Cursed Read online

  “Ugh! That’s horrible! It’s so bitter—like somebody crushed up a whole bottle of aspirin and condensed it down to a pasty ball of chewy goop!”

  Across from her Stavros was still chewing his own ball but from the look on his face, he didn’t care for it much. He swallowed with some difficulty and frowned.

  “I don’t know what aspirin is but…that was not pleasant.”

  “Not pleasant?” Charlie looked at him incredulously. “That’s the understatement of the year!”

  “It’s because you are eating them incorrectly,” Ssstha said and popped another bright blue ball into her husband’s mouth.

  “How are we supposed to eat them—does it have something to do with wrapping your tongue around them?” Charlie asked, mystified. “Because I’m afraid we’re at kind of a disadvantage there—at least compared with you guys.”

  “No, I don not think you understand.” Hsssthnk selected another ball—this one as crimson as a berry—and placed it gently between his wife’s lips. “The idea of the cha-chas is to feed them to each other.”

  “Why would we want to feed each other little balls of crap?” Charlie asked flatly. “I mean, not to be rude but—”

  “Taking the food from your lover’s hand changes the flavor completely,” Ssstha assured her. “Go on—try it.”

  “Seriously?” Charlie looked doubtfully down at her plate and then back up to Stavros. He shrugged.

  “We might as well try it.”

  “Fine. Open up.” Charlie selected the biggest ball she could find—a pea green one a little bigger than a golf ball—and held it out to him. She couldn’t help a little twinge of satisfaction as she chose it. This would teach him to grab her foot and massage her under the table!

  Stavros looked distinctly nonplussed.

  “Why must I be the first one to try?”

  “You afraid, big guy?” Charlie raised an eyebrow at him tauntingly.

  He frowned. “I am not afraid of anything you could do to me, Charlotte…not physically anyway.”

  Charlie frowned back. What the hell was that supposed to mean? She wasn’t about to ask.

  “All right—put up or shut up,” she said, holding out the pea-green cha-cha and leaning across the table.

  The big Kindred leaned towards her and opened his mouth.

  Triumphantly, Charlie popped the weird alien food between his lips. But before she could withdraw her fingers, Stavros closed his mouth over them. She could feel the sharp points of his fangs but he didn’t hurt her—he just sucked gently at her fingertips.

  “Hey!” Charlie pulled back quickly but her whole hand and arm seemed to tingle at the warm, wet feel of his mouth.

  Stavros grinned at her and she realized this was his payback for her selection of the biggest ball and for making him go first in the taste test.

  “Very funny,” she said as he began to chew. “How is it—any better?”

  A surprised look came over his face and then he swallowed.

  “It is…actually, it is not bad.”

  “What does it taste like?” Charlie was deeply suspicious. Since they were playing this little game of one-upmanship she wouldn’t put it past him to pretend to like the flavor just to throw her off her guard.

  Stavros shook his head. “I cannot describe it but it’s certainly vastly superior to the first one I ate myself. Here—try for yourself.” He picked up a cha-cha—a small blueberry-sized one—and held it out to her.

  Charlie still didn’t trust him but her stomach was growling and there didn’t seem to be anything else to eat in the whole place. Every table she looked at was filled with happy couples feeding each other the little brightly colored balls. Ridiculous.

  “Come on—try it,” Stavros urged, still holding out the cha-cha.

  “Well…all right.” Wish a sigh, she opened her mouth.

  He placed the little ball gently on her tongue and withdrew.

  Bracing herself for the bitter taste, Charlie bit into it—and gasped in surprise as sweet, succulent juice squirted across her tongue. She kept chewing and it got even better. The cha-cha had lost its pasty, gluey consistency. Instead it was crisp and juicy and tender all at once—yielding delightfully under her teeth and spreading a flavor that was indescribably good through her whole mouth.

  “Oh! It’s like…” Charlie tried to find a way to describe it which wasn’t easy—the cha-cha was like nothing she’d ever tasted before. “It’s a little like fried chicken…and a little like roasted nuts…and there’s some kind of fruit in there that’s sweet and tart at the same time, too. Maybe…peaches? Or mangos?” She looked at Stavros, who was grinning, apparently amused by her reaction. “Why didn’t you tell me it was this good?”

  “Would you have believed me if I had?” His deep voice rumbled softly.

  “I…don’t know,” Charlie confessed, feeling put on the spot. “Probably not.”

  “You need to learn to trust me, Charlie.” He caught her eyes and held them with his deep blue gaze. “We’re partners—we need to work together.”

  Charlie finally managed to tear her eyes away from his, her cheeks flaming and her heart pounding. His use of her nickname disturbed her somehow as did the way he was still looking at her. Damn it—why did the big bastard affect her so much?

  “Here, have another,” she said, grabbing a cha-cha at random and holding it out to him.

  “Thank you.” He accepted the morsel from her without comment and, to her relief, without trying to suck her fingers again. “Delicious,” he rumbled and held a medium-sized red cha-cha out for her. “Would you like one as well?”

  “Please.” Charlie allowed him to pop the food in her mouth and chewed slowly, still not meeting his eyes. This ball had entirely different flavors—some familiar and some alien but all completely delicious, like the first one Stavros had fed her. Granny smith apples…roasted pork…cinnamon…and something else. But what? She didn’t know and anyway, she was just trying to distract herself from the strange tension between them. “Your turn,” she said, picking up another and holding it out to him.

  They fell into a kind of rhythm after that of taking turns and feeding each other. It felt strange at first but by the end of the meal when she popped the last cha-cha between the big Kindred’s lips, Charlie found she was almost getting used to it.

  See, this isn’t so bad, she told herself as they both sat back from the table. You’ve got this, Charlie—you can do this!

  Just then Nar’sa and Ta’no reappeared, moving as one as they glided silently up to the table.

  “We hope you enjoyed your evening repast,” Ta’no said, smiling at them.

  “And now it is time for your evening class,” Nar’sa said.

  “A class?” Stavros asked. “All right, what is it called?”

  Nar’sa and Ta’no spoke as one.

  “The Sensuous Touch.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  “The what?” Charlie’s heart was racing like a panicked racehorse but Nar’sa and her mate were already beckoning for them to get up from the table.

  “Come, come—we must go. We must not keep the instructors waiting.”

  Stavros got up from the table at once, moving with surprising grace for such a big guy. He came around to Charlie and held out a hand to help her up.

  “Thanks but I got it.” She stood on her own and then looked up to see the big Kindred staring at her with an unreadable expression on his face.

  He let his hand fall to his side. “Do you really fear my touch so much?” he asked in a low voice. “You were not like this before…when I healed you.”

  His mention of the passionate healing kiss they had shared made Charlie feel hot and cold all over. How could she tell him that she hadn’t been afraid to let him touch her on the Mother Ship because she’d believed she would never see him again? How could she explain that it felt different…dangerous to touch him here, where they were expected to be together for who knew how long? You can’t trust him, whi