Page 69 of Mase
“You.” She kisses my cheek. “Mason.” She places a kiss along my jawline. “Campbell.”Kiss.“Could.”Kiss.“Never.”Kiss.“Hurt me.”
My pulse quickens, and like a dam that’s burst, a rush of love spreads through me like a wildfire.
“You’re worthy,” she whispers, and my breath hitches. Does she realize the impact of her words? The genuine smile on her face tells me she does, and Jesus, my chest swells.
Then she snaps me out of my thoughts when she lies back down and slides her lips around my cock, gifting me with the comfort she knows I crave.
How the hell can anyone be so in-tune with another? So perfect.
I think I somehow conjured up the perfect woman, and now that I have her, I’m terrified of losing her and everything she promises.
“I could watch you please me for an eternity,” I groan, meaning every damn word. “But I’d rather experience it.” Forcing away the memories that plague me and replacing them with the new, I thrust deeper into her throat.
Everything about tonight has been perfect. She’s perfect, and there’s not a damn thing in this world that could change that.
FORTY-ONE
SUMMER
The mansion feelsempty when we return. It reminds me of a story my mom told me when I was little about an old lady who complained her house was too small. Then she filled it with animals during the winter, and when spring returned, she let the animals out and finally realized how big the house was all over again.
“I have some calls to make out back.” Mase gestures toward the patio. I’m not sure why he always insists on making calls outside, but I do understand why he wouldn’t want to be in his father’s office. “Why don’t you go pick a movie, and I’ll be in shortly.”
A movie sounds good. It’ll also give me the perfect opportunity to wrap my lips around him. He smirks down at me as if reading my mind.
“Okay. Don’t be long.” I rise up on my tiptoes and place a tender kiss on his lips, then just as his tongue seeks entrance, I draw back with a smirk of my own.
“Fuck, Summer.” He adjusts his cock, and I turn, smiling as I head out of the kitchen.
When I step into the foyer, my smile falls and a chill sweeps over me. I glance back over my shoulder, then take a detour toward Jeff’s old office.
The thick wooden door creaks when I push it open, and I try battling the memories threatening to invade me like a horror show.
“Here she is. The bride to be.” Jeff’s sinister smile encompasses his face, and I hate it, hate him.
Nerves dance in my stomach; I hate being in here. “Hugh told me you wanted to see me.” I greet my stepfather and avoid looking at the other man in the room, knowing no good will come of acknowledging him. I already have nightmares about Jeff’s intentions, and despite being thirteen now, they still haunt me every day since they celebrated our engagement two years ago.
“You’re going to make such a perfect bride, Summer,” the man says, his high-pitched voice full of wonder, giving away his excitement. “Why can’t we do this as soon as she turns sixteen?” he asks Jeff. I jolt at his suggestion, and my blood rushes, causing me to feel dizzy, so I snap my hand out to grip onto the wooden desk.
“We’d have to go to court, and I already have the authorities watching me since her mother’s death.” My eyes fall closed as I try not to cry. I’m vulnerable and alone, so freaking alone, and I wish for nothing more than someone to rescue me.
They speak as if I’m not here at all. As if I’m completely unaware of their participation in my mother’s demise. She might not have been loving, nor a parent to grieve over, but she was mine. She was all I had in this cruel world, and they took her from me. I open my eyes, with no more confidence than when I closed them.
“This way, it’s done the right way.” He taps his finger on the desk.
“She might not agree at eighteen,” the man counters back.
Jeff’s hand lashes out and grips my neck so hard my throat locks up and I begin to panic. Even the whimper I emit seems weak, powerless. He shakes me, and my entire body sways under his demand. “She will. Won’t you?”
I try to nod. My lips are frozen, and my vision turns hazy.
“She’s yours the moment she turns eighteen.” He throws me to the floor like a ragdoll, and my hand moves to my throat. It stings, but his words sting more. “Then you can do with her what the hell you want.” He talks about me as if I’m disposable, replaceable. Nothing.
Their loud chuckles bounce off the office walls, and my stomach rolls as they discuss their next meeting.
Little do they know, they’ve released something inside me, something terrifying. As I watch and listen to them discuss all the ways they’re going to fuck someone until they can’t breathe anymore, I remain motionless on the floor, not just taking in their words and twisting them to create my own thoughts. A plan forms in my young mind; I just need to be the right age to execute it.
My body trembles as I move through the office, searching for my old phone. I try Jeff’s desk drawers first, but they only have blank papers and pens inside, all traces of his misdeeds erased. Then I try over by his bar but come up empty. With my heart galloping in my chest, I scan the room until my focus comes to a standstill at a photo sitting proudly by itself.
