Jane cradled her spiked hot chocolate and studied the crowd from the edge of the huge living room. Giant windows flooded the open, two-story space with late-afternoon light. A fireplace to one side crackled with a cozy fire. Bold blue rugs covered the polished wooden floors, and the furniture was all comfortable, huge, and mostly white—a very impractical color as far as Jane was concerned.
Several separate conversation areas filled in the giant open room—a large couch, coffee table and chairs to one side, a collection of five chairs around a small round table in another part of the room, a third collection of chairs and a small couch near the fireplace. Jane would have thought that kind of set-up would remind her of a hotel lobby, yet it didn’t, instead making the room feel more intimate and comfortable. Strings of white holiday lights sparkled from a balcony railing overhead and covered every available space in the living room. Gold and silver holiday decorations and centerpieces with white candles and a combination of green and gold foliage adorned the various tables and the mantle above the fireplace.
Scattered around the room were silver platters covered with scrumptious hors d’oeuvres, provided by Nick and Lulu. And against the wall opposite the huge windows, a small bar was being manned by Tiana’s brother Ethan, who was busy mixing some tasty concoctions for everyone—including Jane’s hot chocolate laced with whiskey. Speakers set into the walls filled the area with quiet classical music that mixed with the laughter and chatter of the group. The house smelled of pine and delicious food.
Elizaveta had rented one of the largest cabins in the area—a multi-story architectural masterpiece that Jane had always wondered about. A corporation had built it just outside of Eirene about five years earlier, a year after Nick had moved to town, and the cabin had always seemed a pretty extravagant rental, given it was some distance from most of the ski resorts. Jane would have expected a place like this closer to Vail, but all the way out in Eirene…?
Looking at how comfortable Elizaveta was in the space, Jane was starting to suspect the older woman had built the cabin. Giving herself a place to stay and keep tabs on her grandson without being too obvious. Clever woman.
Jane grinned and sipped her rich drink, savoring the chocolate and whisky.
Dom joined her at the edge of the party and wrapped his arm around her waist.
She leaned into him. “So, how did you and Grace get along?”
“She said to tell you she approves.”
Jane snorted. “I’ll confirm that later.”
She glanced around and saw her best friend emerging from the kitchen, making her way to the bar. Grace had arrived in Eirene that morning, and Elizaveta had insisted she join the family gathering. Dressed in a pair of black slacks and a dark blue silk shirt, with her white blond hair done up in an elegant French twist, Grace fit right in with the rest of the Chernikov clan.
Grace caught Jane’s eye and winked, her grin huge as she nodded at Dom.
“Told you so,” Dom said, sounding a little smug.
Jane just laughed. Grace approving of Dom was the icing on the cake of Jane’s happiness, and any hint of hesitance she might have still had vanished—not that she’d have been able to change things anyway. She was well and truly in love with the man. But knowing Grace liked him was a nice bonus.
“My relatives haven’t been pestering you while I’ve been making a good impression with Grace, have they?” he asked.
“Of course not. I love your family.”
She gestured with her mug toward where Elizaveta sat on the huge couch next to Ben as Ben showed her something on his tablet. Elizaveta took the tablet from him, tried to do something, scowled and handed it back to him. Ben grinned, flicked a few things, then passed the tablet back to her.
“He’s teaching her how to play some zombie game,” Jane said. “She’s taking it very seriously.” She grinned when Elizaveta crowed in triumph and showed the tablet to Ben. Ben clapped.
“My grandmother is a very competitive person,” Dom said. “But it’s nice to see her getting along with Ben.”
Jane heard something in his voice that made her look up at him. “You were worried about that? She’s always been kind to him in the past.”
“That was before you and I were involved.”
He spoke quietly, but not so quietly she didn’t hear him. “Why’s that make things different?”
He sighed. “Tigers are…not always kind when it comes to differences.” He paused, sipping the bottle of beer he held in one hand. Finally, he said, “You know my mother killed herself?”
“I do now.”
“Nick’s never told you about our past?”
“Not that much.” She leaned into him. “You don’t have to say more if you don’t want to.”
“No. This is something you need to know if you’re going to be with me. Most tigers, aside from our family, don’t have much time for the Chernikovs. My grandmother’s powerful, but my brothers and I were marked by my mom’s suicide and my father’s…mental breakdown afterward. Because of the extinction issues, tigers take a very dim view of mental illnesses that might damage the already tight gene pool.”
She let that sink in for a long time as she watched Ben and Elizaveta play. Tiana settled next to them, holding a squirming Chrissy. Elizaveta showed them the tablet, Ben said something, and everyone smiled—including the baby.
“So,” Jane said, “in your world, Ben would be considered…what?”
“Damaged.”
The stark word made her narrow her eyes as anger built. “My baby is not damaged.”
“I know that. You know that. Other tigers…are less tolerant.”
“Anyone says something ‘less tolerant’ about my boy to me, and I’m going to kick their asses.”
“I know. I would, too. For the most part, we’ll avoid the tiger world. There’s no reason for you to have much to do with other tiger shifters outside my family. You or Ben, for that matter. But you should understand that prejudice is there in my world.”
