“Stop acting like I'm going to fall, Mason. I swear I wouldn't get up if I didn't feel better.”
I snaked my arm around her waist, holding her tightly against me, “It's funny that you think I touch you for your benefit when I'm constantly struck by the urge to chain you to me. You should probably let me have my way, so I don't become even more obsessed with you.”
“How close would you like to be exactly? So that I can adjust my expectations accordingly.” Her dry delivery made me smile, but her attitude didn't deter me.
I pressed my lips to the shell of her ear, “I'd like your entire body pressed against mine while you sheath my cock.”
She shivered, her body trembling delicately in my hold, and I led her toward the stairs without another word. The others could finish here. It was time to get her head off of things.
“So, this obsession with me is about sex, then?” she asked as soon as the basement door was securely closed behind us.
“Mm, part of it, sure. Fucking you is the most basic and complex pleasure I’ve ever experienced. But even that comes from the fact that I would happily live beneath your skin.”
Blood rushed into her cheeks, pinkening her tan skin, “You have serious issues.” She looked like she meant it, but she didn’t complain about my arm around her anymore.
I led her to the front door, eager to get her away from a situation that upset her so badly. Unfortunately, the wind had picked up while we worked our way beneath the city, and the day that had been almost warm was now glacial. I steered her back to the car, quietly scanning our surroundings as we went.
Lawrence turned to us as we climbed inside. “Someone was here watching you, Mr. Sharp. I tried to call, but it wouldn’t ring. I think they jammed the signal because my phone was working until they pulled up. And I wasn’t about to leave them up here with no eyes on them.”
I took a moment to absorb his words. He acted appropriately, so my urge to lash out at him didn’t come from a place of reason. It came from a place that made me far too much like my father. I swallowed it back, refusing to be that man, just like Claire told me I didn’t have to be. “When did they leave?”
Victor opened the door, and he and Mila slid into the back.
“They pulled off the moment the front door opened,” Lawrence continued, sparking Vick’s interest. “We could try to follow them, but it’s probably been too long now.”
I shook my head, no point racing after nothing. “If they drove off when they saw us coming, it probably wasn’t Hector’s men.”
“Why?” Claire asked.
“They would have left while we headed back up, not sped off just as we came out. We left them in the basement with plenty of time to send a text.”
“Not if the signal was jammed.”
“Not if the signal was jammed,” I repeated, though I wasn't sure it had been, at least not inside the building where Mila had easy access to the security system, “You're right. It's bestnotto rule them out yet.”
“Who doyouthink it was then?” Victor asked, forming theories of his own.
“My father or Daniel,” I answered quickly. Though, if he wanted the individual's name, he would be scouring an endless list of suspects. “You have any details on the car?”
“All of them,” Lawrence answered.
“Good. Mila, pull out that laptop of yours and see what you can find.”
I tuned Mila out as she questioned Lawrence, and contemplated what someone following me so openly meant.
I was unsurprised when Mila announced, “Absolutely nothing. The plates are fake.”
Chapter 14
Mason
“Iamnotmarryingyou tomorrow,” Claire stubbornly argued from her seat on the couch. Despite claiming she didn't want or need the Christmas tree, she had been sitting in the living room much more than she usually did. She hadn't asked me to take it down, and I didn't plan to until she did or it dried out and became a fire hazard.
After we got home from the library and City Hall, she slept for about thirteen hours straight. Today there was nothing on the agenda aside from me keeping up on everyone to ensure they were doing their jobs. So far, everything was quiet.
“Youare, actually. I've arranged everything. It's going to be perfect.” She rolled her eyes at me, and I seriously considered spanking her lovely ass, but I couldn't whenIwas the one springing a surprise wedding on her.
“We need a marriage license,” her voice raised to an adorable nervous pitch.