CARNAL, The Beast Who Loved Me (29 page)

Carnal’s eyebrows tried to touch his hairline. “Lead?!?” He started shaking his head. “Noooooooo. Not in a hundred years.”

Free had been leaning back in his chair. The front two legs hit the floor with a thump when he leaned forward, levity aside. “You may not have a choice, son. Fate gives you what Fate gives you.”

“Yeah? Well, the only thing I want Fate to give me is…” Carnal realized he’d said too much and looked away.

“What?” Free asked with more than a mild curiosity. “What is it you want from Fate?”

When Carnal looked at his father, Free’s face softened. He could count on one hand the times in Carnal’s life when he’d appeared vulnerable. The longing on his son’s face was unmistakable.

“Rosie,” Carnal almost whispered.

Free’s expression went slack. “Carnal. She’s not staying. She’s just passing through. Kellareal said she’d only be here a short while. And she’s not…”

“Not what? Not one of us? I thought you wanted us to mate humans. Mix it up. Isn’t that what you said in the Commons?”

“Yes, but…”

“But what? It’s good enough for the others, but not me?”

“Well…”

“She’s special. More special than you can even imagine. And she affects me in ways I don’t even understand.”

Free thought about the fact that Exiled would be facing extinction if not for Rosie. “It’s undeniably true that she’s special, uncommon in many ways and we owe her a lot. I mean, she’s human, and I’ve made her an advisor on par with the elders.” He looked at Carnal. “But she’s not staying.”

“She might.”

Free cocked his head to the side. “Has she indicated that she’s interested in you?”

It was Carnal’s turn to take a deep breath. “I’m not sure. Maybe. Sometimes I think yes, then… I don’t know. Ask me tonight.”

“What’s happening tonight?”

“Not tonight. This afternoon.”

Free tapped his fingers on the table and seemed lost in thought. “Your mother likes her. And it would be a good example to set. If my oldest son took a human to mate.”

Carnal grinned. “Way to put a political twist on love, Dad.”

“What can I say? I’m a political animal.”

“Please. It’s too sober in the day for animal jokes.”

Free pinned Carnal with a pointed look. “Like it or not, so are you. A political beast, that is.”

Carnal knew that look. He also knew that Free was usually right about things. Following in those footsteps wasn’t something he saw himself doing, but if Free thought it was inevitable, Carnal knew he needed to stop being dismissive about the possibility.

“So what’s happening this afternoon?” Free asked.

“None of your business,” Carnal said casually.

Free laughed. “All your life, you’ve always found a way to get what you wanted, even if you knew it’d mean punishment. Elora Rose Storm…” Free shook his head, “strikes me as being someone who is an immovable force when she doesn’t want to do something.”

One side of Carnal’s mouth raised into a lopsided smile. “I’m sure you’re right about that. She’s not like anybody else. So wish me luck.”

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Carnal was waiting on a stool at the end of the bar when Rosie threw her apron in the bin and grabbed her shawl.

“What are you doing?” she asked as she moved toward the door.

“Told you I’d be here.”

“And here you are.” She smiled. “Bye.”

He stepped around her but didn’t stop her path toward the house. He simply walked backward. “You owe me.”

That brought her up short. Tilting her head back she looked up at him. “What do you mean I owe you?”

“Our date was cut short. The picnic? You owe me half a date.”

Carnal was encouraged when he saw the corners of her mouth twitch. “You gonna let me drive your bike?”

“Definitely not.”

“Well then, why should I give you half a date?”

Without warning he pulled her into his body and resumed the kissing he’d so expertly delivered in the hallway during the early morning light. Somewhere between the time her body started to hum and drawing him closer with her hands around his neck, she forgot every reason why she might object to anything Carnal had in mind.

When he pulled away from the kiss, his hands continued to grip firmly enough to keep her snug against him.

“Second date?” he asked.

“Okay,” she croaked.

He turned her around and began walking with his arm slung over her shoulder. Another time she might have objected to that show of possession, but her body was still tingling. Carnal seemed to have a gift for establishing intimacy anywhere, anytime, at the drop of a hat.

“Let’s take a walk. There’s a spot up above the training grounds. It’s quiet, private, pretty.” When she looked up at him, he bent and rubbed his nose against hers in a way that was not common for humans, but definitely sexy.

“What are we going to do there?” She hoped she didn’t sound as breathless, and eager, as she felt.

“I’m going to get to know everything there is to know about you, my little sex demon.”

“I’m not a sex demon, Carnal. I’m just part sex demon.”

“Okay.” He smiled. “If you say so. I just know that I’ve never felt this way about a female before. I figure something supernatural must be at work.”

Rosie didn’t know whether to be more thrilled about the proclamation that she was special to him or about the fact that his feelings were unusual enough for him to suspect that she’d bewitched him. She was thinking that she needed to tell Charming to keep the witchcraft book a secret when Carnal said, “So tell the truth. You’re part witch, right? Did you put a spell on me?”

