Charm's peridot green eyes blinked three times, and her hand reached up to close her own slack jaw. “Well, I still won't sell to him, and you can tell him I said so."

  He shrugged and laid the new trim on the side of the bar. His air hammer snapped three times to secure the wood in place. Each time he placed a nail, his lovely distraction winced. “It's not a gun, Angel Face. Relax."

  "Sorry. I don't know much about tools.” Charm bent and picked up her purse, which happened to be a suitcase-sized tote. She drew out a book titled The Idiot's Guide to Home Renovation and removed a sheaf of papers from inside. “Tools, tools. Where are the friggin’ illustrations in this thing?"

  Lucky bit his lip to keep from laughing. Her determined attempts to learn about what came automatically to him were the first really charming thing he'd seen in her. He lifted the yellow machine. “It's an air hammer. You use it to secure two objects together with nails."

  "Oh.” Charm bent to study his air hammer like a bug under a microscope. She turned his hand so she could see every angle of the machine. Her brow knit together. “Just nails? No glue or screws?"

  Lucky permitted her to use his arm and strength to examine his air hammer. At least she had the good sense not to touch it herself if she was so clueless about tools. Those purple-nailed hands saw a manicurist too regularly to know manual labor. The stray thought lingered about how soft they would feel wrapped around his cock. He shoved the lusty thought onward. “Why do you want to know about tools?"

  She dropped his hand like she'd been burnt. Her face reddened, and she bit her lip hard enough to make it whiten. When she tried to put the overloaded book back into the tote, small notes fell out. “Told you.” Her mumble was barely audible. “I'm fixing up my house."

  Lucky picked up two paint chip samples and a note, which read, “Call Home Inspector. What's HVAC stand for?” He had a more difficult time choking back the snicker than before. She really was completely clueless. “HVAC means heating, ventilation, and air conditioning.” He handed the chips and note back to Charm.

  Oddly, her eyes welled up with tears. “Thanks.” Charm's gaze drifted to the floor, the bar, the broken stool, anywhere but him. “Know someone who can repair an outdated H... V... whatever? Oh, and that reminds me. I need to write you a credit note, don't I?” She dug into her purse again.

  Lucky belatedly put two and two together. An outdated heating system meant she was freezing in this wintry weather, poor kid. She didn't even own a coat apparently, and used her wings for warmth. Maybe he could kick-start the heater until he could make some phone calls to his favorite subcontractors. Several owed him some blue chip favors.

  He laid a hand over her purse, effectively stopping her rummaging. “We can worry about that later. Why don't you show me what's up with the heater?"

  Charm hesitated, her hand still trapped in her purse. She visibly got her moxie back and shrugged carelessly. “It's an old house, and the last renters trashed the place. I bought tools and stuff, but...” Her voice trailed off.

  He hefted his air hammer and smiled encouragingly. This little bird needed a lot more help than her pride would let on. Nothing got his attention and his time more than someone with the guts to try even when they were outclassed. “I'm not a bartender. I was just helping Enrique while he was on vacation. I'm in construction by trade. I'm very good with tools."

  Her glittering smile and deliberate glance at his trousers showed how much backbone she had. Her cute pointed chin went up. “I can well imagine you are. Okay.” She let the insinuation hang in the air like a challenge.

  Lucky deliberately kept his expression neutral. He'd won a small victory against the wall of her pride, but he'd lose the war of wills if he gloated too soon. “Have tools, will travel. My truck's out back."

  Charm followed him out the door meekly enough, but she definitely wasn't a doormat. She tossed her short purple hair in the classic female gesture of disdain, spread her wings and flew the fifteen feet from the small platform to the other side of his truck. Graceful as a dove, she landed and waited for him to unlock the door with a playful grin on her face.

  Not to be outdone, Lucky did a handstand on the rails before he vaulted over the side to land beside the driver's door. He ignored the impressed widening of those incredible green eyes and keyed in the code to unlock his Ford Hydro350.

  When Charm's wings were carefully folded against the seat, Lucky engaged the special safety belt system designed not to damage a Nephylum's fragile wings.

