by Mandy Harbin
Not in her bed.
She shot up and gaped at her surroundings, but it didn’t take long before it all came flooding back, aided by the slight pain from last night’s whipping. Nothing like a flash of reality to lift the sleepy fog from her brain.
Moving off the bed, she tested her muscles and her lightly aching back. Hmmm…not too bad. After what she’d gone through, she expected more stiffness or even downright agony. The whipping had hurt like a mo-fo. There was no preparing for something like that. It had been blinding pain from the moment Emory had started…until Mason had shown up.
Mason.
She glanced around the room only to find that she was alone. It was dark, no light shining in from outside. The clock confirmed the insanely early hour. Where was Mason? Did he leave the bed after she’d fallen asleep? Had she slept alone all night?
Her heart fell as she accepted that possibility. She’d been too worn out and had literally crashed after he’d made love to her.
Made love? Oh crap. She couldn’t think of it like that, no matter how caring he’d seemed last night.
And he had. God, he’d treated her with kid gloves. Not even that…he’d handled her as if she’d been precious to him. But she’d been through a difficult scene and needed tending to. Had it all been a reaction to some obligation he felt toward her, nothing more? If so, it made sense why he wouldn’t sleep in the same bed as her. Besides, he didn’t want a relationship. He’d made that perfectly clear, so why would he feel compelled to hold her all night?
But he’d asked her to spend the day with him. She felt so confused. Asking her to spend time with him had to mean something, right?
It doesn’t matter, dumb ass. He’s a mark. She shook her head to clear it as she looked for something to put on. She wasn’t wearing the costume she’d worn last night. Hell no. She needed to get dressed in something more comfortable and call Viola. Mason wanted to spend the day with her—regardless of his reason—and she had to report in to let her team know she wouldn’t be at the office. Viola was the only one she could risk contacting, and knowing her, she would track Shelby’s every move today. She was a-okay with that. She was too conflicted to be left to her own devices.
Mason was an enigma. She couldn’t begin to guess what he had planned for today. Knowing Viola had her back would make this easier. It would be even easier if she knew what Mason was thinking because she really had no idea.
Maybe he’s falling for me? She cursed her speeding heart. She couldn’t afford anything like that. She was already too connected to him, and this wasn’t a normal situation. If he wanted her beyond their four scenes, she would have to…what? Hell, she didn’t know, and that was the problem, one of many, actually. What she did know was that she liked him. A lot. Too much. Way too much. Then again, Rick would probably like it if Mason was enamored with her. Her boss didn’t give a shit about her love life.
Love? Oh hell. This was all kinds of messed up…because she was well and truly falling in love with him. Mason, a man who’d stolen her heart faster than any other before him. A man who might be a murderer.
If her boss found out, he’d sack her. If her brother found out, he’d go AWOL just so he could toss her in a room and stand guard outside of it twenty-four-seven. If more powerful people found out, she’d be put under a microscope for sure with every decision she had ever made analyzed for anything illegal. She knew how it worked. Hell, she’d just worked on the case in Arkansas investigating the Bang Shift crew for that very reason.
She was so screwed no matter how she looked at it.
Shelby grabbed Mason’s shirt from the floor and put it on. If she shut her eyes and inhaled his masculine scent, she pretended it never happened.
She tiptoed out of the bedroom in search of where he went. This place wasn’t huge, so if he hadn’t slept with her, he’d be on the couch. She didn’t know what she expected to find or if she’d even do anything but watch him while he slept. God, she had it bad if she’d rather stay awake and be near him than go back to bed and sleep.
She froze when she heard muttering.
“I told you, I’d take care of it.”
Mason. He sounded pissed.
Shelby took another step closer, but something inside told her not to make any noise. He was in living room, but definitely not asleep. Was someone in there with him? Who was he talking to at this hour?
“No,” he said tersely. She hadn’t heard any other voice, so she figured he was on the phone.
