ROMANCE: Bad Boy Obsession (Stepbrother Biker Taboo Forbidden Romance Thriller Collection) (New Adult Contemporary Romance Stepbrother Short Stories Collection Book 5) (9 page)

Chapter Two

Lily had no idea how she had managed to suppress her nerves but she suspected Mason had something to do with it, a lot to do with it. Right up to the moment where she stood awkwardly with Mason outside the front door to their home she had been fine, now though worry and nerves ran wild inside of her. As she slowly raised her hand to knock on the door, a formality she had never actually had to do before in her own home, she held onto the lingering happiness of her answer, the most important answer she had ever had to give.

The echo of Lily’s knock seemed to go on forever as she stood, slightly shaking, with Mason’s hand in a death grip. Ever the almost uncaringly calm person, at least on the outside, Mason tried to calm Lily’s shaking body with slow swirls on the soft skin of her palm. He knew it was doing little to help but as the door swung open and her body froze against his, he was grateful himself for the contact, however small it may be.

Lily’s dad answered with a skeptical and surprised expression, his eyes darting between his daughter and Mason. His lips finally settled into a frown as looked into the eyes of both, he had been putting off this moment but if one thing was obvious to the three it was that there was no getting out of what was to come. “Come in.” Lily’s dad said slowly, the only thing he could think to say to break up the silence of the strange and highly awkward moment.

Despite having only actually been away from the house for a few hours as Lily walked down the hall behind her dad, it felt like the very first time she had stepped foot in the house. Mason held her hand tightly, squeezing it comfortingly every few seconds until after what felt like hours but was likely only a minute, they reached the kitchen. Mason’s mum was waiting for them, coffee in hand and a smile on her face. Lily had to do a double take as she watched the woman smile at them; she had expected anger at their relationship, but a smile, that was beyond comprehension.

“It looks like we all had the same idea at the same time,” Lily’s dad chuckled nervously.

Lily looked at her dad properly for the first time in a month and she felt both sadness and guilt fill her. “I’m sorry it took so long,” she whispered, diverting her eyes from her dad’s stare, preferring instead to look at the floor, something that couldn’t make her feel any worse.

“So am I,” her dad said sadly. The tension in the room dissolved a little as a more comfortable silence filled the small space.

“So, you’re getting married?” Mason’s mum asked in a casual voice that surprised Lily further. Slowly she brought her eyes to meet the woman who was clearly trying to contain a wider smile.

Mason gently dropped Lily’s hand and with a deep breath he took a step forwards. Everyone in the room eyed him with confusion as for the first time since they had walked in he looked nervous. “No,” he answered his mum but his words were directed instead at Lily’s dad.

Lily’s mouth dropped open; it had been less than an hour since she had said yes. She had seen the happiness in his bright blue eyes yet as she listened to his answer she could barely believe what was happening. Mason turned to Lily with what was supposed to be a comforting smile, it only made Lily wince a little. “What I mean is,” Mason started, turning back to Lily’s dad, “I don’t do many things right but I wanted to this right,” he said and Lily could sense how nervous he was now.

“What do you mean?” Lily’s dad questioned warily, voicing everyone’s concerns.

Mason took a deep breath and only now did Lily notice that he was shaking, it was just a little but sure enough it was happening, something Lily never thought she would see. “Lily has already said yes and I will honor that but I know it would mean the world to her if you could be happy for her, for us. So I wanted I wanted to ask, can I have your permission to marry your daughter? ,” Mason said quickly, his eyes never leaving Lily’s dads.

Silence fell again as everyone stared at Mason, all equally as shocked by what was happening. A single tear ran down Lily’s cheek as she stared open mouthed at the man she loved. Ever since she was a child she had imagined her potential husband asking her father’s permission to marry her, but not in her wildest dreams could she have imagined things to play out as they had. Mason with all his messy brown hair and thick black Celtic tattoos stood before her and she knew that whatever she had dreamt of, the man to fill the shoes of her childhood dreams couldn’t be anyone better.

