“So? Who’s he going to complain to? A human court? They have no jurisdiction over fada. And the fae could care less if we quarrel among ourselves.”
“He’s rebuilding his clan, Rui. Sabela says they lost a lot of people during the past twenty years—even more than Rock Run did.”
His lip curled. “Because we never turned on our own.”
“Yes, but that means a child will be even more precious to them.”
“That may be true, but Adric’s not going to put his hands on Merry if I can help it. And I’m certain Dion will back me up on that.”
She dragged a hand through her hair. “Maybe I should leave. I could take her to Portugal. Adric doesn’t know which clan I belong to. He’ll never—”
Rui’s entire body went cold. “No,” he said sharply. “You can’t.”
She lifted a brow. “Says who?”
“I do. We’re mates, Valeria. You can’t leave now.” As soon as he said it, he knew it was a mistake. It was too soon. But he refused to take it back.
She sighed. “Not again, Rui. We covered this last night, remember? I haven’t agreed to your claim.”
“The discussion is not over.”
She scowled. “It is now. We’re not mates. Is that clear enough?”
“The hell we’re not.” It was his animal speaking. To it, this was simple. Valeria was the mate. She and Merry belonged with him. End of story.
Temporarily forgetting his injuries, Rui came off the bed and crossed the room in two strides. He gripped her arms. “You felt the bond, same as I did.”
She looked away. “Did I?” Carefully avoiding a lie, he noticed.
“You did. We both did.” He gave her a little shake. “You’re my mate, damn it. I won’t press the claim for now, but consider this your only warning. I’m going to do whatever it takes to win you back.”
She narrowed her eyes. “You can try,” she allowed. “You can shout it to the whole damn clan if you want. But it’s my right to accept or deny the mate claim. Don’t forget that.”
He growled. Valeria blinked, but she didn’t back down. He eyed her with unwilling admiration. He was her dominant, and two years ago, she’d have folded in the face of his anger. But she’d changed. Maybe it was being forced to stand on her own for the past two years, maybe it was becoming a mother—or maybe it was both—but she’d matured into someone who wasn’t afraid to stand toe-to-toe with him. He approved, although that didn’t mean he wouldn’t enjoy reminding her who was master in their bed.
But now was not the time.
He forced himself to release her. “I haven’t forgotten. But you should know that I’ll do whatever it takes. You’re mine, Valeria. I know I hurt you, and I’m more sorry than I can say. If I have to spend the rest of my life making it up to you, then I will. But I’m not giving up and I’m not going away.”
Her black lashes came down. Shutting him out. He felt a flicker of panic which he ruthlessly suppressed.
“It’s not that easy,” she said flatly and turned away.
He stared at her, willing her to look back at him, but she didn’t. The rush of adrenaline that had taken him across the room drained away and he was abruptly aware of every still-healing bruise and assorted other aches. He limped his way back across the room and sat down heavily on the mattress.
Valeria bit her lip. “Rui—”
“If you don’t tell Branco,” he said with a rueful smile, “I won’t.”
She blew out a breath. “Just get back into bed.”
He allowed her to arrange him with his back against the headboard again. He’d always hated fussing, but when it was Valeria, it was kind of nice. She placed a pillow behind his back. He leaned back with a sigh, more sore than he cared to admit.
Valeria set a cool wrist to his forehead. “You don’t feel feverish, at least. But you should rest.”
He caught her hand. “I will as soon as we finish this. Please, sit down and hear me out.” She hesitated. “I promise, I only want to discuss Merry. The rest can wait until I’m better.” He waited until she was sitting on the mattress again before continuing, “Leaving here with Merry would be playing right into Adric’s hands. We know he has people watching the base. The moment you step off our territory, they’ll grab her.”
She gave a short nod. “I suppose you’re right. We’re safer here for now.”
He let out a breath he hadn’t known he was holding. “I’m sure of it. Dion will be back in a couple of days. We’ll talk to him, see what he thinks. He may know of some way we can convince the earth shifters to leave Merry here—something we can trade, for instance.”
