The Mate Challenge

9

“Mason, stop it. Not everything is about sex.” Mostly. Okay, she lied. When it came to him she thought about s*x a lot.

“Right, Emma. So what do I owe the pleasure of your call?” The music got louder in the back ground. “Or are you calling to finally tell me you’re ready to be mine?”

Asshole. Every conversation they had he had to bring up their ‘impending’ mating. “Are you ready to stop thinking I’m a little kid that needs a keeper?”

He growled. “I guess you didn’t call for that.”

“Nope. I just had a quick question. What do you know about Aria Valderi?”

“Emma, whatever you’re thinking don’t do it.”

Too late. “Geez, I’m only asking what you know.”

Daylight slowly faded and she was losing precious moments of talking to Aria to find out what she knew about Maria.

“I don’t know anything about her, yet. But I know she’s got an entourage the size of Alaska and they don’t like anyone asking questions. If you want information on her, I’ll ask around for you.”

She grinned, her heart growing just a little bigger for him. It was times like those that she loved the annoying wolf. “Thank you.”

“I have to go,” he said, a loud commotions sounding near him. “I’ll come see you later with whatever I can gather.”

“Later, mutt.”

“Later, sexy brat.”

She sighed, the grin on her face not going anywhere. Mason knew just what to say to bring out the soft side in her. But she still needed answers and only God knew where Maria could be. Lael said Aria would know and she’d do anything to help that poor family find their missing daughter.

The walk up the hill to the back of the mansion wasn’t bad. She’d done it a bunch of times as a kid when she’d played with her brother in the area. They’d been independent children from a young age. When you came from a military family, you learned to go off and make your own fun because it was hard having friends. Constant moving ensured that Emma and her brother spent all their time together.

She glanced down at her hiking boots and scrunched her nose in distaste. The ground was muddy due to the rain from the prior evening. She hated getting her shoes dirty, but there was no going around it. She picked up a stick and climbed up the back of the hill, looking for the lower wall she used to climb as a kid.

Back then, the owners were never home so she and Joey used to go over the fence all the time. Their house wasn’t far from the hill so it gave them something to do since they weren’t going to stay long enough to make friends. They hadn’t either. Once Emma left home for college, it was then she decided to go back to Blue Creek. She’d loved the peace and quiet of the town and chose to make it her new home.

She made it to the top of the hill without having to stop more than a few times. She’d slowed down on her hikes and was now paying the price. Most people thought that because she was a big girl, she did nothing but sit on her ass all day and teach. The truth was, she loved walking the outdoors, swimming and even did her Just Dance on her Wii when nobody was around. She didn’t need to spend hours in a gym to get a workout and a lot of people didn’t understand that. Except her friends. They all knew what it was like to be a plus sized woman since they were big girls too.

The old gate was hidden behind a bunch of bushes that faced the back part of the mansion. She knew that she was trespassing as she climbed over the gate only to fall and land on her ass with a thump.

There were no lights at that side of the mansion and she noticed a group of people had left minutes before, the noise lowering as they moved away.

Where should she go? She knew the master suite was located on the left side of the mansion in a section that was about the size of her house. With Aria being the main person in the mansion, she figured those would be her rooms.

She’d downloaded a floor plan of the mansion before she left her house and studied it a while. Glancing around in the growing darkness, she made sure she didn’t see any moving bodies before rushing to the side of the house. She was almost positive Aria would be on that side. Sweat gathered in her palms. She wiped them on the back of her pants and hurried to the sliding glass door that was slightly ajar, which belonged to the master suite.

She could only hope the woman wouldn’t freak over her showing up unannounced, but she’d seen the guard and she knew that it was going to be hard for her to get anyone to let her in, much less to speak to Aria unless she went in inconspicuously.

She stepped into the room without making any noise. Then, a flash of movement and she was dragged through the air, until her back hit a wall. Air rushed out of her lungs as she tried to catch her breath. She blinked and found herself staring into deep violet eyes.