ROMANCE: Mason (Bad Boy Alpha Male Stepbrother Romance Boxset) (New Adult Contemporary Stepbrother Romance Collection) (59 page)

“Where are you going?”

“Bathroom.” 

“I’ll be…waiting.” 

Autumn slipped into his bathroom, squinting her eyes shut as she flicked the light switch.  She gripped the edge of the sink and lowered her head between her shoulder blades. 

I have to just go back to my room.  This can’t happen right now.

Autumn splashed cold water on her face.  Her body was still throbbing hotly, but she could feel the sensation abating.  She splashed more water for good measure. 

She turned off the light and allowed her eyes to readjust, before feeling her way back to the bed. 

“Dalton?”  He didn’t answer and she laid her head on his chest.  His breath was even and deep. 

Asleep.

She felt a pang of regret, but knew this was for the best.  She crept back to the bathroom and cut the light on, leaving the door cracked so she could see.  She slipped his boots off and set them side by side with the laces tucked neatly inside.  She didn’t want to tug on his jeans.  It might prove too hard for her self-restraint, or he might wake up, and he had no self-restraint at the moment. 

She gently lifted his head and placed a pillow underneath, and flipped one side of his comforter over his bare chest.  She touched his forehead, allowing her hand to run through his sweaty head.  She kissed his mouth gently and left the room.

Dalton’s eyes opened and for a moment he saw his ceiling fan as double.  He blinked rapidly, pushing the half of his comforter away.  He scanned the bedroom, sorry to not see Autumn in his bed.  He looked down thoughtfully at his boots waiting neatly for him.  Dalton stood unsteadily, taking a moment to gain his balance.  The soft patter of rain caused his bed to beckon him to come back, but he straightened and went to the bathroom instead.  The sky had barely begun to lighten, and he wanted to be up before Autumn. 

Autumn emerged from the bathroom at 7:40 and smelled bacon frying.  She hoped it was Mika.  Her hopes were dashed as she heard a burst of laughter come from Mika and Brian’s bedroom.  She glanced quickly up the hallway.  Dalton was carefully constructing two plates of food.  She took a deep breath.  If he wanted to discuss the previous night she would just change the subject, or do the more adult thing and tell him she didn’t want to discuss it.  She squared her shoulders and went to the kitchen, making a beeline for the coffee pot.  Dalton watched her with an odd expression. 

“I have a mug on the table for you.”

Autumn took the pot to the table and poured the steaming coffee for herself.  She looked at him expectantly, with one eyebrow raised, the pot still in her hand. 

“Oh…yes, please.” 

My God, I bet I have resting bitch face!  Autumn tried to smooth her features into a benign mask, but it was proving difficult.  He was moving around her like she was a time bomb. 

Dalton served her a plate stacked high with eggs, bacon, toast, and cantaloupe.  One thing was certain, he could definitely cook. 

They ate in silence, but Autumn could sense him staring at her every few seconds.  He cleared his throat often, and she found it nerve racking. 

“Do you have a cold?”

His eyes widened.  “A cold?”

“Do werewolves not get colds?”

“Yes, we do.  Just not as often as humans.”  He cleared his throat again, and Autumn gave him a severely impatient look.  Dalton gave up and placed his fork by his plate.  “I want to talk to you about last night.” 

Autumn froze with her head lowered and a forkful of egg hovering near her mouth.  She dumped the egg back on her plate and let the fork fall with a clatter.  “Fine.  Let’s talk then.”  What happened to NOT talking about it?  Her mind screamed.

He reached for her hand, but she simply stared at him without moving.  He sighed and folded his hands over the table. 

“Look, I’m sorry I was a little drunk last night.”

“Do you even remember anything?”

“I remember that you came out here.  I remember talking to you.”  His eyes softened.  “I remember trying to make love to you.”  He finished quietly. 

Autumn briefly lowered her eyes, her face heating.

“I also remember telling you something important.” 

“Yeah?  And what was that?”

“That you belong here.” 

