Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
CASEY
I didn’t know what to think as the car sped down the road and Mason brooded next to me. Seeing him like he’d been with Donelli had given me a glimpse of the side of him people feared. I’d never been privy to any of the meetings between Donelli and Tyson. That was the part of this life I remained sheltered from, and I preferred it that way. I could handle interacting with them, padding their books, partying with them, but I didn’t want to be around the violence, the indifference, the killing I knew went along with it.
Glancing over at Mason, I noticed how tight his jaw was, the tension clear in the veins in his neck. He stared straight ahead. What had started as an erotic meeting earlier had turned into pieces of wreckage neither of us could repair. Our secret was out and now we would face the consequences. He would face them because I was sure he would leave me behind. Not that I could go with him, no matter how much I wanted to now that I was next to him again. I couldn’t. My life was in Armina. I looked back out the window, admitting that as much as my life was here, my heart was in Treemont, and I didn’t know how to reconcile the two.
Mason’s phone buzzed, but he ignored it, something I was certain he never did. We both knew it was Tyson and neither of us was ready to talk to him. I wondered why my phone wasn’t blowing up until I remembered my purse was still in my office. It was for the best. I didn’t want to hear Tyson rant about what we’d done. Didn’t want to hear him threaten to kill his best friend because that’s what he would do, and I knew him well enough to know that in a heated moment, he would attempt it. Tyson was hot tempered, and I imagined that was why he and Mason made such a perfect team. Mason was controlling and even-tempered, and that balanced my brother’s rash impulsiveness. But there would be no way to balance this, to assuage the betrayal Tyson would feel. Mason had crossed an invisible line Tyson had drawn without ever using the words, a code he expected Mason to follow like he followed it—our sisters are off limits.
When the car pulled in front of my apartment building, Breck opened my door, Mason climbing out the other side. The other men exited the cars, their hands ready to access their guns, their eyes combing the area. Donelli’s men pulled up, joining them. They were the same two who escorted me everywhere, my personal security team. Mason had never been to my apartment, so he nodded to Donelli’s men, and we followed. I could have led, but I knew after he’d placed me behind him at the house that he wouldn’t let me more than a few inches from him. Although I appreciated his need to protect me, this had been my life for years before he’d come back into it. I knew what to look for and I knew how to use the gun I carried in my bag…the bag I’d left at Donelli’s.
Donelli’s men took positions at each end of the hall.
“Damn,” I mumbled when we reached my door. I had nothing on me, not even my keys.
“What?” Mason griped, a frown marring his sexy features.
“I left my purse at the house. I’ll need to get the spare from Donelli’s men.”
“No, you won’t,” he replied, motioning to Breck.
“And how do you suppose we?—”
Breck had the door opened within seconds, lodging a small metal pin-like device back in his pocket as he gave me a proud grin.
“Well, aren’t you handier than I suspected,” I commented, returning his smile.
“I can’t give away all my secrets at once,” he said with a wink.
Mason’s other man walked in first, followed by Mason, his gun drawn.
“Don’t you think this is overkill?” I muttered.
“No,” Breck answered, making me wait with him. “It was a necessity when you were Tyson’s sister, but now that you’re the boss’ girl, it’s expected.”
The second man came back out, Mason motioning me in.
“We’ll be out here, boss.”
Mason nodded to him and Breck ushered me into my apartment and closed the door behind me. I wasn’t sure what Mason’s mood was. He was hard to read when he was like this, cold and unapproachable. He placed his gun and phone on my table, then removed his suit jacket and stretched it out over a chair. Rolling his sleeves up, he glanced at me.
“Take that dress off. I don’t want you wearing anything of that cunt’s again.” I sucked the air between my teeth at the vitriol in his tone. His phone buzzed again, and he flicked his gaze to it. The muscles in his jaw were rigid, and he rolled his neck, turning his eyes, which now held a dangerous glare, back to me. “Now, Casey.”
Tipping my chin up, I huffed to my bedroom, lifting the dress over my head as I walked and tossing it on the floor.
“And where do you think you’re going?” he asked, following me.
“Away from your possessive ass to change like you demanded I do.”
His arm came around me, halting my track before I could make it to my closet, and slamming my back into his chest. “I didn’t say to put anything else on.”
Currents flooded through my body as if he’d touched me with a live wire. His hand slid along my stomach and up to my bra, caressing my breast through the thin lace. The air froze in my chest, and I dropped my head against him.
