Atonement (Heart of Stone) (3 page)

My body exploded in pleasure. My eyes rolled, my breath
stuck in my throat prior to bursting forth in a scream of ecstasy as I climaxed
violently and extensively.

“Fuck, yes. Knees.” He demanded as he rose to his feet
and I sunk to my knees. “Open that delicious mouth, baby.”

He grabbed my hair and thrust his rock solid cock into my
mouth. I knew what he wanted so I kept my head still but closed my lips over
him tightly. His hands manipulated each movement of my plunges on him as he
kept a tight rein on my head, not allowing me any give as he fucked my mouth
hard and fast with deep thrusts of his hips.

Within seconds he was swelling and exploding vehemently
down my throat as he shouted my name viciously; anger and passion forcing its
way through him and erupting with his loud shout.

“Christ, Ava.” He panted as he palmed the counter to
support his trembling legs. He grinned down at me as a dribble of his cum slid
down my chin and landed on my breast. “You save that for me, baby?”

I gave him a brazen smile as he slid to his knees before
me and his tongue swept out to catch his own sperm. He licked his lips after
then took me in a hard kiss before he slowed to a tender loving proper English
snog. “I love you so much, Ava.”

I sighed in contentment; those words were my personal boost
pill. Every time they left his lips, they were said with a fierce truth, a severe
implication of deep love to them and said with such importance that they warmed
my heart. “And me, you.” I whispered as I always did.

“You gonna tell me the truth now?” I asked her as I
palmed her cheeks gently.

She sighed, again…
a-fucking-gain
. She was really
pissing me off now and she realised it as she scanned my face. “Mason, I…”

The door decided to open to Sam and Greg and I growled
out a halt to them whilst Ava slipped her dress back on. “It’s about time you
started fucking knocking” I bellowed at them but Greg just laughed at me.

Fair enough it was nothing he hadn’t seen before as we
regularly joined him and Courtney in a foursome, but it was the fact that this
was my fucking home, not just business and they needed to learn some God damn
respect.

Ava nodded and smiled before she slid from the kitchen
and I grit my teeth at my lost chance of cornering her.

“Office” I barked at the guys as Brad, one of my new guys,
and Brian joined the others, without knocking of course.

It was something that needed to be addressed and it was
the first point of the morning as I entered my office behind them and shut the
door so Ava couldn’t pick up the topic that we needed to discuss.

“You all need to learn to fucking knock.” I eyed each of
them and they all gave me a nod apart from Greg who barked out a chuckle again.
I slowly swung my eyes round to him as I sucked air through my teeth to stop me
from knocking his face through the wall. “You got a problem with fisting my
front door, Greg?”

He narrowed his eyes on me and held up his hands in
submission as he shook his head, “Wow, serious mood today, eh?”

Christ, I was gonna rip this man’s fucking head off any
minute.

Sam was shrewd enough to stand and glare at Greg before
he turned to me, “We’ll start knocking Mase, sorry.”

I nodded and sighed as I slipped into my desk chair. “We
need to sort this shit out.” Sam nodded again as I turned to Greg, “I need
Lucas in and Elijah.”

He stared at me with a frown. “No offence, Mase but
what’s Lucas gonna do? He’s like a gay bulldog, Willow has more punch.”

“That’s for me to worry about, Greg.” He looked affronted
at his exclusion but he was wise enough not to voice his displeasure.

“All’s good.” Sam answered.

“You need to get your men on 24 hour watch, Brad.” He
nodded firmly in reply; his taciturn demeanour had made me like him immediately
when we met. This man had been the best recommendation Gary’s dad, Liam, had
forwarded on.

Gary Thornton and Ava had become close in the previous
few years and his parents had taken Ava in as one of their own and as a result
of their friendship I had been introduced to Gary’s dad, Liam Thornton, head of
MI5. Yes, that had been a wonderful revelation and we’d had some wonderful
discussions, sometimes quite informative for both of us, and he had proceeded
to recommend various people that wanted on my payroll, Brad being one of them
and as an ex member of the MI5 he was a great addition to my team.

I turned to Brian, “You need to keep your ear down and
pick up any…”

The door swung open and Ava walked in with a tray of
coffee and pastries. “You need to learn to fucking knock, baby.”

Her eyes widened at my tone but I stared her out, she was
another person who didn’t know how to enter places properly.

Everybody’s eyes rolled to gape at me but I wasn’t in the
mood to yield. I tipped my head at her and lifted a brow when she narrowed her
eyes on me but her eyes scanned the room at the others before she wisely decided
not to humiliate me in front of them.

