Chapter 2
“A rather interesting woman came in today. With two of her friends. I’ve invited them to dinner, if you’d care to join us.” Hale spoke to his three friends, all of them sitting in his office at 6:30 pm sharing a glass of brandy.
“Sure. What has you so hot and bothered about this woman though?” Knox asked, handsome and as tall as Hale he was the joker of the bunch. Hale looked at him and grinned.
“She made my bear want to crawl all over her. I had to actually control myself. That’s not something I’ve had to do since I was a teenager. She’s tiny. A little overweight but she’s still perfect. Sweet and logical, she doesn’t take any lip but she’s placid. A conundrum that makes me want to take her and hide her away.” Hale’s words trailed off as he thought about Tessa. The woman was beautiful beyond words, he knew it and his bear knew it. This woman was his mate.
“And the other women?” Rhys asked. Often seen to be smiling, Rhys was male model material and women often draped themselves over him.
Hale grinned at Rhys, knowing what he wanted to know. “I think two of you may have found mates. At least two of you. I know some of you like to share.”
Rhys quirked an eyebrow at Hale and tipped his glass at him. “Right you are my friend.”
Zed, the quiet one of the bunch watched his friends, his brothers, and wondered what this news meant for him. They were all looking for mates now, after spending their twenties becoming richer than their wildest dreams. Now they wanted a calm quiet life and this resort was going to provide that. He wondered what kind of turmoil these women might bring. Then he dismissed his worry. They were only here for two weeks. They couldn’t cause that much damage in that amount of time could they?”
* * *
I sat in Cora’s room, on a chair on her balcony to be more exact, and listened as the women giggled behind me. They’d all received the same note, which rather deflated me but Cora and Kaia had convinced me it was all for me. I’d run back to my room and changed, straightening my hair out into a long mass of blond locks, and putting on a new skirt and top. I looked good, I thought as I applied a little eye makeup. Yes, I did.
Now they were making plans for me, wondering where to get condoms, and how long it would be before they saw me again. I smiled but didn’t know if it would go that far. I was only here for two weeks, after all.
“Come on, Tess. Have a little fun for all of us. Do you really think a man’s going to be interested in me in my current state?” Cora called out to her. “One of us has to get some while we’re here and it might as well be you! I think you’re overdue!”
That was one secret about me my friends didn’t know. I wasn’t just overdue, I was a virgin! No man had ever stirred me enough to make me want to drop my panties. I’m sorry! I just hadn’t ever wanted to go that far with anyone. Sure, I had urges, fantasies, but my fantasies were always more fascinating than the groping, sweaty, just plain gross reality of my experiences so far.
I grinned once more and stood up from my chair. Hale Masters, in his dark suit and brooding eyes, might be worth it, though. He just might.
“Hey, I wonder if he’s one of those shifters we’ve heard about? I don’t know if there are any this far north of Texas and Louisiana but there could be. He has the eyes for it.” Cora wondered aloud.
“A shifter?” I asked, lost for a moment.
“Yes, one of those werebears. I hear those men are hot in the sheets. My cousin down in Alabama met one and she swears her panties just fell right off in the middle of a casino. She nearly died of embarrassment but even his voice had her ready to go.” Cora giggled as Kaia looked dubious.
“I don’t know about all of that but we should keep an eye out for Tessa tonight. From what I saw she had trouble keeping her own panties on at that desk and she had pants on!” Kaia burst out laughing as she finished.
The women were still laughing when the elevator stopped and the door opened with a ding. The laughter died as the doors slid open and four very handsome, very virile, but all completely different men greeted the women. For me, that was the moment the world ceased to exist and Hale became the whole of my world. He was standing there with a rose, in a black pinstriped suit, his brooding gaze taking in the sight of me.
“Nice.” He whispered to me as I walked up close to him. “But I prefer the real you.”
He tucked the rose behind my ear and took my hand, guiding me into the restaurant. A room had been set up in the back for us and a table set up so that we could all sit together.
“Ladies, these are my friends and business partners, Rhys, Zed, and Knox. Fellas this is Tessa, Cora, and Kaia. We hope you have a lovely evening with us.” Hale’s formal introduction over with, he sat down in the middle of the table and pulled me down beside of him.
He seemed to be a very dominant man and normally I would kick back against that. I was independent after all. But something about the way he handled me, as if I might break but with a knowledge that I wouldn’t, made me want to purr. I sat down and looked over at Cora and Kaia. Both were deep in introducing themselves to the men they were sat between. They were fine.
I turned back to Hale and asked how he was. A waiter brought in two wines, a red and a white, for each of us, and a menu. I took a sip of the white to clear my palate, and turned back to Hale as he finally was able to answer.
