Page 77 of Peacock Me Like a Hurricane

We share a fond smile about the clone we both love, and I shrug, not wanting to make a big deal of how much I enjoy his over-pampering. No one needs to know what a present, even a small one, costs when given by the others. “He is. It’s endearing.”

Her brow creases as she watches me, and she clears her throat. “I wanted you to know something. I feel like I should tell you this myself, even though I know that you and Taurus talked about this. We kind of talked about it the last time I was here, too, but it’s come up again.”

I wait, watching her go through a few contortions as she organizes her thoughts. Whatever this is, I’m almost positive that it is not good news. She’s too on edge.

“I felt out the courting thing with Wilde. I’m still not sure about it and it may be a terrible idea, but I’m curious.”

My breath catches. The moment I’ve been dreading is here. I can’t sit here and spill the truth. I can’t.

Scenes flash through my mind at light speed and I feel my entire body tense and the air in the room thicken. ‘Control, Deli, control’, I whisper to myself internally. I hear my words, but my mind is reliving everything in a fast forward highlight reel of pain and shame and fear, and if I don’t figure out how to put it back in its box, I’m going to do something stupid.

The Beast lifts Her head and with the elegance of a predator, She joins with me without forcing me to shift. Her strength and that of a lingering Goddess seem to forge a shield that I place around the awful memories. Once I do, everything inside lightens up and the room feels calmer.

Thank the Goddess.

Talia’s looking at me, and it seems like eternity lapses before I force words out of my mouth. “Thanks for letting me know.”

“I thought as Taurus’ and Wilde’s mate, I should let you know that I’m going along with this. I’m certain it means we’ll sleep together at some point.”

Oh, this is bad. It is a colossally, irretrievably bad idea.

Wilde will use Talia up and spit her out, and I won’t be able to stop it. She’ll never be okay with being one of the crowd that follows him around like puppies. However, I can’t tell her it will be nothing but pain once he’s reeled her in without giving away my own secrets.

I don’t want to let her get sucked into his vortex because it never ends well. He’s already branching out to new victims besides her: for example, the Beltane ritual bullshit. Amanda spun a story about the Goddess and Wilde and illusions to our group. It’s because she and Sari have become bosom buddies. An affair with Wilde for her and a fling with Constantine for Sari is not far off. Trust me, I know how it works.

“I...” I press my lips together and only come up with a lame answer. “I hope you’re cautious. There’s a lot of baggage there, known and unknown. Don’t get in too deep, too fast.”

“Like you and the feathered one?”

I roll my eyes. “Perhaps. It’s overwhelming for him, and compared to Wilde, I’m easy street.”

Looking at my hands for a moment, I feel ashamed that I don’t have the strength to tell her what she needs to know. I’m not ready to look at it, much less show her the mirror. I’m a terrible mate and a worse person for not stopping her, but I don’t know how to without giving up the ugliness that reigned before Taurus. It hasn’t touched me in so long, but I don’t want it back and without him, that’s where I’ll be.

She clears her throat, giving me a half-grin. “Taurus says you’re a little sissy.”

I narrow my eyes. “That almost got him skinned.”

“Oh, no, wait. It wassassy.”

“Clones. You can’t live with them, and you can’t sell them on the black market.”

She laughs. “It was a mistake, and he ran with it!”

“Being an ass,” I grumble good-naturedly.

“All that matters is the tightness of said ass, I’m told.”

“Are you calling him a tight ass? That’d be funny,” I grin, waving a hand at the bar and sighing as another perfectly chilled martini appears in front of me. Taking a sip, I let the sting of glacially cold vodka hit my tongue and distract me from the bits of icky goo floating inside me since I had my greatest hits slideshow.

“I said no such thing. I know what side of the bed to butter, thanks. Plus, he’s so proud of his ass.”

I snort and sip my drink. “That I know.”

“I suppose I should tell the big bird he can come in now. He’s itching again, I think.”

I smile, tilting my head. Oh, thank the Goddess, because I need to get myself centered again. “Well, if he wants to come to see me.”

“I’m pretty sure he does.” She mutters under her breath and shakes her head. “Like newlyweds, I bloody swear.”

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