by Tami Lund
He folded his arms across his chest. “What are you trying to say, Cici?” He deliberately used the nickname she would only allow a select few close friends and relatives use, although he wasn’t sure if he was trying to rile her or if he just liked to refer to her in such an intimate way.
“Are you planning to stay?” She blurted the words and then looked startled, as if she hadn’t really meant to say them out loud. She did not even acknowledge his use of the nickname he knew Olivia had given her when they were toddlers.
Finn was as startled as she looked. “I don’t know,” he admitted.
Her features drooped, as if she was suddenly sad. He cocked his head to the side. “Why? Do you miss me?” What the hell would he do if she said yes?
“I do,” Dane said with a sniff, as he pushed past Finn and strolled into the house. “Keeping track of Cecilia is the most infuriating task ever. I really wish you would return and take the position back.” He paused in the middle of the living room and looked around.
“Cozy place. Nice decor. I need to use the bath chamber.”
Finn pointed at the hall and instructed him to go to the first door on the right. Then he turned his attention back to Cecilia.
“Tanner sent you, didn’t he?”
She shrugged and averted her gaze. There was a shriek from down the hall, where Dane had just disappeared. Finn grabbed Cecilia, dragged her into the house, and then went running to his sister’s aid.
He found Felicia standing in the middle of the hall, staring at the Lightbearer, who had just stepped out of the bathroom. If Finn didn’t know better, he’d swear Dane had a second head, the way his sister was looking at him.
“Felicia, it’s okay,” he said soothingly. “This is Dane McIntyre. He’s a Lightbearer.”
“Pleased to meet you, Felicia,” Dane said, inclining his head politely.
Felicia continued to stare at him, her eyes wide. “I never knew…I mean, I knew you existed because, well, Finn said he was living in your—your coterie. But you’re—you’re—”
“Real?” Dane suggested. “We sure are.”
“Is this your sister?” Cecilia asked from her vantage point, standing slightly behind Finn.
“Yes,” Finn said wearily.
Felicia shifted her gaze from Dane to Cecilia. Her eyes widened until they threatened to pop out of her head. “Another one?” she asked, sounding faint. Dane reached for her, and she stumbled backward, trying to stay out of his reach.
“You look unwell,” Dane said, peering at Felicia. “You should sit down. Here, let me examine—” Felicia leaped away from his outstretched hands and stumbled into the wall. Dane continued to advance on her.
Finn’s brother-in-law, Ben, appeared from the kitchen. His eyes widened when he saw Cecilia standing behind Finn, and then they quickly turned toward his mate, who was backing away down the hall, trying to keep Dane from touching her.
“Felicia, it’s okay,” Finn called out. “He’s a—” He couldn’t get the words out. Ben suddenly gave a snarl, shifted into the form of a great brown bear, and charged down the hall, clearly intent upon protecting his mate from Dane.
“Shit,” Finn swore as Dane instinctively summoned his magic and produced a sword, a self-defense measure, no doubt, since Finn knew damn well Dane was not the sort to attack anyone unless provoked.
“Dane!” Cecilia shrieked as she darted around Finn and with no self-consideration whatsoever, leaped onto the back of the bear.
“Damn it to hell,” Finn muttered as he too jumped into the chaos.
* * * *
“I’m fine, Finn,” Cecilia insisted as she batted his hand away. Whatever was on that cotton pad stung when he dabbed at the scratch above her left eye. Not to mention, it was unnerving to have him so close, tending to her wounds, acting … concerned.
“No you aren’t, and Dane is too exhausted after healing Felicia to fix you. Now sit still, damn it.”
They were in the small bathroom located off the hallway in his sister’s ranch-style home. Cecilia was seated on the closed toilet seat, while Finn towered over her, trying to administer first aid to the various cuts and bruises she’d earned from the brief altercation that occurred a short time ago.
