I don’t know when he got under my skin, but he was there, and now my heart was cracking in my chest.
How do I explain to Belle that I can’t keep my demons at bay any longer? Everything that had happened over the last few years was coming to a head, and she had been thrown right into the middle of all of it. There was nothing I could do to make it right; nothing I could do to stop what was inevitable.
This could only end one way, and it was going to hurt us both. But I could at least try to make the rest of Beauty’s life easier for her. Maybe I could even take out her demons with my own.
It didn’t matter if she hated me. In fact, that may make all of this easier. If I could get her far away from here, do what I do best one last time, it would all be worth it. But after having one of my girls end up in a gutter, I had to make sure that this plan was executed flawlessly.
I wasn't lying when I said she wouldn’t be here long, but what she didn’t understand is that I didn’t want her to go. I didn’t have a choice. I had to make sure she was safe – from my brother, from the shady business I’d been running out of my club, and from me.
“You’re really doing this?” Devin asked, his eyes dancing over the packet of paperwork that Dalton had drawn up for me.
“I don’t have a choice,” I grumbled, running my hand against my beard.
“I’ve seen you like this before, Mason. It didn’t work out so well for you last time.”
“She’s not Rose,” I snapped, slamming my fist against the top of the desk.
“No, she’s not.”
“She’s got a past she is running from.”
“And she’s not safe with you?”
“I may not always be here to protect her.”
“What is that supposed to mean, Mason?”
“It means, whatever happens, you make sure this paperwork gets in the right hands.”
“You’ve spent your entire life trying to make up for the sins of your parents, and now you’re just going to walk away from it all?”
“It’s the only way I can protect everyone.”
NINETEEN
I TRUDGED UP TO MY room and gathered my few belongings in my bag as I cursed to myself. I tossed the yellow bikini on the bed as I dialed Cadence’s number. It rang three times before she answered.
“I need a place to stay.”
“Something wrong with the hotel?” she asked, and I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath.
“I haven’t been to the hotel. It’s a long story.”
“What do you mean you haven’t been to the hotel? Have you met someone?”
“No.” I shook my head even though she couldn’t see me. “No one.”
“Well, look, I want to help you, but things around here are just crazy. Roland’s mom is sleeping in the spare room, and his cousin Becca is on the couch.”
“Yeah, no. I understand. I’ll figure something out.” I stared off at the stupid bikini that gave me the confidence I’d lacked for years. But I knew it wasn’t that swimsuit; it was him.
“Actually, don’t worry about me.” Not like she had been. “I have an idea.” I hung up the phone and grabbed the suit. I was going to prove to Mason once and for all that I wasn’t the shy little girl he thought I was.
Hurrying down to his car, I threw my bag in the back and drove my way to the club.
I slipped into the dressing room and changed into the swimsuit. Tay was looking at me with a smirk on her face before she shook her head.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“It’s not nothing,” I groaned as I tightened the strings on my top.
“I just never thought you were the type.”
“What type is that? The kind that needs money?”
“Just remember that confidence is key. If you act like you’re scared, it will put off the customers. The crowd is rowdy tonight, so don’t get too close to the edge of the stage.”
I nodded, but I already felt like I was breathing too fast.
“Hey, it will be fine. It’s a lot of newbies out there, so don’t panic. You’re beautiful,” she assured me as she pulled my hair over my shoulder. “How are you on the pole?”
“I took an exercise class once when I was still in college. I only fell once.” I winced.
“You can go up next,” she said with a smile. I nodded as I walked toward the back entrance to the stage, stopping before I was able to be seen. The song of the girl before me was just ending, and the crowd was going nuts.
“Hey, Tay? We should hang out sometime.”
Her smile widened, and she nodded. “I’d like that.”
I swallowed back my fear as I stepped out onto the stage. That’s when I saw Mason, but he was engrossed in a conversation with someone. The crowd cheered, and I looked to Lucian, who was shaking his head as he put on my song. I wished I had actually planned this out better so I could at least choose my own music, but as the first few notes began to play, I knew it would be perfect.
No Angel by Beyonce came through the speakers, and I gripped my hand on the pole. Lucian’s voice boomed over the speakers introducing me as the “Beauty who is looking for her Beast from the East.” That’s when Mason looked up at the stage, and if looks could kill, my heart would have flatlined. I walked around the pole, doing my best not to stumble in my heels, but as I made my way back to face the crowd, Mason was standing directly in front of me below the stage. I tried not to look like it bothered me that he was front and center, but I couldn’t help but feel like I was in over my head.
“What the hell are you doing?” he snapped.
“What does it look like?” I asked as I slid my back down the pole, my knees spread. His eyes drifted over my body before snapping back to my face.
“You made your point. Get off the damn stage.”
I rolled my eyes as I pushed myself back up, flipping my hair as I pressed my chest out. “Can’t. I need the money.”
“I’ll give you money. Get off the fucking stage.” He bit out each word. That’s when the man next to him who’d clearly been overserved decided to chime in.
