Chapter 9: Head of Household

Phoenix: Tuesday Morning

"What the fuck was that?!"

"It's sort of a perk," I shrugged. "Once I mark you, my penis acts kind of like a transmitter. So whenever I orgasm, or feel any pleasure in that area, you'll feel it somehow in your vagina."

"What clinical language," she said, laughing, as she bent up for another kiss. "So, when your cock is stroked, my cunt will get all wet and tingly?"

"More or less. As long as you're near me, or something. I haven't tested it that part, but I'm pretty sure the girls in Italy would have had issues if they were just spontaneously orgasming without warning. They'd at least mention it to me."

"Still hot," she said. "So, are you going to do me?"

"I already did."

She giggled, blushing. "I meant program me, like, telepathically."

"Sure. Anything you got in mind?" I shrugged. "You've already done two things I never would have expected - fuck Taffy, and fuck your brother."

Kissing me again, she smiled. "I'm sure you'll come up with something, campione."

I swatted her lightly on her ass. She yelped, laughing. "What was that for?"

"For making me think!" Then I started tickling her, and she dissolved in a fit of giggles. She was still breathless when we finally got out of the shower.

"So, when do you want to head out?" I said, as we dried each other off. "Oh crap, I still need to pack." I dipped down to kiss her. "Someone distracted me yesterday."

She just laughed. "Well, you distracted me enough that I still have to go home and pack. It's about six hours to LA. We should leave later, to avoid the rush hours over there." She frowned. "Oh, and I promised Daddy we'd do lunch together. We should leave after that."

I groaned. "Maybe he'll figure us out today."

"Oh, I'm sure we have enough self control for one lunch with Daddy." She tapped my forehead. "And if not, I'm sure you can do something about that."

"I'm sure I can," I said, thinking about how he was already part of my herd. "I should let him in on this." At Jordan's stricken look, I added. "Not us! I mean the mind-control stuff! I've been telling everyone else who's been affected."

"How was he affected?" She giggled. "I mean, when."

"Well, it all started with the seizures. Remember them?" She just rolled her eyes at me. "Well, every time I had a seizure, I marked everyone who was around me. That included Dad, the nurses, the kids in Italy, people on the airplane..."

"Ma che cazzo!" Jordan laughed. "You're collecting an army, campione. Are you taking over the world?"

"Not on purpose, piccola" I shook my head. "But it looks like it." I tapped my finger to my chin. "Hmm, maybe I should?"

She threw a pillow at me. "Get packing, I'll call Daddy and let him know we're coming over for lunch."

Phoenix: Tuesday Afternoon

We'd woken up late, I had to pack, and Jordan was being quite distracting. We didn't get out of my house until noon. It was almost one by the time we reached Dad's place.

Cori had some ceviche waiting for us. "You are looking better, Eric," she said, bending down to put the dishes on the table, giving me more than an eyeful of her chest. Jordan elbowed me when she caught me staring, winking and sticking out her tongue as she did. Cori gave us another strange look as she noticed Jordan's behaviour.

"Thanks, Cori," I said, thankful not only because she'd made and served the food, but that she'd decided to make one of my favorite of her dishes.

Jordan leaned in, whispering, "Is she one of yours, too?"

"No!"

"Why NOT?! She's still WAY smoking, and you've always had a crush on her."

"I've still got some morals, piccola."

"What are you two talking about?" That was Dad, sitting across the table. I saw my brand on him, silver.

"Dad," I said, swallowing, looking to Jordan for support. "I need to tell you something."

"You sound serious."

"I am." I put my hand to my head, running my finger along the scar. "The brain tumor changed me, in ways that will probably affect the rest of my life."

"What do you mean?" That was Cori, looking between us. "Does this have anything to do with your sister?"

Dad just laughed. "How could it have anything to do with Jordan? It was Eric's tumor."

"Well, Jordan is somewhat involved."

"Stop pussyfooting around, Eric," my father said, angry and concerned, "and just spit it out!"

"I'm psychic."

There was just silence as my father, and Cori, just looked at me, disbelief shimmering in their eyes.

"What do you mean?" That was Cori. "You can tell my future? Or you can read my mind?"

"Not really, and sort of..."

"He can control your mind!" That was Jordan, who was sort of bouncing up and down in her chair, filled with way more enthusiasm than I'd ever had. "It's really kind of cool." She poked me. "Show them!"

I glared at Jordan as she tried to look innocent, then her eyes glazed over. "There," I said to Dad and Cori, "I've put her in a trance. Go ahead and try to get a reaction out of her."

