by L. P. Maxa
I opened the front door, already smiling. “Hey, guys?” The living room was empty and so was the dining room. I walked into the kitchen to find it the same. So I headed off down the long hallway leading to the rest of the house.
Mason and his baby sister were on the glider in her nursery, looking at photo albums. “Oh, hey. Sorry, I didn’t hear you come in.” He smiled at me and butterflies took flight. It didn’t matter what he was wearing or if his hair was fixed. He always looked like he’d just walked off a photo shoot for a magazine cover.
I crossed the room, then sat on the ottoman in front of them and happily took Katie from his arms when he handed her to me. “Hello, sweet girl.” I kissed her cheeks and her soft little head. “I swear she gets bigger every time I see her.” My eyes filled with tears and I quickly blinked them away. She wasn’t my daughter. I had no rights to her, but not seeing her every day was killing me.
“Where is my kiss?”
I glanced up, meeting Mason’s gaze. He was smiling playfully, but his eyes were different. He looked nervous. I leaned forward and kissed the corner of his mouth.
“Getting closer and closer to where I want you to be. I’ll take it.” He winked and I smiled like a schoolgirl. I wanted to kiss his lips. I wanted him to push me up against the nearest wall and have his way with me. I wanted him to make me scream his name so loud that he’d have to cover my mouth so the security guys outside wouldn’t hear.
“I agree.” He was getting there, but now still wasn’t the time. I refused to jump into anything until he was ready. “What are you two looking at?”
He turned the album around so that I could see. “M Kat and my dad had some maternity pictures taken, and I guess she was getting a scrapbook together about her pregnancy.”
His voice sounded sad, but not broken. I met his eyes and he smiled. “She was so beautiful. I bet Katie is going to look just like her.” I patted her back when she started to fuss at little.
“Yeah, I hope so.”
***
We’d finished dinner and were currently lounging on the couch. Katie was in her bassinet in Mason’s room and he had the baby monitor sitting between us. Every time the screen would go to sleep, one of us would reach over and bring her picture back up.
“You want to watch a movie?” Mason pointed at the TV with the small remote in his hand and brought up Netflix.
“If we put on a movie, I’d probably fall asleep ten minutes in. I feel like I’ve been at the hospital nonstop.” I settled down farther into the cushion and leaned my head back.
“Would it be totally lame if I yawned and tried to slip my arm around you right now?”
I snorted. “Yeah. Super lame.”
“Don’t care, doing it anyway.” He yawned loudly and then sat up, stretching his arm all the way out and then awkwardly put it around me. “See that wasn’t so terrible.”
I smiled and snuggled down farther into his side. “Not terrible at all.”
“Okay, so a movie is out. How about we just make out instead?”
I pulled back to look at him. “Is that really what you want to do?”
“Pretty much. I mean I tried the lame yawn move. I got you buzzed on cheap wine. I suggested some Netflix and chill…besides you already agreed to a sleepover.”
I wagged a finger in his face. “You said girls in one room and boys in the other.”
“I lied.”
I couldn’t help but laugh at the sheepish expression on his handsome face. “You’re a mess.”
“And you’re the last thing on my mind before I fall asleep at night.”
His words took my breath away, they really did. Mason was gorgeous and kind and funny. I loved being around him. I loved talking to him. His whole world had been ripped apart a few weeks ago, and he never lost his ability to smile or to be sweet to me, or Katie. Tragedy hadn’t hardened him, and I was so grateful for that. “Mason…”
“I’m not asking anything of you, Payton, I’m not expecting anything from tonight. I just wanted you to know that you mean something to me. You have from the first moment I saw you.” His eyes fell to my lips for a brief second. “I wouldn’t have made it these past few weeks without you. And I’ve hated every second that you’ve been gone.”
“I’ve missed you too.”
He rested his forehead against mine. “You’re my best friend.”
I smiled, my eyes closing. “You’re my best friend too, friend.”