Her head shot up in surprise, but anger quickly covered her features.  “I belong here, but not with you, right?”  She saw his hesitation, and stood banging her knee on the table in her hurry.  She bit back a yelp of pain, taking her half eaten breakfast to the sink. 

Dalton pushed his chair back and moved behind her.  Neither of them noticed Brian and Mika coming down the hallway.  Brian stopped Mika, holding a finger to his lips for her to be quiet. 

“Autumn?” 

“It’s ok, Dalton.  I get it, I really do.”  Autumn kept her face turned to the window, the steady rain making her sad. 

“No, I don’t think you do.” 

“Sure, it’s like you’ve been saying…”

He turned her around, his fingers digging into her upper arms.  She opened her mouth in surprise as he lowered his head to look her hard in the eyes. 

“No, you don’t!  Let me finish!”  He loosened his hold on her slightly and exhaled slowly.  His eyes scanned her face, trying to once again memorize every tiny detail.  “You belong here and with me.  I don’t know how this will work, but it has to work, because I’m not going to live without you.”

Autumn let out a shuddering breath.  Her legs felt weak.  “Really?  This isn’t just you feeling guilty?” 

“I am guilty, but that’s not what this is about.  I can’t…”  He pulled her close, allowing her curly hair to tickle his nose.  “I can’t lose you.  I love you.”  He finished in a whisper.

Brian and Mika looked at each other with huge grins splitting their faces.  Brian tugged on her arm and motioned with his head for them to go back down the hallway.  Autumn still hadn’t noticed, and Dalton had chosen to ignore. 

“I want you to move into my bedroom, ok?”

Autumn shook her head. 

“What’s wrong?”

“I…”  She pulled away and sat back at the table, this time taking his hand when he offered it.  “I don’t want to just live with someone again, Dalton.” 

“You want to get married?”  The shocked expression made her grimace.  He had finally said what she wanted to hear, and now she was pushing him away again.

“Eventually…when the time is right.”  She hoped it was the right answer to give.  

Dalton sat back, his head spinning.  When the time is right.  His eyes flicked to her, then to their entwined hands.  When the time is right.  He raised his eyes to hers again. 

“The time is right.”

Autumn thought she misheard.  “What?”

He smiled.  It was a true smile, the kind that can only come when someone feels weight lifted and true happiness because of it.  He couldn’t have stopped that smile if his life had depended on it.  “I said the time is right.  Let’s get married.  Do you want a wedding?” 

“A wedding?” 

“Girl, a wedding!”  Mika screeched and ran up the hallway.

Autumn sucked in breath, her eyes wide.  A wedding?  I’ve only known him…what…two weeks?  Not quite two weeks.

Dalton’s face fell.  “What is it?  That’s not what you want?” 

Autumn could feel her mouth working, but no words were coming out. 

Mika ran a small hand along her shoulder and smiled close to her face.  “Oohh!  Let me do your hair!” 

“Mika.”  Brian said, his eyes on Dalton.  “Come on, let them talk a little longer.” 

Mika didn’t catch the look that was passing between Dalton and Brian.  She chattered happily about fall colors, or something more daring like red and black as Brian jerked her back to their room. 

“What is it?”  Dalton asked quietly.  “Don’t you love me?”

Autumn licked her lips, her head nodding slowly.  “I think I’ve loved you since our first kiss.  That’s not it.” 

“Then what?”

“We haven’t known each other very long.” 

“Oh that!”  Dalton laughed.  “Hon, when a werewolf finds their true mate, there usually isn’t much of a courtship.  It’s more like being hit between the eyes with a bat.”  He lifted her limp hand and kissed her palm.  “But, if you want to just date for a while, then I can wait.”

“What about the pack and the strong alpha blood you were hoping for?”

He clenched his jaw, his eyes imploring her intensely.  “I don’t care about that now.  We have a shot…if we have kids…and if no alpha blood shows up…”  He shrugged his shoulders.  “Then it doesn’t.  Our pack will grow anyway and someone will have the blood.  Otherwise, I guess our human children will just inherit the land.” 

