Mark's lips compressed to a thin line, but he only nodded.
They heard more people running towards them, and shouts of "Matt! Ellie! Where are you?"
"Over here!" Elle called in reply.
A few seconds later, her oldest son Dane, came into view, tailed closely by his red-headed mate Annabeth and Mark's blonde mate Caitlyn.
Dane stopped short when he caught sight of his nearly naked mother holding two very wet youngsters, one human and one a bear cub.
Sudden relief radiated from the tall, dark-haired bear shifter.
"Oh, thank God," he said fervently, striding forward and holding his arms out for his son.
"We've been looking everywhere for them!" Annabeth panted. Her cheeks were flushed, and she looked as if she'd been crying. "They were playing ball with the other kids just outside the party tent, so I thought it would be okay to dance with Dane!"
"I went out to ask Ellie if she wanted anything to drink, and I couldn't find either of them," Caitlyn added soberly. "You don't want to know what's been going through my mind for the past twenty minutes!"
She looked at her naked mate with an inquiring tilt of her head, then surveyed Justin with his dripping clothes and bloody arms before her gaze rested on Elle, who was still holding little Ellie.
"What on earth happened here?" Caitlyn asked as she stepped forward to take her daughter. "Did the kids fall into the river?"
"Somethin' like that," Justin said. "Near as I can figure, your little girl either fell in or decided to go for a swim. Matthew saw her and went in after her." He grinned at Dane, who was cradling the bear cub in his arms. "Your kid's got real guts. All that cryin' and screamin' you heard? That was pure rage because I fished him out before he had a chance to rescue his little cousin."
"Thank goodness you and Elle were here!" Caitlyn kissed her daughter's wet hair and hugged her tight. "I can't believe we almost lost her! I didn't think she could get into much trouble with all of those other kids and guests around!"
"Children—especially toddlers—are fast and fearless and lack any self-preservation instinct. They can get into all kinds of trouble in the blink of an eye," Elle said sympathetically. "Believe me, I remember those days, and I swear that Mark was the one who gave me my first gray hairs."
"I did not," Mark argued. "That was Evan. Remember when he found those baby skunks and brought them into the house because he thought it was too cold outside?"
"In any case," Caitlyn interjected, "I think Matt here is 100% Swanson. Just three years old, and he's already trying to rescue damsels in distress."
She smiled fondly at the bear cub nestled in Dane's arms.
Dane grinned. "And I think little Elizabeth Margaret's going to keep you both on your toes."
Mark groaned. "She already does, believe me. I'm dreading her teenage years."
"Now, shoo, all of you. Go put on some dry clothes," Elle said dryly. "Especially you, Mark. The clothes don't even have to be dry. Just don't shock the wedding guests."
The bear cub wriggled in his father's hold, then began to yowl again as the shift took hold of him. A few moments later, the little boy was back, looking extremely disgruntled.
"I want Ellie!" he demanded, trying to squirm out of his father's hold.
"Not now, sweetie." Annabeth shook her head. "You can play with Ellie again as soon as we get you dried off and changed, young man."
Matthew didn't like this and demonstrated it with a howl that quickly turned into another full-force tantrum.
"Want Ellie! Want Ellie!" he screamed, as his face reddened and tears poured down his face.
"Poor kiddo. Looks like his fun-meter just pegged." Justin shook his head wryly as Dane hustled his son away, followed closely by Annabeth, Mark, and Caitlyn with Ellie.
He remembered what Cassie had been like during her Terrible Twos and Threes, and felt grateful that she was all grown-up now.
Faintly, over the sounds of Matthew's enraged screams, Justin heard Dane say proudly, "Annabeth love, look, our son managed his first shift!"
"And managed to give me a heart attack in the process!" Annabeth replied, sounding more frustrated than proud.
When they were gone, Justin and Elle looked at each other for a long moment. Then Elle began to laugh. "Well, that was more of an adventure than I was expecting!"
"Never a dull moment around here," Justin agreed.
