Tempted - Chapter Eleven

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Alessandra woke to the sound of the alarm. Groaning, she reached across the bedside table to cut off the incessant beeping before rolling onto her back and rubbering her eyes. What was she doing today? Surely Jack had given her an assignment. She frowned at the smell of damp earth and the unmistakable scent of male that enclosed the bedroom. Her hands dropped away from her face and she opened her eyes as the day before came hurdling back to her.

Jason's territory. Right.

Looking at the clock, she was reminded of the day's plans and she reluctantly pushed herself up and out of bed. It was February in the Adirondack mountains, she'd have to dress warmer. Though she'd never had to don anything more that a heavy sweater as her panther kept her relatively warm in the frigid winters.

She grabbed a light blue hoodie, pulled on a pair of jeans, and tennis shoes before walking into the bathroom to assess the damage of her nightly tossing and turning. Her hair rose upward in a tangled mess of curls and she quickly brushed through them with her fingers before throwing the scarlet locks into a pony tail. She splashed water on her face and put on chapstick before returning to the room to make the bed. Satisfied with the order of things, she walked out of the bedroom, pulling the door closed behind her.

No sounds came from the rooms surrounding her own, but she could hear the rumble of male voices from the first floor. And from the sound of metal on ceramic, she'd guess the kitchen.

Hard wood groaned softly beneath her shoes as she descended the curved stairs and the kitchen slowly came into view. As she reached the bottom floor, six pairs of male eyes turned to her briefly before bring their attention back to their meal. Except Jason. He held her gaze long after the others had resumed eating and only looked away when Brian said something inaudible beside him. His face had remained stoic so it was hard to tell whether he was still angry or not. It was probably just as well, his opinion on the matter changed nothing.

For once, Chris wasn't manning the stove as she entered the brightly lit space, though he did turn to her to direct her to the food. She grabbed a plate and loaded it with eggs and bacon before sitting at the bar. Mark was already seated in one of the leather bar stools and smiled at her as she sat beside him. They remained in silence as she ate, his gaze turning inward. He seemed distracted.

“Ready to go?” he said after she had finished off her meal. She rinsed off her plate and dried her hands.

“Yea, just a sec.” She looked up briefly from the kitchen sink and caught Jason's stare though his focus was not on her. Alessandra turned her head and found Mark standing behind her, just outside the threshold of the kitchen. His stare was leveled on Jason, but broke away when she looked at him. He stepped aside to let her pass and she frowned lightly as she made her way to the stairs and up to her bedroom. Something didn't set right between Jason and Mark, she knew. But the tension between the two suddenly seemed much deeper than she had originally thought.

She brushed her teeth and went to leave the bedroom, but was brought up short by the towering man leaning on the door frame. It was Brian.

“You're playing with fire, Alessandra,” he said without preamble.

What was it with the men in this pack? “Thank you for your concern, Brian, but I think I can handle it,” she said though she wasn't exactly sure what he was referring to. The tension between Mark and Jason, or Jason alone? She tried to brush past him though his body took up the whole of the opening. After a moment, he stepped aside. She began walking down the hallway, but stopped at the heavy sigh behind her. Her body turned before she knew what had caught her attention. “What?”

“You are too headstrong for your own good, girl.” The statement rang clear, echoing through her mind. Her father used to say the same. She knew Brian from his position in her father's ranks, but didn't know how close the two had been. Perhaps more so than she thought.

She pursed her lips. Clearly Brian was more perceptive than he let on. Maybe Brian would be able to enlighten her on the tension between Jason and Mark. Alessandra looked behind her briefly before stepping towards the red-haired man.

She cleared her throat, unsure of why she wanted to know, but knew that she had to ask. “Were you and my father close?”

A shadow crossed his features only briefly before he nodded, “We were like brothers.”

Her gaze dropped from his eyes, unable to bear the pain she saw in them. So much like her own. Clearing her throat once more, she tried to change the subject, but Brian beat her to it.

“Jason is a good man, Alessandra. Your father would not put a man as his second unless he could measure up.”

Though she could understand the loyalty of Brian to her father's second, she didn't understand the point of what he was saying. “I won't blindly follow anyone, regardless of what my father thought of him.” She paused and turned to look down the hallway before bringing her focus back to Brian. There was something about the man before her that compelled her to justify her actions. Perhaps it was his love for her father that urged her to explain how she could dismiss her father's judgment. “I can't afford to give anyone that much control over me.”

He pushed off from the door frame and came to stand beside her, placing a heavy hand on her shoulder as he looked down at her. The depth she saw in the face of the man before her made her wonder just how old he was. “Your father would not put the trust of his daughter with a man that was unwise in his actions.” He must have seen the defiance flicker across her face because he continued on. “There are reasons for the way he is, Alessandra.” Brian dropped his hand from her shoulder and walked away without glancing back.

