“Hunt!” I shout from the other side of the hallway. “What the fuck are you wearing?”
Her lips curve into one hell of a seductive grin which has a direct link to my dick. My eyes slowly sweep over her, and I take in the fucking skimpy shorts which barely cover her important parts.
The parts I don’t want another dick seeing.
The boots only make her outfit off the charts hot.
She’s wearing a loose sweater which hangs off her left shoulder, and she’s straightened her hair. Gone is the rat's nest from this morning.
When she gets close to me, my eyes move up to her face and stop on her glossy mouth. When my eyes lock on hers, I have to suppress the urge to wipe the smokey eyeshadow off with my bare hands.
Her smirk stretches. “They’re called clothes, Mason.”
I begin to shake my head and grabbing hold of her hip, I yank her right against my chest.
I hear a wave of murmurs ripple through the students around us as they watch Kingsley and me.
Usually, I’d just text the girl to meet me somewhere. I’ve never been seen publicly with any of them, nevermind flirting with one.
But Kingsley’s not just another fuck buddy.
She’s so much more.
Leaning down until I can see the dark blue line around her irises clearly, I grumble, “I’m dead sure the panties I ripped off you have more fabric than the shorts you’re wearing now. How does it even cover your underwear?”
She places a hand on my shoulder and standing on her toes, her breath skims over my jaw as she stretches to reach my ear. “Who says I’m wearing any?”
The image of her walking around without any underwear on has my dick hardening at record speed.
Before I can think of a way to respond, she moves past me and slaps me on the ass, while sassing me, “Seeing as you have a thing for my ass, you should enjoy watching me walk away.”
“She’s back to her old self,” Lake mutters while chuckling. “I get a feeling you’re going to need all the luck you can get.”
I turn and watch her sway her fuckable ass all the way down the hallway. “Fuck luck.” A satisfied grin forms around my mouth. “My girl is back.”
“Speaking of girls,” Lake says as we begin to walk again. “Mine’s arriving next Saturday.”
“Yeah?” I throw my arm around his shoulder. “Are you excited?”
He nods, and I don’t miss the look of worry crossing over his features.
“She’s going to love you, Lake. It will be impossible for her not to,” I encourage him.
“I hope you’re right,” he murmurs right before we split up to head into our classes.
After class, I walk to my car where Preston’s already waiting for me.
“Do you have everything?” I ask as I press the button for my Bugatti La Voiture Noire.
Preston nods as he gets into the car.
Glancing at him, I warn, “We’re breaking the law, so if you want to pull out, now’s the time.”
He shakes his head. “I’m all in.”
After Preston saved Kingsley, I approached him with my plan. I tested him first, to see if he could be trusted, by asking him to hack into Senator Weinstock’s home computer, and he passed with flying colors.
Falcon noticed Preston first, and he was right, the guy has a brilliant mind.
“If shit goes wrong, you stick to the claim that I forced you. Let me take the full brunt of it,” I remind him.
“Okay,” he nods, then he adds, “They won’t be able to track us because I’ve set up dummy servers all over the world and I’ll be leaving behind an ‘Anonymous’ calling card to throw the authorities off our scent.”
“Anonymous?” I ask, not quite understanding what he’s talking about.
“They’re a worldwide hacktivist group.”
“Right,” I nod as I start the engine and pull out of the parking area. “Keep up the good work, and you might just become my assistant when I get inaugurated as president at CRC.”
He begins to blink, then sputters, “Holy cow.”
“Did you get the Senator’s schedule?” I ask.
“Yes!” His voice brims with excitement while he gives me a quick rundown of the schedule for the rally where Senator Weinstock will be addressing his supporters.
When we walk back into the suite after scouting the location, Preston walks to Falcon’s room and knocks on the door.
Falcon opens and seeing it’s Preston, he glances to where I am. “Did everything go well?”
“Yeah, we’re ready for Tuesday,” I answer as I sit down on the couch, pulling my phone out of my pocket. “I even sent my RSVP on behalf of CRC.”
“That’s good to hear,” Falcon says, then he gestures for Preston to walk into the room. “Let’s get back to work.” Before he closes the door, he looks at me. “Check your email. There’s a board meeting announcement for the end of February. I’ve instructed them to add the proposal to the agenda.”
“Will you be ready to present the proposal by then?” I ask while I open my emails.
“Yes, with Preston’s help we’ll be ready way before then.”
“Good,” I mumble as I read over the current agenda for the meeting. Not seeing anything out of the ordinary, I bring up Serena’s number and send her a message.
Do you hear that sound?
She reads it within seconds and types out a reply.
What sound?
I smirk and wait a couple of seconds before I text her again.
The sound of the clock ticking…
I wait again, then text her the final message before I close the app.
Tick. Tock. Time’s running out for you.
When a message from her comes through, I clear it from my screen without bothering to read it. My phone begins to ring, and it has me grinning with sadistic satisfaction. I watch her name flash on the screen until it goes to voicemail.
That’s right, Serena. Panic.
Lake comes out of his room and stretches as he yawns. “Have you had lunch yet?” he asks.
