Freaks in the City by Maree Anderson Read Free Book Online Page A

napkins and plates, and headed for the studio. When Tyler was
in the zone he often forgot to eat. It was one of the reasons she
preferred him to stay over at her place. At least then she could
tempt him with home cooked meals and ensure he ate properly two or
three nights a week.
    Jay had always been what humans labeled a
“good” cook. Cooking was simply a matter of combining the available
ingredients in ways that pleased the human palate. It wasn’t
difficult. She’d cooked all the meals when Father was alive but
she’d never “enjoyed” cooking. Now she found herself holding her
breath as she waited for Tyler to take that first all-important
bite of a meal she’d prepared for him, so she could analyze his
responses. And if his eyes half-closed as he savored the flavors,
and he uttered a tiny moan of appreciation, she would release her
breath on a sigh of pure satisfaction… and immediately begin
planning the next meal she would cook for him.
    She juggled her burdens so she could open
the door to the studio, and paused on the threshold to observe
him.
    Tyler sat on a tall stool, hunched over his
guitar, his eyes half-closed as he strummed. Jay’s enhanced hearing
could detect the faint hum in the back of his throat as he
sub-vocalized the words in his mind, braiding them into lyrics
that, when he deemed them fit for her ears, Jay knew would move her
to tears.
    Warmth bloomed in her chest, enveloping her
like a blanket. Her heart beat a little faster, even though she was
not physically exerting herself. And everything in the room
appeared brighter, as though she’d flicked some internal switch
that had instantly upgraded and enhanced her vision.
    Jay did not know whether she was capable of
loving Tyler as he deserved to be loved—as a human female would
love the male she’d chosen to give her heart to. But if love was an
overwhelming sensation of wellbeing, of completeness, of
“rightness” and not wanting to be anywhere else in the entire world
but here, in this moment, with this person, then she loved Tyler.
She hoped it would be enough for him.
    He glanced up and smiled at her.
    Jay’s knees wobbled and she leaned against
the doorjamb to regain her balance. What had just happened? And
more importantly, why?
    Her disquiet must have shown on her face for
Tyler set his guitar on the stand and hopped off the stool to
relieve her of the pizza. “You okay?”
    “I’m sure it’s nothing.” Jay clutched the
plates and napkins to her chest. It would be very inconvenient if
this strange anomaly spread to her arms, too.
    Tyler set the pizza on the sideboard and
pinned her with a serious look that informed her she would not get
away with changing the subject to distract him. “Tell me, or I’m
only going to worry,” he said. “And give me those plates.”
    She handed them over. “Very well. My knee
joints went… funny when you looked at me. There is no
logical explanation for this physical anomaly.”
    Tyler’s brows pleated. “Funny? Funny,
how?”
    “Funny as in weak . Like they were
incapable of locking into place and holding me upright
anymore.”
    “Ah.” He turned away to put the plates on
the sideboard but she caught a glimpse of his lips twitching
upward.
    She narrowed her eyes at him. “You find this
anomaly amusing.”
    He faced her again, and that twitch of his
lips morphed into a full-blown grin Jay could only describe as
cocky.
    She tested her legs. Whatever had
temporarily ailed them had passed, so she headed for the padded
bench seat by the window. Tyler reached out and snagged her arm as
she passed.
    She could easily have pulled free but
because it was Tyler, because she wanted—needed—to understand
everything about him, she allowed him to tug her round to face
him.
    “Knowing I can look at you a certain way and
be directly responsible for your knees going weak? Hell, yeah! I’m
rapt. Smug as all get-out—any red-blooded guy would be.”
    She frowned to let him know that so far