Meant for Me (A Second Chance standalone) (10 page)

Secretly, I watched Mason and Tyler spar for a few minutes
while I was hidden behind the door. I wanted to observe Mason, to see what kind
of fighter he was. It was amazing to see him move, and the way the muscles
worked in his body. He had just lifted off his shirt, showing all of his
muscles, including the eagle tattoo on his shoulder and bicep. Back when my
brother was married to Melissa they always had a huge annual pool party once
every summer. It was the first summer I took notice of Mason, and I suspect the
first time he ever paid attention to me.

After everyone had left, he was still sitting by the pool
with his shirt off, drinking a beer. I was curious as to why he chose to get an
eagle tattoo, and when he explained the reason to me I knew there was a much
deeper side to him then what he let on. He may have been drunk, but what came
out of his mouth came from his heart.

He told me the eagle stood for honor, strength, and courage.
When his mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer he said for the first time
he felt alone and scared. He told me the one thing she loved most was her
music, and each time she would be sad or in pain he would play her favorite
song, “Wind Beneath my Wings” by Bette Midler.

He needed strength to get through her death, and the courage
to let her go. She was all he had left other than Melissa. After joining the
police force he knew what it felt like to honor the badge and to fight for what
was right. The eagle stood for all of that as well. I wasn’t too sure if he remembered
telling me the story, but every time I saw his eagle it reminded me of the pain
he felt. After we talked that night, I watched him from the guest room in my
brother and Melissa’s house; he was just sitting by the pool, staring at the
water. I cried for him, knowing very well he wouldn’t give in to it. I cried
for us both.

Remembering all of that emotion, it gave me an idea. My
ability to dance came from inside me and in the way I felt. Mason’s story was
inside my heart, and I was going to dance it.

The back room where Stephen let me dance was a quarter of
the size of the main room that the guys were in. The flooring was like one huge
mat that flexed underneath my feet when I walked on it. It was similar to the
flooring a gymnast would use, and it definitely helped when I needed air for my
jumps. The wall in front of me was nothing but a huge set of mirrors just like
a dance studio.
I guess Stephen never found another use for the room.

In thinking up a routine, I always put together the steps
and then picked out the music last. I liked the room to be silent when I came
up with my dances. I never knew of another dancer who did it that way. Most of
them listened to the music and then came up with the steps … I danced to the
music in my heart. However, this dance came from Mason’s.

Time must have slipped by because one minute I was dancing
my heart out and the next Mason appeared in the doorway, his gaze alit in
wonder. I didn’t realize how tired my muscles were until I stopped to catch my
breath.

“How long have you been standing there?” I asked
breathlessly, resting my hands on my knees.

“Long enough to see how beautiful you are when you dance.
The look on your face was something I’ve never seen before.”

He handed me the hand towel that was in his hand and I used
it to wipe the sweat away from my forehead. “Thank you. Dancing was the only
way I could express myself other than words.”

Mason cupped my face and gently kissed my lips. He tasted a
little salty, but I was sure I did too from all the sweat. Taking a nice hot
soak in the tub would do my muscles good.

“Come on, baby, let’s go. You’ve been in here for two and a
half hours.”

He put his arm around me and led me out through the gym
where Tyler and Stephen were putting up equipment. “So how’d the dancing go?”
Tyler asked. “Did you come up with something good? You know Jake is going to
have a full house of people paying to come watch you.”

Exasperated, I threw my hands in the air. “Not helping, Ty.
Thanks for the loaded pressure.”

Tyler grinned mischievously. “Any time, kitten.”

Rolling my eyes, I smiled sweetly up at Mason and said very
loudly, “Make sure you kick his ass hard tomorrow night in the fight… in front
of everyone!”

Mason guffawed and so did Tyler.

“Will do, baby,” Mason promised. “You have my word.”

We said our good-byes and headed on our way. It was seven
o’clock at night and I was starving, but I knew Mason wanted to drive by the
sites where the dead bodies were found. It didn’t take long to get there
considering the areas were only a few miles north from the gym.

“Are we just driving by, or are we getting out to look?” I
asked warily. The area we were in was kind of run down and I didn’t have a good
feeling about it. Soon, it would be getting dark and it definitely wasn’t the
place I wanted to be in at night.

