Despite the fact that he was hunched over the bar and she could only partially see his face, Amelia knew that figure anywhere. Mason Grimes. The one bad thing. Or rather, the cause of the one bad thing. Just her luck he would be here tonight, her first Friday back in town. She squared her shoulders. “So what?”
“So what?” Sybil asked, her voice half snarling. “What do you mean so what? That man—”
“Is nothing,” Amelia completed. “He’s nothing.”
“He was your ex—”
“Boyfriend. If you could call him that.” Amelia tossed her hair over her shoulder and crossed her arms over her chest.
“That’s your ex?” Dutchy asked, her eyes widening.
“I know, right?” she laughed, making it lighthearted enough so it didn’t sound too forced. Mason looked exactly the same as he did when she first met him—thick beard, gray beanie on his head, tattoos curling out from under his tight white shirt, jeans tucked into black riding boots. He was the very definition of a bad boy. “But, what can I say? We all make mistakes. And then we move on.” She hoped her friends would get the message that she didn’t want to talk about him. There was no way she was going to let goddamned Mason Grimes ruin her night.
“Guys! Guys!” Kate’s boisterous voice made all three women turn their heads. “Petros asked me to marry him! And I said yes!” Her grin was as wide as the Brooklyn Bridge, but when her eyes landed on Sybil, her expression faltered. “Oh no.” She then turned to Amelia. “You know.”
“Know?”
Kate bit her lip, then glanced around. When she saw Mason by the bar, her shoulders sank. “I’m sorry, Amelia.”
“Sorry?” Now she was confused. “Sorry about what?”
Kate looked at Petros, who then put his arm around her. “I … ran into Mason a while back.”
So, Kate had seen Mason in town and didn’t tell me. “You did?” Amelia controlled the tone of her voice so she sounded surprised, instead of angry.
“He saved her life,” Petros added. “When Milos tried to kidnap her.”
The she-wolf nodded. “I was in trouble and he came in and scared Milos off. And then … he told me he was moving here. Oh, and that he’s divorced.”
“Oh.”
Kate threw her arms around Amelia. “I’m sorry! I should have told you, but I was being selfish. I just wanted you back here and if you found out he was here too—”
“Kate, it’s fine.” She disentangled the other woman’s arms, freeing herself from Kate’s octopus-like grip. “It’s not your fault.”
“But he’s—”
“I said, it’s fine.” The fact that Mason was also moving back to Blackstone hadn’t fully sunk in yet, but she would deal with that later. “He’s free to do whatever he wants.”
“He’s also free to jump off a bridge,” Sybil muttered. “Do you want me to burn him? Or eat him?”
Amelia forced a chuckle. “Sybil, you’ve never burned, much less eaten anyone in your entire life. Don’t waste your dragon fire and your appetite.” She shrugged, just to emphasize she wasn’t affected. “Blackstone is big enough for the both of us. Now,” she turned to Petros, “tell us all about the proposal.”
Petros nodded, and she was glad he was smart enough to understand that she wanted to change the subject. “As I told you, I was able to track down the seller of the car Kate wanted …”
Amelia pasted a smile on her face as she listened to Petros relay the story of how he planned the whole thing with buying the Chevelle Kate had been wanting, and then using it to propose to her in lieu of a ring.
The hairs on the back of her neck suddenly rose, and she knew that someone was looking at her. She didn’t even bother to turn around, despite knowing who that someone was.
She spent the rest of the night laughing, drinking, and joking with her friends, enjoying the evening, and celebrating with the happy couple. Soon, Petros and Kate declared that they wanted to go home, and so they all decided to close their tabs and leave.
There was a slight chill in the air as they all piled out into The Den’s parking lot. They waved goodbye to Petros and Kate as they walked off to the far end of the lot. Dutchy had parked her car on the other end and separated from Amelia and Sybil, who had ridden together in Sybil’s Prius.