“Is this what you wear under your clothes every time you see that spineless fucker who touched you?”
The pounding of my heart increased. It was so loud that he had to have heard it.
“Sometimes,” I mumbled, unable to think with his touch and his mouth against my neck.
He brushed his hand down, squeezing my ass and lifting my thong with his finger. Making a tsk sound, he said, “That’s going to change.”
I tried to turn my head, but he pushed me down on my bed.
“You can’t?—”
A slap that reverberated through my body hit my ass, and warmth spread between my legs. That I’d enjoyed the sting of his hand seemed naughty. That I was craving more seemed even naughtier. He yanked my ass back, smoothing his hand over the tender spot.
“Oh, I can, sweetheart.” He pushed my thong aside, his fingers skating through the wetness he’d caused before plunging into me. “And I will. This body is mine, which means all your sexy panties are only for me.”
“Mason—” I tried to complain, to voice how controlling that was, but he had my body too riveted by his words and his touch.
His fingers left me, and he yanked me back against his chest, pushing the strap of my bra down and cupping my breast. “How many men did you flirt with at that club, Case?”
So that was what this was about. It had nothing to do with Tyson. The controlling prick in him didn’t like that I went out when he wasn’t there.
“None,” I said.
His slap to my ass jerked me forward, and I moaned.
“How many men flirted with you, sweetheart?” He smoothed his fingers over the sting.
“I don’t remember.”
“I’d suggest you remember quickly.” Another slap sent me arching into the hand that had my breast, and he tugged at my nipple, his tongue sliding up my neck. “How many and which ones did you flirt with?”
“Three—”
Another slap burned my skin, this one slightly harder, but still just as pleasurable. Hard enough to remind me I was his. Every part of me was alive with sparks of pleasure. I was one smack away from coming and as he shoved me down, his fingers burying deep inside of me, my orgasm shredded me.
“That’s it, sweetheart. I’m the only one you come for, the only one who touches you, the only one you wear sexy panties for.” His words twisted around my climax and intensified it.
He pushed my head down into the mattress, removing his fingers, the sound of his zipper merging with the sounds of my uneven breaths.
“Did you like his touch on your skin, princess ?” He growled the word as his tip sat against my dampness.
“No,” I managed, my body burning with the inferno he’d lit.
Another slap jerked me forward, but he held me in place, pushing his hardness another inch into me.
“I said no,” I whined, my voice shaking.
He rubbed the sting away, saying, “I know, but your ass looks sexy with my handprint on it.”
“Asshole,” I muttered.
He yanked me back, filling me completely, my cry a feral one that joined his grunt.
“You’re my girl, Case.” His every word accompanied a thrust. “No man touches what’s mine. No man gives you nicknames. No man even looks at you without feeling my wrath.”
“Fuck, Mason, you can’t stop men from looking at me.” My voice sounded distant, a weak attempt to maintain some control over my life, no matter that I wanted to give it all over to him.
He bottomed out, hitting me so far it ripped another climax from me, one that gripped me as tight as his hands gripped my hips. “I can do what I want, sweetheart, and you’ll let me.”
And I would, because I was his. Every part of my being was owned by Mason because I wanted him to own it. Not because he’d taken it, but because I’d given it to him, willingly and completely.
His thrusts became more rapid, his hold on me tighter, and he broke, spilling into me, his growl so loud it thundered through the room. When he finally let my hips go, I dropped forward, completely depleted.
I heard his zipper and turned my body, peeking up at him through my curls. He gave me that sexy smirk I adored, his eyes scanning my body.
“Where are you going?” I asked, disappointment taking hold.
“My plane departs soon, and I have to deal with your brother. That little punk called him the minute he left the room.”
Tyson. Shit, that was a dilemma I wasn’t ready to think about, not with the afterglow of my orgasm still buzzing through me. If he weren’t so overprotective, the situation might not be as delicate. Mason was the only one he trusted, and this would kill him.
Mason dropped over me, his arm encircling my body and bringing me against him. I wrapped my fingers over his shirt, ignoring the way his eyes dropped to the twisted fabric, giving me a disapproving look.
“What are you doing, princess ?” He layered princess with a sarcastic seduction.
“Keeping you here.”
“Not gonna happen.”
