Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
MASON
I stared at Casey. She was the sexiest thing I’d ever laid eyes on, and all I wanted to do was pick her up and fuck her against the wall. The dress she was wearing showed her curves, curves I didn’t want any other man seeing. It hugged her breasts, pushing them up so that they were calling for me to touch them, to run my tongue over them as I touched her. I’d experienced a taste of that body when she’d walked into the kitchen in that skimpy lingerie, almost breaking my resolve. Feeling her skin had left a craving for more. I shouldn’t have touched her, my hand caressing that firm breast, her nipple puckering below my thumb as I’d brushed over it.
She was breaking me more every time I was near her. And now this.
“Does your brother know you leave the house in that shit?” I growled, feeling Riley’s eyes on me.
“My brother is as much a player as I am. He doesn’t have the right to say anything about what I wear.”
Tyson would have dragged her back to her room and locked her in. She was playing with me, testing my need for control.
My laugh came out harsher than I’d wanted. “The fuck he doesn’t. He’d turn your ass around and send you back to your room, which is what I’m about to do to both of you.”
“Riley looks like she’s going to work. That dress goes almost to her knees.”
But Casey didn’t. The dress she wore sat so far up her thighs that I could see every detail of those lush legs.
“We’re going to Steel. Should we take the two non-talkative bullies you sent with me today?”
At least she’d chosen the classier club, but I still wasn’t about to let them go out.
“Mason, I think Casey’s right. I need to get out of the house—” Riley tried to argue.
I wasn’t budging. “Then go shopping with her tomorrow.”
It was Casey who responded. “I just went shopping, asshole.”
I flicked my gaze to her, gritting my teeth. She was a handful and had my balls in a frenzy with her attitude.
“I’ll wait outside,” Riley said. “She’s winning this argument, Mason. We won’t be gone long. I only want to get out of the house, maybe grab some drinks and some food.”
I gawked at her. She’d never disobeyed my rules, never questioned what I’d told her, or rebelled.
“I think you lost your control over her, Mason,” Casey said with an annoying smile.
Riley walked away, shaking her head as I continued to stare at Casey.
“Did you do that?” I asked her after Riley left.
“What? Give her the balls to finally stand up to your overprotective rules?”
My fists clenched, and I resisted yanking her head back with my fingers in her hair, something that was becoming my favorite turn-on. She’d moved closer, as if daring me to do it.
“Riley’s not yours anymore, Mason. She’s a grown woman and another man besides her brother owns her now.”
“He doesn’t own her,” I grumbled.
“Keep telling yourself that, but when she accepts his offer, maybe you’ll realize he does.”
I rolled my neck, trying to relieve the tension those words caused, compounding what was already there from the sexy brunette in front of me.
“Regardless, you’re not going out, not to the club, and not in that.”
She gave me a challenging look, her eyes daring as they sparkled in the light. “I’m not yours, Mason. I’m going out with my friend for a few drinks and maybe I’ll find a man who can relieve the clenching between my legs that you repeatedly cause and never satisfy.”
The thought sent a seething envy through me, one I didn’t like, an uncontrollable one that was about to explode. She waited for me to say something, but my emotions were churning too powerfully to even gather my words. The situation had me torn. Left wanting her, wanting no other man to touch her or even look at her, but unable to lay the claim I wanted on her because of Tyson.
She turned, thinking she’d gotten the last word, that she’d somehow put me in my place, but she hadn’t read me right because if anything, my need to contain her free spirit was ripping through me. I stormed over to her as she reached the entrance to the foyer, grabbed her by the back of the neck and forced her against the wall, pressing my body into her back. The rapid breaths that were escaping her increased the inferno that was building in me. And when she brought her hands up the wall, her body quivering as she pushed her ass against my dick, it twitched with the need to take her. To throw my loyalty to the wind and fuck her until she came undone around me.
“You are mine, Casey.” The words had come out and there was no way to take them back now.
“Then take me, bring me your force and your power. Own me, Mason.”
The seductive way she said it ignited the need for her, and I took her arms, guiding them above her head and holding them by her wrists. She sighed, a sound that gripped me, seeping into my soul. I slid my hand up her thigh, the soft skin stirring the craving I had for her. It was like a storm thundering through my body, and ignoring it was almost too painful.
“Please, Mason,” she cried, and I moved up her ass, sliding my finger along the line of her thong.
“You’re definitely not going out with that on,” I said against her ear.
“Then take it off me.”
Shit, she was driving me mad. I was driving us both mad because I couldn’t keep my hands off her. Dropping my head to her neck, I removed my hand. She let out a whimper that gripped me differently, hurting me with the sound. I needed to stop because I was confusing her as much as I was confusing myself. But I couldn’t stop my need for her.
