ROMANCE: Mason (Bad Boy Alpha Male Stepbrother Romance Boxset) (New Adult Contemporary Stepbrother Romance Collection) (149 page)

“Yep, but you married me so I guess something about that has to appeal to you. You do seem like the type that would like a bad boy.”

“Please, you eat cereal in your pajamas on the couch to watch cartoons Saturday morning; I’d hardly call you a bad boy.”

“That’s okay, I do prefer the term rugged anyway.”

“Yeah well, grow a proper beard first instead of that pitiful stubble and then we’ll talk.”

“Your words wound me, truly.”

“I think you’ll live,” Hannah chuckled, “Now, are we far enough away from civilization to have the picnic here or do we have to keep walking?”

Andrew smirked. “Why, tired?”

“In your dreams; it’s just getting too hot to keep going without a rest.”

“Fine,” Andrew said with a false, put-upon sigh, “we can picnic here, but you know, it’d be a lot cooler if you just undressed.”

“Mhmm, well, I’ll keep that in mind,” she joked, taking the towel from under his arm and spreading it out on the ground, sitting on it. He sat beside her, reaching into his bag to pull out the box of cookies, chips and the chilled hard cider.

“Open it for me?” Hannah asked, holding out the bottle Andrew had handed her as she took a cookie from the package and popped it into her mouth.

“Just another example of my ruggedness,” Andrew said as he popped it in his mouth and used his teeth to crack it open, spitting out the cap and handing it back to her.

“Mhmm,” Hannah said, taking a sip and closing her eyes in bliss at how good the cold beverage tasted on her tongue. “Here, hold this for a second please,” Hannah said, extending the drink back out to him to his confusion.

She gripped the edge of her shirt, lifting it up and over her head and tossing it aside before reaching her hands around to unclasp the back of her bra and toss it to the side as well. She then sat up on her knees, shimmying her hips out of her shorts and panties and setting them aside.

“Umm, not that I don’t very much enjoy this, but what are you doing?” Andrew asked, looking around covertly despite no one being anywhere close to them.

“No reason this can’t be a nudist beach.” Hannah shrugged, taking the drink back form him as she leaned back on her elbows.

“I see…” Andrew said, trailing off as his eyes stayed fixed to her chest.

Hannah smirked, taking another long drink from her bottle. “You know, most people come to the beach to look at the ocean, you know, the view of the beach.”

“Yeah, well no beach is as good as the view I’m getting now, trust me.”

“Maybe I’ll just have to take your word for it,” Hannah said, bringing the neck of the bottle back to her lips and stretching them around the rim, sucking on it suggestively.

“God, you just love to torture me, don’t you?”

“I wouldn’t say I love to, but it is quite enjoyable, yes,” Hannah teased, flicking her tongue out to lick a drop that had slipped out and was about to fall from the bottle.

Suddenly, an idea struck her and she got a mischievous glint in her eye that did not go unnoticed by Andrew.

“Oh no, what’s that look for?”

“Nothing. . .” Hannah trailed off, bringing the now half-empty bottle to her lips but stopping a few centimeters away. “Oh no,” she said in mock distress, “I think I spilled a little.”

Andrew looked at her, clearly confused. “No, it doesn’t look like it.”

“Really now,” Hannah said, tilting the bottle just a little and letting some of it spill on her. Andrew traced the river of cider with his eyes as it trickled down her middle and slowly, agonizingly slowly disappeared between her thighs. “Oh no, now I’m all sticky.”

Andrew licked his lips, eyes riveted. “Really now, that is a problem.”

“Mhmm, do you think you could help me?” she asked innocently, batting her eyelashes.

“You know, I think I can,” Andrew hummed, bending his head down and licking the faint traces of cider that rested between her breasts.

“That’s a good start,” Hannah mused, bringing a hand up and running it through his hair gently before she gently applied more pressure and guided his head to rest between her thighs, his breath tickling her. “But I think this area needs the most work.”

“Does it now?” Andrew grinned, situating himself so that he lay on his stomach between her spread thighs, resting strong hands firmly on each thigh and spreading them further.

“You look gorgeous like this, splayed out under me,” Andrew said, voice husky before his head disappeared out of sight right before Hannah felt a wet lick.

“Yeah, that’s it, excellent, please continue,” Hannah said, voice just a bit breathier.

Andrew smirked, the tables somewhat turned as he put his tongue to work, licking her and swirling it in teasingly slow circles.

“Oh, wow, it’s been a long time,” Hannah breathed, her head lolling back on her shoulders as her eyes fluttered closed when Andrew sucked.

“Too long,” Andrew murmured, his hot breath making her thighs quiver.

