The NSC Boxset: Heart of Stone

by D H Sidebottom

  “No, Mason, it was you holding on to the secret of it that caused our break up, not the actual place.”

  “Oh Ava, come on. What are you gonna do next time you find some girls fucking on the sofa whilst I watch?”

  I poked him good-naturedly in the ribs, “I’ll be sat right next to you watching the show.”

  His lips curled mischievously, “You are a pervert Ava Fox.”

  I nodded briskly, “I know, that’s why you love me.”

  He laughed against me, his nose nuzzling the dip at the base of my throat, “That I fucking do, God so much.”

  I wrapped my arms around him and pulled him further into me, “We’ll be fine, baby. I promise.”

  His eyes swept up to capture mine, “I know we will Ava, cos’ when I find this bastard, I’m gonna rip his fucking dick off and feed it up his ass until he chokes on it.”

  “Sounds fun” I winked as I climbed off his knee and slipped my shoes on as I buttoned up my jeans. “Take me home you savage, I need soup and sleep.”

  He jumped up, his energy bouncing off the air in the room and bringing a wide grin to my face before his strong arms hoisted me over his shoulder. He slapped my backside before he carried me through the building, girls giggling or huffing as we passed them in a run.

  My god, I loved my husband. His moments of fun, no matter how rare, always lit that special place within me and reminded me that whatever horror or heartache our marriage delivered, we still had the most love a couple could hold for one another. I knew our link, our bond was one that people searched a lifetime for and I sighed happily as I realised how damn lucky I was.

  This glorious bastard was mine, all of him; his heart, his soul and his very essence. He breathed for me, his life was lived for me and there wasn’t many women could say that about their man.

  Chapter 31

  Mason

  I PUNCHED HIM square in the nose. It splattered blood over his face and neck as a high pitched squeal left his windpipe with the force of the break, “Stop fucking with me!”

  The scrawny scrote Wes had picked up tailing Ava this morning was pissing me off. His lips were tighter than a ducks arse and his eyes were mocking the fuck out of me.

  I circled round him, Greg smiling sinisterly as he slithered into the zone that all my men in the room relished. The high that only violence could produce, the euphoria of carnage and bloodshed and the menacing calm cruelty could bring was invigorating.

  My body hummed with animation as I cracked my neck loudly. Mickey jolted at the noise and my lips curled malevolently before I crouched to a squat behind him, my breath causing goose bumps to erupt over his pale spotty skin, “Frightened, Mickey? You should be.”

  He barked out a jolt of laughter and damn if the sound didn’t make my fists clench angrily, “It’s not me who should be scared Fox, you and that little whore of yours . . .”

  The cap of my boot smashed into the side of his head, the thick thud feeding my malevolence and satisfying my vehemence at his words, “Show some fucking respect to my wife. You never mention her again.”

  He whimpered as his head dropped to the side, the agony on his face pleasing me no end. “I’m gonna ask you once more Mickey, Who—the—fuck—ordered—you?”

  He scrunched his face up, his dilemma feeding his fear.

  “Must I remind you who you’re pissing off?” I whispered in his ear, the ice in my voice rippling his body with a shudder.

  I strolled over to the cold metal trolley equipped with my tools as I fingered the equipment with a small smile and a slight tilt of my head. “Ooh let’s see, Mickey. Eeny, meeny, miney, mo . . .” My fingers stilled over a particular nice piece and I lifted it high, my eyes studying the instrument with reverence at the thought of what the small device could do to a human body.

  I smiled broadly as I turned back to the arsehole that wasn’t playing the game, “Ever seen one of these, Mickey?”

  His eyes lifted to my hand then widened when he saw what gismo I had chosen, “Fuck, Fox, I can’t. . . .”

  He now seemed to be having trouble picking a side, wondering who would deliver the most pain over his cowardice, his betrayal and his duty.

  “But I think you can. You see, whoever is doing this to my family is really beginning to piss me off Mickey, really yanking on my dick now and I would be ever so grateful if you would tell me and then all this silliness can stop.”

