Let Me Go (17 page)

“Let go of the revenge? Really, Benny? You
know how much I went through. You saw it. And if I remember
correctly, you helped orchestrate this revenge. So how can you tell
me just to let it go?”

“Because, Mason, the game has changed. Tell
me, honestly, are you going to feel good about yourself, are you
going to be happy and satisfied, if you break her down? And then
what? Let’s say you do. Let’s say all your dreams come true and
she’s just as broken as you want. Then what? You just going to let
her walk out that door like nothing happened? You going to forget
she existed? Or is she going to forget you existed? How about all
this? You think she’s going to be happy about it all?”

“I didn’t fucking think that far, all
right.”

“Fine, whatever, we’ll deal with it when the
time comes. Back to my original question – are you seriously okay
with breaking her down? Don’t answer me. Hell, you don’t ever have
to answer me. I just want you to think about it. I want you to come
to the realization that shit didn’t work out the way you planned
and you fell for the girl you thought you hated.”

“You’re wrong, Benny. Fine, whatever, I
don’t hate her. I wanted to, but I don’t. You’re right, she isn’t
who she was and I actually kind of like the person she is. But
that’s it. I don’t love her. I can’t and won’t love her. End of
story.”

“I said my piece. I felt I had to. But we
both know it won’t do you much good until you figure it out on your
own. For your sake, I hope you do it soon. I’m out. Good luck. God
knows you need it.”

Benny left him sitting there, pondering his
feelings. A moment later he heard Kat get out of the shower, so he
let his thoughts drift away. He needed to finish taking care of
her. That took priority over his messed up conversation with
Benny.

Chapter 26

Kat was back to
normal a few days later. Mason had waited on her the entire time
she was sick. It actually seemed like he was a doting husband for a
little while, and it felt good.
So good.
She seemed to have
forgotten herself, her situation, and even her scheming for a
little while. She just enjoyed his company and the care he showed
her. And he was so darn caring. It was easy to think of him as more
than just her captor when he was so great with her. If she was
going to use her body against him, then she would hang on to these
memories to remind her that maybe it wasn’t just manipulation only.
It was more, even if she didn’t want to admit it.

She turned on her seduction techniques,
which she just watched crash and burn. It had been almost two weeks
since she was back to her routine, and she had tried everything she
could think of to get Mason’s attention physically. She flirted
with him openly; she allowed herself to brush against him whenever
she got close. She found excuses to sit right next to him so their
bodies would touch. She had even found a way to have him see her in
a towel, all dripping wet from the shower, on numerous occasions,
but none of it seemed to work. Either she really sucked at
seduction, Mason had an iron will, or she had completely misread
all his signs.
God
, she seriously hoped she hadn’t been
wrong about him caring about her. She would seriously feel stupid
and naïve. And then her shot to leave would be ruined.

She had, however, gotten to him the other
day. She was sure of that. She was in his office re-organizing his
books when he walked in. “I’ve noticed you like reading.” Those
were the first real words he had spoken to her. She looked up at
him and nodded.

“It’s pretty impressive. I think I’ve read
most of them already though.” Finally, they were having a real
conversation. She breathed a sigh of relief. But when he didn’t
respond and just sat down at his desk, her hopes plummeted.
Oh
no!
She wasn’t letting this go. “What’s your favorite book?”
she asked.

“You wouldn’t know it,” he snorted.

She was an avid reader even before this
whole kidnapping thing. He must not have remembered hearing her
talk about it. She tried not to sound offended, but rather playful
when she responded, “How about I guess?”

He looked up to meet her eyes. “And if I
guess right, I get a favor.”

He tried not to show his intrigue, but his
eyes betrayed him.

“And what kind of favor would that be? If
you think I’m letting you go, you’re not getting that,” he
smirked.

“I want a day off.” He scrunched his nose in
confusion, so she continued, “I want a day off from scrubbing
toilets, cleaning, cooking, and everything else. I just want to
lounge around and read all day.”

“All right, fine. You’re on,” he said after
a moment of hesitation. “Tell me, what is my favorite book?”

