by Sophie Oak
It was easier to talk about Kitten. Mason had been so good with her. Unlike the way he’d been with Emily, but then time actually had lent Cole some wisdom about her. She had been wild. She’d been cruel. Had she been cruel to Mason? He hadn’t asked because Mason had never given him a reason. Cole had thought Mason had been a little jealous since his charm didn’t seem to work on Emily. What if it had been something more? “I have to think so. She’s been in therapy for the last several years. This is the first time she’s attempted to take a permanent Master. I worry I could be a bit rigid for her, but Julian says she’s had trouble with the more lenient Doms.”
“I’m sure it’s a delicate balancing act. She seemed to respond to physical affection. She won’t get much of that from you.”
“I can be very affectionate when I choose to be.” God knew he’d been that way with Mason, for all the good it had done him. He’d spent hours just kissing Mason, their tongues tangling, limbs merging until they couldn’t take another second and he had to have him.
“You also work all the time. You’re leaving her here alone with that gloomy housekeeper of yours. Maybe that’s why she ran the moment she had something to do. She wanted to get out of this house and away from Mrs. Doom.”
He wanted to kick Mason out of the fucking house, but unfortunately, he might be right. Kitten wasn’t getting what she needed from his housekeeper. “You know I promised her a job until she was ready to retire. I promised my father.”
“Yeah, and you always keep your promises.” There was no way to ignore the bitterness in his tone.
“I do try to. Sometimes it’s not possible because the person the promises were made to turns out to be unworthy of them.” He needed ice in his veins, but Mason was pushing his every button. It was something he’d always been able to do. No one could push his buttons like Mason.
Mason stood, his chest puffed out, invading Cole’s space. “Let’s talk about unworthy, Cole. Let’s talk about who kept up their promises and who tossed the other one out like a fucking piece of trash. Let’s talk about your version of being a good Master.”
He was going to wrap his hand around the nape of Mason’s neck and squeeze. He would lift him up just lightly, just so he could keep him off balance as he dragged the fucking brat into the dungeon and taught him what his version of being a good Master had become. He would tear Mason’s ass up.
And then he would very likely shove his dick up Mason’s asshole and that couldn’t happen.
He forced himself to take a breath, to give up the raging need to dominate this man. If he started down that path, he wasn’t sure he could recover. “I think we should both calm down. What happened between us is in the past. Maybe we should leave it there.”
“Sure. Just leave it.”
Mason’s shoulders were brutally tense, his eyes tight. Pain. Mason was still in pain. “What happened?”
Mason sat down on the edge of the bed, holding his head as though he was trying to keep the damn thing on his body. “Today or the last two years?”
All of it. He wanted to know everything. He forced himself to stop. “Today. I don’t think we gain anything by rehashing the past.”
“Of course, you wouldn’t really give a shit about the last couple of years. You just want to know why I’m bugging you.” Mason’s eyes slid toward the door.
“You’re evading my question.” His Dom voice was coming out. It was a habit with Mason.
Hard eyes came up to look at him and Mason stood again, though Cole could tell what it cost him. His hands shook, and he struggled to gain balance. “I can evade anything I like, Cole. You’re not my fucking Master anymore so don’t order me around like you are.”
He hated it when a sub spouted filth at him. “You’re in my house. You’re under my roof and you will treat me with a modicum of respect.”
Mason took a long breath and seemed to calm down. “I apologize. I’ve forgotten my manners over the last several years.”
“I’m surprised your Dom hasn’t kept you in line.” He was fishing. Damn he wished he hadn’t said that.
“I don’t have a Dom, Cole. I haven’t been to a club in years.” He sat back down on the bed, all the aggression seemingly gone.
“I’m surprised. You always needed play more than others.” Mason had required it. He’d enjoyed dominating the women they shared, but he had a deep need for submission. Cole had been completely certain that Mason would find a new Dom and very quickly. It was why he’d avoided going to The Club on the nights Mason preferred.
