ROMANCE: Mason (Bad Boy Alpha Male Stepbrother Romance Boxset) (New Adult Contemporary Stepbrother Romance Collection) (52 page)

“Give me a break.  I know how to shop frugally.” 

Dalton himself didn’t know much about shopping of any kind, and followed her dutifully as she weaved in and out of the men’s section until she found what she desired.  She gave him a triumphant smile over one shoulder. 

“See?  Two discount racks!  75% off!”

My God, she’s beautiful.  He blinked rapidly.

“What size do you wear?” 

“Umm…29/3o in pants, I think.  Medium shirts.”

Autumn looked him up and down doubtfully.  “The shirt sounds right, but I don’t know about the pants.”  She looked at the pants for several minutes, and pulled two off the rack, one was black jeans and the other black slacks.  She wandered to the other clearance rack frowning.  “All short sleeved.” 

“Because we’re entering your namesake now.”

“Ha-ha.  Yeah, I get it.  Maybe you should just spring for a regular priced button down white shirt.”

“Why white?”

“Because white and black on guys is sexy.”  She froze, her hands hovering just over the shirts she had been perusing.  She didn’t dare look at Dalton. 

He walked up behind her as close as he could without touching her.  His breath moved some of the curl in the back of her head.  “Is that so?”  He whispered.

Autumn fought the shiver his breath caused.  She couldn’t remember a time Teddy had made her skin tingle like that.  She still wouldn’t look at him, choosing to force her hands into movement. 

“Mmm hmm.”  Her voice was tiny like a little girl’s.  Dalton grinned and backed away from her.

When it was Autumn’s turn she took triple the amount of clothes into the dressing room, forcing Dalton to give an opinion on each item. 

“Is that the last one?  Please tell me it’s the last one.”

Autumn rolled her eyes and twirled once in front of him.  The skirt of the navy blue and white sundress flared slightly.  “Do you like this one?”

“I liked them all.”

“I think this one is too casual.”

“I agree.”

She looked down at the dress again and nodded her own agreement.  “Maybe the burgundy dress would be better.”

“I agree.”

“Ugh!  You’re no help!”

Dalton spread his hands in a helpless gesture, his eyes wide.  “Yes, I am!  I sat here and watched you try on every damn thing!” 

Autumn disappeared into the dressing room again and didn’t emerge for a full five minutes.  She hung everything on the discard rack except for the burgundy dress.  Dalton was glad she had chosen that one.  It was slightly off the shoulder and came down her chest teasingly near her breasts.  A satin sash tied at one side, yes, it was nice indeed.

“I think a black wrap will do nicely since the nights are a little chilly now.  We need to look at shoes.”

Dalton staggered and opened his mouth.  “More shopping!” 

“Hey, it won’t take long.”

“You must be an expert shopper then.”

Autumn slowed her pace and looked back at him.  “No, not really.”

“You don’t shop much at home?”

“No.  Most of the money I make goes to Teddy or my Mom.” 

Dalton looked at the back of her head with a frown.  “Why?”

She shrugged.  “I need a place to stay, so I have to pay rent.”  She barked a bitter laugh.  “If Teddy ever pays me back all the money he’s borrowed,” She made invisible quotation marks in the air.  “I’ll be able to take a cruise or something.”

Dalton continued following her until they reached the shoes.  He couldn’t imagine what her home life was like, but the more he found out, the more he hated her mother and the damnable Teddy.  He didn’t care what this little shopping spree would cost; he was going to let her buy whatever she wanted.

Teddy held Autumn’s extra car key in his hand so tightly, the teeth dug a deep groove into his palm.  Becky had become mildly concerned. 

“Maybe she met someone and just left.” 

“Then she better stay gone!”  He growled. 

Becky lit a cigarette and stared coldly at him.  “Maybe she was kidnapped.” 

“Don’t be stupid!”  He whipped his head towards her, his eyes large and fearful after he realized what he had done.  He winced and grabbed at the neck brace just in case anyone was paying enough attention to care. 

