We passed a curious Dawn, collapsing on the living room sofa and armchair.
“Serena is better now,” Thorn told Dawn. “Can you put on some coffee? I’d do it, but we’re all beat.”
“Of course,” she said, and started for the kitchen. “I’ll get the kettle on. Thanks so much for helping Dr. Rizzo.”
I rubbed the side of my head where a killer headache was forming. “Are we all clear outside?”
“Um, yes and no, but I think we’re good. Finn is out there with a Deputy Sheriff that just drove up.”
“What?” I struggled hard to perk up from Dawn’s announcement. “Why didn’t you say something?”
“You were busy. It’s okay, though. Finn knows the guy, purely by coincidence. Some friend he went to high school with. It’s good news, because he offered to drive us all a ride home in his Suburban or whatever that Chevy SUV is. Everyone heading to Dallas, anyway. That means you twins are off the hook for getting us to Houston.”
The idea of parting ways with everyone—especially Serena—tugged hard at my chest. I didn’t want to, but if a law enforcement friend of Finn’s was volunteering to help, it wasn’t my place to say no.
Gage lifted his head to look at Dawn. “Sounds good to me, but how in hell did they settle all these arrangements in the ten minutes we were in the room with Serena?”
“You weren’t in there for just ten minutes. It’s been over an hour.”
“What?”
“Yeah. It’s almost three o’clock in the morning. So, getting back to Finn’s officer friend, he saw a blood trail out on the main road and came in to investigate. Finn told him about the men who attacked us. The only slight problem is that he requested an ambulance for Dr. Rizzo. So there’s that. We can tell them she prefers to refuse treatment? That would work, I think.”
“Christ,” I groaned. “All right. What are we going to do if Finn demands to see her shoulder?”
“Dr. Rizzo won’t have a problem telling him no. I believe she understands the stakes. We know we can’t tell a soul about shifters.”
The door to Serena’s room opened just then. We all craned our necks as she stepped into the living room, dressed in a different sweater and jeans.
“Thanks for patching me up, gentlemen,” Serena chirped. She was radiant, beaming. “I don’t know about y’all, but I’m feeling great! I can’t remember the last time I felt this energetic and awake. Wow!”
“We’re glad to hear that,” Thorn spoke up. “But you may want to tone it down, and uh, act a little more like you just suffered a gunshot wound a few hours ago.”
“Oh yeah. Good point.” She slumped her shoulders and raised her opposite hand to cover the old injury protectively. “How does this look? Convincing enough?”
“Looks good to me, Dr. Rizzo,” Dawn squeaked, taking the kettle off to make us individual cups of instant coffee.
“Are we all leaving soon?” Serena asked, taking a seat beside me on the sofa.
I was really tempted to dance around the issue. I wanted to maintain my offer to get everyone safely home, but Gage beat me to a reply. “Yes. It’s a done deal. The seven of you will go with the Deputy Sheriff when he’s ready to leave. Gage and I will head back to Reno in the Lincoln. I’m pretty sure we’ll make it home sometime in the afternoon on Christmas Eve. Right, Gunner? Mom and Dad will give us hell for years to come if we don’t at least try.”
I glanced over at Serena. Gage was right. We needed to get home, but hell, saying goodbye so soon felt like a whole new and different torture. Dawn brought around a tray of steaming hot black coffee. Serena took a cup. Her brows furrowed as she lifted the cup to her lips, had a sip, and waited for my answer.
I didn’t know what to tell her, so I went with, “Come with Gage and me.” Her eyes flashed up from her coffee. She didn’t say a word, so I continued. “Dawn mentioned your sister lives in Red Ridge, Arizona, and that your father is in Chicago. Maybe you can spend Christmas Eve with us, and if you want, I’ll drive you to see your sister sometime between Christmas and New Year’s on our way home to north Las Vegas. Dawn, you can come too, if you’d like.”
“Uh, I can’t, fellas. My parents are probably worried sick. I’ve got to go home.”
“I’ll come along,” Thorn offered. “The whole reason I was flying to Houston was to have my first shift with my granddad. It’s kind of tradition, but that plan is pretty much moot now.”
“No problem at all, Thorn,” Gage answered. “But no more talk about the ‘s’ word. We’ve learned more than enough than we know what to do with right now.”
No kidding. I looked over at Serena again. “So? What do you think? Christmas in Reno, and New Year’s in Red Ridge?”
