by L. P. Dover
Mason cupped my face and gently kissed my lips. He tasted a little salty, but I was sure I did too from all the sweat. Taking a nice hot soak in the tub would do my muscles good.
“Come on, baby, let’s go. You’ve been in here for two and a half hours.”
He put his arm around me and led me out through the gym where Tyler and Stephen were putting up equipment. “So how’d the dancing go?” Tyler asked. “Did you come up with something good? You know Jake is going to have a full house of people paying to come watch you.”
Exasperated, I threw my hands in the air. “Not helping, Ty. Thanks for the loaded pressure.”
Tyler grinned mischievously. “Any time, kitten.”
Rolling my eyes, I smiled sweetly up at Mason and said very loudly, “Make sure you kick his ass hard tomorrow night in the fight… in front of everyone!”
Mason guffawed and so did Tyler.
“Will do, baby,” Mason promised. “You have my word.”
We said our good-byes and headed on our way. It was seven o’clock at night and I was starving, but I knew Mason wanted to drive by the sites where the dead bodies were found. It didn’t take long to get there considering the areas were only a few miles north from the gym.
“Are we just driving by, or are we getting out to look?” I asked warily. The area we were in was kind of run down and I didn’t have a good feeling about it. Soon, it would be getting dark and it definitely wasn’t the place I wanted to be in at night.
Thankfully, Mason shook his head and said, “No, we’re not getting out. This is the last place I’d want you walking the streets. I just want to drive around and get a look at the surroundings. I don’t plan on stopping the car.”
There wasn’t much to see except dilapidated housing, warehouses, and run down stores that looked like they hadn’t had business in a very long time. Most of the larger places were restricted with barbwire fences and no trespassing signs. I wonder if the police had investigated those places.
Mason was on full alert, scanning everything as we drove by with his brows furrowed. I didn’t want to break his concentration, but I had to inquire, “Have the police looked through all these warehouses around here for clues? There has to be something they missed.”
Mason sighed, and kept his eyes on the road. “According to the information Ryan gave me, they did a walkthrough of all these places, but couldn’t find anything. Someone has to slip up somewhere and leave some kind of trail. This shit can’t happen and there not be some kind of evidence.”
After another thirty minutes, the sky started to darken and Mason knew we needed to get away from there. I could see the turmoil and sadness in his gaze and I could feel it pouring out of him. He reached over and grabbed my hand, intertwining his fingers with mine as we rode the rest of the way back to the Bellagio.
“I tell you what,” I started softly, “since we’re both sweaty and nasty, how about we order in room service, take a shower, and then relax for the rest of the night? You have a busy night tomorrow.”
He lifted our linked hands and kissed my knuckles before smiling over at me. “All of that sounds good, baby. We’ll do whatever you want to do. I just need to stop by the front desk and see if Ryan left me the trackers before we head up to the room.”
“Okay.”
Mason stopped by the front desk as soon as we got in and was handed a small, brown envelope. By the time we got up to the room and ordered our food, Mason busied himself with reading over the file and putting one of the trackers in his watch. He had probably read over those papers a million times, but knowing how determined he was, he most likely felt he hadn’t done enough. There was one thing about Mason I had noticed over the years; he put too much pressure on himself.
My stomach was crampy and screaming at me by the time our food finally came, and the smell only made it worse; it smelled heavenly. Mason was still concentrating on putting the tracker in his watch when I set our food down on the table. I took the plate of his filet mignon, baked potato, and steamed broccoli and set it beside him, kissing him on the cheek, before I got my plate and sat in front of the crescent shaped window to watch the fountain show.
I had ordered my favorite on the menu: parmesan crusted chicken, asparagus with lemon butter, and the truffle mashed potatoes. Back when I stayed here a long time ago, if I wasn’t eating dinner with Jake at his house or with the guys, I would always order the chicken and follow it up with a chocolate pastry from the café. I don’t know how long I sat there watching the fountain when Mason came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my shoulders.
