by E. K. Blair
I closed my eyes as I felt the urge to find the treadmill in the hotel’s gym. It was already closed, but I was sure the Kade name had some pull.
“Oh hey,” Mark tried to sound normal. He failed. “There’s Pete and the crew. I’ll see you guys later. Sam...”
I jerked my head in a stiff nod, but I couldn’t keep the scowl from my face. Who did he think he was now because he was privy to information about my family?
Becky and Lydia’s heads squashed together, but Adam tugged me backwards, away from them. He spoke in my ear, “Calm down. Mark didn’t mean anything by it.”
I hissed out, “He doesn’t know me. He doesn’t know anything and now he’s talking to me about my life? Who the hell does he think he is?”
He gave me a pained smile. “He’s my friend and he wants to get to know you.”
“What?” I stared up at him. “Why?”
“Because he wants to break the news that he thinks his mom and Coach are going to get hitched, but he doesn’t know how to.”
“What?!” Everything in me sunk at that moment.
“Yeah.” Adam raised a hand down the backside of his head and rubbed at his neck. “He thinks you should know, but I guess it’s supposed to be a spontaneous thing. He’s going to be family, Sam. And he’s stepping out from Miranda’s wrath.”
I closed my eyes. I couldn’t do anything else. And I stood there.
Adam reached for my shoulders to pull me close. I shrugged him off. And I could hear the bitterness in his voice. “Look, Stewart doesn’t want any of us to be friends with you, much less talk to you. I told her to go to hell and so did Mark. He’s doing this for his mom and for Coach and, in some weird way, for you too. He feels bad about your situation.”
I spoke through gritted teeth, “I don’t care about being in the Elite.”
“I know. We all know that and I think that pisses Miranda off the most, but it doesn’t change the fact. You’ve got another year at the Academy, much less the rest of this year. Look, the girls won’t go against Miranda. They might not all agree with her, but they won’t go against her. If you—”
A hand wrapped my waist and pulled me backwards. I closed my eyes because I didn’t need to look. Heat and lust washed over me when Mason urged me to turn around with a hand on my hip. I met his gaze once and when I saw the smoldering depths there, I knew the game was up. I was swept against his chest and burrowed there as he started to rub my back while the other one cradled my head to him. He spoke over me, “You’re starting to piss me off, Quinn.”
Adam’s hostility was evident. “I’m friends with her friends. What do you expect of me, Kade?”
Mason’s arm tightened on my back. He swept down and started to massage the side of my hip, grinding me against him in the same motion. My heart pounded and the need started to throb again. I gasped against his chest and started to move with him.
“Isn’t that...convenient.” Acid dripped from Mason’s voice.
“What’s going on?”
Some of the tension left Mason at the sound of his brother’s voice.
“Mase, why you holding my girlfriend?” He sounded bright, cheery. Then he turned serious. “Ah, got it. Truth time, huh? Quinn, why are you always around Sam? You must have a boner every time you talk to her, or think about her, smell her... Do you use your mom’s lotion? The pretty smelling stuff when you jerk it?”
“Um...” Becky was hushed immediately. “No, I won’t shut up. What’s going on? Sam?”
My eyes snapped open, but I knew I couldn’t turn around. It was all over my face. I’d been in his arms for a minute and I wanted to drag him to a bedroom. My face was heated and I could imagine what the rest of me looked like. They’d call me a whore after this and it would stick. I knew it.
When I started to turn, Mason kept me in place. His voice was rough as he clipped out, “Stay away from her Quinn. If you keep trying to get in her pants, we’re going to have a problem.”
Logan sidled up next to us. I felt his presence beside Mason. “And stop playing the dumbass game. You know what we’re talking about.”
