Nysys

by Catherine Lievens

  With one last glance around the kitchen, Morin went to bed. To sleep.

  Chapter Three

  “I know you’re hiding something.”

  Nysys scowled at the clouds outside Morin’s kitchen window, since he couldn’t scowl at Keenan. “I’m not hiding anything.”

  “You are.”

  “Am not.”

  “Nysys.”

  “Keenan.”

  “You know me. I won’t let it go until you tell me everything.”

  “There’s nothing to tell.”

  “Okay, I see you’re going to make this difficult. How about you tell me what Morin is like instead?”

  Nysys knew Keenan was just trying to make him spill the beans in a roundabout way, but he really had only two choices. He could hang up and stop talking to Keenan, or he could beat Keenan at his own game. Since he needed to continue talking to him, the choice was obvious. “He’s just a guy.”

  “Hair?”

  “Yeah, he has hair.”

  “Ha ha, very funny. Come on, give me something, man!”

  Nysys sighed. “You know, this is why I haven’t called earlier.”

  “You just want to keep him for yourself.”

  Keenan didn’t know just how true that was, and Nysys didn’t want him to find out. “He’s normal, I guess. Brown hair, brown eyes. Tall. Normal.”

  “You’re no fun.”

  “I know. I’m only on my second cup of coffee.”

  “That explains it. How is it going, then?”

  “I still haven’t seen the killer.”

  “And it’s been, what? A week?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Maybe the guy went on vacation.”

  “It’s not funny, you know.”

  “Yeah, but it’s better than worrying.”

  Nysys was very worried, but he kept it hidden. Not only had the killer basically disappeared, but Nysys was having a hard time staying away from Morin. He found himself acting warm and friendly one moment, then realizing he was doing it and pulling away, throwing up a cool wall of silence or bad humor between them. He suspected the man was thoroughly confused by his bipolar attitude, and he couldn’t blame him. Nysys confused himself most of the time, so why should someone else understand him?

  “Nothing new then?”

  “Nope. I’ll let you and Dominic know if something does happen.”

  “Okay. Just remember to shimmer in Dominic’s office if you need anything.”

  They said their goodbyes and Nysys was left with nothing to do but staring at the clouds. It was still early, too early even for Morin to be awake. Nysys hadn’t been sleeping well since he’d arrived in New York, and when he’d woken at four AM he’d known it was no use trying to fall asleep again. The three and a half hours of sleep he’d had would have to be enough.

  Nysys sipped at his second coffee and wondered how many he’d need to feel human again. Not that he’d ever find that out. It wasn’t like he was ever human in the first place. The thought made him snort.

  “What’s so funny?”

  Nysys turned on his stool and faced Morin. His mate. Gods, it was still both weird and exhilarating to think he’d found his mate, even if he didn’t think he’d ever actually tell Morin about their connection. Probably not, anyway.

  Morin was rich and successful. He was the head of a huge company, he worked his ass off every day, and he had men and women both falling at his feet. Nysys was glad the man was always so absorbed in his work that he didn’t notice it. Even his assistant made cow eyes at him, but to no avail.

  Nysys... Nysys was a failure. He knew it, everyone knew it, and he couldn’t understand why everyone ignored that fact.

  “Nysys?”

  Nysys’ head snapped up at the sound of Morin’s voice. Morin had moved closer and was reaching out to him with one hand, as if he were about to touch Nysys. Nysys shook his head and inched backward in his stool. “Yes?”

  “Nothing. You were just lost for a minute.”

  “I was thinking, that’s all. I know it doesn’t happen often, so maybe you should memorize my thinking face. You know, as a souvenir of the moment.”

  Nysys wanted to hit himself. It wouldn’t do for him to be too self-deprecating in front of someone, even Morin. The man hated it as much as Keenan and Nysys’ other friends did, and he always tried to cheer Nysys up. It didn’t work.

  Morin frowned. “Why do you do that?”

  “Why do I do what?”

  “Putting yourself down like that.”

