Page 29 of Carnal: The Beast Who Loved Me

Rosie smiled in return. “Maybe.”

Dandy shook her head, but turned away still smiling. “So how is he?”

“Okay. Turned out to be just a spasm or something.”

“A cramp? How does a kid with brothers like Carnal and Crave fall down and cry hurt over a cramp?” Rosie pulled up short, realizing she hadn’t thought about the fact that, in a warrior society, a miraculous recovery might make Charming look like a pussy. “Well, never mind. I’m back now. So you might as well go ahead and take off.”

“Okay. Thanks. No harm done, right? I mean nobody stole anything.”

“Stole?” Dandy looked like she was having trouble processing that question. “You mean when somebody takes something that doesn’t belong to them?”

Rosie blinked. “Yes. That’s the definition of stealing.”

“Well, no. How can somebody steal something that already belongs to them?”

“Yeah. In that case, why are you so worried about leaving the bar unattended?”

“Because if nobody’s here, people will just come around and help themselves, breaking stuff and messing things up.”

“Oh.”

“So try not to do it again.”

“Only in emergencies.”

“Uh huh. Get out of here before I ask what constitutes an emergency. I have a feeling I don’t want to hear the answer to that.”

“Gone.”

“I still see you.”

“No you don’t,” Rosie said as she threw her apron in the bin and grabbed her shawl from its hook.

Carnal and Charming were steps away from the Commons as Rosie was leaving, pulling her shawl over her shoulders.

“Hey,” said Charming. “Carnal’s having an ale with me.” He said it like it was an occasion.

She smiled. “That’s nice. Have fun.”

Carnal smiled that smile that made him look like he knew all her secrets. “You’re welcome to join us.”

“No thanks.” She kept walking, but said over her shoulder, “The room where I’m staying needs a lot more homey touches.” When Carnal’s smile fell, she turned her head so that he couldn’t see that she was laughing.

Carnal and Charming were seated at a table by the fire with two pewter mugs of ale. Charming cleared his throat and, after looking around, said, “Carnal. Blaze…”

“Don’t.” Carnal cut him off with a single word spoken quietly, but so full of emotion it spoke volumes. He looked down at the mug for a minute before saying, “So. What’s her story?”

Charming looked suspicious. “Rosie?”

“Yes. Rosie.”

“Told you she’s not for you.”

“Just curious, kid. It’s not unreasonable to ask why a human is staying in the Extant’s house. Is it?”

“No. I guess not.” Charming looked around like he was confirming that nobody else was there. “Kellareal asked Free if she could stay here for a while. She told me she was on a break from her real life because her man left her.”

Carnal’s expression didn’t change. “Left her? She was mated?”