Once Upon A Valentine

by Emma Roman

  From the kitchen, she felt a chill breeze. The balcony door was open, and she could hear Chico in a hushed conversation with a woman.

  Two green eyes glowed up at her from the region of her ankles, and then Max’s furry head butted against her calf.

  “Stay here,” she whispered, but of course, the tomcat didn’t listen. Instead, he led the way toward the balcony.

  As she came closer, she heard Chico say, “Leave,” in a hard voice she barely recognized. “We had a contract. I fulfilled it—it’s done.”

  Jenny slid behind the open door and peered through the crack between the hinges. Her muscles locked. It was Lita—on her balcony. Her body seemed to somehow blend into the shadows, but her pale face gleamed as if from a faint inner light.

  “The contract,” the night fae said to Chico. “Yes.” A glowing sheet of paper appeared in her long-fingered hand. “I added a line that binds you to me for a year and a day.”

  He growled. “I never signed that. You can add whatever you fucking want, but it’s not binding if I don’t sign.”

  “But you will.”

  Chico said something, but Jenny didn’t hear it. The oily gloom was sucking at her again. Images rose from its surface like nightmare apparitions: Chico on his knees before Lita with his mouth on her sex, pleasuring her. Lita with her arms and legs bound to a big black bed, smiling as Chico crawled on top of her. Chico and Lita… Lita and Chico…

  Jenny’s heart went cold in her chest.

  No…

  Jenny didn’t realize she’d spoken until Lita’s pale eyes swiveled to her hiding place behind the door.

  “He’s mine, human. What can you give him that I can’t?”

  Jenny swallowed. What could she give him?

  But the pendant on her chest warmed. She hadn’t even realized she was still wearing it, but now the heat reminded her of the connection she’d felt with Chico earlier.

  “No, Jenny,” Chico said hoarsely. “Get out of here. You can’t fight her.”

  No? From somewhere deep inside, her spirit animal curled its lip. That’s what she wants you to think.

  Jenny hesitated.

  “Run,” Chico urged her. “She doesn’t want you—she wants me. Please, Jenny.”

  Jenny was tempted. Lord, she was tempted. Lita was a dark, malicious fae. Fight her, and Jenny was either going to die—or wish she were dead.

  She touched her dolphin pendant, Grandma Lou’s words echoing in her head. “Your spirit animal will appear when you need it most. You just have to trust its guidance.”

  And her spirit animal was telling her to fight for Chico.

  She lifted her chin and stepped around the door, hands balled at her side. “I know one thing,” she told Lita. “I would never hurt him. Now what the hell are you doing on my balcony?”

  The night fae’s eyes narrowed, and Jenny gasped as the darkness rolled over her like a thick black tar, filling her eyes and nose and mouth until she couldn’t see or breathe. She was sinking in it…

  “Maybe he likes to be hurt,” Lita murmured. Through the murk, Jenny saw her sidle up to Chico and curve a hand around his nape. “Come.”

  He looked at Jenny, his face stiff with regret. “I’m sorry, querida.”

  Jenny realized he’d seen at least some of what she’d seen. So it was true—he’d been Lita’s lover. Her stomach sank and a bitter taste filled her mouth.

  Mocking voices rose from the darkness: Stupid girl. Weak human. Dull. Boring. Not good enough.

  “Stop it!” She clamped her hands over her ears and shook her head from side to side.

  She focused on Chico earlier when they’d made love. Telling her he loved her. Claiming her.

  He’d meant every word. She’d known it then, and she knew it now.

  She released her ears and dragged in a breath. The pendant grew warmer. She instinctively fisted her hand on it, and let her love for Chico bloom. Fight for him.

  The warmth filled her heart and spread out, and to her astonishment, the blackness receded and curled back in on itself until only Lita was still shadowed by it.

  Jenny lifted her chin another notch and returned the night fae’s scornful gaze. “I can give him one thing you never can.”

  The other woman’s lip curled. “And what’s that?”

  “Love.”

  Chico had never been so afraid for someone in his life as when Lita mentioned his “little human.”

