A sudden loud banging woke her up. Various members of the council had come knocking since their return, but Eden had ignored them all. This was her time. Eden lifted her head off Johnny's chest and scraped her tangled hair out of her face. "I thought I told you all to go away and leave us alone?"

"Eden, open up."

Adam. That was Adam. Eden grabbed the sheet to her naked breasts and shoved herself upright, her post-orgasm languor sloughing off her instantly. He was back from the settlement of New Hope, where Mia's sister and her husband had settled. Finally home.

Except she hadn't figured out how to tell him about Johnny.

"Oh, shit," she breathed. A scalded sound echoed in her throat as she looked sharply at her lover. "You need to hide."

"Where? Under the bed?" he whispered. "Do you think I'll fit?"

She shot a hopeless glance toward the en suite bathroom. "In there!"

"Ashamed of me?" he asked with a nonchalant yawn. He'd spent the past week in and out of bed with her, and he'd finally stopped waking up in a sweat, though he wouldn't speak about what had happened inside the training center. Not yet.

"Of course I'm not ashamed of you!" Eden shot a look toward the door. A large shadow blurred the thin slice of light that streamed beneath it. "I'm trying not to get you killed."

Johnny rested back on his elbows and arched a dark brow. "He's already smelled me. And he can hear us." He stroked a hand down her spine, smiling a mischievous smile. "I guess we get to discover just how much your brother thanks me for saving his life two years ago."

The last few words rang out loudly, and Eden slammed a hand over his mouth, but it was too late.

Silence.

A thick, judging silence.

Then someone was hissing words outside. Mia, by the sound of it. Probably trying to talk Adam out of murder.

Good luck with that.

"Give me a minute," Eden called, shooting out of bed and trying to locate her clothes. And panties. Jesus. Where—

Johnny pointed up. The scrap of her cotton panties hung from the light fitting. Her face flaming, she leapt up and hauled them down. Johnny lounged in the sheets, looking for all the world like he had no intention of moving.

"Get dressed," she hissed.

Still smiling that lazy smile, he tossed the covers back and slung his legs over the edge of the bed.

Eden whipped a shirt over her head and tugged her jeans on. Adam might have forgiven Johnny for the part he’d played in his warg curse, but there was no way in hell her overprotective, judgmental brother would let Johnny get away with putting his hands on her.

The second she was dressed, she cracked open the door.

"Adam! You're home!"

"Oh, hell no," Adam ground out, his gaze shooting straight over her shoulder and locking on Johnny, who'd just pulled his jeans on. He stabbed a finger toward him. "You fucking bastard. You son of a bitch—"

He nearly mowed her down, but Eden hadn't grown up with an overprotective older brother for nothing.

"Hey," she yelled, slamming her palms against his chest. "It's good to see you too."

Adam slowed, his nostrils flaring as he looked down at her. "What the hell, Eden? You're sleeping with Johnny Colton?"

"Long story," she shot back.

"Then give me the fucking short version. Riley sent her friend Jimmy to track me down and tell me I better get my ass back here as soon as I could. Something about a plague, and Lily dying, and you all wrapped up in it." Adam scraped a hand through his short tawny hair. "We returned as soon as we could and went straight to Luc and Riley's house to find you and Lily, but you weren't there."

Eden tried to work out what to say. "I—I...."

"The plague hit, Eden learned there was a cure in Cortez City, but she needed a guide to cross the Rim, and what do you know, but there I was, trying to drown myself in good whiskey in the bar she walked into. Your sweet sister mercilessly blackmailed me into being her guide, and so we broke into the city, stole the cure, found the Confederacy asshole who unleashed the plague, and worked out a deal with a general, giving him the Copperplate mining rights." Johnny yawned and stretched. "I think that's the short version, yeah?"

Both of them blinked at him.

"You missed the part where you put your fucking hands on my sister." Adam took a dangerous step toward the bed, but Eden darted between them again.

"And you missed the part where I put my hands all over him. Hello? I'm over thirty. You do not make my decisions for me. Jesus, Adam, if you start a fight I will throw you out of my home. Johnny's a guest. My guest. And yes, we're sleeping together. Get over it. I'm a big girl."

Adam froze, and then turned toward her incredulously. "I built this fucking house. You can't throw me out."

"You put the deed in my name when you walked out—"

"I seem to remember the story a little differently. I was forced to leave when this bastard"—Adam stabbed a finger toward Johnny—"shot me in the chest, and you took the amulet off to save my life."

