Page 40 of Mason
There have beenno additional texts from Lennon, and it’d taken me a fucking hour to get to the point where I could exit gracefully without pissing off any of my father’s cohorts. Ridiculous. Unfortunately, I’m willing to bet my headstrong stepsister did the exact opposite of what Bear and I both told her to do.
Wait for us.
She’s seen some of Mason’s bullshit already, but if he’s really worked up, like it sounded like he might be from her urgent texts—and if he’d been up in the attic, well, that points directly to his state of mind—she shouldn’t be anywhere near him if he’s up there losing it. I grit my teeth. Nope. Bad fuckin’ idea. I’ve always let him deal on his own with the devil that rides on his shoulder. Bear will occasionally step in if it gets bad. But fuck. Lennon? If he really goes off the deep end, there’s no way she’ll be able to handle it. Dude can be scary as fuck when he’s well and truly caught in the nightmare in his head.
I race from the SUV I’d taken to campus and into the house, up the stairs, and throw open the door at the end of the hall, leading to the attic.
A groan. A whimper. The indistinct sound of movement. A swift intake of breath.
Oh, fuck. I’m too late.
Dual feelings of horrific worry and blinding fury clash together, then rush through my entire body, dulling my hearing and narrowing my vision. My heart leaps into a terrifying free fall off a cliff. What the fuck? What’s he done to her?
I take the steps two at a time, reach the top, pivot, and stare. The sight that greets my eyes is nothing like I’d expected. Shock reverberates through me. I’d considered that maybe I’d encounter an argument. Mason hollering at her to get the fuck out of his space. Lennon sassing back that he’s fucking crazy and needs an intervention. Not this. Never this. I seered.
Mason rasps, “That’s it, Lennon. Take every fucking inch.”
Over in the corner of the attic space, Mason’s bare ass is hanging out of his jeans as he kneels over Lennon, balls deep inside her and thrusting. He’s got her arms pinned over her head, and her slim legs are in a tangle around his waist. I draw in one ragged breath. Then another. They’re both fucking filthy, Mason’s charcoal everywhere. Clawed handprints on his back. Dirty smudges. Streaks of black. And Lennon—my god, she’s covered, head to toe. That deranged fucking psycho drew all over her.
Wrath breaks free, and I’m across the room and on Mason in mere seconds, tearing him by the shoulders off her. “Fucking hell, Mason!” I roar, enraged. My heart pumps frantically in my chest, “What the ever-lovingfuck?”
He stumbles backward and lands in a heap on the floor, jeans around his knees, breathing hard. Dick wet.
My gaze snaps to Lennon, my breath coming hard and fast. Violence builds behind my eyeballs, my brain rioting at what I’m seeing. She scrambles backward, trying to cover herself, but she’s mostly unsuccessful because there’s simply nothing to use but her own arms and hands. My eyes ping all over her, a sick feeling hitting me hard in the gut when I catch a couple of the words scrawled indecently across her skin.
In those few seconds while I’m preoccupied, Mason gets to his feet and tucks his cock back inside his jeans, giving the zipper a quick tug before he meets my blazing gaze, his jaw locked. “What the hell are you doing up here? Mind your own fucking business,brother.”
I drop my head back onto my shoulders, my mind in a frenzy. Thisasshole.Low and lethal, I grit out, “Touch her again, and I will hack your fucking handsandyour dick from your body.”
He shoots me one of those aggravating smirks—the kind I’ve wanted to slap from his face more than once—while gesturing to her. “Why don’t you fucking ask her what she’s doing up here.” He looks pointedly at her. “I came up here to be alone. She knows that now. Didn’t you figure it out, baby sis?”
Lennon glares at him, her forehead creasing savagely as she draws up her knees and presses her breasts to her thighs to hide them from view. “I texted Duke and Bear because I was concerned by what I was hearing up here.” Her tongue darts out to dampen her lips. “And you’re not being fair, Mason. You know I had good intentions.” She looks at him with angry, distrusting eyes. “I was scared for you.”
Mason stares back coldly, “Yeah, well, you found out the hard way it wasn’t such a great idea to involve yourself. And it seems to me like you were only after another orgasm.”
I’m catching a not-so-subtle undercurrent running between them. There’s obviously shit where they are concerned that I’ve somehow missed.Anotherorgasm. My mind might explode.
She wrenches her gaze from his, but not before I see the hurt in her eyes. “Fuck off, Mase, you psychotic dick.”
There’s an anxious twitch of Mason’s jaw, and his gaze bounces from her to one sick piece of art after another. As I quickly study them, it’s unnerving how fucking hard it is to tell if the newer pieces are Lennon or his mother. And I can tell it’s making him antsy as hell for both of us to be up here. No one comes anywhere near the attic but him. Yet here the three of us fucking are.
I close the distance between Mason and me. “Whatever is going on with you, leave her out of it.”
He grits his teeth, shaking his head. “Oh, so now you’re her champion? All I did was allow her to help calm me down when she begged me to let her. I started drawing. And that’s what came out.” He flings his head toward her naked, scribbled-on body. “I can’t help that my hands were influenced by every goddamn thing you’ve said about her.” His dark eyes taunt me. “This is partially on you. You’d think as her stepbrother, you’d be looking out for her.”
He’s asking for it.So, fuck it.I look around the room at the haunting artwork surrounding us. “What the fuck do you think I’m doing here but looking out for her? I’m sure as fuck not here for you, you fucking lunatic.” I throw my arm out encompassing all the canvases of sad Lily Mikaelson, crazed Mason self-portraits, and now… Lennon. I don’t fucking like it. “I might be an asshole sometimes, but at least I can distinguish whether a person is dead or alive.”
Bingo. I’ve hit a massive nerve.
Mason’s chest heaves, and he slams his fist into my jaw. I see it coming and fucking let it happen, stumbling backward as the pain bursts through my head.
Once I’ve regained my balance, I focus a grim smile on him. The ache in my jaw fuels the fire raging at my center. “Motherfucker,” I hiss before I leap, tackling Mason to the floor. I slug at him, punch after punch to the soundtrack of Lennon’s shouts as she begs us to stop. We don’t. We roll, grappling with each other for dominance. Mason gets in his fair share of hits, too, striking hard and fast when he gets the upper hand.
Grunting and sweating, I flip us again, straddling him. “Motherfucker,” I pause, glowering at him. “Put your fucking boner away.”
“You’re the one who pulled it out, asshole,” Mason huffs, struggling to get out from under me. “My dick was perfectly seated until you came along and whipped him out of his hidey hole.” He smirks at how easily I allow him to catch me off guard with his words. “All because you couldn’t handle the fact that I got that pussy before you did.”
“Shut the fuck up,” I grit, all my patience used up.
