A Christmas Home (9 page)

“Thank
you for doing that for me and yes I don’t want you to have a bear boner so
maybe we will only spend a little time like that and then when you shift that
boner can be put to very, very good use. In fact I really like the idea of you
sliding into me when you are all jacked up.”

Shaking
his head, he pulled her closer so he could kiss her hard. “You are so lucky I
adore you, Ophelia. Let’s get you home. I don’t want you or anyone away from
pack lands any more than necessary right now.”

“Sounds
good. We should stop at the store on our way home. How do steaks sound for
dinner? That or salmon for my bear?” Tonight she wanted to cook for him, wanted
to pamper him.

“Despite
the propaganda I’m not a huge fan of fish. I’m a steak man, very meat and
potatoes, truth be told. We need to get some other things, too, so that’s a
good plan. We should go now. Here soon I have to meet with my lieutenants to
update them and see what the other alphas have decided for their part in
helping us watch over the rogue pack,” he said, waving her toward the door.

She
walked out of the door and turned to watch him as he locked up. Once more they
walked arm in arm toward his waiting vehicle so that they could get on with
their day.

Chapter Thirteen

Ophelia
heard Jagger finish his call while she put the last items from their shopping
trip away. He’d called the lieutenants of his pack to check on the silver
progress and to update them on what the other alphas had said during the
meeting. When his arms slid around her from behind and his lips pressed to her
neck she leaned back into his body. “Did you want me to start the grill up for
those steaks or are you good?” he asked, nuzzling at her skin.

“I’m
good for right now. I don’t want them to go on too soon because then we will be
waiting for the sides and the steaks will cook through.” She tilted her head to
the side and smiled. “And yes, I’m still making you have veggies with me.”
Well, if you called twice baked potatoes and corn veggies, but she would take
whatever she could get. “Or we could go and get naked under the Christmas tree.
That would be even more fun.” She loved this time of year, the lights on the
trees casting a delightful glow over everything, the snow falling lightly and
him. Oh definitely him.

“Probably
not a good idea to get naked yet. We both tend to get hugely distracted when we
do that. Besides, gotta save the naked time for when I shift into my bear so
you can cuddle with me, remember? But since we have a couple minutes to kill.”
He lifted her and set her on the counter, stepping between her legs. “We can
get up to some hanky panky here while we wait on the timer.”

“Oh
yes. I love how you think. You do have the best of ideas.” She was laughing
just a bit and let her hands move over his chest. “And yes, I do want to have
some cuddle time with your bear. I think it will be a lot of fun to pet him.
You won’t be upset with that, will you?”

“Why
would I be?” he asked. “We’re the same being. Our thought patterns are a little
different but I’m still me when I’m in that form, and he’s still here when I’m
in this form. Any chance to have our mate petting either one of us is a huge
score in our books.”

“Good
because I can’t wait.” She was petting him now, however, her hands moving down
his shoulders, then under his shirt when they reached his waist. “You can cook
the steaks on the grill without your shirt, right?” she wanted to know.

“It’s
less dangerous than attempting to cook bacon without a shirt on.” He reached
over his head to pull the t-shirt off and, balling it up, he tossed it toward a
chair at the dining table. “Now that you have me half-naked what are you
planning to do with me?”

“Well.”
She let her fingers move over his chest and leaned in. Her mouth closed over
his nipple and she scraped it lightly with her teeth. God she loved hearing
that growl that he let go when she bit his nipple just right.

Shoving
a hand into her hair, Jagger yanked her head up and back, his mouth coming down
to meet hers. His free hand worked under her own top to lay against the small
of her back as he devoured her mouth, their tongues tangling and teeth banging.

When
they parted she was panting. She lifted her arms. “Take my shirt off.”

“And
end up missing the timer and not eating at all? Not happening, sweetheart. I
want food in my belly at some point tonight.” He winked. “A bear has to have
sustenance to make sure he is strong enough to look after his mate in all the
ways he knows she likes.”

“Okay,
okay.” She let her hands move up and down his chest. “Later, though. Under the
Christmas tree after I’ve had some bear snuggling we will figure out just how
naked we want to get and how naughty we want to get. Deal?” she asked with a
grin.

“Fully
naked, totally naughty,” he told her. He brushed his lips to hers, then down
over her neck. Slowly her bear nibbled, licked, and nuzzled a path down to her
shoulder before making the return journey up the other side.

