Redemption (16 page)

Adriano hid a smile but squeezed her shoulder in warning. Gabriel’s eyes lit with genuine humor, he gave Sophie a nod and then lifted his gaze to Adriano. “The stone is secure. It’s already on its way back to the city. The mercenaries are dead or scattered. The one you chased off is the alpha’s nephew so it’s just as well he got away.”

Adriano’s mouth twisted. “Your treaty’s safe then.”

Gabriel opened one of his big hands. “I know it’s not going to be a popular move but we’re out of options. We’ll swallow the treaty and accept their help, end this resistance and finally be able to move forward.”

Adriano shook his head. It wouldn’t be so simple but he didn’t care about Gabriel’s war. What he wanted was to take Sophie away from this. Before Adriano could speak, another young warrior entered and Gabriel excused himself to accept his message. With the king distracted, Sophie leaned against him, allowing him to support her. She needed rest.

“This will be over soon,
gata
.”

She didn’t answer, didn’t even look up at him. Now that the danger was over, would she push him away? More time, he needed more time to convince her to stay with him but he didn’t have it. Gabriel sent the warrior off on an errand which the man leaped to obey. Adriano shook his head. Had he ever been that young, accepted orders so eagerly?

“They caught another wolf but it was just one of the mercenaries leaving the site,” Gabriel said, pinning Adriano with a severe look. “Exactly how long were you working there?”

Adriano sighed. He’d known it was only a matter of time before Gabriel managed to put together what he’d really been doing at the site. “I should have come to you sooner.”

“Yes, you should have.” Gabriel’s voice dropped an octave and every muscle in Adriano’s body tightened.

Sophie roused herself at Gabriel’s critical tone. “Why should he have trusted you? You can’t cast someone out, then get upset when they look after their own interests.”

The anger in the king’s eyes faded to speculation when he looked at Sophie which didn’t soothe Adriano at all. “He told you that, did he?” Gabriel’s brows rose. “I’ll give you the same reason I gave him. When it came down to a choice between holding my people together and casting Adriano into the human world, I chose my people. I managed to change his sentence to exile instead of execution, which is not as easy as you might imagine. And while I never doubted his ability to survive, I also never intended for the exile to last as long as it has.
That
is my only regret.”

“But you’d do it again,” Adriano said.

“I didn’t ask anything from you I wouldn’t sacrifice myself.”

Gabriel held his gaze and the message was clear—he wanted Adriano to give up Sophie, to sacrifice his mate. Perhaps not literally. Sophie would go back to her life, safe so long as she kept her silence. And he would finally go home. Her cold hand touched his back and he looked down. Her eyes were bright, too bright. She was coated with dirt and her own blood. There were scratches all over her face and arms and she was swaying on her feet. He wanted to drag her away to a soft bed, somewhere with room service and a tub big enough for the two of them. He wanted to hold on to her until every last part of him was satisfied that she was okay. He had no right to expect her to agree to that, no matter how relieved she seemed to be that he was alive.

He tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “I never should have gotten you involved in any of this.”

She caught his hand and kissed his knuckles. “This is not your fault,” she whispered fiercely.

Softhearted Sophie. She would lie to protect him. Hopefully that meant she still cared. That she would accept his plan. He’d carried it as a secret hope, too fragile to admit even to himself. Now or never, he had to take a chance she’d say yes.

First though, he had to convince the king. He looked back at Gabriel who’d been watching them with uneasy interest. “There are other sites at risk near human habitation. Three that I can think of off the top of my head. It’s only a matter of time before they’re discovered.”

Gabriel’s eyes narrowed. He hadn’t claimed the crown by being stupid…or soft. He knew exactly what Adriano was proposing and judging by the frown on his face, he didn’t like the idea at all. “I need a warrior right now.”

“You lost him five years ago.”

Gabriel’s expression didn’t change. He just held Adriano’s gaze with a hard glare, as if he could peer right inside his head.
Let him look.
Everything Adriano had to lose was already on the line, nestled against his side trembling with exhaustion. He’d already lost his life once when he’d been cast out…twice if you counted the bullet to his head. He wasn’t letting Sophie go without a fight. And Gabriel owed him. The king knew it. The only question was whether he was going to respect that debt.

After what seemed a long time, Gabriel released a heavy sigh and lowered his gaze to Sophie. “Would you consider accompanying Adriano, in a professional capacity, to survey the ruins of our old settlements and report on the—”

“What?” Sophie jumped and then shook herself. “I mean—yes. Absolutely, yes.”

“The conditions will be difficult.” Gabriel frowned.

“I’ll manage.”

Adriano wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her up tight against his body. Half because he couldn’t resist holding her any longer, half to prevent her from leaping on the king and peppering him with kisses.

Gabriel, he could tell, already regretted the offer. He’d probably expected Sophie to bolt for home as soon as she caught her breath. After this experience, who wouldn’t? Adriano had hoped that Sophie’s passion for her work would outweigh her fear.

“You won’t be able to publish your findings,” Gabriel told her.

“Ever?”

“Not unless we decide to reveal ourselves to the human world which, at this point, is unlikely.”

Sophie hesitated, Gabriel looked hopeful and Adriano wanted badly to pull her aside, convince her of his plan. Tell her all the reasons why she should accept whatever terms Gabriel demanded. He would make sure she never regretted saying yes.
Let her say yes.

“Can I study the Bloodstone?”

Gabriel shook his head. “It’s already on its way back to the city. You can’t go there and it’s never leaving.”

“But Adriano can go back to see his family.” Her voice was harder than Adriano had ever heard it. Gabriel heard the note of steel too, because his attention fixed on her in a way that made Adriano bite back a snarl of warning.

Gabriel gave him an exasperated look. “If I allow Adriano to return to the city without you, what assurance do I have that you’ll keep your silence?”