“You’ve been staring at that fountain for an hour, baby. Let’s go take a shower and go to bed. I know we’re both exhausted,” he murmured in my ear.
It was true; I was tired and I could barely keep my eyes open. “What happened to showing me how much you love me?” I teased. “Since I showed you last night how much I loved you it’s your turn now.”
He picked me up in his arms and carried me to the bathroom, smiling. “And I still plan on it,” he claimed wholeheartedly. “I plan on showing you every day for as long as you let me.”
When he set me down in the bathroom, the whole room was dimmed with candles around a tub full of bubbles. “You did this for me?” I cried. I had no clue he’d even got up from the desk, much less run me a bath.
Slowly, he lifted my shirt and unhooked my bra before lowering my shorts and underwear to the floor. He then took off his shirt and shorts and carried me over to the tub, setting me down into the hot, bubbly water.
“I did it for us, baby. Tonight I’m going to take care of you in another way.”
He climbed in the tub so he could face me and massaged my feet, legs, arms, and then my back when he sidled in behind me. After he washed my hair and my body I did the same for him, letting my hands gently caress his skin as I cleaned him with the soap. The night wasn’t about sex or anything like that, it was sensual and caring. It was a side to Mason I hadn’t seen yet, but it was one I thoroughly enjoyed. I loved that he could touch me in more ways than one. On one hand he could be passionate and aggressive with his love making, and on the other he could be sweet and gentle.
Once we were finished cleaning up, Mason dried me off and slipped one of my T-shirts over my head before grabbing a pair of boxers. Sleep came easily for us both and I welcomed it with open arms. However, my dreams didn’t embrace me … they frightened me.
It was three o’clock in the morning and the sound of Claire’s scream jerked me awake. She thrashed and kicked her legs hard, letting out tiny whimpers as she fought to get out of the sheets that tangled around her body. I flipped on the switch to the lamp beside the bed, and as soon as I did that Claire finally woke from her nightmare. Sweaty and breathing hard, the moment she saw me she jumped in my arms.
“I had the worst nightmare,” she cried, digging her nails in my back to hold me tighter.
Wiping the hair away from her face, I rubbed her back and murmured soothingly, “Shh … it’s okay, Claire. I’m here. Nothing’s going to happen to you.”
She laid her head against my chest and I could feel her warm tears falling down my bare skin. “It was terrible,” she whispered. “I watched them dump you out on the street. You were beaten and bloody, but still alive … barely. They took me away from you.”
“I promise that’s not going to happen, baby. No one is ever going to take you away from me,” I uttered gently. I wasn’t going to let them. First thing in the morning I was going to put one of the trackers in one of her bras so I would always know where she was at. I held her until her eyes grew heavy with sleep, and eventually I gave in to it as well. The rest of the night went by in a flash until morning came, signaling it was the beginning to Friday, and also the day of my first return fight as Mason “The Eagle” Bradley.
In the morning, I slipped one of the tracker devices inside the padding of one of Claire’s bras. Even though she had other ones with her, I needed to make sure she wore the one I ch
ose more. It was also my favorite one of hers. Surely, she wouldn’t notice I deliberately put the tracker in the sexy, black Victoria’s Secret one, now would she? She would get a kick out of that.
When Claire woke up, she didn’t talk about her nightmare. In fact, I was beginning to think she didn’t remember having the dream. “What are you doing with my bra?” she asked quizzically.
Peering over at her, I grinned and said, “I put the tracker in it so if anything happens you’ll be located. I just want to make sure I know where to find you.”
Yawning, she stretched her arms wide and muttered, “I understand. It’s perfectly fine. I hate to think what would have happened if you didn’t have one on Melissa when my brother took her.”
I didn’t want to think what could’ve happened to her either if I didn’t know where she was headed. I was going to ask Claire about her nightmare, but then my phone rang, interrupting me. It was Melissa.
“Hey,” I answered.
