Shifter’s Valentine Read online

  “Lucky for me.”

  She worried the seam of the cardboard cup with her thumbnail. “Yeah?”

  “Yeah.” Liquid brown eyes captured hers. “Because if you hadn’t moved here, we might’ve never met, and that would’ve been a shame.”

  Her heart sped up. “You’re very direct, aren’t you?”

  He jerked a shoulder. “I’m interested in you. Why hide it?”

  She swallowed and told herself that it was just part of his technique. But it was working.

  She started to rise. “I really should get back to work.”

  “Wait.” He caught her hand. “I’d like to see you again. What about Friday night? Are you busy?”

  She sank back down on the chair. “Not really, but—”

  “For dinner, that’s all.” He smoothed a thumb over her jumpy pulse. “I like you, Jenny Erdrich. I’d like to get to spend some time with you. Get to know you better.”

  How did he know exactly the right thing to say? Because the one thing Ryan hadn’t wanted to do was spend time with her—other than in bed.

  “Fada can’t lie,” he added. “Oh, we can try, but it makes us sick. When I say it’s only dinner, I mean it.”

  “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.” She was babbling. She closed her mouth and jerked her hand from his.

  Chico leaned closer. “We don’t tell just anyone,” he said in a stage whisper, and then winked.

  She found herself grinning back. “Your secret is safe with me.”

  “But it’s the truth. And actually, I have fae blood in me—every fada has at least a few drops. So how about Friday? I know a restaurant with the best chocolate lava cake.”

  “Holy crap,” Kym hissed from her stool. “Just say yes.”

  Jenny pressed her lips together, trying not to laugh. “Chocolate lava cake?” she said to Chico. “You don’t fight fair.”

  His smile was slow and pleased. “So that’s a yes?”

  “It is. And thank you.”

  “Seven o’clock okay? I’ll pick you up.”

  “Why don’t I meet you here? It’s easier.” And she wasn’t ready to give him her address yet.

  “Bom. Sounds good.” Rising to his feet, he grabbed his jacket. “See you Friday.”

  A minute later, she heard the rumble of a Harley, and he rode past, the dark, badass fada again.

  She ran a hand down her braid. What had she done? She was so over good-looking, cocky men. But then, Chico hadn’t seemed all that cocky. She remembered that lost look on his face when he’d thought himself unobserved.

  On the other hand, she’d believed Ryan was something more than a rich, handsome dickhead, and look how wrong she’d been.

  But she was damned if she’d back out now. Because she might be busy, but she was also lonely. November and December had passed quickly in the flurry of her move to Maryland, but January had been a long, cold month.

  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.

  “What is wrong with you?” The petite blonde shook her head. “Half the women in town are dying to hook up with a Rock Run fada. But they don’t do humans.”

  Jenny shrugged. “I’m not looking to start anything.”

  “Then keep it chill.”

  “That’s the plan.”

  Kym helped herself to a coffee and a muffin. “Okay, I’m officially on break.”

  “Sure. Take as long as you need.”

  Jenny moved to the large picture window and stared at Chico’s footprints on the sidewalk. The lug soles of his moto boots had left a clear, definite imprint in the melting snow.

  She rubbed a thumb over her dolphin pendant. Odd. The silver felt as if it had been heated in someone’s hands.

  “Where is the Rock Run base, anyway?” she asked Kym.

  “Somewhere a few miles west of town. Nobody but the fada know exactly where it is. It’s underground, and they don’t let anyone get too close without permission. They own most of the land around the mouth of Rock Run Creek.”

  Jenny nodded. Rock Run was a small river that entered the Susquehanna about a mile upriver from Grace Harbor.

  The door banged open, and two silver-haired men came inside along with a blast of chilly air. They were regulars, retirees who met most days at the coffee shop. They paused on the doormat to stomp the snow off their boots.

  “And how are my two favorite ladies?” the taller one asked with his usual broad smile. “How about some coffee? And do you have pecan muffins today?”

  Jenny grinned back. It was impossible not to like these two.

  “We do,” she said and headed behind the counter.

  2

  Chico finished shaving and slapped cold water on his face, maneuvering around his tiny washroom with the ease of long practice.

  The base had been carved out of a labyrinthine system of caves along Rock Run Creek. Families and couples had apartments, but he had the usual unmated fada’s quarters: a single room adjoined by a washroom with a toilet and a rough-hewn stone counter. He took showers in the communal baths and ate his meals in the huge cavern that served as the clan’s dining hall. If he wanted to hang out with his friends, the unmated fada had their own lounge in this section of the base. Light and air was provided by narrow shafts drilled into the ceilings, with additional illumination from free-floating fae lights in the muted, watery blues and greens that river fada preferred.

  In the bedroom, he chose a dress shirt from the four hanging from a row of wood pegs. Back in the bathroom, he dragged a brush through his short curls and then smoothed down his shirt.

  Ready.

  He grinned at the oval mirror above the sink without really seeing himself.

