by Lola Kidd
"I do have an extra room now that Jasper isn't going." Beckett thought about it. There was no harm in taking her with him. They could both enjoy the sun and relax. Nothing more than a good fun weekend.
"Okay, send her in here and I'll ask."
Patrick ran off and Beckett settled back in his chair.
"You wanted to see me?" Lenni's head popped in the door a moment later. Her face was flushed.
"Come in, please."
"Did I do something wrong?" she asked quickly. "You don't really like the color, do you? You were lying this whole time. I should have known. I'm so sorry."
Beckett chuckled. "You haven't done anything wrong. I told you, you did a good job. I was wondering if you want to go on a vacation with me?"
"I don't understand."
"My buddy just canceled on me for a bachelor party. I have a spare room and no one else to go with me. If you want to come, you can. I would like it, but you don't have to. This isn't like a work assignment or anything. You're free to say no if you'd like."
"I really don't want to go to a strip club. Thanks for asking, but no thanks."
Beckett shook his head. "This isn't a strip club-type bachelor party. We're not like that. It's just a nice relaxing two-day trip before the wedding."
"How much is it?"
"Nothing. It's already paid for. Consider it a gift from me to you. I'm sending Patrick and Potter to a ski resort, but Patrick told me that you don't care for the snow."
A slow smile spread across her face. "I get to go on vacation with you to an exclusive island resort for free? And I don't have to do any work while we're there?"
He nodded. "Yes. That's what I'm offering."
"I seriously won't have to pick your clothes?"
"Only if you want to." He smiled. "Once in a lifetime offer."
"When do we leave?"
"Tomorrow afternoon."
She squealed. "Thank you so much! I haven't taken a vacation in years."
"No problem. Happy to have someone to go with me."
That was much easier than he'd expected. Now he would get to go to the beach and he would still get to keep Lenni safe. Everything had worked out so well. His bear was certainly happy to get to spend some alone time with Miss Belle. He didn't understand it, but the animal was enamored with her. He wasn't going to dwell on it now. He had a vacation to pack for.
Chapter Fourteen
"This place is truly paradise." Lenni leaned back, hands gripping the railing tight. "Want to go walk on the beach?"
"Sure, let me put something on first." The water in the pool splashed as Beckett got out. "Unless you don't mind?"
She looked him up and down. He was her boss; this was probably a bad idea, but she wanted to see as much as she could before they had to leave. "I don't mind at all. Hurry up though. I don't want to miss the turtle guy."
Beckett grabbed a pair of shorts. "It's too weird, right?"
"Why did you even waste time asking?" She grabbed his hand. "Hurry up. I've never gotten to pet a turtle in the wild before."
He laughed as she pulled him down the staircase. An entire villa just for them and a private beach with a pool and hot tub. This place was unbelievable. She was never going to forget this experience. She never thought she'd see the day that she'd be happy that a baby shifter got sick, but thank goodness it wasn't anything serious. Beckett and Jasper were going to come back anyway.
"I'm having a nice time." He squeezed her hand. "I didn't think it was going to be this nice."
She nodded. "Me either."
The last light-pink rays of the sun dripped off Beckett's rock-hard abs. It didn't matter if he was wearing shorts if there was nothing underneath. She could see him swinging in his shorts with each step. Definitely an inappropriate thought to have about your boss. She forced her eyes out to the water and tried not to turn back to her incredibly sexy and kind boss.
"I see the guy." Beckett waved his hand at a small, dark man down the beach who waved back.
"I know you." The man shook Beckett's hand as soon as he was close enough to grab him. "Mr. Hansen. I didn't know if you were going to make it."
"This is Lenni Belle, my partner for the evening."
Lenni smiled, but her attention was on the turtles in the sand behind the turtle handler. "Can I touch them?"
"Sure. But don't be too hard. Take it easy."
The sand shifted under her feet as she moved closer to the turtles. Her shaking fingers barely touched the nearest turtle's shell before she drew back like she'd touched a hot stove. She looked back at Beckett. "It's so hard."
"Well, that shell has to protect the old guy from all the elements. I'd hope it's very hard."
She reached out again and this time managed to touch the turtle's entire shell. She was fascinated by all the hairline cracks and imperfections. "How did all these bumps get here?"
"Each turtle has its own story," the handler said.
"I wish they were shifters," Lenni said. "I would love to hear all their tales. How long have all of these been alive?"
"Hundreds of years, much longer than myself."
"Are you a shifter?"
"I am." The old man gave her a toothless smile. "Can you guess what kind?"
"Some kind of fish?"
"Turtle," Beckett guessed.
"Correct, sir!"
"So how old are you then?" Lenni looked up and frowned. "Sorry. Is that rude?"
She couldn't remember the rules for asking a shifter's age. For some it was a very rude question, but some didn't mind. She thought that water shifters were more laid back than some of the land animals. She knew never to ask a wolf its age, but most bears were pretty cool too or would at least humor the silly human who asked.
"Not rude." He put his hands behind his back. "I am going to be 132 years old on my next birthday."
