The Nymph King (Atlantis #3)(23)

Nor would Joachim, apparently. "I want her," the man said firmly.

Shaye's soft body pressed into the hardness of Valerian's. Her frosty scent enveloped him, fueling his own sense of determination.

"I will challenge you for her." Valerian pinned his cousin with a hard stare. "I will give you the opportunity to defeat your king." Joachim could not take the throne that way, but there was much honor in fighting the king. Even if - when! - Joachim lost, he would be lauded for participating in such a rare occurrence.

For a moment, an all-too-short flash of time, Joachim considered the offer. He even began to nod but stopped himself. He shook his head instead. "Unacceptable." Frowning, he gripped the hilt of his sword. "Last night, you had female flesh in excess, making you strong. I have been neglected for weeks. We are not on equal ground."

Valerian's jaw clenched painfully. Did his cousin hope for a night with Shaye, then a fight with the king? "You may spend the night with the three women who pleasured me. They will ensure you are strengthened. We can fight for Shaye on the morrow."

Joachim's black brows arched, and something - an unreadable emotion - brightened his blue eyes. "You said you would not claim another surface woman, yet there you stand, attempting to do just that."

"Wait." Shaye held up her hands. "Hold everything. You slept with three women at the same time, Valerian?" Had she been facing him, he felt certain she would have slapped him. "What, do you expect me to join the love train? You're disgusting! All of you are."

"Do you want them or not?" he asked Joachim, ignoring her.

Lips curling in a smile, Joachim pointed to Shaye. "I want that one. As is my right."

"She will cause you nothing but trouble." His teeth were clenched so tightly, he had trouble getting out the words.

"That's right." Shaye nodded, tufts of white hair dancing over her shoulders. "I'll stab you while you sleep. I'll cut off your balls and use them for earrings. I'll... I'll - "

Color faded from Joachim's cheeks, and he swallowed. At least her threats to Joachim were more violent, Valerian mused. She'd only wanted to cut out his eyes.

"I want her still," Joachim said, though he did not sound as confident.

His cousin would not relent. Frustrated, infuriated, Valerian gave an animalistic growl. He'd never lied to his men, never gone back on his word. His father had died when Valerian was only a boy, leaving Valerian to take over the nymph army. He'd had to prove himself worthy and capable over and over again. And he had.

"Honor them," had been his father's dying words. "Lead them. Protect them. You are ultimately responsible for their fate."

He could take Shaye, and no one could naysay him. Grumble about his lack of honor, yes, even curse him to everlasting Hades. But not naysay him.

While he had told himself he could surrender his honor to possess Shaye, he realized now that he could not. How could he expect her to fall in love - and love him she would - with a dishonorable man?

"I have said I would not claim the females brought here, and I will not," he said.

Shaye stiffened. She closed her hands over his arms, which were still wrapped around her, and dug her fingernails into his skin.

"I will not," he continued, switching to his native tongue so Shaye would not understand the rest of the conversation, "without reaching amicable terms. Allow me to buy her from you."

Once more, Joachim shook his head. "No."

Damn the man! "What can I do, cousin? The woman - " he stopped, pressed his lips together " - the woman is my mate."

Joachim's nostrils flared, and he bared his teeth. He took a menacing step forward. "She does not seem to think so. She has not accepted you as such."

"She is human. Their reactions must be different from ours."

"You would say anything to keep her."

"In this, I do not lie. If you take her, she can never love you. She will never be able to give her heart to you. In her soul, she will always belong to me." They both knew the ways of mates and nymphs. Love was love. That Shaye was human made no difference. He had to make Joachim understand. "When you take her to your bed, it will always be my face she pictures. My body she craves. Can your pride stand such a thing?"

Dark, heavy silence greeted his pronouncement. His cousin paled, his jaw clenched.

"What did you say to him?" Shaye looked from him to Joachim, Joachim to him.

Joachim's gaze narrowed on Valerian. "I must think on what you have said. Let us both stay away from her this night and discuss her ownership in the morning."

Since he'd spoken in the surface language, Shaye understood. "Ownership?" she gasped.

Stay away from her this night? Valerian's body jerked at the horror. Since the first moment he'd seen her, he'd thought only of possessing her. Denying himself would, perhaps, be the most difficult thing he'd ever done.

"I am in... agreement." At least his cousin would not be allowed to touch her, either.

"Well, I'm not in agreement." Shaye stomped her foot, determined to be acknowledged.

He tightened his hold on her, hoping to silence her. Of course, it didn't work.

"Let me save you both a lot of trouble," she said. "I don't want either of you. Now, I'm a reasonable - "