Chapter 4

Mason

Partof me thinks I shouldn’t be in Charlotte’s room, but the much bigger part of me doesn’t really give a fuck.

It’s my house. And Charlotte is here by my grace. Her very life is mine to do with what I please.

And I’ve dreamed of this moment. A hundred times…maybe more.

I run a hand across the back of my bare neck and then down over my pecs. Charlotte had been pressed to this chest just an hour ago, her body fitting against mine so perfectly.

The very thought has my cock hardening. Then again, I’ve always had a hard on where Charlotte Fairfield is concerned.

The second I saw her all fresh and dewy on my brother’s arm, I wanted her. It’s the silky curtain of brown hair, big doe eyes that tilt seductively at the corners. Her pretty pink mouth is so full and fuckable and her tits could fill a man’s hand, even hands as large as mine. And don’t even get me started on her legs. Long and lean, they go on for days.

Her looks are what sparked the initial attraction. But I’d felt a pull like that before. Vegas is full of beautiful women. Granted, Charlotte is a natural beauty not the nipped and tucked variety, and I’m a man who likes true natural quality.

So yeah, Charlotte caught my interest from the first moment she walked into my father’s house. We still meet there once a week as a reminder of what’s important. Family. Staying together. What took that interest and made it knife sharp was the way she cast down her gaze every time I looked in her direction, the shyness of her smile.

I’d been a dick that night in the club two years ago and I knew why. Leo had been about to close the deal with Charlotte. Even that night in the club, I’d taken one look at her and I knew I couldn’t stand to watch Leo date this woman.

Not that Leo and I needed more reasons to be at odds. My brother and I were natural enemies in some ways. Always vying to be the top dog.

So when one of the rival families, Italian mafia gangsters, had fired a shot in my club, I may have exaggerated the issue, used it to send Charlotte out of my life. And Leo’s.

I didn’t take her for myself, though.

For two reasons. One, no one should underestimate Leo. If I’m the brains of this operation, Leo is the muscle. And though his temper rivals my father’s, he’s got enough brains to be a real threat, when he isn’t too deep in the bottle.

And two, everything I do is for the good of the family. Even sending Charlotte away. A woman like that could tear me and my brother apart permanently and then this whole house would crumble.

Unfortunately, ending Leo’s relationship with her had not stopped my obsession. Nor had it curbed Leo’s resentment toward me.

I’d had her followed to make sure Leo didn’t keep seeing her on the side. But the reports I’d gotten from Jackson had been their own kind of drug.

Jackson was a man who’d been hired at the beginning, a leftover from my father’s company, and he was ready to retire. Having him watch Charlotte was the perfect way to keep him on the payroll with an easy gig. It also allowed me to feed my obsession.

But apparently Roman had figured out what I had been doing. Why else would my youngest brother have been at the scene to rescue Charlotte? I wince.

That was going to be difficult to explain.

Walking silently across the thick carpet, I stop at the foot of the bed.

Charlotte hadn’t even pulled the covers over herself.

I’d heard her in the shower as she’d cried and damn me all the hell if I hadn’t nearly gone in. She needed comfort and nothing would make me happier than to hold a naked Charlotte. Touch her skin.

But my obsession didn’t matter. My family did, and if keeping Charlotte alive was going to hurt them, I’d do what I had to do. Even now, I could see how Charlotte might be the perfect pawn to help me control Vegas.

My fist clenches around the handles of the bag I hold as my eyes scan down her body.

She is wearing my T-shirt and nothing fucking else. One of her arms is tossed over her head, pulling the hem up high enough that I can almost see…

Having her come here was so dangerous, so tempting. My eyes scan down the long length of her legs. I’d love to have those legs wrapped around my waist. I already know she’d feel so fucking good.

I force myself to stop, turning away and setting the bag on the vanity. I called one of my usual clothing boutiques and, despite the fact that it’s the middle of the night, they’d delivered some necessities for Charlotte to use in the morning.

The perks of being one of their top customers.

Setting the bag down, I looked back at the bed, Charlotte stirs and curls onto her side.

The hem rides even higher and I can see the slightest bit of her ass. If I really looked, I could catch what’s between her legs. But I don’t, even though my cock is now as hard as the granite counters Charlotte had admired in my kitchen.

Instead, I walk back over, grab the covers, and pull them over her body.

Because Charlotte is more than an obsession. She’s a temptation I can barely stand. I look at her face, so soft as she sleeps, and think of how she dropped to her knees in front of me tonight.

That alone might have done me in. Nothing had prepared me for how absolutely gorgeous she’d looked on her knees with those lips parted and those soft grey eyes staring up at me.

