Page 161 of Please Hate Me

Her steps slowed to a cautious stroll before stopping just in front of the steps. But, before she could yell for either of us again, the basement door swung open, allowing Lucian to lunge at Mason.

She screamed and stumbled back, throwing a protective hand over her stomach.

I probably should have been afraid that we’d wake the rest of the house, but Soph and the kids were such heavy sleepers that I wasn’t worried. And I didn’t give a fuck if we woke Seb, just as long as he didn’t try to join us.

In the low lighting, it was hard to see Lucian’s expression, but I didn’t need to see his smirk to know he was enjoying it. Whereas Sophia got her rocks off by embarrassing us, Lucian lived to see fear in his partner’s eyes. And that’s exactly what he got as Mason turned on her heels to run away.

Lucian’s velvety voice boomed after her:

“Come back here,slut.”

She wasn’t very fast, but I wasn’t about to let her go anywhere. Lucian stayed anchored in place as I hopped out of my spot and sped past him. Mason was barely down the hall when I caught up with her.

I grabbed her shoulders and pulled her into my chest. She thrashed a bit, but it did little to stop me as I tossed her over my shoulder, doing my best not to compress her belly. She’d been doing an amazing job growing our girl; I wasn’t about to jeopardize that for a little fun. She stopped struggling as I stomped through the house with her.

“Please don’t drop me,” she whispered, her voice so sweet it could have caused cavities.

She sounded genuinely scared, and I had to wonder: did she often have partners carry her like this? Had someone dropped her before? I almost couldn’t contain my anger at the thought of someone being careless enough to hurt my girl, possibly without even checking on her. I knew her dad had treated her horribly, but was it possible her partners had too?

I shook the thought from my mind. James didn’t matter. Mason’s exes didn’t matter. The entire continent of France—or was it a country? Either way, it didn’t matter.

Even Dale didn’t matter, because I had a feeling that if he reared his ugly head in Hartwood, either Sebastian or I would wring his pathetic neck. All that mattered was keeping my girls safe and happy. From now on, that was my life’s mission. For the first time since being forced into the Sons of Christ, I had chosen my own path.

It felt damn good to be free.

“Darlin’, I want you to know: never—and Idomean never—in a million years, would I ever dream of lettin’ go of someone as important as you.” I kept my voice low. Those words were for her and her alone.

I shifted her weight a bit so that I could comfortably open the door to my room while still holding onto her. Once we were inside, I tossed her onto the bed. The springs audibly sounded as she bounced, her gaze trained on mine.

Her legs bent at the knees as she pressed them together. Lucian had removed her pants and underwear earlier—Lord knows what he was planning on doing to her in that bathroom—leaving her in just an oversized shirt. I nearly forgot about the length of rope under my arm as my entire body screamed to be close to her.

I slipped the hem of her navy shirt up her thigh, causing it to bunch up just below her belly.

“I didn’t hurt her, right? She’s still moving in there?” I realized my question broke the atmosphere I was trying to create…. But it was important.

Mason was beaming as she nodded. “She wiggled when you put me on the bed.”

I breathed a sigh of relief as I put the rope on the edge of the bed. With that out of the way, the fun could begin.

I crept up to join her, placing my knee between her thighs. The heat from her cunt radiated into my skin as I slipped a hand under her shirt, savoring the silky feeling of her skin.

“Sweetpea, arch your back for me.”

“Or what?” Her challenge halted my advances. I had yet to experience anything other than complete obedience from Mason. Honestly, when Luce told me she was a brat, I didn’t believe him. Part of me still didn’t.

“Please? For me?” I honeyed my tone as I drew soft circles on her abdomen. Surely, that had to be enough. My sweet girl was just pressing her limits, seeing if I’d react.

“No-o-o.” She almost sang the word, as if tempting me to react.

But I wasn’t sure how to even do that. When Lucian was a brat, he was actively disrespectful, and I had something to put in line. Mason just wasn’t listening.

“I told you she’s a brat,” Lucian called, leading me to realize he had been watching us from the door.

He crossed his arms over his chest, causing the lean muscles in his lithe figure to twitch. There was a smug look of satisfaction on his face, like he had been waiting to tell me ‘I told you so’.

“I am not!” Mason gasped, and I looked back at her.

The way her wide eyes sparkled in the barely-there light of the moon made her look innocent, but the smirk on her lips told me she was up to no good.

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