“Hey, yourself,” she remarked, sounding a little agitated. “Did you forget to call me or something? I’ve been worried about you and Claire. How are you doing? Did you two work things out?”
Claire walked over to me and smiled, so I put the phone on speaker so she could talk to Melissa, too. “Yes, we’re doing fine, aren’t we Claire?”
Claire snickered and said into the phone, “We didn’t at first, but I think he’s grown on me just a bit.”
Melissa chuckled. “Well, that’s good news at least. I just wanted to make sure you both were safe. Do you know when you’re coming home, Claire?”
Claire furrowed her brows and glanced at me for an answer, but I had no clue either on how long we were going to stay away. “I’m not sure,” Claire replied. “Mason kind of needs me right now. Is everything okay with the vineyards?”
“Of course everything’s all right. Brett and Cooper have been helping a lot with making sure your house is secure and that everything is running smoothly at the winery.”
Rolling my eyes, I scoffed at the phone and Melissa snapped at me, “Hey, don’t be like that, Mase. Cooper wanted to help out and I think it’s sweet of him to do that after Claire let him go. He’s also a friend of Brett’s as well. Don’t worry, though, I’m sure you’ll never see him again since you never visit us out in California anyway.”
Claire’s eyes crinkled in the corners when she smiled. “So are you going to tell her or should I?”
“Tell me what?” Melissa squealed excitedly.
“I’m going to be staying out in California for a while,” I confessed, “with Claire.”
Melissa screamed into the phone, “Oh my goodness, that’s amazing news! How long will you be staying?”
I winked over at Claire, making her cheeks blush crimson. “For as long as she’ll have me,” I muttered wholeheartedly.
Melissa shrieked a little more, going on and on about how I’d love California and whatnot. I grew up in North Carolina and lived there all my life so it would be a significant change living on one coast and then moving all the way across the states to another. That was if I made it out of my mission alive.
Night had come and the club was packed; the line wrapping around the building like before. Claire dressed herself in a skin tight black dress that plunged low in the front and also low in the back, revealing the whole expanse of her skin to the top of her ass. She shuddered when I put my arm around her waist and placed my hand on the small of her bare back. Tyler wasn’t at the door, but we were recognized immediately and allowed to pass right on by.
“They’re all waiting for you in the arena,” the guy at the door called out.
I nodded to him once and took Claire’s hand, leading her to the right wing of the club. “I wonder how many people will be here to watch the fights,” I murmured.
Claire shrugged. “I’m not sure, but I guess we’re about to find out.”
The door to the arena room was open, and the moment we stepped in she gasped and I stared, wide-eyed at all the people. “Holy shit,” I breathed in awe. “It’s packed.”
Every single chair around the cage was occupied and there were people standing around everywhere. There were two guys already in the cage battling it out, except they looked to be part of the Lightweight division. When I fought several years ago, I was competing for the Heavyweight title. If they did fights in order of division then I would be going up there last.
“Hey, guys,” Tyler exclaimed, carrying a beer in his hands.
Disapprovingly, I glared at the beer and then back up to him. “You should know better than to get drunk before a fight. It makes you sloppy,” I scolded him. I really didn’t care either way what he did, but I knew better than to drink when I had to compete.
Tyler chugged his beer and threw his cup in the trash a little too roughly. “I do know better than to drink when I have to fight, but unfortunately, I’m not fighting tonight,” he announced.
“Wait, what?” Claire cut in. “What do you mean you’re not fighting? If you’re not the one fighting Mason then who is?”
Tyler glanced around the room with narrowed eyes until he found the person Mason was to fight and pointed to him. “That’s the guy over there with the blue mohawk. I think you might know him. He said he owed you for something you did a long time ago. Care to explain,” Tyler inquired curiously.
Following the direction of Ty’s pointed finger, I groaned when I saw the guy with the blue mohawk. Fuck, I knew who he was, or better yet, I knew his wife … very well.
“What is it Mason?” Claire asked worriedly. “Who is he?”
