Charles (Darkness #8) (13 page)

Ann let her magic course through her, changing into her human form. Not worried about nudity, she found Tim striding out of the large tent in the middle of the makeshift camp. When he saw her, his step faltered. He grabbed her roughly and squeezed her into his chest.

“Thank God you’re okay.” He held her at arm’s length and looked deeply into her eyes. “You are okay…?”

“Yes. I think all our guys are good. They’ll probably have nightmares, but it could’ve been worse. We have others with us—the ones who’ve been in that place a while. They need special handling.”

Tim’s brows furrowed. He gave a curt nod, a trace of disgust on his features. He was probably imagining what they’d been through. Unfortunately, the reality wouldn’t ease his mind. “Without question. We’ll get them taken care of.”

Ann felt a pulse of possession through the blood link a moment before she heard, “Ann. Ready?”

She stepped away from Tim, turning toward Charles as he strode up. A hard gaze hit Tim as Charles’ arm fell around her shoulders. “Everything good?”

“How’s Jameson?” Ann asked, trying to hide her pleasure at the unmistakable claim Charles was putting on her. It was something a shifter would’ve done with his mate if another male was too close.

Tim respectfully took a step back.

Charles’ muscles relaxed as he said, “They have him on an IV. He’s lost a lot of blood, but they think that’s the extent of it. He’ll be okay.” He took a deep breath before sticking out his hand to Tim. “Thanks for setting this up. You probably saved his life. A lot of lives.”

Tim nodded in a matter-of-fact sort of way, his gaze staying on Charles. “You guys helped us out. This was the least we could do.”

“Am I needed?” Ann asked, weariness tugging at her features.

Tim looked at her then. He was all alpha though, hiding any feelings he might still have had for her. He’d always been an awesome guy, and now he was proving it. “No. You’ve been through hell. Get some rest.”

Ann nodded and let Charles lead her away.

A
nn waited impatiently
on Sasha’s couch, sipping a glass of wine. It had been two weeks since she’d been freed from the lab. In that time, they’d segregated out the scientists who had experimented on shifters, the executives who knew about it, and everyone else. Those who knew nothing got to go about their lives. The others were pumped for information. After that… Ann had no idea what happened to them. Tim and Stefan were being very tight-lipped about it, and Sasha didn’t want to know. She suspected it was probably bad. Ann had to agree.

Not knowing was probably better.

Jameson survived. The bullet had missed all the vital organs, but by the time he got worked on he had nearly bled out. It took him a week to recuperate enough to head to the lab and start handing out orders. He wanted tech looked at, the traps analyzed, and all sorts of things that would make Stefan’s clan the most knowledgeable and high-tech in the country, possibly the world.

As far as the press went, though, a strange gas leak caught fire and blew the place up. Sasha rigged a spell to fool the eye into believing that story until they really could blow it up, which would happen as soon as Jameson had everything he wanted.

And here sat Ann, waiting for Charles to pick her up for their first date. She’d seen him every day since the lab, but that was just for sex, cuddling and banter. Tonight was the real thing.

“He keeps asking me to be his mate,” Ann said, her sip turning into a gulp.

“That’s what you wanted, though, right?” Sasha asked in a calm voice.

“Yes. Obviously. But… he came around awfully fast, you know? It was like—no, no, no, I want to be a slut! Wait, yes, let’s get married, have babies, and become Sasha and Stefan.”

“You did sex him up pretty good.”

“That’s just it. If it’s just sex, that’s bad, because he gets bored easily.”

“You also connected on a really deep level, made him feel okay about cuddling, which he really never does, got taken by an enemy… You forced the man to grow up, that’s all. Well… mostly grow up. I don’t know if he’ll ever be mature.”

Ann finished her glass of wine, and went for a second. Her nerves were frayed.

“I’m jealous about the date, though,” Sasha said, rocking back and forth in her rocking chair. “The number of romance novels and rom-coms he’s watched to try and get into yours and my pants… this date is probably going to be way over the top in a good way. Wait—don’t you know how he really feels about you? The blood link is solid now, right?”

“Yeah but… I don’t know. Maybe he’s just temporarily confused…”

“You’re just being an idiot girl with low self-esteem. You can feel that he loves you. So he loves you. Trust me, Charles would fake love about as fast as he would fake an orgasm. Not gonna happen.”

“He hasn’t said it, though.”

“Neither have you,” Sasha reasoned.

“Because he hasn’t…”

“Was I ever this stupid? I don’t think I was… No, I’m pretty sure I was never this harebrained.”

“You still are when it comes to Stefan.”

