anyway.”
Unable to help himself, Max asked, “Lukas more your type?” He grinned when Quinn looked away, but not before Max saw the wistful smile. “If you’re pining for him, why would you want to settle for me?”
“First off, I’m not settling.” Quinn narrowed his eyes at him, and Max heard the distinct rumble of a growl. “Second, I’m open to a poly arrangement. I can handle a relationship with more than one person. The question is, do you want that too?”
Did he? Barely two weeks ago, Jake had betrayed him in every way possible and ended up dead because of it. He may not have thought Jake was forever, but he at least had trusted the bastard. The last thing he ever thought possible was that he’d Spark and then be bound to three shifters. Or have the Order after him, along with probably every corrupt person with any significant power in the damn city. “I’ve never even had a serious relationship before,” he said, tearing pieces off his sandwich and feeding some to Aradia.
