He stood and brought her to her feet as well, kissing her before tucking her hair behind her ear. “You go to bed. I’ll see you later.”
Tessa crawled under the covers feeling even more confused than when Mark had first announced they were mates. She attempted to stay awake until he came in so they could finish what they started, or at least have time to talk.
Only the soft pillow lulled her, and the next thing she knew the sunshine was announcing the start of another day.
Chapter Seven
Monday
Gramps made them breakfast before breaking out a mop and “swabbing the decks”.
Mark excused himself shortly after that. “I’m going to run into town and stop by the permit office to see what kind of timeline we’re looking at. You can come with me if you’re interested.”
For some reason the idea of heading out didn’t excite her the way it usually did. “You go on. I’m itching to explore the place a little more. Work on a few brochure ideas.”
He stared at her for a moment before cupping the back of her neck and pulling her against him for a brief, intense kiss. They separated, her lips tingling, his pupils gone dark. He stroked her cheek. “If you think of anything you need, make a list.”
The door closed behind him, and something very uncomfortable trailed up her spine leaving her listless. Edgy.
She wandered the bottom two floors for a while, picturing the changes she’d drawn all being completed. The place was going to be gorgeous when it was finished. She nabbed a stack of sticky notes and popped information on the walls that she wanted to remember to discuss with Mark when he got back.
The beam of sunshine falling through the window had to be the reason she blinked in surprise half an hour later as she woke up from a catnap. She didn’t remember going back to his bedroom, though, or putting on the shirt that smelt like him.
It took her full concentration to manage a bit of computer work before Mark returned with supplies for the kitchen and a pile of mail-order shopping catalogues.
She flicked through the pile quickly. Decorative lighting, specialty fixtures. “Oh, nice.”
Mark smiled as he sat down to the submarine sandwiches she’d put together while the groceries had been unpacked. “I figured you’d like something to hold on to, rather than just shopping online.”
“That’s so sweet of you. Thanks.”
“No problem. Also, good news on the renovation front. One of the pack works in the permits department, and I got to speak to him.” Mark nodded thanks at Gramps as the older man refilled their glasses. “He’ll make sure the forms are pushed through fast for us. Which doesn’t mean we can get away with any funny business in the important things, but it does mean we can go ahead and start immediately.”
Tessa sat in shocked silence.
Mark grinned wider. “What’s the matter, cat got your tongue?”
She slipped out her tongue at him for a second before shaking her head. “You’re kidding. We can start on the renovations now?”
“I’ve got the first load of wood being delivered this afternoon, and a dumpster box. We can clean out the unusable material and dive right in. I asked a few of the pack to help with the hard labour.”
She wasn’t sure how to respond. “That’s incredible. When I arranged my flights, I thought we’d spend weeks in negotiations before anything would get underway.”
“No reason to wait. I told you that. This is your home, so why not begin making your dreams come true?” He caught her fingers in his and squeezed them lightly. “Happy?”
“More than I can tell you.”
Gramps leaned back in his chair. “Going to spiff up the place, are you? Sounds like a plan. Bit of spit and polish always a good thing. Shall I move my gear to the crew’s quarters?”
“You’re fine where you are, Gramps.” Mark winked at Tessa so his grandfather didn’t see it.
Tessa melted a little inside at the care in Mark’s voice. A yawn overtook her, and she blinked in surprise. Again? “Well, I don’t know where that came from.”
Mark shrugged. “If you’d like to take a nap for a bit, we’ll have time to talk about things later.”
She should argue with him. If the work was going to start on the B&B, she wanted to be there. But her eyes wouldn’t stay open, and if it hadn’t been for Mark’s strong clasp around her, she would have curled up right there at the table. He tucked her into bed and sat for a moment, skimming his hands over her shoulders and head.
“I like you, Mr. Weaver.” She managed to whisper the words before sleep overtook her for the second time that day.
“You’re going to love me,” he said firmly. Or maybe she just imagined it.
Tuesday