by Amy Brent
“Your wrists okay?” he asked.
“Yeah. Your hair okay?”
“Is it still there?” he asked, grinning. “I don’t know. I can’t feel my scalp.”
“Sorry.”
“Never be sorry for something like that,” he said.
We both peeled ourselves up from the ground and pieced ourselves back together. Mason tucked that giant cock of his back into his pants, not bothering to clean himself off before he went to go look in a mirror. I grabbed some toilet paper and cleaned myself up as best as I could, then stood beside him as we both fixed our hair. He smirked at me in the mirror, that same little smirk he gave me just before he left my dressing room a few days ago.
“You go first. It’ll be less conspicuous that way,” he said.
I unlocked the door and was surprised when no one was standing around. I headed back upstairs and out onto the rooftop, but I still didn’t see Emma. I looked around the balcony, trying to figure out where she had gone, but then I heard her voice rising up from over the edge.
Mason came right up behind me as I was leaning over.
“Where’d Emma go?” he asked.
“I take it you got out of the bathroom all right?” I asked.
“I got one fun little look, but it was from an elderly man. I don’t think he knew who I was. That Emma down there?”
“Yeah,” I said. “And I think I know who she’s talking to. Stay here.”
“Should I go with you?” he asked.
“Just stay here, all right? She might hate me for this, so she might come running back to you.”
I made my way downstairs and pushed through until I was outside. I looked up, seeing Mason looking over the edge. The worry was etched on his face, and part of me was ecstatic that he was finding a place in that cold, shriveled heart of his to care about his sister. I approached Emma slowly from behind, catching bits and pieces of the conversation she was having, and she was talking to exactly who I thought it was.
Her ex who was getting married.
“I just miss you,” Emma said as she sniffled. “This is all happening so quickly. Are you sure you want to marry her?”
“Emma,” I said lightly.
She whipped around with a shocked expression on her face, and I simply pointed upward. Mason was standing there watching, his hands tucked into his pockets as he surveyed the scene. She was spoiling this evening with her brother over some asshole, and after all the tugging she’d done to get him out here, I wasn’t going to let her spoil it.
“It’s time to get back to what you really want,” I said.
“What I want is him,” she said, whispering. “Please, just… listen to me, okay? We just went out on a date two weeks ago, and we had a great time, right?”
My heart ached for my best friend. She was hurting, and anyone could see that. There was a man her heart wanted, but I knew her mind kept screaming at her to run in the other direction. I could see her hands shaking as tears streaked down her face, so I took her arm and maneuvered her over to the side so people would stop staring.
“Emma, get off the phone,” I said.
“I’m not getting off it.”
“Emma, you dug your claws into your brother trying to get him out here, and he’s here. You’re the one who’s going to ruin it this time, and I won’t be able to stand in your corner if you do.”
“Then go. I don’t give a shit,” she said.
I looked back up to Mason who I could tell was two ticks away from coming down here himself. Even from this distance, I could see the red flushing his face. He was not a fan of the situation and of the way his sister was being manipulated by this cockhead. I hope it gave him a perfect look into the shit he was doing to women. He could be a good man if he could put all that bullshit aside and actually tried.
“If you don’t get off the phone, I’m taking it from you,” I said.
“Please, Mark. Just see me one last time. Just one—”
I took the phone from Emma and held it to my ear. She was trying to get it from me, but all I did was hold her away. I heard Mason rush from the side, no doubt running down the stairs to get to us. I held my arm out to keep Emma away, and when the asshole was done rambling on about bullshit, I finally got my say in.
“Hello. Sarah Williams here. Listen, this is what you need to do. Make up your fucking mind. Emma Nelson happens to be my best friend. My confidant. The woman I go to with everything. And I happen to know you’re the piece of shit who’s been manipulating her for two years.”
I heard Mason rush behind me. I watched as he gathered Emma into his arms, holding her back while I continued to call. He was murmuring things in her ear. Things that were making her slap him and push him to try and get away. But I could see her caving as he wrapped his arms around her, and I thought I saw something flash in Mason’s eyes.
Guilt.
I saw guilt riddling Mason’s face.
“Stop it, Sarah. Please,” Emma said, begging.
“If you want to get married, go ahead and get married. Good luck to the looney bin woman you chose. But if you want Emma, cut the games. Cut the manipulation. Cut the shit. She’s worth more than the life that flows through your body times ten, and anyone would be lucky to have her at their side.”
“Sarah, stop!” Emma said, crying.
“It’s all right, Emma. It’s okay,” Mason said.
“Now, I’m sure once I hang up this phone, Emma will call you right back. I can’t stop her from that. Just know that I own the best talk show in the state of Texas, and I know your name. That’s a powerful weapon in my world. Best of luck with the marriage.”
I hung up the phone, and Mason let Emma go. I tossed her phone back to her, watching her as she caught it. She tried to call him back, scrolling through her phone to find the number, but Mason’s hand darted out and slowly encompassed hers.