  He blew out a heavy breath at my eerily calm voice before he eyed everyone in the room, each of my men giving him a nod of encouragement until his terrified gaze settled on me again. “All I’m saying is . . . you need to look closer to home, Fox. Ever wonder where the money went? Find that then you find out who is behind this. But I give you no names Fox, that I can’t do. Please. . . .”

  I sighed and rocked my head as though weighing my options. I took a couple of steps towards him and my gut danced at the horror in his face as I slid the curve of the small blade down his cheek, the sharpness of the tool slicing his face open without any effort what-so-ever.

  I sighed with a disturbing serenity, the sight of his blood feeding my vice and heating my skin vigorously. “Nah, I think I still need a name, Mickey.”

  He shook his head feverishly, his terror visible as he rattled his restraints against the chair he was tied to, “I can’t . . .”

  “Yes, you can,” I urged as I lowered the tip against the bulge of his adam’s apple and circled it slowly. “I always wonder why men have prominent Adam’s apples Mickey, don’t you. Really annoying aren’t they, I really think they need removing. They give away our sexual desire for a woman; tell them how much we wanna fuck ’em. Did you know that?”

  He gulped as he shook his head again, “Please . . .”

  He was crying now, each hot tear caught my attention as it slipped down his throat and over the silver steel of the blade, mixing with the vivid red of his blood as I pressed it further into his flesh, “Last chance, I need to get home to my wife’s hot little body. Such a good fuck, my wife, I’d be rather upset if someone took that from me. You understand, Mickey?”

  “Mason . . .” he tried, using my Christian name as though it would soften me. What a prick. “I can’t, but you need to check your . . . staff. Someone . . . they’re closer than you think. The money Fox, find the fucking money.” His red eyes scanned the room rapidly as though he was looking for someone but eventually rested on me. “Please . . . be quick” he whispered, his choked breaths fucking me off.

  He wasn’t going to relent, wasn’t going to give me what I needed. “You really are fucking stupid aren’t you?”

  His screams were loud but my smile was louder as I took him to pieces.

  * * *

  “Hey.” I breathed in her scent as I nuzzled against her wet neck, the bubbles from the over filled bath tickling my nose. Her wet hand lifted to my head as she palmed behind it and pulled me further into her.

  “Mmmm, hey.” She mumbled sleepily and her complete contentment with my company made my gut heat in appreciation, “You okay?”

  I nodded, still buried in her exquisite skin, my reluctance to move away from her alerting her to my weariness. “I am now” I answered dreamily, my fatigue causing my forehead to drop to her slender shoulder.

  “Mason?” Her head titled into me as she placed a soft kiss on my ear and I shivered as excitement coursed through my blood system, her body and mind always making me hard and horny.

  “I’m just tired” I replied as I lifted my head and rolled it around my neck before palming her cheek and kissing her pert little nose. “Can I ask you something?” I queried as I settled beside the bath on the floor and picked the sponge from the shelf, dipping it under the water before I proceeded to wash every inch of her amazing body.

  “Of course” she grinned as her fingers curled around mine and helped steer me to where she wanted.

  I gave her a sly smile as I yielded and let her lead. “You remember years ago when you found that money had been disappea
ring?”

  She nodded as her eyes closed and her head tilted back into the cushion propped on the end of the tub, “Did you ever find out where it went?”

  She lifted her head sharply and gave me a puzzled look, “I thought you found it. I thought it was Rebecca because it stopped moving when she went. Is there a problem?”

  I shook my head as bewilderment flashed through me. How the fuck could I lose nearly £200,000 and not find it? I knew I had money to burn but it was the fact that I had let it slide, not looked further into it. Like Ava said, I had also thought it had been Rebecca. Something wasn’t adding up and the whole thing was really fucking with me now. God damn!

  “Mason . . . Talk to me, tell me.”

  I sucked in a drag of air and pursed my lips heavily, “We caught a tail on you this morning and it was just something he said.”

  She stared at me with wide eyes, my information about her being followed causing her both alarm and anger. She rode it though, God love her as she tipped her head in thought, “What did he say?”

