Page 23 of The Shapeshifter’s Secretary (Charmed Away Temp Agency #3)

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Taron was so very wrong. When Tony told him that he couldn’t afford much in the way of an apartment, he assumed it’d look something similar to where Avery had lived. He didn’t think it could actually get worse. Then again, Avery hadn’t lived on the human side of town. Taron had never been out here before. Even though most humans were accepting of supes now, there were a few groups who definitely weren’t, and it wasn’t safe to come out here without an escort.

Tony’s place was… a shoe box. Worse than a shoe box. It was basically a glorified college dorm room. And–

“Where is the bathroom?”

“Down the hall,” Tony said absentmindedly, grimacing a little while he grabbed a handle on the one person bed and pulled, lifting the thin mattress to reveal storage underneath it. He didn’t even have a closet. His kitchen was one counter, a sink, and a one-burner cooktop. Taron didn’t even realize those existed. He didn’t even have to shift his form to touch the opposite walls.

“Tony…”

Tony looked over his shoulder, frowning at him, as he set the mattress back into place. When he carefully maneuvered himself to sit on the edge of it, the whole thing creaked ominously. Who the hell treated their own kind like this?

“Taron? Are you okay?”

Was he okay? No! He was absolutely not okay. The sweetest man on the planet was living in an apartment smaller than his closet while disabled and in pain, and no one said anything about it. Why were his neighbors okay with him living like this?

Thankfully, his phone rang before he could start ranting. He didn’t want to upset Tony. He forced himself to smile, gesturing to the man. “I’m going to take this in the hall. Unless you need help?”

The mattress did not look comfortable in the slightest. Sleeping on that certainly wouldn’t help Tony’s pain.

Amusement flashed across Tony’s face for a moment. “I’m good. I’ve been getting dressed by myself for a while now. I can handle it.”

Taron had so many flirty comments he could toss back, but he needed to answer the phone and give himself a minute to breathe. He was going to lose control if he didn’t do something about this. He just wasn’t sure how to go about it without pushing Tony around.

“I’ll be right back, a thaisce.”

Stepping into the hall, he put the phone to his ear, keeping his voice low since the walls were probably thin in such a shitty apartment.

“Zephyr,” he murmured, putting his animosity and conflicted emotions toward the thunderbird aside for a moment. “How fast can you get here?”

“What’s wrong?” Zephyr demanded. Taron resisted the urge to roll his eyes. The jerk knew that tone pissed him off. He used it anyway. Taron chose to ignore it. They had more important things to deal with.

“Tony requested to stop by his… I can’t even call it an apartment. It’s awful, Zephyr. We need to get him out of here.”

“What do you need from me?” There was worry in his tone, more than Taron was okay with. If he didn’t need backup, he wouldn’t have asked in the first place. But after over a week of working with Tony, Taron knew how hard it was to convince him to go along with things. Tony didn’t like being a burden and didn’t know either of them well enough before last night to accept that he wasn’t.

“I’m going to need help with convincing him to move in with me. There’s no way in hell I’m leaving him here.”

Zephyr was quiet for a moment, and Taron felt like there was an argument brewing, but now wasn’t the time for one of Zephyr’s lectures about letting people make their own choices. It would be hard enough stalling Tony until Zephyr got here.

“Just get here. I’ll text you the address,” he growled, hanging up before Zephyr could start. Once he saw the place, he’d agree with Taron that Tony couldn’t stay here.

After sending the address, he slipped back inside to find Tony completely undressed and blushing straight to his hairline. Taron sighed happily, leaning his back against the door.

“Goddess, you are gorgeous. If we had the space, I’d ravish you for that little surprise. But here is definitely not the place. Do you need help?”

Thankfully, Tony’s embarrassment seemed to be more about being caught undressed rather than Taron seeing his scars. It helped that Taron paid them no mind. He didn't want to upset Tony by studying them. He’d seen enough to know it was bad. He didn’t need to be a dick about it.

“I, uh… I can handle it.”

He said that, but he didn’t move, his hands in his lap hiding his cock. Taron tipped his head at the blushing man.

“What’s wrong?”

Tony ducked his head, mumbling under his breath. Taron didn’t catch what he said, so he wandered closer. He didn’t push or get annoyed. He just waited. Tony was full of insecurities. If Taron wanted him to pick him in the end, he had to be patient.

“I, uh… I forgot to grab underwear…” Tony murmured again.

Taron looked down at the pile of clothes, then back to Tony, before it clicked. His clothes were under the bed. Which meant Tony would have to stand and bend over to get it, and Taron would be given a hell of a show. A part of him wanted to feign innocence, because he’d kill to see that, but he knew Tony wasn’t ready for that kind of teasing yet. Not until Taron got him to understand that he was beautiful, scars and all.

“Want me to turn around?”

Tony nodded sheepishly. Taron’s lips twitched against a smile, and he pressed a chaste kiss to Tony’s lips before heading for the tiny window to look outside. It was close enough that he could grab Tony if he fell, but it kept his back to the deliciously naked man to give him a modicum of privacy. Of course, there wasn’t an actual view out the window, so that was pretty much moot. There was a small alley between Tony’s building and the building his window faced. No view aside from a brick wall and the opposite neighbor’s window. It would piss him off if he didn’t plan on taking Tony home with him.

