Page 22 of The Shapeshifter’s Secretary (Charmed Away Temp Agency #3)

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Taron didn’t want to move. He knew he had to. Now that Tony was taken care of, he had an almost incessant voice in the back of his head demanding he feed the man. He’d been so pissed off after that interaction with the demon that he went ahead to the club, skipping out on dinner entirely. If he was hungry, no doubt Tony was, too. But when he tried to pull away so he could get breakfast started, Tony’s arms tightened around him, and he let out a grumble of protest. Taron’s heart soared at the obvious display of affection, and it took all of his self control to convince himself to get out of bed.

“I need to feed you, a thaisce. We skipped dinner. Take your time getting up. It's Saturday. We’re in no rush.”

Tony’s pout put Taron’s to shame when he finally opened his eyes. Taron wavered, seriously contemplating ignoring his growling stomach. Could they order delivery to the bed? No, not without a key. Damn.

Zephyr pressed a kiss to Tony’s shoulder and sat up, drawing Taron’s gaze as he stretched. His mouth went dry seeing all that golden skin on display and had to shake himself out of the stupor the handsome man put him in. Did the stupid thunderchicken have to be so good looking? It was annoying.

He didn’t trust Zephyr not to head for the kitchen himself and steal Taron’s thunder, so he finally forced himself away from the delicious man in his bed, pressing a quick kiss to his lips.

“Breakfast. Any allergies?”

Humans had those. Most supes didn’t. Still, it was polite to ask.

Tony started to shake his head, then paused. “Uh… Peanuts. I forgot for a second. I usually make my own food.”

Ah. Well, that wasn’t a big problem. None of his breakfast plans had peanuts in it anyway.

Zephyr turned to look at him with a frown. “How allergic, exactly? Do you need an epi pen?”

Taron had no idea what that was, but it sounded serious. Tony shook his head. “No. It’s mild. I mostly just break out in hives.”

Shooting Zephyr a questioning look, since he seemed to have more information on the matter, he waited for an explanation. Which, thankfully, Zephyr obliged to give him. “Itchy spots. They don’t look pleasant. But repeated exposure could make the allergy worse, so if you have anything that has peanuts, keep it away from him.”

He pursed his lips thoughtfully. “Aside from a jar of peanut butter, I don’t think I have anything with peanuts here. I’ll check the labels just to be sure.”

With that, he smacked one more kiss on Tony’s lips and slipped out of bed, heading to the bathroom to clean up. Because he was an excellent host, he got out two extra toothbrushes from his stash under the sink, both still in their wrapping, and set out towels so they could shower. He would hop in himself after he fed Tony. He did a quick clean up and grabbed some lounge pants for himself and his guests. They’d be a little small for Zephyr, but if he had a problem with that, he could go home and change. Actually, that would make Taron very happy. Then he could have the rest of the weekend alone with Tony. He needed that long to get the image of Zephyr’s orgasm face out of his head. Did he have to be so sexy all the time? Seriously.

He hummed to himself, checking the labels on things while imagining what he and Tony could do for fun this weekend. Nothing with a lot of walking, that’s for sure. Museums were out. Parks too. Maybe they could go see a movie? Taron knew of a really nice theater with big squashy seats that could fully recline. They even delivered food straight to your seat and served alcohol.

“Where do you keep the salve?” Zephyr asked behind him.

Taron turned around, frowning at him. “I don’t have any on hand. Why?”

“Tony’s prosthetic doesn’t fit right. He’s got cuts in his leg from the chafing.”

Horrified, Taron dropped what he was doing and hurried back to the bedroom. Tony sat on the edge of the bed, his lower half covered in a sheet, his head ducked and a deep frown on his face. Taron wished he could make the poor man feel better about himself somehow. It didn’t matter to Taron how many injuries he had or to what severity. Tony was still a beautiful person in his eyes.

Kneeling in front of him, Taron put his hand gently on Tony’s good leg. “A thaisce? Where are you hurt?”

“It’s fine,” he murmured, refusing to look up.

With a heavy sigh, Taron cupped his face to force him to look at him. The poor man’s eyes swam with unshed tears, the embarrassment written all over his face. Taron rested their foreheads together, his voice low and soothing.

“It’s not fine that you’re in pain, Tony. Let us help you. Please?”

Tony leaned into him with a whimper. The bed shifted as Zephyr sat down next to him. Taron didn’t complain when he wrapped an arm around Tony’s shoulders, giving him another form of support. Tony needed all the support he could get. And begrudgingly he could admit that Zephyr gave excellent hugs back in the day. Tony deserved that.

They took a minute to cuddle and hold Tony, letting him feel with their actions that they were there to help. When Tony finally relented, it was with a layer of trepidation, his hands shaking as he drew the sheet up out of the way.

“It’s already healing. It’s fine. It just chafes a little.”

Taron studied the injury with a frown. It didn’t look like it was healing. The scabbed-over cuts with bright red irritated skin surrounding them looked painful. Tony had a sock-like piece of fabric halfway covering his leg that looked like it was meant to protect his skin from the plastic of the prosthetic, but it was doing a poor job of it. At most, it kept the scabs from ripping open.