“Mmmm
and what sort of naughtiness do you want to get up to? I did see that blindfold
and silk rope in your drawer when I grabbed a pair of your shorts to put on
yesterday. Can we play?” She wanted to play with him and have him toy with her.
She wanted to be everything to him.

“If
you’re up for it. We’ll start out slow and we can get more adventurous as we
go. Although I don’t remember leaving the rope in that particular drawer. I’m
pretty sure it was tucked neatly away with my other items.”

She
felt her cheeks heat with the flush of what she was sure was a massive blush.
“Well I might have looked around a little when I found the blindfold.”

“Uh-huh,
I thought so. What else did you see when you may have looked around? I’m not
complaining. My home is your home and there are no secrets between us, but
…
did
you see the rope, slam the drawer, and sit there blushing like you are now?”

“I
found the toys that hadn’t been opened and the lube—and then I slammed the
drawer shut.”

He
gave her a knowing look and chuckled. “I thought so.”

She
grinned and leaned in close to whisper, “But
…
I
love the idea of having you play with me, having you take me in every single,
possible orifice that you can.” He growled and tugged her against him. Then the
timer on the oven went off, and they both looked that way. Stepping back, he
lifted her off the counter and set her onto her feet.

“Okay,
enough teasing. You go start the steaks.” She did give him another kiss,
though, then smiled when they parted. While he worked on the steaks, she finished
the potatoes and the corn.

Sitting
down around the table once their plates were filled, they dug in quickly. Only
once they’d gotten a few bites down did she look over to see Jagger watching
her. He gave her a grin that had her squirming in her seat. “You keep looking
at me like that and I’m seriously going to come across the table and I’m going
to jump into your lap and make you take me right here, right now.”

He
gave a deep chuckle at her words. “I wouldn’t be upset if you wanted to come
sit in my lap. I would even feed you if you were over here. But I’m not sure
how much food we’d actually get down so it’s probably best you stay over there
until after we finish.” She shifted in her seat again and bit her lower lip.
“Will it always be like this? Will we always have this need for each other?” If
so, she was so screwed because she wanted to jump him seemingly
twenty-four-seven.

“Don’t
know, never had a mate before you, sweetheart. I could ask some of the others
in the pack. They’ll probably be able to share some insight into this whole
being mated thing. Personally, I kind of like it. I definitely like knowing I
can make you hot and bothered with a look. And you know I’m always hard for you
when you’re in the vicinity.”

“Thank
goodness that it’s not just me that’s feeling that way,” she said with a grin.
“Because I seriously want to always have you with me in every single way
possible. It would be nice, though, to know if this would be something we would
need to be prepared for when we go out and all that fun stuff.”

“I’ll
ask around and see what I can find out. Not that anyone would judge us if we
were to disappear into a room or out a door and not come back. You are a hot
number and I’m a sucker for a woman who loves me like you do.” Finishing off
his meal, he leaned his elbows to the table and sat watching her finish up her
food.

When
she was done eating, Jagger carried their dishes to the sink. They made small
talk as they loaded the dishwasher and wiped down counters. Tossing the
dishtowel aside, Jagger reached for her, brushing a kiss to her cheek, then
pulling back when his phone rang. “Crap, let me deal with whoever this is, and
you go start the fire. You do know how to start a fire, right?” he asked,
pulling the phone out.

“Yes,
I know how to start a fire,” she told him with a small roll of her eyes,
laughing. “Go, do what you need to do and I will sit my fluffy, naked ass in
front of the fire,” she said with a grin and winked when she walked away.

“Ha,
ha. Women,” she heard him mutter. Then it was the low hum of his voice in the
background while she stripped down and got the fire started.

Chapter Fourteen

Waking
up with an armful of woman was Jagger’s idea of heaven. That it was his mate
made it even better. Ophelia was still sound asleep, and as much as he wanted
to wake her up on their first Christmas morning together he let her sleep a
while longer. She needed it after the rough night she’d had. Two roaring
nightmares of what they were to face that night had pulled her awake screaming
each time.

He’d
managed to get her calmed enough to sleep again, so any rest she got was good
in his book. They were as ready as they could be for what was coming. Each pack
had one watcher currently on the saber pack with two specifically tasked to the
alpha. Any little move they made was reported back, then shared among the
packs. There would be absolutely no surprises when the sabertooths began to
move out.