  Charm's eyebrows flew up at the expensive addition to an already pricey truck. “Got a thing for Nephs or something?"

  Lucky laughed and set the navigation system to the address he remembered from her license. Jeff and Dan would spit their beers if they thought Lucky had “a thing” for them. “Nope. Two coworkers are Nephylum. I give them a ride home when the weather's too nasty for flight, that's all. You ought to hear them bitch about riding elevators like human mudsuckers."

  The joke earned him a snort before Charm dove into his stereo system with happy squeals. “Ohmigod! You have recordings of the classics like Metallica! You fiend! Promise you'll share where you got them!” She punched buttons like a veteran electronics freak.

  Lucky sang along with her and beat his steering wheel, imitating Lars Ulrich's style on the drums. Were it not for the automated speed governors on all modern cars, his truck would have undoubtedly raced down the highway at a breakneck pace. After all, it was a tradition to scream down the road with eardrum bursting sound while playing classic Metallica music, and Lucky wasn't one to break the rules.

  Charm grabbed an old claw hammer off the floor and used the black bottom as a pretend microphone, bouncing on the pleather seat as much as the restraints and crowding of her wings allowed. She could head bang well enough to make her grandmothers proud. Who knew she was such an old-fashioned girl?

  Regrettably, the truck's navigation system was efficient. The Ford turned off the highway after only two songs, and Lucky quickly turned down the sound so as not to break peace laws.

  Charm's hand landed on top of his, intent also on lowering the volume. The little white palm was even softer than it looked, and more than a little cold.

  Lucky shivered at the chilly touch even as his mind provided an alternative to fixing her heater to warm her up. He wanted this crazy Neph like he wanted to breathe. Chagrin flooded him and he winced. She was cold, and he hadn't even offered her his jacket or turned on the heater like a gentleman. In fact, he had one of Dan's spare jackets in the back behind the driver's seat. “Want to borrow one of my coworker's jackets? Dan keeps a spare in here."

  She waved refusal and pointed at the lonely house in the middle of what had once been a vast forested area. Construction zones surrounded her sanctum, but work had apparently halted once the trees were cleared. “My heater does work—it's just not very modern. That's my home there. See what JR has done?"

  For at least a quarter mile in all directions, there was nothing but dirt and piles of scrub forest trees stacked for recycling. Not far to the west stood the usual collection of construction company trailers bearing the Thornburn Construction logo emblazoned on the side. The only exception to the devastation was Charm's house, standing in isolation amid a few trees inside the property line.

  Lucky didn't bother to hide his growl. What had his brother done? Clearing a forest for a shopping mall was close to sacrilege to a werewolf. Lucky's hands clenched the steering wheel just like he wanted to strangle JR. Lucky vowed to have words with his dear brother and grandfather as soon as he was back at work on Monday. “He'd better have a good reason for this.” Lucky slammed the shifter into park with more force than necessary.

  Clearly anxious to be out, Charm fought with the restraints and shoved open the door. She yelped at the icy blast of wind and cursed JR with fluency. “This place used to be cozy until JR cut down all the trees. Now it's cold and desolate. Mom would have a litter of kittens if she knew.” She grabbed her tote and ran for the front porch like demons chased her.

  Maybe he wasn't a hound of Hell, but Lucky wanted to chase her. Simply because he couldn't shift didn't change his nature. He was still a predator with a sexy female he wanted—what an inadequate word—running in front of him. Belatedly, he remembered she was waiting for him on the porch and got out. He needed to stop daydreaming and get his head on straight. To hide his erection, Lucky took his time getting his tools out of the back.

  The front door slammed. Charm undoubtedly had gotten a brain and went inside to get warm. Courteously waiting for your guest so you could let them in was one thing and freezing unnecessarily was another. Maybe he could con her into putting on a pot of coffee to warm them both up.

  The place was halfway to shack status, but he could see the former glory of the old circa 1970 rancher's sturdy construction. Many vampires loved the homes of the era because there were few windows and the decor often included dark wood trim. From the look of the place, he'd find original stick framing and—heavens help him—a heat pump furnace. No wonder Charm was cold. Lucky bet himself he'd even find an antique tank water heater. He could hardly wait to bring the house up to code and twenty-first century comfort. Eagerly, he climbed the porch and knocked politely. Privacy was a real issue with him, and he'd prefer if she let him in.