  It’s just dinner.

  Before Jenny, how long had it been since he’d even shared a coffee with a female who wasn’t his mom or a friend? Months. Too damn long.

  He liked women. Their soft skin. Their pretty scent. Their smiles and easy sociability. In his opinion, getting to know a new woman was one of life’s great pleasures.

  But he hadn’t been with anyone since last summer, and that had been a quick, no-strings-attached fuck.

  Since breaking it off with Lita, he simply hadn’t had the heart to start the dance with anyone. Until Jenny.

  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 he’d been in Grace Harbor to buy his mom a birthday present and had ducked into the Java for coffee and one of the shop’s kickass muffins.

  And there was Jenny, working one of the stainless-steel cappuccino machines, her back to him. 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 snug black pants.

  She turned around and his lungs emptied. She was beautiful. High, broad cheekbones. Dark, nearly-black almond-shaped eyes. A full lower lip that he wanted to nibble and taste.

  He watched, enthralled, as her smile creased one cheek.

  He’d been too stupefied to do more than order his coffee and retreat to a table against the wall. But he’d returned two days later, and then again a few days after that. Something about those dark eyes drew him. Deep. Mysterious. A little sad, even when she smiled.

  On the fourth visit, he tried to flirt with her. She’d smiled politely and turned to the next customer.

  Chico had stood there, perplexed. He wasn’t used to women brushing him off.

  That might have ended things right there, but he was a fada, with a shifter’s heightened senses. He’d scented her spike of interest, noted the hitch in her breath when she first caught sight of him. The pretty, black-haired barista was attracted to him all right; she was just wary of him. Distrustful. Maybe even a little afraid.

  That bothered his animal. It wanted t
o wrap itself around her and assure her that he’d never 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 vulnerable—children, pregnant women, the elderly. 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 hunters and trackers had patience, too, but Chico’s was endless. Now he applied himself to winning over the pretty human.

  Fortunately, his current assignment was as a base sentry, so he had plenty of opportunities to visit Grace Harbor. He limited his visits to 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 before she’d relaxed enough for him to make 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 with a local dryad and now lived with her on an island in the Susquehanna River where her oak tree was located. Even when the newly-mated couple stayed at the base, they weren’t quartered with the unmated fada.

  Chico was happy for Tiago and Alesia, of course, but he missed his friend. Tiago was the alpha’s youngest brother, and the two of them had grown up together. Where Tiago do Rio went, Chico followed.

  What he needed right now was for Tiago to rib him about his crush on Jenny, and then slap him on the back and assure him that Jenny couldn’t help but love him. Because Chico was dry-mouthed with nerves about tonight.

  It’s just dinner.

  He blew out a breath and closed his door.

  The halls were dotted with people on their way to the dining hall. He exchanged greetings but kept moving until he’d reached the clan garage. He’d reserved a small SUV for the trip into town. If it were just him, he’d take his Harley—river fada didn’t feel the cold like humans—but he had Jenny to consider.

  It took less than fifteen minutes to reach Grace Harbor. The Java Shoppe was crowded with customers, seated at the tables and standing at the counter. At the back, a long-haired country singer fought to be heard above the animated voices.

  Jenny was chatting with a bearded redhead in a flannel shirt. The man grinned at something she said and then shot a mistrustful look at Chico.

  He narrowed his eyes back. As a protector, it wasn’t in his nature to go looking for a fight, but for Jenny he just might.

  She turned her wide smile on him, and his tight shoulders eased. “Hey, Chico.”

  “Hi, Jenny.” He kissed her on both cheeks. “You look beautiful.”

  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 it, button by button. The silver dolphin pendant was nestled between her soft breasts.

  “Thanks. So do you.” She touched the collar of his dress shirt. “Just let me get my coat.”

  He nodded and offered the glowering redhead his hand. Humans tended to be suspicious of fada, and that’s how the clan liked it, but there was no sense making an enemy of the man.

  “I’m Chico.”

  “Tyler.” To his credit, the redhead shook it. “Nice to meet you.”

  “Likewise.” Chico shoved his hands in the pockets of his jacket. “Great place. Best coffee in the county.”

  “Thanks.” The man’s hostility dropped a notch, and the two of them made awkward conversation until Jenny returned with a wool pea coat draped over one arm.

  He helped her into it and they left the shop. Even with the coat, she shivered when they hit the street. He slung an arm around her shoulders and hugged her closer.

  She tensed for a moment and then relaxed into him.

  He liked how she felt against him. A lot. “Hungry?” He smiled down at her.

  “Starving. I was working on a new piece and forgot to eat lunch.”

  “Good. I got us reservations on the water. You like seafood?”

  “Love it.”

  It was a short drive to the restaurant, but he turned up the heat, and was glad he had when she held out her hands to its warmth.

  “I didn’t know you had an SUV,” she said.

  “I don’t. It’s the clan’s. But anyone can reserve a vehicle. If it’s available, it’s yours.”

