Charming (A Seven World Novel)

by Dannika Dark

  “I’m home!” Nadia announced, keys jingling and landing on a flat surface.

  Kat swiftly moved away, her cheeks aflame and eyes downcast. She lightly touched the spot where his mouth had been and then turned around. “Hey. We were just… cleaning.”

  “And what were you cleaning in my pristine apartment?” Nadia stood in the open doorway. “Please tell me you didn’t make a Packmaster scrub my kitchen floor.” She turned her attention to Prince and approached with a sultry swing of her hips. “I wasn’t expecting you to be here this evening. To what do I owe this pleasure?”

  Kat gave him a loaded glance.

  “I owe you dinner,” he replied smoothly.

  “Perfect. I’m starving. Where are we going?” Nadia reached out and held his hand.

  Kat backed up until she met with the sink. She picked up the scrubber and played with the bristles, lifting her eyes just a fraction toward them.

  “Candlelight dinner on a rooftop? It’s the least I can do to smooth things over.”

  Nadia glanced down at her green skirt. “Should I change?”

  “If it gets chilly, you can come back down for—”

  “Wait a minute,” she said, flipping back her blond hair. “You don’t mean my roof, do you? I’m not eating on the roof of my apartment. What kind of woman do you take me for? Tell me you’re only teasing.”

  Prince flicked his eyes between Nadia and Kat. He hadn’t planned on leaving Kat alone, and it was too awkward to invite her along. Insulting Nadia by canceling his offer would displease Kat. Yet the way Kat’s lips were thinning, he wasn’t sure if going on the date was going to make her any happier.

  “I’m beat,” Kat announced, pushing away from the counter. “I think I’ll go to bed early.”

  “It’s not even dark,” Nadia said. “The night is young. Why don’t you see what Austin has to offer and watch a few live bands? If you’d rather go to a more upscale club, I can make a call and get you into the VIP room. This city comes to life at night.”

  “That’s not my thing,” Kat said, staring down at her sneakers.

  When Nadia gave her a restrained scowl, Prince realized she was intentionally trying to get Kat out of the house.

  It didn’t take long for Kat to pick up on it either. “Fine. Smoky air sounds perfect. What time should I be back, sis?”

  Nadia looked at her gold watch and wound it up. “Anytime after one.”

  “In the morning?”

  “Two sounds better.”

  Kat waved her hand and stormed out of the room. “Fine. You two have an amazing night full of hot animal sex while I’m snacking on peanuts and napping on crusty sofas.”

  Prince belted out a laugh and quickly covered it before he stirred up more trouble between the twins. Nadia raked him over with a cold stare, but Prince found jealousy to be a surprisingly attractive quality in a woman, and seeing it flare up in Kat was confirmation that she wanted him for herself. But why would she give up something she wanted for her sister’s happiness?

  Nadia pinched the hem of Prince’s T-shirt, stretching the fabric across his broad chest. “This is nice. Did you say we’d be traveling by helicopter?”

  ***

  Prince needed to execute this dinner with precision. After all, it had been he who had pursued Nadia from the start, so he had an obligation to follow through with an uninterrupted date. He’d spent more time with her twin, and that riddled him with guilt because Nadia deserved a chance. So Prince had made a call and arranged for a candlelight dinner on a secluded rooftop downtown.

  Dinner on a rooftop? He wished Kat had never put the thought in his head. Prince’s men made a valiant effort to meet his expectations, and it had taken him an hour to locate a helicopter pilot who was available. His men had set up a cloth-covered table, silver platters, and hurricane lamps with electric candles to withstand the wind. But for him, there was nothing less romantic than eating on top of a concrete building with ventilation systems scattered about and a perilous drop just a few feet away. Perhaps there were buildings with rooftop bars and swimming pools, but this was short notice and they needed privacy.

  He pulled out the wooden chair and Nadia sat down, the strong wind blowing her hair to the left. Her smile never faltered as she pulled her hair away from her face. Some strands got tangled up in her long lashes and she gracefully tucked them behind her ear. A car horn blared from the busy street below.

