Page 32 of King of Sinners

I know he wants me. He wouldn’t have asked if he didn’t, and clearly he’s committed to holding up his end of the bargain. Of keeping me safe.

But where that ends and any sort of real affection begins, I have no idea.

I turn my brain off, or I try. His fingers are skimming down my spine. This is not teeth and tongues, this touch is silk and lace and I close my eyes and wrap myself in the wish of his gentle fingers.

If I concentrate, I can believe.

My forehead drops to his shoulder, my hands resting on his biceps as I draw in a deep cleansing breath of air.

One of his hands splays out on the small of my back, spanning from one side to the other as the other slides to my hip. But he’s not pulling me tight against him. Instead, he’s cradling me.

Like he knows I need some comfort. He probably does know. Mason’s always been hyperaware of small changes in me, probably in others too. It must make him a lethal negotiator.

The elevator stops and the doors swish open but I’m not sure I want to move. I’d like to freeze this moment.

He brushes a kiss on the side of my head, murmuring some small word of comfort. But a second later, he freezes, going granite hard under my hands.

“Well, isn’t this just fucking cozy.”

Leo. It’s been two years, but I recognize the deep tenor of his voice, so much like Mason’s. Unlike Mason, there is no filter on his anger. I can feel the simmer of his temper boiling just under the surface.

It’s Mason’s control that makes me feel safe and I press deeper into him now. He gives me a quick squeeze.

The gesture is so fast, I might have missed it, before he’s tucking me behind him, walking into his apartment. “I don’t let myself into your place without permission.”

Leo’s lip curls. “This is what you might call a special circumstance.”

“Why?”

“Because. My brother has decided to fuck me over.”

I gasp, shrinking further behind Mason. He gives me a quick look over his shoulder and then reaches back for me, pulling me forward to his side. “Charlotte, go to your room.”

“Is she a naughty teenager?” Leo asks but his eyes are all over me and I know he’s taking in every detail. The hair, the skirt, the jewelry. “I take it back. Not a teen at all. You’ve turned her into a socialite.” Then his lip curls into a sneer. “Is she wearing a fucking engagement ring?”

“My plan,” Mason’s starts, his voice barely containing his fury. “Is to play her off as a long-term part of my life, which would obviously mean she was not the cocktail waitress who witnessed a murder.”

I’m looking between them, trying to decide what to do. I trust Mason and usually I follow his directives without question but to get to my room, I have to pass Leo.

Leo snorts. “That’s a stupid fucking plan.”

Mason looks at me. “Go.”

I start to edge around Leo but I’m just passing him when he lunges out and grabs my wrist, pulling me toward him. “You chose the wrong brother,” he snarls in my face. “I wouldn’t pussy foot around with tunnels and haircuts. I would create a bloodbath to keep you safe.”

Mason is next to us in a second, his fingers wrapping around Leo’s wrist the three of us locked in an odd triangle. “Let. Her. Go.”

“When did you become her keeper?” Leo barks back. “Come to think of it, how did Roman just happen to come to her rescue?”

I blink, how did that question not occur to me?

Mason bares his teeth. “I’m not going to say it again.”

Leo squeezes my wrist and I cry out. Mason’s face is in his face, his teeth bared, before Leo finally lets me go. I stumble back and then spin, dashing into my room. I don’t stop until I reach the bathroom and then I slam the door shut, locking it behind me.

CHAPTER TWELVE

Mason

---