Her chest expanded as she drew in a heavy breath and my
gaze dropped to her large breasts, their perfectness expanding as her lungs
inflated.

“I’m going out.” She said rigidly as she shouted at me
through her glare.

“What happened to the headache?”

Her tongue rolled over her top teeth in her anger but she
still fought it back, “There are these little white pills called paracetamol,
Mason. Wonderful things, you should try them.”

Okay.

She was out of the room in seconds as I circled her waist
with an arm and pulled her through the door before I slammed it shut to the
guys eavesdropping and pinned her to the wall.

She lowered her eyes so I grasped her chin and made her
gaze meet mine. “I don’t know what the hell is wrong with you lately but not in
front of the guys, baby. That I won’t stand for, you know it.”

She shrugged, “But it’s okay for you to demean me in
front of them? This is my God damn home!” she spat angrily.

I narrowed my eyes and tried to read her face but she was
just too angry for me to see anything else. “Not – in – front – of – the –
guys.” I repeated.

She squirmed under me as I planted a tender kiss to her
forehead, “You understand?”

“Go – to – hell!”

Wow! Discipline and behaviour would be discussed in the
bedroom tonight. No way would she be getting away with this.

I closed my eyes and pulled in a deep breath to calm my
rage. “Tonight, baby. Kerrie can have the kids and me and you are fucking
talking. Make sure you don’t make plans.”

“I’m going out tonight” She replied quickly and I
frowned. It was rare Ava went anywhere at night. She usually stayed in with the
twins whilst I did the rounds of the clubs and other stuff.

“No, baby. You’re not listening.”

“For Christ’s sake Mason, it’s you who isn’t listening, I
am going out. You can watch Katie and Georgie for a change. I have a life as
well.”

“What the fuck is wrong with you?”

She exhaled heavily as her eyes fired angrily, “Me? You
need to learn to respect me, Mason. After eight years you still treat me like
one of your damn men. I have made arrangements, deal with it.”

Enough.

I grabbed both of her wrists and pinned them above her
head. “Enough! Now!”

She knew she had gone too far when her gaze dropped to
the floor and she nodded slightly. “I’m sorry.”

I relaxed my hold on her and palmed her cheek before I
slid my hand round into her soft curls. “We need to talk, Ava. I won’t let our
relationship slip away until we have a huge problem. We talk, tonight.”

She sighed but nodded, “Fine.”

“Good girl, now kiss me.”

Her lips twitched as she fought the smile. I didn’t fight
mine as she reached up to me and planted her soft pliant lips over mine. I let
out a small groan as I always did when she kissed me, I couldn’t help it, it
was involuntary; the same as my blood always sank to my cock simultaneously.

“I love you, baby” I whispered against her mouth.

She nodded and palmed my cheek, “I know you do, Mason.”

She planted a small kiss on my lips before she turned and
descended the stairs.

I watched her retreat and I didn’t miss the fact that she
hadn’t returned my words.

***

“You know what confidential means Lucas?”

He stared at me as we entered the building, “Yeah Mason,
I know what confidential means and funnily enough, I’m okay with that. Why I
would want to discuss
this
with anyone is beyond me.”

I narrowed my eyes on him, “You have a problem with
this
?”

He barked out a sarcastic laugh. “No” he relented with a
slight shake of his head.

The foyer was full of angry women and I frowned as I
walked into the middle of them and turned to Tracey. “What the fuck is going
on?”

“Wendy’s buggered off.”

“Fuck!”

I looked at Olga and tipped my head towards Lucas, “Take
him up to my office.”

She nodded once and gestured for Lucas to follow her as I
held my hand up to the enraged assembly. “Shut – the – fuck –up!”

They all quietened and looked at me and I turned back to
Tracey. “Any excuse why she went?”

She raised her perfectly manicured brows at me and I
sighed and nodded. There was only one person who could fill in her position and
I fucked myself inwardly for what I was about to do. “I’ll sort it within the
end of the day.”

Tracey nodded and I trusted her to pacify the girls. “And
the other situation?” she asked with a cringe.

I understood her worry and I smiled at her and held each
of them at my attention “That’s sorted too. Security will be moving in tonight
so don’t worry, okay?”

They each nodded but I could still read their hesitancy
and I was with them all on this. “Don’t worry girls, the protection I’m
bringing in are professional and highly trained. Nothing more will happen
here.”

They seemed more placated with this and I could hear
their mumbles as I entered my office down the hallway.