Finn had managed to break up the fighting before anyone was truly hurt, and when it was all done, Dane had his hands clamped around Felicia’s pregnant belly. Magic flared around his hands as he grimly informed her that her blood pressure was far too high and she was putting both herself and the pup in danger. The proclamation had instantly sobered the small group, and Dane and Felicia were herded into the master bedroom by Ben, who was suddenly anything but a ferocious bear as he fretted and fussed over his mate and the until-then-unknown medical condition.
“If your sister hadn’t reacted so ridiculously, none of this would have happened,” Cecilia said with faint accusation in her voice.
“Cut her some slack, Cecilia,” he snapped as he grabbed her hand and held it in one of his while he tended to her injuries with the other. “She’s never seen a Lightbearer before in her life, and she too was raised in Quentin Lyons’ pack.”
“Dane was only trying to help her.”
“She didn’t have any issues with the first two pregnancies,” Finn defended his sister. “I don’t know why she’s having issues now.”
Cecilia shrugged one shoulder. “Every pregnancy is different, according to Dane. Even though he’s never birthed a babe, he’s delivered a million of them, so he undoubtedly has an accurate viewpoint.”
Finn shook his head and then his lips quirked. “I can’t believe you attacked Ben like that.”
She felt her cheeks heat. “He would have killed Dane.”
“And you,” Finn pointed out. “And just for the record, I would not have let him kill Dane. Give me a little credit.”
“I give you plenty of credit,” Cecilia retorted. “I just reacted, that’s all.”
“You mean, you reacted before thinking,” Finn amended.
She didn’t respond. He sighed and affixed a butterfly bandage to the cut above her eye.
“That’ll have to do until your buddy Dane is regenerated.”
She lightly touched the bandage and then stood up. “Thank you,” she said, and then she glanced at the mirror. She watched her own eyes widened as she took in her mused hair, the torn dress, various scratches, and the blooming bruise underneath her right eye.
“I look horrible,” she blurted.
“You look fine,” Finn replied.
“I look like I just had a fight with a bear.”
Finn laughed. “No, you don’t. It’s just a couple of scratches.”
“And a giant purple bruise,” she lamented as she touched her cheek.
“Trust me, it doesn’t detract from your beauty at all.”
Cecilia turned away from the mirror so she could look directly at him. He stood a few feet away, shoulder propped against the wall, looking at her in that way he had, that way that sent her blood to sizzling. Even without touching him, she could feel the magic in the air. It was potent and thick, and wholly irresistible. She wondered why she had ever bothered to resist him, even as she leaned toward him. The attempts were clearly futile.
“Cici.” He practically breathed the nickname that she only allowed a very select few individuals to use. Strange how the childhood moniker sounded so damn sensual when it passed over his lips.
She shivered as she reached up, fisted the front of his shirt, and pulled herself closer. His arms snaked around her back, one hand cupping her backside, while the other slid up her spine until he cupped the back of her neck.
“Damn it,” he muttered a scant second before her lips crashed into his, claiming him, demanding he respond, that he give her what she wanted. She wrapped one arm around his back and twisted the other in his hair and clung to him, holding on as if she never intended to let him go.
When his hand cupped her breast, she moaned into his mouth. “I’ve been giving Olivia and T
anner a hard time about doing this very thing,” she murmured against his lips.
“What?” he asked as he grabbed a fistful of her skirt, bunching it so that he could slip his hand underneath.
“Sex. In strange places.” She smoothed her hand over his biceps, across his back to his waist, slipped her hand under the hem of his shirt, and scraped her nails across his bare back. He hissed and kissed her harder.
“I caught them in the kitchen just the other day,” he managed to say between kisses. “Thought Tanner was going to go through the roof.”
“They have an entire suite of rooms,” she remarked as her fingers trailed along the waistline of his jeans.
“This is by far the strangest foreplay conversation I’ve ever had,” Finn responded. He cupped her lace-covered backside, pulled her more securely against him. She rubbed against him, all but purring like a kitten. A ripping noise rent the air and then her panties flew from Finn’s hand, landing somewhere in the vicinity of the bathtub.
“Oops,” he said, not sounding the least bit upset. Cecilia redoubled her efforts at rubbing against him, mimicking the act of sex.
