Shadow Revealed (The Enlightened Species Book Two) (29 page)

Jess and his mother would have his balls in a sling for his disappearing act, a small price to pay for hours in Innanna’s arms. He couldn’t wipe the grin off his face, couldn’t wait to take her out on the dance floor. He quickly dressed and headed below to face the female firing squad. The mutterings of the registered guests slowed his steps at the bottom of the staircase.
Eros.
Not possible., It couldn’t be the same male, could it?

Shane leaned against the wall, waiting for Jess to descend. “Eros who? Not Sicarius, right?” Gil demanded. Shane gave him a confused look and nodded. He recited an overview of the last forty-eight hours for Gil. Every word was a punch to Gil’s stomach. Innanna’s true love, her first love, had returned from the grave.
Motherfucker
. Gil headed for the bar, leaving Shane in mid-sentence. The ache in his chest was crippling. The male would be arriving any time … and so would Innanna.

Four double shots of Crown Royal did nothing to sooth the turbulence in his mind. Ignoring the two Aquatie females who had taken notice of him, he watched the door. Letting her go would kill him, but he’d just see how she interacted with her former bloodmate. He wanted her to be happy; she deserved that more than anyone he’d ever met.

Enlil and Umbrae were at the front entrance, trailed by Irsu and six hulking Hulven. Those had to be Eros’s sons. Half-listening by that point, he couldn’t remember the names Shane had called them. The difference in Umbrae on Enlil’s arm was dramatic. The female glowed. Enlil had mated. Gil wished he had known that an hour ago. They spoke to the Tellus prince who was Umbrae’s SOSC partner. Gil was glad to see Prince Hansi had recovered and reminded himself he needed to thank Hans personally for freeing them from the holding weave. Hans’ mother and fifteen sisters had surrounded the poor guy until a few minutes ago. At any other time he would have been giving the guy hell about being the only male in a royal garden of estrogen. For that matter, he’d already have had the two Aquatie females in his room naked. The group made their way into the hall. He didn’t see Eros, not that it meant the male wasn’t here, fucking shadower.

People poured in. There was a line from the chortal to the door, while others came through the open wall-to-wall French doors overlooking the yards. Easily a thousand people were gathered outside in the tropical evening air. Two different styles of music played, formal ballroom in the hall, and quick-paced new-age music out on the lawns. Long buffet tables were heaped with every kind of cuisine. He spotted Gary accepting a compliment from a guest, Miguel by his partner’s side, taking pride in his life-mate’s skills. That was what happiness looked like; he’d never understood how another person could complete someone, and now that he did … All the breath left his body when Innanna, flanked by her family, walked through the French doors.

She hadn’t let him see her dress before he’d left, saying she wanted it to be a surprise. Surprise was an understatement; struck fucking dumb was more apt. The deep purple gown complimented her violet eyes. A teasing mix of modest and revealing heated his blood to boiling. The strapless top cupped her breasts, fit and snug, and shaped her waist, hips, and thighs, flaring from her knee to float on the ground. Her height beside her father and brother indicated she wore six-inch heels underneath. She turned to answer a question from Durian, giving Gil a view of her back. Oh, sweet Fates, the dress plunged to just above the crack of her ass, detailing the perfection of her derriere. Her wings emerged while she spoke, the openness of the back of her dress ensuring that the delicate membranes would remain free from encumbrance. How did a dress like that stay on? More important … how did it come off?

Returning her gaze to the room, she looked around, her expression cautious, worried. Fuck, she must have heard of Eros’s return. He stayed at the bar, waiting for her to find him in her visual sweep. Hope filled him when their eyes met. There was trepidation in the violet depths, but there was also the love he’d seen earlier. She gave him a small smile and took a step toward him. Her father touched her arm, stopping her. Gil felt the urge to strangle the speaker. Innanna nodded to whatever her father had said and held up a one-minute finger. Adonai led her to the center of the hall. Gil slammed back another double-shot of Crown, watching father and daughter dance.

