by Emma Roman
It was happening again, just like with Ryan. Chico only wanted her for one thing. But in public, he preferred to be seen with one of his own kind.
Then Chico looked right past the woman and winked at Jenny. “Be right there,” he mouthed.
She gave herself a shake. What was wrong with her? Chico had introduced her to his parents and best friend, for God’s sake. He’d been showing her off all evening. The man couldn’t have made it clearer that he was proud to be seen with her.
She smiled back. “I’m okay.” And she was.
Maybe this thing wasn’t going to last forever, but she knew in her bones Chico would never shame her in public. If he hadn’t wanted her here, he wouldn’t have brought her—it was that simple.
Chico came over with the woman he was dancing with. Her name was Rosana, and she was Tiago’s younger sister. It didn’t take two minutes before Jenny saw that Chico treated Rosana as if she were his own little sister. He teased her, and she threatened to sic Tiago on him, which just made him laugh.
Then with a wave to them both, Rosana flitted off to dance with a tall, golden-haired sun fae.
The music slowed down and Chico held out a hand. “Dance with me?”
“Love to.” She smiled and moved into his arms.
Time sped by again. Jenny wanted to slow the evening down and hug it to herself, it was that wonderful. They danced to the slow song and then another and another.
Then she turned to Chico and said, “I’m hungry,” at the same time he said, “Why don’t we get something to eat?”
They laughed and headed off the dance floor, where they helped themselves to the feast: dainty hors d’oeuvres, every kind of meat and fish, slim spears of asparagus and buttery carrots, fresh berries with homemade whipped cream and trays of every kind of cheese because, Chico explained, the fae had a special fondness for milk.
They finished at a dark chocolate fountain surrounded by plump strawberries. “Here.” Chico speared a strawberry with a tiny silver fork, dipped it into the melted chocolate, and held it to her lips.
Jenny took a bite and gave a hum of pleasure. It was delicious, the sweetness of the strawberry the perfect balance to the slight bitterness of the chocolate.
Chico’s dark eyes smiled into hers. “You like it.”
“Oh, yeah.”
“Have another bite.” He waited until she finished the first strawberry and then speared another. “How about white chocolate this time?” he said, and the chocolate shimmered—and changed to a creamy white.
Jenny barely blinked. She’d seen so many magical things that night, what was one more?
And to be honest, she was a little drunk on the ambrosia. It was so good, she hadn’t been able to resist having a third glass.
Chico fed her the white-chocolate strawberry. She took a bite, and then turned the fork so he could have the other half. “Now you.”
He closed his lips around the treat, his gaze on hers. After he swallowed it, he set the fork down and cupped her face in his hands, his eyes with that sexy green glint to them.
“I’m still hungry,” he murmured, and licked her lips. A long, leisurely lick that she felt everywhere from her mouth to her breasts to the base of her spine. “For you. How about we go back to your place?”
“Mm.” She combed her fingers through the short hair at the base of his nape. “I like how you think.”
14
The trip back to Grace Harbor couldn’t pass fast enough for Chico.
Seeing Jenny in that clingy dress, dancing with her, watching her soft, full lips close around the strawberries he’d fed her… Everything combined to keep him semi-aroused for most of the evening.
But once they were in her bedroom, he switched to slow gear. He wanted to take his time with her tonight. She was special, and he wanted to show her—to court her. He might have been raised in America, but at home his clan still followed the old ways, and he liked the idea of courting his woman.
First, he turned her around and eased her zipper down. Then he nudged one strap so it fell over her shoulder, exposing an expanse of smooth skin.
He kissed the turn of her neck. “I think I’ll take my time tonight.” He inhaled deeply. His scent was all over her. He knew his friends had noticed. He’d seen a few raised brows, but it wasn’t unheard of for a fada to mate with a human. There were a couple such matings at Rock Run.
His parents had liked her, and that was the important thing. Not that he’d expected any different. Jenny was hard-working, creative, open-minded—why wouldn’t they like her?
Sure, his parents would’ve preferred that he mate with another fada, but they’d accept whomever he chose.
Because he was keeping Jenny Erdrich.
Both he and his animal agreed; she was the mate. He was just waiting for the right moment to claim her.
The mate bond. That magical connection between a fada and his or her mate.
He still couldn’t believe it had happened to him so young, but it hadn’t even occurred to him to fight it.
It was too powerful—and too wonderful.
“Chico…” Jenny’s low voice stroked over his skin like velvet, recalling him to his task.
He pushed the other strap down over her shoulder, helped her step out of the gown—and sucked in a breath.
She hadn’t been kidding about having almost nothing on beneath the dress. All she had on was a skin-tight slip in champagne-colored satin that barely covered her ass.
“Damn, woman.” He nuzzled her neck and sneaked a peek down her cleavage. “If I’d known that was all you were wearing, we’d never have gotten out the door."
She gave him a very Jenny smile over her shoulder—pleased and a little disbelieving.
He shook his head. “You don’t believe me, do you? You have no idea how fucking hot you are.”
