Stolen: Suspense Mystery Thriller Romance (Hartness Security Book 1)

by Mia Faith

I lay back and watch in awe as he expertly rolled the sheath over his throbbing, glistening length. He was huge, bigger than anyone I’d ever had before, and I had to admit that I was a little nervous about what that meant for me.

  He looked so impressive, kneeling above me covering himself up, so without even thinking, I reached out and touched him. I just wanted to run my hand along him, to feel him, and I have to say, I was impressed.

  But of course this wasn’t just about his amazing cock, this wasn’t just about how phenomenal he was making me feel: this was all about the start of something new. And I wanted the beginning to be memorable, so I sat bolt upright and flipped him onto his back without even pausing for breath. He looked a little shocked as if I’d blindsided him, but that was exactly what I wanted.

  I threw my legs over him until I was in a straddling position and angled myself above him. I was going to take a moment to tease him, to get revenge for what he’d done to me, but I couldn’t. Not when my body as absolutely gagging for him, so I slid down quickly, allowing him to fill me up.

  “Oh, wow, Mel, you feel... you’re...” Mason could barely speak, and to be perfectly honest I felt exactly the same. As I thrust, as I rode, my heart screamed, my pants became too audible, my mind lost itself in the dizziness...

  And then the intense waves of pleasure claimed me, leaving me bucking and shuddering with bliss. Mason sat up to hold me, to kiss me as I came, and it wasn’t long before the pleasure had gotten to him as well. We were totally consumed with one another, and I never wanted the wonderful time to end. I was feeling so many things all at once; Mason had every emotion possible coursing through my veins, and I felt like I was falling for him because of it.

  We lay panting and breathless for a while afterwards, before the hysterical giggling started. I wasn’t sure what had caused it or why we couldn’t seem to stop but it felt so good. It had been a really intense day, one with lots of ups and downs, and to be honest, this seemed like the best way to finish it off. It wrapped things up on a positive note, which was a miracle considering. It could have so easily gone the other way.

  Of course, there was a small part of me that wanted to demand more information, that needed to know exactly where I stood, but I was suppressing that side of me for now. Mason had been through enough; the last thing he needed was a heavy conversation. I would just have to trust that things were good and that soon enough it’d all make perfect sense. I was going to have to be patient because that was all Mason needed. I certainly didn’t want to push him away because I couldn’t wait.

  As he took my face in his hands and he kissed me tenderly, I decided to take that as confirmation. He could have quite easily run by now if all he wanted was a quick fuck, so I had to have faith that everything was going to be awesome from here on out.

  Chapter Ten

  Mason went into work before me for a number of reasons. One, he still had a lot to sort out because of the errors made yesterday and he wanted to get on with it while things in the office were quiet. Two, I got the impression that he needed a little bit of time by himself to go over what happened yesterday. And three... most importantly, he didn’t want anyone to know about us.

  I got that. I didn’t want anyone to know either; I liked this to be a thing just for us. Particularly while we worked things out ourselves. We needed to navigate this, to work out what we meant to each other, and that would be so much easier without any scrutiny.

  It was good, really, much as I missed him in the morning, because it gave me some time to process things too. Not that I was doing too much of that; I was mostly just grinning to myself like an idiot in the mirror. I felt so damn happy, like a crazy person. Mason and I had hooked up; it was like a fantasy coming true... and it had been much better than I ever could have imagined. I always pictured him as an awesome lover, but never did I think he’d be so caring, that I’d feel so close to him throughout.

  He was incredible, absolutely perfect for me, and I was still clinging to the thought that it was the start of something new. Not only had we slept together, but Mason had opened up to me too. It had to be the beginning of love.

  He gave me an adorable kiss as he left for work this morning, one that I just knew was full of promise, and I couldn’t wait for the day. Sure, it was going to difficult to keep my hands off of him all day long, it was going to be torturous, but it’d also be really exciting. We’d probably get so worked up and frustrated all day long that we’d end the day off by having the hottest sex ever.

