The NSC Boxset: Heart of Stone

by D H Sidebottom

  Shaking my head at him, I gulped. “Nothing. I didn’t say anything, baby. It was Marcy.”

  “What the fuck?” Marcy spluttered behind me. I kicked back, catching her shin with the heel of my foot. “Ohhh,” she mumbled. “Yes. Yes it was me, Mason. Ava would never say anything like that about another man.”

  “Yes,” he growled at Marcy. “Yes, she fucking would.”

  Marcy nodded like a maniac. “Yes, I agree, she would. She—so—would!”

  Traitorous bitch!

  I grinned up at him again when his body nudged against me, his firm pecs making me lightheaded as his domineering growl lit me up inside. “Would you care to tell me just how often you look at his Solid Arse?”

  “I . . . I don’t,” I stuttered. “It’s just . . . well . . . it’s kind of . . .” I knew I’d done the wrong thing when I lifted my hands and mimicked squeezing Danny’s firm backside. Mason lifted a brow as his eyes dropped to watch my gesture. I let my hands fall back to my sides and shrugged with a nervous giggle. “Nothing on yours though, baby. Your arse is just . . . heaven, Mason. It’s just . . .”

  I squealed when all of a sudden I was hoisted over Mason’s shoulder. “You seem a little hot, Ava, I think you need to cool down.”

  “What?”

  I gasped when he strolled across the room, his strength holding me down firmly even though I wriggled against him and flung open the front door. “Mason! Don’t you dare!”

  It had taken us double the amount of time to reach the cabin due to the horrendous snowstorm that had descended upon us quickly. Since arriving another four or five inches had fallen, and coupled with the wind, huge snow dunes had been constructed around the edge of the large gardens, the tips of each one almost touching the top windows of the cottage.

  And I knew exactly where I was going—the extra-large one piled up along the border of the driveway.

  But he didn’t plonk me in it, oh no, that would be too gentle for Mason; he fucking launched me in one swing. Both my arms and legs flung outwards as my little body sailed through the air and I landed like an upside down snow angel with two broken wings.

  I could hear their laughter, each one of them bloody belly laughing as I spluttered and slid trying to get myself out, my feet slipping all over as I attempted to right myself. Snow and ice found every crevice of my body. My teeth chattered as the snow dripped off my head onto my nose. They were all stood there, bent over, pointing at me as I resembled a deformed snowman.

  My bottom lip quivered, my teeth still shuddering with a frenzied rhythm as I stared at them. Courtney was the first to stop when I pulled my shoulders back and walked back into the house, completely ignoring them. One by one they quietened, each pair of laughing eyes following me guiltily as I slowly ascended the stairs and traipsed my cold body into the bedroom.

  “Ava?”

  I heard his soft shout as I turned on the bath taps and sat on the loo. His face poked around the door but I kept my gaze on the water slowly rising in the tub.

  “Baby?”

  “Go away.”

  He paused, confused by my reaction before walking into the room and coming to crouch in front of me as I remained on the toilet. “Hey,” he whispered when a tear rolled down my cheek. He blinked at me, lifting his thumb to catch my sorrow. “I’m sorry.”

  I shook my head, refusing to look at him as he wiped off some snow that had stuck to my head. “You hurt me,” I whispered.

  “I did?”

  I nodded, sticking my bottom lip out. “I think you broke my nose.”

  I scowled at him when he snorted then tried to disguise it with a cough. “Your nose looks perfect, baby. It’s not broken.”

  “And . . .” I cringed but he lifted my chin with his finger and quirked a brow at me when my eyes met his.

  “Tell me.”

  I shook my head, lowering my eyes to the floor as my cheeks heated.

  “Ava!” he probed sternly. “Tell me what I hurt, I feel awful now!”

  “You didn’t hurt anything else but . . .”

  “But?”

  “I . . . w. . . . .elf.” I mumbled to him.

  He shook his head, squinting at me. “Baby, I can’t hear you.”

  “I . . . I . . . wee’d myself.”

  His eyes snapped wide as his teeth sank into his bottom lip and his face tightened. I scowled harder. “Don’t laugh at me,” I sobbed.

