by Bella Jewel
My chest aches at the thought that he might have done it because he doesn’t love me; that almost hurts more than anything else, because I adore him. I have adored him the whole time. I wasn’t a bad girlfriend. So, what did I do wrong for him to fall out of love with me?
“What a douche,” Amalie murmurs. “I’d be devastated if someone did that to me.”
“Yeah.” I nod in agreement. “It sucked. It still does suck.”
“On you, girl, though, for getting him locked up.” Charlie nods, impressed. “I couldn’t think of a better way to punish someone for doing something so awful.”
“Yeah, but, I must admit, I do feel a little bad for doing it.”
“Don’t!” all three girls cry at the same time.
“Seriously,” Scarlett tells me. “He deserves that and so much more. Don’t you let him make you feel anything other than proud for doing what you did. I would have probably stabbed him, or something awful, and ended up in prison myself.”
I laugh. “Believe me, it was tempting. I could have very easily sliced something off his body.”
“Do you still love him, then?” Amalie asks, her eyes holding mine.
She’s definitely soft. Almost too soft to be around bikers. It’s a strange and rather intriguing story that has obviously led her here and into the arms of one of the scariest bikers I’ve seen.
What an utterly fascinating combination.
“I can’t help it. Believe me, I’ve spent more than a few hours of my life giving myself a stern talking to about how stupid that is, but no matter what I do, I can’t make it stop. I can’t make the pain go away. And I can’t get him out of my head.”
Scarlett looks sympathetic. “Do you still visit him?”
I nod.
“Maybe stop,” she suggests. “He doesn’t deserve it, and the only way you’ll ever get over it is to start fully fresh, away from both of those assholes.”
I nod, because she’s right. If only I could bring myself to do that. I keep telling myself that if I pay the money, we’ll be even and I’ll be able to move on.
Only I’m not so sure I’ll actually have the strength to just walk away.
“Yeah, that’s the plan,” I say, even though it’s a pretty big lie.
“You deserve better, girl. Take Mason for a ride, you’ll forget about that other loser in no time.” Charlie nods, winking at me.
I laugh. I like her. She’s my kind of friend. “Tempting, but he’s a moody grouch. Honestly, if I tried something on him, he’d probably pitch a fit and kick me out. Or tie me to his bed like that other woman, which, no thanks …”
“Wait!” Scarlett puts her hands up. “He had another woman tied to his bed?”
“Oh, girl.” I click my fingers. “You really do miss out on all the good stuff.”
“You better start filling us in.” Charlie shuffles closer. “I need all the juicy details.”
I tell them about the girl I found tied to his bed and how I dealt with it, then how he dealt with it, and I take a sip of vodka and wait.
“Holy crap.” Scarlett giggles. “I can’t believe you untied her and started arguing with her.”
“Technically, I left her tied, I just pulled the ball gag out of her mouth. And to be fair, she was mouthing off at me. I’m not taking crap from a woman tied to a bed. Then I felt sorry for her, just a little, because what if she needed to pee?”
All three girls burst out laughing.
“I think you’re going to fit in just fine here, Saskia.” Charlie laughs.
“Hell yes,” Scarlett agrees. “We’re going to come and visit you and check out Mason’s big house and hear more of these stories.”
“I haven’t had so much entertainment in a long time.” Amalie laughs.
“You’re all on!” I clap.
I think I just made myself some friends.
And damn, it feels good.
Mostly, to breathe easily for a few minutes of my day.
~8~
SASKIA
“God dammit, I won’t fuckin’ argue with you anymore, do you understand me?” Mason roars down the phone.
I freeze in the hallway on my way to the kitchen to grab a glass of water before bed and to check and make sure everything is done for the night. I don’t know if he knows I’m awake, but I’m certain I’m not meant to hear whatever conversation he’s having. I should turn around and walk back into my bedroom, but curiosity killed the cat, and I’m curious as to who he’s yelling at.
