by P. Jameson
Thwack!
Mason jumped as a tissue box tumbled from his arms and slapped against the hardwood floor.
Shit.
Bending over to pick it up was out of the question. He’d just spill more of the goods.
Kicking it with his boot, he slid it around the corner until the sisters were within reaching distance. He looked up to find both of them staring at him, eyebrows drawn in question.
“Can one of ya get that for me?”
Nastia rushed forward, hiking her skirt with both hands a few inches before bending to collect the box. Her eyes roamed his laden arms looking for a place to set the tissues. But everything had shifted awkwardly.
“What is all this?” she asked.
He looked away as he answered not wanting to see any weirdness from her. “Sunshine caught a cold it looks like. I’m getting her some things.”
“Oh.” Her surprised tone brought his gaze back to her, but she was staring oddly at Mirena, who frowned hard at the objects in his hands.
Mason cleared his throat. “I’m just, ah… getting some soup from the kitchen before heading back to her. One of you want to help me carry this shit?”
Mirena’s eyes grew wider in tiny increments as he talked, and then she blurted, “Sure! Yes, I’ll help you carry. Lead the way.”
Mason frowned. The sisters were up to something, but he didn’t have time to ferret it out. He needed to get back to Adira before she woke.
Shaking his head, he moved past Mirena and pushed through the door to the kitchen. She followed him in, still carrying the tissues.
Eagan looked up from the box he was filling with to-go cartons, a knowing smirk twisting his lips
“Awright, your order’s all ready to go. I got Dr. Eagan’s Smooth AF Magical Anti-sickness Soup. For two, in case you catch what your female’s spreadin’.” He gave two obnoxious winks, but the bastard knew Mason couldn’t catch cold. Mason grit his jaw to cover the hint of a smile, before side-eyeing Mirena. Her expression was blank. “Biscuits for three, because these fuckers will knock yo mama out with bliss.”
Mason frowned. “Huh?”
Eagan blinked, looking exasperated. “You’ll want extras.”
“Oh. Okay.”
“Gooey chocolate chip cookies. For five, because I know you, cat. You’ll have ‘em eaten before you get back to Adira. And let’s see… lots of hot peppermint tea in the insulated kettle. Some honey, the raw stuff,” he added, “It’s good for a sore throat.”
He hefted the box off the counter and handed it carefully to Mirena, who tossed the tissue box on top.
Mason mumbled a thanks, and went to hold the door open with his foot for Mirena.
“Nah, don’t mention it,” Eagan murmured, crossing his arms, as a small frown wrinkled his forehead. “Oh, and hey…” He waited until Mirena had disappeared into the dining room before finishing his thought. “Maybe you could keep that whole sick female conversation between you and me, yeah?”
Mason gave him an innocent look. “What, you don’t think Clara would want you implying she was a wild thing in bed?”
Eagan stiffened, his eyes flickering with his jaguar. “Shit. You don’t think about that, you hear?”
Clara pushed through the kitchen entrance at that very moment, her wild dark hair springing in every direction as she skidded to a halt. “What about Clara?” she asked. Clearly her human hearing hadn’t allowed her to catch much of their back and forth. Just enough to have Eagan tripping over himself explaining.
Mason gave him a shit-eating grin. Payback for his ribbing. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”
And then he left a wide-eyed Eagan alone to explain their little inside joke.
In the dining room, Nastia had vanished, but Mirena was waiting in the hall, ready to follow him to Adira’s room. Mason led the way, nodding at a few guests as they passed in the corridor. When they were gone, Mirena spoke up.
“I think this is really sweet, what you’re doing for my sister. It will mean a lot to her.”
Mason grunted a non-response. He still didn’t want to talk about this with her.
“I know you have a bruised past. I recognize the signs. My Theo went through hard things too—”
“Everyone here has.”
“Right. That’s what I was about to say. But I’ve been thinking about what you said to me at the lake a while back.”
