MIRA"You've done it again, haven't you?"I turn quickly to find the blonde lady from earlier. She has a smug smile on her face.Amid all the chaos, I cannot help but ask,"What are you talking about?"She raises an eyebrow and angles her head forward,"Look at him. I have never, ever seen Mason this way. Go on, look at him."I turn slowly, fixing my wide-eyed stare at the scene that continues to unfold before me. Mason's suit is no where in sight. The security men surround him, hands outstretched in a bid to calm him down.Light flashes everywhere, signifying that the cameramen are indeed doing their jobs. God, this is a mess. Those horrible pictures will be all over social media tommorow.But all those aren't really what catches my attention. My gaze finds Mason once again, and I'm momentarily transfixed by what I see.His eyes spark a luminous, dangerous fire. Darkness rolls off him in waves. I have never seen him look so…furious. My heart drops to the bottom of my shoes. Shit! I d
MIRAShe's probably a hooker or a club performer, but I do not particularly care. She's my escape plan.She stares at me through heavily made up, cautious eyes, smacking a gum on her way to the sink. I take a deep breath and walk after her.She turns on the tap, and the sound of running water instantly fills the room."So he won't hear us." She says.My brows lift in confusion. She nudges her head towards the exit."The guy outside. He's following you, isn't he?" Stunned, I begin to stutter." H-how…""Doesn't matter." She cuts in. "I have an eye for these things. What do you need help with? What's a well dressed chick like you doing in a gas station's restroom?"I consider my plan for all of two seconds. She's a total stranger. This could be a trap. I back up a step. On the other hand, if I stay too long, Hurricane might come bursting through that door any minute now.I go closer and grip the sink."You're right, I need help. My life is in danger. I need a phone to call my best fri
MIRA"So, how do you know Hurricane?" I try to ask as absent mindedly as I can, while checking out the strangely luxurious apartment that Julia brought me to just a while ago.She dumps her keys in a ceramic bowl and sinks into a black, classy looking sofa."Long story. Horrible story. Don't wanna talk about it."Since I just met her and do not want to pry, I change the subject."Nice place you've got here."I mean, it's not as luxurious as Vanessa's town house back in New York, or Mason's collection of expensive properties scattered all over the world, but the simple decor excudes class…high class. And everything looks like they cost an arm and a leg."The Capital" turned out to be a small, private lane, not far from the strip Mason and I were staying. Julia's building looks rather…decrepit on the outside, but absolutely gorgeous on the inside. I think she deliberately wants to disguise it.I collapse into the sofa opposite Julia and jump back to my feet once more, too nervous to sta
MIRA"Go! I'll hold him off while you both escape." Julia whispers urgently.Vanessa pulls me in the direction of the back exit, but I dig my feet into the carpeted floors, refusing to leave just yet."Come on, Julia. Come with us." I say, trying to convince her with my eyes.She shakes her head and turns to Vanessa."Get her out of here.""On it. C'mon, chica."Vanessa pulls me, and this time, I do not resist. I look back at Julia until she's out of sight, trying to see if I can make her change her mind.The door rattles again, and panic shoots through my veins. Oh, God, I hope Julia will be okay.We go out through the back exit and run off in the opposite direction. I try to focus on the pounding of my feet against the hard asphalt, or on the beatings of my raging heart. Nothing works.Instead, all I see are images of Julia probably hurt by Hurricane and his men."Do you think she'll be okay?"Vanessa looks back at me, giving my fingers a reassuring squeeze."Who, Julia? She's a bad
MIRA"Shit! We have to go. Now!" Vanessa whisper-yells.My frozen limbs finally kick into motion, and I hurry after her and into the plane. Just before the pilot shuts the doors, I hear a thunder of footsteps as Mason and his men begin to run up the stairs to our floor."Oh my God, hurry!" Vanessa yells at the pilot. There's no point of whispering anymore. Mason already knows we're here.Fear and anticipation sit heavily in my stomach. I silently curse the part of me that wishes Mason would actually be able to stop this jet. The part that wishes he would apologize for humiliating me at the party tonight, and wouldn't hurt me.I sit quietly in my seat, unable to move or speak, trying to control my roiling emotions. The pilot takes his precious time preparing the controls and flipping switches. A numb part of my mind silently yells at him to hurry the fuck up.Just as the plane begins to taxi down the make shift runway, Mason and his men finally arrive. My heart stops as he comes into
ONE – MASONTwenty two years ago.Father is hitting mother again. I hide behind the sofa, my thin arms firmly wrapped around my shaky legs as the "whoosh!" of a belt swinging in the air, and the "slap!" of harsh leather landing against soft skin reaches me over and over again.Our mansion is huge, huge and cold. Everything seems cold. Even the cherry, blue coloured children's room where I slept until two weeks ago feels like depression and death.Mother's cries twist something inside me. I feel anger…muderous, helpless anger. Anger at her for always coming back even after he almost kills her, and at father for being such a harsh monster.When I can no longer stand her cries of pain, I place my hands against my ears. Not that it helps.The reason for today's beating is that mother found father with one of his numerous mistresses from the club, and she confronted him in their presence.Mother is an airhead sometimes. By now, she should know that father has an enormous ego. He does not t
