by Emma Roman
Jenny knew what Kym thought about her: nice, responsible, hardworking. The kind of person who did everything by the book. Except for her jewelry—that was where Jenny poured out her heart and soul.
She knew Kym liked her. Who didn’t want a dependable friend and co-worker? She’d never say Jenny was boring.
But Jenny was beginning to think maybe she was.
Chico quirked a brow at her, and she made up her mind. “All right. Why don’t you sit down and I’ll be there in a minute?”
His eyes lit with satisfaction. “Sounds good.” He took his usual table against the wall, where he could see both the front and back doors, a reminder he was from a fierce, warrior-like people.
As Jenny fixed herself a cup of hot chocolate, she glanced at him. He’d wrapped his hands around his café mocha and was staring into it. Suddenly, he didn’t look like a warrior. He looked a little…lost.
Her brows drew together.
Chico glanced up and the lost look was gone as quickly as it had appeared, replaced by a cocky grin. “Coming?”
She gave herself a mental shake. “Be right there.” She picked up her hot chocolate and joined him.
The table was only large enough for two chairs. Chico rose to his feet as she approached and pulled out one for her. He was so close she could feel the warmth of his body along her back. She had the crazy urge to curl up, catlike, into his heat. It had been so long since she’d been truly warm—which was odd, because she’d grown up in northern Ohio smack in the middle of the snowbelt. Maryland winters were mild compared to what she was used to.
But she’d spent the last couple of years in southern California, and she couldn’t seem to adjust to a real winter again.
Chico shrugged out of his leather jacket and draped it over the back of his chair. Her breath hitched. Lord, the man was gorgeous—all hard muscles and warm olive skin. His dark gold T-shirt stretched across his chest and a tat swirled around his bulging upper arm.
His eyes met hers and his lips curved in a way that promised all sorts of interesting things.
“So,” he said as he retook his seat, “tell me about yourself. You’re not from around here, are you?”
She shook her head. “I grew up in Ohio, but most recently, I’ve been living in L.A.”
He glanced at the long black braid that had fallen forward over her shoulder. “You have some Native American in you?”
“My dad was part Ojibwe and part German. Mom was Polish, Irish and a couple of other things.”
“That’s kind of like me. My mom is from Rhode Island, but my pai—my dad—is Portuguese. But your mom and dad—they both passed?”
She gave a tight nod. “Mom died when I was a kid. But Dad—it was last summer. August.”
He touched her hand. “I’m sorry.”
“Thanks,” she tried to say, but the word didn’t make it past the hard knot in her throat. She swallowed and tried again. “Thank you.”
“You miss him.”
“Every day.” She unconsciously fingered the pendant.
His gaze went to it. “That was your dad’s?”
“No, I made it. Dad—he died really sudden. One day he was okay, and the next he was gone. But the night after he died, I had a dream. When I woke up, I made this in his honor.”
His brows shot up. “You made that? Wow—it’s really good.”
“Thanks.” Her hand closed around the silver dolphin.
In her dream, it’d been a hot summer night, and her dad had been swimming in a creek that ran through the woods behind their house. She’d stood on the bank and watched, part of her knowing it was only a dream, but happy to see her beloved father strong and healthy and doing something he loved.
Then he’d changed to a dolphin and swam up into the night sky, leaving a trail of silver droplets like stars in his wake. She’d flung up her hand. If only she could touch him one last time…but he was too far away.
She’d curled her fingers into a fist and woken up with tears on her face, wanting her dad with all her heart. But she’d known then that the dolphin was her spirit animal, the one her Ojibwe grandma had told her about. Jenny had rolled her eyes when Grandma Lou had said that someday she’d meet her animal—and she’d just know. Now she wished her grandma was still around so she could tell her she’d been right.
In the morning, Jenny had taken out her tools and made the pendant—a free-flowing dolphin inscribed on a silver oval with a spray of diamond chips to represent the stars.
She released the pendant. “But hey, I didn’t mean to get this deep. I—”
“It’s okay.” He squeezed her fingers. “I’m honored you told me.”
Jenny blinked. She wasn’t sure what she’d expected, but not this. Chico was the kind of man who always had a woman or two.
Sure, she’d been attracted to him, but she’d figured he was shallow.
She did not want to find out that beneath that gorgeous face and body there was a real, caring man. One who made her want things she hadn’t wanted for a long time.
She glanced over her shoulder at Kym. “Maybe I should get back.”
He inhaled slowly, and then switched subjects, almost as though he’d scented her distress. Could shifters do that? She’d heard they could scent a lie, so maybe they could smell other emotions, too?
“Please stay,” he said. “It’s only been ten minutes. And she’s not busy.”
In fact, Kym had taken advantage of the lull to sit at the counter and check her messages.
“All right—but just a few more minutes.”
Chico took a sip of his coffee. “So, tell me how you ended up here in Grace Harbor.”
“I came out here to study with a jewelry maker.” She named the woman. “She’s sells her pieces in New York, in catalogs—all over the world. I’m mostly self-taught, but you can only get so far that way. There are things I don’t know—certain techniques, how to work with different metallic alloys—so I asked her if she’d take me on as an apprentice. She looked at my site on Etsy and here I am.”
