She nodded against his chest. It was hard, recalling how dark everything had seemed last summer, but she wanted to tell him.

  “I was pretty down. My dad had just died, and I didn’t have a job. I was living in L.A. for a while, but when things fell apart with my boyfriend, I came back.”

  “Your boyfriend?” He toyed with the end of her braid. “This was last year?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Asshole.”

  Her mouth twisted. “How’d you know?”

  “Because,” he said, “any man stupid enough to let you go must be an asshole.”

  “He was. He’s an assistant producer in L.A.—works for his dad—and it turned out I was the woman he was keeping on the side. In public, he dated actresses and models.”

  “So he’s not just an asshole, he’s a bastard.”

  “Yep.”

  “Good looking?”

  “Well, yeah—and he knows it, too.”

  Chico’s lips grazed the top of her head. “I could break his nose. Make him not so pretty.”

  It had been a while since she’d thought of Chico as the stereotypical ruthless fada, but now she blinked. She raised herself up on an elbow. “I’m going to assume you’re kidding.”

  “Kind of.” He moved a big shoulder. “But if you really want me to—”

  She couldn’t help being warmed that he’d offered. Maybe that was Neanderthal of her, but tough shit. “Thanks, but the man’s not worth it.”

  And he wasn’t. She was so over Ryan. He could dance naked with one of his beautiful models down the middle of Hollywood Boulevard, and she wouldn’t give a damn.

  “The offer stands. Just say the word.”

  “Maybe last summer I would’ve taken you up on that. But now?” She nuzzled Chico’s neck. “He’s history.”

  “Good.” He enfolded her more securely in her arms. “Because the man had his chance and he gave you up.”

  “Well, actually,” she said, “he didn’t give me up. He would’ve been happy to keep things the way they were, but I kicked his sorry ass out of my apartment.”

  She felt his mouth lift in amusement. “Good for you.”

  “But it was hard, because right after that, my dad got sick and”—she swallowed something prickly in her throat—“he was dead in a week.”

  “You don’t have any other family?”

  “My stepmom, but I didn’t grow up with her. Tamara’s a nice person, and she really loved my dad, but he met her after I left home. So after he died, it was strange, the two of us living together without my dad as the glue. My brother’s in the Army, and he doesn’t come home much. And then she decided to sell the house.”

  Tears stung her eyes. She blinked them away as Chico rubbed her back.

  She took a jagged breath. “I know selling the house was the right thing, but there were just…so many changes in such a short time. And I really, really loved my dad.” Her voice broke. She pressed the heel of her hand to her eyes. “Sorry.”

  “Hey.” His arms tightened on her. “Don’t be. I’m just sorry that you didn’t really have anyone there for you. I can’t even imagine what that would be like. For me, the clan’s always there, even when I don’t want them to be.”

  “You’re lucky. Trust me.”

  He nodded. “They can be fucking nosy at times, but I always know they’ve got my back.” He resumed rubbing her, slow, comforting circles between her shoulder blades. “But you’re not alone any more, Jenny. I’ll always be there for you, no matter what happens.”

  “Thanks.” The tears welled up again. She swiped them away. “You don’t have to say that—but thanks.”

  “Hey.” Chico tipped her chin up so he could meet her eyes. “I mean it. I told you, fada don’t lie. You ever need me, just send word to Rock Run. I’ll be there in a shot. If I’m away on a job, I’ll leave word for my dad to take care of things.”

  She nodded, her heart full. She’d probably never ask for his help, but it meant a lot that he’d made the offer.

  “Promise me,” he said in a stern voice, seemingly reading her mind. “Promise you’ll ask for help if you need it.”

  She bit her lip, and then nodded. “All right. I promise—and thank you.”

  “I’ll hold you to that.” He gave her a kiss, and then smacked her bottom. “Time to get dressed before you freeze that cute ass off.”

  “In a minute. I’m too comfortable.”

  “Come on. I’ll help you get dressed.”

