I shouldn't be here at his apartment. Every fiber in my brain is telling me that I should just turn the other direction and walk away.

No, I should probably run away.

As far away from Mason and my mother as I can get.

If I have half an ounce of common sense in my head I won't go any deeper. I'll cut my losses and tell myself it was what it was—a very hot, passionate affair with an older man who just happens to be my stepdad.

But that's if I had any common sense.

That's if I could make myself forget how hot he made me when he held me. How excited I got when my hand wrapped around his hard shaft. How I felt him grow in my hand. How I made him hard.

Sure, he's a playboy. I knew that going into it.

He's 16 years older than me. I can do the math.

But the times that we've been together, when he's taken control of my body—owned it and used it for his pleasure—can never be forgotten.

I can't forget his cock inside of me, stretching me out.

I can't forget seeing his eyes roll back into his head when I put him in my mouth and run my tongue up and down his shaft.

When I pumped him repeatedly.

When I licked his tip.

When I made him cum.

Oh God, when he came. It's almost as hot as when I think back to how he makes me cum.

See where my mind has gone? See what's happened?

No, I'm definitely not thinking with my brain.

I'm thinking with my clit.

Is that even possible for a woman to do? I've heard of guys who think with their cocks, but women are supposed to be smarter than that, aren't they? I mean, your husband or your boyfriend, babe. You're way smarter than him, right?

So why am I standing here then like a ridiculous deer looking at headlights?

I mean, thank God Mom didn't see me as she walked off. She was walking the other direction, but she was too busy straightening her clothes out to notice anything.

Mason recognized me though.

He's looking straight at me.

I can't help myself. I should be running away. I should be protecting myself from what Mom can do to guys.

But I don't run away, do I?

I stay here as he comes up to me.

I can smell his cologne wafting into my nostrils and I close my eyes as I inhale. He smells like...man.

All of those thoughts of self-preservation that were in the back of my head are now completely gone.

All of the dark, twisted, sexual desires that I've been living with Mason—fucking my older stepdad—are back and stronger than ever.

It's as if the demon Lust has taken control of my body. Because when I open my eyes, Mason's standing in front of me.

He looks at me silently. He's so confident. So strong.

And why shouldn't he be?

He knows he owns me.

The way he grabs me by the arm and starts walking toward the open door to his apartment. I have no choice but to follow. And even if I had a choice, we both know that I would go wherever this man took me.

I feel more than hear the door to the apartment close behind me.

But just as suddenly as he grabbed me and pulled me in, Mason lets me go and turns toward me.

I notice the skyline visible through his open window. The skyscrapers of New York City glitter in the evening. It would be a breathtaking view, if I could even compose my thoughts at the moment.

I mean, my Mom walking out of Mason's apartment.

Adjusting her clothes.

There's only one reason that she could have been here. Only one thing she could have been doing.

"Becca," Mason says to me, looking at me. As much as he acts the completely dominant alpha-male around me, I see in his eyes true concern for what's going on in my head. He takes a step closer to me. "Listen to me before you jump to any conclusions."

"There's no conclusions to jump to, Mason," I tell him, surprising myself with how calm and cool I sound. "I think I have a pretty fair idea what you two were up to."

Mason sighs. "We didn't fuck, if that's what you mean."

Maybe he sees me wince as he says the word fuck. I'm imagining my mother claiming him. My Mason being conquered by Mom. Taken away from me.

Maybe because I start trembling.

"Hey," Mason says and I'm about to respond but the fact that I'm about to lose this man to someone as vile and deceitful and conniving as my mother is enough to make my knees tremble.

The next thing I know, Mason has his arms wrapped around me and he's holding me from falling.

My knees have given way and had Mason not held me, I would have crumpled to the floor.

But holding me up is seriously about as much effort on Mason's part as maybe opening a door.

With ease and almost no exertion, he picks me up and starts walking to his bedroom.

"What's the matter with you today, babe?" he asks, his eyes finding mine as he walks into the bedroom.

I shake my head.

I mean, you're probably even rolling your eyes at me right now, aren't you. You're used to getting to know strong, confident, sexually mature women whenever you sit down with Alexis.

