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  Valentine’s Victory

  Copyright © 2009 Viola Grace

  ISBN: 978-1-55487-235-0

  Cover art by Martine Jardin

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.

  Published by eXtasy Books

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  Valentine’s Victory

  Book 7 of the Sisters of Silverwood

  By

  Viola Grace

  Author’s Note

  Thank you for joining me for the last installment of the Sisters of Silverwood. The relief I feel in completing the series is only compounded by the urge to write the stories of some of the Silverwood Seedlings. Ah well. Time will tell.

  In the mean time:

  Elves do it in the woods

  Elves do it with magic

  Elves do it everywhere

  Elves do it in fantasy

  Dragons do it in the air

  Dragons do it underground

  Dragons do it with fire

  Dragons do it with ice

  Dragons do it when they want to

  Mermen do it in the water

  Mermen do it with fins

  Mermen do it until they turn blue

  And whatever else you can think of. Thanks again.

  Viola Grace

  Welcome to Silverwood.

  Chapter One

  The instant that the door opened, she called out, “Mythos, it’s your turn to make dinner.”

  “But…Val, I have made dinner the last three weeks.”

  “Then why break your record?” Valentine watched her housemate stagger in from a full day and felt a pang of sympathy. He really was exhausted, but after years of sharing space with him, she knew that the cooking helped him to unwind. A day in the Medical centre was exhausting for him, especially now with more relocations coming through every day.

  She admired the flex and shift of his muscles as he got the pans out. Then she frowned, frustrated once again by her personal inability to initiate the closeness that they both wanted.

  As he got their dinner underway, she simply stared at him and wondered what her problem could be. He had an amazing body, was an above average dancer, had rescued her from the most brutal rape she could have imagined and had opened his house to her so that she could leave her fear of men behind. It had worked very well, as well as letting him treat the wounds left by the Lios that had jumped her as a teenager. Two of them had taken her, sure that if they had her body, her powers would follow.

  Mythos and Henry, one of his closest friends, had decapitated the elves in short order. They were not to be allowed to live after their betrayal of all laws and tenants of their society. Valentine was carried back to Silverwood and immediately subjected to intense healing. Her body healed, but it took months of calming therapy before she was willing to speak.

  Mythos was her destined match. She knew it the instant that she saw him through bruised and bloody eyes. As soon as she was able, she moved out of the care of Artemis, the head of Silverwood, and in with Mythos. They had lived platonically ever since. She was sick of it.

  When the girls she had met at camp came to Silverwood with their matches, she felt a pang that surprised her. Envy. Envy and sadness. Valentine’s gift let her identify these emotions and she resolved to cure herself of the negativity. However, to do this, she needed Mythos’s help, but that could wait until after dinner. She was hungry and he was a far better cook.

  “So, Val. What were you up to all day?” His hands were a competent blur as he shifted the ingredients into the pan one by one.

  “Oh, same old same old. Working with the location and matching teams to find human women for the new arrivals.” She breathed deeply of the scents that were filling the kitchen. “The ogres are surprisingly easy to place, the dwarves are harder.”

  “Why is that?” He stirred the contents of the frying pan absently.

  “Women are more likely to fall for a taller guy. Plus, the ogres are just more pleasant. Really, it shocked the heck out of us.”

  “The ogres have been fighting for a chance to join our communities. They are eager to please.”

  “Well, the dwarves, for the most part, are not.” She took up her normal perch at the breakfast counter and smiled grimly at him. “Two of them called me human scum today. It was all I could do not to punt their little asses back through the portal.”

  “They just need a little refinement at the hands of Caro and Tara. If anyone can beat some manners into them it will be those two.” The tension that had plagued him when he came in had evaporated in a matter of minutes. With each slice, dice and sauté, Mythos relaxed.

  “Well, I hope they do it soon or we are going to have to put a no dwarf clause on the portal. I can’t imagine a woman wanting a hostile with that much attitude. I don’t care how big their dicks are.”

  “They are rather large given the height of their race.” His lips were twitching in amusement.

  “Don’t care. They are still annoying and offensive. And what is the smell that they give off?”

  “Earth, metal, sweat. It is something that most women associate with wealth. That is why they are so confident about seducing humans. It has worked so admirably in the past.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Indeed. It seems some women are not as discriminating as you and your friends.” Mythos shot her a wicked grin and put a plate in front of her.

  The combination stir fry and omelette made her drool and she dug in with enthusiasm, then mumbled around a mouthful, “Well, these dwarves are gonna get an education, I don’t care how rich they are. The second that they are eligible matches, I will know, and Lucky will help me find the ladies that suit them.”

  He snuggled next to her on another stool that put them thigh to thigh.

