ONE
MASON
“Where the fuck am I?” Mason grumbled to himself as he turned down yet another winding road.
The last hour was one curving and twisting dirt road after the other with no end in sight. There weren’t even any road signs to let him know if he was on the right path or not. There were never breaks in the thick line of trees, and the cell phone reception was spotty at best. He couldn’t get a signal long enough to screenshot the directions he needed, let alone long enough to make a call.
It was annoying as hell that the GPS on his phone kept bugging out, a sure sign he was pretty damn far from civilization.
It made sense that Half Moon Key would be out in the middle of literally nowhere. Why else would his brother have chosen to move out here?
It also made sense for Mason’s own purposes, but he didn’t want to think about that just then. He had to focus on finding the elusive Half Moon Key, and then everything would be fine.
He had to believe that was true.
Mason cursed under his breath and looked down at his phone’s screen. It was trying to recalculate for the millionth time while trying to latch onto any small cell signal. It was probably useless because soon, the device would be out of battery.
He wasn’t the kind of man to panic or sweat the small stuff, but it was late. He was hungry and tired and seriously reconsidering his wholesurprise my big brotherplan … all the while keeping a pretty big fucking secret.
You could just come clean, his wolf pointed out.
Mason snorted and shook his head. That wasn’t going to happen. Ever. His secret would die with him.
Mason parked his car on the side of the road … which meant half of the car was hidden by thick underbrush and trees … and he hopped out. He walked around with his phone pointed toward the sky.
“Come on, you dumb piece of crap. Gimme something to work with.”
“You can’t park there,” a sweet voice called out.
Mason turned in shock. He was so engrossed in his signal that he hadn’t even picked up on the fact that someone was watching him. He couldn’t be mad about the sneaking stranger, though. Not when he saw who was standing there.
Whoever she was, she was, without a doubt, the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.
His jaw dropped to the ground, and his eyes might as well have popped out of his head with heart signs. There, in the moonlight, was a vision of pure beauty. He cleared his throat and grinned at her, gesturing to his phone. “I know. I’m a bit lost.”
The woman arched a thin, delicate eyebrow at him. “Those don’t work out here. Too much interference from the trees and nature. There are all kinds of interferences. Not many electronics work the way they should.”
“That’s convenient,” he said under his breath, more to himself than to her.
“What are you looking for?” the stranger asked. She didn’t move but kept a fair amount of distance between them.
Mason contemplated replying with a slyyou, but he had a feeling the stranger wouldn’t go for it. The moonlight was hitting the top of her head, casting blue and silver hues on her long black hair. She looked like a woodland fairy or something mythical. That would explain the sheer beauty of her heart-shaped face.
Even in the darkness, he could see her skin was smooth and tanned. Her curvy legs were molded with a pair of pink leggings, while the top half of her was hidden under a long, baggy black sweatshirt with a massive half-moon printed on it. It read Moony’s Cafe, leaving very little doubt that this was probably a spot in Half Moon Key. That had to mean he was pretty close, didn’t it?
“Hello?” the woman called out, waving her hand in annoyance. “Are you in some kind of distress?”
“What? No. Why would you ask that?”
“Because you’re just standing there staring at me,” she replied, moving the large wicker basket she was holding from one hand to the other as if it were heavy.
Mason took a few steps forward. “Let me help you with that,” he said.
She pulled the basket away and stepped backward. “Are you insane? I don’t know who you are or what the hell you’re doing here. You think I’m just gonna hand over my property?”
Mason chuckled. “Fair point. Not very trusting, are you?” he asked.
“Why in the hell would I trust a stranger in the woods? There are plenty enough cautionary tales about that. You could be the big bad wolf.”