“Nope. You’re wrong.” Sasha scratched her belly.

The doorbell rang, sending a nervous shiver through Ann. She smoothed her hair and then her dress, turning to Sasha. “How do I look?”

Sasha rolled her eyes as the front door opened. “For the millionth time, that dress is sexy as hell, I hate you for the glossy hair, nice boobs; you look great…”

Ann took another gulp of her wine as Jonas came into the room.

“What are you doing here?” Ann asked with a scowl.

Jonas huffed and crossed to his favorite recliner. “Came to watch the show.”

“What show? He’s just picking her up.” Sasha stalled in her rocking.

A soft knock sounded before the front door opened. Another wave of nervousness rolled through Ann.

“What’s he feeling?” Sasha asked, rocking again. “If he’s nervous, you should be worried. It means he’s done something wrong and is afraid you’re going to kill him.”

“He has the link blocked.” Ann sat back down, crossed a leg, thought better of it, and crossed her ankles instead.

“Why?” Sasha asked suspiciously.

“I asked him. I knew I’d be nervous and I didn’t want him to know I was nervous.”

This time Sasha gave her an eye-roll. “Why?”

“Just because. Quit asking questions.” Ann looked up as someone appeared in the archway. Her breath caught.

Charles stood with a dozen red roses and a little box, his smoky-gray eyes sparkling as he looked at her. He smiled, walking toward her in the graceful way predators had. His black shirt fit snugly across his large chest and broad shoulders, showing off a little pec that made her mouth water. His handsome face was smooth and clear of stubble. “Do you want me to sit, or should we get away from Jonas? He’s a buzzkill.”

“Impressive flowers. Trying to make up for a small dick?” Jonas asked, leaning back in the chair.

“What’d you give Emmy?” Charles thought about it for a second. “Oh right, nothing.”

“I gave her a baby.”

“You
gave
her a baby?” Sasha chimed in. “Is that right? Well how generous of you, Jonas. You had a few moments of pleasure, which she may or may not have shared, and then you gave her nine months of morning sickness, heartburn, peeing herself, and uncomfortable nights, only to ruin her vagina. Well, happy-happy, you gave her a baby. What a great guy…”

“Okie…” Ann got off the couch with a grimace and left her glass on the end table. “That’s our cue, Charles.”

“Don’t leave me here with her…” Jonas begged.

“Why is that, Jonas?” Sasha started again, grumpy and now having someone to take it out on.

“For you,” Charles said as they walked toward the door quickly. He nodded toward the flowers, but handed her the box. “I was hoping to leave the flowers here in a vase, but Jonas is just going to stick his foot in it again, so if they die, I’ll buy you new ones.”

Ann smiled, warmth filling her chest. They stepped outside into the crisp night air. The motion sensor blinked on, showering them in light. Ann took the wrapping off the velvet black box. When she opened it, she sucked in a breath. It was a beautiful diamond necklace, glittering for all it was worth.

“Charles, it’s beautiful,” she gushed.

“I see you’re wearing a necklace, so I won’t step around you to put it on.”

Ann smiled with the sentiment, handing it back to him so she could remove her cheap costume jewelry. She opened the door to Sasha’s house and just threw it in. She’d get it later.

“Okay. All set.” Ann took the box back and held it up for Charles. He tucked the flowers under his arm and took the necklace out, crossing behind her to fasten it to her neck. His fingers played lightly over her skin, tickling and giving her goosebumps.

When he stepped back in front of her, he bent and kissed her cheek. “You look beautiful, by the way.”

She preened, smoothing her dress before reaching for the flowers.

“Shall we?” he gestured out toward the street where the Boss’ Ferrari waited. “If you don’t want the sports car, my SUV is parked around the side.”

“Let’s take your car,” Ann said softly, sliding her hand down his muscular arm and entwining her fingers through his.

“Sure. And because this is a date, and I am on my best behavior, I will not point out that the backseat in my ride is way larger than the Ferrari’s nonexistent backseat.”

“Duly noted.” Ann laughed as they walked around the corner to his SUV. Once there, he opened the door for her and let her climb in, helping her up with a hand on her arm.

“You’d almost think I was clumsy…” Ann said with a grin.

“You are. I don’t want you falling on your head.”

He gave her his beautiful smile, amplifying his handsomeness as he walked around to his side and climbing in. Once they were moving, he reached over and took her hand, threading his fingers between hers.

“This isn’t the traditional date you’re probably expecting,” he said in a soft voice as he drove in the opposite direction of the city. “I’ll do that for you next time, if you want. This one is… more original.”

