Mason

 

Clara was everything I had expected and more. Her toned, tanned body fit perfectly against me. There were no tan lines anywhere on her, which was a huge turn on for me. After we had sex, I held her against me. She curled up against my chest as if she’d been looking for a safe place to rest for ages. I was more than happy to provide her that safe haven from her boss and the men who were after her.

 

I wasn’t a fool, though. I knew why she’d gone to the park. She’d gone to meet her boss, and I was pretty sure I knew who he was. I was pretty sure she had been working for Skull, though she still hadn’t told me, so I was still pretending I didn’t know with her. But Mick and I were certain of it. She’d gone to meet him, and he had obviously sent his goons to kidnap her.

 

I stroked her beautiful blonde hair, and she moaned into my chest. She was in danger, and I wasn’t sure she understood just how much. She trusted her boss too much. I hoped I’d earned some of that trust by bringing her into my home the way I had been and by giving myself to her like I had. I couldn’t be too sure, though.

 

I stroked her smooth back and pulled her against me. I could feel myself wanting her again already. Her body had felt amazing against me, and the passion I felt her throwing back my way had been intense. I wanted inside her again. I wanted to explore her body. I wanted to enjoy every piece of it.

 

I knew there would be time enough for that later. First, I had to see if she trusted me enough to give me the name of her boss.

 

I kissed the top of her head. I felt her pull me closer and smile against me.

 

“Mason,” she whispered into my chest.

 

“Yes, baby?” I pulled back to look into her face.

 

She looked up at me and smiled. Even her deep blue eyes smiled at me, but I could see something in them had changed. “I’m leaving my boss,” she said. “I’m coming to work for you, if that’s what you want to know,” she told me.

 

“That’s awesome,” I said with a big smile. I gave her a long, tender kiss.

 

“I don’t work for Skull anymore,” she said after the kiss, before nestling her head back into my chest.

 

“I’m glad,” I told her. I couldn’t believe after all the work she’d done to keep me from finding out who her boss was, she just let it slip out like that. But maybe that was what real trust was. Maybe that was her way of letting me know she felt safe and secure here in my arms.

 

I didn’t react. I didn’t want to frighten her in case she hadn’t realized she’d let it slip like that. I held her in my arms until she fell asleep.

 

I listened as her breathing grew deeper, more measured. It slowed down with her pulse, which had still been racing from the ecstasy we’d shared. The last little bit of tension left her body, and that was the moment it felt like she’d really given herself to me.

 

I had a feeling she was pretty experienced in bed, or her past partners had been. And while the sex had felt passionate, I felt like I’d finally won her trust when I felt her body give beneath me. That was when I knew she felt safe and secure with me. It wasn’t just sex.

 

Our relationship wasn’t just business anymore. We’d gone beyond just trying to get information out of each other. We’d gone beyond being rivals. We were even beyond the flirtatious stage we went through. She was asleep now, so there was no real chance to discuss with her what was happening with us.

 

I ran a hand through my hair and started the work of sliding out of bed. I needed to let Mick know I had confirmation that Skull was her boss. I carefully slid my body away from hers, gently sliding a pillow under her head as I pulled my other arm away. I moved myself slowly off the bed, letting the change in the weight next to her occur gradually.

 

When I finally stood up next the bed, naked in front of her naked sleeping body, I felt guilty for using her. My emotions were changing every day as I spent more time with her. My feelings for her were growing beyond what I had initially thought about her. She was no longer just a thief or a prisoner. She was no longer just someone who worked for one of my rivals.

 

Skull wasn’t just one of my rivals. He was our number one rival these days. Our drug business was the only one that he hadn’t threatened so far, and Clara’s job had been to take us down so our clients became his clients. She’d been doing a damn good job of it, too, stealing our heroin so he could sell it cheaper because he wasn’t having to buy it himself.

 

Staring at Clara lying peacefully in my bed, it was hard to imagine she was the thief who had done so much to undermine my business. It was hard to imagine her goal had been to take me down when she first showed up.

 

The passionate woman lying in my bed was no longer a thief or a spy working against me. If anything, she was becoming my old lady. I was working my way deeper past her walls, deeper not only into her body, but into her as a person. Yet, here I was, sneaking away from her so I could go tell Mick I knew who’d been stealing from us beyond a shadow of a doubt. It was important news, and it needed to be shared.

 

The best time to do it was right then, I knew, while she was sleeping, so I didn’t have to hide and I didn’t have to do it right in front of her. Doing it this way, I told myself, allowed me to preserve the integrity of our growing relationship while still furthering my business purpose for getting into this relationship in the first place.