  Nysys shrugged and turned in his seat. He cupped his mug with both hands and blew on the hot coffee, but Morin wasn’t so easily ignored. He walked around the counter to face Nysys again, and unless Nysys wanted to be obvious about it, he couldn’t turn way again.

  “So? Why do you do it?”

  “Why do you care? We’re not friends.”

  Morin frowned again. “I’d like to be, though. You’re the one keeping distance between us.”

  “Why should we be friends? It’s not like I’m ever going to see you again after this, anyway.”

  “We could see each other again. You can shimmer around, it shouldn’t be a problem for you to come here to New York if you wanted to see me.”

  “Who said I wanted to see you again?” The light in Morin’s eyes dimmed and Nysys felt a rush of shame go through him. “Okay, I shouldn’t have said that. Sorry.”

  “No, it’s fine. You obviously don’t like me. There’s nothing much I can do to change that.”

  Morin made to walk away and something in Nysys cried out. He needed to reassure his mate, to tell him he didn’t hate him. “Wait. I don’t... it’s not that I don’t like you. I do, actually.”

  “Then why did we just have this conversation?”

  “I just don’t see the point in faking all this. I don’t think you’ll really want to see me again after this.”

  Morin leaned back against the counter behind him and crossed his arms on his chest. “Oh yeah? And just how would you know that? Are you in my head?”

  Nysys shook his head. “No, but it’s kind of obvious.”

  “What’s obvious, Nysys?”

  “That we’re too different. You can’t like me, not really.”

  Morin looked like he wanted to argue that, but he just sighed. “I wish you could see yourself as you really are instead of whatever image you made up in your head.”

  “I do.”

  “No, not really. I don’t know what happened to you, but someone convinced you that you weren’t worth anything. You don’t see yourself like I see you.”

  Nysys bit on his lower lip. Did he really want to go there? “And how do you see me?” he whispered, his focus on the marble counter.

  He heard Morin move, the rustle of clothes, then felt a hand on his chin, tilting his face up. Morin was in front of him, his eyes soft.

  “You don’t know how many times I had to talk myself out of doing this during the past week.”

  “Of doing what?”

  Nysys’ brain short-circuited as soon as Morin started to lean in. Morin moved slowly, leaving Nysys all the time he wanted to lean away, to refuse the kiss that was clearly coming, but Nysys found himself unable to do it. He had imagined this very moment hundreds of times over the past week, but he’d never thought it would come. He’d never noticed any interest from Morin.

  He wanted to pull away, to stop his heart from hoping this meant he could claim his mate, that they could live together and have their own happy-ever-after. He even started to move backward, his warm mug still clenched in both his hands, his fingers refusing to let it go, but Morin’s other hand on his nape stopped him. It seemed the man had decided that since Nysys hadn’t reacted sooner, he was okay with the kiss. Nysys tried to pull away harder when he realized it, but it was too late.

  Soft lips were on his, pressing slowly, and Nysys surrendered.

  * * * *

 
; Morin waited for a punch, or at best a slap, but neither came.

  His lips were still pressed against Nysys’, but that was all. He wasn’t trying to get Nysys to open his mouth to let him in, not yet anyway. He’d taken the first step. Now he wanted to know if Nysys would take the next one.

  Morin moved away but kept his hand behind Nysys’ neck. It wasn’t the most comfortable position, but it kept Nysys close.

  “Why did you do it?” Nysys whispered. His eyes were huge in his face, and he was looking at Morin in wonder.

  “Because I felt like it. Because I’ve wanted to do it since the first time I saw you.”

  “You did?”

  “Yes. No more talking about how we’re different and how you don’t deserve me and all that crap.”

  “But—”

  Morin closed the distance between them again. Nysys squeaked when their lips met for the second time, and Morin took the opportunity to push his tongue in, mapping Nysys’ mouth, his teeth, his tongue, and by the time he was done, Nysys had surrendered. Morin felt him sag against the counter and place a tentative hand on his shoulder, touching hesitantly as if he was afraid Morin would suddenly push him away.

