Bear the Burn (Fire Bears Book 2) by T. S. Joyce Page B

in the heat of battle.”
    “I know. That’s why I haven’t pissed and moaned about it to him, but I was bleeding out, and it hurt so bad and that’s just where my mind went. I told you it was stupid. If you saw Cody’s hand, you’d think I was an ass for even bringing it up. My kill switch was detonated while he was pulling it from my neck. The acid burned us both. I’m alive because he didn’t care about his own skin as much as saving me.”
    “You know it’s okay to feel emotional about that time though, right? Maybe you should talk to Cody about how you felt. Maybe it’ll be better if you get it out into the open with your brother.”
    “Nah. I feel better saying it to you, but I can’t imagine it would make anything easier by putting more guilt onto my brother’s shoulders. As the alpha, he carries a bigger burden than the rest of us. We all lived. That’s what matters.”
    “You are a strong man, Dade Leland Keller.”
    “Mmm, I used to be. Now, I don’t know what I am anymore. You’ve got me all mixed up.”
    “No,” Quinn said, pressing her lips against his collar bone, “I’m making you feel again. That’s not a bad thing.” She smiled as she traced a long, curved scar on his chest. “Welcome back to the land of the living.”
     

Chapter Nine
     
    Quinn didn’t know it, but she owned him completely.
    Dade watched her sleep in the dark before dawn, propped up on his elbow so he could see the soft curve of her face better. Long, graceful neck, auburn waves fanned out across the pillow, fair skin, light freckles across her nose and shoulders. From here he could make out the curve of her waist and hips under the sheets. God, he loved her. If she knew how devoted to her he already was, she’d run scared.
    But maybe not.
    She’d woken up an hour ago when he’d adjusted his arm over her back. She’d rolled to face him, snuggled into his arms, and whispered that she loved him.
    The last cold shards of his heart had melted with her admission. No longer was he a man who only lived to survive and protect the Breck Crew. Quinn now fell under his protection. His body was hers, made to protect her.
    Deep gray streaked across the sky out the window, but the stars were still out, winking at him as if they’d known all along Quinn was going to come in and shake him to his core.
    Daffodil woofed softly from beside the bed, and Dade froze a split second before he heard it. A soft, long creak sounded from the stairway outside the door.
    Someone was in the house.
    In one smooth motion, Dade reached over Quinn’s sleeping form and pulled a long, curved knife from under the mattress. Muscles tensed and ready, he padded silently to the door and pressed his back against the wall beside it.
    The door opened without a sound, and Dade’s heart pounded like a war drum as his eyes followed a handgun that lifted slowly, aimed at his mate as she slept.
    Fury blasted through his veins, washing everything in a red tint. With a feral snarl in his throat, Dade jerked the attacker’s wrist upward. The blast of gunfire was deafening. Sheetrock exploded from the ceiling where the bullet landed, showering him in chalky dust as he whipped around the door and drew his blade down the thin wrist of their assailant, careful to nick the tendon.
    Shayna screamed as she dropped the weapon from her ruined grip. The gun clattered to the wooden floorboards as Dade ducked her elbow and rammed her against the wall. Her knee came straight up into his ribcage, but he was too far gone in his fury to feel pain now.
    This was the woman who’d helped IESA put tracker kill switches inside of him and his family. She’d spied on them for years, seduced them, used them. She’d helped kidnap Rory, and then she’d tried to kill Quinn. His Quinn. His mate had been scarred for life because of this monster. And now she was back to finish the job? With a shot in the dark as they slept, like the coward she was.
    Shayna’s eyes went wide as he