Amelia was tired. So very tired. She had become a good actress after all these years and convinced everyone she knew that she was okay. That her life was fine and everything was great. After a couple of hours of that charade, she felt the control starting to slip.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Sybil asked, stopping them before they got any further.
“I am, really, I’m fine.” She put her hands on her friend’s shoulders. “That whole thing happened a million years ago.” Amelia looked Sybil straight in the eyes, just to show her she meant it.
“What are you feeling right now?” Sybil asked, concern marring her face.
“Nothing. Really, I’m so over it.” She glanced back toward the doors. It was true. She felt nothing. She stopped feeling anything all those years ago when Mason broke her heart and their mating bond.
Four years ago…
“Mason …”
“Hmmm?”
“Mason.” Amelia said in an impatient voice. “Are you listening to me?”
He looked up at her, his lips and nose still nuzzling at the space between her breasts. “What is it, darlin’?”
She grabbed his head and pulled him up and away. “I said; why don’t we go out tonight?”
“We already ate dinner.” He gestured to the empty boxes of takeout on the small table beside the bed, then began to slide down lower between her legs. “And now I want my dessert.” He flashed her a lascivious smile.
“Mason!” She laughed and swatted at him playfully. “C’mon, I’m trying to have a conversation here.”
“I’m telling you I want to eat you out and you want to talk?” he asked, but his tone was lighthearted. He gave a faux exasperated sigh, and then propped himself up on his elbows. “Okay, darlin’, spill.”
“Well …” She twirled a lock of hair around her finger. “It’s not that takeout and sex isn’t great.”
“It’s fantastic,” he teased.
“Ha! Yeah, but, you know … we’ve been going out for a week now. Not that I’m complaining about spending time with you, but … my friends are starting to wonder if I’ve fallen off the face of the earth. I was thinking we should go out.”
“But we do go out.”
“Ha.” She smirked at him. Going out mostly meant ordering takeout or pizza, and then spending the night in his motel room. They hadn’t even been to the diner or Rosie’s, or anywhere else where there were other people around.
Still, Amelia couldn’t believe how incredibly happy she was. And that she’d found her mate so early. Mason was perfect—everything she wanted in a mate. He was handsome, sexy, and brave, but he could also be sweet and kind. Plus, he was actually taller than her—both in human and bear form.
Her family had some sort of genetic trait that made their bears much bigger than normal grizzlies. Most shifters were only ten feet tall in their bear form, but her dad and brother were about fifteen feet. She was a female and smaller, but her bear was twelve feet tall on its hind legs. Being the largest bear in the world, Mason’s polar bear was the same size as hers and twice as wide. They had shown each other their animals that first night together, when they went for a walk in the woods, and the fact that Mason didn’t think anything of her monster size made her fall in love with him.
Was it too soon? No, they were mates. Dad said when he saw Mom, he instantly knew she was his mate. Her bear recognized Mason as her mate, as did his polar bear. It was strange however, that Mason never mentioned it. Or even said the word, mate. Had she read it wrong?
“Uh, Amelia?” Mason was waiting patiently, looking up at her from between her legs.
Oh yeah. “So, I was wondering, why don’t we go to The Den? I’ll call Kate and Sybi
l.” She desperately wanted them to spend time with Mason, so they could see how awesome he was. They were happy that she had found her mate, but they kept hounding her because they wanted to get to know him too.
“Well, I don’t know …” There was hesitation in his eyes.
“I mean, the summer’s almost over and I’ll be headed back to school …” Her throat closed up thinking about it. She was going back to finish her architecture degree at Colorado West U, and Mason’s leave was almost over. He said it was unusual for SEALs to get this much time off, but since he was going to be leading a new team and could possibly be deployed for longer periods of time, his higher ups gave him time to settle any affairs and see family. In one week, he would have to report back to the naval base in San Diego, and he wasn’t sure when he could next get time off. But surely they would work it out? They were mates and their animals wouldn’t like being apart for long.
