by E. K. Blair
“Get out of here!” Jessica screeched at the top of her lungs.
Their car was soon out of there, but I couldn’t look away. A tension had taken hold of me. Its grip was so tight, so powerful. I couldn’t believe what had almost happened, what had just happened...because of me.
“Happy?” Mason asked in a quiet voice.
I jerked my head up and realized he had remained close the whole time. The rest of his car had vacated.
“Yeah.” I nodded my head abruptly.
“You sure?”
He was so close. I felt his breath on me and it teased me. That same tingle started back, nagging me. It wouldn’t go away... I shook my head. It had to go away. There was no other way.
“Sam?”
I choked out, “I’m fine.” And I swung away. I needed to get away from him, from how he could pull me in, how I wanted him to pull me in.
Hell, I wanted to pull him in.
I closed my eyes, but Mason stepped back then. I took a deep breath and tried to calm my nerves. Goodness. I wanted to jump him right there and when I opened my eyes, under heavy eyelids, I saw he wanted the same thing. His eyes were dark with desire, but then he closed his eyes. As he opened them, he wore a mask once again. He was in control and he gave me a half grin. “I want your car behind mine or Logan’s, okay?”
I nodded.
He nodded at Adam. “You got that?”
Adam gave him a nod from across the top of his car, with an unreadable gaze.
Mason narrowed his eyes and held his stare for a second. Neither said a word, but I knew there was some form of message shared between the two. The heated look was broken when a small girl with brown curly hair approached from around the side of Mason’s car. She had bright almond eyes, a timid smile, and a white sweater that engulfed her.
“You’re Sam?” Warmth oozed from her.
“Not now.” Mason touched her shoulder and urged her in front of him as they walked to Logan’s side of the lot.
She looked back and gave me another smile before Mason blocked her view of me.
I frowned as I realized what he was doing. He’d done the same thing with my mother. At that time, he’d been protecting me, but who was he protecting now?
“Oh.” Becky panted. “My.” She heaved an exaggerated breath. “Gawd.”
Adam shook his head. “Can you chill the dramatics a bit?”
She looked over, still panting like a dog. “Did you see what I did? I don’t even know which thing to talk about first? I can’t prioritize them. This is drama overload.” Her shoulders sagged heavily and she dropped her arms to her side. “It’s all weighing me down. I have to get it off my chest, I just have to.”
Then Adam grinned and pointed at an incoming car. “You’re going to have to add a bit more to your list.”
As a Bentley stopped on the other side of Adam’s car, my radar went on high alert. A brand new, straight from the dealership, Porsche Cayenne wheeled in on the other side and the doors were thrown open.
The Academy Elite had arrived. And judging from their packed vehicles, they were coming on the trip.
I watched in horror as Mark Decraw went over and pumped fists with Logan.
Becky groaned next to me. “I think I’m about to collapse.”
***
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
It was a three hour drive and by the time we got there, I had one thing in mind. Could I go running and if I could, how long did I have to wait before I went? The itch to get away and run free was so strong; I had to force my legs down to the floor a few times. I wanted to hurl myself out of the car each time we stopped at a stoplight in some small town.
Becky had stopped questioning me about the Kades when I went mute two minutes into the trip. Adam hadn’t filled my silence either and so Becky sat back and chatted away to herself. She talked about everything: the Kades, the Academy Elite, how liberating it was to watch Jessica and Lydia get pushed out. She went on and on.
Then, after Adam got a text message, she squealed again when she snatched it from him. She twisted around in the seat and exclaimed, “Tanya’s coming with her cousin!” She sang out, “So much drama!”
Adam grunted, “You need to get a life.”
“I have a life.” She was breathless. “Both of yours.”
And then Logan’s car, who’d been in the lead, slowed beside a gated driveway. We were in the middle of nowhere with trees thick on either side of the road. The last town seemed forever ago, but when the gate slowly swung open and Logan led the way through it, it was the same; a long narrow road with thick forest around it. Finally, he rounded another curve and a gigantic log mansion stood in a clearing.
