ROMANCE: Mason (Bad Boy Alpha Male Stepbrother Romance Boxset) (New Adult Contemporary Stepbrother Romance Collection) (78 page)

“Family?”  Johnathon shook his head.  “You always had an odd way of putting things.”  Johnathon turned his attention to Becky, an evil slow grin spreading.  “My God, Daniel, she looks so much like Leanne!”

“That’s because they were sisters.” 

“Sisters?”  He whopped a laugh and slapped his knee.  “What is it with you and sisters?”

“I find them entertaining.” 

“I bet.”  Johnathon glanced at Lucinda, and she gave him a warning look.  Her husband knew better than to taunt Daniel Blacksmith.  Johnathon sucked his teeth and looked at Daniel once again.  “What would you like?”

“A show of force only.  I can certainly handle the pack, but I don’t want to take any chances of what I came to retrieve getting damaged.” 

Johnathon leaned forward his eyes intense.  “What exactly is it?”

“My daughter.”

Autumn awoke just past dawn, her mind muddled from strange dreams.  They were fading fast, and she couldn’t hold on to any of them.  The only thing she could grasp was the coppery taste of blood in her mouth again.  She scooted from the bed as quietly as she could, careful to not awaken Dalton.  He had come to bed after his watch and had woken her long enough to slip inside of her and make love to her quickly and quietly.  Autumn hadn’t minded.  Their love making couldn’t always be earth shattering; sometimes gentle was just the thing. 

She looked in the bathroom mirror and opened her mouth, sticking her tongue out.  She didn’t see where she had bitten her tongue or the inside of her cheeks.  She dismissed the lingering effects of her strange dreaming as just another symptom of her still new life.  The last time she had experienced it was after her frightening nightmare of Daniel Blacksmith. 

Autumn closed her mouth and turned on the shower.  She had just stepped in when she felt Dalton step in behind her and grab her buttocks. 

“Looking for a morning quickie?”

“I wish.”  He breathed and nibbled on her neck.  “I just need a quickie shower.” 

Autumn turned, arching her back slightly as the hot water hit her skin.  She draped her arms loosely around his neck.  “You look tired.” 

“I’m fine.”  He assured her, but the dark circles under his eyes were telltale for his fatigue. 

“I need to make some phone calls today.  I have work I need to get lined up for next week.  And the inspector is coming back about Serena’s foundation.” 

“Alright.”  Autumn replied and dropped her arms so she could began soaping her body.  She moved out from under the water to give Dalton a chance to get wet before she handed the soap over to him.  She appreciated his attempt at keeping things as normal as possible in light of what was happening.

Dalton scrubbed his body in swift fast movements before kissing her cheek and stepping back out of the shower. 

When autumn emerged from the bedroom she only found Trina and Chris in the kitchen. 

“Good morning, Mrs. Brown.”  Trina smiled and bumped Autumn with her hip on her way to the coffee pot. 

“Good morning, Mrs.…”  Autumn gave Chris a sly look.  “Hmmm…when will I be calling her Mrs. Graves?”

Chris stared at them wide eyed, with a glance to Autumn then to Trina’s raised eyebrows and hand on one hip. 

“Well…I hadn’t thought about it lately.”

“Well, maybe you should think about that.”  Autumn teased.

“Could you mention that every day?”  Trina whispered. 

“Hey!  I mean two of us are werewolves.  Don’t you think I can hear you?”

Both women laughed.  It was short lived however as Dalton slammed his way back into the house.  Brian followed behind him with his head down. 

“What’s going on?”  Autumn asked. 

Dalton threw one hand in the air.  “Serena’s damn house foundation!  It’s all jacked up!”

“I said I was sorry.” 

Dalton turned to Brian and shook his head.  “I told you it wasn’t your fault!  The ground wasn’t graded well enough!”

“It can be fixed.”  Serena said as she waddled into the room with a hand planted firmly on her lower back.  Autumn hurried to pull a chair out for her. 

“Are you sure you aren’t farther along?”

