Mason (7 page)

“You mean eat me.” Mason nodded and rubbed
his head on her hand, and let his cat take him. He wasn’t going to scare her,
but his cat really wanted his part of their mate. “What do I do? And I’m
serious about the sex part. I’m not going to do it.”

Spread your legs just enough for him to get
your scent.
She moved back, not running but moving away from them. Before he could tell her
not to run, she leaned against a tree and opened her legs. His cat moved toward
her like he was stalking prey, and he had to caution him not to hurt her.

His cat was very aggressive, like all cats,
but his was leader and his mate was denying him all she was. When he buried his
nose between Emma’s legs, Mason told him again to be careful. He shouldn’t have
worried. The moment his tongue touched her, Emma came, screaming, and curled
her fingers into his fur.

“Again. Give me…I want more.” His cat fucked
her with his tongue, moving in and out of her sheath much like Mason had with
his cock. She came twice more, her body dewy with her excursions.

When she begged him to stop, Mason watched
her when the cat pulled back. She was hanging onto the branch above her and her
body was lax with her release. But when his cat lunged forward again, Mason
didn’t have time to warn her of what he was going to do when he bit her. Emma
screamed, this time in pain, and he felt his heart break.

It was over quickly. As soon as his cat let
him go, Mason stood up and pulled her into his arms. The bite was deep, he knew
that, and more than likely very painful. But when she cupped his cock in her
hand, Mason looked down at her and asked her what she was doing.

“I want you to fuck me.” Mason only stared at
her and when she spoke again, his cock seemed to have a mind of its own and
hardened incredibly more. “You owe me after that. And to feel you deep inside
of me makes me as wet as you are hard. Please, Mason, just fuck me like you
want to.”

He turned her around and bent her at the
waist. Entering her hard, he fucked her this way as she held onto the lower
branch for support. Leaning over her, he told her what he was going to do and
bit her again. Tearing into her skin would leave a scar, but he wanted the
world to know that she was his. Sliding his fingers over her clit while he took
her, he told her to come, to let go, and when she did, he filled her again and
again, knowing that for as long as he lived, she was his.

Holding her upright when she told him she was
hurting, Mason didn’t speak. There was so much going on in his head right now,
he wasn’t even sure where to start. But when she pulled away, Mason looked at
her body and realized just how rough he’d been on her. It was hard not to smile
at how well she’d taken him on.

As he dressed, he watched her. She’d not said
a word in the last ten minutes, and he was afraid that he’d hurt her. Not
physically, no. Those wounds, the ones from his cat and himself, were healed up
and she didn’t seem to favor them, but something was wrong.

“I live in the city.” Mason nodded, not sure
what that had to do with anything. “I know you’re a rancher. I’m not quitting
my job just because you think you own me.”

“I’m not sure how it is you think I own you,
but why would I want you to quit your job?” Her shrug wasn’t very informing. “Emma,
look at me.”

Her shirt came down over her body, and he
watched her pull her shoes on. She’d not answered him or looked at him, and
Mason felt his temper slide up. When she stood up and started for the house, he
stopped her by jerking her around. Her fist connected with his mouth even as he
started to talk.

“What the fuck are you doing?” She only
stared at him until he wiped the blood away. “Are you always this violent when
you’re pissy?”

“I’m not pissy.” He cocked a brow at her. “Okay,
I’m a little pissy. But you grabbed me. I’m able to defend myself when I’m
threatened.”

“Do you feel threatened?” When she didn’t
answer him, Mason stepped closer to her and was glad that she didn’t move away.
“Do I threaten you? In any way?”

“No.” She looked frustrated and he waited.
There was something she wanted to say, and he knew that she had to tell him. “My
brother. He’s…he’s hit me before. Recently. I took some defense classes so I’d…when
those men attacked me, I thought that Dirk had sent them to rough me up because
I wouldn’t give him what he wanted.”

“And what was that?” She didn’t look at him
and when she finally did, he could see her fear. It was tangible and strong. He
pulled her into his arms and held her while asking her again what he’d wanted.

“He wanted me to tell him what Dad and Mom’s will
said. Dirk wanted to be sure that I wasn’t getting more than him or, for that
matter, I was getting a great deal less than him. I never told him, but he told
me that he was the son and thought it best that he had all the ranch and money
since I was working. I think…he said he had plans and a buyer already lined up.
I doubt that is true. Dad said that he’d asked Dirk if he wanted a share of the
ranch like I have, and he told him that he’d just wait until Dad died and have
it all. I can’t believe that he’d say that to him.” Mason held her, trying to
think what the fuck was wrong with the younger man. He had some serious
god-like feelings going on there. “Mason, my dad changed his will about a month
ago. Dirk is going to get an allowance and nothing more. Not any of the ranch,
and none of the money that Dad has made over the years. He’s getting three
grand a month until he’s thirty-nine. Then nothing. I’m afraid he’s going to
hurt me…really, I’m afraid he’ll kill me when he finds out. Mom and Dad too.”

