Just His Taste Read online

  Even Fairy Godmothers can make the wrong call.

  Guys and Godmothers, Book 3

  Avalynn Fay is not a typical Fairy Godmother. She wears leather body suits, rides motorcycles, and prefers bourbon to anything fru-fru. Probably why she is assigned new charge, Jason Gregorian—a PI who drinks bourbon and loves to cook barbecue.

  Jason’s a good guy. Generally decent. Even willing to pretend to be his ex-girlfriend Tessa’s date for a wedding, so she won’t be alone while her ex struts around with his latest squeeze on his arm.

  Should be easy, right?

  All Ava has to do is talk to him, feel him out a bit, and she’ll know exactly how to get the wheels in gear. Except when she meets Jason, suddenly no one is good enough for him. Not even Tessa, his intended Happily Ever After.

  It’s enough to make a fairy godmother want a healthy shot of bourbon—right before she breaks all the rules.

  Warning: Contains a fairy godmother who’s ready to spread her wings—and maybe a few other appendages—for a mortal hot enough to make her drive her motorcycle right off the road.

  Just His Taste

  Candice Gilmer

  Dedication

  For my editor, Holly. For taking a shot on me and this series, and for making editing fun! Fan Girls Unite!

  Prologue

  This is so up my alley, Avalynn Fay thought as she sipped on her bourbon, sans the umbrella that Lilly, her fellow Fairy Godmother, insisted upon in her own glass.

  It was girls’ night in the Fairy Realm, a get-together to help Christy decide on her last charge before retirement.

  And, of course, Christy had come up with a special twist, just for the three of them.

  While Christy seemed intrigued with this twist, and Lilly had that extra glittery twitch going on, neither of them were ready for this trio of male charges.

  Yes, they were going to take on men.

  Christy’s little challenge wasn’t really that big a deal. At least not to Ava. She did things different than the others. She actually talked to her charges—without necessarily revealing who or what she was, granted, she’d interact with them, instead of doing the over-the-shoulder hover, like so many other Fairy Godmothers did. Sometimes, it amazed her what people would tell her if she listened.

  Most of the time, the things people wanted were easy to get, even without magic. So the “no magic” part didn’t intimidate Ava. Oh sure, she’d played along, because Lilly looked absolutely gobsmacked at the concept, but still.

  Ava wasn’t worried.

  Christy had said the least amount of magic rather than no magic. Even Ava used magic on occasion, and none would certainly limit her options.

  But this was going to be fun. After all, Ava did her best stuff face-to-face with her charges. Though she’d always had girls.

  She tapped her own bourbon as she watched the charges through the magical screen that Christy had created. All the boys were enjoying themselves at a bachelor party. The one she’d been assigned, Jason Gregorian, was more her type than the others. After all, while everyone drank their beer, he opted for bourbon. He smiled, chatted but wasn’t overly dramatic. He didn’t seek out women, hardly noticed them, truth be told. Even when the waitress made googly eyes at him, he didn’t seem to care.

  Perfect. Because Ava had one particular flaw to her plan. She was hot. She didn’t need her charge to fall for her when he was supposed to be falling for his Happily Ever After. Though from the way he ignored most of the women around him, she figured he wouldn’t notice Ava, either.

  Maybe he was still in the closet? That would make an interesting twist in her assignment.

  She sipped on her drink. A buxom blonde sashayed by the table of men. All of them—even the groom-to-be—noticed her.

  All except Jason.

  “Either he’s blind or he’s not even a little interested,” she whispered.

  That would be interesting to figure out. Bruce, Lilly’s charge, smacked Jason on the arm.

  Jason shrugged and said the blonde wasn’t his type.

  “So what is?” Bruce asked, his voice a little slurred.

  Jason tossed back his bourbon. “Someone not so…so obvious.”

  Ava smiled. Now that she liked.

  Yep, they would get along just fine.

  While Ava was the youngest of the three, having only been a Fairy Godmother for two hundred sixty-five years, she had her own way of doing things. She’d worked briefly with a mentor who believed the hover-over-the-shoulder thing was best, but Ava had tried it her way.

  And it worked.

  Interacting with her charges, asking direct questions, was much easier than trying to read their minds all the time. Not that she or any of the fairies could, but guessing generally covered what most fairies did.

  That was what it was—guessing. And then jumping when things didn’t work out the way they wanted it to.

  Ava preferred a more personal touch.

  And so far, her personal touch had never failed her.

  Ava twisted in her bed and groaned as she sat up. Or, rather, as she tried to sit up. An arm held her plastered in place.

  “Get off me.” She pushed the arm away.

  Cupid rolled over, his eyes opening just a bit, and he smiled at her. “And what do you have on your agenda today?” he asked.

  “I have a new charge. Gotta go make that love flow, you know?”

  “Need any help?” Cupid rose to his elbows.

  Ava shook her head, her red hair falling over her shoulders. “I got this. He’s going to be easy, I think.”

  “How so?”

  “He doesn’t want the obvious choice,” Ava replied, climbing out of bed. Her wings spread wide and stretched, filling the small bedroom.

