The NSC Boxset: Heart of Stone (133 page)

He sucked on his lips and closed his eyes. “But I miss you, all of you,” he whispered and I nodded.

“I know, I miss you too but you hurt me too much this time, Mason. I know you slept with Rebecca . . .” He started to butt in but I put my finger over his lips. “And I know it was the coke that made you sleep with her otherwise we’d be over. That’s why I need you to come off the drugs before I come back home, me and the babies.”

He turned onto his side so he was facing me. “I’m so sorry baby, for everything. For Rebecca, for what I said to you, for not finding you . . .”

I glared at him. “Hey, no! I know you tried Mason but I also knew it was damn near impossible to find me, even I didn’t have a clue where we were but you have to see Mason, everything you’ve hurt me with is the fucking coke and I can cope with a lot but not that, never that.”

“I know baby and I’m trying, fuck I’m trying.” He squeezed his eyes closed and groaned. “Everything just seems to hurt less when I’m high; it’s easy to forget what a fucking dick I am.”

I laughed. “Mason.” I shook my head at him, “It’s the fucking coke that makes you a dick!” I exclaimed, “Don’t you see that?” I pleaded with my eyes for him to see. “The blonde, you were high; the awful things you said to me, you were high or just coming down, Rebecca . . . you were high. The way you left me in that hospital room alone and hurt . . . you were fucking high . . .” My voice got louder as I begged him to see. “But you used each of those moments as an excuse to use more.”

He sighed and then nodded, “I just need you Ava, so damn much.”

I cupped his face. “I know and I want you to promise that you’ll come to me, wherever I am if you need a hit, I don’t care what I’m doing or where I am. It helped you last time and if it wasn’t for Dane I think you’d still be clean.” I tipped my head and smiled tenderly at him, “I don’t care if you need me twenty four seven, you just do it. We need to sort ourselves out for Katie and George.”

He grinned at me as he stroked his finger down my neck, over my chest and across the swell of my breast. “I always need you twenty four seven Ava, high or not.” We gazed intently at each other and then the spell was broken by George whimpering, I was now familiar with each cry.

“Arghhhh he’s started teething,” I groaned.

“I’ll fetch him,” Mason smiled and disappeared into the nursery.

I shivered, all of a sudden feeling as though something wasn’t right. I took a quick glance around the room but nothing seemed out of the usual.

Mason came back with a grumbling George. “Hey peanut.” I pouted to him, sticking my bottom lip out in sympathy with him. He held out his chubby little arms to me and Mason passed him across the bed. “You want Mama?” I nuzzled his neck and like the mercurial child he was he started giggling.

“Is there someone on duty downstairs tonight?” I asked Mason, who had climbed back into bed with us.

“Yeah, Frank I think, why?” he asked as he tickled George.

I shrugged, “I dunno, strange feeling.”

He smiled. “Frank’s here and I’m here, you’ll be okay.” He blew a raspberry on George’s tummy. “And Georgie will save you too.” He chuckled as he did it again and George blew a raspberry from his bottom.

“How very rude Georgie,” I giggled playfully as I tickled him. “Shall Mama go get you a bottle of yummy milk?” I asked him as he babbled something incoherent at me, his face full of seriousness. I nodded firmly, “Righty ho, vodka and coke it is.”

I kissed his podgy hand as Mason laughed. “That’s my boy, a bottle of vodka and all you need now is one hot Mama and you’ll be the double of your Dada.” He waggled his eyebrows at me and I slapped his arm playfully.

“He doesn’t need any more encouragement, he drinks like you, eats like you and farts like you . . . let him off with the beautiful women for a little while longer,” I laughed as I donned my robe, pulling the belt tightly around me.

“Hey, one woman,” he argued, holding up a finger to me. I grinned and nodded as I went to prepare George’s milk.

I smiled softly to myself, happy and relaxed by the night’s events. I had managed to talk about Dane and reveal to Mason what had happened over those nine days and we had had a frank and honest discussion about our relationship and the state of Mason’s addiction. All in all progress had been made and I started to feel a little easier.

That was until I opened the kitchen door.

My stomach dropped through my arse, my throat erupted from my mouth and the air exploded from my lungs in one fell swoop as I screamed and screamed and sank to the floor, my eyes fused with Frank’s dead and vacant ones as blood poured from the gaping wound across his throat and flowed all over my clean terracotta tiles and the newspaper he had been reading at the table.