“At least wait until she gets her tits out,” he slurred.
Mason gripped his shirt, hauling him from his chair before throwing him down on his back. The crowd gasped, and I stilled, my eyes wide.
“Get this prick out of my club before I kill him,” He called out angrily to someone in the crowd before extending his hand to me and lowering his voice, but it was no less menacing. “Get off the fucking stage now, or I will come up and remove you.”
I hesitated for a second before sliding my fingers in his and letting him help me off the giant platform. I felt tears begin to form as the people looked at me in astonishment.
“Short and sweet. Next up, we have Tasty. I bet you are, sweetheart,” Lucian announced as I was being dragged by my hand to the backroom Mason had taken me to the first night I met him. He dug through a small set of drawers and pulled out one of his large shirts, throwing it at me.
“Put that on.”
“No.”
“For once, do as your told.” He glared at me, his hands balled into fists at his sides. If I didn’t know him better, I would have been afraid. I took a step toward him and threw the shirt at his chest.
“No.” I glared up at him.
He laughed, rubbing his palm against his jaw as he shook his head. “I get it, okay? You wanted to show me you weren’t scared and naïve or whatever. You proved your point.”
“I needed the money, Mason. I have nowhere to go.”
“You live with me,” he snapped back his face inching closer to mine.
“No. You said it yourself. I won’t be there for long. I need to find somewhere else to go.”
“First of all, that wasn’t meant for you. I was saying that to Dalton for a reason.”
“What reason is that?”
“None of your damn business.”
My mouth snapped shut before popping open again. “And second of all?”
My eyebrow rose as I folded my arms across my chest.
“Second of all, I don’t want you to leave.”
“This is stupid.” I threw my hands in the air.
“How much?”
“How much what?”
“How much to get you to stay.”
I scoffed. “You want to pay me to stay? What the hell do you think I am?”
“A stubborn little brat,” he shot back.
“And you’re an asshole!”
“I know. How much?”
“Nothing. I don’t want anything from you.”
“We both know that’s not true.” His voice lowered, and I could tell he was struggling to keep his anger under control. “How much are your student loans?”
I rolled my eyes. “Fourteen grand.”
“I’ll give you forty for one week.”
“What?” I took a step back from him, not sure I’d heard him correctly. “Why?”
“Because I don’t want you to leave, and if you do, I don’t want you going back to Bloomington.”
“I’m a person, Mason. You can’t buy me.”
“Everyone has a price, Beauty.”
TWENTY
I TURNED TO WALK OUT of the room when he called from behind me, “The house.”
I stopped, turning around to face him. “What did you say?”
“I’ll give you the house.”
I searched his eyes for any hint of humor, but he was serious. “Why would you do that?” I asked, taking a small step back toward him. “That’s all you have left from your family.”
“I don’t give a damn about some building. I care about you.”
I was stunned into silence. I’d never heard Mason act like he remotely cared about another human being. I was pretty certain he wasn’t even capable of those emotions.
“You said it yourself, Mason. You don’t want what I want.”
“One week to... try. That’s all I’m asking.”
I didn’t want his house, but I wasn’t ready to walk away, not after he admitted that he cared about me. “What is it you want?” I asked, shaking my head in disbelief that I was even considering his offer. “Nothing in life is free.”
His eyes narrowed. “You. I want all of you.” His eyes dragged down my body. “I want everything.”
“I don’t know how to give you that,” I replied honestly, shaking my head. I’d always kept parts of myself closed off from others. It was easier that way, and I never really had to worry about getting hurt.
“I’ll teach you how, Beauty.”
“And if I change my mind?” I asked, chewing on my lower lip. I knew what it felt like to not be in control, and it wasn’t a good thing.
“Then you walk away,” he said quietly.
There were worse things than someone as sexy as Mason Locke asking you to stay with him. And it wasn’t like I had many other options. But it was more than that. I was curious. I wanted to know him better, to become what he needed. “One week. But you need to be nicer,” I warned.
He smirked as he bent down and picked up the t-shirt. “I’ll try.” He held it out to me, and I took it, pulling it over my head.
“And I’ll try to... be whatever it is you need me to be.”
“I’m not asking you to change who you are. Just try things my way. Follow my rules. You may like it.” His eyebrow rose suggestively.
“What now?” I asked.
“You finish that dance... just for me.”
I felt my cheeks heat, and I looked at the ground between us. “I don’t really know what I was doing.”
“You’re not getting off that easy. You were ready to strip in front of a room full of strangers. You can do it for me.”
“Last time I remember, you didn’t let me get off at all,” I shot back, and he laughed, his palm sliding against my cheek and I leaned into the touch of his rough palm against my soft skin. His thumb rubbed gently over my cheekbone as he leaned closer.
“I remember you begging me to do whatever I wanted to you.”
I sucked in a breath between my teeth, my skin growing hot as I thought of the things I said. I was willing to do just about anything to keep him from stopping.
“Don’t worry, Beauty. We’ll finish what we started.”