Stark gray eyes looked up and there was no way to miss the lines around them. The years showed on Mason’s face. “We don’t always get what we need, Cole.”
“What happened?” Now that Mason wasn’t yelling at him, Cole found himself softening.
“I was on 35. I was trying to get to work. Some asshole changed lanes and sideswiped me. I don’t remember a lot from there. I think my car rolled a couple of times. I woke up when the fireman was getting me out. I was upside down.”
Cole’s stomach turned. Mason could have died and Cole would never have known. “I thought the Benz wasn’t supposed to roll.”
It was why he’d bought it for Mason. Kitten was in a safe vehicle as well.
“I sold the Benz a long time ago, Cole.”
“May I ask why? Did you want a newer vehicle?” Mason had always liked flashy cars. He could definitely see him turning in the staid Benz Cole had purchased for him in order to get a snazzy sports car that would likely kill him.
“I sold it because I needed the money.”
Fuck. “Are you on drugs, Mason?”
His eyes came up, a steely will in them. “I have never taken a single goddamn drug in my life, Cole. I refused the fucking pain meds the hospital offered me today. I sold the car because I needed the money for rent.”
It didn’t make a lick of sense. “You make plenty of money.”
“I did before I lost my job. Don’t pretend you don’t know about it, Cole. When you pulled your business from the firm, they fired me.”
Cole felt like someone had just kicked him in the gut. He’d changed law firms because he couldn’t stand the thought of sitting across the table from Mason. “I didn’t know.”
A bitter huff came from Mason’s throat. “Sure. You didn’t think that they would fire me when their biggest client left because of me. You were the only client I took care of. You were my entire roster.”
God, he hadn’t thought of it like that. He’d just kind of thought Mason would find a hundred new clients and move on without him. Fuck, he hadn’t thought at all. After Emily died, he’d been caught up in his own guilt, in his own failures. “I’m sorry. I should have handled it differently. Please know that I didn’t mean to get you fired. Where are you working now?”
“Benedict and Wright.”
He searched his memory. “I haven’t heard of them.”
Mason shrugged a little. “It’s not so surprising. You probably don’t need a criminal lawyer often. Look, all of this is moot. I’ll get out of your hair. I can see you have a whole thing going on here. I just didn’t want to let the girl down. She seemed so intent.”
Mason was the first thing Kitten had been excited about since moving in. God, he shouldn’t even be thinking about doing this. He couldn’t have Mason stay. It would be a huge mistake. “I think you should let Kitten watch after you.”
Gray eyes found his. “I don’t know that’s such a good idea.”
“Do you have someplace better to go? Someone who’ll look out for you?” He’d imagined Mason likely had a whole group of men and women who would pamper and baby him, but it looked like he’d been wrong. No one who was well taken care of could possibly look so rough.
“No. I’m alone.” He said it simply, but his eyes slid away, finding the window and staring out at the grounds.
Alone. Cole had been alone since that moment he’d made the decision to break with Mason. He might have Kitten in his home, but she
wasn’t in his bed yet. She hadn’t truly accepted him as her Master so he still felt his solitude.
He’d never been more in tune with another human being than Mason Scott. It was right there, the urge to reach out and touch him, the instinct to take care of him.
All of his life he’d seen the world in black and white, but what if there really were a million different shades? Why had he been harder on Mason than he had been on any of his other subs?
Because he loved Mason. Because the others might have been transitory but he’d always thought Mason would be with him forever.
Julian had told him it couldn’t have been love if Cole had been able to break with him.
To break him.
God, had he broken Mason?
“Sir?” Kitten’s voice cut through the silence that sat between him and Mason. She stood in the doorway looking vulnerable and young, and he wondered how much she’d heard.
He schooled his expression, attempting to give her a reassuring look. “Yes, sweetheart?”
“The police are here. I think they’ve come for Mason.”
