by J. Kearston
“Glamour. It doesn’t change you into a completely different person, but it can affect how you appear to others. Older, younger, hair, eyes. Basic stuff,” she chirps, stretching her arms above her head and cracking her neck from side to side.
“Basic stuff,” Atlas repeats, eyeing her appreciatively. “Like using it to convince Luce’s secretary that we’re all horny degenerates?”
She holds up her hands in innocence. “Hey, you were the ones flirting. I was just doing my job.” She turns to me and stretches out a hand. “Speaking of, how much am I getting paid?”
Ushering them out of the lobby, I sigh and lock up as we head outside and approach the car. “You get a roof over your head and food while we’re here.”
She stops dead in her tracks. “I’m not working for free,” she argues. “I don’t expect you guys to get jobs when we need to stay in my apartment.”
“Can humans even get jobs over there?” Atlas asks and she pointedly ignores him.
“You can come work with me tomorrow, I’ll pay you,” Dorian offers and she grins, flipping me off and skipping over to him.
“Sounds good to me,” she chirps, but I catch her around the waist and haul her back to my car.
“Oh, no. This situation is already complicated enough without you going home with one of those two,” I rumble in warning.
She gives me a strange look, but I don’t bother explaining that she’s already leading them around by their dicks in case she isn’t aware of it. Dorian would marry the girl if she asked and Atlas’ hand likely needs burn cream by now.
“I’ll drop you off at the shop tomorrow, but you’re staying where I can keep an eye on you while we’re here. I’ll clear out a room for you soon, but for tonight you can take mine and I’ll take the couch.”
She looks at the others as they snort. “Luce has some control issues,” Dorian states, smiling.
“You get used to it,” Atlas shrugs and I glower at the both of them.
I help her into the car and drive off before either of them can add more fuel to the fire and we ride in silence for the majority of the trip home. I’m still a bit too agitated when she speaks, which just succeeds in irritating me further since I’ve never struggled this much to keep a level head. But with her words, I lose my anger as quickly as it took root.
“It’s hard on me too, you know? So maybe this could work to make things a bit less stressful. On that side, I need to be responsible for you three, but over here you can take point. That way we both get a break.”
We pull into my driveway, but neither of us move to get out just yet. “We’ll find a routine that works for all of us.”
I say it as much for myself as for her. I’m slowly coming to terms with things, but it hasn’t really settled in yet that the only way to deal with this situation is adapt or die, that there isn’t an actual solution.
She toys with the hem of her skirt while looking anywhere but at me. “Which means one of you guys are going to need to come with me to work tomorrow night. I’ll go to Dorian’s in the morning and work for a while, then take a nap in a back room or something. We’ll figure it out.”
I nod in agreement as we head inside and grab an extra blanket for the couch while she makes dinner. It’s incredibly domestic, and oddly enough, that’s even more strange than stumbling into the fae world. That was magical and unbelievable, something I can pretend was a dream, but this feels unsettlingly real and not at all what I’m used to.
Someone in my space, making casual conversation while settling into a routine? It’s worse, because I don’t completely hate it. And if there’s nothing you enjoy, it can’t be taken from you. That bartender was right.
Lord help you if she finds you.
Chapter 7
Dorian
“I don’t think I’ve ever had this many sales in a day,” I laugh.
Lucien threw a little bitch fit, insisting she couldn’t wear the work uniform from yesterday here because of ‘all the perverted nerds’, but she just tossed back that he was the one that picked it out and bought it. So if there was something wrong with it, it was his own fault, because she was dressed in officially approved business attire, as per one Lucien Avrell.
I don’t think Luce even sees how charmed he is by her. For being resentful of her being our supernatural custodian, he certainly is concerned with taking care of her.
Cambria is in the middle of unloading a shipment of manga onto the shelves and I’m definitely not the only one in here that thinks it’s better than TV. She bends over once more, but when some guy tries to blatantly look up her skirt, I toss him out on his ass.