There was a knock, and I glanced behind me to see Tay with my things in her hands. “Thought you might want your stuff.” She smiled as she held out my belongings.
“Thanks.”
She nodded before disappearing back down the hall.
“Go home. I have a few more things to do, and I’ll meet you there.”
“Okay.” I turned to leave as he grabbed my arm and spun me back around to him. His mouth crashed into mine, and my body melted against him. His tongue ran out over the seam of my lips, and I let them part, granting him access. He groaned as our kiss deepened, and I was glad his arms were around me because it felt like my knees were going to buckle.
When he pulled back, his eyes narrowed, and it caused me to shiver. “I’ll be home soon, Beauty. Be ready for me.”
All I could do was nod as his hand reached down and squeezed my ass, and he let me go.
I just couldn’t help myself. Even when I knew what the right thing to do was, I still managed to fuck it up because I couldn’t push her away. Even knowing that everything was going to be coming to a head soon, all I could focus on was her.
I was selfish. But when I saw her in that bikini up on that stage, it took every ounce of self-control not to murder every motherfucker in that club who'd gotten to lay eyes on her.
The house was hers, the club, my heart. Everything. She could take it all. I didn’t want any of it. Just her.
If I could help her; make all of this right for her, maybe I’d finally be able to undo the curse that attached itself to me since my birth. My life was destined to be turmoil and pain. But Belle didn’t need to suffer along with me. She could escape the horrid man who tormented her and the obsessed ex who thought she still belonged to him.
I could put an end to all of it if I told her that Roland had sold her away as collateral; handed her over to me because he couldn’t make good on his debts. But I wasn’t the one Beauty had to worry about. I’d never hurt her. Not physically, at least. And soon he would expose himself, the minute he got his hands on Cadence’s inheritance; he would abandon her too. He didn’t care about anyone but himself. He was a lot like my brother in that respect.
But the look in her eyes when she finally finds out I wasn’t the good samaritan – the hero of her story – that look is going to destroy me, irrevocably. It was inevitable. Now, all I could do is make things right for her before she pushes me away and out of her life altogether.
Still, I was going to make every moment – every second – count with her.
TWENTY-ONE
MY NERVES WERE SHOT, and I spent the rest of the evening cleaning the house before running through the shower. I was nervous to see Mason again. Everything felt different now, and I was finally going to get some insight into what it was he wanted.
I went through a mental checklist of all the dirty things he might like, not sure what I’d be willing to do. But him giving me all this time to dwell on it had given him the upper hand. I needed to even the score, and I had an idea.
I got out of the shower and ran a brush through my hair before putting on some mascara. It was late, and I didn’t want to end up falling asleep with a full face of makeup, but I wanted to look good for him.
When I heard the front door, I gathered all of the bravery I could muster, and I headed for the stairs. His eyes caught mine before dragging down my naked body. He’d once told me I could walk around naked, and he wouldn’t really notice, so I was eager to put him to the test. I slowly descended the steps as he tugged his white t-shirt over his head. His eyes narrowed. Now it was my turn to ogle, and I took in the ripples of his muscles and the hard lines from his tattoos across his chest.
As I reached the bottom, I froze just a few steps fro
m him, and he smiled at my hesitation. “I think you should greet me like this every day when I come home.”
“Is that one of your rules?”
He closed the gap between us, his large palms running up my hips to the sides of my waist.
“What happens if I break them?” I asked, not bothering to wait for his response.
“Then, I get to punish you, Beauty.” He lifted me in the air, and I squealed as my legs wrapped around his body, our lips crashing together like he’d been dying for this moment as much as I had been.
His hand slid lower, cupping my ass as he pulled me tighter against him, groaning as I rocked against the bulge in his jeans.
“Does this mean we can finally –”
His lips quirked up in a smile against mine before he pulled back slightly. “You want to fuck me, Beauty?”
My stomach clenched, waves of electricity seemed to pulse through my belly. I nodded as his other hand brushed my hair back from my face.
“Not yet.” He lowered me to the ground, so I was standing in front of him. His fingers slid into my hair, gripping it in his fist as he slowly tilted my head up to look at him. “I haven't stopped thinking about having your pretty little mouth wrapped around my cock since that night I caught you watching me.”
“I wasn’t –”
The side of his mouth raised in a lopsided grin. “Don’t lie to me, Beauty.” His free hand came up, and he rubbed the pad of his thumb over my lower lip.
I lowered my gaze, and his fingers flexed in my hair, causing my eyes to snap back to his. “I was watching you,” I whispered, embarrassed.
“Why?” He asked.
“I was curious.” I shrugged.
“You want to know what my cock tastes like, Beauty? All you have to do is ask.” His eyebrow arched, and I swallowed against the lump in my throat.
“Can I?”
He smiled, shaking his head, amused that I was having so much trouble saying the dirty words he wanted.
“Can you what?”
“Can I... suck your cock?”
Breaking Beauty (Twisted Tales, #1) Page 12
