Atonement (Heart of Stone)

by Sidebottom, D H

  Sam shook his head in exasperation as he pulled me into a hug. “You okay, sweetheart?” His gruff but quiet voice warmed me inside. Sam’s love and affection for me was openly displayed on his face and I hugged him back tightly, loving this big large man with a passion.

  “I’m okay, stop worrying. All’s good.”

  He sighed heavily but nodded, “We’ll find him Ava, I promise and when we do I’m gonna rip the bastard to fucking shreds... slowly.” He resembled a gentle giant but Sam was notorious for his affection for blades, his skill with his numerous ‘toys’ was chilling but mesmerising in a sick kind of way. Everyone knew if Mason sent Sam round then you would be walking back out of the room with at least one less body part intact.

  Blades… blades… blades. I’m gonna make you pay for the blades, Mason!

  I shivered but gave Sam a smile. “I know you will Sam, I know you will.”

  And I knew Sam would do his upmost to fulfil his promise. He was like family to me, our friendship meant a great deal to both of us and we shared a mutual bond and respect for each other.

  “Sam,” I asked quietly as I tilted my head in thought, “Where did you learn to play with your blades?”

  He frowned at me with a confused but easy expression, “You mean who was my mentor?”

  I nodded and kept the smile plastered to my face, not wanting to reveal my line of reflection.

  “My Dad, he started to train me when I hit eleven. Why?”

  “Did he have a thing for them too then?” I asked as Courtney bounded through my front door and was enfolded around me within a matter of seconds. I embraced her back with as much affection as I caught Mason’s pensive expression whilst his eyes flicked between Sam and me.

  “Sam’s dad was infamous for the tricks he could do with a set of knives back in the 80’s,” Mason butted in, feeding my curiosity as his mind synced with mine and ran along beside me.

  Sam nodded with a tight smile. “Does he live round here then?” I pressed on, soaking up as much information as I could.

  He shook his head, “No… he had some trouble with one of my brothers. Jase ended up killing and raping a girl that used to babysit for us; my dad obviously hit the shit and sliced Jase to pieces. He’s in Wormwood Scrubs.”

  Sam gave Mason a hooded glance but his honesty caught me off guard. I had known Sam for eight years now and I had never bothered to find out about him and that hurt.

  “Christ Sam, I am so sorry. You carry this shit round with you but never once did I know this.”

  He shrugged and wrinkled his nose, “It’s just shit, Ava. Everybody has some.”

  I pressed my lips together but nodded, “Yeah but he’s your dad.”

  “He was also every kid on the estates dad, if you get my drift, Ava. We were never close; the man was pure fucking evil. He trained all of us, including his other twelve million kids, with military precision to slice a person up better than a filleting a fucking salmon. And then he made us use the skills we had learned on each other. To my father the best was only good enough and he placed us against each other one by one until only the best survived. What kind of father does that? One that ran a fucking school to teach his sick skills, one that took us to organised knife fights and placed money on us, one that wasn’t satisfied until we had carved each other up.” He shrugged again but I could read the hurt and old anguish on his face, “But it is what it is, sweetheart and I met Mason through that cruel bastard so hey, I’m not ruined by it, just stronger I suppose.”

  “Go up, Sam” Mason intervened sternly as his eyes narrowed on me with a slight glare.

  Sam nodded once and smiled at me again before he hit the stairs and followed the others into the office.

  “What the hell, Ava?” Mason growled, “Why don’t you just get the poor guy on This is Your Life?”

  “I was only asking” I defended, “What did he mean when he said that’s where he met you?”

  He rolled his eyes as he took a step towards the stairs, “Keep out of it, Ava. This has nothing to do with whatever is happening here, you understand?”

  I smiled sweetly and nodded. “Of course, baby.”

  His eyes fired and he sucked in a harsh breath when he caught the sarcasm in my voice. “I mean it Ava, Sam’s past has nothing to do with this shit. Neither has mine, so back off the guy’s. They are my men Ava, they’re loyal and honest.””

