A Shifter's Bodyguard (Pale Moonlight Book 5)
Page 19
The crook of her neck tingled. He’d marked her again, as he did about once a month.
It’d been six months since he’d moved in, which had been immediately after the final attack. Malcolm still lived at the apartment, but the evening before, he’d announced that he had some loose ends to tie up and would be taking a sabbatical from the Guardians. Harrison translated “loose ends” as something to do with their sister. He’d offered to go, but Malcolm had said he’d plant his ass in an office chair if Harrison tried.
Sylva’s smile was bittersweet. She loved seeing how the twins cared for each other every day, and how Malcolm was as fiercely protective over her happiness.
“I am worried about him. We’ve never been apart.” Harrison trailed his fingers over the mating mark. Tingles spread through her body.
“He’ll be fine.” She walked her fingers over the hard muscle of his chest. “I’ll have to help keep you distracted while he’s gone.”
“If it’s anything like what you did this morning—okay.”
She giggled. Every morning was like this. And every day she marveled that this was her life. Before winter had set in, they’d had each Synod member over at one point or another, or all together. She was still pretty isolated, but nothing like before.
Demke’s mate, Erin, wanted to learn how to can and preserve. Sylva didn’t have her own harvest to work with, but Erin had sent her home with a few jars of whatever they’d worked on. Her pantry stash had a small but solid start. If Harrison would stay out of the applesauce.
Her mind went back to Malcolm’s departure. It was the only shadow over their day. Today, they were getting mated at a small ceremony in her cottage. Demke and his family and Jonathon with his were coming out, and Demke would perform the ceremony. Then Malcolm would leave and it’d be harder on Harrison than he’d admit.
“But mostly, I’ll use my connections to spy on him,” she said.
He chuckled. “Yes, ma’am. But we’ve been talking.” He tapped his forehead. “Up here.”
“It’s been working?” Pleasure rippled through her. Months ago, she wouldn’t want brothers with that close of a connection around her, but this one she actively encouraged.
He nodded. “I won’t let him go into full radio silence.”
Except that if Malcolm shut him out, Harrison wouldn’t be able to stop him. That was a worry for another day. “Everyone’s going to show up soon.”
“Then we’d better get cleaned up.” He rolled up and yanked her out of bed. She yelped, then laughed as her feet hit the cool hardwood floor.
“Remember when I used to be shy around you and not let you see me naked?”
“I remember it didn’t last long.”
She laughed and was about to suggest shower sex when movement outside the window caught her eye. “Nala!”
“I’ll warm some broth for her.”
Grabbing her robe, she swung it around her shoulders and scurried to the door. She stuffed her feet into her thick black boots and shrugged into her parka before going outside. “Nala!”
The cat padded through the snow on silent paws. Sylva detected a change in her scent. She frowned and worked over the change. Nala carried scars from the attack, but overall, she was healthy and as deadly as she’d ever been.
Harrison emerged behind her, wearing nothing but jeans. Even his feet were bare. He set the bowl of broth on the snow. Condensation wafted out of his mouth and from the bowl. “Here kitty, kitty.”
The cat ignored him and went to drink.
“Something’s off,” she said. “Not wrong, but different.”
He lifted a brow and studied Nala. “Congrats, mama.”
Her mouth fell open. “Cubs! Oh my god, we’re going to have mountain lion kittens to spoil?”
Nala hadn’t quit coming around, but she only swung close enough for a treat every month or so. She’d moved her den closer to the cottage, and between Sylva and Harrison, they kept other large predators away. And they’d resumed their nightly running routines.
They stood back and watched Nala lap up the broth. Standing next to Harrison, she wasn’t affected by the cold. He was like an oven. When Nala was done, she bumped her head against each of them and then loped off.
“Young,” Sylva sighed as she went back inside to the warmth of her house. “Can you believe it? It’ll be so fun to have them around.”
When he didn’t respond, she turned as she was shrugging out of her coat. His expression was hard to read, but she detected a mix of fear, curiosity, and hopefulness.
He stuffed his hands into his pockets. “Is that… Is that something you want?”
Having young wasn’t something she’d thought about, and it hadn’t come up in conversation in the last six months. They’d been fixing up their cottage, entertaining, and talking about when they’d officially bond.
When she’d been mated before, she’d dreaded getting pregnant. The Raymores were one of the most prolific packs she’d ever come across, and her personal nightmare was dutifully birthing and raising a kid that she’d be forced to give away like chattel.
But now? Her life was completely different and under her own control. She thought about what she wanted. “Yes. Eventually.” Nerves fluttered in her belly when she asked, “You?”
He mulled it over longer than she’d thought he’d need. “Yes. Eventually. But children terrify me.”
“Me, too.” She grinned. “So let’s worry about getting bonded first.”
“My soul is already yours.”
His sweet side didn’t surprise her anymore, but he could still melt her with his words. “And mine is yours.” She held her hand out. “Want me to show you again?”
Desire smoldered in the depths of his eyes. “All the time.”
They walked through the house that he’d made back into a home, that both of them had made theirs. Soon, Malcolm and their friends would arrive and she’d mate the love of her life.
It had all started with a dark and stormy night, and she’d made it through to this bright and sunny day.
______
Will Malcolm find his purpose in life now that his twin got his happily-ever-after? Find out in A Shifter’s Salvation.
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About the Author
Marie Johnston lives in the upper-Midwest with her husband, four kids, and a lot of cats. Deciding to trade in her lab coat for a laptop, she’s writing down all the tales she’s been making up in her head for years. An avid reader of paranormal romance, these are the stories hanging out and waiting to be told between the demands of work, home, and the endless chauffeuring that comes with children.
Also by Marie Johnston
Pale Moonlight:
Birthright (Book 1)
Ancient Ties (Book 2)
A Shifter’s Second Chance (Book 3)
A Shifter’s Claim (Book 4)
A Shifter’s Bodyguard (Book 5)
A Shifter’s Salvation (Book 6)