“Fuck. You don’t think that’s gonna bite you in the ass?”
“If I’m lucky.”
Dom snorted. She sipped her own coffee as she turned back to the museum. “You have yer fun, pal, but once we pull this heist, he’s gonna be pissed.”
“More than likely. But it’ll be a fun ride along the way.”
“You been wantin’ some ‘a that since he showed up last year. He as good as you hoped?” She raised an eyebrow, nudging for details.
Mal didn’t do details, but he couldn’t resist admitting, “Better.”
“Nice. You be careful though.”
“Worried he’ll turn me soft?”
“Worried ya already are. Least for him. Not like anyone else you been with. Knows what you do, who ya are, doesn’t agree with it, but willin’ to fall to his knees anyway, huh?”
Mal refrained from saying that he was the one who fell to his knees last night. “Your point?”
“Nothin’. Better make sure it stays just fuckin’, is all. You tend to get…fixated.”
“That’s rich coming from you.” Dom’s true love was and always would be the flames, often to an unhealthy degree, more like a pyromaniac than an Elemental. “I thought someone told me once that if I wanted to fuck Zeus so badly, I should drag him into a dark corner and have at it already.”
Dom shot him a pointed look with a knowing, manic grin. “Didn’t think ol’ Spark Plug would actually go for it. Yer in trouble, pal, and you know it.”
Downing the last of his coffee, Mal considered then resisted icing it into crumpled dust. “Only thing on my mind is what he’ll look like flushed and begging on my bed. That all goes to hell come the heist, fine by me.”
“Right.”
Mal bristled at how little faith his friend had in him to mean that. “You got any other pearls of wisdom for my sex life?”
Dom shrugged. “Give it to him good, Frosty. Zeus is wound way too tight. No wonder he wants some ‘a you. Yer wound tight too.”
It was no use talking to Dom about these things. “Focus on business for now. Plenty of days left for something to go wrong. I need you at your best.”
“’M I ever not?”
Mal knew better than to comment on that.
“We seein’ the kid later?”
Mind going straight to Danny again, Mal had to remind himself that Dom didn’t know Danny’s identity or how young hewas beneath that cowl. She meant their youngest crew member. “Soon. Hart’s working on amplifiers for both of us, as requested. Planning to add an order for a new comm system while I’m at it.”
“Comms?” Dom said with a twist of her lips.
“If we get separated during the job, I need to know where you are. Need to be able to give orders, make snap decisions. It’s just an earpiece.”
The sneer didn’t waver. “All this tech junk…”
“You mean like theamplifieryou asked for?”
“That’s different.”
Mal kept his eyes focused on Dom to avoid rolling them. “Plus we needed that delivery system for the gas Lucy picked up. Priestly is an invaluable member of the team.”
“Not sayin’ he isn’t. Just think it’d be more efficient if we brought the kid into the field once in a while, instead of keepin’ him as second string.”
“Working from the sidelines isn’t second string, just means he’s more useful where he is. He isn’t an Elemental, remember?” He also had no interest in armed robbery unless his hand was forced, which Mal had no intention of doing.