  Cupid let out a huff.

  She rolled her eyes. “If you didn’t want to see wings, you shouldn’t have stayed the night.”

  Cupid came to her side. “You’re so much prettier without them. Come on, Ava. Think about my offer.”

  She raised an eyebrow. “Any offer from you is dual edged. You know that as well as I do.”

  He shrugged. “But how many times do I offer to take a fairy companion?” He ran his fingers down her collarbone.

  “This week?” Ava asked. She knew their intimate relationship meant nothing—not to her and not to him. He was, after all, the God of Love. He could find intimacy with anyone.

  “Today.”

  “Well, today is just getting started.”

  She crossed to the bathroom and stepped inside, leaving the door open.

  Cupid followed her. “So tell me, what do you fairies have going on?”

  “Christy found a new trio to take on.”

  “Trio, eh? Sounds like someone’s trying to get full marks for her final job before retirement.”

  “They’re men,” Ava said as she stepped into the shower.

  “Men? Really?” Cupid stepped into the shower with her.

  Ava nodded. “Christy wanted to really push it this time. And she made a caveat. To see who can do it with the least amount of magic.” She stepped out of the water stream, lathering her hair.

  “Well, that would be you,” Cupid said as he soaked himself under the shower.

  “Probably,” Ava replied.

  He grabbed the soap. “Do you want to win?”

  “I want to do my duty,” she replied, smiling a little as she thought more about her charge. “He seems intriguing. Doesn’t have a lot of interest in obvious women.” She rinsed her hair out.

  “Is he gay?”

  “Don�
��t think so. I need to check the file first.”

  Cupid nodded. “So are they all tied together?”

  “Friends,” she said as she got her little purple sponge and started scrubbing down.

  “Nice effect, if you all can do the job.”

  “We can,” Ava replied, turning to let the water spray down her back. And hopefully, it would rinse away her irritation at his comment.

  Sometimes, she wondered why she put up with him at all.

  Cupid wrapped his arms around her. “I don’t want to see you fail. You know if you need…” he kissed her neck, sending shivers down her spine, “…anything, just ask.”

  “Of course.” She remained still while he kissed her skin.

  Like that would ever happen.

  Chapter One

  Saturday

  Jason Gregorian stoked the fire of his cooker, getting it to just the right temperature. The smell was warm and thick, and he loved the way it enveloped him. He’d smell like a fireman when all was said and done, but he didn’t care.

  Better to be cooking at William and Annie’s wedding than trying to fend off the single women who would certainly be everywhere. At least he had a distraction.

  He adjusted the venting on the cooker’s door and closed it.

  He looked over his setup, making sure he had everything he needed. Then he glanced at his watch. Three hours until the wedding.

  Bruce Matthews was across the grounds, surrounded by beautiful women in fancy dresses. Probably because he was the wedding photographer.

  And he knew he’d seen Roark, his other friend, milling about. What Roark was doing here so early, he didn’t know. Then Jason saw the wedding planner—Stephanie—sprint across the grass.

  That’s right. Roark’s her stand-in date.

  Jason shook his head. That was a weird-assed relationship. But who was he to judge? He hadn’t been on a date—real or fake—in months. And had no desire to go on any in the near future.

  Probably a side effect of being a private investigator who dug up all the gritty, dirty shit for married couples who suspected their partners of cheating.

  Of course, in Jason’s mind, if you suspected it, it was probably true. He always advised his clients of this before he agreed to take the case, but it didn’t matter. Most people wanted to see proof. Or rather, thought they wanted to.

  Then they did, and, well…

  Things are usually nasty after that.

  It was a good thing Jason had been a wrestler in high school, and later he joined the police force. He knew how to defend himself when an unhappy cheater tracked him down. Even with a bum knee.

  He shifted and his left knee started to throb. Great. Just what he didn’t want today. The day had barely started, and the knee already ached. He reached into his pocket, pulling out a little plastic bag with Aleve in it. He took one out and downed it with a swig of water.

  Hopefully, it would kick in soon.

  “Everything okay? Need anything?” Stephanie said as she approached his area.

  Jason nodded. “I—” He felt that thickening in the back of his throat, the one where his tongue didn’t quite work right, and he made himself take a breath to get control again. He gritted his teeth, swallowing, forcing back the stutter. “I got it covered.”

  “Need anything? More water? Or a beer?” She hadn’t noticed his pause. Good.

  “I’m good,” he replied.

  She smiled and nodded. “Well, if you do, just holler, I’ll be around all day.” With that, she took off, heading across the way toward the tables, which were being set up for the reception.

  Maybe he should have taken her up on the beer. Might relax him more. He didn’t realize he was so nervous about catering the wedding until just now.

  He didn’t stutter anymore unless he was super-nervous or stressed.

  And he wasn’t nervous—at least, he didn’t think he was.

  He almost flagged her back down for that beer, but Stephanie was gone. Pleasant enough, but no one Jason would date. With her blonde hair and his, they might look more like brother and sister than a couple. That had always been a weird pet peeve of his—dating blondes.

