Page 10 of Carnal: The Beast Who Loved Me

Rosie nodded and returned the smile, not wanting to spout off about what a flaming pain he could be. She thought it better not to tarnish the rosy esteem in which he was held, especially since he was doing her a favor.

“No reason to wait till tomorrow morning. I’m headed over there right now.” Charming was talking to Rosie. “Come and go with me. I’ll be the envy of Newland, arriving with a beautiful woman.”

Free glanced at Rosie. “You want to go?”

She hesitated. Charming pled with his eyes in such a cute way and she couldn’t think of a single reason to say no. “Maybe for just a little while.”

Free then turned to Charming. “Make it clear that she’s a special guest ofmine,” he warned.

“Sure, Pop.”

“Charming, this is not a joke.”

“I know.”

“Can you be trusted to take care of Rosie?”

When his father’s silent message sunk in, Charming grew instantly serious, transforming his looks so that he appeared older. “Yes.”

Free nodded.

“Let me get you a shawl.” Serene rose from the table and disappeared from view. When she returned a minute later she held out a shawl woven with muted fall colors in the softest wool Rosie had ever touched, with bits of fur interwoven. It was a piece of art.

“This is gorgeous,” Rosie said.

“She does the weaving herself,” Charming said proudly.

“The sheep here grow wool so soft it’s almost like air and so very warm,” said Serene.

“Amazing.” Rosie looked into Serene’s eyes, which were both beautiful and not quite human. “I could sell these for a fortune at home.”

Serene looked at Free, clearly embarrassed by the praise and attention.

Smiling at his mate, Free simply said, “We have all we need.”

“Right!” Charming looked at Rosie. “Let’s get out of here before they start making out right in front of us.”

Pulling the shawl around her shoulders, Rosie felt as beautiful as if she was heading out to a club in platform heels and a killer black dress.

The Commons room had a large square fire pit in the center and a vent that hung just above. It gave off just enough warmth and light to make Rosie glad she came.

They’d just walked in when a gruff voice said, “Charm. Who’s your little friend?”

“Her name is Rosie,” he said. “She’s a special guest of the Extant. Under his protection. If you scare her, you answer to him.”

The room had gotten quiet during Charming’s speech. The thirty or so people present stared for a few seconds then, to Rosie’s relief, turned away, resuming their conversations. She noticed the men were mostly dressed like Free. Dark jeans-style pants. Henleys. The few women there were dressed in long sleeve solid colored tee shirts, colorful wraparound skirts, and combat boots. It came off as Bohemian, fashionable in its own way.

Charming took her elbow and steered her toward the man behind the bar, who looked to be about the same age as Free. Rosie’s initial assessment was that all the hybrids would be intimidating to most people, if not outright scary. They were big and imposing, but it would be impossible to ignore the fact that they were also physical perfection. She didn’t imagine that people who were the product of breeding experiments would want to be complimented on their looks though. It could be a sore subject.

“Scar,” Charming said, “this is Rosie. She’s going to help you out while she’s here.”

“Yeah?” said the man Charming had called ‘Scar’. Rosie saw no scar, but there was a lot of body covered from view. “Why would she do that?”

Charming’s smile fell. “Because Kellareal said.”

Scar leaned toward Rosie. “Well, in that case…”

Charming stepped in front of Rosie. “Like I said, she’s a guest. Should I tell the Extant you don’t plan to be nice?”