I entwined my legs around his back, pulling him down further. “Yes, it is. And you’re going to call me your princess when I’m coming around your dick again.” I took his bottom lip between my teeth, dragging them over it until he was groaning. “And again when you’re spilling into me. Maybe then I’ll let you leave.”
He studied me, a gleam in his eyes. “Damn, you’re sexy when you’re giving orders.”
“Good. Now take those clothes off and fuck me again.”
He shook his head before pulling me in for a kiss. My body flared to life again, his kiss burning through me. I struggled with his buttons, needing to feel his skin against me, but he stopped my hands, pushing them down, then untangling my legs from his back.
A small mewl slipped from me, and he gave me a crooked grin. “Hold on, princess .”
I watched him walk from my room to the table. He picked his phone up, his expression shifting to concern. He didn’t have to tell me how many missed calls from Tyson there were. With a sigh, he walked back in as he swiped the screen and hit a number. He brought the phone to his ear, then yanked down my underwear, which he’d never removed before he’d so erotically taken me.
“Delay the flight. I have something I need to deal with.”
He hung up, pocketing the phone before unbuttoning his shirt. Having forgotten just how sexy he was, I rose to run my hands over his tattoos. He dropped his pants, his dick springing free and hitting between my breasts.
“I’m gonna need to find out what those beauties feel like wrapped around my cock, sweetheart, but for now…” He threaded his hand through my hair and lowered himself, forcing me back. His kiss was gentle, almost emotional with its depth and I closed my eyes, letting the feel of his lips on mine, his tongue entwining with mine, his skin warm against my own, take me away. The rough, dominating man who’d brought me to ecstasy with his smacks to my ass and his dirty words was gone, replaced with one who reminded me of the space he’d claimed in my heart. Every touch lit me on fire until the blaze was too hard to control, soaring through me with a force that left me crying out and his mouth capturing my cry.
Mason made love to me as only he could, reclaiming me as our unspoken emotions drove our moves. I gave myself over to him completely, my heart and soul open and ripe for the taking, willingly offered and vulnerable with the wave of climax that crested within me until it flowed through me just as he came, our joined release heated and shattering, leaving us clinging to each other.
I rested my head against his chest, hearing the rapid heartbeats, his hold on me so tight it seemed like he feared letting me go. Just as I feared his leaving. He lifted his head, and I brought my hand to his cheek, feeling the strength below. Leaning into it, he searched my eyes. There were no words spoken, but I saw the love there, his gaze so heavy it seemed to burrow deep in my soul. He turned his head, kissing my hand before he released me, hovering over me and giving me one last passionate kiss.
I watched as he dressed, sitting and pulling a blanket up to cover me. He picked up my lace bra, the one I’d worn earlier that left little to the imagination it was so sheer.
“This only gets worn when you see me. No sexy lingerie for anyone else. Understand, princess?”
Rising, I snatched the bra from his hand, looking at it, then at him, tilting my head as I took him in. My mob boss was back, my passionate lover tucked behind his facade.
“Only if you keep calling me princess.”
He yanked me against him, pulling the blanket from me. “It’s my nickname now, no one else’s. And if the prick calls you princess again, you call me. I’ll be on a plane in seconds to beat the shit out of him.”
My giggle was light, and he smiled, kissing me again. I lifted the blanket back up and followed him out, watching as he put his suit jacket on and slipped his gun back in his pants. I reached up and fixed his tussled hair, running my fingers through his thick ebony locks. The green in his eyes had shifted to a sage hue, their intensity warming me to the core.
His fingers brushed over my face, and he took my chin in them. “I don’t want you here anymore, Case. You’re too far away, and I can’t protect you out here.”
“It’s never been a problem before. Donelli keeps me safe.” But I knew the real reason. He wanted me with him, and I wanted to hear him say it. To give me a reason to give everything I knew up.
But he didn’t give me the reason I wanted to hear, keeping it undisclosed, like saying it would change things more than they already had. “Donelli can’t keep you safe. He’s vulnerable, and he admitted that. I have no choice but to leave you here as a sign that I still trust him, but I’ll find a way around that. For now, you stay. It’ll give me time to face Tyson, but once we work it out, I’m bringing you home.”
“With you?” I asked.
“With me,” he answered. He released me, walking toward the door but stopping at the scarves that hung on my coat hooks. He fingered them, saying, “Riley has a set of these. I haven’t seen them in so long. They were our mother’s.” He peered over at me.
