Dancer's Heart (17 page)

Adam shook Lucian’s hand. It was the first
time he’d ever met Malachi’s friend and partner in their company,
L&M Security. The male was clearly human, but there was
something
other
about him, too. Mal had said he was in the
military, but Adam suspected there was more to the large, tattooed
male than either of them let on. Not that he actually cared,
because the only person in the world that mattered to him was
standing over the kitchen stove making gravy.

“Thanks for everything,” Adam said as he
shook Malachi’s hand.

“You’re welcome.” Malachi handed the tablet
to Adam and the two left, leaving Adam in the backyard alone. He
looked at the tablet. The screen showed that everything was quiet
in the woods around them. He tilted his head up to the sky, where
the bright moon felt like it was centered completely over the yard,
highlighting the place where Dani had fallen while Adam had been
helpless to protect her.

Arms wrapped around him, and Dani let out a
soft sob as she moved in front of him and buried her face in his
chest. He held her close, resting his cheek on the top of her
head.

“It’ll be okay now, sweetheart,” he said.

“I don’t want to be afraid of the
backyard.”

“I know. I don’t want that for you, either.”
He gripped the tablet in one hand and held her close with the
other. “Tell you what. Let’s shift.”

She looked up at him and rubbed at her wet
cheeks. “Now?”

“Yeah. Look up there, baby. The moon is so
bright, and it’s just for us.”

She blinked a few times, her brows furrowing
slightly, and then she smiled. “Okay. I can face anything with you
by my side.”

They walked over to the porch, and he brushed
the snow off the small table and laid the tablet on it. He turned
to face Dani and saw her staring at the security fence and chewing
her bottom lip. “We can do this,” he said.

“You’re not nervous?”

“I am a little, but if I stayed afraid of
fire I wouldn’t be able to hang out with the pack on the full moon
when they have bonfires in the summer. I wouldn’t be able to go in
there tonight and stoke the fire so I can warm you up properly
after we shift.”

Her gaze softened and then she smirked. “You
always tempt me with sex.”

He wiggled his brows. “It works.”

She rolled her shoulders back and let out a
deep breath. “Okay. I’m not going to be afraid to shift. This is
our yard and our home.”

“You got that right.”

They stripped quickly and shifted. Adam saw
Dani hesitate only once as she shook herself out from her shift,
her gaze darting along the length of the wall as her nostrils
flared and steam billowed from them. Then she took a few steps into
the yard and looked at him.

He chuffed at her in encouragement.

She lowered her head, dug one of her antlers
into the snow and chucked a pile of it at him. He barked a laugh
and raced toward her, and she bleated and hopped away. He could
have caught her, but he just wanted to chase her. He’d catch her
later, when they were naked and in the warmth of the house. She
darted from one corner of the yard to the other, her tail twitching
and her hooves kicking up snow. He pursued her lazily and then sat
in the center of the yard and listened to the night around them. He
could hear everything, his wolf intent on Dani’s safety above all
else.

He had no doubt that they were safe now. He
wasn’t sure how he knew; he just felt a peace that he couldn’t
explain. Maybe it was knowing that their property was wired to the
gills with technology that would make it impossible for anyone to
sneak up on them, or maybe it was knowing that the people who had
taken her were dead and there was nothing to tie either of them to
the deaths at the park.

Whatever it was, Adam would take it. Keeping
Dani safe and making a haven for them for the future was all that
mattered. Someday their kids would be with them, shifting in the
yard in one form or another, and he never wanted them to doubt that
Wilde Creek was a safe place to live.

After Dani had leaped and run her fill, she
nudged him gently with her antler and tilted her head toward the
house. She didn’t have to tell him twice. They shifted together,
their bodies morphing from beast to human with ease. Adam swung her
up into his arms and carried her into the house, stopping only long
enough to grab the tablet from the table.

Her hands were cold as she slid them into his
hair and kissed a line down his neck. “That was fun.”