“I’ve told you once, Theresa, I won’t tell you again. Quit fuckin’ callin’ me. There is nothin’ here for you. I will not back down. I will not fight you. I will not give you a damned thing. This house, and everythin’ in it, is fuckin’ mine.”
He makes a low, throaty sound as he’s listening to whoever Theresa is argue back. I wait, curious. Is she an ex-wife? Nobody mentioned an ex-wife, but in saying that, nobody even knew Mason was rich so they’re unlikely to know a great deal about his past. I’m curious, all the same. Whoever it is, she is pressing his buttons, and it has something to do with this house.
“Go right a-fuckin’-head, send your lawyers, do your best, you’ll not win. It’s set in fuckin’ stone, and that’s exactly how it’ll stay.”
I peer around the corner and see him standing in the kitchen, wearing nothing but a pair of boxers, body exposed and bare, leaning a hip against the counter. My mouth goes dry as I take in the large, muscled body that makes him … well, him. Tattoos, olive skin stretched over raw muscle—he’s perfection. I swallow, wanting to go and run my tongue over those muscles. I’m only woman, after all. My eyes drop to the boxers and the way his cock bounces as he turns. Good lord, I’m going to wet myself.
“Don’t call me again. Any contact you can do through your lawyer. Leave me the fuck alone.”
He slams the phone onto the kitchen counter and rubs a hand down his face.
Should I go in there and see if he’s okay? Honestly, it could go either way. He might turn around and tell me to get lost, which is the most likely scenario, or he might appreciate someone to talk to. I mean, we’re living here together, we’re probably going to be for a while if all goes well, so maybe I should establish some sort of friendship with him. Outside of the club, I don’t know that he has many people.
So, I take a breath and step out. His eyes move straight to me, and I brace for impact. For a moment, those intense eyes just hold mine, then he looks away. “You hear that?”
“I was on my way out to get a drink.”
“You. Hear. It?”
Moody.
As suspected.
“Yes, I heard it. I didn’t want to interrupt.”
I walk into the kitchen and grab a glass, filling it with water from the fridge and then turning and staring at him. “You want to vent? Let it all out? Bitch about someone? I’m always down for a good bitching session, and I’ll totally be on your side, even if it’s you being the douche.”
He glances at me, narrowing his eyes. “I’m not the fuckin’ douche.”
“Well, then,” I say, walking around the counter, pulling out a stool and sitting on it. “Even more reason to share with me so we can hate whoever it is together. I’m good at that, as you know.”
He keeps leaning against the counter, and at this angle, I’m facing his groin. Good lord. I squirm and move my eyes away from the bulge and that incredible V that runs into his boxers. My heart races, a feeling I’ve not felt for a very long time. My womanly instincts are kicking in, and I’m finding myself wanting to lick every inch of the man I’m working for.
Very professional.
“My sister wants my house.”
I remove my sexy thoughts quickly and look up at him. “Your sister?”
“Yeah.”
“Wants this house?”
“That’s what I just fuckin’ said.”
“Keep your shirt on,” I mutter, then glance at his bare chest. “Or not.”
“It was my mother and fat
her’s house. My mother left it all to me, not a cent to her, and now she wants it, and she’s tryin’ to fight it.”
“First of all…” I say, crossing my legs, and not missing how his eyes drop to my boy shorts that peek out from under the long shirt I’m wearing.
“You always wear that shit around the house?”
I click my fingers in front of his face. “Focus. That’s what I sleep in. You’re more exposed than me, you don’t hear me complaining.”
“I’m a man.”
“And I like to be comfortable, now can we get back to the subject on hand? Your sister. As I was saying, first of all, I have to know, how come your mom didn’t leave her a single thing? I mean, did they have a falling out? Not get along?”
Mason’s eyes move to mine after lingering for a second too long on my thighs, not that I mind; it feels nice to be noticed.
“They used to, but my mom was unwell and my sister did nothin’, not a fuckin’ thing. She bailed and wanted nothin’ to do with her, but the moment she found out she got left nothin’, she was furious.”