“Kiss me.”
His words were a whisper that my body took as a command. I couldn’t hold back, not anymore. I pressed my lips to his and his hands went into my hair. I fisted his shirt to make him come closer.
I wanted him. I’d wanted him from the minute I’d walked out of his bedroom all those months ago. Things had felt different between us the last time I’d come for dinner. Like we were moving in the right direction, like he wanted this to happen for real. And tonight was no exception. Like our friendship was suddenly on fire.
Mason may not know exactly what to do with his life, or how to be the world’s best boyfriend, but right now, I just didn’t care.
I let him guide me into his lap. I helped him take off my shirt and then helped him take off his pants. We were both panting, both a frenzy of hands and mouths. Trying our best to never break our kiss as we got our clothes out of the way. I was moaning before he even slipped inside me. There was no foreplay. We didn’t need it. We’d been building up to this for weeks. I held onto his shoulders and slid all the way down his shaft. He filled me up completely, almost more than I could take. My head was thrown back and his lips were on my neck, my breasts. His hands wrapped around my back, making me ride him harder.
“Fuck, Payton.” His forehead was on my chest, he was panting out his words. “You feel so fucking good baby.” He nipped at my shoulder. “Even better than I remember. You’re so damn perfect. Your body was made for mine.”
I was so close to the edge. It’d been so long since I’d been touched. Now I knew the truth, knew for sure that no one had ever made me feel half of what Mason had. And no one ever would. He’d ruined me.
“Mason, don’t stop.” I whimpered when he wrapped his fist around my hair. “Yes, just like that.”
His teeth grazed the column of my neck, sucking for a moment on my rapid pulse. “Ride me, Payton. Harder, baby, give me everything you’ve got.”
His words, his mouth, his body. He was perfect and I wanted to please him. I wanted to make him feel everything that I was feeling. I wanted to ruin him too.
“That’s it, fuck, Payton, you’re so fucking perfect.” His teeth clamped down on my nipple. “Let me hear you scream, baby.”
And I did. I called his name over and over as I came.
Chapter Twenty
Mason
Almost three weeks old
After I’d fucked Payton, bare, on the couch, I’d carried her to bed. My bed, the bed I was now currently in alone. But the house smelled like bacon, so I could forgive her for not jumping on my dick the second she woke up. Screw sleeping in separate rooms. That girl would be lucky if I ever let her leave this house again. Sex with Payton was on a whole new level, nothing else compared. I wanted to do it again and again and again.
“Good morning, my gorgeous girls.” I followed my nose into the kitchen where Payton was standing at the stove wearing the shirt I’d had on last night. And Katie was in her swing in the dining room.
I kissed my baby sister and then pressed my body against Payton’s. “Morning,” she purred.
“Why didn’t you get me up? I could have helped you with Katie.” I placed a kiss on her neck. “And I like waking up next to you.” It was true. I liked having her here. I liked seeing her first thing in the morning. I liked holding her naked body as we slept. I just…liked her. Plain and simple.
“You looked so peaceful.”
“It’s because I had amazing sex last night.” I ran my hands up her thighs and under the hem of my shirt. “You aren’t w
earing panties.”
She shrugged a shoulder. “I couldn’t find them.”
“You’re just trying to torture me, aren’t you?” I put my head on her shoulder and slipped a hand between her legs. She was wet. Just from my lips on her neck and my body against hers. My dick was instantly hard.
She started to squirm, her voice shaky. “I’m cooking over a skillet of hot grease.”
I reach in front of her and turned off the burner. “And I want to fuck you on the kitchen counter.” Before she could protest I took the spatula out of her hand and tossed it into the sink. I had her sitting on the cool granite with the head of my dick at her entrance in the blink of an eye.
She put her hand on my chest, stopping me. “Condom.”
I pouted. “Why? I didn’t wear one last night. I swear I’m clean. I get checked all the time.”
