by Amy Lamont
“You didn’t answer my question,” Mason said, breaking the silence after a few minutes.
“Look, I don’t need an escort and I don’t owe you any explanations. And despite what your good buddy Kaden might think, I’m not the town whore. So I really wish you’d go back to the bar and leave me alone.”
Mason grabbed my arm and stopped us both short.
I jerked back in his grip and whirled to face him. “What the hell?”
He dropped his hand as if he’d been scorched and then raised both hands, palms out. “Sorry. I’m sorry. I just wanted to get your attention.”
I pressed my lips together and fisted my hands at my side. “Okay. You’ve got my attention. What could you possibly want from me, Mason?”
“It’s about Kaden.” He grimaced and pushed a hand through his short dark hair.
Under different circumstances I might giggle at his obvious discomfort. It was so different from his usual wisecracking, confident self. But right now it was all I could do not to burst into tears at the mere mention of Kaden’s name. I couldn’t even begin to think about the throbbing grief that held my heart in its fist when he stormed out of the bar.
“Look, Kaden’s going to be kicking his own ass when he comes to his senses. I’m sorry he acted like such an jerk, but you have to understand, his bear has about hit his limit.”
I wrinkled my nose at him. What on earth could he be talking about?
I shook my head. “You know what, Mason? I’m not sure of much, but I do understand one thing. It really doesn’t matter whether Kaden thinks I’m sleeping with every shifter in Kodiak or not.” I somehow managed to hold back the humorless laugh those words brought to the surface. I definitely didn’t want to examine just how much it did matter to me. “I’m moving soon. I just lost my job at the Bear Trap. I’ll give my notice at Sheila’s as soon as I can afford it, and after that I’m heading to Oregon to go to college.”
“You can’t do that, Alyssa. You have to forgive Kaden.”
I stared at Mason, totally bewildered. “Why? Why could it possibly matter whether or not I forgive Kaden?”
He turned away, blowing out a harsh breath before he turned back to face me. “It’s not for me to say. But trust me, you can’t leave town.”
“I’ve had these plans forever. I have no clue what’s going on tonight. Maybe it’s some moon phase that’s making all shifters crazy or something, but Mason, I am leaving town. As soon as I have enough money saved, I’m out of here.”
“I have an offer for you.” Mason’s voice held a note of panic. “Kaden, Nash, Gage and I are starting a business. We need to hire an office manager. I want to give you the job.”
I shook my head. “I just told you I’m leaving town. Not to mention, you have no idea if I have the skills needed to manage your office. Why would you offer me a job?”
Suspicion grew inside me and my temper grew along with it.
“Despite what Kelly Carson or anyone else in this town might think, I’m not like my mother.” I bit each word out. “If you and your friends think you’re going to pass me around your office like…”
“Alyssa, no.” Mason stepped closer and put a finger under my chin, holding it there so, short of closing my eyes, I had no choice but meet his gaze. “None of us think that. I’m offering you a job because you’ve always been smart and friendly and a hard worker. I have no doubt you can figure out how to do everything you need to in order to get the job done.”
His voice was soft and earnest. I stared into his handsome face and blinked at his emphatic words. He seemed completely sincere.
As I stood close to him, his finger still under my chin, his warm, masculine scent filled my nose and I couldn’t avoid taking in every feature of his striking face. And for the first time, a thought hit me.
Mason was hot. I’d known him as long as I’d known Kaden. But not once had his good looks or hard body ever impacted me the way Kaden’s had.
Don’t get me wrong, I might have admired him. Maybe even ogled him a little when he walked past me wearing a certain pair of jeans. I’m not dead, after all.
But…I’d never felt like I couldn’t control myself around him. Never had the urge to throw myself into his arms. Never had the sense that he was anything but a nice guy.
Every once in a while I’d catch a glimpse of the predator beneath the man’s skin, but even in those moments I wasn’t attracted to him with a craving I could barely control.
