THERE WAS A CLOCK TICKING and it was like a hammer on my head. “Move the clock,” I mumbled. I was laid on his chest, but Mason was raised up, probably on his iPad.
“Sorry, bear, it’s my fingers typing.” His voice was soft I could tell by the baritone, but it sounded like he was yelling.
Covering my ears, I buried my face against Mason and shivered at his deep voice, my stomach rolling. I let go of an ear and pulled the quilt up to cover my face. “Argh, stop yelling.”
His chest rumbled and for once his chuckle didn’t send tingles of desire through me. It made me cringe as my head throbbed. “Bear, sit up for a moment. I have paracetamol and I got the okay to give you a sleeping pill and some anti-nausea pills, too, and a bottle of water.” He peeled the quilt back and lifted me up.
I groaned and kept my eyes shut tight. “I don’t wanna.”
“Come on. It will make you feel better.” I felt the water bottle as he sat it in my hand. “It’s open. I have all the pills. Open your other hand and I’ll put them in.” I did as he asked. I felt the pills drop into my hand. I opened my mouth and put them in and then took a big drink. I lay back down and instantly regretted it. My stomach rolled and I jumped up and ran to the bathroom. My whole body arched, and right then I made a promise to myself that I’d never drink again.
Calloused fingers stroked my cheek and gathered my hair back. “Oh, Alexa, I’m here for you. Get it all out. Once your stomach is empty you’ll feel better.”
I moaned as that was all I was capable of doing for what felt like hours.
PUPPIES LICKING MY FACE WOKE me later. I had no idea what time it was or how long I’d slept. I didn’t even remember making it back to the bed. Mason had put me here, I knew it. He always looked after me.
“I thought you’d be ready for your babies.” The deep baritone of his voice had me shivering but this time when he talked the shiver was good, lust inducing. Sam jumped on the bed, herding the puppies away from me. Sam didn’t have his working vest on and when he didn’t and we were at home he became a big soft teddy bear. He lay down next to me and rested his head between my shoulder and neck.
Opening my eyes, I blinked a couple of times and gazed into sappy big brown ones. Sam’s fur was supper soft as I ran my fingers through it. He didn’t lick my face like the puppies did, but he did nuzzle me. “Hey, Sam. You looking after my babies? Teaching them to be good dogs?” He didn’t say anything, obviously because he’s a dog, but he did rub his muzzle against me.
“If you’re feeling better, I thought we’d get some take out and watch a movie or binge watch a show?”
Looking up from Sam, I giggled as I saw Lucky, one of my puppies, attacking my quilt. Little growls came when Fred, another of my pups, helped her. Darting my gaze up, I saw Mason standing at the end of the bed, a huge smile on his handsome face as he stared down at the bed. He wanted to get take-out and watch a movie. Could my man be any more perfect? I was sure the answer was hell no. I didn’t have my children yet, but as I looked at the room and thought about my life since meeting Mason I realized he’d given me everything I could ever want.
“I love you, Mason Silverman. You’ve given me a family. You get me.”
He came and sat on the bed next to me. “I love you, too, but what’s got into you?” He smirked and I swear my heart beat so hard it might burst through my chest. He was dangerous with how sexy he looked. “Did your first drunken experience bring this on?” Argh, he was right and when I told him he’d get so smug. His laugh told me he figured it out. “Bear, you were cute last night and damn sexy.” He leaned down and kissed my forehead. “Come on, get up, shower and get dressed. We’re going to have a movie night and get a bunch of different take-out.”
“You’re too good for me Mason.” I eased out of bed and felt a lot better than what I had earlier today. Once I had a shower, I had a feeling I would feel even better.
“MUM’S HERE TO TALK ABOUT the wedding. You up for it today? No lingering effect of the alcohol?” I glared at him, because he knew I was fine. I had fallen asleep on him while we watched a Back to The Future marathon, and I was full from Indian, Chinese, and chocolate ice-cream. “She thinks she’s found the perfect place that you’ll love and we can make safe.”
