ROMANCE: Mason (Bad Boy Alpha Male Stepbrother Romance Boxset) (New Adult Contemporary Stepbrother Romance Collection) (45 page)

She moved higher and his leg hardened, his whole body going stiff except his hands that moved slightly on the steering wheel. “When has that ever stopped us?” she chuckled and his face flushed a dark shade of red.

Ethan shot out his hand, slamming it down on car horn causing Amelia to jump wildly in her seat. She spun around frantically before her eyes finally settled on Ethan and the smirk on his face. His hand was out of the window and he was waving exuberantly at the trees behind them. She narrowed her vision at the large oak trees and a small smile crept onto her face, her anger momentarily forgotten, as she watched the last traces of wolf fur disappear.

“We’re alone?” she asked, astounded.

“Well I told you they were just escorting us didn’t I?” he grinned, finally pulling his hand back in from the window when he was sure they were completely out of sight of his pack.

Amelia leant back in her seat, a wide grin on her lips. “I had forgotten what it was like to be away from them,” she said happily, relishing in the sensation of not being watched.

“I hadn’t,” Ethan muttered, his face screwing up.

“Aww do you miss your buddies?” she teased and he glared at her.

“Wouldn’t you?” he responded glumly.

“Vampire, remember?” she chuckled.

“Ah yes I forgot you hate people,” he laughed warmly, ignoring the growing pangs that told him to turn back, to return to his pack.

“I don’t hate people, I just choose not to be surrounded by them all day,” she laughed lightly.

“Good for them I suppose, can’t say I don’t envy them,” he teased.

Reaching out and ruffling his messy blonde hair she grinned widely. “Envy away honey,” she chuckled and he smiled back at her.

Despite being away from his pack he liked seeing her this happy, this carefree and he fully intended for it to stay that way. They had one wedding anniversary a year and secluded in the heart of the woods he prayed that it would not be a similar disaster as the last four had been; even he doubted his hopes would turn into reality.

Chapter Four

The cabin was exactly how Amelia had expected it to be and yet as she stood outside, surveying the rickety old shack, it felt far worse. The building was small, barely even visible until you were stood directly in front of it. High billowing tree’s surrounded what Amelia was convinced could not be classed as a suitable human dwelling. The walls were uneven, slanting in all the ways they shouldn’t, even after once glance she had deemed it a hazard, to themselves and the wildlife that no-doubt hovered around it.

Once quick look at her husband though told her without words that her feelings were definitely not mutual, in fact they were perhaps the complete opposite to his. Ethan was beaming, his grin spreading from ear to ear as he looked on at the traditional wooden cabin, the one he had searched for so long to find. In his opinion it fitted the description exactly; secluded and nestled in woodland. It fitted in perfectly with the expansive woodland that surrounded them, in a way he had never felt more at home in his entire life.

Amelia hesitated for a moment as Ethan went bounding forwards towards the shack, slightly concerned that his thunderous footsteps would be the final straw for the old cabin and it would collapse. She eyed the dusty dirt track they had walked down mere minutes before to where she knew the car was waiting for them; the car that provided everything the cabin didn’t, including a means to escape. When Ethan had told her he was taking her to a woodland lodge she had hoped for better than a run-down shack, but of course her expectations hadn’t reached her hopes and she had been proven right.

“Are you coming or are you planning on camping out there? Not that I would have a problem with camping,” Ethan shouted from the doorway.

The cabin rattled a little, its foundations cracking further at the loudness of Ethan’s voice. A small smile crept across Amelia’s lips as she envisioned the cabin’s downfall at the hands of her over-exuberant husband.  The smile quickly disappeared as she considered his words, if he really got the idea of camping into his head then there would be no talking him out of it; a quick look at their surroundings told her that would be far from preferable.

“No need to be impatient, I was merely enjoying the beauty of the area,” she retorted sarcastically.

The tone of her voice was lost on Ethan and his smile grew impossible bigger. “I knew you would love it once you saw it,” he shouted, again causing the building to shake.