"I thought we'd gotten past all of that?" Johnny arched a brow, joking lightly. "When I saved your ass in Rust City. Twice."

Eden glared at him, knowing he liked to lighten the mood whenever things got serious. "Not. Helping."

He held his hands up in surrender. "Sorry, my love."

"Love?" The word sounded like it got caught in Adam's throat—or up under a rib.

An amused chuckle sounded behind them. Mia leaned against the doorframe, her arms folded just under her breasts and her legs crossed. "Eden, have you been drinking? This is very much outside the rules."

Eden turned toward her sister-in-law. "Ha. Ha." Mia often mocked her for coloring inside the lines. "It was a stressful time. Johnny got under my skin before I even knew it."

Warm arms enveloped her from behind, and Johnny rested his chin on his shoulder. "I'm here to stay, McClain, so you'd better get used to me."

"Like hell I will."

Eden's heart fell. She adored her brother. But if he forced her to choose.... The mere thought of it sent her pulse racing.

"You said we were friends," Johnny protested.

"I didn't say we were friends." Adam was turning an alarming shade of red. "I said we weren't enemies anymore."

"Adam," Mia called, locking eyes with him. "Why don't you walk it off? This is not fair to Eden. This is clearly her choice and once you've calmed down, I'm sure you'll be able to accept it too. Stop being a dick."

There was some serious eyeballing going on between them, and Mia arched both brows. If there was anyone who could rein Adam in, it was Mia.

Adam glared between them all, his nostrils flaring. "Fine," he snarled, and then he stomped out the door, slamming it behind him.

Johnny cursed under his breath, looking at her guiltily. "You okay, angel?"

I'm not sure. She wrapped her arms around herself. She knew Adam was only worried about her. Ever since the mess with Cane, Adam had been overprotective. At least he was aware of it. Most of the time.

Johnny sighed, bending to kiss her cheek. "I'll handle him."

"I'm not sure that's a good idea right now."

He cupped her face in his hands. "If it's making you unhappy, then McClain will get over it. He'll have to. And I'll be on my best behavior with him." His expression softened. "You always take on the weight of the world, angel. I know this will eat away at you, so I'll deal with it. You shouldn't have to worry about us. McClain and I are fucking adults. We can sort it out. Because we both love you, and neither of us wants to hurt you."

He pressed a kiss to her forehead. Then stepped back and nodded politely toward Mia.

"Long time, Mia. You look well."

Adam's wife smiled. "You and Eden McClain? Were you trying to push Adam's buttons?"

"Frankly, what's going on between Eden and me has nothing to do with McClain," Johnny replied, pausing to open the door. "I'll go talk to him."

Boots echoed on the veranda as he vanished.

"Sorry," Mia said.

"You didn't do anything." She crossed to her sister-in-law and hugged her. "I missed you."

Mia hugged her back. "And your brother missed you too. He's just having a moment of shock." A wry smile curved her lips as she drew back. "The second he received your letter he went into a panic. Thought he was going to arrive home and find bodies everywhere, so he's been pushing us across the Wasteland. He's been worried sick about you, only to walk into this. You know how he handles stress."

"As well as he handles women," she said with a sigh. Her voice grew small. "Do you think—"

"He'll be fine with it, Eden. He loves you very much and all he wants is to see you happy." The other woman's smile grew big. "And judging from everything I've seen, Johnny Colton makes you happy, am I right?"

A flush of relief went through her. She hadn't had a chance to share her good fortune with anyone. Maggie had been too busy dealing with the repercussions post-plague, and baby Tommy had colic, so Riley hadn't been getting enough sleep to sit and have a cup of tea with her. She needed to share with someone. She needed friends. A hug. Laughter. And someone who wouldn't judge her for the choices she'd made, like the council had.

A warm glow suffused her. "Very. I can't explain it, but I'm so happy. He makes me feel.... It's—" She had no words.

Mia threaded her arm through Eden's. "Good. I want to hear everything. All the juicy details you're not going to tell your brother...."

* * *

Johnny found McClain chopping wood out the back of the house. There was a small courtyard planted with an overgrown cumquat tree and packed with overgrown weeds. Eden's green thumb was as evident as her cooking skills.

Still, there was a serenity here he hadn't expected, if one didn't count a pissed-off older brother setting a log on the splitting block.

