by Brook Wilder
The meeting ended and the bikers broke up into smaller groups. I took this as my chance to step out and make my presence known. I looked over at Mason, but he was already deep in conversation with Diesel and a few others.
They laughed about something and clapped each other on the back, before hitting their shot glasses together and throwing back the contents in one gulp.
I decided to go out onto the balcony, or what I’d thought was a balcony. It turned out to be a small porch, with a rail around it as if this added to the curb appeal.
When we’d first arrived, I hadn’t had the opportunity to take a good look around. From what I could see, this town house had been built onto the original mansion and looked so out of place. From the front, the mansion looked to be two floors, while it was actually three. The lower level was hidden on the side of the hill the house had been built on, invisible from the main access driveway, leading any onlookers to think that this huge house was smaller than it was.
How many rooms are upstairs? And how does this place work?
I thought about what had happened to me at the auction house and the kind of place this was. I’d been being sold for prostitution. So, if Mason hadn’t bought me, would I have ended up in a place like this? And were all the ‘participants’ unwilling, or were there a few that were here on their own accord?
How many people were here?
I looked around. There were bikers everywhere and barely a woman in sight. I’d never been surrounded by so many people and still felt so alone before. It was strange. The feeling that I was invisible sunk in deeper than the feeling of being alone. I didn’t like it, but I didn’t mind it. I reminded myself that I didn’t know these people. Mason had sold me and bought me, and these people were his friends. They were loyal to him. In that case, it would be better to keep myself to myself than to be buddy-buddy with any them, including Mason.
I looked back and saw Mason making his way around the room, talking to the various boys of his club, giving each of them the attention they required. A few times I overheard what was being said, but the chat seemed to be very general, with Mason asking how they were going and how their loved ones were going, and telling them that, if they needed to get home, they should go. A few of the guys did leave, but the place became nowhere near quiet.
Mason continued mingling with his people, and I realized then that the patches on his leather vest meant more than just being the president of his club. He was also their friend, or maybe more. My knowledge of this darker world was slim to non-existent. And the only reason my knowledge was even slim was because of what I’d heard from the doctors and nurses since arriving in Eden.
From what I knew now – had seen with my one eyes and heard with my own ears - things weren’t quite as they seemed. I looked at Mason, this hard and ruthless person. He definitely wasn’t what he’d first appeared to be.
I’d lusted over him for a week! I’d thought about him between my legs, thought about him under me. I’d wondered what it would be like to ride on the back of his bike with my arms wrapped around his waist. And I’d wondered what his club was all about. I’d seen his vest and the patches on it the first day I’d laid my eyes on him, but it hadn’t deterred me. If anything, it had only made me more curious.
Curiosity killed the cat… Stupid saying!
I’d known Mason wasn’t a good guy. But I hadn’t thought a little staring and fantasizing would have ended me up in this situation. He could have killed me, he could have left me, he could have sold me to someone else or just given me up to the Cartel people to save his and the club’s butts. But he hadn’t. Mason wasn’t a bad guy. He was certainly not one of the good ones, but there was some decency to him.
I thought about Josh then, and how he had been so darn perfect all the time. Buying me flowers and little things every now and then. Surprising me with nice dinner dates or movie nights. The day he’d proposed had been the best day of my life. I’d been so ecstatic. The photographer he’d hired to document the moment was everything I had ever wanted. I couldn’t have asked for more.
So, finding out that Josh had been cheating on me with my younger sister, a few short months before our wedding, had been the worst thing I could imagine. He was disgusting. Sleeping with my sister was one of the lowest and meanest things he could have done. It was the reason I’d taken the job in Eden so hastily, without any forethought. I’d needed to get away from what my life had become.
And I needed to get away from this. When I’d told my family I needed a new start, needed a change, this was not what I’d had in mind.
Mason was a lot more interesting than Josh. Not in a good way, but in a way that kept things unpredictable and interesting. He spent so much time talking to his friends about their families and their loved ones that it made me wonder if he had anyone. I found it hard to believe that this big, bad, scarred and tattooed biker president had no one. But I also found it hard to believe that he did have someone, he was such an ass!
He didn’t strike me as the loving and caring type. But he also didn’t strike me as the type of guy who shared what he liked or what he claimed as his. I didn’t think that, if he was intimate with someone, he would go around sleeping with anything that moved. But, I knew he wasn’t the kind of guy who would get ‘intimate’ with people very often. His cold and blunt attitude gave that away. But I knew he was protective and would fight for himself and the people he cared about until he had nothing left to fight with.