“Much too long,” Hannah agreed, chest arching as his tongue began those wonderful circling motions once more.

One of his hands removed itself from her thigh, tracing down the path his tongue had just made and circling the area before slipping into her wet heat.

“That’s . . . that’s amazing,” Hannah said as his biceps subtly flexed with the movement of his hand.

“Mhmm, well, my goal is to get you to the point where you are no longer able to speak.”

Hannah opened her mouth to retort with a witty reply but it was quickly cut off by a long, drawn out moan as he twisted his fingers slowly within her.

“That’s the spirit.” He smirked, licking a stripe upwards again before he began to pepper a trail of kisses from her inner thigh to her knee, his hand moving rhythmically, steadily speeding up.

Her eyes opened, a slight glaze to them as she took in the sight of the gorgeous man between her legs, the line of his broad shoulders moving beneath his thin white tank.

It was overwhelming, but in a good way. The sound of the splashing water of the ocean against the shore, the warm rays of the sun kissing their skin as Andrew ardently and determinedly worked to push her closer towards the brink of ecstasy.

Her back arched as he removed his fingers, his thumb gently teasing her before he brought his tongue back to her. Her legs were quivering uncontrollably now, breaths leaving her in shallow pants and she could do nothing but focus on the intense waves of pleasure crashing over her, mirroring the waves of the water behind them.

Her toes curled, the warm sand slipping between them as her hand scraped along his shoulder blade. Suddenly, her entire body clenched, muscles tight as she shook, almost violently, with ecstasy as she crashed over the edge of pleasure.

Her loud cry of pleasure rang through the area, and Andrew grinned as he sat up, eyes raking over her pleasure-filled face, a relaxed smile gracing her pink lips as her eyes opened to peer dazedly at him.

“I love you,” Hannah said, voice breathy.

Andrew grinned, laying back on the towel and propping his head up with one hand as the other reached over and brought Hannah to his chest.

“I love you too, so much, you gorgeous, crazy, amazing woman.”

Hannah smiled, knowing that she should probably get dressed at some point but not quite able to bring herself to care at the moment as she pressed her head to his beating heart. Her eyes closed in bliss and her smile widened, feeling better than she had in months. Andrew was finally home, he was with her, she was in his arms and she felt amazing. For the first time in a while, things felt right.

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BONUS              ENEMY OF THE ALPHA

CHAPTER 1

“Oh, please say you’ll come,” Lisa begged me over the phone. “I have to go, and I really don’t want to spend the whole night there alone.”

Lisa’s cousin was turning thirty, and she chose a masquerade ball to celebrate. I didn’t really know Lisa’s extended family but she was allowed to take a partner, and being single she had no one else to ask.

“I don’t do dress-ups,” I argued. My whole life was about hiding identities. Being a vampire just meant that I couldn’t just be who I wanted to be without causing chaos. The existence of supernatural creatures were widely accepted. As myth. Which meant that my sharp teeth, ice white skin, teal eyes and pitch black hair was something I had to hide and chalk up to the gods smiling down on me whenever my lethally good looks were mentioned.

“Please, Claudia. We don’t even have to stay the whole night. But if I go alone I’ll be the only one that doesn’t arrive with a partner of some sort and you know how they are.”

I sighed and rolled my eyes. I was going to do it. I would agree because even though Lisa was just a human and she knew nothing about my dark side, she was my best friend, and I would do almost anything for her.

“Fine,” I answered.

Lisa squealed. “I’ll send you the dress, it will go perfectly with your eyes,” she said and we ended off the conversation.

I stretched out on the bed and got up. The sun was below the horizon, I could feel the my body, soft and flexible now. During the day I could feel how the sun dragged me down, even when I was in hiding. It was like a heat wave. I could feel the ultra-violet rays in the air, long horrible fingers probing, searching for me.

The night air was cool when I stepped outside, and it wrapped around me like a second skin. I took a deep breath. The smell of the pines behind my home hung in the air sharp and thick, and it was laced with wood smoke, but the fire was very far away. I curled my lips back and stretched my jaw. The hunger burned in my blood and I felt my fangs elongate so I couldn’t close my jaw completely.

I didn’t hunt humans. It was against what I believed, and in general the supernatural creatures have come to some kind of agreement – miraculously – that we would leave the humans alone. With no deaths and disappearance the police had no reason to look for us. I lived off raw meat and blood from the small woodland creatures I hunted once a week. It was enough for me. Nothing like the thrill of human blood, or the strength that came with it, but in our society it was better to stay hidden anyway, and super-strength was a dead give-away. Besides, I had extremely good vision, hearing and sense of smell as a predator anyway. I didn’t need the extra perks.

