Whatever It Takes (3 page)

She appeared to have trouble trying to figure out how to get
up on the stool without her skirt riding up. Mason grinned as he watched her
struggle for a moment and then he decided to solve the problem for her. He slid
off his stool, grabbed her by the hips and she stiffened for a moment then
placed her hands on his forearms and allowed him to lift her onto the seat. “Thank
you,” she said in a small voice.

He nodded as he sat back down, allowing his hands to trail
down her legs and brush the bare skin of her knees as he moved away. She
shivered and smiled shyly at him before pouring half of her coffee into his
cup. He took a drink, savoring the flavor, and then smiled at her again.

“Thank you.”

She nodded and sipped her coffee as he continued to gaze at
her. He figured she already thought he was a creepy asshole but couldn’t help
himself.

Glancing over at Trey, who was laughing and talking to Joe
and Dewayne, Mason wondered if that asshole could really satisfy her. A second later,
he concluded that wasn’t likely. Trey was too absorbed with impressing Joe and
Dewayne and waiting for the bong to make its way back around to even glance in Laurie’s
direction. Mason reckoned he could pull her onto his lap and have a full-on
make-out session with her right then and there and College Boy wouldn’t take
notice. If a little weed and a couple of potheads were enough to distract the
guy from a woman like her, then he deserved to lose her.

He wondered what a girl like Laurie was doing with someone
like Trey in the first place. The guy was obviously a prick who didn’t
appreciate her. He’d proven that by speaking to her so disrespectfully in front
of a roomful of people. Mason looked Trey up and down distastefully. He was
tall, blond and athletic with a clean-shaven baby face. He was the perfect specimen
of a pretty boy, fraternity fuckhead. Mason hadn’t liked the guy the moment he’d
seen him, but thinking of that asshole getting to see Laurie’s red bra made Mason
want to break the punk’s nose.

He thought about doing it. He would just walk over to the
couch, College Boy would look up, and without a word, Mason would punch the
little shit square in the face. After a moment of stunned silence, Trey would
start crying like a little girl. Then Mason would turn around to face Laurie.
She would smile, unable to hide her arousal. He would claim her, force her
knees apart and slip between her legs. She’d wrap them around his waist and he
would rub his dick against her hot pussy. Her panties would be just as thin as
her bra and she’d come at the lightest touch. He’d take her lips and assault
her pouty pink mouth with his tongue. He wouldn’t stop until she was beneath
him, screaming for more.

Mason came back to reality with a start. If he squeezed his
coffee cup any tighter, he’d end up breaking it. Shifting on his seat, he
looked at Laurie again and racked his brain for something to talk about with
her.

“You’re a law student?” he asked, unable to think of
anything else to say to her. Well, at least not anything that would be
appropriate. He was certain she would be offended if he’d said what came to
mind first.
Would you mind too terribly if I were to escort you to my
bedroom and screw your brains out for the next few days?

Laurie nodded and smiled at him. “Yeah, if all goes well, I’ll
be taking the bar exam in the summer.”

Mason was impressed and said so. She blushed and let out a
nervous laugh. He looked at her three companions, noticing that they looked
hungover if not still drunk.

“So are y’all just out partying for the weekend?”

Laurie appeared to relax now that he was talking to her
instead of looking at her as if he was thinking of devouring her. She shook her
head and motioned toward the living room with her cup.

“They were. I just came along this morning because none of
them was in any shape to drive. I’m not really into the whole partying thing.”

Mason raised an eyebrow, a bit surprised. “I thought
partying was the main reason people went to college.”

Laurie laughed and shook her head.

“No…some of us actually go to learn. I’m really only
interested in going to my classes and getting my degrees as quickly as
possible. Who needs all the extras, with the sororities and fraternities, you
know?”

“And here I thought you were a sorority girl.”

Mason teased her and then laughed when she shot him a dirty
look.

“No…really…I never went to college but I think I get what
you mean. You’re spending money on an education, not on football games and
bonfires. You just want to get in, get your work done and get out,” he told
her.