"Wow. Shifters are so lucky. I would love to get to see that much history. It must be great swimming in the sea too. Being one with your animal and nature." She rubbed the turtle's shell and she could almost feel what it would be like to slice through the waters with a fin.
"You could be so lucky too. You just need to marry a shifter. I think we might have one for you right here!" The man nudged Beckett and cackled until he had a coughing fit.
"Is it so funny that we would get married?" Lenni put her hands on her hip.
"You are a very beautiful woman," the man said. "But he introduced you as his partner for the weekend, not for his life."
"Good catch," Lenni laughed and tilted her head toward Beckett. "Guess that means you won't be granting me immortality anytime soon?"
"I'm a shifter, not a vampire." He checked his watch. "We're going to miss dinner. We can come back tomorrow if you'd like."
"Maybe." Lenni rubbed the turtle one last time. "Thanks for letting us see the turtles."
"Anytime." The man shook her hand.
She was halfway down the beach before she realized she never caught the old man's name. If she got a chance to go back, she wouldn't make that mistake again. "What are we having for dinner?"
"We're having the chef's special down at the restaurant on the beach. It's on the other side of the resort though. And you'll need to change. You did bring a dinner-appropriate dress I hope?"
She rolled her eyes. "I dress you every day. I can dress myself just fine, thank you very much. I'll only need five minutes."
Beckett took out his phone. "I'll start timing as soon as your door closes."
"You need to change too." She looked at this gym shorts. "And I hope that you have something appropriate. I don't remember packing anything for dinner."
"I have clothes that you don't know about, smartass. And the clock starts now."
She took the steps to her room two at a time. "You're cheating, but I'm still going to beat the clock."
Her dress was already hanging ready on a hanger. She pulled off her shorts, top, and underwear. She pulled on the first thong she found in her luggage and slipped the
dress over her head. She didn't even need to wear a bra. It was an adorable blush wrap dress. It was a little too naked for a dinner back home, but it was perfect for dinner on the beach. Or dinner beach-adjacent.
"Ready," she called, sing-songing to Beckett, who wasn't out of his room yet. "Did I beat you getting ready?"
"Shut up." He came out of the room buttoning the last button on his shirt.
"Wow, you look great. I couldn't have picked better myself."
He was wearing a nice pair of cream-colored slacks and a rose shirt. He looked her up and down. "We match."
"We do." She twirled once to let him get a good look at her. "Do you have anything to say about how I look?"
His eyes traveled up and down her body twice. He cleared his throat once before answering. "You look very naked."
She threw her head back. "That's the point. We're in the tropics. I think naked is just the right amount of clothes for tonight. I could never get away with something like this at home."
"With that body, you could get away with anything." His voice was thick and his eyes burned.
Lenni had to look away. Unspoken need hung in the air between them. "We should go. I don't want to miss our reservation."
"We're in a private villa. We can't miss our reservation." He held out his arm to her. "Shall we?"
She put her arm on his. Heat radiated from his body. "We shall."
The drive over was tense. She couldn't think of a single thing to say without her tongue getting thick in her mouth. Everything sounded stupid in her head. It shouldn't be this hard to talk to him. She had been living at his house for the last two weeks. She'd seen him naked for goodness' sake!
But somehow it was weird. Not bad weird. More like the feeling before a thunderstorm happened in spring. Whatever was going to happen it was going to be fierce and beautiful. Her stomach was in knots. She didn't know how she was going to eat a bite.
She also didn't know if she was excited or scared. Maybe both. There was no way she was going to be able to sit though dinner like this. Whatever was going to happen, she wished it would happen now.
"Hold on," she said before he got out at the restaurant.
"What?"
She reached over and pulled him closer to her. The gear shift pressed against her stomach, but she didn't care. She pressed her mouth against his before she could have a second thought.
He met her kiss and pulled her tighter to him. He pulled back and looked at her. "What is this?"
"I don't know. It felt right. Felt like I had to do it."
He nodded. "All right."
He brushed a finger against her lower lip. "I'm starving."
"Me too."
So much meaning in those two words. There was so much more than food on her mind. She hoped he felt the same way.
Chapter Fifteen
This dinner wasn't going the way he had planned. He couldn't say that it was bad, just unexpected. Lenni kissed him. What did the kiss mean?
Was she grateful that he'd taken her on a vacation? He knew that she hadn't gone on many. She had jumped out of the car so quickly he hadn't gotten the chance to ask her. By the time he made it to the front door of the restaurant, it seemed silly to ask. If it was just a thank you kiss, he didn't want to make her uncomfortable.
A simple kiss. That was all it was. A simple kiss that was making him tie himself in knots. His emotions were getting the best of him like everything that had to do with her. His bear didn't know what to make of the beautiful human. She was his employee, but she could be so much more. Exactly how much though, he didn't know. But that didn't stop his bear from seeking her out. Trying to be close to her. Getting excited whenever she was near.
"My mother is dead too," she said casually over the salad course.
"How did you know my mother was dead?" was the first thing he could think to say back.