Cole strode out of the room, his mind a whirling mess.
Chapter Five
Kitten found herself smiling as she entered the living room. When Mrs. Hamilton had told her the police were here to talk to Mason, she’d gotten very scared. Police tended to mean someone was in serious trouble and perhaps Mason was, but this was a friendly face. “Darin!”
Darin Craig was married to her friend, Tara. He was also a Dom at The Club. A tall, well-built man, Darin gave her a grin before opening his arms to her. He was athletic with dark hair and warm brown eyes. “How’s our Kitty Cat?”
After the pressure of the day, it was so good to see a friendly face. She walked into his hug, wrapping her arms around his neck and accepting the deeply needed affection. The thing she missed most about The Club were the hugs and touches and hand-holding with friends. “I am well, Master Darin.”
“Darin.” Cole’s voice sounded positively arctic as he walked into the room.
“Wow, I thought she was your sub, Cole. I didn’t know she belonged to Detective Craig.” Mason’s voice wasn’t exactly warm, either. “Have the rules of The Club changed, then? Is Julian allowing Doms to manhandle someone else’s sub?”
Darin slowly released her, a little grin on his face. He took a step back, holding his hands up as though in surrender. “Sorry about that. Kitty Cat is just a friend.”
“Kitten or Katherine is preferred,” Cole said between gritted teeth.
“Her name is a term of affection. You don’t need to come up with your own.” Mason stood beside Cole, both men frowning brutally at Darin.
She’d done something wrong again. “Master Darin is only a friend. He’s my friend’s husband. There’s nothing going on between us.”
Cole stopped glaring at Darin and seemed at a loss for what to say. “Sweetheart, I wasn’t trying to say something about you.”
Mason’s expression softened. “What the Master is trying to say is he knows how sweet you are. He just became very jealous when he saw you in another man’s arms. You’re gorgeous, honey. You have to expect that men will get possessive.”
He was a charmer. She knew exactly what he was doing and still couldn’t help the smile that crossed her face.
“Mason is right. I was jealous. You rarely hug me with such enthusiasm,” Cole said.
Master Cole wanted hugs? He seemed so distant that she held herself apart, but what if he simply wasn’t sure how to ask for what he needed? Doms were just men. Kitten gave him her most brilliant smile and basically tackled him. If her Master needed affection, she would be the one to give it to him.
Cole’s big arms wound around her, and she felt him sigh as he lifted her up. He was so big. Her feet didn’t touch the floor, but she loved how secure she felt with him when he touched her. It was only when they were apart that she worried. Cole rubbed their cheeks together. “I am so sorry I scared you before, love. I don’t ever want you to be afraid of me.”
“Yes, Sir.” She was still smiling as he lowered her down. She turned to Mason. He was a man who needed hugs, too, but she worried that her Master wouldn’t like it.
Cole chuckled a little. “Go on then. I’ll just have to deal with the fact that you’re an affectionate little thing. Hug away.”
She gave Mason a gentler hug, well aware he was still not feeling well. When she was done, she placed herself between them, enjoying how the two big men surrounded her. “Master Darin, were you attempting to begin a deeply inappropriate affair with me? Because I have to warn you, I promised Tara I wouldn’t sleep with you when she wasn’t around.”
Tara and Darin were always joking about their crazy sex life. They loved it when their friends joined in. Not for the sex, but for the laughter.
Darin let loose a laugh. “I will remember that in the future, Kitty Ca, uhm, Kitten.” He sobered a little. “I didn’t come here to see you. I came to talk to Mason. You left the hospital before I got there. I was surprised to find out you were at Cole’s.”
Darin knew Mason. That was interesting. Darin and Tara had been playing at The Club for the entirety of their marriage. Ten years. They had likely been friendly with Cole when Mason had been his submissive.
Tara was getting a phone call later because she was utterly fascinated with the men and why they had broken up.
And maybe, just maybe, she could tell Kitten how she could get them back together.
