“Please, Mason,” I winced and tried to shuffle to a more comfortable position. His shoulder was incredibly hard, which my bruises were not agreeing with. “Just let me go.”
I couldn’t go with him. Not to mention, I didn’twantto go with him. If my dad came home and I wasn’t there…
“My dad won’t–”
“He knows the deal,” Mason grumbled. “He signed the contract.”
That made me gasp. I didn’t even think about the contract. And why would I? That thing was signed when I was like six. Yeah, he was constantly claiming dominion over me, but I thought that was just part of the make me miserable motto.
“Y-you still have the contract?”
“Of course I still have the contract.” His hand landed on my ass, making me squeal. “You didn’t think I’d let you off that easy, did you?”
He rounded the corner and skipped down the stairs. At that point, the only thing I was concerned about was not falling. I closed my eyes and clung onto Mason’s shirt like my life depended on it.
He was tall, and it was a long way down. A marble floor never seemed so daunting. I’d end up with a lot more than bruises if I landed head first on the ground.
When we reached the front door, Mason paused and looked back at me. “Any more arguments, Freckles?”
I opened my mouth but quickly clamped it shut. There wasn’t anything to argue. I knew who Mason was, and what his family was capable of. I knew who they all were. The Order Of Ravens And Wolves wasn’t a rumor like I tried to convince Lana.
They were very real, and had more power than anyone could imagine. The problem was, so did my father, and he was more methodical than anyone knew.
Sean grew up in the same house and he had no idea what was going on. He’d never seen a single mark on me. Did that mean I was a good liar? Maybe? Maybe it just made me unlucky.
Unlike my brother, I knew what our father had planned. I’d seen what he was capable of, and I knew what would happen if I let Mason take me.
Mason stepped outside and carried me across the driveway. I listened to the gravel crunch under his feet. Each step echoing louder and louder through my ears. I couldn’t let this happen. If my father’s secrets got out…
I have to get home before he does.
I beat my fists against Mason’s back and kicked my feet out, while screaming as loud as my lungs would allow. My throat hurt and my body ached but I continued to fight. I had to. I might get lucky and attract Mrs. Benson’s attention.
My tantrum halted when Mason’s palm landed on my ass with a resounding slap that blazed a path of fire across my hips and up my thighs.
“Quiet down or I’ll fuck you right here.”
The insinuation of that caused mortification to burn a trail across my cheeks and down my neck. But Mason would never touch me. He’d made that quite clear numerous times. He wouldn’t do anything like that, would he? My mind flashed back to the way Mason looked at me at prom.
“But you said I-I disgust you?”
“You think that makes you safe?” His shoulder shook with a deep snicker. “Wanna know what I did with your panties?”
Oh God.
I shook my head and tucked my face into his back. My cheeks were on fire now, which wasn’t helped at all by the way he smelled. Mason used to smell like dirt and grass. Not anymore.
Now he had a fresh citrus scent with earthy undertones. So masculine and tempting that it was hard to stop myself from snuggling into the firm muscles flexing in his back. Luckily I didn’t have much time to soak up his scent, because next thing I knew, I was deposited in the passenger seat of his Corvette.
I looked up to the man looming over me and the stern finger he was pointing. “Don’t fucking move.”
The trees lining my house were just over his shoulder. The leafy branches beckoned to me, tempting me to risk it and run back to my house and hide in my room.
“Clearly you’re not hearing me. If you so much as flinch your ass off that seat…” he bent over and leaned in, bringing his face a breath away from mine, “...the last thing you’ll have to worry about is how many bruises I find on your body.”
Alarm caused the hairs on the back of my neck to stand up. What did he mean, how many bruises he found? Was he going to inspect me?
I swallowed back a gulp. “T-there aren’t any more.”
