Chapter 18

Mason

I look up at Charlotte,her thighs trembling around my head, her hips arched to get more of my tongue, and I know that I am well and truly screwed.

I can’t get enough of this woman. And with her under my roof, I’m not going to be able to hold myself away from her no matter the consequences.

Christ, I couldn’t even last five minutes before I dove in face first. Literally.

I should send her to Roman or give Leo his way and…

I press harder on her clit, three fingers pumping in and out of her as she lets out a keening moan and I just know.

I’m not giving her up.

The very idea of another man touching her, protecting her, makes me insane. My free hand is spread over her belly, nearly covering the entirety of the surface, so that I can keep her from bucking away from my tongue. But I love how my hand looks slashed across her pale skin and I know I’m on the fast train to damnation.

My business is about to implode, my family rip apart, and what am I doing?

Eating Charlotte like a starving man.

Maybe the family was always going to tear. We are a family of alphas when there can be only one leader.

And possibly, the violence of so many criminal families in one place was always going to explode, detonating in a way that the damage could never be controlled.

But maybe, I’m a lot more like my old man than I thought possible. He couldn’t see past good pussy, and neither can I.

Tomorrow I’ll think about what that means. Right now, all I care about is watching Charlotte break apart on my tongue, and then having those gorgeous lips wrapped around my cock.

I should care. About my brothers, my family. I swore I would never put them through what our father did to us, but I’ve been fighting my feelings for Charlotte for a really long time and now that she’s here in my house, in my bed…

I’m not sure how much more I can fight.

She’s so close now, her face twisted up, her fingers digging into my scalp. I stop caring about tomorrow as I suck her clit hard, knowing that it will send her over the edge.

She screams out, her body giving a massive shudder, her heels digging into the small of my back.

I let her ride all the way down until she’s a puddle on the bed and then I finally lift up, climbing off the bed long enough to shuck off the rest of my clothes.

I pause, standing next to the bed as I look down at Charlotte. Her eyes are half closed, her thighs still parted, her body languid as she reaches a hand toward me. The pink diamond catches the light and I grab her hand, pulling it toward my mouth.

She partially sits up so that her palm can reach my lips and I finger the ring as I kiss each fingertip.

That ring is supposed to be there.

I’m still touching the ring when she tips forward, sinking her mouth around the head of my cock.

A guttural growl rumbles up my throat as I drop my chin so that I can watch her take me in.

God, she’s so beautiful. Her ass is still red, her legs half folded underneath her as she takes all of me in, her lips coming all the way to my base where my cock meets my body.

I hear her give a little choke, but she doesn’t stop.

It’s so incredibly hot that my vision blurs as I sink my fingers into the silky strands of her hair.

I don’t push or pull her. This is Charlotte’s to do however she wants. She holds for a second, two, until she finally slowly slides off only to dive back in.

Over and over she takes me all the way into her mouth, the slow pace of it making my balls tighten as I threaten to erupt.

I hold it off as long as I can because this is everything. I can’t put into words why it’s different, but I know it is.

Her name comes out broken and jagged as I lose the fight to hold off, my cum exploding from my cock as she swallows it all down, her wet eyes looking up into mine as she does.

Both my hands are now in her hair, our gazes locked together as she drains me dry.

She falls back on the bed, her hands landing over her head, and I follow, climbing up her until we’re chest to chest, hip to hip, her legs wrapped about me, my arms covering hers, our fingers lacing together.

“No more going out until this business is all done,” I say right before I kiss her swollen mouth.

“All right,” she answers, her eyes fluttering closed.

My sweet sexy Charlotte. Even after the orgasm has rung me dry, I want more of her. I’m insatiable when it comes to this woman.

“I can’t have you hurt, sweetheart,” I whisper, knowing that if something happened to her, it would break me.

“I won’t be,” she sighs out, her head lilting to the side. “You’ll keep me safe.”