“Bullshit. I’ve gone over those numbers my goddamn self, Baxter.”
Baxter? The B in F and B. There were several members of the Baxter family that worked for Fieldstein and Baxter. He could be talking to any one of them. He could be talking about anything. It could be nothing.
“I told you, I fucking took care of O’Brian.”
Oh shit, shit, shit! He meant Carl O’Brian. She just knew it. Both Baxter or O’Brian being mentioned in the same conversation didn’t leave any doubt. As far as the FBI knew, O’Brian could be dead, and some on her team liked Mason for the disappearance.
And he’d all but confirmed it. Her heart was breaking, and she knew right then that she wasn’t just falling in love. She’d already taken the leap. She’d fallen in love with a criminal. If she could break down and cry and scream, she would, but she’d have to save that for later. She had a job to do, and now more than ever, she had to damn well do it.
Her hands shook as she took another step closer while her mind reeled with her options. She could pretend she hadn’t known he was on the phone and just walk in, catch him off guard and see if he talked, or she could go back to the bedroom and wait for him to return to her.
“I hear you loud and clear, William.”
William Baxter. President of capital management, and Mason’s direct boss as of late. More confirmation the conversation was nothing short of damning.
Had Mason been promoted because he and William Baxter were in cahoots? That, she didn’t know, but she had to figure out a way to get this intel to Viola without Mason knowing, so her team could investigate their connection more. This could be the break they were looking for.
“Well, then let me explain it to you. I know you skimmed money from that fund before you closed it. If I wanted the feds breathing down our necks, I’d have reported you. If I found it, I know others can. You’re too fucking sloppy… Yes, I did just say that… Don’t you fucking threaten me. I said I’d take care of it, but this is last fucking time I’m coming to your rescue. After this, you’re on your own.” He slammed the phone down. “Fuck!”
She jumped at his outburst and made a split-second decision. If he was emotional, maybe he’d let something slip while he was reeling with anger.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” she asked as she stepped into the room.
He whirled, his hands fisting, breath sawing in and out, his naked chest heaving with effort. “My boss isn’t qualified to be flipping burgers for a living. Wasting everybody’s goddamn time with frivolous meetings. The only reason he’s in his position is because he’s family. But all he’s doing is running the company into the ground.” He grumbled a few more expletives toward the ceiling.
She licked her lips and moved closer. He was talking. This was good. Isn’t it? Because the more he says, the more he is sealing his fate and breaking your heart. She took a deep breath, forcing her emotions away. She could not think about that right now.
“It’s not what you know. It’s who you know, right?”
He looked at her, his angry eyes turning sad, and her stomach dropped at the impossible look he gave her. “I don’t think I can do this right now.”
Shit. She was losing him. In more ways than one. What was she supposed to say? The FBI never guided her on this. Hell, neither had her dad. He was both a man and a mark, and she literally had no idea what she was supposed to do.
He shoved his hand through his hair and blew out an obviously frustrated breath. “I care about you, Shelby. I didn’t pla
n on that happening. I—shit.” He dropped to the couch and let his head fall into his hands. “I can’t get involved right now. Too much is at stake.” He looked at her then. Were her eyes watering? She was blinking rapidly, and he was suspiciously blurry. “God, please don’t cry,” he said, pained.
The knot in her throat was sudden, confirming what was already obvious to him. She tried swallowing it down as she stepped closer. “I don’t know how to wrap my head around—” She shook her head, trying to find words. She couldn’t tell him anything, not really. It didn’t matter that she was in love with him. They couldn’t be together under these circumstances. They’d been doomed from the start.
“You’re just infatuated with me because I’m your first Dom. It’s natural to bond—”
Oh, she didn’t want to hear any more of this placating B.S. She stormed closer, all other obstacles between them forgotten. “Don’t you dare tell me how I feel, Mason. I mean Master.”
