A Passionate Kiss

by Sharon C. Cooper

  London returned her attention to him, her stare sweeping from his eyes to the hold that he still had on her wrist. “I’m fine, Mase. Really. I’m fine.” She eased out of his grip.

  London felt the frustration bounce off of him in waves, only making her feelings for him deepen. She knew if she ever needed anyone, he would be there. More than once he had come to her rescue and she had no doubt he still would.

  Though he didn’t look convinced, Mason stepped back and opened his mouth to say something, but glanced at Harper who was waiting by the escalator for her, and then at Hamilton. Instead, he turned and headed to the back of the club.

  Minutes later, London strolled into Harper’s office, closing the door behind her.

  “Okay, what happened?” Harper asked in a rush as she set her handbag on top of her huge white desk. The pristine office decorated with French Provincial furniture was almost bigger than London’s first apartment. “So?”

  London roamed over to the floor to ceiling windows overlooking a wooded area. “Nothing happened. Cory has me so paranoid, I felt like I was being followed.”

  “What?” Harper yelled. “You think he followed you to Atlanta?”

  London turned to her friend and shook her head. “No. I’m trippin’. I just had this weird feeling is all. I don’t think anyone was following me.”

  London and Cory had parted ways almost six months ago. Against his wishes, she had moved out of the apartment—the one they’d shared in North Carolina for the past year and a half. Unfortunately, he hadn’t taken their break-up well and had since started showing up at the oddest places. The last straw was when she was reporting on location in Charlotte and spotted Cory standing a few feet behind the camera man.

  “Are you sure he didn’t follow you to Atlanta? Considering the way he’s been acting lately, I wouldn’t put anything past him.”

  “He doesn’t know I’m here.” London had applied for a news anchor job at Hot Atlanta News and after two interviews, had been offered the job a few weeks ago.

  “Just because you won’t be on a national television station, doesn’t mean Cory won’t find out you’re here. Maybe you should tell Mason. He has a few police officer friends in Atlanta. Perhaps there’s something they can do.”

  London shook her head. “I told you. I talked to the police in Charlotte and they said that there’s nothing they can do since Cory hasn’t actually done anything. Stalking might be a crime, but he hasn’t said anything to me, he hasn’t sent me crazy gifts. Nothing. Whatever he’s doing might not even classify as stalking. It just freaks me out a little to see him pop up at the weirdest times.”

  “I just don’t understand that. Causing mental anguish ought to count. The way Mason was looking at you downstairs means he picked up on something. I take it you didn’t tell him that you thought you were being followed.”

  Waving her off, London sat in one of the guest chairs facing Harper’s desk. “Mase was just being his usual over-protective self.”

  “Maybe that’s good. You could be in danger for all we know. And clearly Cory’s antics are stressing you out. Look at you.” Harper put her hand on her hip. “You’ve lost at least ten pounds—weight you didn’t have to lose, I might add—since I saw you two months ago.”

  “I know. There’s just been a lot going on and I haven’t had much of an appetite. I have a lot on my mind.” And seeing Mason added to the knots twisting in her stomach. She thought that after all of these years, her feelings for him would have subsided, but that definitely wasn’t the case. If anything, each time she was near him, her feelings grew more intense.

  Harper glanced at her watch and pulled a file from the bottom drawer of her desk. “So what’s been on your mind? You did sound a little strange the other day when we talked, but I thought you were just anxious about the new job.”

  “That, and I’ve been thinking about my life.” London toyed with the diamond-shaped, crystal paperweight on the desk. “You were right when you told me I needed to buckle down and start thinking more about my future. I feel different. Everything seems to be changing around me, but I’m stuck in a rut. And I’ve missed you guys.”

  London’s grandparents, the Bennetts’ neighbors, took her in twenty years ago after her parents were killed, and raised her. Three years ago they passed away within months of each other, leaving London alone. Heartbroken and wallowing in grief, London thought getting out of Atlanta was the answer.

  “I’m ready to settle down and have a family,” she whispered more to herself than to Harper. “Most of our friends are married with one or two children and I’m just …” She shrugged without finishing. Her emotions had been all over the place since she accepted the job in Atlanta. Arriving in town last night she’d been excited, but it was as if a dark cloud hovered above her, bringing with it a depression she hadn’t felt in years.

  Harper went around the desk, sat on the arm of the chair, and hugged London. “I know the last few years have been hard, but I’m glad you’re back. You need to be around family. And before you say you don’t have any family, you know you do. We will always be here for you.”

  “I know.”

  “You’re my sister and Cameron feels the same way. As for Mason, you already know how he feels about you.”

  London released an unladylike snort. “Yeah, he thinks of me as a kid sister … still.”

  Harper straightened and smoothed down her blouse. They’d been friends forever, and for as long as London could remember, her friend always looked perfectly pulled together, even when they were kids. She refused to wear anything except the latest fashions and that hadn’t changed.

  “You and Mason are in denial.” Harper reclaimed her seat. “I’ve seen the way you two look at each other. I don’t know why you can’t see how much he loves you, and Mason can’t seem to admit how he feels about—” A knock sounded at the door, interrupting Harper. “Come in.”

