Chapter 17
Chapter Seventeen
Mason
I was awake before the alarm. I reached over and switched it off, then slid out of bed, doing my best to not wake Kip.
He looks so peaceful.
Part of him was wide awake, however, and the sight of his morning wood tenting the sheet was a distraction I didn’t need, not when I had breakfast to make. My mind did its best to derail my good intentions, telling me Kip would love to wake up to my mouth around his dick.
I’m sure he would, but not if it makes him late for work. Maybe. Yeah, probably.
I’d make it up to him when he came home.
I went to the kitchen and started his coffee.
While it burbled away, I took eggs off the counter, grabbed bacon out of the fridge, and bread from the cabinet.
I also took down a cast iron frying pan my mom had gifted us when we moved back to town.
It had belonged to my grandma, who’d left it to Mom, who’d then given it to me as a housewarming gift.
Within fifteen minutes the kitchen was awash in delectable scents, which I knew would wake Kip any moment. I plated the breakfast for us, then set them on the table. As soon as I did that, I went to grab a mug for his coffee.
“Morning, babe.” Kip stood in the doorway.
Now there was a delectable sight. His jeans hugged his legs, and his sweatshirt only made his broad chest more noticeable.
And he was still packing.
Down boy. I suppressed a snort when I thought, “Down my throat.”
“Hey, how’d you sleep?”
“Like a log.” He cocked his head. “Which I will never understand because logs don’t sleep.” He sat at the table and attacked his food with gusto.
“If you want, I could explain it to you.”
His eyes widened, his fork midway to his mouth. “Wait—you know why they say that?”
“Yeah, I do.” I grinned. “I know a lot of things, including the long, ick-inducing sex talks my folks made me sit through to prepare me for my Dominant. Fortunately I knew early on I was gay, so they limited my need to study to that, because while I like plenty of girls, I do not dig their equipment.”
He chuckled. “Yes, I remember how you’d shudder if I told you something about a girl.”
I snorted. “Like you didn’t when I talked about gay stuff.”
He pulled me to him and kissed me. “Which I profoundly regret. I would have liked to know more than I do now.”
My face grew hot. “Oh, I don’t know. I think you did really well last night.” I paused. “There are a couple of things you need to practice, though.”
He smirked. “Oh, there are?”
“Yeah, but don’t worry.” I waggled my eyebrows. “I’ll be patient as I teach you.”
That reduced him to snort-laughing. “You are too much.” He glanced at the microwave. “Shit. I have to get moving. Got to get in and see if I have a crew today.” He shoveled the rest of his breakfast into his mouth, then wiped his face and gave me another kiss. “I’ll see you tonight,” he promised.
“I look forward to it. Did you want me to meet you at the door for a blow job?”
He groaned and reached down to adjust himself. “Please don’t say things like that when I need to get to work.”
“Sorry, Kip. Work hard, dear.”
He rolled his eyes. “Yeah, that’s gonna be a spanking.”
And then he was gone.
I cleared the table, washed the dishes, then started working in the garden.
I couldn’t believe how calm and collected I was.
Clearing the air with Kip, having him tell me he would do his best to fulfill my needs, and then telling me to get on my knees had cleared my head of all the doubts and thoughts I was struggling with.
When my phone rang, I slid it out of my pocket and answered. “Morning, Mom.”
“And good morning yourself. You sound perky. Not to mention happy.”
I sighed. “Because I am. Last night Kip and I sat and talked. Remember him not being comfortable with the whole Dominant thing? He explained his reasons and promised he would do his best to give me what I needed.”
“Oh, honey, that’s awesome,” she gushed.
“I love him, Mom.”
“I’d have to be blind to miss that,” she teased. “You’ve been in love with him since about the sixth grade.”
“I have not,” I protested.
“If you could’ve seen your face when he was close to you, you’d understand. You were so lost on that boy, it wasn’t even funny. Of course, he was straight, which threw a wrench into the works.”
“Then why would you think he might be my Dominant?”
“A Dominant doesn’t necessarily need to have sex with his submissive.
It’s more about the attitude and the willingness to answer that call.
Kip always stepped up and took care of you.
Remember when we had that birthday luncheon for you and you got all upset because it was also supposed to be part of your training? ”
Oh, yeah, I remembered all too well. They’d invited twenty kids, all about my age, who’d descended on the house. I was too scared to say anything to anyone, and they were more interested in the buffet anyway.
