Rui shook his head. “Cats and trees, huh?” He and Valeria shared another grin.
Like two proud parents, she thought, and the idea was at once strange and exciting.
Rui’s eyes narrowed and he stalked closer. “But on the other hand, it gives me the chance to do this.” He took her by the shoulders and gave her a long, deep kiss. “Deus,” he muttered against her mouth. “Do you know how much I want you?”
“Mm.” She pressed a kiss to his jaw, already shadowed with dark stubble even though she could tell he’d shaved that morning. He’d shucked his T-shirt in the dinghy, leaving him clad only in a pair of gray-and-black patterned board shorts, his upper body tanned and fit from all the swimming he’d been doing.
She slid a hand between them, lightly tracing his scar. It felt cool, the raised line barely detectable. “It’s healing well.”
“Is it?” He nuzzled her hair, traced the shell of her ear with his tongue.
She forgot all about his injuries as she moaned and slid her hands up his abdomen, reveling in the chance to feel his taut, sun-warmed skin beneath her fingers.
Then she remembered that shadow on the mate bond earlier. She drew back to scrutinize his face. “Something was wrong this morning.”
He hesitated, and she tensed. If he held back from her now, she wasn’t sure there would ever be a chance for them.
“I had a talk with Okeanos. Told him to stay away from you.”
She let out a breath. “Is that all?”
“You don’t mind?”
She gave an emphatic shake of her head. “Petros and I are through. I may not be sure what I want for you and me, but I am sure I don’t want him.”
“Good.” His tone was forceful, even arrogant, but she could hear the relief beneath it.
“But that wasn’t all, was it?”
“No.” He glanced away. “Sometimes I’m afraid,” he admitted lowly. “That I fucked up too bad for you ever to forgive me.”
She swallowed. The part of her that had never stopped loving him wanted to reassure him, tell him not to worry, everything was okay. But even though they’d both come a long way in the past couple of weeks, she wasn’t ready to trust him with her heart. And he’d scent a lie.
“I don’t know if I can either,” she said. “But I’m trying. Don’t give up on me, okay?”
“Never.” He cupped her cheek with one hand. “As long as you don’t give up on me.”
“Let’s just take it one day at a time, all right?”
“All right.” He rested his forehead against hers. “And thank you, Valeria.”
His hand came to her nape, the other sliding down to her ass, fitting her body to his as he sealed their agreement with a slow, sweet kiss. Her breasts pressed against his chest through the thin cotton dress, his erection hard against her belly. Arousal spiked through her, a hot liquid ache that made her undulate against him.
“Deus,” he breathed against her lips, and it was a prayer.
She had her leg twined around his, her hands caressing his shoulders when he muttered, “Hell. Merry’s coming.” He turned so that his arm was around her waist and they were facing the tree by the time Merry came into view, her jaguar leaping happily from branch to branch as she descended the tree.
Valeria drew a breath, trying to calm her racing heart. Her gaze went to Rui’s. His eyelids were drooping half-shut, the irises a smoky green.
“Don’t look at me like that,” he said with a playful slap on her bottom.
She rested her hand on his own butt and squeezed. “Like what?” she asked innocently.
“Like you want to eat me up—or maybe be eaten, hm?” He gave her another smack before moving away to catch Merry as she leapt the last few feet to the ground. “How about lunch, princesa?”
He bent his dark head next to her furry gold-and-black one. She rubbed against his cheek and then curled up in his arms in a relaxed little ball.
Valeria felt a shock of yearning. She wanted this—Rui in her life—for her and Merry both.
She swallowed hard and knelt down on the plaid blanket she’d brought to set out the picnic. Merry eagerly ate a tuna fish sandwich and a peach, washing it down with a glass of cold milk from the thermos Valeria had packed.
Rui filled a plate for Valeria, then coaxed her to eat every bite. “I like something to hold onto in bed,” in a low, wicked voice that had her face heating.
