Charming (Exiled Book 3) Read online

  “Compromise.”

  “Yes. It means you give a little. I give a little…”

  “I know what it means, Charming.”

  “Well, I can never be sure.”

  “Ditto.”

  “What is ditto?”

  “It means same here.”

  “Oh.” After a few beats of silence, he said, “Let’s just sit down and start over.”

  He sat and took a drink of tea which, undoubtedly, had gone cold.

  She looked at him warily, but sat. “You don’t own me. Just because I’m in this situation doesn’t mean you own me.”

  “I know that,” he said quietly. “I shouldn’t have said those things. It wasn’t fair.”

  “Maybe. But it is how you really feel.”

  “Yes and no. It’s true that this is my home, but it’s also true that I don’t mind having you here.”

  “You don’t?”

  “No. It’s just that there’s a lot going on right now.”

  “Like what?”

  “Three humans have turned up dead. Just since about the time you arrived. It looks like one of us is killing them. It’s making people nervous. More than nervous. Scared. Scared of us. And the last thing we can afford is to have humans afraid of us. When people are frightened, bad stuff happens.”

  She nodded. “I can see that. Why haven’t you told me? I see you almost every night. I ask you about your day. You never talk.”

  “Well…” He really didn’t know where he was headed with that sentence when he began.

  “You’re under stress.”

  “Stress?”

  “Yeah. It’s when you feel tense because there are things that are outside your control are getting out of hand.”

  “I know what stress is. Humans talk about it all the time. We don’t usually feel stress. We see what needs to be done and do it. We don’t get emotionally involved with jobs.”

  She laughed. “Right. That’s why you’re acting like you’re suffering from PMS.” He opened his mouth and then closed it. “That’s…”

  “I know what it is.”

  “Okay.” Ana was paying attention to his body language for the first time. His arms were crossed in front of his chest like he was working at keeping himself from fragmenting. “Look. Maybe you’re right. It wouldn’t be bad for me to have something to do. I don’t know how to cook, but I’d like to learn. Is there someplace I can do that?”

  “Look, Ana, I just mentioned that as a starting point for a discussion on what might interest you. It wasn’t intended as a suggestion or recommendation.”

  “I know, but maybe you hit it the first time. It could happen. Who knows if I don’t try it?”

  “I can talk to Scar. Maybe he’d be willing to have one of the cooks teach you a few things in exchange for doing a few chores around the pub.”

  Pulling a stray strand of hair behind her ear, she nodded thinking it couldn’t be as bad as a lot of things she’d done to stay alive. And at least, with Charming, she had food, a shower, a clean bed, even a room of her own.

  “If you try it and don’t like it,” he went on, “then you can try something else.”

  “I can rub some of the stress out of your neck and shoulders if you want.”

  “Is that a joke?”

  “No. It’s an offer to massage.”

  “I haven’t ever had that.”

  “Well, then you’re in for a treat. Stay right there.”

  Ana went back down the hall to the bathroom where she kept the cache of fabulous toiletries supplied by her strange and magical benefactor. She grabbed the unscented lotion and returned to the kitchen.

  “Take off your shirt,” she ordered.

  “What?” Charming asked, hating that his dick had jerked in response to her command. “Why?”

  “Just do it. You won’t be sorry.”

  He hesitated for only a few seconds before grabbing his shirt hem and pulled it over his head. “Now what?”

  “Just sit here and try to relax.” Ana had to swallow when she saw Charming’s upper body bared. He had the sort of physique that would require life at the gym for human males. The slightest movement caused muscles to ripple over his body in ways that made her mouth water.

  Walking around behind him, she squirted some of the lotion into her palm, made sure it was warm to the touch then spread it across the back of his neck, shoulders, and upper back.

  At the first hint of pressure he moaned and dropped his head forward so that his chin was resting on his chest. She began to massage slowly, going in wider circles, increasing the pressure as she went.

  “How’s that?” she asked.

  He couldn’t form words. The best he could do was to say, “Hmmm.”

  “Yeah. I knew this would help. It’s the best stress reliever in the… in, um, in any world that I know of.”

  Charming’s muscles were bulkier and tighter than any she’d felt before. They were also more resistant to massage which meant her hands got tired faster than they would have with a human.

  “Okay,” she said when she stopped. “That should make you feel a little more relaxed for a while. So you won’t be so growly.”

  She handed him his shirt.

  “I’m not growly,” he said, but the protest sounded more like a compliment than an argument. “Thank you. That was really, really good. I’ve never felt anything like it.”

  Even though she was hardly an innocent, she blushed when his praise brought images of sex to mind. “You’re welcome. Anytime.”

  “Maybe you could…”

  “No. Let me try cooking.”

  “Just saying that when you said you didn’t know how to do anything, you were either holding out or you were very wrong. Because that was good and people would pay for it.”

  She sighed. “I’d rather make cookies.”

  Charming stood, turned around, and gave her a smile she could learn to crave. “You know, you kind of smell like cookies.”

  “You’re making that up.”

  “No, I’m not. You know, your, ah, girl parts smell like cookies.”

