Free The Outcast Prince by Shona Husk

anything that came from Annwyn had a resonance of power that all fairies would recognize. Had the man in the photo been a Grey who had decided to stay on after he’d had to stop mixing with humans? It didn’t feel right. Something was… he couldn’t put a finger on it, but it was that same feeling he’d had when he’d first come here. It wasn’t like a Grey to hang around; they generally gathered and kept to themselves in run-down areas of cities.
    “Does it usually pace the floors?”
    “Yes, and sometimes it opens drawers or cupboards.” She was smiling, as if she found it amusing that he could hear the ghost.
    Okay, so he didn’t bring the Grey. It was already here. That was an even more unsettling thought. How long had the Callaways been sharing a house with a Grey?
    “It’s nothing to worry about.” She touched his arm. “You’re not scared of ghosts, are you?”
    “No.” Ghosts didn’t bother him at all; Greys, on the other hand… He smiled at her as if nothing were wrong. Maybe nothing was wrong. It had been here for years, maybe decades, without causing any problems. Maybe it liked the ambience, the space, and the solitude. Yeah, and maybe Shea was simply misunderstood.
    “Good.” Then she stepped away and picked up the book, and went back to making the list.
    He watched her for a moment then trailed his fingers over the desk. The older images disappeared beneath the new impression of them kissing. The heat hit him again and left him longing. He was too human to resist wanting to get to know her, and too fairy to resist the game of lust she offered.
    Double damned as usual.

Chapter 6
    Neither of them had mentioned the kiss, but Lydia could feel it simmering between them. An unresolved something that could be nothing and yet it had felt like everything. Now it was getting close to eleven and they both had work the next day, yet she wasn’t ready for him to leave. While they hadn’t talked about what had happened, they had talked about the house and the things in it. Caspian was more than happy to talk about everything except himself.
    The one thing she wanted to talk about.
    She couldn’t treat his time here as default dates. He was working. But he didn’t seem to mind her questions and she liked to watch him work, like the way he’d look at something with a slight frown before making notes. The way the light sometimes caught his features and for a moment he seemed sharper and more beautiful than possible, then he’d turn and look at her and she’d realize it had been a trick of the light, or her mind running away with the fantasy of doing more than kissing him.
    However, at the back of her mind she couldn’t shake the sensation that he was hiding something, even if she didn’t know what it was. She kept brushing aside the feeling. Maybe the divorce had made him gun-shy. If she wanted him, she was going to have to make it clear.
    He shut the laptop. “I’m going to have to call it a night.”
    She nodded. “Are you sure you don’t mind coming over after work?”
    “Not at all.” He gave her a rare smile. “You don’t mind me being here?”
    Lydia shook her head. No, she couldn’t imagine any woman kicking him out. Yet one had cast him off. What was his flaw? Was he messy? Refused to do housework? Watched sports all weekend? Her gaze skimmed over his body—it had felt pretty good when she’d kissed him. Maybe he played golf all weekend. “More of the same tomorrow?”
    “Afraid so, and the next day.”
    “How will I survive?”
    He touched her arm. “You will. You Callaways seem to be able to survive anything and come out better for it.”
    She glanced at him. She’d meant it as a joke and he’d taken her seriously, and then complimented her family in the same breath. Gran would have worked out his secret over a few wines. It was a pity they had never met. Caspian was a boyfriend Gran would’ve approved of. Not that he was her boyfriend after one kiss.
    These evenings