He walked forward and draped his dry coat over Elle's shoulders, then stooped to gather up his boots and hat from the ground.
Elle slipped her arms through the sleeves of the too-large coat and clutched it around herself. Justin felt a quick stab of satisfaction as he realized that she was now surrounded by his scent.
"Speaking of getting dried and changed, would you like to come back to the house with me and get some dry clothes?" She looked him up and down. "I'll clean and bandage your arms, too. I know how sharp little bear claws can be."
Justin put his hat firmly on his head and smiled at his mermaid. "I'd appreciate that, Elle."
"And I'll fix you a hot cup of coffee or tea, if you'd like. Or maybe you'd like something stronger?" She shook her wet hair and smiled wryly. "With everything that's happened around here over the years, I've learned to keep my liquor cabinet well-stocked."
"With five shifter boys, I can only imagine," he agreed.
Just one shifter daughter had certainly kept Liza and him on their toes! Justin couldn't imagine being a single parent dealing with five little shifters.
They left the river and began to walk across the pasture to the place where Elle had parked her big white pickup truck, making a wide arc around the reception area.
Shifters in general didn't have a nudity taboo, but at least half the wedding guests were Ordinaries, and Justin guessed that Elle didn't want to face curious looks and questions while dripping wet and dressed only in a few scraps of torn and soaked chiffon and Justin's formal jacket.
"And I wouldn't say no to a dash of whiskey in my coffee," Justin added, covertly admiring the firmly muscled length of her legs below the bottom of his coat.
* * *
Elle noticed that Justin had ironed his spare set of jeans, too.
Like the black jeans he had worn to the wedding ceremony and reception, these also looked brand-new, as did the cowboy shirt with the pearl snaps neatly draped over the back of couch, awaiting the moment when Justin wouldn't bleed through the fabric.
Clad in a short-sleeved white T-shirt and his jeans, he was sitting on the Victorian horsehair sofa in Elle's living room.
A cup of gently steaming coffee, black with a generous splash of whiskey, sat on a side table at his elbow, and his short, tawny-colored hair was still damp but drying rapidly.
Elle couldn't help noticing how the white of his T-shirt deepened the warm brown color of his tanned skin and highlighted the generous furring of golden hair down his muscled forearms.
"Ouch!" Justin's arm twitched in Elle's hold as she dabbed at the scratches that crisscrossed his exposed skin in long, oozing lines of angry red.
Elle had hauled out her extensive first aid kit and was perched on a footstool in front of Justin.
The sharp reek of antiseptic filled the air as she cleaned his wounds with one of the cotton rounds she normally used for removing her eye makeup.
"Hold still. We're almost done," she said, automatically tightening her grip.
He chuckled, a deep warm sound that stirred something primal inside her. "Now there's a real Mom-voice!"
Elle's face heated. "Years of practice in patching up my boys, their friends, and any number of young ranch hands," she said, smiling. "And I'm done. Just the bandage left to go."
She had changed into a blouse and capris. Music drifted faintly from the party tent in the distant meadow.
"Bearpaw Ridge seems to be a real close-knit community," Justin observed. "Do you think Cassie will ever be fully accepted here?"
His question hit Elle like an arrow to the gut. She paused, a r
oll of soft cotton bandage in her hand.
"I'm sorry about Mark attacking you," she said softly, putting a hand on Justin's knee. "I think he learned his lesson. It won't happen again."
"And Cassie?" Justin persisted. He pinned Elle with a concerned gaze.
"Everyone likes her," Elle assured him. "And that includes Mark."
Justin's dark blond brows shot up, and he looked skeptical.
"In any case, she and Thor are planning to live in Denver. He's a smokejumper and based out of an airport in the area. She's mentioned wanting to apply to the university and finish her master's program."
Given the long gap in communication between Justin and his daughter, Elle wasn't sure how much of this Justin already knew.
Justin's gaze sharpened. "And how about you? Will you will really be able to accept my daughter as part of your family?"
"Of course!" Elle answered indignantly. Have I given him any reason to think otherwise?