CHAPTER 13

WITHIN TWO HOURS I was back at Mason’s house with the babies and overnight essentials. I hadn’t been able to stop saying sorry to Elijah and all the other guys. Elijah had shaken my apologies aside but I still felt guilty for the pain that tore through his face at the loss of his colleague and friend.

“Jesus,” I sighed as I swilled down another vodka after settling the babies back down for the night.

Mason and I sat in silence for a long time, both shivering every now and then at the thought of what had happened in the kitchen directly below us as we had made love.

“God damn it!” I raged eventually as I threw my glass across the room. Mason closed his eyes and side huddled me, pulling me in closely and securely.

Elijah walked in and sat opposite us in the chair, he seemed to have aged twenty years in the space of two hours; the deep frown lines on his brow, the tiredness and blurriness of his eyes to the way he carried himself, hunched and slow.

“I need to get off soon but Neo is here and I’ve doubled patrol. I don’t know how the hell he got past them in the first place but . . .” he shrugged and I nodded.

“I’ll make sure that any other costs are covered,” I said quietly, it seemed inconsiderate and wrong to talk about money right now but it had to be done. “I’d also like to . . .
compensate
his family, anonymously of course.” He smiled and nodded then stood. “Elijah,” I said quickly before I changed my mind. He turned to me. “I’ve been thinking.” He frowned at me but nodded slightly. “I think it’s about time we tempted him,” I offered quietly, knowing the verbal assault was coming.

“What do you mean?” he asked and I pursed my lips.

“What do you think if we give him some bait and lure him out?” He frowned again and shook his head in bewilderment. “We should use some temptation to entice him and trap him,” I declared, now thinking my idea was the only way to get him out of hiding.

Elijah shot Mason a look and they both looked at me. “What kind of bait?” he asked and I bit my bottom lip.

“Me,” I stated bluntly.

Mason shot off the sofa and Elijah’s eyes widened so much I thought he was going to lose them on the carpet. “No fucking way Ava!” Mason boomed and I sighed heavily.

“Mason . . .” I looked up at him, “Calm down.”

He harrumphed and shook his head, “CALM DOWN?” His brows were in his hairline as his jaw hit the floor. “Have you gone fucking crazy?” he thundered and I turned to Elijah who just shook his head.

“No!” he asserted and I groaned in annoyance.

“But if we do it properly and have every corner covered we could get to him quicker and hopefully without losing anybody else,” I argued. “You don’t know what he’s like, he’s crazy. There isn’t an ounce of humanity left in him, it’s like he’s lost it,” I exposed. “He won’t stop until he gets to me and this time he’ll make sure I don’t get out alive.”

They both glared at me. “No!” they reiterated together.

I huffed and shook my head in weariness. “At least think about it,” I pleaded with Elijah, “Work out a fool proof way to do it but at least say it’s worth at least a thought.”

Both men flicked a glance at each other and Elijah eventually sighed in resignation. “I’ll look into how it would be possible to do it, but if I don’t get a plan that promises 110% guarantee of your safety then it’s a no go Ava.”

I nodded, “Thank you.” I gave him a huge smile, wondering now if I was doing the right thing but I couldn’t see another way out and I wouldn’t spend the rest of my life looking over my shoulder or not being able to live a full happy life with my children. It had to be done and it had to be done soon.

* * *

“For God’s sake, Ava,” Mason groaned and I continued applying my lipstick.

“Neo will be with me all day and I promise I won’t leave the office unless with him and Nate,” I reassured but he huffed and then stood up on the bed. Regarding him, I frowned at him through the mirror. He grinned lazily at me as my eyes skimmed his hot body; from his magnificent chest, over his powerful abs, along his man trail and straight to his large impressive rock hard length. I closed my eyes against the temptation as he took his erection in his hand and started working himself.

“Are you sure I can’t tempt you to stay home, Baby?” he smirked. I cleared my throat and resolutely moved my eyes away from his show.

Within seconds they were back on him, the lure and enticement pulling me to him. “You want it inside you Ava, filling you, stretching you wide?”

I let out a soft breath as he held my eyes in the mirror and then they fell down to his motions, his hand sliding up and down his glorious cock. I licked across my lips, tasting his saltiness in my mind.

“You want to wrap those sweet pink lips around me, tasting me all of me, my cum dribbling down your chin and onto your hard pink nipples?”