I set off into the woods to start my hunt.

By the time I got back to the house the night was almost gone. The anticipation of dawn hung in the sky, and I would have to get indoors soon. The moon hung in the sky, a milky white disk that was almost full. I could feel the magic prickling my skin. The closer it came to full moon, the more the magic built. A lot of supernatural creatures were active during full moon, more than usual, and it was a dangerous type to be out, even for vampires. But the moon called to all of us in some way or another, even if just to remind us who we really were.

The dress was delivered to me sometime during the day while I was still sleeping. I had servants that kept my home running for me in daylight, when everyone else’s lives were moving forward. My servants, human subjugates, really, took care of everything that needed to be done, and when I went upstairs into my parlor, the dress was there.

And it was beautiful. I got dressed half an hour later, and it fit like it was made for me. Lisa had ordered this one, she’d said, and then she’d had to change her mind because her cousin had asked all the family to wear the family colors. It sounded dreadful to me, but the dress I had ended up getting as beautiful.

It was made of turquoise satin and black lace. It had a wide hooped-skirt with a black frill at the bottom and the black lace was draped over the satin in dramatic folds. It cinched tightly around my waist, and a corset made up the bodice, narrow in the middle, showing off I tiny I was, with a low neckline that showed off my chest. It was laced up at the back with black satin string that tightened the corset, but the front mirrored the back with black criss-cross satin string as well.

One of my ladies’ maids did my hair in a complicated do behind my head, with curled strands hanging around my face. When she was done I looked like someone that had escaped from an ancient time, a lady in the courts of Versailles. But with more bust.

The colors made my eyes stand out.

An intricate black mask made up of flowers and curls covered my eyes and my nose. When the servants left me and I looked in the mirror, I looked like a vision. When I smiled, fully, so I could see my teeth, I looked deadly.

A car came for me at ten. The height of the party was to be at midnight. I struggled with the hoops but eventually piled into the car, and I was taken to an estate outside of town. I remembered Lisa had mentioned that side of the family had ‘a disgusting amount of money’.

“Claudia? Is that you?” Lisa asked, and when I turned to find the face that belonged to the voice, I saw her. She wore a dress similar in style to mine, made of a heavy red material with golden trim and white laced frills on her sleeves and at her chest. She wore a golden mask that covered half of her face and the color did little for her ash blond hair and black eyes.

“You look… wow.” She looked me up and down. “I hate that you’re prettier than me.”

I rolled my eyes. “I’m not prettier than you,” I argued. “I feel like I look like a circus act.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I—oh my god who is
that
?”

I looked up to see who Lisa was talking about. A lot of men and women stood around wearing eighteen century inspired clothing, and they looked all roughly the same. But a man moved through them, and everything about him was different.

He wore the same kind of clothing, and he had a black mask on that covered his eyes with a thick line that looked like it was painted over his face. If anything it just made him look more mysterious and attractive. He moved like he was made of water, with flowing grace. He was muscled, his arms and chest straining against the jacket he was wearing. All the other men looked uncomfortable, like they’d been dressed up like dolls, but this guy was wearing his costume like he was doing it a favor.

“I have to talk to my cousin about that one,” Lisa said and disappeared. I couldn’t take my eyes off him. He oozed raw power and authority, and something in me drew to him like a magnet. I wanted to meet him. I
had
to meet him. I took a step in his direction. As I did he turned and looked at me. A shock traveled though my body when he did, my stomach leaping. This wasn’t the usual love-struck teenager butterflies kind-of-thing. This was something wild inside me answering a call.

A gong somewhere rang, out of place in this made-up world of costumes and make-believe, and broke the spell. The guests started moving towards the house. It had a Tuscan feel to it, with red rooves and tan walls and arches with creeping plants. The dining hall was made up with rows of tables with white table clothes that were arranged around the dance floor. A large chandelier hung from the ceiling and everywhere roses and lilies added to the décor. It was beautiful.

The evening moved slowly. Speeches were made by a woman in an elaborate red and gold dress, who I later realized was the birthday girl. The meal consisted of five different courses, with a half hour dancing period in between. The first course was a seafood meal, with white fish swimming in a pink sauce sat on top of a shell of iceberg lettuce. A dry white wine accompanied it, and it was brilliant.

I felt eyes burning into my skin, and when I looked up, he was looking at me. He was seated across from the room from me, but it felt like he was right next to me. Everything fell away and it was just me and him.

When it was time to dance, I stood up. I wanted to go to him. Something about him was calling out to me. But another man stepped in front of me, breaking our eye contact.