  The arsehole couldn’t hold it in any longer, his laughter erupted in a fierce bark as his eyes watered and he squeezed them tight. “I’m not laughing, these are tears of sympathy.”

  “You arse!” I slapped his arm and pouted.

  He was still chuckling as he pulled me off the loo and onto his lap on the floor. “Aww baby . . .” I couldn’t understand him between his fits of hysteria but his strong embrace soothed me instantly. “You’re getting on a bit now Ava, your bladder is bound to pack in sooner or later.”

  My mouth popped open the same as my eyes did. “What?” I gasped. “Don’t say that!”

  He just continued to laugh as he pulled my head back to his chest and wrapped me up further. When he felt my shivering, he hoisted me up, stripped me down and gently lowered me into the bath, climbing in the opposite side after me so he was facing me, the small bath struggling to accommodate his long legs.

  He couldn’t hold back his smile and as gorgeous as it was I was still sulking. “I don’t want to grow old, Mason.”

  He shrugged. “I do.”

  “Eh?”

  He sighed and smiled softly, grabbing my foot from the side where it was tucked beside his thigh and ran his thumb up the middle, digging into the tight muscle as he started one of his amazing massages. “I’m tired, Ava. We say we’re retiring then something, or someone, drags us back out again. This is it for us now. There’ll be no more adventures. No more fighting with people that hate us. No more worrying about you getting kidnapped. No more scared to turn the page in case the next chapter isn’t a nice one. We’re old. We have to bow down now. I nearly lost you, baby. Well after this Christmas it’s just going to be you, me, Kade and Grace, to live our lives privately, hidden away from the world that hurts us.”

  I smiled, agreeing with him. “That sounds good.”

  He leaned forward and slipped his hand behind my neck to pull my face to his. “I love you,” he whispered as his lips brushed over mine, his tongue sneaking in and flicking the end of mine, the action always generating a smile from me.

  “And me, you,” I replied with the same hushed tone.

  He groaned when I slid my hand under the water and enclosed his hard cock in my fingers. He grinned at me through our kiss and I smirked back. “I’m gift wrapping my present.”

  He chuckled then slid back out of my reach. “That means you can’t have it until Christmas.”

  I stared at him when he copied my lost pose and took hold of his shaft in his own fist, sliding his hand slowly up and down as he came to kneel up in the bath, his hips in line with my face. Naturally, I inched forward but he tutted at me and gestured me back again with his hands. “I’ve told you, no touching until Christmas.”

  “WHAT?”

  His teeth sank into his lip, his eyes darkening as his arousal peaked and he started to thrust his hips, forcing his cock harder into his enclosed hand. My heart rate escalated as my pussy slicked in preparation for him. If there was anything I knew about my husband, it was that he couldn’t keep his hands off me. But I continued to watch him pleasuring himself for my benefit as much as his own. He looked so fucking stunning, his rock hard stomach rippling as he started to pant and speed up his masturbating, his eyes on my mouth as my lips parted and I ran my tongue along them hungrily. His chest heaved profoundly, his glorious pecs lifting and lowering as swiftly as his lungs filled and emptied, his brow furrowing as his need intensified.

  “Fuck your fist harder, Mason. I want to hear you groan for me.”

  He pulled in a breath, his thighs now trembling as he increas
ed his pace and fucked his hand harder and faster. I could physically see his cock swell between his fingers as his balls drew in tight against him. Suddenly, I didn’t want him to fuck me. I wanted him to finish like this.

  “I want your cum on my face, baby.”

  He hissed, his throat bobbing as he struggled to catch his breath. “Do you even know how damn beautiful you are when you look at me like that?”

  I smiled. He always had the ability to make my heart swell, even at the most random moment. “Then make me stunning. Come on me, cover me with you.”

  His teeth clashed together, a primal growl tearing from him as ribbons and ribbons of warm cum streamed across the space between us, the torrent spraying my face and my chest as his eyes stayed transfixed on mine. He leaned forward and dragged his tongue across my cheek, collecting his own orgasm.

  “Oh my God!” I groaned. The action was so hot I slid my hand between my legs and came as soon as I touched my swollen clit. Thrusting his tongue in my mouth as I continued to climax, I took his offering and lapped at his taste, his sperm salty and sweet when he transferred it into my own mouth.