His touch ceased all her movements, and I groaned with relief inside.
“Why did you do that?” she asked, sniffling.
“Because he keeps hurting you. He’s got you on his leash. In his pool, so to speak.”
I saw Mason wince at that comment, and I wasn’t sure why. Probably because he’d pulled the same shit with women in the past. Go figure. Maybe this would give him a glimpse into what he actually fucking did to those women.
“He keeps hurting you like the men in my life kept hurting me. You can’t afford him your power anymore. He only has the power over you that you give him.”
“She’s right,” Mason said. “Believe me, she’s right.”
My eyes rose to his, and the moment they connected, I felt my breath rush from my lungs. There were things swimming around in Mason Baker’s eyes I never thought I’d see. Guilt. Hurt. Compassion. Protection. Gone was the playboy with the smirk and the cocky confidence, and in his place was a protective brother who was getting a glimpse of how his life impacted people on the other side.
He was seeing the repercussions of his actions, and I was watching as his eyes were slowly opened to the reality of his life.
“I can’t help it. I don’t know what’s wrong with me,” Emma said.
“I know the feeling, trust me. There’s no judgment here. Just don’t talk to him anymore. Block his number if you have to. Start there, and work your way forward.”
“And know we’ll be here every step of the way,” Mason said.
“You mean that?” Emma asked as she looked up at him.
“Every word of it,” he said.
“Thank you,” she said as she looked back at me. “For being such a good friend. And thank you, Mason, for keeping yourself open to the idea of being my brother.”
“I don’t think it’s an idea anymore,” he said, grinning.
The two of them hugged, and I lowered my gaze to the ground. I wanted to give them some privacy, but I also needed to hold back some of my tears. This was all Emma had ever wanted over the years as she pursued Mason, and I couldn’t be happier for her than right now. T
his night had changed a lot, I could feel it.
The question was, where did we all go from here?
Chapter 24
Mason
I sat in my home trying to get work done, but all I could think about was Sarah. About how I fucked her in that bathroom and how she just went for it. The way she jumped and wrapped her legs around me threatened to spring my cock to life right there underneath my desk. I had to take a few deep breaths to keep myself steady. Holy fuck, that was one of the hottest things I’d ever done with a woman, and I’d done a great deal of experimenting in my years. How willing she was to give her body over to me. To trust me with it. It was intoxicating. She didn’t try to deny me or stop me. She wanted me as much as I wanted her.
I liked that adventurous side of her that was willing to try anything once. I started wondering about other places we could fuck. Maybe she would let me fuck her underneath one of the trees on my property, or finger her in a movie theater until she came all over my skin. I could take her on a trip and fuck her in the airport bathroom. I hadn’t done that one in a while, and I bet Sarah would be the kind of woman who would love it. I could rent a truck and put an air mattress in the bed of it. We could fuck on a cliff somewhere underneath the stars. Women liked that romantic shit all the time, and I bet she would eat it up.
Then, Tony’s voice ripped me from my succulent, precious thoughts.
“Daydreaming about tits again?”
“Just one pair,” I said, grinning. “What’s up?” I asked.
“Just one pair? You serious, man? You’re still going out with that chick?”
“That chick is Sarah Williams, and yes. It’s just under the radar, and it has been the trip of a lifetime, let me tell you.”
“She’s got you on her hook, man. You’re getting Mason Bakered,” he said.
“Maybe so, but I love it. That tight little pussy of hers calls to me.”
“It’s odd. I’ve never seen you go back twice.”
“I’ve done it a handful of times,” I said.
“But never have you made it a regular thing. Never. Even before we got rich and famous with this company of ours, you never stuck around with women. I just shrugged it off as your mommy issues and kept trucking. But this woman’s got her talons in you.”
“Look, dude. It’s not like that. There’s no feelings or seriousness. She’s fun and laid back. Totally cool about it being a no-strings-attached type of deal.”
“Wait. She’s actually okay with no strings?” he asked.
“Oh, yeah. She’s the one who preferred it that way. It’s the perfect fucking deal, man.”
“So, you two what? Eat dinner, fuck, and leave?”
“Pretty much. It’s wonderful,” I said, grinning.
“Why do you always find the good ones?” he asked.
“Because I’m Mason fucking Baker. Now, why’d you barge into my office and ruin my fun little daydreams?”
“The interviews in Colorado got canceled.”
“Both of them?” I asked. “Why?”
“Apparently there’s been some big thing that’s happened. I don’t know, weather or pot or something. I don’t know. Either way, they called and canceled with us, so I canceled our travel plans.”
“Who the fuck cancels an interview with me?” I asked.
“A state who’s no longer concerned with your scandals, and trust me, that’s a good thing. I knew if we gave enough interviews and gave it enough time, this shit would all go away.”
“I guess that’s a good thing. Did we have any other ones after Colorado?” I asked.