There was a knock on the door. “Uncle Finn, are you in there? I have to pee!”
“Fuck.”
There was a gasp from the other side of the door. “Did you just say a bad word?” his nephew asked, sounding shocked.
Finn blew out a breath and ignored the question. “I’ll be out in a minute,” he called.
“Hurry up. I have to pee!”
Cecilia’s heart rate was still alarmingly high even after he reluctantly stepped away from her. She managed a sympathetic look. She’d wanted this just as badly as he did. Quite possibly more. It was so hard to decipher his feelings on the subject—when they weren’t locked in a heated embrace, anyway—whereas he could actually smell it when she was aroused. Damn shifters and their strong senses.
Finn raked his hand through his hair, then grimaced as he adjusted the bulge behind the zipper of his jeans. “Probably for the best anyway,” he muttered. “I didn’t bring any condoms with me.”
With those parting words, he turned and pulled open the door, explaining to his young nephew that he’d been in the bathroom tending to some injuries that Cecilia had sustained. Cecilia watched him leave the bathroom, and her mind warred with triumph and disappointment over the fact that he clearly hadn’t intended to have sex while here in Tennessee.
The young dark-haired shifter dancing from foot to foot in the hall caught her attention. He stared up at her with wide eyes, still, no doubt, utterly fascinated by his first experience with what they’d been taught was a fabled species of magical creatures. She feared the poor child might pee himself before speaking to her, so she excused herself and hurried out into the hall.
Finn was in the kitchen, talking to his brother-in-law. Felicia was in bed, resting, and Dane was on the couch in the living room, sound asleep and snoring gently. Finn’s eldest nephew stood next to the couch, staring at the sleeping Lightbearer.
“The Lightbearer says it’s our diet,” Ben was explaining to Finn. “He says she eats too much sodium.” He opened the refrigerator and gestured at the contents. “He’s right. We eat a ton of cold cuts and processed food. It’s just easier when we both work and have two hungry pups to feed.”
As if to lay truth to his words, his eldest son appeared in the doorway, having evidentially gotten bored with staring at a sleeping Lightbearer. “I’m hungry,” he announced, and he reached into the fridge and pulled out a small plastic bag containing thick slices of ham.
“You just need to add fruits and vegetables to your diet,” Cecilia explained. Both adult shifters looked at her as if she’d spoken a foreign language. She laughed. “It isn’t that bad,” she assured them. She stepped up to the refrigerator, sorted through the contents, taking a quick inventory.
“I’ll make dinner if someone goes to the market. I promise, you won’t be disappointed,” she said, thinking about Carley and her proclamation that Finn was sweet because he liked her cooking.
The youngest shifter appeared in the doorway, holding Cecilia’s ripped panties in one hand. “What’re these?” he asked, holding them high so that every adult in the room could see.
Finn snatched the panties from his hand and stuffed them into the pocket of his jeans. “I’ll go,” he muttered. “Hurry up and make a grocery list.”
* * * *
“Not bad,” Finn said later that evening, while they sat around the dining room table after having eaten the dinner Cecilia prepared.
Conscious of the fact that shifters still needed their meat, she’d made a roast, and added carrots, onions, and potatoes. She’d also steamed two heads of broccoli to eat on the side, and had been pleased when Finn’s nephews devoured the green vegetable, after she whispered that it caused one to toot uncontrollably.
She arched a blonde brow and asked, “Is it at all comparable to Carley’s cooking?”
“Not in the least,” Finn teased. She tried to hide her crestfallen look, but he must have caught it, because he reached out and squeezed her shoulder and assured her it was delicious.
“I had no idea you could cook,” he commented.
“There is a great deal you don’t know about me,” she responded tartly and then began gathering dishes to carry them into the kitchen.
Dane had woken up and joined them for dinner, and he too stood. Felicia did as well, and Ben immediately told her to sit back down.
“The boys can carry the dishes into the kitchen,” he said. “They are plenty old enough, and it’s time they started taking on more responsibility around here. Especially now,” he added, waving at her protruding stomach.