His name was Chase Benfield and I did the unthinkable by fucking his wife. Blowing out a frustrated breath, I lowered my head and began to explain, “Do you remember when I mentioned I had a dark past?”
“Yeah,” she said, drawling out the word. “Let me guess, you fought him back in the day?”
I nodded. “Yes, but that wasn’t just it.” I didn’t want to tell her what I did because I was ashamed of the way I acted and the way I did things. I was sure she would understand, hopefully, but I didn’t want her thinking less of me.
Claire let go of my hand and crossed her arms over her chest defiantly. “Dammit, just tell me already. You did this same shit to me when I was keeping something from you.”
“Fine,” I gave in, “but I need you to know it was a long time ago and it was before I even met you. I was stupid and did lots of stupid things that I shouldn’t have.”
She rolled her eyes. “Let me guess, you slept with his girlfriend,” she guessed blandly.
Sighing, I regretfully nodded my head and waited for the angry words to come spewing out of her mouth. Instead, she said, “So, what’s the big deal? You slept with her. That shit happens all the time. Why would he be angry about that still?”
“Well,” I began, “it was actually his wife and I hooked up with her in my prepping room during his fight for a spot at the Heavyweight title. His trainer had come looking for her and found us. Needless to say, word got back to Chase awfully fast.”
Claire groaned and hung her head. “Oh, hell, this isn’t going to be good.”
Chase finally spotted me from across the room and snarled his lip. No, I thought to myself, this definitely wasn’t going to be good.
Tyler led me to the front row where three seats were left vacant. “Are these for us?” I asked.
“Yep, and the other’s for Jake. He’ll be down here in a minute. My dad was up in his office talking to him about something,” he said.
The moment Mason got into the cage it was like something switched in him. His eyes took on a new glow of excitement and he strutted around the cage with perfect confidence. He was shirtless, showing off every single curve and dip of his muscles, but the shorts were something I had never seen before; he must have put them on under his jeans before we left. They were black with spatters of red on them, like blood, and white line designs on the thighs as well, but on the very bottom hem of his shorts was the outline of
an eagle. It was almost the exact replica of the eagle he had on his arm.
The arena Jake had built had at least three hundred seats around it which were all occupied with none to spare. The women all hooted and hollered for Mason, especially when he jumped up on the fence and flexed his muscles. No wonder he screwed another fighter’s girl. They probably lined up outside his room after the fights hoping for a chance. I bet he even had his own groupies. I had been to many concerts where I’d see the band’s groupies all waiting for a chance to be noticed.
Ugh, I’m so glad I didn’t know him back then. If I did I probably wouldn’t have given him the time of day. Chase glowered at Mason and looked like he was about to explode. His veins protruded from his forehead and biceps like they would burst any moment. Mason smirked over at him and that only fueled Chase’s anger more. His coach had to hold him back from charging after him.
By the time the announcer stepped into the cage, Jake made it into the arena and took his seat beside me. He nodded at Tyler before saying to me, “Sorry I’m late, kitten. There’s been a lot of stress I’ve had to deal with lately.” The weary look on his face was definitely evidence of that. He was impeccably dressed in a gray suit sans the tie and that sophisticated air about him that always exuded power. I never thought there would be a day I’d see him look defeated, but he did; he looked tired.
“Like what?” I asked curiously.
He sighed and put his arm around my shoulder, leaning in close. “I’m sure you’ve seen on the news about the fighters showing up dead, right?”
I nodded. “Yes, I have. It’s craziness.”
“Yeah, well, ever since that’s been happening I’ve been getting a lot of hate mail and threats from people who swear I have something to do with it,” he confessed warily. “They want me to shut down the fights. My name had been cleared from all involvement, but it still hasn’t stopped people from trying to bring me down.”
“Jake, I told you,” Tyler cut in, “those people are probably the jealous fuckers who can’t get in here. You need to think about that and not let this get to you. What about all the guys who are depending on you, especially me?”