“You have it?”
“You know better than that.”
“But you were worried about your grandmother?”
“Yes. Not because she doesn’t love Ben as he is. But because I’m her grandson. And she hasn’t been allowed to protect me from the other tigers—a deal she made to pay for her own son’s life. He… In his grief, my father killed a human—a very bad man who was beating a woman, but the circumstances didn’t change the consequences. Remember, killing a human is an automatic death sentence for a tiger shifter. Elizaveta paid a lot to ensure her youngest boy didn’t suffer that fate.”
Jane nodded, watching the older woman grin at baby Chrissy and chuck her under the chin to make her giggle. “That must have been really hard on her,” Jane murmured. “I’d have been desperate to save Ben’s life, too.”
Dom hugged her a little tighter. “Anyway, it’s all history now. But my grandmother is as protective of us as she’s allowed to be. I know she likes you.”
“But you were worried she wouldn’t want you shacking up with a human who had a damaged son.”
“Don’t ever say those words about Ben again,” he growled.
And she grinned. “Your word, not mine, and I’ve heard that horrible shit before. You were right to worry about that because if Elizaveta, or anyone else for that matter, insults my son, I will not take kindly to it.” She nodded at the group on the couch. “But I think we’re okay. You haven’t made any secret of our relationship since I arrived. She’s too smart to miss it. And yet she’s still playing with Ben.” Jane turned in Dom’s arms and looked up at him. “I suspect you underestimated your grandmother.”
Dom kissed Jane gently. “Suspect you’re right. Wouldn’t be the first time.”
She kissed him back, a quick brush of lips that set her nerves humming. Before she got caught up in it and embarrassed herself, she faced the crowd again. “So I know most everyone from the wedding. But who’s the silver fox over there talking to Alexis?”
“Silver fox?” Dom growled.
Jane didn’t try very hard to hide her smile. “Yeah, he is. Who is he?”
“He’s too old for you,” Dom said.
“Ha! That’s funny when you consider I thought I was too old for you just a week ago.”
“Right. Funny.”
“I love when you get all growly and jealous. Makes a woman feel special.”
“You are special to me.”
Her heart jumped around in a giddy little dance. “You going to tell me about him or not?” she said, still not entirely sure how to deal with this joy suffusing her. “He looks like Grace’s type,” she added, not wanting to torture Dom too much.
“That’s Alexis’ uncle. The man who raised her after her parents were killed.”
“He’s looking annoyed. Can you hear what they’re discussing with those super tiger ears of yours?”
Dom snorted. “I don’t have to. Elizaveta has been nagging Xavier to join the elders’ council.”
She tried to remember what he’d told her about them. “They’re your ruling body and you’re missing one right now?”
“A space that needs to be filled but no one can agree on who should fill the position. It takes a lot of money and cunning and…well, you have to be a crafty sonofabitch.”
“Like your grandmother?”
“Exactly,” he said.
Jane laughed. “I take it sexy Uncle Xavier doesn’t want to be an elder?”
“If you call him sexy again, I swear, Jane, I’m going to drag you to a private room and make you forget you’ve ever seen the man.”
Her stomach tightened, her nerves tingled, and she purred a little, leaning into Dom. “You realize I might say it again just to get you to follow through with that promise?”
“I love you.”
Grinning, she turned her face up for another kiss, this one a little more serious and a little less suitable for public. She eased away reluctantly. “You make me feel young,” she said. “And giddy. And sexy. And all the things I haven’t felt in forever. Thank you for that.”
“You make me grateful,” he said, very seriously.
She got lost in him for a moment, blinking when she realized they were making a scene—if anyone bothered to pay attention to them. Her cheeks heated and she faced the room again. To her amusement, Grace had insinuated herself into the conversation between Alexis and her uncle, and was making flirty eyes with sexy Uncle Xavier. Since Xavier looked pleased with Grace’s flirting, Jane grinned.
“Told you he was Grace’s type,” she said. “So why doesn’t he want to be an elder?”
“He’s a very straight shooter, like Alexis. Not much tolerance or time for all the machinations of the council. He’s rich enough and physically strong enough to be an elder. And better yet, he doesn’t have a lot of enemies.”
“But?” she asked.
“But the fact that he doesn’t suffer fools lightly makes him a terrible diplomat. And some of an elder’s job is more…diplomatic in nature.”
“So he’s not sneaky enough?”
“Exactly.”
“Maybe that’s exactly what your elders’ council needs,” she murmured, watching Grace casually touch Xavier’s arm and Xavier stand a little taller.
Dom looked down at her, a funny little frown creasing the area between his eyebrows. “That’s exactly what Elizaveta says.”
“Huh.” Jane looked back at the older woman still trying to work out the game Ben was teaching her. “Great minds, I guess,” she said.
Dom laughed. “I think I’m in trouble.”
“’Fraid so.” She resisted saying more when Alexis’ husband Victor joined her and Dom.
“Hey, Victor,” Dom said aloud, signing the greeting at the same time.
