A Tale of Two Horns (Corent City Tales Book 1) Read online

  Danny peeked out before quickly covering his eyes once again.

  “How could you not see them playing?” Charlie demanded, looking between Sam and Knox.

  Sam reached out and ran a calming hand over Danny’s head. “Actually, Danny here made a flying leap for one of the bubbles at the same moment that Knox here walked out of the café. There wasn’t enough time to warn either of them. When Danny landed, he skidded on something spilled on the floor and slammed into the back of Knox’s leg. It wasn’t anyone’s fault.”

  “Danny?” Charlie called softly. “Let’s get you inside. Do you want some hot chocolate as a treat?”

  Danny’s ears twitched, and he looked plaintively at Charlie.

  “Yes, you can have marshmallows as well.” Charlie held out his arms and Danny bounded into them, snuggling close.

  “I’ll put the twins in the pen,” Alfie called. Charlie looked down at the babies and grinned at seeing them fast asleep again.

  “I’ll get the hot chocolate,” Knox offered.

  Charlie smiled his thanks, surprised at this tender side to Knox. He’d never imagined one of the Vaughn brothers could be this caring. Not when you considered their reputations for being gruff.

  As he walked back into the shop, the sight of Evie fussing over the twins greeted him. They’d woken up as soon as they sensed their mother. She looked torn.

  “They need feeding, but Alfie explained what happened.”

  “Go deal with them, I have Danny here, don’t I, buddy?” Charlie looked down at his nephew in his arms, now back in human form.

  “You sure?”

  Charlie nodded and shooed her out of the room.

  Sitting Danny in his chair, Charlie checked him over, making sure there were no injuries. There weren’t. It looked like he was merely shaken.

  A shadow made him turn, seeing Knox there with a couple of drinks. He set one in front of Danny, who grinned. Charlie couldn’t help but laugh. The hot chocolate was tall and there looked to be way more marshmallows than normal.

  “I asked for extras,” Knox’s deep voice whispered in his ear. “I thought he deserved it.” Knox stood again, Charlie joining him as they both watched Danny pick at the mallows first. “I really am sorry.”

  Charlie turned, taking in Knox’s contrite expression.

  “I would never do anything to hurt a cub. I feel terrible for it. My mind was on a meeting. I wasn’t paying close attention when I should have been.”

  “Oh! Don’t let us keep you from something important.” Charlie stood back and gestured to the door.

  Knox laid a hand on his arm. “You’re not. I’d finished the meeting and was mulling things over. It was why I was distracted.” He looked around the shop. “I don’t think I’ve ever been in here.”

  Charlie resisted the snort he wanted to give. No, Knox Vaughn did not look like the sort of man who frequented bookshops. “We’ve been here about a year.”

  “Ah, that makes sense then. I’ve only been back in Corent properly for a month or so.”

  “Oh?” Charlie asked.

  “I was in Jenvia before that.” Knox smiled. Charlie was stunned at the transformation on Knox’s face. Gone was all trace of seriousness, in its place were… dimples? How did someone who looked as dangerous and intimidating as Knox Vaughn have dimples?

  Jenvia was one of the other para cities, in Alaska. Charlie didn’t mind the cold, but Alaska was a bit too much in his opinion. Corent was in Utah, near the mountains. They had their fair share of snow and ice in winters, but at least the trade-off was warm summers. Taking a quick look at Danny, he snickered. Chocolate coated his lips, and there was a sticky smear on his cheek. “You having fun there, Danny?”

  “Uh huh.” The little boy didn’t even look up, his concentration fully on his drink.

  “Thank you for getting that for him. Of course, I may not be thanking you later when he’s bouncing off the walls.” Charlie grinned.

  “At least it’s still morning. You have all day to tire him out. Besides, once I realized what was going on outside, it looked like they were having lots of fun.”

  “Alfie loves sending bubbles around them, letting Danny, and the twins when they’re awake, pop them. He often fills them with glitter. They love it, but getting glitter out of a unicorn’s tail is no easy feat.” Thoughts of the dreaded bath time plagued Charlie.

