Chapter 9
Chapter Nine
MASON
T he soft padding of Casey’s feet faded the further she was from me. Resting my head back, I ran my hands up my face and through my hair. The myriad of thoughts and emotions filling my mind were almost too much. The way she’d felt in my hands and the sensuality of that kiss had left me questioning what this had become. Our flirting had turned, the events of the prior night changing something between us, something in me. The Casey who had needed me last night to hold her hair back, to hold her while she slept, the one I’d watched sleep, worried that the drugs they’d given her would cause a reaction, and the one snuggled up in sweats watching fantasy movies was not any woman I’d ever allowed myself to be with. I took what I needed from women and kept it physical, but Casey made me want more. I wanted to hold her, to be her strength when she was weak, to curl on a couch and rub her feet. To see the vulnerable side of her with her curls slipping free of her ponytail.
I knew the feeling that was sinking into my soul, claiming my heart. It was a sensation I hadn’t allowed myself to embrace since I’d been in my early twenties. I’d made myself hard and untouchable. Casey broke down my resolve, my barriers, and I wanted her to. I liked the way she made me feel, especially when she wasn’t throwing herself at me. That was the woman who I now desired in a completely different way than the initial craving I’d had for her.
Picking up her blanket, I held it for a moment, smelling the scent of her floral soap on it. I cleaned up and shut everything down before returning to the main floor. One night. That was all I had left with her. I wondered if she could return and never see me again. The thought was wrenching, and I shoved it away, not liking how weak it made me.
“Hey there,” Riley said, coming into my office where I’d plunged into administrative things I had accountants and lawyers for, but that kept my mind from turning to Casey.
I glanced up, giving her a smile. Riley never ceased to make me smile, except for the time she’d shut me out. Her smile was contagious, her sweet personality enough to soften even the hardest of souls. And maybe that was why Greyson Tides had fallen for her. Maybe she’d softened the bastard.
“You look flustered,” she said, sitting on the loveseat on the other side of the room, crossing her feet under her.
“Nah, just tired of staring at this stuff.”
She was perceptive, seeing past my facade. Even when I’d been sheltering her, hiding my secrets, she’d never failed to see when my mood was off, when my gruff disposition was faltering. She leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees. For a moment, she reminded me of our mother. Although she and I had our father’s eyes and hair, Riley had my mother’s soft features and her gentle disposition. Riley had been young when our parents had passed, but I had distinct memories of them, nineteen years of life with them. Their deaths had hit me hard, but I’d already made my name in the underground scene of Treemont, learning to hide my emotions, to remain heartless. Things that had been helpful when life had derailed us, leaving me as Riley’s guardian. A nine-year-old under the care of her teenage brother who hadn’t known what he was doing but had managed.
I’d done everything in my power to protect her, to ensure I didn’t lose her like we’d lost our parents. I’d overprotected her, even as she’d grown older, because that’s all I knew.
“Mace, I know what’s going on.”
I clenched my teeth. “And what’s going on, Ri?”
“Between you and Casey.”
I glared at her, but she didn’t flinch.
“Don’t give me that look. It’s hard not to notice and you better be glad Tyson’s in Armina, or he would have picked up on it already.”
Tyson had texted me earlier, checking in on Casey and letting me know he had things handled with Donelli. I didn’t have the balls to tell him I wasn’t handling things with Casey and that those assholes had almost raped her at the club. It didn’t matter that I’d taken charge and handled it, he’d be on me in seconds for letting her go in the first place. The fight would be a bloody one, but no bloodier than it would be if he found out I’d touched her.
I sat back with a sigh. “It’s that obvious?”
She snickered. “Obvious is an understatement. The heat between you two is intense. Why don’t you give yourself a break, Mace? Casey would be good for you.”
“And how do you know what would be good for me, Ri? A few days in my world and you suddenly know?”
She recoiled like I’d hit her, then recovered. “Don’t give me that macho shit. I know you well enough to know you haven’t let yourself do more than fuck a woman in years. To know you keep a distance.”
“Watch your language.”
Her laugh was louder this time. “Seriously?” She stood and walked to the desk, leaning her hands on it. “I’m your sister, Mason. You may not have brought me into your world, but I know enough from having you and Tyson as my permanent bodyguards to know how you both work. I can cuss like the best of them. And I also know enough about you and Tyson to know that he fucks every woman he can because no woman has come close to cracking that playboy shell he wears. And you, although more discriminating and controlled, indulge only in one-night stands because you don’t let anyone close enough to know what’s underneath that guarded exterior you wear. No one but Casey.”