The corner of Amelia’s lips twisted up and she took a small step backwards, hopefully judging her distances right so she would be out of impact range. “Say that again?” she shouted, overly-sweetly.

“I said, I knew you would love it,” Ethan boomed.

Amelia waited; her grin widening as she watched the beam just above the door pull away from its unstable place. Her heart beat quickened as she counted the passing seconds while the beam slowly dropped away, trying her best not to laugh at her husband’s impatient yet quizzical expression. Just when she thought it wasn’t going to happen, that luck wasn’t on her side, the beam slipped completely free and with a deafening crack that echoed through the forest it crashed down on Ethan’s foot.

The sound continued on far longer than the impact, merely a second passed before it was joined by Amelia’s laugher. With a growl of pain, animalistic in nature, Ethan leapt from the doorway. With a swift and crunching kick of his foot the beam was sent flying into the woods, landing an easy 100 meters or so from them. Amelia clutched her stomach as laugher rolled steadily from, the quick glance she shot in her husband’s direction only aiding to prolonging the humor.

Hopping from foot to foot, no doubt encouraging the building’s departure, his growls became little more than a hiss. Finally as he watched his wife’s laugher die away, he sent her an anger look. “You did that on purpose!” he yelled, red faced and rubbing his foot frantically.

Shrugging innocently Amelia kicked a small jagged lump of rotting beam that had shot off and landed a few centimeters in front of her. She smiled to herself; at least she calculated her distances correctly. “I barely moved,” she said, trying to keep the laugher out of her voice.

Ethan glowered at her, finally dropping his foot back down on the ground and testing his weight on it cautiously on the solid mud. “I think you’ve broken my toe,” he groaned as he applied a little more pressure to his foot.

Amelia’s brow rose skeptically as she watched the overly amusing display her husband was putting on. “I broke your toe? If my memory serves me correctly, I wasn’t the one to fall on your foot,” she grinned, sparing little concern for the toe she knew would heal in a few minutes anyway.

Ethan turned to her, sticking his tongue out childishly, before diverting his attention back to his now rapidly swelling foot. “Do you need help getting back to the car?” Amelia chuckled.

His face darted up to meet hers and a large grin spread across his face, his foot momentarily forgotten. “And why would we need the car, dearest?” he mused, keeping the laugher from his voice.

She looked taken aback for a moment, quickly correcting her expression she grinned skeptically at him. “Well the cabin is clearly unsafe, I thought you might like to go home,” she said coaxingly.

“Oh no, all the more reason to stay; you always say we don’t have enough adventure in our lives. Time to make ourselves at home,” he laughed loudly before shifting on his feet and striding into the house, trying his utmost not to hobble.

Amelia stared after him in disbelief, watching as he expertly dodged the flurry of splinters that came raining down as he pushed open the door. With a slight shake of her head and a bemused grin, she followed him, grabbing their bags as she went. Perhaps, she mused, she could make the most of the amusements the cabin had to offer.

Chapter Five

The inside of the cabin was deceivably bigger than what the outside had suggested it to be. To their shared astonishment the cabin was made up of three separate rooms, not the single one that it seemed to be from the outside. The size did nothing to lessen Amelia’s disheartenment though as she looked around the space with mingled amusement and disgust. Ethan raced through the rooms with a level of enthusiasm that, to Amelia’s eyes, looked more suiting to a small child. She wasn’t against the outdoors, she had spent far longer that she dared to remember roaming the woods but comfort was higher on her priorities now and the cabin was definitely lacking that.

“What do you think?” Ethan questioned, red faced but smiling after his dash through the rooms.

She looked at the obvious enjoyment on her husband’s face and sighed slightly, suddenly overwhelmed with the urge not to ruin this for him. “Its… unique,” she answered, choosing the best word she could think of that wasn’t an outright insult on the crumbling interior of the cabin.