“
Count of Monte Cristo
,” Kat answered
almost instantly. She watched Mason’s eyebrows shoot toward the
sky. She got it. It wasn’t really hard to tell that was his
favorite book. He didn’t speak, and the obvious shock on his face
was almost comical. She felt she had to put him out of his misery
and tell him how she knew that was probably the book that had
gotten him through his nights in prison. “I know it’s your favorite
because it’s the most worn out one in your massive collection,
like you've read it over and over again. The pages are folded,
noting your favorite passages. But that’s not why it’s your
favorite. You love it because it's a story of revenge. It's a story
about a man who was wrongfully imprisoned and seeks revenge upon
those who put him there. Am I right?”

He seemed to snap out of his thoughts. “You
know nothing about revenge.” His voice was like cold steel. “You
can't possible understand where I’m coming from.”

“Oh, but you’re wrong,” she cut him off.
“
The Count of Monte Cristo
is not only about seeking
revenge, it's also about a man who goes half-mad seeking that
revenge. Dante only realizes too late that in order for him to
truly get revenge, he must forgive his enemies and himself. So yes,
Mason, I do know a thing or two about revenge, but you should know
that without forgiveness, you won't be able to free yourself.” She
didn’t give him a chance to rebut before she turned to walk out the
door, only looking back for a moment, a smile playing on her lips.
“I’ll be taking my day off tomorrow."

She left him sitting stunned but not for
long. She heard him storm out of the room and out the door only
moments later. That was proof that she had gotten under his skin,
and she did take the next day off, but he avoided her like the
plague after that. Her cat chasing mouse game continued with him
brushing her off. But she wasn’t giving up.

She had one more trick up her sleeve. She
wasn’t immune to cheesy, teen movies, and she remembered a scene
from one where the loner girl got drunk and ended up dancing sexy
on a table at a party. Everyone thought she was a riot, and she did
get the guy in the end. All the guys were coming over later that
day, and since Mason had started letting her hang with them when
they watched the game, it was possible she might have a beer or two
and get a little drunk with them as well. She’d fake being drunk
and do the same thing the girl in the movie did. Her plan was going
to work. It had to.

A few hours later, everything was set up and
the guys were there laughing, drinking, and watching the game. She
had secretly been nursing the same beer for over an hour, but no
one had to know that. As far as they were concerned, Kat was
getting tipsy. Or at least she hoped she was pulling off acting
tipsy.

“Whoa, Kat, maybe you better slow down.”
Chain laughed as she pretended to bump into him while getting him a
beer.

“Nah, I’m perfectly fine. Besides, life is
short, why not enjoy the moments when you can have fun,” she said,
but tried to sound like she was slightly slurring. She hoped she
didn’t sound like an ass, but maybe that would be okay.

At intermission, her game was on. She turned
Mason’s iPod to some pop song she liked and started sauntering over
to the guys. Sure, she could dance dorky when she was at home,
alone, and that was tons of fun.
But she also knew how to shake
it.
Heck, it wasn’t that hard, shake your hips, bounce your
boobs, and slink down your body while rubbing yourself.

Mason was smirking when she started dancing
toward them. He hadn’t seen her dance sexy, only dorky, and she was
sure that was what he was expecting.
Boy was he in for a
surprise.
If this didn’t get his blood pumping, she wasn’t sure
what would.

So when she went to the coffee table in
front of them and practically tossed all the chips and stuff off of
it, she wasn’t surprised to hear the guys gasp.

“Kat, what are you doing?” asked Benny, but
he had a smirk on his face as well.

“I’m having fun and it’s time to dance!” she
yelled loudly.

She started dancing, and by the way the guys
were staring at her with drool hanging from their open mouths, she
knew she was doing it right. She glanced at Mason only
occasionally. She didn’t want to lose her nerve, and she knew if
she saw his expression, she would falter. The few times she caught
his eye, she couldn’t read him. It was a mix of awe, lust, and
anger in his eyes. She couldn’t comprehend why he would be angry.
Because she was acting out?
It didn’t matter. If she
couldn’t pull this off, then it was all over anyway. And he could
be as angry as he wanted to be.