  He sat up, and she grumbled under her breath, but he was right—her bare legs were ice-cold. He helped her get dressed first, waiting while she pulled on her underwear and sweater, and then warming her feet between his hands before helping her into her socks and pants.

  Then she watched, mouth ajar, as he waded stark naked into the icy creek. When it reached his waist, he bent down and splashed water over himself, scrubbing until he was clean. Wild, beautiful, his muscular body dripping wet and perfectly in tune with the water and the woods. A demi-god in his natural habitat.

  He came back upright and caught her expression. He grinned and dragged his hands over his wet hair. “I don’t feel the cold like a human does.”

  Dazed, she could only shake her head. “You must have polar bear genes.”

  “Nah—just adapted to life underwater.” He strode out of the creek and shook himself, sending droplets flying everywhere. He sauntered back to the blanket, all loose-limbed grace.

  His eyes darkened. “When you look at me like that…”

  She moistened her lips. “Like what?”

  “Like you want me to do this.” He crawled over her and pressed her to the blanket for a hot-mouthed kiss. Then he sat up and pulled on his jeans and T-shirt while she just lay there, body humming.

  “Now, about that picnic…”

  13

  February turned bitter, with icy winds and temperatures below freezing, but Jenny was too happy to care. She saw Chico almost every day, and most nights he stayed over.

  If she worked late at the coffee shop, he picked her up so she wouldn’t have to walk home alone in the dark. If they went anywhere, he turned up the heat in the SUV.

  She felt…cherished.

  On Friday, he stopped by the coffee shop with a bright red hat and scarf, hand-crocheted by a woman in his clan. “To keep you warm.”

  “It’s beautiful.” She fingered the soft yarn. “But you didn’t have to give me anything.”

  “I wanted to.” He wrapped the scarf around her neck and pulled her to him for a soft, sweet kiss, uncaring of Kym’s grin. “I thought it would look pretty on you.”

  “I love it,” she said, and kissed him again.

  They made love in every room of the apartment—including some hot shower sex—but good as that was, she enjoyed having someone to share her meals almost as much. No more thrown-together dinners with only Max for company.

  Sometimes she cooked, and they ate that along with whatever Chico brought—coarse peasant bread baked by his clan or the fizzy white vinho verde from the Rock Run vineyards—and sometimes he picked up a pizza or take-out.

  On Sunday, he set a small hibachi up on her balcony and grilled the best fish she’d ever tasted while she roasted asparagus with olive oil and sun-dried tomatoes. After, they cleaned up the kitchen, working together as if they’d been doing it for years.

  As she put the last dish away, Chico took her hand and drew her out of the kitchen. “C’mere.” With every few steps, he kissed her, and then removed an article of clothing until she was clad in just a bra and panties.

  Her legs hit the edge of the couch, and he gently but firmly guided her down. She went willingly. She couldn’t get enough of this hard-bodied shifter. Touching him, pleasuring him, watching his face as he came…

  With every day, she fell a little more in love with him. If she let herself think about it, it scared her. But she had to trust again sometime.

  His mouth moved over her body—her neck, her breasts, her collarbone—his stubble a sexy scrape against her tender skin. He pressed a kiss to her mouth and slipped a hand down her body. He stroked her lower belly, sliding over her mound, delving between her thighs.

  “Minha linda.” Hot words against her ear, his accent always more pronounced when he made love to her. “So pretty.”

  Need curled through her. She instinctively bent a knee, opening to him. “Chico.” She moved her head against the cushion. “I…”

  “Hm? What do you want?”

  He nudged her bent leg a little more open and waited, fingertips teasing her sensitive inner thigh.

  She dragged in a breath. “Please.”

  “Tell me, querida.”

  “I want you to touch me—there.”

  “Good girl,” he crooned against her neck at the same time his fingers started moving over her sex. Slowly, purposefully. “Like this?

  “Yes.” God, yes.

  She gripped his arms, her attention on what he was doing between her thighs.

  He muttered something about how tight and wet she was, and how good it would feel when he was inside her, and then swirled two fingers over just the right spot. Heat slammed up her spine. He nipped and sucked at her neck, and the small pain sent her the rest of the way over.

