Tempting the Dryad Read online

  Midnight came and went. The bar was filled with shifters, along with a sprinkling of humans looking for a walk on the wild side. On the tiny stage a band was playing rhythm and blues. Tiago had been drinking steadily for a couple of hours with only the empanadas he’d eaten earlier to soak up the alcohol. He wasn’t exactly shitfaced, but no one would call him sober, either.

  The bartender, Sophie, was a motherly Tunisian sea fada whom everyone fell over themselves to please. Tiago wasn’t sure where Claudio had found her, but since she’d started working at the Full Moon, there’d been a dramatic drop in bar fights. Something about the maternal Sophie calmed their animals.

  Now she took the bottle from him and without asking, set a glass of ice water in front of him.

  He frowned down at it. “I’m not drunk.”

  “Sure, habibi. But drink it anyway.”

  He shrugged and obediently drained the glass. He was thirsty. And if he didn’t drink it, Sophie would refuse to bring him another beer.

  He glanced around the bar again. An earth shifter female in tight leather pants was taking a seat at a table with a couple of friends. He was buzzed enough to stare boldly, uncaring that the earth shifters in the bar outnumbered river fada by more than two to one.

  He wasn’t the only one checking her out. The woman was serious eye-candy: big dark eyes, a short Afro that set off long, high cheekbones and a tight gold tank with a plunging neckline that showcased killer breasts.

  She caught him looking and flashed him a knowing smile before deliberately turning her back on him to say something to her girlfriends.

  But unlike with his brother, Tiago didn’t take it as an insult. No, the woman was daring him.

  And he was in the mood to take her up on it.

  He ordered another beer from Sophie and sipped it, taking his time before he glanced back at the earth shifter woman. She’d shifted her chair so he could see her profile. She darted a glance at him and toyed with the cat-shaped earring dangling from her earlobe.

  His blood started to hum. She was interested, all right.

  But there were too many Baltimore shifters in the bar. A Rock Run fada couldn’t just approach one of their women. Yeah, fada females had the right to choose their own mates, but their males could make it damn difficult to get close enough to initiate the dance.

  He turned around on his stool and gazed out at the crowd. His back was to her now but he could feel her studying him.

  The band switched to a slow, sexy number and several couples got up to dance. He thought of the three pretty humans. Chico was probably cuddling with the blonde in some dark corner now, while he, Tiago, was sitting here alone, getting drunk.

  He probably could’ve had the curvy dark-haired one if he’d put his mind to it. Sure, she’d been wary of him, but he’d seen the looks she’d been sending him. But he hadn’t even tried, and now he wondered what the hell was wrong with him, because if he wanted a woman, why should he feel guilty about it?

  Alesia might have ten years on him, but compared to him she was an innocent. Hell, the woman spent most of her time on an uninhabited island with only trees and forest creatures for company. He knew she’d only had a few lovers.

  He recalled her rubbing noses with Fausto and his chest knotted.

  His feelings for Cleia aside, he was all wrong for Alesia. He was a creature of water and dark caverns, while she needed sunlight and open air and fresh green leaves. She was a nurturer, someone who made things grow—and he was a member of a fada warrior squad, a man who had killed.

  More than once.

  She might think she wanted him, but if she knew about his Gift—what he could do with a thought, a wish—she’d be terrified of him.

  But a human wasn’t the answer either.

  From now on he’d stick to his own kind. Fada women had the same hot, wild blood as the males. They understood when a man wanted a good fuck and nothing more.

  He took another sip from his beer and turned to face the bar again. The woman cast a look at him and toyed some more with her earring, a smile playing on her full lips.

  He kept his gaze straight ahead. Don’t do it. You’ll just get your ass kicked.

  A man settled on the stool next to him. An earth shifter with the rangy build and amber eyes of a wolf.

  The other man ordered a beer from Sophie. While he waited for it to arrive, he nodded at Tiago. “You’re one of the Rock Run alpha’s brothers.”

  “That’s right.” He wasn’t surprised the man knew who he was. He was a younger copy of Dion: same wavy black hair and light blue eyes, same Mediterranean features. “Name’s Tiago.”

