The NSC Boxset: Heart of Stone (67 page)

“I definitely will, sir.” He tipped his head in acknowledgement and departed.

“I like him,” I whispered to Mason as he settled back into his chair.

“Me too, we’ve known each other years. He’s a good man,” he assured with warmth.

“Where does he want us to visit?” I asked but Mason shook his head and ignored me. “Tell me,” I asserted sternly as I dipped into my garlic and lemon buttered scallops, they were exquisite and I closed my eyes as I savoured them.

“Mmm,” I murmured. When I reopened them Mason’s eyes had darkened and the pure desire in them made me gulp. I coughed. “I better not do that again,” I whispered sourly. I was extra horny but still bleeding slightly after my miscarriage. Mason nodded once.

“Anyway, tell me. What does William own?” I asked with a twinkle in my eye, it was obviously something illicit judging by Mason’s reaction to Williams’s invitation.

He sighed and leaned in. “An exclusive sex club,” he revealed quietly.

My eyes lit up, “Ooh that could be fun.” I grinned and Mason’s jaw dropped.

“Really?” His eyes were wide.

“Yeah,” I said excitedly. “I’ve never been to one, what do they do?” I asked excitedly as Mason’s eyebrows hit his hairline.

“Ava I’m not really sure . . .” he started but I waved my hand at him.

“Tell me,” I said sternly and he cocked his head at me but sighed.

“Well, they uhh, have acts on,” he muttered nervously and I nodded.

“What kind of acts?” I chewed on another scallop and stabbed one with my fork then offered it to Mason. As his lips closed over the fork he held my eyes, a fire blazing in them and I puffed as I saw his tongue sneak out to lick the juice off his lip.

“Well they kind of have . . . have sex acts on stage,” he told me. My eyes brightened even more.

“Cool,” I whispered, thinking it could be hot to watch. Mason choked faintly on his food.

“Really?” He seemed surprised by my excitement.

“Yeah I bet it’s hot.” I shrugged nonchalantly. “What else?” I asked, now more interested in this place.

“Well they have rooms for you to . . . you know.” He gulped and looked away from me.

“Rooms for what?” I asked naively as I placed my cutlery down and reached for my wine.

He gulped again. “Rooms where you can . . . you can interact with others or act out some . . . fantasies.” He cringed and my eyes widened as I understood what he meant.

“Did you . . . did you, you know?” I asked inquisitively even though I wasn’t sure I wanted to know.

“Ava,” he scolded at my question. I didn’t need to ask again, his warning confirmed my thoughts.

I shook my head to clear the images I didn’t want to see as the waiter came over and cleared our plates away. “More wine, sir?” Mason nodded in a silent reply.

All of a sudden I saw him freeze and sort of cower slightly which I thought was rather odd but then I found out the reason why.

“Mason,” a small brunette purred as she approached our table.

Mason stood in greeting again and I eyed her suspiciously. She was quite stunning, a little wisp of a thing but her clothes screamed wealth and status. “Tamara,” Mason addressed. Her eyes slid to me and after a swift perusal she turned back to Mason, shelving me instantly, obviously thinking I wasn’t worth her attention.

I snorted at her dismissal and picked up my wine. “How are you Mason, darling?” she hummed, placing a hand on his forearm. I curled my lip.

“Very good, thank you. You?” I could see the nervous stiffness to him as his eyes kept swinging to me to check for a reaction but I remained silent. I knew immediately that they’d had a sexual relationship. I tried to rein in the rage that was bubbling away in my stomach.

“Oh, I’m good. You should give me a ring though.” She smiled a full blown ‘fuck me’ smile. I coughed vaguely and Mason cringed faintly.

“Tamara, let me introduce my girlfriend, Ava Stone.” He smiled as he gestured to me. I saw the shock on her face and inwardly smiled.

Yes love, it was strange for Mason to have a girlfriend instead of a ‘fuck whore’ like you.

I stood and gave her a ‘he’s mine’ smile. “Pleased to meet you, Tamara.” I held out my hand but she just stared at it, her lip curled in disgust and the rage bubbled a little more.

Shit, calm down Ava!
I scolded myself. The last thing Mason needed was me knocking the bitch out in the middle of the most exclusive restaurant in London.