Autumn smiled lightly.  Wow…we move fast.  “I want…”  Her words were cut short as breaking glass splintered and flew through the kitchen.  Dalton pushed her to the floor, his head jerking upward as something hit the wall opposite the kitchen window and thudded to the floor.  Dalton looked at the canister as it began hissing and spewing light smoke.  Dalton pulled Autumn to her feet as her eyes began to burn and water.

“What the hell was that?”  Brian yelled.  His dark eyes became large saucers as he saw the smoke.  He turned and ran headlong into Mika.  “We gotta go!”  He said and picked her up.  They were only a step behind Dalton and Autumn.  Brian could hear Autumn coughing and saw her rubbing at her face as Dalton set her down in the wet grass. 

“Final warning!”  A voice called from the tree cover.

“Watch them!”  Dalton yelled, adrenaline rushing through his blood, making his shift easy. 

Autumn watched through bleary eyes as the man who would be her husband, stretched and burst from his clothes into a sleek dark haired wolf. 

Dalton jumped into the tree line, oblivious to the rain that had begun to fall again.  He had a scent, and he wasn’t going to let it go.  He ran parallel to the drive, his nose low to the ground.  He stopped at the base of a large oak.  The trail had suddenly gone cold.  He raised his wolf head, backing up a few steps, to look into the tree top.  Nothing stirred but the pattering rain on the multi colored leaves.  He sniffed again, light scent was coming from three different directions.  He heard the rumble of a truck and sprinted towards the drive. 

Winnie slammed on the breaks, throwing gravel from the rear tires, when she saw Dalton emerge from the tree line.  They stared at each other for a moment through the dirt smeared windshield, before he backed away.  She drove the rest of the way into his yard, with Dalton loping behind her at a steady pace. 

Winnie jumped from the cab without closing the truck door and went immediately to Autumn. 

“Are you alright?”

Autumn nodded.  “I think it might have been tear gas.” 

“What about you, Mika?”

“I’m ok.  Autumn was in the same room with it when it went off.” 

Dalton sauntered up to Autumn and licked her face.  She stared at him in wonder before reaching a hand out to stroke his coarse fur.  She had always loved wolves, now she was face to face with one who loved her in return.   

Winnie returned to the truck and slammed the door after grabbing a bundle of clothes from behind the seat.  “We better go in.  Chuck will be here soon, and he’ll need clothes.”

“Is it safe?”  Mika asked, her slanted eyes darting back to the house.

“Tear gas dissipates quickly.  We’ll need to leave the door open and raise a few windows.”  Winnie frowned.  “We’ll have to wipe everything down too.”

“Did they get you guys?”

Winnie’s frown deepened.  “Yes, but we were in the hen house collecting eggs.”  Winnie glanced at Autumn again before opening the front door and walking inside.  The others could hear her coughing as she went room to room opening windows.  When she reemerged her eyes were red and her nose was running. 

Dalton walked inside cautiously, his ears perked and his tail lowered. 

A voice called thinly from the tree line.  “Winnie?”

“Yeah, Chuck, I’ll be right there.”

The group looked at each other solemnly.  The walls and furniture had been wiped down, and the floor mopped.  Autumn still thought she could smell the fumes, but was sure it was psychosomatic. 

“We need help, Dalton.”  Chuck spoke quietly. 

“I’m going to call Thomas.”  Dalton didn’t look like he wasn’t happy about it, but his face held the stony resolve of someone who was willing to do what needed to be done. 

“I can call someone.”  All eyes turned to Autumn. 

“Who?”  Winnie asked. 

Autumn looked at Dalton.  He pursed his lips into a thin line before nodding.

Trina walked into Mountain Lodge with a pounding headache and an angry set to her jaw.  She had just seen that jerk Teddy driving Autumn’s car at break neck speed without his neck brace on!  She wished something could be done with him and that sleazy woman who dared call herself someone’s mother!  

Loretta stuck her head out of her office door.  It was in reality an old storage closet that she had forced a tiny desk into with a char and filing cabinet.  If someone wanted to talk to her privately, they had to pull a chair up to the door and sit outside of the actual office, and hope no one heard the conversation.