Claiming Valeria (5 page)

So what was stopping her?

“Hello,
glika
,” he said in a thick Greek accent and indicated
the bottle in his hand. “I brought you some wine.”

“
Sim
?”

“Come here.” He set the wine on the floor and held out his hand.
His gaze was hot, predatory.

She faltered, her animal sending up warning signals. She told
herself not to be silly and continued forward.

“Hello, Petros.” She touched her lips to each of his cheeks.

He turned his head and captured her mouth, pulling her
closer so that her whole body was against his. Leaning back against the door, he
fingered a lock of hair. “I hear the little ones are sleeping in the creche tonight.”

She nodded. “I was just saying good night to Merry.”

“You’re a good mother.”

“Thank you,” she murmured even as her animal gave another uneasy
twitch.

Water fada often took to the ocean, spending months, even years
riding the currents. Fada
tradição
was to welcome such nomads, so when Petros
had first swum up the Chesapeake, Lord Dion had readily assigned him a room in the
Rock Run caverns. But most travelers stayed only a couple of weeks, whereas Petros
had already been here for over two months.

Valeria swallowed. Had she read him wrong? Had he been courting
her, thinking of her as a possible mate?

He tugged on the lock of hair. “Invite me in, baby.”

And she did
not
like to be called baby.

She pulled back. “I’m sorry, Petros, but it’s not a good time.
This thing with Dion and the earth fada—”

“So? What can you do? And I offered my help but Luis said there’s
nothing I can do either—not tonight.”

“No, but—” Petros was right; there was nothing Valeria could
do right now for either Dion or to defend against the earth shifters, and Merry
was in the creche. Sex would calm both her and her animal, which was as upset as
the children by the day’s events.

So why wasn’t she happier to see him?

He closed a hand around her nape. “I brought wine”—he indicated
the bottle at his feet—“an Agiorgitiko that’s been aged in French oak. I had to
go to Baltimore to get it.” He stroked the sensitive skin at back of her neck.

Her eyelids drooped. His fingertips were rough, male, knowing.
And it had been so long…so very long. She craved touch—intimate touch. And
Deus
knew Petros was sexy. For the first time in two years, she’d thought perhaps—

A fada could mate more than once. But it was almost unheard of
if the original mate were still alive. Damn Rui anyway for leaving her in this hellish
limbo—mated, but not.

“Don’t say no,” Petros said against her ear. He turned so
that his body was pressing hers into the wall and told her exactly what he wanted
to do with her—and the wine.

To her dismay, her animal shrank back, arguing he didn’t smell
right. She’d thought her animal wanted this. They were both going crazy, sleeping
alone night after night.

Petros nipped her earlobe. “So? What d’you say,
glika
?”

Valeria moistened her lips. “I—”

A growl filled the corridor. Valeria went stiff. Over Petros’s
shoulder she saw Rui bearing down on them, his eyes changing from green to the dark,
feral gold that signaled his animal was in control.

“She says
no
, damn you.”

Together, Rui and Luis assigned the top warriors where
they would do the most good. Two
tenentes
—Justino and Ed—would infiltrate
the sun fae compound and bring back any information they could about Dion, as well
as a report on the sun fae’s current defenses, should the clan need to mount a rescue.
A third
tenente
would organize the defense of the base’s main entrances,
while three squads of their most seasoned warriors would patrol the perimeter of
the Rock Run territory on alert for any sign of the earth shifters.

With that decided, Rui sent a clearly exhausted Luis back to
his mate and child and gave himself and the two remaining
tenentes
—Rodolfo
and Teresa—the task of planning Dion’s rescue. He ordered Rodolfo and Teresa to
meet him in his
sala
in thirty minutes and headed back for a quick shower
before they arrived.

First, though, he stopped at the creche to make sure the children
were safe and happy. He nodded to the two guards who’d been assigned to guard the
entrance and went inside. The room was relatively quiet due to the fact the children
were rapidly downing milk and fresh-baked cookies. His gaze lingered on Merry, seated
at a large round table with the others in her age group. Valeria had done a good
job with her. She’d filled out some, although she’d probably always be thin. But
it was a healthy, wiry slimness, not the near starvation in which he’d found her.

She caught sight of him and her serious little face lit up. She
left her snack to hurtle across the room.

“Hey there,
princesa
.” He swung her up into his arms for
a kiss.

He was still a little bemused by her obvious partiality for him.
From the day he’d returned from the sun fae, she’d been curious about him. At first,
she’d kept her distance. But at dinner each night, when the clan gathered for a
communal meal, he noticed her studying him as if he were an interesting puzzle.
He’d ignored her, too intent on getting quietly drunk. But he’d wondered if her
interest was due to curiosity—or hate.

Then one evening she stopped beside him and greeted him gravely
in perfect Portuguese, having apparently picked some up in the year she’d been at
Rock Run. “
Boa noite
, Senhor Rui.”

He’d removed his arm from his current woman and returned her
greeting, conscious of Valeria waiting tensely behind her daughter. She placed her
hands on the little girl’s shoulders, urging her to another table. “Come along.
Tia Sabela’s waiting for us.”

