by Ruby Raine
“Believe me, not interested. And I have no clue what she told you, but it was all her idea. I just went along with it.”
“Yes, because getting your dick inside her was a huge favor, to her,” Charlie charged at him with a hiss. Lizzy glowered, getting more of the picture. “You are a walking violation to women. And my sister is not a cheap date.”
“It wasn’t cheap. But I guess you know, since you paid the bill.”
His smug reply cut into Charlie. He heard Lizzy gasp at the accusation but he did not deny it. Instead, he put a few inches of space between them, silver flashing across his eyes egging Dominic to cross an invisible line. Give him any reason to sink his teeth into the asshole.
He would never do it. Dominic as a werewolf was a terrifying thought. All that power with no self-control...
“Do not go near my sister again. Ever.”
“Like I said, not interested. She came on to me,” his tone indicated, they always do. “I just went along for the ride.”
Lizzy stormed forward and knocked Charlie out of the way. No small feat with her tiny frame, but he staggered out of the way as without fanfare she reached out and grabbed Dominic’s junk, twisting him uncomfortably.
“What the fuck lady?”
“The wolf is being too forgiving. You want to keep this?” Her eyes laser beamed into his.
“Yes,” he squeaked.
“Learn some respect. You ever treat another woman like you did Melinda Howard, you won’t be needing this any longer.” She released him with a final warning crank. “And Dominic, you’re the only one who thinks you’re God’s gift to women. And you’re wrong.”
“Crazy ass bitch,” he muttered, creeping away. Charlie released the spell. Dominic disappeared. Lizzy expected to see Charlie miffed that she’d pushed him out of the way, but he wore a satisfied sneer. She folded her arms, sneering right back at him. Charlie’s smile dropped a little.
“You hired a guy like that idiot to date your sister? Strike that, you hired a guy, period, to date your sister?”
“You didn’t know Melinda when she was imprisoned in the house. I was trying to get her out more. Get her to go hang out with her friends. Then her friends all but forgot about her. I hired more than one guy to go out with her.”
“Is she keen on this?”
“No. And I’m not going to tell her. I feel terrible enough none of the dates went well, and not one of them asked her on a second date, and then that cocksucking piece of shit. I’ll never forgive myself for that. I hoped if one of them spent some time with Melinda, even if hired and paid for by me the first time, they’d get to see the real her. They’d like her, and ask her out on a real date. I was trying to build her confidence, all I did was ruin it. Dominic was a grade ahead of her in school. Years ago, right before our parents died, she’d mentioned how cute he was. I had no idea what a prick he’d turned into.”
Lizzy found that hard to believe.
“I had some idea,” he restated gloomily. “He was a bit smug when I asked him to take her to dinner. But I had no idea he was a selfish prick who’d use my sister’s vulnerability like he did. God damn that...” his sentence continued with a long slew of obscenities, some of which Lizzy had never heard before.
But in between the lines, the words she really heard: damn himself for picking the douchebag and not seeing sooner what he’d done to destroy Melinda’s confidence. Lizzy unfolded her arms. Her wolf’s intentions were noble, if not done eloquently.
“Until Riley came along, no guy ever gave Melinda a second look. The locals didn’t understand her. Or why she kept herself locked away. They treated her, I don’t want to say harshly. Just, misjudged her. I handled the situation the best I could. I am clearly not an expert.”
“No. But your heart was in the right place. Even though it was a dumbass maneuver.”
“Dominic broke my sister and I had no idea. She was sad and withdrawn after her date with him, but she was sad after every date. I just wanted her to be happy.”
“Well at least you weren’t stupid enough to pay them off for a second date.”
“No. If they didn’t genuinely want to after the first time, I had no intention of pushing. I was hoping there would be a spark with one of them. I wanted her to have a life. Leave the house. Feel good about herself. The opposite happened and now, of course, I see a hundred other ways I could have done that better.”
“It’s not something you can force, Charlie. It was something she had to do on her own terms. And she is.”