“Taron?”

Tony’s shy voice drew Taron’s attention, but he paused before turning fully. “Can I turn around or not yet?”

“It’s okay now.” Tony’s voice was warm, and when Taron turned around, he was still blushing, but he looked pleased. He was also still only in a pair of boxers. He gestured clumsily to the outfit beside him.

“Could you… I don’t wear jeans much anymore. It’s hard to bend like that to put them over my prosthetic. But I don’t feel comfortable wearing sweats to meet Zephyr’s grandmother. Can you help me?”

Taron softened, giving Tony a reassuring smile. “Always, a thaisce. Is it easier to sit or stand?”

They worked together to get Tony dressed, and Taron made a note of every twinge and wince along the way. He would definitely need to find a better option for Tony’s prosthetic. A few ideas flitted through his head, but he’d need to take the time to talk them out with the research team. They’d never designed for humans before, and a few researchers might have a problem with that, but he knew a few who would be up for the challenge and accepting of the patient. Taron knew everyone on the research team. He knew who he could count on to help.

* * *

Zephyr arrived not long after Tony was finished getting dressed. Taron had convinced the man to rest, since they had a lot of moving around to do to get to Zephyr’s family home and distracted him with current office drama. Since Taron was always wandering, he heard a lot. People also liked to talk to him because he was a friendly guy and didn’t act like the CEO. He had all the best gossip to share.

The knock on the door interrupted them, and Taron moved to answer it himself to spare Tony getting up again, speaking over his shoulder while he did. “So, they both ended up starting an emotional affair… with each other. Neither had any idea their new companions online were actually their spouses looking to make friends on the forum.”

He opened the door, and his lip twitched against a scowl. He needed Zephyr here, as much as he loathed to admit it.

“Zephyr?” Tony queried, tipping his head ever so slightly. “I thought we were meeting you, not the other way around.”

Zephyr gave Tony one of his patented charming smiles, but the expression flickered when he looked around. Taron nodded.

“See? I told you.”

“Told him what?” Tony looked confused, a frown pulling at those perfect lips.

After sharing another glance with Zephyr to make sure they were on the same page, he turned to face Tony fully.

“A thaisce… You can’t stay here anymore.”

Tony’s confusion only grew, and his gaze flicked between the two of them for an answer. “What are you talking about?”

In unison, they moved to sit on either side of Tony on the tiny bed. It squeaked again in protest, and Taron nearly jumped right off again. It was the most uncomfortable bed he’d ever experienced. Oh, his poor Tony.

Taking Tony’s hand, he laced their fingers, squeezing gently. “This place isn’t good for you, sweetheart. Don’t worry. We’ll find you something better. In the meantime, you’ll come stay with me.”

Tony shook his head hard enough to make himself wince. “No, I’m fine here. It’s not that bad. I–”

“There isn’t an elevator,” Zephyr pointed out.

Yeah, that had been a seriously unpleasant surprise when they’d arrived. Tony lived on the third floor and was grimacing and breathing like he ran a marathon by the time they got up the second flight of stairs. Taron was on edge, almost shifting his form so he could carry Tony the rest of the way. Only the reminder that this was a human only building kept him steady.

Zephyr continued, distracting him. “In an emergency, how would you get out safely? There’s no magic here to safely remove you from the building. And what about the bathroom? Is there an accessible tub or shower? How do you manage when you have to share?”

So he’d noticed that too, huh? What kind of building made people share a bathroom?

Tony frowned at his hands in his lap, his posture dejected and ashamed. It broke Taron’s heart to see such a sweet man looking so upset. Drawing their linked hands to his lips, he kissed the back of Tony’s hand, catching his attention.

“You deserve so much better than the hand you’ve been given. I have the resources to help you. Let me help.”

Tony shook his head slowly. “I don’t… You shouldn’t have to take care of me. It’s not a healthy relationship if you do everything for me.”

The word relationship lit him up inside until he felt like he was going to burst. It took Zephyr reaching around Tony to pinch his shoulder to bring him back under control. He shot a glare at the thunderbird before giving Tony his attention again.

“First of all, you take care of me just as much as I take care of you. I can’t function at work without you running my schedule for me. And secondly, I happen to love spoiling the people I’m in a relationship with. That’s just something you’ll have to get used to, I’m afraid.”

A flicker of something like adoration flashed across Tony’s face before it turned back into a frown.

“I don’t want to be a burden…”

Leaning close, Zephyr nuzzled his head against Tony’s temple. “You are not a burden, baby. You just happened to have chosen two dominant males who like taking care of their partners. We want to take care of you. Leaving you in a place like this, knowing it only adds to your pain, isn’t something I could live with. If you aren’t comfortable living with Taron, you can stay with me. It’s a farther commute, but I want you to be comfortable.”

Taron’s head whipped up, and he bared his teeth in a silent snarl. The only reason he didn’t let the noise come out was because Tony was stuck in the middle of them. He didn’t like how often they argued with him in the middle.

Zephyr gave him a look that said he wasn’t backing down. So much for a truce.