Mason (6 page)

Neither man said anything to him. No one
begged him to reconsider or even to look it over again. Taking napkins from the
dispenser on the table, he cleaned up his nose and tossed the used napkins on
the table. Still neither of them spoke. Dirk hated it, but he was not going to
speak first if it killed him. After another ten minutes the waitress brought LeBlanc
a refill on his tea and Mason a glass of iced tea. It was then that Dirk couldn’t
stand it any longer.

“I’m not going to do it no matter what you do
to me.” Mason shrugged and sipped his tea. LeBlanc just smiled as he ate his
pie…apple it smelled like, with ice cream on it. “And how much more money am I
going to get? Because that isn’t going to take care of me for an hour. I need
clothing, a hotel. Then I’ll need to eat. I have plans for this…you know what,
tell Dad that I’ll take a thousand a week, and that should be enough until I
get things arranged.”

“There’s nothing else. And I have a bag of
clothing for you. Oh, and your credit cards are done too, in case you didn’t
know that. So is your access to the bank. The phone you have is no longer
working, and you don’t have any way to use the family vehicles. None of them.” Dirk
had figured out most of that on his own, but Mason continued. “Any bills you
incur, any money that you owe from this day on will be your own responsibility.
Trouble that you get into, with merchants or even the police, no one is going
to bail you out of. As of the moment you left the ranch, you were an adult
making it on your own in the world. If I were you, I’d take this as a learning
lesson and stop acting like a spoiled little bitch.”

“You think this makes me mad?” Dirk laughed.
Even to him it sounded a little forced. But he was mad and he wanted this shit finished
so that he could go back home. “I’m going to be back in my family home by the
end of tomorrow, and you’re going to be out on your ass so fast that you’re not
going to know what hit you. As for this shit, this pile of shit in that
envelope, you can shove that up your ass right now. It is not going to happen.”

“Your life.” LeBlanc got up and went to the
cash register. Mason stood as well and looked down at him. “You’re a real piece
of work, Dirk. And a great disappointment to your family. They’re a really nice
group of people, and here you are—what the fuck happened?”

“You think they’re nice? I know that they
love me and that soon, like I told you, this will be over and they’ll never try
to teach me a lesson again. But nice? No, I wouldn’t call any of you nice after
this. And you, you shit fuck, will be old news.” Dirk stood as well and
realized again just how tall this man was. “Back off, Mason, or I’m going to
have you arrested for assault. I might just do that anyway.”

“Yeah, good luck with that.” He moved to the
register and while his back was turned, Dirk snatched up the envelope. There
was no way that he was going to do anything on that list, but he wanted the
money. Until his parents came to their senses and let him come back home, he
had to have some pocket money. He was nearly to the door when Mason said his
name. A duffle was tossed at him and it nearly knocked him on his ass. “Good
luck. Oh, and stay off the ranch, Dirk. I’ve put some patrols on, and you won’t
want to fuck with them.”

Dirk went out into the night. He’d not
realized how cold it had gotten, and now he wished he had a coat. Thinking
there might be one in the bag, he leaned against the wall and opened it. Maybe
his parents had given him more in the bag and not told Mason. Whatever he had
over them, Dirk knew that they’d help him if they could. Mason had a lot to pay
for when he returned home soon.

There were five shirts, not even his best
ones. Three pair of pants, again ones that he didn’t care for. His mom should
have let him pick them, but then had he been there, this travesty wouldn’t be
necessary. There were underwear, socks, and some undershirts. In the pockets on
the outside was a bathroom kit filled with shampoo, toothbrush, and some paste,
deodorant, and a few other things like mouth wash and some soap. It was a bar,
not the kind he always used, no loofa, and there wasn’t even any lotion for his
arms and legs when he got out of the shower. Someone should have known that he’d
need these items and provided them for him. Or at least money so he could go
and get them. The number of things that Mason was going to pay for was mounting.
Dropping the items that were beneath him to the ground, he dug into the rest of
the bag, even dumping everything on the ground to see if there was a hidden
pocket or a zipper that he’d missed. Nothing.

When he screamed out his frustrations,
several people turned to look at him. “What the fuck are you looking at? Huh? I’m
being treated like I fucking don’t matter, and it’s all his fault.” One man
simply told him it was about time, and a woman with children told him to behave
in public. When he made like he was going to lunge at her, she simply flipped
him off and moved on. Dirk started to leave the shit there, and decided that he’d
check the pockets of his clothing first. But now he had to find a place to
sleep.

Gathering everything up, including the shit
he wasn’t ever going to use, he stuffed it in the bag. He’d missed something…that
was all. There was no way that his mom or dad would treat him this way. By the
time he found a hotel, he knew what was going on.