Lucas eyed me sceptically as I walked in. I nodded to
Olga who returned my nod and disappeared through the door.

“I want you to access CCTV and any e-mails that were
forwarded from here and then deleted. I need you to find if anything suspicious
is happening within these four walls. Look through the bookings or request logs
and see if you find anything that looks dodgy, then I need you to set up
firewalls, new passwords and any other security on my internal tech stuff.”

“That’s all fine but I need something to work with Mason,
anything you can tell me that will help my search and what it is I’m even
looking for.”

I debated how much to tell him. Lucas’s wife and my best
friend, Layla, was close to Ava and if this got back to her, my marriage was
over.

“You don’t need to know anymore. Just anything that pops
out as unusual or something repetitive that doesn’t seem right.”

He sighed heavily and rolled his eyes but nodded, “Fine,
but cos’ I don’t exactly know what to look for it could take a while.”

I nodded, “That’s fine, Nate knows I have you here and
he’s good with it. For some reason he says he has a new tech guy going in for a
few weeks so he doesn’t need you.”

Lucas frowned and pursed his lips, “That must be why
Kade’s in then.”

“What?”

He frowned at me. “Didn’t Ava tell you? Kade’s in, that’s
why she’s resigned.”

What the fuck!

I didn’t give him chance to say anymore, I was out of the
door and climbing into my car within the minute.

My wife had some serious explaining to do.

     
“Perfect” Owen smiled proudly at me as Courtney clapped from where she
was propped up at the bar in The Black Panther, hiccupping with a smile after
taste testing my many attempts at various cocktails. “You see, Ava, you got the
hang of it. You’ll mostly be waiting tables but it will help if you can serve
as well.”

I nodded happily and smiled as William approached us with
an equally wide smile. “Ava, sweetheart, you do know the uniform is compulsory don’t
you?”

I nodded and grinned with excitement as William held up a
Black Panther uniform in my size. “And Mason will be okay with you wearing
this?” he asked sceptically. He knew my husband inside out.

I shrugged, “I need the job William, so…”

He grimaced but nodded. “I’ll let you tell him then” he laughed
and I smirked at his cunning. “Can you start tonight?”

Mason’s demand bounced around the obedient parts of my
brain but the defiant part smiled in glee, my excitement at my new job pushing
me to accept. “Sure, what time?”

“6?”

I nodded happily as I took the uniform from William and
studied it. Mason would freak if he saw me in this. I looked at Courtney, “Can
I come to yours from here?”

She nodded and clapped her hands. “We haven’t done an
afternoon together for ages.”

I grinned in return. She was right. I missed my best
friend and our time together but it wasn’t always that easy to find time
together when we both had families.

I needed to sort out childcare on a regular basis and a
thought popped into my head.

“Kerrie” I greeted Mason’s sister when she answered her
phone.

“Hey, sweetie” she smiled down the phone.

“How do you fancy a job? Fulltime.”

She was silent in her confusion so I filled her in on my
new job and she accepted immediately. “God, I would love to. You know I enjoy
spending time with them.”

“Can you start today?” I asked hesitantly but she accepted
and told me she would pick Katie and George up from school.

Perfect.

***

“Something funny is going off with our men” Courtney said
as she narrowed her eyes in thought and I frowned.

“What do you mean?”

“Haven’t you noticed how they’re whispering and hiding
stuff? Mason called an emergency meeting this morning and everybody went
running.”

My mind wandered back to his scolding when I walked into
his office without knocking.

“Come to think of it, he did disappear this morning
without telling me and he proper shouted at me for entering his office during a
meeting. He doesn’t usually bother. I know his lifestyle and business choices
now so…” I told her as I watched her paint my toe nails a funny grey colour. I
wasn’t sure I liked it but I would refrain from telling her.

It was unusual for Mason to be so secretive and he did
seem quite stressed when he came back home. He’d told me he’d had a morning
from hell but I hadn’t questioned it. I should have.

“Well, I’m telling you, they’re hiding something and I
dunno about you, Ava, but I’m determined to find out what.”

My phone trilled inside my bag and Courtney reached over
and pulled it out for me whilst I remained immobile with wet toes. “Mason” She
informed me and I sighed as I took it from her and answered.

“Where the fuck are you?” he growled at me and I gasped.

“Hello to you too Mason, I’m getting pretty sick and
tired of your bloody attitude towards me.”

“And I’m getting sick and fucking tired of your fucking
lies, Ava, so I guess we’re even.”

I gulped and stilled, “What?”

