“Son of a…You’re telling me I was practically in the backyard this whole time?”
Dom’s smile was worth the frustration. “The beast and I led you back in this direction. It didn’t think you could navigate. I’m sure it was right.”
“Rude.” She stuck her tongue out at him, but she was grateful for the beast’s intervention. “Let’s get your naked bum back to the cabin. Is the smoke coming from your cabin or someone else’s? Would they give us a ride back?”
“Can you slow down with the questions?”
“I’ll shut up when we’re both neck-deep in hot water. I want to be fresh before I remind you how much I missed you.”
Dom’s cheeks darkened, but he pulled her into his arms and turned her toward the rising column of woodsmoke. The cabin that appeared through the woods wasn’t Dom’s, but Addison appeared on the porch and called out to her mate. Reid stuck his head out the door and hooted with laughter when he saw the mess that was Aimee and Dom.
Despite her earlier worries about hygiene, Dom pulled her into the backseat with him and held her close. His arms grew warmer by the second. Reid made great time in the snow. The moment he pulled up to the cabin, Aimee stumbled free of the backseat and ran for the door.
Over were her days of roughing it in the mountain woods. She didn’t have to worry about food or how she might cook. The snow no longer threatened to bury her in her sleep. Aimee was elated to be free of the wilderness and the constraints it had put on her lifestyle.
Dom followed hot on her heels, apparently unfazed by his nakedness. Surely, every one of the bears had seen one another naked at one point. She wondered if they fought over who was the largest, even with all their bits hanging out. It seemed like a male thing to do. The thought lifted her mood.
Before she could turn back to her mate, he swept her off the floor. He took the stairs two at a time. Could he read her mind? Or, were they bonded so tightly now that her thoughts were his thoughts? Aimee didn’t want to think about it, the line of questioning making her head throb.
Dom stopped in the bathroom, setting her down only to lean over the tub and twist a knob. Warm water filled the air with steam. Aimee was already shedding her clothes, before Dom could even say the bath was for her. He only grinned and laid a kiss on her forehead before slipping out the door.
She wanted to ask where he was going, but the warmth of the bath beckoned her. She sank into the still flowing water, letting it cover her from head to toe. Her beast writhed. It enjoyed the water and begged to be let loose. Aimee warned it that if they didn’t bathe first, then they would still reek when they shifted back to human form.
She was dozing, half asleep when Dom returned. She didn’t hear him, but rather felt his approach. Cracking open an eye, she watched him enter with a wooden tray in one hand. Gone was the tension that gripped his body days ago. It was as if the constant fear had vanished. His bear no longer looked over its shoulder and saw everyone as a possible threat.
At least, not while it was just the two of them. Aimee was sure it would be a different story once they were surrounded by more people, but he was allowing her to help him now, and that meant everything to her.
She smirked and beckoned him into the water with one finger.
“You can’t possibly be ready to go again,” Dom said. He plucked a rolled piece of salami from the tray in his hand. “We need to replenish our energy before we give it another go.”
Her laughter was a boisterous cackle that made her mate shake his head. He stepped into the bath with her and sank into the water, his limbs pressing against hers. The meat and cheese tray he’d hastily thrown together sat on a stool, just outside the bath.
“Do I get breakfast in bed for the rest of my life after what I did? I’m not an outdoors type of girl, even if I am a shifter.”
“You were outside for three days! I think that gets you three days of breakfast in bed.”
Aimee pouted.
“Keep it up and I’ll count this as one of them.”
“So cruel,” she muttered, sinking lower into the water. Her foot brushed his cock and he froze, turning a heated glance in her direction.
He belonged to her.
Chapter Twenty
He knelt in front of her, making her heart flip, and raised a velvet box in his fingers. The sight of it sent her heart banging against her ribs before it settled again. This wasn’t a path she ever thought she would follow, but Aimee found herself all to happy to throw herself at it.
She let out a sound that could only be described as a squeal and threw her hands around her mate’s neck. Dom laughed and told her he wasn’t finished. She tried to tell him it didn’t matter, but he told her it did. He was adamant that she let him finish. So, she pulled back and tried to contain herself as Dom spoke.
“Aimee Han, will you do me the honor of being not only my wife, but my boss as well?”
The words threw her off, and her smile slipped. He opened the box in his hands. There was no sparkling gemstone, like she’d expected. Nestled on the velvet cushion was a key.
“I, ah, don’t understand.” She tried to keep her voice light, but the confusion was twisting her inside out. She plucked the key from the box and turned it over, as if the explanation would be written on the other side.
Dom grinned as he stood. He towered over her in a way that made her feel safe. Even if he thought himself temperamental and unsafe, she knew he was the tree that would shelter her against anything that came their way. She was going to say yes to anything he asked, of course.
It would be nice to understand what she said yes to first, though.
Instead of explaining, Dom took her hand and led her toward the front of the house. The hole in the wall that had a truck in it a month ago had been fixed. There was now only a series of white patches from the drywall installation that needed to be painted over. She glanced around the living room, as if it would reveal what Dom was implying.