Mason had knocked his sister up. That would
be the only reason that his family would allow such a lowlife as him to be near
his family. And kicking him, Dirk McBride, out was a way to keep him from
hurting Mason for having the nerve to soil his sister. Emma was all right when
he needed her, but for the most part she irritated him to no end. She had told him
he was on his own from now on, and the one time he’d called her since, she’d
told him she was too busy to deal with him. It was all Mason, all of this shit
was Mason, and he was going to pay.

It took him nearly three more hours to find a
place to sleep. The first one had tried to run his credit card and had cut it
up in front of him. Like that was going to solve his problem. The next time he
went to a hotel, it was one that demanded that he put up a deposit. That
argument had nearly gotten him arrested. Dirk was nearly down the street when
he remembered the hotel and a previous experience there.

“Shitty place I’d never even take my dog.” He’d
had a party there one night recently and they had gotten nasty with him over
the noise. He’d shown them. The room looked like a bomb had exploded in it when
he’d left. Dirk remembered his dad and mom saying something about the cost of
his stay, but he hadn’t paid any attention. “Like money means anything to you
when you have it all.”

Walking on until he was in the worst part of
town, Dirk ended up in a hotel room that was smaller than his closet. It was
the best he could afford after giving the man a nice shirt. He’d have to talk
to his mom about giving him more money. She’d be the one to talk to. His dad
was too into Mason to listen to him right now. A hundred a day wasn’t going to
cut it. Dirk wished now he’d of remembered to ask him where the next allotment
was going to be and when.

“Can’t be too early. I need my beauty rest.” He
lay on the lumpy bed and then got up and found a notepad and pen left in the
room by the hotel. He headed the paper with the word “NEEDS” and started
writing down the things he felt that he should have while in exile.

“First and foremost I need my credit cards
back. Money is important to a man like Dirk McBride, and not having it is
really cramping my style. I need to be seen and seen looking good.” He went on
to add things like a car, nicer clothing, as well as some cash. It had taken
him a second list to figure out how much he needed to have on him at all times,
and figured that if they just set it up so he could have a grand a day, he’d
let them know how much more he’d need at the end of the week.

Calling his parents to find out a few things
that Mason had neglected to tell him had proven harder than he’d wanted to mess
with. They weren’t listed in the phone book, his sister only had a cell phone,
and the stupid bitch at the information number he’d been told to call wouldn’t
give it to him…something about her not having a listing. Emma always listed her
phone number in case someone needed her. Like him.

Yawning, he ordered a pizza and was really
pissed that they told him they didn’t deliver to where he was. He was told he’d
have to call someone closer to where he was to get it delivered, but if he
wanted to come and pick it up, they’d need a credit card to start his order.

“I’m Dirk McBride.” The person on the other
end of the phone said nothing. “Did you hear me? I’m Dirk McBride. I have the
ranch out near the Collin River.”

“Doesn’t mean anything to me, buddy. Maybe
you should call someone who cares.”

The phone went dead in his hand. Dirk felt
his temper, always right there on the edge, let go, and he jerked the phone out
of the wall. Thinking of the shit his parents were needlessly putting him
through, he trashed the entire room before falling on the broken bed in an
exhausted sleep. That’ll teach them, he thought with a smile, and fell asleep.

Chapter 6

Emma woke in her bed, not remembering where
she was for several seconds. Home. She was home and on a mandatory leave.
Getting up, she went to the bathroom and turned on the shower and looked at
herself in the mirror. The woman staring back at her wasn’t the same as the one
she’d seen when she’d gotten up yesterday.

The bruises were all gone. Not just gone, but
like they’d never been there. There wasn’t even a light brownish yellow tint to
her cheek, and the cut on her lip was gone too. Looking down at her arm,
thinking that she might not want to look at it again after yesterday, she
stared at it for several seconds before she felt a slight vibration in her
head.

Good morning.
Staggering back from
the sink and mirror, she stood there while Mason laughed in her head. But that
was silly. How could he be in her head?
It is me. I can speak to you this
way; remember me telling you that?

“I don’t want to talk to you this way.”
Waiting for him to answer her when she’d spoken aloud, she tried again,
speaking to him the way he had her.
I don’t want to talk to you at all, but
this way is out of the question.

You’re scared.
Was she? Emma
supposed that she had been. Now, however, she was mad.
And now you’re
pissed. I’m just concerned, that’s all. Your brother has caused some damage to
the hotel here in town, and I wondered if he’d contacted you about it.

Her parents had sat her down last night and
told her everything. Dirk, it seemed, had been doing things, a great many
things, that had caused her mom and dad a lot of pain and embarrassment. Not
just financially, but he’d also hurt them with his complete lack of care as to
what he did or how it affected the people around him. They’d also told her what
they were doing to him in hopes that it would bring him around. Emma hadn’t
told them, but she thought it was too late for her brother to ever have a
redeemable quality about him. In turn, she told them what she’d been doing for
him and her last conversation with him. It seemed that they were all on the same
page about Dirk.