“I’m going to tell you something. Please just
listen to me before you get angry, okay?” She nodded. “Your dad has made a deal
with me. I’m going to take over the running of the ranch a little at a time
until you and I decide to get married. If you’ll marry me, then we’ll both have
it. I’m not asking you to marry me because…well, I don’t want you to think that’s
the only reason I want to do it.”

“I’m not ready to get married. I might not
ever be.” He nodded, and he could feel she was scared about them. He was too if
he was honest about it. “Mason, we don’t love each other. I’m not even sure…we
might hate each other when we’re not having sex. That alone can’t make a life
together.”

“I know that. It’s why I wanted to talk to
you today. Before…before the shower, I wanted you to come to me so that I could
tell you everything your dad wants. But I got sidetracked, and you are just too
sexy to resist.” She snorted and he laughed. “You can distract me whenever you
want like that, but we really need to sit down and talk to your dad and mom. It’s
getting bad out there with Dirk, and we have to have a plan. That way you can
tell them how you feel.”

“You want to marry me?” He nodded, but told
her that he didn’t love her, not yet anyway. “I want a love life like my
parents have. They love each other and respect one another’s feelings too. I
don’t think we’re there yet.”

“You’re right, we’re not. But I want you to
keep an open mind on the fact that my kind, all shifters, fall in love only
once. And you are my mate. I will care for you, keep you safe, but I’m not
going to rule you.” He crossed his arms over her back, holding her tightly to
him. “I might know more than you on a few things, like protecting you against
men like your brother, but you know a great deal more about nearly anything
else that I don’t. I will never treat you as any less than my one and only.”

She didn’t say anything for several minutes,
but he could feel her relaxing against him. When she looked up, pulling
slightly away, he looked down into her eyes and smiled at her. Mason had never
been in love before, and despite what he’d just said to her, he was pretty sure
that he was as close to falling over the edge as anyone could ever be. And he
wasn’t the least bit upset about it.

“He’s going to hurt one or all of us, isn’t
he?” Mason nodded. He wasn’t going to lie to her. And he never wanted to keep
things from her. He knew that it could get one or both of them hurt. “And when
he does, you’re going to kill him.”

“I will.” She only stared at him before
pulling away. Mason wasn’t sure what she was going to do or even say about it,
but when she turned back to him, he could see that she’d come to a decision.

“I wrote him off as never changing years ago.
I don’t think…not until recently have Mom and Dad, especially Dad, understood
just how bad he has gotten. There are things…some things that I did for him
that I’m not proud of. More than…I’ll get you the file as soon as I get back to
my house. But if you have to…if you have to take him out, I never want to know
how. Just…just know that while he’s the worst person I know, he’s also my
brother.” He told her he understood. “Will you tell the rest of them as well?
Your brothers?”

He told her he would and watched her walk
back to the house after she told him she didn’t want to know what they did
either. Mason had things to finish here and when she was out of sight, he
reached for his brother to keep an eye on her. When Jace said that he would,
Mason closed the connection and got back to work. It was going to be a long
day.

Chapter 7

Emma was just sitting there staring into
space. Holly had tried twice now to get her attention but nothing was working.
When Georgie came into the room, she told her what was going on with the other
woman.

“Maybe she’s mad at Mason. He’s been acting
really weird lately too. I heard him whistling yesterday morning.” Holly had
heard that too. It was as if he’d been turned into a pod person and this guy
was always in a good mood. “I even tried to tell him we were having liver and
onions for dinner, and all he did was smile and kiss me on the forehead. Perhaps
they have some sort of bug.”

“We’re not sick.” Holly grinned and looked at
Emma when she finally spoke. “And for the record, I love liver and onions. But
we’re not sick. He told me…I guess if I didn’t want to know, then I shouldn’t
have asked.”

“Asked what?” They were in her house and
Holly got up to get them all some cookies and tea. When they were younger, Emma
would only eat chocolate chips, and Holly wondered if she’d broadened her taste
buds since then. Holly was feeling much better. Whatever was in that brew that
she’d been given to make her feel better, she was going to get the ingredients
so she could have it around. “You want hot or cold tea?”

“Cold; and I asked him about my brother. He
told me that if he hurt any of us, he’d kill him. Well, I asked him if he would
and he said he would. I guessed really. I asked him and he answered me, so—”

“Emma.” Her mouth snapped closed when she
looked at Georgie. That was something else, Emma never babbled, but she was
doing that a lot lately too. Georgie smiled at her and continued. “Now, take a
deep breath and tell us what you’re talking about. We understand that Mason is
going to protect you, but why did you ask if you didn’t want to know?”