  He’d refused to look at where he knew Jenny lurked on the other side of the door. “What do you mean?” he’d asked through stiff lips.

  Lita’s gaze had sharpened. He’d felt her sucking up his intense fear for Jenny—feeding on it. The witch was enjoying every moment of his terror.

  Lita spoke again. “Come with me, and I promise not to feed from her.”

  Then Jenny stepped out from behind the door, and his stomach lurched. Because Lita was already feeding on her. Slapping at Jenny with past images of him and Lita.

  Chico swallowed. Bile rose in his throat. He’d done his best to forget his time with Lita. It made him sick and ashamed to recall it, but this was ten times worse. To know that Jenny was seeing what had happened. Yes, Lita was twisting things to make it seem even worse, but there was enough truth that he felt humiliated to his very core.

  The blood roared in his ears as wave after wave of darkness swept over him.

  Then Lita threatened Jenny, and suddenly, he was very calm.

  That was Lita’s fatal error. Threaten him, and he might have let her go, but threaten Jenny, and suddenly it wasn’t hard at all to attack her.

  His “little human” was so scared she was trembling, and yet she squared her shoulders and stood up to Lita. “I can give him one thing you never can—love.”

  Lita flinched—and Chico lunged, the knife aimed at the sweet spot below her ribs where he could slip the blade in and up to puncture her heart.

  At the last instant, she saw him coming and twisted away with impossible speed, but Chico had a fada’s reflexes, and he’d trained as a warrior from the time he was a pup. He moved with her—not fast enough to puncture her heart, but the blade slashed her abdomen.

  Lita screamed in agony and fell to her knees on the balcony.

  Chico had been sliced by iron once himself. You never forgot the pain—it burned through you like acid until you wished you were dead. Only a healer’s magic could counteract it. If there was no healer nearby, you had to suffer for days until it worked its way through your system.

  Lita clutched the wound. Blood seeped between her fingers. But it was to Jenny that she spoke. “Damn you, human. How…did you…do that? Block me…like that?”

  Jenny looked like she was going into shock. She was visibly shaking now, her eyes wide and dark. She wrapped her arms around herself and said, “I don’t know,” in a barely audible voice.

  Chico gave her a hard hug. He ached to comfort her further, but even injured, Lita was dangerous. In fact, the night fae might try to suck Jenny’s energy to heal herself.

  He gave Jenny a little push in the direction of the kitchen. “Get inside where it’s safe.”

  She paused in the doorway to cast a last look down at where the injured woman was curled into a ball against the railing, panting softly. “Should I call 911?”

  “Not for a fae—there’s nothing they can do for her. I’ll get word to Rock Run—” Chico swung around as a large man swung over the railing and dropped lightly onto the balcony next to Lita.

  “Go,” Chico snapped at Jenny as he leapt between her and the intruder.

  But the man ignored them to kneel beside the injured night fae. “Lita.” He gathered her into his arms. “What have you done?”

  Her lips twisted. “You…were right.”

  Their eyes met, and something passed between the two that made Chico wonder why the hell Lita was even bothering with him. But then, knowing Lita, she was feeding on the distress she was causing her newest lover. She’d tried to make Chico jealous as well.r />
  The man rose to his feet with Lita in his arms. He had a broad face and catlike golden eyes, and if that wasn’t enough of a clue, the crystal hanging from a cord around his neck marked him as an earth fada, one of the land-based shifters that were a water fada’s natural enemy.

  His upper lip peeled back to reveal a single sharp incisor. “You’re dead.”

  “Like hell,” Chico growled back. “She came into my territory and messed with me and my woman. You try anything, and my clan will hunt you down like a dog.”

  Before the earth fada could reply, Lita touched his arm. “Leave it be,” she rasped. “Just…get me…to a healer.”

  His throat worked. “Of course, love.” He brushed past Chico and strode inside.

  Chico followed them. Jenny hurried alongside, turning on lights in the kitchen and living room.

  When they reached the front door, Chico grabbed the man’s arm. Lita’s eyes were closed, her body shuddering with pain.