  Her hips rocked up, and she moaned his name and came in a starburst of fire and light. He stayed with her until she went limp, and then picked her up and carried her to the bedroom. Dragging down the comforter, he laid her stomach-down on the mattress and reached for a condom.

  “You okay?”

  She nodded against the sheets, still trying to catch her breath. “Oh yeah.”

  “Good.” He urged her up so he could slide a pillow under her hips. Work-roughened fingertips stroked her buttocks. “Here’s some more.”

  He slid inside her, and they both groaned. Then he kissed her between her shoulder blades and began to move, and she gave herself up to the hot, wild pleasure of it.

  Chico stroking into her, hard and firm. Pinching her nipples into points. The catch of his breath as he went deeper. Placing her hand over her clit and commanding her to stroke herself. “For me.”

  And finally, his helpless growl as she came a second time, pulsing around him. He thrust deep and held still as she cried out and shuddered beneath him, and then followed her over the edge.

  For a few seconds, he stayed where he was, bowed over her, breathing hard. Then he rolled onto his side and drew her into his arms. They lay there, curled around each other, smelling of sex and sweat.

  Chico brushed his lips over her temple and sat up. “I have to go,” he said as he left the bed to gather his clothes.

  “Now?” She glanced at her clock radio. “But it’s only nine o’clock.”

  “Yeah.” He gave her an apologetic smile. “I’m on duty tonight.”

  “Oh.” She swallowed her disappointment and padded into the bathroom to clean up. The man couldn’t stay every night. He had a life, after all.

  When she came out of the bathroom, Chico was in the living room. She was pulling her sweater over her head when he asked what she was doing on Valentine’s Day.

  She stilled and then poked her head through the neck hole. “I don’t know. Why?”

  He sat on the couch to put on his socks. “There’s this ball.”

  “A ball? Like the kind where you dance?”

  “Well, that’s what the fae call it. The Valentine’s Day Ball.”

  Her mouth dropped open. “You’re asking me to a fae ball?”

  “I told you my alpha is mated to the sun fae queen—and her people love any excuse for a party. The whole clan is going, and we’re allowed to bring anyone we want.” He pulled on his boots and came to his feet. “So, you in?”

  “Hell, yeah.” Her smile split her face. “I’d love to.”

  “Good. My parents want to meet you.”

  “Oh.” She swallowed. “They do?”

  Surprise changed to a cautious excitement. In her six months with Ryan, she’d only met his parents once—and that had been a brief conversation at a big party. She wasn’t even sure they’d known she was Ryan’s date. And she knew Chico well enough by now to know that for him to introduce her to his parents was a big deal.

  “Yeah.” He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

  “They don’t mind that I’m a human?”

  He hesitated and then shrugged. “Maybe a little. But they’re open-minded—if I’m happy, so are they.”

  She nodded. “Fair enough. My dad probably would’ve said the same thing.”

  “We’re set, then. Just tell me when you want to leave—it will go all night. Dinner, dancing. Fireworks sometime after midnight.”

  “Wow. Just wow.”

  She rubbed her forehead as realization set in. Jenny Erdrich was going to a freaking fae ball. Take that Ryan-the-dickhead.

  Until it occurred to her that the only nice dress she owned was an seven-year-old prom dress.

  “What should I wear?” she asked.

  “I don’t know.” Chico rolled a shoulder. “Something dressy.”

  She cast her gaze heavenwards. “You’re such a man.”

  His lips twitched. “Guilty.”

  “What will the other women be wearing?”

  “Dressy, like I said.” He waved a hand. “Sparkly. The sun fae love sparkly things.”

  “Sparkly? Long or short?”

  “That’s up to you.” At her expression, he raised a hand, palm out. “Honest. Most of the women will have on short dresses. That’s how the sun fae dress. Their metabolisms run hot—it’s always summer for them. And river fada don’t feel the cold like humans do.”

  “No shit? That would be nice.”

  He looped his arms around her loosely. “It doesn’t matter what you wear. You’ll be the most beautiful woman there.”