As though Mason read my thoughts, he took a step towards me as if ready to pull me back when I struck. I growled at her dismissal as Mason grabbed my hand, squeezing it. I took it he was telling me not to react, but she was really pissing me off the way she was looking at Mason as though she was going to rip his clothes off in the middle of the restaurant and ravish him.

I held out my hand again. “I said, I am pleased to meet you, Tamara.”

I gave her the death glare. She paled slightly and took my hand. “Ava.” She nodded stiffly and my lips twitched at her discomfort.

I felt Mason’s hand pinch mine again. “If you’ll excuse us Tamara, we’re in kind of a rush to finish our meal. Desperate to get home . . . you know how it is,” I winked exaggeratedly as I slipped my arm around Mason’s waist and reached up to kiss his cheek. He turned into me immediately, catching my lips and giving me a chance to show her a ‘he’s mine’ kiss.

Tamara coughed and huffed. “Yes, excuse me,” she hissed and walked away stiffly.

“Sorry.” Mason winced as we sat back down and studied our next course.

I smiled across the table to him, heartened by his guilt. “Mason, I do know you had other women before me. It’s their reaction to me that pisses me off, not the fact that you have screwed other women.”

I saw the shock in his expression at my words. “Really?” he asked cautiously.

“Yeah.” I shrugged, “I don’t like the pictures it puts in my head but I know you weren’t a saint before you met me, Mason. I accept you’ve had other relationships.”

I took a fork full of the roast duck in redcurrant jelly jus that was placed in front of me. “Ooh, that’s good too.” I licked my lips and held some out for Mason, he nodded as he tasted my food and grinned.

“Wow, do you know how great you are?” He beamed and I shrugged, confused at his reaction to what I said.

“Why?” I asked around another mouthful.

“You know how laid back you are? Whereas me, well I get jealous if another man so much as looks at you.”

I chuckled, “I didn’t say I didn’t get jealous Mason, but I understand we’ve all had a past.”

I bit my lip as a thought darkened my mood. “Ava?” he probed softly. I diverted my eyes. “Ava, tell me what’s wrong,” he persisted.

“Well, it’s just that well . . . I’m sorry for . . . you know . . .”

He scowled at me, “What Ava? Just say it.”

I looked down at my plate. “Well it’s just that . . . that I’ve been ‘
taken’
a lot, you know and I’m surprised it hasn’t . . . well hasn’t turned your stomach.” I gulped and pushed my pea crush stuff round my plate.

I heard him inhale sharply and I lifted my eyes to his. “Why are you always apologising for who you are, Ava?” he snapped. “Your past doesn’t bother me at all; I don’t see it like you do. There is nothing sordid or dirty about it. If anything, the experiences you suffered have made you into the wonderful, confident, beautiful woman that I have fallen in love with.”

He reached over to cup my face. “Ava, I love you for who you are. Jesus, the way you look at me sometimes, blows my mind, baby. We fit together perfectly; like you were made for me, and I can’t get enough of you. You’re you and you are who I have fallen in love with.”

I reached out and cupping my hand around the back of his neck, pulled him towards me and kissed him tenderly. “Thank you,” I whispered. He locked eyes with me, holding them until he knew I was confident of his truths.

The rest of the night saw Mason introducing me to two more men and another couple of his ‘whores,’ much to his annoyance. By the time we had finished I could tell he was desperate to get out of there.

“I’m so sorry, Ava,” he apologised as we pulled away from the restaurant, his face sombre.

“Hey, it’s fine, you just know a lot of people that’s all. The food was wonderful though, thank you.” I kissed him and smiled. “Even through all the interruptions, I had a lovely night.”

His expression softened and he took my hand, sweeping his thumb gently over my knuckles but I could tell he was still simmering at the nights events.

By the time we pulled up at Mason’s house he hadn’t spoken a word all through the journey and his mood had plummeted.

As soon as we entered the house he pulled out the whisky and poured himself a large measure.

“You okay, baby?” I asked. He just nodded sternly and I sighed tiredly. “I’m gonna take a bath, okay?”

He glanced at me as though he realised I was making my getaway. “Sure” he replied flatly.

I turned and headed for the stairs, rolling my eyes at his mood swings; they were so tiring and I was too exhausted to deal with it.

By the time I had finished my bath, Mason was nowhere to be seen and he still hadn’t appeared when I climbed into bed. I fell asleep almost immediately but not before I heard him angrily shouting at someone on the phone, but I was too shattered to go and investigate.

