Menace Read online

  It means a lot to hear him say that, almost to the point that I become emotional. I’ve lived a lot of my life wondering when the other shoe will drop, when the next thing happens that makes me adjust my timeline. In all honesty, I’ve been doing that with Rina, too.

  “You think Karina’s lucky?” I throw the sentence out there, not sure why. Maybe today I need some confirmation on what I’m doing right in my life. It’s not like Havoc and I need our egos stroked, but once in a while it’s nice to know we’re on the right track.

  “Hell yeah. I can’t speak for how you treat her as the man in her life, but I’ve seen the two of you together a few times now. The way she smiles at you? You’ve got that on lock down, whether you know it or not, whether you really wanted it or not.”

  “I wanted it, I want it,” I interrupt him. “But like I said, it’s hard to take shit at face value. I hear stuff. There’s other teachers at school who want her, she’s younger than I am. Caleb comes with me, and what woman her age wants a stepchild a few years younger than she is? I’m loaded with a shit ton of baggage.”

  “We all are, Mason. Don’t act like you’re special.”

  The chuckle that works its way past my throat is one I’ve needed to feel for a while. “Got it, I’m not a special snowflake.”

  “We all got shit in our pasts, some worse than others, but fuck, dude. She’s into you. She loves your son, and I don’t think anyone can miss she loves you too. I know it’s hard for you to let things happen, I know it goes against every fiber of your being, but let this play out. Caleb leaves at the end of the school year. Then it’s just the two of you. It’s going to be important for you to have someone to share those lonely moments with, don’t blow it yet.”

  “I’d rather not blow it period.”

  “Then don’t.” Havoc grins over at me. “Just don’t. Tell her how you feel about her and move forward.”

  “Because that worked so well with you?” I quirk my eyebrow at my friend.

  “Leigh knows I love her,” he argues.

  “She didn’t, not at first.”

  “Exactly, I had to tell her, I had to show my feelings and let her know what was going on. Women aren’t mind readers, just like we aren’t. You’ve gotta let her in, Mason.”

  “It’s hard,” I admit. “So hard to let anyone in. Even when I think I’m ready, and I tell myself I am, it’s hard. She’s coming over to the house now, she’s staying some nights. I just don’t know if I can let her realize how important she is to me.”

  “You let me be your friend.”

  He’s right, and he makes a good point. I let the MTF guys and their women into my life, and it has been amazing not only for me, but for Caleb too. I can only imagine what will happen if I let Rina in all the way. Something tells me it’ll be one of the best decisions I’ve ever made, if I can just move past the fear.

  Karina

  “No, Caleb.” I laugh as he demolishes a potato with the knife he’s holding. “You have to cut it in quarters or strips, otherwise it won’t get done.”

  “I don’t know if I’m completely cut out for this cooking thing,” he sighs. “I don’t know how Dad does it.”

  He does it because he has to, and he does it because from what I can tell, he really only knows like five recipes well. “Mason’s a jack of all trades.”

  Caleb makes a noise of affirmation in his throat. “Can I ask you a question, Kari?”

  His voice is so serious, I’m not positive I want to know what the question is. “Are you gonna move in here when I’m gone?”

  The knife I’m holding takes a sharp detour to the left. “I don’t know, Caleb, your dad and I haven’t really talked about it.”

  “I mean, you stay here at least part of the week now. You have since I got sick.”

  He’s right. Since the middle of February I’ve spent more time here than I have at my own house. The feeling has been mutual; anytime I’m invited over I pack a bag and typically don’t go home. With Mason not working a set shift, sometimes it’s the only way we can see one another throughout the week. “It’s something Mason and I will have to discuss, I just don’t know how to answer your question, Caleb.”

  “I’m just sayin’.” He shrugs. “I’d be okay if you did. Hell, I’d be okay if you did tomorrow.”

  “Thanks, Caleb. You’ll never know how much your approval means to me. But we’ll see what happens.”

  “I’ve gotta go switch out the laundry, it’s my week.” He runs his hands under the faucet, cleaning off the residue from the food. “Be right back.”

