Page 36 of Falling for her Guardian

Storm got out of the car and helped Seren, then she moved off to the side of the road while he grabbed her things. He used the app to pay and tip and waved at the man after he shut the trunk.

“Itiscold,” Seren said when he joined her on the snowy stretch of grass between the road and the woods.

“I’ll keep you warm.” He wrapped his arms around her and held her close.

“Dinner was great, did you like it?” she asked.

“Hell yes, a steak as big as my head and a beautiful date. What more could a male ask for?”

She giggled and looked up at him, her eyes filled with sexy promises.

“Did you have fun?” he asked, his voice going deeper as her sweet scent wrapped around him.

“I did.”

They’d talked abouteverything. He didn’t think he’d ever had so much conversation in one meal as he did with Seren over steak and loaded potatoes and cheesecake for dessert, but they’d managed to hit every topic they needed to. They were going to stay in Northernmost through Christmas in his apartment, and then they would decide whether they wanted to move to Pennsylvania and live with his clan and family or Ohio to be near hers. He would be happy anywhere she was, whether it was Pennsylvania or Ohio, and he was leaving the decision up to her.

They’d also decided not to have kids until after they were mated and married, and so she was going to stay on birth control. He was thankful she was on birth control to start with, because he’d been so caught up in the moment the first time they made love that it hadn’t occurred to him to use anything. Hell, he didn’t evenhaveanything, because he never brought anyone to his place. He was happy to say that Seren was the first female in his bed in the barracks and the only one he ever wanted there.

He heard the hum of a portal being opened and he stopped hugging Seren long enough to look at the glittering place where the air was being split open.

“Do you ever wish you had magic?” she asked.

“Sometimes. I think it would be pretty cool, but if I was magical, I wouldn’t have my bear, and that would suck.”

“Can I see him sometime?” she asked.

“Absolutely. I’ll shift for you when we go to meet my family.”

Her eyes went wide. “Meet your family?”

“I had to meet yours,” he said. “Did you think I wouldn’t want to take you home?”

“Will they even like me? I’m human!”

“Of course they will,” he promised. He knew his parents were already very happy for him and excited to meet her because he’d called and talked to them about it. “They don’t care you’re human. They care that you and I are mates.”

“Oh man, I hope so. I want them to like me.”

“I like you.”

Her eyes softened and she gave him the sweetest smile. “I like you too.”

The portal crackled as it opened entirely and Willow stepped through. “Hi, guys! I was still free, so I came to get you! How was your trip?”

“It was really wonderful. Thanks for coming to get us,” Seren said.

Storm kissed Seren and bent to pick up the bags. She had one large rolling suitcase, which wouldn’t work on the grass, a duffel bag big enough to hold at least one body, and a backpack. She put the backpack on and gave Willow a quick hug while Storm strapped the duffel across his chest and lifted the suitcase off the ground.

“Ready when you are, Willow,” Storm said.

“Let’s get home, then.”

They followed Willow, who moved through the portal first, then Seren. As Storm was about to step through, the hairs on the back of his neck tingled and his bear grumbled in warning.

A dark blur rushed from the side, and he let out his claws to defend Seren. Something was thrown through the portal, and he had only a heartbeat to see Frost’s right-hand man, Valeth, before he disappeared in a flash of light.

He caught the scent of sulfur.

---