MIRA"...One year after the epic scandal that ended the few weeks old relationship between New York's billionaire and most eligible bachelor, Mason Lachlan and his mystery lady, the business Lord is beginning to show signs of settling down. You would remember that just a few days after the scandalous Lachlan Dinner Affair, Mason already started going out with different options, proving all our thoughts that his relationship with this mystery woman then was never serious in the first place…"" Shut that thing off, sis." Anna says from the top of the stairs of our rickety, Las Vegas home.My eyes snap from the droning television to her, and I immediately replace what I'm sure is a hurt, pained expression with a big smile."Hey, sweetie. Are you ready to go?"She shakes her head with obvious exasperation, comes down the remaining steps and unplugs the TV. I frown at her,"Why did you do that?"She looks at me with rebellious blue eyes." The plan was to forget about our pasts, sis, was
MASONMusic blares in the VIP section of the Delegharo club as I silently watch the strippers twirl and gyrate wantonly on the poles. I press a single button on the wall beside me and the manager comes running."You called, sir. Do you need anything? More wine? Is everything to your taste?"I give him a silent, narrow eyed look, one that tells him that his consistent, lapdog attitude is fast constituting a nuisance.He lowers his head, taking a step back."My apologies, sir.""I need girls. Two of them."He looks at me once more, nodding eagerly." The usual."I nod and return to the open laptop in front of me. By "the usual", he means girls with jet black, waist length hair, slender limbs and forest green eyes. Girls who bear a similar physical appearance to my only obession, Mira Fernandez.It's been twelve months. Twelve fucking months since Mira ran from me. Twelve months since she disappeared into thin air.In those months, I have searched diligently for her. I mean, where haven
MIRA “Wake up, princess. It’s getting late.” I blink sleepily, smiling to myself when I catch a whiff of heavenly smelling cologne. With my eyes still firmly shut, I reach out to the source of the delicious scent and my arms instantly come in contact with broad, cloth covered shoulders. With a determined tug, I pull the shoulders closer to myself and it lands against me with a soft thud, then I proceed to sink my face into the neck of the owner of the shoulder and get a better whiff of that addictive scent. “Mmm… you smell so good.” I feel soft, warm lips against my cheek. “Thank you, baby.” That jolts me out of my sleepy state. I open my eyes and I’m immediately assailed by piercing gray eyes. I blink up at him for a second. “Good morning, baby girl.” He whispers. I swallow. “Good morning.” I feel every part of my body tense up, mostly because I believe I have an early morning arousal and the world’s most handsome man is lying almost fully against me. I try to move awa
MASONI should be holding Mira right now. I should be reassuring her of my unlimited devotion. But her confessions earlier struck a chord deep in my heart."Fuck!" I curse into the empty office.Unable to keep sitting still, I walk to the mini wet bar and pour myself a glass of my favourite Cognac. I tip the shot glass and down the contents in one gulp. The sharp burn does nothing to lessen the pain inside of me. It does nothing to quench the fire that burns so desperately for one green eyed, stubborn-as-fuck female.I slam the shot glass on the counter to stop myself from throwing it against the wall.Mira wouldn't want to stay with me unless I admit that I'm in love with her. Am I in love with Mira?The sudden realization has me freezing in my tracks. It hits me out of nowhere, numbing my senses.I walk back to my chair and sink into it. It is either that or fall flat on my face. I've always seen myself as incapable of love or anything related to the term. Turns out, the little
MIRAMason and I fall into each other in a tangled heat of fused mouths and moving hands. He picks me from the bathtub and I hold on to him, enjoying the delicious slide of his wet body against mine.“Wrap your legs around me, baby.” He whispers urgently against my lips, and I comply. He grabs my arse, his fingers digging into the soft skin. The combination of pain and pleasure almost leaves me reeling.My core is already slick and dripping from arousal. My entire body feels like I’ve been set alight with a flaming torch.Mason pins me atop one of the counters in the bathroom. He spreads my legs and steps between them. His hot, hard, throbbing erection brushes against the swollen nub of my clit and I throw my head back, a slight whimper escaping my lips.“Mason. Mason please…”He runs his hot lips over the skin of my neck.“Please what, baby? What do you want?” He whispers against me. “Whatever you want is yours. Whatever you want, baby girl.”“Touch me. Touch me, please.” My voice is
