Down & Dirty (Bundle) (24 page)

His body stiffened above her as a tortured
groan escaped him.  He thrust into her once more and froze,
and her name escaped him in a hoarse, rasping whisper.

They rocked for a few moments, but Lottie’s
legs wouldn’t hold her.  She collapsed to the bed, struggling
for the breath to speak as aftershocks rippled through her. 
Eventually she gave up and rested her cheek on her arm, relishing
the hard press of Thomas’ body on hers.

He moaned softly and lifted his body before
rolling off of her.  A moment later his hands closed around
her hips and dragged her with him, leaving her draped across his
chest.  “Hands,” he murmured as his fingers traced up her
arms.  “Have to untie your hands.”

“
Mmm.”  She closed her
eyes and pressed her lips to his shoulder as he unraveled the knots
binding her wrists.  “The fire in the stove probably
died.  Dinner will be cold.”

“
I’ll survive a few hours
without food.”  The cord fell away, and she heard the rustling
of her quilts before a warm blanket settled over her back.
“Rest.  We should rest.”

“
Thomas.”  There were
too many things to say, and sleep was already pulling her
under.  She curled one hand under his shoulder and stroked his
chest with the other.  “I’m very glad you’re here.”

“
Me too, Lottie.”  His
hands settled on her back, strong and warm.  “Me
too.”

The griddle hissed as Lottie poured out the
batter for another round of pancakes.  “I want to warm some
preserves.  Can you choose a jar from the cupboard,
please?”

“
Of course.”  The
kitchen was warm enough that Thomas felt comfortable in just his
trousers, and even more thankfully warm enough that Lottie hadn’t
seen fit to dress in anything more substantial than a short, thin
cotton robe.

The small cabinet beside the pantry held
rows of glass jars, each one carefully labeled and sealed.  He
ran his fingers along the shelf until he came to one marked
“cherry” and smiled as he pulled it from the shelf.  “I
remember when Hazel was fifteen and you tried to teach her how to
make preserves the first time.  I’m not sure what that
resulting mess was, but she was so damn proud of herself I ate it
anyway.”  And it had been worth it to see the look on Hazel’s
young face, to see her pleasure in having Lottie give her the
attention her mother never had.

“
Come, now,” Lottie chided
with a broad grin.  “I liked you too much not to make sure
they were palatable first.”

“
You weren’t so careful
with her first experiments in baking as I recall. The girl very
nearly put me off pie for good.”  Seeing the same warmth in
her eyes that he felt for Hazel tugged at something inside him,
something interested in more than just a night in Lottie’s
bed.  “We raised her all right between the two of us, though,
no thanks to Ginny.”

Lottie crossed the room and took the jar
from his hand with another small smile.  “Yes.  She
turned out all right, in spite of Ginny’s corrupting
influence.”

Thomas reached out to catch her hand and
tugged her closer.  “It’s been a little bit like torture, you
know.  Raising Hazel with you like she was our damn child,
even though I’d never gotten to have you.”

The humor faded from her clear green eyes,
replaced by satisfaction and desire.  “You’ve had me now.”

“
Not the kind of having I
was talking about, Lottie.”

“
Oh.” Her head fell back,
and her unbound hair slipped off her shoulders and bared her
throat. “And do you still want me?” The light, teasing tone of her
voice was underscored by nervousness, and her hand trembled in
his.

Marks in the shape of his teeth had risen
while they slept. Thomas lifted his hand and brushed his thumb
lightly over one small bruise. “That’s a foolish question.”

Lottie wrapped her arms around his neck and
rose on her toes to kiss his chin. “Marry me, then.”

He’d never done anything
impulsive in his life. The proof of that fact was standing in front
of him, staring up at him with huge, gorgeous eyes. If he’d had an
impulsive bone in his body he would have found a way to claim her
years ago. He could have been living with her, raising Hazel with
her.
Raising
our
children with her…

If there had ever been an argument in favor
of impulsive behavior, Charlotte was it. So he caught her lips in a
blazing kiss before pulling back to smile. “Yes. Absolutely.
Tomorrow, if I could.”

“
Mm-hmm.” An amused smile
curved her lips. “And why can’t you?”

He didn’t want to introduce reality into
their perfect moment, but there was no other way to answer the
question. “I have to ask Jack to take over dealing with the other
business owners in town. Their complaints may be foolish, but it’ll
cause chaos if I agree to look into it and marry you the next
day.”

“
Of course.” Lottie began
trailing kisses along his jaw. “Fairness is important. Objectivity,
too.”

Thomas closed his eyes and gave in to a rush
of pleasure at her soft touches. “Not thinking I’m terribly
objective at the moment.”

“
Jack can be objective.”
She smiled against his jaw and licked his earlobe. “You can be mad
with desire for me.”

He’d taken her twice in less than
twenty-four hours. A third time shouldn’t be so appealing, but his
cock still stirred as her breath fell against his ear. “You’re not
going to be able to sit down for a day or walk straight for a week
if we keep this up.”

“
I’m resilient, honey.” She
slipped one leg between his and ground against his thigh with a
soft moan. “And we have a lot of lost nights to make up
for.”

Thomas stopped fighting. His hand traced the
curve of her body as he moved it down her side, then around to
clutch her ass. “Are you looking to sample a variety of furniture,
then? We’ve tried your bed and your desk so far.”

She slipped her fingertips into the waist of
his trousers and backed up until his knuckles brushed the smooth
wood of the kitchen table behind her. “We’ll have to go room by
room, I think. It’s the only orderly system.” Her robe gaped open,
revealing the smooth curve of her breast.