Mason pressed his lips together, thinking. Before Mirena mated and became anchored permanently to her magic, she’d been a wild card. Her vice had required her to take risks. The more ridiculous, the better. One particular day he’d noticed her restlessness, and got the idea to take her cliff diving. He’d known she was Theo’s intended. And like the others in the clan, they’d needed a little push in the mating direction.
Or so he’d thought.
But Theo found them, and his bear went wild wanting to fight Mason for her. He’d narrowly escaped becoming bear kibble. He had Mirena to thank for that really.
“You told me you like helping people,” she mused. “And from what I’ve seen in my time here, it’s true. You’re a nurturer. But I was just thinking…”
They came to a stop in front of Adira’s door, and Mason looked at the solid slab of dark stained wood instead of the Sorcera.
“I was thinking, you should let someone help you for once.”
Huh. Destiny had been saying the same thing. It was his turn, she’d said. But the clan’s battle wasn’t over. Adira could be lost, then what would become of them?
“Mason, you want to help Adira. I do too. But there’s one thing I know for sure. She isn’t the only one of our clan who needs help. You do too. And she… she can help you.”
Mason forced his gaze to Mirena’s, finding her eyes wide and earnest. Damn. How did everyone else believe in him more than he believed in himself?
“You have a lot of faith in us.”
She nodded once, adjusting the box of food in her grip. “I do. Call it instinct. Call it hope. But I know the two of you will find a way.”
Mason drew in a shaking breath. “And if we don’t?”
“Then you’d better find a way to wrangle her darkness. Because something tells me, you aren’t letting her go either way.”
Truth, his lion rumbled. And he knew Mirena was right about that.
Sunshine was his. Even in the darkness.
Chapter Seven
Adira was in hell. In the fiery pits of a dark, dark place. And burning… burning...
Or at least that’s what she felt like. She couldn’t remember how she’d gotten here, and she was pretty darn sure she was asleep. The only thing she was one hundred on, was she was hot. So, so hot.
Her arms felt like they weighed a ton but she somehow lifted them enough to claw back her covers, before going for her clothes. No… not clothes. She was wrapped in something. Thick and warm and restricting. Struggling, she managed to get it off too. The fabric was rough, but that’s all her foggy brain registered.
She blinked.
No. She didn’t.
Correction: she tried to blink. Tried again, but there was still no light. Just the darkness and the smothering heat. Kicking at the covers that tangled around her feet, she managed to free herself. Now to force those eyelids to work…
A throat cleared roughly, and Adira froze.
She wasn’t alone. And she most likely wasn’t in hell. Sifting through her tangled foggy thoughts, she grappled to find reality, and still came up with nothing but unbearable heat and confining air.
“Achoooo.”
Her sleepy sneeze brought everything crashing back with the force of a wrecking ball. She was in bed with the sniffles. She’d been wrapped in a towel, blankets pulled to her chin. And the person who owned that throat-clearing was Mason.
No. Noooooo.
And she was naked. In an effort to cool off, she’d clawed the towel away and now she was naked.
By sheer will, she forced her eyes open and the first thing she saw was
the narrow wood planks of the ceiling. Mother of god, she was lying spread eagle on the mattress. Mortification prickled over her skin, making her feel even hotter. She was blazing. Her skin must be a hundred shades of crimson.
Her gaze slid sideways, and there he was. Dark hair, golden eyes. Dark scruff covering his jaw. Full, kissable lips pursed in amusement and… something else. He was lounged on the small loveseat in the corner, his long legs stretched out in front of him as he rubbed one raised eyebrow with his forefinger. Leisurely his eyes traveled over the length of her body while she lay immobilized by humiliation.
“You warm, Sunshine?” he murmured, his tone laced with humor and something edgy.
She’d be nothing but cinders in the next five seconds. But that wouldn’t keep her from covering up.
Faster than she thought possible, she sat up and yanked the blankets back in place, ignoring the throbbing between her eyes from moving too quickly.
