“I know that.” Tentatively, she crooked her leg. “I saw it in a movie once.”
He chuckled, bouncing her head a bit.
Her arm flat against her side felt out of place, unbalanced, so she placed that on his chest. Now the heavy thud of his heart echoed under her ear and her palm, seeming to connect through her body.
From her position, her view to the nightstand included a small framed plaque with a medal pinned in the center. “Is that your Silver Star?” When his uncle had named him Alpha, of course everyone in the valley and at the lake had looked him up on the internet, so she knew he’d received the medal for pulling two fellow soldiers to safety despite the wound that had earned him the Purple Heart and his belly of scars.
His arm tightened on her. “Like there aren’t enough stars in the sky around here.”
She thumped his chest at his deprecating tone. “Is that why you keep it right where you can see it? A night light?”
He grumbled under his breath. “It’s a reminder.”
“Of what?”
His aggrieved sigh ruffled her hair. “I was a bad kid, but…I got a shiny gold and silver star eventually. On the back it says ‘Gallantry in Action.’ Not just gallantry. Not just action. Those are easy, you know? But both at the same time?”
She tucked her chin to his chest. “That’s an Alpha.”
“Yeah. And I want to remember that. Now go to sleep.” His murmur was less command than entreaty. “I’ll get you home before the sun rises.”
With his promise and his heartbeat quieting her, she slept.
***
As if to warn them that their world could change in an instant, summer had retreated overnight, and a haze of ice rimed the world the next morning. Which made the instant oatmeal and equally instant coffee more delicious than they had the right to be. Merrilee hummed her appreciation as she waited for Beck to retrieve her keys from the safe.
He frowned at her. “That’s nothing. You need to try my omelets.”
She smiled around the chunks of brown sugar. “You’re lucky I’m not bitingyoufor stealing my keys.” She gazed past him at the vial of mushroom spores. “Such little things to cause such trouble.”
His stare at her was wry as he tossed her the keys. “Tell me about it.”
He made her watch while he started her car and scraped ice off the windows, but she refused to wait inside. She couldn’t let himalwaystell her what to do.
Plus, he hadn’t bothered to put on a coat, and she liked the way his butt looked in his close-fitted jeans, bending over her hood.
Fingers wrapped around her coffee, she tucked her nose down in the buttoned-up neck of the flannel-lined denim jacket he’d loaned her. He’d ignored his box of visitor clothing and pulled the jacket and a pair of sweatpants from his own closet to replace her ridiculous summer dress, so the cozy warmth smelled of rich cedar, an overlay of malt, and him.
And a hint of sex since they’d indulged one last time before they’d stumbled out of bed.
She let out a breath that fogged in the cold air. She shouldn’t get used to this; she might get lazy and spoiled on good beer.
Despite the chill, the predawn sky was a Technicolor meld of pink and blue, promising lovely weather later. Just the sort of day one wanted to spend smelting iron bullets, marshalling the pack, and preparing for a preternatural war.
Beck opened the driver door for her and she slipped in. She looked up at him. “I’m sending our young down here today.”
He nodded. “I think a field trip would be fun for them. I’ll have the bus ready and a contingent to go with them. I’ll be up with the rest of my people later.”
The car’s heaters were blasting, but the warmth that went through her had nothing to do with that. “The fae are threatening my territory. It’s not your fight.”
His jaw clenched, and his gold eyes darkened. He leaned down so fast, she thought he would snap at her, but instead he kissed her once, hard and possessive. He glared at her from that intimate distance.
“Haven’t you gotten the message yet? I will always fight for you.”
Without waiting for her response, he stepped back and slammed the door. He slapped the roof for good measure and pointed up valley, as if she might have forgotten the way.
She hesitated, wanting to jump out and…and what? Make him take it back?