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SHAWN:
HIS HEART ABOUT stopped when the tiny home burst into flames with Tempest locked inside.
They’d been about ready to nab the man that had been lurking around the cabin, never realizing he poured an accelerant on the grounds until someone got a whiff of the smell. By the time they’d issued a warning, it was too late. Brock Ciregna flicked a match from his fingers.
With a roar, Shawn leapt to his feet. He was barely aware of Pax handing him one of the new fire retardant capes that he’d been carrying around ever since his own mate was burned in an attack. Barely aware of the Xeno Sapiens rushing Brock, who howled as he was taken down. Barely aware of all the other people in the camp waking and screaming in terror through the curling smoke.
All he was aware of was getting to Tempest. While he had his protective gear on, she was dressed in nothing but flimsy, flammable clothing. He barged full force toward the cabin, bursting through the front door, splintering the wood frame all around him. The flames roared in behind him with the sudden influx of oxygen. In one move, he shook out the blanket and covered her, picking her up and tucking her against his body.
The cabin had so much black smoke inside, it was impossible to see, to breathe, to think. It was their self-preservation only rolling through his limbs. The heat was cooking them alive. With the flames roaring all around, it was impossible to hear. He wouldn’t have even known if she was conscious except for the fact that she seemed to move, huddling closer against him as he ran. The burning flames licked at his cheeks and he tucked his chin. Protected underneath the blanket, Tempest raised hers and they touched foreheads, which would have been sweet if they hadn’t been running for their lives.
Once he was a safe distance away, he dropped to his knees, lifting the blanket to check her.
She sucked in clean air and wheezed, gasping as she choked black filth from her lungs. Her gorgeous face was covered in soot—probably much like his own.
“Shawn?” Her voice was barely there, instead sounding raspy and gravelly.
“Baby, are you hurt? Anywhere?”
Her shoes were hot as he worked them off her feet, checking her for burns. He ripped the blouse from her body, but she seemed fine there, too.
“He’s gonna strip her naked,” Beast said from behind him.
It made him aware of what he was doing and he tucked the blanket around her, reassured that she didn’t have raw burns on her body.
“I’m fine,” she throat-whispered. “You?”
“Fine. My gear protected me. When the flames built up around us, I tucked my face into the blanket to run out.”
Her purple fingers reached out to stroke his cheek. “You’re dirty.”
He laughed. “So are you. Can’t even see what color your body is. We’re gonna have to shower together.”
“Let’s cover up,” Jason murmured, tucking the blanket back over Tempest’s face. Shawn saw why—small, buzzing drones had arrived. The last thing they’d need was a shot of Tempest’s face instead of Leah’s.
“Here’s the hover craft,” Jason said. “Why don’t you get Leah to our hospital in Xenia to get her checked out? The rest of the team will wait here until the police arrive to take away the suspect.”
“Police?” Tempest said, her voice muffled inside the blanket. But she still sounded outraged. “He’s not dead?”
Jason fought a smile as he and Shawn met each other’s eyes. “No. He’ll be taken into custody and locked away for a very long time. You’re safe now, Leah,” he said pointedly.
They heard some mumbling under the blanket as Shawn lifted her and stepped into the hover craft. As soon as the doors were shut, he lifted the blanket from her face again. Someone tapped on the outside of the doors, and the vehicle lifted, speeding away on a pre-set route to the front gates.
“I can’t believe Beast didn’t accidentally squish the human,” Tempest snapped. “What else does he have that massive weight for? Now how am I going to explain to my friend that her husband still lives?”
“You tell her that his life is going to be much worse this way,” Shawn said. “Death would have been too easy. Now he’ll have to work in the mine fields and rock pits for the rest of his life to pay for his care in incarceration. And that’s not easy for a man who never worked a day in his life, instead living off his wife’s income.”
“Oh. That’s a very good point,” Tempest said.
His lips found hers and kissed her. She tasted smoky. And lovely. And she kissed him back so eagerly and unreserved. So like...Tempest.
“I wasn’t scared. I realize you are strong, Shawn. The strongest man I know—and that includes the Xeno Sapiens.”
“And I was beyond terrified. When I saw your cabin go up in flames around you, all I could think of was losing you.”
“I would have rejected you for being weak had our situations been reversed. Do you wish to reject me?”
“Of course not. I meant what I’ve been telling you. I love you.”
“Love means wanting to be with someone despite their weakness.”
He smiled. “Yeah. Because there are many forms of weakness and many forms of strength.”
“I have not been completely truthful with you,” she said. “I should have told you long ago that I fell in love with you.”
“I know you did. You’ve been fighting it since I died. And I’ve been waiting, my pretty. Waiting for you to fall as hard for me as I have for you.”
“So what do we do now?”
“We move in together. And we work on balancing out those orgasms.”
“I have lost track of who’s ahead.”
“Pretty sure it’s you,” he said. “You’ll have to make it up to me.”