“Not scary?”

“Not with my protector watching out for
me.”

He opened the sliding door and stepped
inside, sliding it shut and flipping the lock. “I had a vision of
our sons standing with you, watching over their sisters and me
while we forage.”

He grinned as he knelt to set her down gently
on the carpet. His leg burned slightly from the exertion of
shifting. “How many kids are you thinking about, sweetheart?”

He pulled some logs from the basket, used the
poker to open the screen, and then put the wood on the low flames.
The fire blazed to life, and he closed the screen. Dani
straightened from spreading out a blanket on the floor and went to
her knees in the center of it. “I don’t know. I’d like to have a
big family. Neither of us had that, and I can’t think of anything
that would make me happier than to have a bunch of little Adams
running around.”

“And Danis,” he said, kissing her gently as
he cupped her face.

“Definitely.” She gripped his hips and moved
closer. They tumbled to the floor, putting thoughts of the future
on hold for the time being as they warmed each other up, ate cold
pot roast, and then warmed each other up again.

It was one of the best nights he’d ever
had.

* * * * *

Thursday morning, Adam held open the truck
door for Dani as she got in, carrying a tote that was overflowing
with yarn. Although she was enjoying learning how to quilt, she’d
really taken to knitting, and was determined to make matching
scarves for the two of them before the ground thawed. She used
every moment of her spare time to work on the black and gray
garments.

“Heloise said she’d help me bind off your
scarf today, but first I have to help her organize her pills for
the week. That woman is all about natural stuff, vitamins and
minerals I’ve never heard of.”

“You shouldn’t be surprised that wolves like
natural things.”

“I guess not. She’s a sweetie, even if she
does smell like garlic from the tablets she takes.”

He chuckled as he shut the door.

“What are you and Jer doing today?”

“Delivering wood.”

“Sounds exciting,” she said with a wink.

“It’s a laugh riot.”

He’d just shifted the truck into gear when a
black SUV stopped in front of them. For a heartbeat, he wasn’t sure
what was going on, but then the passenger door opened and Liam got
out. He waved at them and Dani said, “Oh! It’s Liam!”

Adam rolled the window down as Liam walked
over to his side. “Hi. What’s going on?”

“Hey, I have some news. Can we talk inside
for a minute? Tesli is here, and she’d love to say hi to Dani if
you have the time.”

“Sure. Let me text my friend and tell him
we’ll be late,” Adam said. He rolled up his window and then texted
Jeremiah to tell him that they were meeting with friends
unexpectedly and would be at the retirees’ residences as soon as
they were finished.

“What do you think they want?” Dani
asked.

“Let’s find out,” he said.

When Dani got out of the truck, Tesli
squealed and raced over to her, grabbing her in a hug and nearly
taking them both down on the slick sidewalk. “What are you doing
here?” Dani asked with a laugh as they regained their balance.

“We were passing by, and we have some good
news. How are you doing?”

“Really good. You?”

“I’m okay. I’m so glad to be home.”

“I am, too.”

Liam and Dragos joined Adam, Dani, and Tesli
as they walked into the house. “Can I make you guys some coffee or
tea?” Dani asked.

“No, we can’t stay long. The herd is waiting
outside of town for us. There’s a winter storm coming and we want
to be on the way before it hits.” Dragos said.

The reindeer sat on the couch, and Adam
pulled Dani onto his lap as he sat on the oversized chair.

Liam cleared his throat. “A member of our
herd is very good with computers, and he did some tracking of the
men who had been part of the kidnapping. It confirmed what the
human told us before he died; they’re part of a group that I can
only describe as a gang. There was a main man at the top, and his
henchmen. The petting zoo was a front for the operation, a way to
launder money and a headquarters of sorts. Since the petting zoo
was closed, the main barn was used as a holding area for abducted
shifters.” Liam said. He paused for a moment and Adam knew he
wasn’t going to be happy with what he said next.