I would like to talk to you today.
She wanted him to
leave her alone, but that wasn’t going to happen either, she found out.
There
are some things that I’d like to talk to you about, something I need to tell
you, and I’d really like to know what you can tell me about your brother’s
habits, his friends, and whatever else you might know that can help us.

Help us who?
She waited for him
to answer and stepped into the shower. Her arm, like her body, was healed. While
Emma didn’t know exactly how it had happened, she was willing to bet it had a
great deal to do with the man talking to her.
You’re not answering me.

Holly isn’t well this morning, and I’m
talking to my brother too.
She could not just hear the worry in his voice, but feel
it too. It was as if his emotions were hers.
Can you just come over here,
please? I…she’s really sick. I know that Jace is taking her to the doctor, but
I still worry. She’s my sister.

I’ll be right there. Tell Jace to give her
some crackers and tea. I’ll have my mom make her some of the stuff she gives me
when I’m sick. It’s not going to hurt her or the baby.
He told her he’d
tell her.
Also, you healed me, didn’t you?

I did.
She waited for him to tell her more, but he
changed the subject again
. Are you in the shower?

How the hell do you know that?
His laughter did
nothing to soothe her temper.
Are you spying on me? Do you have someone
watching my every move? If you are, I want you to call them off right fucking
now.

I don’t have anyone watching you, love. I can
feel that you’re aroused.
She stopped cupping her breasts and tried to calm her
body.
You’re thinking of what I did to you yesterday. What we started. I’m
telling you right now, my cock has been hard since I left you. And no amount of
jerking off has helped. I need you.

You masturbated without me?
He moaned in her
head and she cupped her breast again.
You gave me such wonderful releases
yesterday. I can’t help but think what it will be like when you take me. Not
that you will, but it’s a wonderful fantasy.

I’d very much like to join you right now. I’d
be down on my knees before you, sucking that pretty pussy of yours. Is your
clit hard, Emma? Do you feel it when you slide your fingers into your heat?
She was panting, her
body on fire for the man she didn’t care for.
Come for me, baby. I’m going
to pull my cock free and join you. When you come, and I want you to, I want you
to think of me coming all over the tree that’s in front of me, hard and quick
strokes to bring me when you come.

Her fingers were busy in her pussy, her hands
were all over her breasts, but it wasn’t enough. Not nearly enough. When he
told her that he was close, his balls were tight against his body, she pinched
her clit hard as she tugged at her nipple. The climax nearly took her breath
away, and when he cried out in her mind that he was coming too, that his cum
was splashing all over the ground, she came again, her body bowed back in
ecstasy.

Emma was leaning against the wall of the
shower now. She was spent, but she really wanted more. The man in her head was
telling her how much he wanted her now, how he’d like to do things to her that
wasn’t helping her right at the moment. When he asked her to come outside, to
meet him at the well on the back end of her property, she jerked the water off
and grabbed a towel, wondering if she had time to come again before she found
him.

I’m hard for you. Come quickly.
Not bothering with a
bra or panties, she pulled a heavy sweatshirt over her head and was still tying
off her sweatpants when she slipped her feet into her boots. Grabbing a coat
off the hook as she went out the door, Emma was nearly to the well when she saw
him. He was naked, his cock standing straight from his body, and all she could
think about was tasting him.

Mason grabbed her up as soon as she leapt at him.
Need was growing out of control, and she needed him to finish her. He pulled
her shirt up and over her head and dropped it, and Emma cried out when he took
her nipple into his mouth and bit her.

“Christ, I haven’t thought of anything else
but you.” She moaned when he put his hands down the back of her pants and
cupped her bare ass. “Baby, you’re so wet I can almost taste you. And I want
to. More than anything in this world, I want to feel you coming down my throat.”

“Please. Eat me.” She felt his low growl and
then was set away from him. When he told her to lie down on her clothing, she
did as he wanted. Spreading her legs wide for him, she slid her fingers into
her pussy and played while he stood over her. His cock was hard, straining from
his body, and he held himself in his fist as he watched her.

“I’m going to enjoy this.” She told him she
would as well. He dropped to his knees and her pussy gushed. She took it on her
fingers and rubbed it all over her breasts before reaching for him. Mason fell
on her, his mouth sucking her clit and biting down on it before she could touch
him.

The climax ripped from her. Not a soft,
gentle building, but a full out release. When he slid his fingers into her,
touching her spot that few men had ever even tried to find, she came again,
screaming out his name as she held him to her. Christ, she was going to die
from this, and right now she couldn’t have cared less as her body built again
for what was going to no doubt be another amazing release.