I felt safe with him. I smiled to myself as thoughts of him protecting me raced through my mind.
NO!
My mind rebelled when I remembered everything he’d done that had landed me in this situation in the first place. My car had broken down. He’d taken advantage of the situation. I’d been on a back road in the middle of nowhere on my way to work. He’d kidnapped me, sold me, and bought me as a slave!
Mason, Ghost Riders President, sold women as slaves into prostitution, among other things. He’d done the same thing to me. I was his slave and I didn’t know if I would ever have an ounce of freedom again.
What he’d said to me at the cabin the night before played over in my mind. I don’t eat, drink, sleep, have clothes or anything else unless he allowed it. He was allowing it now, but how long would that last for?
Chapter 2
Mason
After spending some time in the basement with the boys, and after Khloe had opened up for business for the night, we made our way upstairs. Cassie, without telling me why, declined to come upstairs. I had no choice but to leave her, because I didn’t want to cause a scene if I asked her why she wouldn’t join me.
Me and the other men started mingling, with many of the boys hitting on the women. I held back a bit. I always like to case out a joint and be a mere spectator, until the need arises to do something else.
I spotted Khloe at the side of the bar, surveying the crowd for the night. She looked my way and nodded, before gracefully walking over to me in the stiletto heels and cocktail dress she always wore to work. Although sexy and elegant in the way she moved, I could see she was on a mission, and I knew exactly what that mission was. I looked around for an escape route, but she had beaten me to it.
“Where’s Cassie?” she asked.
I shrugged. “Not here. So, what’s it to you?”
She snickered. “Well that’s a fine answer.”
She leaned against the table and my eyes washed over her genuine but smug behavior.
“So, how much do you want for her?” she asked.
I frowned. “Well, I’d ask what you’re talking about, but we both know already.”
She rolled her eyes.
“Cut the crap, Mason. Everyone has a price and I’m asking yours. I want to buy Cassie, because I think she’d be a fine addition to this brothel. Don’t you?”
“She’s not for sale. And I don’t want to hear talk of it again.”
I snapped my mouth shut. I was taken aback by the way I’d immediately jump
ed to take Cassie off the table. It’s only sex! I mentally told myself.
But I’d spoken harshly, and this made me wonder if there was more to it. I couldn’t be certain, but the look on Khloe’s face seemed to say the same.
“Wow! I didn’t think I’d see the day,” she said, her brows raised, the smug smile even wider now.
I rolled my eyes.
“What are you blubbering about now?”
I turned to glare at her, but she had a hearty grin on her face.
“After Dana, I didn’t think you’d fall in love that way again. But that’s what’s happening, isn’t it? You’ve fallen in love with the slave you sold and bought.” She laughed. “Ah, Mason! It really is quite funny.”
I shook my head and released a laugh that was intended to dismiss the notion out of hand. But I didn’t manage to pull it off.
“This isn’t love, Khloe. You know me, I’m all business.”
“Yes, you had sex with her before the ink had dried on your check,” she said with a laugh. “You can fool yourself, and you might even be able to fool some of the boys, but don’t think you can fool me. I’ve seen this look before, and you’re in love with her.”
Khloe nodded to hammer home what she’d said.
I looked away, wanting to prove her wrong. I spotted Cassie. Her eyes roamed the room, like she was looking for something or someone. As she glanced in my direction, our eyes locked. A light of recognition crossed her face and I admired her beauty a little too long. I had to shake that thought clear from my mind, because this wasn’t about falling in love with Cassie. This was about a job. As it always was.
There was nothing unique to the situation, and I would continue to keep telling myself that.
Chapter 3
Cassie
I slipped out of the brothel as Mason continued to talk to Khloe. I didn’t want to interrupt, but I also didn’t know what to do or where to go. I’d been hoping I could see Mason and get an idea of what he had in store for the evening. As it looked, though, he planned on spending the night at the brothel. I could only imagine what was going on in there, between him and the ladies, and surprisingly it made me jealous.
I headed off to one of the rooms, just to wait things out, as I didn’t want to spend any more time in that drab bedroom. I don’t know how long I’d been sitting there, when I heard the door of the room open and hit up against the wall. I quickly stood up, startled to see Mason there.
“Oh, hey…” I said.
I was confused by the way my heartbeat quickened as he stood there
“Hey…” he mumbled.
He stepped further into the room and I noticed, from the way his eyes grazed over me, that there had been a definite shift in how we usually were around one another. He pointed back to the couch.
“Don’t stand on my account,” he said.
