Third Charm: A Reverse Harem Tale (Lovin' the Coven Book 3) Read online

  THIRD CHARM

  A Reverse Harem Tale

  Lovin' the Coven

  Book 3

  Jacquelyn Faye

  ∞ Untold Press ∞

  Third Charm

  A Reverse Harem Tale

  Lovin' the Coven, book 3

  All Rights Reserved

  Copyright © 2019 by Jacquelyn Faye

  Cover Design © 2019 by Sean Hayden

  Cover Photo © 2019 by Depositphotos/sepavone

  Cover Photo © 2019 by Depositphotos/ongap_

  Cover Photo © 2019 by Depositphotos/raineralbiez

  Cover Photo © 2019 by Shutterstock/Inara Prusakova

  All rights Reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author's imagination and or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Published by Untold Press LLC

  114 NE Estia Lane

  Port St Lucie, FL 34983

  www.untoldpress.com

  PRODUCED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

  Dedication

  To the person afraid to go to the ER because they don't want to explain the bruises

  To the person who thinks maybe they deserved it

  To the person too afraid to leave

  To the person who thinks maybe they'll change

  To the person lying on the ground, broken and bleeding

  You have to, you didn't, you can, they won't, and it will happen again, no matter what they say.

  National Domestic Violence Hotline

  1-800-799-7233

  Chapter 1

  I was staring at my old boyfriend, currently sitting between Josie and Chief in the spot they had so graciously created for him. I don't know how he did it, but he made the simple act of forking small bits of turkey into his mouth seem erotic. I almost drooled in my cranberries.

  He had instantly become the focus of our Thanksgiving meal. Everyone seemed to want to exchange a few words with him, probably just to hear his reply. The Irish accent he picked up over the past forty years could melt glass. Yeah. It was hot. I was restraining from fanning myself. He was already Mr. Popularity, but oddly enough, not with Chief or Jimmy. They both were just kind of oddly staring at him and pushing the food around on their plates.

  I shrugged. I couldn't picture Jimmy having a problem with him, but Chief probably wanted to run a background check through Interpol before he invested so much as a hello.

  Josie on the other hand kept flashing me grins and winks. I kicked her under the table.

  "What do ye think, Dorothea?"

  "It's Dot, actually," Chief said with a smile.

  "Aye, so she tells me, but she'll always be sweet Dorothea to me, though."

  "Don't be an ass, Derek. You know I hate Dorothea."

  "Aye, but I like seeing your reaction when I do say it. It makes ye that much fairer."

  "Cut the charm, too. We're not ready for dessert."

  The table giggled. Most of them.

  "So, what brings you to Cedar Falls?" Jimmy finally spoke to him.

  "Madeline said Doro–Dot, was lookin' fer recruits. Said I should hop on the first plane out."

  "And did she mention that we were flying to Ashville tomorrow morning?" His face told me she hadn't. He had that male stripper in a spotlight look, which is kind of like deer in headlights, but hotter. "Yes. I shall remember to mention her faux pas when I see her. I'm sure it just slipped her mind."

  Like hell it did. What was she thinking?

  "I don't mind. Lovely little town ye have here. I've already checked into the quaint motel. I shall be quite comfortable there until ye get back."

  "I'm sorry to leave you so soon," I said, truly regretful in so many ways.

  "Nay. I'll be fine. How long will ye be gone?"

  "A few days. Chief and I have to get back pretty quickly."

  "Oh, tis the chief that be going with you. Thought it might be a gentleman friend."

  I blushed, knowing full well he was seeing if I was dating anyone. I had no idea how to tell him I was.

  Chief took care of that pretty quick. "We are. Dot and I, I mean. We're seeing each other." He pointed at me and then himself.

  I chuckled at his awkwardness.

  "Oh. My apologies, Chief."

  "It's okay. I don't mind dating her, but she has her moments."

  I shot him a dirty look.