  Nothing could have been farther from the truth. Morin didn’t want to push Nysys away, not now that he’d tasted the man. Now he wanted to pull Nysys closer, to haul him over the counter and into his arms. Nysys seemed to want the same thing, because he grabbed at Morin’s shoulders with both hands and suddenly they were standing on the other side of the kitchen with nothing between them.

  Something whizzed by where they’d been standing only seconds earlier and one of the glass cabinets exploded. Morin and Nysys jumped apart, and Morin reacted as fast as he could. He pushed Nysys to the floor and pressed his body on top of his, but nothing else came.

  Still, Morin waited, listening for an intruder. When he heard nothing, he risked a peek around the kitchen. One of the cabinet fronts was gone, the broken glass glistening in the soft morning light coming from the open kitchen window. It was everywhere—the counter, the floor, the other counter, inside the cabinet.

  “Wha—what happened?”

  “Someone shot at the cabinet.”

  “They tried to kill you again.”

  “Yes. If you hadn’t shimmered us away from the counter...”

  “You wouldn’t be talking to me right now.”

  “Yeah.”

  “Is it safe now? Can we...” Nysys took a shuddering breath. “Is it safe to get up?”

  “I think so. The killer didn’t even shoot twice. I think he’s already long gone.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Yes. He probably ran when he saw we weren’t in sight anymore.” Morin stood up and offered Nysys his hand. Nysys looked shaken, even if he should have been the one to save Morin rather than the other way around. Not that Morin cared about the fact that Nysys clearly didn’t know what he was doing when it came to the killer—he wouldn’t have exchanged Nysys with anyone else, not now that he’d had a chance to kiss the guy. He’d also started to get to know him over the past week, and he liked what he saw.

  Nysys took Morin’s hand and Morin pulled him up. Nysys stumbled and Morin put a hand on his hip, holding him close. Nysys leaned into him, still shaking, and Morin found himself relishing the contact. He knew the killer was after him, but he could have hit Nysys. That made the entire situation even scarier than it already was, and Morin’s first impulse was to send Nysys back to Whitedell.

  “You?”

  “Me what?”

  “Are you okay? You weren’t hit, right?” Nysys’ hands landed on Morin’s chest and moved up, then along his shoulders, his arms, checking there were no injuries.

  Morin took Nysys’ hands in his and gently pushed them away. “I’m fine. I was over here with you, remember? You saved my life.”

  Nysys shook his head. “I didn’t mean to. Wait, that didn’t come out right. I’m so very glad I did save you, but it’s not what I was trying to do. I’m obviously crap at this protecting thing. I shimmered you away just because I wanted to make out with you in a more comfortable position. Shit!”

  Nysys pulled his hands away and pressed them together as he started pacing the kitchen. “You should ask Dominic to send someone else. It’s obvious I can’t protect you.”

  “Nysys, don’t fret. Yes, I was lucky you decided to shimmer us away just in time, but even a highly trained person wouldn’t have been able to do anything different. If it had been anyone else I’d be dead now, no matter how trained another bodyguard had been.”

  Nysys didn’t look convinced—in fact, he never stopped pacing the kitchen and wringing his hands. Morin wasn’t sure anything he said would help, so he turned his attention to his wrecked kitchen instead. They needed to clean the glass up and order a new cupboard door for the cabinet. Not anything he wanted to do first thing in the morning.

  “Dominic?”

  Morin turned around. Nysys had stopped pacing and was talking on his phone, his face frozen in a frown.

  “Yes, they tried again. No, he’s fine. I shimmered him away just in time. I’m okay too.”

  Morin placed himself in front of Nysys and wiggled his fingers at him. Nysys frowned, but he passed Morin the phone anyway.

  “Dominic?”

  “Morin? Everything all right?”