It could’ve been on MTV cribs.
“Whoa,” Adam laughed under his breath. “That’s a freaking hotel. I wondered how they were going to house everyone.”
Becky had fallen silent with wide eyes. Her mouth formed a silent oval and she pressed closed fists to it.
I jumped out of the car and hurried to Logan. “Where’s my stuff?”
He frowned at me. “What’s up with you?”
“I need to run.”
“Gotcha.” He glanced at my shoes. “Can you run in those? It’s going to take a while to get to your bags.”
I jerked my head in a nod. It’d have to do.
He gestured to a trail that started behind a garage. “It’s still dark out, but it should be light soon. I’ll make sure you get a good room. That trail goes up and around a lake. It’ll be pretty by the time you get there. And it should be safe. Nate’s parents have an electric fence that runs the perimeter so no big animals should be out there. Take your phone.”
When I didn’t start right away, he tapped my shoulder. “Go. It’s fine.”
Then I started. I walked to the back of the garage. When Becky called out and asked where I was going, Logan said something to her. I knew I was covered and as soon as I was hidden from view, I took off.
The path was covered in woodchips and it went uphill.
I pumped my knees and arms high, and even more the higher I went. When the trail veered to the right, my body leaned with it. I wasn’t running. I was sprinting. I knew I should slow down. I didn’t want to burn out too soon, but I couldn’t. Something in me was making me go faster and faster. Sweat was soon dripping off me, but I didn’t care. I barely felt it.
The mountain morning air felt cool and it fueled me for more.
The path flattened out after a steep incline. There were a few dips, all of them welcomed, but I loved the climb. My heart beat faster and it wasn’t from the exertion.
It might’ve been an hour, I wasn’t sure, but the forest opened around me and I was given a breathtaking view of a lake below. It was in a valley between two mountains. Waves rippled over it. I couldn’t see through it, not from how high I was, but the water seemed to give me another burst of adrenalin.
I kicked off at a higher speed and soared past it.
The trees were a blur as I raced past them and I kept going. When my chest felt like it couldn’t expand anymore and my arms had started to feel like cement, I slowed my pace. I lifted my head and breathed in the air.
I could feel the elevation in my lungs, but it only made me slow a bit more.
After what seemed like another hour, I turned and started back. When I returned to the lake, I stopped and bent over. I caught my breath, but I couldn’t stop looking at the lake. Something calmed and excited me at the same time. I wanted to be a part of it and I felt crazy admitting that to myself, but I did.
And then, as I turned and headed to the mansion, I realized I wasn’t scared. Maybe I ran it out of me; maybe I ran away from it enough. I wasn’t sure, but a contented feeling settled over me. And then I slowed to a walk the closer I got to the mansion. I could hear bass music blaring through the woods. It might’ve been a mile away when I started to hear laughter.
There was a slight clearing from the hill where I was and I stopped. My feet were roote
d in place.
I could see a large pool behind the mansion. It was filled with people with others streaming around it. There looked to be a hot tub and sauna as well. A few tables were kept separate behind a barrier of plants with a steel grill beside a large bar structure. I heard laughter as a few guys shoved some girls into the pool. They squealed as they were soaked.
A breeze swept around me and goose bumps covered me. I was completely drenched in sweat, but I didn’t care. That had been the best run of my life. I was already anticipating my next one.
When I got back to the house and walked through the garage, there were people everywhere. I walked through, drenched in sweat, and a few girls gave me the snub. They looked me over, their lips curled up, and they turned away. I couldn’t hold back a grin as this happened. I might not have wanted to buy into being protected by Mason or Logan, but I knew these girls didn’t know who I was. And I sighed as I realized that. These girls were being real. They weren’t being fake towards me. They weren’t kissing my ass because who might’ve been my new stepbrothers.