  He smiled innocently, or a reasonable impersonation of innocence. He needed to work on it.

  "We'll be back Sunday afternoon."

  "I'll look forward to seeing ye."

  I gave him a smile.

  Dennis started asking him questions about Ireland while I pointedly ignored glances from both Chief and Jimmy. I would be spending quite a bit of time with Chief over the next few days. I could find out what crawled up his colon and made a nest. Jimmy I would talk to after everybody left.

  The rest of dinner was joyful, in a sarcastic, I want to take some Xanax, kind of way. Derek remained the center of conversation for most, but everybody chatted amongst themselves, too. Jimmy was close enough to talk to, and I did. He didn't bring up Derek or our past relationship, he chatted about Ashville and the possible new members we would be interviewing, but there was an odd silence between us, even when we spoke.

  Josie on the other hand, kept reminiscing on how much trouble Derek and I had gotten into in the past and how many times she caught us in compromising positions with an in-depth description of our clothing, or lack thereof. I kept kicking her, but she just wasn't getting the hint.

  My fifth glass of wine found its way to my lips and we hadn't even made it to pie time. I seriously wanted to crawl in a hole and finally pushed my turkey away. I didn't finish my turkey. Turkey…

  I sat and drank and ignored Josie. Candace looked like she wanted to hug me and finally reached over, grabbing Josie's arm, pulling her to her feet.

  "Help me bring out the pie." Her tone left little room for Josie to argue and had an icy edge to it I'd never heard before. I kind of liked it.

  "Want some help taking the food into the kitchen?"

  I glanced at Jimmy. His smile looked strained and I didn't know why. Jealousy and Jimmy were like oil and water. Chief and laughter. Josie and savings accounts. "We probably should, I just don't know if I can stand right now," I answered and took another sip of wine.

  "We can go get some fresh air, if you want."

  "Nah."

  "Please."

  "Oh. Okay," I said and stood up, keeping my glass of wine. I had a feeling I was going to need it. Jimmy headed for the sliding glass door in the living room. I chugged my wine and grabbed a bottle off the table, pouring as I walked.

  He held the door open for me and I handed him my adult beverages, grabbing somebody's coat off the couch. Had no clue whose it was. Didn't care. I took the wine and glass from him and stepped outside.

  My porch wasn't covered, had no furniture, and was basically a concrete slab covered in snow on top of a layer of ice. I had no chance. I went down like Josie on a…never mind. I landed on my ass, but thankfully the snow stopped my head from smacking the concrete. The wine splashed whoever's jacket I'd grabbed, and the bottle smashed against the concrete. I stared at the neck of the bottle still clutched in my fingers. It had broken right above the label.

  "Oh, my goddess. Are you okay, Dot?"


  Dizzily, I looked up at Jimmy, pointing the broken end of the wine bottle at him. "I'ma shank you, bitch," managed to work its way out of my mouth, followed by me lying back in the snow and giggling.

  Jimmy opened the slider with a sigh. "Guys, I need a hand."

  Chief, Derek, and Dennis walked through after a moment or two. I had no idea how long it took. Time was moving very weirdly, and my porch was spinning. I must have hurt my brain when I fell on my ass. Or I was drunk. One of the two.

  "What happened?" Chief didn't sound surprised.

  "She slipped on the ice. Be careful and don't slip when you grab her," Jimmy warned.

  "Be careful where you grab me, too. Make sure your hands are warm." I giggled as the four of them surrounded me, reaching down and hoisting me out of the snow.

  "Is she drunk?" Dennis sounded confused.

  "Aye, didn't ye see how she was sucking them down?"

  "I hope you're talking about wine," I said with another giggle.

  It was Derek's turn to look confused.

  "She's gonna be fun on the plane tomorrow." Sarcasm from Chief. I was almost shocked.

  I rolled my eyes. "I'll probably drink on the plane. Gotta do something to entertain myself with Captain Boyscout."