She hadn’t missed how the two men had looked at each other. Yes, there had been suspicion and anger in their gazes, but there had been such a spark and Master Cole was already softening up and it had everything to do with Mason. Mason had walked in the door and suddenly the house seemed warmer, more filled with emotion.
Mason, with his stormy gray eyes and pitch-black hair. Mason, who called her “gorgeous girl” and made her feel comfortable.
She so loved having a scheme. It made the days go by faster.
Mason nodded. “All right. Where should we go? Uhm, we could go back to the pool house so we don’t bother anyone.”
“Sit down, Mason,” Cole commanded. He indicated the couch and softened his order slightly. “Please. I think we’re all in this now, don’t you?”
The last thing she wanted was to get the two of them in another fight. She was under no illusions that they had spent their time in a pleasant chat.
And it was obvious that there were still strong feelings between Master Cole and Mason.
“If something’s happened, I’d like to know,” Cole said.
Mason stood there, his eyes down as though just waiting for the next blow.
She knew exactly how that felt. She’d spent years of her life simply waiting for something bad to happen. She took a place on the couch, reaching her hands out toward them both. “Please come and join me.”
Cole smiled ruefully as he let her pull him down. “I have to admit, I like this side of you. I like you asking for what you want.”
She’d been a little wary of doing that. Master Cole didn’t laugh the way her other keepers had. He didn’t joke or play. She’d decided it was best to simply do as he asked.
God, she really was worried about him turning into Hawk, but the way he settled in beside her made her think she should give him more of a chance. “I would like Mason to sit beside me as well.”
Cole chuckled a little. “Don’t even try to resist, Mason. Just have a seat. Let’s find out why the Dallas Police Department sent a detective to investigate an accident.”
Mason frowned and lowered himself down. “That is a good question. Darin, what’s going on? What’s this about?”
Darin took a seat on the opposite couch and leaned in. “I’m here because my lieutenant knows I have connections to Mason.”
“Is he in trouble?” Cole asked.
There was a tightening that went through Mason’s body. “I haven’t done anything for the police to be pissed about. Unless they’ve started
arresting people for being late on their rent. Cole here probably thinks I was drunk in the middle of the day and decided to kill a couple of people for fun.”
“I didn’t fucking say that,” Cole shot back.
“If you don’t stop fighting, I will be forced to cry because the two of you are making me sad.” They were kind of making her mad, but she’d noticed many men responded more quickly to the threat of tears than anything else. Besides, it was true. She often cried when she was mad.
“Kitten.” Cole’s voice had gone all dark and commanding. It meant he was getting a little irritated with her. It also made her shiver and not with fear. He had the most delicious dark chocolate voice.
Perhaps it was time to try out some of the tricks her friends had tried to teach her. She turned her eyes to Cole, attempting to make them large and soft. “I am sorry, Sir. I thought I should warn you. Next time, I’ll just cry.”
Mason laughed and then immediately put a hand to his head. “Damn, Cole, she’s going to be trouble.”
Cole’s lips curled up. “Yes, she is. We’ll keep the fighting to a minimum. Now, Darin, why don’t you tell us what brought you here?”
Darin leaned forward. “Mason isn’t in trouble. He wasn’t at fault in the accident.”
“Damn straight, I wasn’t.” Mason sat back, a frown on his face.
“What exactly happened?” Cole asked.
Mason touched his head as though the memory actually hurt him. “I was driving down the freeway. Some jerk cut me off. I swerved to avoid him and the next thing I remember is the firefighter trying to pull me out and I was upside down.”
Darin pulled a tablet out of his briefcase and his fingers worked the device. He turned it around. “These are some pictures the officer at the scene took.”
She felt Cole stiffen beside her as he looked at the photo slide show playing on Darin’s tablet. Her stomach turned a little. The damage to the small vehicle Mason had been driving was massive. It was shocking he was sitting beside her with nothing more than a concussion.