“Where are you?”

Shit!

“Uhh, I’m out.”

He barked out a loud scoff. “Well that I do know, what I
want to know is where you are” he repeated slowly.

Courtney was staring at me with wide eyes as she caught
Mason’s anger through the receiver, his loud voice sifting into the quietness of
the room.

“It doesn’t matter where I am but I need to tell you
Kerrie is picking the kids up and I won’t be home for tea.”

He was eerily silent before he spoke slowly and levelly.
“Do not fuck me off any more today, Ava. You’re already down for reprimand
tonight, don’t make it worse.”

“What the hell, Mason. I’m not a child.”

“Well don’t fucking act like one then!”

“You’re barking and swearing at me down the phone, but
it’s me who’s acting like a child?”

I heard his severe inhalation and I could picture him
gripping something tightly in his fist as he tried to control his temper. “I’m
gonna ask you one more time, baby. Where the fuck are you?”

“Out” I replied as I ended the call.

Courtney gawked at me, her eyes huge and round as she
digested my bravado with Mason. “He’s gonna be knocking on my door in roughly
seven minutes, babe. You wanna go hide somewhere?”

I couldn’t help but laugh at her. She chuckled slightly
then full on laughed with me, “Fuck, Ava. He’s gonna shit his innards’ with
you.”

I laughed even more, “It save’s me buying laxatives to
teach him who’s boss.”

Her eyes widened even more before she laughed harder. “I
do not envy you right now.”

“Ahh, he’ll get over it” I told her with a wave of my
hand.

We both quietened when the front door flew open and Greg
walked in with a boiling Mason.

“Make that four minutes and twenty six seconds” Courtney
whispered humorously and I choked out a bark of laughter.

What the hell was wrong with me? I had a death wish.

He stood glaring at me as Greg cringed beside him, “Out!”

I raised my eyes to his and wobbled my head from side to
side as if contemplating his command. “Nah!” I smiled with a scrunch of my
nose.

I’m sure I saw steam blow out of his ears as Greg and
Courtney both gasped at my rebellious denial.

His eyebrows lifted as he smirked at me, “What?”

“I said, No, baby.”

He nodded slowly. “I thought that’s what you said.”

His confident tone had my internal alarms on high alert
and I watched him warily.

He took two steps towards me, placed his hands around my
waist and hoisted me over his shoulder.

“Get off me!” I shouted as I thumped his back hard.

“Uhh…” Courtney stood swiftly, deliberating if she was
brave enough to come to my assistance as Mason stomped through the front door
and down the path towards his car, where he opened the door and flung me
inside.

I grabbed the handle when he shut the door but he flicked
the lock before I had chance to escape.

“Who the fuck do you think you are?” I stormed at him as
he slid in the car beside me.

“Your fucking husband who is sick and tired of taking
your shit lately, Ava.”

I swallowed heavily. He knew; I could see it in his eyes
as he glowered at me.

“Whatever!” I relented as I turned my glare to the moving
pavement.

He was quiet throughout the ride home and all I could
think about was how I was gonna make it back to Courtney’s to collect my
uniform before making it into work without my car.

The man beside me would be the death of me. There was
dominant then there was controlling and then there was Mason’s level of
controlling and I sighed heavily as I rested my forehead against the window.
The bumps and ridges in the road were giving me the headache I had lied about
this morning but I was too despondent to lift my head so I rode each bump with
the car and remained sullen and silent beside Mason.

I kept catching glances of his glances towards me but I
didn’t acknowledge them or him, I was too damn mad with him to care.

I wanted a life, I
needed
a life. My parenting
skills were currently the only thing I had to show for my life, especially now
that I had lost my job at NSC and I wanted more. Hell, I was entitled to more.

We pulled up the driveway and Mason killed the engine but
didn’t move. I could feel his eyes on me for a while and I still didn’t react
to him.

I was sad; sad, upset and lonely. I knew I shouldn’t be
feeling this way. I had a, fair enough controlling husband, but he was still
loving, attentive and absolutely adored me. I had good friends, a wonderful
surrogate-father in Portugal and I had the most amazing children. But there was
just something that I couldn’t put my finger on and now, right at this moment,
my emotions and uncertainties were hitting me hard.

“Baby, talk to me.” Mason said softly beside me.

His words and the way they were said were the trigger to
the liberation of my tears. I turned my face further into the window as they
relentlessly streamed down my face, their persistent torrent taking my breath
and I was suddenly struggling to breathe with the force of them.

