He froze, half wondering if he’d been muttering out loud.
“I didn’t mean to interfere with Yasmine,” she finished, and wandered to the next aisle.
He released a breath he hadn’t known he’d been holding.
“You didn’t ruin anything. Just prolonged the inevitable. Don’t worry. It won’t last. They never do.”
She shrugged, then reached up on tiptoes to the top shelf for her horrible oatmeal. Devon leaned over her to grab the package and toss it in the cart.
“I wasn’t worried. I just don’t want to step on your toes.”
“Well I don’t think you have to worry about girls hanging around.” He poked a box of cereal, needing a little violence to go with this conversation. “I’m not that kinda guy.”
“That’s because you go after the wrong type of women.”
“Is that right?”
“This must be one of those things that’s obvious to everyone else but the person involved. You go after women who are very pretty.” She held up her hand. “I’m not blaming you. If I were a guy and Yasmine came on to me, I’d definitely hit that. The girl is freaking hot. But I bet the girls you…date aren’t as smart or interesting as you, so you get bored after the sex. Find a girl that has more to offer, one that’s looking for more than a hot guy with a hot bod—or in Yasmine’s case, an alpha with potential—and you might have more luck.”
“I don’t want more luck. I’m good with just the sex.”
Charity shrugged. “There you go, then. You’re all set. But please keep the noise low, because I can’t sleep very well these days. Oh, I should get earplugs just in case.”
Devon stopped in the middle of the aisle and blinked dazedly. “Did you just compliment me on my appearance and body, give me a verbal high five for being a slut, ask me to have quiet sex, and then opt for earplugs assuming I probably wouldn’t? Did all that come out of your mouth within the space of thirty seconds?” He narrowed his eyes. “You are a girl, right? Because usually girls are not this cool.”
“They are when they have no interest in getting you naked.” Charity laughed. “I’m being logical. Like I said, pick different women, and you might enjoy a conversation once in a while.”
After venturing up and down another few aisles, they approached the checkout line with a cart full of food.
“Where did you learn martial arts, by the way?” he asked as she stalled in choosing a line.
She looked down her list, her forehead showing worry lines. “I got lessons at a dojo close to my house growing up.”
“How’d you pay for it?”
“I didn’t. At first I hung around outside the windows and tried to see what was going on. When I got caught, the sensei said I could act as a janitor in exchange for standing in the back. I was about twelve. That was obviously a great deal for me, so I worked hard for them. It turned out I had—have, I guess—a certain affinity for martial arts, so when I started learning faster than anyone else, he paid more attention to me. Eventually he passed me around to others in the community so I could learn different styles.” She lowered her list and looked over the heaping cart, her worry growing. “This is too much, Devon.”
“You’re supposed to be some sort of brutal magical warrior,” Devon said without thinking, eyeing the contents of the cart.
She scoffed. “Fat chance.” She chewed on that plump lip again, drawing his gaze. “This is going to cost a lot of money, Devon.”
He gently moved her out of the way and pushed the cart forward. “Then you had better cook some good stuff.”
As the items were slid across the scanner, Charity got increasingly agitated. “We shouldn’t have gotten so much.”
“It’s not like this is an extravagant purchase. It’s food, Chastity. It won’t go to waste.”
Her eyes got larger and larger to match the total. He pushed the cart through the lane and took up his position at the credit card machine, watching the bagger organize and bag the items. The total was at $156.78 and climbing rapidly.
Charity lightly grabbed his upper arm. Electricity sliced through his body, sucking his attention to her. She looked like she was on the verge of tears. The total was now at $231.23 and increasing with each slide of the checker’s hands.
“What did we do…” she said, nearly whimpering.
“Chastity, it’s food. I had nothing in the house. This is how much things cost. But don’t worry, I haven’t put in my club card yet. Savings are just around the corner—I saw you slipping in deals when you thought I wasn’t looking.”
“I’ll help. I’ll help pay for it. When I have money from payday, I’ll help!”
He pulled her shoulders so she was facing him instead of the mounting total. He placed his palm on her soft cheek, feeling the electricity surge between them. She sucked in a surprised breath, probably from his proximity, or from his touch. Maybe both.