  The hot flash that ran through her hand nothing to do with the contact and everything to do with his scent. Since the first day that she had met him, his scent had soothed her. Lately, that soothing had turned into a rapid pulse and a distinct amount of moisture between her thighs. If her luck was holding, Mythos knew all about it and was simply ignoring it, leaving her to make the first move. The bastard.

  They finished their meal in silence and Val took care of the dishes. As she carefully soaped and rinsed each plate, she tried to get up the nerve to talk to Mythos about her hormonal rampage. It was either talk to him about it or try and do something about it. If he treated her like a patient when she tried to seduce him, she would never get the nerve up to try again.

  It was quite the quandary.

  The object of her desire was in the living room in his favourite chair, watching TV and going over the days’ medical reports. She had all the privacy she needed to decide if tonight was the night that she pounced on him.

  Pouncing seemed to be high on her agenda at this moment.

>   Tonight would be the night that she either spent with her perfect match or decided to leave Silverwood. There was no other option.

  Chapter Two

  “I can’t believe that I couldn’t do it. What is wrong with me?” Coffee with Holly was Val’s favourite way to start the day, but her anguished blurt couldn’t be stopped.

  “Oh. There is nothing wrong with you, Val. It simply wasn’t the right time. You will know when it is right.” Holly stirred her coffee as she spread her wisdom. It was decaf in deference to her pregnancy, but they still pretended that it was the fully caffeinated deal.

  “It was right. It is right. I am the defective one. I just can’t seem to make myself make the first move and he won’t.”

  “Right.” Holly knew about her traumatic arrival at Silverwood and the reason for Mythos’s refusal to start something. “You are going to come up with a plan. I have faith in you.”

  “Faith in me seducing a man that makes me want to drool every time I see him?”

  Holly grinned. “Better him than a dragon that uses an attack from above as foreplay.”

  “You may have a point there.” They giggled in companionable enjoyment. Kevik’s style of seduction was one of Holly’s favourite griping subjects.

  When the cups were emptied and their chatter was satisfied, Val bid Holly adieu and headed off to work. There were matches to be made.

  Apparently, plans had changed. The obnoxious dwarves of the night before were now locked into a sauna and regimen of bathing for the rest of the day so that their offence to the nose would be ceased. Her assistant, Alf, brought her up to speed. She would be joining Tara and Carolyn with their first day with a new batch of immigrants. Fauns. The first group of six fauns had been brought through and they were the testers to see if they could adapt to modern life and modern women.

  Not every magical race could adapt to women who made money, lived alone and made their own sexual choices. Times had changed.

  So Alf gave her an update and escorted her and the newly opened files to the war room. He briefed her on the way and, by the time they got to the war room, she was ready.

  Carolyn started the moment that she got through the door, “We have new ones today.”

  Val faked surprise and took the files from Alf. “Really?” Her assistant moved back down the hall, his squirrel-like tail swishing as he moved. He really was cute for a forest shifter.

  “Yup. Fauns. Horney little buggers, too. Well, little is not exactly the correct word for them.” Caro led the way to the reception hall. Tara and Val trailed behind her.

  A murmur of masculine voices turned into a roar of approval as the women stepped into the room. The half-man surged forward, but Tara stopped them cold. They hit an invisible wall with a resounding thud.

  It was time for Caro to step in. “Listen up you horny goats! My name is Carolyn and I can snap any of your limbs in a moment. The lady to my left is Tara, she is the one who stopped you cold. Cross either one of us and you will be in a world of pain.”

  One brave, if stupid, faun stepped up, “What will you do? Lock us in our rooms?” Their group of six broke into laughter and shared the joke.

  Tara simply tilted her head and used her telekinesis to hoist Mr. Chatty into the air by his horns. “The next time it will be your balls carrying you into the air, smartass.”

  Her talent was a beautiful thing to watch, Val couldn’t help but smile.

  Tara dropped her burden from about twelve feet above the ground and the thud as he landed butt first was satisfying. The ladies didn’t laugh though, punishment was never a time to laugh, no matter how ridiculous he had looked with his hooves flailing in the air. It was a lesson that the fauns needed to learn. Modern women were more aggressive than those of the past.

  The males helped their buddy to his feet and then turned to reassess the women on the other side of the barrier. It was a much more detailed scrutiny than they had given before. Val squirmed under the frank attention.

  “Who is this one?” It was a younger faun, not quite as forward with his interest, that asked the others about her.

  Caro looked over and smiled. “This? This one is Valentine. Her talent controls you finding your ideal mate. With her help and that of a few of the other sisters, a woman who will love you for who you are will be found, located and identified. Without her, you don’t leave Silverwood.”

  The looks Val was getting changed from speculative to eager in a heartbeat.

