by Lexi Blake
She’d stayed at Mason’s side, risked herself. Hell, she couldn’t know that the man stalking them wouldn’t take her again, wouldn’t put her through hell again. What she had known was who she wanted to be. Brave. Strong. Kind.
Kitten might struggle to figure out her own wants, but she knew who she was at the core of her being.
It didn’t matter if someone wrote a nasty letter and got Mason blackballed. At the end of the day, Cole himself had been the one to ruin things.
The trouble was he didn’t know how to make things better between them.
There was a sound from the hallway that caught his attention. Just a little creak, but it was enough to let him know he wasn’t alone. He’d left Mason and Kitten in his bed, both seeming to fall asleep easily, but he hadn’t bought it.
Cole opened his eyes because there was a reason he’d been sitting in his study in the dark. One that didn’t have to do with insomnia and a need for Scotch. He wasn’t stupid. He’d watched Mason carefully during the police interview and while the doctors had examined him. He’d been helpful, forthcoming, giving the police everything they could need. Darin had even remarked that Mason seemed remarkably unfazed for what had happened.
Mason wasn’t unfazed. Mason was plotting, planning. Mason had come to some proper conclusions, but Cole had been almost certain that Mason found a solution that was utterly unacceptable.
He remained still with the light off, waiting to see if he was right. He almost hoped he wasn’t. There was a little piece inside him that wanted to see Kitten walk by on the way to the kitchen.
A much larger figure than Kitten’s walked slowly by the open French doors. Mason had a bag in his hand and he was obviously trying to be as quiet as he could.
Cole reached up and turned on the light. “How are you planning on getting around the alarm?”
Mason stopped and Cole watched his shoulders slump slightly before he took a deep breath and then turned. His face was smooth, placid. It was a pretty mask, but Cole knew what Mason looked like when he was trying to play it cool.
Yes, there had been a piece of him that hoped to avoid the confrontation, but he was suddenly happy to have this chance. They’d been treading warily, each move they made carefully thought out. With the singular exception of the earlier blow job, they’d concentrated every moment of their time on Kitten.
It was easier than dealing with their own issues, but he was done with easy. It was time to step up and take charge. He’d been a prick, but Mason still needed him. Mason had never stopped needing him. He’d failed Mason once. He certainly wasn’t going to do it again.
“I know the passcodes you use,” Mason said with a casual air. “Are you going to tell me you actually changed them?”
He tended to forget codes. The codes only got changed when Mason changed them, and even then Cole tended to have to carry them in his pocket for months before they finally got ingrained in his brain. “No.”
Mason huffed, an arrogant sound. “I’m surprised. I would have thought you would have changed the locks to keep the riffraff out.”
Ah, so that was how he was going to play it? Mason tended to go one of two ways when he was caught doing something he shouldn’t. He either played the seductive sub or the righteously arrogant brat. It looked as though Cole would be getting the brat this evening. His cock twitched in his slacks. He kind of liked Mason’s brat. He definitely liked showing Mason’s brat who the boss was.
“We need to clear a few things up. Why don’t you take a seat?” If they could get through this civilly, he would give it a shot.
“Why don’t you shove that seat up your ass, Cole?”
Ah, yes, the brat. Mason was scared and believed he needed to make a sacrifice he didn’t want to make, and now he would lash out until Cole placed some much-needed boundaries. Cole set his glass down. No more alcohol for him. He would move on to his drug of choice. Dominance. “You’re not going anywhere.”
Mason laughed but it was a bitter sound. “You know you can’t keep me here. We like to play at Masters and slaves, but in the real world, I can tell you to fuck yourself and walk away. Even if I’d signed a contract with you already, it wouldn’t hold me. You should know better than anyone that a contract isn’t worth the paper it’s written on.”
He wasn’t about to argue contracts with Mason. Not when they had so much else to argue about. “I didn’t blackball you.”
“So you say.” Mason shrugged as if to tell him to try again.