Thankfully, Mason shook his head and said, “No, we’re not
getting out. This is the last place I’d want you walking the streets. I just
want to drive around and get a look at the surroundings. I don’t plan on
stopping the car.”

There wasn’t much to see except dilapidated housing,
warehouses, and run down stores that looked like they hadn’t had business in a
very long time. Most of the larger places were restricted with barbwire fences
and no trespassing signs.
I wonder if the police had investigated those
places.

Mason was on full alert, scanning everything as we drove by
with his brows furrowed. I didn’t want to break his concentration, but I had to
inquire, “Have the police looked through all these warehouses around here for
clues? There has to be something they missed.”

Mason sighed, and kept his eyes on the road. “According to
the information Ryan gave me, they did a walkthrough of all these places, but
couldn’t find anything. Someone has to slip up somewhere and leave some kind of
trail. This shit can’t happen and there not be some kind of evidence.”

After another thirty minutes, the sky started to darken and
Mason knew we needed to get away from there. I could see the turmoil and
sadness in his gaze and I could feel it pouring out of him. He reached over and
grabbed my hand, intertwining his fingers with mine as we rode the rest of the
way back to the Bellagio.

“I tell you what,” I started softly, “since we’re both
sweaty and nasty, how about we order in room service, take a shower, and then relax
for the rest of the night? You have a busy night tomorrow.”

He lifted our linked hands and kissed my knuckles before
smiling over at me. “All of that sounds good, baby. We’ll do whatever you want
to do. I just need to stop by the front desk and see if Ryan left me the
trackers before we head up to the room.”

“Okay.”

Mason stopped by the front desk as soon as we got in and was
handed a small, brown envelope. By the time we got up to the room and ordered
our food, Mason busied himself with reading over the file and putting one of
the trackers in his watch. He had probably read over those papers a million
times, but knowing how determined he was, he most likely felt he hadn’t done
enough. There was one thing about Mason I had noticed over the years; he put
too much pressure on himself.

My stomach was crampy and screaming at me by the time our
food finally came, and the smell only made it worse; it smelled heavenly. Mason
was still concentrating on putting the tracker in his watch when I set our food
down on the table. I took the plate of his filet mignon, baked potato, and
steamed broccoli and set it beside him, kissing him on the cheek, before I got
my plate and sat in front of the crescent shaped window to watch the fountain
show.

I had ordered my favorite on the menu: parmesan crusted
chicken, asparagus with lemon butter, and the truffle mashed potatoes. Back
when I stayed here a long time ago, if I wasn’t eating dinner with Jake at his
house or with the guys, I would always order the chicken and follow it up with
a chocolate pastry from the café. I don’t know how long I sat there watching
the fountain when Mason came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my
shoulders.

“You’ve been staring at that fountain for an hour, baby.
Let’s go take a shower and go to bed. I know we’re both exhausted,” he murmured
in my ear.

It was true; I was tired and I could barely keep my eyes
open. “What happened to showing me how much you love me?” I teased. “Since I
showed you last night how much I loved you it’s your turn now.”

He picked me up in his arms and carried me to the bathroom,
smiling. “And I still plan on it,” he claimed wholeheartedly. “I plan on
showing you every day for as long as you let me.”

When he set me down in the bathroom, the whole room was
dimmed with candles around a tub full of bubbles. “You did this for me?” I
cried. I had no clue he’d even got up from the desk, much less run me a bath.

Slowly, he lifted my shirt and unhooked my bra before
lowering my shorts and underwear to the floor. He then took off his shirt and
shorts and carried me over to the tub, setting me down into the hot, bubbly
water.

“I did it for us, baby. Tonight I’m going to take care of
you in another way.”

He climbed in the tub so he could face me and massaged my
feet, legs, arms, and then my back when he sidled in behind me. After he washed
my hair and my body I did the same for him, letting my hands gently caress his
skin as I cleaned him with the soap. The night wasn’t about sex or anything
like that, it was sensual and caring. It was a side to Mason I hadn’t seen yet,
but it was one I thoroughly enjoyed. I loved that he could touch me in more
ways than one. On one hand he could be passionate and aggressive with his love
making, and on the other he could be sweet and gentle.