He blinked at her, obviously stunned at her outburst, but then he shot to his feet, a new storm brewing in his gaze.
“What? We’re not screwing right now. I can call you whatever the hell I want. If you’re going to be a jackass, I’m going to call you out on it. So, tell me, are you going to tuck tail and hide behind your own goddamn insecurities for saying your name? Because it looks like you’re about fucking to do that. But what the hell does it even matter if you’re kicking me out anyway?”
In the back of her mind, a part of her was screaming out a warning that even if this man wasn’t a murderer, he could still be dangerous, and she shouldn’t provoke him. She really had no idea what he was capable of, but she was too consumed with the barrage of emotions coursing through her.
“Shelby,” he growled, and came closer. “I don’t know what you want from me.”
“How about the truth, Mason.” It was now or never. Only seconds ago, she’d considered fleeing, and now she was confronting him instead. If she didn’t do it now, she may never get another chance. This was the moment she’d waited for…and one she’d slowly come to dread.
His eyes flashed right before he yanked her to him and she gasped at his sudden movement. “You want the truth? You can fucking have it.” He crushed his mouth onto hers, and she tried pushing him away as she squirmed closer. She wanted him, but she knew she shouldn’t. He was kissing her like a man starved, and what little battle she put up waned at his dominating seduction. This was crazy.
This was need. A desire so deep she didn’t know how to control it. Not in this moment. Maybe never.
Her back slammed against a wall, and she gripped his shoulders to steady herself.
“Hands above your head,” he barked.
She immediately obeyed.
The few buttons she’d fastened flew to the floor when he ripped open the shirt she had on. He pushed in closer, panting into her ear.
“You…only you can do this to me.” He shoved at his shorts while her body shook with anticipation. He’d just told her he couldn’t do this, but now neither of them could get close enough to the other fast enough.
He pushed into her without hesitation and fucked her hard, nothing like the tender loving he’d shown her last night. He was punishing her, punishing himself, and she loved every second of if.
“Mason,” she breathed, and once she said it, she couldn’t stop. She chanted his name over and over as he plowed into her. The freedom to say it during the height of pleasure too good to verbalize anything else. As if she even could.
“God, baby. You feel so good.”
She locked her legs tighter around him and met his powerful thrusts as best she could. It was frenzied, and she didn’t care. She wasn’t going to last, and she wanted him owning her, owning this thing between them. He couldn’t say the words, but his body was screaming them at her. He couldn’t deny he felt something, and she knew it. If not before, she did now.
Her climax caught her off guard, her back bowing as she screamed.
He roared, not slowing as he joined her. Uninhibited.
Unprotected.
Oh no.
She was on birth control, so that wasn’t the issue. And because of Mason’s lifestyle and the possibility that they would have sex, the FBI had secured his medical records. She knew that even though it had been careless, she was still safe.
Yet, that didn’t matter. Letting him come inside was giving him another part of her soul. She’d never had unprotected sex before. Ever.
“Shit,” he breathed, and she figured he’d realized this little tidbit, too. “I’m sorry. I never lose control.”
He stiffened against her before he eased her to her feet. No, she figured he didn’t like losing control at all. “It’s okay. I’m on birth control and clean.”
“I am, too.” But he still didn’t sound happy as he moved away from her, closing himself off. It hurt like hell that he was doing it so soon after taking her.
“Look, Mason—”
He laughed without humor, keeping his back to her. “How wrong is it that I like you saying my name?”
“It doesn’t have to be.”
His shoulders dropped, and he faced her. “Some things came up at work. I need to go in.”
There went her heart again. He might as well punch a hole in her chest, rip it out, and be done with it already. “Are we just going to leave things like this?” she asked softly, not wanting to know the answer but unable to keep her mouth shut.
“I’ll call you when I’m ready for our next scene.” He turned to walk away, and dread like none she’d ever experienced before engulfed her. This all still felt very final. Sex hadn’t changed anything. She was old enough to understand that, but it still hurt. “And after? What then, Mason?”