  “Luc,” the other man returned.

  Tiago nodded and turned his attention to the TV over the bar, which was broadcasting a replay of an Orioles game with the sound off. Sophie brought their beer and for a few minutes, the two of them watched the baseball game in silence.

  Tiago eyed Luc surreptiously. Like Dion, he was suspicious of Adric’s sudden desire to mine quartz at Rising Sun. Rock Run and the sun fae compound shared a border marked by the Susquehanna River. Even though Rock Run was on the opposite side of the river from Rising Sun, the Baltimore shifters would still be damn close.

  Luc had the scent of a dominant, and he carried himself like someone high in the hierarchy. Tiago would bet a month’s pay the man was one of Adric’s lieutenants.

  But the Full Moon was neutral ground and from further down the bar, Claudio was eyeing them both, clearly wondering why a Rock Run man was drinking with a Baltimore wolf.

  Tiago sipped his beer, thinking. Even if he got Luc talking, the man was hardly likely to share his clan’s plans for Rock Run.

  Not unless he was compelled to.

  Tiago stared at the TV without seeing it. The more he used his Gift, the more it frightened him—and not because it drained energy, although that was part of it. No, it was because every time he used his Gift, it became a little easier, a little more tempting to compel someone…just because he could. And worse, with each use, the beast gained power—and his beast was a dark, feral thing.

  He’d vowed not to use his Gift except when absolutely necessary.

  Still, the compulsion wouldn’t have to be much, just a question and then a little pressure…

  He spun the beer bottle slowly back and forth between his palms. It was risky. If Luc realized Tiago had used compulsion on him, he’d report it to Adric and the Baltimore alpha would come gunning for him.

  And worse, everyone would learn what Tiago was.

  The fada were a long-lived race with the memories to match. The people of his clan hadn’t forgotten that Tiago had betrayed the base’s location to an earth shifter. Oh, Dion had kept it quiet, but all the tenentes knew, and word had spread, at least among the upper hierarchy. If they learned about his dark Gift, he’d be shunned.

  No. It wasn’t worth it.

  Tiago turned his attention to the game but his skin was prickling. This was how he’d met Adric. He’d been sitting on almost the same stool when the Baltimore alpha had sat down beside him, although Tiago hadn’t realized whom he was talking to. The game on the TV had been soccer, not baseball, but otherwise it had been eerily similar.

  He and Adric—or Ric, as he’d introduced himself—had fallen into a discussion about the game. Pretty soon, a couple of other earth fada had joined them, the four of them tossing back shots and trading stories about women. From there, Adric had played on Tiago’s worries about Cleia like a maestro.

  It had ended with Adric handing him a quartz that had been engineered into a smartphone. “Call me,” he’d said. “If your woman is in trouble—”

  And Tiago had been drunk enough to accept it.

  Not that Tiago blamed Adric for taking advantage. Sure, the Baltimore alpha had played him, but he’d also kept his side of the bargain, helping the sun fae to rescue Cleia. If Adric had intended to use the information he’d obtained to attack Rock Run, well, he’d never admitted it.

  He gl
anced at Luc.

  Hell, if Tiago was smart, he’d leave. But something kept his ass on the stool and when Sophie returned, he indicated Luc and said, “I’ve got the next round.”

  They both slanted him a suspicious look. Then Luc shrugged. “Thanks.” When the beer arrived, he nodded at Tiago and turned his attention back to the TV.

  Ordinarily, Tiago would’ve left the man to his baseball game, but something was egging him on—and this time, he couldn’t blame his beast. No, it was the very human part that needed to prove himself to his brother.

  He jerked his chin at the TV. “The O’s might go all the way this year.”

  “Could be.”

  Tiago persisted, and they exchanged a few comments about the game. Meanwhile, to his left, the sexy earth shifter glanced at him from time to time until Luc scowled in her direction and the looks stopped. So he was someone high in the Baltimore hierarchy. In fact, the man was barely holding himself back from testing Tiago’s dominance. Tiago could feel it; fada males had a sixth sense about these things.