That feeling only surged through me when I was near one man.
I quickly squashed the thought and ripped my chin from Mason’s hold, taking a big step backward. No way was I going to stand here on the sidewalk in the cold and contemplate the wild attraction I had for this man’s friend.
“Alyssa, I mean it. We never thought of you that way. If some of the guys in town kept their distance, well, we had our reasons. But those aren’t mine to share. What I can say is that most of the people in this town know you’re not like…”
He paused and the way his eyes shifted to the side and his mouth flattened, I knew he was uncomfortable saying the words out loud. Who wants to insult someone’s mother right to her face?
But I was under no illusions. My mother had always bee blatant about her desire to trap a werebear into marriage. I sighed, suddenly tired beyond belief, and finished his sentence for him. “You know I’m not like my mother.”
He nodded. “You’re not. The shifters here, we’ve always known you were different. You’re sweet and kind to everyone and you have a good head on your shoulders. And that’s why I want to hire you.”
I staggered back a step, shaking my head as his words tried to find a spot to wiggle their way into my mind. Could what he said be true? Had I misjudged the locals all these years?
Kaden’s face as he pushed away from me in disgust flashed in my mind, along with Kelly’s sharp words as she fired me. I squared my shoulders. Years of practice smiling in the face of my neighbors’ disapproval snapped into place.
I offered Mason a polite, closed-lip smile. “I appreciate the offer, but I’m going to have to say no. I’ll be starting school in Oregon in the spring semester so I won’t be in town too much longer. I couldn’t possibly put you to the trouble of training me only to leave you without office help.”
I moved forward, planning to step around him, but he stopped me with a hand on my arm.
“What are you going to school to study?” If I didn’t know better, I would have thought that was a note of desperation in his voice.
“Business. I’m hoping to get my MBA after I finish my undergrad degree.”
He smiled, a cat that ate the canary smile that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. “Perfect. Come work for us. You’ll have benefits. And we can give you tuition reimbursement so you can take some classes online and get a head start on your degree. Not to mention business experience you can put on your resume.”
My head swam. That offer sounded too good to be true. I flicked my eyes over his face. Mason looked deadly serious. But really, it would mean spending the next six months working with Kaden. I was so close to escaping Kodiak. I couldn’t take the risk of ruining it all now.
I shook my head. “I appreciate the offer. And as tempting as it is…”
Mason didn’t let me finish. “You didn’t let me tell you the salary.”
And then he said a number. A number that made my jaw drop and my eyes open wide. A number that meant when I left town in six months, I’d have enough money to get me through my undergrad degree and have a good chunk more to get me to graduate school. And I wouldn’t have to juggle two full-time jobs to do it.
I opened my mouth, but no words came out. I wanted to turn him down, tell him I didn’t need his job. But the words wouldn’t come. I’d already had one setback when I lost my job tonight. Mason’s offer would allow me to take classes and escape Kodiak as planned. I’d be a fool to refuse.
Wouldn’t I?
As if he read my thoughts
, Mason’s signature smirking smile twisted his lips. His posture eased and he stuck his hands in his pockets. “Tell you what. You give it some thought. I’ll catch up to you tomorrow and you can let me know.”
Before I could say a word, he turned and headed back toward the Bear Trap. I stared after him until the late evening sun reflecting off the water of the bay made my eyes tear and I lost sight of him.
I resumed my walk back to my place, my steps slow as Mason’s offer and the look of revulsion on Kaden’s face played over and over again in my mind.
The decision I needed to make seemed obvious and impossible at the same time. I couldn’t say no. The job, if Mason didn’t change his mind in the light of a new day, would have a huge impact on my plans.
But my plans would mean nothing if I couldn’t survive the next six months working side-by-side with Kaden Black.
Chapter 5
Kaden
I walked into Sheila’s the next morning, my temper considerably cooled from the night before. After my bear had worn me out, I fell asleep on a bed of evergreen needles, waking with the morning sun and back in my human form.
