Claiming Valeria (10 page)

She flushed and resolutely turned her attention back to Petros,
who was asking if she wanted champagne.

“Thank you,” she said, taking the proffered glass.

All around them, the members of Rock Run were pairing up with
each other or unmated sun fae. The clan might not hold bacchas any longer, but they
were still fada, descendants of Dionysus and his wild followers, with the blood
of the god himself running through their veins. The combination of their alpha’s
mating and that surge of energy had everyone of mating age reaching for a partner—or
two—and apparently the sun fae felt the same.

She couldn’t help glancing at Rui again. He was still looking
at her.

Their gazes locked. The sounds of the celebration faded and it
was just the two of them. His lips curved in a half-smile that made her whole body
tingle.

She jerked her gaze away. Drat the man anyway. She just
knew
he was picturing her naked. Fada males liked to master their women, and Rui was
very much a fada male. He’d loved to tease her, to make her beg for her pleasure
until she was nearly mad with wanting him.

And then he’d pin her wrists to the mattress and take her, slow
but firm, and oh, so sweet…

Petros handed his empty glass to a server and placed an arm around
her shoulders. “Forget him,
glika
.”

“Who?” she returned with a lift of her chin.

He chuckled. “No one.” His hand was caressing her bottom now.
“How much longer are you going to make me wait, Valeria? I need you.”

She felt rather than saw Rui’s scowl. She ignored him to slide
an arm around Petros’s waist. “Not right now. But later…”

There was a tug on her other hand. A plaintive voice said, “Mama
Ria, I’m hungry.”

Adric eyed the banquet which had been set out under a
second canopy near the dancers: plump oysters on the half shell, crab cakes on frilly
little crackers, sirloin tips that looked like they would melt on your tongue
like chocolate. Platters of roast chicken, crystal bowls of exotic fruits, and a
whole table piled with breads, tarts and other baked goods that he couldn’t
even name.

Beside him, Marjani gazed at the food in silent reverence. There
had been days—not that long ago—when they’d have literally killed to get near even
a tenth this much food. And all of it kept at exactly the right temperature by fae
technology, colorful rings of light surrounding each bowl or platter to warm or
cool it.

“Well, hell,” his sister drawled. “They didn’t have to go to
all this trouble for li’l old us.”

Adric chuckled, but it was a forced, envious sound. They picked
up plates and began filling them. He got a beer for himself and wine for Marjani
and they seated themselves at an empty table. For a few minutes they spoke only
in occasional murmurs, all their attention on the food. Adric tried to slow down,
to savor what was truly a delicious meal, but he’d been hungry for too much of his
early life. His instinct was to bolt it down before it could be stolen by someone
bigger or tougher—or denied as a punishment.

At last Marjani set down her fork with a sigh of repletion.
“It’s too bad the others weren’t invited. It seems wrong to be stuffing our faces
like this when—” She halted and sent him a guilty look.

Adric forced himself to set down his own fork even though there
was still food on his plate. “Everyone has enough to eat these days. It may not
be fancy, but no one goes hungry.”

“I know, Ric. I didn’t mean—”

“I know.” He lifted a shoulder. “Hell, I wish the others could’ve
come, too.”

He took a sip of beer and looked around him. A family had taken
seats at the next table: the hot piece in the tight green dress who’d caused such
a stir when she arrived, a bouncy little girl, and a man he recognized—Petros, the
Greek sea fada who’d been spending a lot of time in the Full Moon Saloon lately.
Adric had made it his business to keep an eye on Petros. He recognized a man sniffing
out new territory when he saw one.

He turned back to Marjani. “Someday our people will be invited
to these celebrations, too. The sun fae-Rock Run alliance doesn’t mean our hopes
are dead.”

“Of course not. We don’t have to beat Rock Run to—”

He gripped her wrist, silencing her. “Not now.” He cut his eyes
toward the family behind her.

She winced. “Sorry. Just remember there’s more than one way to
skin a cat.”

“That’s what I keep you around for—to remind me.”

Marjani snorted but he could tell she was pleased.

He glanced at the family again. But no, it wasn’t a family after
all. The little girl was calling the sea fada “Senhor Petros.”