  I lifted an eyebrow in mockery, “Like Dane?”

  Courtney pulled in a breath beside me then made her way discreetly into the kitchen, giving us privacy and discretion as Mason’s eyes darkened but his face clenched with the guilt of the past.

  “Dane was a sick and twisted bastard, Ava. There is no one I trust more than Sam and Greg.”

  “I wasn’t accusing Greg and Sam of anything. I was just trying to find a link somewhere in this fuck up Mason. I need this done, I need to feel safe. I need the peanuts to be safe as well as our friends. We need this bastard Mason and I’m sorry, but I’m willing to quiz the fucking Queen if I have to.”

  His knuckles slid down my cheek with a gentle affection and I relaxed instantly, his touch soothing the anguish and fear I held deep inside, so deep no one else could see it was there. “Baby, I know you’re scared…” he placed his fingertips on my lips to silence me as I started to voice my protest. “But I promise Ava, this will be over soon.”

  He slid his fingers around my head, cupping me tenderly until I leant into him and closed my eyes with the calm he offered, “Blue skies, baby. Tranquil beaches, the kids running and laughing with maybe a puppy or a kitten. No looking over our shoulder anymore, no wondering who will take a pop at us next and no more fucking fighting to live in peace. Enough of this crap now. I’ll concentrate on this prick and you concentrate on getting us to Portugal. Okay?”

  I nodded and sighed as I forfeited the fight – for now, “Okay.”

  He smiled and brushed his lips over mine and I instinctively moaned at the contact. “I love you, Ava” he whispered into my mouth.

  “And me, you” I returned as I trickled the tip of my tongue across his lower lip. He growled playfully as he planted a chaste kiss on my mouth and ran up the stairs to join the others.

  Chapter 35

  mason

  The party was in full swing by the time we had finished and returned downstairs. Greg cheered loudly as he hit the stairs and headed straight to the booze table.

  I did a scan of the room and found Ava laughing with Layla and Lucas, her stunning face lit up brightly as Layla said something in her ear, Lucas scowling beside them with narrow eyes on each of the women.

  A smile hit my lips as I stood watching her relaxed and happy, her beauty humming but serene in the bustle of the room.

  Hinder blasted from the speakers and Ava jigged her hip to the beat until her face grimaced slightly at the pain of her injury and she stiffened. Her head turned slowly and her eyes sought me out as if she sensed me, which I knew she did. Our souls danced happily with each other’s closeness and from the look in my wife’s eyes, her soul wasn’t the only thing aroused at the moment.

  The heat in her eyes stirred my blood and a wicked smile curved her lips when she read the desire in my body language.

  She turned her body towards me and started to sway to the music, her hips rhythmically rocking from side to side as she raised her arms in the air and moved her amazing body towards me. I stood motionless, just watching her flow across the room as my whole body hardened in need. My heart hammered rapidly, my thighs clenched almost painfully and my cock swelled in want and hunger.

  Fuck, she was a stunning woman and I would never tire of just watching her; watching the love for me reflected in her eyes, watching the way her body reacted to mine, watching the way her pulse throbbed at the base of her slender neck and the way her brow always creased slightly every time I entered the room. She was exquisite, she was pure elegance and she was mine, every single fucking inch of her, but maybe for…

  She moved
closer, her little feet dancing along the hardwood floor as people watched her pass, their eyes smiling as they trekked her swing and rock towards me, each one moving aside and clearing a path for her.

  I couldn’t hold back the huge smile from my face, my wife made me fucking glad to be alive and happy to take another breath in this torturous life.

  She reached me and circled round me, her whole body still shimmying in time to the heavy beat of Hinders’ ‘Up all night’, as her husky voice sang the words in my ear and her hands slid over my arse, her new long nails scraping my skin causing a slight shiver to ripple through me.

  She veered round the front of me and I grabbed her hand and pulled her against me, my body swaying against the rhythm of hers as we both ground and rocked against one another.

  Her incredible breasts pressed up tight against my chest and I could feel the frisky thud of her heart as it danced in time with the sultry play of our hips as we rocked hard into each other.