“Yeah, without all the other nonsense I could have graduated
least a year ago.”

Laurie smiled at him and he felt proud of himself for
understanding her perspective.

“So what kind of lawyer are you going to be?” Mason asked,
attempting to keep the conversation going. “Are you going to be defending guys
like me or making sure we get the chair?”

Laurie grinned and shook her head.

“My main area of interest is family law,” she explained. “I’m
trying to stay away from criminal law altogether. There are just too many
what-ifs
that go along with specializing in criminal law.”

“What do you mean, ‘what-ifs’?” Mason asked, leaning forward
to give her his full attention.

“Well, take a guy who kills his neighbor. If I were a
prosecutor, it would be my job to convict him of killing the guy, right?”

Mason nodded.

“Well, what if he killed the guy for molesting his daughter?
Personally, I would feel that the killing was justified; however, as a
prosecutor, it would be my job to overlook that and only go by what the law
states, and according to the law, the guy is a murderer.”

Mason gave a nod as she sipped her coffee.

“So you don’t want to have to prosecute someone for killing
a bastard who needed killing, right?”

“Exactly. I just don’t think I could live with it. Sometimes,
crime is justified. Sometimes, people do bad things for good reasons. Abiding
by the law doesn’t make someone a good person any more than breaking it
automatically makes them a bad person. Criminal law is like a rigid, black
thing in a world full of gray areas, you know? And I know I could always become
a defense attorney but that comes with a lot of worry and snares also.”

“What kind of worry and snares?” Mason asked.

“Well, what if I’m totally fooled by a client? I defend him
and he walks on a crime he actually committed and goes on to commit more
crimes. I mean, how do I deal with that? On the other side of things, what if I
defend a truly innocent person and lose? Maybe I worry more than I should,
maybe I’m a bit naïve, but I just don’t want someone’s life in my hands. I don’t
know if that makes sense, but—”

“I get you.” Mason smiled, liking her more by the second.
The chick had a good head on her shoulders, wasn’t looking at the world through
an idealist’s eyes. She’d have a good chance of surviving the brutal side of
life but he hoped she never had to experience it.

“Well, that’s why I want to stick to family and real estate
law.” Laurie shrugged and seemed to run out of things to say.

“Laurie, the man has things to do,” Trey cut in, slurring
his words slightly.

While Mason and Laurie were talking, Trey had crossed the
room to stand in front of them.

“I’m sure he doesn’t want to hear about your classes.” Trey
chuckled and looked at Mason. “She’ll bore you to death if you give her the
chance.”

Laurie blushed and looked down at her coffee. Mason watched
her expression change from comfortable to self-conscious and he turned to scowl
at Trey, who seemed oblivious to the fact that he was on thin ice.

“So hey, can we get down to business here, ‘cause I don’t
have all day,” Trey said.

Mason’s jaw twitched and he glared at Trey, debating about
what to do with him. After a moment, he turned back to Laurie and smiled.

“Sorry, Angel,” he said. “Let me talk to this asshole and
then we can finish our conversation, because I would really like to hear about all
of your classes.”

Laurie glanced at Trey then back at Mason and nodded, before
turning her attention back to her coffee. Mason set his cup on the counter then
turned back to Trey, whose face was red with anger.

“What can I do for you, College Boy?”

Still in a huff, Trey pulled a folded piece of paper out of
his pocket and handed it to Mason, who unfolded and scanned it. Laurie leaned
over far enough on her stool to read it over his shoulder. Mason leaned closer
to her to allow her a better view of the long, handwritten list of drugs her
boyfriend wanted. After a moment, she released a small, surprised huff and
leaned back onto her seat. He chuckled quietly before he folded the paper and
slipped it into his pocket.

“You sure you can afford all of this, College Boy? It ain’t
going to be cheap.”

Trey let out an arrogant laugh and scratched his chin before
looking back at Mason. “I can assure you, my finances are just fine. We’re
talking pocket change here, buddy.”

Mason smiled, amused by Trey’s show of superiority.

“That’s fine but I don’t have all this right now,” he
stated, leaning back against the bar. “Going to take a day or two, maybe a week
to get it.”

