“What you need is a real man,” Dutchy said. “One who won’t be intimidated by your family name or animal.”
“That’s hard, considering I’m one of the biggest apex predators in town,” Sybil said with an unhappy sigh.
Georgina couldn’t help but sympathize with Sybil, about having people intimidated because of who you were related to. Growing up, everyone around her gave her a wide berth. Everyone, that is, except Mark Mills.
“Sorry we took so long, ladies,” Will said as they returned. He handed Georgina her soda. “So, Georgina, right? What do you do?”
Georgina took a sip of her drink. Maybe, just for one night. Surely she could enjoy herself and not feel guilty. “I work at Lennox ….”
As the party wore on, Georgina found herself enjoying the surrounding company. Will Mason was attentive and gorgeous, not to mention, a real gentleman who let her talk about herself and got all her drinks, never letting her glass go empty. He was actually the Fire Chief of the Blackstone F.D., the youngest the department had ever had. He was also divorced and had a son who was a year older than Grayson, so they mostly talked about their kids and being parents.
Yet, Georgina was having a hard time mustering up anything more than a slight interest in Will. Even when he was staring at her with those piercing baby blues, her mind kept circling back to tawny gold eyes. God, she was hopeless. How many times would Luke Lennox have to reject her before her pride took enough of a beating that she would forget about him? And she would probably never get laid again for the rest of her life if she didn’t at least try.
“So, Georgina,” Will said in a low voice as he leaned down closer to her. “I was thinking we should exchange numbers. To set up a playdate or something.”
“You mean for Grayson and Mikey, right?” she asked, tilting her head toward him.
He laughed. “Of course. And you know, my sister could babysit them both, too, if you wanted to get dinner.”
She sucked in a breath. “I’d like that.” She took out her phone from her purse. “I—” She frowned. The screen lit up with a call. It was Penny.
“Oh, sorry, I need to take this.” She put the phone to her ear. “Hey Penny, what’s up?”
“Oh God, Georgina!” The panic in Penny’s voice was evident, even through the crackle of static on her phone. She gave Will an apologetic look and pointed to the phone, then rushed outside of the bar, where it was quiet and the air was cooler and fresher.
“What’s wrong, Penny?”
Penny’s voice came out in a choked sob. “Georgina … it's Grayson.”
“Penny! Take a deep breath.” Her voice was firm but not angry or panicked. “Tell me what happened. Where’s Ben?”
“He’s been stuck at work, dealing with an emergency. And Grayson and I … we … we had dinner and then played board games and watched a couple DVDs. He was fine, I swear. And I laid him down to sleep on the couch and … he was dreaming and then he shifted! I tried to stop him, but he clawed me and then went out the back.”
“He just … ran away?”
“Oh Georgina, I’m so sorry! I called Ben; he’s on the way back.”
Fear gripped her like a fist tightening around her chest. Grayson had never just shifted uncontrollably in his sleep, though he’d never been away from her this long, not even before their stay in the lab. She didn’t have much of a life, after all, and spent all her free time with Grayson.
“Okay, calm down. Take a deep breath.” She didn’t want Penny to worry, especially with her delicate condition. “Wait for Ben. I’m on my way.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“It’s not your fault. We’ll find him, okay? I’ll see you soon.” She didn’t want to seem rude, but she needed to move quickly and head to the cabin.
She let out a curse as she remembered she didn’t drive here. “Oh God,” she sobbed. Grayson, sweetie, please be safe.
“What’s wrong?”
Georgina froze, hearing the rough, familiar voice. She turned around slowly as if unsure if what she had heard was real. When golden eyes stared down at her, she knew he wasn’t just a figment of her imagination.
“What’s wrong?” Luke repeated.
“I have to go.” What was he doing here, anyway? Glancing back at the door to The Den, she realized he was probably on his way to Kate’s party. “You should go inside, everyone’s in there already.”
“Is it your boy?”