He gave the room another scan and noted that Umbrae’s brothers were popular with the ladies. Even Greycia, who was known to be highly selective in lovers, was amongst the females engaging the good-looking males. Aymee, Jerika, and Irsu were surrounding poor Sam. Lucky for him, the presence of his sister Sara and nephew Nathan buffered the girl’s tactics to make him blush. Jess descended the stairs; she wore a shimmering, opalescent- halter with a matching floor-length skirt. He’d heard tales of her mating gown, designed and made for her by hand, a thank-you gift from the female survivors this event honored. It was fitting for her to wear it, and she looked beautiful. The look on Shane’s face was pure mate admiration. The lucky bastard adored his mate as much as she adored him.

Jess’s eyes found Enlil and Umbrae, and her line of sight paused a few inches above Umbrae’s head before she smiled at her mentor. Without a word she’d inadvertently given Gil the location of the Sicarius patriarch. The bastard was probably watching Innanna with hunger, appreciation—how could he not be? Durian and Leanna joined Enlil and Umbrae. The song Innanna danced to was almost over. Within seconds, Eros appeared, standing behind Umbrae. The conversation was tense, full of insinuations and barely veiled hostility, hidden behind polite banter. Not surprised Gil pivoted his hearing toward the animated conversation. Innanna’s family had to believe Eros had deserted her, though Gil knew that didn’t matter when it came to true bloodmates; Innanna could forgive the male anything if she loved him. That was one of the amazing traits he admired about her. Hell, she’d forgiven Gil his treatment of her after Etana had been killed without batting an eye.

Didn’t hurt that the male was easily six foot six, with dark mahogany hair that hung just past his shoulders and sterling-silver eyes so light in color, they could be a mirrors. Eros’s head snapped up, taking stock of his sons, who watched the exchange closely. He gave his boys a quick shake of his head as he replied to something said to him; the movement was subtle, easily missed. Those males were ready to take on everyone to protect their father. That level of loyalty came from more than blood, it came with earned respect, confirming the portrayal Shane had depicted. He was handsome, powerful, and full of integrity; Innanna could do worse.
Said a warrior with a reputation for being incapable of taking anything seriously and for womanizing
, he thought and gave a self-derogatory snort.

The song ended and his attention returned to the dance floor. Innanna was smiling up at her father. Adonai leaned to kiss her cheek, thanking her for the dance, and then she turned that smile to Gil. Oh, great Fates, that smile could melt his heart like butter in a skillet. She took several steps in his direction and then stopped mid-stride, her head turned to where things were getting heated between Eros and Durian. Innanna’s brother had his finger pointed in Eros’ chest, all pretense of civility gone, and Eros’s sons had shadowed, which was a bad sign.
Fuck
. Innanna’s smile faded seeing the exchange, and her darting, panicked gaze along with the startled gasps of people being shoved aside by invisible hands as the shadows physically cleared a path to their father. Gil became accutely aware of the danger about to be unleashed if someone didn’t do something.

Gilgamesh closed the distance between him and Enlil while the rest of his family took position to defend Enlil and his mate. Didn’t matter that it put Gil in a conflict with Durian—Enlil was family, and Innanna was not yet his. Ironically, it also put him standing next to Eros when Innanna pushed past the bodies to stand in front of them.

Gil braced himself for the inevitable as her eyes danced between him and Eros before she turned away from both of them to face her brother face on. “Durian, enough! This is not the place or time. You will not ruin this night. Use your damn head, brother of mine.” Durian’s animosity drained away with her words, quickly replaced with shame. He mumbled an apology and withdrew, though he took position beside Adonai near enough to protect Innanna and Leanna if it came to that. They also gave Innanna the space to handle this herself. The crowd took the hint, backing away from the core members involved. Gil took a quick glance at Eros, trying to gauge the male’s expression. It wasn’t hard to read—he held Innanna’s gaze captive with stark pain and regret pooling in liquid silver. Innanna’s expression was harder to interpret. Gil only partially caught a flash of resignation, which seemed odd.

“Will you take a walk with me?” Eros’s deep voice broke the stare-a-thon they had going. Innanna pursed her lips, still giving none of her emotional barometer away. She gave a single nod in answer. Gil’s knees went weak, and he suppressed the growl bubbling through his chest. She shifted her gaze to him, her eyes pleading for his understanding. Oh, he understood just fine, too well. He gave her a shrug to show a nonchalance that he didn’t feel. Ignoring the flash of hurt in her eyes was the hardest thing he’d ever done. He headed back to the bar; taking the spot between the two Aquatie females, he ordered another double-shot of Crown. Fuck it, he had the bar tender give him a fresh, full bottle.