But it would take me at least half a gallon of coffee to really feel up to snuff. As soon as I accomplished that and got some food in me, I had a to-do list to tackle. A list with precisely two things on it—stop by the newspaper office to place a help wanted ad and then convince Alyssa to forgive me and accept me as her mate.
Yeah, that wouldn’t be too difficult. I dropped onto a stool at the counter, nodding to a few familiar faces as I replayed last night one more time. Could I have been a bigger asshole?
“Good to have you home, Kaden. Coffee?”
I twisted my stool to face the man behind the counter, a stained white apron covering most of his front. “Pete, good to see you. Coffee’d be good.”
Pete reached for the coffee pot and I couldn’t help but grin. The short, stocky man looked like what he was—an old werebear who’d never shied away from a barroom brawl. His grizzled face and sturdy build made him look like he’d lived six lifetimes. Looked that way for as long as I could remember.
Kind of like this place. Unlike some of the restaurants that had cropped up to cater to the tourists over the last decade, Sheila’s didn’t make a pretense of being anything but what it was—a greasy spoon that served piping hot food, high in protein and calories. Perfect for the metabolism of your average bear shifter.
The floors were covered in red and white check tile. The tables were a mix of brown vinyl booths and Formica and chrome tables with brown vinyl chairs. The wood paneled walls were painted white and a mishmash of photographs of local wildlife hung in random spots around the room with no particular attempt at pleasing design.
Felt like home. I flipped over the cup sitting upside down in its saucer on the counter.
Pete filled the cup to the rim. “Heard you’re sticking around for good this time.”
I nodded. “You heard right. Nash, Gage, Mason and I are starting up a security business.”
Pete nodded. “’Bout time you young ones settled down. The girl will be out in a minute to get your order.” He turned and headed back to man the grill.
This time I didn’t fight my grin. Pete might be old and grizzled, but he made no bones about his devotion to his wife, Sheila, and their family. He wasn’t given to long monologues, but he always managed to get a dig in about how the younger generation needed to do their part in keeping the Kodiak Den going.
The door to the backroom swished open and I lost my grin as Alyssa pushed her way through it, lugging a rack of silverware. Her eyes scanned the room as she moved behind the counter, checking on her customers, I was sure. But she came to a dead stop when her eyes landed on me.
Just like last night, her eyes widened and her lips parted. But I could almost see her shake herself. She stood up straighter and twisted to deposit the silverware on the back counter.
Even in a Sheila’s t-shirt and faded jeans, her hair pulled into a messy knot on the back of her head, and dark circles under her eyes, she was the most beautiful sight I’d ever seen. When her teeth sank into her full, pink bottom lip, I swear my dick throbbed against the zipper of my jeans.
“What are you doing here?” I asked.
She rolled her eyes. “Didn’t we already have this conversation?”
Without waiting for an answer she grabbed the pot of coffee from the burner and made her way around the room, refilling cups. By the time she made her way back to me, I’d drained my cup. She topped me off, sloshing a bit over the side when her hand became a little unsteady.
“Sorry.” She looked up at me from under her lashes.
I held back a groan. “No problem.”
“Did you order yet?”
“No. But I mean it, Alyssa, I want you to explain to me what you’re doing here.” So much for groveling. I knew I was being a dick. Again. But I couldn’t get past the fact she stayed in town.
It sure as fuck had nothing to do with the shit Kelly spewed last night. Alyssa was nothing like her mother. But once the notion that she’d stayed in town to hook up with the local shifters took hold, my bear ran with it. Literally. It had taken me most of the night to get the rage out of my system, but once I stopped running on pure animal instinct, logic took over.
Pissed at myself would be putting it mildly if asked to describe how I felt once I realized there was no truth to Kelly’s words. I knew my woman instinctively. But knowing down to my core she wouldn’t do those things, I still couldn’t come up with one good reason she hadn’t hightailed it out of town years ago.