  “Let me pour you some wine.” He quickly filled their glasses before the wind blew the glassware over. “This is like eating with your head sticking out of a car window,” he muttered.

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you?”

  “You look stunning beneath the moonlight.”

  The wind died down, thank the gods.

  Nadia lifted the silver dome from her plate, then devoured the salad with her eyes. “This is perfect. I’m always watching my figure.”

  Prince admired Nadia’s manners. Despite the harsh wind, she didn’t belittle his efforts to impress her. It was strange how she mirrored Kat, but where they differed the most was in the eyes. There was something uniquely different about the way each of them looked at him, and Prince was confident he’d be able to tell them apart by their eyes alone.

  “I’m going to assume you’ve deduced I was with your sister today.”

  She crunched on a radish, a faraway look in her eyes as she watched a twinkling star in the east. “I thought as much. It’s just like Katarina to act so impulsively. She’s living in a fantasy world where our father will be found alive and rescued, but this isn’t a fairy tale. Men disappear every day and are never seen again. I’ve come to terms with accepting his absence, but Katarina will never move on with her life until she can do the same. The past is what holds her back from the future.”

  Prince cut into his salad, slicing a cherry tomato in two. “Maybe the reason she searches for her father is because that’s where she received unconditional love. Siblings tend to be more critical of one another. I’m sure a woman like Kat isn’t easy for you to understand, but what she needs is someone to fill his absence. Whether she finds him or not, you’re her family and she seeks your approval.”

  Nadia gave a close-lipped laugh and gulped down her red wine. “Kat was put on this earth to make my life hell. She robbed me of my father’s affection, and now you’re suggesting I give her more? What makes her so special that she deserves more love than I do?”

  Kat might have seemed in need of her sister’s affections, but in truth, it was Kat who did everything for Nadia to show her devotion. She called, visited, and fumbled at attempts to do things for Nadia. And where was she now? She’d stepped away from a man she was interested in so her sister could be happy. Kat was sitting in a club—the last place she liked spending her free time—so that Nadia could have the apartment alone with Prince. He had seen the love for her sister shining in Kat’s eyes, and all she wanted in return was the same. Yet Nadia withheld that love because of sibling rivalry, jealousy, and all the things attached to family. That’s what happens when you can only see from one side of the mirror.

  It had taken years for Prince to learn this for himself, and Nadia reminded him of his younger self. As the firstborn, he’d inherited land from his parents, who had even named him Prince in their language. His brother grew jealous and branched away from the family, fighting in battles to prove himself a worthy man. But his warrior status didn’t impress their parents. Prince had secretly admired him, but because he never revealed this to Emil, the brothers grew distant. Prince chose to focus on the negative and, like his parents, expected his brother to become more like him. He’d hoped Emil would be his second-in-command one day, but his brother didn’t want to follow in his shadow.

  When Prince received news of his death, it affected him profoundly, leaving him guilt-stricken. Maybe that’s why he wanted to rectify the animosity blooming between these two sisters before they met the same fate. Kat’s need for acceptance from her own flesh and blood remi
nded him so much of Emil, to the point it unnerved him.

  He set down his silver fork and centered his gaze on Nadia. “No matter what you think of her, Kat is all you have left. Time changes, money comes and goes, but she’s the only person you can depend on. She’d die for you, and I’m certain you’d do the same for her if it came down to it. Accept who Kat’s become, and that love might be enough to draw out the venom coursing in her veins—the poison that turns to spite.”

  Nadia finished her salad and gazed toward the lights twinkling below. “You’ve only just become acquainted with my sister; it’s premature to make such assumptions. Kat is beyond my help. I’ve tried to get her a job, but she resists.”

  “You’ll have to accept that she doesn’t want to live the same life as you, and right now, she doesn’t feel like she’s good enough in your eyes.”