Apparently she had, because he continued, "Even though you really dislike sabertooth shifters?"
"That's not t—" she began to deny.
Justin silenced her by leaning forward and putting his finger against her lips.
"Look, Elle, you hide it well, and as for your family—well, y'all have been polite all around. But we're both shifters, and we know it's difficult to hide your real feelings."
Justin paused and leaned forward even further, coming close enough that his warm breath brushed Elle's skin, raising a pleasant shiver.
He continued, "Just like you know I'm attracted to you, and I know you're attracted to me. But you don't like my kind."
"I—" Elle closed her eyes, momentarily dizzied by his admission that he was attracted to her.
Why did the man have to embody sex on two legs? It was hard to think rationally when he was so close to her, gazing into her eyes and filling her senses with his touch and scent.
"I don't have anything against you personally," she managed. "We just had a really bad experience with some other sabertooth shifters."
"So, does that mean you like me? Is there any chance we could be friends?" His gaze burned into her, and she felt unable to look away. "Or…more than just friends?"
Do I like him?
It was hard to tell, amid the haze of hormones that clouded her thinking whenever they were together in the same room.
He sure seemed to enjoy his ability to throw her off-balance without any effort.
And she still wasn't certain if he was genuinely interested in her or was just using the spark of attraction between them to discomfit her sons, particularly Mark.
Elle was a woman used to being in control, both of her own emotions and of the situation around her. Being around Justin made her feel like she was losing that control.
It was both exciting and deeply unsettling.
Justin Long might be a sabertooth shifter, but he was intelligent, funny, and chivalrous. He cared deeply about his daughter. And he had just saved her grandson from drowning.
"Yes, I like you," she admitted, and felt her heart begin to pound. "More than I really should, I think."
"Good." Justin smiled, a slow, sensual smile filled with promises.
His next words stole her breath away and made her feel dizzy and sixteen again.
"So, it's okay if I kiss you now? Because I really want to kiss you, Elle. It's all I've been thinking about since we danced together."
Chapter 5
"God, yes," Elle said.
Yes, her bear echoed silently. Make him ours.
She blinked, startled by the communication. Of all the dates she'd been on, both before her marriage and after her widowhood, her bear had only ever reacted positively to Ashton.
Every other suitor had stirred her bear to express distaste, which had made for a lot of first dates, very few second dates, and no third dates.
Desperately lonely after Ashton's death, she had tried to find someone else, but without success. No one made her feel the way Ashton had, and she suspected that no one ever would.
After a while, exhausted from the never-ending rounds of motherhood and ranch management, Elle had stopped dating. It had seemed like a lost cause.
Why now? she asked her bear. And…why Justin? He's not even a bear shifter!
With effortless strength, Justin pulled Elle up from her perch on the footstool and lifted her onto his lap. She curled against his hard chest and welcomed the weight of his hand on her hip as he settled her into place.
His arms slid around her, and his hot breath caressed the side of her neck as he inhaled deeply.
"You smell so good," he whispered, brushing the sensitive skin of her throat with his lips.
She felt a jolt of pure desire rocket through her from the point of contact down to the pit of her belly. Something hot and urgent blossomed between her legs.
Then Justin began to kiss her, and all her reservations about her attraction to him vanished like morning mist under a summer sun.
Fire raced through Elle's veins as Justin worked his way up her throat to her mouth. His lips were firm, surrounded by the faint prickle of stubble that added an exciting dimension to his caresses.
Then he reached her lips in a devouring kiss. Elle eagerly parted her lips, returning his kiss with frantic desire.
She lost track of time, forgot where she was.
There was only Justin's warm mouth moving hungrily against hers and the warm throbbing desire pulsing through her body.
She felt his hands pulling up the hem of her blouse, then the incredible feeling of his callused palms against the bare skin of her lower back.
Elle wanted more, wanted him to touch her everywhere.
Then she heard the front door open, and Mark's voice, rising in shock and horror. "Mom? What the hell?"
Elle stiffened in alarm.