  One white hand reached out around the barely open door, grabbed the front of Lucky's shirt, and dragged him in. Charm's hot mouth locked onto his with the same strength and urgency as her hands. Speaking of her hands, they were bent on getting Lucky out of his clothes by popping buttons and ripping seams.

  Not that he planned on arguing. Lucky's brain snapped and popped like bad circuitry before going blank. His hands loosened on his toolboxes and they hit the uncarpeted floor with loud bangs and rattles. Thankfully, the heater worked well enough to chug out a fair dose of heat, and Charm must have set the thermostat to “tropical.” Freed of their burdens, Lucky's hands developed minds of their own and sought ways to get Charm out of her laced bodice.

  One of her booted feet wrapped around his leg and kicked the door shut. The heat of the room instantly climbed up a notch, and the scent of brewing coffee mixed with the musty odor of old houses. Charm was no slouch about her attempts to relieve him of his white bartending shirt and black jeans. The girl practically whimpered with need, and the clear urgency was a boost to his ego.

  He sighed with relief. Apparently, the attraction was mutual, and not the “thank you” fuck he'd first assumed. Her stiff leather bodice laces finally gave way and tender tits softer than clouds fell into his hand. His other hand crept around back to where her long black skirt covered her little round ass, careful not to hurt her wings. Apparently she was naked beneath the thin gauze layers of the skirt.

  Good thing Charm was equally dexterous. His jeans hit his ankles, freeing his cock, and her fingers wrapped around the length of him without breaking their mutual tongue tonsillectomy. Her hum of delight heralded long strokes with those delicate fingers and made his head swim.

  Meanwhile, Lucky's fingers had finally solved the mystery of her skirt closure, and the gauze joined his jeans on the floor, pooling at their feet. His fingertips then located an incredible second set of lacings. He broke the kiss. “What the... ?"

  Charm's green eyes glowed in the light of the single working track lamp in the beams above them. She grinned and shinnied up his body like a tree nymph, wrapping her long legs around his waist. Before he could blink, she nibbled on his earlobe. “Leather thong panties. Pull the side strings."

  One of his hands automatically reached behind to cup her firm round ass and support her weight on his body. Not that she weighed nearly what he thought. Nephylum had flight bones, pocked with holes to make them lighter and more delicate. Lucky chided himself to remember Nephylum bones broke easily. He'd have to find a way to fuck her without killing her or damaging her wings. Still, he managed to pull one set of the side strings as asked. The leather fell away from her flesh.

  Charm wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned backwards until her shoulders touched the scarred wall paneling. The parted leather bodice, resembling the remains of a black jewelry box, held her pearly white breasts. The rose vine tattoos circling her nipples were enough to make his mouth water for a taste. She arched her back upward and presented her breasts like a feast. Two matching pearl nipple rings gleamed in the low light.

  Suddenly, Lucky was very hungry for breast meat. Decorated like high-class art, they were a confection he didn't even try to resist. He'd never seen nipple rings on anyone, and surprisingly they were warm to the touch of his tongue. Well, duh! They were attached to a warm body. He flicked them each like a toy for a moment, fascinated, until he couldn't resist the hardened pink nipple beneath the ring.

  Charm shivered and gasped. Her hips wriggled until she sank down enough for the head of his cock to caress something hot and hard.

  Lucky froze, his lips wrapped around a nipple and ring. His cock twitched, rubbing on the heated substance, which definitely was not part of normal female anatomy. What the hell was it? He let go of the ring and nipple. “Charm? What is my cock rubbing?"

  She giggled and moved her hips until the object caressed the head of his cock. “Clit ring."

  "You're full of surprises.” Lucky resumed his explorations of how Charm's nipple ring and nipple felt in his mouth. “I'll have to see it later. If your clit ring tastes as great as your nipple rings, I could get addicted to body jewelry."

