Page 2 of Flint's Arrow
“I appreciate you’re his supervisor, or handler, or whatever you call it,” Arrow blustered, “but this is a mating matter – personal. It doesn’t concern you.”
“First and foremost, Flint is my friend.” Cyrus stared into Arrow’s eyes, challenging him to hold his gaze. Arrow held it for all of three seconds before his eyes dropped.
“You need to pay attention. Flint, the man you ridiculed and treated like a sex object, is the best sniper the agency has. He gets flown all over the world for difficult jobs because he’s so damn good. He can outshoot anyone the agency has on their books, and he proves it every time he’s sent out on a job.”
“You’re kidding me. That little guy?” Arrow looked at Python, but he wouldn’t get any help there either. “He barely comes upto my chest. It’s obvious to me he’s been put in this backwater operation to keep him out of harm’s way. He’s a twink!”
Cyrus resisted the urge to slap the man or punch him to the ground. He ran a family business, and he didn’t want to spook any of the locals who’d accepted him and his friends so readily.
“You can think what you like. A simple check of agency records would prove what I’m saying is true, and you already know I’m not lying. Because of the way he looks, marks underestimate Flint all the time, just like you did. That’s one of the reasons why he has one of the highest kill rates in the agency. He never fucks up a job, not even when he had the unfortunate issue of running into you in the middle of an operation.”
Arrow’s eyes flicked between Python and Cyrus. “You know what Flint is to me.”
“Yep, I do.” Cyrus nodded. “According to you, Flint is a pretty little boy-toy who should be sitting at home filing his nails and cooking you big meals while wearing assless pants so that he can bend over every time you bother to walk in the door.”
“But…but…I didn’t use those words. What I said was misconstrued. He probably heard me wrong. I’m sure we can work it out when I find him.”
Python growled. “Our friend deserves a damn sight better than you. You spoke your truth the night you met him. Flint’s response is in that piece of paper he left for you. Now get the fuck out!”
“You can’t keep us apart,” Arrow blustered. “That’s…that’s an offense.”
“I am not keeping you apart,” Cyrus said. “I’m respecting my friend’s wishes. Flint doesn’t want anything to do with you.”
“He can’t do that. He can’t make that decision. What about me?”
“Ooh, I’m so close to just hitting you on your nose with a newspaper and throwing you out myself.” Python glared, and Cyrus noticed the flames in his eyes. “This is on you, puppy. If you hadn’t shoved your fucking foot in your mouth the moment you met him, then maybe you’d have had a chance to have gotten to know Flint, and then you would have realized what an amazing young man he is. You blew it. Tough shit.”
“I can’t just leave.” Arrow shifted from one foot to the other. “I’m getting desperate. I’ve had a hard-on for days, and it just won’t go down. I’m aching here.” He pointed to his crotch. “I need Flint.”
“In other words, you still see Flint as a sex toy.” Cyrus shook his head. Going over to the engine bay of the truck he’d been working on, he found an empty oil bottle. “Here,” he said, chucking it in Arrow’s direction – the wolf was silly enough to catch it. “Use this – it’s already pre-lubed. Now get the fuck out of this workshop and don’t let me see you again until you’ve had a major attitude adjustment.”
“This is between me and Flint,” Arrow said desperately. “You’re getting between us.”
Python laughed. “You think me and my boo are bad? Wait until you start tangling with our resident bear shifter, our chameleon shifter, a pixie with wings and a hell of a lot of attitude, a crocodile shifter, and a pair of bulls that will take you out without breaking a sweat. The only reason you’re not already six feet under is because we don’t want to hurt Flint.
“But there’s a whole army of men who all consider Flint their friend, and who respect the hell out of what he can do in the field. Do you want to try and get through them, puppy? Or do you want to finally face the fact that you were wrong about the gift the Fates sent you? You owe our Flint a king-size apology,and you’re going to need to do some major groveling before he’ll ever speak to you again. Our Flint has respect for himself, which is more than you fucking do.”
Cyrus could see the confusion in Arrow’s eyes.Such a shame that he’s ruled by his dick.But after a minute, when Arrow didn’t say anything at all, Python shook his head and raised his hand. A quick blast of magic, and Arrow was gone.
“I sent him home. I hated doing that.” Python sighed, leaning his head on Cyrus’s shoulder. “Seriously, am I the only one who wanted to slap him stupid? Flint deserves so much better.”
“Arrow’s a wolf. They have an inbuilt elitist attitude, and sometimes it takes a bit to shift the stick out of their asses. The mating pull is stronger than he’ll ever be, though, so we know he’ll be back.”
“And in the meantime, we’ll keep our friend safe,” Python said, his voice dropping to that tone that always made Cyrus’s cock tingle. “Now, hon. Have you given any thought to where I could put a new car? I could make it worth your while.” His breath sent shivers down Cyrus’s spine. “You know I can.”
“I know I’ve got this truck to get finished, and you promised to cook me dinner. Get your ass upstairs.” Cyrus tapped Python’s leather pants. “I’ll be up as quick as I can.”
“Fine. I’ll just pop over to the Alley first.” Python started rummaging around in Cyrus’s toolbox. “Do you know where the tape measure is? Maybe I can find some room for that Thunderbird after all.”
Sighing, Cyrus picked up a wrench and returned to what he was doing. But he couldn’t resist glancing out of the workshop doors at least a half a dozen times over the afternoon. Flint was hurting, and Cyrus hated that for his friend.You’d better showyou’re more than a big mouth with attitude, Arrow. Anything less and I’ll finish you off myself.
Chapter One
Flint stabbed his trowel into the soil harder than necessary. The strawberry plants didn’t deserve his aggression, but he couldn’t seem to stop. Water dripped from his chin - whether from the hose he’d been using or his own tears, he wasn’t entirely sure anymore.
Get it together.He swiped at his face with the back of his hand, leaving a streak of dirt across his cheek.You’re being pathetic.
His snake hissed inside his head, coiling tighter in distress. The animal had been restless for days now, ever since that asshole wolf had shown up at Cyrus’s workshop. Flint hadn’t been there, thank fuck, but Python had texted him immediately. Arrow had come looking for him.