Becky rolled her eyes.  She caught sight of Trina sliding out of a large pickup truck and waited for her to kiss her friend goodbye and wave as he drove away.  She motioned the girl over with frantic hand gestures.

“Hello.  Are you Autumn’s mom?”

“Yes, and this is Teddy her boyfriend.”  Becky tried to ignore the hungry way Teddy stared down at the petite blonde.  “Has Autumn been to work since Friday?”

“No.”  The girl shook her head.  “Loretta wanted to call her to find out what’s wrong.  It’s not like her to miss work.  We knew her car was here, so we figured she was just…well gone.  We thought she would be back.  I thought it was a family emergency or something.” 

“Yeah, it kind of was.”  Teddy spoke up smoothly before Becky could respond. 

Trina looked from one to the other.  They were lying, she could smell it as strongly as she could smell that they needed to shower.  “When will she be back?”

“I thought she would have by now.”  Teddy responded with a smile.  “I guess it’s just going to take a little longer.  We’ll just take her car home for now.” 

“Right.”  Trina said and chewed on the side of her lip.  She dug out a pad of paper and a pen from her purse.  “If she calls, have her call me please.”  She ripped the paper from the pad and held it out to Becky, blinking as Teddy snatched it from her finger tips before Becky could take it.  He made it disappear in the pocket of his ill-fitting jeans. 

“We sure will.”  He turned his torso stiffly to Becky.  “We better head home…Mom.” 

Trina watched with a frown as Teddy unlocked Autumn’s car and got in.  Moments later both vehicles were driving slowly down the steep drive.  A hand touched her shoulder and she jumped.  Loretta was watching the cars leave too. 

“Well?  Was that Autumn’s people?”

“Yes.”

“What’s the deal then?”

“I don’t…know.  It’s weird.  They said it was a family emergency, but I think they’re lying.”  I know they’re lying. 

“Alright.  Today’s Sunday.  If that girl hasn’t called or showed up by Wednesday, I’m calling Sheriff Morton. 

“I hope that won’t be too late.”  Trina whispered as Loretta lumbered away. 

“Why in the hell did you say that?”  Becky yelled as Teddy dropped the unneeded neck brace on the kitchen table.  He rolled his head around a few times, ignoring her bug eyed expression. 

“Do you really want the police nosing around here?”

Becky wet her lips, her mind racing.  “No, no I don’t think so.” 

“Good, then at least we agree on that.  She’ll show up eventually, and I’ll handle her.”  His molars made a grinding noise and he ground his teeth.  “Now, make me something to eat.” 

Autumn looked at herself in the mirror.  He curly deeply red hair was swept back and held securely by a black clip that Dalton had picked out, and she had applied just enough makeup to give her an extra boost in the beauty department.  She ran her fingertips lightly over the material of the dress and sighed contentedly.  She had never had a dress so fine.  She stifled a giggle as she looked down at the pointed toe black heels.  The heels were low, but slim.  Yes, once she wrapped the black shawl around her shoulders she would truly look elegant. 

Dalton watched her primping from the corner of his eye.  He felt underdressed with nothing but the white button down shirt and black jeans, but at least he had heeded her advice and bought the black dress shoes. 

He reached into his bag and pulled out the little box he had had managed to hide.  It was a quick purchase which was miraculously able to be made because Autumn had needed to use the ladies room.  He had worried she would try to run, but dismissed it as quickly as it had come.  She was just flat out having too much fun to run.  No one could fake that kind of enjoyment.

He took one of the items from the little box and walked up behind her.  Their eyes caught in the mirror, and both felt the electricity charge within the room.  Dalton reached over her shoulders and placed a necklace around her neck, clasping it in the back.  It hadn’t been overly expensive.  The cord was slim black satin, and the stone was a tear drop shaped green zirconium.  Autumn touched the stone and smiled at him.

“It’s beautiful!  Thank you!” 