“The Lightbearer says I’m fine now,” Felicia replied. “And as long as we adjust our diets, I shouldn’t have any more problems.”
“Doesn’t matter,” Ben insisted, and he instructed his sons to clear the table. They grumbled, but were quick to obey when Ben suggested there might be a trip to the ice-cream store in it if they did a good enough job.
“You look just like the pictures I’ve seen,” Cecilia commented to Felicia once they were seated at the table again.
Felicia was delighted by the comment. “You saw my photo albums?” she asked. “I thought for sure that Finn just stuck them into a drawer somewhere like I am absolutely certain Reid does.”
“Is your other brother here too?” Cecilia asked politely.
“No,” Finn answered for his sister. “Reid disappeared a few months ago. No one knows where he is.”
Her eyes widened, and she clapped a hand over her mouth. “Oh. I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t be,” Felicia said. “That’s Reid. Out of all of us, he is the only one who can truly be called a lone wolf. The rest of us can’t survive without our pack.”
A crash sounded from the kitchen. Ben leaped from his chair and rushed to see what happened.
“Austin is five,” Felicia explained with a sigh. “And Bryan is three. And as clumsy as the day is long.” She patted her belly. “We’re hoping this one is a girl.”
“I can tell you if you’d like,” Dane offered.
Instead of looking at Dane, Felicia turned and gave Finn a questioning look.
“Since he just healed you earlier, he probably already knows,” Finn explained. “Remember, I told you about Tanner’s mate? They can tell the sex of the pup while it’s still in the womb.”
“Really?” She looked hopefully at Dane.
Dane grinned. “Female,” he confirmed.
Felicia made a strangled noise and cupped her hands over her mouth. “Lightbearer magic sure comes in handy. First, cooking a perfect roast in record time, then finding out I’m having a girl. A little girl.” She simpered as she cupped her belly and smiled with bemusement.
“I don’t even really think about it,” Cecilia mused. “It has just always been a part of our lives.”
“Take it from someone who doesn’t have it: you are very lucky.”
>
“I don’t know. The ability to change forms at will is pretty impressive. And has come in handy for Finn, a time or two.”
“So why are you two here, in Tennessee, anyway?”
Cecilia wasn’t surprised she asked. Finn had already asked too, and she’d avoided the question. How could she answer, when she wasn’t even sure?
“I’m here because she insisted upon coming,” Dane said.
Cecilia gave him a cross look before taking a deep breath and then saying, “I hadn’t heard from Finn in a few days.” She glanced at Felicia and then Finn. “And I heard he was considering moving here.”
“Really?” Felicia gave Finn a surprised look. His features didn’t change. “He didn’t say anything like that. He just said he wanted to spend some time with the family, get to know his nephews. That would be great if you decided to stay,” she said, speaking directly to Finn. “I’m sure our pack master would allow it.”
Cecilia thought that was a lousy idea. “He can’t stay. We need him, in the coterie,” she blurted.
“He’s a shifter,” Felicia pointed out. “And his family is here, all of us except Reid, anyway. Seems to me it makes perfect sense for him to stay here. Besides, why does a Lightbearer coterie need a shifter?”
“It’s run by a shifter. Well, behind the scenes, anyway. Tanner can’t do it alone. Finn is—he’s like Tanner’s second in command. Tanner would be lost without him.”
“He would be?”
The emphasis was not lost on Cecilia. Jumping to her feet, she gathered what was left of the dirty dishes on the table and hurried into the kitchen.
Ben was just sweeping the last bit of broken ceramic into a dustpan, while his two young sons stood nearby and fidgeted as he lectured them on the necessity of being careful. Cecilia bumped into Ben, lost her footing, and the dishes in her hands went flying toward the floor. She used her magic to catch them and then sent them flying over to settle gently onto the counter next to the sink.
The boys watched the process with widened eyes.
“Guess Lightbearers don’t need to worry about being careful,” five-year-old Austin commented.
“Bath time,” Ben announced as he stabbed his finger at the doorway leading to the hall.