There was silence for a heartbeat and then Adam’s laugh grated out. “Are you two serious? You don’t think I know what you’re doing with her? You’re just having fun with her. You’re using her to piss off your parents. Mark’s told me a little bit. I thought Sam had daddy issues, but the two of you—”
I was transferred to Logan’s arms in a flash, but I whirled in time to see Mason lunge for Adam. He knocked him backwards and then took hold of his shirt and slammed him against the wall. Adam didn’t fight back, but the two glared at each other as Mason bent close. His mouth moved and Adam’s face went white. He lost more and more coloring as Mason continued to speak in his ear. Then, after Mason stopped and held his gaze for a long tension-filled second, he stepped back and delivered one last punch to the side of Adam’s face.
He went down, but he wasn’t knocked unconscious. As he lay on the ground, he stared at Mason with fear starting to take root in his eyes. No one went to his side, but Becky broke through the crowd and dropped to her knees beside him. She touched the side of his face, but glared at Mason. “What’s your problem? He’s a good guy.”
Mason’s eyes cooled, but he glanced at me before he turned back.
My gut twitched as I realized he was in control. He’d been in control the whole time. He hadn’t lost it when he went for Adam. Then Logan murmured in my ear, “Quinn’s not the hero your friend thinks he is. It’s time it came out.”
But I was riveted by the scene unfolding before me when Mason placed his hands on his hips and gave my friend a look of regret. I shoved out of Logan’s hold and scrambled to his side as he spoke to her, “You think he’s a good guy? He used you to get to her.”
Becky’s eyes were scorching. “Did he tell you this?”
Mason shook his head. “I’m a guy. He didn’t have to say a goddamn word. He’s been sniffing around Sam since she was done with that other guy.”
I touched his arm and was surprised. He wasn’t tense. As he looked at me, he swept me against his side and pressed a kiss to my forehead.
“Sam? None of this makes sense.”
My heart broke. She was a little girl in that moment. I closed my eyes as a sense of déjà vu hurled through me. She sounded how I felt when I walked into my home and was told we were leaving my dad.
Shattered.
“Sam.” Adam spoke this time. He sat up with a hand still cradling the side of his face. “Just tell her. Tell her everything.”
My tongue was thick as I struggled out, “Adam told me that he was using you to get to me. He admitted it to me, Becky. You were the only one I talked with after I found out about Jeff’s cheating. And he’s known about me and Mason—”
“You and Mason?” Lydia’s were narrowed as she stood behind them. “I thought, but then...”
Logan whooped out, “You guys are so stupid! The two are together. They’re hitched at the hip, literally right now. I’m starting to get pissed. Why’s it so easy to think she’s with me, but not my brother?”
“Because you’re you...” Miranda spoke up. The Elite had joined the crowd around us. “And he’s...”
“What?” Logan puffed out his chest and narrowed his eyes at her. “I’m what?”
“Nothing.” She clamped her mouth shut and her cheeks grew pink. She didn’t look away when he stepped closer to her.
“I’m what?” he asked again, softer this time.
“You’re...no one can get Mason. No one’s gotten him before.”
Mason growled next to me. “This is starting to get stupid. That’s enough.” He stepped in front of Logan and pushed him back. “What are you doing? You’re making this worse.”
“Am I?” The corner of his lip curled up, but his tone was hostile. “You can’t handle hearing how everyone thinks you’re better than me?”
Mason yanked him close and whispered in his ear. As he spoke, Logan’s chest started
to heave up and down. His mouth tightened and his eyes went flat, and then he shoved him back in a violent push.
“Logan.”
“Stop,” he snarled at him and pushed through the crowd. As he was swallowed up, Mason stood there and stared after him. Something changed then. He turned towards Miranda and a deadly aura came over him.
But then someone else stepped towards him. “Mason.”
I gasped in relief at the sight of Nate. He flashed me a small grin, but urged his best friend away from the crowd. I hurried to follow and found them in a private corner to hear the last words, “I’ll take care of him.”
Mason shook his head. “You sure? That bitch—”
Nate stopped him. “I’ll take care of it, okay?” As I stepped closer, he smiled and pulled me in for a hug. “It’s good to see you. I’m happy to hear about you and Mason. He’ll treat you good. I promise.”
