Fire in the Smokies

didn’t want her wandering away from him.

“Wait.” Brianna glanced around at everyone, her hand trembling, sloshing the wine inside the glass. “You think this vampire is after me?”

Juliana spoke up. “It’s possible. Trust me. You don’t want to get caught by him. It’s disheartening to say the least. He tried to get away with me in the spring. If Sergius hadn’t outsmarted him, I don’t know what would have happened.”

“Jesus. Does he have something against you people…er…wolf-people?”

“Seems that way,” Jaxon stated.

“Motive?” Brianna turned to Jaxon. Her look stopped his heart.

“I don’t think he likes the fact that we took up residence in his national forest ten years ago. We keep chasing him off. We might have been able to live harmoniously at one point, but we wolves don’t care for anyone who threatens humans.” Jaxon rubbed Brianna’s thigh. She stiffened under his touch. He could smell her fear.

“I have to work in the morning. Do you think I’ll be safe? Maybe he isn’t after me…just you.” Brianna bit her lip.

Jaxon shook his head. Not a chance. “No way, baby. I know I said we’d discuss this, but there’s no fucking way I can let you go back out on the front line of that fire under the circumstances. It’s too risky. I don’t even want you to go to the bathroom alone until we figure out what McKinney’s angle is.” He gave Brianna a half grin at his unintentional choice of comparisons.

He meant that literally, but making her pee in front of him earlier had been a show of dominance. It hadn’t had anything to do with protecting her inside the house.

Brianna yanked herself from his grasp and stood. She glared down at him. “Not very submissive outside the bedroom, are you?” he questioned. He secretly was glad. Not that he was going to budge on this issue, but he wanted his woman to be strong-willed and determined…outside of the bedroom.

“No. And don’t you forget it.” She spoke out loud, but if anyone was confused, they didn’t say a word. “I worked very hard to get where I am as a female firefighter. If you think I’m going to cower and hide over some mythical madman that no one else in my unit even knows exists, you’re crazy.”

Brianna jumped back a few feet when Jaxon tried to grab her hand. All he got was air. “Baby—”

“No,” she asserted. “This is not negotiable. You may have noticed I can be quite flexible when the need arises, but not on this issue. This is my job, Jaxon. Not a game. I love my work. Those men are counting on me and I’ve proven myself to be a fine asset to the team. They’d never look at me with respect again if I don’t show up tomorrow morning at six sharp ready to work as hard as any man.”

Jaxon exhaled. Fuck. How the hell was he going to handle this?

“I’ll tell you how you’re going to handle it. You’re not. I am. This is my life. The one I was leading just fine until today. Back off where it concerns my work.”

“You read my mind.”

“You must not block well when you’re pissed.” His mate cocked her hip to one side and glared at him. If she’d had a wad of gum, she’d no doubt be smacking it in his face and blowing bubbles as though he’d bored her to tears with a poorly executed joke.

“Let’s calm down. I’m sure there’s a solution we can all live with.” Sergius, the peacemaker, stepped into the middle of the room.

Jaxon hung his head and stared at the floor. His face heated. Hell, his entire body shook with anger. No… fear. He wasn’t mad at Brianna. He was scared.

“I just found you,” he whispered toward the carpet.

“And I’m so glad you did. You probably saved my life in that cave.” She kneeled on the floor in front of him and took his head with both hands. “Look at me.”

He lifted his gaze to hers.

“I’m going to be fine. I’ll be with a dozen firefighters. And hey, you said yourself the vampire guy didn’t seem to like flames. He stayed clear of them, right?”

“Yes, but…”

“Then I’ll stay as close to the flames as possible. Simple. Problem solved.”

“That makes me feel so much better. Perfect.” His tone was sarcastic, but he grinned at her all the same.

“If we are going to be together—”

“And we are,” he interrupted.

“Then we have to compromise.”

“Okay. Fine. You can pee without me in the room, but you can’t run wild in the woods with a vampire on the loose who is undoubtedly going to track you down and suck your blood until he turns you into his concubine for all of eternity. There. Compromise.” Jaxon matched her stance, wrapping his fingers around her face the way she held his.

Micah spoke up. “Dude, I think you might possibly need to reevaluate your definition of compromise.” He laughed.

Jaxon stood, pulling his mate to her feet. He glared at his younger brother. They were only two years apart, but still… “When you get a mate, and I hope that’s soon, then you can talk to me about her safety. Until then, butt out.”

Micah held both hands in the air and pursed his lips. He still grinned, but at least he kept his mouth shut.

“Well, I for one have a mate. And I’ve been in your shoes, Jax, and I have to agree with Micah. Let’s find a way to make this work instead of stomping our foot and pouting.” Serg sat back down.

“I’m not pouting. I’m—”

“Scared,” Sergius finished. “I know. I get it. Sit.” He nodded toward the couch and waited until Jaxon had resumed his spot, Brianna at his side.

Jaxon even handed her back the glass of wine she’d set on the end table.

Sergius resumed his speech. “What if we three take turns spending the day following Brianna in wolf form? It won’t seem strange to anyone for a wolf to be ambling around trying to escape the flames if we are spotted. We’d be able to keep a close eye on her and we’d be sure to scent McKinney if he dared to approach her from any angle. If anything goes awry, all bets are off. Could you agree to that?” Serg turned his gaze to Bri.

“Seems reasonable to me,” she murmured.

“I don’t like it,” Jaxon began, “but I suppose it’s better than nothing.”

“Great. Then it’s settled. Jaxon, you take the first shift. You can drive her to work and then not come home. Keep us posted on your location and we’ll step in when you need us.” Serg stood again. “Now let’s get some dinner. I’m starving.”

Brianna was exhausted. By the time the five of them rustled together a meal of hamburgers, fries and salad she was dead on her feet. Undoubtedly caused by the stress of the day, multiple orgasms and mind-blowing sex. Oh, and let’s not forget mating with a werewolf and being stalked by a vampire. No wonder I’m tired.

“Jax, I need to get up by about five to get to the base on time. Do you mind if I go to bed?” She leaned on him from her spot at the table.

“Of course.” He stood, tugging her up with him. “’Night all.”

Brianna was grateful for the quick exit. As aroused as she’d been earlier before all the commotion in the living room, she was too tired now to even consider letting Jaxon start something.

As they entered his bedroom she headed straight for his luxurious bed. “Could I have a rain check on whatever idea you had in mind for my limp body this evening?” She tipped her head up to him as he peeled her shirt over her head. Her arousal spiked, but she was too tired to give in to it. Even as Jaxon stripped the rest of her clothes, she simply watched him.

Jaxon smiled and nodded at the bed. “Sleep. When this all blows over, we’ll spend several days not coming out of the bedroom and I’ll show you all my tricks.” He wiggled his eyebrows as he approached her.

With her eyes half open, she slid under the covers. She watched him drop his pants, tug on a pair of shorts and climb into the bed beside her. He gathered her body against his own and spooned her. When he smoothed her