Tempting the Dryad

by Rebecca Rivard

  “She is,” Tiago said, not caring that he was being unreasonable. The beast refused to allow Alesia to go to anyone else, even if he couldn’t have her himself. “But that doesn’t mean she wants you sniffing around her. She’s a solitary and on top of that, she’s afraid of fada. It took months before she’d really talk to me. If Dion wants to know how she is, he can damn well ask me. I’ll make sure he knows that. Stay away from her from now on. Got it?”

  He was the dominant among the younger males. He didn’t often pull rank on his friends, but this time he caught and held Chico’s gaze until his friend averted his eyes.

  “Sure, man. Whatever you say.”

  * * *

  After leaving Chico, Tiago continued to the base’s main entrance, passing back through the narrow underwater tunnel and into the grotto. As he hauled himself out of the water onto the stone floor, a trio of fae lights winked on, bathing the small cave in a soft green light. He slipped through a hidden door, found his shorts on a shelf where he’d stowed them and headed down the corridor into the base.

  He checked the dining hall first, but it was empty save for people cleaning up after the noon meal. He downed a cup of the strong, dark coffee that was always left on the warmer and headed for the operations room. His brother wasn’t there either, but the tenente on duty said that Dion was in his quarters.

  The door to Dion’s apartment was open but the sala, a spacious living room carved from a natural cavern, was empty. Tiago glanced around. Dion’s quarters abutted another apartment that was shared by Rosana and a couple of her friends. When their father had been alpha, the family had lived here—their parents, Nisio and Ula, and Tiago and Rosana. His three older brothers had had their own rooms in other parts of the base.

  After their parents had been lost somewhere in the Atlantic on a trip home to Europe, Dion had become alpha. He’d moved back into the family quarters to look after Tiago and Rosana. Nic and Joaquim had helped for a while, but they’d been too dominant to accept Dion as alpha for long. Within a year, they’d left to freelance as mercenaries for the fae and the occasional filthy rich human.

  Dion had done his best, but he was a warrior, not a homemaker. He’d made sure Tiago and Rosana had the basics, and that was about it. Not that Tiago had noticed—as an eleven-year-old pup, all he’d known was that his mom and dad were gone and his family seemed to be fragmenting into pieces. He’d felt as lost as six-year-old Rosana, but he’d sucked it up, tried to act the man like his older brothers.

  In the past five years, though, Cleia had turned the apartment into a home again. The old couches had been replaced with two large, comfortable sofas flanked by end tables. The sturdy plank oak table had been polished until it shone and more chairs added so the whole family could take meals here if they chose. A rug woven of red and gold and aqua covered much of the stone floor, and wall hangings in equally cheerful colors decorated the walls. Here and there were small groupings of potted plants that could grow in the dim light preferred by the fada.

  He could hear Cleia and Dion in the bedroom along with his sister Rosana. He continued through the sala where he found the three of them lounging around the natural pool that took up most of one side of the bedroom.

  Outside, the rain was still falling, so the ceiling shafts were contributing only a small amount of illumination. More fae lights floated overhead, turning the gray cavern walls a muted green. With their dark hair and olive skin, Dion and Rosana blended into the shadows in the way of river fada, but Cleia couldn’t blend in if she tried—not with her bright hair and love of light, sunny colors. Even her golden skin seemed to shimmer.

  Tiago greeted the three of them. As he glanced at Cleia, reclined on her forearms next to Dion, he braced himself for the usual punch of lust. It came, but it was almost automatic. He frowned and took a seat at the other end of the pool by Rosana, who was wearing sweat shorts and a ribbed tank and tracing circles in the water with one long, narrow foot.

  She nudged him with her shoulder. “Where’ve you been all morning?”

  “Out with Fausto.”

  Cleia smiled at him from her place beside Dion. He suspected there were times she’d sensed the dark turn of his thoughts. He’d caught her eyeing him from time to time with a speculative expression. But she persisted in treating him like a younger brother, as if that could somehow make it true.

  “I was wondering where you were,” she said. “How are you, anyway? Seems like you’re never home anymore.”

  “I’m good. And you?” He swallowed. “And the little one?”