Crossing my arms, I gritted my teeth, hating how she’d just nailed us both in those few short words.
“I also know you enough to see how she’s cracked that hardened shell you built after our parents died.” I flinched, my eyes creasing. “For once, let your control go and take a chance?—”
“I don’t take chances. That’s why I rule the dynasty I rule.” I stood, towering over her. “That’s why I have the power I have, the money I have. Why people fear me.”
“And why you’re alone.” She gave me a sad smile. “I’m going back to Greyson. When you’re done training me. I won’t be here for you to protect, to depend on you.”
“Neither will Casey,” I snarled, my anger at the thought of her returning to Tides coming out in the bite of my words. I’d suspected it was coming, but that didn’t mean I had to like it.
“Maybe not, but you don’t know that. You have one more night. Take the chance.”
“I can’t, Ri,” I said, the futility of my circumstance wearing me down again. I flopped back in my chair, letting my anger go, and stared out the window into the dark night. “Tyson’s my best friend. He’s as protective of her as I am of you, and I know exactly how I’d react if he touched you.”
“Yuck,” she said, and I peered back at her, giving her a questioning look. “Ty’s like you, like another brother to me. But that’s because I grew up with both of you. Casey didn’t.”
“Doesn’t matter. He’d never forgive me.”
She walked around the desk, tussling my hair before giving me a kiss on my head. “Maybe he will if he sees what I see.”
“What do you see?” I asked as she left the room.
“Take the chance, Mace,” she called on her way down the stairs. “You have one night left.”
I sat for a long time after Riley left, my mind running wild. The situation I was in didn’t give me any option where I ended up unscathed and where Casey didn’t end up hurt. If I gave in, Tyson would hate me forever, ending our friendship, cutting me off, or even taking her from me. That was the worst-case scenario, I knew that, but I worked with little risk. The worst cases were what I lived by.
If I resisted, my decision would leave me with a craving I could never satisfy, one I wasn’t sure would ever cease. Casey would still end up hurt. She was hurting now because I’d turned her down again. I saw it in her eyes each time. And tonight had been bad. The emotion there had gutted me. The resolve and a sense of surrender replacing the seductive fight that had filled her before.
One night. Those two small words held so much power. I had one night and if I took it, I could finally have her, touch her, taste her, own her like I wanted to. One night and maybe we could make it just that. Nothing more. One night to give in to our desires, and Tyson would never need to know.
I rose, shutting the lights out and heading downstairs. I took two steps toward my room, then turned, changing direction as my heart thudded more with each step I took toward Casey’s room. Pausing outside her door, I thought about the implications of opening it and doing what I’d wanted to do since the moment she walked back into my life.
The door handle turned, and I entered the room. She looked up, her eyes wide as I shut the door behind me. Her mouth parted, the book she was reading slipping from her hands. As she rose, the book fell to the floor. The oversized sweatshirt was the only thing she had on, leaving her legs bare and the sight of them stirring the need in me.
“Mason, what are you doing?”
I kicked my shoes off, seeing understanding cross her eyes. “What I should have done the first night.”
I grasped her by the back of her neck, pulling her to me, and this time I didn’t stop myself from kissing her. Her soft lips met mine, her surprise fading quickly as she opened her mouth, my tongue quick to dance with hers. I tangled my fingers in her hair, pulling her closer, feeling her heart pound below her clothes. Smoothing my hand over her thigh, I played along the edge of her lace panties, my fingers sliding under them. Her breath hitched as I dipped, feeling the smooth skin that turned me on even more. She moaned when I slid them further, slipping almost low enough to feel how wet she was but stopping myself because I knew I’d lose it if I did. And I wanted to savor this, to take her slow because if this was my only night with her, I was going to make it last.
Sliding my hand back, I cupped her ass, pushing her further into me. Her hands threaded through my hair, pulling my head down as I continued to devour her mouth.
“Mason,” she murmured against my lips. “You don’t want this.”
I bit her lip, tugging it between my teeth as I drew back, giving her a scolding look. Releasing her hair, I moved my hands up her sweatshirt, encasing her breasts, my dick so hungry for her that it leaped at the feel.
“Shut up and let me have you, Casey.”
Her eyes narrowed, and I pinched her nipple, causing those beautiful lips to part again.
“But…” I worked her shirt off, throwing it to the side, then brought her against me.
“It’s one night. One night to do everything I’ve been fantasizing about since the moment you set foot back in Treemont. One night that no one needs to know about. One night to own you the way I’ve desired since I saw you.”