She wrinkled her nose. “Is that supposed to make or break your case, rock star?”
“Good point.” I met her eyes. “I would never hurt you, Payton.” She bit her bottom lip. “Ever.” I hoped I wasn’t lying to her. I prayed that I never hurt this girl. I prayed that I would get my shit together and figure out how to live this new life. To be the man that she and Katie deserved. My dad and M Kat thought I could do it, maybe they knew something I didn’t.
She wrapped her legs tighter around my waist and guided me inside her. I tensed all my muscles and bit down on my cheek. She felt so good I felt like I could come in a matter of seconds.
“Mason…please…”
I smiled at the want in her voice and started to pump in and out of her tight pussy. I could live inside this girl. I could eat, sleep, and breathe nothing but Payton. “So fucking perfect, baby.”
She let her head fall back and I wrapped my hand around the base of her throat. My grip only tightening when she moaned and bit her plump pink lip. “Don’t stop.” I ran my nose against the shell of her ear. My quiet growl caused goose bumps to cover her skin. She was close to the edge. I could tell by the way she was clawing at my back, her legs tightening around my waist.
“Let go, baby.”
Her head hit the cabinet behind her as she screamed out my name. I followed right after her, the sound of her orgasm like fucking music to my ears.
***
After sex, and then breakfast, we decided to take Katie on a walk. Payton wore this sling thing and we took her around the property. I showed them the barns, the horses, the cows. We even had chickens. Thank goodness M Kat hadn’t made us get rid of the ranch workers.
I got an ache in my chest every time I thought about my dad and M Kat. I wasn’t sure that it would ever go away. But walking in the sunlight with my two favorite girls, things didn’t seem to hurt as fiercely.
“Will you stay the night again tonight? What time do you have to be back at the hospital tomorrow?” We were holding hands, headed back to the house for lunch. I didn’t want her to leave, ever. Things just seemed better when she was around.
“Uh, yeah. I can stay tonight, but then I probably won’t be back for a few days. I work three shifts in a row.” She ran her hand over Katie’s tiny little back, like she was sad at the thought of being away from her.
***
“Mace? Are you awake?”
I opened my eyes with a giant grin on my face. Payton was wearing my T-shirt, nothing else, and holding Katie on her shoulder. They were two of the prettiest girls I had ever seen. And they were both here with me.
“Yeah, baby.” We were taking turns with Katie and I knew it was Payton’s. But if she wanted me up with them, then I was more than happy to oblige.
“I think there is someone outside.” I noticed for the first time that her voice sounded a little shaky.
“What?” I sat up, rubbing my eyes. “Like one of the security guys?” We had security at the gates, and then some that did rounds on the ranch. Ever since my parents’ deaths, the reporters were ruthless. They all wanted a shot of the baby, of me. They wanted to get pictures of the ranch. They wanted it all.
“No, Mace, I swear I saw a man with a camera outside of Katie’s room.”
“Keep her in here, okay?” I threw the covers off, and ran out of the room, grabbing my cell phone on the way. I went straight into the nursery, but when I check the yard out the window, no one was there. I called the head of our security outside. “I need someone up at the house, right fucking now.”
I walked around the house, checking windows and doors. Making sure there was no one there, making sure that everything was locked and secure. Were we going to have to keep all the damn curtains closed now? Was Katie going to have to live in a cave?
I opened the door two seconds after the knock. Yelling instantly, “You want to tell me why there was a reporter outside the nursery? Why the hell do I pay you? There is supposed to be someone making rounds constantly.”
The built man in the suit nodded. “We have searched the whole yard, the front of the property. We sent up drones. We didn’t see anyone, sir.”
“If Payton says she saw someone, she saw someone.” I pointed in his face.
“Yes, sir. All I’m saying is I have no idea how he slipped on the premises, or how he got off without being seen.” He met my eyes. “You tell me what you want me to do, sir. What do you need me to do make you feel like your family is safe?”