“Now. But back then,” he trailed off in a moment of doubt about everything he’d ever done trying to fix his sister. It was his duty to father new witches and keep the Howard bloodline going, but perhaps him and fatherhood were a bad mix.
“Shall we eat?” Lizzy changed the subject, giving him a break and not riding him too hard. His appetite was a bit dampened, but he nodded.
Romance time... he wasn’t starting off strong. He hoped lunch would go better. He led them back out to the Mystic Mermaid and opened the door for Lizzy and they stepped inside.
The hostess met them, dressed in a crisp ensemble of black and white. Hair pulled back, makeup applied to perfection. Nails that matched her lipstick and toenails. And heels so high Lizzy wondered how she walked upright at all. There was the low sound of classical background music playing overhead from speakers. But overall, as they were shown to their table, the eatery was quiet. People having hushed conversations, eating ridiculously small portions of food neither Lizzy nor Charlie could identify. His heart gave a lurch; he had a haunting suspicion this wasn’t going to go over well.
The entire walk through the dining room Lizzy wanted to smack Charlie for not warning her about the fanciness level. There was no way to hide her purple two-dollar flip-flops, or stop the slapping against the bottoms of her feet from drawing attention. At least she’d worn a nice summer dress; a nearly see-through white cotton dress. Barely passable for this joint.
However, realizing Charlie hardly wore anything other than shorts and tank tops, he probably considered the pullover shirt and unbelievably perfect fitting jeans plied against his ass, fancy.
“Oh, sorry,” apologized the hostess, stopping them abruptly. “I thought they had your table ready. Wait here a minute and I’ll be back.” She left them near the bar and scurried off to help the man cleaning their table. Charlie wondered if they had time for a few shots before sitting down. Lizzy bit at her lip and smoothed out her dress. He enjoyed the gentle upward push the dress gave her bosom, but underneath the lower part of that dress was far too much room. He needed to start feeding her more.
“Do you gain weight?” Charlie asked her.
“Um, what?” Lizzy blinked rapidly.
“Sorry, I don’t think that came out right. I just mean, are you one of those girls that eats and eats and eats and never gains an ounce?”
“Where are you going with this?”
Charlie heard a tinge of warning in her tone.
“You need to eat more,” he told her. “A lot more. Are there certain foods that will go straight to your ass?” He held out his hand in depiction of a curvy ass with a gleam in his eye.
“Wow,” her breath caught. “Is this your idea of romance? Even in my day, talking about your weight was not a girl’s favorite topic.”
“But I read this thing that said women love when a man doesn’t care if they lug around a few extra...” Lizzy put her hands to his lips to shut him up.
“At least you attempted to read something.”
“I’m doing this wrong, aren’t I?”
She returned his question with an annoyed grunt. “The name Jerkwad’s coming...”
“Oh. No. No way, I’m doing that bad. It’s just coming out all wrong. I’m really trying to say, I like a woman who eats. Please don’t order a salad. And if you had a sudden desire to gain a few pounds, I would not be offended in the least. I’d even help.”
“Your table is ready,” the hostess called out
.
Thank God, they both thought silently.
So far, this being romantic thing was not working out like he pictured in his mind. Stupid magazines. He’d found a few belonging to his sister and actually read some of the articles. No wonder Melinda had a warped view of relationships. Between his bad attempts to set her up, and those ridiculous, not-living-in-the-real-world articles, there was no winning!
The host took them to the backside of the eatery to a table next to an open window overlooking the ocean shore. It was a magnificent view but the space, cramped. Charlie tried to be a gentleman, and pulled Lizzy’s chair out for her, in the process elbowing the woman behind in the head. After apologizing profusely, he attempted to fit into his own seat.
What the hell is the deal with these tiny ass tables and chairs? His legs wouldn’t even fit underneath the table and his chair kept sliding back into the guy behind him. He looked up to see Lizzy, grinning in adoring amusement. She reached out and touched his hand.
“Charlie. What are we doing here?”