But he didn’t stop there. He took her to the front door, stopping to grab her coat from the rack. It was still ripped from where Richard had tried to grab her, but not so bad that it didn’t serve its purpose. She would fix it later, she told herself. Sewing wasn’t her strong suit, but she refused to replace the brand-new coat already.
When Dom opened the door, her breath caught in her throat. She saw it before even stepping a foot outside. It sat in the driveway, commanding attention. When she looked to Dom with a question in her eyes, he nodded. A smile spread over his lips. It was the happiest she’d seen him in days.
Each day was happier than the last, just as she’d promised him. Somehow, he managed to return the favor every time.
“You bought me a food truck instead of an engagement ring?” She laughed, tugging her coat tighter around herself as she ran to inspect the truck.
“Well, about that…”
She waved him off. “I understand. Rings are expensive. Trucks are expensive. You couldn’t do both at the same time. Believe me when I say…”
She was about to tell him she wasn’t mad when she saw something on the dashboard. It was another box. This time, it was small and square. She looked back at Dom, jaw agape.
“Is that a…did you really…?” She slid the key into the lock and opened the door. Before she grabbed the box off the dashboard, she peered into the back, as if the presence of a ring meant the kitchen would be empty.
She found it fully furnished, from griddle to fryer, from sink to fridge. It had everything she would need to run a restaurant other than food.
Astonished, she turned around, sank into the driver’s seat, and grabbed the box off the dashboard. She stole another glance at Dom, who’d stepped closer while she inspected the kitchen. She didn’t want to insinuate that this would be a cruel joke, but if it held something other than a ring, she realized she would be angry.
“I swear, if there’s a radish inside this box I’m going to shove it so far up Orion’s ass…”
Dom’s brows crinkle
d in confused amusement for a moment. “Why Orion?”
“Because he’s supposed to be my wingman. If he didn’t stop you from playing a joke on me, then its his fault.” She was scared, she realized. Her fingers shook as she held the box. It would be easy to open it and reveal which it was, joke or proclamation of commitment, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it.
As if he could feel her fear, Dom placed a warm hand on the back of her neck and brought her toward him for a kiss. His breath smelled of coffee, warm and intoxicating on this cold morning. She leaned into him, savoring the moment. When he pulled back, he leaned his forehead against hers until the quake in her hands disappeared.
“If you think I’m capable of pulling jokes, then I’m not sure if you know me well enough to get married.”
Her breath caught in her throat. Once it returned, she set the box back on the dashboard.
“I guess you’re right. I just don’t know you well enough for that kind of commitment.”
She moved to leap from the driver’s seat of the truck, but Dom caught her. He lifted her from the ground and spun her around. She laughed, elation filling her and making her lighter than a cloud.
“You’re an evil little thing,” Dom whispered. “Aren’t you?”
“Ah, so we do know each other after all.” She cupped her hands behind his neck and held on.
When her feet touched the ground again, Dom leaned back into the truck to snatch the velvet box. This time, when he got down on one knee, Aimee knew what was inside the box. Still, her stomach flipped when he opened it. She took in the gemstone and how it flashed from a deep pinkish-purple to earthy green. It was flanked by tiny diamonds on either side.
Dom stared up at her expectantly, making her realize she was supposed to say something. Her yes came out as a choked sob. She didn’t want to be this kind of a mess, but it seemed she was falling apart in the face of happiness. Tears streamed down her face. Dom plucked the ring from the box and grabbed her hand to slip it onto her finger.
She laughed and pulled her hands back. “Wrong hand,” was all she managed to say before jutting out her other arm.
Dom chuckled. “Now, there are some ground rules concerning the ring. I think we can both agree that you shouldn’t wear it while you’re working. I don’t want to have the alexandrite fall out of the setting and into someone’s food. I think that would piss off not only a customer, but you, too.”
He was right, even if she desperately wanted to wear it every moment of the day.
***
Dom held his fiancée’s hand, the stone of her ring rubbing against his fingers. She squeezed and looked up at him with a smile. Gone was the panic he’d seen in the woods. Not everything was right with the world, but they had each other and that was all that mattered.
At least, that was what they wanted to think. The crew had gathered. Their job in the Montana mountains was over, and they should have been looking to the next project. The shadow of the Den behind them made it hard to see the immediate future. So, Aimee had laid out an entire table’s worth of food and invited the others for dinner.
“What are we going to do about the Den?” Reid asked. His arms were folded over his chest.
The entire crew gathered in Dom’s cabin. Orion leaned against the counter, pushing nigiri into his mouth. Boomer and Emmy sat on the couch. Emmy’s stomach was growing larger by the day. She worried that she carried two cubs, but everyone assured her that bear shifters were a bit bigger than other babies. That only made her worry more.
Morgan stepped forward, gripping the table. His shoulders were tense. Dom knew why. Richard was dead. While the Den might not lash out at them for what they’d done, there was going to be fallout.
“I could go back,” Callie offered. Even though it was her idea, Dom could hear the quake in her voice. She didn’t want to return. “I could take the open position of power. Dad can’t fight us in the state he’s in.”