McClain's gray-green gaze flickered over him, his lips thinning, and then he drove the ax down into the log he had set up. It didn't merely crack or split; both pieces flew apart like they'd been shot from a catapult.

"Do I dare come any closer?" Johnny called, pausing a few yards away. "Or wait until you put the ax down?"

"I distinctly recall saying we were even when we parted ways at Rust City." McClain pointed a finger toward him. "You messing with my sister again? Unforgivable—"

"I'm not messing with her." Anger rose to choke him, the warg cutting him up inside like it had goddamned claws. Easy. Sarcasm had always been a defense mechanism, and he'd given in to it inside Eden's room with disastrous consequences for the woman he loved. He had to fix this. Maybe drop his shields a little. He scraped his hand across the back of his neck.

"I love her, McClain. She's the one good thing that's ever happened to me and I would fucking die for that woman. But here's the thing... she loves you too. And you and I being at odds? That's going to cut her heart out of her chest. I won't do that. And if you love your sister, then neither will you."

McClain lowered the head of the ax to the ground, always a good sign. "You love my sister."

It wasn't a question.

He crossed his arms over his chest. "More than anything in this world. I'm going to marry her, McClain. One day. And I would like to have your permission to ask her, when it comes time. You're the only family she has. It would be important to her. I'm pretty sure she'd like it if you gave her away too."

"Motherfucker." McClain tossed the ax aside with a curse. "You're actually serious about this."

He grinned. "I'm going to be the father of her children. Brother." "Why?" McClain demanded hoarsely. "Why her? I can't help but think—"

"This has something to do with you?" Johnny quirked a brow. "That's either astoundingly arrogant, or rather dismissive of your sister's charms. McClain, she's incredible. Eden's smart, she's stubborn, she's determined.... Sometimes when I look at her I know there's not a damned thing that can stop her when she sets her mind to something. Your sister crossed a brutal desert packed full of wargs to bring a cure back for those she loved, regardless of the risk to herself. When we got to Cortez City, she outsmarted two of the most powerful men in this hell-forsaken world. And then, after all was said and done, she arm wrestled the council of Absolution and the Confederacy into making a deal to get me out of there, all without killing a single soul." His voice dropped. "I know... I will never clear my slate. I know why you doubt me—trust me, I understand where you're coming from. But the question isn't why would I fall in love with your sister, it's why would she fall in love with me?"

He still wasn't sure he had an answer to that, though it was getting easier to believe it.

McClain chewed over the words, suspicion slowly turning to grudging acceptance in his eyes. "My sister's not an idiot. If she sees something good in you, then it must be there." He sighed. "Hell. Even I might have been warming up to you last year. I jumped off a fucking four-story building with you."

"We survived."

McClain slowly tipped his head. "You saved my life. You saved Mia. I was two minutes away from maybe offering you a place back in Haven when you stole my bag and took off. I won't pretend we don't have to sit down and talk about the past, but... you're not as bad as I once thought you were."

"Don't choke on it. I'd hate to have to tell Eden if you went down like this."

McClain sighed. "Word of advice. Don't put her up on a pedestal. I love my sister, but she's not perfect, and this won't survive if you think she is."

"You think you're telling me something I don't know? She can't cook for shit, and I know who's going to be doing the housework around here. She can hold a mean grudge, and she doesn't like swearing. I mean, who the fuck doesn't like swearing? I also have the feeling I'm going to be looking at lists for the rest of my life, but she might have to compromise there, because I don't do lists."

I didn't do forever either.

Until now. He rubbed a hand over the back of his neck.

McClain glowered. "You'll protect her?"

"With my life," he said fervently.

"And you'll never betray her?"

"I'd rather cut off my own hand. I'll love her, McClain, until the day I die. I'll remind her to eat when she gets lost in her thought processes, I'll help her set up her new clinic in Haven, I'll try to ignore the fact she snores like a train—"

"Good luck with that." The first flicker of a smile crossed McClain's hard mouth.

"I'll even put up with her overbearing, arrogant older brother, and that's almost a deal breaker."

The smile died and McClain stared at him flatly for a long moment. Then he sighed. "I'll accept this on one condition...."

"Which is?"

McClain hefted the ax. "You don't ever call me 'brother' again."

Johnny grinned. No promises. "So about her hand in marriage...?"

"Don't push your luck." McClain picked up the ax, resting it on his shoulder.