But the next evening, Merry stopped beside him again. He was
prepared this time, having taken a seat at a table of all men. “Hello,” she said
in that serious little voice.

“Hello,” he replied. There was a pause which felt awkward to
him but didn’t seem to faze her. She waited patiently, her big, almond-shaped eyes
seeming to take in everything—that he wasn’t sitting with the woman of the night
before, that his wine glass was still full.

He swallowed and glanced up at Valeria, but her set face made
it clear he was on his own. He looked back at Merry. “Uh…how are you,
bonitinha
?”

She inclined her head in a gesture that would’ve done a princess
proud. “I’m good. What’s that mean—
bonitinha
?”

“Pretty girl. If I were speaking of your mother”—his gaze went
to Valeria again—“I would say
bonita
—pretty woman.”

Merry’s face lit. “
Obrigada
, Senhor Rui,” she said, and
taking her mama’s hand, headed off to their table.

Rui felt a curious tightness in the back of his throat. He took
a gulp of wine, then with a glance at Merry and Valeria, set the glass back down
and didn’t touch it until they’d left the dining hall.

Soon Merry was calling him Tio Rui and giving him daily reports
on her friends, her school, her mom. He kept waiting for the other shoe to drop.
For Merry to ask point-blank why he’d killed her father. He’d never forgotten her
question:
Are you a bad man?

But apparently all she recalled was that he’d saved her from
the night fae. He knew he had Valeria to thank for that, and he was more grateful
than he could say. But it was a special kind of hell, having the little girl treat
him as her hero when he knew he was anything but.

After the first week, Valeria started allowing Merry to talk
to him on her own. Occasionally she took her meals with him instead of her mother.

Lately she’d been trying to get him and Valeria back together.

Rui had tried to discourage her—the last thing he needed was
a seven-year-old matchmaker—but Merry was a true jaguar: stubborn and independent.
And he didn’t want to upset her, because the damnedest thing had happened: she’d
wormed her way into his heart. They only saw each other at dinnertime—he was afraid
to push for more than that—but her chatty reports had become the highlight of his
day.

Now she pressed a sticky kiss to his cheek and said, “Guess what,
Tio Rui? We’re sleeping in the creche tonight. I get to sleep next to Trina.”

“Sounds like fun.”

She put a small hand on his arm and leaned in close. “D’you wanna
hear a secret?”

Setting her on her feet, he crouched down so he was at her level.
“Only if it’s one you’re allowed to tell.”

“Oh yes. This is
my
secret.”

He nuzzled her cheek, unable to resist her little-girl scent:
sweet, a little sweaty. She must’ve been playing hard before the creche workers
corralled the kids for a snack. “Then yes, I’d like to hear it.”

She put her mouth next to his ear and whispered, “This is my
first sleepover.”

“Ah…that’s nice.” Something made him add, “Are you going to be
all right?”

She moved a shoulder.

“Are you sure? If you don’t want to stay, I can take you back
to your mama.”

“I’m a big girl now. I can sleep with the other kids.”

“I know. But even big girls miss their mamas sometimes.”

She twisted her fingers in the skirt of her nightgown. “The other
kids will laugh at me.”

His heart lurched.
Deus
, this girl had him, hook, line
and sinker. She was the one bright spot in his sorry life. He tucked a wiry black
curl behind her ear so he could meet her eyes. “We’ll tell them your mama needs
you.”

The big hazel eyes got larger. “Isn’t that a lie?”

“It’s not a lie if it’s true. And your mama always needs you,
right?”

She considered that for a few seconds, then gave him a shy smile.
“Yes, please.”

He tapped her on the nose. “Let’s tell the teachers.” He came
to his feet and hoisted her onto his hip. She nestled her head trustingly into the
side of his neck. He swallowed hard and kissed the top of her head.

It took only a few moments to take Isa aside and explain what
was up. Rui was conscious that even six months ago, Isa would’ve refused to let
Merry leave with him. But now she merely nodded and gathered up the little
girl’s belongings, giving Merry a conspiratorial wink as she handed Rui the backpack.

“See you at the next sleepover,
querida
.”

Merry stayed on Rui’s hip as he made his way through the labyrinthine
halls. The complicated, intertwining paths were typical of a river fada base, part
of their defense against an enemy incursion, but he knew the way to Valeria’s quarters
as well as his own. How many times had he’d made his way there, late at night when
everyone else was asleep? To stand outside her door, eagerly gulping in any small
trace of her scent—nutmeg and earth—lingering in the hall…hands balled and craving
her with every fiber of his being until he feared he’d go mad.

Everyone thought he was cold to Valeria, that he’d decided she
wasn’t the mate for him after all.

Everyone was wrong. With each day that passed, he wanted her
more.

Tonight, with the clan in turmoil, he’d have come anyway if only
to reassure her and Merry. Now he had the perfect excuse to spend a few extra minutes
with her, something his animal had been pushing for. But as he entered the corridor,
he saw her and that damn Greek sea fada who’d been sniffing around her for weeks—and
he had Valeria pressed against the wall.

A dark, aggressive heat filled Rui’s head. A growl tore from
his throat.

