Page 28

Chapter twenty-eight

Kidnapped by a pirate warlord

Lorilei

I feel a little guilty that after Sophia fell asleep on the ride home, I was able to hold Mason’s hand for almost the entire drive.

Why did that make the whole thing feel more real than even being in the same bed as him? This craving to want to touch him whenever he’s close, does it fade?

Will he be the first to pull away?

That’s what I’m used to. Ups and downs from my mother. One day, she’s manic about needing me. Next, she acts like she doesn’t want to see me again as she runs off to chase some new man.

It’s hard not to worry that the same thing will happen with Mason.

Or, Sophia.

Her crutches haven’t moved from where she propped them on the wall the day we came back from Missoula.

I think her cane is soon to follow.

“I’m impressed you’re doing so well. All of my classes said that it usually takes a couple of weeks to move so well after the cast comes off. It’s only been a few days, and look at you!” My smile is broad watching Sophia manage to walk slowly across the floor.

My purpose now is cooking and cleaning. And stressing that she will discover the truth.

How can I both be excited and devastated by her healing?

“I wonder how long before I’ll be able to ride again?” She muses as she follows me into the dining room.

“At your current rate? I’d say no later than the end of the month.” Same time I’ll be starting classes.

Pulling out the sausage from the fridge, I start chopping it up for dinner. Learning to cook has been an unexpected benefit from my summer here.

Well, there’s been lots of those.

“Did you get your dorm assignment yet?” She picks up an apple from the bowl on the table and takes a bite.

“Not yet, but I’ve submitted my stuff. I’m hoping to double up on classes.” Mostly, I have to make the money that I earned here to get my degree so I can get to work.

“Oh. So, you might not even be on campus for the spring semester?” Her tone drops as she frowns at her fruit. “Maybe you could come back and visit for the holidays?”

What if Mason doesn’t want me by then?

My shoulders lift and drop. “I’ll have to see. I might be working if my internship works out.”

“I get it. Well, once I’m riding again, there’s a lot of rodeos in that area. We can go troll for bull riders together.” She pulls off another chunk of apple and chews it while staring off absentmindedly. “Did I tell you Cash keeps texting me?”

That’s a change. “I thought you blocked him?”

She shakes her head with her mouth full as the smell of sizzling meat fills the air. “I didn’t want to set him off. Showing up for my first show with everyone mad at me because of something he told them doesn’t sound appealing.”

“That’s really gross, Soph. Are you at least just leaving him on seen?” I pause, dropping the tortellini into the pot. “He sounds creepy.”

She shrugs and walks slowly into the kitchen to drop her core in the garbage. “Sometimes he’s okay. He’s keeping me up to date on the drama. There’s been a new sponsor that he’s been talking to and the guy is covering a lot of his costs. I think Cash just needed a little peace of mind about money, because he’s been nicer.”

I finish putting in the pasta before I turn towards her. “Just be careful. You said he does some shitty stuff when he gets shafted.”

He’s almost proof of how crappy people can be.

She pulls a cooked piece of sausage from the corner of the pan and blows on it before popping it in her mouth. “I know. I’m keeping him at arm’s length. It’s kinda nice to have someone to chat with.”

I don’t think she’s directing that at me, but it’s hard not to take it personally. Mason has me distracted and sneaking away any chance I get.

Not being able to talk to her about it has me withdrawing sometimes, worried that I might accidentally reveal the truth.

Is it worth it to tell her so close to leaving? The way things are looking, it will be in just a few more days when my place in the dorms is assigned.

My stomach flips uncomfortably and my chest aches.

When I first left for college, I never felt pain leaving my mom.

Joy. Relief. Excitement. Those were at the top of my list.

Agony is new.

“Are you okay?” Sophia snags another morsel from the hot skillet. “You look pale.”

“I’m fine.” Tears begin to well in the corners of my eyes.

Biting the inside of my cheek holds them at bay until I can grab an onion and start slicing it.

There’s a piece of me that feels like I’m losing both of them.

And it’s all my own fault.

“Tell me about your online classes.” I try to redirect her. Changing the subject is the safest route before I break down crying.

“They’re boring already,” she sighs, moving around the counter back to the table. “I have a math class, a computer class, and statistics. Is it wrong that I'd rather read books or go ride my horse? Here I’ve been sitting on my ass for weeks, and all I want to do is more.” She slumps in her chair, letting her cane bounce off the end of her toes in an idle rhythm. “Maybe I should go back to campus. I’m more productive there.”

“Well, I’d be lying if I said I won’t miss you there.” I catch her eyes and give my best attempt at a smile to hide my internal misery.

“It’s a hard choice. Damned either way.” She holds her palms up flat and weighs them back and forth. “Stay home, work on the horse, but hate ranch life. Go to Missoula, get to see you for one more semester, but have to hold off on rodeo for another year.” She throws both of her hands up in the air. “I hate having to choose.”

“I get that.” More than she’ll ever know.

“This turned out good. I’m a stuffed guinea pig.” Mason leans back and pats his belly dramatically, then makes that rumbling sound in his chest which makes me rub my thighs together beneath the table.

Sawyer makes affirmative noises through his full mouth, but doesn’t pause in shoveling in another bite.

“See? You should be a chef.” Sophia uses the last piece of sausage on her plate to wipe up the remaining sauce.

A warm feeling spreads up my throat at their praise.

It’s strange, but I only want to cook for them. The idea of being in a busy kitchen where people are screaming orders, and customers are sending their plates back, just doesn’t appeal to me.

But, seeing the smiles and hearing the praise from the people I’ve grown to care about, I wish I could do this forever.

It hurts knowing I can’t.

“I don’t think that’s for me. Besides, I’m close to graduating.” And signing on to a lifetime of hell working in a hospital.

