up her long neck, tracing the fine line of her jaw. When he moved in to nuzzle at the side of her face, she had a light lemony scent of dish soap where she'd swept her hair back with wet hands. It was astonishingly hot.
"Mmm," she breathed, as he brushed his lips lightly across the soft skin along her hairline. "Ooh. Wow. You know, we still have dishes in the sink."
"And kids to pick up from school," he agreed, and moved on to nibble at the lobe of her ear.
Was this really his life? He couldn't shake a sense of unreality. Was this really him, talking about ordinary domestic chores with a woman he adored?
The family he'd always wanted, dreamed of, had landed in his lap fully formed. And not just Paula and the kids, but also the Rugers and the entire town, a ready-made home and family and community, just waiting to embrace him.
"What is it?" Paula asked, her lips a whisper against the side of his face, and he realized that he'd paused.
"Just thinking," he murmured, and moved down to nibble at her neck, while her hair tickled his nose. "We don't have to pick up the kids from school for a little while yet. And I'm thinking the dishes can wait."
Paula gasped as he hit an especially sensitive area at the nape of her neck. He made a note of that for later. "Dishes?" she got out. The dish towel hit the floor at her feet. "What dishes?"
"That's what I'm thinking."
A moment later, her blouse and his shirt joined the dish towel on the floor, followed by a trail of other clothing, all the way to the bedroom.
Dan
The diner was closed, and as prepared for the confrontation as it could be, with the tables moved back to the sides of the room, the blinds closed to hide any shifting that might occur, and breakable items put away. None of them were sure how violent this was likely to get.
Terry had sent a message to the griffins, telling them he wanted to meet. Now he paced the room, rubbing his hands nervously together.
Dan hated having Paula this close to the action, but she had promised to stay at the back of the room, where she could easily duck out the back door if she had to.
While they were waiting, she passed cups of coffee around to the waiting shifters lounging in the dining area. Derek was sitting on the edge of the counter, while Dan leaned against the wall. Ben had just gone out to do a quick sweep of the alley and check on the electronic sensors he had set up to signal them if anyone tried to sneak in from behind.
"Thanks," Dan said, giving Paula a kiss. "Are you sure I can't talk you into heading over to the house while this goes down, at least?"
Paula shook her head, determined. "I feel safer with you."
A warm feeling rushed through him.
"Alley's clear," Ben reported, coming in through the kitchen doorway. "Has anyone else shown up yet?"
"How many people did you invite, exactly?" Dan asked.
"We've got a couple more coming." Derek checked his watch. "If they ever get here."
"Or if they come at all," Ben muttered.
But as if in response to his complaint, the bell on the door tinkled and then it opened to admit a man and a woman.
The woman wore a long coat with a fur ruff around the neck, and beneath it, a pair of bright yellow stretch pants, dotted with sunflowers, showing off her curvy legs. Her extremely curly red hair, shot through with silver, emerged in a floof from beneath a fur hat.
She was somewhat tall, but the man with her was much taller, and broad-shouldered, filling out his black overcoat in a way that suggested a kind of fierce strength. His hair was black, shot at the temples with silver. He surveyed the diner with a cool gaze.
"Hi, Dad," Ben said. "Hi, Loretta. You came."
"I believe it was made clear to me that I didn't have much of a choice." The tall, dark-haired man glanced at the woman, and Dan had a brief, sharp awareness of a mate bond between them. It wasn't a metaphysical sense; it was just the way that they seemed in perfect communion, as if each knew what the other was thinking.
Ben and the older man clasped forearms and traded a slightly awkward one-armed hug. Then Ben turned to the woman and they shared a friendlier greeting. She