Page 26 of Mason
We haven’t gone far when I notice she’s focused on something in the front seat, eyes narrowing. I angle my head so I can see what she’s looking at. Ah. Yep. Shit. I didn’t even ask Bear how things went last night, but I’d wager just like always, he came out on top.
While I’m distracted by my own thoughts, she leans forward, catching his eye in the rearview. “Your knuckles are so swollen. What happened?”
Bear hesitates, but, to his credit, he doesn’t flinch and has an answer at the ready. “It’s nothing. Just did too many rounds with the punching bag yesterday.”
What he’s failing to reveal is that his punching bag was a human. I laugh internally as the image of some dude strung from the ceiling being pummeled by Bear’s ferocious fists floats into my mind. My eyes flick back over to Lennon as she shifts in her seat, tugging on the mini skirt she’s wearing in a way I wish I hadn’t noticed. Her thighs on display are fucking distracting. I wrench my eyes away. Fucking hell.
Her brow furrows, but after a few moments, she seems to have accepted him at his word. “Don’t forget you promised to show me how to hit someone.”
Mason twists in his seat to look back at her. “Funny how you put that.”
I side-eye her as her forehead creases with confusion. “What?”
“Most people would just say they want to learn how to throw a punch. Not specifically that they’re going to fuckin’ hit someone.”
“Yeah, well—”
I interrupt with a gruff noise. “I can’t say I blame her after the Chris incident.” I cross my arms and look out the window, away from the three of them. “I approve.”
She snorts with derision in a way that seems to say she wasnotlooking for my approval, and we ride the rest of the way to campus in silence, each of us lost in our own thoughts.
That is, until I notice Lennon’s gaze is glued to the scenery as we enter Kingston University’s campus. She’s said over and over that she doesn’t want to be at KU, that she had other plans. But now—there’s a nervous excitement on her face that I don’t know quite what to make of because it seems very much in opposition to everything she’s said. I clear my throat, then gesture out the window on her side. “That’s the football stadium where you’ll see Bear play later this week.”
She nods. “And that?”
“The gymnasium. It’s huge. Lots of gym space, ball courts, weight rooms, locker rooms. Anything the many sports teams of KU might need.”
From the front seat, Bear chuckles. “It’s my second home.”
Mason points up ahead. “You’ve got a class in that building tomorrow. Cabot Hall. It’s whatever history class you have.”
“Um. You guys have all seen my schedule? Is there a map or something in here?” Clearly flustered, Lennon begins to scramble for the schedule I’d told her was in her bag.
I reach over to touch her arm, but then quickly withdraw it when her eyes snap to mine. The attitude on her, I swear. If that’s the way she wants to play this, fine. “I meant it when I said you won’t go anywhere without us. We’ve reviewed your schedule so we know which of us will take you from each class. You’ve got three fifty-minute classes today. One of us will meet you after each until you’re done. Got it?”
She sucks in what an irritated breath. “Yeah. Obey. I’ve fuckin’ got it. I’m not stupid like your grunts.” Her eyes meet mine, and even though she’s a little thrown this morning by all this, I still see the challenge in her eyes. I might even respect it a little. “You do know I was enrolled in community college, right? I planned to start next week, so I understand how this works. Beinghereat this particular school may have been thrust on me, but I deserve to fucking get my education, no matter what you think and no matter how Tristan bends me to his will.”
By the time we park and exit the vehicle, she won’t look at me, but the four of us move together along the path to Lennon’s first class. Maybe it’s better that she’s mad at me. At least it’s quieted that fuckin’ sasshole of hers.
Entering Merriman Hall, we take her all the way to the door of her lecture hall for the Psych 101 class that she’s enrolled in.
She turns, facing the three of us as students mill about the hallway around us, quite a few giving us curious stares. She fidgets with the straps of her backpack. “I guess I should go in.”
Mason catches her attention. “You wait for me after class. Right here. No matter what.”
“Yes, sir,” Lennon barks out with a flippant laugh.
I catch her firmly by the back of the neck, guiding her face to mine. The bold, brazen expression holds steady as she looks into my angry eyes. There’s a dare somewhere there, a provocation. But I’ll be damned if she’s going to cause me to lose it right here in the middle of the hallway. Low and lethal, I grind out, “Don’t fuck with me, Lennon.”
Her lips twist, a brow arching. “What? Scared Daddy will come lay into you?”
I bristle. “No, but really fuckin’ weirded out that you just called my fatherDaddy.”
She pauses to consider. “Ugh. Okay, you’ve got me there.” She wrenches free of my hold and backs a step away from us, eyeing me warily.
Frustration leaching from him, Bear grits out, “Jesus. Enough. Class. Now.”
Lennon presses her lips together, looking him up and down. “Watch it, or I’ll start calling you Daddy instead.” She pivots and saunters into class, leaving us to watch her go, her ass a fucking temptation in that skirt.
