Page 32 of Surfaces
Gita did have quite an eye for fashion, though today, I more appreciated the easy access this outfit would provide Mateo. It had been far too long since I’d kissed him.
I paused in my swim toward my carriage, instinct stopping me as I watched my handmaid swish her golden tail while she carried my box of jewels carefully out to be packed up for travel. When she reached the crowd of sharks and dolphins wearing leather harnesses with crates and trunks strapped to their sides, I noticed a man swim over. A tall handsome man wearing all black, even a black shirt. A man with pink hair.
With a massive flex of my fins, I sped in their direction, Ugo muttering a curse as he and Felipe tried to keep up. I cut through the water quickly, eyes focused on the pink dolphin shifter.
I hadn’t seen Valdez yesterday. Not at all, come to think of it.
Where had the pirate disappeared to? Why hadn’t he been there supporting his fellow competitors? Why hadn’t he gone to the dinner last night? If he had, he certainly would have stolen me for a dance. The man had zero sense of propriety and oozed sexuality like it was some sort of catching disease, which in his case was true. He made me go daft in the head most of the time.
I would have noticed him swimming through the room last night, and not just because he’d have been the only man wearing a shirt, the only one with rings through his ears, but because he was impossible to ignore.
He was the dashing sort of rogue that women everywhere dream about but are secretly intimidated by. I was no different.
But now, he was setting off a different kind of internal alarm, not one that warned of impending orgasms. One that shouted that something about this scene was off, wrong.
As I got closer I spotted a dark ring around one of his eyes, a bruise. The gold ring at the corner of his lip seemed to hide a small cut. There were also some discolored trails up his muscular forearms, where his shirt sleeves had been rolled back.What the hell?What was going on? Had Valdez gotten hurt too during the arena disaster? Was that why he’d been absent yesterday? How had I not known?
Concern made my stomach tighten.
The alluring pink dolphin shifter smiled down at my maid and held out his hands to take my box of jewels—
My concern curdled into suspicion.
“Gita, wait!” I called out.
She paused, her arm already outstretched, the box of jewels hovering just above Valdez’s hand. He reached out and snagged it before I could stop him.
A dozen theories slammed into me at once. He was a pirate. Used to doing what he wanted and taking what he wanted. He’d admitted to such himself. Was he really here to compete? Or had he come for some other, more nefarious purpose? That box alone contained enough jewels to set him up for life …
Misgivings. Doubt. Skepticism. All of them plagued me.
The Kelp Forest wasn’t far. If he had a speed potion like Felipe had taken a few days ago, then he could be off and into the plants in minutes. We’d have little to no chance of finding him unless my guards had their own. Even then …
My throat grew tight.
Valdez turned on the spot. His hazel-green eyes met mine and devilish amusement lit his face. “Why good morning, Your Majesty.” He bowed, pale pink hair flopping down and up with the motion of his neck as he held the box securely in his hand. “I’m so glad to see you.”
His actions, the exact opposite of what I’d been expecting, threw me off. I slowed since he wasn’t speeding off with my jewels tucked against his chest. Of course, I didn’t spy a speed potion in his hands so dozens of servants and at least four guards nearby would hinder his getaway attempts.
When I reached him, I let myself flutter in place at his eye level. “And I, you. I wasn’t aware that your skills included playing porter.” I tried to add a smirk to hide my suspicion underneath flirtation.
Valdez’s smile widened in return. “Oh, they don’t. I’m horribly bad at it. Eel fingers, you know.” He deliberately fumbled my case, chuckling when my eyes widened and Gita gasped next to me. He was right over a very deep span of water; the dive to retrieve my jewels could be thousands of feet.
“Valdez!” I scolded when he chuckled and pulled the box back to his side.
Felipe immediately swam over and held out a hand for the jewels, which Valdez dutifully handed over, loosening the knot in my stomach.
I released a sigh of relief but didn’t let up on my glower at the pirate. My glare didn’t deter him in the least. Instead, with all the confidence of a courtier, Valdez swam over and slung his arm over my shoulders. I was reminded yet again of how small I was in comparison to him. He was quite tall, though his lazy mannerisms made him less intimidating than he could have been. “While I might not be the best at hauling boxes, I am the best at spotting those who might haul them off.” The hand over my shoulder pointed at a shark whose back was halfway loaded with trunks. “That, right there, is Bartrey Rover, part of the Shark Tooth gang. And he was planning to swim off with your gems.”
The shark stiffened, his tail went still. And then suddenly, he was off like a shot, jetting out through the water and darting over and under other dolphins and sharks in a mad dash to get away.
Felipe and Ugo hopped into action, yelling orders for the other guards and closing in on me and Valdez.
The pirate’s lazy hand on my shoulder slid down to become a hand on my hip and he pulled me against him, grinning when that displaced my hair and he got a view of one of my nipples.
“Don’t worry, Majesty. You’re safe with me.”
My lips thinned and I carefully rearranged my hair to cover myself, conscious of Valdez watching my every move. I chose my words carefully, or as carefully as I could. “This feels like a setup.”