  I watch him as he leaves, before turning my attention back to the meal I’m cooking. I don’t hear Mason until he speaks.

  “He’s right you know, you could move in here tomorrow, and I think we’d all be okay with it.”

  My hand stops chopping the vegetables, but I don’t turn around, letting what he’s said to me sink in. “Are you sure?”

  “It’s funny.” He walks over to one of the stools at the breakfast bar and has a seat. “I was just talking to Havoc today about what you mean to me. And I was explaining to him about I’m not sure how to put into words what those feelings are because you know we haven’t been together that long, but I know I feel strongly for you. It’s not easy for me to let people in, and it’s even harder for me to verbalize those feelings. Please understand what it means, me asking you to live here with me, with us.”

  Not able to stay away from him any longer, I eat up the distance between us with sure-footed steps. When I reach him, I circle my arms around his neck. “I know exactly what you mean, big guy, and I feel the same way. I’d like to live here with the two of you.” I can’t believe I’m taking this step. “I don’t sleep as well without you anymore.”

  He leans forward, resting his forehead on mine, eyes closed. “I don’t sleep so good without you anymore either.”

  “It’ll be a few weeks before I can get moved in here. You understand, right? I gotta pack up all my shit.”

  “I’ll help you,” he vows. “I don’t want us to be apart any longer than we need to be.”

  “Then I’ll gladly accept your invitation. We’ll get to work on it tomorrow. After we sleep good, and have a meal that’s not grilled chicken.”

  He laughs as I mention what he and Caleb eat more of than should be legal.

  “What is it you’ve got going over there? It smells amazing.”

  “Pot roast. I just put the veggies in, and I’m making cornbread. Should be done in about an hour.”

  His stomach growls. “Gonna have to do extra miles tomorrow, but fuck it.”

  “Yeah,” Caleb mimics as he comes into the kitchen with us. “When a woman cooks you a meal that smells this good? Fuck it all.”

  I giggle, looking between the two of them. One thing I do know for sure? My life is going to be much fuller than it’s been in years, and I have these two men in front of me to thank for it.

  Never before have I been so glad I picked Laurel Springs as my destination on that fateful day when I decided to leave Philly.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  Menace

  Two Weeks Later

  “You’ve got me so fuckin’ hard,” I moan as I run my hand up her thigh, spreading her legs around my waist. “All day long I’ve done nothing but think of you, and how you feel wrapped around me. Thank fuck we got you moved in today.”

  “What did it?” She giggles in a throaty voice. “The text last night telling you I was horny, but wouldn’t take care of it until I see you, or the picture this morning?”

  Karina, this sexy, almost nymph that I never imagined would show up and disrupt my existence is hell on my composure. When she asks questions like this, I feel compelled to tell the truth. “Both, I’m so fucking excited we got you moved in today. I don’t have to deal with that shit anymore.” My voice is deep as I situate her how I like her on my lap, leaning with my back against the headboard, taking some of the pressure off my core. “No woman I’ve ever been w
ith is honest with her sexuality like you are. It’s the biggest damn turn on.”

  She tilts her head, letting her hair fall to the side, exposing her neck to me. Taking the invitation, I dive in, suctioning my lips to her flesh, sucking ferociously, marking her for anyone she’ll allow to see it. “I’ve never been this honest with anyone else before,” she gasps, threading her fingers through my hair. “There’s something about you, you bring out the sex kitten in me.”

  “You bring out the beast in me,” I whisper as I smear my lips up her throat to her ear, twirling my tongue around the earring she wears, before using my teeth to tug on it. “Feel this.” I bring her palm down to my erection. “Do you feel how hard I am? Feel that damp spot on my boxers?”

  “Mmm hmm.” She grinds her body against me, raking her nipples along my chest, letting the hair abrade what has to be impossibly sensitive flesh, given the tautness of the skin, the peak of the nubs. “I do,” she breathes, as I dig my fingers into her thighs, seating her on top of me.