As if she read my internal thoughts, she whispered, “Let me go, Mason. It’s for the best. I’m only here two more days and then I’ll be gone. I won’t come back.”
The idea of never seeing her again was gut-wrenching in a way that I hadn’t expected, one that went deeper than a physical craving for her body, and I wondered about it.
“I’ll avoid you until I leave. I can even stay someplace else.”
“No,” I said quickly, releasing her wrists. Flipping her around to look at me, I leaned my hand on the wall above her. Her hazel eyes were so sad I wanted to relieve that sadness, to see her cheerful smile again. “You’ll stay here. Nowhere else.”
Seeing her like that triggered something in me that softened me, and I brushed a curl back, bringing my thumb down her cheek. I didn’t know what was happening to me, but the need to touch her was transforming to more because I hated how sad she looked, hated that I’d caused her pain.
Her eyes searched mine, the hazel in them dimmed to a brownish hue, the sparkle gone.
“I don’t think I can let you go, Casey.”
The inhale she took was ragged. “Then claim me.”
I gave her a lopsided grin, pushing away the softness that didn’t sit comfortably on my skin. “I already have.”
“Am I staying here tonight because I’ll be in your room coming around your dick?”
Fuck, she was dirty in an adorable way that continued to break me more each time.
“No.”
Her smile dropped, and she shoved away from the wall, her hand pushing my chest back. “Then I’m going out. I’m done, Mason. You have my panties soaked and my nipples aching so badly to be touched that I need to be away from you.”
“What the fuck, Casey?”
“What the fuck? Are you serious?” That cute disposition morphed, and a small tigress stood before me, one who only twisted my craving for her. “You are a mess, Mason. Figure out what you want because you have two days and then I’m gone. I won’t be back. I’m not going through this again. If I need to fuck every man I meet to get you out of my system, then I will. But I’m not playing this game anymore.”
I clenched my jaw, grabbing her by the waist and slamming her against my chest. “You won’t touch another man.”
She laughed. “See, you want it both ways. Well, you can’t have it both ways.”
Working from my arms, she sauntered away. “I’m going out with Riley. Don’t wait up.”
She’d won, just like Riley said she would. I had no grounds to stop her, although Tyson would have my head if he found out I’d let her walk out the door in that dress. The inclination to go so I could keep an eye on them was prominent, but that would only get me in trouble. Resigned to accept that she’d outmaneuvered me, I pulled my phone out and instructed Breck to take two men with him and guard them. I wanted no chance that anything would happen. I still wasn’t sure if the Bad Omen threat was looming. And if anything happened to either of them, I’d not only have to deal with myself, but I’d have Tyson and Tides at my throat.
“Dammit,” I grumbled, knowing it was going to be a long night.
I tried to keep my mind off Casey by diving into work. There were contracts I needed to review for new investments, payroll to approve, and a request from the manager at the restaurant I owned to make renovations to the kitchen. My phone alerted me to the opening of the gates close to eleven and I pulled up the camera, seeing Riley emerge from the car, but not Casey. Breck followed her in, and I grabbed my phone, bolting down the stairs.
“Where the fuck is Casey?” I asked, meeting them as they came into the living room.
“She wanted to stay,” Riley answered with a shrug. She looked exhausted, and I could see the night had been too much for her. Damn Casey for pushing her. She wasn’t ready yet, and it showed.
“Go to bed, Ri.”
She lifted on her toes and gave me a small kiss on the cheek. “Don’t go too hard on her, Mace,” she mumbled so that only I could hear her, then walked away, her shoes in hand as her bare feet made soft slaps on the hardwood.
I turned to Breck, my fists bunched. “What the fuck were you thinking, leaving her there?”
“She didn’t want to come back. I tried to convince her, as did Riley, but she was adamant. Shep and Finch stayed with her. She’s still being watched, and she’s safe. They won’t let anything happen to her.”
But Breck was the only one I’d told to ensure no one touched her.
“Let’s go,” I said, shoving past him.
“Boss?”
“We’re going to get Casey. Tyson will chew me a new one if he finds out she stayed. He’ll be pissed enough that she talked her way into going out tonight.” It was an excuse, one I used to cover the fact that she had me pissed off. That I was afraid another man’s hands were on her, doing what I wanted to do to her. And that she was letting him to get back at me.
While Breck sped through town, my mind played all the scenarios out, my heart thumping harder with each one. She’d thrown the truth in my face before she’d left. I couldn’t own her and deny my need to touch her at the same time. It was twisted, and it wasn’t fair to her, but that didn’t mean I wanted some other man’s hands on her.