He stopped, turned to face her, and looked down at her. She knew the drill at that point. He was fishing for lies.

She met his eyes. “No, Carnal. I have not used magic on you or altered the natural course of things in any way. Other than fixing your motorbike.”

“Motorcycle,” he corrected. “Would you like me to be under your spell?”

She laughed and pulled away. “I don’t have to answer that.”

He caught up with her quickly and fell into step beside her. “Free thinks you’ll be leaving soon.”

“Does he?”

“Is he right?”

“Honestly, Carnal, I guess I don’t know from one day to the next. Every day I wake up and think, ‘I’ll stay one more day’.”

“Why?” She gave him a confused look. “Not that I’m not glad you’re here, but from a purely clinical and objective standpoint, why have you stayed?”

“I’m not sure my answers would make sense.”

“Tell me anyway.”

“I like working at the Commons. I like living in your parents’ house. I like the way Charming treats me like a sister. I like Dandelion. I like that your father listens to my ideas and gives me respect.”

Carnal pulled her to a stop again and lifted her chin so that she had to look at him. “I didn’t hear anything in there about me.”

“I didn’t either.”

“Tell me. Am I part of the reason why you’ve stayed?”

Rosie hesitated because she knew any response that could be construed as affirmative would be a commitment of sorts, because Carnal was putting on the full court press, whether he knew what that was or not. Still, if she said no it would be a lie and he’d know it.

“Maybe.”

He gave her a look of mock annoyance, but let it pass. Taking her hand he said nothing more as they climbed up a craggy hill to a grass promontory that overlooked the training grounds. They could watch the activities without anyone on the field below even knowing they were there.

Carnal sat down on the grass and motioned to the spot beside him.

“What? No picnic blanket?” she asked.

“The grass is clean and dry. The ground is soft. Sometimes nature offers the best stuff. Sit.”

“Bossy.” She sat down leaving a reasonable personal space distance between them.

“I want to know everything.”

“What do you mean? And where did that come from?”

“I want to know everything about you that I don’t already know and we’re not leaving here until I do.”

“That could be a long time.”

“Not if you’re just fourteen months old.”

She laughed. “Well, you’ve got me there.” Regarding him quizzically, she said, “Am I under investigation?”

“What?” It was his turn to look confused.

“Do you think I’m a spy? For humans. A human spy.”

After giving her a look that indicated doubt about her sanity, he answered in a tone that left
no
doubt he found the question incredulous.

“No, Rosie. I do not think you are a spy for humans or a human spy. I don’t even think you’re human.”

She scrunched up her nose. “Well, you have a point there.”

“So let me get this straight. You can’t tell if I’m lying, can you?”

She hedged. “Not, um, conclusively, as you seem to be able to do.”

He grinned slowly. “So there’s something I can do better than you, little demon.”

“Oh! There are plenty of things you can do better,” she blurted.

“Really?” He scooted closer. “Like what?”

“You know.”

“No. I don’t know.”

“You can ride a motor
cycle
.” She emphasized the last two syllables to mock his previous insistence that his ride was not a motorbike.

“Yes.” He moved closer, eyes staring at her lips. “What else?”

“You give every indication of being excellent at scheduling.”

He chuckled and looked away for an instant. “Okay. What else?”

“Your crew acts like you’re a walking god.”

“They do not.”

“They do. You should see the way they look at you and look to you for direction.”

He got serious for a minute. “I don’t want them to think I’m extraordinary. I’m not. I’m just a guy.”

“Carnal.” Rosie laughed. “You’re not ‘just a guy’. You
are
extraordinary.”

He looked over her face, eyes darkening. “I don’t care what they think of me, Rosie. I care what
you
think of me.”

“Why?”

“You’re changing the subject.”

“What was the subject?”

“What else I can do better.”

“You’re a better kisser.”

“You’re
so
wrong about that,” he said as he leaned in for a kiss.

Rosie met his lips and savored the sweetness of the kiss as it was deepening. When he started to purr, she pulled back.

“And there’s that!” she said.

He lay back with a soft laugh. “Tell me about your family. Then tell me what it is you want for yourself.”

“The first part is easy. I don’t know that I have the answer to the second part. What do you want for yourself?”

“Changing the subject again, but I’ll answer. It depends on you,” he said carefully, studiously searching her response for signs that she was open to hearing more.

“Me! Why would it depend on me?”

“Before you came, I was doing exactly what I wanted, for now, for the future. Fucking, drinking, fighting. I saw you when…” He looked away and Rosie knew he was reliving the horrible afternoon when she’d first seen him. “I saw you and I couldn’t stop thinking about you. I don’t have an explanation for that. It was, well, weird. I mean, I didn’t know anything about you, but you’d still grabbed onto me like…” he paused, searching for the right words, “there were invisible grappling hooks. I knew you were special. I didn’t know
how
special, of course. I just knew there was nobody else like you. For me.” He looked at her. “If it sounds dumb, it’s because I don’t know how to explain it right.”