Chapter 1 - A night at the Electric Labyrinth

Seo-ah, you're so... fuck... what the...? Charlie? Bad timing, my man.

Max's hands stop. He looks up at Seo-ah, still straddling him. He has to calm himself. No need to send stray thoughts to his friends.

'sup Connor? What's so important you guys gotta push into my brain pan? More importantly, you hitting that tennis star or what?

Connor smiles and touches Naomi on the back. "Cats got your tongue? Cheers!" He clinks martini glasses with her, then says, "I'll be right back."

He approaches Anika.

Anika is here, from Nexus, here in this room, and I saw Miriam earlier today. I think they're working together, and for Nexus. Also, Steven's office thinks they caught me using magic, and sent Steven to investigate me further.

"Anika, you ran out on me. Did I scare you as much as that? I saw Miriam today too. I hope you're free of that place. I hope I can see you again."

He remembers that morning, her casual remark about Miriam as she fled the apartment with his jaw on the floor. Now here she was, and his heart was pounding.

'Charlie? Connor?...Max? Ummm what the fuck, guys? I'm busy getting busy. Glad my mind can easily compartmentalize.'

Tav kisses Selvie passionately, as her hands caress over her girl's amazing body. No one would ever describe Tavisha as shy or reserved in her element and the two of them are of a like mind when it comes to their show of affection for each other and the chosen few they share their intimacies with. Tav playfully unpeels one of Selvie's soft and inviting shoulders from her latex and leather sheaf and moves her kisses there to anoint the revealed skin.

'Anika? Miriam? I barely even remember those names... This Steven guy—is he someone special I should remember too?'

I agree with Tav, unless this is urgent, I have things that need tending to...

Max returns his attention to Seo-ah, his lips and hands pushing the limits of what's acceptable in a public space... but they're behind a velvet curtain, so maybe he can...

wait, did you say Anika? Hot little number? Does something with dark, kinda opposite what you do? We... worked together once. She's not one to mess with. Watch out for her.

Naomi discreetly observes Anika from the corner of her eyes before returning her attention to Connor, a playful grin dancing on her lips. "Seems like more than an old friend judging by her expression," she remarks, her tone laced with confidence and a hint of arrogance. Despite her nonchalant demeanor, Naomi exudes an aura of strength, confidence, and undeniable beauty.

With a subtle yet pointed comment, Naomi asserts her worth, making it clear that she won't tolerate being second to anyone, especially not in a guy's affections. "Look, I don't really care about your girlfriends, but if your mind is somewhere else, maybe you're wasting my time," she adds, her voice carrying a note of certainty.

The tall athlete is taken aback when Connor abruptly leaves her side to pursue another woman, a rare occurrence for someone accustomed to being the center of attention.

Meanwhile, Anika's frustration is palpable as she confronts Connor, her foreign Russian accent adding an edge to her words. "I had somewhere to be, and your place is too bright," she states, her voice carrying a hint of annoyance. Her gaze flickers to Naomi before returning to Connor, her expression challenging. The two women send each other daggers through their eyes. " What are you doing with this... enormous woman? "

"Miriam... I didn't know she was in NYC when i brought it up last night," Anika explains. "I'm not working with her if that's what you're asking. You're seeing me now. Why do you want to see me again?" Her words carry a sense of confusion, tinged with a hint of frustration.

The thought of reaching into her mind and seeing if he could make Seo-ah dance for him occurs to Max, but he dismisses without ever really seriously considering it. What was wrong with him? That would have been a shitty thing to do. But old Max would have done it and laughed about it. Something was off. Something in him had changed, although he wasn't sure what it was. Did it have to do with seeing Tammy Lynn or the way she'd dismissed him so thoroughly? Was it all that droning on by that annoying guy in jail? Was he growing a conscience?

He shook those thoughts off, and also tried to ignore his friends voices in his head. He focused solely on Seo-ah. She had chosen to be with him. He hadn't needed to push her mind. He'd forgotten what that was like. He'd forgotten what it felt like to share genuine attraction with someone else. He decided to slow down with Seo-ah. His hands moved to more suitable locations on her body, still intimate in his touch, but he stopped trying to find her limits. His kisses, though still passionate, became more subdued, more reasonable for a location where anyone could walk in on them at any moment.