There is a limit, after all, even if I’m toeing the line pretty hard. The only thing that makes me not feel like a complete creep is that I think she’s enjoying the attention. She adds an extra sway to her hips and when she stretches up on her toes to try and reach a high shelf, bats her eyes over her shoulder until someone scrambles to help.
Mostly, I’m surprised with how quickly word spread that there was a hot chick working today. The joys of modern technology.
Between ringing people up and tossing out a few that overstay their welcome, I study her. Not just imagine her wrapped around my cock as I fuck her senseless, though I do plenty of that, but I study her to try and understand who she is and what exactly she’s capable of.
There are millions of stories about the fae, but what’s reality and what‘s fiction is still up for debate. Not only that, but we know next to nothing about this girl that saved our lives.
When it hits lunchtime, I close the shop temporarily so we can go grab something before she needs to sleep this afternoon. I wait until we have our food and are back in the store so that we won’t be accidentally overheard before asking the theory I’ve been contemplating all morning.
“Do you feed off of attention?”
She pauses mid bite and completely freezes. I quickly realize how that could be interpreted wrong, so I hasten to re-word it. “I mean, we know you can only go so long without having to return home to recharge, for lack of a better word. But while you’re here, does having humans fawn over you help? Sort of like a succubus with sexual energy, but a fae with adoration?”
I stuff my sandwich in my mouth before I can say anything else that might offend her. I don’t want her thinking it’s a bad thing in the slightest, because it’s not. She can do whatever and whoever she wants. I just want to understand because one, I’m curious as hell, and two, the more we understand about her the more we can make sure she’s getting what she needs. Just like she’s now responsible for us, I feel compelled to take care of her too.
She smiles, but it doesn’t reach her eyes and she’s still tense. “You catch on quick, I’m impressed. Want to make a bet on how long it will take the others to figure it out?”
Shaking my head, I chuckle, trying to ease the mood. “Atlas might get there eventually, but Lucien is too lost in his own world to see it. Maybe before they guess your abilities?”
She takes another small bite. “Figured that one out too?”
I take a shot in the dark. “Mesmerizing? Glamour, obviously, and there might be others, but I think that’s the only thing I’ve witnessed so far. The way everyone stops what they’re doing to focus on you goes beyond just the fact that you’re hot. It’s like they’re entranced.”
She lies down and stretches out on her stomach, resting her cheek on one hand while her legs shift behind her and make her skirt ride up further than it already was. “You’re too observant for your own good. It’s no wonder it got you into trouble,” she teases, but doesn’t deny it either. “Are you worried that I’m using it to manipulate you and your friends to feed and clothe me?”
I’m shaking my head before she’s even finished speaking. “No, because I know what it feels like now. That first time we saw you in the club when you pickpocketed us, you were using it, but you haven’t since.”
Her smile falters from teasing to serious. “I don’t think I�
�ve ever had someone understand the difference before. Everyone just assumes the worst of me.”
“Maybe you’re hanging out with the wrong sort of people.” I shrug, trying to lessen the serious turn the conversation is heading. “Come on, let’s get you situated before I reopen. I don’t imagine that anyone would try anything, but I also don’t want to advertise that there's a sexy schoolgirl sleeping in the back to this crowd,” I snort.
She releases an amused breath while standing up, the odd tension from the room abating. Falling into step behind me, we head up the back stairs that lead to my apartment. It’s set up with the storefront below and my home above, so it’s made things insanely easy to manage.
“Make yourself at home. Bedroom’s down the hall and to the left. I’ll come wake you up so you have time to shower before we need to leave.”
Turning to look over her shoulder, she waggles her eyebrows as me. “So, you’re coming with me later?”
A surprised laugh slips out, enjoying how openly perverted she is. “We all are.”
Not believing me, she aims a challenging look in my direction. “Hate to be the one to tell you this, but Lucien doesn’t exactly seem the sort to go to those kinds of places. How’d you even get him there in the first place?”
I bite my tongue and she bursts out laughing. “You were trying to hook him up with someone?” When I just blush she smiles as big as the Cheshire cat. “Oh, you all were. No wonder you want to go back.”
She saunters down the hallway as I start to object, but she waves it off laughing. “It’s cool, Dorian, I’m just getting a kick out of imagining some drunk girl wrinkling Lucien’s dress shirt in the alley. Heck, it’s been a while for me too; maybe we’ll all get lucky tonight.”
I shake my head, locking the door behind me just to be safe as I make my way back downstairs to open up for the afternoon. But all the while, all I can think of is Cambria getting banged in the back alley and I can’t seem to stop myself from feeling jealous, even though I have no right to be. She may not be mine, but we’re hers.
That sounds sappy and pathetic, even in my head.
***
I rest my folded arms on the rail that runs around the pit at the club, watching Cambria at the turntable. Compared to her last performance, one could argue that she’s trying not to draw undue attention onto herself. But hell, this girl stands out, even in this crowd.
Hers isn’t the only shock of multicolored hair, and she’s dressed far more modestly than the people grinding all over each other, but there’s just something about her. She surrenders herself to the music, dancing with reckless abandon and grinning ear to ear. She looks so full of life, so fuckin’ happy, that it’s like looking at the sun. You strive to get near, but get too close and you’ll burn from her intensity.
“What did Atlas get us into with this woman?” Lucien asks, coming to lean next to me and grimacing.
I pull the pair of ear plugs I grabbed for him out of my pocket and pass them over. He nods his thanks and stuffs them in his ears, already looking far less stressed because of it. After everything he went through growing up, he doesn’t do well with an abundance of overstimulation. He never explained that to Atlas, and it wasn’t my place to do so, but I should have known better than to let my friend talk me into dragging Luce here in the first place.
“Lay off, L. She’s not that bad.”
He gives me a dry look. “You’re just saying that because you want to get in her pants.”
I flip him off without tearing my eyes away from Cambria, who’s now taken to weaving through the crowd, singing along to the music. It’s hypnotic, even without all of the smoke and mirrors of last time. She twists and turns across the floor seamlessly, never missing a step or getting jostled unless she intends to.
A hard shove to my shoulder snaps me out of my musings and I turn to see Atlas staring at me with concern. “Dude, that’s the third time I tried to get your attention. You’ve got to be on your guard better than that. Yeah, we need to hang out and make sure she doesn’t get killed, but we need to keep an eye on what’s happening around her to make sure that doesn’t happen.” He adds on a mumble, “Damn siren, is what she is.”
I scowl, realizing I got ensnared in her using her abilities without her meaning to. If she’s using them on this big of a crowd, chances are she can’t control it from affecting us if we get too close. A quick glance at Lucien shows he isn’t nearly as focused on her as I was, so I make a mental note to pick up more ear plugs.
“Sorry.”
A little while later, Cambria makes her way towards the bar, and I don’t think she’s even noticed us nearby yet in the heavy crowd. She hops up onto the bar and hollers for Cy, who promptly shoves her back to her feet, scowling playfully. She sticks a hand down her shirt and pulls out a few bills as we approach, taking seats near her.
“You’re going to end up with some man trying to strangle you if you keep this up. What would happen to us if you keeled over?” Lucien demands as he scolds her, one of the main reasons he and Atlas have decided we need to look after her better over here if she’s going to act like this.
Lucien has a big problem with stealing. It’s a testament to how much she affects him that he hasn’t gone on a rampage about it yet.
She narrows her eyes up at him. “I don’t discriminate; I cop feels on the ladies too, thank you very much. Maybe it’ll be a bombshell assassin that sneaks into my room to slit my throat. But of course, she’d get distracted with her hands all over me and forget the real reason she came for the new reason she was about to.”
“That was oddly specific,” I can’t help but point out.
