A V E R Y

If I hadn't noticed how strong Mason's arms were before, I sure as hell did now. He picked me up with my legs wrapped around his waist, and carried me up the stairs. And I weighed quite a lot, seeing as I had built up a lot of muscle, so kudos to him.

'I swear to god if you do things like that I'm going to have my wicked way with you, right fucking here,' I groaned, resting my head on his his shoulder as he made his way to his bedroom. 

Mason laughed, then held my stare for a second. We got to the top of stairs and then he pushed me up against the wall beside the door to one of the bedrooms. And I felt something press into my stomach. Well, shit.

 'How about this, then?' 

I gulped.

He chuckled darkly. And then he leaned close as if to kiss me, but blew a raspberry instead. I shrieked and tried to jump out of his arms, but he held on tight. 

'Okay, if that's your clever trick, I am not turned on right now,' I laughed, whacking his shoulder, sighing when he snuggled his head into the crook of my neck. I raked my hands through his hair, letting the strands pull and droop when I let go, and pressed a kiss where I had put my hands when he purred low in his throat.

'You smell so good, love. And your skin-' Mason sighed in contentment and stroked a hand down my cheekbone, my neck. '-your skin is like fucking velvet.' 

'Says you,' I murmured. My head was leaning against the wall lightly and I closed my eyes, stroking his hair softly. I could feel him watching me, but I didn't open my eyes. 'Even after I leave you, I can still smell your cologne like you're with me all the time.'

'Love.' Mason's voice was a rasp. 'Open your eyes.'

I opened them, only to see Mason's eyes wide open, his chest rising and falling fast. He slowly let me stand on my own, and when I reached out to take his face in my hands, he stopped me. Frowning at him, I lifted the other hand, but he grasped that one too. 

'Feel it,' he whispered hoarsely, and instantly my mind went to the dirtiest places possible, so I burst out laughing.

'Already?' I laughed. 'No more foreplay?' I couldn't stop the giggling, because once it started, it was going to be a while before I calmed down.

Mason laughed, kissing me softly on the forehead, 'Jesus, woman, you laugh at everything.'

'That's my job.'

I calmed down, and then smiled at him. 'What were you going to say?'

Mason didn't say anything. He lifted his hand and grasped one of mine, pressing it to his chest.  I felt his heartbeat thundering under my palm. 'That's what you do to me, love.' His voice was a rasp again, and I swallowed.

'Okay.'

'Okay?'

'Yeah. Shut up and kiss me.'

'Anything for you.'

This time I was the one who stepped away and tugged him towards an open door into what looked like his bedroom. His hand was gripped in mine, and when I practically dragged him to the door, he chuckled and sped up to me. We were in the room within seconds, and I latched myself onto that glorious body of his and kissed him breathless.

'My lips are so bruised,' I groaned, as he trailed kisses along my cheekbone and on the corner of my lips. 'Why aren't you kissing me properly?'

'I'm just drawing out the anticipation, love. You don't like it?' he smiled, rubbing noses with me.

'No. I'm not a patient girl.' I said firmly, smiling wickedly when he had the sense to look slightly unnerved - in a good way, though.

'Shall we speed up a little then?'

'Hell yes.'

Mason's hands were all over me, spreading fire throughout my body, His touch was like the best sort of painful pleasure, and that was only because I wanted him closer. I wanted more of him. His lips moved over mine, and when he licked at the entrance of my mouth, I opened with a groan, letting him inside. 

'Where did you learn to kiss like that?' I gasped out, leaning my head against his chest and breathing in and out, trying to slow my heartbeat.

'I have no idea. I guess you just brought out a side of me I never knew before.' Mason sighed, his voice raspy and a little breathless. God, that throatiness made me want to tear off his clothes like a caveman and throw him into bed.

Okay, calm yourself. Make-out sessions are fine, more than fine actually, but sex right now is a no. Do it when the time is right. When you can make it perfect.

I opened my mouth to tell Mason we shouldn't get it on right now, but he saved me from saying that by cradling my face in his hands and murmuring, 'Though I want you badly, really fucking badly, I have the decency to at least wait awhile. It's up to you, love, but I don't want to rush things. I want everything to be perfect for us.'

'I know. I want that too.'

'Okay then,' he grinned, 'We'll wait. But that doesn't mean we can't do other stuff, you know.'

I didn't even get to respond before I was picked up and thrown onto the bed. I shrieked and laughed when Mason hovered above me, a fiendish look on his face.

And then the tickling began.

'No!' I screamed, writhing on the bed. I was screeching and laughing at the same time, and Mason was having the time of his life, judging from his ecstatic laughter and wide smile - and that fucking dimple. 'GET THE HELL OFF ME! Mason! Mason, I swear to God I will castrate you-'

My stomach ached from laughter, and my arms were getting weak from batting him away, so I just lay there limply, laughing silently. He gave up after a bit and lay down next to me, my head nestled onto his chest.

'I want to tell my sisters about everything,' I blurted out.

'What?' Mason murmured, and from the change in his posture, I knew he was looking at my face carefully. 'You sure?'

I shook my head. 'Fuck no. But I have to do it. I owe it to them.' I swallowed and then sat up, bracing my hands on the bed. 'And I wanted to ask if you'd come with me. Maddie will come, but I want you there.' 

Mason sat up too, pulling me into his chest for a solid hug. 'Of course, love. If that's what you want, I'll be there.'

'I want that.'

'Okay, then. When do we do it?'

***

I was officially a nervous wreck again. The three of us were walking up the porch to my house, and though Maddie had her arm linked through mine in a gesture of solidarity, and Mason was by my side, hands in his pockets and pressing kisses to my head every so often whilst Maddie smirked and looked smug, I was still panicking.