  Chief dropped my leg. "She's a mean drunk." He pointed at me and walked back in the house. Derek lifted the dangling limb and held both of them in his arms.

  "Were we takin' her, lads?"

  "Bedroom. Through the door and back to the right."

  "Aye."

  At least Chief left the slider open. They managed to squeeze through it while holding me in their arms.

  "Okay. You can set me down now. I can walk. No ice."

  Derek looked at me dubiously, but gently set my feet on the floor while Dennis and Jimmy lifted me upright. They held on to me while I wobbled for a second and looked around for my wine. "Where's my wine?"

  "That's enough." Jimmy spun me around to face him, bent down, putting his shoulder in my stomach and hoisting me up over his shoulder. He started walking me toward my room. My face was right by his butt. "Damn, you got a nice ass, Jimmy."

  "Thanks, Dot. Means a lot when you're shitfaced."

  "Oh, my goddess. Stop for a moment. Don't move."

  "What?"

  I lifted myself up enough to see the horrified stares of everyone at the dining tables. "Guys! I'm in a fireman's carry, on a freaking fireman! Woah."

  "Goodnight, Dot," they all said in unison. I pouted as Jimmy started walking again.

  There is no way to set somebody down on a bed gracefully when they're slung over your shoulder. Jimmy did an admirable job, but I felt the contents of my stomach slosh from the bouncing.

  "Oh."

  "You gonna puke?"

  "Maybe. Gimme a bucket."

  He walked into the bathroom and grabbed the trash can, setting it beside me on the floor. Luckily, I'd emptied it in the morning before guests came over. I'm weird like that. I can't stand trash in my trashcans when there's guests.

  Jimmy sat down on the bed next to me. "How's your ass."

  "I don't know. I can't feel it."

  "I'll check for bruising when there are less eyes around."

  "You mean Derek?"

  "How'd you guess?"

  "The way you and Chief were staring at him, I kind of feared for his safety. Why? What he do?"

  "Not so much him as you, but he was looking at you all night."

  "Well, I haven't seen him in forty years or so. What's that got to do with anything?"

  "You gonna fuck him?"

  Woah. Where'd that come from? "I wasn't going to, but I may now, asshole."

  He sighed. "And I would deserve it. I'm sorry, Dot."

  "I'll cut you some slack because I'm leaving tomorrow and really don't want to fight, because honestly, I may puke. Where the hell did that come from? You're uh…not usually the jealous type." He leaned back against the headboard by my head, unwisely blocking me from the trash can. "You better hand me that," I said and pointed over him.

  He reached down and snagged it quickly, handing it over to me. "Sorry."

  I sat up, stuffing the pillows behind me and holding it between my legs. "False alarm."

  "I don't know where it came from, honestly, and you're right, jealous isn't me. Usually."

  "So, why now?"

  "A bunch of things, I think. He was your boyfriend when you were younger. Kind of hard to compete with that, and the thought of you running back to him kind of made me sick to my stomach. Then when he asked if you were dating anybody, Chief chimed in, but you didn't say anything about me… That kind of hurt."

  Oops.

  I reached over and gently touched his arm. "Yeah. I can see that. I just didn't think it was any of his business."

  "No. You were worried about what he would think if he found out," he said angrily. Very angrily, with just a hint of sadness to heighten the flavor of the foot in my mouth.

  Jimmy stood up and walked out of the room. I didn't blame him. I would have walked away from me, too. Looking down at the trash can between my legs, I started puking, and not because I was drunk.

  The bedroom door opened, and I looked up as Candace walked in and slowly closed the door behind her. She took one look at my swollen, watery eyes and the snot hanging from my nose, and headed for the bathroom. The sink started running and she came out with a wet wash cloth. I reached for it, but she held on to it, setting the trash can on the floor and sitting in front of me on the bed. Tears were streaming down my face. She wiped them away before cleaning off the rest of my face and folding the cloth, pressing it against my forehead.

  "I screwed up, Candace."

