Jane swiped a hand over her mouth, then moved to the opposite side of the porch, where it didn’t smell like her puke. She scooped up some fresh snow, pressed it into her mouth, let it melt, then spit it out. It helped wash the taste out somewhat, but her stomach still churned. She leaned heavily against the railing, breathing the cold air in deep, cleansing gulps. The fresh smells of the woods started to clear the stench of ruptured, burnt guts from her nostrils.
A moment later she felt a gentle hand on her back.
“Here,” Dom said.
She glanced down where his arm had wrapped around her. He held a wrapped, red and white mint in the palm of his hand.
“Nick thought you might need this,” he said.
She snorted. “Thanks.” She leaned the shotgun—which she was surprised to realize she was still clutching—against the porch railing and pealed open the wrapper, popping the mint into her mouth. Its bright flavor helped settle her stomach as much as the fresh air.
“Can I ask you something?” Dom said, pulling her back into his arms, her back to his front.
She went willingly, wrapping her arms around his. “What?”
“Why the hell does my brother have mints in his pockets? He just scowled at me when I asked.”
That made her laugh. “He got into the habit when Tiana had morning sickness. He’d grab handfuls from the bowl we keep next to the cash register to take home to her. Mints, actually most hard candies, can help with settling your stomach.”
“I didn’t know that. But Tiana gave birth five months ago. Why does he still have mints in his pockets?”
“Personally, I think he started eating them with Tiana and now he’s addicted.”
Dom chuckled and hugged her closer.
“Not happy at all about you hearing me throw up,” she said after a minute. “Usually like to save that kind of thing for at least the fifth date.”
“Are you okay now?”
“Yeah, yeah. I’m fine. Just need to…” She waved a hand in the air, not sure what she needed except for a little bit more fresh air. “I’ll have to let Joe Sanchez know the silver buckshot works well.”
Before Dom could respond, two men came charging out of the woods. Jane snatched up her gun and swung it to face the men, realizing too late that she needed to reload before the thing would be useful.
Dom reached around her and gently edged the shotgun muzzle down. “That’s Gabriel and Adam Walsh.”
“Ah. More werewolves.” She kept her gun lowered but she didn’t loosen her hold.
“Is everyone all right?” Adam said as the two men stepped onto the porch.
“Dandy,” Jane said. “Except the bastard inside who is chum now.”
Adam frowned past her at Dom.
“She shot Frank,” he told the two newcomers. “Twice. Silver. It’s…messy.”
“Both cartridges hit him?” she asked. “Wasn’t sure.”
“One would have been enough,” Dom said.
His arms around her waist tightened, a soothing support that she’d be embarrassed to admit she needed right then. Her knees were still trembling from the shock of having exploded a living thing.
The two newcomers went inside where Jane assumed Nick was waiting. She stayed on the porch, because there was no way in hell she’d be able to face the carnage in the cabin. Carnage she’d caused. Saving Dom.
That thought had her leaning back into him again, cradling his arms.
“I’m so glad you aren’t hurt,” she murmured. “You aren’t are you?”
“Nothing that hasn’t healed already.”
“How about all that…stuff you stopped from hitting me when that asshole…” She waved a hand vaguely in the air, not quite able to say it.
“Cleaned off when I shifted back to human,” he said gently.
“Huh. Good to be a shifter.”
He snorted a half-laugh. “I almost had a heart attack when I saw Frank start toward you.”
“Seeing your blood outside your motel room took a few years off my life.”
“You came to save me. My hero.” He tightened his hold.
His comment made her blink, the thought settling in slowly—she’d been the hero this time. She’d come to save him. She’d been so intent on getting to him, ensuring Frank didn’t hurt him, she hadn’t really thought about what she was doing.
“Where’s Ben?” he asked, distracting her.
“With the sheriff, fixing his email.”
“Still in Eirene.” He let out a long, relieved breath. “Good.”
It made her heart tighten with all kinds of emotions—even though Dom had been the one in danger, he still thought about Ben’s safety. She’d never been with anyone who was as concerned with her son’s safety as she was herself.
Another realization that gave her pause. And something else to think about.
They stood there silently for a bit. The voices inside were quiet but intent. Sounded like some serious discussion going on, but she was too tired to eavesdrop. She’d ask Dom about it later since she was positive he could hear every word.
Slowly, as her senses settled, a new realization sank in. She glanced down at Dom’s arms—his bare arms.
She spun to face him. “You’re naked!”
He grinned. “That happens when I shift and don’t have any spare clothes to wear.”
“It’s freezing out. And you’ve been standing here naked for all this time!” She started to slip her coat off.
He stopped her. “Jane, you’ll get too cold if you do that.”
“I won’t be naked. You’re going to turn into an icicle if you don’t cover up.”
“I have a higher metabolism than you. I can take it.”
She narrowed her eyes at him, hearing the slight hesitance in his voice.
He sighed. “If I stand still too long, yes, I will start to get too cold. But I’m okay for the moment.”
“Will you be warmer as a tiger?”
“Of course. Fur coat and all.”
“Then shift. I won’t have you freezing to death after I’ve gone through all this trouble to save your sorry ass.”
His lips twitched. “Fine. If it will make you feel better.” He started to walk off the porch.
“Where are you going?” She reached for him to keep him from stepping barefoot into the snow.
“To shift. As ordered.”
“Oh no you don’t. Either here or inside, where you’re not in the middle of the snow.”
“I think you’ve seen enough tonight. You don’t need to watch me shift.” He nodded toward the cabin. “There’s a lot going on in there right now. I’ll be fine in the snow. Trust me.”
