ROMANCE: Mason (Bad Boy Alpha Male Stepbrother Romance Boxset) (New Adult Contemporary Stepbrother Romance Collection) (299 page)

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.

The ride to the arena was a silent one, neither Lily or Hannah dared to bring up the subject of the race so instead, with music blaring, they made their way to what Lily hoped would be the last race she would ever have to see. Mason had coaxed her into going, wanting her to see that not every race ended in disaster, she was far from convinced. All too soon they arrived at the arena and for Lily, nausea set in. Everything was so familiar, the crowds, the stadium, even the sickly smell of excitement and fried snacks.

It was Chris who broke the solemn silence as he came bounding up to the old beetle where Lily and Hannah sat nervously, most of the nerves belonging to Lily. “You’re late,” he exclaimed pulling open the car door and dragging Lily out.

Seeing the worry edged across her normally happy face he wrapped her into a warm hug, holding her tightly against his chest. “Chris, get off,” Lily groaned through the wide smile on her face, Chris was too easy to miss and having spent most of his time with Mason, she rarely saw him anymore.

“Mason’s waiting,” Chris said excitedly and suddenly Lily had his undivided attention.

“He should be focusing on the race,” she said worriedly.

Chris chuckled softly, releasing Lily from his embrace and wrapping Hannah into an equally as tight one. “He is, come on,” he said as he started off in the same direction he had come from leaving Hannah and Lily to rush along behind him.

Hannah sent Lily a quick apprehensive look as they finally found their seats, right in the front row. To her relief her friend didn’t look as worried as she had the first time they were here, in fact she almost looked excited. Lily soaked in the atmosphere; she could see why Mason loved it here, why he was so reluctant to leave. For the first time she truly let the idea that this may not be the last time he raced settle and she knew that she would never try to stop him again.

The race was everything that it wasn’t the first time, with one exception, Mason still won. He didn’t look at Lily and for that she was eternally gratefully, his eyes were on the race. While he could not look at her, Mason could still see her, she was with him through every lap; she was his encouragement. He had always raced for himself, but this time it was solely for her, he raced for their future and like he knew he would, he won.

Chapter Five

Lily had never imagined getting married so young but as she awoke on the morning of her wedding, next to her husband to be, she knew that right now she could not imagine it any other way. Mason still slept lazily beside her, his hair messily sprawled over the pillows and a peaceful smile on his face. While Lily would never admit it, she liked to watch him sleep, to see those precious few moments when the worry was void from his face and the sleep brought nothing but a smile to his lips. For right now though everything was more than ok, Mason had won the competition and Lily had graduated at the top of her class, in turn winning the job she had sought after for years.

Lily stretched out on the luxurious white silk bed sheets, somehow Mason had gotten them the best room at the hotel; why they had to have a hotel when they were so close to her house she didn’t know, but she definitely wasn’t complaining about the fact either. It wasn’t the first time they had slept in the same bed together, as with the few times it had happened though as Mason began to stir, a blush coated Lily’s pale cheeks. His bright blues eyes opened slowly and his smile widened as he looked at the woman that would soon be his wife. Lily smiled back, brushing away the few strands of Mason’s hair that had slipped across his face.

“If I get to see that blush every morning then I will be a very happy man,” Mason whispered in a moment of softness that Lily was still getting used to.

On cue her blush deepened to a darker shade of red, one that completely claimed her cheeks. “I’ll do my best,” she laughed lightly.

Mason placed a soft kiss on Lily’s lips and she moaned happily at the gentle but sensual pressure. “Good morning soon to be Mrs. Mason,” he chuckled.

Lily’s face screwed up, Mrs. Mason definitely didn’t have a ring to it. “Good morning soon to be Mr. Lily,” she retorted teasingly. 

She waited for Mason’s frown or sarcastic words but strangely they did not come. “I could get used to it,” he smirked. Seeing Mason this carefree was a shock to Lily, it seemed to her that weddings definitely agreed with him.

Mason rested his weight on his hand so he was leaning over Lily, his finger traveling aimlessly across her jaw and over her flushed cheeks. “I have a surprise for you,” he said softly.

Lily looked up at him, her chocolate brown eyes full of curiosity. “Is it that we’re getting married today?” she whispered.

Mason chuckled lightly, his fingers now trailing small circles over her tender lips. “You guessed?” he exclaimed, pouting his lips in a very un-Mason like way.

Catching Mason off-guard Lily bit down roughly on his finger, drawing it into her mouth. Mason’s eyes bulged as Lily seductively drew his finger in and out of her mouth, the heat and softness of her lips almost too much for him to handle. He breathed in deeply, trying his best to keep check of his dwindling self-control. “Now are you going to tell me?” Lily whispered, her voice low and tempting as finally she let Mason’s finger go free.

It took Mason a minute to compose himself, pushing away all his increasing impulses enough to meet Lily’s teasing grin with one of his own. “I think showing you would be so much better,” he said softly.

Mason caught Lily’s lips with his own in one painfully short, heated moment of passion that promised so much more to come. “Get dressed, we don’t want to be late for our own wedding,” he said playfully. Diving off the bed he left Lily breathlessly wanting for more, more that she was sure would lead to things better saved for their wedding night and not their wedding morning.

With so little time to spare before both had to get ready, Mason sped along the roads, easily breaking the speed limit. Lily gripped him tightly, enjoying every last second of the ride as she had done so many times before. The roads were almost empty in the early hour and as Mason pushed the bike to its limits she felt nothing could stop them. She had no idea where there were going, Mason and refused to give her a single hint about their destination. All she knew was that the roads were familiar, from their hotel room they seemed to be heading in roughly the direction of her new job; the thought caused excitement to surge through Lily.

It took them an hour, an hour of blissful undisturbed riding to reach what seemed to be a small village. When the roads narrowed and the large concrete buildings of the city were a distant memory Lily could feel Mason’s growing excitement mix with her own. Even through his leather clad back, which she held on to so tightly, she could sense that whatever awaited them was something she would love.

“If you don’t like it we don’t have to keep it,” Mason muttered nervously as he helped Lily to climb off the bike.

She looked skeptically at him, much to her growing intrigue they had stopped in the small village, the quaint little countryside village where Mason looked far from at home. “Like what?” she questioned, her nerves easily meeting those of Mason’s now.

Mason took her hand softly and led her away from the bike and down a very narrow pathway, his hands were trembling a little making Lily’s brow furrow. Her excitement was quickly being replaced by worry, Mason was very rarely nervous about anything, even the wedding. “Close your eyes,” Mason whispered.

Lily turned to stare at him, her hand dropping out of his. “Fine,” Mason chuckled with a hint of amusement.