Victor signed something back, then grinned at Jane, took her free hand and kissed her knuckles.
She felt her cheeks heating. “Hello, Victor,” she said. Alexis’ husband was the epitome of the tall, dark, and sexy, even with the few strands of gray feathering through his dark hair. “Are you having fun?” she asked.
He signed something that Dom translated as, “Having a great time.”
When Victor signed something else at Dom, Dom said, “He’s doing good so far. Caught up with the new technology really fast given he’s more than eleven years behind the times. He’ll make supervisor faster than anyone who’s ever worked for me who started where he did.” To Jane, Dom said, “One of Victor’s oldest friends is working for me now. Don’t discuss it with Mitch.”
“Why not?”
“Long story. Let’s just say Joseph got on Mitch’s bad side more than a year ago and Mitch isn’t quick to forgive him.”
Victor signed something, Dom signed back. Jane frowned at them.
Dom shrugged. “It has to do with Nila. Nila has forgiven Joseph. Mitch just holds grudges.” Dom waved the topic away. “Anyway, it’s history now. Joseph has become a really valuable employee since he started working for me a few months back.”
Victor clapped Dom on the shoulder before forming the one sign in sign language Jane recognized—thank you. Then he pointed at Jane’s now-empty mug and raised his brows.
“I’d love another,” she said. “Thanks. Tell Ethan not to skimp on the whiskey.”
Victor grinned big, took Dom’s empty bottle, and went to the bar.
“So you gave Victor’s friend a job even though it pissed Mitch off?” she asked when they were alone again.
“Mitch understands. He just doesn’t want to talk about it.”
Jane smiled and bumped against Dom so he would put his arm around her again. She leaned into him, sighing at the lovely family warmth in the room. And outside of her, Ben and Grace, every person in that room was a tiger shifter. Jane still couldn’t quite believe this was her life, that beings she hadn’t even known existed were now her…well, her family.
A family she loved.
Heart thumping a little harder, she tried to affect a casual tone when she said, “So you know Mindy Jenkins, owns the antique shop?”
“Of course,” Dom said, a question in his tone.
She kept her gaze on the room. “Seems her and her husband are selling his old cabin—had it in his bachelor days, kept it out of sentiment. Mindy’s finally talked him into letting it go.”
“Really.”
Dom had gone very still next to her.
“Nice place,” Jane said. “Plenty big enough. And it’s relatively close to my house, just a short drive away. Since you were looking for a place here in town.”
“I am. Would you… You think I should buy Mindy’s cabin?”
“Well, your choice of course. It’s nice.” She paused, her heart thumping even harder as she said, “Of course, you could always move in with me.”
For a long moment, she wasn’t even sure if he was breathing. She waited until she couldn’t stand waiting any longer, then she looked up at him from beneath her lashes. He was staring straight ahead, his expression completely unreadable.
The longer she stared, the harder her pulse pounded, the more worried she got. She’d pushed too hard, too fast. He wasn’t ready for that yet. She opened her mouth to take back her offer, when he finally turned and looked down at her.
Her words clogged in her throat.
“You would really move in with me?” he asked, his voice quiet but urgent. “You’re comfortable with that?”
“I asked, didn’t I?”
“Is that all you’re ready for?”
She frowned. “What the hell are you talking about, Dom?”
He swallowed visibly, his sign of nervousness making her frown deepen.
“Jane, I love you.”
She smiled and raised her brows. “I love you, too.”
“Will you marry me?”
Her mouth dropped open. “You want…to marry me?”
He nodded. “I always have.”
“No one’s ever asked me to marry them before.”
“I’ll understand if you’re not ready yet, but—”
She put her fingers over his mouth, stopping him. “I’d love nothing more than to marry you, Dom Chernikov.”
His smile bloomed so bright it was like looking into the sun. She was blinded by it and content to have that be her last sight. He pulled her into a tight embrace, kissing her too hard and too serious for public. She didn’t really care about that, though. Joy raced through her, filling her, overflowing in waves of love like she’d never expected to feel. And a satisfaction settled into her bones, a rightness that had been missing all these years.
When he finally eased back from the kiss, she was breathing hard and wondering if they could sneak out of the room without being noticed.
Her hopes on that count were dashed in the next instant when Ben called out from the couch, “Hey Dom, did you ask my mom to marry you yet?”
Her cheeks warmed intolerably in her embarrassment. She was too surprised to even scold Ben for asking such a personal question in public.
Dom grinned and without looking away from her said, “Yes, I did. And she said yes.”
“Finally!” Elizaveta said loudly. “It’s about damned time, Dimtry. I was starting to think I’d have to arrange your love life, too.” From the corner of her eyes, Jane saw Elizaveta lean in close to Ben and say in a false whisper, “I have to do everything in this family.”
The room erupted into applause and whistles. Jane shook her head, so far past embarrassed now, she just gave in to it.
Dom chuckled. “Welcome to the family.”
She kissed him again, ignoring the whoops and catcalls. Too happy to care. For the first time in her life, she wasn’t worried about anything at all.
She knew in her heart, she’d finally made a good choice.