“What’s traditional?”

“Dinner at a nice restaurant, dessert, then either a movie or dancing. Or a quiet spot with just the two of us listening to the radio softly and talking or just enjoying the night with wine.”

“Do you take notes when you watch the romance movies…?” she said, blinking at him.

“They’re really all the same,” he answered seriously. “You’ve seen three, you’ve seen them all. You women don’t seem to want much when you’re being chased. It’s after that that things get complicated, I think. Or maybe Sasha is just bat-shit crazy.”

“Both, I think,” Ann laughed. “I’m not any better, though.”

“Oh, I know. I’ve known you for long enough now.” Charles laughed, light and carefree, as he pulled into the driveway of a well-lit house with an adorable porch swing and large, grassy front yard.

“Whose house is this?” Ann asked in confusion.

Charles winked at her as he turned off the car. He hopped out and came around to her side, helping her down. Still confused, she let him lead her up that front walk to the porch. Once there, he stopped and pulled another black, velvet box out of his pocket.

Facing her, he dropped to one knee.

Her mouth dropped open as he held up the box. Slowly, he opened it. Instead of a ring was a shiny, metal key. “Ann Mallory, will you marry me?”

“Whaaa…” Confusion growing, she reached forward and took the key gingerly.

“I know the standard proposal item is a ring, but you turn into a mountain lion. I thought more jewelry wasn’t a great idea,” he explained, standing and gently wrapping his hand around hers. He slowly moved her hand toward the front door. “So I figured the next best thing would be a house. It’s really a much more practical gift. And if you say yes, I’ll live here with you. And if you say no… well, I’ll probably spend every night here with you, anyway, because I promised that yours were the only breasts I would play with, so I need to be close. That’s a must.”

Ann’s mouth was still unflatteringly hanging open as Charles helped direct the key to the lock. The deadbolt clicked over. He pushed the door open. “Can I take away the block on the blood link, now?”

She nodded, still stunned mute. As his cover ripped away, pure, raw love poured through the link, filling her up. Turning her chest warm. He took her hand and led her inside, where the floor was covered in rose petals and crystal vases filled with red roses dotting the bare hardwood floor.

He led her to the living room, where a foldout table with a white tablecloth was stationed in front of the empty fireplace. He had her sit down before lighting the candles on the table. “I made dinner, which I burned. So then I had Jessenta make dinner and I brought it over here to keep warm in the oven. So if you wait right here, I’ll go grab it.”

Charles looked down on her for a moment, before smiling and leaning down for a soft kiss on her cheek. He headed to the kitchen, his butt perfectly sculpted and shown off in his tan slacks. He came back with two plates held in pot holders. After placing them he disappeared again, returning with a basket of bread and a bottle of wine.

She didn’t even notice what was on her plate. Or what type of wine it was. All she could do was stare at Charles, perhaps the most thoughtful and handsome man on the planet. In all his crazy and random humor, and his occasional dim-witted remarks, he was a true, honest, loyal man with a heart of gold. And he was asking to marry her. He was giving up on his desire to screw his way through the Mansion so he could be with her, totally and completely, because that’s what she needed from him.

It was more than any man she’d ever been with would do for her. Would do for anyone, she had no doubt.

“There’s no furniture,” she said stupidly, the love she felt dripping down into her core and settling there with an erotic hum.

His smile and suddenly burning eyes said he felt that through the link. “There’s furniture in your bedroom. Not much, and easily replaced if you want something else, but I figured we needed a place to sleep.”

“Our bedroom.” Her eyes glossed over with unshed tears. “Yes, Charles. Yes, I’ll marry you.”

He smiled, reaching for her hand. “When do you want to try for a baby? I’d love to have one of my own, the Gods willing.”

“Now,” she whispered, standing. “Right now.”

Dinner forgotten, Charles blew out the candles, stood, and scooped her up. As he carried her upstairs to their bedroom, he said, “Our baby will be way cuter than Jonas’. Emmy’s pretty, sure, but you need two parents to be hot for the win.”

“And you think you’re hot?”

“Obviously. Way hotter than Jonas, at any rate.” As Charles crossed the threshold with her squeezed tightly to his chest, he said, “Do shifters have furry babies? I’ve joked about that, but are we going to have little mountain lions?”

Ann laughed. “That guy Jason was both a shifter and could work magic. Red level, too. I bet our children will be able to do both.”

“But like… do you have cubs, or…”

“We don’t change until puberty, dummy. I won’t have a litter.”

Charles just smiled as he gently put her down. He kissed her softly. “As long as I have you, the rest is just gravy.”

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