My Best Friend's Brother(28)

     



 


We slowly slid to the floor as Mason hit his knees, and for a moment, we  just sat there, tangled in one another as we heaved for air.


"Fuck, I needed that," he said.


"Me, too," I said breathlessly.


"Your wrists okay?" he asked.


"Yeah. Your hair okay?"


"Is it still there?" he asked, grinning. "I don't know. I can't feel my scalp."


"Sorry."


"Never be sorry for something like that," he said.


We both peeled ourselves up from the ground and pieced ourselves back  together. Mason tucked that giant cock of his back into his pants, not  bothering to clean himself off before he went to go look in a mirror. I  grabbed some toilet paper and cleaned myself up as best as I could, then  stood beside him as we both fixed our hair. He smirked at me in the  mirror, that same little smirk he gave me just before he left my  dressing room a few days ago.


"You go first. It'll be less conspicuous that way," he said.


I unlocked the door and was surprised when no one was standing around. I  headed back upstairs and out onto the rooftop, but I still didn't see  Emma. I looked around the balcony, trying to figure out where she had  gone, but then I heard her voice rising up from over the edge.


Mason came right up behind me as I was leaning over.


"Where'd Emma go?" he asked.


"I take it you got out of the bathroom all right?" I asked.


"I got one fun little look, but it was from an elderly man. I don't think he knew who I was. That Emma down there?"


"Yeah," I said. "And I think I know who she's talking to. Stay here."


"Should I go with you?" he asked.


"Just stay here, all right? She might hate me for this, so she might come running back to you."


I made my way downstairs and pushed through until I was outside. I  looked up, seeing Mason looking over the edge. The worry was etched on  his face, and part of me was ecstatic that he was finding a place in  that cold, shriveled heart of his to care about his sister. I approached  Emma slowly from behind, catching bits and pieces of the conversation  she was having, and she was talking to exactly who I thought it was.


Her ex who was getting married.


"I just miss you," Emma said as she sniffled. "This is all happening so quickly. Are you sure you want to marry her?"


"Emma," I said lightly.


She whipped around with a shocked expression on her face, and I simply  pointed upward. Mason was standing there watching, his hands tucked into  his pockets as he surveyed the scene. She was spoiling this evening  with her brother over some asshole, and after all the tugging she'd done  to get him out here, I wasn't going to let her spoil it.


"It's time to get back to what you really want," I said.


"What I want is him," she said, whispering. "Please, just …  listen to me,  okay? We just went out on a date two weeks ago, and we had a great  time, right?"


My heart ached for my best friend. She was hurting, and anyone could see  that. There was a man her heart wanted, but I knew her mind kept  screaming at her to run in the other direction. I could see her hands  shaking as tears streaked down her face, so I took her arm and  maneuvered her over to the side so people would stop staring.


"Emma, get off the phone," I said.


"I'm not getting off it."


"Emma, you dug your claws into your brother trying to get him out here,  and he's here. You're the one who's going to ruin it this time, and I  won't be able to stand in your corner if you do."


"Then go. I don't give a shit," she said.


I looked back up to Mason who I could tell was two ticks away from  coming down here himself. Even from this distance, I could see the red  flushing his face. He was not a fan of the situation and of the way his  sister was being manipulated by this cockhead. I hope it gave him a  perfect look into the shit he was doing to women. He could be a good man  if he could put all that bullshit aside and actually tried.


"If you don't get off the phone, I'm taking it from you," I said.


"Please, Mark. Just see me one last time. Just one-"


I took the phone from Emma and held it to my ear. She was trying to get  it from me, but all I did was hold her away. I heard Mason rush from the  side, no doubt running down the stairs to get to us. I held my arm out  to keep Emma away, and when the asshole was done rambling on about  bullshit, I finally got my say in.


"Hello. Sarah Williams here. Listen, this is what you need to do. Make  up your fucking mind. Emma Nelson happens to be my best friend. My  confidant. The woman I go to with everything. And I happen to know  you're the piece of shit who's been manipulating her for two years."         