But then… She hadn’t begged for her life, hadn’t even cried. She’d just asked me to be the one to end hers…

My chest tightens at the idea of hurting her, every nerve reacting with a ferocity that surprises even me. She is mine to protect, not to hurt. The slightest snarl pulls at my lip. I could burn down the world to keep her safe.

I’ve got the money. The men. The power.

My business is legitimate. But my competition…not so much.

It requires me to skirt a fine line that involves using less-than-legal means when the Italian mafia and those Russian bratva assholes step their toes over my line. Occasionally, I have to use force to keep their feet on their fucking side.

And the Italians owe me a very old debt that will be paid in blood. Make no fucking mistake. They will pay.

I don’t mind living in the grey.

But it makes me harder, stronger, and more cunning than all those fuckers, that I don’t have to lie, cheat, and steal to get what I want. That’s what I’ve always understood that they don’t.

I turn away from the bed just as the phone in the pocket of my sweats chimes that the elevator to my apartment has been activated.

Only a handful of people can do so, which means one of my brothers, my uncle Jake, or my cousin Luke is on his way up.

If it’s Leo, a shitstorm is about to hit my apartment. Which is why I close the door to Charlotte’s room and come to stand in the middle of the living room, my arms crossing over my bare chest as I wait.

Ten seconds later, the doors slide open, Roman steps out of the elevator and into the hall that connects to the kitchen with Luke behind him. My shoulders relax slightly, not that this conversation is going to be pleasant.

The five Kincaids are the backbone of Kincaid Enterprises. We came together when my father died, and we are an impenetrable force that keeps the entire operation strong. If three of us are meeting, it means that there is a problem.

I’d like to say that Roman and Luke think Leo might be an issue, but honestly, the problem could be me.

Then again, what did Roman think I was going to do with Charlotte? Shoot her in the middle of the conference room?

Roman takes one look at me and grimaces. “Stand down, big brother. I’m not here to fight.”

My shoulders relax a little at those words.

That is until I catch Luke’s face. He looks pissed. “I might have,” he confirms, tossing himself on one of my couches. “Do not tell me you’re going to fuck over Leo for pussy.”

But I don’t even answer before Roman snarls, “That’s not what I brought you here for.”

Luke quirks a brow. “You got a thing for her too? How fucking crazy is that? All three of you fighting for the same woman?”

But Roman’s eyes swing to me as he says to Luke. “She dropped to her knees, but she didn’t beg for her life, Luke. You know what she asked for? She asked for Mason to kill her himself instead of turning her over to those thugs.”

“Fuck,” Luke spits. “She’s got balls. I can respect that.”

“Technically, that’s not true.” But I get his sentiment. And I agree. She’s got more grit than most men I know. One more reason why Charlotte is special.

“If I’d been on the fence before,” Roman shrugs, “I’m in the protect Charlotte camp.” He’s watching me, paying attention to my reactions. If Leo is the muscle, Roman is the reader. He never misses intentions behind actions and he’s watching for mine now. And honestly, he’s getting smarter by the day.

“I will say what I always say, and I’ll say it to Leo too. I am in the whatever is best for the family camp. You all know what I’ve done in the name of family, and I’ll do it again. And until I have more information, I have no idea what we’re doing with Charlotte yet.”

But that same feeling wells up inside me. That she is mine to protect.

I’ve been obsessed. Maybe I need to fuck her already and let it go.

Luke nods, rising from the couch. “This is good. This is all good.”

“How’s that?”

“You’re still you, still our fearless family leader. Roman is the one advocating for Charlotte’s life, which will make all of this easier for Leo. Because we all know how he can be when he’s angry.”

Truer words. “Do we know who was killing whom?” I ask Roman, not wanting to worry about controlling Leo’s temper for the moment. I’ve got a war to win but first I need to know my opponent.

“Working on it,” Roman answers. “They had an accent, but then again, they all have accents. They were in Italian territory, but it was a Luciano who was shot dead, so we might actually have an ally against the Italians.”

That was interesting. “Good work.” I scrub my hands down my face before I turn to Luke. “Send some men to Charlotte’s apartment. Find out if anyone has been there and watch to see if anyone comes.”

Luke gives me a quick acknowledgment by jerking his chin. “Will do.”

I look back at my brother. “If they’re new players, they might not know you, Roman, and they definitely don’t know Charlotte.” Which means the problem isn’t a problem at all.

I can hope.

Both of them head for the elevator and I turn to my room. But before I enter, I pause, staring at the door across the hall. Because just beyond that slab of wood is the woman I’ve been wanting for actual years. The very thing I’ve been denying myself.

And I’m just not sure I want to deny myself any longer.