Free How to Tame a Werewolf: Seven Brides for Seven Shifters, Book 3 by Thalia Eames Page A

at a weird angle because dizziness overwhelmed him and he couldn’t get his arms and legs to work properly. That wouldn’t normally be a problem—his healing ability would kick in if he gave it a minute—but he’d landed face first into the water and he couldn’t breathe.
    Ian didn’t panic. He figured his wolfen side would heal him before the three minutes it took to get brain damage were up. Relaxing, he began to hold his breath. One by one he counted off the seconds, hoping to regain control of his limbs in time to swim to the edge of the pond.
    A splash sounded nearby. His name sounded murky when heard through the water in his ears. Actually it wasn’t his name he heard underwater but Rue’s nickname for him. For some reason “Spock” sounded just as good. Strong hands grasped him by the shoulders and flipped him over. Ian dragged in several breaths of air as a slim brown arm wrapped around his neck and gently floated him to the stonework enclosing the pond.
    Rue had gone from happily drunk to frantic. “Oh my god, you’re bleeding again. What did I do? What did I do?”
    Without the creek water to dilute it, his blood flowed freely down his face, blurring his vision in a wash of red. Ian wanted to tell Rue he’d be fine but she enfolded him in her embrace and cradled his head to her cheek, whispering apologies in his ear as though she’d killed him. She cared. She’d jumped off the bridge into the cold pond water to save him. He couldn’t tell her how much that meant to him because she’d panicked. Or maybe he couldn’t tell her because his body still wasn’t working properly. But most likely he remained silent because her arms were a sanctuary wrapped around him.
    A soothing blue glow flashed behind him and grew stronger. The warmth of the light spread to enclose him. Within the blue glow Ian felt the bone and then the skin over his brow knit together. The sudden healing was similar to his shifter healing only more powerful, somehow focused and pure.
    Rue opened her eyes in a butterfly kiss against his temple. Her lashes fluttered a few more times and she whispered, “What happened?” before her body went limp, slumping backwards onto the grass. She’d passed out cold.
    Although she couldn’t hear him, Ian had only one answer for her, “Bridges and cold water happened.” The symbolism of Rue diving off a bridge to save him meant something to Ian. She’d fulfilled a secret fantasy he’d always carried with him of being saved by a woman who threw her whole body into it. And he had no idea how to handle that.

Chapter Eight
    The first time she woke up, Rue blamed an oncoming hangover for the fog in her head. Then she realized the swaying motion of walking had discombobulated her. One look around proved she was moving at an even gait down East Wampler Street, yet all four of her limbs were floating limply in midair.
    A prickle of stubble rubbed her cheek and she realized she had her arms thrown over his shoulders. Only his muscular arms and strong back kept her from falling. He’d picked her up to carry her home, piggyback style. Absolutely amazing. Where had this man come from? He’d helped her out of three bad situations like some kind of hard knock life genie, and then he’d created a pathway for her current situation to her dream job. In return she’d given him nothing but trouble.
    The memory of blood pouring down his head slammed into her. She’d knocked him off the bridge. Because of her he could’ve drowned in a pond. She’d be damned if she turned this man into another casualty of caring for her. It took a couple of tries but Rue finally managed an un-garbled, “Are you okay, Magic Man?”
    He looked up at her using his peripheral vision and his eyes crinkled at the corners with amusement. “Is that my new nickname?”
    “Don’t be nice to me,” she whispered, more than a little horrified that she’d nearly cracked his skull open.
    “Why wouldn’t I be nice to you, Rue? You