Dalton slid the box onto the counter, and Autumn saw that it held matching earrings. 

“I thought they might look nice with your outfit.” 

She took her small hoops out and put the new earrings in.  “This was the perfect finishing touch.”  She turned, becoming instantly aware of how close he was to her.  His eyes had seemed to change, they were much darker and looked farther set back.  The charge between the two of them was thick and dangerous, like something flammable in too hot of a room. 

Dalton touched the stone and allowed his finger to drift off of it and graze the flesh just below her collar bones.  He looked into her eyes, realizing she was holding her breath. 

He inched himself slightly closer, moving his hand onto the side of her neck.  “Do I frighten you?”

Autumn looked up at him with her large hazel eyes.  “No.”  She lied. 

He raised one corner of his mouth.  “Then why do you tremble?”

Autumn’s lips parted to deny that she was, but he stopped her as his face came closer to hers.  His mouth was only a half inch away, and she could smell his woodsy scent.  It made her feel drunk.  When he laid his lips on hers, the trembling became weakness, and she grabbed the edge of the sink behind her for support as he pulled slowly away. 

Dalton’s confused look mirrored Autumn’s.  They stared helplessly at each other. 

What am I doing?  He backed further away.  “We need to get going.” 

Autumn nodded and straightened herself.  She didn’t let Dalton see her gently touch her lips. 

The Bull Mitch was an old house renovated into a hotel.  House wasn’t a proper term, it was a sprawling mansion some three stories high with a shorter fourth story crowning the top.  Dark stone and brick gave the exterior an odd haphazard beauty, like the original architect hadn’t been sure which medium he liked more. 

Autumn grinned as they passed through an open wrought iron gate, her eyes rising to the matching balcony railings and turrets along the top level.  She looked at him in the darkness, the lights of the dash making her eyes shine even more. 

“This place is beautiful!”

Dalton’s stomach clenched uneasily.  “I don’t like this.” 

“What’s not to like?”

They drove up the winding driveway until they were forced to either drive directly to the front doors or turn into a small parking lot.  The bottom floor of the building was flooded with light, and there was the distinctive flickering and changes of illumination as people moved around, but Dalton only counted twelve cars.  He found a spot and got out of the car to open Autumn’s door, but she was already out, adjusting her shawl. 

He took her by the arm.  If this place was what he suspected it was, he wanted her close to him.  They walked casually onto the flag stone patio, Dalton nodding at a couple who were dining there. 

Ok, they were human at least.

The double front doors were open and soft music caught them as they stepped over the thresh hold.  An ornate tall desk, more like a counter was directly across from the front doors.  Dalton led Autumn to the desk, his eyes flat, as he parted his lips and sucked in air slowly through his mouth and nostrils. 

Dammit!       

The pale man behind the desk smiled warmly at them as they approached.  His stillness unnerved Dalton.  Their stillness always had.

“Good evening.”  He spoke smoothly, taking them both in with a light flick of his eyes.  “What can I do for you?” 

“Daniel Blacksmith, please.” 

“And who may I say is calling?”

“Dalton Brown.”

The man flicked his eyes to Autumn, but didn’t press for her name.  He picked up a phone receiver, dialed one number, then spoke softly into the receiver.  He hung up and smiled again. 

“He’s waiting for you.”  He extended a long tapered hand to his left.  “Fourth floor.” 

Dalton nodded curtly.  His hand tightening on Autumn’s elbow.  He could feel the man’s eyes on them as they moved towards the elevators. 

“Dalton?”  Autumn whispered as he pushed the large yellowed button.  The elevator doors had the same gold and wood pattering of the front desk.  He looked down at his feet and admired the dark burgundy plush carpet.  He glanced at Autumn and wished they had of chosen a different color dress.  Whoever this Daniel Blacksmith was, he certainly liked the color burgundy.

“Yes?”  He whispered back as the doors of the elevator parted. 

Autumn stepped through the doors and caught sight of the man at the desk, standing completely still, his face void of any emotion, watching them.