“I am hungry,” she admitted as she accepted the peach slice he was urging on her. “It must be the fresh air.”
He took a slice for himself. “And the company, no?” He slanted her a grin that reminded her of the old Rui and popped the morsel into his mouth.
With lunch over, Merry stretched out in the sun and fell asleep, while Valeria and Rui dozed on the blanket nearby in the shade.
Valeria was dozing off when Rui said her name. “Yes?” she said without opening her eyes.
He brushed his fingers down her cheek. “I just want you to be clear on something. I’ll never give up on you, not if I have to wait a hundred years.”
She opened her eyes to see him looking down at her, his gaze so tender it made her breath hitch.
His voice deepened. “You’re mine, Valeria. My woman. My mate. I’ll do my best to be patient, but I won’t change my mind.”
Her heart skittered. She was too honest to call it fear. Hearing him call her his mate in that low, intense voice sent a thrill through her entire being. She set a hand on his bare chest and leaned in to kiss him. She didn’t often touch him first, and his body stilled. She could feel his heart beating beneath her palm, but he remained still save for parting his lips so that she could slide her tongue into his mouth.
Her bones softened and she melted against him. Goddess, she loved his taste: dark, sexy male.
A few yards away, Merry gave a sleepy sigh. Reluctantly, Valeria moved back to her side of the blanket. He caught her fingers and brought them to his mouth, his gaze on hers the entire time. Her lips parted and she almost gave in right then.
Fortunately—or unfortunately, depending on how you viewed it—he released her hand and rose to his feet. “How about a swim, princesa?” he called to Merry.
Her eyes popped open. She gave a long, very catlike-stretch—arching her spine, extending her small spotted paws—and then the air shimmered and sparked as she changed to girl.
“Last one in’s a rotten egg!” she shouted and dashed for the water.
The swim developed into a lesson. Valeria floated alongside, marveling at how easily Rui kept her sometimes-willful daughter on task so that by the end of an hour Merry was swimming ten yards on her own.
“Look, Mama,” she called proudly and launched herself through the water, skinny arms and legs churning.
Valeria caught her in a big hug. “You’re doing great.”
Merry’s smile lit up her face. “Here I go,” she said and propelled herself back to Rui.
He caught her and dipped her beneath the water. She came up grinning, and the swimming lesson was forgotten as the two of them took turns trying to dunk each other.
Valeria shook her head at them, but inside things were rearranging themselves. For the first time, she could see the three of them as a family. Rui glanced at her and something in her expression made him halt, an arrested look on his own face, allowing Merry to sneak up on him from behind and wrap her wiry little arms around his neck.
With much giggling on Merry’s part, he slid beneath the water’s surface, pretending she’d finally dunked him. After that, the two of them ganged up on Valeria and they all played in the water for another hour until they returned to the island, breathless with laughter.
They had just gotten into the dinghy when Valeria’s nape prickled. She slowly turned her head. What she saw made her mouth Rui’s name.
“Behind us,” she said and jerked her head toward the woods, where a black jaguar was staring boldly back. Jace Jones.
Merry was on the bench beside her. Her head whipp
ed around and she made a small, scared noise.
The jaguar remained where he was for a long moment before fading into the trees.
Rui swore under his breath. “How the hell did he get past the sentries?” They were still on Rock Run territory, even though they were outside the protection of the spell.
“I don’t know,” Valeria said between cold lips as she wrapped her arms around Merry. “But I don’t like it.”
“Mama?” The little girl hid her face in Valeria’s shoulder. “I don’t wanna go with Uncle Jace.”
Rui had already started the outboard motor. “Don’t worry, sweetheart,” he told Merry as they moved away from the island at a speed that seemed too slow to Valeria, although rationally she knew it was faster than a jaguar could swim. “He won’t follow us into the river. He knows he can’t catch us. And even if he tries, a sentry will stop him.”
Merry sniffed, and Valeria tightened her grip on her. “He’s right.”