  She patted her abdomen. “She’s great,” was the wry reply, “but all I want to do is sleep and eat. The healers tell me it’s only for the first few months. The sleeping part, anyway.”

  “I’m sorry,” he murmured, then made himself ask, “It’s a girl, then?”

  “That’s what I think, but Dion’s sure it’s a boy. Says the do Rio men make boys, not girls.” She grinned at her mate.

  Dion was on his side beside her, his head propped in his hand. He just smiled, looking remarkably like a cat who’d swallowed the cream, and placed a proprietary hand over her still flat belly.

  “It’s too early to tell. Ask me in another month or so—I should be able to scent his gender then.”

  “Excuse me.” Rosana gave a dramatic toss of long black hair. “Am I not a do Rio?”

  “Of course,” Dion replied. “But you’re the only female after four males—and we thank the gods every day for you.”

  “Hmph.” She pursed her lips thoughtfully. “I think we should pick out a name. How about Rumpelstiltskin? Or Natsu Dragneel? If it’s a boy, of course.”

  With an effort, Tiago dragged his gaze from the sight of his brother’s fingers splayed across Cleia’s abdomen.

  “Natsu Dragneel.” Dion’s voice was neutral.

  “He’s a Japanese manga character.”

  “Comic books,” Tiago added. “Chico buys them for her.”

  “He eats fire. And has spiky pink hair,” Rosana said with a smirk.

  “Only if you let me name your firstborn,” Dion shot back.

  She threw back her head and laughed. “No thanks,” she said and rose to her feet. “I’d better go. I have kitchen duty for supper.”

  “I should head back to Rising Sun,” Cleia said without moving. “Olivia wants to discuss the meeting with Adric.” Lady Olivia was her cousin and the administrator of the Rising Sun clan’s affairs.

  Dion caressed her abdomen. “There’s no hurry. Rest, querida.”

  “Don’t tempt me. Olivia is waiting.”

  She made to stand, but Dion leapt up first to help her to her feet. He smoothed his hands over her shoulders, his expression so tender that Tiago glanced away. “Be back by dinner or I’ll come looking for you.”

  “Yes, my lord,” Cleia replied in tones that were anything but submissive.

  Dion shook his head at her and gathered her close for a long, open-mouthed kiss.

  Tiago turned to find Rosana at his side, her expression sympathetic. She gave him a hug. “You were upriver?”

  He hugged her back. No matter how tightly wound he was, he always had time for his sister. Their three brothers were all so much older that he and Rosana had formed a unit, raised almost as a second family by first their parents, then Dion.

  “Yeah,” he said. “I went to see Alesia.”

  Rosana nodded. She’d tried to make friends with Alesia, but apparently Alesia had been too shy to say much, and his sister had given up.

  “You have a few days off, don’t you?” Rosana asked as he draped an arm around her shoulders and they headed into the sala behind Dion and Cleia. “Want to go somewhere? We could shift to our dolphins and swim across the bay, go to one of those little towns on the Eastern Shore.”

  He shook his head. “Not this time, querida.” He loved his sister but he’d be damned if he took her along for the kind of relaxation he craved right now.

  A vision of Alesia in that damp
green dress flashed before his eyes. Maybe—

  But no. He’d made the right decision. Alesia’s friendship was too precious to risk.

  Rosana’s face fell. “Okay. Sure.”

  “Next time I have some time off, we’ll take a trip. Okay?” He gave her a squeeze and turned to find Cleia waiting to hug him.

  He froze. There she was again, treating him like a younger brother.

  For the most part, he’d learned to deal with it. The training to be a fada warrior was harsh, designed to challenge both mind and body. If you couldn’t control your animal, you were toast. Today, though, his control had been eroded to a thin edge. As Cleia enclosed him in a friendly embrace, his heart sped up and his hands came to her waist. His fingers tightened on the supple flesh he could feel beneath the thin dress. Inside, his beast came alert.

  Beside him, Dion was hugging Rosana and telling her he’d see her later.

  Tiago forced himself to release Cleia. She murmured something about having a good day and stepped back. Their eyes met and something in him contracted at the pity he saw there.

