Fire in the Smokies

“Yes, I’m usually horny, but only since meeting you. Here.” He shoved a steaming cup in front of her. The smell of rich coffee filled her nostrils as she took a whiff.

“Bless you. I don’t function well until I’ve had my coffee.”

“I gathered that.” He smiled. “Let’s get a move on.” He tugged her free arm toward the bathroom.

She followed reluctantly, eyeing his firm naked ass in front of her and wishing she could climb back into the bed and dig her nails into him while he fucked her senseless once again.

“Woman, are you always this difficult to light a fire under? How did you ever manage to get to work on time before today?”

Brianna picked up the pace and stepped into the bathroom. “Well, for starters, no one has ever worn me out to the point that I couldn’t even set an alarm before bed. Nor have I ever woken up to find a werewolf of a man pawing me all over until my brain cells were scrambled. I managed fine before you came along to hold me in a permanent state of arousal.”

Jaxon reached into the shower and adjusted the knobs. “You’ve never slept with a man before?”

“Well, no. Not slept slept. No. I’ve always liked to have my bed to myself.”

Jaxon grinned and pumped his chest out. “I feel proud. I’m the first man you’ve spent the night with.” He tugged her forward and kissed her soundly. “And the last…” he added.

He didn’t wait for a response, but grabbed the half-drunk mug from her hands and nudged her into the shower stall.

Warm water descended over her head, perking her up. Between that and the caffeine, she might make it out of the house on time.

Jaxon waited outside the shower. His dick said to get in and run the soap over his mate’s body. His big head reminded him she’d never make it to work on time.

“Aren’t you coming in?” She angled her head over her shoulder and yelled through the door.

“Nope.” Jaxon backed away. “Not a good idea. I’ll meet you in the kitchen.”

It took every ounce of self-control to get himself to leave the room. But he did. The house was alive already. Serg and Mic would be just returning from the barn. Jaxon chuckled to himself. His mate wasn’t a morning person? This would be interesting.

“Morning.” Micah leaned against the counter, a mug of coffee in his hand. “So you’re heading out with Brianna and we’ll be on standby if you need us.”

“Yep. If I scent McKinney in the area, I’ll let you know.” Jaxon headed for the fridge.

He had no idea what his lovely mate generally ate for breakfast. Hell, he didn’t even know if she ate breakfast. Usually the brothers left early for the barn with just coffee and came back into the main house to eat a few hours later. They were sufficiently spoiled to death now that Juliana lived with them.

No one liked to abuse her, but she seemed to enjoy cooking breakfast for them while they took care of the early chores. Said it made her feel useful since she wasn’t working very much. This was probably not how she’d envisioned her days after graduating from college, but hiking was her passion and she intended to take advantage of the area and become a guide…as soon as the vampire threat was eliminated.

“Baby, what do you want to eat?” Jaxon pulled out orange juice and set it on the counter.

“Shit. You made me drop the soap. I don’t need anything. They’ll have a spread for us to grab at the base before we take off.” Brianna’s voice in his head made him smile. He could get used to this.

It was one thing to communicate with his brothers, another thing entirely to chat telepathically with his woman.

Jaxon grabbed a glass of juice and headed back for the bedroom. He’d jump in the shower after her and then they’d be off.

As he left the room, the radio on the counter chimed. Juliana bustled into the room. She considered manning the radio another one of her responsibilities. Jaxon paused at the entrance to the hall to listen in.

“Hey, James.” Juliana always called the sheriff by his first name now that they were friends. They’d apparently bonded over a long discussion about vampires and wolves when she’d first arrived.

“Jules. Is the plan still the same for today?”

“As far as I know.” She glanced at Jaxon with a raised eyebrow.

He nodded back.

“Yep. Jax is taking Brianna to the base and he’ll follow her around in wolf form. If he sees or smells anything out of the ordinary, he’ll let us know.”

“Perfect. I’ll be patrolling the area. Keep me informed if you hear from him.”

“Ten four.” Juliana grinned.

Brianna glanced at Jaxon as they approached her unit. “Don’t hover. These people finally respect me. I don’t want to blow it in one morning with a new boyfriend who can’t keep his hands off me. I’d rather not let on yet, if you don’t mind.”

“What if I do mind?” he teased.

“Tough.” Her word held no conviction and she knew it, but she still needed him to stay back. Not to mention, if he so much as grazed her with the tip of one finger, she’d melt and be incoherent the rest of the day.

“Hey, Bri. ’Bout time you showed up.” The jester was Devin Richmond, a firefighter who’d been with the unit for over ten years.

“Just ’cause you don’t have anyone warming your bed, making you the early bird, doesn’t mean the rest of us have to race to arrive at work first.” Brianna had learned to give as well as she got. Her choice of jibes this particular morning perhaps wasn’t the best, but she held her head high and aimed directly for the bagels and cream cheese—acutely aware of Devin’s gaze traveling toward the man she’d fucked about a dozen times in the last twenty-four hours.

“You probably should have dropped me off and driven away. Everyone is staring.”

“Yeah, well, I’m not the one who just announced they’d been fucked nine ways until Sunday to the world at large, baby.” He laughed into her head so hard she could almost feel the vibrations.

“It was an accident. You scatter my mind.”

“I scatter more than your mind. But I’m going to take off because the last thing I want is for you to be anything less than completely present on the job. I don’t want you caught in a fire, nor abducted by a vampire. Please be safe. I’ll be close at all times.” Jaxon walked away without speaking out loud to his mate.

Brianna was relieved she didn’t have to introduce him or create a scene. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched Jaxon head toward the sheriff. The men exchanged a brief conversation she wasn’t privy to and then Jaxon ambled back to his truck without looking her direction.

Brianna swallowed. She leaned against the table laden with donuts and bagels, willing the back of Jaxon to give her a sign of some sort. It was stupid. She was being petty. She’d specifically asked him not to make a scene and here he was not making a scene. Like a girl, she wanted him to acknowledge her anyway as he left.

“Baby, you are the only thing on my mind. Stop staring daggers at my back. I’m head over heels for you and that’s never going to change. You own my soul. Eat your bagel and enjoy the respite of not having your entire entourage teasing you today, ’cause this is the only free pass you get. After today, I’m claiming you openly in front of all your coworkers and friends.

He kept walking, his back growing smaller as he approached his car.

She could have sworn at the last second he turned and winked at her. At least that’s the way she cared to remember the departure.

There was no time to ponder Jaxon’s pronouncement further. Captain Wilson called everyone together to brief them on what lay ahead.

The fire was anything but contained. In fact, it had spread out some during the night, continuing to move in an easterly direction. At least the wind wasn’t shifting back and forth. It was always a bitch when they had to