  A tall kid—wearing a white shirt, with a black tie hanging loose around his neck, and black slacks—strolled in. The club was closed, but London assumed that he was part of Club Masquerade’s security team since black suits were required attire when they were on duty at the club.

  The guy moved farther into the room with a toothy smile and carrying a brown paper bag. It must have been filled with food if the enticing sweet and spicy aromas suddenly permeating the office were any indication. “I take it you’re London.” He stood next to her chair and London glanced from him to Harper and then back at him.

  “May … be,” she said slowly.

  Harper grinned and pointed at the paper bag. “What’s in the bag, Bones?”

  “Mase told me to bring this up to London. He said she was in your office, so I assumed …” He shrugged. “Anyway, he said and I quote, ‘Eat. You need to put some meat on those bones.’”

  Harper burst out laughing and London rolled her eyes even though she was touched by his gesture. Smiling, she accepted the bag.

  “Well, you can tell him he needs to mind his own business.”

  “Oh, and Harp, Mase said there’s enough for you, but don’t eat up everything from London.” Bones left the office laughing, closing the door behind him.

  “See, I told you. Mase is in love with you. Do you think he would do this for anyone else?” Harper grabbed plates and utensils from the cabinet near the round table that she used for talking with clients.

  London strolled across the room and set the bag on the table. She didn’t know what to make of Mason’s gesture. Granted, he always looked out for her when they were kids, and even before he joined the Marines, but they hadn’t spent much time together in years. Why would he even bother? He hadn’t accepted any of her calls while he was recovering in Germany. And he didn’t want her to visit once he arrived back in the States. Harper claimed that he was self-conscious about his scars, but London wasn’t buying it. He didn’t want anything to do with her and she was okay with that … well, until today. Until she saw him and he held her in his arms.<
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  London pulled containers out of the bag and her hand went to her chest realizing he’d gotten her Thai food, her favorite. “I can’t believe he remembered,” she murmured quietly.

  “You know I hate to say it, but I told you so. And, girl, let me tell you about the crazy conversation he and I had earlier. He said he wants children, but not a wife. Can you believe that nonsense?”

  London ate and listened as her friend talked about why intentionally having children out of wedlock was a bad idea. Yet, London could understand Mason’s reasoning. Though she wanted to get married and have a family one day soon, she’d consider foregoing marriage to have children with the right man.

  Chapter Two

  “Harper, we’re not increasing the budget for you to buy more furniture for the VIP section. That’s ridiculous. The sofas are only a year old and they still look brand new.” Cameron’s voice cut into Mason’s thoughts.

  For the past hour, Mason had been sitting in Cameron’s office with him and Harper discussing some budget changes. Unfortunately, if he was quizzed on what had been discussed, he’d fail. His mind kept wandering back to London.

  It had been three days since he’d seen her and not a minute had gone by that he hadn’t thought about her. Something was very wrong and he intended to find out what. Besides that, seeing her had conjured up memories of the night they’d shared that brain-jarring kiss.

  It was a Thanksgiving Day and he’d been on leave. His mother always went all out for the holidays, and even more so on those rare occasions when he was able to join the family. Throughout that day, he and London had skirted around each other. Mason wasn’t sure what it was, but she looked different to him. She was no longer his sister’s pesky sidekick. When she got ready to leave, he had walked her out to her car, something he’d done more times than he could count over the years. It was like any other time until she surprised the hell out of him when her lips touched his. He and London had always had a special bond—one he couldn’t explain—but he never considered that bond to be a romantic one … until that day.

  They had never crossed that line. A line that couldn’t be physically seen but was drawn to keep a man from longing for a woman who he’d always considered a sister. Until that night. A night and a kiss he would never forget. That night, everything changed.

  “Does that work for you, Mase?”

  Mason’s gaze shot up to find Cameron and Harper staring at him.

  Sighing, his brother leaned back in his seat. “You’re the one who wanted all of us to meet and you’re not even paying attention. Are we keeping you from something?”

  “Or from someone,” Harper cracked, a grin inching across her lips.

  Mason was still a little ticked at her for not telling him what was really going on with London. She could be so tight-lipped at times. All she said was that London had recently moved back to Atlanta, which was news to him. Yet another secret his sister had kept. She also mentioned London had a lot going on because of the move. However, Mason knew there was more. There was something that she and London weren’t telling him.

  “Does what work for me?” he asked Cameron. No sense in acting as if he knew what they’d been talking about because he didn’t have a clue.

  “For this year, we have an additional $12,000 we can put toward upgrading the security system and another $40,000 to add three more armed guards on the weekends. I know you asked for more, but—”

  “We’ll make it work,” Mason cut in. He had a few friends on the police force and had offered them the part-time gig for when they were off duty. He wanted to see how it worked out using Atlanta’s finest since he was in negotiations with a friend who was looking to expand his security business to Atlanta.

  “What’s going on, Mason?” Cameron closed the file in front of him and set his pen down next to it. “You usually don’t say much in these meetings, but damn, man. You’re even more tense than you were when you first got back. Are you okay?”

  Harper tapped her nails against the tabletop, drawing Mason’s attention.