“I think you probably already figured out
that your father offered Dani in exchange for a debt. The reason we
know that is because Tesli overheard the humans discuss bringing in
a new shifter in repayment for a debt. They had at least one buyer
who wanted a rare shifter, and they were trying to get more buyers
for an auction.”

Dani shivered, and Adam held her a little
tighter.

Dragos said, “We dropped off your
grandparents’ car. It was cleaned of any and all evidence that
could have possibly linked it to what happened there. We also found
the tracking device they had installed and disabled it. With the
organization destroyed, there’s no reason to believe that anyone
else will come for you or Dani.”

“Where will you guys go now?” Dani asked.

“We’re going north. We’ve decided to find a
place to call home permanently. I think our people have been
nomadic long enough. When we settle, we’d like to invite you to
come visit,” Dragos said.

Liam leaned forward and handed a business
card to Adam. “I set up a website. You can send us a message
anytime if you need us.”

“Would you be willing to come to our
wedding?” Dani asked. “We’re not sure when the date is yet, but I’d
like to have some of my own people there.”

Dragos nodded with a smile. “We’d be honored.
Send us the details when you know them and we’ll be sure to be
there. Tesli can tell you about our mating traditions, so you can
add them to your ceremony if you’d like.”

Dani smile. “I would.”

They said goodbye to the herd. Dani and Adam
stood on the front porch and watched their SUV until it was gone.
She turned to him and he held her. “Did you want to go with them?”
he asked.

Her head snapped up. “What?”

He touched his thumb to the corner of her
frown. “I don’t mean without me, love. I mean, did you want us to
go and live with the herd?”

“Why would I want to do that?”

“Because they’re your people.”

She nipped his thumb and smiled softly.
“You’re my people – you and the pack. I don’t need to be where
other reindeer are.”

“I’d go anywhere for you, Dani. I just want
you to be happy.”

“I’m happiest here,” she said, standing on
her tiptoes and kissing him.

He was glad she wanted to stay in Wilde
Creek, but he would have gone anywhere she wanted if she’d asked.
He looked down into her beautiful eyes. At that moment, he could
see their future clearly: children, a home full of love, waking up
to her sweet face every morning forever.

“I’m the luckiest wolf to have such a
beautiful and loving mate.”

“When you’re ready to start on our family,
let me know,” she said, lifting an eyebrow suggestively.

He reached behind her and opened the front
door, pushing her gently back into the house. “How about now?”

She giggled. “What about work?”

“I’m calling in sick for both of us.” He
tugged his phone from his pocket and gave her a hot look. “Get.
Naked.”

She gave him a saucy salute as her coat
dropped to the floor and she toed off her boots. “Yes, sir.”

She darted off to the bedroom, dropping
clothes in her wake. He texted Jeremiah as quickly as he could and
then shut off his phone so they wouldn’t be disturbed. He glanced
at the door and flipped the deadbolt before shedding his coat and
boots. He was thankful that the reindeer had stopped by to share
that Dani was safe from the people who had kidnapped her, but Adam
had no intention of ever taking Dani’s security for granted again.
He’d made an error once, and it could have cost his sweetheart her
life. He’d be damn sure that never happened again.

“Adam,” she crooned, her voice low and
sultry.

He growled softly, ripping his clothes off as
he drew closer to the bedroom, where he found her naked and waiting
for him. The sight of her, lush and aroused, always made his brain
stall out, and he found himself struck dumb by how gorgeous she
was.

Her hips flexed as she ran her hands down her
sides, and her eyes, always such a gorgeous blue, flickered to the
burnished gold of her beast. “Mine,” he growled.

“I am. Entirely.”

Pouncing on her with all the grace of a moose
in a ceramic store, he took her good-natured laughter with a snarl,
silencing her with kisses as they tumbled to the bed. It was a
great way to start their family – with love, laughter, and
growling.

The End

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