She pushed herself away from Justin and scrambled to her feet, aware that her blouse was messily untucked from the waist of her capris and that her throat and mouth were tingling pleasantly from the scrape of Justin's stubble.
She met Mark's disbelieving gaze. Neither of them said anything, just stared at each other. Her face began to burn with embarrassment.
"Mark?" she heard Caitlyn ask from the hallway outside the living room. "What's going on?"
"Is there a problem?" Dane asked. The hardwood floor of the foyer creaked under his firm tread.
Did every person in my family suddenly decide to invade my home to check up on me? Elle asked herself incredulously.
She turned to Justin, who was still on the sofa. His expression was somewhere between dazed and annoyed, but his eyes were gleaming with a sharp, predatory light.
Then her gaze returned to Mark, who still stood frozen with shock in the living room doorway.
Laughter bubbled up in Elle's throat as the humor of the situation finally caught up with her.
"Mark, your timing sucks," she told her son.
He flushed darkly as Caitlyn, carrying Ellie, and Dane and Annabeth crowded into the doorway behind him, all of them wearing varying expressions of shock and glee. Annabeth had Matt by the hand.
The little boy's curly dark hair was still damp, but he was now dressed in dry denim overalls with the picture of an old-fashioned locomotive embroidered on the front of them.
"Once we got Matt back to the house and changed into dry clothes, we realized we forgot to thank Justin for saving him," Annabeth said. "I'm so sorry for just barging in like that."
Her tone was apologetic, but her eyes sparkled as she took in the scene.
"It looks like you got a head start on thanking Justin," Caitlyn observed wickedly. "Do you want us to leave?"
Elle felt her cheeks grow hotter.
"That's all right, dear," she said with some regret. She couldn't resist adding, "It was fun while it lasted, though."
"Mom!" Mark and Dane said together in horrified tones.
"But she's not Mom!" little Matthew piped up. "She's Nana!"
Elle hea
rd the sound of Justin's stifled laughter behind her.
Mark glared at him before turning a hurt glance on Elle, "Why didn't you tell me that you had a—a thing going with Justin?"
"Because she didn't, until about five minutes ago," Justin informed him in a lazy drawl.
He rose to his feet with the catlike grace that marked most of his movements. An instant later, Elle felt his arm settle possessively around her shoulders.
"We do have a thing now, don't we, Elle?" he asked, sounding a bit smug.
She could hear his heart pounding and smell his arousal, so she knew he wasn't doing this purely to get even with Mark and Dane for the interruption.
"Possibly," she assured him, trying to keep her tone light and playful. "We'll have to discuss it further…and at a more convenient time."
Mark growled under his breath, his face darkening further, but he didn't say anything else.
Annabeth giggled and Dane looked confounded, but at least Elle’s oldest son had the sense to keep his mouth shut.
Caitlyn, still holding her daughter on one hip, gave Elle a covert thumbs-up sign.
Then Annabeth stepped into the conversational void.
"Anyhow, I'm really sorry for, uh, interrupting you, but Dane and I felt bad about not thanking you two for being there when our kids decided to go for an unauthorized swim." She sighed. "I told Matt to stay away from the river…but he's a Swanson."
"And a three-year-old. The self-preservation instinct won't kick in for another few years," Justin said. "I'm just glad that Elle and I happened to be in the right place and at the right time, y'all."
"Mr. Lo—I mean Justin, Caitlyn and I owe you a huge debt," Mark said.
He held out his hand.
Justin just looked at it, his expression shadowed.
"Now, Mark, didn't I tell you that we were kin now? There's no debt when helpin' kin." Justin sounded hurt. "And kin or not, I'd always aid a child in trouble."
Caitlyn brushed past her husband and stood on her tiptoes to give Justin an awkward one-armed hug and a peck on the cheek.
"Of course you're one of the family now," she declared when she stepped back. "Just like Cassie. I really like her, you know," she added, with a sweet smile.
Burn (Bearpaw Ridge Firefighters Book 5) Page 4