Mason’s amber eyes tighten when he watches me.

I guess my frown is harder to hide from him, he’s getting to know me so well. We’re growing to be close friends as well as lovers. I’ve been able to tell him so much.

Except how I really feel about him.

It’s stupid. It’s too soon. That’s more like my mother’s kind of relationship. She rushes into each one like the guy she’s with is the center of her universe until gravity spins her out of orbit and she searches for the next one.

The best thing I should do is chalk this up as a summer fling and walk away.

“Well, just imagine…You could work on a yacht for a millionaire, sailing through the Mediterranean. Or Cabo.” Sophia’s eyes get a vacant look. “How cool would it be to work in a private Spanish villa?”

That makes me laugh. “Like in one of your romance books?”

Mason’s brows raise while Sawyer makes a gagging sound.

Sophia waves her hand. “Yes, fine. But seriously! How hot would it be for the rich owner to fall for you?”

I can’t stop my gaze from shifting back to Mason. “Very hot.”

He smothers a grin behind his napkin.

Her elbow props on the table as she points at me emphatically. “ That’s why you need to become a chef!”

Standing, I start gathering the empty dishes. “So, that’s the goal? Cook to get a guy?”

Sophia straightens her spine and looks at me with a deadpan expression. “The last part is the most important. You get the job, get the man, and then invite me to visit during one of the fancy dinner parties so I can meet his rich friends.”

Sawyer follows me into the kitchen and loads his plate into the dishwasher as fast as he can before disappearing.

Mason lingers at the table, gathering the leftovers, but his eyes never leave me.

“Ah. Okay, I’ll be sure to let you know when that happens.” I toss him a mischievous smile when I take the pan from him.

“Oh, poop. I forgot these pork chops were in here.” I slide them out of the way to put the rest of the sausage pasta into the fridge.

I don’t want to feed them all to Caesar. It might make his tummy upset.

The kitties in the barn are getting bigger. I bet they’d love the treat.

When I squat in front of the dog, he lifts his head, nose flaring, as I draw out one of the slabs from the bag. “Here you go. Good boy.”

Standing, I pause as Sophia passes. She’s barely using her cane at all.

“Well, until you get your fancy new boyfriend, I’m going back to the rich werewolf mafia boss book I was reading.” She struts like a princess back to her room.

“Where’re you heading?” Mason’s deep voice is hushed, but carries across the open space.

“I'm going to the barn to feed the cats. I’ll be quick unless I’m kidnapped by a pirate warlord,” I tease, and I let the door close before he has a chance to reply.

It’s starting to get darker as the summer wanes.

Another reminder that it’s almost time for me to leave.

The kitties seem to know I’m coming. They’re gathered near the entrance. Momma cat is waiting behind her half-grown brood perched on top of the stall gate.

She’s been a little slower to like me, but the young ones have made me one of their own. It’s only taken a few morsels to lure them close enough that I can pet them while they eat.

Shredding the meat into pieces, I take turns stroking each one until only the mother is left. “Hey, girl. I have a snack for you. Better than mousies.” Walking slowly, I hold out a chunk of fat at the tips of my fingers.

She stands and stretches before stepping cautiously closer. Her whiskers brush my skin as she delicately takes the treat.

Her ears swivel before she turns and jumps away.

“Well. I didn’t even get my—”

Hot palms wrap my waist and whiskers tickle the side of my neck sending a wave of goosebumps over my body.

“Pirates?” Mason whispers into the tender spot beneath my jaw.

“Mmhmm. Or maybe a vampire that owns a ski lodge in the Swiss Alps.” I melt against his chest.

“Is that what you want? I can mark you, right here.” His teeth close with the threat of his bite, sending a thrill of electricity through me. “Show everyone that you’re mine,” he growls before he nips the shell of my ear.

The tight bulge in his jeans presses into my ass as he tugs my hips tightly against him.

His.

“Am I? Really? I’m leaving soon.” The words make a knot in my throat. It hurts too much to think about. “Maybe you won’t want me by spring. I’ll be hours away. Should I find a CEO with tennis elbow? A football player with a groin pull?”

Mason’s hands still and he takes a long inhale against my throat.

“I know what you’re doing,” he finally says. “You don’t have to push me away.”

That makes pain tear through me. “What if it’s simpler? Then I don’t have to bear the hurt of losing you both.”

He spins me around so I’m facing him, then pins me against the wooden gate. “Or, you could stay, and keep us.” His thumbs cup my cheeks. “I could keep you.”

I search his caramel eyes with their flecks of gold. The wells of honey I search for any time he’s near. The windows to his soul that I see in my dreams.

Why would he want to?

I’m nobody special.

“To cook and clean for you?” He’s right. I do want to push him away.

So I can deal with the ache on my own terms.

There’s no way I could handle him shattering my heart.

Because I want to give it to him, badly.

His lips thin and he drops his chin, hiding his eyes as he looks to the ground.

“When we first got Misty, she started off being an easy keeper. She learned the patterns, and found her place in the herd. But, then, when it came time to load her in the trailer the first time, she rebelled. Fighting, rearing, refusing to cooperate.” He raises his chin, meeting my stare. “Do you know how you break a bratty mare? Dig in your spurs and let her buck. Eventually, she wore herself out, and we got her loaded.” He drifts his fingers over my cheek, brushing a stray lock of hair.

“She had to be taught that it was safe to leave, and that she was coming back.” A smile pulls up his lip. “That horse will live its life here because we earned her trust. I don’t take that honor lightly.”

He’s making it hard to breathe. Tears well, making me blink rapidly, but I can’t stop them.

“I-I don’t want to go.” My lower lip quakes, so I pull it between my teeth in a vain effort to stop myself.

His jaw ticks as he watches my mouth. “Then don’t.”