“All right. I’ll wait and see what he thinks. But I’m her mother.” Valeria shot him a ferocious look. “Whatever Lord Dion decides, she’s mine now. If Adric tries to claim her, I will take her and run. And no one will stop me. No one.”
“Val.” He spread his hands. “If it comes to that, I’ll take you myself. But give me some time, okay? Let me see what I can do. She’s safe here. Adric can’t get her, not here in the base.”
“But he got into the base once. What’s to stop him from doing it in again?”
“He only did it with the sun fae’s help—and that was to rescue Cleia. Otherwise, the sun fae couldn’t care less about the fada. Trust me, Valeria, I lived with them. The fae—even the good ones—only help the fada when there’s something in it for them. And besides, Cleia’s mated with Dion now. That changes everything.”
“Adric had sun fae help? I didn’t know.” She brightened, then shook her head. “But we can’t hide Merry at the base forever. And what if they’re right, that she needs one of those damn crystals?” She put a hand on his arm and lifted her eyes to his. “What are we going to do, Rui?”
“She does have problems shifting,” he pointed out gently.
Her fingers dug into his skin. “Damn it, do you think I don’t know that?”
He set his hand over hers and waited until her fingers unclenched. “We’ll work it out, querida. I promise.”
Footsteps sounded outside the room. Valeria pulled away as a jaguar cub hurtled through the door, leapt onto the bed and shifted into a little girl. As usual, it took longer than it should. Valeria watched with a tiny frown between her eyes, but Merry was grinning as she came out of it.
“Tio Rui! You’re still here.” Her smile faded as she took in his bruises. “I thought you’d be all better today.”
“I am better,” he said, reaching for her, “but I could use a hug.”
As Merry obliged, he met Valeria’s eyes over her head. He ached in places he didn’t even know he had, his belly was throbbing again, and he was more worried about Merry than he was letting on.
But he couldn’t stop that tendril of hope from setting roots in the soil of his heart. When the chips were down, Valeria had instinctively turned to him: last night at the festival, and again this morning.
What are we going to do? she’d asked.
They’d figure out this thing about Merry. And then, please Deus, Valeria would be his again.
* * *
By evening, Valeria could see that Rui was well on the road to healing.
Branco had stopped by after breakfast and confirmed that his patient was coming along nicely. “In fact,” he told Rui, “you’re doing even better than I expected. Tomorrow, change to your shark and go for an easy swim. The healing will go that much quicker.”
They had spent a quiet day in the apartment, with Rui sleeping on and off. When he was awake, he’d played Go Fish with Merry or listened patiently to her endless chatter.
To Valeria’s relief, he hadn’t tried to have another serious conversation with her. She needed time to get used to this new Rui. One who wasn’t drinking. One who seemed to truly regret what he’d put her through. One who wanted to make a family with her and Merry, and prove that he loved them both.
So, after eating dinner in the apartment, they ended up in a cozy tangle on the couch, Rui at one end, Merry cudd
led up with Valeria at the other. She and Merry listened, enthralled, as Rui recounted stories of growing up in Portugal a hundred years ago. He’d come of age in the middle of World War II, and although the clan had moved to America in the mid-1930s, he and Dion had returned to work with the Portuguese fada who’d helped the Allies by sneaking food and goods past German blockades.
Valeria was wearing a sundress that left her legs and arms bare. Somehow her feet ended up on Rui’s lap. As he described strapping explosives to his body and swimming out to attack a U-boat, he was running his hand up and down her bare calf. Her eyes slit with pleasure even as she cringed at the risks he’d taken.
“Did the boat blow up, Tio Rui?” asked Merry.
“Sim.” For a few seconds, his hand ceased stroking her calf as his gaze went inward. When he glanced at Valeria, his eyes were bleak. She suspected his orders had been to leave no survivors. It was one thing to blow up a boat, but to methodically hunt down injured and defenseless men…and Rui hadn’t even been out of his twenties.
She instinctively leaned forward and touched his hand. Just touched it, but he let out a jagged breath and the moment passed.