“Hey, hey, baby” Mason soothed as he flicked the release
catch on my seatbelt and pulled me across the console and onto his knee.

His strong arms wrapped around me as I buried deeper into
his comfort and wept harder. “Shush, Ava. I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to upset
you.”

I shook my head into his chest. “It…its n..not you, M…Mason”
I spluttered as I fought with my sobs.

His hand soothed my hair comfortingly as I wiped my nose
on his shirt. He tutted loudly and I smiled to myself.

I eventually calmed down and Mason slipped me back over
into my seat as he climbed out of the car and came round to get me. He scooped
me up, kicked the car door shut and carried me into the house.

His eyes flicked down at me as I smiled up at him. “You
take care of me so well.”

He sighed and frowned. “I also grieve you so well.”

I rolled my lips as he gently lowered us onto the sofa
with me still in his lap. “It’s not you.”

He frowned at me before he placed his lips on my forehead
and sighed, “Talk to me, Ava, please. I can’t help if you won’t tell me what’s
wrong.”

“You can’t help anyway; I dunno what… what’s wrong with
me. I’m just…” I shrugged, feeling stupid at my emotions without being able to
pinpoint a reason for them.

He was quiet for a moment and I cringed when I knew what
was coming. “Why didn’t you tell me about Kade?”

I closed my eyes and tried to figure out how to say what
I needed to say without him getting defensive. “Because you’re you, Mason.”

He scoffed and nodded, “Yeah.” I didn’t need to explain
further and Mason knew this.

“I resigned, I won’t work with him.”

“I know” he answered quietly as he exhaled loudly. “You
should have told me, Ava. We could have worked something out. It hurts that you
can’t talk to me.”

“Mason,” I shuffled round on his knee so I could face him.
“Whether I spoke to you or not wouldn’t have changed the outcome, so there was
no point in upsetting you.”

“But it’s upset you, so it upsets me.” He swallowed and
blew out a large breath as he closed his eyes, “If it’s saddening you this much
then I… I’m okay with you working with him.”

Holy crap!

I smiled up at him with adoration before I palmed his
cheek. “Thank you,” I whispered, “It means a lot for you to tell me that,
Mason.”

The anguish over all this flashed through his eyes and I
reached up to kiss him. He growled as was his usual reaction to my kiss whilst
his hand slid in my hair to hold me in place as he devoured me.

I circled his nose with my own when he pulled away. “I’m
not going to be working with Kade, Mason, but thank you.”

He smiled in relief but at least he had offered.

Here goes.

“I have a job at the Panther.”

I swallowed when after a couple of minutes he hadn’t
acknowledged my words. “Mason?”

His jaw was clenched and his unique twitch in his cheek
was prominent, both signs of when his temper was close, and I gulped as I went
to move from his lap.

His hand shot out and wrapped around my forearm as his
blazing eyes swung to mine. “Hold it.”

His chest was heaving as the tic got wilder and I tried
to pull my arm free. “Mason, you’re hurting me.”

He relaxed his hold a little but it was still firm and I
was starting to worry slightly over his calmness.

“Just repeat what you just told me, Ava, cos’ for an
insane moment I could’ve sworn you said you had a job at the Panther.”

I slipped my free hand up to my mouth and started to
nibble furiously on my fingertip. “Mason, calm down. I’m only working behind
the bar and waiting tables, I’m not gonna be stripping or entertaining.”

I was suddenly pinned beneath him on the sofa, his hard
body pressing against me as my arms were held over my head. “Damn, fucking
right you won’t be entertaining, baby. You –are – mine!”

I gazed at him, my eyes boring into him as I tried to
read his thoughts. “Mason, what’s wrong with you? You’re never this level of possessive
or aggressive.”

His eyes flashed with uncertainty before he threw himself
off me and stalked towards the cupboard.

He held up the whisky bottle to me in question. “No, it’s
only 2 o’clock, Mason.”

He shrugged before he proceeded to pour a hefty amount
for himself and a horrible thought sizzled in the recesses of my mind. “Mason.”

He turned to me, his dark eyes hiding many secrets; I
could see them all floating about like wisps of dandelion seeds in the autumn
breeze and my stomach flipped at the familiarity before I had the truth.

I stood from the sofa and walked across the room towards
him. His eyes flicked when I grasped his chin and tipped his head forward to
scrutinise his eyes. I shook my head at him, “No, Mason, no.”

He squeezed his eyes tightly and I slapped my hands on
his chest, pushing him back slightly so he stumbled with the force of my rage.
“NO!”