  I kept my eyes trained on my wash worship, her soft pale skin mesmerising me as it glowed with the heat of the water. Her beauty was utterly unique, totally enchanting and I smiled unconsciously as I watched a trail of goose bumps flow behind my trek, “He said find the money and I’ll find the prick who’s doing this.”

  She frowned and looked as puzzled as I felt, “What the hell, that was years ago.”

  I shrugged but nodded in agreement, this also the main cause of my confusion, “Yeah.”

  “It doesn’t make sense, Mason. Can you be sure he wasn’t messing with you?”

  I sucked in my lips and pulled a frown of my own, “But how would he know about the missing money?”

  She sighed deeply and I watched the rise of her lovely tits in the water, her nipples bobbing behind the mass of bubbles and I groaned low as I fought the urge to strip naked and climb in with her. “Tea or wine?” I asked as I controlled my desires and stood, drying my hands on a towel before I leant back into her and kissed her forehead.

  “Ooh, such a hard choice” she grinned up at me and I nodded with an exaggerated eye roll.

  “Wine it is; red or white?”

  “Red, let’s be daring” she waggled her eyes brows at me and I smiled back, her playfulness relaxing me and calming my blood. She always had a way to do that with just one smile, her beauty and adoring gaze had me believing in miracles every day.

  “Have you been to see Courtney?” I asked quietly as I moved behind her and took her long curls in my hands and pulled them out of the water, my fingers dragging through the mass of frazzled ringlets as I scooped it atop her head and grabbed the clip she kept on the shelf, fixing the bulk of unruliness in place.

  She stiffened and I sighed, “Baby, go see her. Don’t leave it like this, she’s your best friend and if Kade’s as heartless as we know he is, she’ll need you right now.”

  “I just . . . Oh, I dunno Mason, it feels like she’s betrayed me, gone behind my back and . . .” she finished with a shrug but I could feel the hurt behind her words.

  I reached forward, sliding my hands down her damn fine body. “For me” I whispered as I pinched her stiff nipples, rolling them between my thumb and finger in a pleasant torture before releasing them and cupping the whole of her breast, massaging gently as she moaned softly.

  Her eyes opened as she tilted her head back further to look at me, “Okay.”

  I beamed at her. Her friendship with Courtney was important to her and I hated seeing them both ache with the distance between them. “Good girl. Kiss me.”

  She winked as she lifted up and caught my lips with hers, “I love you” she mouthed ahead of thrilling my whole system with the moulding of her lips on mine.

  Fuck me, she was one glorious warrior. My little warrior.

  Chapter 32

  Ava

  I PAUSED WITH my knuckles resting against the hard wood of the door as my stomach somersaulted and my throat quivered.

  Before I yielded and ran, I rapped twice and took a step back.

  The door opened and Kade’s surprise registered openly on his face before he softened, smiled and moved aside to let me in.

  “Wow, two Fox’s in a week, I am honoured.” His voice held no mockery but I could hear the harsh sarcasm in it along with the shock.

  I walked into the vast room, surveying the place with a shocked admiration and a pleased respect. “It’s stunning” I breathed as I took in the soft chic furnishings and the sense of peace in the uncluttered space.

  He was silent and I turned to him, his face clouded but his eyes bright, “Yes, yes it is.”

  My throat closed when I realised he wasn’t talking about the room and I chewed furiously in nervousness on my finger.

  We gazed at each other for a while, both apologising silently for our behaviour the previous week, each of us asking what couldn’t be asked as we feasted on one another.

  I grimaced as the old feelings surfaced and my heart clenched in guilt, my emotions feeling as betraying as my actions eight years ago.

  “How are you?” he eventually asked, his tone as soft as his expression.

  “I’m good” I nodded and smiled, “You?”

  His eyes flicked before he blinked and smiled gently, “I . . .” he shrugged and I pulled in a breath.

  “I need your help, Kade.”

  His jaw dropped slightly as he frowned at me, “How?”

  I looked around the room and pointed a hand at the sofa, asking him to sit before I pulled him into the mess of my life.