He wasn’t going to stop trying this time. “I’ve never lied to you.”
“Oh, I disagree.” Mason’s voice took on the same smooth, intelligent tones he used in the courtroom. “Let me see. ‘I’ll love you forever, Mason.’ That was a lie. ‘I’ll always be here for you.’ Another lie. I could go on, but I would be dredging up a history that doesn’t matter anymore. You’re quite a good liar. Practically a professional, but I see through you now. If you honestly think I’ll buy into anything you say at this point, you’re a fucking idiot.”
Only Mason could push his every button. He felt his blood pressure start to rise. “Stop cursing at me or we’re going to have trouble.”
Mason dropped his bag and stalked into the room. “We already have trouble.”
Tension sizzled along Cole’s skin, making his heart start to pound. If Mason wanted a throw down, oh, he could give him one. “Do we?”
Mason got into his space, every plane and angle of his body rigid. “We do. We have so much trouble, but I’m going to make it all better by walking away. Look, I came here to see if there was anything I could do to fuck you up. I was going to walk in here and have a very tasty revenge on you. I thought I could make your life miserable. I can see, though, that you’re doing fine on your own.”
Cole managed to not chuckle. The last thing he needed to do was irritate the beast in Mason. Part of the job of being Mason’s Dom was calming him down from time to time. He tended to enjoy drama and played some of them to the hilt. And in this case, he was right. “Oddly, I don’t think you caused that accident knowing Kitten would come and get you. You’re a planner, but you’re not that good. You are right about one thing. I’ve been utterly miserable without you.”
Mason stopped as though trying to figure out if he was being sarcastic.
Cole wasn’t going to let him even think that. “I missed you every day, and I only have myself to blame. I was wrong, love. I was a rat bastard who got caught in a storm and didn’t know how to find my way back out. When I should have held on to you, I shoved you away and you paid the price. I’ve lived a hollow life since I did it and if I could take anything back, it was that moment I turned away from you. I sincerely hope that you’re going to be smarter and have more grace than I did.”
Stormy eyes narrowed. “What the fuck game are you playing?”
“It’s not a game. I need you.” He took a deep breath because he was ready to say it. “I need Kitten. I made a mistake with Emily. I never should have brought her into our relationship, but you know Kitten is right for us. I want the three of us together in all ways.”
“You honestly think I would come back to you after everything you did?”
His whole life depended on it. “I think you can’t stay away. I think you need what I can give you. I think you’ve been as lost as I have.”
“You can give me absolutely nothing. I want nothing from you.”
Cole put a hand around Mason’s neck and drew him in. His lips might lie, but the truth was right there in the press of his cock against Cole’s. Their cocks were hard against each other, both rubbing and pulsing. “I think you do.”
“I can get that anywhere,” he spat back. “Any dick will do.”
“Then you won’t mind taking mine.” If he could get Mason in bed, everything would be all right. Mason was a softie at heart. Intimacy was what they needed.
Mason pushed away. “I think I’ll pass. Been there, done that and all.”
Oh, his boy was trying his
patience. “Mason, you’re not leaving this house.”
Maybe never again. If Chase couldn’t figure out who was trying to kill him, Cole might build a nice medieval wall and moat around the place and Mason and Kitten could be permanent residents.
“Try to stop me.”
It was time to try logic. “Where the hell do you think you’ll go?”
Mason threw up his hands in disgust. “I don’t know. I could have gone home, but you made sure I don’t have one. I could have gone back to my job, but…oh, yeah, I don’t have one of those either.”
“Poor Mason. I’m always the bad guy. I will admit I made a mistake, but I’m not making the same one again. I got you out of that hellhole. I’m not about to let you slide back in. You will stay here where you’re safe.”
Mason squared off against him. “Are you not listening to me? I don’t want you. I don’t want any of this. I thought I wanted revenge, but I’m so disgusted by you that I don’t even want that from you anymore. If you try to keep me here, I’ll call the police. If you try to touch me again, it will be against my will. I don’t want you as my Master. I don’t want you as my lover. I don’t want you in my life. I hate you.”