“Don’t know.  I have a doctor’s appointment this morning.  I think I am, but the doctor isn’t buying it.”

“I feel like I should be due in December, not February.” 

Autumn stood suddenly from where she was crouched beside Serena’s chair.  “Holy crow, Dalton!  It’s Thanksgiving this week!” 

“Yeah, So?”  

Autumn narrowed her eyes and shot her head forward from her shoulders?  “So?”

Dalton looked at her blankly.  All eyes followed her progression to the bedroom and all jumped as she slammed the door. 

Dalton looked at Trina.  “What did I say?”

“It’s what you didn’t say.”  Trina replied gently.  “This will be her first Thanksgiving with you and her new family.  It’s a big deal to her.” 

“Oh.”  Dalton said dejectedly. 

Chris slapped him on shoulder and grinned.  “Better go fix it, or there will be hell to pay for the rest of the day.” 

Dalton opened the bedroom door peeked inside.  He took the paper towel he had torn off and waved it.  “I come in peace.”

Autumn rolled her eyes and hugged her knees tighter to her chest, resuming her stare out the bedroom window. 

Dalton flopped down on his side and stared up at her.  “I’m sorry for being so callous, Autumn.  I didn’t know Thanksgiving was such a big deal to you.” 

“It wasn’t. I used to dream of holidays with a happy family just sitting around eating and having fun.  I just thought it would be that way here.”

“It will be.”  He promised, and reached up to play with a curl.  “We have to get past this Blacksmith problem first though.  If for some reason we don’t have turkey on Thanksgiving, we will do it over the weekend.” 

Autumn looked at him and nodded.  “Sorry I flipped out.” 

“It’s ok.  Next time just talk to me, though.”  He twirled the curl tighter.  “You better talk to Winnie, if she’s feeling up to it.  Thanksgiving will be no easy feat.  We have…”  He allowed his head to drop backwards as he mentally ran the tally.  “We have eleven mouths, two of which are pregnant, so you know they’ll need an entire turkey just for themselves.” 

Autumn shoved him with a grin.  “Stop it!  One day I might be pregnant.” 

Dalton sobered and pulled her on top of his chest.  “I hope you’ll be pregnant many times.”

“Me too.”  Autumn said softly.  “I hope for at least three.”

Dalton pushed her head onto his chest and sighed contentedly.  “Six.”

Autumn giggled. 

Tonya wanted to scream and claw her eyes out.  After the shock of seeing her sister coming rolling into the yard of Dalton Brown, her mind had been a cacophony of memories and vile plans to destroy Daniel Blacksmith.  To alleviate some of the pent up anger and stress she had taken the gargantuan Hanale back to the hotel in Fredericksburg and had screwed him with a robustness only reserved for humans she was trying to drive mad. 

He knew it was just sex, but she had caught him looking at her differently from the corner of her eye.  His expressions ranged from bewilderment to a very uncharacteristic softness.  It was like he was seeing her for the first time as something other than a machine like himself.

Hanale Kano was a Hawaiian hit man for the undead.  He had once upon a time owned a little restaurant in Maui but after a fatal encounter with a vampire one night, he was left humanly dead but vampirely fully alive; he had wandered bitter and lost across America looking for a place to fit in.  Daniel Blacksmith had given him just such a place nearly thirty years ago once Daniel had realized Hanale had a special taste for the snapping of necks.

There was a time when she relished the intelligent brutality that was Daniel Blacksmith.  She thought she would be a vital part of his world.  She had wanted nothing more than to be part of his world.  When Leanne was still alive she knew she would never be a permanent fixture in his bed, after all she wasn’t completed in what he called her ‘becoming’; but after Leanne died she was positive that would change.  No.  Daniel continued his experiments and became completely heartless, only using her body when it best served him. 

Tonya looked over her bare shoulder to Hanale’s still form.  He sat perfectly still staring into space.  He had taken her again that morning and Tonya had found herself ripe for him.  He responded to her movement and looked at her without a change in expression.

“Do you need something, Tonya?”