Pulling up my leggings, I turned and smiled at Mason at the entry of the walk-in wardrobe. “I’ll be down in a moment.” I didn’t wait for his response before turning back to the table with the mirror, brushing my hair, and putting it in a plait. When I was ready, I turned and saw Mason had waited for me. He was staring at me and the intense look of wonder as he gazed at me had my soul soaring. I was nothing special, or at least I didn’t think I was. I was small, and not model beautiful. I wasn’t that smart either. I hadn’t even finished high school, but the way Mason stared, you’d think I was the most gorgeous, brilliant woman in the world. I truly believed my family had to be watching out for me in the afterlife for me to get so lucky. “Let’s go find out what your mother has found.”
“Yep, let’s go see what gem my mother has found.” As we walked together out the door and down to his mother, he threaded his fingers through mine.
Gillian was in the formal living room, sitting straight and posed like the regal queen she looked, with brand name clothes and her classy expensive jewelry and immaculate make-up. I just knew what ever she’d found would be just what she said it would be, nothing beyond amazing for the short time we’d been given to organize a wedding.
“Alexa.” She stood and hugged me tight. That was the one thing Gillian didn’t do like a queen, she hugged like a mum. She didn’t care about her clothes getting creased when you squeezed tight, or when her grandkids covered them in breast milk and baby food. I adored her hugs, they were only second to Mason’s. She eased away and grasped my hands. “Come. I just know you’re going to love this. I put a deposit down so we don’t lose out.” She sat me next to her and passed me her Mac and brought up page after page of this amazing tropical island. “This is Great Keppel Island. It’s a little island off Yeppoon near Rockhampton, about a nine or ten hour drive from here, but only an hour or so flight in our plane.”
My head went back and forth like I’d just been slapped. “Say what now? You have a plane?”
Gillian waved her hand like it was nothing. “It’s a family plane. The whole Silverman family here has access so it’s not ours alone. Moving on, don’t you think this would be just the most perfect place to have the wedding? The weekend I booked they only have thirty-eight other people booked in, so that’s any easy amount of people to monitor.”
My mouth opened and I gaped like a fish. I knew the Silvermans were rich. They had mega mansions and bodyguards, but other than those things and spending money on clothes, they didn’t flaunt their money much. I forgot how rich they really were. “You hired out a whole island?”
“Unfortunately, no. As I said, thirty-eight people have booked in, four in a house and the others between the two resorts, cabins, and so on. The date is two and half months from now. I know you wanted as soon as there was a break in the trials, but this was when they had the least amount of people. I’ve run it by Darren and our family’s head of security and they’re both on board. What do you two think? Perfect? Right?”
I browsed through all the images and information on the island, and the more I read, the further I fell in love with this idea. I caught Mason’s gaze and could see the gleam in his eyes and his lips twitching up into a smile. He felt the same. I nodded to him and beamed my happiness. This could be epic.
My heart felt like it started to beat faster as it sank in that I really was engaged and getting married to Mason. I was marrying my hero, my savior, my lover, my soulmate.
Gillian squeezed my shoulders and her eyes sparkled with her excitement. “We have an island wedding to plan.” She kissed my cheek. “We have a lot of work to do.” She nodded and hummed. “Yes, this will work. This will be perfect. I spoke to your aunts and Divinity was there, too, and she was telling me that around that time she planned to take over the self-defense class again and let Darren get back to having some free time.” She nodded again. “We all thought Great Keppel would be perfect. This will work. Divinity can start back after the wedding and Darren can end his time as teacher before.”
I smiled and watched as she rambled on. “I want to learn how to defend myself,” I said to myself, not really expecting Gillian or Mason to respond.
“Oh, I think that would be a fabulous idea, Alexa,” Gillian said the same time Mason snapped, “Why?”
I didn’t reply for a while as I thought out my answer. “Because, well, the other girls have learned and I think I need to know more than they do. I need to protect myself.” I stared at Mason and nodded to Gillian. “I never want to get to where I was when you found me. I don’t want to be that . . . that, hurt, no, in that much pain. I want to fight, to hurt them back. If I remember, you said I could learn.” I stood and paced. “No more hiding. I’m not a victim anymore.” Power flowed through me in that moment and I knew that I would not hide anymore.
I DODGED THE HIT MY COCKY little brother threw at me and couldn’t help my smirk as my fist connected to his cheek. Alexa was coming in today for her first self-defense class. Her therapist and my family decided it was best to do the training at the gym where she was comfortable.
“Here we all thought you’d gone soft,” Andrew taunted.