“
A table is an awful lot
like a desk, though.” He tightened his fingers on her hips and spun
her around until she faced the counter. “Standing up might be an
interesting diversion though. Maybe leaning over the
counter…”

The look she cast him over her shoulder was
equal parts arousal and humor. “I was also leaning over my
desk.”

“
Good point.” He turned her
again, this time hefting her up and dropping her on the counter.
“Better?”

She laughed and wrapped her legs around his
waist. “Much.”

There was a lot to be said for the position,
like the fact that it gave him ample opportunity to trace his
fingers teasingly up her arms while grinding his hips against hers.
“What about the food? I think there are pancakes in danger of
burning not very far from us.”

Lottie glanced at the stove and arched her
hips to meet his. “We’ll use this batch as coasters and make more.
Or just sleep the rest of the night and wait for --” Her words cut
off suddenly, and she straightened with a look of alarm. “Do you
smell smoke?”

He jerked his gaze back to the stove, afraid
for a moment that the pancakes were already burning. One glance was
enough to prove it wasn’t the case. He stepped back and turned
toward the door. “Is it coming from outside?”

“
It smells like…” Lottie
pushed at his shoulders and jumped off the counter, her eyes wide
and alarmed. “It smells like a house fire, Thomas.”

Thomas was already going
for his boots. “If you’re coming with me, drag your food off the
stove so
your
house doesn’t burn down.”

She hurried to do so and then rushed into
the hallway to snatch up her coat. “It could be nothing. It’s
probably nothing.”

He wanted to believe her, but it didn’t feel
like nothing. Something inside him knew the truth even as he pulled
his jacket on over his bare chest. “Maybe not. But it’s my job to
make sure.”

Lottie yanked the front door open. “I know,
honey. And I’m here to --” The words choked off as she looked out
the door and down the street. “It’s near -- near the saloon. Oh
God.”

Every instinct he had
screamed to shove Lottie back in her house and leave her there. If
it
was
her
business on fire, it wasn’t an accident. It was a threat, an
attempt to hurt her, and he needed to know she was safe.

Just like she needed to know her people were
safe. He cursed softly and then held out his hand to her. “Let’s
go.”

Chapter Four

The Full Moon Saloon was burning.

Though Thomas held her hand, Lottie stumbled
down the street toward the building. The rising flames illuminated
the night, and she easily recognized the soot-stained faces of the
women outside. She found herself counting them as she ran, taking a
mental inventory of who was accounted for.

And who wasn’t.

Thomas stopped only once,
to snag a scared looking young werewolf who was watching the
building burn with wide, shocked eyes. Thomas gave the boy a sharp
shake and power flowed out from him, strong but steady. “Calvin, go
fetch Jack and Ginny.
Now
.”

The boy took off at a run.

Lottie caught sight of a tall brunette in
the street. “Nancy!” She grasped the woman’s shoulders and met her
eyes. “Nancy, did everyone get out?”

“
I don’t --” Nancy’s words
cut off in a cough, her thin shoulders shaking under the force of
it. Thomas steadied her, and after a moment she straightened again
and gasped out one name. “Sarabeth.”

Lottie looked around frantically, her heart
pounding. “Cora, come help Nancy. Hurry. I have to go inside.”

“
Lottie.” Thomas waited
until Cora had taken Nancy, then caught her shoulders. “Let me go
in. Someone needs to make sure everyone’s okay, and they trust
you.”

“
Cora and Shorty can take
care of it.” Something gave in the structure of the saloon, and a
shower of sparks flew up amidst gasps and shouts. Terror streaked
through her, and she took a deep, bracing breath. “Thomas, I can’t
stay out here. Not if someone is still in there. I
won’t!”

He bit off a snarl and started toward the
building, his fingers tight around her arm. “Fine, but I swear by
all that’s holy, Charlotte, if you get hurt I will yell at you for
a month straight.”

She bristled. “I don’t have
time for your supposedly not alpha-male bullshit. And if
you
get hurt, the same
thing applies, so don’t.”

The steady pulse of his magic turned sharp
and angry for a split second as he made a rude noise. “If I were
Jack or Oliver you’d be locked in a closet in your own house still,
so you’d best recognize that I am trying.”

“
So am I.” Smoke billowed
through the open door, and Lottie coughed as she stumbled behind
the bar and thrust some towels into the rinse pan. Her eyes burned,
and she could barely see. She tossed a towel at Thomas and headed
for the stairs.

Whatever retort he might have given was lost
in the roaring noise from the fire, but his hand curled around her
arm before her foot hit the bottom step. “I’ll go upstairs. Check
down here.”

There wasn’t time to argue, even if she
thought she might win. “Her room is the last on the right.
Hurry.”

He ran off in the direction of the stairs,
and Lottie coughed as she made her way to the kitchen. The smoke
burned her nose, even through the towel, but she couldn’t turn
back. She checked the storeroom next, and then her office.

Empty.

Even her sigh of relief came out sounding
hoarse as she rushed to the front room to meet Thomas. He was at
the top of the stairs, already heading down, alone. Lottie shouted
to be heard. “Where’s Sarab --”

A crash and another shower of sparks cut off
her question as the stairs collapsed under him.

The world stood still, and Lottie moved
before she realized it. Her heart in her throat, she rushed to the
pile of smoldering wood and shoved through it, searching for
Thomas.

A board shifted, and she heard his pained
groan as his hand appeared, knocking some of the wood aside.

She knew she was burning her hands on the
hot wood, but she couldn’t feel it. Finally, she managed to uncover
Thomas enough to grip his arms and pull. He slid free of the debris
with another groan, and Lottie’s lungs burned. “Thomas? Can you
talk?”