ROMANCE: Mason (Bad Boy Alpha Male Stepbrother Romance Boxset) (New Adult Contemporary Stepbrother Romance Collection) (50 page)

“How far do you live from the lodge?”

“Not far.  Just a couple miles.” 

Dalton ran his hands over his face.  “They will have missed you by now.”

Autumn rubbed her palm over her upper arm and let her eyes drop to the floor.  “Maybe.” 

Dalton regarded her curiously.  She seemed tough, but there was a vulnerability that was visible if one looked hard enough. 

“You don’t have much faith in your boyfriend.  I would be looking by now.”

She looked up, her eyes hard.  “Well…you’re not him.”

Dalton looked away.  It was becoming obvious this woman was in no hurry to go home.  That could work in his favor in major way.  He had to gain her trust so that when he did let her go he could be certain she wouldn’t run off and tell anything about him.  The slippery slope of being a werewolf often came with the knowledge and trust of a few humans. 

Autumn watched Dalton with guarded eyes.  She liked how he looked.  He was thin with hard sinewy muscle.  His messy dark brown hair accentuated his off sea water eyes.  He was pleasant to look at.  The stark contrast between him and Teddy almost made her laugh.  Teddy was taller than this man with a brawny kind of build that was deceptive.  He looked over weight, and certainly was, feeding his growing beer gut daily; but under the excess fat was hard large muscle.  How he had convinced a lawyer to represent him in a worker’s compensation claim was beyond her.  He had been injured, for a while, but of late he only wore the neck and knee braces when he was with his lawyer or going to a disability hearing.  Otherwise, he chopped wood, drove his beat up Chevelle, and did whatever he damn well pleased just fine.  Autumn had been appalled by his blatant cheating of the system, but her mother, Becky, had laughed saying that was how white trash like them survived.  Autumn’s innocent retort, “Maybe that’s why we’re still white trash”, had earned her a slap across the face. 

Teddy was six years older than her, and since her mother gave birth to her at sixteen, he was only ten years younger than Becky.  Becky Coates looked world worn, but still wasn’t a bad looking woman.  She had a lithe frame and large breasts, and her hair was a revolving door of boxed colors, even though she had yet to sprout her first gray hair.  Autumn had her suspicions of late that her mother and Teddy’s closeness had less to do with beer and more to do with a physical nature.  Becky had been enthralled by his jet black hair and blue eyes, like it was something otherworldly or exotic.  The only thing exotic about him was that his grandmother had been full Manahoac Indian.  (Supposedly.)  

Autumn sighed and looked back at Dalton.  He seemed to be in deep thought, with his head resting on one hand, and his legs sprawled out in front of him.  She leaned towards the chair he was sitting in realizing that he wasn’t looking at the floor at all, he was asleep. 

Dalton came back in from the railing cursing his cell phone and the crappy towers that were in this part of the state. 

“It’s the mountains.”  Autumn said quietly.  “They block the signal sometimes.” 

“You think?”  Dalton replied sarcastically.  He watched the look of irritation slide across her face.  “Get your shoes on.  We’re going to get some food, and I’ll get you some other stuff.” 

Autumn quickly got herself ready, happy to be leaving the room finally.  She hoped she had enough cash in her wallet to buy a book.  The boredom was killing her and she didn’t like TV very much. 

Dalton took her to a five and dime type store, but she was able to purchase toiletries and a pack of socks and under ware.  He casually looked at the bra in the cart.  34B. Nice. 

“Don’t you need a shirt and pants or something?” 

Autumn shrugged.  “Yeah, I guess I do.” 

Dalton whirled the cart back towards the small selection of clothes.  He grabbed black leggings, a dark T-shirt, and a pair of jeans.  Autumn was shocked when he stopped and touched a hoodie that had beautiful camouflage over a light pink background.  It was an obvious replica of a more expensive name brand which was currently popular, but it was nice nonetheless. 

“Do you like this?” 

“I do.  It might be a little big on me.” 