He turned to look at her, staring for several seconds before speaking. “I can’t answer that, Shelby. Not yet.”
She searched his eyes, but he was unmoving. “I don’t know what’s going on, but whatever it is, it’s making you miserable.”
“You don’t know me.”
If he’d slapped her, it would’ve hurt less. Because it was hateful and truthful all at the same time. She didn’t know him. Nor did she know herself if she was capable of falling in love with a man who could kill someone for financial gain. Or could toss her feelings away as if they didn’t even matter. The fact that the latter bothered her more was an unwelcome wakeup call. Unwelcome, but there all the same. “You’re right,” she said, resolve settling in. “I don’t.”
She turned to leave, but looked over her shoulder. “You don’t know me either. It’s better if it stays that way.”
“Shelby.”
She didn’t wait around to hear what he had to say. It didn’t matter. He thought he was teaching her to play, but in reality, she was playing him, working him on a case. If she stayed long enough, she might feel compelled to tell him everything, which would not only get her fired, but get her thrown in jail right alongside him. The government didn’t look too kindly at obstruction of justice. No matter what her heart was telling her, her head would prevail. She had to get away from him. Now. And stay away.
Her purse had been dropped by the door, so she’d grabbed it before fleeing. She didn’t care that she was half naked. She clutched the shirt closed and ran barefoot to her car. It still wasn’t daybreak, so no one was around to see her leaving. No one except whoever watched the club while she was there.
Hopefully, the information she got from him today was enough to get a warrant, so the FBI could focus their investigation on him and William Baxter. If it was, the surveillance teams could disband because her involvement with Mason would be effectively over.
Her breath hitched as she started her car and pulled out onto the road.
It can’t be over if it never began.
Chapter Sixteen
Mason slammed his desk drawer and waited for his laptop to boot up, determined to focus on the new nightmare before him and not the one brewing in his personal life.
One mi
nute he was pushing Shelby away, and the next he was trying to figure out how to keep her in his life…only to push her away again. Seeing the look of hurt on her face as she left gutted him. Because it held more than rejection. In its depths was understanding. It was as if she knew things could never really work between them, regardless of any feelings brewing.
Deep down, he knew it, too. Love would not be enough. He was strong enough to admit how he felt, and smart enough to put it aside. Frankly, he had no other choice now. The phone call he’d gotten from William this morning drilled that point home.
The only thing that man was good at was fucking things up and screwing people over. The son of a bitch had moved some money from one of the funds started by Fieldstein—a fund that Mason now managed—into a shell business. He purposely left a paper trail leading to Mason as the one behind the illegal activity. He didn’t stop there either. William even posted some large unscheduled deposits into Mason’s 401k and diverted more into an overseas bank account that had his fucking name all over it.
His boss was now blackmailing him.
He’d told Mason he was working something huge on the Culpepper Hedge Fund, confirming what Mason had learned from his source. Now, William needed him to move money out of it before the quarterly projections were finished, so it coincided with the earnings they would be showing to investors. It seemed the meeting with their Tokyo counterparts hadn’t been as fruitless as Mason had believed. Because Mason had disposed of Carl, William believed he’d be willing to take the plunge to the dark side and join him in working the Ponzi scheme.
With a little coaxing.
If Mason agreed, William would fix the mess he caused, and Mason would go back to being as clean as a whistle—on paper.
If he didn’t, then William would hang him out to dry. In an orange jumpsuit at a minimum-security prison.
As soon as Shelby had left, he’d called his silent partner on the untraceable phone and had relayed everything. Mason was ready to pull the plug on his plan and deal with William himself, but the man had talked him into playing along, convincing him this was a good thing. William was finally showing his hand, so it was only a matter of time before they’d get him. He’d assured Mason he would get his name off that money in the meantime and intercept the transaction William was forcing him to make. Mason had finally relented.