  “I’m sorry, will your wife forgive me?” Knox nodded to where Evie had taken the twins.

  “Wife?” Charlie’s nose wrinkled. “Oh! No, that’s my sister. Danny and the twins are hers, hers and Lane’s, her husband. I’ve got them at the moment as she catches up on some sleep. They had a bad night, and with Lane away it’s been hard.”

  “Lane?”

  “My brother-in-law. He works for the PAF. He’s on assignment at the moment.”

  “Lane Dellon?” Knox’s eyebrow shot up.

  “Yes, why? Do you know him?”

  “He works with my brother, Carter.”

  “In the PAF?” Charlie checked.

  “Yes, and from what I know, they're coming home soon.” There went that smile again, the one that was doing funny things to Charlie’s tummy, no matter how much he wished otherwise.

  “Really? You’re sure?” Charlie’s eyes lit up. Evie would be incredibly relieved. She always worried when he was away. Not that she ever told Lane. It was one of those things she was getting better at the more Lane went away, but it would never be easy for her. Seeing her husband, her mate, leave and walk into danger was hard. Charlie saw it second-hand, and it was stressful enough for him.

  “I spoke to Carter before I went into my meeting. They were escorting their target to PAF headquarters.”

  “How come you spoke to him? I thought they were always on a comms blackout until they got back to base?” Charlie stared at Knox with narrowed eyes.

  Knox winced, his eyes darting about, looking anywhere but at Charlie. It was evident he hadn’t thought his words through. “I, uh… that is… I…” He slumped. “He shouldn’t have called me. He does it though, because he knows I worry too much. It’s hard to watch one of your baby brothers race off to fight some of the worst the para world has to offer. We’re tigers, we’re one of the strongest breeds out there. That doesn’t mean we have a defense against magic.” The look he sent Charlie was haunted. “There are days I wish they did something else. But, it doesn’t stop me being proud of them.”

  Charlie smiled at Knox, taking in the surprised expression. It looked like Knox didn’t mean to actually say all that. “I understand. It’s no different for Evie when Lane goes. She’ll be happy that he’s on his way back to base.”

  “She does know there are support groups? I mean there are several ones for mates, spouses, children, and a general family one. She isn’t alone in feeling adrift at times.” Knox was digging about in the pockets of his suit, coming up with a handkerchief, a rich purple cotton, and squatting down, he started to gently clean Danny up with a wink.

  Charlie blinked a couple of times before turning to help the young witch who was stacking books on the counter. With one ear on the conversation behind him, he quickly rang everything up and waved to the woman. Turning, he grasped the counter behind him. Knox was sitting on the floor, back braced against one of the walls, Danny in his lap. Danny was chatting away, telling Knox about the latest twins’ disaster— something about blueberry puree and a white shirt.

  As Danny talked, Knox was carefully cleaning his face and hands of chocolate and marshmallow. The sight of such a strong man so comfortable in his own skin, helping a different breed of shifter, hit him in the feels. He coughed, but both Danny and Knox were thoroughly intent on each other.

  Shaking his head, he went to peek in on his sister and the twins.

  “How is he?”

  “Drinking hot chocolate, or rather wearing it, and talking to Knox.”

  “Knox is still here?” Evie’s voice was full of incredulity.

  “I know,” he w
hispered, “he was talking about support groups for you.”

  “Support groups?”

  “Because Lane is out with the PAF. Apparently, there are groups of mates and spouses who get together to support each other.”

  “How did I not know this?” Evie hissed when Faith managed to clock her around the nose.

  Charlie gently reached out and tapped Faith on the nose. “No punching your mamma.” They both chuckled when Faith’s nose wrinkled. He was rubbing Jasper’s back when the little boy let out an almighty burp, rainbow bubbles forming at his mouth.

  Through the partially open doorway, Charlie heard Danny explain. “That’s Jasper. He’s always noisy.”

  Knox’s deep bass swiftly followed. “I’ll let you into a secret— that’s one of the things babies always do. You know I have four baby brothers?”