Dom’s world slanted. Something about her words didn’t align with what Dom knew. “What did you say?”
Callie’s head spun in his direction. A long moment passed before her lips formed an O of understanding. “Did you think you’d killed him?”
Aimee squeezed his hand. He gripped her in return, feeling the world realign around him. The blood on his hands lessened. Despite everything Richard had done, Dom hadn’t wanted to resort to murder. He’d been unable to control himself, fueled by rage. He’d assumed…in his fury…
“Dad survived,” Callie began. “But I don’t think his wounds are the kind that can be healed by shifting. No amount of magic can fix missing limbs.”
“Richard is bound to the Den now. Without a leg and the other foot, he isn’t the leader he once was.”
Morgan stepped up to his mate’s side. “I’m sure the Den will want revenge, but I think whoever replaces him will see it’s a waste of time hunting us.”
“I vote we get on with our lives,” Orion voiced from the kitchen. When everyone turned to look at him, he set down his tray of fish and rice, his face falling into a grim expression. Dom caught the way Orion’s eyes darkened. There was a fight happening inside him as they watched him.
Dom could only wonder what Orion’s beast was fighting for. Dom’s own beast had quieted, having found a balance when it saw they would lose Aimee. Orion had no such support. While he had his friends, the crew, they could only do so much for him.
“What?” Orion snapped. He looked from person to person. “There’s a new crew coming to lay the foundation for the resort in a few days. Our job here is done.” Orion jerked his chin at Dom. “He can get us a new gig and we can all move on with our lives. I can’t sit here without something to do, waiting for the Den to come looking for us. They’ll do whatever they want, whenever they want.”
“If we go now, maybe we can make the Den into what it should be.” Callie’s voice strained.
Dom tried to organize his mind. The beast was still out for blood. Its thirst was not as strong as it had been, but it was still there. It wanted to finish cutting down the Den before any of them could come for his family.
These shifters, this ragtag group that had once been co-workers, were his life. He didn’t want to see harm befall any of them. If they could enter the Den and turn it on its head, then his family would stay safe. It wasn’t about hurting the Den shifters. Instead, he wanted to keep control from the hands of those who might follow in Richard’s footsteps.
“No.” Boomer shook his head adamantly. His braids and curls flew through the air.
There was no way they were getting the expecting father anywhere near the Den. Not while his mate was vulnerable, and not once his child had been born.
Callie was hopeful, in a way that many of them could not feel. She’d seen the better parts of the Den. They all understood that. They even understood her desire to make things better with her father. Maybe there would come a day when she and Morgan left them. The void in power caused by Richard’s wounds would likely be filled by another bear whose thoughts were not so far away from Richard’s.
Yet, no one in the room, not even Callie, wanted what the Den could offer. They wanted their own lives, the bits and pieces they’d patched together and turned into something great.
Dom was the smart one. They all thought that. It was why they left calculations and contracts to him. But with he beast’s instincts still loud in his head, he didn’t know which way to lean. Not until Aimee pressed a hand against his back. Her presence settled him.
She looked up at him, solid and real. There was a core of steel in the small package that was his mate. She let him lean on it when he needed to. With her beside him, he was able to look at his family with a clear head.
His attention moved to Orion. The youngest shifter, the only one among them that had the change forced on them, still lacked a mate. Dom and Aimee were doing what they could to keep Orion’s head above metaphorical water, but if they marched into the Den and stirred up trouble, it could put their fr
iend at risk.
Dom knew what it was like to lose the fight to the beast inside. He wanted to get a little more time for their friend. He wouldn’t subject Orion to another fight. Now wasn’t the time to change the Den. It was time they move on.
Reid pulled Addison into his body. She let him, sinking into her mate’s warmth. Callie reached and gripped Morgan’s hand. They couldn’t live in fear of the Den forever, but they also couldn’t dwell on it. The Den had learned their lesson. Whoever replaced Richard would know that this family was not to be messed with. Perhaps, if they were lucky, whoever rose to power would be the one to incite change.
“Is it our job to fix the Den?” Dom asked quietly.
They could all see that Callie bore the weight of the idea on her shoulders because of who she was, where she’d come from. Yet, it asked too much of those ready to get on with their lives. So many of them had found mates. Two of them even had a child on the way. The future was wide open and all they asked for was happiness. Dom knew happiness never came easy, but if they charged in to fix something that was not asking to be fixed, when would they find the futures they wanted?
It was time to move on. He had no doubt Richard was not finished with them, but he knew the man would have a much more difficult time harassing them. The man’s raids were over. The crew would move on to their next job and get on with their lives. If they were lucky, Emmy and Boomer’s child would experience the first shift surrounded by friends and family.
Aimee tucked herself beneath his arm, wrapping her arms around his middle. Her presence was an anchor. He liked to think he did the same for her as he held her tight. When he ducked to kiss the top of her head, she smelled of herbs, a reminder of how much work they had ahead of them. Not with the Den, but with the dream she’d drawn him into. The promise of loud and exhausting days in her new mobile restaurant filled him with joy.
To Tame a Bear Page 13