  “Jesus Christ,” he panted as he rested his forehead against mine. “You do know, the older we get, the better it seems to get.”

  I nodded, sliding my thumb across his lips, sighing at how soft and warm they were. “I reckon, when we’re just bones, we’ll be humping away in our grave, so make sure the kids put you with me.”

  He laughed and nodded, sliding his hands under me to lift me out of the bath. “And making love to you will never get old or boring, you’re too fucking incredible. Come on, I’m hungry.”

  “You know, you’re only romantic when you’re hungry,” I grumbled as he draped a towel around me.

  “Of course I am,” he smirked as he threw me onto the bed. “I know how to work you by now, Ava.”

  I glared at him but couldn’t help laughing. “You always make me feel special, Mason.”

  He paused and stared at me, his eyes intent and soft as they slowly roamed my face then came back to my eyes. Reaching down, he gently brushed his mouth across my cheek and nuzzled my ear, “You’re not just special, Ava. You’re my life, my soul. My heart beats in sync with yours, my blood rushes through my veins to keep me alive for you. Every morning when I wake and see you beside me I have to take a breath and ground myself because I still can’t believe after all these years how I ever got so damn lucky. After everything I did to you, you still love me, you still give me all your heart and allow me to care for it, nurture it. You will never understand how special that makes me feel.”

  My eyes watered and I swallowed back the need to cry. “Hey,” I whispered as I ran my thumb over his cheek. “Everything you did to me? After I slept with Kade, I thought I’d ruined everything. I know I ruined myself, the guilt from what I had done almost crippled me. It still cripples me. When I found those photos in your drawer of us, I . . .”

  He squashed his finger against my lips, halting my heartache. “Baby, we’ve both done things that hurt each other. But look at us.” He smiled widely and shrugged. “We made it to the end. We carried each other’s hearts in our souls and we crossed the line into a place where we can now both just live for each other. After having the kids, both of our infidelities, Rebecca, Dane, Brad stabbing you. And not forgetting you shooting yourself and the cancer. We fucking made it, baby. That’s not cause for tears, old or young, that is something to celebrate.”

  I smiled widely, completely agreeing with him. He winked and grabbed my hands, pulling me up to sit on the edge of the bed before he proceeded to pull on some sweatpants and a t-shirt, forgoing the bra now I no longer needed one. He ran his finger down the scar on my neck then bent to kiss it softly. “I love you Mrs Fox, so much.” Then he scooped me up in his arms and ran out of the bedroom and down the stairs making me squeal and laugh at his excitement.

  He burst into the kitchen, everyone turning from whatever they were cooking to stare at us. “We’re back,” Mason divulged. “Sorry, Ava pissed herself and I had to clean her up.”

  Everyone gawped at me as Mason chuckled loudly. “You bastard!”

  He clicked his tongue and winked. “You forgot the glorious, baby.”

  “Sometimes I actually wonder why I gave you the glorious part.”

  He laughed, “My cock of course.”

  I shrugged and pursed my lips, nodding in agreement. “Yep, the whole reason I married you.”

  “Careful,” he warned with a smirk. “You don’t know I have the video of you last week on my phone.”

  My heart stuttered as I stared at him. “What . . .” I spluttered, my cheeks firing as my palms dampened with sweat.

  I slapped at him when he flicked the end of my nose. “Blackmail, baby. How else do I ensure your complete compliance?”

  I smirked back. “Oh I can think of a few . . . one of them the little secret thing you like me to do to you that you don’t want anyone to know about.”

  The way his mouth fell open and his eyes narrowed made me sigh contentedly and whistle a little tune as I dipped the spoon into the chilli Courtney was stirring. “Perfect, Hun.”

  She nudged me, winking and smirking. “Come on then, Ava, Spill. What does Mase like?”

  I bit my tongue and danced across the room, making sure to blow a kiss Mason on the way as he tried to scramble over to me and slap his hand over my mouth. “Don’t you fucking dare,” he whispered in my ear.

  “Then behave, and delete that video!”

  He nodded, thoroughly compliant with me then, the tables turned dramatically. “I will.”