  “Since when did you become an advocate for my sister? I have no interest in discussing Katarina all evening,” she said in a bored voice.

  He reached across the table and held her hand, embarrassed by his lack of manners. “I apologize; that wasn’t fair of me. Tell me about yourself.”

  “You know about my job.”

  “Yes, but what are your passions?”

  She looked at him wolfishly and stood up from the table, approaching him from the right. The warm summer wind caressed his face, and he closed his eyes when her delicate fingers stroked his jaw. “My passion is right here.”

  “I mean, what is it you like to do? What are your opinions about art or—”

  “I buy and sell art all day. Let’s not talk about art.”

  Prince shifted in his chair, growing flustered. “I’m not asking to have a discussion on Picasso or black holes; I just want to know more about who you are.”

  Nadia leaned against the edge of the table, the wind in her favor as it picked up the silky tendrils of her long mane. It gave him a prominent view of her regal features, slender neck, lush lips, and feminine curves. He wished he had asked her to change into a pair of slacks before they left, because her sitting on the edge of the table in a skirt with her legs slightly open was testing his character as a gentleman.

  “I work long hours and spend most of the day scheduling meetings and negotiating prices with my clients. I’m independent and don’t need a man to take care of me. This town is alive with music, food, and people, and I like socializing with men and women. I don’t like talking about myself as much as what the air smells like in Greece or why humans spend so much money trying to extend their life but a few years. I’m not sure how I feel about being mated; there’s an expectation that comes with living in a pack, and I have no intention of changing my lifestyle. The right man has to come along, one who will understand my needs.”

  He leaned back in his chair. “But that is all I know about you, Nadia. What are your real feelings about eating on a rooftop? Tell me more about where you grew up.”

  She reached for his glass and sipped his wine. “You’re one of those talkers, aren’t you? Don’t you get bored talking about the same things after centuries? I have no wish to talk about the atrocities being committed against Shifters, and I don’t think my childhood stories are going to change the way you feel about me.” She lifted his hand and placed it on her thigh. “There are things I’d like to try on a rooftop, Prince. Show me how much you’re interested. I must know if there’s something between us.”

  “What more can I do?”

  “Kiss me.”

  Chapter 9

  Kat had no intention of going to a stinky club and having some sweaty Shifter paw all over her. Instead, she hopped in her yellow car and tailed Prince and Nadia. She knew just how to maneuver her car so they wouldn’t get away. After all, she’d probably staked out roughly three hundred outlaws, although this was her first time chasing a helicopter. The only person who’d ever gotten away from her had plowed through an intersection and struck a Labrador. Kat’s little heart had melted when she saw it happen, so she’d pulled her car over and held the pup in her arms for all of thirty seconds before he had a seizure and died. After that, Kat vowed if anyone hurt an animal in her presence again, he was going to get a dagger in the balls.

  So there she was—standing outside a hotel, watching her sister circle overhead in a helicopter. Kat waltzed into the hotel as if she owned the place and took the elevator. When she got near the top, she changed over to the stairs and began climbing the rest of the way. Sweat trickled down her forehead, and she panted.

  “You are so out of shape,” she chided, her voice reverberating off the walls. “Six tacos? Great way to impress a guy. Not just any guy, but a Packmaster. Nadia gets a rooftop romance with porterhouse steak, and all you have to show him is questionable meat at a roadside stand. No wonder you’re still single.” Kat tried to swallow, but her throat was too dry from the heavy breathing.

  When she reached the top, she opened the door to the roof, then stepped into a small room and approached the outside door, but it was locked. Some places did that to keep all the crazies from going up there and jumping to their death. But Kat knew how to pick a lock, so she knelt down and caught her breath while fiddling with the mechanism.

  “Fly me to the moon,” she sang, continuing the lyrics until the door unlocked. She tucked her handy little tool back in its pouch and slowly eased the door open. “Please be true,” she whispered more than sang.