Ethan nodded, smiling as he walked towards her, his foot now having healed enough not to cause him any problems. He stopped just before her, his heaving chest barely a centimeter away from hers. His bright blue eyes met her dark brown ones and she smiled despite herself. A hand cupped her cheek lightly, flooding it with warmth, a blush instantly coating her pale skin at the sudden increase in temperature and the closeness of her husband. “I forgive you,” he muttered softly, bringing his lips down to brush against hers.

She stilled, feeling him against her, the soft teasing line his lips traced against her own. A mix of pleasure and fear shuddered through her, tempted by her desire for him but wary of his closeness. “I can’t tell you how elated I am to hear that,” she whispered, her tone slightly sarcastic.

Ethan shook his head lightly, grinning at his wife. His lips pressed down a little harder, no longer simply teasing now. Slowly she lifted her head, meeting his curious lips fully, heat surging through her. She could hear his increasing heartbeat, feel his rapid breathing caressing her sensitive skin, and sense his hands reaching up to her. Arms wrapped around her, cradling her waist, pulling her closer until their lips fully met, a gasp parting them in an instant.

He took advantage of her startled moment and pressed his body against hers, feeling the subtle curves and grooves firm against his chest. He smiled against her lips as she deepened the kiss, her own hands wrapping roughly around his shoulders and drawing his body closer. He searched her lips, feeling the sweetness against his own. Pleasure mingled with requited need as both slowly drew apart, equally as breathless and both smiling widely.

Ethan pressed his forehead against hers and let out a deep breath, his hands dropping away as he fought the urge to both stay close and to run in the opposite direction. Being near her was like a magnet, constantly flipping sides, drawing him in and forcing him away, he wondered idly if that sensation would ever go away, he doubted it would. Amelia ran a careful hand through his messy blonde hair and smiled softly.

“So what do you want to do? I think we have a few hours of daylight left at least,” Ethan questioned, his excitement returning in full force.

Amelia surveyed the room, her eyes dragging over the various assorted junk that filled the space, looking for some kind of inspiration, she knew what she wanted to do of course, but that was better saved for the evening. Her less than impressed eyes landed on something in the corner of the room, perhaps the one thing that was actually in one piece. Her eyes sparked with amusement as she stared at the ancient looking set of tennis rackets.

Ethan followed her gaze curiously, his own eyes lighting up when he saw the slightly battered but functional set. “You want to play tennis?” he almost shouted, bounding up and down on the balls of his feet in excitement.

Shock, horror and humor all crossed Amelia’s features as in turn she stared between her overly excited husband and the tennis set. She could imagine it, vampire and werewolf playing tennis in the middle of the forest; she didn’t know if she should laugh or be horrified. “I can’t even begin to tell you how much I don’t want to play tennis,” she muttered completely bemused by his excitement, he was a terrible werewolf, but then married to him she wasn’t exactly the poster girl for vampire kind either. 

Ethan’s face dropped and much to Amelia’s amusement his shoulder sank a little as well. Under her scrutinizing glare he recovered quickly and smiled, his grin not quite reaching his eyes. “You wanted to play didn’t you?” she asked, almost accusingly.

“No,” he answered too quickly, his lips pouting.

Suppressing her chuckle she patted his shoulder sympathetically. “How about we go for a run?” she suggested, a little reluctantly, as much as she hated the fact, she didn’t like seeing his excitement disappear.

“Really? I thought it was going to take more convincing than that!” Ethan said, his enthusiasm returning instantly.

Amelia chuckled lightly as he drew her into a hug, swinging her softly around in the small confined space. “If it will stop you from moping then why not,” she said with a shrug.

Thankfully he dropped her back to her feet with only a few breakages; the teapot and chair that now lay in pieces were on their way out anyway. “You know I love you right?” Ethan laughed his excitement almost contagious.

Amelia’s eyes darkened slightly at his words. “It’s a good job,” she muttered, more to herself than to him. Without love she doubted she would be here with him now, she chuckled lightly to herself, at least then she wouldn’t be forced to run with a werewolf.