My teeth were grinding by the time we arrived. I tore from the car as Breck pulled up to the front, bypassing the line of people still waiting for entry. Breck ran to catch up while the bouncer let me in. There were a few complaints from the line, but this was my club. If they complained too loudly, I’d shut it down for the night. If I found anyone touching Casey and had to put a bullet in him, I’d close it down for good.
I rolled my neck, feeling the tension as I felt for the gun I’d snagged from the glove compartment and tucked in the back of my pants. The music was blaring, the smell of alcohol strong, the crowd rowdy. Breck pointed to where my men stood, their hands clasped in front of them, their eyes vigilantly surveying the crowd, but Casey wasn’t with them. I scanned the club, spotting her on the dance floor. With three men surrounding her. My blood boiled as the man that was holding her waist pulled her closer.
“Fuck,” I muttered, storming through the crowd, my eyes riveted by the flirty smile she gave him as the one behind her closed in on her. I saw the glance over her shoulder that she gave him, but the other tugged her, jerking her body hard. She pushed against him as the third one blocked her in. They were circling her body like predators, ready to attack. Her staggered moves alerted me that she’d had entirely too much to drink. My men noticed her vulnerability at the same time I did, hastening toward her, but I was ahead of them. They would pay for letting her get that drunk and for letting another man put his hands on her.
The guy behind Casey grabbed the bottom of her dress, hiking it up. There were too many people for anyone to notice, but I saw it. I shoved people aside, making a beeline for her, my men following behind me. The clench of my fists was so fierce, the skin stretched uncomfortably. When I reached them, I punched the one behind her in the side of the head, pounding him until he was on the floor.
People scattered, the other two men reacted, but not before I pulled my gun. I yanked Casey from them, ignoring her complaints. They looked like they wanted to fight, and I invited it, keeping Casey in my grip even as she struggled to free herself. The one on the ground stumbled to his feet.
“Don’t even think about it, shitheads. You fucking lay another hand on her and my staff will end the night cleaning your guts from the floor.” I nodded to Finch and Shep. “Get them the fuck out of here and teach them a lesson about touching women who don’t want to be touched.”
“The fuck she didn’t,” one mouthed off. “The whore was begging for it.”
Rage blinded me and my control precariously teetered, ready to topple and unleash what tether remained on my rage. “On second thought, take them to the alley, now.”
Any complaints stopped the second my men pressed their guns to their backs. They shoved the three through the club and out the back entrance into the alley. I dragged Casey behind me, ignoring her grumbling.
“What the fuck did you call her?” I said, as the door slammed behind us.
I motioned for Breck to let him go and the cocky shit had the nerve to get in my face.
“I said the whore was begging for it.”
I released Casey and slammed the end of my gun into his face. His words elicited fury from the depths of my body, and I drove my foot into his head when he hit the ground. Cocking my gun and shoving it against his temple, I said, “Apologize to her.”
“What the fuck—” his friend started until I glared at him. He seemed like a rational guy until he moved to attack me. Finch blocked his attempt with a strike to the eye and raised his gun to his head. Shep had already immobilized the one I’d punched first, his knife against the guy’s throat. Shep preferred playing with knives and he was my go-to guy when I needed to extract information from someone. I planned to let him have some fun with these three after I finished making them suffer.
I turned my attention back to the one on the ground.
“I thought I told you to apologize to her,” I growled, removing my gun from his temple and shooting him in the kneecap.
His scream mingled with Casey’s.
“Mason, stop, please,” she begged, but my need to make the fuckers pay was fueling me. My control had slipped, which rarely happened, but once it did, it was difficult to rein back in.
“Nobody talks to you that way and nobody touches you,” I roared, before I cocked my gun and pointed it at his head. “Apologize, or I put more holes in you.”
“I’m sorry,” he whimpered.
“Dude, he apologized, let him go. We didn’t mean any harm.”
I rolled my neck, bringing my sight to the one in Finch’s grasp. He tried backing up, but Finch’s grip on him was tight.
“Dude?” My laugh was feral, and I had the urge to just shoot all three of them in the head and be done with it. But they deserved a slow death for what they’d been planning to do to Casey. “Do you know who I am?” I snarled.
He shook his head, the one in Shep’s hands doing the same. The third man was still writhing on the ground.
Two of my club security came through the door. They were large, with muscles that kept people in line. The music seeped through until the door closed, confirming that things had returned to normal. This club was private, and those who frequented were locals. The locals knew who I was, and they knew to stay quiet and to fear me. But these three weren’t local.
“Tell them who I am, Case,” I said, without looking away. She said nothing. “Tell them!”
“Dammit, Mason, let them go. It was harmless.”
I glanced at her, knowing my eyes were lethal. Hers were bloodshot, the liquor slurring her words and impairing her ability to stand well. I turned back to them, growling, “Where are you three from?”