  Just the thought of it had an intense shiver racing up and down my spine.

  As I stared at my reflection, I felt like I looked different; not only happier, but more grown up too. I felt like I was experiencing deeper, more adult emotions too. This was the first person that I’d ever really invested in, and that showed in my flushed cheeks, my shiny eyes, my curved lips. I felt more complete like I’d finally become a whole person, and that was a truly great feeling.

  I walked towards work with a solid determination in my step, but before I even got inside, Carly leaped on me as if she’d been waiting for me, and she hissed into my ear, “Oh my God, what the hell is going on? I didn’t get to see you yesterday, then you and Mason are working late.” She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively at me. “How are things going? Is something going on?”

  I glanced about before answering, not wanting to be overheard. “Yes, sort of. I’ll tell you more about it at lunch. But keep it hush hush for now; we don’t want anyone to know.”

  “Oh, well, to be honest,” she shrugged a little regretfully, “I think everyone can sense chemistry between you guys anyway. I never said anything, but it’s all anyone could talk about.”

  “What?” I whispered shrieked. “Are you serious? Mason will go nuts.” My heart was racing with terror, my good mood totally zapped. This had the potential to be an utter nightmare now, and I wasn’t so sure that I could face it after all.

  “Oh, Mason needs to stop being such a stick in the mud.” As Carly rolled her eyes dismissively, I could already see that she just didn’t get it. “Honestly, why would he want to deny being with someone as hot as you?”

  “Well, I don’t think it’s denial...” I tried to defend him, but it was falling on deaf ears.

  “He should be shouting it from the rooftops! Plus, it’ll help people see he’s more human, anyway. Right now, aside from being hot as all hell, he just comes across as a monster. This is exactly the sort of thing that would make people like him more.”

  “I don’t know if that’s what he wants.” I felt like an idiot, muttering comments trying to stick up for Mason, but I just couldn’t let this slide.

  “Anyway, let’s go in,” Carly glanced at her watch and her eyes widened in shock. “We aren’t all sleeping with the boss; some of us will actually get in trouble for being late.”

  “Will you stop that,” I slapped her arm, worry careering through me. “I don’t want anyone to know for sure.”

  “I don’t think you’ll be able to keep that secret for long; this office is a much smaller place than it looks!”

  ***

  Well, Carly was not wrong with her warning. Everyone already seemed to know everything about Mason and me and it was driving me insane. I’d already had lewd comments made at me from the other guys in the office, and I’d been whisper called a slut in the bathroom by one of the bitchier women.

  To make things worse, Mason was really obviously avoiding me. He’d locked himself in his office, he was refusing to speak to anyone, and it was making my heart ache like crazy. I understood why this wasn’t great for him, he had a reputation that gossip would only hurt, but I didn’t like the fact that he wasn’t even talking to me. It made me feel worthless; all the ways he’d made me feel special were completely gone.

  While I was having lunch with the girls, and they asked me about it all, I decided it was worth just being honest with them. If they mostly knew anyway, then I’d rather them hear it from me than anyone else.

&nbs
p; “So,” Hali leaned close and shot me a smile. “What the hell is going on because I’ve heard so many different stories.”

  I sighed deeply, gearing up for the worst. “Well, to be honest, I felt like Mason and I have had something for a while now.”

  “I knew it!” Brooke couldn’t help but interject.

  “And after our date on Friday, we kissed and I just knew then that we really did have a special connection. I know he’s an asshole at work, but when it was just the two of us, he was back to the guy I once knew and that was nice.”

  “The chemistry between you guys is magnetic,” Ash told me kindly. “If we can see it, then no wonder you’re sucked in.”

  “Well, last night we were working late together,” I had to leave out the information about his father because that was top secret, and he’d never trust me again if I blabbed, “and, well... one thing led to another.”

  “You slept together?”

  “Tell us everything!”

  But I shook my head. I wasn’t in the mood for sharing stories right now. This all felt really fresh and horrific to me. “He was good, it was awesome, but now... now I don’t know where I stand. He didn’t want anyone to know, now everyone knows and he won’t talk to me about it. I don’t know what to do.”

