Page 8 of Forbidden Cravings

“Seriously?” Tyson said. “He’s the enemy boss. We do not get along with Greyson Tides.”

Wiping a bit of jam from my plate, I licked it from my finger, avoiding Mason’s eyes but feeling the way they burned into me. “Well, you’ll have to, and it might work to your advantage. Tides is a force, and no one will mess with him. No one but you two idiots. If Riley marries him, he has to work with you. He’ll have no choice and with him on your side, the Bad Omens will back off. I guarantee he knows the reason they didn’t target him, and you’ll have the answer when Riley goes back to Bridgeville.”

“Fuck,” Mason muttered. I peeked back at him, catching him running his hand through his hair.

“You have a brief reprieve, which might be just enough time for that alliance to form,” I continued. “Clint Randall is dead and I’m sure they know Tides was the executioner. They’ll back off. Randall had to have told them about Riley and their affair.” Mason’s jaw tensed further. “They’ll sit back and watch, knowing you have your guard up now and that Greyson doesas well. I don’t know him, but from everything I’ve heard, he’s cold and ruthless. Men like that don’t wallow in their pain. He’s burying his pain below his work, which means he’s even more untouchable now. The Bad Omens play a slow game. They’ll wait to see how this plays out and for things to calm. In the meantime, they may even turn their attention to another family.”

Mason studied me, his head tilted. “How the fuck did you get so smart?”

“I can play the game with the best of them, Mason. Tyson taught me well. Riley would have been the same if you had relaxed and let her in like Ty did.”

His lips pursed.

“She’s got a point, Mason. Casey’s been training with me since before she moved away. I told you I wasn’t letting my sister out of this province without that advantage.” He gave me a proud smile, and I returned it.

Mason looked out at the snow, and I could see his mind thinking things through. “So, if this gives us a reprieve, we take the advantage,” he said, ignoring our comments on Riley. “Fortify our holdings, put the men on extra guard, and lock down any loose ends. I want everything close to home from now on. No new hires, no new deals until we find out what Tides knows.”

Tyson stood. “Got it. I’ll head over to the development site?—”

“No, head to the other businesses. Make sure the guys know to be extra diligent, especially if any non-regulars show. I’ll visit the site. You can meet me over there later and update me.”

“Got it.” He pulled his phone out and walked away as he instructed the person on the other end to meet him at the club.

I knew Mason had his dealings divested through his territory, which was large compared to others. He not only owned the city but all the surrounding towns and far into thecountryside where his home sat. The club was only one business, and he and Tyson had been working on some real estate projects lately. A lot of his investments were in real estate, and I was guessing the site was a new one.

Bringing my dish to the sink, I turned and rested against the counter. The door closed in the distance, signaling that Tyson had left. Mason walked around the island but kept a space between us.

“You saw Riley?” he asked.

“Yeah. She’s a wreck. I’ve never seen her this bad.”

The tension in his jaw lessened, a flicker of sadness passing through his eyes.

“She’ll be okay, Mason. Just don’t expect her to stay away from him. It’s too serious, no matter what he did.”

“He hurt her,” he grumbled.

“Did he? It sounds like he wanted to in the beginning, but then he fell in love. Hard, as hard as she fell. Why else would he risk coming here? He would have to be desperate.”

I dared to walk closer to him, feeling the need to offer him comfort. Riley was his world, and he lived for his sister. I knew that even as a child.

“It’s time to let her go, Mason,” I said softly, bringing my hand to his crossed arms. The strength below them tempted me to rub my hand along his muscles, but I refrained.

His eyes searched mine and I could see the mix of emotion behind them.

“And he killed Randall for her. He saved her, protected her when you couldn’t. It’s the same thing any man would do for the woman he loved.”

“Would he?” he asked, and I could tell he was looking for me to say more, leading me on. But I’d told myself I wouldn’t flirt even if it seemed like an impossibility because I wanted tofeel what Mason would do to me. I wanted him to break me. Anticipation shivered through me.

“Would you?” I stepped closer to him. His eyes darkened, and he brought his hand to my neck and surrounded it. My heart pounded in excitement as he pulled me against him, and every part of my body came alive.

“I would tear down any man who dared touch you,” he murmured. I could barely remain standing, my legs were quivering so badly, but his eyes hardened, and he shoved me away, releasing my neck. “As would your brother.”

I tried to regulate my breathing because that move had me so flustered I didn’t know what to think.

“Will you choke me like that when you finally give in to your craving for me?” I asked, needing to tease him like he’d just done to me. Tease wasn’t really what he’d done. Soaked me was more like it. I could only imagine the intensity he would bring to the bedroom. “Or will you force me to my knees while your fingers wrap around the strands of my hair?”

I shouldn’t have asked because I’d promised myself I wouldn’t torment him. But a part of me needed to hear his answer, to have him tell me that the heat that was threatening to scald me from the inside out was doing the same to him.

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