'Breathe, love,' Mason murmured softly, his breath stirring up my hair a little. 'We don't want you fainting before we even get into the house, hmm?'

Maddie chuckled and shoved me a little towards the front door that now seemed to be looming before us. 'You've never been a pussy before, Ave, so don't be one now.'

I punched her in the arm a little and grinned. 'Aye, aye captain.' 

'Shall we, ladies?'

I looked up at Mason's beautiful face and pressed a kiss to his jaw. 'Let's do it.'

I opened the door and immediately felt a cold shiver run up my spine. I could hear my siblings doing stuff, but it was weirdly quieter than usual, like someone had put a blanket over the noise so that it was only partially loud. Maddie threw me a look which I returned - confusion.

'What is going on?' Mason asked, scanning the hall. Even he could tell that the vibe was off. 

Unease pooled in my stomach, and I had to push myself to put one foot in front of the other and walk into the living room, where the sounds of hushed talk quietened. I took a deep breath and pushed the door open, Mason's hand on my back. 

Inside, Sienna, Vanessa, Emily and Damien were sat around the coffee table, their expressions drawn and serious. I looked helplessly at Damien, but his face remained impassive as ever; the slight concern in his eyes didn't give me much either.

'What's going on?' Despite my raging heartbeat, my voice came out normal.

Sienna sighed, and the clear annoyance and disgust was obvious. 'We've been waiting for a long time, Avery. Where were you?'

'On my way here. Before I was with some friends at the fair.'

Vanessa tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and gestured to Mason. 'Are you going to introduce us to your guest?' Though her tone was carefully light, her eyes gave it away. She wasn't happy.

I cleared my throat. 'This is Mason. He's my- um, he's-' Were we using labels now? I flushed and Mason quickly came forward.

'I'm her boyfriend,' he said smoothly, with a wink at me. 'And I wanted to be here to introduce myself and be here for Avery.' 

Damn. That even made me speechless.

Sienna still looked suspicious. 'Why haven't we met you before?'

I gritted my teeth. I loved my sister, I did, but right now she was being a petty cow. Trying to show me up in front of my best friend and boyfriend was low. 'We hadn't made things official until recently.' Boldness was taking over, and without hesitation, I sat down at the head of the table, Maddie and Mason sitting on my left and right respectively. 'So is anyone going to tell me what is going on?'

Sienna cleared her throat and pulled out several objects wrapped in cloth, placing it on the table. 'Open it,' she said.

Maddie glanced at the object and then at me like I had the answers, but I was just as lost as her. So when Sienna pushed it closer to me, I whipped off the cloth. 

And immediately felt like throwing up.

This time Sienna did nothing to mask her hiss of anger. 'Want to explain this, sister?'

The bloody clothes from my last mission, which I was supposed to burn. The three guns I had hidden in my room. An assortment of knives. A grenade. A mask.

Oh god. Oh, god, this was not how I was going to do it. 

'I was coming to explain everything today, I swear,' My voice shook, and for once I let it, 'I was going to tell you everything; just- this wasn't how it was supposed to go.'

Sienna laughed harshly, pointing at the objects on the table. 'Really? You were going to try and explain this? I don't know who the hell you are, Avery, but you sure aren't my sister. I look at you and I don't even know who the hell you are. You're obviously in a gang or something, and you're in deep.' 

Each word cut deeper and deeper. It was happening. I was going to lose my family. Tremors rocked my hands, and I shoved them in my lap, trying to block out my sister's thoughts.

'Sienna, come on, this isn't how we were supposed to-' Emily argued, finally speaking up, but even she was cut off. Mason's hand clutched mine in concern, probably because I was close to losing it.

My oldest sister was raging, and this time, no one could stop her. 'I don't care! I don't give a damn whatever the hell she's doing, because frankly, she's done this to herself.' Her attention went back to me, and I squeezed my eyes shut in a desperate attempt to stop the tears. 'You are not a part of this family. You haven't been for a long bloody time, and we all knew it. You make me sick.'

Maddie snorted from beside me, and I mentally thanked her for speaking. I needed a minute before I'd be able to open my mouth without sobbing. 'You don't know shit, Sienna. And forget the respect I had for you, because it's gone. You're going off on her like you know the whole fucking story, but you're just as ignorant as the rest of them. Hell, I don't even know the whole story. So just listen for a fucking minute and sit your ass down.' 

Hell, when I said I didn't want to be on the wrong side of Maddie's anger, I was serious. She was mad like I'd never seen her before. About halfway through her little speech, I'd looked up from my lap through wet eyes and I'd never been more grateful for a friend like her, willing to go to the lengths she'd gone to now and in the past to defend me.

Sienna glared at Maddie and spat, 'You don't get to talk. You're not family, Madison.'

That was it. I sat up, flicked my hair back and said calmly. 'You can talk shit about me all day long, and I'll be fine, but dragging my best friend who's acted more like a sister than you have like that? That's another level, Sienna.' Sienna scoffed. I ignored it. 'I came here to tell you everything; you day you don't know me, but by the way you're acting, I don't recognise you. You were always the good sister, the one who listened and forgave. You always said that you should listen before you accuse, but you're a liar and a hypocrite.'

I was out of breath from ranting, but I kept going, holding a hand up when Emily and Sienna both opened her their mouth. 'I haven't finished, sister. In fact, I'm just getting started.'

And the story began.

***

Hello, my little assassins, and welcome back to the end of another chapter. It's so weird writing steamy scenes, I feel like I'm being too cringy, lol.

What do you think of the chapter? Will Sienna come around once she knows the full story? Any predictions on who's gonna die? 😉

Vote and comment!

-M