  To my horror, tears filled my eyes. I didn’t want to be crying. It wasn’t that I was upset; it was much more frustration than anything else. I hated being so stuck in such a hopeless situation. It wasn’t my fault people had guessed. But I was the one stuck suffering because of it. It just didn’t feel fair.

  The girls were around me, hugging me in an instant, assuming these were tears of heartbreak. I took their comfort, though, because I really needed to feel like I had at least some people on my side.

  “I know it all looks crappy now,” Carly did her best to reassure me. “But it’ll get better, everyone will move onto something else soon enough and you’ll be yesterday’s news. That’s the one good thing about gossip: it never sticks around for very long.

  “Yeah, you’re right,” I sniffled and rubbed my nose. “I know, it just feels shitty now. Thanks for listening, though; now you all need to tell me something to distract me. Though I suppose we better get back to work now...”

  We all got up from our seats slowly and walked back to work in a much more somber mood. At least with all the girls backing me, I’d have more hope of keeping things a little more private, but still... the cat was out of the bag now and I wasn’t sure we’d have much luck stuffing it back in. Even if people did move on, the damage might already have been done, and that truly sucked.

  I honestly believed what Mason and I had could turn into love, given half the chance. It would be a crying shame if that was taken away from us over the words of other people. What if he was the one? Urgh, I didn’t even want to think about it.

  ***

  Of course, Mason still wasn’t around all afternoon; he remained hidden away from the world, which blew any plans I had right out of the window. Once the day was done, I walked sadly home alone, remembering how awesome it had felt the night before to have him with me. Now everything about it felt empty and hollow.

  I walked through my apartment, inhaling the memory of him that still clung to every wall. That was where he kissed me when we were there his hands were running all over my body, in the bedroom was where the magic had happened...

  Nope, all of a sudden my temper flared and I decided I wasn’t going to have it. Mason couldn’t just use me like that. He couldn’t just pick me up when he wanted and drop me when I wasn’t enough. It didn’t feel fair. I was suffering too. I was going through a hard time as well. None of this was right. I was mad, sad, and just a little bit crazy.

  ‘Mason, was there a reason you ignored me all day long at work?!’ my fingers were tapping quickly and furiously. To the outside world, I probably looked like a crazy person, not that anyone could see me, luckily. ‘Have I done something wrong? Is there any reason why I need to take all the slack while you hide away? Is that fair? I didn’t tell anyone, they guessed...’

  But then my eyes scanned back over the words, and I realized how petty they sounded. I really didn’t want this to be the first text message I ever sent to Mason. Plus, maybe it was up to me to take the slack today... Mason had all his other stuff going on. He was dealing with trauma too.

  I deleted my words and tossed my phone to the side, sighing deeply. I just needed to see what was going to happen tomorrow. Maybe a brand new day would bring with it something totally different, and I just needed to be patient. It wouldn’t be easy to keep to myself when I was so emotional, but I had to try because of him.

  I slumped on the couch in a resigned manner, a coldness floating through me. I hated this; I thought things were going to be easier now. When I’d left the house all happy in the morning, I hadn’t expected this to happen one bit. Maybe this would just be another road block that we needed to overcome. Maybe we were getting all our hardships over and done with early to carve a smoother path for the future. I could only hope...

  Chapter Eleven

  "Okay,” I muttered seriously to my reflection in the mirror. “Today will be better.” I needed it to be. I couldn’t stand another crappy day followed by a long, restless night. I looked like hell because I wasn’t rested, but there wasn’t anything I could do about it now. I was going to be late if I didn’t leave soon. I needed to just suck it up and get on with it. I was just going to have to ignore the big black circles around my eyes because there was no shying away from the day. Not if I wanted to find out what the hell was going on.

  Mason couldn’t spend another day in hiding, could he? He had the mistake to fix yesterday, he had an excuse, but today he was going to have to be out on the trading floor. Unless he wanted to explain to everyone what he was going through, he needed to put his face back on. It wouldn’t be easy for him, but I felt like his business acumen would win out. He was smart enough to know what needed to be done.

