Tempting the Dryad by Rebecca Rivard

Author:Rebecca Rivard [Rivard, Rebecca]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Wild Hearts Press
Published: 2016-01-13T06:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Hell. Tiago listened as Alesia crashed through the trees with none of her usual grace. The sounds halted, and then everything was still, save for a lone robin scolding nearby.

He scowled and scraped his fingers through his hair.

Maybe he shouldn’t have told Alesia about his Gift. But Dion, Cleia and Marjani knew. Jorge and Benny had seemed to as well, although he didn’t know how. Maybe Okeanos had sensed it in Tiago, although five years ago, he hadn’t even known himself.

But now that it was out, word would spread, and he’d wanted Alesia to hear it first from him. He owed it to her, as both a friend and a lover.

But he should’ve given her time to absorb it. Hell, they’d only just become lovers, and then he’d dropped a fucking bombshell on her.

Man, he was an idiot. He lowered himself into the grassy nest they’d made for themselves and sat with his head in his hands.

He’d been right to tell Alesia about his Gift; in fact, he probably should’ve done it before now.

But what in the name of everything holy had induced him to let it loose on her? Because that had been all him. Sure, the beast had freaked when it saw her backing away and instinctively tried to stop her, but Tiago hadn’t even attempted to interfere. No, he’d been a willing partner. In that moment, he’d have sold his own soul to keep her with him.

Which come to think of it, was pretty much what he’d done.

He dropped onto his back to stare bleakly up at the sky. He’d never felt so alone in his life. Even after his parents had been lost at sea, he’d had his brothers and Rosana and the rest of the clan. But now his Gift was a wedge between him and the rest of the world. Even Alesia was afraid of him.

He shook his head and curled up on his side. The beast stretched and pushed beneath his skin, urging him to shift and go after their woman, but he gritted his teeth and ignored it and after a while it subsided.

He must have slept then, because when he opened his eyes again, it was pitch black. He came to his feet and gave a tentative stretch. Thanks to Cleia, he was healing even more rapidly than normal. He was still sore, but nothing he couldn’t handle.

He debated spending the night on this deserted stretch of shore, but his animal was still agitated at the loss of Alesia. It would be happier in the water, and so would he.

A few minutes later he was swimming as his river dolphin. His belly rumbled, reminding him he hadn’t eaten for hours. He sent out a series of rapid clicks to scan for food and with a few minutes had located a school of bluefish.

His hunger satisfied, he started across the top of the bay. About halfway back to Rock Run, he met up with a couple of wild bottlenose males, and after some posturing and tail-slapping, established that he was their dominant.

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