  The door cracked open a few inches, and when Kat beheld the enchanting scene before her, she took a seat on the cold concrete. Despite the wind whipping the white tablecloth at the bottom, the candles remained lit inside their colored lanterns. Nadia looked like Aphrodite with her hair blowing in the breeze like ribbons of silk. Prince was doing most of the talking, which struck her as odd because he was always the quiet one around her.

  “God, maybe I do have a big mouth,” she remarked.

  Kat looked on with a rueful heart, wondering if she’d made the right decision in letting them go without an objection. It wasn’t as if Prince would take her seriously since clearly the better half was currently sitting opposite him, but it didn’t eliminate the sting in knowing she hadn’t even put up a fight. Then again, what would her father have thought if she’d ruined her relationship with Nadia over the affections of a man?

  She rested her head against the doorjamb when Prince reached across the table and held Nadia’s hand.

  Kat was close to her father for the same reason her twin had been close with their mother. Nadia was like a little clone, and in some ways, she’d grown up to become just like their mother. As a little girl, Kat had envied the special affection that her mother had shown her sister, so she understood how Nadia must have felt regarding Kat’s close relationship with their father. Both sisters were dealt a bad hand when they lost both parents, but at least Nadia had managed to get her life into some semblance of normalcy.

  Stars glittered above, moonlight illuminated the picturesque scene, and Nadia rose from her chair. It was almost too painful to watch as she rounded the table and stood before the alpha. Kat hadn’t known Prince very long, but being with him was easy and comfortable, like the jeans she had on.

  When Nadia cupped his face and leaned down, Kat realized why they put locks on roof doors. She stared for a frozen moment and then looked away, an unfamiliar pain gripping her chest. Kat didn’t feel jealous; she felt wounded.

  The kiss always sealed the deal. Men couldn’t resist Nadia once they got a taste. She must be a phenomenal kisser, Kat thought. Not that Kat lacked skills of her own, but she just hadn’t had as much practice.

  After a moment, Kat glanced up, and her eyes widened in horror. A man approached the table—just a slithering shadow that appeared out of nowhere.

  “Vlad.”

  He must have used his Mage gift to jump from the nearby building.

  Kat flung the door open, and it became one of those intense scenes that played out in slow motion in her head, like a Die Hard movie. She moved like a torpedo, her feet pounding ag
ainst the hard surface, her hands pulled into tight fists, energy rolling off her, the wind blowing her hair back. Nadia had leaned down to kiss Prince, both of them unaware that Vlad had eased up behind them, a malicious grin widening on his face as he sharpened his light.

  Kat dove through the air and crashed on top of the table. As it toppled over, plates broke and silverware clattered against the concrete. When the table rolled slightly to the side, the tablecloth blew off into the night. She flipped onto her back and scanned the roof, but Vlad was nowhere to be seen.

  Nadia and Prince stared down at her, aghast. A cherry tomato rolled by, and lettuce covered the entire scene like a produce massacre.

  “You just couldn’t let me have one night,” Nadia said gruffly, hands on hips. “Why must you always ruin everything?”

  Kat lifted the bottle of wine and handed it to Nadia. “At least the wine didn’t break?”

  Prince rocked with laughter and covered his eyes, stopping his outburst before Nadia looked daggers at him.

  When her sister didn’t take the bottle, Kat took a swig.

  Vlad was messing with her head. She hoped like hell he didn’t know anything about Nadia being related to their father. If he somehow already knew that Alex had twin daughters, then maybe Nadia’s blond hair threw him off. But when Kat replayed the scene in her head, it seemed like Vlad had been going after Prince. He might have assumed Prince meant something to Kat, and after crashing his house earlier, it wouldn’t surprise her if Vlad was on the warpath for revenge. Maybe he found out she’d stolen sensitive information from his computer, or maybe he didn’t like the way she’d poured all his beer into the toilet.

  “I think I’ve had enough excitement for one evening,” Nadia announced, wiping at a splash of red wine that had stained her short skirt.