“After the war,” he told Merry, “all I wanted to do was forget all about it. I spent the whole summer as a dolphin, touring around the Mediterranean with Dion and a couple other males my age.”
Trolling for females, Valeria thought dryly. But hey, he’d been a young, unmated man. That’s what they did.
Merry was frowning at Rui. “But if you never went home, what did you eat?”
“Fish, of course.”
“But how did you cook the fish?”
“We didn’t. We ate it raw.”
Merry wrinkled her nose. “Ew.”
Rui raised a brow at Valeria. “We’re going to have to introduce this child to sushi.”
“What’s that?” Merry asked suspiciously.
The two of them grinned at each other, and Valeria realized she was enjoying herself. “Yes,” she replied, “we will.”
Rui was massaging Valeria’s foot now, starting at the top and then working around to the sole and back up. Her breath sighed out. She listened with half an ear as Merry continued asking questions about the war.
“Did the cats and wolves help, too?”
“There aren’t any earth fada in Portugal,” Rui replied. “But I heard the ones in North Africa and America were very brave fighters.”
Merry nodded, satisfied.
Rui moved on to Valeria’s toes, gently pulling each one in turn. Then it was time for her other foot, his fingers working her expertly, the pressure just right. She closed her eyes and gave herself up to the pleasure.
If this was how the man intended to win her back, she might just have to let him.
Beside her, Merry gave a huge yawn.
Valeria reluctantly pulled her feet from Rui’s lap. “Time for a snack. And then it’s time for a bath, young lady.”
As usual, Merry dragged out her snack time as long as possible, but Valeria was onto her tricks, and fifteen minutes later Merry was in the bathtub. As Valeria added bubble bath, Rui wandered in.
He took a rueful look at his still-bruised face in the bathroom mirror. “Do you have a razor? I was too bruised to shave this morning.” He rubbed a hand over the black stubble covering his jaw.
“There’s one on the shelf at the left.” She indicated one of the shelves chiseled out of the wall on either side of the mirror. “But you don’t have to shave on our account.”
She meant to sound matter-of-fact, but if he had any idea of how sexy he looked with that stubbled chin and wearing nothing but a white ribbed tank and the loose cotton shorts she’d retrieved from his apartment, then she might as well surrender here and now.
Their gazes met in the mirror. Rui’s green eyes went smoky. His nostrils flared, and she knew he scented her arousal. She moistened her lips, unable to drag her eyes from his.
In the tub behind them, Merry squealed. “Mama, the water’s running over!”
They both jolted. Valeria hurried the few feet to the tub to shut off the faucet.
Merry giggled. “Look, Mama. The water’s up to my neck.” She gazed up at them, her wet head emerging from the bubbles, an adorable sprite with sparkling eyes.
Valeria dropped a kiss on her nose as she knelt on the bathmat and reached for the washcloth.
To her surprise, Rui sat on the edge of the tub to help, handing Valeria the washcloth and soap and then carefully rinsing the shampoo from Merry’s hair. The little girl played up to him, diving under the bubbles and coming up grinning, showing him how long she could hold her breath underwater, challenging him to a toy-boat race. He was a good sport, allowing her boat to beat his by a good two lengths.
A curious ache settled in Valeria’s chest. Rui was so good with Merry. He was going to make a great father someday. She’d wondered…
Abruptly, she rose to her feet. “Time to get out, princesa.” And when had she adopted Rui’s nickname for Merry?
The little girl stuck out her lower lip. “Not yet, Mama.”
“Merry,” Valeria warned, but Rui grabbed a bath towel and scooped her out of the water.
“You heard your mama,” he said as he wrapped her in the towel. “Time for bed.”
The imp gave in without a murmur. “All right. If you read me a book.”
Rui glanced at Valeria, seeking her permission, and Merry poked her head out of the towel to say, “Please, Mama.”
Valeria hesitated. Things were moving a little too fast for her.