Mason tugged me back and lifted me so I wrapped my legs around him. He held me in place, but spoke over my shoulder, “You’ll make sure he’s okay? This is important, Nate.”
“I know. Chill. I’m not an idiot. I know what I’m doing.”
“I don’t want problems between me and my brother—”
“Would you stop acting like this is my first job? We’ve been doing this crap for years. It’s not like I don’t know how to handle Logan, you know. I am friends with him.”
Mason’s hand started to rub against my bottom and he kissed my shoulder. Then he added, “I know. I’m worried because of—”
“He’s over Tate. He knew you were being a good brother.” Nate shook his head. “For my sake, take her in the back and get happy. Both of you. Everything will be sorted out. Logan will be his normal self tomorrow.”
I twisted around. “How are you going to do that?”
Nate gave me a smug look and a chill went over me. A flash of memories washed over me then.
“When Nate and Mason team up, they always do something.”
“He’s bad news, like really bad news. I heard him and Kade are not a good team together.”
My own mother’s voice on the phone, ‘I’m sure he’s not that bad of a boy. Mason seems very sure of himself.’
I never asked, but I was sure she’d been talking about Nate and now I started to wonder what they meant. Nate had been kind to me, but I saw a different side of him as he answered me. “I’ll get him to bang the queen of your school. He already started the groundwork and she bit, she bit hard.”
“Miranda Stewart?” A sick feeling started in my stomach. “She’s dating Peter Glasburg.”
Nate’s eyebrows furrowed together. “Because that always means she won’t cheat, huh?”
I flushed and buried my head in Mason’s neck. His hand rubbed up and down my back. “Fix it, Nate.”
“I will.”
I felt Mason nodding. “Thanks. And thanks for coming.”
Nate laughed on a carefree note. “Yeah, it took me longer than I thought. Never knew I’d be thankful for some pirate movie they’re shooting in Brazil.”
“Your parents are strict.”
“Yeah, well, we gave them reason to be.”
Mason’s body shook in laughter. “Yeah, we did.” He nodded once again and then took me to a back bedroom.
As he sat me down, he flipped the lights on and locked the door. A king size bed was in a corner with a couch and kitchen area on the other side. A small bathroom was attached and I spotted a Jacuzzi inside. A fleeting thought passed through me, I would’ve thought people would’ve found this room before now.
“I had a key card to it. No one could get in here.”
“Oh.” I hadn’t realized I’d spoken out loud.
Mason regarded me for a heartbeat before he sat on the edge of the bed. He bent forward and raked his hands through his hair. His elbows rested on his knees and he stayed like that as I crossed the room to sit beside him. I took one of his hands in mine and he looked up. There was a haunted look in him and I gasped. I knew it’d haunt me now as well. I lifted a hand to smooth out the lines in his forehead and asked, quietly, “Why am I a little scared of you right now?”
He closed his eyes and rested his forehead against mine. He breathed out, “Because I’m a jerk.”
I swallowed painfully as my heart was pounding. My breathing picked up and it became erratic. “Why do I feel sorry for Logan right now?”
“Because I’m hurting him.”
A piece of bark formed in my throat. “How are you doing that?”
He whispered against my lips, “Because you’re the second girl that he’s wanted and I got.”
My heart picked up its pace. A herd of elephants were stampeding in my ear, but I asked the question I never considered it until now, but I had to ask it. “Does he love me?”
With our foreheads against each other, he looked up and met my gaze. His eyelashes touched mine and I felt his breath against my lips. “I don’t think he does, not in that way.”
My heart was beating so fast now. It was a continuous beat. I was breathless as I opened my mouth. “Do you love me?”
His hand encircled the back of my neck and he lifted my face as he adjusted on the bed. He peered into my depths. And then he moved so he was below me and I straddled him. His hands slid to my back and he ground me against him. I gasped as I pressed down harder. I couldn’t get closer. I needed to get closer. I was starting to become blind with the need.