  “In a group of sun fae?” The sun fae were famous for their beauty, and even fada tended to be better-looking than the average human.

  He touched his forehead to hers. “You’re the only one I’ll see.”

  Her heart lurched—and landed at his feet. She gave a hard swallow. “Good answer.”

  “I mean it, Jenny. You know that, right?”

  She nodded, still taking in the fact that she wasn’t just falling for Chico, she was head-over-heels in love with the man.

  Her lungs constricted.

  Hell. Way to complicate things, Jenn.

  But he invited you to a fae ball, and he wants you to meet his parents, her more hopeful side pointed out.

  So? He’s a fada and you’re a human. How many fada-human couples do you know?

  She briefly closed her eyes. Because the answer was zero.

  Chico’s nostrils flared. Afraid he’d scent something different, she released him. “I’ll get your coat.”

  She opened the door and took it from the hook. For a few seconds, she stood there, clutching the soft, worn leather. It smelled faintly of him. For the rest of her life, when she smelled leather, she’d think of him.

  She turned to see him waiting, hands in his back pockets, brows drawn together.

  “Here you go.” She pasted on a smile and handed it to him.

  He hooked a hand around her nape and drew her closer. “I hate like hell to go. But I’m on duty in a couple of hours.”

  “It’s okay. I have a couple of bracelets to knock out tonight anyway.” She lifted onto her toes to kiss him. “See you tomorrow?”

  “I’ll be working nights for the next couple of days. But I’ll bring some pizza over on Tuesday evening, okay?”

  “Perfect. Any time after six. I’ll be at Sarah’s studio before that.” Tuesday was one of the afternoons she apprenticed with the master jeweler.

  She drew a breath—and took a chance. Because it wasn’t her style to hide her feelings. “I’ll miss you.”

  His eyes warmed. “I’ll miss you, too.” And with a last, intimate caress of her nape, he was out the door.

  14

  “That’s it.” Kym set her hands on the hips of her flamingo-pink pants. “That’s The Dress.”

  “You think?”

  Jenny frowned at herself in the dressing room mirror of the funky little Fells Point boutique. It was Monday evening, and Kym had offered to take Jenny shopping in Baltimore for the Valentine’s Ball.

  “Yes,” Kym said with an emphatic nod that set her green-tipped curls bouncing.

  Taking Jenny by the shoulders, she pointed her directly at the mirror. The dress was two-toned,with a burnt-orange velvet bodice and a long, high-waisted skirt in a pale gold silk charmeuse that flowed like liquid sunlight over her body.

  “You look freaking gorgeous. The man won’t know what hit him.”

  “I don’t know. It costs more than I make in a week.”

  “But your stepmom sent you that check.”

  “True.” Jenny chewed her lower lip.

  Tamara had sent the check late last week. Jenny had banked most of the money, and with the rest, she planned to buy a dozen semi-precious stones so she could start making more expensive, upscale pieces. But this was a fae ball, and she was going with her dream man.

  And Kym was right. The dress was gorgeous, and even Jenny could tell it made her look sexy.

  She made up her mind. “I’ll take it.”

  Kym grinned at her in the mirror. “It’s kind of like Cinderella—you going to a ball.”

  “I just hope I don’t turn into a pumpkin.”

  The petite blonde rolled her eyes. “That only happens in fairy tales.”

  “Or if you piss off a fae.” Jenny turned her back. “Help me out of this?”

  “Stop worrying,” Kym said as she obliged. “You’re going to have an amazing time. I mean a fae ball—how lit is that?”

  Jenny stepped out of the dress—and chuckled. “I know, right?”

  Kym gave her the thumbs up. “I’ll meet you up front—I’m going to try on that blue slip-thingy I saw. I need something for that Blue Valentine party.”

  Alone in the dressing room, Jenny hung the dress on its hanger and reached for her clothes. As she put on her coat, she glimpsed herself in the mirror. Navy pea coat, black leggings, her hair in its usual braid, her only makeup a dab of mascara.

 

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