Page 56 of Bear
I disarm the alarm and pull the door open, and the noise that comes out of my throat is a raspy growl. “What do you want?”
“Little Valentine, is that any way to greet esteemed alumni? Surely not.”
My blood boils at his attempt to make me feel inferior. “It’salumnus, you dick. There’s only one of you. Thankfuck.”My teeth bite into my lip to keep me from saying worse.
He chuckles with an uncaring shrug. “Youwouldworry about trivial things like Latin grammar. You’ll learn soon enough that there’s far more important shit to concern yourself with.”
I roll my eyes.What the fuck is this this jerkwad up to? And how fast can I get rid of him?
“We have something to discuss.” There’s a certain glint in his eye that tells me trouble has officially arrived on our doorstep… and not the kind of trouble that Lennon supposedly was. Far, far worse.
I’ve only opened the door far enough to talk to him, having put my body in the open gap between the door and the frame. I refuse to let this asshole inside when Mason could come down at any moment. My jaw clenches, the need to shield my friend from his brother surging through me. Mason has never fully admitted it, but this abhorrent excuse for a human and his father have contributed to so many of Mason’s issues. “So talk, Hunter.” I treat him to a patented Valentine look of boredom that suggests without speaking that he should say whatever the fuck he needs to so I can carry on with my life.
He slides an amused look at me before his gaze wanders over my shoulder, and for one heart-stopping moment, I think Mason has come downstairs at the most inopportune time ever. But when I glance behind me, there’s no one there.
“My brother home?” His brows raise on his forehead. It’s uncanny how much the two brothers are alike, yet still so fucking different. They have the same sharp cheekbones, the same dark eyes. His hair is a little lighter than Mase’s… and he’s bigger, bulkier, but his muscles haven’t ever been as well-defined as his brother’s. He’s always relied on his size to intimidate. “Duke? Cat got your tongue?”
My eyes zero in on his thin lips, and I work my jaw to the side. “He’s doing some art thing.” I’m sure as fuck not telling him that the “thing” he’s doing is upstairs in the attic. Hunter doesn’t get to be privy to any of that. In fact, he’d have to claw it out of my head before he got any information about Mase at all. I’ll be damned if I’ll let fucking Hunter mess with him. Sure, Mase is a grown man now, but there’s nothing quite like being confronted with someone you grew up being antagonized by to make you feel small again. Vulnerable. I stare at the asshole who is at least partially to blame for some of my friend’s ongoing mental health issues and can’t find a reason to say another damn thing. “I’m going to ask you one more fucking time. What do you want, Hunter?”
His mouth hikes into a half-smile as he pulls an envelope from behind his back. He holds it out to me. “Your dad and Derek sent me to deliver this personally.”
My eyes dart from his sneering expression to the white envelope.
“It’s the list of lovely ladies for your auction Saturday night. The OG Bastards thought you should have a heads-up. There were two last-minute additions after their recent meeting.”
“You mean their poker game?” I’ve always had an inkling that their poker nights are more than a fun evening with the guys. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be so fucking exclusive about it. Or so secretive. My forehead pinches as I frown.
His head bobs, and I could swear he’s trying to hold himself back. “Yeah.That.The poker game. See you Saturday. Tell my brother I can’t fucking wait to hang out with him so we can talk.” He gives me a wink, his eyes twinkling mischievously. “I feel like it’s been forever.”
That’d be because he avoids you like the goddamn plague. My chest tightens down on my lungs, and I hold my breath as the motherfucker practically skips down the stairs.
As he gets to the bottom of the steps, he spins around on his heel. “I’m very interested to hear what you think of the ladies that will be going up on the auction block. All are guaranteed to be there. Hopefully, you’ll help us out with Lennon. She seems like one hell of a wildcat.”
My entire body goes rigid. “What the fuck,” I grind out to no one in particular because he’s already in his fucking asshole Tesla getting on with his asshole life.
Fury whips through me as I open the envelope with shaking hands.
I scan the paper, my eyes immediately drawn to the bottom, where there are actually two names that put me into a confused tailspin.
Lennon Bell - Bainbridge Hall
Elliot Ashford - Hawthorne Hall
TWENTY-SIX
LENNON
My heart doesthis weird fluttery thing in my chest. Mase is a rather poetic soul, so I don’t know why his words up in the attic have sent me spinning.
That’s a lie. Deep down, Idoknow why. It’s because I’m not used to hearing anyone talk about me the way he did. I’ve always thought we shared something unique, that the dark moments that shaped us made us understand each other. But to hear him verbalize the way he sees me? It’d damn near been my undoing. And then to have him say the gorgeous, beautiful work he’d created could never compare to the real thing?Hard swoon.For me, it was one of those defining moments in our relationship, and I’ll keep those words locked away inside me forever, holding onto them should I ever lose my way.
All that tenderness from Mason had me riding a wave of happiness, especially because he himself seems to be in a much more stable frame of mind than he had been. I let out a sigh of relief as my eyes lock on him where he’s hanging out on the balcony. I was hoping maybe he’d go downstairs and join in on some of the antics by the pool, but he seems content to observe from up here for now.
And me, I’ve gotta finish this psych assignment that he’d interrupted earlier. It’s due tomorrow, and it shouldn’t be taking me so long, but I’ve been distracted. I doubt my professor would accept the excuse that I experienced a toe-curling orgasm that’d been so good I couldn’t stop thinking about it and therefore had not completed my homework. Not happening. Gotta focus. But god, it’d been good.So good.
The slam of the heavy front door has my body jerking in place. I spring from the sprawled-out position on my stomach in front of my textbook to my knees in the time it takes Duke to suck in a breath and shout from the foyer.
“Bear! Mason!” The sharp bite of his words leaves no room for argument.