She turns to me and winks. “No kink shaming, oh young ward of mine. Who doesn’t occasionally have fantasies of a hand wrapped around their throat and pressed into the bed until they’re fucked so hard they’re clawing at the sheets?”
I try to subtly adjust myself as she pivots to face Lucien. “Besides, you saw my apartment; I’m not exactly getting paid through the nose here. And to be fair, I have no idea if I die you automatically do too. That hasn’t really been an issue before. So I guess it’ll be a fun surprise.” She shrugs, all ‘whatcha gonna do?’
Lucien pinches the bridge of his nose and I grin. I haven’t seen the man this disheveled and fighting for control in all of the time I’ve known him. She gets under his skin just as much as ours, though I doubt he’d admit it if I asked. I idolize the man, but he’s so busy taking care of everyone else, he forgets about himself.
“I’ll buy you dinner, alright?” he attempts in an effort to persuade her to stop causing trouble without it turning into a fight yet, though I pick up on the undercurrent tone. If she keeps it up, it’s going to come to verbal blows.
I’ve known the girl all of a few days and I can already tell you he’s fighting a losing battle. Uphill. In a snowstorm.
“Why, Lucien, that sounds an awful lot like asking me on a date.” She puts her hand to her chest and gasps. “What about my virtue, who will protect it then?”
Atlas breathes out a laugh beside me, getting just as much enjoyment at seeing our uptight friend finally meet his match as I am. Though I don’t miss the nervous glances he shoots in Luce’s direction, confirming it’s alright to be as familiar as he is. Atlas and Lucien have always had more of a wall between the two of them, Atlas indebted to Lucien nearly as much as I am, but over the last couple of years things have started to change. Our dynamic is an unusual one, and while I’m sure Cambria will fit into it seamlessly, making it better than it ever has been, I don’t think the other two are as confident yet.
Lucien narrows his eyes at her while paying the bartender and waits for her burger to show up. “I don’t understand why you choose to make everything so much more difficult than it needs to be.”
Instead of being insulted or getting pissed off, she grins. “What can I say? I’m a girl that loves a hard time.” She winks at him dramatically and when Cy places a plate in front of her, she a
bsolutely inhales it.
I frown, speaking low to Atlas so she won’t hear me. “How long do you think she typically went between meals before we showed up?”
He speaks hesitantly. “Girl’s a damn good pick pocket. Yet, she only got one drink with L’s card and gave ours back without a fight. No way she only stole from us; she has to have a stash somewhere. Or she owes someone money.” I just shrug, because it doesn’t feel right to me, but I have no facts to debate with.
Less than five minutes later, Cambria is sauntering back to her stage, calling over her shoulder, “If you’re looking for a good time, I’d get down to the pit; the girls always go crazy for this one.”
Atlas and Lucien share a confused look so I fill them in on our previous conversation, grimacing.
“So,” Atlas starts slowly, “she wants us to get laid? Is giving us her blessing? This feels like a trap.”
Even Lucien hesitates before shaking it off. “You heard her earlier, we aren’t her slaves. Free will all around. Just because Cambria didn’t want to see us lose our heads doesn’t mean she wants to see the lower ones.”
I sputter a laugh, not used to him being so crass. “You say that like you’re fully on board with trying to get laid tonight, L.”
When he doesn’t immediately respond, my eyes widen. “Oh shit, you are!”
He slams back his drink and scowls, leaving the bar without a word. I turn to Atlas who is full on grinning and laughing now that Luce is out of earshot. “He’s such an idiot. Man’s a goner already and doesn’t know what to do about it.”
I scoff, finishing off my own drink and getting up. “Best way to get over someone is to get under someone else?” Atlas nods as I shake my head in disappointment. “What’s wrong with admitting he likes her? I’ll even go first.” I raise my hand in the air. “I am one hundred percent okay with the fact that Cambria has to live with us.”
Atlas sighs as we start nearing the stairs. “Yeah, one of us. She may be linked to all of us, but she only needs to stay by one of us as long as the others don’t try to run away or blab.”