“I did want to know. I do now still.” She got
up to pace, and Holly handed her a glass of iced tea. “I get this protection
thing. I looked it up last night about cougars. I guess…you know, there is
nothing on the Internet about them…shifters, I mean? Well, there is a little—lore
they called it—but Christ, you’d think they changed into these monsters and
made these god-awful messes when they did it.”

“Yes, and we would like to keep it that way.”
Georgie asked Emma to have a seat and when she was seated, Georgie handed her
the same book she’d been given when she’d been converted. “Guard this with your
life. It’s everything you might want to know or information you might need
being mated to a shifter. When you’ve read it and get a grip on what is going
on, then give it back please. I have other nephews that might need it.”

Emma stared at the book as she spoke. “He
told me that he wants to protect me, but that I’m smarter than him. And he said
that while he didn’t love me yet, he would fall in love with me much faster
because of what he is.” Emma looked up at them both. “What if he’s wrong about
me? What if…what if he really just wanted sex really badly and I was there and
willing?”

“He is your mate. I’m sure that you’re
overwhelmed at the moment. It’s a lot to take in, along with your brother and
the mess he’s causing. But trust me, honey, he’s your mate and you’re his.” Georgie
patted her hand as she continued. “Now, you’re supposed to tell me what kind of
meals you like to eat and what sort of house you’re thinking of wanting.”

“House?” Holly nodded when she looked at her.
“I guess I never thought about it. I have an apartment in the city, and there’s
this house out on my parent’s property that is mine. It was the first house
that was built here. There was a shack at one time, but it was torn down when
Grandmother built this house. Dad gave it to me when I went to college. Would
you like to go out and see it?”

They were loading in the car a few minutes
later. Holly listened to Emma as she told them that when she’d been sixteen her
grandmother had passed away, and that the house had been handed down to Emma when
her mother passed. Emma and her grandma had been very close.

“It nearly killed me when she died. But she
was doing things she loved and that’s what made her passing better. Can you
imagine an eighty-year-old woman learning to ski? She got a cold, and then
pneumonia. It was quick, I guess, but I miss her more every day.” The car
slowed to turn onto a drive that was lined with trees on both sides. “Dad has
someone come out and clean it every week. I have no idea why. I think he’s
hoping that I’ll move in and drive to work every day. I suppose I could…it’s only
about a forty-minute drive.”

Holly’s breath caught when she saw the house.
It was, in a word, gorgeous. And it looked like something from the old southern
movie about Georgia and the winning of the war. She could just see Rhett
standing on the front porch waiting on his one true love. When she got out, she
stared at the house like Georgie did…with her mouth hanging open.

The six tall pillars were a bright white. There
were at least a dozen equally white rockers on the big porch, and the veranda
on the second level had them as well, with a long roof that hung down over the
steps leading up to the front door. The double front door made of what looked
like oak was brilliant in the sunlight, with all the cut glass sparkling out
over the porch and lawn. The brick was all dark, and the shutters that
surrounded the windows were as white as the pillars as well.

Chimneys graced each end of the house, and
there was a third one in the very back that stood as proudly as the trees up
the drive. The windows, four on the bottom level and four on the top, were
floor-to-ceiling, and Holly would bet that the entire house had windows like
them all the way around it. When they went up the front steps, a younger man
came out to greet them.

“Miss Emma, we didn’t expect you today. Mr.
McBride had us come out and have the house given a good overhaul. He thought
you’d be bringing out your future husband soon.” The man bowed to them both,
and Holly had an uncontrollable urge to curtsy. The man just screamed old
south. “I have some tea if you’d like. I can have you set up in the parlor. We’re
doing some work on the master suite. There was a problem with the roof, and we’ll
be working on it all week. If you want to go there, just let me know.” Emma
nodded as she led them into the house.

“Can you have some lunch made for us too? I’m
going to show them around. Oh, and this is my future husband’s Aunt Georgie,
and his sister-in-law Holly Douglas. Guys, this is Randy Byrd. Randy and his
family have been working this house since my great-great grandmother had it
built back when big houses were the thing to do.” He took their purses and told
Emma that lunch would be ready when they were. He seemed to just blend into the
house as he disappeared.

They started on the lower level. There was a
dining room that would serve fifty people easily, and enough plates and things
in the sideboard and cupboards to feed that many more. Silver had been laid out
and someone was polishing it. Holly looked at the large D in the middle of the
handle and laughed.

“I never even thought of that. My great
grandmother had this with her first husband, who sadly died when she was very
young. Her name then was Detroit. Believe it or not, his first name was Johnny.
Grandmother used to tell me stories about him that would curl your hair, as she
used to say.” Emma picked up a framed picture that was lying on the table as
well to be polished. “This is them. He was a handsome devil.”