His eyes narrowed. The girl reminded him of someone. That sharp
little face and untamable black hair. It had been worked into a braid but already
it was escaping to form wispy corkscrews around her face. Then it hit him. His nostrils
flared. What he smelled made him freeze.

He lowered his voice to a level only Marjani could hear. “Find
a way to look at that family behind you without their knowing. The little girl.”

Marjani nudged her napkin so it fell to the floor. As she bent
to retrieve it, she took a long look at the girl. He heard her inhale, knew she’d
discovered what he’d scented: the girl was a mixed-blood earth shifter.

When Marjani sat back up, her eyes were wide.

“Oh. My. God,” she mouthed. “Do you think—?”

The two of them stared at each other. “We can’t be sure,” he
said in the same subvocal tones, careful not to look at the girl again. “We’ve been
searching for three years.” Since the day Jace’s sister died and they realized her
mate and daughter had disappeared. By the time they’d found them a year later, it
had been too late. “Everything we turned up said that Merry died with her father
in a house fire. That night fae, Tyrus, swore it was the truth.”

The fae had said it with a mealy-mouthed sorrow. But Adric had
suspected he’d had something to do with it—Tyrus had practically reeked with satisfaction.
Adric had itched to take him somewhere private and work him over until he confessed.
But the man had been protected by two thugs and a powerful ward. Adric, on the other
hand, had been alone, with his nearest man over a mile away—the only way Tyrus would
agree to meet with him.

Adric hadn’t forgotten, though. Someday Tyrus would pay for what
he’d done.

The night fae’s scent had held truth though. He believed Merry
had died in that fire. But what if she’d somehow escaped?

“Why was it so important?” his sister wondered. “To kill the
whole family?”

“I’d like to know that myself.”

“Still, if it’s true, Jace is going to be so happy.” Marjani’s
eyes rounded. “Oh, lord. Should we tell him now?”

Jace and Lucas were hiding in the trees at the edge of the meadow—Jace
as his cat, Lucas a wolf. They’d refused to let him go unprotected to a celebration
packed with Rock Run warriors. Normally the sun fae’s wards would’ve kept them out,
but the wards had been dropped in favor of patrolling warriors so that guests could
enter the compound. And it would be a cold day in Hades before his best men couldn’t
slip past a fae warrior.

“I don’t know.” He dragged his fingers through his hair. “She
smells right, but why the hell would she be living with the river fada?”

Then the woman in the green dress called the little girl Merry,
and he had his proof.

* * *

Rui watched as Valeria and Merry headed with Okeanos
toward the dining area. His animal was still urging him to drag the two of them
away from the Greek fada, but the man knew that was a bad idea. Valeria had been
furious when he’d interrupted her and Okeanos two days ago. If he wasn’t careful,
he might lose her for good.

He strolled after them as he considered what to do. He’d never
courted anyone, not even Valeria. There had been a spark from the instant they first
set eyes on each other, a week after she arrived…

He’d returned from a job, another quiet, solitary kill, this
one set up by Dion. He’d never liked this part of his work—give him a good, clean
fight anytime—but this one had been especially difficult, a fae aristocrat who’d
overreached herself and executed anyone who objected. Eventually two of her closest
advisors had revolted. It was Rui’s job to make sure she disappeared without a trace.
He knew she needed to be stopped, but he’d never killed a woman before. It had left
him in a dark, dangerous mood.

So instead of returning immediately to Rock Run, he’d spent a
few days in the ocean as his bull shark. He was one of the few river fada who could
turn to shark, but it was a mixed blessing. It was why he was so good at
tracking, but the shark was a tricky animal to control; there were times when it
all but took over. The man was always present, making sure that his animal killed
only for food, but both had taken a primal satisfaction in fulfilling that need.

Blood lust sated, he’d returned to the base, the animal in him
appeased but the man eager for a woman. He’d showered and headed toward the dining
hall.

That was when he’d come across her, standing at the
intersection of two halls and looking around her uncertainly. He took in a heart-shaped
ass framed by tight jeans and increased his stride. As he came up beside her, he
angled his head and inhaled deeply.

Earth and spice and warm, sexy woman
.

He knew right then he was going to do everything in his power
to have her. “
Boa tarde, senhorita
. May I help you?”