Fuck me.

Her neck is exposed for me to trail several kisses down its long, creamy column. Our fingers are knotted together, my cock already half at attention because it’s needy like that.

Her body is so relaxed, I think she might actually be asleep, until she shifts under me. “How did Jackson know Professor Burke’s name? I didn’t tell him.”

My muscles go rigid and in return, I feel her stiffen as she turns to me. “How did he know which building my classes were in?”

“Charlotte.”

Her hand, the one with the pink diamond pulls from mine. “How did he know, Mason?”

I could lie. But I’m not that man. I’ve committed my fair share of sins, but I consider myself above fibbing to the woman who is wrapped around me. “I had you followed.”

She gasps, pushing out from my embrace. I let her go, rolling onto my side as she rushes off the bed, standing to face me.

I know this is bad. And normally my triage brain would be working through all the scenarios. Figuring out the words that would minimize the damage.

But I’m too satiated, and honestly, just distracted by how gorgeous she looks when she’s angry. Her high full tits are staring at me, the length of her flat stomach accentuated with small muscle lines. Her hips have the perfect flare and don’t even get me started on the thighs that have spent a great deal of time wrapped around my head.

I know this is a problem. Charlotte is dulling all my senses and that has always been the danger of allowing a woman into my life like this.

“You had me followed?” she gasps, shaking her head. “Why would you do that?”

“Because,” I reach my hand out to her but she doesn’t take it. Hers are firmly planted on her hips. “At first, I thought you might tell people that I owned the club. I cleaned a crime scene, it was a problem, you knowing who I was.”

“How do people not know that already?”

“Shell company.”

She shakes her head, as if she’s just realizing that she’s mixed up with a bad man. I never claimed to be the good guy. “And after you realized that I wouldn’t talk?”

That is trickier and I’m not sure how much I should admit. I don’t want to her to walk away, don’t want to scare her. “You’re mine to protect Charlotte. You have been for a while.”

Her mouth opens and then closes, indecision marking her features as her brows pucker together. But her hands slip from her hips, falling to her sides as she looks away.

I’m up then, standing in front of her. “Tell me what you’re thinking.”

“That this is messed up.”

She’s not wrong. Have the two of us ever made sense? Ever fit into something that might actually work?

I’m not sure.

But I take her hand, the one with my ring on her finger and I bring it to my lips. Because I’m obsessed and it’s only getting worse.

Sinking my cock into her isn’t going to cure me, I already know that I’m only going to want her more.

I’m still going to do it because I’m tired of denying myself, and now that I’ve had her here, I can’t get off on reports that Jackson gives me. They used to be my little hit of dopamine. She’s taking this class. Turned another boy down. But that won’t be enough anymore.

I can’t let her go even if it means I’m burning us both to the ground. “I’m not saying you’re wrong,” I whisper before I hook her waist and pull her close. “But also, there was a reason I’ve gone to great lengths to protect you, sweetheart.”

“And what is that?”

Her chest pushes against mine, her soft belly pressing to my hips. My fingers are in her hair again, my lips on her temple. “I want you in my bed.”

I feel the slight wince, the downturn of her mouth. Did my answer not satisfy? It’s the most I can admit to her and to myself. But she slides out of my arms and into the bed.

It’s enough.

I climb in behind her and pull her tight to my chest.

That’s when I realize the water is still running in the shower. I am fucking up all the details. The question is, in this war where I am supposed to be king and Charlotte a pawn, I wonder how much I’m willing to sacrifice to protect her, keep her on the board.

Because I can feel how much ground I am losing. A few hours ago, I was swearing to myself I’d let her go when this business was done. And now, I’m laying here thinking of every way I can keep her.

She’s asleep before I even say a word, so I just slip out of the bed, turn off the water, and climb back into the sheets, pulling her close again.

I’ve got to find a way to do this better. Keep Charlotte and keep my head. Both our lives depend on it.