Trey’s face went bright red again.

“That doesn’t work for me. I came here because I was told
you’re the man who can get this done. If I wanted to get the runaround, I could
have gone to any piece-of-shit dealer in town.”

In an instant, Mason lunged off his stool. Obviously, he
needed to remind the little prick who he was talking to.

Laurie watched the scene with her mouth agape, mesmerized by
the flex of Mason’s muscles beneath his shirt. His movements were graceful and
fluid, and once again, he reminded her of some kind of predatory animal.

Trey obviously didn’t have time to react—he just stood there,
quaking, as Mason scowled down at him, his face close enough to kiss Trey if Mason
wanted to. Laurie swallowed back a giggle at the thought.

“I think you’re forgetting where you are, little man,” Mason
growled. “I’m not some waiter who got your order wrong. I’m the big, bad
fucking wolf and you’re a little lamb in my den. I let you walk in here and if
you’re a real good boy, I might let you walk back out.”

Trey seemed to shrink in his clothes as Mason towered over
him.

Laurie watched in fascination, knowing she should be afraid.
Mason was a big guy and he came from a violent world on the opposite side of
the law. For all she knew, he could snap and kill them all at any moment. He
definitely looked capable of doing great damage but instead of fear, she was entranced.

Mason pulled the list out of his pocket and threw it in Trey’s
face.

“So if it takes me a few days to deliver enough drugs to
kill an army, you can either deal with it or you can find another supplier, but
what you cannot do is give me any fuckin’ lip about it.” Mason leaned closer to
Trey, invading his breathing space. “Do you understand that?”

“Yes,” Trey said. “I’m sorry. I overreacted. If it takes a
few days, it’ll be fine.”

Mason leaned back and smiled.

“Just so long as we understand each other because if you ever
screw with me again, I will fucking eat you.”

Trey swallowed hard and nodded. Mason motioned toward the
couch with a toss of his head.

“Good. Now go sit the fuck down.”

Trey backed away and obediently reclaimed his seat on the
couch.

Mason returned to his seat and turned toward Laurie again.
As soon as he looked at her, a slow smile spread across his face. Her
excitement must have been obvious to him. Her cheeks become hotter as a tingling
sensation climbed up her spine. The man had an amazing smile and she couldn’t
deny it caused her to feel disturbing sensations.

“Um, should I give you my number so you can call me when you
have it all?” Trey was talking again but this time he stayed seated across the
room.

Mason seemed to think about it for a moment and a devilish
smile played at his lips.

“No,” he said, retrieving his cup of coffee, “you can give
me her number.” He motioned toward Laurie.

She looked up at him in alarm, coffee cup halfway to her
lips. He flashed her that stunning smile and she couldn’t organize her thoughts
enough to find the words to protest.

“What? Her? Why?” Trey was on his feet again.

Mason gave Trey a hard look and he sat back down.

“I’m sick and fuckin’ tired of assholes parading through my
place. Having a bunch of snotty-ass college punks in and out of my ghetto
apartment looks pretty suspicious. I mean, why else would y’all come here? ‘Cause
we’re such good pals? If it’s just one hot chick coming and going, it’ll look
like she’s a girlfriend coming over to fuck me.”

Laurie’s face went hot and her mouth dropped open. She had a
million thoughts going through her mind at once.

I’d have to come here alone. Hell no. What if I get
caught with drugs? Wait…did he call me a hot chick?
Heat flared up her neck
and settled in her cheeks. She realized her mouth was still open and clamped it
shut.

“But…but why
her
?” Trey demanded, sounding as if he
had a little backbone.

Maybe he would save her. If he manned up and refused the deal,
her ability to resist temptation could remain untested. She could put this
little incident behind her, and life could carry on normally. The only time
this bad experience would come up in her life would be in the form of stories
about silly college exploits.

Mason looked from Carol and Lisa to Laurie and then grinned
at Trey in a way that only a guy who intends to screw your girlfriend could.

“Because out of your three girls here, she’s the one I’d
like to fuck.”