  We both sat, Kade at one end of the sofa as I reluctantly perched beside him, my treacherous body angering me when it heated and moistened.

  I handed him a file which he frowned at before he cocked his head questioningly at me. “It’s a list of Mason’s employees, from both Allure and personal. I need you to find a connection.”

  His brows pinched harshly, “Allure?”

  I gulped, knowing how this was going to sound as Kade’s relentless protection and safeguard over me for many years would see his anger flare. “It’s a brothel what Mason owns.”

  His eyes widened as he stared at me open mouthed, “What the . . .”

  I rolled my lips and looked into my lap, my confidence that brought me here shattered in his presence, leaving me feeling vulnerable and small and I hated it. “I need you to do this for me Kade and I . . . I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t need to . . .”

  My belly pulsed as his eyes darkened, his dominance and discipline dragging the blood from my brain and into my core.

  His teeth sank into his bottom lip, his anger bubbling forcefully as the news of Mason’s new sedition covered my face with hurt. “Why do you let him do this Ava, why?”

  My anger surfaced, Kade’s never-ending gibes and pushes tearing me in half, as I stood “I shouldn’t have come here.”

  I picked up my bag and walked towards the door but his next words halted me, “Did he tell you?” he asked calmly from his place on the couch.

  I stopped instantly; my footing shook slightly as I stared at the apartment door, my escape within reach but my inquisitiveness wondering where he would go, my sick mind wanting his attention as my pussy twitched in taunting glee, “Yes.”

  I jerked when I felt his breath on the back of neck. My whole body trembled in delight as I chastised it and shut it down immediately. I would not got there again, would not give in to the connection we still held, the passion we both still fought fiercely.

  “Did he tell you how hot I was for him, Ava? Tell you how hard he was for me, for my cock, just like you always were.”

  I spun round, my palm connecting harshly with his cheek as I forced his head sharply to snap sideways, “Why Kade? Why do you do this? God damn, don’t you think it’s hard enough, why do you always make it fucking harder? Why won’t you let us be?”

  I stormed towards the door but his arms wrapped around my waist before he lifted and twisted me back round, holdi
ng me to his chest in near hopelessness as his heavy inhalations hammered his chest rapidly beneath me. I struggled desperately against him as his strong arms enveloped me and held me firmly, the frantic beat of his heart heavy at my ear as a choked sob caught in my throat and my fists battered against him. “Stop it! Stop . . . Please . . .”

  “Ssshhh, Sweetheart, Ssshhh.”

  “No please, please don’t, I . . . I . . .”

  His arms gripped me harder, his firm body holding me tight as I fought against old and new emotions. The heat of his body heightening my desire as the familiar but prohibited sensations ached my heart, “Please . . .” I whispered as I gave in and slumped against him, my arms drawing around his back as I held onto him, pulling him further into me harshly. My hands fisted the material of his shirt as I breathed in his unique scent, my body feasting on the forbidden fruit as my heart clashed with the wrong and the right.

  “I was strong Kade; I was so strong but . . .”

  “Ava” he breathed as he nuzzled my hair, one hand sifting through the strands as the other spanned the dip of my lower back.

  A fierce heat raged through my veins as the darkness whispered in my ear to concede, to give in and take, take everything on offer and take it hard.

  We remained clinging to each other for a long moment, both of us taking what had been banned for so long. “I want you both, Ava. I need you both; your touch, Mason’s heat, the feel of silk as I slide inside you, the grip of your pussy as I stretch you. His screams in my ear as I fuck him slow and hard. The soft moans that you make as we love you, the look of rapture on your face as both Mason and I fuck you into oblivion.”

  I nodded but blew out a breath I had been holding, “It’s going to destroy us all.”

  He closed his eyes as if in pain before he opened them and pierced me with a determined longing. “Maybe I want to be destroyed, Ava. Maybe I’ve had enough of being broken, shattered and damaged. Maybe I want to finally obliterate the half of me that’s left behind and risk the consequences to feel whole, even if just for an hour. Just one God damn hour of ecstasy with you both.”