Mama, even defeated, was still Mama. She used the brief visit that they all made to the house to dry off and put on clothing to negotiate the date of the wedding with Ash and Elle.

She did her best to exclude Nika from the discussion, probably as petty punishment for Nika foiling her plans for a union with the Sandviken clan, but Ash didn't play along. He conspicuously consulted Nika about every proposal.

Elle followed suit, and Nika watched Mama's expression sour as she was firmly but politely thwarted by the Swansons.

It made her feel good to know that Ash truly had her back…and Elle, too.

Elle might not have actually offered Nika the protection of her clan, but when push came to shove, she had joined Ash's rescue party. As had Dimitri.

Nika knew she'd never stop feeling grateful for that kind of loyalty.

By the time they left for the airport, Nika and Ash had agreed to postpone their wedding until early April, before the baby was due, but after all the snow had melted at the ranch.

Mama had insisted that they needed at least that much time so that Nika could get a designer wedding dress custom-fitted to her pregnant figure.

And Elle had convinced Anastasia and Mikael to stay at her big Victorian, telling them that she ran a high-end bed-and-breakfast and had plenty of beautifully furnished guest rooms available.

Nika suspected that Elle badly wanted to keep an eye on the couple who had so recently tried to kill her youngest son and abduct the mother of her grandchild, but her invitation was so warmly and politely phrased that Nika's parents were unable to refuse.

Nika felt a huge weight lift from her shoulders when Ash finally helped her into his rented SUV, and Elle and Dimitri slid into the back seat. Ash had mentioned that he had rented a corporate jet and that it was currently waiting for them at the East Hampton Airport, just a short drive away.

"Thank you all," she told her brother, her mother-in-law, and her mate as Ash started the vehicle and began to drive down the long driveway that connected the house to the road. "I was so scared when I thought Papa had convinced Dimitri to kill Ash."

Ash gave her a wry grin. "I had a bad moment or two there, myself. I'm glad it all worked out."

"We Swansons protect our own," Elle said firmly.

Nika nodded, warmed to the core by this declaration of acceptance. "You do," she said. "I can't tell you how relieved I was to see all of you just when Papa was closing in on me."

"I'm sorry I couldn't stop him from taking you away," Ash said.

Nika shook her head. "You came for me, Ash. That's all that matters."

He nodded slowly, but his brow was still furrowed.

They drove in silence through the rainy night for a few minutes, then Ash spoke.

"Now that things are settled with your parents, are you ready to talk about what comes next?" he asked. "Or do you want to wait until we're back home and you've had a good night's sleep?"

"I don't want to wait," Nika said fervently.

"I'm all ears," Elle added.

"So am I," Dimitri said.

"So, here's my plan," Ash told them. "After we get home, Nika and I will resume house-hunting in Seattle. I already told Dimitri that my company needs a chief financial officer, which means someone with a head for figures. He can stay at my place as long as he likes."

"And I'm going to volunteer for the Bearpaw Ridge Fire Department," Dimitri said eagerly. "Ash says it's a good way to get to know everyone in the area and to gain acceptance in the community."

Dimitri had recently graduated from university with a degree in finance. It sounded like a reasonable plan…except for one thing.

"Seattle?" Nika asked, confused. "I thought we were staying in Bearpaw Ridge?"

"You're leaving home?" Elle asked in a dismayed tone. Apparently, she hadn't heard about this, either.

Ash fixed Nika with a stern look. "Don't you have another semester of medical school to finish? And a three-year residency to complete after that?"

"I—I don't think the school is going to want me back after I just left without telling anyone," Nika confessed.

The reminder of her failure to complete her medical degree was enough to evaporate most of her effervescent feelings of joy from the rescue.

"Nonsense," Ash said briskly, as they reached the end of the driveway and turned onto the road that led to the airport. He continued, "I've already contacted the associate dean for student affairs to discuss your unscheduled leave of absence. She sounded very sympathetic when I explained that you'd been the victim of a criminal assault, which Sheriff Jacobsen would be happy to attest to. She told me that you've been an exemplary student so far, and she's looking forward to seeing you when you feel up to returning to your studies after the baby's born."

Tears rose in Nika's eyes and spilled down her cheeks.

"You did that for me?" she asked incredulously.

No one had ever been so thoughtful—or understood how important becoming a doctor was to her.