  Did she know?

  But of course, she must have some idea. He’d been her lover, after all, before she realized how young he was and sent him home. Later, when Dion had taken her prisoner in a desperate attempt to save the clan, Tiago had been the one she turned to for help in escaping. And he, afraid that Cleia would die if she was kept underground without sunlight much longer, had betrayed his own brother, giving the coordinates of his quarters to Adric so that Cleia might live.

  And then it turned out that Dion had been about to free Cleia anyway.

  So, yeah, he wanted this woman. Desperately. To see her pity lashed his soul.

  He stilled, humiliated, but Cleia was already turning away.

  “Wait,” she told Rosana. “I’ll come with you. If I can’t have the sun, I wouldn’t mind a snack before I go back to Rising Sun.”

  Rosana shot her an incredulous look. “We just ate lunch an hour ago.”

  Cleia draped her arm around Rosana’s shoulders. “Your point being?” The two of them headed down the hall, laughing.

  Dion watched them go, a little smile on his face. He slanted Tiago a sheepish look. “I—it’s the most amazing feeling. Knowing that we created a life together.”

  Tiago’s throat tightened. He was happy for his brother. He was.

  “I’ll bet,” he managed to say.

  “But you stopped by for a reason, yes? Have a seat.” Dion waved a hand toward the couches.

  “This won’t take long,” he said, remaining where he was. “Chico told me you sent him to check on the dryads. I’d like to formally request that I be the liaison to the dryads. There’s no need to send anyone else unless I’m away for more than a few weeks.”

  Dion rubbed his chin. “You’re friends with the middle one—Alesia. Can I ask when you last saw her?”

  “Today.”

  “I mean before that.”

  Tiago’s jaw set. How did his brother always manage to put him in the wrong? “A month or so ago,” he admitted. “As you know, I was in Portugal. But normally I visit every week or so.”

  “That’s what I thought. I’ll consider your request—it might be good to have a more formal liaison between Rock Run and the dryads—but I’d still like the sentries to keep an eye on them. I can’t have a repeat of what happened with Okeanos. He nearly took over your Alesia’s island with his den. Deus knows what he’d have done to her if he’d gotten any more powerful.”

  That was true. For some reason the Greek sea fada had left Alesia alone, probably because he feared her mother, a powerful dryad. But by the time he’d kidnapped Valeria, he’d been half-feral, more animal than man. He’d wanted women for the males in his den. Sooner or later, he’d have gone after Alesia too.

  But Okeanos was dead, slain by Rui during a mate-duel over Valeria.

  And Tiago couldn’t erase the picture of Chico flirting with Alesia from his mind.

  “I can handle it,” he insisted. “Unless I’m away on a mission, Alesia and her sisters are mine.”

  It came out more forcefully than he intended, but he didn’t take it back. Dion drew a breath. Tiago knew he was a hair’s breadth away from triggering his brother’s dominance, a situation they’d both avoided up until now, but Dion needed to know how important this was to him.

  Still, he dropped his gaze, even as inside, the beast strained to get at the alpha. To challenge the alpha.

  We can take him.

  “Fine,” Dion said curtly. “But see that you report on the dryads to Rui.”

  The beast subsided, appeased. “Fair enough.”

  His brother’s next question was a surprise. “Tell me, what is Alesia to you?”

  He shrugged. “A friend.”

  Dion raised a brow. “She’s not for you,” he said bluntly. “She may be a dryad, and I’ll admit they’re not like most fae, but my mating aside, the fae only want us for one thing. Or make that two things—they’re happy to hire us to fight their little vendettas, too.”

  “Not Alesia. She thinks of me as a friend.”

  “Don’t fool yourself, irmão. We’re animals to them.”

  “Not Alesia,” he insisted.

  His brother shook his head but before he could say anything else, Rui appeared in the doorway. “Can I come in?”

  “Of course.” Dion turned to him with obvious relief. “We’re finished. Right, Tiago?”

  Rui stepped inside followed by Miguel, one of the older warriors. “It’s about the Baltimore fada,” he said. “Miguel here was in Baltimore. Something funny’s going on.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Rui nodded to Miguel. “You tell him.”

