Alexa stifled a smile at Charlie’s amazed expression as he struggled between being pleased with the compliment and trying to show dislike. She didn’t have it in her heart to tell him that there was no use fighting it because he would eventually be run over by that weird vampire charm, too, so she waited until Charlie stalked out before turning to her new guest.
“Are you sure?”
“I can give you a hundred valid explanations if you want,” he said mildly. “Or we can skip all of that so I can kiss those lips.”
Oh, they skipped it, all right, and made use of their time to show each other how much they yearned. An hour later, Charlie returned with a bag in hand, too, and mumbled something that had her trying not to laugh.
“I will stay here, too. As he said, two strong individuals are better than one.”
“Four,” she countered, then hugged him.
The rest of the week passed with her distracted with work and waiting for someone to jump her at every turn, but she arrived home every night safe and sound with Edmund sitting somewhere in the apartment, his fingers colored and his paintings multiplying. In the second week, the anxious feeling settled into comfort as her mind told her that perhaps she was mistaken, and it allowed her to enjoy Archie’s newfound powers more—and by enjoy, that meant most of her living room stuff flying and falling until it became a warzone.
“Archie, stop that,” Charlie warned for the nth time, mulling over his school books with a pencil in hand. But the tug-of-war was won as the pencil was seized and floating close to the ceiling. “I said stop it.”
“Don’t you want a new one?” Archie asked, orbs big and pleading. Charlie’s mood changed, nodding in reluctance and watching in fascination as Archie navigated a new pencil and a sharpener in the air. “See, the new one is prettier, don’t you think?”
“It’s prettier,” Charlie admitted, then jumped to pluck the used pencil up. Archie pouted, then brightened when Charlie took the new one, too, and twirled it in his fingers. “Do you want to watch me solve math problems?”
The two landed on the floor, peering over a book, and a low murmur encased the air. She wandered off to peek at the guestroom and found Edmund crouched on the windowsill, fingers flying on a pad until vivid colors came to life. As she often did, she watched him work, admiring the intense lines of his body and the work of art that focus produced until her heart was beating a little too fast.
“Hey,” he said after a few minutes, not looking up. “Good day at work?”
“It was okay.” She hesitated, then approached. A hand reached out and hauled her closer until she was pressed against him and then his mouth was there. Her mind went blank. Bliss followed, the kind she was afraid to trust, so she kept it short and pushed back until he let her go. Thankfully, he was still too engrossed in his painting to notice. “Dinner?”
“Charlie cooked yours. I will take care of mine later.” He smiled. “Did you know that brother of yours cooks a mean stew?”
She bit back a chuckle. “And did you know that I can see right through your games and you are bound to have him wrapped around your finger if you are not careful?”
A grin blossomed, lighting up his face. Twinkling eyes met hers. “That’s the idea. But it’s no game. I like him. And Alexa?”
“Hmm?”
“I am careful. I will always be careful when it involves you.”
Oh, her heart needed to stop reacting to such suave words, not when it had been brutally burned too much in the past. But it surged, ignoring her warning and reaching out to him until she had him enveloped in a hug. A tug of his chin and she had him ensnared in a kiss, one he accepted so eagerly before it slowed down and felt like home.
She could get used to this. But she shouldn’t, not when it meant involving her heart again. So, she reluctantly backed off and played it off with a yawn, stretching her arms up and watching his gaze land on her chest. They went hooded.
“I’m beat. Come have dinner with us before we go to sleep.”
Sometime during the night, she woke up to arms tugging her closer until she was snuggled against him. In the second week, he stayed until the guest room also became a makeshift office and an art studio, and there were no complaints at all despite its size. As much as she tried to deny it, it gave her comfort to be able to let her guard down, and she could breathe easier, knowing she could come home to a safe environment. It made her smile when she watched the vampire bond with the half-Fae, half-shifter kid, particularly one night when she got home late.
“That looks like a man running away from the rainbow. Why would someone run away from the rainbow?”
She scanned the painting, an abstract masterpiece that bombarded her with colors and life. Then she lasered in on the dot that didn’t look the least bit like any man, ears perked for Edmund’s response.
“Because sometimes a man needs a break from the colors and the beauty.”
Archie tilted his head, then brightened. “Is it so that when he comes back, he appreciates it more?”
“Yes. That’s right.”
“Are you leaving soon, then?”
Surprise flitted in Edmund’s eyes. He shook his head. “No. I’m staying right here. Sometimes, that’s also the best thing to do.”
“Promise?”