Ash's smile was warm when he turned to look at her.

"Of course," he said simply. "You're my mate. Until now, I haven't been able to do any of the traditional bear shifter protector stuff, but that doesn't mean that there wasn't anything I could do for you."

Damned pregnancy hormones! She thought, as tears of joy kept overflowing.

"I am the luckiest woman alive," she told Ash, grabbing for the box of Kleenex balanced on the center console.

"Funny. I feel the same way," he replied, and reached for her hand.

Dimitri groaned loudly from the back seat. "Are you two going to torture me with all that lovey-dovey stuff on the airplane?"

Elle just chuckled.

"All the way home," Ash assured him. "All the way home, bro."

* * *

The sky over the mountains announced dawn's arrival with a breathtaking display of reds, pinks, and tangerine tinting the high clouds and staining the snow on the peaks below.

Thanks to the road conditions, it had taken nearly as long to drive home from the airport as it had to fly cross-country. Ash had parked his own Lexus SUV at the airport, since it seated four more comfortably than any of the ranch's pickup trucks.

Both Nika and Dimitri had fallen asleep a short time into the drive. Mom had been absorbed in reading a paperback thriller, leaving Ash alone with his thoughts.

He had a lot of things to think about, and a lot of plans for his future together with Nika and their child.

"I did it," he murmured under his breath as he came to a stop in front of the big yellow Victorian ranch house and parked. "I actually shifted!"

"I always knew you could," Mom said, tucking her novel into her oversized purse. "I've been saying for years that you're just a late bloomer."

"You had more faith in my bear than I did." He turned to look at his mother as she opened the SUV's rear door. "Thanks for coming with me to New York. I couldn't have done it without you."

Mom smiled. "I finally got a bear shifter daughter-in-law. I couldn't just stand by and let those awful people take her away from you."

* * *

Nika woke up naked in Ash's arms, his goose down comforter covering them both. It felt wonderful and utterly right.

She had a vague recollection of Ash carrying her from his SUV into the house and undressing her before tucking her into his bed. But she couldn't remember when he'd joined her or what had become of Dimitri and Elle.

The adrenaline high that had kept her awake and buzzing for most of the flight back had finally worn off during the long drive down to Bearpaw Ridge from the Missoula airport.

By the time they arrived back at the ranch, she had felt unable to rouse herself from the terrible fatigue that had dragged her under as soon as they climbed into Ash's big, luxurious SUV. Two sleepless nights in a row while under her parents' roof, coupled with the physical rigor of her escape from the house, had finally caught up with her.

She felt warm now, and rested. And safe, with Ash curled around her.

"Good afternoon, love," he murmured in her ear as she stirred.

"What time is it?" she asked sleepily, as he gently caressed her belly, pressing his palm against the firm curve to feel the baby move.

Ash chuckled. "Somewhere around noon. I've only been awake for about ten minutes, myself."

She felt something hard and hot press against the small of her back, and smiled. "I can feel how awake you are."

She had almost lost him two days ago. She had spent two nights thinking he might be dead. And now he was here, with her, and she wasn't going to let another minute go by without feeling him inside her.

Nika pressed her hips eagerly back against him, rubbing herself against the hard, hot length of his cock. Sleeping naked certainly made things much more…convenient.

"I want you," she said, her desire suddenly overwhelmingly urgent and ravenous.

"Say please," he teased her, moving forward and lifting her leg so that the blunt head of his cock slid between her thighs and pressed tantalizingly against her wet, aching pussy.

His hand slid up and over her belly, then traveled higher. His fingers brushed the sensitive tips of her breasts, raising them to hard points.

She tried to wriggle back against him, but he moved away just far enough to avoid her maneuver.

"Don’t be such a tease," Nika complained.

"Who, me?" he said with false innocence.

Oh, you've done it now.

With a feral smile, she turned in his arms and let her bear out to play with her mate.

His hazel eyes widened as he saw her eyes go gold. She knew she was taking a risk by loosening her control over her bear, but she felt confident that she wouldn't shift all the way.

Ash didn't resist as she rolled him over, until he lay supine beneath her.

"Mine," her bear said huskily, straddling him and pinning his arms above his head.

As she lowered herself on his rigid shaft, she dipped her head and bit his throat. Then she licked the reddened mark she left.

Ash gasped with pleasure and his hips thrust up, filling her all the way.