Except Kip.
He came over, saw I wasn’t eating, then went to the buffet table and got each of us a plate full of things he knew I’d like.
Watching him try to balance both as he toddled toward me was funny, but I couldn’t find a smile.
He brought them over, placed one in front of me, and sat while we ate.
He was pretty much the only one who paid any attention to me.
“Eat,” he’d said.
“I’m not hungry,” I replied petulantly.
“Didn’t ask if you were. Told you to eat.”
And I ate.
“Yeah, I remember.”
“That was the day I thought Kip might make a good Dominant for you. He was kind, patient, and he honestly cared for you. Your dad and I watched him over the next couple of years, and we figured it was only a matter of time until the two of you were matched. Then he started dating girls, and things changed. But the one thing that didn’t? The way he looked at you.”
“What do you mean?”
“He thought you were absolutely remarkable. Once he met you he didn’t seek out other friends. Some still came into his life, of course, but that was because they found him. He was always devoted to you, his best friend.”
It warmed my heart to know she’d seen something I hadn’t.
“And then we have you.”
Oh, shit.
“What do you mean?”
She chuckled. “You went out of your way to pretend you weren’t totally in love with him. You’d sit there and stare at him, then someone would cough or make some kind of noise, and you’d find other things infinitely more interesting, but your gaze always went back to him.”
“Fine,” I said with a sigh. “Yes, I was into him, but—”
“You weren’t ‘into’, you were in love.”
Damn it. No one was supposed to have seen it. I’d thought if I tried really hard, I could ignore my feelings, but that never happened. If anything, it got worse as time went by. I think that was probably where my itch had started, always in the back of my brain, where I couldn’t reach it.
“Okay, I was in love. Happy now?”
“As long as you are, yes. I am so glad the two of you are working things out.”
“Me too. So, what did you need on this fine day?”
She chuckled. “You are happy.”
And I was. Hell, I was already planning the next fifty years with Kip.
Then I heard a loud snap, and the hair on the back of my neck rose. I lurched to my feet, my heart pounding. I couldn’t smell or see anyone, but my arms erupted in a carpet of goosebumps.
I don’t like this.
I thought quickly. “Mom? Do me a favor and call Kip, would you? Tell him I need him home right away.”
“What’s wrong?” she demanded, her voice like steel.
“Maybe nothing, Just call him, please?”
The click of the phone was loud as Mom disconnected. Then a shadow slid through the yard. My heart hammered as I raced for the door to get inside. I’d almost reached it when something struck me in the back of the head.
And again.
My vision began to darken as they continued to rain blows on my head, neck, back. Each one was agony.
Fuck, no. I couldn’t die, not when I was finally figuring things out.
Kip, I need you!
Kip
One second I was in the middle of a conversation with Miguel, our foreman, and the next, my temples exploded in pain so intense, I dropped the stump I was carrying and clutched my head.
“Kip? Dude, what’s wrong?” Miguel demanded.
I tried to answer, but I couldn’t form any words. All I knew was overwhelming pain and fear and…
Mase.
I wasn’t sure how, but I was feeling him in my mind, and he was panicking, a white-hot panic that sent fear barreling through me. I turned to get to my truck when the phone rang. I brought it to my ear.
“Hello?”
“Hey, it’s Rachel. I was on the phone with Mason when he heard something. He got scared and asked me to call you. I’ve already called 9-1-1.”
“Thank you. I’m headed that way already. I… I felt his need.”
“You felt it? Holy crap.”
“What?”
“No, nothing. We can discuss it later. Get to Mason, please. I’ll meet you there.”
She disconnected before I could say anything.
I launched myself into the truck, praying it wouldn’t crap out on me.
My fingers shook as I turned the key, but thankfully the engine rolled over on the first try.
I threw it into gear and screeched out of the lot, heading for home.
In the distance sirens wailed, but they couldn’t drown out Mason’s cries in my head, telling me he was scared, that he needed me.
That he didn’t want to die.
I think I broke the land speed record getting to our house. I jumped from the truck, leaving it parked in the middle of the road, and raced toward the yard. I threw open the gate into the back, and as I stepped through it. I swear my heart stopped.
Mase lay there, covered in blood, a rock from his garden next to him, also stained red. I knelt beside him and pulled him into my arms. He was limp and his body was cold. Anger seared through me.
Someone had entered our sanctuary and attacked Mason.
Someone would have to die.