The
packs had been told what was going down and what they needed to do to prepare.
The other alphas had even agreed with him during their final meeting yesterday
to alert the townsfolk through the town council. While the festivities would
continue Jagger fully expected everyone to be on edge waiting for the
proverbial shoe to drop. And they all knew it was coming. A necessity to
guarantee everyone was ready to move when the word came down.

At
last report from the watchers, just after four that morning there had been
scouts sent out to check on the town’s progress for the day’s afternoon and
evening plans. Since then they’d apparently settled in to rest. Checking his
phone, Jagger noted a text telling him that everything was still quiet on the
sabertooth front. Good news, it meant the big cats had no idea that all of
Shifter Falls was ready for whatever shit they decided to bring to their
doorsteps. He set the phone back down gently on the side table and snuggled
into his mate. He would do everything in his power to keep her safe. She was,
above all others, his first priority. In such a short time, Ophelia had managed
to become everything to him. Pressing a kiss to her shoulder, he let his
eyelids drop and felt the tension that had gathered in his body drop away.
Maybe he could catch a small cat nap before she woke up.

“Hey,
you.” She sounded sleepy as she snuggled against him. “Do you have any idea
what’s going on? I know you’ve been keeping track on the pack so have they made
any more moves?” She wanted to know what was going on and he could appreciate
that. He could understand where she was coming from because of how brutal the
visions had been last night.

“The
watchers updated me a little while ago. There’s no movement right now. Looks
like everyone is bunked down for the night, catching a few
z’s
. They did
a scouting mission out into the town for a while but headed back after they
checked out where the festival is to continue tonight. Apparently they were
happy to see everything was in place for the events planned.”

“I’m
glad your people understood how important it was to keep up appearances but
still see to it that the little ones are safe.” She snuggled against him again.
Jagger smiled. Ophelia was a natural with the cubs and they loved her. He was
looking forward to her being swollen with their child one day.

“Everyone
will be keeping up appearances for the day,” he said. Stroking a hand down her
back, he pressed a kiss to her forehead. “We’re going to have a lazy day today.
Breakfast and then presents before we go to the community hall on pack lands
for the kids’ gift opening from the pack. After that we’ll come back here, have
a nap, and then gear up for the night. We need to go into town to keep
everything looking normal. We’re all sure that the sabertooths will send out
scouts to check things are still happening as they should. We’ll start slipping
people away to secure the young and the elderly in the bunkers, and when they
come we will be prepared to hold them off outside the town. If we can keep them
from getting past us, the townsfolk will all be safe.”

“I
know that we will be able to. I’m positive of it,” she told him with that smile
of hers, the one that made him feel like he could do anything. “All of the
gifts are ready for the kids, right?” He had to hug her closer. She had gone
out and purchased gifts for all of the cubs after meeting them. She had told
him she had to do it since they were now part of her family.

“They
are all ready, wrapped, and under the tree. Don’t worry, sweetheart. I made
sure personally that they were all there.” He gave her another kiss on the
cheek before throwing the covers off. “Up you get. We have things to do before
we can come home for our nap and prepare.” If only he could keep her away from
the battle he knew was coming.

“I’m
going to be at your side. You know that, right?” She seemed to know when he was
thinking of protecting her. “I know how to use a gun and I have no problem
doing it at all because I’m telling you, I will shoot the hell out of someone
that comes toward my family and you are all my family.”

Pretty
much what he’d figured she would say. “Yes, dear,” he told her. He expected,
and accepted, the smack to his arm. “Get your gorgeous ass moving. I need
coffee, and we both need to eat.” There was a lot to do and little time to see
it all done. No one in the pack was going to ruin Christmas for the cubs, but he
knew it wouldn’t be quite like it had been in the past. Not with what was
coming for them.

“Coffee
is very necessary.” She did get moving then, and he appreciated her naked ass
walking away until she closed the bathroom door behind her. “Get the coffee ready
and I’m going to shower. Go,” she called through the door, which had him
laughing.

Stopping
in the half bath to rid himself of the morning cottonmouth, he did his
business, then headed to the kitchen. First thing to do was start the coffee,
but the second was to throw a pan of cinnamon rolls into the oven. They’d done
a lot of prep both for the events and for the meals the day prior.

