ROMANCE: Mason (Bad Boy Alpha Male Stepbrother Romance Boxset) (New Adult Contemporary Stepbrother Romance Collection) (33 page)

“Darla, this is my friend Blaine.” 

“Nice to meet you.”  She smiled and shook Blaine’s hand firmly.  “What are you doing today?”

“Hopefully catching fish.” 

“Picked a good day for it.  Not supposed to get over eighty today.”  The woman placed a plump hand on her hip and resumed her stirring.

Blaine glanced at Dale leaning in the doorway, his near black eyes watched him intently. 

“Your local, Blaine?”  Darla asked, shaking some unknown spice into her concoction. 

“No, Ma’am.  I’m from the mountain area near the West Virginia border.” 

“Oh, I bet it’s pretty there!  What brought you to Williamsburg?”

“Sightseeing.”  He exchanged a glance with Brooke, her small smile reassuring.

Dale let out a whooping laugh.  “I guess the
sight
of Brooke was all it took, huh?”  He slapped his thigh at his own joke. 

Darla gave him a dark look, her full lips puckered.  “Leave ‘em alone!”

“I’m just teasing!”  He came and wrapped his arms around her thick waist.  “I don’t mean any harm.” 

“We’ll stop in on our way out.”  Brooke said, and grabbed Blaine by the hand.  “Be good, boys, and I’ll drop a treat off to you guys before you visit again.” 

Her promise earned Brooke hugs and wallops.

Blaine was glad to be out of the house and back into the sunshine.  Anywhere would have been better than the intense stare of Dale. 

“How does your father know him?”  He asked as he slid into the driver’s seat.

“He worked for my father when I was little.  He was a drifter, down on his luck, he had just left a motorcycle gang.” 

“Was Darla with him then?”

Brooke shook her head and smiled.  “Follow that dirt path.  It leads to the stream.  No, Darla was working at the same pancake house I took you to.  She was a single mother of two, and Dale fell in love with her.”  She smiled softly.  “He said he liked the way her brash attitude clashed with her soft mothering.  Plus, he had just inherited the house you saw, and said it needed to be filled with little ones.” 

“Did they have kids together?”

“One.  He’s Dale Jr.  He just left for the Marine Corp this past fall.” 

“Wow.  Is he overseas?” 

“Not yet, but they think he might have to go to the Middle East.” 

Blaine shook his head.  “That’s rough.” 

“Yes, it is.” 

They were silent as the path became rougher and narrower.  Blaine was afraid of getting stuck, and was about to voice that concern, when the path opened into a field, and he could see the stream. 

“That’s almost a small river!”  He exclaimed happily. 

“It feeds directly into the James.  It’s bigger here because we’re so close.”

They unpacked the truck and walked towards the embankment.  The sound of the stream as it moved over rock and cut into the earth, reminded Blaine of home, and it gave him a sad kind of peace. 

He was amused and impressed with how knowledgeable Brooke was about fishing, and how her fingers deftly worked with the bait and line.  Her cast was near perfect. 

“Have a seat.”  She said, sitting cross legged on the ground. 

“Is Dale Native?”

“He is.  Powhatan.” 

“Darla?” 

Brooke laughed.  “She’d tell you all sorts of things, but African American will suffice.” 

“You seem close to them.” 

“I am…I mean
we
are.  He’s one of my Dad’s closest friends, and Darla helped out a lot with Jeanette.”

They lapsed into a comfortable silence, that wasn’t broken until Brooke’s line began to move. 

“Hot damn!”  She said, leaping to her feet. 

Blaine thought about helping her as her sneakers dug into the soft soil of the embankment, but was soon put to shame as she expertly reeled a large mouthed bass in.  Her grin was contagious.  Blaine watched with awe as she carefully unhooked this fish and skidded down the slope to the water’s edge.  She smacked the fish on a flat rock and made her way back up the bank. 