 

Despite my feelings for her, I’d been using her this whole time. I’d been working her the whole time, trying to wear her down so I could learn what I needed to learn from her. I couldn’t turn back now. I had to tell Mick it was Skull.

 

I walked around to the front of the bed and picked up my jeans. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and opened up a new text for Mick.

 

Clara shifted in her sleep and seemed to be talking to someone in a dream. My heart skipped a beat, believing I’d been caught red handed giving away the information she’d trusted me enough to share.

 

I walked out of the bedroom into the living room where I didn’t have to face her sleeping, trusting body while I betrayed her.

 

“Just this once, Mason,” I murmured. “It’s for the MC. After this, everything’s going to be straight.”

 

I took a deep breath and started to text Mick.

 

She was working for Skull, I typed, but I didn’t hit send.

 

I stared at my words. Sending that text message meant everything I’d allowed to happen between us was a lie. It meant I would be admitting to myself that I couldn’t even trust my own emotions because I had used her.

 

“You’re so full of shit,” I told myself. “You’re an Angel. Remember, Storm’s Angels will always be first.”

 

I took a deep breath and sent the text. I quickly closed and locked my phone. I went back to the bedroom and stuck it back into my jeans pocket.

 

I looked at her again, lying on my bed in the middle of my darkened room. I couldn’t force myself to climb back in that bed with her. I grabbed my phone and went back into the living room.

 

I grabbed my whiskey and sat back down on the couch.

 

What are we going to do about it? Mick asked.

 

We have to take him down, I texted back.

 

The whiskey took the edge off.

 

Sounds like a plan. You coming back in? he responded.

 

I looked into the bedroom from where I was. I could see the shape of her body in the shadows. I took a sip of my drink, letting the warmth fill me.

 

No, I’m busy here, I texted him back.

 

I understand. That answers my next question.

 

I smiled at the phone.

 

What was that going to be? I asked.

 

What to do about Clara, Mick texted back.

 

Don’t worry about her. I’ve got her under control, I said.

 

Yeah, under you.

 

Of course. Where else?

 

All right, man. See you at HQ, he said.

 

Give me a few days, I texted back. I don’t want her to think I just fucked her for information.

 

But isn’t that what you just did?

 

I sighed as I read his last message. I put the phone down and went into the kitchen to finish the bottle. I poured the last of it into my glass and went back into the living room, sipping the whole way.

 

“Is that what you just did?” I asked myself. I shook my head in response. Clara wasn’t just another piece of ass. She was important beyond the sex and beyond the information she provided to me. She wasn’t there just to serve a purpose, I tried to convince myself.

 

I don’t know, I texted Mick.

 

Be careful, boss, he texted back.

 

I will,” I said aloud to the phone, setting it back down.

 

As I finished my glass, I grabbed hers and drank what was left in it. I was beginning to feel more than just the warmth of the whiskey I was drinking. I felt good. The edge was gone. The care was gone. All that was left was how I really felt about Clara.

 

And it was good. I felt good about Clara. I felt a connection to her. There was more to her than her prefect legs, her sweet little ass, her tight and welcoming sex, her perfect breasts and delicious nipples, and her deep summer sky blue eyes.

 

Clara wasn’t just another woman. She wasn’t just another toy to use and toss away. And, dammit, I was starting to get angry with myself for fucking it up by using her just to get at her boss. I vowed in silence to make it up to her, even though she would never know I had taken that information from her immediately and told the MC about it.

 

As I slid back into bed, I knew Mick was already making preparations to track Skull down. We were going to end his operation. He was going to learn why no one else had the nerve to challenge Storm’s Angels.

 

In the meantime, I was going to hold this beautiful woman lying next to me, and even though I hadn’t lost her trust, I was going to begin working to earn it back. I had violated it, whether she was aware of it or not.

 

I felt horrible, until I felt her against me. I knew, deep down, that what I was doing had to be done, for us. The only way we even stood a chance was to eliminate Skull. He was already after her, whether she wanted to admit it or not. He would continue to pursue no matter what. At least by taking him out, we were going to pave the way for us to continue letting this relationship grow.

 

I laughed at myself as I realized that Clara’s walls weren’t the only ones coming down. Mine had apparently crumbled.

 

Then, it hit me. I wasn’t the only one trying to tear down the other’s walls. Suddenly, I didn’t feel so bad about betraying her trust. I looked down at the cunning woman lying next to me and I wondered what secrets she’d been planning on telling Skull when his men ambushed her in the park. Trust was a two-way street, and it seemed we had both been going the wrong way.