Free Fortitude (Heart of Stone) by D. H. Sidebottom Page A

plant pot on the
porch and took the key from the underside and let myself in.
     
    My back hit the wall, the air rushing from my lungs in a
single swoop as Steed’s mouth crushed mine. His lips dominated me, forcing me
to kiss him back with as much fury. His arms slid around my back, pulling me
into him as he hardened the kiss and dragged a moan from me. I hadn’t felt this
alive in months, arousal lit my body up and I shivered at the intensity of it
as my body ached with need.
    “Fuck!” He hissed as he pulled back. He stared at me for
a moment, then left, slamming the front door shut behind him.
    “What the hell,” I choked out as I touched my swollen
lips.
    Everything was spiralling out of control again within
hours of Mason turning back up. I was ashamed for wanting Steed but I was also
relieved that someone still found me attractive, even with no hair and a flat
chest. He seemed to bring out a primal urge in me. An urge to fuck. I didn’t
want a relationship, as I knew he didn’t, there was something between us, a
spark of need, and an animalistic hunger to screw each other’s brains out,
hard, painfully and violently.
    But we could never concede to it. By the looks of things,
Steed now worked for Mason and that in itself was trouble, never mind risking
everything just for the sake of pain and pleasure.
    I needed to completely cut myself off. I needed to build
a life again and the best way to do that was to take control once more. I
needed a diversion from the waiting for my next test. The next one was in three
months and I knew the wait would be agonising, so I needed something to occupy
my days instead of my lonely thoughts.
    I needed a job. And I knew just the man.
     

Chapter Fifteen
Shame
Mason
     
    “Open the damn door Ava!” I shouted as I pounded on the
door.
    “Mason…”
    I spun round and narrowed my eyes on Steed. “What the
fuck are you doing here?”
    He seemed nervous and I followed his study of our
surroundings as his eyes scanned the area furiously. Alarms blared in my head
when I noticed he kept his hand on his hidden piece the whole time. “We were
followed.”
    “What do you mean you were followed?”
    He stepped closer to me and lowered his voice as he kept
his back to me and faced out into the dark street, “2012, Black Ford Kuga. I’ve
forwarded the reg to Sam but just as I realised he was there, he clocked me and
left.”
    “Anything since?”
    “No, I’m gonna give it a few hours before I leave.”
    I nodded to him, my eyes furiously scoping the area.
“Okay, I’m going in.”
    He lifted his brow at me and smirked, “Are you sure
that’s wise?”
    “No,” I shrugged as I scaled the side gate and dropped
over the other side. “You should know me by now. I don’t do wise.”
    He shook his head and strolled back to his car as I
removed my keys from my pocket and flicked open the little tool, inserting it
into the lock. I sighed happily when the door clicked and I pushed it open,
memories of Ava’s kitchen assaulting me immediately.
    I grinned at the old kitchen table. She’d pulled
everything out of storage, all the original furniture she had acquired over the
years.
     
    Her hands gripped my shirt and yanked it open, pinging
buttons all over the kitchen floor as I grasped the neckline of her top and
tore it open.
    We fumbled frantically with each other’s trousers,
yanking them and our underwear down each other’s legs. I spun her round to bend
her over the table then impaled her with a brutal thrust.
    “Oh God! Yes Ava” I hissed as I plunged right to the
tip of her. I pulled back and speared her violently again. She screamed in a
mixture of pain and pleasure as I yanked her hair back so I could latch on to
her neck as I pounded into her relentlessly, ruthlessly and roughly.
    “Fuck Mason, I’m coming” She yelled loudly as I thrust
once more and joined her in her ferocious orgasm, both of us crying out each
other’s name as our climax tore through us