All's Fair in Love and Mastery (Masters Unleashed 5)

Echo had a haunting, melodic voice that filled the space under the trees, turning it into something enchanting, despite the wet and the cold. For a few minutes, Dex forgot all about where they were or that she was uncomfortable, focused on the images Echo’s lyrics wove.

The song’s final note, sweet and pure, hung in the air for a long, magical time, bringing tears to Dex’s eyes. As it faded away to the patter of rain around them and the slow hiss and rustle of leaves in the easing breeze, a calmness stole over Dex.

No more holding back with Grant.

Why had she fought him so hard on the collaring issue? She knew that he was nothing like Nigel—she’d known that all along. Holding him at arm’s length out of principle had been ridiculous, as though he couldn’t hurt her just because she wasn’t collared. All of the fighting they’d done over the past year had hurt worse than what Nigel had done to her—especially because she’d known she was doing it to herself. The truth was, she cared more about Grant than she ever had about Nigel. The puppy love she’d had with her ex wasn’t the same as the deep connection she felt with Grant. He’d never deserved to be painted with the same brush, and now that she looked back on things, it was obvious that all she’d done was waste time they could have been happy together.

She’d been punishing Grant for another man’s shortcomings—scared enough to push him away because he had a history of liking women.

Groaning, Dex rubbed a cold, damp hand over her tired eyes.

“What’s the matter?” Echo asked. “Was it that bad?”

“No, no. It was that good, actually. It cleared up a decision I’d been balking about for the last few months.”

Echo whistled. “That’s the ultimate compliment you can give a love song—that it spoke to you.”

“I—”

There was a loud thump and the bushes to their left started to shake violently.

Echo jumped to her feet and yanked Dex up beside her. Panic scrambled Dex’s thoughts as she tried to remember what to do in case of a bear attack. Cold dread filled her already icy veins. If they died here . . .

The bushes rustled again, and Echo backed away pulling Dex along in a death grip. Dex’s heart fluttered wildly, and her breath caught somewhere between out and in.

“It’s probably nothing,” Dex lied, sounding as terrified as she felt.

A shadow—large, ominous, panting—slid from the shadows, prowling toward them. There was a flash of white teeth. It was impossibly tall—taller than any beast had a right to be. A bear.

Like something out of a horror movie, Echo lurched backward, tripping over a tree root in the process, dragging Dex down.

Instinctively, Dex curled into a ball on the wet ground, wet leaf mold strong in her nose, the taste of copper in her mouth.

Fuck. She’d bitten her tongue. Could bears smell blood?

“Curl up and cover the back of your neck!” she barked at Echo.

She didn’t have time to check on her friend before the thing was upon them.

Chapter Nineteen

She was safe!

Relief flooded through Grant so hard and fast that his knees buckled. He crawled the last few feet to the small figure curled on the ground. She lashed out with a foot straight at his face, screaming like a finalist in a karate tournament.

Grant deflected the kick just before she connected, then grabbed her ankle before she could try again.

“Arabella, it’s me!” Belatedly, he remembered his flashlight and flicked it on.

“Why the fuck didn’t you have your flashlight on the whole time?” Arabella shouted, uncoiling and sitting up enough to smack him in the arm and shoulder a few times. “You scared the fucking shit out of us!”

“Sorry,” he mumbled into her hair after he dragged her into his arms. It was hard to hug her while she was wearing a bulky life jacket, but it was smart of her to keep it on for the extra warmth. “We were looking for a light or a campfire. Easier to do when our flashlights were off or aimed low.” She kissed him hard on the mouth and he kissed her back, his eyes stinging. He’d put a brave face on for Luc and Tarka, but he’d been fucking terrified that something had happened to her.

Visions of the two women drowning had plagued him during the entire search. They’d investigated the areas Grant thought Arabella would be most likely to go, but it had been complete luck that the spotlight’s beam had fallen on the beached canoe.

“Why did you come out in this storm?” she admonished as she broke their kiss. “Someone could have gotten hurt! We would have been fine until things let up tomorrow.”

He frowned at her and swatted her ass. “We couldn’t know that you were fine since someone didn’t bother take a walkie with her, or even a SPOT Trace.”