With baited breath Lily stared at her dad, waiting for the answer that seemed it would never come. She wanted to believe it didn’t matter what he said, but deep down she knew it did. Mason met Lily’s dads eyes, refusing to look away, he had never been so nervous in his life.

Then it came, the second answer Mason needed, the second answer Lily was desperate for. “Yes.”

Chapter Three

Lily collapsed on her bed, a million different emotions were flooding through her body but it was only one she was focused on, relief. She had said yes, her dad had agreed and she was going to get married, it was almost too surreal for her to think about. There was something else playing on her mind though, a thought that she just couldn’t shake, she had something to tell Mason and he really wasn’t going to like. With a loud groan she buried her head into the pillow, to her nothing seemed to be easy with Mason around.

The door to Lily’s room opened slowly and through the crack the hallway light shone in. Lily jumped up from her bed, eying the door warily; she definitely didn’t fancy a ‘special talk’ with her dad. Relief then worry filled her instantly as Mason stuck his head around the door, a smirk on his face. She was happy to see him that much she couldn’t deny, but him being in her room; that was a whole other story.

Lily met Mason’s eyes and he winked at her making her cheeks flush a bright side of red. “Mason, you can’t be in here,” she groaned. She could readily imagine her dad’s face, a wedding may be fine but if he caught Mason in her room there would be hell to pay.

“They’ve gone out to dinner,” Mason chuckled as he took in Lily’s alarmed face.

Lily’s shoulders relaxed instantly and she let out the breath she didn’t know she had been holding in. “I suppose you can come in then,” Lily teased.

Mason smirked at her, his brows rising at her attempt at a teasing voice. Without wasting any time Mason let himself fully into the room and shut the door quickly behind him. In just a few seconds Lily was in his lap and he cradled her softly on the bed. He ran his hands through her soft blonde hair, brushing away the few strands that fell across her face. With Lily’s lips so temptingly close he couldn’t help but to place a soft kiss against them.

Lily kissed him back, harder than he had done her, there was just something about the darkened room and the fact they were on her bed that heated the moment behind the normal passionate kisses. Her hands ran freely through Mason’s hair, forcing him closer to her parted lips. Mason responded quickly, groaning against the soft pressure and capturing Lily’s lips completely. He could feel her cheeks heat up instantly and the image of her blushing cheeks only increased his need for her.

“Mason,” Lily warned without taking her lips off his or untangling her fingers from his messy brown hair.

Mason chuckled and reluctantly pulled away from Lily, he wanted her and he wanted her badly but he needed to wait, he needed her to be his wife first. “It was you’re fault,” he muttered childishly.

Lily stuck her tongue out at Mason but before she could turn away he captured her lips, bringing her into one last lust filled kiss before moving out of temptations way. Just the shortest of Mason’s desire ridden kisses left Lily breathless, the effect he was having on her body was almost becoming beyond controllable. “Now that was your fault,” Lily scolded between deep breaths that she hoped would calm her racing body.

She batted him away from her and moved into the cold that was the other side of the bed. Mason frowned but nodded solemnly, knowing that if they stayed together things would not stay so innocent for long. “There’s something I need to tell you Lily,” Mason said after a moment of silence. He had been holding it in for weeks, hoping he could find the right way to tell her, with all his effort he had come up with nothing better than just coming out and saying it.

Lily paused for a moment, she was already nervous, equally about what he had to say and what she did. “I have something to tell you too,” she whispered.

She stared into his eyes, knowing that to look away now would not only be impossible but also destroy all the courage she had built up. “Is either of us going to like what the other has to say?” Mason laughed humorlessly.

“By the look on your face, I’m going to go with no,” Lily said with a chuckle equally as void of humor.

“Did you break my bike?” Mason asked quickly.

The tension eased just a little as Lily laughed loudly seeing the worry in Mason’s eyes. “I don’t have a death wish,” she gasped between breaths.