She let out a small oh . I leaned my forehead against hers. “Do you still want this, Casey? Tell me what you want and if you don’t want me, then I’ll walk out and never touch you again.”
Her hands ran up my chest, gripping the buttons of my shirt and sending my pulse racing. “I want you, Mason. I want you to take me, to own me. I want you to ruin me for every other man out there, to leave your mark so deep in me that I can never escape it. I don’t want one night, Mason.”
Her words were like a match lighting the flames in me and sparking that feeling that had been nagging my heart since I’d held her in my arms as she slept.
“But if one night is all we get. Then I’m yours for tonight. Take me, touch me, fill me, own me. I’m yours.”
Her acceptance burned through me, and I ran my hands the length of her body. I kissed her again, her mouth greedily meeting mine as she fumbled with my buttons. Grasping her wrists, I yanked her hands behind her.
“Get on the bed, Casey.”
A small gasp escaped, and her eyes sparkled with excitement. I released her hands and watched as she crawled onto the bed, her curvy ass beckoning me to give up my control and just fuck her. I wiped my hand down my face, denying myself as she turned and propped herself on her elbows, drawing her leg up seductively. She knew what she was doing to me, how her body broke me.
I took her in, the ample breasts that were fuller than any woman I’d been with except those who’d had them enhanced. These were all natural, perfectly proportioned to the rest of her body. And I wanted every inch of it. Her words came back to me. She wanted me to ruin her for any other man, and I wanted that. I wanted no other man’s hands on her skin again. It was mine, all of her was mine.
I unbuttoned my shirt, peeling it off while she watched me with a hunger that matched my own. Crawling over her, I let my hand drift up her body, a body I was ready to use in every naughty way I’d been craving. I pulled her hands up over her head, holding her wrists together before I kissed her again, pulling her body into mine. She sighed, a sound that sank deep into my core, the feel of her breasts against my skin enhancing the sensation.
Dropping my head, I dragged my tongue down her neck, cupping her breast and swirling my tongue around her nipple before sucking it into my mouth. She groaned, her body arching slightly.
“Mason,” she purred, and I smiled before pulling her nipple between my teeth and gently scraping it as I released it.
Letting her wrists go, I hovered over her. “I thought you wanted me to ruin you, Case? Did I mishear you, little girl?”
The hazel of her eyes turned a dark amber, and she bit her bottom lip.
“None of that yet. I’ll put those lips to use, but I’m not ready for anything but this body right now.”
Those tempting lips parted, a quiet moan falling from them before her hands ran over my chest, tracing each of my tattoos. The touch was firm and confident, my heart thudding in response. My stomach tensed when she dropped her fingers to my pants, reaching in and grasping my hard-on. I bit back my groan, not ready to give her control yet. I had plans for her before I satisfied myself. Her grip was just as confident, and a pang of jealousy hit me at the thought of why she was so assuredly stroking me. I grabbed her arm, yanking her hand away and pinning it to the bed.
Her eyes questioned me.
“None of that yet, either.”
“And what if I want to ruin you for any other woman, Mason? To own you. To break you.”
It was a bold statement and one I thought might not be far from the truth. She was breaking me and may have already destroyed me to the point that I couldn’t return. I didn’t want to think of the repercussions of that thought.
“Is that what you want, Casey?”
She brought her free hand up and pulled my face to hers. “Yes.”
Her answer weaved its way into my being, tugging at my soul and shattering the hardened case around my heart. This was dangerous, a risk I shouldn’t have taken because I knew where it would lead but as she leaned up and kissed me, I realized it was a risk I wouldn’t regret, one I embraced fully because I needed Casey in ways I’d never needed anything in my life.
I loosened the hold I had on her hand, my fingers wrapping around hers as our kiss deepened, the lust turning into something more sensual. As our lips parted, I searched her eyes, seeing that same emotion that was twisting my need to fuck her so that I wanted something that would leave us both fractured. There was no turning back now, no way to avoid what was happening, and so I stopped fighting it.
I let my kisses linger until my mouth found its way down her body, my tongue licking her stomach until it reached the edge of her panties. Lifting myself from her, I stood, taking the time to peruse her body once again before I tugged at the delicate lace, dragging it down her legs until she was completely naked. Looking over her again, I thought there was no part of Casey I didn’t desire. Every inch of her called to me and my dick twitched at the thought.
“Spread those gorgeous legs for me, like a good girl.”