“I need a lot of things.”  She said and uncrossed her long legs.  Hanale grabbed her wrist as she walked past him. 

“Tell me one thing you need.”  His amber colored eyes looked up at her, but she couldn’t discern the intent. 

Tonya pulled her lips back from her teeth and bent over him.  Her breasts swayed and brushed against his muscular chest, but he made no move to grab them. 

“I want Daniel Blacksmith’s head on a platter.”  She whispered. 

Hanale let go of her wrist and she entered the bathroom.  He resumed his stare into empty air, but this time a tiny curve formed on his lips. 

“You’re late.”  Daniel snapped as Tonya and Hanale were escorted into the Aries house.

Tonya shrugged and nodded a benign greeting to Johnathon and Lucinda.  She smiled meanly as the two feeders moved deeper into the room with a hiss. 

“You’re cats need a bath, Johnathon.” 

“I see you’re just as jovial as ever.”  He replied and kissed her cheek. 

“Has she called?”  Tonya asked curtly. 

“Not yet.  I sent Bretton to find out if she and the dog have even come home yet.  He should be back any minute now.” 

The word ‘dog’ made Tonya bristle.  It used to not bother her much, just like hearing ‘sucker’ or ‘leech’, but after seeing Winnie the day before, she was acutely aware that she really didn’t fit in anywhere.  She glanced at Hanale and understood for the first time how he must feel. 

Hanale returned her stare.  Something was blooming in his dead heart. 

“We have to call the number.”

“Maybe we could just ignore it and he’ll give up.”  Autumn said with false hope. 

Dalton looked at her patiently.  “You know that isn’t true.” 

“Yes, I guess not.” 

Autumn fingered the edge of the stationary and took the outstretched cell phone from Dalton.  She supposed he preferred Daniel to have the cell number through caller ID as opposed to the house.  Did it really matter either way?  She punched in the number and waited.  The ringing stopped after number three.  Silence was Autumn’s greeting. 

“Daniel?”

Air moved through the line and she was sure it was moving the curls around her ear.  “My dear, Autumn.  Thank you for calling.”

“What do you want?”

“I want to speak with you.  I had hoped we could meet for lunch.  You could eat and I could watch.” 

“I won’t come without Dalton.  You should know that.”

“Ah, yes.  I suspected as much.” 

“Why can’t you just tell me what you need to tell me over the phone?”

The silence again.  Autumn looked at Dalton’s anxious face and put the phone on speaker.

“The nature of what we must discuss would better be understood face to face.”

“Right.  How about telling me why you have my mother.”

He chuckled darkly.  “Your mother.  Yes, well, that too is a topic we need to discuss.”  The breath moved through the phone again, this time causing her spine to tingle.  “Come into Fredericksburg.  There’s a quaint little restaurant on Caroline Street.  Merry something or another.  I don’t know the exact name, but it looks adorable.” 

Autumn looked at Dalton and he shook his head.

“No, I don’t think so.” 

Dalton pointed downward with one finger. 

“You can come here.” 

Daniel’s chuckle became an outright laugh.  “You want me to march into a den of werewolves.  Cute.”

“Since you’re afraid…”

“No my dear, I have no fear.  I accept your kind invitation.  Let’s say seven tonight?”

“Would you like directions?”

“My dear, you know I don’t need those.  Tell Dalton to keep his dogs on a leash.  I’ll tolerate no nonsense.”

“Bring my mother.”

“If only I could.”  He said and ended the call.  Autumn stared at the phone before handing it back to Dalton with shaking hands. 

“That was weird.  You don’t think he’s…”

Dalton ran a hand along the side of her face.  “No, I don’t think he’s done anything to her.”  

“I know it doesn’t make sense that I would be so worried.” 

“It makes perfect sense.  She’s your mother.  She may have been rotten, but she’s still your mother.” 

“So, how do we handle this?”  Chuck asked. 

Dalton stretched and paced the living room.  The assembled pack watched his every move, waiting for a response.  When he finally lifted his head, they all knew he had a plan.