She shrugged. “I don't think I’m ugly, but I’m not—”
He grasped her hips. “You’re gorgeous, babe. Inside and out. You make me smile”—he trailed love-bites down the side of her neck—“and you make me want you. I get hard just being in the same room with you.”
She raised an arm and wrapped her fingers around his nape. “Yeah?”
“Yeah. And I’m going to prove it to you if it takes me all night…”
He looped an arm around her waist, and with his other hand, pinched her nipples through the satin.
She moaned and tightened her grip on his nape, arching her back with pleasure.
“That’s it, querida.” He slid his fingers into her panties, stroking over her mound and then between her legs, where she was all slick heat.
She gave a sexy whimper and let her head fall back against his shoulder.
“I want to taste you,” he rasped against her throat.
“Please.” She caressed the back of his neck, sending tingles down his spine.
He turned her around and stripped off the slip before guiding her down onto the chair next to the bed. He knelt between her thighs and watched as she grasped the seat. The movement thrust her breasts out.
His heart punched in his chest. Damn, she was beautiful. Long black hair spilled over round, full breasts. Her pretty copper nipples were puckered, just begging to be sucked. Her thighs were smooth, her hips round.
He stroked a hand down her belly, enjoying how it tautened beneath his touch. He leaned forward to lick each nipple in turn. “You’re better than ambrosia.”
She murmured something incoherent, her eyes dazed with passion.
“Much better.” He gave each of her nipples a leisurely suckle and then moved his way down her body. When he reached her clit, he blew gently. Her thighs tightened.
Oh, yeah, she liked that.
He inhaled deeply, reveling in her salty scent, then swirled his tongue around the sensitive knot of flesh before sucking it into his mouth.
She inhaled sharply and tightened her grip on the chair. He teased her with his tongue and lips until she was squirming on the seat and making br
oken sounds of pleasure.
“Mm,” he said against her soft, warm flesh. “You’re so beautiful when you’re aroused.”
She was. The crests of her cheeks were flushed, her eyes nearly black with passion.
He slid a finger into her and curved the tip upward, stroking her passage while continuing to lick and suck her until she went rigid.
“Chico,” she gasped, and tightened around him. Her climax scented the air, hot and incredibly sexy.
He stayed with her, bringing her down slowly until she slumped on the chair, breathing hard. Then he gave her a soft kiss.
She ran a hand down his face and smiled. “I’d say that was incredible but your head is already too big.”
His lips twitched. “Come here and I’ll show you just how incredible I can be.” He gathered her in his arms and laid her face down on the bed. “Lift your hips.”
When she obeyed, he slid a pillow beneath her hips so her ass was displayed for his pleasure. His animal was awake, perfectly in tune with him now. The two of them groaned in unison at the sight she made: all smooth, firm flesh, curved in just the right places.
He stroked her—long, deliberate caresses, tracing the shape of her fine backside, moving down her sleek thighs. He pressed a kiss to the small of her back and her muscles jumped.
He growled against her skin. His animal moved restively under his skin.
Mine.
He reached for a condom.
His animal curled its lip in protest. It wanted to take her without bothering about such a human worry. But Chico ignored it. If Jenny was his mate, there was a good chance he could get her pregnant, and he didn’t want to take her choices from her.
He climbed onto the bed and straddled her. She had her head turned to one side, her shiny black hair fanning out over her shoulders. He smoothed it to one side so he could see her face, and her lips curved.
He smiled back, even though she couldn’t see him, then grasped her hips and stroked into her. Her muscles squeezed on him, and he tightened his jaw. She felt so damn good. Hot, perfect friction.
He stroked out, then back in. Slow, steady thrusts.
He felt the moment her arousal began to build again. She dug her fingers into the mattress and lifted to meet him.
He slowed down even more, and she pushed up onto all fours. “Please, Chico…”
He wrapped an arm around her waist and dropped a kiss between her shoulder blades. She shivered, and from somewhere far away, he heard himself growl against her skin, his animal taking the lead.
“Mine. I’m claiming you, Jenny Erdrich. You’re mine.”
Her head dropped forward. “Yes, yes…”
He knew she didn’t really know what she was agreeing to. But the bond was there. The first gossamer strands, forming between her heart and his.
Wonder filled him. Wonder and love.
“Chico.” She wriggled against him. “I—”
“Shh, sweetheart. I know what you need.”
He reached between her thighs to caress her. She was wet and swollen, and so sensitive that with just a few easy touches, she came again. Her muscles clenched and her head dropped as she keened out his name.
He thrust into her hard, and that felt so good.
But he wanted to see her. He wanted to make the claim to her face, and know that she understood.
He turned her onto her back and came down on top of her.
She wrapped her arms around him and kissed him on the mouth. “I love you.”
He stilled, too full of emotion to speak.
Her eyes cut away. “I mean—”
He’d hurt her. He cupped her cheek. “No, don’t look away. I love you, too.”
Her eyes widened. “You do?”
“I do.” He stroked into her, slow and deep. “I love you, Jenny. Now say it. Say you’re mine.” He’d explain exactly what it meant some other time, but right now, he knew, with bone-deep certainty, that she’d accepted the claim.