I felt him slip into bed a while later, looking at the display on the clock, I was surprised to see it said 4:30 . . . What the hell had he been doing all night?

I didn’t speak, I had the feeling he was a little too drunk. He pulled me to him as I feigned sleep. “I love you so much, Ava,” he whispered but his voice was full of broken emotion and my heart clenched at the sound of it.

I knew something was on his mind, something was worrying him. I made myself remember to take some time to talk to him and find out what was on his mind, but not tonight; tonight I needed some sleep, my body was still recovering from everything it had been through lately.

He pulled me tighter to him and soon his breathing levelled out. I knew he was asleep but my concern for the man I loved with all my heart kept me awake that night.

I managed to drop to sleep ten minutes before the alarm . . . isn’t that always the damn case!

CHAPTER 36

THE REST OF the week went by in a blur and I was so busy with work I didn’t leave each night until gone 6pm much to Mason’s displeasure, saying I should be resting but I was meticulously training for my new job. By Friday night I was ready for the weekend to relax and recuperate and try and find time to have that talk with Mason.

Mason’s mood had worsened and he was drinking every night, spending every evening at the club and not returning until the early hours. I was getting a little pissed with him for leaving me alone every night but I also understood it was work and he needed to be there.

Something was definitely worrying him so Friday after work saw me baking abundantly as he spent yet another night out, telling me he had an emergency at work.

I tried to hide my disappointment as I walked in and he walked straight out, telling me he had to go in early. He gave me a barely there kiss and left without saying goodbye.

I was starting to wonder if he was struggling with the monotony of our relationship, especially since we hadn’t made love for over a week and to be honest I was a little hurt, so I had phoned Courtney and invited her round for a girlie evening.

Just as I had taken the chocolate orange cake from the oven she arrived, holding wine, face packs, nail varnish and DVD’s.

“Hey, babe” she grinned as I let her in. “Ooh, something smells good” she sniffed and sighed. “I miss your cooking Ava, you should really invite me round more you selfish bitch.” She winked and had me laughing already. God I loved this girl.

A few hours later saw us both in fluffy robes and Courtney painting my toe nails as
OneRepublic
blasted from the speakers.

“So, are you gonna talk to me or do I have to prise it out of ya’?” she mock growled and I smiled, she could read me so well, knowing I was worried.

I slumped back on the sofa. “It’s Mason,” I started. She nodded as she concentrated on my nails.

“I gathered that babe, but what’s he done?”

I sighed heavily and she glanced up at me, making me grin as her tongue poked out of her mouth in sheer attentiveness to her toe nail painting skills. “I dunno Court, there’s something seriously wrong.” She frowned but gestured for me to continue. “He’s out every night; he doesn’t come back until I’m in bed. He’s here but not here if you know what I mean. He’s angry all the God damn time and he’s drinking heavily. It’s like he’s worrying about something but he won’t let me in.”

I smiled at her when she started adding little diamonds on the pattern she had created on my big toe. “Wow hun, you’re really good at that. I’m gonna wear open-toed sandals tomorrow for the barbeque and show them off,” I grinned. She smiled happily at me. “You should start charging, you’d make a fortune.”

“I was thinking about doing one of those courses, you know,” she shrugged.

I nodded encouragingly at her. “Yeah, go for it.”

She shrugged again. “It’s expensive though, Ava and you know my wages don’t pay a lot.”

“Yeah, but you’ll make it back when you start earning,” I encouraged. “I could lend you the cash if you want,” I offered.

She shook her head. “No Ava, I couldn’t ask you to do that.”

I swat her head gently. “Hey, you’re my bestie and I love you. Call it an early Christmas present then.”

She grinned animatedly. “Really?” She jumped up with glee and hugged me. “God I love you Ava Stone,” she giggled then settled back to down to finish the job.

“Hey, you should print some cards off and I could hand them round to people at work,” I told her and she nodded rapidly.

“Good idea, babe. Anyway back to Mason,” she said, her tongue peeking out again as she started on the other foot.

I sighed heavily. “He frightens me Courtney . . . when he’s had a drink, he gets really angry and I can hear him punching things downstairs. I have to pretend to be asleep when he gets in,” I admitted.

She leant back on her heels, narrowing her eyes on me. “Has he ever hit you, Ava?” she asked seriously and I shook my head.