“Do you hate me, too?” a soft voice asked.
Kitten stood in the doorway, her eyes wide as she looked on.
Shit. Cole knew exactly what Mason was doing. He’d lived with him for a long time, loved him almost his whole adult life. Mason was being a self-sacrificing idiot and he would do or say anything he thought he had to in order to get the job done. He would spew vile shit until Cole made him stop. But Kitten wouldn’t know that and she’d just slept with Mason. She’d had her first real experience with intimacy, and now that man who had given it to her was walking away.
Mason turned a chalky white at the sound of her voice. “Kitten, this doesn’t concern you.”
“I think it does.” She walked into the office, her bare feet moving across the floor. She was in a white sheath gown, her slender form outlined against the fabric. Her hair was down and she looked young and tender and vulnerable. “If you leave Master Cole, you leave me, too.”
“It’s not about you though,” Mason insisted. “It’s about him.”
“You hate him more than you could ever care for me. Is that what you’re saying?” She asked the question in a quiet voice, her tone shaking slightly as though she was trying to contain her emotions.
“No.” Mason wouldn’t look at her.
“He does care about you,” Cole said.
“I can tell her that myself,” Mason shot back.
“But you’re going to leave me.” Kitten stood in front of Mason.
Mason’s head shook. “I didn’t come here to stay. You knew that.”
“You promised to sign a contract with Master Cole,” she pointed out.
Mason shrugged. “And I’m breaking that promise. It’s for the best.”
She turned and her breath hitched. Cole could see her face, but Mason couldn’t. Her shoulders slumped forward. And she winked at him before saying, “You had me once and now you don’t want me.”
Little brat. Oh, she was in for such punishment. Or reward, because her manipulation seemed to be working in a way his reason hadn’t. It all sort of looked the same to Kitten. Her real punishment would be withholding affection and attention, and he found he couldn’t do that to her. Their relationship had taken a turn he hadn’t expected. He couldn’t deal with her the way he had other subs. If he’d asked himself if he wanted this type of relationship, he would have said no, but then he hadn’t met her yet. She was changing his mind about a lot of things.
Mason moved in behind her. His hands went to her shoulders. “Of course I want you, but you can’t go with me.”
“I want you to stay,” Kitten said. “I don’t think you truly hate the Master. I think he hurt you and he wants to make up for his foolish mistake. Even Doms make mistakes. Many. We have to forgive them. They forgive us.”
Yes, the minx was already asking forgiveness for this stunt, and he softened his expression to let her know it was freely given. Kitten would never be the woman to throw up a challenge. She would quietly and with as much kindness as she could find, try to convince her lovers that she was right. It was her nature. It had probably been her nature before her capture, too. Cole blasted through things. Mason blustered through. And Kitten gently turned the tide until her lovers believed it was their idea in the first place.
He was starting to think that Kitten didn’t need more than a steady hand to force her into the world. The core of who she was hadn’t really been touched by the evil that had taken her.
Kitten would never have turned Mason away that night. She would have reached out to him. She would have been brave.
Mason wrapped his arms around her shoulders and dragged her back against him. “I don’t want to leave you behind. I don’t want to leave you at all, but…”
“Then why can’t you stay?” Such a clever girl. She was going to make him say it, to bring it all out in the open.
“Because someone will hurt you if I stay here.” There it was—the root of the problem. Oh, Cole believed that Mason meant what he’d said. He very likely had plotted and planned a revenge he wouldn’t have had the heart to go through with.
“And someone will hurt you if you leave.” Cole stepped up, unwilling to stand apart any longer. It was funny. So often the women they brought in had served multiple purposes, including his own voyeur kink. He liked watching Mason with their women, but he’d always held himself apart in those moments, watching as one would watch a work of art. He hadn’t been able to do that while watching Mason and Kitten. He’d had to move in, to be a part of them. He’d felt an ache at the thought of being on the outside.