“You must be good.”
She moved a shoulder. “I’m getting there. I have a lot to learn.”
“So you’re in Grace Harbor for how long—a year?”
“I don’t know. Maybe I’ll stay for good—I like it here. I love being on the bay.”
“Lucky for me.”
She ran her thumbnail down the edge of the cardboard cup. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.” He captured her wrist and she stilled. “Very lucky. Because if you wouldn’t have come out here, we never would’ve met, and that would’ve been a shame.”
Her heart sped up. “You’re very direct, aren’t you?”
“Hey, I’m interested in you. Why hide it?”
She blinked and reminded herself that it was probably just part of his technique—but she had to admit it was effective.
“Look,” he said, “I have to get going, but I’d like to see you again. What are you doing Friday night?”
“Nothing, but—”
He smoothed a thumb over her jumpy pulse. “It’s just dinner. I promise, it won’t go any further unless you want it to. All I want is to spend some time with you, see where this goes.”
How did he know that was what she most needed to hear? Because the one thing Ryan hadn’t wanted to do was take her out or spend time with her—other than in bed.
“Fada can’t lie,” Chico added. “Oh, we can try—but it makes us sick.”
“Really? I didn’t know that. I mean, my grandma always said the fae can’t lie, but I didn’t know it was the same for fada.”
He leaned closer and said in a stage whisper, “We don’t tell just anyone.” Then he winked.
She found herself grinning back. “Your secret is safe with me.”
“But it’s the truth,” he said, serious again. “If I say it won’t go any further unless you want it, then it won’t. You’re safe with me—always. Got it?”
She nodded solemnly. “Got it.
”
“Good.” He released her hand. “So how about Friday—seven o’clock? I can pick you up.”
She hesitated, wary of giving him her address. “Why don’t I meet you here? It’s easier.”
“Okay, sure. You like seafood?”
“Love it.”
“Excellent. I know a restaurant on the water that I think you’ll like.” Rising to his feet, he stroked the backs of his fingers down her cheek. “See you on Friday.” He grabbed his jacket and left.
A minute later, she heard the rumble of a motorcycle and turned her head to watch as he rode past, Mr. Dark and Dangerous again.
Jenny gulped. What had she done? But she was damned if she was going to back out now.
She finished her hot chocolate and stood up. “You can take your break now,” she told Kym as she dropped the cups into the recycling bin.
Kym smirked at her. “He asked you out?”
“He did.”
“Tell me you didn’t say no.”
“I didn’t,” Jenny returned a bit smugly. “We’re going out for seafood.”
“Dinner? That’s good, very good.” Kym gave her an enthusiastic thumbs-up. “You realize half the women in town are dying to hook up with a Rock Run fada. But they don’t do humans—at least, not often.”
Jenny’s brows shot up. “No, I didn’t know.” She wasn’t sure how she felt about that. She’d sworn she was through with good-looking, cocky men. But she’d glimpsed something more in Chico—or had she? She’d thought Ryan was something more than a rich, handsome prick, and look how wrong she’d been.
Kym helped herself to a coffee and a muffin. “Okay, I’m officially on break.”
“Sure. Take as long as you need.” Jenny stared at Chico’s footprints on the sidewalk outside. The lug soles had left a definite imprint in the melting snow.
Against her chest, the pendant felt warm. She fingered it. Okay, that was weird. The pendant was almost hot, as if it had been warmed in someone’s hands.
The door banged open and two silver-haired men came inside along with a blast of cold air. They were regulars, a couple of retirees who met most days at the coffee shop. They stopped on the doormat to stomp the snow off their shoes.
“And how are my two favorite ladies?” the taller one asked with his usual big smile. “How about some coffee? And do you have the pecan muffins today?”
Jenny grinned back. It was impossible not to like these two. “Coming right up,” she said and headed behind the counter.
3
Chico ran his fingers through his hair—and grinned at the mirror without seeing himself.
Damn, he was looking forward to this evening. He’d had his eye on the sexy human all month.
He wasn’t sure why he’d stopped at the Java Shoppe that first afternoon. Usually, he had a cup of coffee at breakfast and was good for the rest of the day.
But it had been his day off. He’d worked out with a couple of the other warriors in his cohort and then decided to go into Grace Harbor to shop. His mom’s birthday was coming up and he still hadn’t bought her a present.
Once he’d found the perfect gift, he’d headed into Java for some coffee and one of the shop’s famous muffins.
And there was Jenny. She had her back to him, working one of the stainless steel cappuccino makers. His gaze traveled down her shiny black braid to where the tip brushed the top of her ass. And what an ass it was—round and firm in the snug black pants.
Then she turned around and he felt like he’d taken a punch to the gut. The woman was beautiful, with broad cheekbones and dark almond-shaped eyes.
He’d been too stupefied to do more than order his coffee and retreat to a table against the wall. But he’d come back two days later, and then again. The third time he’d tried to flirt with her. She’d smiled politely—and then turned to the next customer.
Chico had raised a brow. He wasn’t used to women brushing him off.