  This is a new kind of hell. All I want is to bury myself as goddamn deep as I can go, but she needs to hear, needs to know what she does to me. Pulling my head back from her body, I tilt her chin with my index finger, forcing her unfocused eyes to meet mine. “Know what that’s from?”

  Her head shakes. “Mmm mmm.”

  “You baby, you.” I push my free hand along her thigh, up her stomach, under her breast, and cup her tit as I talk to her, letting her nipple stab my palm. “That text last night got me so goddamn hard I couldn’t even take the feel of the covers against my flesh. For over an hour I laid here, wondering if I should get dressed, go over there, and take care of what you need me to take care of for you. Finally, I drifted off, promising myself I’d seek you out today.” I twist my hand, bringing my thumb and forefinger out to tweak the hard nub.

  Karina shivers, shaking when I continue to manipulate it, continue to tell her about the hell I’ve been in all day.

  “Woke up humping my mattress. Haven’t done that since I was a teenager, Rina. Couldn’t stop thinking about you all day.” I’m grinding into her core now. “Almost came twice just from my pants rubbing against my hard-on. That’s how fucking sensitive you got me. When I couldn’t take it anymore, I’d give myself a rub with my palm, edge it out, and go until I almost couldn’t take it anymore.” I tilt her chin, forcing her to meet my eyes square. “Do you know what that feels like, baby?”

  “Yeah,” she whines, grinding right along with me. “Yeah big guy, I do, because that was me today. My fingers though-,” she shakes her head, frustration in her eyes, “–aren’t the same as your cock, and I couldn’t get off.”

  I close my eyes, tilt my head back, and imagine for just a second, my Karina. Legs spread, hand between them, trying to give herself the satisfaction I give her. “You frustrated, sweetheart?”

  “So frustrated.” She pulls that full bottom lip between her teeth.

  “Now you know why I’ve been a bastard today, why my boxers have a wet spot, and why I’m about to fuck you so hard.” I reach down, pushing my boxers down my hips as she comes up on her knees.

  “Yes, Mason, yes, I want that so much.” She runs her hands up my chest, tweaking my nipples the same way I tweaked hers.

  Nipple play has never been a thing for me – ever. But when she pulls on them, I feel more precum seep from my tip. Reaching over to the bedside table, I grab a condom, rip it open, and roll it onto my length. “Not gonna be sweet, Rina.”

  “Not what I need, Mason.” She meets my gaze with hers. “Give me what you’ve got.”

  Sitting up, I situate us so that she’s bent over the edge of the bed, feet on the floor, and head down, ass up. Using my index and middle finger, I test her to make sure she’s ready. Feeling the wetness of her body, my knees give away slightly as I moan. “So damn ready for me.”

  Glancing down, I see everything I’ve ever wanted. Karina with her arms stretched out above her head, gripping the sheets with fingers curled into fists, waiting for the cock she so desperately wants. Taking a second, I run my hand over her firm ass cheeks, up her smooth back, under the fall of dark hair, and wrap some of it around my fist, tilting it up for me. With my other hand, I grasp her hips, pulling her back as I thrust my cock into her.

  We both groan, loudly in the otherwise silence of the room. Caleb’s out; we don’t have to worry about being quiet, and it’s the last thing I’m planning on being. Together, we get a rhythm going, one I know I won’t be able to keep for long, but given the way she’s slamming back to meet me, I don’t think she’ll be able to either. We’ve got each other so worked up in our heads, that this is just the culmination of our bodies finding release.

  “You fuck me so good, Mason.” She turns her head to look at me over her shoulder. Her eyes are hooded, mouth hanging open, body taut as I give her everything I’ve felt in the last twenty-four hours.

  Her pussy grips me like a glove, sucking in as I pull out. Rocking on my feet, I keep the rhythm, thrusting harder as she meets me by scooting farther back into the cradle of my body.

  “Shit,” I hiss out between gritted teeth, loosening my hold on her hair, and instead using both hands to pull her back into me.

  “Don’t stop, Mason, please don’t stop.” She grips the sheets harder, stretches her body out farther.