“Let me give it some thought,” she answered. “There may be another benefit to heading back there. The equipment on Mount Houghton can help me dig a bit deeper into that celestial event. Plus I can have a visit with my sister.”
I gulped down my entire cup of coffee. I had just made a bold move, inviting Serena home after knowing her for about seventy-two hours. But it felt right. “Take all the time you need before the Deputy is ready to head out.”
“I think I’m going back to Reno!” she announced, leaning into my chest. “How soon can we leave?”
12
Epilogue - Serena
December 25, Reno, Nevada.
I woke up in a bed I’d never slept on before. Another rule, broken just like that. Yet it felt like a damned good start to Christmas morning with Gunner, after saying our goodbyes to Finn, Lauretta, Dawn and the babies, then spending almost thirty hours in the Lincoln to get right back where we had come from.
Rolling to my side, I gazed over at him as he slept.
“Merry Christmas, Serena,” Gunner groaned in a sleepy voice, eyes still closed.
I smiled. “Merry Christmas.”
He brought his arm around my waist and pulled me tight to his blazing hot skin. “Had a good sleep?”
“I did, thanks to you.”
“Aren’t you tired from all that driving?”
“A little,” I said, leaning over to kiss his welcoming lips that drifted toward me.
“My brain feels like we’re still navigating bumpy roads in the vehicle right now,” he admitted.
“I know what you mean. So, can I make everyone breakfast or something?”
“Nope. You’re a guest, and my mother will chase you out of her domain if she finds you.”
“All right. I just want to show them how grateful I am. They’ve been so welcoming.”
“Relax. We’ll have all day to thank her,” he whispered. “For now, get over here, sexy.”
He tightened his grip around my waist, and I wrapped my arms around his neck. The faint smell of his body wash curled up my nose, doing unspeakable things to my core. At this rate, we’d end up in bed all morning. Not that I had a problem with the idea. Swinging a leg over his hips, I pressed my center against his groin as his kiss that started off gentle became hungry. Gunner helped me climb on top, letting out a primal growl. He was so hard right now, throbbing at my wet center. I pulled from his lips and smiled down at him, wondering how I’d become so lucky to wake up in bed with this smoking hot man.
Gunner gazed up at me at the same moment and laced his hands through my messy hair. “You’re so fucking sexy, woman,” he groaned, reaching over to the night table for a condom.
He began to kiss my neck, and all my thoughts stopped. His hot breath escaped his lips, doing wicked things to my need as he lifted up my hips and rolled on the condom. Reaching a hand down between us, I wrapped my fingers around his thick, rigid shaft. My heart began to race as he captured my lips again, sending my need to feel him inside me through the roof. I didn’t wait. Neither did he as he dug his nails into my hips and pulled me down hard, boring into me. Gunner let out a growl from the back of his throat that vibrated against my mouth. Every motion of his tongue was matched to the thrusts of his hips.
I laced my f
ingers through his hair and rocked my hips. He was buried so deep inside of me, it took all my will not to speed up my movements and let my climax take over.
“Come for me, Serena,” he rasped out, picking up the pace, pounding into me as though reading my mind. He must have seen it on my face as my eyes began to roll up into the back of my head. Either that, or he just knew the effect he had on me. Soon, my legs were trembling as I felt myself being pelted to an approaching peak. I couldn’t stop if I tried. Deep in my core, heat, flames and sparks burst out from one spot, blinding me as it spread throughout my body. Gunner didn’t stop. He continued to thrust into me, sustaining my orgasm until he exploded through his release too.
Pulling me down into his hot chest, he clutched me tight until we both stop shaking. I was still breathing heavily when he moved my hair to one side and whispered, “I’m not done with you yet.”
I groaned, aware that I’ve not quite recovered, but I wanted him all over again. “Maybe this is the Christmas gift that keeps on giving,” I tell him as he rolled me onto my back.
“And there’ll be many, many more, Serena,” he whispered in my ear.
The End
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BIO- Bella Love-Wins
Bella loves writing steamy, high-action romance stories about firefighters, billionaires, shifters, and alpha males who know what they want and aren't afraid of laying claim to the women who catch their interest. She enjoys a happy ever after ending, as well as reading, hiking, the countryside, and traveling to destinations unspoiled by commercial tourism, like Las Vegas. :)
Like so many characters in her novels, Bella gets all hot and bothered for action, romance and unexpected love connections that take her breath away. For the next while, you'll find her in Toronto, plotting and writing about her latest stories on her Macbook.
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