She shook her head. First Chris, now Brian. Was she really too dense to see the wisdom of Jason's actions that his men so easily followed? Sighing, she dismissed the thought in favor of enjoying her only day off and walked down the hall before descending the steps to meet Mark at the front door.

He still seemed distracted, but he smiled openly when she met him. Perhaps she was the one distracted. Without a word, he opened the front door and allowed her to step outside before he closed the door behind them. “Where to first?” she said as they made their way to the silver SUV parked beside Jason's Escalade.

“How does Starbucks sound?” he said as he stepped into the SUV. Alessandra lifted herself into the passenger seat and buckled up as Mark began backing out of the driveway.

“Starbucks sounds amazing right now,” she said and closed her eyes in mock ecstacy.

The deep baritone of Mark's laugh sounded through the cab. “You don't spend a lot of time out of New York do you?”

“Not really. My work centers there and honestly, having Starbucks at hand everyday has spoiled me.”

“I can see that,” he said and winked when she frowned in feigned offense. After a moment he said, “I'm glad you came with me. It's hard to get you alone with Jason hovering.” There it was again, Jason. Still, now didn't seem the time to bring up his own personal battles.

“Alone?” Alessandra inquired with the raise of an eyebrow.

Mark grinned, but didn't respond. At least not with words. She caught the look he sent her and she smiled in return but soon focused her attention to the treeline beyond the vehicle. Was she really ready for a relationship right now? She frowned inwardly and immediately dismissed the thought. Maybe she was ready for a relationship, but not with someone in Jason's pack. Jason had already proved to be territorial in more ways than one.

Playing with fire.

She made a sound at the thought of Brian's words and Mark glanced at her. “What?”

“Nothing, just thinking.” They rode in companionable silence for a moment before Alessandra broke the soft drone of the engine. “So is there any particular reason you're going to town today?” She paused before adding, “Besides finding a reason to spend time with me.”

He laughed softly at her teasing. “I need to meet with someone.” She waited for him to add further explanation, but when he didn't, she let the matter go. It wasn't really any of her business.

They continued the thirty minute drive in relative silence, exchanging remarks about the weather and the various trials of living deep in the mountains. Soon, though, Alessandra found herself in the parking lot of the familiar building. She exited the SUV and walked up to the pristine glass of the entry door as Mark held it open. Even before she crossed the threshold of the establishment, the smell of pastries, coffee, sugar, and cream assaulted her in a wave of divine addiction.

She hadn't realized how much she missed home until the familiar smells of the building brought her back to her smog-filled Manhattan mornings. Though the clean air and freedom of the mountains sang to her senses, she had become all too accostumed to the comfortable traffic of New York and her sense of independence. Ironically, it was the tight-knit streets that gave her freedom.

She waited in line as the steady thrum of body heat settled behind her in the form of Mark. It would be too easy to give into the light-hearted, charming man that allowed her the freedom she so desperately needed. But not here. Not with Jason, and definitely not while she was supposed to be solving a case. She smiled to herself at the last thought as she recognized the hypocrisy of her own thoughts while standing in line at Starbucks.

“Venti mocha frappuccino, no whip,” she said as the petite, dark haired woman readied herself to take her order.

“Will there be anything else for you ma'am?”

Alessandra looked behind her inquiringly, but Mark simply shook his head. “That's it.” She reached to take out the wallet from her back pocket, but Mark reached around her and handed the woman his debit card. Surprised, Alessandra could only manage a smile and 'thank you' as they stepped aside to let the other people give their orders.

After receiving the icy drink, she took a seat at one of the tables as Mark settled across from her. She moaned softly as she took the first sip.

“I guess it's good, huh?” Mark said and grinned when she simply nodded.

“Sorry, I hadn't realized how much I missed coffee.” Or the familiar aroma of home, she thought silently to herself.

“You've only been here a day.”

“Hey, a girl has needs.”

Mark raised his eyebrows at the remark, indicating what he thought of her 'needs', and turned to look out of the nearby window to the light traffic beyond the glass.

He continued to scan the room and look out of the window as she finished her drink before she finally decided to broach the subject. She was getting tired of guessing games. “So what's going on between you and Jason?”

Mark brought his attention back to her, a light frown creasing his brows as if he didn't understand the question. But it was only a moment before he relaxed the expression and leaned forward on the table with his forearms. “Old arguments, power struggles, mind games. What isn't going on between us?”

“Sorry, but I don't understand any of that. Old arguments? And why would you two be in a power struggle?”

He sighed, but gave her a lopsided grin. “Don't worry about it, Aless.” He scanned the room once more before returning his focus to her. “Ready?”

How many times had someone told her to not worry about it? To leave it alone? To let more qualified people handle the job? Still, she didn't know Mark well enough to push him and perhaps he didn't feel comfortable enough to share his personal battles with her.

She nodded at the inquiry and took one last sip from the empty cup. She stood up and threw the plastic in the garbage before turning to leave, Mark following behind her. She smiled to herself as she led the way out of the building. At least with this man, she wasn't the one following behind.