  Ahh, after twenty years of marriage, Mason still thought he wore the trousers.

  Fool.

  Chapter Three

  Naughty and Nice

  Mason

  I BLINKED, SITTING up in bed and rubbing my eyes. Raised voices. A shout. Something smashing. I frowned at the empty space beside me in bed, Ava’s pillow still slightly warm and dented where her head had been.

  I tilted my head and squinted. It sounded like crying. What the hell?

  Pulling on my shorts I quietly made my way down the stairs, leaving the lights off to remain covert. The kitchen door was slightly open, the light blaring through it and causing a flickering on the hallway floor as people moved about inside.

  “Stop it!” I heard Ava’s hushed demand, her voice quiet as she spoke to someone.

  “I can’t help it,” Katie sobbed, the sound of pain in her voice making my stomach and heart clench tight. I tensed, moving further towards the door to try and catch what was going on.

  “You need to deal with this shit, now Katie, or it will haunt you until it ruins your life.”

  “It’s already ruining my life, Mum. I can’t sleep without . . . without seeing her face. Every time I close my eyes he’s there . . .”

  “Hey,” Ava whispered. “You are a Fox. Take the shit, swallow the shit and deal with the shit. I love you, Katie, whatever you may think you are. You’re tough, you’ve been brought up to be tough.”

  What the hell was going on? I wanted to walk in the kitchen and demand they tell me but then I didn’t want to impose when Katie sounded so distraught.

  “But . . .”

  “No,” Ava hissed. “I’m afraid you need to realize that this bullshit is engrained into you. There’s nothing you can do to change that.”

  There was a silent pause and just as I was about to push the door open, Katie’s next words stopped me.

  “How do you do it, Mum?”

  Ava sighed heavily and I heard them shuffle about, presumably taking a seat at the table. “Because I have no other choice, baby. It’s kill or be killed in this life.”

  “You ever wonder what your life would have been without my Dad?”

  Ava snorted. “Sometimes. But then the pain in my chest becomes unbearable. You need to understand, Katie, that your Father has put up with so much from me. Both you and George seem to think that he is the one at fault for t
he way my life has gone. But you know what. I wouldn’t have even got this far without him. He’s not just my rock, Katie, he’s my soul, my warrior. He would fight for me with his last breath. He would offer up his soul to make sure I kept mine. And yes, he’s had his moments.”

  Katie snorted this time. “Moments? I’d say he’s had a few.” She didn’t say it with revulsion, just stating the truth.

  “And I’ve had more than a few.” Ava admitted openly, “But anyway, what I’m saying is, this is our life. You either take hold of it and learn to love it or allow it to drown you. You have no idea what I have done to survive and like you, yes I have hated myself for things I’ve done but there’s nothing I can do to change who I am. Baby, you can’t let this take you down because I can assure you, as a Fox, you will kill again.”

  I stumbled backwards, my heart threatening to beat out of my chest. What the hell? What the fuck did she mean ‘You will kill again’? Again? Again meant she’d done it before!

  They both stared at me when I flung the door open, Ava rolling her eyes and sighing and Katie looking at me like I’d found out she’d committed murder. Ironic, huh?

  “What the hell?” I barked at Katie, making her rear back in horror when she witnessed the wrath start to take hold of me.

  “Katie, go to bed,” Ava said calmly.

  “Like fuck!” I turned on Ava. “What the hell is going on?”

  She glared at me, giving me warning with her eyes. “Calm the fuck down and I will explain.”

  “Calm—the—fuck—down?” I growled as I slowly made my way over to her. Katie scuttled off the chair and stood in front of her mother.

  “Dad . . . please . . .”

  “Katie,” Ava cut in. “Go to bed. Now!”

  In a dilemma, Katie flicked her eyes between me and Ava, her face tight with worry. “Mum . . .”

  “Now, Katie!”

  I was struggling to breathe, my chest heaving as my lungs adapted to the fierce invasion of oxygen. My whole body was humming with anger and adrenaline, sweat already slicking my palms as my fists clenched tightly. I closed my eyes, trying my best to rein it in but it was too hard. “Go to bed,” I grated, my teeth clenched tightly as I tried to control myself in front of my baby.