Once we were finished cleaning up, Mason dried me off and
slipped one of my T-shirts over my head before grabbing a pair of boxers. Sleep
came easily for us both and I welcomed it with open arms. However, my dreams
didn’t embrace me … they frightened me.

It was three o’clock in the morning and the sound of
Claire’s scream jerked me awake. She thrashed and kicked her legs hard, letting
out tiny whimpers as she fought to get out of the sheets that tangled around
her body. I flipped on the switch to the lamp beside the bed, and as soon as I
did that Claire finally woke from her nightmare. Sweaty and breathing hard, the
moment she saw me she jumped in my arms.

“I had the worst nightmare,” she cried, digging her nails in
my back to hold me tighter.

Wiping the hair away from her face, I rubbed her back and
murmured soothingly, “Shh … it’s okay, Claire. I’m here. Nothing’s going to
happen to you.”

She laid her head against my chest and I could feel her warm
tears falling down my bare skin. “It was terrible,” she whispered. “I watched
them dump you out on the street. You were beaten and bloody, but still alive …
barely. They took me away from you.”

“I promise that’s not going to happen, baby. No one is ever
going to take you away from me,” I uttered gently.
I wasn’t going to let
them.
First thing in the morning I was going to put one of the trackers in
one of her bras so I would always know where she was at. I held her until her
eyes grew heavy with sleep, and eventually I gave in to it as well. The rest of
the night went by in a flash until morning came, signaling it was the beginning
to Friday, and also the day of my first return fight as Mason “The Eagle”
Bradley.

In the morning, I slipped one of the tracker devices inside
the padding of one of Claire’s bras. Even though she had other ones with her, I
needed to make sure she wore the one I chose more. It was also my favorite one
of hers.
Surely, she wouldn’t notice I deliberately put the tracker in the
sexy, black Victoria’s Secret one, now would she?
She would get a kick out
of that.

When Claire woke up, she didn’t talk about her nightmare. In
fact, I was beginning to think she didn’t remember having the dream. “What are
you doing with my bra?” she asked quizzically.

Peering over at her, I grinned and said, “I put the tracker
in it so if anything happens you’ll be located. I just want to make sure I know
where to find you.”

Yawning, she stretched her arms wide and muttered, “I
understand. It’s perfectly fine. I hate to think what would have happened if
you didn’t have one on Melissa when my brother took her.”

I didn’t want to think what could’ve happened to her either
if I didn’t know where she was headed. I was going to ask Claire about her
nightmare, but then my phone rang, interrupting me. It was Melissa.

“Hey,” I answered.

“Hey, yourself,” she remarked, sounding a little agitated.
“Did you forget to call me or something? I’ve been worried about you and
Claire. How are you doing? Did you two work things out?”

Claire walked over to me and smiled, so I put the phone on
speaker so she could talk to Melissa, too. “Yes, we’re doing fine, aren’t we
Claire?”

Claire snickered and said into the phone, “We didn’t at
first, but I think he’s grown on me just a bit.”

Melissa chuckled. “Well, that’s good news at least. I just
wanted to make sure you both were safe. Do you know when you’re coming home,
Claire?”

Claire furrowed her brows and glanced at me for an answer,
but I had no clue either on how long we were going to stay away. “I’m not
sure,” Claire replied. “Mason kind of needs me right now. Is everything okay
with the vineyards?”

“Of course everything’s all right. Brett and Cooper have
been helping a lot with making sure your house is secure and that everything is
running smoothly at the winery.”

Rolling my eyes, I scoffed at the phone and Melissa snapped
at me, “Hey, don’t be like that, Mase. Cooper wanted to help out and I think
it’s sweet of him to do that after Claire let him go. He’s also a friend of
Brett’s as well. Don’t worry, though, I’m sure you’ll never see him again since
you never visit us out in California anyway.”

Claire’s eyes crinkled in the corners when she smiled. “So
are you going to tell her or should I?”

“Tell me what?” Melissa squealed excitedly.

“I’m going to be staying out in California for a while,” I
confessed, “with Claire.”