As the song was coming to an end, it was
time for her finale. She turned so her back was facing Mason and
pretended to slip on the table. She was either going to fall
backwards and hit her head, or Mason was going to catch her. She
prayed for the latter and something in her gut told her not to
worry, so she twisted her foot and down she went. Just like she had
hoped, Mason was there, holding her in his arms. She was staring at
him, and there was no longer anger in his eyes. There wasn’t even
awe. There was a hint of concern, but the lust was overpowering it.
The way he stared at her like he could devour her right then and
there was causing a tingling to creep over her entire body. She
could feel the warmth spread, and she liked it. She didn’t want
to…but she liked it. She liked being in Mason’s arms. She liked
feeling safe and comforted. And more importantly, she liked the way
he held her close but gently. She lifted her face as his inched
slightly toward her. They were going to kiss. She knew it. And the
butterflies in her stomach were on full flutter. She wondered what
his lips would feel like and how he would taste. She wondered if he
was a soft kisser or a hungry kisser.
Would he kiss her
languidly? Or would he take her lips like his life depended on
it?
She felt the pull between them. She felt the desire pulsing
from both of their bodies. She felt his heat mix with hers. God
help her, but she wanted this kiss. She needed it.

“Damn, Kat, who knew you were a sex kitten,”
John said, completely shattering whatever would have happened
between her and Mason. Mason shook his head, and she could see him
trying to get his bearings back. He set her down gently, but didn’t
look away until the other guys chimed in.

“Hot Girl!”

“Hot damn!”

“Ouch!” They screamed and clapped. Finally,
Mason turned away from her, and she turned to her audience, smiled,
and gave a short little fake bow.

“Kat, go to your room,” Mason ordered a
second later.

“What? But, the game.”

“What you did here was unacceptable. And
you’ve clearly had too much to drink. Don’t disobey me. Go to your
room,” he growled and the anger in his eyes was back. She looked at
Benny for help, but he just shrugged and seemed confused as
well.

She ran to her room upset, humiliated, and
disappointed. Something had passed between them. She knew it had.
Mason almost kissed her. She had felt it. Then the moment was
ruined, and now he was angry. Why he was angry, she didn’t know.
But she knew all her plans were done. This was her last chance, and
she couldn’t make it happen. He wasn’t ever letting her go, and
that broke her heart. But, sadly, what hurt more was the fact that
it seemed like he didn’t want her. He threw her out of the room
even though she could have sworn he wanted her. Clearly, he didn’t.
But then what was that almost kiss?
She was confused and
hurt. She wanted to cry. The tears threatened to fall, but she held
them back as she sat quietly on her bed, rocking back and forth.
Quiet, shy Kat just put on the performance of her life, and it
backfired. Mason had pushed her away.

Chapter 27

He almost kissed
her. He. Almost. Fucking. Kissed. Her. He was now pacing in his
room, going crazy just thinking about it. The past two weeks had
been utterly miserable for Mason. Either Kat was torturing him on
purpose or he had just never noticed her before. Whatever it was,
he noticed her now; he noticed her too much. He saw every sly
glance, he heard every word she spoke, and he felt every touch.
Damn…did he feel every touch
. Ever since the acts of
violation against him in prison, he had a hard time getting
aroused. Call it trauma, emotional stress, or just bad memories,
but he never really got in the mood. In fact, he hadn’t really been
with a woman since. Not for lack of trying, he just couldn’t find
release. He only felt free when it was just him and his hand.
Secretly, he knew it was because he just didn’t feel comfortable,
safe, and even clean with other people. But lately, he couldn’t
stop his dick from coming to attention whenever he was around Kat.
It’s like she had awoken something in him. Although his body liked
it, he didn’t. He did everything he could to stay away from her. To
control his urge to pull her down, rip off her clothes, and bury
himself deep within her. He tried brushing her off, being cold to
her, even feigning ignorance to her flirting, but it was getting
harder and harder. Literally. He found himself finding release
pretty damn often in the shower and it was to images of a
brown-haired, hazel-eyed beauty. And there was that day in the
office where she surprised him with the
Count of Monte
Cristo
guess. Not only had she guessed the correct book, which
he didn’t think would happen, but she had also read it and
understood it. And she was right. It was more than just revenge.
Her words had struck him deeply. Her words confused him, she
confused him.
Heck, his feelings for her confused him
. As
soon as she had walked out of the room, he knew he was fucked. He
stormed out, took some time to think, and managed to get his
emotions under control. He was back to cool and calm.