Dalton threw it in the basket and directed her to the fitting room.  “Try the stuff on and make sure it fits.” 

Autumn emerged from the dressing room and nodded.  Everything had fit well.   The hoodie had been too large, but only a little.  The inside was kind soft and warm.  She was touched that he had thrown it in. 

He’s your kidnapper, and you’re excited he’s buying you stuff?  You’re lucky you’re not dead!   Autumn gritted her teeth against her own mental badgering.  Kindness was kindness, regardless of its source. 

She caught sight of a tall skinny rack that could be twirled which had discounted paperbacks.  The handwritten sign at the top said, 3/$10.00.  She dug her wallet out of her knapsack purse, smiling happily at the twenty and several ones she found there.  She picked out a romance and some kind of fantasy novel, and to her surprise there was a paperback copy of Interview with the Vampire.   She wondered if it was a mistake, and hoped not, she had always wanted to read it. 

Dalton watched her as she browsed the books.  He was puzzled at the tiny smile that had curved her lips and had stayed planted on her face as she touched the books and read their backs with reverence.  He expected her to just grab three random romances, but she put thought into her selections, choosing carefully.  He smirked at the Anne Rice book.

“What?  Are you going to try and tell me vampires are mortal enemies of your kind?”

“Sometimes we are enemies.”

Autumn faltered in step, a chill running up her spine.  She had only been joking and had expected him to say vampires weren’t real. 

Dalton pushed the cart into the food section.  It was all canned and dried stuff.  How would they eat the canned stuff in the hotel room? 

“Why don’t we just get easy stuff like this?”  She pulled several cans of Vienna sausages and deviled chicken down from the shelf and threw them into the basket.  She grabbed a box of crackers and tugged at the front of the cart so Dalton would follow her to the plastic ware.  “We should go to the grocery store and buy fruit.  All this processed stuff isn’t good without something fresh.  Fruit doesn’t need a refrigerator.” 

“What about drinks?”

“I’d like water.” 

Dalton smiled lightly.  It was almost hard to believe that she was with him against her will.  She seemed to be enjoying shopping with him. 

As an afterthought, Dalton grabbed detergent so she could hand wash the clothes she currently had on.

The older woman at the checkout stared at the Anne Rice book with a frown.  “Is this yours?”

Autumn shook her head, raising her eyebrows in surprise.  “Uh…no.  I found it with the other books.”

The woman flipped the book over again and tried to scan it.  Nothing happened.  She shrugged and slipped it into the bag with the other books.  “Guess it’s your lucky day, someone must have left it.  Probably had it in their hand and set it down to look at the books for sale.”

“Maybe.”  Autumn replied. 

Dalton turned and scanned the store, it wasn’t large, but there were enough blind spots for someone to hide.  He didn’t think the book was left by accident.

Once in the parking lot, Dalton had enough signal to call Brian.  He answered on the third ring, the sound of a hammer banged in the background. 

“Hey, Dalton!  How goes your hunt?”

Dalton gave Autumn a sidelong glance.  Judging from her headlong dead stare, she could hear Brian through the phone.  Dalton opened the car door and shut it with a bang. 

“Dalton?  Are you there?”

Dalton leaned against the front quarter panel.  “Yeah, I’m here.”

“So…”

“So, it’s not going so great right now.”  The hammering continued.  “What is all that racket?”

“Oh!”  Brian snickered.  “Mika’s hanging a few pictures.”

“Where?”

“Well, one in the living room, and one in the kitchen, and she’s already hung some in my room.”  He snickered again, his voice sounding faraway like the phone wasn’t to his head anymore.  “Sorry, I mean our room!”  The hammering resumed.

Dalton sighed.  “I told her no girly crap!”

“Oh no!  Nothing like that!  Mika’s an artist…I thought I told you…anyway she paints this rad stuff on black canvases…really dark shit.” 

“Great.” 

“Hey do you care if we paint a couple rooms?”

“Yes!  Yes, I care!  You guys do whatever you want in your room, but leave the rest of my place out of it!” 