“No, you want to go grab something?”
“Yeah.”
We leave the suite and walk to the restaurant on campus.
“We need to do something about the menu,” I complain. “I’m not going to survive another four months with the current one.”
“I’ll check what we can add,” Lake says, instantly awake after being drowsy from the nap he just took.
I let out a chuckle. “You should forget about the coffee business and start a chain of restaurants.”
He lets out a heavy sigh. “I thought about doing that, but I’d eat all my profits.”
A burst of laughter escapes, as I pat him on the back. “That’s for fucking sure.”
When we enter the restaurant, my eyes scan over the students until they land on a table where Kingsley and Layla are sharing a huge piece of chocolate cake.
Lake’s heading toward our usual table, so I grab hold of his arm and tug him toward them.
“Ladies,” I say as I pull out the chair next to Kingsley.
She pops a bite of cake into her mouth as she glances at me.
Da-yumn, I wish my dick was that fork.
Then she sucks the icing off the fucking silverware.
Placing a hand on the table, and the other on the back of her chair, I lean closer. Letting my lips lightly brush across her jaw, I blow a hot breath over her ear. “You keep sucking that fork like a fucking pro, and I’m going to throw you over my shoulder, take you back to your suite, and fuck you senseless.”
She begins to cough and drops the fork. Moving my hand to her back, I pat her a couple of times, and when she catches her breath, I whisper again, “Probably the same response you’ll have when I thrust my cock into your fuckable mouth.”
She makes a squeaking sound and darts up from her chair.
“Need water,” she stammers as she rushes away from the table.
“Kingsley,” Layla calls out, “th
ere’s a whole bottle on the table.” Then she laughs and shakes her head at me. “Don’t be mean to my friend.”
Schooling my face into an innocent look, or as close as I can get to one, I hold up my hands and say, “I didn’t do anything.”
“Yeah right,” Lake mumbles as he gestures for a waiter. When I get up, he asks, “Are you coming back?”
“Yeah, order for me. If I’m not back by the time you’re done just take it to go.”
I set after Kingsley, and when I walk out of the restaurant, I see her heading toward the dorms.
Glancing to my left, my eyes meet West’s. He smirks, then calls out, “Kingsley! Wait up. I want to ask you something.”
My eye begins to fucking twitch when he jogs toward her.
Now, the fucker is looking to be killed.
Chapter 21
Kingsley
The smile I had from my encounter with Mason, fades from my face as I glance to where West is jogging toward me.
I haven’t forgotten what he said to Mason last time they had a fight.
I cross my arms as I turn to face him.
When he reaches me, he smirks. “I heard you drowned.”
“Near-drowning,” I bite out.
“I also heard your heart stopped.” There’s a flash of smugness on his face.
Slowly, a smile begins to form around my mouth.
I dare you, West.
“So, while you were dead, did you get to see Mason’s sister?”
This guy is so twisted, I knew he was going to say something like that the second he mentioned the drowning.
Placing my hand on his shoulder, I take a step closer to him and whisper, “West.”
“Yeah?” The smug look only growing in his eyes.
I bring my knee up as hard as I can, hitting him where it hurts most. He sinks to his knees and cups his groin while letting out a pain-filled groan.
I cringe as pain shudders through my knee.
Shit, it always looks so easy.
Ignoring the slight ache, I finish my sentence, “Next time you mess with Mason, you’re going to have three Adam's apples.”
Bending over, I catch his tearing eyes. “Unless you want children, you won’t push me.”
When someone presses up against my butt, and hands grip my waist, I let out a shriek as I snap up, my back colliding with a solid chest.
“Don’t bend over like that with those shorts,” Mason’s voice rumbles in my ear. He nudges me forward with his body, so I’ll start walking, then falls in next to me as he places his arm around my shoulders.
Concerned that I might’ve overstepped the boundaries by standing up for Mason begins to niggle at the back of my mind. By the time we reach the elevators, it’s full-blown worry which has me nibbling at my bottom lip.
The doors open and he pushes me inside.
Turning to face him, I begin to ramble, “I’m sorry if I overstepped. It’s just –”
When he grabs hold of my butt and lifts me up against his body, my rambling ends with a squeak.
Not wanting to fall, I quickly wrap my legs around his waist and grab hold of his shoulders.
My startled gaze meets his simmering eyes, and I have to swallow hard because the look he’s giving me is making heat crash over my body.
His voice is low and gravelly when he asks, “You stood up for me, Hunt?”
I nod, not able to trust that my voice will sound normal right now.
He stares at me until the elevator opens and then he stalks to my suite.
“Keycard,” he growls.
Reaching behind me, I pull it from my back pocket and swipe for the door to open.
Mason pauses at the door, then says, “If you don’t want me to fuck you, then you better tell me now.”
Yeah, no chance of that happening.
“Stop wasting time, I have a class in twenty minutes.”
His mouth curves into that sexy grin which has my hormones doing backflips from delight.
Mason stalks inside and waits for me to slam the door shut before he carries me into my bedroom. Putting his knee on the mattress, he lowers me to my back, then grumbles, “Let go.”
