Fallen Crest Family

  now."

  "What else did he say?" I knew there was more. I could see it on his face, but he shook his head. "Mason."

  "We should go home."

  This wasn't good. Mason didn't stand down to anyone and that was what he was doing. Dread turned to a sick feeling. I didn't want to go into that house. I didn't want to deal with my mother, not when she had affected him like this.

  Nate stood with us. He had a small grin on his face, like he was anticipating some fireworks. But Mason held a hand out. "No, man. Just me and Sam."

  The grin vanished. Nate straightened to his fullest height of six feet and one inch. His shoulders squared back. "You sure?"

  "Yeah."

  "Logan?"

  "Don't tell him what's going on." Mason touched the small of my back and urged me ahead of him. He paused at the door. "Keep him here. Keep him happy. He can't rush into this, he'd make it worse."

  Nate nodded. Mission received and accepted.

  As I watched the exchange, a different perverse feeling came over me. This was the dynamic between the two that I didn't like, where they cut everyone else out. If they did it with Logan, I knew they could do it with me. That didn't sit well with me. I didn't like the idea of Mason having someone 'handle' me as he had Nate handle Logan at times.

  But I didn't say anything. I was too scared to, not because of how Mason would react, but because I couldn't handle any more deep stuff. The hurt that I was blasted with when I saw Jessica still felt raw. It made me realize how much I had suppressed at the beginning of the year, and that was just the tip of the iceberg. There was so much more pain where that came from, and right now, as Mason and I slipped around the side of the house and went to his car, I knew we weren't headed to an afternoon of kissing and cuddling. We were headed to meet with my mom and his dad. Not good.

  Once we had left the driveway and headed back towards town, I reached over and turned the radio off. Then I leaned back and took a breath. I readied myself. "Okay, so what did your dad say?"

  Mason kept driving. He didn't visibly react, but I knew he tensed. I felt it from him. Then he clipped out, "Your mom wants one of us out of the house."

  "What?"

  He jerked his head in a nod. "And I don't want to go. I don't want you sleeping somewhere else or me somewhere else. I don't want to have to sneak in to see my girlfriend or even having your mom breathing down our backs when one of us is in the house. I've dealt with so much more than her. It's pissing me off. And you, where was she when she dumped you in our house with no friends and no father? She took off with my dad. Now she suddenly wants to come and act like your mother?" He cursed again and shook his head. The anger in his eyes made them glimmer. "I can't believe her and I can't believe my dad. He's always known the deal. We raised ourselves. I raised Logan. He was never around. He was either cheating on our mom or away on business trips. I raised Logan. He didn't. I swear to god, he wants to start laying the law down as my father? I'm eighteen. I'm gone the end of the summer and he's doing this now?"

  'I'm gone the end of the summer.' Those words hit me hard. I fell back against my seat. I knew Mason would be leaving, but I hadn't really thought about it. He was going. He was really going.

  He would be gone.

  I didn't want to go back to the mansion. "Stop the car."

  "What?"

  "Stop the car." Something fierce came over me. "Stop the car now."

  "Why?" But he slowed it down and turned into a parking lot. "What's going on?"

  I shook my head and rasped out, "I'm not doing this with them. You're right. I know my mom wants us to stop sleeping together, but we can't." I wouldn't stop. I couldn't.

  "Hey, hey." His voice was low and smooth. He cupped the end of my elbow and turned me towards him. "We won't. I promise. I just don't know what to do with your mom. My dad said that she's going nuts. She's making all these threats—" He stopped abruptly.

  Oh god.

  I asked, with my heart pounding, "What is she saying?"

  "She's threatening to leave him if I won't stop seeing you."

  "Are you kidding me?"

  He shook his head. There was a deep pain in his eyes. It stabbed me in the chest. "What else?" I knew there was more. I needed to know all of it now.

  "She said that if he can't control his kid, then she'll control hers. She's saying that she'll leave him and take you away."

  I waited a beat.

  I let his words sink in. And then I went with my gut. "She's lying."

  She had to be lying. That was all there was to it.

  Mason didn't say a word.

  I knew my mother, and I knew she wouldn't leave James Kade. There was no way. He was her bread and butter. He was her soulmate, or so she thought, and he loved her. I knew David loved her, but he didn't love her as much as James Kade did.

  I squeezed Mason's hand. I squeezed until I feared it might come off, but I couldn't stop. "She's lying. Analise knows that James won't want to lose her. He loves her that much, so she's bluffing. She won't leave him. She knows he'll step in and stop her before she does."

  He fell back against his seat and said quietly, "I know, but it's going to work. He's going to kick me out to keep her."

  My eyes closed. My mom really was a bastard. So much other emotions came up within me, but I pushed them back down. I rasped out, "What do we do?"

