The Last Warrior (Shifters Unbound #13) - Jennifer Ashley Page 0,38
The wolf stumbled with the sudden impact, then he regained his balance and sprinted for the gate.
“To the house,” Ben yelled as the wolf slowed.
The leopard tumbled off the wolf’s back, landing on her feet, and loped gracefully toward the house. The red wolf dashed behind Ben and Rhianne, guarding the rear while Ben and Rhianne dashed, hand in hand, to the veranda.
All three climbed the steps at the same time to collapse on the porch floor, where the leopard waited. The house shook once, then let out a sigh as though in relief.
The wolf’s face crumpled and bent, emerging as Dimitri’s handsome one, his wolf’s pelt receding to become Dimitri’s red hair. The rest of the body flowed into that of a tall, well-muscled, naked man.
The leopard flopped down at Dimitri’s side and began to carefully lick her paw.
Dimitri dragged in several long breaths. “So, Ben,” he said hoarsely. “When did you become the Incredible Hulk?”
Dimitri decided that winning a battle against evil snakes called for drinks, and Ben agreed. The four went upstairs, Ben and Dimitri ducking into bedrooms for clothes. Jaycee, still a leopard, zipped into the room she shared with Dimitri, and emerged fully dressed in a matter of moments. Ben heard her greeting Rhianne in the kitchen.
Ben finished dressing and hurried to join them. He found the two women sitting at the table, blood-red glasses of merlot before them—Jaycee enjoyed wine. They had their heads together, one red, one blond and brown, and they were laughing.
“Ladies,” Ben said.
They looked up, exchanged a glance, and went off into a gale of hilarity. Great.
“Battling creepy snakes is funny, is it?” Ben asked as he went to the refrigerator for beer. He pulled out two bottles, one for himself and one for the still-absent Dimitri.
“No, your butt is,” Jaycee said. “With your shredded pants barely hanging on it.”
Ben slammed the refrigerator door. “Hey, it happens when you shift in your clothes.” He could vanish all his clothes when he needed to, but sometimes he was in too much of a hurry, like tonight.
“I never shift in my clothes.” Jaycee took a delicate sip of wine. “I fold them carefully first. What was that you yelled, Rhianne? Saved our butts.” She slid her gaze down to Ben’s jeans and burst out laughing again.
“Yeah, yeah, make fun of the goblin,” Ben said, though his relief that Rhianne was safe let him not mind the teasing. “Rhianne said it was like a taser.”
“Your butt?” Jaycee snickered, and Rhianne laughed, a magical, silvery sound.
“No, Feline, the—”
“Why are you talking about Ben’s butt?” Dimitri waltzed into the room with his usual grace. “You shouldn’t be looking at his ass. You should be looking at mine.”
“So full of yourself.” Jaycee sent him a lofty glance, but her eyes did slide appreciatively to Dimitri’s backside as he turned to grab the beer Ben had left on the counter for him. “I was asking Rhianne about the magic she did that almost set the garden on fire.”
“A word of power.” Rhianne shrugged. “Not a very strong one. But enough to help.”
Dimitri took a seat on the bench next to Jaycee, snuggling into her. “Burning up evil snakes trying to kill me is good enough for me. So, thanks for that.” He raised his bottle in salute.
“The power doesn’t last long,” Rhianne explained. “It does damage, but I can’t prevent the snakes from rising again.”
“I think the house took care of that,” Ben said. “Extended its power out to the garden, via the plants. There are vines all over this house. Hard to tell where they begin and end.”
Jaycee patted the nearest wall. “Whatever happened, I’m grateful.”
“I believe the attack came from my father.” Rhianne fingered the stem of her wine glass. “He might have been able to reach through the ley line and make trouble. Trying to frighten me home? Or kill me outright? I’m not certain.”
“Have to wonder why.” Ben slid into the chair next to Rhianne’s. He’d love to cuddle up to Rhianne like Dimitri was doing to Jaycee, but he knew the danger of that. In the garden, he’d wanted her with powerful intensity, had been ready to take her down to the grass and have all of her. Thank the Goddess they’d been interrupted by demon snakes.
Ben was not what Rhianne needed right now—a goblin lover who wanted to consume her, She was dependent on him and under instructions from her mother, no less, to stick with him for her safety.