  Anxiety crept coldly through my veins as I left my home and I walked towards the place that scared me the most. I hated not knowing what to expect; it terrified me. Maybe I should have just sent that message to Mason after all. Maybe I would have felt better knowing either way how he felt. Going in blind was super hard, and left me with the most horrifying elevator ride in the history of the world.

  “What the fuck is this?”

  I could hear Mason before I even stepped out of the elevator. He was back out on the floor for sure, and with a vengeance, it sounded like. He was yelling, screaming, and basically being a shit... and from what I could already tell, he was worse than ever.

  I wanted to groan in despair at the hopelessness of the situation, but at least I already knew what sort of day it was going to be. It would be a terrible one, but Mason was out of his office. That had to be a positive step in the right direction. I sucked in a deep breath, trying to steel myself, and I made my way inside.

  I glanced over to Mason as he yelled at someone, but the magnetism must have been gone because he didn’t even seem to notice me. Or maybe he was still hurting; he certainly didn’t look like himself at any rate. My heart did want to go out to him, but at the moment I had it caged. I wanted it protected. I couldn’t allow myself to get hurt in someone else’s spiral of self-destruction.

  I needed to keep out of his way if I didn’t want to be on the receiving end of any of it today; I just needed to keep under the radar and to get my job done. I wasn’t sure if I was still supposed to be working and training under him but I really didn’t need to. I wanted to get started on my own anyway and this seemed like the perfect time. Hopefully, he wouldn’t even notice me gone...

  I let out a breath at my desk, like a balloon deflating, and set about trying to work out what needed my attention first. The sad thing was, I felt like I was good at this job, I felt like it was a field that I could actually go far in, but I wasn’t enjoying it one bit. And that wasn’t just because of Mason and his moods.

 
; I’d taken this job because it was the only thing that had been offered to me at the time, because I was desperate, and because I felt like it was something I could go far in, but it wasn’t really me. I didn’t even care that it was a male-centric, ego-driven world: that wasn’t the problem. The work just didn’t make me happy. I found the stocks boring, I didn’t get the same thrill everyone else did, and I didn’t feel the same level of ambition anymore.

  Maybe, possibly if I didn’t have something going on with Mason, I would have considered looking for something else, because now my eyes had been opened, I realized that actually, my happiness was more important than ambition. I didn’t need to follow in my family’s footsteps; I needed to carve out my own path in life.

  Anyway, there wasn’t any point in worrying about that now, and I just needed to get on with it. There was no way I could leave with so much left up in the air. Even if someone offered me a good job tomorrow, I didn’t think I could go for it, not until I worked out where Mason was at. While he was still stomping around the place, yelling at everyone, threatening firings left, right, and center, I still felt a little bit like I was needed.

  Just as I settled on that decision, a shadow loomed in my doorway and I found myself staring up at the one person I’d been hoping to hide away from, my heart thundering in my chest.

  “Everything okay?” I asked, looking him up and down. He had deep, dark circles under his eyes that matched mine – if anything, they were worse – crinkled in his cheeks, and a scruffy shirt on. He might have been acting the way he usually did but he really didn’t look it. Could everyone see that? Did they think it was because of me?

  “I need to talk to you,” he gasped sadly. “Do you have a minute?”

  “Erm... sure.” He looked weird. I had a horrible feeling that I wasn’t going to like where this was going. “Take a seat... or whatever.”

  His fingers were grabbing so tightly onto my desk that his knuckles had gone white. He was angry, stressed, and probably should have been anywhere else in the world but here. “As you know,” he started purposefully, “everyone is talking about us, and I can’t have that. I just can’t.” He was shaking his head, but he continued talking as if he was completely oblivious to my inner turmoil. I clenched my teeth and lips together trying to keep it all inside, because if he didn’t want to see how distressed I was, then I didn’t want to show it. “You know more than anyone else what I’m going through.”