  “Four?” Danny sounded horrified. “That has to be really loud.”

  “It was. They are all big now. Max is the youngest boy, then there’s Carter, Tyler, and Nate. I’m the oldest.”

  “Are there any girls?” The way Danny said girls, as if they were the worst things in the world, had Charlie and Evie chuckling.

  “One girl, Cora Grace. She’s the baby of the family,” Knox explained.

  Charlie shared a smirk with Evie. “Rather her than me. Can you imagine having five big brothers? I wonder how she manages to date?”

  “She doesn’t!” Knox snarled through the doorway making both of them giggle. “She’s only eighteen. Far too young to be interested in boys.”

  Evie tried to smother her laughter with her hand, the other one helping Faith to burp.

  “Mamma?” Danny called.

  “Coming, sweet boy.”

  Charlie stood, Jasper secure to his shoulder, and held out a hand for Evie, hauling her up and leading her back into the shop. He quickly looked around, seeing people browsing, but no one waiting at the till thankfully.

  “How did you not get messy with the hot chocolate? I thought you said he was wearing it?” Evie quirked a brow in his direction.

  “He was but…” He waved a hand in Knox’s direction.

  Knox held up the once purple hankie, now completely covered in chocolate. “I didn’t think you’d mind.” He chuckled at the mess.

  “Oh my gosh, I am so sorry, please let me take it and clean it for you?” Evie stepped forward, but Knox waved her away. “It’s no problem. I’ve dealt with worse things than sticky chocolate over the years.” He gently set Danny back in his chair, and gracefully pushed up to standing. “Now, if you’re all settled, I’d better be on my way. Once again, I’m sorry for what happened earlier.”

  “It’s fine, they’re good.” Evie grinned at him, nudging Charlie in the side.

  “Uh, thank you for the hot chocolate,” Charlie muttered.

  With a wink, a ruffle of the babies’ hair, and a wave, Knox disappeared out the door.

  Evie ran up and peeked out, making sure no one was nearby before she turned around and fanned herself. “Hot. That man is damn fine, with an ass I would…” She frowned at the young ears. Instead, she mimed biting, while tapping her own ass.

  Charlie snorted, but nodded anyway.

  Chapter Three

  The click of the lock behind him was a sign for Charlie to let his happy mask drop, kick his shoes off and relax. Dropping everything but his carefully wrapped copy of A Date with Death, he walked through his house, letting his toes curl into the soft carpet. He carefully laid the book in the nook of his reading chair and moved to the bedroom, stripping as he went. By the time he made it to the bathroom, he was completely naked and ready to wash the grime off from the long day. He sighed as his shower started. The one way he’d treated himself was remodeling the bathroom to have everything he could desire in it. There was a whirlpool bath in one half of the room, big enough for two people, and off to the other side was a large wet area, with shower. It wasn’t a typical shower, oh no, he’d splurged up for the magical one. There were five showerheads on different walls, all set to cover every area of the wet room. The shower could be controlled by voice commands. He could choose scented water, different temperatures, the power of the stream, hell, even the color if he wanted. He could have music, videos, anything piped into the room. If he called out for shampoo, some would appear from a recess in the wall. He didn’t know the mechanics of it— he wasn’t a mage, after all— he was just happy with the results.

  Setting the water to a warm, steamy mist, scented with lavender and bergamot to relax, he leaned against the wall, letting the water roll over him. He soon found his mind drifting towards Knox, and as the image of the man popped into his head, his cock perked up. Damn the man, he’d even smelled good. Unicorns didn’t have the best sense of smell, but it was still better than most humans. Charlie swore the smell still lingered around him even now. Not that it would do any good. As gorgeous as Knox was, Charlie was definitely not his type.

  Why would a man like Knox, all grace, beauty, and broodiness, go for someone who was light, airy and literally full of rainbows? It didn’t mean Charlie wasn’t attracted to him though. The whole idea of ‘want him, can’t have him’ was predominant in his mind. Oh, but what would it be like to kiss Knox? Intense, captivating, and mind-blowing. His cock hardened, and his hand slipped down to squeeze. A bolt of lust arched through him as he imagined it was Knox’s hand. The strength, grace, and power the man exuded were incredible. He could just imagine it was them in the shower, Knox kissing him, then pushing him back and down.