But he was a fada, with a shifter’s heightened senses. He’d scented her spike of arousal. The pretty, black-haired barista wanted him all right—she just didn’t trust him.
That pissed his animal off, even at the same time it wanted to wrap itself around her and assure her that he’d never, ever hurt her.
Every fada had a magical Gift. Chico’s was that of a protector. His Gift made him hypersensitive to threats against the clan’s women and children. Protectors were born defenders, able to assess a threat in a matter of seconds, and then react as necessary.
With his Gift came patience. The clan’s Gifted hunters and trackers had that patience too, but Chico’s was endless.
Now he applied that patience to winning over the pretty human.
Fortunately, his current assignment was as one of the base’s sentries, so he had plenty of opportunities to visit Grace Harbor. It was hard, but he’d kept his stops at the coffee shop to two or three a week. Instinct told him that if he spooked the woman, he’d lose her.
It had taken close to three weeks, but she’d relaxed enough that he’d finally made his move.
Now he grabbed his leather jacket and headed out of his room. He automatically glanced at his best friend’s door. But it wasn’t Tiago’s room anymore—and hadn’t been for months. Tiago had mated a local dryad and now lived with her on an island in the middle of the Susquehanna River where her oak was located. Even when the newly-mated couple stayed at the base, they weren’t quartered with the unmated warriors.
Chico was happy for the two of them, of course, but that didn’t stop him from missing his friend. The two of them had grown up together. Where Tiago went, Chico followed.
Tiago was also the alpha’s youngest brother. Some people thought being Tiago’s best friend gave Chico special privileges, but their real friends knew better. The truth was that their superiors had worked their butts off. That was fine with them both—Tiago, because he welcomed the chance to prove himself to the clan, and Chico because he enjoyed a challenge. He might not be the hardass Tiago was, but that didn’t mean he skated through life.
What he needed right now was for Tiago to rib him about his crush on Jenny, and then assure Chico that she would love him—because Chico was dry-mouthed with nerves about tonight.
The Rock Run Base had been carved out of a system of caverns located near the Susquehanna’s mouth. Chico navigated the labyrinthine twists and turns with ease. The main hall was full of people heading to eat at the clan’s dining hall. Usually Chico would’ve stopped to talk, but tonight he merely gave everyone a friendly nod and kept going.
He’d reserved one of the clan’s small SUVs for the trip into Grace Harbor. The snow yesterday had melted, but the temperatures were going to drop below freezing tonight. For himself, Chico would’ve taken his bike—water fada didn’t feel the cold like humans did—but he had Jenny to think about.
A little before seven o’clock, he entered the coffee shop. He wasn’t surprised to find Jenny already there. She seemed like the punctual type.
The shop was full of customers sitting at tables or standing at the counter, talking. Jenny was in an animated conversation with the man behind the counter, a tall, bearded redhead in a flannel shirt.
The redhead grinned at something Jenny said and then shot a dark look at Chico.
Chico’s hand went to the switchblade in his back pocket. As a protector, it wasn’t his nature to go looking for a fight, but for Jenny he just might.
She turned and gave him her wide smile. “Chico! You’re right on time.”
“Hey, Jenny.” He released the knife and strode forward. “You look great.” He kissed her on both cheeks and smiled down at her.
Her black-and-white striped blouse should’ve looked businesslike, but it clung to her curves, making him wonder what it would be like to undo the front, button by button. And there, nestled in the valley between her lush breasts, was the dolphin pendant she’d been wearing the other morning.
“Thanks. So do you.” She touched the collar of his dress
shirt.
He inclined his head in acknowledgment, and then when she turned to pick up her coat, sent a smug smile in the direction of the glowering redhead.
“I’m ready, unless you want a coffee,” Jenny said.
“No, I told them we’d be there a little after seven.”
He helped Jenny into a wool pea coat, and then with a hard look at the redhead that made the other man set his jaw, wrapped an arm around her shoulder and steered her out of the shop.
Even with the wool coat, Jenny shivered when they hit the street. He hugged her closer, and she slanted him a look, her eyes enigmatic in the glow of the streetlights.
“Hungry?” he asked.
“Yeah. I was working on a new piece and forgot to eat lunch.”
“Good. I got us reservations on the water.” He named the restaurant.
“Wow—I’ve heard the food’s great there. But are you sure? I hear they’re expensive.” She shot him a worried look.
He squeezed her shoulders. “I want to. I usually eat at the base, so it’s a change for me too.”
It was a short drive to the restaurant, but he turned up the heat for her, and was glad he had when she held out her bare hands to the vent.
“What’s it like, living at Rock Run?” she asked.
“Like any small town. We have hundreds of people living there, but I know pretty much everyone, seeing as I grew up at the base. People can be damn nosy, but I know every single one of them has my back.”
“That would be nice. I grew up in a small town myself, but after I left for college, I only went back for summers and visits.”
“What’s your degree in?”
“Fine arts.” Her lips twisted wryly. “That’s why I’m working in a coffee shop.”
“You won’t be forever. Not if that necklace is a sample of what you can do.”
That earned him a smile. “Thanks. And actually, my stuff sells pretty well. I’m thinking of reducing my hours at the shop so I have more time for my jewelry.”