“Look at me,” Rui commanded. When Merry obeyed, he said, “Nobody’s going to take you anywhere you don’t want to go. You’ve got my word on that—okay?”
She gave him a wobbly smile. “Okay.”
Valeria squeezed her a little tighter. “We’ll be home in a few minutes, sweetheart.”
Merry nodded against her chest and burrowed closer. But Valeria could feel Jace’s gaze on her neck. How had he found them? She’d only picnicked on that island a few times before, and not at all in the past month.
Or had Jace been out there every day, waiting and watching? She’d never seen even a trace of him before. So had he’d wanted them to see him today?
She suppressed a shiver.
Rui caught her eye and gave her a reassuring smile, but the tightness in her shoulders didn’t ease until they were safely inside the base again.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Rui heaved himself from the river with a grunt.
A month had passed since the midsummer ritual. As his body healed, he’d begun to push it, spending hours each day swimming in both dolphin and human form. After the incident with the earth shifters a couple of weeks ago, he’d returned to training with the warriors as well, knowing he needed to get back into fighting shape as soon as possible.
Protecting Valeria and Merry had been all the motivation he needed. His body was lean and hard again, and the exercise kept the craving for drink to a manageable level. He suspected the thirst would always be there, but he was learning to deal with it.
Never again, he vowed. Never again would he let himself be reduced to half a man. If that meant he had to imbibe juice for the rest of his life, so be it.
Meanwhile, Valeria was driving him crazy in slow, tortuous increments. He’d believed that day of the picnic had been the start of something, but although she’d let him back into her life, she treated him more like a friend than the man who was her mate. He sat with her and Merry at meals, took them both swimming now that he’d discovered that unlike most cats, Merry’s jaguar loved water, and was spending most of his free time with them.
I need time, she’d said.
Meanwhile a month had passed with little more than the occasional hot kiss. But if he pushed for more, she withdrew.
Take it slow, he told himself for the umpteenth time. She has to learn to trust you again.
Sometimes he suspected this was a test—with a dose of punishment thrown in for good measure. And Lord knew, he deserved it. But now that his body was fully healed, he was finding it increasingly hard to resist dragging her into his arms and showing her that both man and animal had only so much patience…
On top of that, the earth shifters were still sniffing around. Rui had lit a fire under the butts of the sentries responsible for the part of the Susquehanna where they’d seen Jace Jones, but it wasn’t entirely their fault. The earth shifters were clever bastards. Since that day on the island, the sentries had caught sight of Jace a couple of other times, but both times, he’d managed to slip away without being caught.
Thank Deus, Dion was due back from his honeymoon tomorrow. Rui would gladly turn the business of running the base over to him so that he could focus on Valeria and Merry.
He pulled on a T-shirt and shorts and headed to the dining hall. Dinner was being served, the clan taking their seats at the oak plank tables as the servers set heaping platters of fresh trout and spicy blue crabs before them.
Across the room, Merry was waving for him to join her and Valeria. He nodded back as Valeria sent him a smile over her shoulder.
“Olá,” she mouthed before turning back to her friend Sabela.
Rui started across the room but was halted by the sound of his name. He turned to see little Xavier at his side, arms raised. The boy was completely healed and back to causing trouble, thank all the gods and goddesses.
“Pick me up,” he ordered.
Rui obediently swung him onto his shoulders and nodded at Luis and Marina, just entering the dining hall. His cousin was back to his old self—and from the way he kept disappearing with his mate, Rui suspected Xavier would soon have a little brother or sister. Luis was a lucky dog.
The small boy screwed up his face. “Mama was kissin’ Papa again. They’re always doin’ that.” Grasping Rui’s ear to keep his balance, he leaned forward to scrutinize his big cousin suspiciously. “Can I eat with you, Tio? You don’t do any of that kissin’ stuff, do you?”
Rui grimaced. Not nearly enough.
Luis and Marina reached them in time to hear his question. “Xavier,” scolded his mother, but Luis just chuckled.