He kept his focus on anything except Innanna until she and Eros passed by him, headed towards the doors. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Eros offer his arm to the female Gil loved without limits. It gave him a little pleasure when Innanna shook her head.
Good for you, Darlin’. Make the bastard work for it
. He watched them disappear out of sight, strolling toward the beach. Gil drank straight from the bottle. This would be difficult enough for Innanna without being stuck in a lover’s triangle. Only one way he could think of to help her through it—remove himself from the equation with finality.

Gil put on his charm and turned to the two females. “S’ tell me, ladies, the night turnin’ out ta be what ya were wantin’?” The soothing cadence of his voice floated over them suggestively. Damn it, he didn’t want to do this.

He received the response he’d expected as the girls giggled chewing on the straws of the fruity drinks they held. They stripped him naked with their eyes giving him the answer he knew they would. Aquaties loved sex, period. Sure, they coupled to bear and raise young. When the children were grown, the couples usually went their separate ways. That was a part of their culture. Their language didn’t even possess a word for monogamy. The commitment between paired siblings was the strongest thing in their world. That wasn’t to say Aquaties were inclined to jump into bed with just anyone. Quite the opposite—they had distinguished tastes. He was just the flavor in the room these two seemed in the mood for at the moment. They didn’t need to know this wasn’t about them, or him; this was about making Innanna’s life easier.

“I donna remember seein’ the two of ya durin’ the rescues, an’ believe me, I definitely woulda remembered yer faces.” His heart wasn’t in it, but the females didn’t seem to notice.

“We weren’t part of the rescue. We aided in the rehabilitation after.” The female’s voice was musical, and normally he’d be doing everything he could to keep her talking just to hear it. Tonight we barely gave it a thought beyond a means to an end. An end that he knew would leave him bleeding inside for the rest of his life.

****

Eros couldn’t blame Innanna for refusing his arm. He would have understood if she told him to go to hell when he’d asked her to walk with him. She snatched a glass of wine off a server’s tray and drank half before they reached the relative privacy of the shoreline. Innanna slipped off her shoes, letting the straps hang delicately from her fingers. Her eyes searched his face when she tipped her head back, finishing off the wine. Now that she was here, he had no idea how to start the conversation. He’d played this reunion over and over in his mind in the last few weeks. He turned to walk the coast, figuring she would walk beside him, and spun back when he realized he was alone. Innanna hadn’t moved. She set her glass and shoes down in the sand to fold her arms across her chest.

“This is the farthest I’m going. Whatever you want to say, just say it.” Stubborn as ever, she was still the most beautiful female he’d ever laid eyes on. Their chemistry had been a cruel twist of fate.

Eros shouldn’t have grinned, but he couldn’t help it. The memory of her standing with that exact pose when she was a child, taking offense to him and Durian teasing her, flashed in his mind. She had been a pistol back then, following them everywhere, tattling on them, and crying if they left her behind. Innanna leaned over to grab her shoes and turned back toward the house. He caught her elbows, returning her gaze to his; the pain within the violet depths was his doing. She deserved an explanation, one that was long overdue.

“Innanna, wait. I didn’t return to hurt you. I hope you know that. I don’t expect you to forgive me either. I’ve made a lot of mistakes, learned my fair share of hard lessons. Many times I dreamed of having this conversation with you, yet I couldn’t bring myself to face you. I am a coward.” Eros released her elbows and dropped to the sand. If she wanted to go, that was her right. The young female he remembered would stay and hear him out, but she could have changed since then. He watched the waves, waiting for her decision, and she finally heaved a long sigh and dropped next to him.

“You returned because of Umbrae, not me. I already know that. I can even respect that. If I thought you were going to bring me out here to woo me, I never would have come.” Innanna gave him a platonic grin. That had been the problem throughout their farce of a courtship; she hadn’t loved him like a mate. When he finally admitted the truth to himself, he realized he felt the same about her. Whether they were chemically, biologically, and psychically compatible bloodmates or not, neither of them had been in any hurry to take it sexually. They moved toward a mating ceremony because destiny dictated they were supposed to be together, not because they wanted to be.