“I—” She wanted to tell him to just leave her alone. But those intense eyes seemed to hypnotize her. “He ran away. I dropped him off with Penny, but he shifted while he was asleep.”
“You left him alone with Penny to come to a party?”
Anger flared within her at his judgmental tone, but she pushed it away for now. There were more important things. “You’re already late for the party. I'm sure Kate wants to see you. I’m going to see if someone can give me a ride—”
“I’ll take you,” he said, placing a hand at her elbow. His touch sent a tingling up her arm.
“What? You don’t—” But he was already dragging her away. “Luke, it’s fine. I can ask Sybil or Catherine—”
“I said I’ll take you.”
Luke led her toward an old white Ford truck parked a couple of feet away. He walked her over to the passenger side and opened the door. She considered protesting and running back to The Den, but she needed to find Grayson and each second she wasted meant he could be closer to danger.
“Thank you,” she said curtly as he hopped into the driver’s side. The slamming of the door and the engine roaring to life was the only answer she got.
Georgina massaged her temple as she looked out the window. This was going to be a long night.
Chapter Four
Luke shifted the gear higher as he sped up. Though Georgina’s face was turned away from him and she remained silent, he could see the tension in her body as her hands wrung together on her lap. He also couldn’t ignore the expanse of silky skin the dress showed off, from her legs up to her mid-thigh, and the bare shoulders and arms. He tore his gaze away from her luscious body and kept it on the road.
Mine, the lion inside him growled.
The animal was furious at Luke. First, for rejecting her and then staying away from her. It had been difficult to say no to her when she offered to cook him dinner. Since then, he vowed to stay away, and he did. At least during the day. At night, he continued to watch over her, even following her when she moved out of the castle. Her house was now a regular detour from his usual patrolling routes.
He wasn’t going to show up for Kate’s party. It wasn’t like she was expecting him even though she had texted him the invite. But when he saw Georgina walk out of the house with Kate as he watched her house, he knew where she’d be.
And so now, his lion was fuming at him, for letting that man flirt with her at the party. Oh, he’d been there the whole night, sulking in the corner, watching her, seething as Fire Chief Will Mason cozied up to her, while she laughed at his jokes and listened to his stories. He wanted to rip the other man’s hands off as he gave her small touches on the arm and shoulders. And tear his head off for leaning down and whispering in her ear. Mason was a bear shifter, but Luke was pretty sure he could take him.
But he didn’t do anything. Because Georgina wasn’t his.
When she ran out of The Den he knew something was wrong and had to follow her out. Her cub was lost, and like a good mom, she of course needed to do the right thing. Still, his lion was mad at him for not comforting her while she was obviously in distress.
I’m already helping her, aren’t I?
The lion roared, and he glanced over at Georgina again. The growing tension was so thick he could cut it with a knife.
What the hell d’you want me to do? I don’t know shit about women.
His entire life, there had only been two women he had ever truly cared about: Riva and Sybil. For some reason, a long-forgotten memory popped into his brain. He was maybe nine or ten a
nd he’d been called to the Principal’s office for pushing Jenny Abernathy in the playground. Riva came to the school and after a long chat with the principal, she brought him home for the day.
Luke had prepared himself for a scolding, but Riva took him aside and spoke gently to him. “Luke, you know, if you like someone, you don’t have to hurt them to get their attention.”
He remembered growing embarrassed. How did Riva know?
“If you meet a girl who feels special to you,” she continued. “You can tell her. But if you’re too shy, you can show her by doing nice things for her.”
Luke couldn’t quite recall what had happened with Jenny afterwards. Or why he suddenly remembered that incident from before. Before he had irrevocably broken Riva’s heart.
He buried the memory and those thoughts as they had arrived at the cabin. Ben’s Jeep pulled into the driveway just ahead of them. Luke hadn’t even turned the engine off before Georgina dashed out of his truck. He followed her, plodding up the steps to the front door. Ben was already there, comforting his wife as she sobbed and held a towel to her arm.