More than a few guys didn’t look away. My shirt and pants stuck to me like a second skin. It wasn’t until I ducked into the kitchen and heard Nate’s laugh when he saw me that I realized how foolish I might’ve looked. He saw me, his mouth opened, and he bent over in laughter.
“Shut up.” I frowned at him.
He shook his head, still laughing. “Not at you, not at you...” More laughter and he clapped a hand to his knee a few times. “Look at you.” He held a hand up. “You look like you went swimming and I know it’s because you went running. Most girls want to look their hottest and you’re...I’m sorry to say, but you go the opposite way. I like it. I really do. I admire it.”
“Shut up.” I frowned at him. “Where’s my room?”
He pointed upstairs, still laughing, and choked out, “Fourth floor, second door on your right.”
Fourth floor. I couldn’t believe there was a fourth floor. And then I remembered the Kade mansion, which wasn’t that small compared to this beast of a home, and decided to keep my mouth closed. When I was rounding the first set of stairs, I ran into Adam. He was going downstairs dressed in his swimming trunks and a glass of something in his hand.
He drew back and grinned. “Hey.”
“Hey.” I eyed the plastic cup. “What are we drinking?”
He grimaced and rolled his eyes. “Something to get me in the party mood. Where’d you go? You took off right away and Logan said you had something to do. No one questioned him, we didn’t feel we could, but...where’d you go?”
I shrugged. “I went running.”
He frowned. “You run?”
“Yeah.”
“Oh.” He skimmed me up and down.
I fidgeted under the weight of his gaze, now self-conscious. “So, anyway...you and Becky are on this floor?”
“Yeah.” He drew upright. “We’re in a back corner.”
“And Tanya? Becky said she was coming?”
He looked away and scratched the back of his head. “Yeah...I think her and Tate will share a room in the basement. I think those are the only rooms left.”
I nodded. “Does Logan know Tate is coming?”
He met my gaze for a second and just for a second the real Adam was there, the one who meant it when he promised me the world. He spoke in regret, “No...”
I shook my head. “Do you know what you’re doing? Logan is going to flip when he knows she’s here.”
“From what I hear Logan isn’t the problem.” His jaw clenched and he looked away.
There it was. The unspeakable name, one of the many reasons Adam and I no longer trusted each other and as I confessed that, I wondered when that had happened—when I lost my trust in him and when he did with me? Well, I could guess when he’d lost his with me.
I took a breath and braved the front. I named the name that was between us. “Mason will know you invited her. Mason hates her.”
He swung his gaze to me and I saw the pained look in them.
I fought myself from cringing in sympathy.
He wrung out, “Do you even know why he hates her so much? And what does that have to do with you?”
“Do you?”
“No.” He shook his head. “But I don’t have to deal with it. I care less who he likes or who he doesn’t—”
“Are you kidding me?” I folded my arms over my chest and cut in. My chest was starting to rise, up and down, up and down. My heart was starting to race again. “You don’t care? About me? You don’t care about me? Because you know I’m connected to them. I’m connected to them in a way that few are. They’re going to be my family, Adam. I can’t ignore that. And I think you want me to do that, but I can’t.”
“Sam, she isn’t your issue. She has nothing to do with you!”
“She already has!” I yelled back at him and pushed him away.
He fell back, surprised, but he quieted.
I closed my eyes and turned away. What had I said? I couldn’t believe I’d let that slip.
“Don’t torture yourself. You were honest just now. You were honest with me, maybe the first time.” He took a breath and touched the back of my elbow. His voice was soft. “You were saying that Tate’s already had something to do with you? What did you mean by that? I’d like to know. I care about you.”
And then movement appeared from a back corner. I swung my gaze up, stricken. I hadn’t even known a back corner existed.
Mason gave me an unreadable look, but he spoke to Adam, “What do you want here?”
Adam’s head jerked up and I knew he was surprised.
I turned away. I wasn’t. I’d witnessed when Mason went in for the kill. I knew it was happening now.
“What are you talking about?”
