Page 41 of Mason
Lennon groans, and my eyes dart to her to find that she’s covered her face with her hands. I leave my eyes on her for a few seconds too long, and Mason smacks his fist into my mouth. The taste of copper on my tongue is my reward for noticing her hair in wild disarray, and the shaking of her hands. My heart clenches viciously in my chest. I want to go to her. I grit my teeth in frustration, knowing I can’t.
Mason heaves out a dark laugh as we roll again. “You want me to put it away… get the fuck out of here, and I’ll happily put it back inherbox.”
I sock him in the face from below, then block his heavy fists with my forearms before flipping us so I can pummel him some more, landing a couple of good ones to his chest and gut. “Enough of your comedy act, asshole.”
He laughs. “Or stay. I don’t give a flying fuck either way.” He just barely has a chance to defend himself, catching my forearm in his grip. I snarl at him, and he has the audacity to grin. “Why don’t you grab some popcorn while you’re at it… you know, make it a movie night.”
“Mason, stop it.” Lennon’s face is bright red and her chest heaves. My eyes travel from there downward. Her pussy is right in my line of sight.
Asshole sees me look at her and shrugs, squinting at me a bit. “Oh, wait. What is it again? Oh, yeah. ‘Stepbrother Watches His Frat Brother Bang His Sister While He Jerks Off in The Corner.’ How’s that for a Pornhub title? I mean, I’d watch it!” He wriggles his brows with another gritty laugh.
I don’t mistake it for actual amusement, though. He’s too busy trying to goad me for that. I bite out, “You are one miserable motherfucker, you know that, Mason?”
“It’s okay to be jealous, stepbro. If her moans and the scratches on my back are any indication of her enjoyment level, I’m guessing she’d be down for finishing what we started. You can definitely watch.” He glances up at Lennon with a shit-eating grin. “What do you say, baby sis, wanna give your brother a show?”
I growl, “I’m not her fuckin’ brother.”
At nearly the same time Lennon snaps, “Totally not my brother, asshole.”
“Holy shit. What the fuck—?” Bear’s muttered expletive from behind me has me taking my eyes off Mason for the split second it takes him to clock me in the chin.
I shake it off, seeing the fight with Mason for what it truly is—a method to divert attention from what he did to Lennon, who I haven’t forgotten is still over on that mattress wearing only her charcoal-marred skin.
Bear scans the room, taking in the situation. The astonishment is clear on his face and his jaw sets hard before he barks, “You assholes get it out of your systems, because I swear to Christ if you’re still going at it when I get back up here, I will knock you both the fuck out. No questions asked.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I watch as his long strides eat up the distance between him and Lennon. He squats down in front of her blocking my view. A moment later, he picks her up, cradling her in his arms, and takes her right the fuck out of here.
Guilt eats at me as Mason and I go another round. We haven’t spoken since I shut her up with my mouth. Removing her from this situation like Bear just did—it’s what I should have done for her instead of getting into it with this dickhead.
But would she have even let me help her? The answer to that question makes my stomach turn in discomfort. I’ve given her no reason to trust me. None at all.
TWENTY-THREE
BEAR
I couldn’t get back fast enough.Coach had kept us after to watch videos of play after play so we could talk strategy for the game. He said if we stayed late tonight he’d let us head home to rest directly after on-field practice tomorrow and Friday so we could mentally prepare for Saturday’s game. I’d covertly checked my text messages every so often the entire time he kept us, but nothing else came in. Not from Lennon, not from Duke, and definitely not from Mason. It’d worried the shit out of me.
I look down at Lennon in my arms. Yeah. I’d been right to worry. I release an agonized breath as we descend the stairs from the mayhem. I don’t have a fucking clue what she went through up there, but she clings to me, her fingers clutching tight to the front of my white T-shirt. Mason’s human charcoal artwork has rubbed off all over my clothing, but I’m not worried about it. My concern lies solely with the naked, soiled girl in my arms.
We reach the bottom of the stairs, and I pull the attic door shut behind us, leaving the sounds of continued verbal and physical sparring behind. Fortunately, no one is around in the long corridor extending down this wing, and I’m able to let us into Lennon’s bedroom without issue. I take her directly to the bathroom, where I set her on her feet in front of me. But she hangs on, not allowing me to step away from her.
Her breathing is a little erratic. The words she’d spoken to me upstairs—“Get me the fuck out of here right now”—were gritty. Mad, even. So I think she’s probably okay. She’s made of some pretty strong stuff.
My eyes flick to the mirror behind her, and my gut clenches. So many horrible words tucked into the beauty of what Mason had created using her skin as his canvas. I try to swallow past the thickness in my throat, but it’s difficult when I imagine how this must have come about. I need the full story and fast.
From what I’d gathered from the argument I’d heard, Mason had his dick in Lennon when Duke walked in. My jaw clenches as my imagination runs wild, and I try to rein in my own fucking feelings about the situation. Lennon is free to do what she wants. Or who she wants, for that matter.
All I really should be concerned with is what I saw when I got up there. It’d been fucking ugly—insults flying every which way, fists pounding, mouths bloodied, faces swollen… and one very naked girl posing as Mason’s art.
Lennon leans against me, unmoving for another minute.
“I’m right here,” I murmur into her hair. “Why don’t I start the shower for you? You’ll probably feel a whole lot better and think more clearly if we get you cleaned up.”
She lets out an uneven, halting breath. “If you step away, you’re going to see”—she tips her chin, looking up at me—“and I shouldn’t be fucking embarrassed because this isn’t about me. It’s about Mason wanting to hurt me for going up there. That’s on me, and I’m fine with it.” She shrugs.
Her confidence and straightforward assessment of the situation astounds me.
I brush her hair from her face and cup her charcoal smudged cheeks. “You’re rather impressive.” I tip my forehead to hers before easing away to start the water.