  "We can't call her bluff. Then he'll really do it."

  And that was the crux of it. My mother was sending an ultimatum. Her or his son. James had to choose and we knew who that would be.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  We didn't go back to the Kade mansion. We had another two weeks of break before we had to make any decisions so we went to Los Angeles. Just him and me. It was needed.

  He called Nate after we turned the car around. He told him that we were going to be staying at one of his mother's places. Then he called Logan and told him the same, except he said that it was because we wanted some alone time. Neither had been happy, particularly when he said it might be for awhile, but neither argued.

  I knew both wanted their partner in crime for whatever adventures they thought would happen, but the truth was that I wanted to get away. The tension had become unbearable at home between Analise and Mason. Neither would back down, and I was scared of what could happen. Logan stayed out of it, mostly, but there were times he would stir the pot. A smartass comment would come out or he would insinuate how the sex must've been good between Mason and me. And he loved to share his own sexual stories. Analise looked ready to explode when she was reminded how sexually experienced they were.

  My stomach twisted in knots again as I remembered a few of those times. James and I were the quiet ones, but I could tell he was affected as well. I didn't understand the dynamic between him and his sons, but I knew it was a strange one.

  "Here we are." Mason slowed his Escalade and turned into a cobblestone driveway that led to a large door. A doorman was in front of the sliding glass doors. As a black limousine paused in front of us, a woman in a nude-colored dress stepped out. She wore sunglasses and her blonde hair was swept up in a fancy bun. As we watched, she waited for the driver to pull a piece of luggage out of the back for her. Instead of handing it to her, it was handed to the doorman, who swept his hand out so the doors slid open. Then he followed her inside. It wasn't long before the driver returned to his seat and the limousine pulled away from the doors.

  "Your mom has a place in this building?"

  "Yep, she's got one of the top floors."

  My mouth dropped.

  He flashed a grin. "I told you my mom was wealthy. My dad's money can't touch hers. This is only one of her places, and trust me, this is the one she rarely uses. You saw that lady just now?"

  I nodded.

  "My mom hates her." He shrugged. "No idea why."

  "That's why your mom doesn't come here that often?"

  He nodded as the doorman appeared again. Then he pulled his Escalade up to the door. When we bot
h got out, the doorman broke out into a friendly grin. He wore a navy blue suit with a yellow tie. He looked older, possibly in his fifties, with graying hair. His smile lit up his face. The blue in his eyes turned warm, and the affection he felt for Mason was evident. He drew him in for a hug and clasped him on the shoulder with his black leather gloves. "It's good to see you, Master Kade! It's been so long."

  Mason's own smile was ear to ear when he stepped back. "It has been."

  The man still held onto his arms. He didn't drop them when his smile slipped a little bit. "And your mother? Is she here with you?"

  "Nah, Stuart. I hope she won't find out that I'm here." Then he extended a hand towards me. "This is my girlfriend, Sam. We're on break from school so we're hiding out."

  The warm eyes turned towards me, and they sparkled as he took me in. "I see." His hands fell away from Mason's arms. "She is a beauty, Mason. You have done well."

  "I think so."

  With both of their attention on me, I flushed and looked away. Beauty? What was he smoking?

  "And Logan?"

  "Nope. It's just me and Sam."

  "Ah, I see. One of those vacations."

  "Yeah and mum's the word, Stu."

  "Of course, Master Kade."

  A curse slipped out. "Come on, Stu. Mason. You're supposed to call me Mason."

  "Of course, Master Kade." Then I looked back and he held out a hand to me. "And what shall I call this exquisite beautiful creature? I cannot call you by your personal name, Sam. Samantha? Mistress, hmmm? What is your last name?"

  "You can call her Samantha."

  I took his hand, and my eyes went wide when he lifted it for a kiss. His cool lips pressed a chaste kiss to the back of my hand, but the friendliness in his eyes overwhelmed me. He wasn't inappropriately friendly. I knew it was from the respect he held for Mason. It took my breath away for a moment.

  "I cannot," he murmured as he let go of my hand. "I have not earned the right to use her first name. What is your last name?"

  "Strattan."

  "Mistress Strattan it is." His smile deepened an inch.

  I wanted to groan as I realized that I would be called that from now on. Awkward. And if any of my friends heard him—no. I didn't have any friends. It didn't matter.

  The front lobby wasn't big. There was a front desk, an elevator, and a small sitting area. As we went to the elevator and reached the 24th floor, I found myself staring at something I would've seen on a television show. The floor was modern and chic with white couches in front of a fireplace and a red table beside the kitchen. When Mason took my hand and led me to our bedroom, there was a plush white comforter on the bed with gold trim. The far wall was a floor to ceiling window, with a view that overlooked Los Angeles. It was spectacular.