  He would happily drop to his knees and swallow Knox down. It certainly wouldn’t be a hardship. Would Knox be a screamer? Shouting out his pleasure? Or would he carry on his persona of the strong and silent type, not saying a word, just fisting his hands through Charlie’s hair and tugging? Charlie wasn’t sure which was hotter, but one, if not both, certainly made his cock react. A bead of precum oozed from his tip. Dragging it with his thumb, he smeared it over the head of his cock, groaning. Grabbing the shower gel, he squeezed some into his hand and lathered up his cock, quickly pumping. With each pump into his fist, the muscles in his ass clenched, and a desperate need to be fucked slammed into him. Eyes shut, visions took over of Knox bending him over, hands flat against the bathroom wall, pushing his feet apart as he slid his cock inside him.

  Charlie groaned as his fist sped up. It wasn’t enough. Blindly reaching out a hand, he roughly commanded body wash to appear. Fumbling, he managed to reach around and slide one finger inside himself, even as his other hand continued to pump himself. The combination was too much, and he cried out, cum spraying the walls of the shower. Knees buckling, he dropped to the floor, letting his head rest against the tiles as he fought to get his breath back.

  “Fuck, if it’s like that just thinking about him, it would probably kill me to be with him,” Charlie muttered into the empty air around him. Eventually, his legs were strong enough to hold him up, and he pulled himself to standing. Remembering what was waiting for him in the other room, he grinned and briskly washed up. Jumping out the shower, more invigorated than he ever remembered being, he quickly dressed in a pair of super-soft flannel pajamas with cartoon zoo animals on and went to the kitchen.

  Grabbing the small savory pies he’d made the night before, he spread them on a baking sheet and set them to cook in the oven. Dancing about the kitchen, he prepared his favorite fruit drink, a cinderfella as he liked to call it, because it tasted like a dream. With lemon, orange, pineapple, grenadine, bitters, and ginger ale, it was the perfect pick me up.

  Pulling the small pies out of the oven, he scowled when his phone rang. He wanted to ignore it, but that was Matt’s ringtone. Thankful he’d sprung for the magic-enhanced phone, he snapped rapidly three times, and the line connected. “This better be good, Matt.”

  “Have you started yet?”

  “I just got in. Getting all my snacks together, then I’m diving in.”

  “It’s so good.” Matt sounded so excited. “Just wait until you ge
t to the bit that—”

  “Lalalalala, don’t you dare finish that sentence. I’ll never talk to you again, and I’ll subject you to my singing every day.”

  “Oh man, you would, wouldn’t you?” Matt complained.

  “You damn well better believe it if you start trying to give me any plot details.”

  “Then let me just tell you, Detective Callohan is damnnnn fine.” Matt exaggerated the words. “He’s all hot and full of alphaness, and I want to climb him like I’m ivy and he’s a tree.”

  “Alphaness?”

  “You know what I mean, broody, big, almost intimidating with that stare that can pin you in place and turn you into goo.”

  “Mmm,” Charlie sighed, his mind going to another alpha he’d seen. His earlier shower fantasy was still playing out in his mind.

  “Spill,” Matt demanded.

  “What are you on about?”

  “You think I don’t know every variance in your voice? What, or rather who, is on your mind?”

  “How do you do that? Work out what I’m thinking, even when we aren’t in the same room?”

  “I’m just that gifted. Now stop trying to change the subject and dish the gossip. Who has grabbed your attention?”

  “Knox Vaughn.” Charlie couldn’t stop the sigh that escaped as he mentioned Knox’s name.

  “When did you get to see one of the infamous Vaughn brothers? It’s not like they’re seen around our part of Corent.”

  Charlie quickly rattled off the story, explaining what had happened. “Are you fanning yourself?” he asked Matt, slightly stunned.