She’d leaned up on her elbows again, and my eyes followed the path of her legs when they spread for me. My chest tightened. She was completely bare except for a small trail, and I licked my lips in anticipation of tasting her. Grabbing her ankles, I jerked her closer, letting my hands run the course of her legs, my tongue following until my fingers sank into her. She was soaked, and I groaned, gritting my teeth and resting my head on her thigh. She moaned, the muscles in her legs quivering as I pushed deeper before slipping out to play with her clit. Her moans increased, and I gave in, grabbing her thighs and sinking my tongue into her. She tasted like the finest wine, and I lost myself to the taste, flicking my tongue over her clit and plunging my finger back into her. Her hands entwined in my hair, her back bowing when my tongue replaced my fingers, lapping up the arousal that pooled around my face. I continued to torment her until her thighs tightened, her hands pushing my head further as she came undone. A cry fell from her lips that reached in and grabbed my body so hard I almost came with her.
Raising my head, I took in the flush of her skin, the deep breaths as she calmed from her climax. It was an image I engrained in my memory, one I never wanted to forget. Wiping my face against her thigh, I stood, sucking my fingers into my mouth to savor another taste as her eyes met mine. They were glazed over with ecstasy, the look beckoning me to finish taking her.
“My turn,” I said, unhooking my belt and dropping my pants. She propped herself back on her elbows, pulling her knee up further and licking her lips as I pushed my boxers off. “Keep that tongue ready because I’ll put it to use later,” I said, stroking my cock and readying myself to finally take her completely. “For now, be a good girl and pull those knees up. I’m going to fuck another orgasm from you.”
I climbed over her, pressing my tip at her entrance, her wetness surrounding it. “Fuck,” I muttered, dropping my forehead to hers. She shifted her face, kissing me, her legs wrapping around me. I broke the kiss off sooner than I wanted when her heels dug into my back, pushing me further into her. She felt perfect, and it took all my strength not to drive into her. I wanted to watch her as I filled her one inch at a time, and it was worth my patience. She held my gaze, the intensity gripping me as tightly as she was. Her eyes rolled back, a moan falling from her lips, one I smothered with a kiss, a desperate need to fill her completely consuming me. She felt too good, so tight around me that I couldn’t stop myself. My patience gone, I penetrated her fully. Her legs wrapped tighter around my back and urged me on. Her cry was intoxicating, encouraging my need to ravage her completely, and I lost control to the need that had hounded me for days.
She met each thrust, her pelvis driving into me, her kisses growing more desperate. My hands roamed her body, taking in every inch I could that wasn’t occupying my greedy dick. Her head fell back, and I sucked her nipple into my mouth, flicking my tongue over it and slowing my thrusts, needing to have her fall apart again for me. Her body quivered with each slow plunge I made, and I could feel her tightening around me, her climax so close I could sense it.
“Are you going to come for me again, sweetheart?” That nickname was one I’d never used, but as she broke, her orgasm hitting her so hard that I almost lost my hold on my release, I knew it was hers.
Her cry was feral, and I captured that sound with my mouth, unable to resist the clenching of her muscles around me and plunging deeper into her, my moves driven by the need for release. “Fuck, Case, I’m gonna come.” Her legs gripped my back tighter, pushing me further, my climax so close it was pounding through me. “I need to pull out,” I muttered, knowing if I got her pregnant, that would be a nightmare that would only complicate what I’d already done to Tyson.
“No, fill me Mason.”
I groaned, my dick not listening to my mental scolding and driving into her harder. “But?—”
“I’m on the pill. Now fuck me harder and fill me.”
Those words obliterated my hold on my release. I hadn’t come bare in a woman in ages, never trusting their word and pulling out or using protection, which always dimmed the experience. But this was ecstasy, freely spilling into Casey with no restrictions, no hesitation as my climax raged through me. It pummeled me until, with an exhausted sigh, I lifted my head and looked into her eyes. They sparkled with a satisfied gleam. Her fingers traced my face, and I turned into her hand, kissing it.
“Now what?” she asked with a coy smile.
I couldn’t help returning her smile before kissing her. “Now, I keep you up the rest of the night because if we only have one night, I’m going to use this body every way I’ve been imagining, and that won’t give you any time to sleep.”
Her giggle was rewarding. “Good. I can sleep on the plane. Tonight, we fuck.”
I shook my head. “Why does that word sound so dirty when you say it?”
She shrugged, pulling my head down and kissing me. I gave over to the sensation of it as it wove its way through my body, claiming me, corrupting me, breaking me so that I could confidently accept that one night would never be enough.