The Pagan Stone Page 0,42

translated.

"One particular, who just had the nerve to warn me that any secret, cherished dreams I might have regarding him are held in vain."

"Oh God." The hands Quinn put to her face muffled a sound caught between a groan and a snorting laugh.

"I shouldn't mistake the fact that the four of you, who've run over the cliff like lemmings, I may add, are a precursor of my future bliss with him."

"As I'm not certain his healing powers are a match for the Wrath of the Cyb, do we need to call nine-one-one?"

"If so," Layla considered, "we should let him suffer a little while longer first. Lemmings?"

"To be fair, though God knows why I should be, I'd say that remark was more due to his concern over his own situation than his opinion of any of you."

Quinn cleared her throat. "Ah, just to throw a wrench at the monkey, it's also possible he went asshat because he's projecting somewhat, due to complicated feelings for and about you."

Cybil merely shrugged at Quinn. "That would be his problem."

"Absolutely. But in your position I'd take some satisfaction from that. The possibility that he's not as worried you'll fall for him as he is he'll fall for you."

Now Cybil pursed her lips. Temper throttled back to give consideration room on the road. "Hmm. I was too mightily pissed to see that angle. I like it. I ought to give him the Treatment."

"Dear God, Cyb." With exaggerated horror on her face, Quinn gripped her friend's arm. "Not the Treatment."

"What's the Treatment?" Layla demanded. "Does it hurt?"

"The Treatment, designed and implemented by Cybil Kinski, is many faceted and multilayered," Quinn told her. "No man can hold against it."

"It's approach, attitude, response." Absently, Cybil brushed at her hair. "Knowing the quarry and adjusting that approach, attitude, and response to his specific qualifications. You can add in seduction and sex if that's acceptable to you, but it's really more about luring them to exactly where you want them. Eye contact, body language, conversation, wardrobe-all of that specifically tailored toward the man in question."

She let out a huff of breath. "But this isn't the time for that sort of thing. No matter how much he deserves it. But after this is over..."

"Okay, I have to know," Layla decided. "How would you tailor the Treatment for Gage?"

"It's elemental, really. He prefers sophisticated women with some style. Though he probably thinks otherwise, he's more truly attracted to-because he respects-women of strength. She shouldn't be coy about sex, but if she's sure, buddy, let's roll, he's not going to think about her twice afterward. He likes brains, leavened with humor."

"Ah, don't hit me," Layla said, "but it sounds like you're describing yourself."

That put a momentary hitch in Cybil's stride, but she continued. "Unlike Fox, we'll say, he isn't inclined to nurture. Unlike Cal, he isn't drawn to his roots, or to putting them down. He gambles, and a woman who knows how to play the game well would draw his attention. One who knows how to win, and how to lose. He can be drawn in physically-but what man can't-but only to a point. He has excellent control under most circumstances, so control would be key in drawing him."

"She'd have notes on all of this if she were going to do it." Like a proud mama, Quinn beamed at Cybil. "Then she'd do a detailed outline."

"Of course, but since this is just hypothetical..." Moving her shoulders, Cybil continued. "He requires challenge, so you'd have to walk the line between interest and disinterest, giving him just enough of both. No running hot and cold, which, oddly enough, some men can't resist, but finding just the right temperature-then varying it at unexpected moments to keep him just a bit off balance. And-"

She stopped, shook her head. "Doesn't matter, as I'm not going to do it. The stakes are too high to play that kind of game."

"When we were in college, she used it on this guy who cheated on me, then suggested we have a threesome with the girl he cheated on me with. Oink." After slinging an arm around Cybil's shoulders, Quinn gave Cybil a hard squeeze. "Cyb wound that fuckhead up like a clock, then just when he thought his alarm was going to go off, slapped him off the nightstand. It was beautiful. But yeah, probably inappropriate under our current circumstances."

"Oh well." With a shrug, Cybil shook back her hair. "It was fun thinking about it. And it calmed me down. We'd