I stood up, grabbing my plate, as I watched them try to get reactions out of her. They tried loud sounds, ice, heat. Cori knew where Jordan was most ticklish. Nothing worked. Dad seemed to take it calmly, but the more Cori tried to get Jordan to react, the more frantic she got. I could see the fear in her eyes, and I felt a knot in my gut whenever I looked into her eyes.

Eventually, she started to back out of the room. She looked like a cornered animal. It was obvious there was only one thing I could really do. I'd known how to mark people - sex was helpful, but not necessary. So, I reached out with my mind, and put my brand on Cori.

It was amazing, how easy it was to do. It was such a casual thing, deciding to make Cori mine. But that wasn't the worst part. When I saw the brand glowing silver through her eyes, her panic faded. But the fear was still there. So I decided to make her like it.

I didn't really think it through. The fear faded from her eyes, lust stepping into its place. It was a look I'd never seen on her face before, but one that I'd always dreamed and fantasized about when I was younger.

"Well," my father said, stepping away from Jordan, "I'm convinced." He looked at Cori, noticing her ragged breathing. "Cori? Are you okay?"

"I might want some more proof, later." She licked her lips, looking at me. "Is that okay?" My father looked at Cori, quizzically, as I woke Jordan up. Jordan seemed disappointed she wasn't changed, but she looked between Cori and I with a knowing smile.

I shrugged. "It should be okay." My stomach growled loud enough that everybody noticed; we all laughed. "Maybe after lunch?"

Cori nodded. After that, it was almost a normal family meal.

"So, Jordan tells me you kids are driving out to California," Dad said. "Tell Tony I'm sorry I can't make it."

I winced. Dad hadn't been out there since Mom died - he said the memories were still too strong. "Will do."

"How long are you two staying?"

Jordan and I exchanged a brief glance. "Just a few days," she said.

"I want to get back in time for First Friday," I said, gulping down more of Cori's food. "This tastes excellent, Cori," I said to her. Meeting her eyes, I felt her desire spiking, and I grew hard.

My mind was whirring about the consequences of what I saw in Cori's eyes - and later, what I'd glimpsed in her mind. I'd ensured the whole mind control was a turn-on for her, and she liked it as much as she'd been terrified before.

Jordan noticed, but just gave my knee a squeeze, leaning in to whisper "go get her, tiger," as she winked. I sighed to myself - I'd had no intentions of growing my harem. But what's done was done, I figured.

Besides, I still had the lingering vestiges of my childhood crush on her, their flames only being fanned by her growing passion. Still, we managed to keep our cool throughout the meal, though the glances we exchanged grew longer and more lingering.

I just blanched. "I don't think so. But I somehow managed to take Brandy, so it's tough to say."

"Brandy?" My father almost choked on his food. "Really?" He started chuckling. "The way that girl mooned at you, Cindy and I were sure you two were going to wind up together."

"Cindy was this close to being my mom," I pointed out, holding my fingers just a little bit apart. "Brandy was almost like another sister to me."

This set Jordan into a fit of giggles. Cori gave us another of her suspicious looks, but it seemed Dad was still clueless.

"So, how does one get into this mind controller gig, anyway?"

I swallowed another bite. "Apparently, you inherit it."

"So, does that mean I can do it?"

For a moment, Cori's attention was diverted, her eyes sliding over to my father.

"No," I said, and Cori's eyes moved back to me. "It's recessive. I got it because both you and mom had it."

Jordan perked up. "Does that mean I have it?"

"No," I shook my head. "If you did, you'd be immune. But I think Mom had it. She knew things ... right, Dad?"

"Yeah," he frowned. "I guess that does make sense. So she controlled my mind?"

I shook my head. "Nope. Girls don't get mind control. They just get to read minds."

"Oh," Jordan pouted. "That's no fun. It's kind of sexist, really."

"Not really. It's just evolution - at least, I'm assuming that's all it is." I shrugged. "Calling it sexist is kind of like saying pregnancy is sexist because only women can do it. Or peeing standing up. It's just biology - our nature."

"Well said, son."

Cori leaned in, giving the entire table quite a view of her cleavage. "How does it work?"

"Well, from what I'm told, there's a lot of people with powers - and we're all immune to each other's powers. Males have one set - I call it mind control. Women have another set - which lets them read minds, heal wounds, and maybe even see the future?" I sighed. "They haven't told me much about what women can do."

"They?" That was my father.

"There's a, um, a secret society of people with powers. They managed to track me down, thanks to the seizures." My father nodded in understanding, but I noticed confusion on the girl's faces. "My seizures made my powers go off."

Jordan took a sharp intake of breath. "So you were taking over minds every time you seized. How many did you take over?"