Melissa screamed into the phone, “Oh my goodness, that’s
amazing news! How long will you be staying?”

I winked over at Claire, making her cheeks blush crimson.
“For as long as she’ll have me,” I muttered wholeheartedly.

Melissa shrieked a little more, going on and on about how
I’d love California and whatnot. I grew up in North Carolina and lived there
all my life so it would be a significant change living on one coast and then
moving all the way across the states to another. That was if I made it out of
my mission alive.

Night had come and the club was packed; the line wrapping
around the building like before. Claire dressed herself in a skin tight black
dress that plunged low in the front and also low in the back, revealing the
whole expanse of her skin to the top of her ass. She shuddered when I put my
arm around her waist and placed my hand on the small of her bare back. Tyler
wasn’t at the door, but we were recognized immediately and allowed to pass
right on by.

“They’re all waiting for you in the arena,” the guy at the
door called out.

I nodded to him once and took Claire’s hand, leading her to
the right wing of the club. “I wonder how many people will be here to watch the
fights,” I murmured.

Claire shrugged. “I’m not sure, but I guess we’re about to
find out.”

The door to the arena room was open, and the moment we
stepped in she gasped and I stared, wide-eyed at all the people. “Holy shit,” I
breathed in awe. “It’s packed.”

Every single chair around the cage was occupied and there
were people standing around everywhere. There were two guys already in the cage
battling it out, except they looked to be part of the Lightweight division.
When I fought several years ago, I was competing for the Heavyweight title. If
they did fights in order of division then I would be going up there last.

“Hey, guys,” Tyler exclaimed, carrying a beer in his hands.

Disapprovingly, I glared at the beer and then back up to
him. “You should know better than to get drunk before a fight. It makes you
sloppy,” I scolded him. I really didn’t care either way what he did, but I knew
better than to drink when I had to compete.

Tyler chugged his beer and threw his cup in the trash a
little too roughly. “I do know better than to drink when I have to fight, but
unfortunately, I’m not fighting tonight,” he announced.

“Wait, what?” Claire cut in. “What do you mean you’re not
fighting? If you’re not the one fighting Mason then who is?”

Tyler glanced around the room with narrowed eyes until he
found the person Mason was to fight and pointed to him. “That’s the guy over
there with the blue mohawk. I think you might know him. He said he owed you for
something you did a long time ago. Care to explain,” Tyler inquired curiously.

Following the direction of Ty’s pointed finger, I groaned
when I saw the guy with the blue mohawk.
Fuck, I knew who he was, or better
yet, I knew his wife … very well.

“What is it Mason?” Claire asked worriedly. “Who is he?”

His name was Chase Benfield and I did the unthinkable by
fucking his wife. Blowing out a frustrated breath, I lowered my head and began
to explain, “Do you remember when I mentioned I had a dark past?”

“Yeah,” she said, drawling out the word. “Let me guess, you
fought him back in the day?”

I nodded. “Yes, but that wasn’t just it.” I didn’t want to
tell her what I did because I was ashamed of the way I acted and the way I did
things. I was sure she would understand, hopefully, but I didn’t want her
thinking less of me.

Claire let go of my hand and crossed her arms over her chest
defiantly. “Dammit, just tell me already. You did this same shit to me when I
was keeping something from you.”

“Fine,” I gave in, “but I need you to know it was a long
time ago and it was before I even met you. I was stupid and did lots of stupid
things that I shouldn’t have.”

She rolled her eyes. “Let me guess, you slept with his
girlfriend,” she guessed blandly.

Sighing, I regretfully nodded my head and waited for the
angry words to come spewing out of her mouth. Instead, she said, “So, what’s
the big deal? You slept with her. That shit happens all the time. Why would he
be angry about that still?”

“Well,” I began, “it was actually his wife and I hooked up
with her in my prepping room during his fight for a spot at the Heavyweight
title. His trainer had come looking for her and found us. Needless to say, word
got back to Chase awfully fast.”

Claire groaned and hung her head. “Oh, hell, this isn’t
going to be good.”

Chase finally spotted me from across the room and snarled
his lip.
No,
I thought to myself,
this definitely wasn’t going to be
good.