“And those were mine. My parents went with yours on that trip, remember?”
“I’d forgotten,” he said, letting the purple one slip through his fingers. I had three of the scarves, the brighter colors. Tyson had taken the other three darker ones when she’d died a few years back.
“I wear them sometimes. The softness reminds me of her.” I took the purple one from him, running it against my cheek. “This one is my favorite, the one I wear the most.” Taking his hand, I placed it in his palm, folding his fingers around it.
He looked at me, his brows furrowing.
“Take it. It’ll be like a piece of me until you can have all of me.”
His fingers gripped the scarf tight. He brushed my hair back from my cheek, then kissed me once more, the kiss so emotional it left me weak. He ran his fingers over my cheek, lingering on my bottom lip before his eyes darkened again, his moment of softness gone as quickly as a summer rain. “No more going out to clubs. In fact, you keep close to Donelli. And always keep your gun and your phone on you.”
“They’re at Donelli’s in my purse.”
He pulled his phone out and dialed. There was a second of silence before he said, “Casey left her purse there. Have one of your men deliver it. I don’t want her without her phone.”
There was a muffled acknowledgement on the other end, and he hung up.
“You have my number. You call me or Tyson at the first sign of anything.”
I nodded, not liking how hard his expression had become, his tone deadly serious.
“A few days, Casey. That should be enough time to sort things out with Tyson. Then you’re mine, completely.”
My heart leaped into my throat, and I let out a strangled cry. The corner of his mouth lifted to form a sly grin as he tucked my scarf in his pocket. He said nothing more, leaving me to stare at the door and missing his presence the instant he was from my view.
Returning to my bedroom, I avoided looking at the bed and instead cleaned up. The shower should have been soothing, but I hated every drop of water that hit my skin and washed Mason’s touch from me. As I was toweling my hair dry, there was a knock at the door. I peered out, seeing Runt, one of the bodyguards Donelli assigned to me. His name always made me chuckle because he was anything but a runt. If I had to guess, I’d say he was the largest of them.
“The boss sent this over,” he said, holding my purse out to me. He wore a mischievous smile, and I was sure he knew what Mason and I had done.
“Wipe the smirk off your face, Runt. It’s not the first time I’ve had a man over.”
“No, but it’s the first time it’s been someone like Mason Brinks.” He shook his head. “Is it true your brother doesn’t know?”
I rolled my eyes. “You guys gossip more than women I know,” I teased, closing the door on him.
I could hear him laughing on the other side. My phone showed a barrage of text messages and missed calls from Tyson. The last one read, Call me and tell Mason to get his cock out of you and come home so I can make sure it never touches you again.
Great, not only was he pissed, but he was throwing threats around. I dropped my purse on the table, glancing at the chair where Mason’s jacket had been. There was a strange emptiness in my chest, that same one that had been there when I’d left Treemont. It had lingered until today, Mason filling it.
My stomach twisted in knots as I dialed Tyson. I wasn’t sure what to say, but he didn’t give me a chance to say anything.
“What the fuck are you thinking? I’m gonna kill you both. First him, then you!”
“Shut up, Ty.”
“Don’t tell me to shut the fuck up, Casey! Mason’s a dead man. How long has he been fucking you? Have you both been lying to me this entire time?”
“Ty, I?—”
“Fuck! You have. I’m gonna pulverize him. And if he ever touches you again, I’ll lock you up in the nearest convent so you can never spread your legs again.”
The phone went dead and with it my heart crashed. Tyson had never been angry at me. Sure, he scolded me for some of my choices in men, for the clothes I wore, but he’d never been so ugly to me. I sat in the chair, my legs trembling too much to stand, my hands shaking so that I nearly dropped the phone.
Mason’s plane had already left, and he’d be in Treemont in a few hours. Enough time for Tyson to stew in his anger, enough time for him to become deadlier than he already was, and stupid enough to do something he’d regret once he calmed down. I didn’t need to call Mason to warn him; he already knew what awaited him. Phone still in my hand, I considered calling Tyson back but my brother was hot tempered and there was no reasoning with him when he was like this. Besides, he wouldn’t listen to me, no matter what I said, because it was Mason he blamed and not me. It was Mason he would expect an explanation from but would never give him a chance to offer one up.
I stared out the door to my balcony, feeling helpless for the first time in my life and knowing whatever happened when Mason stepped off that plane would change my life forever.