His voice was firm and direct, and I slowly sat back down. He took a seat in a chair facing me. My eyes never left him. I was confused and wondering if he was going to start yelling at me or something.
Yet, when he met my gaze, my anxiety faded. I felt at ease. It was an unusual feeling to have, given the circumstances I found myself in.
“Why’d you come to Eden?” he blurted out.
I wasn’t sure if I felt comfortable about sharing my personal history with him, but the look that he gave me, the arch of his brow, told me that I really didn’t have the right not to tell him.
“Failed engagement,” I quietly said.
He leaned back in his chair.
“Speak up. I didn’t understand you,” he said.
I sat up straighter in the couch.
“I was going to get married and suddenly things happened, causing my engagement to be called off.”
He tilted his head.
“Things? Like what?” he asked.
“I mean no disrespect, but that’s really none of your business,” I snapped.
My eyes widened. I couldn’t believe I’d spoken to him like that. He also looked surprised.
“Is that right? You think I don’t deserve to know.”
He looked angry and I cowered back slightly and then his face softened.
“Listen… you’re wrong. I’m asking you a simple question. What happened?”
I gawked at him, my knees trembling slightly. But it wasn’t because I was afraid of him. It was quite the opposite, in fact. I was intrigued by his sudden harsh attitude again. There was something about him that made me quiver with need.
“He cheated on me,” I said. I kept my voice in check, so I wouldn’t start crying. “He had sex with my sister and I walked in on them.”
I shrugged, playing it off as it was no big deal.
“And you’re alright with that?” he asked.
Hell no, I’m not alright with that, I thought. But, really, there was nothing I could do about it.
“Does it suck? Yes. Can I do anything about that? No. I just have to deal with it. The image is something I could do without.”
And that’s when I replace the images with you in my head.
I coughed as the thought echoed through my mind, making me blush right after.
“Maybe you weren’t woman enough to hold onto him?” he said.
My jaw dropped and I couldn’t work out if he was purposely trying to piss me off or if he was just stupid.
“It wasn’t about me,” I said. “He just couldn’t keep his pants zipped.”
Mason’s eyes grew wide and then he eventually laughed.
“Well, then, there you have it,” he snickered. “I’m guessing the pain is still pretty raw. I mean, it just happened.”
“Yeah, you could say that,” I mumbled.
I looked away from him but his words drew me back.
“Wish you could go back?” he asked.
I glanced at him. “You ask a hell of a lot of questions, you know that?”
“So do you, and it doesn’t hurt anyone to be inquisitive,” he said. “So… do you?”
“I wish I could go back and not have to watch my sister and fiancé screwing one another,” I replied. “Of course, I wish that. But our relationship was over the minute it happened. So, do I wish I could go back and salvage that? Not a chance!”
I paused and watched him for a moment, my heart aching for him. Whether it was because the conversation we were having had already grown so intense, or because I couldn’t stop thinking of his body melting against mine, I felt confident and compelled to leave nothing unsaid.
“If I’d still been longing for my fiancé, do you think I’d have been fantasizing about fucking you from the moment we met?”
His eyes widened. Shock took over his features and I could feel my face turning different shades of red. I couldn’t believe I’d actually said that to him. And what was even worse was the look of disgust that seemed to cross his eyes.
This wasn’t how I’d normally have handled things. The obvious change in my character made me feel totally helpless.
“Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to bed.”
I stood up, barely able make eye contact with him, and turned to the door. I had just reached the door and was about to leave, when I heard him call out my name.
“Cassie!”
His voice was strong and powerful, and I swallowed the lump that had risen in my throat, fearful of even looking his way.
I turned around and saw he was now only inches from me. Hunger was evident in his eyes as he grabbed my arm and forcefully pulled me to him. His lips smothered mine, and we kissed with so much passion that I felt dizzy as his lips blazed against mine.
We pulled back. My eyes latched onto his and, for a moment, neither one of us could say a word. My body tingled with desire as I stared at him and feelings of perplexity hit me. I wanted the moment to continue and go on forever. There could be little doubt what that kiss meant to me. An electrifying current coursed through me and love wasn’t far behind.
Yet, for Mason… He simply said, “Goodnight!” the
n pushed past me, leaving me bewildered and alone.
All rational thought left me as I tried to focus on what the kiss could mean. In my mind I told myself that, if it never happened again, I would be alright with that.
However, my heart told a different story.
Chapter 4
Cassie
A few days had passed since my kidnapping. The Cartel hadn’t shown up yet and Mason was out dealing with business, leaving me with plenty of time to think.