But he still wanted the words.
He captured her gaze. She stared up at him as he continued to love her. And then she nodded. “I am, Chico. I’m yours.” She worked a hand between them to touch her breastbone. “I feel it—here.”
His breath came out with a whoosh. The bond strengthened, became a bright ribbon of warmth stretching from him to her and back again. He could swear he felt her pleasure along with his own.
His balls drew tight, and with a sound that originated from his very soul, he came in a series of white-hot, explosive bursts.
When Chico woke just before dawn, his nape was prickling. He untangled himself from Jenny and tucked the comforter around her limp, sated body. He’d loved her one more time and then fallen into a deep sleep for a few hours until he’d come awake with a start.
The prickle spread across his shoulders and down his spine.
His eyes went night-glow, allowing him to see with his animal-enhanced vision. He slipped out of bed and padded into the living room. Max was perched on the back of the couch, his eyes gleaming in the darkness. He leapt to the floor and stalked toward Chico, ears pricked and tail swishing.
“You sense it too, don’t you?” Chico murmured.
He looked around the room. Moonlight poured in through the two tall windows, making it easy to see even without the aid of his night vision that there was nothing out of place.
There.
A sound from the balcony.
Chico moved like a wraith to the closet and removed the iron knife from his jacket, taking care to grasp it by the rubber handle to protect himself from the iron’s effects. The sharp blade glinted in the moonlight as he crept toward the kitchen.
Suddenly, everything went black. It was as if his eyeballs had been sealed shut.
He froze and then cautiously brought a hand up to his eyes—but they were open.
He and Max growled at the same time. But that was just the beginning. On the heels of the blackness came a bleak despair.
Jenny was a human: a fragile, fickle being.
She was playing with him.
She’d never mate with a shifter—and even if she did, human/fada matings never worked.
Images passed across his vision, each darker than the next: Jenny turning from him, he shouting and raising his hand to strike her…
No.
That was so wrong, so unlike him, that it jerked him to his senses. He fought his way through the darkness to the balcony door and wrenched it open.
The first thing that hit him was the stench of a night fae. Then Lita moved out of the shadows, wearing the same slinky red dress she’d had on at the Valentine’s Ball. He’d been careful to keep Jenny far away from her, but he’d felt her eyes on them. He was a fool for letting her even catch sight of Jenny, but hell, it was close to a year since they’d been lovers. He’d figured that by now, she’d have some other toy.
“Chico,” she said. “It’s been a long time.”
Terror gripped him—for Jenny. Because she was only a human—no match for a fae.
He raised the iron blade while keeping a careful eye on Lita in case she pulled one of her wayfaring tricks. “Get out of here,” he said, low and mean. “Now.”
Her mouth curved. “We both know you won’t hurt me, love. It’s not in your nature.”
“No?” He took a step closer.
She stared back unmoving, her pale blue eyes gleaming in the shadows. The blackness crept across his vision again.
“Stop it.” He glanced at her soft white throat. One cut, and she was dead.
His gut twisted and his hand shook. Lita was right. He’d never killed a woman. The very thought made his protector’s heart constrict.
His growl made Lita’s eyes widen. Good.
“Leave,” he rapped out. “We had a contract. I fulfilled it—it’s done.”
There was a faint sound and his bowels iced—because his nose told him that Jenny was standing on the other side of the balcony door.
Get out of here, he begge
d her silently. Don’t let her see you.
Lita had recovered from her momentary fear. “The contract,” she said. “Yes.” A glowing sheet of paper appeared in her long-fingered hand. “I added a line that binds you to me for a year and a day.”
His eyes narrowed. “I never signed that. You can add whatever you fucking want, but it’s not binding if I don’t sign.”
“But you will.”
“A fae year and a day,” he said flatly—which in human terms, could stretch to a decade, even more. “Why the hell would I sign that?”
“Why?” The night fae tapped a finger to her blood-red lips. “Because of your little human, of course.”
15
Jenny moaned. Something red-eyed and malevolent was stalking her.
“No…” She turned and tried to run, but it was as if her feet were glued to the ground.
The stalker came closer. Cold fingers touched her nape and she sensed an inhuman glee as it waited for her to break… The red-eyed being wanted her to scream, wanted her afraid and cowering at its feet.
She wrenched herself awake, her chest heaving like a bellows.
It was a nightmare—only a nightmare.
But it had felt so real. Her arms had goosebumps and she couldn’t seem to get enough air into her lungs. Instinctively, she reached for Chico, but he was gone, and the apartment was so dark she couldn’t see the bedroom door.
She sat up and switched on the lamp on her night table, but it barely illuminated the small area around the table. The rest of the room was still filled with an impenetrable gloom.
That’s when she realized this was a magical murk, oily and malicious.
Lita.
It didn’t make sense—why would the night fae be in her apartment?—but Jenny’s gut told her she was right.
She slid out of bed and felt her way to the closet to get her bathrobe. After belting it on, she crept into the living room. It was strangely dark in here, too. She could see the moon through the windows over her worktable, but dimly, as if through a gauzy brown curtain.