Mason’s chest rumbled. “Yeah. I mean, I guess we could go.”
“Great!” Sybil and Kate he already knew, and she’d told them right away about Mason being her mate, of course. Once he warmed up to the idea of hanging out with them, maybe she could start introducing him to their other friends, and eventually her family. Mom and Dad would be thrilled. “Let’s go and get dressed—hey!”
Mason crawled on top of her and pinned her down. “But first …”
They never made it out to The Den. They didn’t even make it out of his room. As they lay in bed together, Amelia cuddled up to him. Her eyes were drooping as she pressed her cheek on his chest and whispered, “I love you, Mason.”
She felt his chest rumble and he murmured something. As her eyes finally closed, she felt a warmth flow over her, like the softest blanket she’d ever felt. It settled on top of her, wrapping close around her and Mason. That night, she slept soundly, feeling such incredible peace and happiness in his arms.
Chapter Two
Present day
“You sure you’re okay, boy?” Tim’s gaze bore straight into his soul.
“Yeah,” Mason lied. “I’m fine. Do you want me to help with the chairs?” He glanced back at the main area of the bar. The staff had cleaned up all the empty glasses and bottles and swept up the floor. All that was left to do was to put the stools and chairs in order.
“You ain’t on the payroll yet,” Tim said. “Why don’t you go home? I just asked you to come tonight to get you out for a bit and to stop you from moping alone in your apartment.”
Mason shrugged. He didn’t want a pity job from his uncle, but Tim assured him he needed an extra hand at the bar. The Den was short-staffed, with one waitress on maternity leave and the regular bartender filling in temporarily. He was going to start out the next day, but Tim told him to come tonight so Mason could get comfortable in the bar and around the regulars.
“Nah, it’s fine.” Mason waved a hand at Tim as he walked over to one of the tables. “I’ll get this all done and then I’ll be on my way.”
Mason began to lift the chairs and put them up on the tables, glad to be doing something with his hands rather than sit and do nothing. The entire night, the only thing he could do was sit and think, and it was driving him up the wall.
The last year of his life had been hell, and moving to Blackstone was his last chance to make it right. Tim had given him the solution to his problems. He was hesitant, given the circumstances around the last time he left, but Tim reassured him that Amelia Walker wasn’t living there anymore. Of course, her family was here, and he knew there was a chance he’d run into her, but he was so desperate.
Mason knew he was going to run into her eventually, he just didn’t think it would be so soon or his reaction would be this bad.
Years after, it still hurt his goddamn heart to see her again, even from a distance. Seeing her laugh and chat with her friends like she was totally unaffected made him want to destroy everything in sight. His animal was in a tear, ripping him up from the inside. Yeah, I know it’s all my fault, he told his bear. Not that it would do any good. The damn thing had only become more wild and fucked-up in the head over the last couple of years, especially with the shit he’d seen and the things he’d gone through and done.
Amelia hadn’t changed a bit. She was still the most goddamn beautiful woman he’d ever known in his entire life. Still sexy and confident with an air of sweetness about her. He couldn’t resist her back then, and he still couldn’t resist her now. He watched her like a hawk the whole night, and if she had known he was there, didn’t show it and completely ignored him. Why wouldn’t she? He had been a complete bastard to her.
Mason slammed a chair particularly hard, jolting his thoughts back to the task at hand. No, he couldn’t live in the past. There was no way he could change it, nor make it hurt less. Besides, he had other things to worry about.
When he was done with the entire floor area, he glanced up at the clock. It was nearly four in the morning. He should go home and get some sleep before his important appointment the next day.
While he may have fucked-up his life with one bad decision after another, it was going to stop now. He was going to turn things around, starting tomorrow. That meant he couldn’t afford any missteps and he certainly couldn’t be distracted, not even by Amelia Walker.
Four years ago …
“What are you doing?” Mason asked, looking over Amelia’s shoulder.