“Rude,” she muttered, crashing back to the pillow to stop her head from spinning like a merry-go-round.
“Agreed,” he said easily. “It was absolutely rude of you to get naked like that and then take it away so quickly. You could’ve given me another few minutes to really memorize the way your tits curve before reaching those tight pink peaks.”
Adira’s eyes went mile-wide, and the noise of shock left her lips without even trying.
Followed by a sneeze.
Mason’s responding smirk was somewhere between sexy and teasing. “What? Didn’t you know I’m completely lecherous? I’ve been too careful with you, Sunshine. Kept you at arm’s length.” He shook his head slowly. “Won’t be doing that no more.”
“I was asleep,” she huffed. “I didn’t realize what I was doing. You could’ve turned your head.”
He tilted in a sideways nod. “Could’ve. But… lecherous, remember?”
Adira chewed her lip at his blatant implication that he found her body attractive. If she was honest, she kind of liked his lecherous side. Maybe she was becoming a bit lecherous herself.
He leaned forward with his arms resting on his knees, and his forehead flickered with the ghost of a frown. “How ya feeling?”
“Lousy.” She shrugged. And sneezed.
Mason passed her a fresh box of tissues and she hugged it tight after pulling it under the blanket with her. She watched him stand and walk to the dresser where he rifled around in a cardboard box before coming out with some neatly folded clothes. Returning, he stopped roughly three feet away, and tossed them onto the bed.
“Put those on.”
“What is it?”
“Comfy clothes.”
Adira shook her head. “It’s okay. I have my nightgown. It’s over there on the floor.”
“That skimpy thing? After what you just pulled, the least you can do is wear my clothes. Which will cover you from neck to foot so I don’t have to think about what I saw when I climb into that bed to feed you.”
“Feed me?” She reached her arm out of the covers and pulled the items closer inspecting them. A fluffy gray sweatshirt and matching pants. They smelled like him. Some mixture of exotic smelling oils and citrus.
“Yes. I’m going to feed you. Eagan made this magic soup that makes sick things better. Well, I don’t really know if that’s true, but it seems to work on the guests when they come down with something. I got you some.”
Aw. That was sweet. Not lecherous at all. And she liked him like that too.
“Well, okay,” she rasped, shaking out the shirt. The blanket slipped and she barely snatched it up before exposing her body once again. “But I can feed myself.”
Mason pushed his fingers through his hair. “Woman, will you put on the clothes?”
“I can’t—”
“Trust me, they’re better than your nightie, okay? They’re warm, and soft. It will be like being hugged by a goddamn feather pillow. Like being wrapped in velvet. You feel me?”
“I was just going to say, I can’t do it while you’re watching me.”
“Oh. Yeah. Turning around now.” He gave her his back. “But you should hurry. The uh… soup’s getting cold.”
Adira sneezed, but managed to pull Mason’s shirt over her head before a second one followed. And he was right. It was like being hugged with a pillow. The material was buttery soft, and warm. Which was perfect, because she realized her burning had faded and left her with a chill. After ruining another tissue, she shimmied into the pants and then collapsed back to the bed.
“Done,” she groaned.
Mason peeked over his shoulder, and when he saw she was covered, he approached the bed. His gaze softened as he stared down at her, and Adira felt her heart skip a beat and then race to catch up. That look. It was her favorite of all his looks.
“Can I tell you something?”
Adira nodded because her throat hurt to speak. And because she didn’t trust her voice not to betray her emotion.
Mason’s voice went so quiet, she wondered if he really wanted her to hear his confession at all. But his eyes dug deep, letting her know how serious he was. “I’ve really missed you.”
Adira swallowed the lump in her throat. She’d missed him too. They’d been practically inseparably since she’d arrived at the lodge, working together in some way or another to save someone from darkness. Gash first, then Nastia, then Mirena. The past week away from Mason had definitely affected her badly.
And missing him was only going to get worse when Father Isaac came for her.