“Nope. That was it. Dallas and Denver were the last legs of this race. We can hop back to L.A. whenever you’d like.”
“Question,” I said, “how would you feel about opening our second office in Dallas?”
“So, you can keep fucking your little chew toy?” he asked, grinning.
“She’s not a chew toy. She’s a woman with wants and needs and a beautiful pussy she keeps giving up to me. We’re just fucking, no relationship, but she’s not an object.”
“Wow. I can see her morals have sunken into you too,” he said.
“Look, I got a little glimpse into what that type of manipulation could do to a woman. I wasn’t a fan of it. So, while Sarah and I are just fucking, you know, only calling one another and shit when we need that type of release, she’s still a woman who needs to be checked in with from time to time.”
“The fuck happened to you?” he asked.
“The reason I asked about the Dallas location, besides the fact that they’re practically eating out of our hands, is because I’m sort of getting to know my sister.”
“Your who?” he asked.
“That girl who always keeps calling, and I keep blowing off last minute?”
“Wait, I thought that was some random chick in your pool,” he said.
“Nope. That’s my sister. When my sorry excuse for a mother left, she created a new family. Had a daughter. She’s been trying to get me to sit down with her for a while now, but every time we talked, she always harassed me about me rekindling things with mother dearest.”
“No, thanks,” he said. “You don’t talk about the woman much, but she did a number on you. You’re better off.”
“No joke. But, the last time we made plans, I just blew her off. Didn’t call or anything. I felt like a shithead for it, so I made it up to her by taking her out to dinner Wednesday.”
“How’d it go, man?” he asked as he sat down beside me.
“I mean, it went well. There was this instant bond, you know. Like I’ve got with my dad. But there’s this douchebag who keeps manipulating her. Apparently, he’s getting married or some shit, but they went out two weeks ago. Been some on-again, off-again thing. She took his phone call, went downstairs, and was fucking bawling her eyes out in the middle of the sidewalk because of him.”
“You know who he is? We could track him down. Scare him a bit,” he said.
“I think I talked some sense into her. A friend of hers was there, too, and she really gave that guy a piece of her mind.”
“This a hot friend?” Tony asked, smirking.
“No, not really,” I said. “But it gave me a glimpse into the bullshit women go through when you hook into them like that. It’s one reason why I only do those one-off dates. You know, emotion’s not my thing and shit. But I could see how I might’ve raised that reaction in a woman. You know, being me and all.”
“You’re such a dick,” he said, chuckling.
“The point is, that shit was not okay. I was ready to rip that fucker’s throat out for doing to Emma what he was doing.”
“Emma?”
“My sister,” I said.
“She hot?”
“Don’t you dare,” I said, growling.
“Whoa, just kidding, Mase. Chill out,” he said, chuckling. “Sounds like Mason Baker got a little more human after that dinner.”
“A bit. Sarah isn’t a chew toy. A fuck buddy? Yes. But also a person.”
“Got it, boss. So, the two of you only ever call when you want to fuck, huh?”
“Yep. Outside of that, she doesn’t really call. Hell, she never calls.”
“Wait, if she never calls, that means you’re always calling her to fuck,” he said.
“Yeah, I’ve had to chase her around a bit. The arrangement is pretty new, so I’m sure she’ll be calling me up quite a bit from now on,” I said.
“That’s so strange. You never call any woman. No wonder you’re chasing her so much.”
“What?” I asked.
“She genuinely could take you or leave you, and that’s new for you. You’re trying to figure out why she isn’t falling all over herself for you, aren’t you?”
“Who the fuck cares if it brings me that beautiful pussy of hers?” I asked.
“She’s the only woman you’ve fucked who hasn’t gotten attached to you. Face it, you get off on women needing you, but you not needing them. No
w, you’re fucking a woman who doesn’t need you. A truly independent woman who wants you only for your cock and your body, and you can’t stand it.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” I asked.
“Just be careful,” he said as he got up. “We don’t need more scandals. Don’t go getting her pregnant or some shit. And don’t get your heart broken.”
“We aren’t in a relationship, Tony,” I said. “Nothing about my heart is in this.”
“Uh-huh. Watch your back. She’s comin’ for you, whether you realize it or not.”
“Tony, shut the fuck up.”
“Your defensiveness is very entertaining. And very telling.”
“Get the hell out of my house,” I said.
“It’s a nice house, by the way. Didn’t know you had one in town. We’ll discuss planting a location in Dallas later, but I like the idea.”
“Goodbye, Tony.”
“Sayonara, lover boy.”
I clenched my teeth as the door slammed behind him. I didn’t give a shit about Sarah. Not unless she was willing to bring that beautiful body to me, so I could fuck it senseless. She was just a woman. A prominent woman in her community who wielded influence and the most beautiful pair of thick thighs I’d ever seen. I wasn’t getting soft. I was merely educating myself on the shit things men can do to women. I saw my sister being toyed with, and I didn’t like it. What was so wrong with that?