  Charm moaned and grabbed a curvy wall sconce above her head. “We'll discuss body jewelry fantasies later, hmm? Right now, I want your cock buried in me and I don't want to wait any longer.” She jerked her body away from his hands and fell onto his cock in one smooth motion. Her black wings flared out in an instinctive move to hold her upright, but all they did was flatten themselves against the dusty paneling.

  Lucky blessed his construction job which kept his arms and legs firmly muscled while he lifted heavy loads all day long. Thrusting upward with his hips while his hands grabbed and supported a horny Nephylum bent on impaling herself on him was all he could manage. Usually, he preferred a horizontal tango, but then again he'd never had a partner with wings before.

  Charm didn't seem to care, and matched him stroke for stroke, using the creaking wall sconce above her head to perform a pull-up maneuver in time with his thrusts. Her decorated nipples hypnotically winked and flashed in the light.

  Insanely, he envisioned his cock caressing the sexy clit ring with every stroke up or down, and how the warm metal became slick with her juices. He felt each of their frenzied, intense strokes in slow motion.

  Charm, too, moved in slow motion. Her half-shut green eyes bored into his, conveying honest, happy lust. Her lips were red from his kisses, and her mouth parted slightly as she panted. Even the sheen of her wings flicked in fiery colors in the half-light on the wall. All in all, she looked like one of the butterfly specimens JR kept in his collection, displayed like art objects instead of beautiful living things.

  His heart resolved to protect her from his brother. JR could be horribly ruthless when he decided on a path, and Lucky had been in his way often enough to know how easy it was to get mowed down by JR's single-minded drive to his goals. If, as Charm said, JR had been harassing her, he wanted her home for some as yet undetermined reason. Lucky wouldn't let it happen to Charm.

  Charm shrieked and arched her back, her pussy pulsing and squeezing his cock in her orgasmic throes. She bounced so hard on him, he feared she'd break her delicate pelvic bones.

  Her internal squeezes sent him flying over the edge of the cliff he'd not even seen coming. Was this how the Greek guy Icarus felt before the sun melted his wax and feather wings? If Icarus had experienced even a portion of the heat and joy of flight, knowing he didn't belong but not caring, then Lucky was sure he'd died happy. He emptied everything into Charm and knew if he fell over with a stroke from the pleasure, he'd die happy, too.

  The wall sconce, however, was not so joyous at the abuse. The screws holding it into the studs screamed at their own release and let go from the wall. Charm's eyes flew open wide with fear. She started to slide down the wall, her wings flapping helplessly on their way to being crushed into a thousand bits of bone and feathers on the floor. The slow motion enhanced the whole scene and every sensation.

  One chance. Lucky had one golden moment of orgasm left, and he prayed it would hold him through the pain. He yanked Charm to him and held her while he fell on his back to the hardwood floor. He hit with nothing to slow his fall. He hoped the boots would prevent Charm from having crushed ankles. Dust poofed up from the floorboards in a cloud. The toolboxes rattled, but thankfully they'd both missed them.

  Like a stutter on a broken vid, time shot forward to normal speed.

  [Back to Table of Contents]

  Chapter Four

  "Ooof!” Charm's forward motion continued, popping her right off his cock. Her leather-covered belly landed on Lucky's face. The wall sconce still in her hand clanged on the floor above his head.

  Lucky lay on the floor, stunned for a moment, and did an assessment of possible injuries. His ass would have a bruise, but Charm's legs had saved him from a serious back or head injury.

  A soft whimper escaped from Charm's lips. She managed to squirm onto her hands and knees. Then she winced and reached for her left ankle. “Ow. That hurt."

  Awkwardly, Lucky inched out from under his injured angel. He slid out from between her legs and treated himself to a view of her clit ring with its tiny ruby red bead before he was able to roll away and sit up. He was fully prepared to hustle her off to the local Doc in a Box clinic for a scan and treatment. “How bad is the ankle?"

  Charm managed a sitting position with her bare butt on the dusty hardwood. She coolly assessed her booted ankle with probing fingers. “I think I just twisted it, that's all. I don't think it's broken. Med kit is in the bathroom closet.” She pointed behind Lucky and curved her finger to indicate it was on the other side of the wall.

 

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