He ate her, devoured her for so long that she
felt like her body was no longer hers but his. When he stood up over her body,
his cock was so thick and hard that she reached out and couldn’t wrap her
fingers around him. His precum was just enough to make her slide up and down
his cock easily. Her need, however, only increased.

“I need to be inside of you.” She nodded but
didn’t let him go. “Emma, if you keep that up, I’m going to come all over you
and not inside of you where I desperately want to be.”

“I want to taste you too.” He moaned, leaning
back so that she could touch him all she wanted, and she did. Taking only his
crown into her mouth, she moaned when he held her to him, his big hand cupping
the back of her head while he fucked her mouth hard.

Mason tasted like no man she’d ever tasted
before. His cum was hot, not warm, and it was spicy, creamy, and thick as it
slid over and in her mouth. When he told her he was close, too close to stop if
she didn’t stop now, Emma let him go and fisted him as he released, his cum
spraying all over her face and breasts so that it felt as if he were branding
her.

When she thought him finished, she leaned
back and stared up at him. But he wasn’t, and when he told her to stand up, he
lifted her over him. Emma screamed when he slammed his hard thick cock into her,
her body pressed against a tree. The pain and pleasure of it took her breath
away. He was too much, yet not enough. Even as he fucked her, her legs wrapped
around him to hold him, she felt his mouth at her breast and knew that he was
going to bite her there. When he lifted his head, she looked into the darkest
eyes she’d ever seen and knew that things were never going to be the same
again.

“When you come, bite me.” Shaking her head,
he told her yes. “You have to mark me, Emma. Take my blood into your body so
that we’re one.”

His cock was hitting her harder now. Each
stroke was bringing her closer and closer to her release. This one, she knew,
was going to be the best ever. And when he sank his teeth into her breast, she
screamed out his name even as she bit deep into his throat. The taste took her
breath away, and the feeling of it, unlike anything she’d ever felt, had her
wanting more.

Blood filled her mouth. Like his cum, it was
hot, but didn’t have the coppery taste she’d always associated with blood.
Instead, it tasted like honey, the best chocolate, and the finest wine in the
world. Coming again, her body exploded with her release, and stars burst behind
her eyelids even as blackness swallowed her.

~~~

Mason held her in his arms. For as much as he
wanted to take her again, just holding her right now was enough. He looked down
at her and realized how weak he was from his release. Mason went down on the
ground and rolled to his back, taking her with him. The sweatshirt that she’d
had on only covered her ass, but he held her to his warm body and hoped she was
warm enough. Christ, it hit him suddenly, he had a mate.

Nothing could have prepared him for the
emotions that were running through him at the moment. Not even the conversation
he’d had with Jace last night had made him think that it would be this consuming.
He had no idea what to do now, but first and foremost was to make her and to
keep her happy. When she lifted her head and looked down at him, he could see a
drop of blood on her lip and kissed her.

“This means something.” He nodded, not sure
of her tone. She wasn’t mad, he didn’t think, but she really wasn’t happy
either. “The sex, is it always going to be like this? So…I don’t know, so wow.”

“Wow? I guess that’s as good a word as any.
And I hope so. Christ, woman, you nearly killed me.” Her grin had him kissing
her nose. “I’m not the mushy type of man, but you are, simply put, the most
amazing woman I’ve ever been with.”

Her body stretched over his and his cock
stirred to life. Emma stilled when he held her to him, and when she rolled her
hips, he was as hard as he’d been before. She sat up over him, his cock still
buried deeply within her, and started a slow, smooth ride.

“Sex has never been all that great with other
men.” Mason didn’t point out that he’d rather not talk about other men with her,
but he’d done the same thing earlier and was okay with it for now. “You’re
going to be the only one from now, I was told. My dad apparently knows a great
deal about your kind. Not everything, he told me, but a lot.”

“Yes. Shifters are very possessive and
violent when it comes to their mate. Holly and Jace had a hard time with that
when they were first together, and I think he still has trouble with it when
she comes home smelling like her dad. Christ, are you going to come like this?”
She told him she hoped so. “I’d very much like to have my cat mark you.”

Everything stilled. She sat on him and
watched his face. Mason was afraid that he’d upset her, and when she rolled off
him, his cock wet with her juices, she stood up over him and put out her hand.

“Will he want to have sex with me? I’m not
sure that’s something I’d want.” His cat snarled at him, and he calmed him by
telling him that they were working on it. “I don’t know what marking means
really, except that he bites me, but if he tries to have sex with me, I might
just kill you both.”

Mason stayed where he was but took her
outstretched hand. “He won’t have sex with your human self. If you ever want to
become a cat, then he will with your cougar. But he does want to taste your
pussy. I think it’s to get your scent; or he could just want to drink from you
like I do.”