Nika pushed herself up and rolled her hips, reveling in the sensation. He felt so good inside her.

Then, with her bear urging her on, she rode him hard and fast. His big, stiff cock caressed her clit and swollen folds with long, firm strokes, winding her up to a climax.

Her release sent pleasure rippling through her inner muscles, squeezing and caressing his shaft. With a pleased sigh, she lowered herself and relaxed against his chest.

Ash embraced her, obviously thinking it was time to cuddle a little before the next round. He was still inside her, still hard, and he hadn't climaxed yet.

"No," she growled, and pushed his arms down. "Now it's your turn."

She kissed him hard, with lots of tongue, and sensed how much he was enjoying her take-charge approach. He tried to embrace her again, and she caught his wrists firmly.

"Let the pregnant lady have her way," she said.

"Yes, ma'am." He grinned up at her, and she smiled wickedly down at him.

"I want you to just lie back and enjoy this."

"Oh, believe me, I am," he said, his eyes dilated with need as he gazed up at her.

She worked her way down his hard body, nipping and biting at him, watching his arousal mount higher and higher.

He was enjoying her bear's fierce lovemaking. She'd have to remember that for next time.

She was enjoying this, too, desire throbbing to renewed life between her legs, where he was still inside her.

He squirmed and gasped when she reached his sensitive nipples, so she lingered there for a while.

First, she licked them into stiff points, then she drew them into her mouth with fierce suction. Finally, she bared her teeth and hovered over them, teasing.

Ash groaned and arched upwards in a silent plea. She took one nipple delicately between her teeth, and bit down. He convulsed in pleasure beneath her.

Ooh, fun.

She crouched over him, playing with his nipples, alternating between biting and pinching them, until they were darkened and swollen and so sensitive that the lightest brush of her lips across them made him shudder and arch.

Reluctantly, she moved down further and let him slide out of her, his thick cock flushed and straining for its delayed satisfaction.

Ash's belly was flat and hard with muscle…and sensitive. His gasps and ragged breathing told her how much he liked it when she worked her way down in a series of bites that left red marks but didn't break the skin.

Finally, she reached his cock. She played with him for a little bit, running her fingers through the dark, wiry hair around his groin, stroking his balls and teasing the shaft and head with puffs of air and feather-light kisses as he panted and moved restlessly beneath her teasing touch.

"Nika, please," he begged, finally, his voice gone hoarse with need.

Nika grasped his shaft, burning-hot now with their play, and lowered her head.

Letting her lips brush the tip of his cock with each word, she said, "I want to see you come, Ash."

"Anything you say," he panted. "Just—"

She didn't let him finish his words, just swallowed him whole. He tasted of her, tangy and musky, with his own salt and musk underneath.

She caressed him with her tongue, letting it swirl around his swollen tip, and enjoyed his pleasure with what she was doing to him.

He was already close to the edge, so it didn't take long to coax him to release.

Ash stiffened with a loud growl, every muscle in his body tightening, and then thrust up into her mouth. She tasted salt as she swallowed his release, letting her mouth and tongue milk him through his climax.

He subsided, panting, and she grinned down at him, seeing the marks of her lovemaking in an uneven pattern over his throat, chest, and belly. Mine.

And now he carried the marks to prove it.

Her bear settled down, satisfied that they had served their mate well.

"Thank you," he said, his breath still uneven. "That was amazing."

"Good," she said, leaning over him to kiss him. "I enjoyed that, too."

"I know," he said, his voice suddenly deep again, sending a thrill through her. He caressed the taut bulge of her belly. "So…it's my turn now. And I feel like taking my time."

He was true to his word, drawing out his caresses until she was the one arching beneath him and begging him.

Turnabout might be fair play, but it was a lot of fun, too.

When he urged her onto her hands and knees and entered her at last, she cried out in satisfaction.

He took her hard and fast, driving her through more two climaxes before he finally came inside her.

Finally sated, Nika lay in Ash's arms.

"Happy?" he asked softly.

His smile dazzled her. "Good." he said. "In that case, I have one more thing to ask of you. Just a formality, but something I forgot to do earlier, while we were discussing all of the wedding logistics."

"Anything," she said, settling her head comfortably into the hollow of his shoulder.

"Nika Medved," said Ash softly. He kissed her with slow enjoyment. "Will you marry me?"