  "As promised," Mason drew my attention towards the closet. He toed it open for me. "You won't need clothes. My mom keeps clothes here for everyone. We have a few cousins your size and she loves to dote on them. When they come here, they know they don't have to pack."

  "And you?"

  He grinned and gestured towards the dresser that was painted white. It matched the comforter. "I keep clothes here, so does Logan. This is the place we use when we come to see her."

  "You have cousins?" He'd never told me about them before.

  "Yeah." A fond grin appeared. "They're crazy and spoiled, but I think you'd like them."

  "From your mother's side?" Obviously.

  "She has two brothers and a little sister. They all have kids. Logan and I stay with dad, but we try to see them every now and then. It's been awhile."

  "How long?"

  "Since the summer. We went on a cruise with our cousins. My mom was in heaven. She loved having us with her side of the family."

  "Mason." My chest hurt. The question I was about to ask was one that I'd had for awhile. "Why do you live with your dad? Why is it so important for you to stay?"

  He seemed taken aback as he sat on the bed. Then, with a somber expression, he lifted his hand for me. My heart pounded with each step I took until I touched his hand with mine. His fingers were cool at first. He wrapped his hand around mine and warmth from him enveloped me soon after. Then he tugged me between his legs. As he fell down, he lifted me with him to straddle his waist. Then he gazed at me. The somber expression darkened to something else, something that stirred my heart.

  He spoke in a soft voice, "Before this year, it was because of football. We stayed with our mom after they got divorced, but the school we were going to didn't have a good football team. Then dad told us about your dad. He wanted us to go to Fallen Crest Academy, but when we actually moved there and toured the school, I knew the team wasn't going to be good enough to get recruits. So we went to Public. They got a new coach, someone I had heard about. It seemed more promising. The team was better. The guys were bigger, tougher. They were more serious about football, so we went there. It was the right move for me. I don't know about Logan. He's not as serious about football as me. I think he just played because I did."

  "And now?"

  His grin softened as he reached up and traced the side of my face with his finger. He brought it down before he cupped the side of my face. His lips touched my cheek, softly and tenderly. My eyes closed as he moved to my lips. Heat started low within me but rose at a rapid pace. My heart picked up, and I was panting before his lips touched mine fully. Then he opened them, demanding more, commanding more from me, and I answered. My mouth opened. As his tongue swept inside, mine rubbed against his. It was one of my favorite things to do. We were connected, inside and out. Then I wanted more. It was always the same. I'd always want more with him.

  As he pulled away, I groaned, but grinned as I heard his soft chuckle. I rested my forehead on his when he panted out, "What do you think?"

  I grinned, feeling silly from how happy I was. "Because of me?"

  His hand cupped under my head and tilted me back. My eyes opened and widened when I saw the fierceness in his. "I won't get run off from you. I love you, Sam. I said it before and I mean it. I won't let your mom control my life."

  When a thread of hostility slipped into his tone, my heart raced. I knew he didn't like my mother, but I was starting to wonder if he hated her.

  He continued, "I was okay with her moving in. I had one year left. I didn't figure she could do much damage in that one year."

  "What about Logan?" My hands lifted to his shoulders. I took hold there.

  He shrugged as he bent and placed a soft kiss on my shoulder. Then he sat further up and slid a hand underneath me. He lifted me even closer so I wrapped my legs around his back. We were fully aligned together. Remove his jeans, mine and he could've slipped inside of me. I felt him harden against me. The feeling of him was intoxicating.

  "Before you, I think he would've moved back with our mom. He liked our old school. He liked going to school with our cousins. Two of them, James and Will, are just like Logan. They're the three musketeers."

  I shuddered at that thought. "Three Logans?"

  "Yeah." Mason chuckled again as he gazed up at me. "But that was awhile ago. Why are you asking?"

  "You think he'll stay another year?"

  "He will since you'll be there. You know both of us want you to transfer to Public. We have a better track team. I've talked to you about that before."

  I sighed as I remembered those conversations. Mason brought it up once when we had been in bed. Then it was raised again at the kitchen table. Logan brought up the topic, Mason jumped in, and I was double-teamed. I never told them what I had decided, but the truth was that I wasn't sure.

  Fallen Crest Academy was a better school, but they were right. Fallen Crest Public had a better track team. Mason went to their track coach. He agreed to meet with me and he watched me run every day over the last week. He timed how long I would go on their inside track, but he hadn't said anything during our last session. I wanted to wait until I knew that it would be worth the transfer.

  "I don't get it
, Sam. Why do you want to stay there? Douchebag turned everyone against you."

  I grinned down at him, at the frustration in his voice. "You look cute when you're pissed with me."