  His beast sensed it too and bristled beneath his skin, which increased Luc’s tension. He shifted on the bar stool, took a gulp of his beer.

  That edginess worked to Tiago’s advantage.

  His heart sped up. The beast was fully awake and eager: Yes. Talk. Ask. Protect the females…

  The beast had a point. Cleia might be in danger or even Rosana. Even Alesia wouldn’t be safe in an all-out war between Rock Run and the Baltimore shifters. Somehow that made it better.

  Tiago met Luc’s eyes and started to push. “Your alpha is going to meet with Queen Cleia.”

  “That’s right.” The other man answered readily. He wouldn’t even feel the compulsion yet, although it would make him answer without thinking it through.

  “What do you know about it?”

  Luc opened his mouth. “Me? I—” He halted and frowned. “Thanks for the beer,” he said as he set the empty bottle on the bar, “but that’s clan business.”

  Ah. The man was stronger than Tiago had guessed. But then he’d never attempted to work on such a delicate level.

  “Of course not,” he murmured and pushed harder. “But my brother doesn’t want to let your clan on sun fae land. He’s going to stop the mining if he can. So it’s to your benefit to talk to me. I can talk to Dion, explain why it’s so important.”

  Luc nodded.

  A fine sweat broke out on Tiago’s brow. The few other times he’d tried to compel another fada, it had been under extreme conditions. Other than that, his main practice up until now had been on animals. It was a hell of a lot more difficult to compel a man without him knowing.

  “Talk to me,” he crooned.

  “We need that quartz,” Luc said simply.

  “Why?” Tiago held his breath and pressed a bit more.

  He felt Luc start to give in, but then a pretty earth shifter strolled by, and Luc glanced at her and the moment was lost. Tiago released the compulsion; it was too risky to hold any longer.

  Luc gave him a sharp look and drew a slow breath, checking his scent.

  Tiago turned his attention back to the baseball game, willing his heartbeat to slow. He was fucked if Luc realized what he was doing.

  But damn, he hadn’t learned anything Dion didn’t already know. And he’d been so close…

  Luc growled. “Look,” he said in a subvocal voice for Tiago’s ears alone, “I don’t know what the hell you’re up to, but I know damn well you of all people have no reason to help us.”

  Tiago shrugged. “So you say.”

  It was an evasive answer—not a lie, but not the truth, either—and Luc knew it. He growled again, loud enough that Claudio frowned their way.

  Luc lowered his voice but his tone was hard. “I don’t like you Rock Run shifters. I don’t like your brother, and I especially don’t like that he mated a fae. But he’s kept his word to my friend Jace and allowed him to see Merry. He even lets Jace bring her home now and then.”

  “Merry’s home is at Rock Run,” Tiago returned. “She’s a member of our clan now. But,” he added grudgingly, “I know that Valeria and Rui want her to know her uncle. And they appreciate that Jace, too, has kept his word.”

  Luc nodded. “That’s why I’m telling you to get the hell out of this bar. Now.”

  Tiago bristled. “This is neutral territory. You can’t tell me to leave.”

  “No,” Luc agreed. “But if I were you, I’d leave anyway. Because no one is going to answer your questions—and because I’m not the only one who saw you checking out Shania.”

  Tiago darted an involuntary glance in the woman’s direction but she was no longer at the table.

  “Yeah, her,” Luc said grimly. “I don’t know about Rock Run, but here in Baltimore, we watch out for our women. So if you want to keep that pretty face of yours, hit the road. Now.”

  Tiago’s hand fisted around his beer. Pretty face?

  Hell, the man had no idea. The only way an earth shifter could take him was to first knock him unconscious, and even then, his beast, residing as it did in a more primitive area of his brain, would probably remain conscious long enough to fight back.

  Sophie bustled up. “Something wrong, gentlemen?”

  “Just having a friendly conversation,” Luc replied and with a nod at Tiago, he got up and sauntered toward the back room and its perpetual poker game.

  The bartender pressed her lips together and raised a brow at Tiago.

  “You heard the man,” he told her.