“Huh?” Amelia whipped her head around, nearly smashing her face against his. “Oh!” She reeled back, then quickly grabbed something on the table, hiding it in her hands.
“What’s that?”
“Nothing,” she said, her face going red.
“That didn’t seem like nothing,” he teased as he nudged her over so he could slide into the booth beside her. “C’mon, show it to me.”
“Nuh-uh.”
Mason could see that she was trying to hide a smile. “It’s just you and me here, darlin’.” He looked around at the empty diner. He finally did take her out, but not to The Den or anywhere in Blackstone. Convincing her it was more romantic for them to ride over to Verona Mills, he took her to dinner at one of the fancy hipster fake diners in the newer part of town. He still liked the old school ones like the one in Blackstone, but he wasn’t comfortable there.
It wasn’t that he was ashamed of being with Amelia. But rather, it was the opposite. He didn’t want her to be seen with him. A couple of days after that first night, he had confessed to Tim that he was seeing her. He was surprised and explained who she was. To say Mason was shocked was an understatement. Her father was one of the most respected men in town, and her uncle was one of the wealthiest dragon shifters in the world. He was surprised because nothing about Amelia screamed rich, spoiled princess. She didn’t wear fancy clothes, never asked him to take her to expensive restaurants, nor did she have a superior air around her.
Still, he should have known he was punching way above his weight. That first night when he saw her, he didn’t really know who she was; all that he cared about was getting in her panties. And she was the one who invited herself to his place. It had been the most intense night of his life. And after that first time, they took a walk in the woods. She had shown him her bear, and just as he thought, it was magnificent. He’d never seen anything like her—powerful and large and overwhelming. His bear was smitten, and he too was head over heels.
“Please?” he asked again. “Were you doodling or something?”
“Well, it’s not really anything yet.” She put hands back on top of the table and opened her palm, spreading out a crumpled piece of napkin. There was a drawing done in red ink, her fingers stained with the same crimson color.
“What is it?” He leaned down and peered at the napkin. It looked like a house or a cabin.
“Well, it’s a dream project of mine. I mean, it came to me in a dream, kind of.” She laughed and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “My dad and my brother live in the woods, in cabins they designed and built themselves. My dad loves building as
a hobby and my mom does interiors. Anyway, they told me that they’d build one for me too, someday, if I ever wanted my own place. But I’ve always wanted to design my own house, so that’s why I got into architecture and design.”
“Tell me about this house,” he said.
“It’s going to be two stories, with an attic. This is the main living room and it’s going to have a sunken …”
He listened to her, soaking in every detail of her dream house. Mason wasn’t sure what it was about her, but whenever she was around him, it was like nothing or no one else existed. And when she was like this—talking about something she was truly passionate about, she was even more magnificent.
He was in love with her, he was sure of that. Just the other night, he had whispered it to her. He said it to her, over and over again while she slept, because he was too goddamned scared to tell her while she was awake. Because he knew he wasn’t worthy of her.
But something had changed a few nights ago. He didn’t know what it was, but he felt closer to her, like his very soul was linked to hers. It was like he could sense her moods or guess what she was going to say before she said it. He brushed it off, thinking it was just his imagination.
“Well, what do you think?” she asked when she finished describing the house.
“Beautiful.” He leaned down and kissed her. “The house is great too.”
“Mason!” she swatted him on the shoulder and laughed.
He was going to tell her, he decided right then and there. He’d take her out and tell her that he loved her and wanted to be with her. They could work it out and he would take every leave he could to be with her, and maybe start planning to retire. He glanced down at the napkin on the table, and then back into her beautiful sky-blue eyes. Yes, that sounded like a great plan.
Chapter Three
Present day
“And this is your workspace,” Erin Matthews said as she led Amelia to the large drafting desk in the east corner of the open-plan office. “It’s not a private office, but—”
The Blackstone She-Bear: Blackstone Mountain Book 7 Page 3