  She blinked, having no idea how to respond to that. Charming had never given her any reason to think he might be interested in her girl parts. If that was a hybrid approach to flirting, it was drastically unusual, but also effective. It certainly had her attention.

  “Thank you. I guess.”

  He laughed. “Consider this your last day as a watcher in the park. As of tomorrow you will be some cook’s very pretty helper-trainee.”

  With that he walked out and closed the door behind him.

  Ana threw out the room-temperature tea, made a fresh cup, and sat at the table wondering if Charming liked her like that. He didn’t bring girls around the apartment or the bar, but she also didn’t pick up any vibe that he was more interested in boys. She decided to test the waters and find out if he was as attracted to her as she was to him at the first opportunity, hopefully without doing something that would make things awkward between them if she was wrong.

  She didn’t see him again that day. He didn’t come to the pub at supper and wasn’t home when she went to bed, but the next morning when she woke, she heard noises in the kitchen. Since Charming was usually gone at that hour, she was surprised to hear that she wasn’t alone.

  When she was dressed for the day, her first day as a student of cooking, she went toward the kitchen hoping for something liquid with caffeine and something doughy with sugar.

  She’d learned to recognize the differences between humans and hybrids and knew instantly that the tall woman looking through cabinets had to be one of his kind. Plus, she was wearing the traditional garb of Exiled females which was long sleeved, form fitting knit shirt with a wraparound print skirt and lace up leathers very similar to hiking boots. The costume was an odd combination of feminine allure and combat readiness. It was practical, but showed off curves. And somehow it worked, fashion wise.

  “Can I help you?” Ana asked.


  When the woman turned, Ana felt twinges of an unfamiliar emotion that she strongly suspected might be jealousy. She’d never experienced jealousy before. She’d experienced fear that some other woman might catch the eye of a guy who was providing for her or protecting her. But that was very different.

  This female was undeniably stunning, with coloring very similar to Charming’s except that the streaks in her hair were such a pale blond they were almost white.

  The beauty’s eyes came to rest on Ana in a lazy, reserved, almost aloof way. Before the interloper answered, Ana heard the front door open and close.

  Charming.

  He breezed into the kitchen carrying a bag of pastries.

  “Hey, Ana. This is Dandelion.”

  Ana looked from Charming to the female who was wearing a hard-to-place expression. “Hello.”

  “She’s my sister-in-law, mated to my older brother, Crave.” Ana sincerely hoped her instantaneous relief wasn’t evident, but judging by the knowing look on the woman’s face, she knew it was. “Dandy was a good friend of Rosie’s.”

  “Is,” corrected Dandy.

  “Is what?” asked Charming.

  “Dandy is a good friend of Rosie’s,” Dandy said.

  “Well, sure. Of course that’s what I meant.” The tea kettle whistled. “Oh, good. You made tea.” He busied himself pulling cups out of the cupboard. He threw some tea leaves in with the water and set the kettle on the table with a strainer. “Dandy’s here to visit some of her kids.”

  Ana looked at the other woman with open curiosity. “Your kids don’t live with you?”

  Dandelion smiled. “A lot of them do. My mate and I supervise an orphanage. We’re also parents to a bunch Kids. Some are of our bodies and some are adopted. We all live in the original Exiled settlement up in the hills just west of here. Newland.

  “When the kids are ready,” she gave a little head wag, “and I use the term ‘ready’ very loosely, we give them the option of finishing their education here in Farsuitwail. A friend of mine runs an interim home that establishes a bridge between Newland and life fully integrated with humans. It’s called Town House.”

  Ana didn’t have an intelligent-sounding reply. So she said, “Oh.”

  Charming opened the bag and shook yummie-looking pastries onto a plate. He then held the strainer over Ana’s cup as he poured tea. She had to admit that she loved the novelty of being served. It made her feel pampered, special, cared for.

  She looked up to see Dandelion watching closely over her cup, not missing a thing. Ana knew that she flushed because Charming’s sister-in-law recognized that she was crushing on him.

  He sat and took a bite out of a cinnamon roll. “Today is Ana’s first day at work.” He smiled as broadly as if he was a proud parent himself. “She’s going to work for Scar, learning to cook.”

  Dandy almost choked on her tea. Charming stood, looking concerned, but she held a hand up to let him know she was alright.

  When she was breathing normally again, she said, “You’re sending this human, who’s not even from Farsuitwail, into Scar’s kitchen? To work for Scar?”

  Dandy was incredulous and the way she phrased that was a little alarming for Ana.

  “She knows him!” Charming said defensively.

  Dandy shook her head. “No, she does not. Being served at his establishment and working for him? Two entirely different things.”

  “I can take care of myself,” Ana said taking up her own mantel of defense.

  Dandy’s expression softened as she looked at Ana. “You’re going to need a thick skin. He doesn’t mean to be mean, but things he’ll do will come out that way. If you can let it pass by you like air, you might be okay. I’m just saying this because it’s been my experience that humans are extremely sensitive.”

  “I’m not.”

  Dandy nodded. “Okay. Forget I said anything.”

  “No, I…” Ana started. “I don’t mean I’m ungrateful for the advice. I appreciate the warning. I’m just saying that it would take more than growly gruffness to break me.”