  “Yes, yes. Nysys managed to move us away just in time. He was great.” Nysys opened his mouth, probably to protest, but Morin shook his head. “He doesn’t believe it and I think he wants to ask you to go home and have someone else take his place, but I want to keep him.”

  Nysys’ mouth flapped open and closed as he squeaked in indignation, but Morin just smiled at him.

  “He really wants to come home?”

  “He thinks he’s bad at this.” If Morin was honest, he shared Nysys’ opinion, but that didn’t mean he wanted the man gone.

  “What do you want? You’re the one in danger here.”

  “I want him to stay. No one else would have managed to move me away in time.”

  “Tell him he’s staying then. I’ll see both of you at the end of the month.”

  Morin ended the call and handed the phone back to Nysys.

  “Why did you tell him that?”

  “I just wanted to be sure you wouldn’t leave.” Morin reached for Nysys. He just wanted to hug the man and try to reassure him a bit, but Nysys moved away and looked at the mess on the other side of the kitchen.

  “We should clean this up before one of us steps into the glass and hurts himself. You also should call Dominic again and ask him if they found something on your killer and on who could have hired him. I’ll go grab the broom and the vacuum.”

  “Wait, Nysys.”

  Nysys shook his head and walked away. Morin knew the kisses between them were already forgotten, buried behind the walls Nysys had rebuilt to keep Morin away.

  “Damn!”

  Morin would have to restart from the beginning and try to break Nysys’ shell again. It hadn’t been easy the first time and he didn’t expect it to be easy the second time either. He’d do it, though. When Morin wanted something he generally got it, and he already had the proof Nysys liked him. He wouldn’t have kissed Morin back if he didn’t, and he wouldn’t have shimmered them where they could be closer.

  Morin’s hand twitched. He could still feel Nysys’ warmth on it. He itched to touch him again, but even when he appeared at the door with Morin’s broom in one hand and the vacuum in the other, Morin knew he couldn’t do it. Not soon, anyway.

  He sighed and held a hand out to take the broom, mentally cursing whoever was after him for making his life more difficult than ever.

  * * * *

  “What do you want to do today?”

  Nysys looked up from the soggy cereals in his bowl. He hadn’t wanted to have breakfast, not after Morin had almost died, but Morin hadn’t taken no for an answer. “Don’t you have to go to work?”r />
  “I think nearly dying gives me the right to take a free day.”

  “Won’t the company fail or, I don’t know, the building explode if you disappear for one day?”

  Morin chuckled. “It’s not like I’m the only one working there. Besides, at this point I really don’t care if the company fails. I’m thinking about selling it anyway. I’d close it completely if I could, but I can’t make all those people lose their jobs.”

  Nysys put his spoon down. “You want to close the company?”

  “Yes. I worked there ever since I got out of college, but I never saw the ugliness behind the façade my father built. When my father disappeared and I found out about the labs... I would have run away if I could have. The company is corrupted, and I have no intention on running that place longer than I have to. I don’t think it can be cleaned up, not without help from the outside.”

  “What are you going to do, then?”

  Morin sighed. “I need to sell it to someone who knows about the paranormal world, I think. I’m not sure I can completely get rid of the illegal part of the company, not soon anyway. And some of the experiments did have results that could help both humans and shifters. It would be a pity not to use them.”

  “Maybe you should ask Dominic if he knows someone.”

  “I’ll do that.” Morin put both elbows on the counter and leaned his chin on his joined hands. “Now, what do you want to do today?”

  “How can you even think about having fun after what just happened? Shouldn’t we be looking for the killer and whoever hired them?”

  Morin shrugged. “I am looking for them, and so is your council. I have people doing what they can to find both, and I can’t do anything on my own. As for the having fun part... what good is dwelling on it going to do to me?”

  “You’d be even more of a target if we go out.”

  “The killer left me alone for weeks after the first time he tried and failed to kill me. I hope he’ll do the same this time.”

  “What if he doesn’t? You shouldn’t risk it.”

  “I can’t stay locked away at home or in my office until we find them. What if we don’t?”