“Would the lady honor me with a dance?” he asked. I looked around to find Lisa nodded furiously at me. I agreed and took his hand. I realized that my dancing partner wore red and gold. His hair was blond but graying, and the face that showed underneath the half-mask was wrinkled.

“How are you enjoying our party so far?” he asked. This was Lisa’s uncle.

“It’s wonderful,” I said and smiled. “Absolutely magical.” From the corner of my eye I could see him, sitting down still. He wasn’t dancing. And I could have sworn he was watching me. But Lisa’s uncle twirled me and I nearly lost my footing.

Another man, another cousin, I guessed but the family colors, took over from the uncle. He was younger, and lumpy, with a belly that strained against the fabric of his coat and a face that made it look like the mask belonged to someone else.

And then it was time for the second course.

A cold mint-cucumber soup was next. It was creamy and delicious, even though I’d been suspicious about how pale it looked, and they served another kind of wine with it, slightly more fruity this time, a little sweeter.

When the second dance was announced, someone appeared in front of me. When I looked up it was him. He took my breath away. He wore dark blue and cream. His eyes under his mask were amber up close, and they were wild.

“May I?” he asked. I nodded breathlessly, and took his hand.

He led me to the dance floor and took me in his arms, and this man had danced before. He moved in the same way I’d noticed before. There was something very masculine about him, despite the grace of his movements, and he carried himself with pride.

“You’re beautiful,” he said. I felt my cheeks color with a blush. “I’d thought this party would be boring, until I saw you, my lady.”

“Claudia,” I breathed. There was something hot about a man dressed like him, with those eyes, calling me ‘my lady’.

“Grant,” he answered. His name was the only ordinary thing about him.

The half hour flew. I saw no one, knew of nothing around me. When the music stopped and the announcement for the third course sounded, the clock struck and drowned out the master of ceremonies. The lights dimmed, as was apparently the custom at midnight at balls like these.

I could feel him, closer to me than before. Desire surrounded us like a blanket, wrapping us in a cocoon. He looked at me, and his eyes burned into my soul. My breath caught in my throat again. There had never been a man that had touched the animal in me. He’d just reached down and stroked the predator’s head like it was a pet. And I wanted to submit to him. There was something fierce about him that made me want to do it.

He leaned in, and kissed me. The movement was swift and sure, and his lips came down on mine like it had been the plan all along. Electricity hummed through my veins when he touched me. He placed his hand on my waist, and it burned my skin through the corset around my body. I felt hot and feverish.

The kiss only lasted a few seconds, but when he pulled away I was breathless. My cheeks flushed crimson, I could feel the heat radiating off my own skin. Grant smiled at me, and I was sure he could feel it too. He turned and walked to his seat.

Chapter 2

“So when are you seeing him?” Lisa asked. Her eyes glittered. She sat on my couch, she’d insisted on coming with me after the party. She’d seen me kiss Grant, and as my best friend it was her right to know everything, she told me.

It was getting closer to sunrise and I was tired and getting crabby.

“I don’t know, I guess I’ll wait for him to call,” I said. After the kiss at midnight I’d danced with him two times more, but he’s was mysterious and withdrawn. I didn’t know exactly what he looked like even though I’d taken my mask off for him when he’d asked.

“I want to see you again,” he’d said, and I’d scribbled my number on his hand. It had been strange, to give him a number for a cellphone when we were standing in a world of carriages and ball gowns.

“Of course you’re going to agree to a date, right?” Lisa asked. She was still in her red dress but I’d changed into pajamas.

“I’ll see how charming he is over the phone,” I said. But I knew I would see him again. Every fiber in my being had cried out to him when he’d kissed me. The last time a man made me feel anything at all was in high school.

“But I’m tired, I really need to get to bed,” I said. “Are you going to be fine getting home?”

I didn’t do sleepovers with friends. I didn’t want to have to pretend I was human in my own home. I wasn’t going to offer her my spare bedroom.

“I’ll be fine, but the moment he calls you have to tell me everything. And you have to say yes.”

I smiled and shook my head, letting Lisa out. When I closed the door behind her I opened the panel by the door and pushed the button that brought down the shutters in front of my window.

I dreamed of a handsome stranger that night. His eyes were a bright yellow, and he was a creature of the night, like me. We were in a magical world, not the one I’d grown up in, but one where we could just be ourselves without worrying about it. I’d been hunting and I felt strong, stronger than usual. Like I’d had human blood, but I couldn’t remember biting anyone. The rest of my clan were milling around me, talking in hushed voices about something I couldn’t make out. But I was with him and he smiled down at me, and nothing mattered. The clan could sort themselves out.