“Of course he does,” he told his son. “And when you’re our age, you will too.”
The little boy shook his head. “No way.”
All three adults chuckled, then Luis reached for Xavier. “Come here. Tio Rui has enough to do without keeping an eye on a rascal like you.”
Rui handed the boy over and Luis and Marina moved on to talk to some friends. A server—one of the teens—appeared with a glass of juice. Rui thanked him and took a drink.
When he glanced up, Beatriz had planted herself in front of him. “Olá, Rui.” She cupped his face and gave him the traditional kiss on each cheek.
“Hello,” he returned warily. Beatriz didn’t seem to have gotten the message that he was off-limits.
She placed a hand on his chest and slanted him a look from under thick black lashes. “I’ve missed you, querido. Why don’t you stop by for a drink after dinner?”
Removing her hand, he glanced at Valeria. Fortunately, her back was to them. “Thank you, but no. I’m sticking to juice these days.” He indicated the glass he was holding.
“I’ll make coffee then.”
He shook his head. “Look, Beatriz, you should know I’m courting Valeria.”
“Sim?” Her scarlet lips curved in an irritating little smile. “Does Petros Okeanos know?”
He shrugged. “It’s not a secret.” But his jaw tightened. Valeria said it was over between her and Okeanos, and he trusted her. Besides, he’d scented the truth in her words. However, Okeanos was still at Rock Run and Rui suspected that despite his warning, the man still had hopes of changing her mind.
Beatriz just lifted a brow. Her hand was back on his chest. She scraped her fingernail over his nipple through the T-shirt. His cock twitched; he was a man after all. But as he gazed down at her, all he could think was how unmoved he was otherwise.
“I know you haven’t had her yet,” she murmured. “You’re so on edge—we can all scent it. I’d be happy to help you with that.”
“But Valeria would know.” He gently but firmly removed her hand from his body. “It’s over, Beatriz.”
As he made to pass her, her fingers clamped on his arm. “Fine,” she hissed. “But she’s not yours until she accepts the mate claim. And she hasn’t, has she?”
* * *
Valeria knew the moment Rui entered the cavern. First her spine tingled and then her entire body came alert. Whether she liked it or not, the mate bond wa
s rejuvenating.
Sabela was sitting across the table. She shot a fierce look over Valeria’s shoulder. “You need to do something about that woman.”
Valeria turned enough to see that Beatriz had her hand on Rui’s chest. An unmated native of Rock Run a decade older than her, Beatriz had been jealous of Rui’s attentions to Valeria from the start. And this past year, when Rui had sexed practically anything female and of age, she’d been after him like a bitch in heat.
Valeria’s teeth clenched but all she said to Sabela was, “It’s not up to me.”
Her friend made an irritated sound, but Valeria refused to be drawn. Rui wouldn’t humiliate her like that. Not in front of everyone. But it was a painful reminder of all those months when he had.
Petros paused by their table. He greeted everyone, but his gaze lingered on Valeria. “Hello, baby.”
That smile made her skin crawl. She nodded shortly without replying. The man wouldn’t take no for an answer. With Sabela’s help, she’d made sure she was never alone with him, but she was getting tired of his advances. The only thing keeping her from telling Rui was her fear that he’d challenge Petros.
Now his gaze went past her, and his smile changed to something more shark-like—or in his case, moray eel. The back of her neck prickled, and she knew that Rui was standing behind her.
“Do Mar,” Petros said in a tight voice.
“Okeanos.” Several seconds passed as the two men stared at each other without moving. The tables around them quieted as people sensed the rising tension.
Valeria glanced at Rui. He’d drawn himself up to his full height and clenched his fists. “Rui—”
He placed a hand on her nape and gently squeezed, silencing her. To Petros, he said, “I believe I told you to stay away from her.”
Petros held his gaze long enough for Rui to release Valeria and start around the table. Then he nodded curtly and sauntered across the room to another table.
Claiming Valeria Page 18