  “Ask Harp. Something is going on with London. I have a feeling it’s something serious.”

  Cameron looked pointedly at Harper. Though they were triplets, Harper and Mason always looked to him as the big brother with all the answers. Maybe because he had been born first. Either way, Cameron fell easily into the role.

  “What’s up with London?” Cameron’s authoritative, no nonsense tone left no doubt that now he was concerned. Harper remained silent, gnawing on the tip of her thumbnail as if debating on whether or not to tell them. Her silence only made Mason more anxious. “She’s our sister, too, Harp. If she’s in trouble, we need to know. We can’t help her if you two aren’t telling us what’s going on.”

  When the Bennetts first met London, sitting on her grandparents’ porch, she was a super skinny, very shy ten-year-old. Though she and Harper connected immediately, London shied away from Mason. After a while she warmed to him and Cameron, and they started picking on her the same way they harassed Harper. But when Mason was around thirteen, his feelings for her started changing and the attraction only grew.

  “Well?” Cameron prompted, but Harper still said nothing.

  Mason jerked out of his chair. “Dammit, Harper. Now I know somethings going on! Is she in trouble? Is she in danger? What?”

  “Fine!” Harper huffed, folding her arms across her chest. “Her ex-boyfriend has been harassing her.”

  “What?” Mason yelled. “Someone is harassing her and you didn’t think it was important to tell us? How long has this been going on? And is this the asshole she was living with?”

  Harper nodded. “She’s going to kill me for telling you guys, especially you, Mason.”

  “What? Why?” Bracing his hands on the table, he stared at his sister. “Why wouldn’t she want me to know?”

  Cameron stood and grabbed his suit jacket from the back of his desk chair. “I can’t believe you even have to ask that.”

  Now Mason was really confused. “What?”

  “Remember Jasper Hart from high school?” Harper asked. She and Cameron looked at him pointedly.

  Yeah, Mason remembered the punk. He had transferred to their high school during their sophomore year and took a liking to London. There hadn’t been a problem until she told Jasper she wasn’t interested in him. The guy didn’t take rejection well and started picking on her and talking trash to his friends about what he had supposedly done with her. And then Mason found out. He’d caught the guy one day after school and beat his ass.

  “Don’t even try denying that you beat him up and broke his arm,” Cameron said. “He might have told everyone that he fell off of his skateboard, but I saw you.”

  Mason’s brows shot up. “How? When?”

  “I was following him …” Cameron shrugged. “Let’s just say I had the same intentions.”

  “Are you serious?” Harper gasped. “With Mason I wasn’t surprised since he used to be a fight first ask questions later kinda guy, but you, Cam?”

  Mason grinned at his brother. “I guess great minds think alike.” They shared a fist bump. “But how did you know?” Mason asked Harper.

  “Me and London were at our lockers one day after school and Jasper got in her face. Told her that if she ever sicced her boyfriend, Mase, on him again, he was going to the principal and then to the cops.”

  “Damn, she never said anything,” Mason said more to himself than to anyone else.

  He opened and closed his hand trying to work out the stiffness. “Why didn’t she tell me?”

  “She vowed then that she was never telling you if anyone bothered her. She was afraid you’d get into trouble and end up in jail.”

  “Hell, we were kids, Harp. I was only watching her back.”

  No telling what London would have done had she known about the other guys he had handled on her behalf in high school. Cute, tiny, and introverted at the time, she was like a magnet, drawing the attention of the guys in their c
lass, especially the jocks. Back then, Mason had made it his personal mission to watch out for her.

  “Now is different,” he said with conviction. “This situation is different.”

  He was different. He and London hadn’t spent much time together lately, but that didn’t make her any less important to him. Trying to get her to talk to him before she left the club the other day had been futile. She thanked him for lunch and left. Clearly she was still pissed that he hadn’t wanted to see her after his accident. It wasn’t so much that he hadn’t wanted to see her; it was because he hadn’t been in a good place. Losing his best friend, Andre, in the same explosion that had ripped off part of Mason’s face and damaged his hand, had rocked him to the core. He hadn’t really wanted to talk to anyone after that.

  “So what are we going to do about this boyfriend?” Cameron asked Mason.

  “Ex-boyfriend,” Mason corrected absently, wondering what to do with this newfound information. “We aren’t going to do anything, but I’m going to talk to London.”

  “You can’t.” Rising, Harper gathered her papers. “Because then she’s going to know I told you.”

  “I won’t tell her. Where is she right now?” Mason headed to the door.

  “She’s at my place. What are you going to do?”

  “I’m just going to talk to her. Hopefully I can get her to tell me about this guy.”

  *

  London switched her cell phone to her other ear. She stood at the kitchen counter in Harper’s loft listening as her realtor went on and on about the places she had shown London the day before.

  “And I have a few more homes I can show you tomorrow. There’s an adorable little craftsman-style house that came on the market this morning which meets all of your requirements.”

  Pulling the phone away from her ear, London stared at it. How many times did she have to keep repeating herself to this real estate agent?

  “Cynthia, I told you. I don’t want a single family house, and I don’t want a townhouse. I’m only interested in condos or an apartment in a secured building. That’s it.”