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  Kate and Slade left a moment later and Kate was on her phone even as they walked out the door. Trisha was glad she was organizing things. She’d been a huge help with everything and Trisha felt genuine affection for the other woman. She thought they could be good friends, given half a chance.

  She watched them go and then turned back to Steve as he squeezed her elbow.

  “Jim and Rick are going directly before us, and your father and Deke will act as rearguard. Of course, Grif is guarding the rear of the rearguard.” Steve chuckled. “But the admiral doesn’t need to know that. We have more than enough firepower out and about tonight to handle just about anything that might pop up. And I truly believe the main threat has been neutralized.”

  “But there could be more enemies out there?” She hadn’t really thought about that too much. She’d been trying not to.

  “When you’re a shifter—or have magic of any kind—and serve the Light, there are always enemies.” Steve sighed. “It’s the age-old battle between good and evil. We live it every day of our lives. We’re much closer to it than most beings in this realm, and we are held to a higher standard than most because of our abilities and beliefs. Kate will tell you all about it…if you stay.”

  And there it was. The question of the hour. Of the day. Of her life.

  “Do you want me to stay?” she whispered, not caring where they were or who might be watching them. This was too important.

  Steve took both of her hands in his own gentle grip. “I want you with me for the rest of my days, Trisha. You’re my mate. My love. The only one for me. Without you, I am incomplete. Of course I want you to stay. I want you to stay for the rest of our lives.”

  The moment was precious to her. Precious and magical. As if the entire universe boiled down to just the two of them, together, in this special moment.

  “I can do that. I love you too, Steve.” She reached up on tiptoe, smiling all the while, and kissed him on the lips, giggling when he snaked his arms around her waist and lifted her clear off her feet as the kiss deepened.

  Dimly, in the background, she heard a few hoots and hollers and one long, piercing wolf whistle that eventually drew them apart. Steve was smiling down at her and she couldn’t contain the joy she felt inside. She laughed as those left in the room began congratulating them, clapping Steve on the back and wishing them well. He let her go, but not far, keeping his arm around her shoulders as people stopped and welcomed her to the Clan.

  Jim and Rick had already left, but her dad and Deke were there when the initial cheering died down. Deke punched Steve in the arm a little harder than was probably necessary, but Steve didn’t budge. The smile on Deke’s face was a little pained, but it was definitely a smile. He would come around, Trisha knew. Eventually.

  “When I asked you to look after my little sister, I didn’t mean for you to propose, dirt bag. Now I suppose I’ll have to stomach you as a brother-in-law—or whatever it is you shifters call it.”

  “Same as humans,” Steve said. “She’ll be my wife and you’ll be my brother-in-law. You’ll even have a place in the Clan, if you want it, I suppose. We’re going to have to talk to Grif about that. We have a couple of non-magic folk in the Clan already, but they’re special cases. I guess you’ll be too, if you want it.”

  “Are you kidding?” This time Deke’s smile was even wider. “I’ve been surrounded by magic folk most of my life, on the outside looking in. I wouldn’t pass up a chance to rub elbows with some of your shifter ladies. From the few I’ve seen, they are fine.” Trisha laughed at his exaggerated antics and so did Steve, thank goodness.

  “That’s all I need. More shifters in the family,” her father griped, pushing Deke aside as he faced them. His glower wasn’t nearly as bad as she’d feared it would be. Still, she just knew he was going to give Steve a hard time. “I’ll expect you at our family home next week. All the boys are on leave—barring any major difficulties in the world—and I want a chance for my wife to meet you before the wedding. And you will have a wedding. I’ve done my best to give Trisha and the boys a normal life despite our gifts. I expect you to do the same, young man.”

  “Yes, sir. If Trisha wants a human-style wedding, that’s what we’ll have. White dress, thousands of flowers that’ll make me sneeze and everything.” Steve looked down at her and winked.

  “Well, maybe not thousands of flowers,” Trisha spoke softly, smiling up at him. “Maybe just a few. And we’ll try for varieties that won’t make you sneeze. But I know Mom would love to plan a wedding, and I’ve dreamed of it since I was a little girl. So yeah, I want one. Just something small with our families in attendance and a big party after the ceremony.”

  “Whatever you want, sweetheart,” Steve promised, and she knew he meant more than just the proposed wedding. He would give her anything her heart desired. Luckily, all she really wanted or needed in the whole world was him.

  Chapter Ten

  Steve felt like he was walking on air as he escorted Trisha into the Pack house a short while later. She’d agreed to be his mate. Sure, he’d have to give her a human ceremony, but he was almost looking forward to it. Anything that made her happy made him happy too. If she wanted a special day and a frilly white dress, he’d make it happen. He’d do anything for her. Absolutely anything.

  Behind them, her family and his were mingling, talking over security details. He knew Grif was going to make sure the Morrows were introduced to the wolf Alphas and some of the wolf Pack. Grif would keep the Morrow men entertained while Trisha dealt with her friends.

  The first stop was a quick tete a tete with Lynda in the front parlor. She was waiting for them when they arrived, nervously wringing her hands and pacing. She was a little thing, Steve mused, with a kind of ethereal beauty that should have tipped him off as to her Other status. But then again, since he’d first seen Trisha, he’d had eyes only for her. So the fey woman had slipped right under his radar.