“Wow,” I murmur. “That’s incredibly selfish. Not of your mother, but of your sister. She sounds like she’d be a good match for my sister.”
Mason snorts. “Yeah, she would.”
“So, now she is trying to fight you for the house and money?”
Mason crosses his arms. Don’t look, Saskia. Do not look at the candy you really, really want to lick.
“Yeah, that house and the jewelry Mom had. It’s worth a lot. She wants, as she tells me, at least that.”
“God,” I mutter, scrunching up my nose. “What a cow. So, you’re telling me she didn’t help your poor mom when she was sick, but she thinks she’s somehow entitled to all this?”
Mason nods.
“Nope. Just nope.”
He makes a grunting sound, but his eyes go a little light, like he almost wants to smile. That makes me happy. Everyone deserves someone who can make them smile.
“That’s all of it, my sister is fuckin’ me off, and I’m trying to figure out how to deal with her.”
“It’s not an easy task. I know how you feel,” I tell him. “You could try to gently shove her off a cliff. As long as you put on the tears, no one will think you done it…”
Mason grunts, and shakes his head.
“You hear any more from that bitch of a woman who calls herself your sister?”
I smile at him. I like people being on my side. It kind of feels nice. “No, thank god.”
“You think she’s even pregnant?”
I shrug. “With Yolanda, anything is possible. She enjoys seeing other people in pain.”
Mason nods, then murmurs, “Start wearing pants around the house, yeah?”
He pushes off the counter, and I watch him start striding away.
“Is my ass offending you?”
He grunts. “No, it’s makin’ me want to shove my fuckin’ dick into it. Wear pants.”
Oh. Boy.
He doesn’t turn and look at me when he says this, and thank god, because I think, for the first time in years, I actually flush.
Get it together.
“I knew you wanted to be my friend,” I call out, a huge smile on my face.
“Unlikely, sweetheart.”
Sweetheart.
Gah.
Swoon.
~*~*~*~
SASKIA
You’ve got to be kidding me.
I stare at the two women standing at the front door. One is my sister, there is no missing that. The other, is clearly, Theresa. Mason’s sister. I know this because she looks exactly like him, with long dark hair, and those incredible eyes. She’s tall and slim and incredibly beautiful. She’s the devil in disguise. Without a doubt. What I want to know is why the hell both of them are at Mason’s house on a Sunday morning.
He just left.
Which means I have to deal with them.
“Can I help you?” I ask them, acting as if I don’t know my sister because, honestly, I want to punch her right in the eye.
She’s standing there rubbing her belly, effectively rubbing it in my face.
“We’re not together,” Theresa says, staring at Yolanda, then back at me. “She is clearly here for you. We arrived at the same time. I’m here to see Mason.”
“Mason isn’t here,” I say, trying to sound polite, but I want to punch her right in the nose.
Selfish.
I don’t do selfish.
“Well, I’ll just wait inside for him then,” she says, sugar sweet.
She thinks I don’t know what kind of monster she is.
But I do know what kind of monster she is.
And she is not stepping one single foot into this house.
“Sorry, love.” I smile, but it’s cold and bitter. “You’re not coming into this house.”
“I’m sorry,” she says, “but do I know you?”
“I’m the maid. I’m also under strict instruction not to let anyone in, including Mason’s gold digging sister.”
Her mouth drops open. “I don’t know who you think you are—”
“I told you, the maid,” I cut her off.
“I will speak to Mason about this. Whatever he has told you, is clearly untrue. I’ll wait inside.”
She goes to step past me, and I shove a hand across the doorway. “I might be small, lady, but I will put you on your pretty, spoiled ass if you so much as even try to step in this door.”
She gapes at me. “I don’t know who you think—”
“Once again, the maid. Once again, don’t try me. I will drop you.”
“This is as much my house as it is his!” she spits. “I have things in there I’d like to collect.”