  That doesn’t work for me; it doesn’t let me thrust as hard as I need to. Grasping her around the thighs, I slam our bodies into one another, using the force to make her come up slightly on her knees. With one hand I reach around, grabbing a palm full of her tit. With the other, I close it around her neck, tilting her just the way I like, burying my face in the spot where neck and shoulder meet.

  She whines as I tease her nipple, turning and twisting it in between my fingers, using everything I’ve learned about her to take her pleasure to the next level. Reaching behind her, she makes a grab for anything that can help her regain purchase. When her hands land on my thighs, she squeezes roughly, digging her nails into flesh. The bite of pain feels incredible as I continue to thrust, withdraw, thrust, and withdraw. My cock has been hard for far too long to keep this going, and I know without a doubt I’ll blow soon.

  Using my teeth, I worry the flesh on her shoulder, nipping with the pressure I know she likes, before I let my other hand work its way down her body. The tip of my finger finds her clit. It’s seeking, looking for something to give it the ultimate pleasure, and when I drag my finger across it, Karina screams.

  “Oh my God! Mason, I don’t know if I can take it.”

  She’s surrounded by me. By my body, my scent – everything. From being surrounded by her, I know it’s a crazy feeling, and it’s easy to let passion take over. “You can take it all,” I promise her as I slide deeper into her body, her pussy loosening up as I work her clit with the pad of my finger. “You can take everything I’m going to give you.”

  “Mmmmmmm,” she hums as she grips my thighs harder, digging her nails even deeper into the skin. “I can’t,” she pants, trying to catch her breath. “I don’t…” she stops talking, removes her hands from me, and uses them on herself.

  It’s almost as if she can’t stop touching herself, I feel her hand colliding with mine at her breast. Our fingers tangle as we both go for her nipple, her other hand stops overtop of mine at her pussy. Together we work on getting her off. I fuck her without limits, without care – all I want is for both of us to get off. I want to feel myself shoot inside this goddamn rubber, and I want to hear her scream so loud the neighbors know we just had sex.

  “I can’t,” she’s still saying.

  “Can’t what, Rina?” I breathe into her ear, as I don’t stop my assault.

  Fuck I couldn’t stop it if I wanted to. Right now my cock is curved and ready for one thing, and that’s fucking the woman who’s had me crazy since the moment I met her.

  “Can’t believe how you’re making me feel.” She leans her head back against my shoulder, finally going limp, letting me have
complete control over her body.

  “I’m about to make you feel a whole lot better.”

  Whereas before she had been bracing against her knees, she just can’t seem to take the force with which I’m going at her anymore. I literally pick her up in my arms as I thrust this time, pushing her across the bed as I do it. Her arms are reaching out in front of her, trying to find a way to get me to stop moving her, but I can’t stop, I’m too close.

  As she goes over the other side of the bed, she screams, reaching down to brace her arms on the floor.

  “Oh fuck,” she groans. “In this position-,” she takes huge gulpfuls of air, “I’m rubbing against the bed. Jesus Christ.”

  And as she pushes back against me, I feel myself break as she breaks. I swear to God I come so much there’s not enough room in the condom. “Fuck me, oh fuck.” I withdraw quickly, strip the condom off, and finish coming against the sheets.

  Glancing down, my dick is still hard, engorged, and looking like it’s ready for action. A split-second decision is made by me as I see that Karina is still on her knees, arms still bracing her, pussy in the air.

  I wrap my fingers around my cock, jacking it ferociously as I take two fingers and plunge into her tightness.

  “Mason!” The scream is as loud as I’ve wanted to hear from her since we started. Her legs are shaking; I feel a gush of wetness against my palm as she literally collapses. And only then do I let myself completely go, only then do I let myself shoot against the blankets again and feel completely and utterly drained. Chest heaving, body a mess, my soul is healed, and I have one person to thank for that.

  The woman who gave me a piece of myself back.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  Karina

  March

  “Do you have everything we’re taking?” I ask Caleb and Mason as we grab bags we’re taking to a Moonshine Task Force lunch.