I drop my feet to the bed and move my hands down to his biceps. I feel the muscles in his left arm ripple beneath my fingers as he moves his hand to between my legs. Dragging a finger along the edge of my shorts, he says, “You’re never wearing these again. I’m fucking throwing them in the trash once I have them off you.”
I grin up at him. “That’s okay, I have three other pairs I can wear.”
Shaking his head, he chuckles, but then a serious look settles on his face. “Are you sure about this?”
“What?” I ask. “Us having sex?”
He shakes his head, and his eyes burn into mine. “Us.”
Needing to be sure, so I don’t make an idiot of myself, I ask, “Dating?”
He shakes his head again, which has me tilting mine with confusion.
“I don’t date, Hunt.”
Right.
I knew that, but it still stings. After the talk with Layla, I began to feel excited about the idea of dating Mason.
“If we do this, I need you to commit to me,” he says and for a moment my mind races to catch up.
“Are you talking about us having a relationship?” I ask, feeling lost as fuck right now. “Because that’s the same as dating.”
He moves his arm under my back and shifts me up to the middle of the bed before he lies down next to me, resting his head on his palm.
“Let me explain this to you in layman’s terms,” he says. “We won’t be going on a couple of dates and then break up. You’ll be seen in public with me, which means the press will be all over it.”
Oh… right. Kinda forgot about that.
He brings his hand to my cheek and lightly brushes his fingers over my skin and into my hair. It’s a sweet action, but then he continues, “Usually, the girl would have to sign a NDA which states she can’t do anything which would damage my image.”
I sit up and scowl down at him. “Are you telling me to change who I am?” Waving a finger in front of his face, I snap, “Because that shit will never happen.”
I begin to scoot to the edge of the bed, but he grabs hold of me and yanks me back down. Moving over me, he straddles me and taking hold of my hands, he presses them against the mattress above my head.
“And you say I’m short-tempered?” He chuckles which only has me glaring at him.
He repositions his hands so he can keep both of mine pinned above my head with one hand, then he brings the other down to my face and brushes a finger over the frown on my forehead.
I duck my head away and glare up at him. “Stop with the soft touches, Mason. Just say what you need to say and get out.”
“What I’m trying to say,” he says, lifting an eyebrow at me which looks a lot like a warning for me to shut up, “is that you’ll have to commit yourself to me. Yeah, the NDA covers everything from the girl not having a claim to CRC if we decide to split up a year down the line, but –”
I swear my eyes are going to start twitching with anger if he doesn’t stop.
“Get off me,” I growl, wishing I could knee him into next week.
“Why are you so upset about signing a document?” he asks, finally getting that I’m about to spit fire.
“Did Falcon make Layla sign anything?” I bite out.
“Falcon’s not the president of CRC,” he states. His features become tight as he begins to lose his temper as well. “We’ve only known each other for a couple of months. Would it be such a bad thing if I were to ask you to sign the fucking document because I sure as fuck can’t risk CRC?”
I yank hard and manage to free my hands. Shoving him off me, I dart away from the bed and rush to the front door. Before I can open it, Mason’s hand slams against it.
Raging with anger, I swing around and then a slap echoes through the suite.
Chapter 22
Mason
The flat of her hand connects with my jaw, and for a moment I have to close my eyes, so I don’t do something seriously stupid.
I feel Kingsley yank against the door, and not thinking, I bend down and throw her over my shoulder.
“Mason!” she shrieks.
I carry her back to the bedroom and drop her on the bed, then go to lock the door and pocket the key so she can’t leave the room until we’re done talking. I take a couple of deep breaths before I turn around to face her.
“What the hell are you doing?” she hisses at me as she gets off the bed and stalks toward me.
As pissed off as I am, I can’t help but notice how fucking beautiful she is when she’s angry.
“Can you calm down for one minute and just hear what I’m saying?” I ask, my voice tense with anger.
She turns her face away from me and closes her eyes for a couple of seconds before she brings her blazing gaze back to me. “I am not some business deal. A contract? Have you lost your mind? If you can’t trust me, then what the hell would be the point of having a relationship with me?”
Fucking hell, how am I going to get her to listen to me?
I take a step toward her, but she quickly moves back and holds her hand up between us. “I swear I will lose my shit if you touch me.”
I take another deep breath and let it out slowly.
“Kingsley,” I say, not quite sure how I’m going to fix this mess. “You don’t understand. I ne –”
“Oh, I understand.” She places her hands on her hips and shakes her head at me.
I suck my bottom lip between my teeth to keep from responding in anger.
“Don’t do that,” she snaps.
“Do what?” I ask, confused.
“Don’t do that lip thing. You can’t look hot while I’m fighting with you.”
I let out a burst of laughter, because fuck, this woman will be the end of me.
The laughter fades away as I lock eyes with her. “I’ve never had a serious relationship before, and I’m really trying here.”
Pain flashes over her face, and sounding disappointed, she whispers, “Mason, if you can’t trust me, then you don’t know me at all.” She moves back and sits down on the bed. “Ugh. This is so hard.”
Mason (Trinity Academy Book 2) Page 12