“I guess we better eat.  I didn’t expect to catch one this fast.  I’ll need the ice in the cooler for the fish.” 

“You’re quite the angler.”  Blaine said shaking his heads with his hands on his hips.

“Thanks.  My Dad and Dale taught me.  Better grab your pole.”  

Blaine soon found out that not only could she fish, but she could cook as well.  He laid back on the blanket and rubbed his stomach, now full of potato salad, a divine cold cut sandwich and fresh chocolate chip cookies. 

“What was that sauce on the sandwich?”

“It’s simple.  It’s mayo, mustard, sugar, and vinegar mixed together.” 

“Well, it was delicious.  Who taught you?”

“To make the sauce?”

“That, and cooking in general.”  He said and rolled onto his side, supporting his head with his hand. 

“My Dad taught me some but, like I told you, I just love to cook.  I watch TV shows and I check out cookbooks from the library.” 

“You should own a restaurant.”  

Brooke nibbled on a cookie thoughtfully.  “Want to know what I’m really interested in?”

“What’s that?”

“Off the grid living.  I want to can and freeze things.  Hunt and slaughter my own meats, then learn how to preserve that meat.” 

Blaine’s eyes widened, and his body went still.  “You do?”  He whispered. 

Brooke laughed lightly, her head bent back to her cookie.  “I know that sounds dumb probably.”

“No, it doesn’t.” 

Blaine scooted his body closer to her, and took the cookie from her hands, pulling her down towards him.  Brooke willingly stretched out in front of him.  He looked into her eyes for a long time, his brow slightly furrowed in concentration. 

“What is it?”

“Have you ever considered leaving here?”

“All the time.  I just didn’t know where to go, or what to do.  I
thought
I would have been long gone by now.”

Blaine moved a hand along her hairline, tracing a path with his finger until it reached her bottom lip.  He watched the soft flesh bounce back as his finger left the spot.  He pulled her tighter to him with a hand at her low back.  Brooke’s mouth met his, her lips parting for an intimate kiss. 

Blaine could feel the erection rising in his jeans, and he pressed his body closer to hers, not caring if she felt it.  She ran a hand lightly over his crotch to let him know that she had not only felt it, but liked it as well.  Blaine shifted his weight, grabbing her by her upper arms, and pulling her on top of him.  He pushed her back as she tried to lean in and kiss him again. 

“What’s wrong?”  She asked breathlessly, her cheeks pink. 

“Nothing.”  He raised his head, and let it drop back to the ground, closing his eyes.  “I have to go home soon.” 

Brooke’s body tensed.  Why was he bringing this up
now
?  “I know you can’t stay forever.”  Her voice betrayed her bravado. 

Blaine opened his eyes.  “No, I can’t.  I have responsibilities at home.  But…”

“But what?”  She hated how hopeful she sounded. 

“You could…you could come with me.” 

Brooke slid off his hips and stared at him incredulously.  “I just met you.” 

“I know.  I know it’s crazy.” 

“You’re supposed to be looking for a mate.” 

“Don’t really want that kind of mate.” 

“What do you want?”  She held her breath.  What if he didn’t say what she wanted to hear?

His dark eyes became bottomless.  “I want you.” 

Fishing no longer an interest, Brooke and Blaine said a hasty goodbye to Darla, then drove back to her apartment in silence.  Brooke nearly continuously chewed her bottom lip, and Blaine took his eyes off of the road every few minutes to look at her.  He wished he knew what she was thinking. 

Should I have been that presumptuous?

Carleigh was thankfully not there when they returned.  Once all of the gear was in the apartment, Blaine stopped Brooke from pulling the fish from the cooler.  Her blue eyes looked up at him, various emotions and unspoken thoughts swimming there. 

“The fish can wait.”  He led her by the hand into the living room, gently pushing her onto the couch.  “I want you to consider coming home with me.” 

Brooke tried to shake her head no.  She tried to look at this man with the reason and common sense she was famous for, but she couldn’t.  Rational thinking had gone out the door concerning this man since the first night he had kissed her. 