Then she caught Merry’s pleading gaze and wondered why she was fighting it. The little girl didn’t cry for her daddy anymore, but the way she’d latched onto Rui told its own story. From what Valeria had pieced together, Merry had slept through the fight where Rui had killed her father. All she remembered was that he’d saved her from the bad men.
Night fae. Valeria shuddered to think what would’ve happened to Merry if they’d gotten ahold of her. The night fae fed on any energy, but they especially craved darkness: fear, despair, hopelessness. They’d have tortured her mercilessly.
“All right,” she replied. “But just one.”
The two of them grinned at each other. She pretended she hadn’t seen.
With Merry in bed, Rui took himself off to bed as well. “I’m sorry, querida,” he said as he smothered a yawn, “but I’m half-asleep.”
“Of course. You go ahead.”
She took her time joining him, puttering around the apartment for another hour, straightening things up and then relaxing on the couch with a glass of wine. By the time she came to bed, Rui was asleep, but he woke up enough to tug her closer for a kiss.
“’Night, boneca.”
Boneca had been his pet name for her. It was a little old-fashioned, meaning “baby” or “pretty woman.”
Funny. When Petros called her baby, she hated it—but she’d never minded boneca.
She let her lips linger on his. She’d learned in the past two years that she was tough—she could work, raise a kid, survive and even do well in a clan far from home. But it was so good to have Rui in the bed next to her, to have his spicy male scent wrapping around her like a comforting blanket.
She placed a hand on his just-shaved cheek. “Boa noite.”
He pressed a kiss to her palm. “Tomorrow,” he murmured. “Tomorrow I’m going to start courting you. Like I should have the first time.”
“Mm,” she said noncommittally.
He put his head back down on the pillow, and it wasn’t long before his breath changed and she knew he’d fallen back asleep. But she lay there for a long time, wondering what she’d started.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Jace slammed his fist into his palm. “I can’t believe those S.O.B.s had Merry all this time. And here I thought she was dead—” He paced across Adric’s living room, so agitated his jaguar was a shadow on his skin, his voice more animal than human.
“I know,” Adric said f
rom where he sat on the couch, waiting for his friend to calm down. This conversation had been two days in coming. First, they’d brought Lucas and Marjani to their best healer and spent a tense night making sure they’d recover. Marjani was home with him now, healing nicely but still weak enough that she’d spent most of the day in bed.
But with her out of danger, he’d invited Jace to the spacious five-room den he’d carved out twenty feet beneath a run-down house leased to a drug dealer. The seedy setting—along with a powerful concealing spell—made for an excellent cover. Not even the most inquisitive fae—or rival fada—had been able to ferret out his home.
“I’m not any happier than you,” he told Jace. “But Merry would probably be dead if it weren’t for them.” Much as he hated that the Rock Run clan had bested him again, he had to admit that Jace’s niece had appeared healthy, if a little too thin.
The tips of Jace’s fingers sprouted sharp hooked claws. “Whose side are you on, anyway?”
Adric stiffened. “Yours, asshole. Now sit down and get control of your animal.”
Jace hesitated long enough that Adric’s own claws sliced out. Then the other man muttered an apology and dropped onto the couch. “Just tell me one thing. Are you going to leave her there? Because—”
“Are you questioning me?” he asked in a soft voice. Jace might be a lieutenant and one of his oldest friends, but he was seconds from being slammed up against the wall and taught a lesson about the respect due his alpha.
Jace averted his gaze. “No. I—it’s just she’s my only family, Ric.”
Adric blew out a breath. “Hell, if it were Marjani’s kid, I’d be just as bad. But she seemed happy enough, well-fed.” Better than the last time Adric had seen her, actually—and wasn’t that a kick in the balls? “And Jace? She called the woman Mama. She—Valeria—wasn’t lying. Merry thinks of her as her mom.”
“I heard. But damn it, she’s an earth shifter. She belongs with us. She’s all I have left of Takira. And you saw—she didn’t have a quartz.”
“That’s not unusual. I didn’t find my own crystal until I was almost nine.”
“I could give her a piece of mine. But we’d still have to train her how to use it.”
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