My little brother was a shit and he was good at goading people into anger. My trainer Micky, was pissed at me. He was using my brother because I didn’t like having him being a part of my training. Micky was punishing me now. He’d been training me since I was twelve and was so proud of my budding career. To say he wasn’t a fan of Alexa would be putting it mildly. He thought she had taken me too far off track. It was true that since finding Alexa, I had stopped training for a while and had only started it up again these last couple of months. I had missed one fight, and the next one was a week away. I knew I wasn’t ready for that match. I planned to do a match in just a little under three and half months.
“Focus, Mason,” yelled Micky. “This is fucking ridiculous. Andrew is kicking arse. You should have knocked him out already. Get it together. Focus!”
Either Andrew had gotten a hell of a lot better at boxing, or I really was fucking off my game. Fuck. No more junk food. I needed to get back into the game. I needed to get back to my goals. The problem was, all I could think of was Alexa. Keeping her safe. Making sure she was happy and building our life together.
The right hook was something I should have seen coming. To say it was pathetic that I didn’t was an understatement. I had trained for years and Andrew had only just started to become interested, so he shouldn’t have been able to get a hit in. It was a good hit that had me rattled and stumbling to the corner of the ring.
“Andrew, did you have to hit so hard?” The moment I heard her voice, I went down.
I AWOKE TO ALEXA’S FINGERS wiping hair from my eyes as her other hand cleaned my face with a warm cloth. “I came to watch you and I didn’t expect to see you get your butt handed to you by your little brother.”
“Bear, you weren’t supposed to be here for another half an hour,” I mumbled.
“I came to see you in action.” Her brows furrowed and I watched her lips turn down in a major frown. “I don’t like seeing you get beaten.”
“I don’t usually lose or get beaten. It’s me who usually kicks arse,” I grumbled, not happy that she’d seen me at my worst.
“How can you want to do this?” She shook her head and dropped the wash cloth.
What the hell did I tell her? That I liked to let go? That boxing had always made me feel free? Alive? It was something I was good at and I enjoyed it. The control. The energy. I’d hated school. No matter how many tutors my parents got me, I never seemed to be at the top or even the middle. I just passed. I floated along in life with everything except sports, boxing in particular. Why was I sucking at what I loved now? What was going on with me? How did I explain this to Alexa after what she just saw?
“I do this because I’m good at it. I do it because it’s freeing. I do it because I enjoy it.” Sitting up, I cupped her face and dashed away her tears. “Don’t cry, bear. What you came in on is not what happens. That was the first time I’ve been knocked out like that since I was a teen.” I pressed a kiss to her forehead.
“I don’t like you hurt Mason. I need you.” She buried her head in my shoulder and I hugged her to me.
“Bro, I kicked your arse. Ha, you do have a pussy now.” Andrew broke into the moment, being his usual pleasant self. “Yo, sis.” He tried to get Alexa’s attention. “I can totally teach you to kick arse now. You want the best and I am.” I looked up and saw Andrew strut around the ring.
“Shut the fuck up, Andrew.” My mouth opened and I stared at Alexa. She never swore. Well, unless we were making love.
I shut my mouth and my lips lifted upwards in the biggest smile I’d ever made. “Damn, I love you, woman.” In that moment I didn’t care if I wasn’t good at anything as long as I was good at being us.
CRAP, THIS SELF-DEFENSE STUFF was hard. This was my fourth lesson and I was sweating like a pig. I don’t know what I expected, but I didn’t think it would be so hard. I thought with self-defense it would be like your body kicking in to fight back and save yourself, but that wasn’t it. It was learning the best way to get away from an attacker and that meant incapacitating an attacker as much as you could before you ran, got help, and hid. You always ran after you got away. Run and hide. That had been drilled in over and over again, not that I didn’t already know that having learned it myself. I’d told Darren and Mason that I was good at running and hiding and I didn’t need to practice that stuff, just defending myself.
“One last time and then we’ll be done for the day. This time I want you to really put some anger and heft into your elbow and stomp.” I was exhausted, and realized that I really needed to exercise more, which was ironic, when you thought of it, as I spent half of my week in a gym since meeting Mason.
I glared at Darren and right then I hated him, because if I had to haul my arse off the padded mats, it would be to vomit.
“Up now, Alexa,” Darren barked. “When you’re attacked you can’t lie down and rest.”
Moaning as every muscle in my body ached, I got up and stood. The moment I stood straight, I felt the world around me tilt and everything went black.