Georgina let out a gasp. When Penny saw her, her eyes widened. “I’m so sorry! I let him—”
“It’s not your fault,” Georgina said, cutting her off. “Are you hurt? Did he scratch you?”
“It’s not bad.” Penny shrank away as Georgina tried to look at her arm. “Grayson’s been gone for an hour. We need to start looking for him.”
“Which way did he go?” Luke asked.
Ben’s gaze went from Luke to Georgina and then back to him. He looked like he wanted to say something, but remained quiet as his wife began to explain what had happened.
“… and then he went out the back door. I must have left it open. I’m so stupid!”
“Shh, sweetheart, no one blames you,” Ben said.
“I’ll take the rear and the east side,” Luke said, then turned to Ben. “You take the front and the west. But call the Rangers first before you go, tell them to keep an eye out for the cub.”
“Good idea,” Ben said with a nod. He kissed Penny on the forehead. “You girls stay here.”
“I want to help look!” Georgina protested.
“You need to stay here,” Luke said. “If he comes back first or one of us brings him home, he’ll need you.”
She looked like she wanted to protest, but after a second, she nodded her head.
“We’ll find him,” Luke said. “He can’t have gone that far.” With a nod at Ben, he turned and walked to the back of the cabin, slipping his shirt and jeans off. He called his lion to the surface, letting it take over his body as a series of pops and growls signaled his change. Once he was in full lion form, he sniffed around the back door, picking up the boy’s scent. He wished Nathan were here, as his wolf was excellent at tracking down scents. But his lion was good enough for now, plus he had other abilities.
The scent led him toward the woods beyond the backyard. He followed it and though it was getting fainter as it mixed in with other scents, he used his enhanced vision to scan the area for anything unusual.
There. A broken branch. Some trampled grass. If the cub was startled or scared, it would leave an easy trail to follow.
The lion padded deeper into the woods, scanning for more signs. Then, he heard it. A soft cry, almost like a bark. The sound sent the lion’s hackles rising, and it followed the sound until it reached the source.
Luke knew this area. There was a drop-off that was difficult to see, even if one was being careful. He peered over the side and sure enough, there was a bear cub desperately trying to claw its way up to the edge.
He quickly transformed back into his human skin. “It’s all right,” he said in the gentlest voice he could muster. “I’ll get you out.” As he got on his stomach and reached down, the cub swiped at him and razor-sharp claws dug into this arm, leaving a streak of red.
“I’m here to help,” he said, ignoring the pain. “C’mon, now.” He pushed down farther until his hands grabbed under the cub’s arms and lifted him up.
To his surprise, it didn’t fight him. It was probably just scared. The cub wrapped its furry arms around his neck and pushed its snout into his shoulder.
He breathed a sigh and ran a hand down the cub’s back. “You okay, buddy? Can you change back?” The cub mewled unhappily. “It’s fine. Take your time. I’ll bring you back to your momma now.”
As Luke walked toward the cabin, Grayson was slowly changing back to human form. He shifted the child’s weight to one arm as he hopped into his discarded jeans on the porch, and by the time he finished buttoning them up, Grayson was fully human.
He heard the front door fly open and as he turned the corner, Georgina was already running toward them.
“Grayson!” she cried, reaching out to him. As soon as the boy saw his mother, he wiggled out of Luke’s grasp and dove into his mother’s arms.
“I’m sorry, Mommy,” he said, sniffling back his tears. “I had a bad dream. The bad man was back, and he was coming to take me into the cage again.”
She kissed his temple. “It’s okay, shh … you’re here now.” She peered up at Luke, a grateful look on her face. “Thank you,” she said. “You saved him. Again.”
He shrugged. “It was easy to find him. But you really shouldn’t leave him alone, not without someone fit enough to watch out for him.” Juvenile shifters had a hard time controlling their animals. It was perfectly normal, but Penny by herself wouldn’t have known what to do. Where had Ben been?
