Page 176 of Please Hate Me

Two weeks later…

Recently, Sebastian tried to get under my skin by telling me that most husbands cheated on their wives during pregnancy. I didn’t ask for his sources, mostly because I didn’t care. What was he trying to do, convince me to take a lover? As if I had time for an affair—I had enough partners as it was.

He’d just been a total shithead recently. It was like something was forcing him to be social, and he wasn’t happy about it. His behavior only worsened when Mason asked Lucian to come to one of her doctor’s appointments. But I tried not to pay him any attention. Things were just better that way. Instead of being upset that he thought I might cheat on Mason, I was just happy with the idea that Mason was my wife in his stupid little metaphor.

Even if I wasn’t keen on the idea of marriage, and Lucian was very vocal about how that would behistitle, the idea of her beingminewas beautiful.

Especially since we were past the thirty-one-week curse Dale had imposed on me. I was just over seven weeks away from holding my little girl, and I couldn’t wait. But I pushed those thoughts from my mind. Right now, the kids were at Sophia’s moms’, and Lucian and Soph were out on a date. Luce was a little nervous about being away from Mason for the first time since her dad’s passing, but she was the one who urged him to go. Surprisingly, he listened. That left just me and Mason in the house… Well, Seb was home, but I couldn’t remember the last time I had seen him actuallytalkto Mason. But, again, that wasn’t my problem.

Tonight, Mason was allmine.That’s what mattered.

I found her sitting on the couch, completely engrossed in a book. The front cover looked like a collage of shirtless men, and instantly, I knew this would be a fun night. I tried to act casual as I tossed myself onto the opposite end of the couch. The motion drew her attention, resulting in a side-eyed glance and a smirk.

“Can I help you?” she asked with a laugh.

I was really worried about how her dad’s death would affect her. Things were rough for the first few days, but after the first week, she was mostly fine. She made a lot of jokes about being an orphan, but I did my best to ignore them. If humor was how she chose to cope, I could deal with that.

“Whatcha readin’, sweetpea?”

Mason’s cheeks went red, and she quickly dog-eared the page before putting the book down. Her pupils dilated for a beat as she looked at me, lips parted enough for me to see her teeth.

This was a girl I had wrapped in Christmas lights and used like she was nothing more than a toy. What on earth could she be reading that had her so quiet?

I reached over her, only for Mason to squeak and pull the book to her chest.

“This is mine, thank you.”

I raised an eyebrow.

“Well, now Ihaveto know.”

As she shook her head, her hair swished back and forth. She had cut it to her chin after the whole incident in Sophia’s bathroom. Although short hair suited Mason, it also made her look younger, making me feel even more like a dirty old man corrupting a pure young soul.

“If I guess, will ya tell me?”

Her tongue darted across her lower lip as she refused to break eye contact with me. After a moment of consideration, she shook her head again, this time slower.

I looked down at the overly muscular, tattoo-covered men, then back to Mason.

“Is it something you’d want me to do to you?”

The flush on Mason’s face deepened, and she choked.

“Can we just do wax?”

Whatever was in her book wasn’t wax, I knew that for damn sure. Even though I was dying to know what kink had Mason this hot under the collar, I could settle.

“You’re into wax?” I asked, trying to pretend I hadn’t looked into that video of hers.

Her nose scrunched slightly. “It depends—I tried it with Seb like a month ago.”

“He’sinto wax?“ I raised my eyebrows, and she nodded. “Is he any good with it?”

She shot me an askance glance and focused her attention on the floor.

“For a virgin… he was fine,” she admitted.

Her comment almost made me burst out laughing. My chest shuddered, and I hid it with a cough. Ofcoursea creep like Sebastian was boring in bed.

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