“Dankirk,” one said, his voice quaking as I pointed the gun at him. His buddy was on the ground still, writhing in pain. All three were bloody, but not bloody enough for what they’d been doing.
I laughed. “Krill’s town.” I saw the recognition of the name. The Krill family had a powerful hold on Dankirk, and they were indebted to me for keeping it that way. I pulled my phone out, hitting Krill’s number.
Krill answered on the second ring. Even at this time of night, he knew not to ignore my call. “This better be important.”
“Some of your trash wandered into my city and touched my girl. Should I dispose of them here or let my boys escort them home?”
“You have a girl now, Brinks? ‘Bout time. Send the fuckers to me. I’ll ensure they’re taught some respect. Have your boys leave them at the junction. We’ll take it from there.”
“I thought you would.”
I disconnected and rammed the butt of my gun into the one who had escaped my fury, knocking his front teeth out. With the black eye Finch had given him, it made a colorful addition. Casey screamed, but I grabbed her, throwing her over my shoulder as she kicked and grumbled at me. My men had heard my slip up, calling Casey my girl, but I was hoping they’d figure I’d said it because she was Tyson’s sister and not question it.
“Give them a proper escort back to Dankirk. Krill’s men will meet you at the border to take care of the trash. Shep, be sure to give them a taste of what’s in store on the way.”
There wouldn’t be much life left in the three by the time they reached the drop-off point, but I was certain whatever life remained, Krill would ensure it was excruciatingly painful.
I didn’t bother to look back, hearing the scuffle and knowing no one else in the club would raise a finger to help the scum. This was a private club, and I’d find out who let the assholes in.
Breck left with me, his hand on his gun the entire time. Casey continued to punch at my back and kick for me to let her down, but I kept her there, my hand firmly planted on her ass to keep her skirt from rising any further. I threw her into the backseat, locking her in before I climbed into the front with Breck.
I peered back at her when she grew silent. She was fuming, even as drunk as she was. Crossed arms, beautifully pouting lips, and flared nostrils accompanied the hazel eyed glare she was giving me. She remained that way the entire ride back. Breck stayed quiet, knowing my mood. The situation had me wired, the anger still spilling through my veins. By the time we pulled up to the house, I was like a live wire.
Casey threw her door open and stomped into the house. I followed, catching up to her in a few strides and slamming the door behind me. She’d made it through the foyer and into the main living space by the time I took her arm and stopped her.
We stared at each other, the heat intense.
“You’re an asshole, Mason,” she slurred. “You can’t go around punishing people like that. They didn’t do anything.”
“Didn’t do anything? They were touching you! If I’d been any later, they would have had you in a corner raping you.” Even though I knew my men would have stopped them, the thought still burned through me.
“Don’t exaggerate?—”
“Exaggerate?” I towered over her. “He had your skirt up, your ass showing, and his dick would have been out if I hadn’t beaten the shit out of the fucker. And don’t get me started on the one who was making a move toward your tits.”
She stepped into me and poked at my chest. “You didn’t want me and you’re angry because someone else took what was yours.”
I couldn’t deny it, although the way they were going about it had me hot. The fact that she was too drunk to know better, too trashed to realize what they were doing and to fight back had me hostile.
“You had your chance, Mason. I wanted you…fuck, I still do, but you turned me away.”
“I had to turn you away.”
“But you want me.” Her eyes were large and inviting, her chest pushing into mine so that her breasts swelled above her dress.
“Of course I want you.”
“Well, here I am,” she said, throwing her arms out. “Take me then. You took away my other options, forced me home. Now fuck me.”
The invitation was a bold one, an opening that few men could resist, that I may not have resisted if she hadn’t had one too many drinks, if the alcohol wasn’t impairing her thinking, if there wasn’t a risk that she’d wake in the morning and regret it. Or that I would.
“No. You’re trashed, Casey. Go to bed.”
“Go to bed,” she mocked. “That’s all you ever tell me to do.”
“And that’s what I’m telling you now. Go to bed and sleep the alcohol off.”
“Why? So you can turn me down again?”
She turned away, but I grasped her arm, pulling her back to me. “Yes, but I can promise you, Casey, if I ever give in, I want you sober when I fuck you. I want your cries to be pure, to be raw, and when you come for me, I want it to be me who breaks you and not the alcohol.”
I let her go, wondering if she was teetering from the alcohol or from my words.
“Now get your drunk ass into bed and sleep it off.”
I left her there, not wanting to look at her anymore because all I could see were the hands of those men on her tan skin, the skin I wanted to keep for myself. The skin she’d offered me repeatedly and yet, I’d denied myself over and over. My resolve was wearing thin, and I didn’t know if I could make it another day without giving in. And if I resisted, I wasn’t sure I wouldn’t follow her to Armina and take her there.