Mason laughed to himself and gestured to me. “What do you think, dickhead? What do you want? Her?”
Adam’s eyes went wide.
Mason’s eyes went to disdain. “Be honest. Right now, right here. You and me. Her. You want her, right? I know you do. Just say it. Put it out there, it might work.”
I glanced at him. What was he doing? Mason refused to meet my gaze. His jaw was hard. Everything about him was hard in that moment. And no matter what Adam said, I knew he’d already dealt his hand.
No one won against Mason.
Then Adam broke and threw his arms out wide. “What do you want? Yes, I want her.” His chest heaved up and down. “I want her, okay? I’ve known her all my life.”
Mason grinned. “How long have you wanted her?”
“For half of that,” Adam spat back at him. “Are you happy? I’ve wanted her since seventh grade, since the first time Sallaway noticed her.”
“That’s a long time.”
“Stop,” I snarled at Mason. He was encouraging him.
He ignored me and narrowed his eyes. Slowly, his hand reached out and grasped my elbow. He pulled me behind him and moved himself forward. It was done so slowly and so smoothly that Adam didn’t notice.
I held my breath and waited for his reaction. It never came.
“You’ve wanted her a long time?”
“Yes,” Adam cried out. “Can you blame me? You want her too. I can tell.”
Mason shrugged. It was another moment like my mother’s. He went in for the kill and I was pressed against his back. I pressed against him, not to hide myself, but to keep myself from saying something I’d regret. And what would I even say? I pressed the back of my hand against my mouth. I had no idea. My heart was beating so fast. It was like I was running still.
“You’re right.” Mason’s voice was so soft, almost delicate. “I do. I’m not denying that.”
“Oh god.”
I flinched when I heard the disgust in Adam’s voice.
Mason pressed on, almost tender still, “But I’m not going to screw another girl wishing she were Sam in my head. I’m not going to do that because you know why?”
There he was. He was going in for the
kill. Adam cowered now.
It was enough. I swung away and shoved him back.
Mason glanced over.
I pushed him some more. “Go away.”
“Sam.”
“Now!” I pointed downstairs. “You don’t have the right.”
His jaw clenched. “Are you kidding me?”
“I’m not your whore. I’m not your stepsister. I’m not your anything. I thought I was your friend, but maybe not even that. You don’t have a right, Mason. You’d never do this for Lo—”
He shoved his face in mine and I gasped as I fell back against the wall. “This is exactly what I did for him. You want to know what that whore did?”
I couldn’t look away. My eyes were wide. My back was against the wall.
Adam ceased to exist.
“I...” I couldn’t breathe. He was so close.
He pressed into me and placed both hands against the wall beside me. He trapped me, but I didn’t want to go anywhere. When his knee nudged between my legs and moved up, I closed my eyes and fought back a sigh. The need throbbed inside of me again.
I was starting to think that need for him would never leave. It was so powerful, so consuming.
He nuzzled against my cheek and asked quietly, his breath a caress to me, “You want to know what she did to hurt Logan and me?”
I fell against him. I couldn’t hold my head up.
I felt him smile against me, but he held me upright. He took my weight. “She screwed him. She got him to love her. For two years, Sam, she had him thinking he loved her and then she decided she wanted me.”
I felt the coldness in him, even as he rested against me, and I reached out to it. I slid my hands up his arms, over his shoulders, around them, and kneaded the back of his neck. I wanted the tension gone. I was blind in it. And I was blind how he now held me in place. His hands moved to cup my bottom and my legs wrapped him. I wanted him. The need throbbed in me and I pressed against him.
I felt his reaction and grinned against his cheek.
“She came to me at home one day. I was in my room. She’d been in his and Logan was asleep. They’d screwed and she came to my room.” Mason lifted me away from the wall.
I held onto him as I had the previous night. He had protected me then. He was protecting me again? Lust had confused all rational thought within me. I didn’t know where we were anymore, but it didn’t matter.