As he touched his lips to mine, I heard him whisper, “Yes.” And then he rolled me underneath him and I was lost. Again.
***
CHAPTER FORTY
I wasn’t sure what time it was the next morning when I woke. I had knocked the clock off the nightstand at some point and a jolt of warmth rushed through me at the memory of it. Mason was sprawled out on the other side of the bed. I blinked at the sight of his tight butt. The sheets had slipped down to his thigh and I was tempted to run a finger up the backside of his leg and over his cheeks. They were tanned, muscular, and itching for my touch.
“Don’t even think it,” he mumbled out of the corner of his mouth. One of his eyes opened enough to see me with his face pressed into his pillow. A half smile spread over him and then he tugged the sheet across my lap. It was wrapped around my legs and I was soon pulled into his arms.
He nuzzled my neck and pulled me over so I was across his chest.
When he started tickling under my arm, I pulled away, breathless. “Stop it!”
He chuckled and gave me a quick kiss. “You have morning breath.”
“So do you.” I kissed him back and soon he rolled us to our side. Our legs and arms were wrapped around each other and it wasn’t long before I felt him harden against my stomach. “How long do you have the suite?”
He ran a finger down my arm and grinned as goose bumps poked up. “For as long my mom’s around. Logan and I didn’t want to stay with her so we got this one. He’ll probably keep that other suite for the day until everybody’s been kicked out.”
I shivered when he started to plant soft kisses under my jaw. “Will he be okay? You know...about me and stuff?”
His mouth lingered at the corner of my mouth before he pulled back and settled on his side. He propped himself up on his elbow. “Yeah, he’ll be fine. Logan’s not an idiot. He doesn’t really want you, but that bitch pushed his button.”
“And that is?”
He groaned and fell to his back. “Ever since Tate, Logan’s never forgotten that she wanted me. He loved her, but she wanted me and worked her way through him to get to me.”
“They were together for two years.”
“Yeah.” He gave me a rueful look. “I’m not exactly welcoming to girls.”
“But I saw you with that girl at the house when I caught Jeff.”
He shrugged. “She’d been on me for a while and I never pushed her away. I had an itch to scratch, but she was too drunk. We didn’t do anything.”
“You said that you had some girlfriends before?”
“A while ago, when I was young and stupid. I haven’t had to work at getting sex for a long time. If I want it, I can pick the girl. Basically.”
“And me?” I grinned down at him and he gave me a knowing smirk.
“What do you think?”
“Am I just for sex? I am convenient.”
He tugged me down so I was sprawled over him again and lifted his hips against mine. “Does that feel convenient to you?” His voice was breathless as he cupped my head and turned my lips to his. He brushed against them. “You’ve been on my mind ever since that damn gas station. I couldn’t shake you and then when you moved in, it’s been torture. I get hard the second you walk in a room.”
“So you’re saying...” I opened my mouth and his tongue swept in. He took control of the kiss and I tasted his desperation. I pulled back as I realized it was for me. The hunger in him was insatiable.
“What?” He reached for me again.
I scrambled up as a different emotion raced through me. My teeth started to rattle against each other and my arms started to shake. My knees buckled when I tried to get up so I scooted to the farthest side of the bed.
“Sam? What’s wrong?” Concern was thick in his voice.
“I...” I closed my mouth and stared in horror. He held my gaze, but there was no fear. There was no self-consciousness or doubt. That’s when I realized that he never questioned himself. He was so strong, on the inside and out. For the first time I was intimidated by Mason Kade and I had no idea what to do about it. So I stumbled out the truth, “I love you.”
“I know.”
“You know?” I didn’t even know.
“Sam, I’m not stupid. You’ve been on lockdown since you moved in. That’s why you go running. Any time you start to feel something, you numb yourself. I get it. Trust me, I do. But I know you wouldn’t be with me or done half the stuff with me that you have if you didn’t love me.”
“But...” I hadn’t known. Why hadn’t I? A cold feeling took root in my gut.