Page 41 of Perfectly Charmed Pixie

Vander didn’t miss a beat. “As I said earlier, sometimes exceptions have to be made.”

The car slowed, turning down the street I temporarily called home, my rental quickly in view. Vander put the car in park but kept the engine running.

“You don’t plan on coming in?” I asked.

“Didn’t want to assume,” Vander answered, turning off the car.

My cheeks burned. “As far as I know, you’re just here to deliver my charm.” I opened my door. Heat rushed out as cold filtered in. Pulling my shawl closer, I was glad I’d worn my pixie boots. I didn’t like my feet covered, but on nights like this, I hated the cold more.

Vander didn’t answer. Instead, he followed closely behind but out of reach of my wings. I flew to the door and opened it quickly, then hurried inside. If any moisture had been in the air, it would have turned to snow. Or maybe ice. I wasn’t certain and was glad there wasn’t enough to find out.

When I was inside, I realized Vander didn’t so much as shiver, and his coat didn’t seem like enough to keep a warlock warm. As if reading my mind, Vander held up his right arm. His sleeve pulled back enough to show a litany of bracelets, each with its own stones and compositions.

“Warmth charms,” Vander said. “I’ve got one on each wrist. When activated, they’re enough to keep me nice and toasty.”

I blinked, a touch of impressed awe compressing my chest. “That sounds handy. Surely those types of charms fly out the door this time of year.”

Vander twisted his wrist, a frown pulling his mouth. “You’d think.” With a heavy sigh, he shook his head. “But you’d be wrong. Charms like this are a dime a dozen. Both warlocks and witches make them, and humans think the witch-made charms are less…toxic.” Vander shrugged. “I’m not sure that’s the right way to say it, but that’s what Byx thinks, and I figure she’s right. Plus, humans have a lot of ways of keeping warm these days. Their technology has come a long way, and most other species run warm enough that the cold doesn’t bother them too much. Anyway, point is that I don’t make that many, and mostly what I do make, I use.”

“Oh, I…” I had no idea what else to say and suddenly felt very awkward. Vander had been in my space before, and memories of that night flooded back to me. My loose clothing hid my growing erection. If Vander had been a were, he would have smelled my attraction. Thankfully, his sense of smell was nearly human-grade.

While I tried to look at anything but Vander, my visiting warlock had no such issue when it came to me. He stared. I’d never seen eyes that intense before, and I hated how much I squirmed beneath his heated gaze.

“Stop staring.” I couldn’t help it. Vander’s constant gaze made me hot. I stripped off my shawl, and my boots quickly followed. “It’s rude,” I added.

“And here I thought a social pixie would view it as a compliment.” Vander casually leaned against the kitchen counter, eyes raking up and down my body.

Aqua dust filled the air as my wings fluttered madly. I figured that would make Vander sneeze, but he must have had a charm for that too. Then again, he’d sneezed a ton when it had been Peaches’s dust. Maybe he just hadn’t activated the charm yet.

“Most of that gawking is done from afar, not this…close.”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

While I didn’t think Vander’s goal was making me squirm, I also didn’t think he was truly all that sorry. If he were, he’d stop staring, and he certainly showed no intention of doing that. Only now, his gaze was fixed on my right thigh, the one holding my last charm.

Reaching into his pocket, Vander pulled out a soft, ruby-colored cloth bag. It was small, and Vander’s hand nearly dwarfed its size.

“Here.” Vander nodded toward an open doorway. “Why don’t you go in and swap out the charms. I’d tell you to just do it out here, but I’m going to go out on a pretty sturdy limb and say you’d rather have some privacy.”

Gingerly, I took the bag containing the charm from Vander’s hand. It felt light, far less weighty than the ones Lance made. “The one I’m wearing still has a few more days left.”

Vander’s posture stiffened. “I’d like to make certain it works the way you want. It would be unwise to wait until it is absolutely required. It would take time to tweak it.”

“Oh.” That sounded perfectly reasonable. “Okay. This should only take a minute, so…”

“I’ll wait here. Take your time.” Back at ease, Vander sat on one of the barstools, an elbow resting atop the counter, his fisted hand holding the weight of his head.

I stood there, lips barely parted, quick breaths skipping across my dry skin. How was it that Vander Kines was still single? He was… There were no words. I’d say he was breathtaking, but I was still breathing, though the movement was shallow and so minuscule that I felt lightheaded. Even my wings were still.

Vander smirked. “You should get to it.”

I jerked as if electrocuted. Mortified, I spun and dashed into the bedroom. The door closed with more of a slam than I intended. My body leaning heavily against it probably added the extra oomph.

“Shit. Get it together, Parsnip.” My heart pounded so hard, my chest hurt. I couldn’t ignore the way Vander looked at me. The attraction was mutual, but it wasn’t real. Vander didn’t know what the real me looked like. Vander Kines was like everyone else—enamored with a lie.

I squeezed my eyes closed, my lashes wet with unshed tears. My hand painfully gripped the soft velvety red bag. I could feel the stone inside, the one holding my charm, the one allowing my continued deceit.

“My choice,” I whispered, no one there to hear.

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