Georgina’s mouth opened, but nothing came out. Her nostrils flared and her lips pursed together. “Excuse me,” she mumbled as she turned away and went inside the cabin. It was difficult to ignore the flash of hurt in her eyes before she went frosty.
“Georgina,” he called. “Do—” The door slammed shut before he could say anything else. He stood there for a few seconds, frowning at the door. It opened again, and he jumped back at the force.
Georgina, sans Grayson, marched out. This time, her face was red, though there was a steely determination on her face. “You found my son and for that I’m grateful,” she began. “But you don’t get to judge me. Not when you don’t know me or my son.”
Huh? “Excuse me?”
Her eyes blazed. “I know what you’re thinking. That I’m a terrible mother for leaving my son with a near stranger, who was pregnant and alone. I thought Ben would be here, but he was called away. I was going to forget the whole party and stay with Grayson, but I didn’t want to hurt Penny’s feelings, not when she’s hormonal and nervous and sensitive about the whole motherhood thing. Believe me, I know how it feels when people think you’re not capable enough, just because you’re a woman on your own.”
Oh shit. “Georgina—”
“And another thing!” She poked her finger at his chest. It didn’t hurt, but at the same time, it did. “What I do in my personal time is none of your business! If I want to go out and have fun with my friends, I make sure I take care of my son first. I don’t need to ask permission from anyone or worry about what judgmental assholes think.”
Her voice, shaky as it was, cut into him. Clearly, she misunderstood what he had said, just now and earlier tonight when he asked if she had left her son just to go to Kate’s party. She deserved to have fun, of course. He just couldn’t stop the jealousy from rearing its ugly green head, not after seeing her with Will.
He didn’t know how long they stood there, staring at each other, but it must have been long enough because she let out a huff, pivoted on her heel, and marched back into the cabin before slamming the door—again—in his face.
Fuck. He messed up. Big fucking time.
“You okay?” Ben asked as he walked around the corner from the other side of the wraparound porch.
“Yeah,” he said automatically. However, his lion was roaring at him in fury, for angering their mate.
Ben sensed it too and approached him carefully. “She’s pretty pissed at you.”
“I tend to have that effect on people.”
Ben scratched the back of his head. “I should go in and check on them. I’ll probably end up driving them home. Anything you want to talk about?”
“No,” he said. “Nothing to talk about.” He turned away from Ben and strode over to his truck without saying another word.
Chapter Five
“Grayson!” Georgina called as she stood in the living room, purse slung over her shoulder and keys in her hand. “Let’s go young man!”
A muffled shout answered her back, and she rolled her eyes. Another normal weekday morning. She supposed she should be grateful, considering what happened last night. Grayson had been more scared of coming back to the cabin, after realizing what he’d done. He had been afraid of getting punished for hurting Penny, but Ben had explained it was all right. Penny was fine, aside from her scratch, which was now healing. After that, Grayson had seemed mollified, and he apologized to Penny, who, bless her heart, accepted it and even gave him a big hug to show she wasn’t afraid of him.
Georgina was glad Grayson was okay; he even slept until morning without incident. It was her, on the other hand, who had tossed and turned the whole night.
What had possessed her to go off the rails on Luke like that? Staying up until the sun rose hadn’t helped her find an inkling of a clue. Luke had saved Grayson—twice now—and yet she screamed at him like some lunatic. She cringed at the memory. She had been relieved when she saw him bringing back Grayson, but then he called her out on leaving him alone and she lost it. She’d had enough of the judgy stares from people for most of Grayson’s life; she didn’t need it from him, too.
Anyway, what did it matter? She would never see Luke Lennox again, not if she could help it.
“Grayson!” she called again. “I’m going to be out in the car. If you’re not out in thirty seconds, I’m leaving without you!”
The Blackstone Lion: Blackstone Mountain Book 5 Page 5