When
she came down she had her hair in a braid. He noticed she was doing that more
often because of the way the cubs would tug at her hair. “I’m ready for coffee.
Did you put the cinnamon rolls into the oven?” They had prepared those the
night before, ensuring they would be ready for the morning.

“Of
course I did.” Walking over to her, he grabbed the braid, gave it a little tug,
and pressed a kiss to her lips. “Have a cup of coffee while I shower and dress.
Do not eat the cinnamon buns until I’m out here. I know how many are on that
pan, woman. Don’t think I didn’t count.” He knew her. If she could sneak one or
two before he came back down she would.

“I
won’t eat them until you’re back. I like eating with you,” she told him and he
watched her lick her lips. “I think you should kiss me again and then go
shower. After that I’m going to read the paper while I wait for you.”

“Good
plan. Excellent plan, actually.” He gave her another kiss, this one longer, and
only when she melted into him did he break the kiss. Feeling rather pleased
with himself, he gave her one more peck to her lips before releasing her hair.
“Get some coffee,” he repeated on his way out the door.

****

Ophelia
was sitting at Jagger’s side, her hand in his. She was nervous, terrified
actually, because she was sure that there was going to be some serious issues
with life very soon. She could hope she was wrong, but she didn’t think she
was.

She
had her weapon hidden at her side and the cubs and elders were all hidden away
in the bunker. “They will be here soon.”

“I
still feel them coming.” She was practically panting but she stopped herself
from doing so. “We will be ready for them. I just hope that everyone else is
ready, too. They are all ready, right?” Repeating herself. Fabulous. She was
such a hot damn mess.

His
large hand wrapped around the back of her neck, and he used the light hold to
pull her into his chest. “We are ready,” he said quietly. Jagger gently
massaged her neck and shoulders until she could feel the tension she’d been
carrying all day slipping away. It wouldn’t last, she knew that, but in the
moment it felt good. “Garth will text me the instant there’s movement from the
rogue pack. When that happens we will all begin to move into position so we are
ready to meet them head-on. They won’t expect it. They see us as lambs they’re
about to slaughter. What they will get will knock them sideways and give us the
time we need to end this.”

“Exactly.”
She let out a breath, then looked up at him with a smile. “We have this. We
won’t let anyone hurt our family, not now and not ever. We might be a jumbled
mix of bears, wolves, humans, and so on but we are fierce and we will not let
anyone ever hurt those that are ours to protect, right?”

“Right,”
he said. Lifting her hand in his, he pressed a kiss to her palm. “Try and
relax, sweetheart. You need to be fully centered and have a clear mind when
this begins. The only thing you should have at the forefront is keeping
yourself and the innocents safe. If you think on anything else during what is
to come then you will be distracted, and in battle distraction will get you
killed. For the record, if you have even a hair out of place when this is over
I’ll be extremely displeased.”

“Don’t
worry, when it happens I’ll do whatever I have to do in order to stay safe.”
She had noticed that her mate had put her in the very back of the packs, tucked
safely away in the hidden rooms where the innocents and elders were being kept
and protected. “I have this. I have my weapon with the silver. I also have
three additional clips so I’m totally covered, just in case. I won’t let anyone
be harmed who’s part of my family, I promise.”

“I
know you won’t,” he said. Releasing her hand, he wrapped his arm around her
shoulders and hugged her tight. For a long time they sat like that, neither
speaking, enjoying the last minutes of pure peace before the night went to
hell. When his phone went off, Ophelia jumped. Taking a look at it, he
answered, then nodded to her. “The sabertooths are moving. It’s time for us to
get outfitted and out there.”

She
took a deep breath and nodded. “Okay,” she said with a smile that only wobbled
a little bit. “We will do this.” She looked back at him again. “You go and do
what you need to do.” He grabbed her hand and pulled her into his body. Cupping
her face between his hands, he ran his thumbs over her cheeks slowly. Then he
lowered his head and kissed her gently, like they had all the time in the
world. “Be safe,” he whispered against her mouth.

“I
will.” She leaned into him once more and took another deep breath. “Be good.
Stay safe and kick those fuckers back to the ice age where they belong,
please.”

“Yes,
ma’am. See you soon,” he promised. One last kiss and he let her loose with a
smack to her ass before he headed for the opposite side of the house. It would
be a long night, but in the end all that mattered was keeping everyone safe.