Sophie rolled her eyes. “What assurance do you need? Do we spit on our hands and shake? Do you need a blood oath?”

Gabriel seemed to consider that for a moment before nodding once, solemnly. “A blood oath will do.”

Sophie went very still. Adriano tugged her close and dropped a kiss to the top of her head. “He’s joking.”

He hoped.

Sophie crossed her arms over her chest. “You couldn’t stop me if I really wanted to talk. We both know that. I’ll keep my mouth shut but I want Adriano to be able to go back and see his family. Whenever he wants to.”

Gabriel nodded. “He will be welcome to return at any time. And…” Some of the guarded weariness fell from his face when he smiled. “Hopefully, there will come a day when I’ll be able to welcome you to our home too.”

Then Sophie turned and Adriano’s heart broke at the vulnerability she was trying so desperately to hide. Her wide eyes searched his. “This is what you want?”

“Yes.” He bent his head to kiss her, gently. “Accept his proposition,
gata
. Let me show you my world.”

He had no sense of modesty. Her eyes followed the line of his back, his spine cutting a valley between sweat slick slopes of heavy muscle, all the way down to his fine, tight ass. He glanced over his shoulder when he reached the top of the hill and grinned when he caught her looking. He paused at the crest and stretched like a lazy feline, causing a ripple to slide down the muscles in his arm and flank. Nope, no sense of modesty. She liked that about him.

She wore an old T-shirt, shorts, thick socks with moisture wicking action and sturdy boots. No matter how many times he promised her she’d be more comfortable without them, every prudish bone in her body protested the idea of walking around naked. It was more tempting every day though. She thought of the trouble she’d had that morning, trying to kick her shorts off while her boots were still on. When she’d cursed and bent to reach for the laces, Adriano had come up behind her, grabbed her hips and slammed right inside of her. Not modest and not patient either. She eyed the bulge of his biceps when he lifted his hand to brush a damp strand of hair from her face. Turning her head, she pressed her lips to the inside of his wrist.

“Stopping already? We’ve only been hiking for an hour since the rain let up.”

His eyes searched her face. The tenderness in his smile turned her insides to mush but his eyes were bright with anticipation. He tipped her face up to claim a lingering kiss. When she raised herself on tiptoe demanding more, he pulled back.

“Look.”

“In a minute.” She slipped her hands around his neck and nipped at his lower lip. He took her wrists and slid them down his chest until they were sandwiched between their bodies and then he turned her around, wrapping his forearm just above her breasts and curling the fingers from his other hand around her hip bone to steady her when her knees threatened to buckle.

It took her a few seconds to remember how to breathe. No wonder that she’d missed it at first. Overgrown by tangled shrubs and liana. A howler monkey noisily protested the invasion when she stepped forward, letting Adriano take her hand to help her down from what had once been a stone wall.

“I can go through and check for snakes, clear out the squatters. The underground living quarters should still be intact and the temple…” He pointed and she looked up at the immense structure. How had she missed that? The carvings on the pillar nearest her caught her attention and she leaned down for a closer look. Cayman in the Chavín style.

“This is the original settlement?”

There was a soft cast to his eyes when she looked up to meet his gaze. He smiled and shrugged. “That’s what we’re here to find out.” When she didn’t say anything right away, too shocked to speak, he turned his head and started talking again quickly. If she didn’t know any better she would have thought he was nervous. “We should start over there. Clear out a spot to set up camp before the rain starts again.”

Even as he said it the first fat drops began to fall, tearing through the leaves and spattering on the rock. They stung her upturned face but she didn’t care. She’d just had the craziest thought and she needed to know right now if it was true. She caught Adriano’s arm as he started to turn. He looked down at her, eyes slicing right through her. He saw everything. How could he miss this? “Adriano…you do know why I’m here, right?”

He touched her cheek. “You’re helping us to preserve our past while we protect our secrets. Are you having second thoughts, Sophie? I’ll show you places no human has ever seen, the old roads and cities…”

“You think I followed you miles into the Amazon for this?” He didn’t need to speak. She could see her answer on his face as he foundered for a response. Her heart ached for him. She was such an idiot. Two weeks while she healed, tied up loose ends with school and made arrangements to take an extended leave. One week to visit her parents. Nine days of traveling through this jungle. She’d never realized he didn’t know. “You thought I could be bought for a pile of rocks.”

His expression hardened. “I thought you might be interested in this pile of rocks.” He took a step to move past her, his movements stiff and jerky for the first time since she’d met him. She turned with him, blocking his path and putting a hand to his chest to stop him from moving away. A muscle twitched beneath her fingertips, she pressed her lips to the spot and smiled against his damp skin when he shivered.

“I am.” He went very still and she looked up at him, meeting his wary gaze. “I want the chance to see all of that. But that’s not the reason I’m here. There’s something I wanted much more than that.”

Slowly, the hard look on his face eased until a smile teased just at the edge of his mouth. He brushed a raindrop from her cheekbone. “And what is that,
gata
?”

“
You.
I wanted you. To stay with you. To be with you.”

He hoisted her into his arms and she wrapped her legs around his waist. Now would be one of those times she could do without the layer of clothing between them. His arms tightened around her and he buried his face in the curve of her neck.

A slight tremor vibrated through his body and into hers. She could feel it even in his lips moving so softly over hers, clinging slightly as he pulled back to look at her. And she felt something unfold within her, some hot tangle of emotion that had been lodged in her chest for far too long suddenly shake itself loose.

She caught a glimpse of his smile and just before his hand cupped the back of her head, just before his lips lowered again to hers, he said, “You have me then,
gata
. Forever.”

* * *

Read the first book in Eleri Stone’s Lost City Shifters series,
Mercy
, available now: