Declan tilted his glass in Blair’s direction. “You have a point there, beautiful. But sometimes, when you see something you like, you just have to go for it. And I’ve seen something I like. Very much. Blair, would you consider going somewhere else to talk? Somewhere a little more private?”
Declan surprised himself at how bold he was being, but he thought, if not now, when? Blair looked a little taken aback.
“Declan, I have to be honest with you. I…”
But Blair isn’t able to finish her sentence. A man walked up behind them and puts his hand on Blair’s arm. Declan’s bear immediately reared back on its haunches, unhappy that this other man, another shifter from a different clan, was invading its space. But worst of all, he was touching Blair.
The man only looked a little younger than Declan, but he had the same slightly graying hair that Declan did, except blonder. He had huge blue eyes, a scruffy beard, and while shorter than Declan, was almost as buff. When he spoke, he had a British accent, which put Declan even more on edge. Women love accents. I can’t compete with an accent, he thought bitterly.
“Are you Blair?” the man asked charmingly.
Blair shook his hand warmly and batted her eyelashes. “I am. You must be Bryan?”
He winked at her, and Declan felt his face turn bright red.
“I am. Am I interrupting something?” Bryan asked, giving Declan a curious glance.
“As a matter of fact,” Declan started to interject, but Blair held up a hand to stop him.
“You aren’t. Declan and I were just sharing a drink. Bryan and I already had a meeting planned for this evening, and it would be tremendously rude of me to cancel. So, Declan, as lovely as this has been, if you’ll excuse me.”
Declan watched as Blair walked off to the other side of the bar with Bryan, and everything inside of him, his bear, his own temper, began to erupt. He wanted nothing more than to explode, and tear everything in the room apart, and drag Blair back to him. But Declan knew that behaving like that wouldn’t just completely alienate Blair; it would also get him kicked out of the resort, and then Declan may never see Blair again. That wasn’t a risk he was willing to take.
So, instead, Declan sat at the bar and drank. He tried not to watch Blair out of the corner of his eye as she laughed that beautiful laugh for Bryan. And it took every ounce of his minimal self-control not to either swoop her up and carry her back to his room, or stomp out of the bar and sulk somewhere alone like a spoiled child. Either way, he knew he was going to end up alone at the end of the night if he behaved that way. Thus, stewing at the bar was the only option.
The longer he sat there, pretending not to stare at Blair, the more his bear wasn’t having it. His bear had attached itself to Blair’s scent, and it seemed completely punch drunk by it. His bear was circling inside of Declan, anxious to be close to her, to hear her voice. It growled and moaned when it heard her laugh, whenever Declan caught sight of her sparkling hazel eyes from across the room, whenever she glanced over at him and smiled. Declan never really understood what it felt like to meet your mate, but the bear seemed to know. And if the bear was to be trusted, Blair was it.
Chapter 5
Blair
“So, where are you from, Blair?”
Bryan leaned forward across the small bar table and looked at Blair with his most earnest expression. The drinks he had ordered them were delicious, the warm ocean breeze was drifting over the patio, and the stars overhead were sparkling brighter than the twinkle lights strung up on the trellis. Everything came together to create the perfect atmosphere for a night of pure romance.
And yet…
Blair couldn’t stop glancing over at the beast of a man at the bar, the one she knew she shouldn’t be thinking about. Bear Ridge had gone to great lengths to match her with the perfect man, and there had to be a very good reason that Declan wasn’t included among her matches. Just looking at him, she could imagine what they were.
He looked like exactly the kind of man she should be avoiding, precisely the kind of man she had dated in the past and had horrible luck with. He seemed rough, out-of-control, and liked to get his own way. He was charming, and forward, and more than a little cocky. But he was also beautiful, and charismatic, and just the way he looked at her made her want to drag him back to her room.
Stop that! Focus on Bryan, Blair chastised herself.
“I’m sorry, what did you ask me?”
Bryan chuckled and pushed a plate of fresh pineapple and mango over to Blair, who picked up a piece and nibbled on it. “I asked where you are from?”
“Oh, yes. Boston. But Vermont originally. We moved when I was a teenager, and then I just stayed, because I loved it so much. How about you?”
“I’m from Yorkshire originally, but now I live in Manhattan. Funny story, that. When I was twenty, I…”
Bryan started talking about how he moved from England to the States, and Blair found herself drifting off again. She could feel Declan behind her, watching her, studying her, and it was throwing her off her game. She could hear Bryan talking, and was sort of registering what he was saying, but it wasn’t all making it through. Her mind kept drifting back to Declan, and his huge, warm brown eyes, and the way they seemed to see right through her.
He reminded her of Nathan.
The reason Blair had been dating so indiscriminately for so long was because of Nathan. When she was twenty-five, she’d met a man ten years older than her, and he’d swept her off her feet. He’d been rich, and handsome, and successful. He’d owned his own software company, a house in Beacon Hill, and a vacation home in Martha’s Vineyard. Nathan had gone out of his way to sweep Blair off of her feet, and she’d fallen head-over-heels.
So, when it turned out that Nathan was actually a controlling, violent, terrifying monster, Blair hadn’t known what to do. She’d felt trapped, with no means of escaping, because she had no money or family of her own. Nathan knew that he’d counted on it. Blair had been almost entirely alone in the world, and when Nathan had started hitting her, she thought for sure she was going to die with him.
It had been Scarlett that saved her, that helped her drag herself out of her prison and realize she was strong enough to survive on her own. Without Scarlett, she didn’t know if she’d be alive today. It had taken months of scrimping and saving and planning, but Scarlett had helped Blair get away from Nathan, and find her own place. When Scarlett sent Nathan an email threatening to expose him to the media for what he’d done to Blair, he finally agreed to back off. So, Blair was able to finish law school finally and make a life on her own.
In all the years since she’d only run into Nathan once. He had a wife, and a little boy walking beside him, and his wife had the same look of terror in her eyes that Blair had once had. When Nathan saw Blair, he hurried his family away before Blair could say anything, but all she felt was sad. Sorry for the life she once lived and sad for the life Nathan’s new wife was living.
Blair swore to herself that she would never be in a situation like that again.
She knew it wasn’t fair to assume Declan was anything like Nathan, but the pull he had over her, the hold she could already feel forming… it scared her. As attracted as she was to him, a part of her was afraid that the attraction was a dangerous thing. She didn’t want to feel it, but she did. And she didn’t know how to handle it.
“Blair?”
Bryan’s voice snapped her back to reality. “God, I’m sorry. I don’t know where my head is tonight. What were you saying?”
“What are your plans for the rest of the evening?”
Blair inadvertently glanced over at Declan and saw him staring back her, his eyes blazing. She felt her whole body go warm and suspected she was blushing from her head to her toes.
“Oh, well. This is my first day, and I was traveling all morning. So, I’m honestly pretty tired. I was thinking about turning in early and just getting a good night’s sleep so I can do something fun tomorrow. What about you?”
Bryan gave her a wink that made her slightly uncomfortable, and she instinctively scooted her chair a little bit further away. “Are you sure you want to go to bed? We could take a walk on the beach, explore the hotel. I could show you the view from my bungalow.”
Blair couldn’t be sure, but she could have sworn that she heard Declan growl from the other side of the room. She turned back to Bryan with a small smile and shook her head.
“Thank you, but no. I really need to get some sleep.”
Why can’t I give this guy a chance? What is wrong with me? He’s perfectly nice! Blair couldn’t help but chastise herself for being so cold to Bryan, but she could feel Declan’s eyes on her, and it was making it impossible for her to focus. So far, Bryan had proven himself to be a decent and friendly guy. He hadn’t been creepy or gross, and his flirting had been entirely appropriate given the circumstances. And yet, the only thing in her head was the man at the bar, drinking scotch like it was water and boring a hole in the back of her head with his steely gaze.
What the hell am I doing?
Chapter 6
Declan
Declan felt himself getting more and more antsy with every passing second that Blair was sitting on the other side of the room with that blonde, grinning jerk. He wasn’t sure how many drinks he’d had, but he’d lost count. Luckily his shifter genes burned off alcohol quicker than regular humans. The bartender was eyeing Declan nervously, and when Declan waved him over again, the bartender had an expression on his face like he was preparing himself for a fight.
“Listen, man. I know the drinks are free, and I get it, you don’t have to drive anywhere. But if you get hurt, or swim out into the ocean and don’t come back, it’s my fault. I can’t give you another…”
Declan held up his hand. “It’s cool, dude. I’m done. Just water with some lemon and a lot of ice.”
The bartender let out a relieved sigh and filled a glass of water for Declan. “Thanks, man. I didn’t want to harsh your vibe or anything. But it’s not a great idea to get hammered around here with the new clan rule.”
Declan took a long sip of the cold ice water and tried to avoid looking back at Blair when she laughed again. “Have you had any trouble with that rule yet?”
“Nah, not anything to write home about. A few fights here and there, mostly over a woman, or territory. No one has been kicked out so far, other than an employee that was a shifter and didn’t tell anyone about it. I think they're pretty generous when it comes to the fighting so far. I’m not a shifter, so I don’t get the politics. But you know, you guys have your rules.”
Declan nodded thoughtfully. “True enough. You’d be amazed what can set us off. For example, see that gorgeous woman over there with the black hair? Seeing her talking to that other man is making me insane right now, and I kind of want to go crazy and break shit. But I’m holding it together.”
The bartender took a step back. “Maybe you should go take a walk? Or sit somewhere where you can’t see her?”
“I’m not going to do anything,” Declan said with a laugh. “I’m just making a point.”
“Is she one of your matches?” the bartender asked with an eyebrow raised.
“Nope. Not as far as I can tell. I didn’t see her on that stupid device they gave me when I got here.”
The bartender leaned forward conspiratorially. “Listen. The matching program is great. It’s helped a lot of people meet their partners, and that’s awesome. But don’t go killing yourself over it. It’s not foolproof, and if you see a lady you like, I say go for it. Just… don’t cause any ruckus over it.”
Declan gave the bartender a grateful smile and tilted his glass of water in the man’s direction. “You’re a good dude. And I think I’ll take your advice. I’m going to have a seat at that table overlooking the water and try to relax. Thanks, man.”
After giving the bartender an appreciative punch on the shoulder that almost knocked him over, Declan made his way to one of the small tables that faced the water, and away from Blair. As he looked out over the glittering blue ocean, Declan couldn’t help but wonder why he was feeling like this over a woman he didn’t even know. Was this how it felt to meet your true mate? Or was he just so desperate to meet a woman and secure his place in the pack that he was grasping at any straw? He didn’t know the answer, but his bear seemed intent on spending time with Blair, and it was going to be damn hard to fight him.
Declan was just debating escaping the situation altogether and going to bed when he looked up, and a woman was standing over him. Except it wasn’t Blair. It was the little blonde from earlier that had seemed afraid of him. She didn’t look quite so scared anymore. In fact, she looked drunk.
“Hey, sexy. You didn’t answer my message!” Her words were slightly slurred, and she was a little stumbly. She started to fall forward, and Declan had to put an arm up to stop her from collapsing into his lap. He wondered if it was intentional.
“You messaged me?” He genuinely didn’t remember who she was, or which message she sent. They had all blurred.
“I’m Lana. I sent you a message ages ago. Would you like to go for a *hiccup* walk on the beach? I can get us some daiquiris, and we can just go for a little stroll.”
Lana, right. Declan didn’t want to be rude, but nothing about this woman was appealing to him. She seemed like she could probably be sweet, and a fun friend, but the idea of dating her made his skin crawl and made his bear yawn. His bear only wanted Blair, and anything else was considered an absolute waste of time.
“That’s thoughtful of you, Lana, and I do appreciate the offer, but I think I’m probably going to take it easy tonight.”
Lana pouted and put her hands on her hips petulantly. “What? I’m not cute enough for you?”
Declan shook his head and tried not to snap. “You’re plenty cute. For someone else, Lana. Just not me. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’d like to return to my… water.”
Lana rolled her eyes and cocked her head. “Your loss!” she said before skipping off toward a nerdy guy in glasses. Declan couldn’t help but wonder if she was just approaching anyone she wanted because he couldn’t believe that glasses guy and himself would both be matches for the same woman. Declan continued to stare off into the ocean when the bartender appeared at his side with a fizzy glass of water.
“It’s just tonic water with some lime. Thought you’d want something with a little more pizazz.”
Declan nodded gratefully. “Thanks, man. So, are all the women here that… desperate?”
The bartender shrugged. “Some more than the others. Some of the men are plenty desperate too. Mate frenzy and all. But, I have to say. I saw you talking to the woman with the black hair and…”
Declan leaned forward, unsure if he was about to get pissed off, or curious. “And?”
“Whether or not she’s one of your matches, that one is a keeper.”
Declan sat back, his whole body visibly relaxing. I had a feeling about her, and that feeling was right. For once.
“You think? She’s a catch?”
The bartender glanced over in Blair’s direction, then back at Declan. “She’s funny, she’s smart, she’s accomplished, she’s beautiful, and she can’t stop looking at you, dude. Don’t let that one get away.”
The bartender headed back over to the bar, leaving Declan to his thoughts. Maybe it’s not just ‘mate frenzy,’ as he called. Maybe I truly feel something for this woman, even though I just met her. I mean, my bear seems to know…
Declan was lost in thought when a second, then a third, woman approached him. One had sent him a message through the app, but another hadn’t, and Declan was starting to think this place was more of a free-for-all than Bear Ridge intended it to be. He wasn’t sure people were using the app for more than convenience, and one thing was for sure…
He wasn’t touching that damn thing again.
Now that he was sure what he’d felt initially for Blair wasn’t just his bear being antsy, there
was no way he was wasting time on any other women. Even though he just met her, Declan knew that everyone here paled in comparison when measured up against Blair, who seemed to be everything the bartender had said. She was the kind of woman he could imagine looking at across the breakfast table for the rest of his life, which was his standard for being with a mate. Everything about her screamed that she was the one for him, and his bear agreed wholeheartedly.
Now, the only question left was how he was going to convince her to come back to Colorado with him…
Chapter 7
Blair
Blair kept sipping her drink, trying to pay attention to Bryan, who was being very attentive and thoughtful. It was clear that he was interested in her, and he seemed like a very nice guy, but she couldn’t even begin to find the interest necessary to pretend she wanted to get know him better. Because in the back of her mind, out of the corner of her eye, surrounding her everywhere, was Declan.
Blair couldn’t shake an overwhelming sense of emptiness that she’d felt ever since he’d broken from her side. She thought Bryan’s presence would at least distract her from the feeling she didn’t understand, but all it did was amplify it. Nothing was filling the hollowness that she felt without Declan near, and it was making her crazy. Especially because she knew absolutely nothing about him. Other than the fact he equal parts made her uncomfortable and turned her on.
Bryan was continuing to talk about his job as a radio DJ, and order Blair more drinks, but all she could do was watch Declan out of the corner of her eye. First, he was talking to a tiny blonde, but she walked away looking disappointed. Then he spoke to the bartender for a few minutes, and Blair could have sworn both men were looking at her, but she thought it had to be in her imagination. Then Declan was approached by a leggy redhead and another blonde, but both wandered away frustrated. For a moment, Blair thought that maybe he was turning women away for her benefit, but then, a woman who could have been a literal goddess walked up to him, and she saw his face light up. The woman was tall and thin with wavy brunette hair and eyes so blue, Blair could see them from across the bar. She had perfect skin and an enormous white smile that lit up everyone around her, including Declan. He stood up from his chair to give her a hug, and Blair’s heart dropped to the floor.
Furever Always (Furever Series) Page 24