  Dandy gave her a big smile then turned to Charming. “I could walk her down to the kitchen and have an eye-to-eye understanding with Scar.”

  “Thanks for the offer, but I’ll do it. What are you doing today in our fair city?” Charming asked Dandy.

  “A little shopping at the market. A little visiting with friends. Having supper with my kids at the pub. I’ll find out if you’re keeping an eye on them for me.”

  “To the extent that I can be in a hundred places at once,” Charming said.

  “Leader, Leader,” Dandy chuckled. “Is life hard at the top?”

  Charming grew serious. “I know you’re joking, but these murders…”

  “What murders?” Dandelion demanded.

  “You didn’t know?” he asked.

  “Should I have known?”

  “Well, I guess not.”

  “Don’t keep me waiting. I have kids who live down here in this city.”

  Ana observed the back and forth of the conversation with great interest.

  “There have been three murders so far. All human. All male. All late teens, early twenties. The other thing they share in common is that they all seem to point toward one of us as the killer.”

  Dandelion seemed to pale a little. “How are the humans reacting?”

  “Things are under control, barely. The more people are afraid, the more they begin to look at us with suspicion and you know what follows fear and suspicion?”

  “Hatred,” Dandy said in a matter-of-fact way. “Charming, I can’t have my kids down here in the city if there’s going to be trouble.”

  Charming ran a hand through his hair in exasperation. “I know. I know.”

  “Can I count on you to let me know when it’s time to get them out of here?”

  “I want everybody to be safe, Dandy. You know that!”

  “Of course you do. But everybody isn’t safe. Some people are dead.”

  “We’ll catch whoever is doing this. We have to.”

  “And soon or else you know what will happen.”

  “What?” said Ana.

  Charming and Dandy looked at Ana like they’d forgotten she was there. “The humans will become so afraid of us, they’ll try to kill us all.”

  Ana’s brow wrinkled. “How do you know that?”

  “Because it’s what always happens with humans,” Dandy replied.

  Ana wished she had a counter to that, but couldn’t think of any. She wasn’t the best student of history, but she was afraid that could be true. No wonder Charming was distant and distracted. He was terrified that he might be powerless to stop a race war.

  “That’s the reason we’re here,” Dandy continued. “Humans were going to annihilate us because they realized they’d created a species superior to themselves.”

  Ana couldn’t help but bristle a little at hearing it said that hybrids were superior in such an offhand matter-of-fact manner, as if there was no challenge to that presumption.

  If Charming thought the superiority pronouncement was uncalled for, he didn’t show it. “I remember sitting in the kitchen of my parents’ home in Newland when Rosie mapped that out for us. She said history would repeat itself if we didn’t find a way to make allies of the humans and integrate with them. So we did.”

  Dandy gave Charming a pointed look. “But this could bring it all down.”

  Charming ran his hand through his hair again, obviously frustrated, and knowing he’d be powerless to stop the rising tide of fear if the killer couldn’t be found and dealt with in a way that would appease. What was worse was that the flames of interspecies distrust would be fanned by the groups who were dedicated to promoting hatred of Exiled, even after the alliance was formed.

  “I know.”

  Ana hated hearing him sounding so dejected.

  “Talk to Free.” Charming’s head jerked up. “Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying you’re not good at this jo
b. Everybody knows you are good at it. Maybe even better than Free. It’s just that he’s distanced himself from the responsibility which means he might have a different perspective. More objective maybe?”

  Charming looked at the floor. “Yeah. Maybe.”

  “There’s no shame in needing advice, Charm.”

  “Not saying there is.”

  “Okay,” she said, glancing at Ana. “I got things to do today.”

  When she rose to leave, Charming said, “Wait. What about the thing?”

  Dandy shook her head. “I don’t know.”

  Ana looked between them, wishing they’d give a better clue as to what ‘the thing’ might be.

  As if he read her mind, Charming turned to Ana. “In three weeks we’re having our annual celebration of independence from Rautt tyranny. I think Crave and Dandy should come and bring all the kids.” He looked back at Dandy. “It’s a big deal.”

  “It’s also tricky. You forget where those kids came from. Of course we all want to celebrate independence from the Rautt, but I’m not sure how orphans of the Rautt really feel about it. They’re like us. They may hide their feelings, but that doesn’t mean the emotion isn’t there. We killed all their people over the age of twelve. I’m struggling with whether it’s reasonable to expect them to celebrate that.”

  “I get it. I really do. And you’re right.” Charming sighed and looked out the window for a few beats. “What if we keep the event, but sort of repurpose it. We’ll call it Jubilee and say it’s to celebrate the alliance between humans and hybrids.” Charming lit up. “In fact that’s a great idea. We should focus on all the great things that have come about because of the integration. With the, you know, killings, that couldn’t come at a better time.

  “So we won’t make any mention of Rautt or independence. We’ll focus on the four f’s. Food, fireworks, fun, and the future. What do you think?”

  His enthusiasm was contagious. Dandy smiled. “Sounds perfect. If you can pull that off, we’ll come. Gladly.” She turned and winked at Ana. “And stay with you.”

  “What? Wait!” She definitely put Charming off balance.