  Besides, the one time he’d tried it, it failed miserably.

  Maybe he was weird.

  Most guys liked blondes.

  He preferred—

  Holy hell, who was that?

  A redhead, in a red ruffly shirt and black skirt—far too short to be decent—walked around the edges of the reception area, sipping on a bottle of water, watching everything, a bemused smile on her face.

  She didn’t help with anything. Was she a guest? She had to be one of Annie’s work friends because he’d never seen her before. He knew a good deal of the guest list, since the groom—William—Roark, Bruce and he all went to school together. This was practically an informal school reunion.

  But her…

  Now that was a gal he’d like to meet. He glanced down at himself.

  Well, maybe not this second—his apron was smudged, and he doubted he looked his absolute best.

  At least he’d gotten his hair cut—he couldn’t deal with the ’fro he would get when it grew out.

  He watched the redhead breeze across the grass. She moved gracefully, gently, but that smile she wore—well, that wasn’t the smile of the sweet and innocent. There was something ornery, maybe even a little naughty in her eyes.

  Even from a distance, he could see it.

  Of course, being a police officer for years had made him more observant. He tore his attention from her and panned over the outdoor venue, noticing where the workers set up tables and hung decorations. Habit, wanting to know what everyone was doing.

  He turned back to the redhead.

  Though, this time, she wasn’t alone. A man was with her, and the interesting glimmer in her expression had changed. She was not happy. And the man she spoke to did not seem to appreciate her temper.

  Or maybe he did, because it looked like he purposely was egging her on.

  Jason didn’t care at this point if he was staring.

  He would not look away…just in case.

  Chapter Two

  Ava glared at Cupid. “You have a lot of balls, you prick.”

  He smiled at her, looking all suave and sophisticated in his white-on-white outfit. The dickhead.

  “You know, don’t you, my sweet?” Cupid grinned.

  “Knock that shit off, Cupid. I’m not your sweet anything.” She gestured out into the reception, at Cupid’s minions—little cherubs with bad aim and twitchy trigger fingers—swarming around the wedding, shooting at anyone they could.

  Christy had been fighting off a flock of the damn annoying little cherubs. And so had Lilly.

  Ava had been so excited when she’d walked in earlier. New charges—rather, new assignments—made her giddy. And she was very intrigued by this one.

  Granted, it wasn’t the first time she’d ever interacted with men—sometimes, Fairy Godmothers had to work both sides of a coin to get the Happily Ever After, but she remained always focused on her female charges.

  So to work with a man, well, that brought round a whole different set of variables. Variables she couldn’t wait to play with.

  Until the cherubs started flying around.

  “Now, Ava, of course you are, sweetheart,” Cupid said, smiling a killer smile that probably would have wooed any girl who didn’t know better.

  Ava knew his game. Better than most.

  “You’re doing this just to spite me,” Ava said.

  “And why would I do that?” Cupid raised his eyebrow. “I’m not spiting you, my sweet. I merely am helping you. Nothing in your deal said that you couldn’t use my magic.” He put his hand on her arm.

  “That’s not the point and you know it.” She tried to jerk out of his g
rip.

  Cupid, however, wouldn’t let go. He scooted closer and wrapped his arms around her. “I just don’t want to see you fail.”

  If she didn’t know better, she’d think he might actually be sincere.

  Of course, she did know better.

  Ava put her hands on his chest and pushed him away, but the minor god was pretty strong. “Cupid, let me go. Really.”

  “You are so lovely,” Cupid said, and he tried to lean in.

  “Is there a problem here?”

  Both Ava and Cupid froze. Ava turned to see, of all people, her charge, hands over his chest, glaring at Cupid.

  “Uh,” Ava said.

  Cupid released her as he stared at Jason. “Everything is fine.”

  Ava stepped away from Cupid. “He was just leaving, weren’t you?”

  Cupid raised his eyebrow. “As you wish.”

  Jason kept his gaze on Cupid. “And I think you don’t need to be back here today.”

  Ava watched Cupid bristle.

  Act human. Act human. Act human, you arrogant dumb—

  Cupid merely snorted and walked away.

  Ava let out a sigh.

  “Are you all right?” Jason asked.

  Ava nodded. “Thank you, I appreciate that.” She glanced back at Cupid, who walked into the doors of the bed and breakfast.

  He’s going to be pissed later.

  “Ex-boyfriend?”

  “No,” Ava said, smiling as she shook her head. What an outrageous idea—dating Cupid. Just the thought made her sick to her stomach.

  So why did she spend time with him?

  She didn’t know.

  Perhaps that was the problem.

  “Ex-husband?” Jason asked as he led her away.

  “No. Just…”

  Jason held up his hand. “He-he just likes to control you.” He grimaced as he spoke.

  Ava snorted. “He…he thought he was helping me, of all things.”

  “No-no.” He grimaced and inhaled a breath. “No man ever helps a woman by forcing her to do something.”

  She noticed his stammer as he spoke, but she didn’t acknowledge it. Actually, she thought it was kind of cute. “Yes, I tend to agree with you. Unless you like that kind of kink.”