  Chico pressed the knife to her uninjured side. “I want your promise,” he said against her ear, “that you’ll never come near me and mine again. Or I swear, I’ll carve out your liver and feed it to the sharks.”

  The earth fada went taut, but Lita whispered, “Fine. You have…my word. Your…Jenny seems to…have some kind of natural protection from me anyway.”

  “Swear it,” Chico said in a hard voice. “I want the words. And no tricks, or you’re dead.”

  She moistened her lips. “I swear, I’ll…never come near you or yours again.”

  He gave a curt nod and stepped back.

  The earth fada’s eyes sparked a furious gold. “Can we go now?”

  “Sure.” Chico pulled opened the door. “Be my fucking guest.”

  Just to be sure, he followed them downstairs and watched as they got into a silver limo and drove off before he returned to the apartment and bolted the door.

  Jenny was standing in the center of the living room, Max at her feet, her hair a wild black tangle around her shoulders. She looked like she’d been to hell and back. Her breath was jerking in and out, her face was pale with distress, and her bathrobe had slipped off one shoulder.

  Chico’s entire body constricted. He’d almost lost her. The knowledge was a gut-punch to his system. Even if Lita hadn’t killed Jenny, she could’ve driven her fucking crazy.

  With a muttered curse, he enfolded her in his arms and rocked her back and forth, crooning endearments in Portuguese and English. “My love. Minha querida. Tell me you’re okay…tell me that witch didn’t hurt you.”

  Her fingers dug into his waist. “I’m okay,” she said against his chest. “Just shook up, is all. What the hell was that all about, anyway?”

  Chico briefly closed his eyes. “I was her lover,” he admitted. “That much was true—but I swear to you it was over almost a year ago. I don’t know why the fuck she came looking for me after all this time unless it was just to cause trouble.”

  He felt Jenny shake her head. “She came to the coffee shop.”

  “What?” Shock rippled through him. He reared back so he could see her face. “Why the hell didn’t you tell me?”

  She moved a shoulder. “I didn’t know she was anything to you. And to be honest, I just wanted to forget her. She made me feel—dirty.”

  “Hell.” He hugged her to him. “If I’d have known, I’d have taken you back to the base. No one can get through our wards. I’m sorry, Jenny. So sorry.”

  She twisted her head to look at him. “For what?”

  “For bringing this on you—for not doing a better job of protecting you. A fucking night fae. She could’ve killed you, or driven you crazy with her nightmares.” Shame flooded him. “And I couldn’t bring myself to stab her—not until she threatened you. I was too damn weak.”

  Just like he’d been those six months with Lita.

  “Chico.” She touched his cheek. “You’re not weak. How can you say that? You were just assessing the situation like any intelligent person would. You know she was just working her mind games on you.”

  He nodded slowly. Jenny was right. But the insidious thing about a night fae’s dark magic was that they made you believe the worst about yourself.

  “When it came time to act,” she continued, “you saved us both.”

  He shook his head. “I’m not so sure who saved who. You were fucking awesome. I can’t believe you stood up to her—a night fae.”

  “I didn’t have a choice,” she said simply.

  He expelled a breath. He had the feeling he was going to have nightmares—the natural kind—about Jenny confronting Lita for a long time.

  “Well, she’s gone,” he said. “And that promise to leave me and mine alone should protect us even if she does come back. But just to be sure, I’m moving you and Max into the base first thing in the morning.”

  “The base? Rock Run?”

  He scented surprise, a touch of fear—and joy. They’d work on the fear. The joy was the important thing. It gave him the courage to ask, “Did you mean it? That you love me?”

  Her throat worked. “You know I do. Didn’t I tell you? I thought you said we were mates.”

  “Yeah, but I’m not sure you understand what that means. You’re mine—forever. You’ll never have another lover. You won’t even want another man to touch you.”

  She snorted. “Hey, I’m not the one with all the lovers. One is plenty, thank you very much.”

  Love flooded him. Love, and gratitude. Some of it was his, and some of it was hers, twined in a beautiful braid that could stretch and grow—but never be broken.