Why am I acting like this? I mean, you remember when I first met Mason? That was me. I was strong. Confident. An independent and sexual woman who wasn't afraid to go after what I wanted.

But now, it seems that I've turned into this 21-year-old hapless little damsel in distress, doesn't it?

If you only knew what I went through that brings these memories back. If you only knew the things--

"Babe," Mason says as he puts me on his bed, taking off his shoes and getting in next to me. "Tell me what the fuck is going on. Is this because of Lorna?"

I mean, it is and it isn't.

"There's nothing going on with me and her," he says through clenched teeth. "I know it looks bad, considering the fact that she is legally married to me."

I close my eyes, trying to will the thought away. The fact that Mom is married to him makes it feel like daggers being thrown at my face.

Mason sees this and he immediately runs his hand down my cheek.

"Hey, babe," he says, his voice soft. "Look at me."

It takes me a moment, but eventually I open my eyes and look at him.

"I will never, ever touch that woman," he tells me, his eyes piercing into mine. "I will never be with her. Never have an intimate moment with her. I swear. You will never have to worry about that. The marriage wasn't even a ceremony … just paperwork. It's not even worth talking about."

Maybe it's the intensity by which he says it, or maybe it's how he's looking at me, but I believe him.

I do. I swear. I may not know all of what's going on, but I know at least that he's telling me the truth.

Please, don't worry about me, okay? Instead, just help me figure out what's going on with Mason.

"Why are you guys even married in the first place?" I ask him, my eyes flashing curiosity as he smiles. "I mean, what the fuck?"

He shrugs. "I'm still trying to figure out what she can get from me," Mason says to me, as his hands run idly down the curves of my body. "All I know is that I need to be careful. She's been after my company for a long time."

"Kane Price?" I ask. He nods.

"She's had her eye on it since before I went public," he says to me. "She had her fucking eye on it even while her dad was alive. She'll do anything to get it."

"She'll do anything to get what she wants," I say, and almost instinctively I scooch closer on the bed next to him. I wrap my arms around him. "Don't let her get you, please."

Mason wraps his arms around me.

"What did she ever do to you?" he asks, genuinely concerned. I mean, come on. The way I'm acting would concern anyone.

"There's too much hurt and too much pain with her, Mason," I tell him, nestling my face into his chest. "She's taken too much."

There's a pause from Mason as he kisses the top of my head.

"Has she ever taken someone you loved?" he asks me.

I draw my head back and look him in the eye.

I'm astonished, you know?

It's like this guy is so attuned to how I think. He knows me on a deeper level.

I mean, I didn't even tell you some of the things that Mom has done to me. But he seems to know just by holding me.

"Never anyone I loved," I tell him, speaking softly. "She never gave me a chance to fall in love."

Mason's quiet as I think back to the litany of relationships that Mom has reveled in ruining for me.

"My senior year in high school, on the night I thought was going to be magical, I walked in on her giving my prom date a blowjob on my bed," I recount, my eyes glazing over. "When I walked in she just looked at me and told me she was busy and would I mind waiting in the living room."

Mason is silent, holding me as I think back to my interactions with Mom.

"She's broken up every relationship I've ever had," I say to him. "I never brought a guy home from college because she'd seduce them. I knew. So instead, she would visit me at school."

I think back to those days, still relatively recent. Mom showing up in my dorm with a short skirt and tight blouse. Enticing all the guys. Ruining them for me.

"She knows exactly how I feel about it," I tell Mason. "I've told her before. But she doesn't care. She does it to hurt me. Because she sees my Dad in me. She keeps me around and hurts me to get back at him."

I would continue, but Mason pulls me closer.

"She'll never hurt you again, baby girl,” he tells me, kissing my forehead. "Not while I'm here with you."

You remember how I told you I believed Mason when he told me he'd never touch Mom again?

Well, I believe him now too.

Especially when he brings his mouth closer to my face and kisses my forehead then pulls back to look at me.

"I promise you," are his only words.

At some point, I'm going to have to start trusting him, aren't I?

It would be weird if I didn't.

Because I'm already starting to fall in love with him, you know?

We lie there a long time, quietly, until eventually I fall asleep in his arms.