When she put the picture back, they moved to
the next room. It was the parlor, where a large tea trolley was just being
rolled in with a three-tier dessert tray, as well as a silver tea pot and the
smallest tea cups she’d ever seen. Holly was used to elegant, but this was
beyond what she’d ever been exposed to.

After having several cookies as well as the
best tea she’d ever had, Emma led them around to the rest of the lower level.
There was a man’s study that held the desk of her great-great grandfather, a
library that had more books on the four levels than Holly would bet most
library’s had, as well as a small sitting room and a music room that held not
only a baby grand piano, but a harp and a set of drums.

“My grandmother tried everything. At one time
there was not just the drums, but a steel guitar and a bass. She was very much
the adventurous type.” Georgie said that Emma must take after her a great deal,
and she only waved her off. Holly thought the two women were a lot alike, and
had really liked the woman when she and Emma would have tea with her at the
family house.

It took them four hours to go over the house,
it was that big. The bedrooms on the upper levels had been renovated recently,
and Emma was telling them that there were at one time eight rooms up here, and
now there were only four.

“They were the smallest rooms you’d ever want
to use. I know that they were for guests, and Grandmother used to say that they
were made uncomfortable so that no one wanted to overstay their welcome. Dad
and I discussed it awhile back and had them enlarged and bathrooms put in each
one. At one time, when the house was built, there wasn’t a bathroom on this
floor at all, but a privy out back. Grandmother had a modern bath put in on
each floor when she lived here, as well as a powder room off the living room.” Georgie
asked her where the master bedroom was. “It’s on the first level off the living
room and down a great long hall. It’s a huge room that has a master bed,
something bigger than a king in it, a sitting room, as well as a ladies bath
and a master bathroom. I have no idea why. There are closets too, one for each
of the people who use it. But you can see it from here.”

The view was beautiful out the back of the
house, where she showed them the room under construction. There were several
large tarps that were covering the roof, but even from here, Holly could see
that the room was massive.

A large pool sat between the two wings that
looked to be as big as the front of the house. They had been added after the
house was built, Emma told them. On the opposite side and to the left of the
large office for the man of the house was a room that looked like it was twice
that of the big bedrooms they were in now. All in all, this was a house made
for someone with a great deal of money and no thought to how much it would cost
to heat or cool it. And what Holly had compared to what Emma had was a world of
difference, she thought.

~~~

Landon moved through the store like a man on
a mission. Just what the mission was, he had no idea. His investor had told him
this was where he needed to sink some money, and by God, the man had been right
for years, and he wasn’t going to turn him away now. When Holly entered the
store a few minutes later, he greeted her with a huge hug, completely
forgetting that she was mated.

“I’m sure he’s going to be mad at me. Jace is
a good boy, but he’s a mite possessive.” Holly laughed and told him it would be
fine. “You shop here too? Anthony sent me here as an investor. I’m not even
sure what it is I’m looking for.”

“I’m helping her out.” He nodded, knowing now
that he’d invest if he had to use his last dime. “She’s mostly doing online selling
finally, and it’s going well I think. The shop is a sort of storage area for
now. I just came by to see what she needed from me, if anything. Her daughter,
Tessa, is really up on this too.”

They were taken to a large room just off the
back of the shop. The place was dingy and needed some much needed renovations
to make the lighting better, as well as some of the stations that had been set
up as a shipping department better flowing. Doris came around her sewing table
and hugged Holly tightly, sobbing about how well the shop was doing.

“Every hour we have to check the orders
coming in. It’s like…I never dreamed it would be this big. I’m working so much
now…I’m just able to keep it all up and running with Tessa’s help.” Holly told
her she was glad to have helped.

“Maybe you should hire a couple more to help
out. There is any number of women out of work, and this would be something that
they’d like, I think.” Landon picked up the doll that looked like it was made
all by hand. “This is beautiful. You make this too?”

“Everything. And what I can’t make, we find
and repurpose.” While she explained what that meant, he looked around. “And I’m
not ready to hire someone just yet. I don’t know how long this will keep up,
and I don’t want to disappoint someone who I hire.”

Landon was hardly paying attention. His mind
was working on all kinds of ways to expand and grow. When she laughed, he
looked over at Holly, knowing that he’d missed something.

“She was telling you about the order she just
got and you zoned out.” He nodded and sat down. “Landon, I don’t think whatever
is going on in your head is going to thrill Doris. She’s afraid enough.”

“The two of you will love it.” He started
talking and the more he spoke, the more excited he got. “There’s a warehouse
that I have down the street. It’s perfect for you. Lots of room. Storage space
out the butt. There is a large open air store on the lower level that is ready
to move into, after a bit of painting and some more shelves. There’s even some
older furniture on the upper levels you can use as display. I have a desk up
there that I had stored so long ago that I can’t even remember why I thought I
needed it.”