  Tara pitched in, “She is also here with us to help you get acclimated to the modern world. Treat her with the respect due someone who holds your future in their hands or be hauled to the ceiling by your balls.” She loved that line. It never failed to amuse her, and Val knew that Tara had done precisely what she promised at least twice. The males had come around rather quickly.

  Valentine kept her face straight as the fauns shifted uncomfortably and tried to not be too obvious about protecting their genitals. At least training the new ones gave her an opportunity to get her mind away from Mythos, for now.

  She would deal with her emotional quagmire later.

  Hours passed with the lessons on etiquette, modern cleanliness standards and contemporary food. The fauns got very excited at their first sight of spaghetti.

  When the magical men were exhausted by their lessons, not to mention the enforced bathing, the ladies sent them off to the barracks for the night. Just as they left, Val’s big problem walked in, looking as delectable as ever.

  He seemed worried and it was only then that she realized the time. Caro and Tara had called their men late in the afternoon, but Val never stayed out so it didn’t occur to her. Evening was firmly latched on to Silverwood and it was probably her explanation and demonstration of an ATM that had pushed it into night. She was late getting home for the first time ever and it was all Mythos’s fault.

  If he had just made a move to get her into bed, she wouldn’t be flailing around, trying to figure out a way to seduce him while fending off grabby fauns.

  She walked up to him and gave him a noncommittal, “Hi,” and a quick peck on the lips. While he stood there, bemused, she grabbed his hand and tugged him toward the door.

  The Reception Hall was behind them by the time he pulled his surprise together to ask, “Val, are you alright?”

  Mythos sounded concerned, but then he was always concerned and she was finally sick of it. “I am great. I just had a long day at work and no flashes for the new arrivals yet. Nothing to get concerned over.” Their ride was here.

  Tal stood near the outer door wearing his unicorn form proudly. With a soft murmur and the stroke of her hand down his velvety muzzle, he was ready for his passengers.

  Mythos lifted her to his steed’s back and joined her, his chest firm against her back and her thighs on top of his. As his legs flexed the command to Tal, the unicorn headed home. Silverwood was just large enough to need a mode of transport that was not strictly by foot. Most traveled by steed or bicycle.

  Val sighed and let herself be enveloped by the scent of man and horse, or elf and unicorn. The erection that Mythos refused to use was rubbing at the cleft between her buttocks and she almost snarled in frustration.

  Just as she was about to lash out, they were home. She slipped from Tal’s back and ran to the house. It was now or never. In a blur of motion, she ran to her room and stripped completely, right down to the skin. Now, she need only wait for Mythos’s heavier tread on the stairs to stop at her room. She didn’t have to wait long.

  Chapter Three

  “Valentine? What the hell is going on?” Mythos’s concerned voice was echoing through her door and she flung it open, facing her soon-to-be lover like a tiger attacking its prey. He was startled to say the least.

  She advanced on him and he retreated while his eyes feasted on her body from head to toe over and over. “Me? I am tired of you talking to me like an invalid. I am a woman, I have needs and, based on the erection you get whenever you see me, you have them, too.”


  His mouth opened and closed as she backed him into his bedroom. She paced forward silently and pushed him back on the bed. First, she stripped him of his shirt, then his trousers, and when they got stuck, his shoes. She should have remembered the shoes. It had slowed her own disrobing rather dramatically.

  “You know, it is very convenient that elves don’t like underwear or that could have taken a lot longer.” She crawled on top of his silent form, then rubbed her body against his like a cat. He groaned and she smiled. “We are going to make you a new memory of my body and you are not going to say a word until I am done. Then we will discuss it.” She leaned forward and nibbled on his jaw. “Nod if you agree.”

  His nod came without hesitation, and when she rubbed his cock against her cleft, so did she. Her body was wet, ready and adrenaline was pulsing through her so she settled her opening on his erection and let her body weight push him into her body.

  A few twinges of pain flickered through her and Mythos’s hands gripped her hips as if to stop her. She grabbed his hands and pulled them away, pushing herself onto him completely. Whew. That had taken some of the edge off her lust, but seeing her lover’s eyes closed and head thrown back gave her more than hormones, it gave her strength of purpose.

  She braced her hands on his belly and lifted herself almost completely off him. On the down stroke, sweat began to bead her belly. So that was what all the fuss was about. She did it again and again. Mythos groaned heavily, his hips arching against hers. Valentine rode him until sweat was flying from her and their bodies slapped together in a steady beat. Her hands gripped her breasts to keep them from bouncing and that was when he made his move. He reached two fingers between them and rocked them against her clit as their bodies came together. Her orgasm hit her hard, freezing her in place until her body completed its dance.