She frowned, about to argue over what she could and could not take, but he cupped her cheek, silencing her protest with the heat of his touch—warm palms despite the cold night air.
“I’ll shift as fast as I can and be right back to you. Will you be…comfortable with me while I’m in my tiger form?”
“Yes.” She shrugged. “Suspect I should start getting used to it. Seeing as how you’re moving here and all.”
He winced. “Beth Anne tell you?”
“Beth Anne knows?”
“She overheard me talking to Nick yesterday about houses in the area.”
Jane chuckled. “I bet it’s all she’s been able to do not to spill that juicy bit of gossip. But Nick’s the one who told me—I’m not sure he realized that’s what he did at the time.”
When Dom frowned, she glanced away. “I… When I hadn’t heard from you all day, I called him to see if he’d seen you. And when he said he hadn’t…” She was almost embarrassed to say this out loud, given what had actually happened to Dom. “I asked Nick if you’d left,” she said quietly. “I thought… I was afraid you’d gotten what you wanted and left town.”
“Damn it, Jane, if you don’t know better than that by now, you have been deliberately ignoring what I’ve been saying this whole time.”
He sounded both hurt and angry which made her feel even worse. But he also sounded sincere.
She sucked in a deep breath, metaphorically pulled up her big girl pants, and said, “I love you, Dom.”
He stood stock still, blinking, his mouth hanging open, and the unadulterated shock in his expression made her grin.
He closed the small space between them, pulled her into his arms and kissed her, deep and hard, with a touch of desperation and a lot of emotion. She wrapped her arms around his neck and returned his kiss with everything she had in her.
She got lost in the relief and peace of Dom’s kiss, savoring the heat of him, the taste of him mixing with the mint that had dissolved on her tongue. For a long moment, she forgot he was still naked. Until she felt his cock stirring against her hip.
She dragged her mouth from his. “Damn it, you distracted me. You need to go shift so you aren’t cold.”
“I am not even remotely cold right now,” he said, trailing his lips down her throat. “In fact, I’m the very opposite of cold.”
She shivered, not cold either. “Still…” She sounded breathy and unconvincing. That was embarrassing. Except with Dom, she didn’t really care.
Before she could say more, the voices from inside got louder and the three men stepped out onto the porch.
Dom stopped kissing her but didn’t loosen his hold when he turned to look at the werewolves. “We good here? I need to get Jane home.”
Nick glanced at him then back at the Walsh brothers. “We’re good. They’ll take care of the clean-up.”
“Least we can do,” Adam said, scowling slightly.
“Damn straight,” Jane said. “What about Eirene?”
The two wolves exchanged looks, and Nick smiled a little.
“They’re going to make sure the pack knows the townsfolk all have silver bullets now,” Nick said.
“A good supply of them,” Jane added, not quite a warning—but almost.
“Our…more difficult wolves will stay away from town from now on,” Gabriel said. “They’re going to help with the clean-up here, just so they see what silver could do to them.”
Jane glanced between the three men. “What about Siobhan’s shop? She staying around?”
Gabriel looked to Nick.
Nick shrugged and said, “On probation. If there aren’t any more problems, and we don’t have to use any more silver bullets, then the shop stays.”
“Good,” Jane said. “She’s got the cutest little baby outfit there I wanted to get for Chrissy for Christmas. Would hate to see the shop close before I got it.”
Dom’s lips twitched and he dropped a kiss on her head. Nick grinned, and somewhat to her surprise, so did Adam.
“If everything is settled then,” she said, “I need to get home and check on my boy.”
“We’ll go get what we need to clean this up,” Gabriel said, gesturing toward the cabin. To Nick, “I’ll let you know when everything is taken care of.”
Nick nodded. Then the two wolves disappeared into the trees, moving so fast Jane barely saw them leave.
“Jesus, you people are fast,” she muttered.
“Speaking of which,” Nick said. “You want me to carry you again, get you back to the truck. It’ll be better if Dom shifts to his tiger in this weather.”
“Again,” Dom said, frowning down at her.
“He had to carry me here or it would have taken too long.”
“So now both my brothers have had a chance to carry you?”
“I suppose so.” She had to press her lips together so she didn’t grin. “That bother you?”
“Hell yes. It’s my turn.” And without waiting for her to respond, he picked her up in his arms.
“Dom, you are still naked. You cannot run me through the woods like this.”
“Watch me,” he said.
And then they were running. So fast, she lost her breath. The speed blurred the trees and the slight queasiness of motion sickness rose, but as she held tight to Dom, she realized it wasn’t as bad as it had been with Mitch and Nick. Being in Dom’s arms was actually…nice. Fun. And as she snuggled closer to his heat and the yummy scent of him, she realized she could get used to this running at superfast speeds with Dom carrying her. She even let out a little laugh when he leapt over something, the move making her stomach drop like she was on a roller coaster ride.
By the time they reached the truck, she was grinning. “You know what,” she said into his ear. “I like that with you.”
“Good. I’ll be the only one carrying you from now on.”
“It turns me on when you get all jealous and possessive, you know.”
He growled, deep in his throat, and kissed her. She might have savored the kiss longer, but Nick cleared his throat, and she realized they weren’t alone.
“I’ve got some spare clothes on the back seat,” Nick said, opening the truck door so Dom could set Jane inside.
Nick slid her gun onto the floor under the seat, reminding Jane she’d forgotten all about it. That had been a dumb move. She blamed Dom’s kiss for the distraction.
Dom dressed quickly then settled into the front seat next to her, holding her to his side as Nick drove them all back to Eirene—home.