  “Communal vehicles? That’s cool. More of us should do that.”

  He nodded, although he hadn’t really thought about it. It was just how things were when you were part of a clan.

  “What’s it like,” she continued, “living at Rock Run?”

  “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. They can be damn nosy, but I know every single one of them has my back.”

  “I hear you. I grew up in a small town myself. But after I left for college, I only went home for summers and holidays.”

  “What’s your degree in?”

  “Fine arts. Which is why I work at a coffee shop.”

  “You won’t be working there for long. Not if that dolphin necklace is a sample of what you can do.”

  That earned him a smile. “Thank you. And actually, my stuff sells pretty well. I’m thinking of reducing my hours at the Java so I have more time for my jewelry.”

  They’d reached the restaurant. Chico rounded the SUV to open the door for her. She hopped out and their bodies collided.

  “Oops,” she said with a low chuckle—and then stilled, staring up at him, watchful as a doe.

  Chico brought his hands up, slowly, carefully. Her hair was in its usual braid. He drew his thumb and first finger down it. It felt exactly as he’d imagined. Smooth, heavy silk.

  He released the braid to run his knuckles down her cheek. Her skin was soft and a little chilled from the cold. He cupped her face, instinctively trying to warm her.

  His gaze dropped to her mouth. She had something red and shiny on her lips that made them look supremely edible.

  He caressed her face. “I want to kiss you.”

  She moistened her lips, and then dipped her chin in assent.

  He lowered his head, and she tilted hers so that their mouths met at the perfect angle. He traced the seam of her lips with his tongue.

  Deus, she tasted good. Like sunshine and summer fruit.

  Her breath quickened. Her mouth parted and he slid his tongue inside. She was moist and warm. Heat balled in his stomach.

  Slow, he told himself. Slow and easy.

  But his cock was hard enough to drill nails.

  He curled his tongue around hers and then withdrew. Her fingers gripped his leather jacket and he ached to feel them on his body. But he’d asked her to dinner, and besides, he knew damn well Jenny wasn’t going to have sex with him tonight.

  Her eyes were shut. He pressed a kiss to each eyelid and then turned toward the restaurant.

  “Food. I promised you a meal.”

  She murmured a protest and his whole body went tight. Maybe the gods would be merciful and she’d tell him to hell with eating, she wanted to make hard, sweaty love—now.

  Jenny opened her eyes. She looked dazed but wary, and he knew his first instinct had been right. He needed to pull back.

  For him as much as her.

  He took her hand and headed for the restaurant.

  3

  Jenny was very conscious of Chico strolling alongside her, long-limbed and gorgeous. His fingers held hers in a loose, confident grip.

  She slanted him a glance and he gave her a smoldering look from beneath his thick dark lashes. Making no secret of the fact he wanted her.

  Heat spiraled through her. Her heart sped up. Her nipples tightened.

  She was tempted, so tempted. And that in itself was a surprise.

  After the mess with Ryan, she’d curled into a protective hedgehog of a ball. No man got past the spines.

  That had been almo
st a year ago, which meant it had been a long, dry spell.

  But she refused to let one asshole ruin her life. Ryan had been a tall, hard-bodied blond. He had a job in his dad’s film production company and a pricy house in Coldwater Canyon just outside of L.A. She’d thought she’d hit the man-jackpot.

  Until she’d noticed that they’d been dating for almost a year, and she still hadn’t met any of his friends. When she’d asked about it, he’d said, “That’s because when I’m with you, you’re the only one I want,” and then he’d pushed her up against the living room wall and taken her.

  One day, she saw Ryan on TV, his hand on the ass of a sleek, ginger-haired model, heading into the premier of his dad’s latest movie. She wouldn’t have minded so much if he’d been straight with her. But no, the prick had told her he was working late at the office.

  She was so freaking nice, she’d given him a chance to explain. But he’d brushed her off with a grin. “Christ, Jenn. You know I can’t take someone like you to something like that.”

  “Someone like me? What the hell does that mean?”

  He had the grace to look ashamed. “You know. In public, I have to look…successful. That woman you saw? It was just business.”

  “You had your hand on her ass.”

  His gaze slid from hers—and she knew. He’d been cheating on her—or maybe Jenny was the woman he was cheating with. Something in her broke.

  He opened his mouth, but she stopped him with a slash of her hand. “You know something? I don’t want to hear it. Just get the fuck out of my apartment. Now.”

  His good-looking face twisted. “You don’t mean that.”

  “No?” She jerked open the apartment door. “Don’t make me call the cops, Ryan.”

  Within a month, she was back in Ohio, nursing her bruised heart.

  Her dad had been thrilled to have her home again, but he’d remarried while she was in college. She liked her stepmom, Tamara, but felt like a third wheel.

  Then in August, her dad had gotten sick—a rare blood disease that raced through him like fire. He was dead within a week, leaving Jenny and Tamara shell-shocked and rattling around in the old house Jenny had grown up in.