Alyssa moved around behind the counter, keeping her eyes glued to me warily. “I’ll tell you the same thing I told you last night. I’m working. Or at least I would be if you’d give me your order.”
“Hungry man breakfast, extra side of sausage,” I said, not bothering to look at a menu. I had a feeling that hadn’t changed much either. “Happy now?”
She scribbled on her pad and then tore off the top check, pinning it to the wheel over the grill.
“Ecstatic,” she deadpanned.
I grinned. Nerves might cause her hands to tremble, but she refused to give in to them. That’s my girl.
A wave of possessiveness gripped me. She was mine. I knew it even without my bear’s constant reminders. Now all I needed to do was convince her.
Before I could come up with a plan of action, the bell over the door went off and Mason strolled in. He threw himself onto the stool next to mine before twisting his head to send me a shit-eating grin.
I groaned and lifted my gaze to the ceiling. What had I done to deserve this first thing in the morning?
“Hey, Mason. Coffee?” Alyssa’s voice brought my head swinging back down. What had Mason done to earn the sweet treatment from Alyssa when all I seemed capable of getting from her was sour looks and fits of temper?
“Sounds good, beautiful.”
I swiveled my head to Mason and narrowed my eyes at him. Impossible as it seemed, his grin grew wider.
“How about a hungry man breakfast?” Alyssa suggested.
“Sold,” Mason said. “Can you add a couple of sides of bacon?”
“Coming right up.”
I turned to watch the sway of Alyssa’s hips as she walked over to put the new order up on the grill. She picked up a plate waiting there, and walked over to deliver it to a guy seated in the corner booth.
I turned my attention back to Mason. “What the fuck, man?”
Mason shrugged, the grin never slipping. “What?”
“How come she’s being nice to you?”
“Maybe it’s my stunning good looks.” Mason puffed out his chest. “Or my brawny physique.” He allowed his chest to deflate and then threw a disgusted look my way. “Or maybe it’s because I’m the only guy of the two of us who wasn’t a total dick to her last night.”
I groaned and rubbed a hand over my forehead, trying to rub away the headache that had been pounding behind my eyes
since I woke up. Nothing like the hangover that came from shifting.
“I know. I’m working on it,” I said.
“I can’t believe you’d listen to Kelly Carson. She’s jealous of anyone who gets more than a passing glance from a man. And you know Alyssa’s gotten tons of that attention Kelly wants for herself. Why are you surprised Kelly’d be so nasty?”
“Because I’m losing my fucking mind.”
Mason laughed. “Well, I don’t know if what I have to tell you is going to make that better or worse. I might have done something last night and you may or may not think it was a good idea.”
Crap. I almost never thought Mason’s actions were a good idea.
“What did you do?”
“I, uh...” He rubbed a hand along the back of his neck. That really sent off alarm bells. Mason looked almost apologetic. He never apologized. “I might have offered Alyssa the job as our office manager. With full benefits, a decent salary and college tuition reimbursement if she wants to do a degree online.”
I opened my mouth, ready to yell before his words had even fully registered. But slowly they sunk in and I closed my mouth. My bear made a show of grumbling about having Alyssa working around the other guys. But the reality was, having Alyssa working as an integral part of Ursus Security Solutions worked right into my plans for her.
“One hungry man breakfast and a side of sausage.” Alyssa put three plates piled high with eggs, pancakes, hash browns, toast, bacon and sausage down in front of me.
I looked at her, but she kept her gaze firmly trained on her task.
“Thank you, sweetheart.”
The last plate landed on the counter with a clatter. I couldn’t fight a grin. My bear and I were in total accord—happy the woman made for us wasn’t as immune to me as she’d like me to pretend.
“Have you given any thought to my offer, Alyssa?”
I had to fight the urge to pummel my best friend. I reminded myself his offer was a job offer, nothing else. He might like to get a rise out of Nash, Gage, and I, but even Mason knew better than to tease about a mate.