“But I’m here now. I’ve figured some shit out, and I wanna tell you all about it. But first I need you to feel better. My animal doesn’t like you being sick.” A shadow fell over his gaze and Adira wondered what piece of his history he was struggling with right now.
“Okay,” she murmured, desperately wanting that expression off his face. “You said there’s soup?”
Mason walked back to the dresser and hefted the box into his arms. The thing wasn’t terribly huge, but the muscles of his biceps bulged deliciously when he lifted it. She noticed. How could she not.
He set the box at the foot of her mattress, and reached in, pulling out a tall container that steamed when he removed the lid.
“Scoot,” he told her, as he stirred the soup with a plastic spoon.
“Really, I can do that.” She raised to a sit, her head doing the tilt-a-whirl until she had to close her eyes to reset her equilibrium.
“Maybe so. But scoot.”
“You don’t need to feed me, Mason.”
“I’m getting in that bed, Sunshine, whether you scoot or not.”
With a sigh—that turned into a sneeze—she slid over until there was enough room for Mason to sit beside her. The bed dipped as he lowered himself down, balancing the soup so it wouldn’t spill.
“Soup is a dangerous thing to try to feed someone.”
“You doubt my skills, woman?”
Her lips turned up on their own. “Maybe.”
He spooned a bite, a wavy noodle swimming in thick, creamy broth. “I’ll just have to prove myself then. Open.”
She did as he said, hoping another sneeze didn’t sneak up on her right when he got the spoon to her lips. Carefully, she closed her mouth around the bite, trying desperately to ignore how close he was. She could feel the heat of his body bleeding into her, and it was nothing like the feverish hell she’d felt while sleeping. This was the kind of heat she wanted to curl up next to. Tuck herself under his arm and sleep for days. Sleep until the equinox was past and pretend her transition was all a bad dream.
But that was just her own desires. He might be attracted to her body, but he’d made himself clear. He didn’t want her as a life partner. As a mate.
I’m not for you, and you are not for me.
She met his frowning gaze. “Does it taste bad?” he asked, skeptical.
“No. Of course not. It’s delicious.”
“Then why do you smell… off?”
“Off? What do you mean, off? What do I usua
lly smell like?”
“Pears and hot tea,” he answered immediately. “But right now you smell like… sadness.”
Adira stared at him, measuring how much she wanted to say.
“What is it?” He set the spoon back in the soup and gave her his full attention.
She shrugged. There were lots of reasons for her to be sad. “I’m out of time, and I don’t want to be. This isn’t what I envisioned for my life.”
“Tell me.”
Adira sighed and leaned back against the headboard.
“I had the most light. I thought that might count for something in the end. Like perhaps it would be enough to keep me from transitioning. I hoped maybe I’d be one of the rare ones that finds a way to beat this.” She cut out a short humorless laugh. “There is a reason hope rhymes with nope.”
Reaching over, she grabbed the carton of soup from Mason and took a bite, closing her eyes at the taste. It really was delicious. It was warm and comforting. The food version of Mason.
“So… I thought I’d get to keep my magic and become a tutor.”
“You wanted to teach?”
Adira nodded. “My favorite thing was helping ones younger than me perfect their spells. I was good at it too. Father Isaac said I’d make a wonderful tutor someday, and that my rhyming would help others who had trouble remembering their incantations. But coming here changed my plans a little. I’ve fallen in love with the way Ouachita values family. It’s…” Her voice became choked but she powered through, feeling this was important to say. “Beautiful. Your family bonds are full of a magic we’ve never experienced before until now. I’ve always had my coven sisters and the tutors. And we call Father Isaac father, even though he isn’t that to us. I try to think of him behaving as Renner does with Rhys.” She shook her head at the thought. “But the clan is something else. Something deeper and more concrete. My sisters have fallen under the spell and so have I. Except…”
“Except what?”
She took another bite, forcing it down her throat with a hard swallow. This time the soup landed in her belly like a stone, heavy and unwanted.