  The women hugged as they met in the middle of the room. It was a brief greeting filled with relief on the fey’s part, if he was any judge. They sat down and he joined them, taking his place at Trisha’s side. He saw the way Lynda’s gaze went from Trisha to him and back again, one eyebrow raised in question, but he only smiled.

  “What have you told the girls so far?” Trisha asked, bringing the reason for their hasty meeting into focus.

  “Not much. They were still very groggy when I got word you were coming. I left them in one of the sitting rooms and came to meet you. I just said they’d been sick and that you’d explain it all when you got here. I didn’t know what else to do.”

  Trisha took a deep breath and Steve could tell from the look on her face and the set of her shoulders that she wasn’t thrilled to have the entire burden thrust upon her, but she’d deal with it. His mate was a trooper.

  “All right. We’ll say they all caught the same bug and that they had such high fevers that they weren’t quite coherent. That’s why they can’t remember anything. What do you think?”

  “I think it could work,” Lynda said slowly, though she looked skeptical.

  “Can you reinforce the story with your magic?” Steve asked point blank. The fey woman might try to pass as human, but she wasn’t. And neither was Trisha. There was no sense pretending otherwise.

  She looked at him sharply, her eyes narrowing. It took her a moment to reply, but when she did, she had seemed to come to some kind of decision.

  “I don’t generally go about manipulating people I consider friends, but I can see that this is a special circumstance. The less they know about what happened to them—or about the den of shifters they’ve landed in—the better. Right?”

  “That about sums it up,” Steve agreed. “And for the sake of your friendship with these ladies…” Steve included Trisha in his observation, “…it’s probably best they never realize the magic you both bear.”

  “Good call,” Trisha approved, placing one hand on his knee and squeezing gently.

  It was
such a casual touch, but it set him aflame with wanting. It also filled him with a sense of happiness, of possession and of pride. That this special woman touched him so casually meant more than he could say. She’d staked her claim on him in front of her friend and she probably hadn’t even realized she was doing it. That meant something to him. It meant a lot, actually.

  This having-a-mate stuff was going to take some getting used to, but he looked forward eagerly to every moment, every lesson in being part of a duo. Forever. His life joined to hers, never to part in this realm or the next.

  Trisha might not have a full grasp of what mating meant to shifters, but over the years she would figure it out. It would be his pleasure to teach her the ways of his people and he looked forward to learning more about her magic and her abilities. Fate had handed him one hell of a woman.

  The women talked over the details of their story for a few minutes more, but it was easy to see that both were eager to check on their friends. Steve followed them up the stairs to the wing of rooms the humans had been given to use. There was a lot more activity in the area as the ladies walked freely between rooms.

  They had all gathered in the sitting area of the rooms that had been given to the bride-to-be, Marcia Parkhurst. Steve knew her father was an oilman in Texas and it was his money that had financed this junket.

  When the women saw their two friends walk in, their voices rose in welcome. Hugs were passed out as Steve watched discretely from the partially open door. He observed without being seen as Trisha explained the illness they had suffered, even giving it a technical name and explaining in medical terms what it had done to them and why they didn’t remember much.

  When Marcia asked where they were, Steve heard his cue to join the conversation. He knocked on the door, swinging it open a little as he alerted them to his presence.

  “Is it okay if I come in?” he asked politely. He didn’t miss the speculative glances aimed at him from most of the women in the room, but he only had eyes for Trisha.

  “Everybody, this is Red. He’s a former colleague of my brother, Deke’s. He was kind enough to come to our rescue when I realized I needed help. Luckily, he lives here in Las Vegas and his family was in a position to be able to help us. Deke had given me his number in case of emergencies and boy, was I glad I had someone local to call on.”

  Marcia rose and extended a hand to Steve. She wasn’t quite stable on her feet, so he went over to her to spare her having to walk any distance. He shook her hand and smiled, acting the part Trisha had devised for him. Rescuer. Friend of the family. He could play that part easily.

  “It’s a pleasure to see you all up and around, finally. I was very worried there for a while, but Trisha assured me she had your health problems under control.” He turned on the charm to win over Trisha’s friends. From the looks on their faces, that wasn’t too hard to do.

  “So where are we?” Marcia repeated. “This isn’t the hotel.”

  “It’s a boarding house of sorts,” Steve explained. “It belongs to my family’s company.” He didn’t say Clan, though the company and Clan were pretty much one and the same these days. “Trisha sometimes calls me Red because that was my nickname in the service and that’s what Deke always calls me, but my proper name is Steve Redstone. I’m Chief Security Officer for my family’s business, Redstone Construction.”

  The humans began to look impressed. There were few people in North America who hadn’t heard of the company his parents had founded and that he and his brothers had turned into something much bigger than anyone had expected.

  “My father had dealings with Redstone Construction. You built a housing development near one of his remote worksites so his workers could bring their families,” Marcia drawled in her unmistakable Texan accent. “He was very pleased with the results, as I recall.”

