Unfit to Print Read online

  “Granted, but—”

  “And I’m selling up.”

  Vikram stilled. “I beg your pardon?”

  “Selling up. I don’t want to end up like Dugdale either, in and out of gaol all my life. The hell with that, now Matthew’s dead.”

  Vikram frowned. “What difference does that make? Are you feeling confused again?”

  “I’m not confused, though I might be an idiot. Matthew pushed me into the gutter, and I stayed in it because it felt like a sod-you to him, and all the rest of them who agreed that’s where I belonged in the first place. But if he ever cared about that, and I doubt he did, he’s dead now. And to be honest, if I had been paying attention instead of trying to find a way to blame him for Sunil, I might not have got hit on the head at all. Oswald fed me a line about Matthew’s involvement to distract me, and it worked, because I’m still letting that arsehole get to me from beyond the grave. I need to scrape him off my shoes. I should have done that a long time ago.”

  “I do wish he was still alive,” Vikram said, with a combination of wistful longing and malevolent intent that made Gil want to kiss him. “But I interrupted you.”

  “I’m used to it. Where was I?”

  “Selling up. Really?”

  Gil nodded. “I don’t enjoy getting the wind up every time you throw a door open like you want to take it off its hinges. I think it’s time to get out of this game, open the kind of bookshop that won’t get me arrested. So I could use someone to help me get the stock dealt with, and maybe he might want to stick around and learn the trade. And even if he doesn’t, I might have something to say that he’d listen to.”

  Vikram nodded slowly. “I suppose he might find it easier to speak frankly to you than to me.”

  Gil contemplated Vikram’s manicured nails and tailored suit. “Could be, lawyer.”

  “Would you do that?”

  “I’ll give him a few days’ work here, and I’ll have a chat with him while I’m about it. But nobody’s going to save him if he doesn’t feel there’s something to be saved from. You hold a hand out, and let him decide whether to take it. Trying to force him won’t work.”

  “I think I understand that better than I used to,” Vikram said. “Though it seems to me it would be you holding the hand out. Ah, since I have rather foisted this on you, may I be responsible—”

  “Matthew’s paying,” Gil said over him. “I’ve got a bloke from Wych Street coming tomorrow to take all the photographs off my hands—or most of them, I’ve set aside the ones with Sunil and poor bloody Errol for burning. It’s a bargain for him, but it’s still more than enough to cover a decent wage for as long as I need.”

  “If you’re sure. Won’t moving and setting up again be expensive?”

  “I’ve got my inheritance and my savings, and Matthew’s collection was worth a fair bit. I’m splitting the proceeds with Percy but it’ll still be a tidy sum.” That was not including Jonathan. He rather thought he’d keep that for himself. “I’ll do nicely. You have no idea how respectable I’m going to be.”

  The smile in Vikram’s eyes was everything. “I would love you to be respectable in public. Ah, in private, though...?”

  “Oh, in private, sod respectability for a game of soldiers. Come here.”

  He had his arse propped against the edge of the table still. He hopped up to sit on it properly as Vikram walked in between his legs like he was born to be there, and wrapped his thighs around Vik’s hips. Vikram leaned down for a kiss, lips meeting Gil’s with a care that rapidly turned to open-mouthed urgency, and Gil grabbed his shoulders and pulled him close, getting a hand into that thick hair, feeling Vik’s hand in his own curls. Gripping one another, tangled up in each other like they always had been, still were, and not looking to change.

  And maybe this was just the shabby back room of a dirty Holywell Street bookshop, but he had Vikram quivering with pleasure in his arms, the smell of books and ink and beautiful lawyer in his nose, some of those hopes and dreams he’d abandoned rising up again as if they’d never really gone away, and that was pretty much all Gil could have asked from life, right here.

  The cat would probably come with him when he moved, but you couldn’t have everything.

  <<<<>>>>

  Acknowledgements

  This book was named by Sherene Khaw in my Facebook group, KJ Charles Chat. Thanks to all the Chatters for making this fun.

  With special thanks to Talia Hibbert and Elena Meyer-Bothling, to Veronica Vega for knowing the words I actually meant as opposed to the ones I typed, and to Lennan Adams for the gorgeous cover.

  A Charm of Magpies world

  The Magpie Lord

  A Case of Possession

  Flight of Magpies

  Jackdaw

  A Queer Trade

  Rag and Bone

  Society of Gentlemen series

  The Ruin of Gabriel Ashleigh

  A Fashionable Indulgence

  A Seditious Affair

  A Gentleman’s Position

  Sins of the Cities series

  An Unseen Attraction

  An Unnatural Vice

  An Unsuitable Heir

  Green Men series

  Spectred Isle

  Standalone books

  Think of England

  The Secret Casebook of Simon Feximal

  Wanted, a Gentleman

  The Price of Meat

  The Henchmen of Zenda

  Praise for KJ Charles

  “A romp of a novella. ... a perfectly compact romance that shows a couple can be cranky and still head-over-heels for each other.”

  —Romantic Times on Wanted, a Gentleman, Top Pick and Seal of Excellence

  “This novel combines romance with paranormal fear and humour perfectly ... a lovely mix of Nietzsche, Poe, and pure K.J. Charles.”

  —All About Romance on The Secret Casebook of Simon Feximal

  “KJ Charles has long been one of my favorite authors, and this book doesn’t disappoint. A Seditious Affair is a beautiful love story interwoven with the realism of the political unrest of the time—another winner from KJ Charles!”

  —USA Today bestselling author Carole Mortimer

  “The realities of class, societal mores and politics heighten the tension in this emotional, deeply romantic look at the remarkable lengths we will go for love.”

  —Washington Post on A Gentleman’s Position

  “A plot that’s unabashed pulp, made poignant by its effects on the two bruised souls at its center.”

  —Publishers’ Weekly on An Unseen Attraction, starred review

  “Watching two guarded men trade arch Lost Generation banter while edging closer and closer to romance is deeply satisfying; the book’s wry, anguished, darkly witty prose will make it perfect for the coming rains of autumn.”

  —Seattle Review of Books on Spectred Isle

  “The Magpie Lord is a witty, action-packed sexy-as-hell fantasy romance. Tattoo a magpie on my heart and keep the Stephen and Crane stories coming. I'm in lust!”

  —Tiffany Reisz, international bestselling and award-winning author of The Original Sinners series

  “The always-reliable K.J. Charles outdoes herself with The Henchmen of Zenda ... there is swashbuckling, double and triple crossing, intrigue, a moat, a castle, smart women, and hot sex. What’s not to like?”

  —Smart Bitches, Trashy Books on The Henchmen of Zenda

  About the Author

  KJ Charles is a RITA®-nominated romance writer and editor. She lives in London with her husband, two kids, a garden with quite enough prickly things, and a cat with murder management issues.

  Find her at her website for book info and blogging, on Twitter for daily timewasting and the odd rant, or in her Facebook group, KJ Charles Chat, for sneak peeks and special extras. Get her infrequent newsletter here to keep up with all the book news and occasional freebies.

  http://kjcharleswriter.com/

  Thank you for reading. If you enjoyed thi
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  All rights reserved. Aside from brief quotations for media coverage and reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced or distributed in any form without the author’s permission.

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  Copyright © 2018 by KJ Charles

  Published by KJC Books

  Cover by Lexiconic Design

  Edited by Veronica Vega

  ISBN 978-1-912688-01-2