“I’ll consider it.”

“Good.”

Brooke felt her shoulders slump.  “How long?”

Blaine lifted a shoulder, tilting his head slightly.  “I need to head home in a few days.  Two weeks at most.  I’m running out of funds.  I didn’t expect to be staying in a hotel for this long.”

Brooke’s eyes brightened.  “You could stay here on the couch!”  Her hopeful smile caused Blaine’s stomach to clench. 

“I doubt Carleigh would want that.” 

“If it’s only for a few days, I don’t think she’ll care.  She’s had men stay for longer than that before.” 

“Well…”  Blaine didn’t have time to finish.  Brooke was on her feet, grabbing her cell to call Carleigh.

Blaine heaved a weary sigh as he tugged the duffel bag from the back of the pickup.  How he had allowed Brooke to talk him into this, he just didn’t know!  Then again he was realizing she could probably talk him into most anything. 

Brooke was waiting at the door, her hair freshly washed like the first night he had left and come back.  She was wearing some kind of pajama shorts set.  It looked like satin. 

Give me strength
. 

Carleigh was sitting in the living room when he walked in, her face simultaneously fighting a smile and a sneer.

“I still don’t understand why you’re not staying in
her
room.” 

“I don’t just randomly invite men to my bed.” 

Carleigh smiled tightly.  “Yes, Brian was your
only
bedroom conquer.”

Blaine felt a blush creep up his neck. 
Only one man?  Almost as good as a virgin
.

“Thank you for the use of the couch.” 

Carleigh stood and made a dismissive gesture with her hands.  “Whatever.  It’s fine.  Just keep the bathroom clean.  I don’t want to find the toilet up, or pee on the floor.” 

Brooke shook her head, looking at Blaine helplessly as Carleigh left the room. 

“She means well.” 

Blaine barked a laugh.  “She
does
?”

Blaine hardly slept an hour the whole night.  He was conscious of every move the two women made.  He felt vulnerable sleeping on the couch, but didn’t know why.  The next morning he realized it was his conscious telling him something.  A knock sounded lightly on the door. 

Blaine waited for one of the women to get up and answer it, but when no one came, he heaved a sigh and walked to the door.  Dale and Jack stood there frowning.

“Have you moved in?”  Jack asked. 

“No, Jack.  Brooke just wanted me to stay here for a few days.  I was running out of money.” 

“And she doesn’t want you to leave to go home yet?”

Blaine nodded.   He glanced at Dale.  So, far he hadn’t said a word.  He just watched Blaine with the same steady stare he had given him at his house.

“Well, put a shirt on over all that muscle.  You’re giving me a complex.” 

“Do you want me to wake Brooke?”

“No, we’re here for you.” 

Blaine hesitated.  “Alright.”  He held the door open for them. 

Dale nudged Jack and tilted his head towards the couch.  Jack smiled lightly as he watched Blaine fold the sheet and blanket from his makeshift bed.  He stacked everything on the floor next to the couch, and grabbed a shirt from his duffle.  All three men looked at the end of the hall, as Brooke came yawning into the room, her slippered feet shuffling along the floor.

She froze as her eyes opened from the yawn.  She looked at each man individually. 

“What’s going on here?”

Jack sidled up to her and kissed her cheek.  “We’re taking Blaine out for breakfast.”

“Why?”

Dale crossed his arms and grinned.  “Man to man talks.”

“Right.”  Brooke said doubtfully. 

“Don’t worry.”  Jack said, as he went to the front door.  “We’ll bring him back.” 

Blaine kissed Brooke with the other two men watching.  His eyes told them one thing and one thing only: 
She’s mine now
.

Dale nodded his head once, Jack seemed unaware. 

The sun beat down on them with furnace like heat as they drove away in Dale’s pickup truck.  It was an ancient relic that should have been in a museum, and the three of them were scrunched along the front seat like sardines.