"Your passion is like wildfire." He takes a moment to look up at her beauty, flashing his lop-sided smile. "But we should slow down before it consumes us. I want to savor every moment, every word, every touch."

He reaches for the drinks they set down earlier and hands hers to Seo-ah, then takes a sip of his own, his eyes again studying her over the rim of his glass. She was an enigma, strong, obviously in control of herself, but still losing herself to the moment, climbing atop him. He wasn't used to women acting like this unless he'd pushed her mind.

"I haven't felt chemistry like this in a long time." He sets his drink back down and holds her gaze. What would she say? What would she do? She made him curious.

He grins at her. "I missed you. I didn't tell you that last night, Anika, but when you're near me I feel. .." he laughs and ruins a hair through his carefully styled hair, but doesn't finish the sentence.

He looks back at the tennis star.. "That's Naomi. Shes an international tennis star. She's beautiful isn't she. Confident, powerful, accomplished." He looks back at Anika. "Shree doesn't even hold a candle to you." He looks at her closely. "She's not where my music comes from."

good luck with danger lass, he thinks to Charlie, wondering if he'll get it or if it will make it to Connor.

"I'll join you anywhere you go," he says to Seo-ah. A high-end hotel is likely, given the sophistication and bearing of the woman smiling at him. There are few things better than staying in an expensive room at an expensive hotel, and one of them is sharing said room with an attractive woman.

There is no hesitation as Max unlocks his phone with his face and passes it to Seo-ah. It's the latest model, still shiny and new with all the default apps in the default positions as if he just bought it and hasn't even taken the time to personalize it yet... because that's exactly what happened.

He grins at the mischievous glint in her eyes. "Why don't you call yourself from my phone so you have my number, too. Then you can ring and let me know when you're ready."

He likes her style. She's in charge, and he's totally cool with that. It would be a nice change of pace.

"Until later," he says with a glint in his eye.

Max watches her go with an appreciative gaze. Once she outside the red curtains he sits back and sips his drink. He wonders if she only came to the club to find a guy for the night, and expects that with a woman like her, that's almost definitely what this is. A one-night fling with a younger guy, if she still feels up to it when she gets back to her hotel. She might not even call. He'd done that enough times to know, string a girl along, promise to call, then something better comes along. He was hoping there wasn't something better, but he hadn't pushed her mind, so anything could happen. If it did, no big deal. He could find someone else.

Still... there had been something about her. Nah, he thinks to himself. I'm just getting soft. That guy must have really got inside my head. My game's all off.

He gets up and slides the curtain open, peering around the VIP lounge, looking for another woman to chat up in case Seo-ah decides not to call. He has to get his game back on. He's out of practice, and he doesn't want to go back to MacKenzie's unless he has to. Seo-ah would be his preference, but... you couldn't count on other people to do what they said unless you made him, at least in his experience.

Still, he might have a bed waiting for him tonight, and he hadn't even had to invade Seo-ah's mind. Maybe things were looking up for him. Maybe he wouldn't need to use his abilities.

Connor nearly flares a burning hue with her words, decides jealousy looks good on her. Everything does, really. Max's words echo in his head -- She's not one to mess with. Watch out for her.

"I'm glad you feel that way Anika." He reaches out and touches her hair barely moving it away from her shoulder as he looks into her dark eyes. "Are you ready for me? We'll clash hard you know, but I can promise you it will be full of passion."

He looks back at Naomi and decides instantly. No, he'd already decided when he came over here. Maybe he was a fool, he knew this could be a trap, but damn if Anika was bait, the bait was irresistible. "I'll tell her to find someone else. I'm taken."

Connor watches her leave, eyes drinking in every movement. His lips tingle from the kiss, his body alive from head to toe. He slams back the espresso drink and walks back to Naomi.

"Sorry about that. You deserve to be the center of attention in every room. You're welcome to kiss me then slap me and leave me regretting I was ever born for not picking you." His words are kind and playful, but he's not thinking of her, and she likely knows it.