The worry partially disappeared from Mason’s bright blue eyes but not completely. “I wouldn’t kill you, but I couldn’t promise there wouldn’t be some serious injury involved,” he laughed lightly.

Together they let out a sigh as the laugher faded away and they were left with the realization that they were going to have to say what they both didn’t want to. “You first,” Lily said quickly before Mason could.

“Thanks,” Mason scoffed.

“Please,” Lily whispered, the word trembling a little with worry.

Mason’s face softened and he nodded, before he could start he stared intently into Lily’s eyes, soaking up as much of the love she gave him before it was gone. “We both know that I won the competition, it was the semi-finals, I want to compete in the final,” he said quickly.

The hurt that flashed across Lily’s eyes was instantaneous and Mason wished that he hadn’t told her, that he had kept it a secret. Fighting back every retort Lily bit her lip and simply nodded, knowing there was going to be no talking him out of it. “You next,” Mason urged, praying this moment of hurt would be over sooner rather than later.

Lily looked at Mason like it was the last time she would ever get chance to and in a way it was, it was going to be one of the last times for a while. “I’m going back to college,” she said equally as quickly as Mason had spoken.

Both watched the other, waiting for the words they had shared to settle. In a matter of minutes they had gone back in time, it was the start of summer all over again and both were terrified of what that meant.

Chapter Four

The date had been set; Lily and Mason were to marry on the first day of summer. The decision had been far easier than either had expected but as quickly as the conversation had been brought up, it had soon be decided. As Lily packed her textbooks away, the last time she would do so before the Christmas break, she thought back on the day with a smile. It had been the day before she had left for college that they had decided, a day that she would never forget.

There had been one big change when she brought herself to leave for the second time and that had made all the difference, Mason had come with her. It had been a surprise to them both that he would join her but sure enough as she left for the second time he was there with her. The fact that she still barely saw him didn’t dishearten her, he was in the same city, mere miles away and that was more than enough. While Mason practiced she studied and they both did the best with what they had.

Hannah caught Lily’s smile from the corner of her eye and smiled in turn. She had never seen her friend this happy, it was a world away from what she had been like when she returned from summer break. “What time do we have to be there?” Hannah asked curiously as she packed the last of her books away, relieved to be done with college for a month.

Lily’s smile dropped a little as she turned to her friend, her daydreams of hers and Mason’s time together forgotten just for a moment as the stark reality of what today meant came rushing back. “The race starts at seven,” she said quietly.

In the weeks leading up to her last day of college she had been fretting, fretting over the second meaning that the day had. “He’ll be fine you know,” Hannah said softly, trying her best to comfort her friend.

Lily’s face screwed up in concern and foremost worry, she had only ever been to one of Mason’s races and she dared not relive how it had ended, the race had brought Mason back to her but not exactly in one piece. “He’s been practicing a lot,” Lily said quietly.

Hannah nodded, attempting to hide her own concern, like Lily she did not wish to live through a repeat of Mason’s last race. “He’ll be fine Lily, you know as much as I do how good he is,” Hannah said with a smile, that was the one thing she couldn’t deny, Mason was extremely good at racing.

“At least Chris is with him,” Lily said with a sigh, “and John,” she added as an afterthought.

Hannah smiled warmly, in the months after the race Mason and Chris had built up an unlikely friendship, one that caused no end of surprise for Lily and Hannah. What had started with anger, jointly shared by both men, had soon turned into a friendship, however strange of a friendship it may have been. “Chris said he’s going to meet us by the entrance, we’ll have to leave very soon though,” Hannah said quickly, tossing her bag over her shoulder in the process.

Without a word, scared that her emotions may just break through, Lily threw on her bag and nodded solemnly, she hadn’t been looking forward to today. Just as she was making to leave Hannah stopped her, pressing a hand down firmly on Lily’s shoulder she turned her around. “He’ll be ok,” Hannah whispered with a pointed look. Lily nodded and a small smile crept onto her lips, he had to be ok.