“I thought this was romantic. Expensive restaurant overlooking the ocean. It’s the fanciest place in town and near impossible to make a reservation this time of year.”
She tossed an offish glance between the two of them. “What does fanciest place in town have to do with romance? When you look at me, or think of me, or think of us together, is this what you imagine?”
He cleared his throat and lifted a brow. Didn’t spending a lot of money on a girl make her happy? And give her a sense of security? He was going to burn those stupid ass magazines the minute he got home! Romance is for others, he decided.
Lizzy got up and went to leave.
Charlie nearly pummeled into a waiter carrying a tray of food in his rush to follow, and his attempt to get out of the way almost landed him in the lap of an elderly woman who winked like she would not mind that scenario at all. Except that he’d crush the poor woman.
Epic fail, Charlie sighed.
Romance zip. Charlie Howard, zip. Lizzy annoyed, strike one!
She stopped at the hostess station on her way out the door. “A table just opened up.”
Charlie had no response when the hostess threw a questioning grimace. He followed Lizzy who was storming down the sidewalk busting through the crowd of people hoping to snag a table at the last minute.
Charlie caught up and spun her around.
“I don’t know how to fix it, but I’m sorry. Obviously, I suck at this.”
She folded her arms in front of her. “You were not lying when you said you never asked a girl out before, were you?” Before he replied she added, “Charlie, what kind of girl am I?” She raised her hand to silence him. “Think. Carefully.”
He closed his mouth.
She gave him a hint by stepping back and looking down at herself and back up to him.
“Right. Um, the kind that doesn’t care about fancy restaurants.”
She nodded, encouraging him.
“The kind that money doesn’t impress, or give a sense of security to.”
She nodded again.
“I way overthought this. Didn’t I?”
“I’m changing your name to overthinker. That eatery is the type of place you bring a girl to, who only eats salads. I’m not a salad girl, Charlie.”
“That really did come out wrong,” Charlie said apologetically. “And you’re right, that eatery was a bad choice.”
“Just, relax, Charlie. It’s not that hard. You’re making it way more complicated that it has to be. Romantic, is understanding the person you’re with on a level no one else can. It’s letting them into your life. And I don’t mean work. Or the day to day stuff. I’m talking about letting them in. Seeing who you really are. Showing them the sides you never show anyone else. And letting them give that back to you. You actually do it all the time and don’t even realize it. And it’s when you’re allowing yourself to just be you.”
“And am not overthinking things.” He looked around for a minute. Then smiled down at Lizzy. “I have a plan. A much better plan.” He grabbed her hand, took off down the sidewalk, and got Lizzy into his jeep. She opened her mouth to protest and Charlie planted his fingers on her lips.
“Hold whatever thought you were about to yell at me. I’ll be right back.”
He was gone about fifteen minutes and when he returned, held a large enclosed box that he placed in the backseat, gently. He hopped in and sped off down the road, heading out of town toward a marina. He parked, told Lizzy to follow him as he grabbed the box, and headed down a wharf, stopping in front of a magnificently kept wooden boat. About twenty-five feet in length, it glistened above the shimmering waves.
“This is my boat.” Charlie hopped on board and put down the box.
Lizzy ran her hands down the wooden sides, soaking in the details of each seam. “It’s like a work of art. Quite old, I’d wager.”
“My great-great-grandfather built it. It is my most prized possession. I come onto this boat, disappear out on the ocean, and even though I’m all alone, I never feel alone. I see my grandfather sitting over there, next to my Dad, who’s helping a little boy untangle a fishing line. Far too patiently seeing it’s the third time he’s done it just that day. That little boy soaked in every word his dad and granddad ever spoke. Every lesson they ever taught. This is the only place I’m ever me. The only place I can just... be.”
Lizzy stood on the pier, looking like she was about to bite her lip off if she chewed it any harder. She stopped, lowering her gaze for a moment.
He held out his hand to her. “Am I doing better?”