“You think a salve? Wouldn’t a potion be better?” he queried Zephyr.

“I don’t know any pharmacies in the city that would have anything that works fast. A salve will at least help with the pain.”

He pursed his lips. It would help with the pain, yes, but only temporarily. Until the cuts healed, they’d keep being a problem.

“I could call the doctor, but he’ll charge extra to come on his days off.”

“Or we can bring him to my grandmother. She’ll have something to help,” Zephyr suggested.

Taron made a face. Technically, he wasn’t wrong. His grandmother was an amazing healer. Not a druid, she couldn’t heal like they could, but she was the shaman of their convocation and amazing at what she did. But Taron hadn’t been around Zephyr’s family since they stopped speaking to each other. It felt safer to call the old druid and pay his exorbitant fees rather than face the convocation.

Even if the last time he had to see the man after hours, his mother had had to pay in magic. It wasn’t a pleasant process in the slightest.

Taron was still thinking it over when Tony started to argue. “Really, I’m fine. It’ll heal on its own. I don’t need anything special.”

“Baby, it’s going to get infected if you keep ignoring it,” Zephyr replied, frowning at him. “I understand your reluctance, given what I’ve seen and heard about the human health system, but we have the resources to help you. Don’t make yourself suffer just to save face.”

Taron probably could’ve found a nicer way to say that, but Tony needed to hear it. He was letting his embarrassment override his need for medical care. Like Taron was letting his prevent Tony from getting what he needed. He sighed.

“Let’s take him to your grandmother. But we need another option for his cane first. It wouldn’t be safe for him to bring the one he has.”

Zephyr nodded in agreement. “Why don’t I go ahead and make sure there’s transportation waiting near the portal? I’ll grab something from home for him to use, too. That way, Tony won’t have to stand around waiting while I fly home.”

The plan made, Taron and Zephyr got dressed for the day. Tony was reluctant, but with two dominant males urging him, he didn’t have a lot of room to argue. Taron would make up for their pushiness later, after he was comfortable and no longer in danger of an infection. Whatever that was.

* * *

Tony thought about making some kind of excuse to go home. It really wasn’t that bad. It hurt worse the first few days, but at this point, it was just an irritation. He didn’t need help. But secretly, he loved the two men fussing over him. He hadn’t had a single person who cared for him like this since before he was injured, and he didn’t want to say something that would make them stop. If they were so determined to help him, why not enjoy it while he could?

Zephyr left first so he could prepare things on his end. Tony wasn’t entirely sure where he was going, but they mentioned a portal, so he assumed either a far distance or a different realm. He’d never been to a different realm before, aside from the one last night where he didn’t get to look around much, so that thought was a little exciting. Taron made him breakfast while they waited for word from Zephyr that they could head over, and they ate on the couch where Tony would be more comfortable than on the stools in the kitchen.

“Can we… maybe stop at my place first? I need to change.”

Taron looked away from the TV, where they’d been watching a reality show while they were eating. Taron liked reality game shows. Tony didn’t really have an opinion on them, but he liked Taron’s excited commentary, so he didn’t say anything about it.

“Oh. Sure. Where is it? We can head out as soon as we’re done if it's far.”

He frowned thoughtfully. “I don’t actually know where we are, so I can’t say how far it is.”

Taron looked confused for a second before it clicked. He laughed, shaking his head. “I totally forgot we teleported here last night. I live about ten blocks from Spellbound. I got a place nearby when we were first building and never felt the urge to leave. I like the views here.”

Since he lived in a high rise with an amazing view of the city, Tony could understand why. He even had a corner apartment, so two walls were entirely windows and the view wrapped around the place. Tony had spent the time while Taron was cooking enjoying the view.

“I’m only a few stations away from Spellbound, but on the human side of town. It was, uh… all that I could afford.”

He was embarrassed to admit how much he was struggling. He got a little disability money from the government for his service, but the amount was getting lower and lower as they reallocated that money to things like weapons development. He hoped the military wasn’t getting any stupid ideas about fighting the supes again. He’d definitely not participate in any of that.

Taron’s smile was soft and understanding. “I promise I won’t judge you. You should have seen the place Avery lived in before he mated with Ozen. It was tiny, but he was paying off his mother’s medical bills after a long illness, and he couldn’t afford better.” He shrugged. “Everyone struggles sometimes.”

It was actually a relief to hear that. Not Avery struggling with money, that sucked no matter who was going through it, but Taron’s easy acceptance of it. He wasn’t an elitist, despite owning one of the most successful companies in the world. Tony liked that about him.

He helped clean up, ignoring Taron’s protests, and got dressed in his own clothes. His suit would definitely need a dry clean after spending the night on the floor, but in Tony’s opinion, it was totally worth it. From the way they were acting, neither Taron nor Zephyr were interested in stopping whatever they were doing. And no one mentioned him getting fired even once. Maybe for now, Tony could just be happy for a little while. At least until his contract was up and they all went their separate ways.