  "It wasn't all your fault. I yelled at your partner in crime."

  "Oh, my goddess. She wouldn't shut up."

  "I know. And ignored your repeated attempts to quiet her. I do not think that was the entire reason for your troubles, though. Those two were on edge the moment your friend walked through the door."

  "Which I can see with Chief, but not Jimmy. And now he's uber-pissed because I didn't introduce him as my boyfriend."

  "Why didn't you?"

  "I told him it was because it wasn't any of Derek's business. Jimmy says it's because I'm embarrassed for dating the two of them."

  "Are you?"

  I nodded.

  She ran her fingers through my hair, leaned forward and kissed me on the forehead. "At least you admitted it. What are you going to do about it?"

  "I suppose I should go back out there."

  "If only to say goodbye to your guests. They should be leaving soon. They've been eating pie."

  "I want pie."

  "Come have some, and some coffee." She stood, offering me her hand.

  I got up and the room didn't spin. It sucked how something so goddess awful as puking was good for you. Puking and kale.

  I sidestepped into the bathroom and rinsed with my minty mouthwash. Pumpkin would mix better with mint than regurgitated turkey. Candace waited for me and took my hand, pulling me slowly into the dining room, much to the amusement of my guests. I smiled at Candace, grateful for her help. She nodded and headed for the kitchen while I turned to my house full of guests. "Sorry about that, folks. I should have eaten more before I started chugging the vino."

  They made dismissive noise. I avoided the glances from Chief by shifting my attention to the kitchen as I sat down. Candace was getting me a slice of pie while Josie was by the coffee maker, looking at me apologetically.

  Candace gave her an angry glare and walked back to the dining room, setting the pie down in front of me. The pumpkin pie was completely hidden beneath a dense shroud of whip cream. Just how the goddess intended it to be eaten. I grabbed my fork and scooped out a bite when my front door was kicked in.

  For some reason, I expected a horde of SWAT team members to come trotting in chanting, "Hut, hut, hut, hut." They didn't. But a purple streak shot from the door to my side as Yuki spun on my guests baring her claws, fa
ngs, and hissing…

  Chief stood, pulled out his gun, and pointed it at my vampire. I stood and pushed the chair out of the way with the back of my legs, grabbed her by the shoulders, and spun her behind me, putting myself between him and her.

  "Calm down! What's wrong?"

  "You're not being attacked?" She looked around me, looking for danger.

  "Uh, no? Why?"

  She leaned in closer and whispered, "I was asleep when I felt your pain, and then you were disoriented and sick and then very angry and sad…"

  Oh. Shit.

  "I couldn't leave the house because the sun was still up. It was driving me insane I couldn't get here sooner."

  "Promise not to be mad?"

  "No," she said and narrowed her eyes. "What happened?"

  "Um… I got drunk, fell on my ass, had a fight with my boyfriends, and puked. You know, your normal Thanksgiving stuff."

  "Are you fucking kidding me right now?"

  "No."

  "What the hell is going on?" Chief didn't sound too happy.

  "All good," I said and turned around, making sure he wasn't still trying to shoot Yuki." He was. The gun was still pointing at us, but off to the left a little. I guess he didn't really want to shoot me. Yet.

  He let out the breath he'd been holding and holstered the gun. I needed to make a rule about wearing weapons to the dinner table. Technically he was on duty, but… My life was too interesting to have armed people around me.

  "She's okay," I told him. "She just had this horrible feeling I was in danger. Right, Yuki?" I looked at her to corroborate the story.

  "Yeah. It was the darndest thing. Woke up and ran right over."

  "You ran? Ten miles?" Chief sounded impressed.

  That's when I noticed Herb and Marge looking like ghosts and shifting in their seats uncomfortably. I sincerely hoped I didn't need to have the upholstery cleaned...

  "Um, I'm sorry to be late to the party… Did ye say, boyfriends?" Derek sounded incredulous.

  I should have just stayed in my room.