MIRA“Bathe with me.” He says confidently like he hasn’t just made a declaration that has my heart spilt all over his thousand dollar shirt.All traces of sleep departs from me and I stare at him, transfixed. He looks serious. Dead serious.“Is…is this still part of the challenge? Getting me to fall in love with you, I mean.” Because if it is, unfortunately for me, that ship has long sailed. I need to know where all this is coming from.For a moment, Mason says nothing. He simply stares at me, those stormy grays causing havoc to my raging nerves.“Do I look like I’m joking, little flower? Challenge aside, I’ve decided that I want you. I need you with me every single fucking moment.” My breath hitches. “You’re not there for five seconds and I suddenly can’t breathe properly. I remember that whatever is going on here is temporary and I want to smash something against the wall.” He pauses, his chest heaving rapidly. I have never seen him so…worked up. “ I think I’m obsessed with you, Mi
MIRAIt’s eight o’clock and Mason still isn’t back. I left Vanessa’s a while ago after spending enough quality time with my sister and promising to come back. Actually, Darth came up and declared in his usual quiet, lethal manner that the boss wanted me back home. I would have defied him and stayed back, but I want to get this tuition issue out of the way once and for all.That was seven o’clock, almost an hour ago. Now, I sit in the main room and stare unseeingly at the beautiful mini aquarium, worrying myself to death. I started calling him thirty minutes ago. So far, he hasn’t answered any of my calls. Neither has he returned them. He said he was going after those who hurt me. What if they hurt him? My heart squeezes at the thought of him probably lying broken and hurt somewhere with no means of getting help, and I call his phone over and over again. It keeps going to voice mail. I throw the stupid thing against the wall, watching it crack open and fall to the ground with a sick
MASONMira and I have been back to civilization for all of three days and I already want to load her up and take her back. I admit that our little vacation time together was…positively enlightening, but I never wanted it to end. Sadly, the real world was calling. I had to come back and make plans, put things in place.Mira trusts me to take revenge on everyone who hurt her in the past, and that is exactly what I’m going to do. I haven’t told her about our little encounter when she was fucking nineteen years old. The very thought of telling her makes my insides turn to ice.She might run. She might want to leave me. I won’t let her. Losing Mira would destroy me. I never counted on wanting a woman so much, not seeing or hearing from her for up to an hour would make me itch, but Mira changed…everything. So if keeping this little secret from her for the meantime would guarantee that she stays with me a little longer, that is exactly what I’m going to do.“What’s the plan?” I turn my
MASON Mira might seem a little dazed, a little confused even, but I meant what I said. I protect her now. Her care is my responsibility. I know everything might go to shit later when she finds out that my uncle is in fact Escobar Scuderi and I’m the nephew she was “given to,” but when that time comes, I will be ready. She may have an anger fit, she might cry, she might even throw things at me. But even then, I’m not letting her go anywhere. She’s stuck with me for life now, even if I have to force a ring on that finger to prove it. I freeze as that thought flits through my mind, but the thought of Mira in my house, legally mine with my ring on her finger to prove it leaves me hot…and hard. I want to bind her to me in every possible way. I don’t really care if she accepts it as first. In the long run, she will come to understand that there won’t ever be another man in her life except me. As it should be. When I saw Mira for the first time at Le Delegharo, it felt like I was being p
MIRAYou know that point in your life when it feels like you have absolutely no idea which path you're headed?That part where you feel like you had everything all figured out and suddenly, the way you chose doesn't feel like the right way anymore and you're all toggled up with confusion? That is exactly how I feel right now.Mason's eyes spark with conviction and something else, an emotion I have seen one two many times in those gray depths…determination. "I'm the one who owes you not the other way round, Mason."One of his perfectly shaped brows shoot up."And what exactly do you feel you owe me, Miss Fernandez? Sex? Mistress duties?"Okay, now I'm confused. I lift my chin, my gaze equally tinged with determination."I'm sorry, did I perhaps miss the memo? Isn't that exactly why I'm here?"Mason stares down at me for a while. An emotion that feels too dangerously close to indecision flits in his gaze."I don't want you to just be my mistress anymore."I freeze." What?"He rolls off
MASONAfter two, or was it three more rounds of hard sex, Mason and I finally find ourselves back in the bathroom where he gives me soothing, refreshing bath. He literally scrubs me clean.When we’re both squeaky clean, Mason pins me beneath him on the bed. My legs are completely entangled with his. There’s absolutely no escaping him.”I like you like this.” He murmurs, running a thumb over my cheeks.”Oh? Like what?””Naked in my bed. Completely mine.”My pulse spikes and my heart begins to burn with a warm glow. Calm down, stupid heart.”I’m not utterly yours, Mason.” I challenge.His eyes equally spark with a dangerous, gray gleam.”Want me to show you all over again?” He asks, running his fingers over my thighs suggestively.”Are you joking?”His face is a perfect mask of seriousness,”Do you think I’m joking?”My mouth falls open and for a few seconds, I’m not able to utter a single word.”We just had…sex a couple minutes ago. I’m incredibly sore.” I point out incredulously.His