She turned her head. “
Sim
, I—” Her eyes widened at finding
him so close. Reluctantly, he pulled back but kept his gaze on hers.

Her eyes were the color of rich, dark chocolate. Time seemed
to stop. For a few seconds all he could hear was the hard thump of his heart.

Then she blinked and he realized she’d swayed closer to him.
She straightened and blushed, a pretty brightening of her smooth olive skin. “I’m
lost. I was trying to find the dining hall.”

“And you are—”

“Valeria da Costa.”

“Rui do Mar.” He took the proffered hand, holding it a little
longer than necessary. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“The alpha’s second.”

“That’s me. You’ve been here a while then?”

“Only since last week. I’m visiting from Portugal.”

He gave a slow smile. “Then I’ll have to see that you…enjoy yourself.”

He scented her desire, knew she was interested in him. But she
was a fada female. His animal had already sensed she wasn’t a dominant, but that
didn’t mean she was a pushover.

She blinked again. Then her soft, full mouth curved in an equally
slow smile. “And I might let you. But right now all I need are the directions to
the dining hall.”

“No problem. I was on my way there myself.” Placing a hand on
the small of her back, he guided her to turn left at the next intersection. “It’s
right down here.”

It had only taken another couple of days before he had her in
his bed.

And as he’d entered her that first time, they’d both felt it—a
literally magical bond, its first tenuous strands unfurling in their hearts and
reaching out for the other. The mate bond expressed itself differently for each
couple, but both of them had known that the possibility was there.

Now that connection had been broken—although perhaps not as completely
as he’d believed. She hadn’t had sex yet with Okeanos; he was sure of that. He’d
have seen it on her face, smelled it on her. If the bond were still alive, it explained
why not.

He watched as she strolled along between Okeanos and Merry, hips
swaying in that pretty sea-colored dress, and bared his teeth in a smile. She was
going to smell of sex very soon.

But it was going to be him, not Okeanos, who marked her.

Dion caught sight of him and excused himself from Cleia to
approach him. Rui turned his attention to his alpha.

“
Boa tarde
,” Dion said. He gave a subtle sniff.

Rui raised his chin. “I haven’t had a drink since I heard you’d
been kidnapped.”

“So I hear—and that you’ve reclaimed your place as second.”

“I had to. Luis was sick, and exhausted from worry about Xavier.
Things were getting out of control. But if you have a problem with it, I’ll step
down.”

Dion scrutinized him another moment and then nodded. “Then I
owe you my thanks.”

“No thanks necessary—you’d have done the same thing.”

Rui glanced at Cleia, dancing with a cluster of tiny girls. She
was literally glowing, her face radiant with what he knew was her true self, not
the glamour she’d used to entice him and her other lovers.

“Congratulations on your mating,” he said, and meant it.

Dion followed his gaze. “I’m a lucky man.”

“
Sim
. She’s a beautiful woman. I’m just sorry I missed
your mating ceremony.”

“Me too.” They shared a sidelong look of understanding, Dion
letting Rui know there were no hard feelings. Sure, Rui had had Cleia first, but
it had only been sex for him—nothing like the powerful, till-death-do-us-part love
that it clearly was for his friend.

“So,” Dion asked, “can you do this? Because I can’t have a drunken
ass as my second. What Cleia did today helped, but it’s up to you and me to bring
Rock Run back to where it was. She may be my mate, but I’m damned if I’m going to
beg her for help.”

“Luis already threatened to challenge me if I fuck up.” He met
Dion’s eyes. “But I won’t. I’m going to do this. For you. For the clan. For Valeria—because
I want her back. And”—he moved a shoulder—“for me.”

Because he couldn’t live like that any longer—and the only other
choice was dying.

Dion searched Rui’s face. What he saw there must have satisfied
him, because he smiled and clapped Rui on the back. “It’s good to have you back,
irmão
.”

Brother
.

Rui’s stomach clenched. He slapped Dion’s back in return and
then they were hugging. When they released each other, both their eyes were moist.

Dion shook his head. “Damn, I’ve missed you.”

“What can I say? I was an ass.”

“No argument here.”

“Fuck off.”

They elbowed each other—hard—and grinned.