Merry started. “What’s wrong, Tio?”

He growled again and she whimpered. He remembered himself enough
to set her and the backpack down. “Stay here,” he ordered. Then he was moving down
the hall, his vision hazed with red, his animal a roar in his head. He was practically
running by the time he reached the other two.

He set a hand on Okeanos’s shoulder. “She says no,” he said,
his voice so close to animal the words were almost unrecognizable.

Okeanos snarled and shook him off. “Like hell.”

Rui’s lips peeled back. His switchblade practically jumped into
his hand. Okeanos reached for his own knife. They started to circle each another.
Rui wasn’t sure what would’ve happened if Valeria hadn’t inserted herself between
them.

“Stop it, both of you,” she hissed. She looked past them and
reached out a hand. “
Querida
?
What’s wrong? Why aren’t you at the
sleepover?”

Her distress penetrated Rui’s angry haze. He dragged his gaze
from Okeanos to see Merry a few feet away, gazing up at him wide-eyed, her backpack
clutched in both hands.

Deus
, what was he doing? He expelled a breath and brought
his knife back to his side. “
Desculpe-me
,” he muttered to Valeria. “I’m sorry,”
he added to Okeanos, knowing he spoke only Greek and English.

Okeanos gazed back, his black eyes cold. A couple of beats passed
before he nodded curtly. “Fine. But stay away from Valeria from now on. She’s mine.”

Valeria hissed but didn’t contradict him. Rui’s hand clenched
around the knife handle. When the other man had first turned up at Rock Run, Rui
had been in a drunken haze—as usual. It had been weeks before he’d realized Okeanos
was courting Valeria. He told himself that was good, that it was time she moved
on. Wasn’t that what he’d been trying to force by parading his women before her
and the clan? But the reality was like a blow to the gut.

Still, he was wrong and he knew it. He had no rights where Valeria
was concerned; he’d made sure of that.

He jerked his head in acknowledgment before retracting the blade
and returning it to his pocket. Okeanos followed suit as Valeria took the backpack
from Merry and lifted her into her arms.

“I didn’t expect to see you. You’re not sick, are you?”

Merry burrowed her face into Valeria’s neck and shook her head.

“She’s fine,” Rui said, “but she decided she’d rather sleep here
tonight.”

“I was afraid you’d be lonely,” Merry said into Valeria’s shoulder.

“
Sim
?
How’d you know I was missing you?”

“I just knew.”

Despite the tension still riding him, Rui’s lips twitched. Even
a seven-year-old had the need to save face, it seemed.

Merry lifted her head to look at her mama. “Tio Rui brought me
back. Don’t be mad at him.”

“Oh,
querida
. Of course I’m not mad that he brought you
back.” Valeria gave him a stiff nod. “
Obrigada
, Rui. For bringing Merry home.”
Her tone made it clear that was
all
she was grateful for.

“
De nada
,” he said and backed away. But some stubborn,
primitive instinct wouldn’t let him leave before Okeanos. Instead, he leaned against
the wall a few feet away, arms crossed over his chest.

The other man scowled in his direction, then gave Rui his back.
Rui’s jaw tightened at the deliberate insult, but he remained where he was.

Okeanos stroked a finger down Valeria’s cheek. “Would you like
me to come back later,
glika
?”

“Not tonight.” She made an apologetic face. “I’m sorry, but she
needs me…”

“All right,” Okeanos said, his tone neutral. But the scent of
his irritation filled the hall. The man wasn’t happy at having his plans for tonight
thwarted. He wrapped a hand around Valeria’s nape, pressed a hard kiss to her lips
and stepped back with a triumphant glance at Rui.

Rui’s teeth clenched, but he managed to wink at Merry. “Have
a good sleep,
princesa
. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

She gave him a sleepy smile. “’Night, Tio Rui.”

Rui pushed himself off the wall and looked at Valeria. She was
clearly pissed off, although he wasn’t sure if it was at him or Okeanos—or both
of them. She might be low on the dominance chain, but push her hard enough and she
pushed back.

His gaze went to her full lips, reddened from Okeanos’s kisses,
and he had to fist his hands to keep from dragging her into his arms and erasing
the memory of the other man’s mouth with his own.

He gave her a curt nod. “
Boa noite
.”

Her thick dark lashes lowered, shielding her thoughts. “Good
night.”

His fingers dug into his palms. Once he’d have known what she
was thinking, would’ve felt her emotions through the mate bond—but no longer. The
bond had been well and truly broken, leaving a gaping hole in his heart where Valeria
had been. He’d been numbing himself with alcohol and sex for so long that he’d forgotten
how much it hurt when he was stone-cold sober.

Okeanos was standing a few yards away, watching them. She glanced
at him, then lowered her voice. “I can handle him.”

He scowled. “That’s not how it looked to me.”

“Well, I was, damn you. And if I wasn’t, it’s none of your business.”

“Sorry, but you looked like you could use some help.”

“You were wrong.”

But she didn’t meet his eyes, and he knew that wasn’t entirely
true. Still, if that was how she wanted to play it, there was nothing he could do.

She opened her door. “I have to put Merry to bed.”