  “Friendly conversation, my ass. I could smell the testosterone from three yards away.” She cast a pointed look at the door. “Bar’s closed as far as you’re concerned. Claudio’s orders.”

  “All right,” Tiago said with a shrug and got to his feet. He’d crash at the clan’s rowhouse tonight and then swim back to Rock Run tomorrow. First, though, he had to make a pit stop.

  The bathrooms were located in a tiny hall behind swinging doors. When he exited the men’s room, the earth shifter woman—Shania—was waiting to enter the ladies’ room. She glanced at him from where she leaned against the wall playing with the chunk of quartz hanging from her neck.

  Tiago looked her over, lingering on those long, leather-clad legs.

  When he raised his gaze, her dark eyes challenged him. “Like what you see, river man?”

  He thought of Luc, warning him away from her. He thought of his brother, ordering him to stay away from the earth shifters. And deliberately set a hand on the scarred wood paneling beside her head.

  “Very much. You’re a beautiful woman, Shania.”

  “Smooth.” Her lips curved. They were painted scarlet, a bright splash against her ginger-brown skin. “I like smooth.”

  “Then we have something in common.”

  The smile increased. She gave him her hand. “You know my name, but I don’t know yours.”

  “Tiago.” He clasped her fingers in his. The fingernails were blood red to match her lips and so long they curved, claw-like, from her fingertips. As he released her, he wondered what her animal was. Something sleek and predatory—a cougar, maybe.

  She traced one of those long fingernails down his bare arm, sending a flash of heat directly to his groin. “Buy me a drink, Tiago?”

  He shook his head regretfully. “Sorry, but I was on my way out.”

  “Too bad. Although we don’t have to drink—”

  “True.” Tiago curved a hand around her nape. He leaned in so his mouth was a breath from hers. “I can think of something a lot more…fun.”

  “I like how you think, sugar. But not here. The men in my clan—”

  “I understand.” He brushed his lips over hers. “Why don’t I meet you behind the bar?”

  “I’ll find you.”

  He gave her neck an approving squeeze and headed for the swinging doors.

  Outside, a couple of other bars were in the process of emptying. Tiago rounded the corner and made his way down the alley to the back of the
saloon, where he leaned against a building on the other side of the alley.

  The brisk spring air felt good after the confines of the bar. He could hear voices and cars on the nearby street, but back here it was silent save for the rustling of a rat in a nearby garbage can. He tipped his head back against the wall and drew in a deep breath, gazing at the few stars that had managed to break through the smog and light pollution.

  Alesia probably had a great view of the stars tonight. Her island was in the center of the Susquehanna, an hour from Baltimore and several miles from the nearest town. No place on the I-95 corridor was free of light pollution, but she could at least see more than the handful above him.

  His chest constricted. What the hell was he doing?

  But, by the gods, he needed a woman—and right now any woman would do. He wasn’t proud of that but it was the truth. In a way, he was doing it for Alesia. This way the two of them could stay friends. Sex between them would ruin everything.

  He shoved his hands in his pockets. Where was that woman—Shania—anyway?

  Then she appeared from around the corner. She sauntered down the alley, a sleek, two-legged cat in tight pants and a short black-and-gold jacket.

  “Come on.” She took his hand. “There’s an afterhours club just a block away. It’s after one o’clock. It should be open.”

  He tugged her to a halt. “I said I’ve had enough.”

  “But I’d like a drink.” She came up on her toes to brush her lips over his. “Please, Tiago?”

  His groin snapped to attention. Maybe another drink wasn’t a bad idea.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  The afterhours club was shoehorned into a dank basement beneath a rowhouse. It reeked of beer and smoke, the stony-faced humans who patronized it apparently not giving a damn that Baltimore had banned cigarettes in public places.

  “Welcome to the Wildcat,” Shania said.

  “It’s owned by your clan, then?” And if so, why bring him here if she was trying to keep this a secret?

  She shook her head. “The owner’s a human. But she doesn’t discriminate.”

  She pulled him to a table in a dark corner, set her chair so close to his she was practically in his lap and ran a hand down his shirt. One long nail scratched his nipple through the material.