I swallowed heavily and watched in awe as his hand slid down, back up and gave a slight twist at the tip.

“Remember how it feels Ava, pummelling into your wet pussy, driving into you. My teeth sinking into your soft flesh.” I groaned and my mouth dried at the image of his words as he stepped off the bed and came to stand behind me. “You want me, Baby,” he breathed, a statement rather than a question.

“Yes,” I whispered as his mouth wrapped around the skin on my neck, his tongue darting out and tasting me.

“Where do you want me?” he asked, his voice low and husky.

“In my mouth,” I breathed. “I want your cum in my mouth.”

He groaned in my ear and spun me round on the stool. “You want me to fuck your hot mouth? You want my cock sliding between your lips?”

I was panting now, needing him so much. “Yes,” I told him as I licked my lips.

He smiled lasciviously at me as he swiped the pre-cum off his tip with his thumb and wiped it across my bottom lip. My tongue darted out and lapped it up as I closed my eyes to the flavour of him. “Good?” he whispered in my ear and I moaned in confirmation.

His mouth crashed over mine as his hand gripped my hair, his tongue plundered my mouth as he pulled me closer to him. “Stay home with me and you can have it baby, you can have it everywhere . . . in your mouth, over your tits, in that hot little pussy and in your tight ass,” he growled against my mouth.

Oh how very crafty! I gazed up at him. “Fuck my mouth,” I demanded and I saw the flash of victory in his eyes.

“On your knees,” he demanded. I grinned and slid down in front of him. “Put your hands behind your back.” He was biting his bottom lip and I knew he was close as he tilted my head back with a finger. “You want it all, Ava?”

“Oh yes!”

As he placed the tip of his penis against my mouth, I darted out my tongue to catch a quick taste, flicking it over him slowly. He groaned and fisted my hair. “No hands.” I shook my head at him. He raised his eyebrows but smiled as he placed them behind him and nudged into my mouth. I smiled coyly as I swirled my tongue around him, positioning him into me as I licked his shaft, triggering a low groan from his throat as I slipped my mouth over him, right to the end then loosened my throat and plunged down as far as I could go.

“Fuck, yeah, suck me Ava,” he snarled. I sucked him hard, working my way up and down him. I felt him swell inside me, a sign that he was close and I stood up, cleared my throat and patted his backside.

“Save it for me.” I winked as his jaw dropped. “Sorry, baby, gotta go to work.” He glowered at me but I clicked my tongue. “As much as I would love to feel your hard cock thrashing into me, driving us both wild as my pussy grips you tight and drains every single drop of your hot cum while I slam back against you, driving you crazy as we fuck like animals,” I whispered in his ear and he whimpered, “We’ll just have to take a rain check.”

I planted a chaste kiss on his lips and he groaned, a long drawn out painful groan. “You could see to it yourself but it’s not quite the same is it.” I smirked as I shut the bedroom door behind me and went in search of my beautiful peanuts.

“Hey, Sweetheart.” Greg kissed the top of my head as he entered the kitchen and Mason eyed him. He rolled his eyes and shook his head as he helped himself to coffee.

I zoomed another aeroplane full of slop into Katie’s mouth while she continued to ignore me and stare at her Daddy, who was blowing her lots of kisses while he fed her brother. “You are such a Daddy’s girl.” I pouted to her and she giggled as Mason poked his tongue out at her.

“What’s not to love, baby?” he smirked and I blew a kiss to George who was considerately giving me his full attention

“And I attract all the men, Don’t I Georgie.” I scrunched my nose at him.

“Well that’s because you’re one hot Mama,” Mason winked.

Greg seated himself at the table and tipped his head to me. “How you doing?” he asked with concern and I shrugged.

“I dunno . . . shit, angry, guilty, sad . . . the list is endless,” I told him and he nodded sombrely.

“Listen, we’re all going up to the cabin this weekend to celebrate my birthday, why don’t you come with us, it’ll do you good to get a break.”

I sighed and raised my brows at him, “Greg, I have the babies now. I can’t just up and go.” I loved Greg’s cabin in Scotland; it was quiet, peaceful and had stunning views and it was exactly what I needed right now.

“Kerrie will have them,” Mason interjected as he raised an eyebrow at me. “Come on baby, it’ll be fun,” he urged and I pursed my lips.