جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 10

Through the floor-to-ceiling windows, I looked toward the spot that had held his attention moments earlier.Sadie sat at the desk outside his office, arranging a bouquet of pink roses.Once, Mason had looked at me that way—with such complete concentration that it seemed no one else existed.We had spent four years at the same university. He had pursued me for three of them.I once asked what he liked about me.He grinned, incapable of hiding a single thought. “You’re beautiful. No one’s more beautiful than you.”I hadn’t liked that answer, but the sincerity in his eyes had moved me anyway.I didn’t say yes immediately. He never rushed me.No matter how brutal Chicago’s winters became, he brought breakfast to my dorm every morning. When he learned that my periods were painful, he waited downstairs with a hot-water bottle and hot chocolate.Once, I paused a little too long in front of a necklace in a store window. He took every part-time job he could find near campus until he had saved e

I stood outside Mason’s office for a moment before entering.Not because I was reluctant to leave him.I was trying to decide how to make sure he signed.As one of Ashridge’s founders, I had planning clearance covering trade routes, boundary maps, and defensive installations.Back in New York, I would be working with my family’s territorial affairs.I needed a clear resignation record establishing the exact date I stopped participating in Ashridge’s internal decisions. I would not let anyone use my former access to entangle me later.As for Mason and me, we had no exchanged marks and no mate bond.I didn’t need permission to leave him.When I opened the door, I saw Sadie first.She wasn’t at her assistant’s desk outside. She sat beside Mason’s desk, so close that her knees nearly touched his.“Mason.”Smiling, she reached over and lightly patted his head.He didn’t even frown.“Behave. Let me finish reading this agreement.”“I am behaving.”Sadie looked at me, satisfaction flickering i

**However badly you want a mating ceremony, you can’t force him.****Did you think getting yourself a dress would make him mark you?****Mason promised me a long time ago that I was the only one he’d choose. Stop lying to yourself.**After parking, I read Sadie’s messages and felt nothing but exhaustion.I drove around Chicago for hours.Past the old streets near campus.Past the first row of houses we had built in Ashridge.Past the woods outside the city where we used to run together.Autumn wind poured through the half-open window, cold enough to cut through my clothes.Soon, I wouldn’t be coming back.When I finally arrived home late that night, the living room lights were on.Mason sat on the couch.He stood when he saw me.“Why so late?”“I went for a drive.”He nodded and reached to embrace me.I stepped back instinctively.His hands stopped in the air.“Still angry?”I said nothing.“I was too harsh this afternoon.” His gaze searched my face. “If you don’t want to be planning d

“The Sterlings have unbelievable resources,” Brooke said. “The assistance we’ve been waiting for is probably a minor allocation in their alliance fund. Apparently, the family put Alexander in charge of Aster in the first place.”New York.The Sterling family.Alexander.The alliance fund.Everything fit.“Audrey? Are you still there?”“Yes.”I pressed my lips together.“I’ll pass the message on to Mason.”“Wonderful. And when exactly is your ceremony? I expect a proper invitation. A last-minute text doesn’t count.”I smiled faintly.“Next week too. Don’t worry. You’ll get one.”A few days earlier, my mother had asked which friends I wanted to invite.I had given her Brooke’s name.The Sterlings would handle the rest.After hanging up, I sent Mason a message through the pain.No reply.I called again.This time, he answered.“Why do you keep calling? What do you want?”His coldness startled me.So he had seen the missed calls.I held a hand against my stomach.“Where are you? Brooke say

Irritation rose inside Mason, sharp and immediate.Yet somehow, it was directed at Audrey, who wasn’t even there.Sadie had been frightened badly enough that she couldn’t sleep alone. Why did Audrey still have to turn everything into a question of who was spending time with whom? Why couldn’t she understand that some situations required patience instead of another argument?Perhaps people who had grown up protected and comfortable simply found it harder to understand what fear did to someone.He rubbed Sadie’s hair.“Don’t overthink it. If she’s upset, that’s between the two of us. Audrey can be impatient sometimes, but she isn’t a bad person. I’ll explain everything when I see her.”Sadie lifted her face.“Does she treat you like this often?”“No.”That, at least, was the truth. Audrey rarely demanded anything from him. Until recently, she had usually been the person smoothing over problems before he even knew they existed.“I probably haven’t spent enough time with her lately,” he ad