“The jewelry, you mean?” I say, cocking a hip so she can see I’m not here to mess around. “Or the expensive things? Or the money? All of it, maybe? He’s told me about it all, he’s also told me not a single dime was left to you. So, if you don’t mind, I’d appreciate you leaving.”
“You know nothing!” she spits. “That is my mother’s stuff, and that means it’s mine. He’s being greedy, taking it all when it isn’t his! I want what I’m entitled to.”
“Three seconds to leave or I call the police,” I say, smiling sweetly at her. “One.”
“It’s mine! Dammit!”
“Two!”
“You and Mason can both go rot in hell!” she screeches at me.
“Thank you very much, now leave.”
She glares at me. Panting. But I know she’s not going to push me any further. She turns on her heel and starts walking off. “Tell him this isn’t over.”
“Nice to meet you,” I call after her. “Don’t let karma fuck you hard on the way out. Because, I promise you, she’s right there riding you.”
She turns and glares at me, but I look to Yolanda. “I don’t care why you’re here, the sight of you makes me sick. If you come back, I’ll call the police. Goodbye.”
I step inside the house and slam the door, dusting my hands off.
“And that,” I say to myself, “is how it’s done.”
I double check the door is locked and then go and find my phone. This is a total best friend moment, and I miss Chan. She is coming by tonight anyway for drinks and gossip, but right now I need to vent because, seriously, the nerve of those women. I’d never dare be so damned … selfish!
“Hey, girlfriend,” she answers the phone. “Are you ready for tonight? I’ve got booze, booze, and more booze. Is that hot biker there? Make sure he’s there.”
I laugh. “Check and check. You’ll never guess what just happened.”
“What? Spill! Right now!”
“Well, Yolanda showed up the other day and—”
“Hold up, hold up,” she cuts me off. “The other day, and you’re only telling me this right now?”
“Well, I was saving it for tonight, but anyway, she showed up and guess what she said?”
“What?”
“She’s pregnant.”
Dead silence.
“What. The. Actual. Fuck!” she yells, and I have to move the phone away from my ear.
When she’s calmed herself down, I continue, “Yep. She had the nerve to show up here and tell me that, and then wonder how I was going with the money for Enzo.”
“That’s it!” Chan yells. “I’m going to bash her, and her boyfriend, you’re not helping him anymore. Surely? Surely, you’re not that stupid. I can’t handle this. No way. Cruel, heartless, bastards.”
My heart sinks, and I hate the feeling that washes over me, because why am I helping him still? Honestly, why?
“Well …”
“Please, Saskia, tell me you’re not still going to help him. What more does he have to do to you for you to finally just go no way, stuff this, I’m done with you?”
“Good question,” I murmur.
“We’re discussing this, I’m coming over early. I’ll help you finish whatever you have to do there, this is a friend emergency.”
“Chan, it’s—”
“I’m coming!”
She hangs up the phone, and I stare down at it.
Well.
Tonight is going to get interesting.
Very quickly.
~9~
MASON
“Mason, I’m sorry, but we can’t keep letting you have time off. We no longer have a job for you.”
I squeeze the phone in my hand, heart racing. “I can’t help that my mother is unwell …”
“You could have hired a carer,” my boss tells me.
“I have,” I growl. “Nobody wants to help her because she’s too difficult. I’m the only one she trusts.”
“There are other options, like a home.”
My chest clenches, and I want to reach through the phone and punch the fucker in the mouth.
“She’s my god damned mother.”
“I’m sorry, honestly, but we need someone dedicated to the job.”
Fuck.
Fuck me.
He hangs up, and I slam the phone down, shattering the screen. Without a job, I don’t know what I’m going to do. My mother has no idea how to operate her finances, none whatsoever. I know she did a will up before she started getting too bad, but now, she wouldn’t even know passwords, or what bank she is with. I know I’m the one who makes the decisions in regard to her will and money if she ever got this bad, but I didn’t want to have to resort to that.