“It’s not your call, Cole,” Mason said quietly.
They were close to a breakthrough. “It is. I’m the head of this family. I’m willing to loosen up. I’m willing to relax my rules because I want the two of you to be happy and I want you to feel secure, but this is not negotiable. You’re in danger. You’re not going to leave without a bodyguard.”
Mason stepped back. “You have got to be kidding me.”
Kitten gave Cole a quick hug as she got on her tiptoes and whispered in his ear. “He’s afraid he’ll hurt us, Master. Please don’t let him leave.”
“It’s going to be okay. He isn’t going anywhere.” He kissed her forehead. “But now you have to let this be between me and Mason. You understand?”
She nodded and took a seat on the sofa. “May I have a drink of the Scotch, Master? I’m going to be sad watching you fight.”
Mason pointed a finger her way. “You are not going to manipulate me into staying.”
Kitten’s eyes went wide. She had the innocent look down. “I would not do that, Master Mason. But I would be heartbroken if you left. I can’t imagine not being able to see you, to not know if you are safe.” She sniffled.
“You can finish my drink. Sip it slowly.” He might need another bottle after having to deal with his subs. “Mason, do you want to sit and talk?”
He was right back in Cole’s face. “You can’t keep me here.”
Cole turned to Kitten. “Pet, this might get dirty. I might be forced to show your other Master that he is not the top here. If you’re going to cry, you should do it in your room. You can go and wait for us in your bedroom or mine. We’ll join you shortly.”
“Yes, you should probably go, sweetheart.” Mason was practically snarling. “You don’t want to see this.”
Her eyes went between them as she held the tumbler of Scotch in her hand. “I would rather stay and watch.”
“Go to your room, Kitten,” Mason commanded.
“No, I’m her Dom. If you’re walking out, then you get no say in what she does.” He thought her presence might keep them civil. Might. “She can stay if she wants to.”
“I would like to because I think it could be beautiful.” She took a whiff of the Scotch and frowned.
“This smells horrible.”
“Have you ever had a drink before?” Scotch was probably not the way to go.
Mason moved between them. “It’s not going to be beautiful, Kitten. It’s going to get ugly.”
She stared up, her eyes on Mason though she answered Cole’s question. “I haven’t had a drink that wasn’t drugged and meant to make me pass out, but then until today I hadn’t made love. That was what we did, Mason. We made love. I thought it would be sex, but it was so much more than that. Of course, if you walk away then I will likely come to the conclusion that it was merely sex to you, and then it will be less beautiful. Do you think the Scotch will help me get past the pain of knowing you simply used my body and didn’t touch my soul?”
Mason’s jaw dropped open. “Are you going to let her get away with that shit?”
It was kind of fun to be on the other side. So often it was Mason and their woman against him. It was good to watch Mason have to deal with being the one on the receiving end. “She’s only telling you how she feels.”
Kitten nodded. “I’m supposed to talk about my feelings. Leo says if I don’t talk about them they get stuck inside and one day I’ll be on the news and everybody will shake their heads and say, ‘But she seemed so quiet and nice.’ He doesn’t say that in front of me, though. I had to eavesdrop to hear that. What do you think I’ll be on the news for?”
Very likely Leo had thought she would end up losing her shit on someone, but Cole was certain that would never happen because Kitten was stronger. “I think it will be for something lovely.”
“What the hell is wrong with the two of you?” Mason growled the question. “Do either one of you care about what happened tonight?”
“I care. I care quite a bit, and that’s why I’m not allowing you to walk away,” Cole replied.
Mason pointed toward the door to the office. “Then send her to her room. This could get nasty and I don’t want her to see it.”
Kitten sat up straight. “How much nastier could it get? You’ve already said you hate Cole more than you love me and you would rather leave than stay. I thought we were falling for each other, but it seems like you were using me to pass the time.”