  “Glad to hear it,” Steve answered politely as the woman sat back down. “As a rule, we like happy customers.” He took the empty seat near Trisha as she made the introductions. After he had met everyone formally, talk turned to plans for the rest of their trip.

  “I don’t know how y’all feel,” Marcia said, seeming to take charge of the room. “But I’m fine now and I feel cheated that we didn’t get to see much of Las Vegas yet. If you’re up for it, we can finish out our trip before heading back home. We still have show tickets and tours lined up. What do you say?”

  They took a vote and everyone was in favor, but Steve didn’t want to let them loose on the Strip again after everything that had happened. He had a plan.

  “You have what…three more days in town?” Nods answered his question. “I’d like to propose a few minor changes. This is my hometown after all, and Redstone Construction has many assets at its disposal. I’d like to offer the company helicopter to give you an aerial tour.” He could see the delight on the ladies’ faces at mention of the private chopper. “And you may not remember them well, but you made some friends right before you were taken ill. The guys who helped bring you here were members of one of our crews who have worked for us for years. They’re good men, and a few of them were very impressed with several of you ladies.” Now he saw the flare of feminine interest on a few of their faces. “I’d like to offer them as escorts for the duration of your stay. They know the area and can take you anywhere you want to go. I’ll even provide company cars.”

  “Why?” Marcia wondered aloud.

  Steve appealed to the ladies’ sense of romance by taking Trisha’s hand. “Well, I admit to having a certain fondness for one of your group. I’d love a chance to spend more time with her.” He looked deep into Trisha’s eyes and brought her hand to his lips to kiss it tenderly. He could hear the sighs of the ladies watching and knew his little show was having the desired effect. But more than that, he meant every word he spoke. He would do anything to spend every moment for the rest of his life with her.

  “Is that what you want, Trish?” Marcia asked bluntly, but Trisha was smiling at him as she nodded.

  “More than anything.” At her answer, his smile grew into a grin.

  “Then I guess we accept your generous offer, Mr. Redstone. Thank you.” Again, Marcia spoke for the group. He guessed as the bride-to-be this really was her show.

  “Excellent.” He let go of Trisha’s hand slowly, savoring the feel of her skin against his. “I’ll go make the arrangements while you all catch up. I’m sure you have lots to talk about. And please, call me Steve.”

  He stood and went to the door, pausing only to send Trisha a little wink that wasn’t missed by the eagle-eyed ladies in the room. Good. He’d given them a distraction that might further enhance their belief in the yarn Trisha had spun about illness making them forget two days of their lives. His work here was done. For the moment.

  It was well after midnight when the girls finally headed back to their rooms. It had been decided they would stay at the Pack house for the night and then decide whether to move back to their hotel on the Strip the next day. Trisha suspected that once the girls got a load of the shifter men—handsome as sin and built to drool over—they’d probably want to stay here. After all, besides Marcia they were all single.

  Well, Trisha wasn’t single anymore. No, now she had Steve, though her friends didn’t quite realize how close they really were just yet. They’d figure it out sooner or later. When the time was right. She wanted to ease them into the idea that she’d found her life mate while they’d all been knocked out.

  Trisha met Steve by the staircase. He looked like he’d been waiting for her and her heart lifted at the slight smile on his face when she appeared. It was a smile filled with love and acceptance of who she really was—something she’d dreamed about but never really thought she’d find. Steve knew everything about her now. He knew her deepest secret. He knew about her magic—and her family. And he loved her still.

  Trisha had never thought she’d be able to be totally honest with a man, and yet, here he was. She’d been blessed with the hope of a future brighter than anythin
g she’d ever expected. Now all they had to do was make it reality. Starting right now.

  Trisha skipped the last few steps to him and launched herself into his arms. He caught her and clutched her close to his muscular body, warming her from within with his welcome. His mouth sought hers and she returned the welcome, kissing him deeply and raising her legs to circle his waist.

  They were at the top of a staircase, in full view of anyone who might pass by, but she didn’t care. It had been too long since she’d been in his arms. Too long since they’d made love. And after everything that had happened that night, her adrenaline was still running high. She wanted him. And she didn’t want to wait.

  Suddenly they were moving, but she didn’t question whether or not he could support her. She knew he was strong. And he would never let her fall. He would take care of her. Always.

  Including right now. A door opened and a moment later it closed behind them and her back was up against it. He broke the kiss and she glanced behind him. They were in one of the empty rooms on the same corridor where her friends were staying. She spared a single thought to hope that the walls were reasonably soundproof before throwing caution to the wind and pushing at Steve’s shoulders. He was wearing way too many clothes.

  He moved only a few inches away, but it was enough room for her to maneuver. She lowered her legs to the floor so she could stand and then went to work on his clothing. Her hands and arms tangled with his as each of them reached out to undress the other.

  Somehow, finally, with a few laughs and some bumbles on her part, she was naked and he was…naked enough. She didn’t care if he still had his boots on and his pants were only partially lowered. The important part—the part she needed right now—was available and ready.

  He pushed her against the door again and she went happily, hoisting her legs up and around his narrow hips. And then…bliss as he slid into her deep and true. He paused, both of them breathing hard, his forehead leaning against hers as they savored the moment.