I swallowed the lump in my throat. My family? Is that what they were? I mean, yeah, Katie was my sister. But Payton? Did they see her as an extension of me? Did they think she was mine? Was she? I pushed all that aside for now. “I want you to fire everyone who was on-site tonight. And then I want new men here by the morning.”
“Mason, I—”
“I don’t trust anyone that was here. You said no one saw him? Maybe it was an inside job? Maybe someone wanted to make a little money on the side? Get them off the property and replace them with better people.”
He clenched his jaw. “Yes, sir.” Before he walked out the front door he turned toward me. “I promise you, we won’t let anything happen to your girl or your baby.”
My girl. My baby.
Had this become my life?
Chapter Twenty-one
Mason
Four weeks old
“Mason, hey, it’s Harlow Matthews.”
I had Katie in the crook of my arm and a diaper rag over my shoulder. My cell was on speaker so I could make a bottle for the fussy infant. “Hey, Harlow, how’s it going?” A personal phone call from the head of my record label, I already knew what this was going to be about.
“I called to talk to you about your tour.” She paused for a second, then continued. “I know that you’ve been through a lot over the last few weeks, and I hate to ask you this, but when do you think you’ll be ready to get back out on the road?”
There it was. I knew this was coming. I knew that RiffRaff couldn’t afford to foot my bill without my help for long. They may be one of the largest, most successful labels in the country, but even they had their limits.
“Uh—”
“I’m so sorry, Mason, I really am. I wish I didn’t have to ask this of you. But we put out so much money to promote your newest album and we were really counting on that tour money to offset the cost. You have a crew of people who are now officially not getting paid and—”
“Harlow.” I cut off her odd rambling. “It’s okay, I understand. I knew that I’d at least need to reschedule and finish out the tour, if nothing else.” I put the bottle in Katie’s mouth and smiled when her little hand gripped my finger.
“Really? You don’t hate me for being an asshole? We wanted to wait until you were ready, until you contacted us…but we just can’t. We worked it all out though. You don’t need to reschedule every date. We just kind of picked a few of the big ones. You’ll only need to be gone for six weeks to recoup the cost.”
This was why RiffRaff was the best. They cared about their artists. They knew them. Everyone at RiffRaff had made it a point to check on me, to keep in touch. They wanted thin
gs run with brains as well as heart. “Let me figure out what to do with Katie. I can’t take her on tour. She’s just too little. Once I have things settled, I’ll get back to you, okay? Just give me a few days.”
“Okay. Talk soon.”
I hung up and then went and sat on the couch with my baby sister. I felt so torn. Part of me couldn’t wait to go, to start performing again. And the part of me that wanted to head back on the road made me feel guilty as shit. Was this what Lexi had been talking about? The need to create my art, and the guilt of leaving my girls behind?
My girls.
Was that what they had become?
Payton was at the ranch every chance she got, spending her nights under me in my bed. I dreaded every time she had to leave, and I hated not waking up next to her. Last night when I thought they were in danger, when I thought someone had breached our walls? I was panicked. And then when the security guy called them mine, my family? I’d panicked even more.
And Katie? Was it okay for me to leave her? Who would watch her? I didn’t trust anyone other than Payton. But was that even fair of me to ask that of her? It would mean turning her life upside down even more than she had for us already.
Chapter Twenty-two
Payton
I loved being at the ranch with Mason and Katie. I loved it. Mason was getting better, slowly, every day. He’d laugh more. Joke a little. He was becoming himself again, finding his footing in his new life. Everything I’d been worried about seemed like a nonissue at this point. He was perfect. And Katie was the best baby. It was hard to imagine my life before she came along.
I walked through the front door after a long twelve-hour shift at the hospital, immediately peeled off my scrub top and tossed it to the ground. I pumped some hand sanitizer into my palms before basically jogging across the room to where Katie rested against Mason’s chest.
“Hey, gorgeous, how was work?”