“Right, right…you’ll bring a she wolf home and she’ll want to decorate.  I get it.” 

“Listen, have you and Chuck talked about old man Taylor’s job?”

“So, you won’t be back by Monday?”  Brian sounded disappointed. 

Dalton looked at Autumn through the windshield.  Her eyes were pinned on him and her arms were crossed.  “No, buddy, it’s not likely.” 

“Ok, we can handle it.  Oh hey, I almost forgot!  Judd said he deposited the final payment into your account for the job we did for him.”

Dalton looked into up at the white puffy clouds billowing against the blue sky and offered

a silent thank you.  He could afford to extract a little more money if necessary from an ATM.  He wasn’t the one who was missing after all. 

“That’s great.  I’ll cut you a check or get you cash for the rest of your portion when I get back.” 

“No worries.  Call soon, ok?”

“Yeah, I will.  Hey, do you know how populated the mountain areas are with suckers?”

“Well, they kind of are like us…they just live wherever.  Why?”

“No reason.  I’ll call back soon.”

“Sounds good.  Later.” 

Brian’s slang amused Dalton, but he liked it.  Brian seemed like a messed up young man to some people, but it was a good front.  He was, in reality, a hard worker and a powerful shifter.  He was also a good friend, just like Chuck.  Even evil and demanding Winnie had some good points.  She had after all handled a little farm, virtually alone, for the pack.  They had a constant supply of fresh eggs, milk (good raw milk uncontaminated by chemicals), and meat.  Plus, they all hunted, of the ones who were left, anyway.

He glanced up and down the street and sidewalk, still uneasy about the book Autumn had picked out.  It didn’t seem like they were being watched, but for suckers and their minions, that didn’t always matter.  

Dalton climbed back into the car.  “Hungry?” 

“We just bought canned stuff.”

“That’s for later.  I thought we could get something like breakfast.” 

Autumn’s face brightened, but she immediately scowled like that was the more appropriate way to hold her face in her current situation.  “Whatever.”

Dalton suppressed a smile and started the engine.  She was interesting if nothing else.

“Tell you what, let’s go back to the room and unload our stuff, and you can shower and change.” 

“Yeah, I’d like that.” 

The room was just the way they had left it, which was a relief to Dalton.  He wasn’t sure why he worried it wouldn’t be.  Autumn entered the bathroom and he could hear the water turn on.  She darted back out a moment later with a towel wrapped around her, her face red with embarrassment.

“Sorry! I forgot the clothes!”

Dalton watched her dart back, but something on her back where the towel dipped low caught his attention. 

“Hey!  What is that?”  He was off the bed and standing in front of her before she could escape into the bathroom again. 

She looked at him carefully.  “What?”

“Your back.  There’s a big bruise.” 

“Must have happened when you tackled me, or maybe it happened when you threw me in the trunk of your car!”

Dalton could smell anxiety and fear coming off of her.  Her eyes flashed hotly, but he wasn’t buying it.  He turned her slowly and moved the towel just enough so he could get a better look. 

He touched purple and blue tiny bruises on her shoulder blades, which undoubtedly had come from his tackling her, but the other was large, just above her kidneys, and he was certain it had once been the shape of a fist. 

“The little ones on your shoulder blades are fresh.  This one is older, a lot older.  The coloring is brownish and yellow, bet it was a whopper several days ago.”  He turned her back to face him.  “How’d that happen?”

“None of your business.” 

“Fair enough, but I’m willing to bet a good amount of money that you didn’t fall.” 

Her eyes searched his face, darting back and forth.  “No I didn’t fall.” 

“Your boyfriend do that?”

Autumn didn’t say a word as she backed into the bathroom and locked the door.      

Ihop is the international word for breakfast goodness, and Dalton and Autumn ate like they hadn’t seen a meal in months. 

“They really do have the best pancakes.”

“There’s a place in Williamsburg that has even better breakfast food.  It’s a pancake house kind of place too, but more down home style cooking.”