  “I was at the Full Moon last night,” Miguel told Dion. “Playing poker in the back room. I overheard a couple of earth shifters talking about this deal Adric is trying to set up with you.”

  “And?”

  Miguel scratched his buzz-cut head. A stocky man of middle height, he was like a sledge hammer in a fight, overwhelming his opponents with sheer force, making him one of the clan’s best warriors. But he preferred to leave the long-term strategizing to others. “I only overheard a little. They were in the alley when the door opened. As soon as they realized we could hear them, they shut up.”

  “What did they say?” Dion prompted. “I want to know the exact words.”

  Miguel’s black brows beetled. “She said, ‘Adric will be up at Rising Sun all the time.’ And he said, ‘When the cat’s away—’ Then the man noticed the door was open. From where I was sitting, I could see him glance over his shoulder.”

  “That was it?” Dion demanded. “You’re sure?”

  “Sim.”

  “Do you know who they were?”

  Miguel shook his head. “I couldn’t see the woman, and the alley was pitch black. All I saw was a young man with dark hair. I did notice he moved like a wolf. You know—sly, stealthy.”

  “That describes half of the Baltimore shifters,” muttered Rui.

  “I had the impression the woman was a wolf, too. But she could’ve been a cat—like I said, I didn’t get a good look at her.”

  Rui and Dion exchanged a look.

  “Sounds like Adric has some trouble,” said Dion.

  “Good,” replied Rui. “It will keep the man busy. But what about Cleia?”

  Dion fingered his chin. “I don’t see a problem. If anything, it works to our advantage. Like you said, it will keep him busy. Less time for him to cause trouble for the sun fae—or Rock Run.” He glanced at Miguel. “You did right to report this. Thank you.”

  The warrior gave a short nod and strode out of the room.

  Dion and Rui started to confer. Tiago remained where he was, listening to the debate. Rui was slightly larger with a broader face, and he kept his black hair cropped short where Dion wore his long and secured by a leather tie, but the two of them were brothers in all but blood. Rui had even been nursed by Ula do Rio w
hen his own mother died in childbirth.

  Tiago wasn’t jealous of his brother’s friendship with Rui. The two men were eighty years older than him, so in his mind they’d always been Dion-and-Rui, more father figures than anything else. But just once, he wished Dion would ask him for advice, if only about the younger members of Rock Run.

  Rui was saying that it wouldn’t hurt to send a couple of people to Baltimore, see if they could find out anything more. “I’d go myself, but Valeria’s too close to her time.” His mate was heavily pregnant with their second child.

  “Good idea,” Dion said, “but who?”

  “What about Davi?” Rui replied. “He’s itching to prove himself—”

  Tiago cleared his throat. “Excuse me.” They both looked at him, and he continued, “This thing with the earth shifters? I can help. I know Baltimore better than anyone.” Something about the city drew his beast, even though the rest of him was put off by the noise and smells and concrete.

  Dion was shaking his head even before he’d finished. “It’s out of the question.”

  Rui shifted as if he disagreed, but when it came down to it, Dion was alpha. The final call was his.

  Tiago’s jaw tightened. He was a warrior, a full-fledged member of his squad, and dominant not only to the younger people, but most of the clan. But his brother still treated him like a kid.

  “With all due respect, sir,” he said evenly, “I know Baltimore.”

  “No,” was the curt reply. “And you know why.”

  Tiago flushed. Five years ago, after Dion had taken Cleia captive, Adric had been hired by the sun fae to find her. The earth alpha had played on Tiago’s worry for her, inducing him to give the Baltimore shifters Cleia’s exact location within the base so that she could be rescued.

  To Dion, it didn’t matter that Tiago had believed Cleia was his mate. That Tiago couldn’t just stand by and do nothing as she grew weaker, cut off from the sunlight that for a sun fae was as necessary as food. As far as Dion was concerned, Tiago had not only betrayed him, he’d endangered the entire clan. Tiago had been punished, but he knew he’d gotten off lightly. Another alpha might have banished him for life—or executed him.