     



 


I heard Mason rush behind me. I watched as he gathered Emma into his  arms, holding her back while I continued to call. He was murmuring  things in her ear. Things that were making her slap him and push him to  try and get away. But I could see her caving as he wrapped his arms  around her, and I thought I saw something flash in Mason's eyes.


Guilt.


I saw guilt riddling Mason's face.


"Stop it, Sarah. Please," Emma said, begging.


"If you want to get married, go ahead and get married. Good luck to the  looney bin woman you chose. But if you want Emma, cut the games. Cut the  manipulation. Cut the shit. She's worth more than the life that flows  through your body times ten, and anyone would be lucky to have her at  their side."


"Sarah, stop!" Emma said, crying.


"It's all right, Emma. It's okay," Mason said.


"Now, I'm sure once I hang up this phone, Emma will call you right back.  I can't stop her from that. Just know that I own the best talk show in  the state of Texas, and I know your name. That's a powerful weapon in my  world. Best of luck with the marriage."


I hung up the phone, and Mason let Emma go. I tossed her phone back to  her, watching her as she caught it. She tried to call him back,  scrolling through her phone to find the number, but Mason's hand darted  out and slowly encompassed hers.


His touch ceased all her movements, and I groaned with relief inside.


"Why did you do that?" she asked, sniffling.


"Because he keeps hurting you. He's got you on his leash. In his pool, so to speak."


I saw Mason wince at that comment, and I wasn't sure why. Probably  because he'd pulled the same shit with women in the past. Go figure.  Maybe this would give him a glimpse into what he actually fucking did to  those women.


"He keeps hurting you like the men in my life kept hurting me. You can't  afford him your power anymore. He only has the power over you that you  give him."


"She's right," Mason said. "Believe me, she's right."


My eyes rose to his, and the moment they connected, I felt my breath  rush from my lungs. There were things swimming around in Mason Baker's  eyes I never thought I'd see. Guilt. Hurt. Compassion. Protection. Gone  was the playboy with the smirk and the cocky confidence, and in his  place was a protective brother who was getting a glimpse of how his life  impacted people on the other side.


He was seeing the repercussions of his actions, and I was watching as his eyes were slowly opened to the reality of his life.


"I can't help it. I don't know what's wrong with me," Emma said.


"I know the feeling, trust me. There's no judgment here. Just don't talk  to him anymore. Block his number if you have to. Start there, and work  your way forward."


"And know we'll be here every step of the way," Mason said.


"You mean that?" Emma asked as she looked up at him.


"Every word of it," he said.


"Thank you," she said as she looked back at me. "For being such a good  friend. And thank you, Mason, for keeping yourself open to the idea of  being my brother."


"I don't think it's an idea anymore," he said, grinning.


The two of them hugged, and I lowered my gaze to the ground. I wanted to  give them some privacy, but I also needed to hold back some of my  tears. This was all Emma had ever wanted over the years as she pursued  Mason, and I couldn't be happier for her than right now. This night had  changed a lot, I could feel it.


The question was, where did we all go from here?




Chapter 24


Mason


I sat in my home trying to get work done, but all I could think about  was Sarah. About how I fucked her in that bathroom and how she just went  for it. The way she jumped and wrapped her legs around me threatened to  spring my cock to life right there underneath my desk. I had to take a  few deep breaths to keep myself steady. Holy fuck, that was one of the  hottest things I'd ever done with a woman, and I'd done a great deal of  experimenting in my years. How willing she was to give her body over to  me. To trust me with it. It was intoxicating. She didn't try to deny me  or stop me. She wanted me as much as I wanted her.


I liked that adventurous side of her that was willing to try anything  once. I started wondering about other places we could fuck. Maybe she  would let me fuck her underneath one of the trees on my property, or  finger her in a movie theater until she came all over my skin. I could  take her on a trip and fuck her in the airport bathroom. I hadn't done  that one in a while, and I bet Sarah would be the kind of woman who  would love it. I could rent a truck and put an air mattress in the bed  of it. We could fuck on a cliff somewhere underneath the stars. Women  liked that romantic shit all the time, and I bet she would eat it up.