  “We’re gonna be up all night, gettin’ it on till the mornin’ light…” I growled in her ear teasing her with the words to the song as she purred with a faint rasp into my chest.

  “Enough! You’ll be kicking us out next!” Courtney shouted across the room as she briskly changed the music and Gabrielle Aplin ‘The Power of Love’ now filled the room.

  Ava’s whole body buzzed with love as the song started, the soft sound of the ballad reliving the most memorable day of our lives in our heads. I held her close as our wedding song played and relished in the feel of her tiny body pressed against mine.

  “God I love you baby,” I whispered in her ear as her fingers slid around my neck and then into my hair. “Don’t ever leave me Ava, I couldn’t live through it. Wherever you are, I’m following; to the ends of the earth if you need me to.”

  She smiled up at me, the peacefulness of her soft gaze lulled me and I leaned into her soft curves, my hips fitting against hers as though we were tailor made for each other. The dip of her back accommodated the palms of my hands like she had been moulded by the heavens just for me and her eyes linked with mine as we fed and devoured equally. “You’re mine, Ava; you’ll always be mine...”

  The top of her hair brushed softly against my jaw as I tilted her head back with a finger under her chin until her eyes locked with my deep gaze, “But tonight you’re mine and Kade’s.”

  Her gasp was loud, even over the drum of the music. Her heart sped up, its thud now a harsh thump as I felt her body shudder from head to toe. “We each own you tonight, baby. Both of us will possess you so thoroughly you won’t know who is where and which one of us is doing what. Whose cock is in your mouth and whose dick is in your sweet tight pussy. Whose tongue is in your mouth or torturing your soft nipples.”

  Her flawless green eyes fired deeply, the shade and tone darkening with her lust and desire. My cock throbbed at the look of longing across her face and the warmth of her soft breaths on my throat. “Are you sure you want to do this, Mason? There’s no going back from this. You know how Kade feels about me.”

  I ran the tip of my nose around hers and ran my fingers down from the bottom of her spine and onto her pert little ass, “And I know how you feel about Kade, Ava.”

  I brought a hand up and pressed it against her breastbone; her heart backfired against my palm with her fear and need as her teeth sank delicately into her bottom lip. “Mason…”

  “No, I told you I knew how you felt, how Kade feels. We need to do this Ava, once and for all before we leave. We need to take what we all need from each other before we lay those demons to rest. One night, baby; one night with both of the men who you love.”

  She swallowed and I watched the lump in her throat struggle to go down as she closed her eyes, took a steadying breath then nodded as she reopened them. “Okay, but we each take everything we want, Mason. For one last time, even you. Then we move on and forget.”

  I smiled with corruption, “Oh, don’t worry baby, I intend to. I plan on taking everything from you and giving everything to Kade.”

  She rolled her lips to hide her cheeky smile and I swiped my thumb across her plump lower lip, “Does that make you hot, Ava? Knowing that I’m gonna be giving Kade the fuck of his life?”

  “Yes.” She whispered as her eyes glazed. She gazed over my shoulder, her imagination ruling her as she pictured what tonight would bring. “You want Kade’s cock in your pussy Ava, thrusting hard inside you, fucking you into unconsciousness?”

  “Yes.”

  “I’m gonna fuck your hot mouth whilst he takes your ass, baby. Fill everything inside you with both of us; make you delirious until you don’t know whose name to scream, mine or Kades, when you come so hard your body won’t know up from down.”

  “Sounds perfect” A voice whispered in my ear and I clenched my teeth against the urges that instantly shot through my body, electrifying every nerve ending as Kade’s hot breath shivered across my cheek and every single drop of blood in my body surged to my dick, pumping it in anticipation and pure craving .

  “You ready?” he breathed as he discreetly rubbed his hard cock into my arse, sandwiching me between his hard body and my wife’s soft one.