She raised an eyebrow. "I can read. I, of course, Googled you before I took the job. That was one of the first things on your Wikipedia page. I'm sorry for your loss."
He nodded. "I know about your mother, too. I did my own version of Googling and I'm also sorry for your loss."
She laughed. "I have to assume you did some kind of background check on me before you let me work in your home. Strange that would turn up. But we do have that in common. Strange that we haven't talked about it before. Though, I guess it was different for both of us."
"Not really. You were also young if I remember right."
She considered. "I guess you're right, but I was a bit younger than you."
"Is that a strange thing?" He held up two hands like a scale. "On the one hand, our mothers are dead, and that is very sad. But if you're anything like me, you didn't really get a chance to know her. You're more connected to the memory 'mother' than you are to her as a living breathing person."
Her lips turned up at the corners, but the smile didn't reach her eyes. "That's very true. I've never had anyone to talk about this with in real life, but that's exactly how I feel. I love my mother dearly, but I don't know her as a woman. I think that makes me sadder than anything else. We never got to really know each other."
The waiter came to change their salad plates for their entrees but Beckett barely noticed. The room consisted of only one person for him.
"I feel the same way," he said. "That's why I keep the bricks near me. They help me remember her. I also try to get my hands on any of her writing I can find. Scraps of paper, grocery lists. Whatever, I have a box of it all sitting in my safe."
Lenni's eyes widened, her fork halfway to her mouth. "Me too. My mother kept a journal only for a few months before she died. I have them stored in a memory box in my room."
"You're lucky." He whistled. "I'd kill for journals so I could know what she was thinking. I have to settle for scraps I guess. How does your father take it?"
Flashes of his own father crying in a dark room flashed around the edges of his mind.
"Hard, but he didn't struggle as much as you would think. He has very strong faith and I think it helped him through it. What about yours?"
"He would sneak into my room and cry quietly. He thought I was asleep but most of the time I heard him."
"Did you ever say anything?"
"I was too scared. Seeing a grown man cry was terrifying at that age. I was also scared he was going to go away too. That's probably why I'm so close to Potter. I never thought she would ever leave me. Huh, I don't think I've ever said that out loud before."
"I'm honored." She reached across the table and stroked his hand. It felt like a shock straight to the heart of his bear.
"You said your father had strong faith, but you didn't say if you did. I have to assume you do." He brought a forkful of food to his mouth. "You use a shifter dating app after all."
"How does that mean anything?" She laughed. "Wait, don't tell me. I have to believe in true love. If I believe in true mates, than I have to believe in fate somehow right?"
"Exactly." He hadn't meant to turn the conversation to mates. The word got his bear even more riled up.
"Well, I do. I believe in fate and true love and all of that. And I know that you don't." She leaned forward, her eyes meeting his in the dim light. "Potter's told me all about how you won't use the app."
"I don't use the app because I don't think it works. I do, however, have some faith in love at first sight. It worked for my parents after all."
"They knew right away?"
He smiled, thinking of the pictures of them on their wedding day. "They did. You aren't going to find something so special using an algorithm. I hope to one day have that kind of love in my own life. That's why it was such a shock when my father married my stepmother."
"I can see why though. She's very beautiful. A lioness right? I see the pictures of the two of them in magazines all the time. They're so glamorous and regal. Like a real-life king and queen from a fairy tale."
He snorted. "More like the wicked witch and a king."
"That can'
t be true. Your stepmother seems like a wonderful woman. She pulled herself up from poverty to get the job she had at your estate and then worked tirelessly. I really don't think she seems like the typical trophy wife."
"Did you know she was married before? Did you know she was my nanny for years? All the while plotting to get in my father's pants? Did you know she pretended to..." Beckett stopped. He was gripping his knife too tight; blood pounded in his ears. "She's not what you think. She's just good at pretending."
"I can see how it could be confusing for you," Lenni said carefully. "I didn't know she had been married before, but I guess that means she had mate before your father too. How can you have more than one mate? It's supposed to be a bond for life. That doesn't look great if I'm seeing it from your perspective."
He nodded curtly. "If my mother was his mate, I don't know how he can get with my stepmother."
"Companions? Maybe they're making the best of a bad situation."
"She is making the best of that situation. He is a moron."
"But what about your little brother?" She prodded. "I thought you were close?"
"I love my brother. I am eternally grateful to my stepmother for bringing him into the world. But I can't get behind their union. I don't hate her, but I don't love her."
"Why would you? You have Potter." Her lips quirked into a small smile.
He rolled his eyes and laughed. "All right, you caught me. I do love her. I guess you know me better than I expected."
"A blind man could see how much you care for her. And Patrick too. It's endearing really."
"I don't know if anyone's ever called me endearing before."
She leaned back. "Aggressive. Alpha. Intelligent. Those things are very obvious about you, but you have a softer side too."
He had to break their eye contact. "Maybe you're seeing the beast that lies beneath."
"You're not a beast. You're more man than beast. But I guess I could be seeing your animal."
"What makes you say that?"