  “One is more than enough,” he said, “when it’s you.” He cupped her face and kissed her. The mate bond strengthened, and he felt her smile deep inside, where his heart was.

  She set her hands on his shoulders and grinned up at him. “I just have one question.”

  “Anything.” He touched his nose to hers.

  “Does this mean I get to see your dolphin?”

  He blinked—and then laughed aloud. “Yeah. It means you get to see my dolphin.”

  And on the first warm day of spring he took Jenny to the river and shifted to his river dolphin for her—and when he came out of the water, he laid her down on a blanket in the grass and made love to her under the trees.

  When they were finished, they lay curled up together on the blanket, him playing with her hair and thinking how different things were from last spring. Jenny and Max had moved into Rock Run with him in a larger apartment. The cat had adjusted to life underground with ease, although they made sure he got outside every day or so, and now totally dominated their corner of the base.

  With Chico’s support, Jenny had quit her other jobs and worked full time at her jewelry now. The sun fae were snapping up her stuff as fast as she could make it, and she’d just received a commission from a big department store in New York City.

  Lita was back on tour after rumors of a mysterious illness. Chico had discussed what had happened with Dion and Cleia, and they’d both agreed that the promise Chico had extracted from the night fae should keep him and Jenny safe.

  And if not, Dion had assured Chico he’d sent Lita a direct message as well, which meant she’d probably been threatened by a Rock Run squad. The alpha didn’t mess around when it came to the safety of his people.

  As for Jenny’s apparent immunity to Lita’s ability to suck energy from a living thing, Cleia was certain it had to do with the dolphin pendant, speculating that it had acted as a ward. For her part, Jenny was convinced it was her dad’s spirit, guarding her even after his death, and Chico wasn’t about to argue with that.

  Now Jenny rose onto an elbow and traced a finger over his tattoo. “Your dolphin is beautiful. Dark gray and sleek, and you move through the water like a dancer. I wish I could shift like you.”

  He toyed with a lock of her hair. “When it’s warmer, I’ll take you for a ride.”

  “Yeah? Awesome.” She rolled onto her back and placed an arm under her head.
“Have I told you I love you today?”

  His heart squeezed. “Yeah, but I like hearing it. Amo-te. Love you, too.”

  Her hand crept into his. “I wish my dad could’ve met you.”

  “Me too.” He folded his fingers around hers.

  And they lay there together, watching the new green leaves flutter against the blue sky.

  The End

  THE FADA SHAPESHIFTER SERIES

  Prepare to be ensnared…

  The fada.

  Shapeshifters created during Dionysus’s infamous bacchanals from a mix of fae, human and animal genes.

  They’re ruthless, untamed—and impossible to resist.

  The Rock Run River Fada (a clan of river-based shifters)

  Stealing Ula: A Fada Shapeshifter Prequel (Book 0.5—Nisio and Ula’s story)

  Seducing the Sun Fae: A Fada Novel, Book 1 (Dion and Cleia’s story)

  Claiming Valeria: A Fada Novel, Book 2 (Rui and Valeria’s story)

  Tempting the Dryad: A Fada Novel, Book 3 (Tiago and Alesia’s story)

  Fada Shapeshifter Short Reads

  Lir’s Lady: A Fada Shapeshifter Story (Book 3.5—Lir and Isleen’s story)

  Valentine Kisses: A Fada Shapeshifter Story (Book 3.6—Chico and Jenny’s story)

  The Baltimore Earth Fada (a clan of land-based shifters)

  Books 4–6

  Coming soon—Jace, Marjani and Adric’s stories!

  THE BLOOD COURTESANS SERIES

  Ensnared: A Vampire Blood Courtesans Romance

  A dark, sexy vampire wants me—bad.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

  Check out Rebecca Rivard’s steamy vampire novella set in Michelle Fox’s Blood Courtesans world.

  For more information, visit rebeccarivard.com

  To stay informed and be eligible for special giveaways and sneak peeks of upcoming novels, sign up for my newsletter: http://eepurl.com/8hWFH

  12. Heart of a Hero

  Witches of Whitewood Book 3 - Moonbound World