  I blew out a heavy breath as my eyes caught Ava’s hooded ones. Oh, she needed this; she needed it badly; almost as badly as me. Being between them now, their bodies flanking mine, I struggled to pull away, struggled to stop myself from tearing both their clothes off and taking them in front of the bloody guests. Stop myself from sinking into each of them, stroking my tongue over their skin, sliding my fingers into their flesh, and thrusting my cock into either of their mouths.

  “Mason… Mason!” Ava’s harsh whisper flicked open my eyes and I stared at her. “You need to get Kade upstairs before Greg sees him.”

  “What?” My brain was refusing to cooperate as Kade continued to secretly rub his hard cock up and down the groove of my arse.

  Oh god!

  “Greg – Courtney - Kade” she stated slowly and it suddenly clicked.

  “Yeah.”

  I coughed to alert Kade that I was moving. The last thing we needed was the guests catching sight of Kade grinding his groin into my ass. He moved back and walked into the hallway without instruction, his knowledge of Greg’s presence also making him eager to get out of the room.

  I followed him through the entrance hall and up the stairs to the office, keeping my gaze fixed to the back of his head and demanding myself not to look at how his tight buttocks moved under the denim of his dark jeans.

  He swung his backpack from his shoulder and proceeded to immediately unpack his laptop and a few gadgets, wires and cables before he scanned the room for an electricity socket.

  I stood immobile, watching his serious expression as he set up his equipment.

  His eyes eventually lifted to mine and he halted at the obvious feral look I was displaying. I could feel the heat still between us and I gulped as I fought it back… for now.

  “You sure you wanna do this Mason?” His tone was steady but I could feel his nervousness flow from every single pore on his body and I knew he wasn’t talking about the transaction trace.

  I nodded once. “We both want it. We all want it.”

  “Can you cope with the after effects though? You’re not gonna haunt her with the ‘was he’ and ‘were you’s’?”

  I shook my head, “No, we need to bury this Kade; we need to give in to what we want instead of fucking fighting it. I’m sick of fighting for things in this god damn life. I want this, you want his and I know Ava wants this. Do you know she still loves you, Kade? My wife loves you.” I said it bluntly; it didn’t need saying any other way and surprisingly saying it and admitting it out loud didn’t hurt as much as I thought it would.

  Ava had loved Kade from the first time she fucked him, but even after eight years, she was still with me, still by my side and I knew with an overwhelming clarity that I would always have her, no matter what she felt for Kade.

  His lips lifted into a soft
smile but he cocked his head and smiled wider at me, “But she’s in love with you, Mason. She has always been in love with you.”

  I nodded and returned his smile as he continued to set up his equipment. Settling his self behind my desk, he fired everything up and nodded to me.

  I passed him the piece of paper with all the details of the transaction and his fingers whizzed over the keyboard as he initiated the process of whatever the program executed. “It will take a few hours to find it, usually around twelve. It has to bounce around lots of ports, servers and firewalls but it’ll find it.”

  I nodded, “You want a drink?”

  “Sure, beer…” He seemed preoccupied with something as he tapped away at numerous keys and I turned to the open doorway to go get him a drink.

  Greg was stood, quiet and brooding as he leaned on the frame. “Not now, Greg” I warned as I pierced him with a stare.

  “It’s good, Mase. I’m not here to pick a fight, just want a word.”

  I glanced back at Kade who nodded. “Behave Greg, or it’ll be me you have to deal with.”

  He nodded and I closed the door as I gave them one more look to make sure they were both calm.

  Ava was stood at the bottom of the stairs talking to Brad as I came down. My gut growled when I spotted his hand on her arm, laughing with her as he joked about something. He looked up at me and removed his touch as he nodded to me and left us.

  “Everything okay?” Ava asked quietly and I smiled as I walked into the kitchen to retrieve Kade’s beer.

  “Everything is fine, baby, stop worrying.”

  “I can’t help it. I’m frightened you’re gonna… watch us.”

  I frowned and snorted a little, “Of course I’m gonna watch you, Ava.” I reached in the fridge and pulled a bottle out, flipping the cap on the edge of the counter before turning back to her, “What, you want me to shut my eyes when he fucks you?” I barked with humour.