Her eyes flashed upward and she wore a warm smile. Lizzy grabbed his hand, gladly and willingly accepting the intrusion into something purely Charlie. She got onto the boat and lifted to her tiptoes.
“This takes romantic to a whole new level.”
He let out an obvious sigh of relief. “I may not be able to top this,” he warned. He thought for a second she was going to kiss him, instead she meandered over to the box he’d brought. Beer. Snacks. And bait.
“I hope you like to fish. Because that’s the only way we’re getting lunch,” informed Charlie.
“I love to fish. My father used to take me all the time. Granted, you’d better be patient because looking at these fishing rods, they don’t work anything like I’ve used before. I think instead of your father untangling your lines, you’re going to be doing the same with mine.”
“I can untangle you all day, if you like. In fact, I can even tangle you up, just to untangle you.”
“Tempting. So very tempting. But I’m hungry. And to answer your not quite so eloquently stated question from before, yes, I do gain weight. I’ve gained three pounds since returning to my body. I’m pretty certain it’s the beer and pizza that does the trick. But sorry, it goes everywhere, not just straight to my ass.”
Charlie let out an embarrassed laugh. “That was pretty dumb of me. But all over is good too.”
She smirked, admitting, “It’s kind of cute. The big bad wolf learning how to romance a girl.” She tore her gaze away. Even standing in the open air, the space between them was getting hotter. “Give me a tour of your boat,” she ordered him.
“Best part is the cabin. I’ve lost track of how many hours I’ve spent in there.” He nodded with his head. Lizzy stepped down three stairs and opened the door.
“Oh my God, how perfect.” She stepped inside. There wasn’t much room to move about, only enough for two people to stand side by side. On her right was a wall lined with storage cabinets, and a two burner stove for cooking. On the left, a bed built into the wall. At the very backside between it all, a closet. She went and opened it.
“Seriously? How do you even fit in here?” It was a toilet, but a tiny space. She turned to see his frame taking up the door. There was a glint in his eye. It stole her breath, the sheer giganticness of him.
“I’ve never brought anyone onto my boat before. My family doesn’t even come on board of
ten.”
His gaze imprisoned her, which she assumed was what he meant to do once she’d gotten inside the cabin. His cabin. His hideaway from the world. And he’d let her into it.
He nodded to the right. “Kitchen. Obviously. And storage. Need something, start opening doors until you find it. It’s in here, somewhere. Anything from sunblock, to hats, to life vests, to coffee...” he turned to the left and leaned down to lift a frame hidden under the mattress. “Blankets, pillows, rain jackets, a little of everything.” He let the mattress fall down into place. Lizzy saw the ideas dancing in his eyes about uses for that bed.
He stalked inside, filling up the rest of the space, closing in on her. The temperature in the cabin rose a few degrees. Silver eyes warned he was about to kiss her and this time nothing was going to stop him. Every muscle in Lizzy’s body dissolved to jelly drinking in that look.
In a glorious exhale, she was against him. Hard arms securing her firmly. Her feet, leaving the floor. Her lips, a breath away from his. A massive body embracing such a precious and breakable one.
“Charlie. You down there?” A sharp, familiar voice hollered from the dock outside.
His heart sank. The speed of it screeching to a slow, defeated, thud.
“Charlie?” the voice called out again.
Lizzy let out a disappointed breath and let her forehead fall against his. “We’re not going to be catching our lunch, are we? Or making out. Or fooling around.” She looked longingly at the bed. So close... there was an unsatisfied ache creeping through her veins.
Charlie groaned, dissatisfied.
“It’s entirely unfair,” she pouted.
He let out another groan that filtered through as more of a growl.
It was Mack yelling for him, which meant something bad had happened. Something important enough to seek him out at his boat. His sanctuary.
Charlie begrudgingly let Lizzy slide to the floor and lumbered up the stairs to the deck. The sheriff was adjusting her gun belt on the dock, waiting for him.
“Hiya, Mack.”
Lizzy glided up behind him.