“I’m pleased to say I’ve taken out the trash and replaced Lordes with another manager. He’ll be starting tomorrow.” He spoke smoothly, his voice a husky growl that thrilled me.
Hale’s voice had the heavy accent of coastal Georgia and I loved it from the first. His words were like thick rich rum that you wanted to savor for as long as you could.
“That was quick. Had she been causing problems before today?” I asked, feeling a twinge of guilt over the woman losing her job.
“She had but today was the worst of it. That was completely uncalled for and again, I do apologize for my staff’s rudeness. I’m glad you’ve stayed though, Tessa Johnson. You fascinate me.” His eyes bored into mine and I felt as though he was barely controlling himself, a thin wedge of string all that kept him from pouncing on me to devour me.
I shivered in my chair and stared into his eyes. I had no inkling of caution, no will to look away or protest. I wanted Hale to do whatever he wanted to with me. I was his from the moment I stepped off the elevator and I wasn’t going to pretend otherwise.
Dinner was an excruciating exercise in control. Hale and I seemed to touch constantly, our legs pressing together beneath the table, his hand sliding against mine, and our heads drawing together time after time. I’ve never felt this way about a man and I wondered for about two seconds how far I’d let this go.
I wondered for about two seconds because by that time I’d had three glasses of wine and caution was gone totally. I’d have invited him up to my room if he hadn’t offered to guide me back to my room later that night. I felt a moment of relief at not having to ask and gave a sigh of relief as the elevator doors closed. The others were still at the table but we were alone. Finally.
As soon as the doors shut Hale pulled me close to his body, my own molding to his as his lips fell to mine. I tasted him, the tang of wine and the zing of his lemon pie, and wanted more. I wanted to taste the scent of his skin just below his ear; I wanted to feel the power of his chest muscles beneath my fingertips. I wanted him.
He tore himself away from me as the elevator dinged once more and took a ragged breath before he guided me to my room. He paused at the door and kissed me once more. Our tongues tangled in a duel that had me wanting to pull him to the wall to fuck me right there. His hand pulling at my skirt made me weak in the knees and I moaned into his mouth. He pulled away before I could take it any further.
“Sweet Tessa. I can’t control myself around you.” He pulled me into his arms to look down into my eyes. “Those beautiful blue eyes of yours beg me to take you, to make you mine, but you need time. I want you to be sure.”
I wanted to protest, I tried to protest, but his index finger over my lips silenced me.
“There are things you don’t know, things you should know, before this goes any further. Sleep tonight and I will see you again tomorrow.” He walked away then and I felt like a part of me was being torn away with him.
I watched him go, then let myself into my room. Despite the abrupt ending to our night I couldn’t stop the smile that spread over my face. I slipped into the Jacuzzi that looked out over the view of the mountains outside and let the stress and exhaustion of the day slip away. Soon I would be Hale’s. Soon.
* * *
I tossed and turned most of the night, despite the luxuriously comfortable bed. My dreams were filled with visions of Hale. He wooed me gently, slowly, with flowers and words of love in my dreams. He introduced me to his ideas of passion, a mixture of control, bondage, and the relief of pent up passions. He taught me control in all things, even of me, as the night passed, and he took the reins of my life. He was all but my master in name and I adored him.
He gave me time to adjust to him, to learn to love him, before he came to me with his full passion. The dreams tripped on throughout the night and by morning I felt as though I’d lived a lifetime with the man. By the end of the dreams Hale had finally taken me to his bed. He’d stirred my passion with his mouth, with his fingers, and with his words once more, my sobs for relief filling the air before he turned to reveal his back to me.
Something about Hale had terrified me in those dreams. There was something dangerous just below the surface, something that could be terrible but yet, it drew me closer to him. As his tongue pleased me in the dream, I forgot to worry and as I found my release my eyes closed. I opened them as he moved away from me and saw a tattoo covered his entire back.
I squinted at the colors but could not see them well. I thought the main image was of a black bear, with a brown snout. Moving to stand over him I saw the bear was circled by a forest image, trees and a dark moon creating a frame for the bear stood on its back legs, roaring fiercely. I stepped back as the image shifted and the roaring bear calmed, became tame, and went back to all fours.
I awoke then tired and bewildered. The dreams left me confused and feeling as though I actually had lived each of those moments with Hale. It wasn’t possible but I felt it all the same. And that tattoo, what was that about? Had I suddenly developed a tattoo fetish? And a fetish to be controlled? What the heck is wrong with me? I shook myself before getting out of bed, trying to clear my brain. I knew I was a conservative woman, a woman hard to please, but did that mean I secretly longed to be controlled by the man I loved. Apparently, I’d loved it in my dreams. I wonder what would happen if he released that tightly controlled beast?