“Sam, stop.” Mason came over. His hands slid under me.

He was going to pick me up, but I pushed him.

“Stop.” I scrambled to my feet and scooted away. My arms crossed over my chest. I couldn’t stop looking at that photograph.

“Sam. Come on.”

Logan and Nate grew quiet. Nate was still holding the photograph, but Logan grabbed it from him and ripped it in two.

He stood, showing me both pieces. “See? Whatever’s in your head, shove it out, Sam. This piece of shit isn’t you.” He gripped the photo above Analise’s head and ripped it again. She was torn in half. “I was joking before. I’ll take your mom on any day of the week. I know Mason’s ahead of me, and Nate’s with us, too. Stop thinking.” He showed me the ripped pieces again. “This isn’t you.”

I looked at Mason. I didn’t know what I needed, but he’d have it. He always did, and he came to me now. He pulled me into his arms and sat down on the chair behind him.

I was cradled on his lap as he spoke, “I have to tell you guys what my PI uncovered, and some of it has to do with that photograph.”

“The one I shredded just now?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh.” Logan looked at it again. “Oops.”

Nate pulled out some negatives from the box. “We’re good. If we need it, I bet we can get it again.”

Logan’s head lifted. His shoulders bounced up. “Never mind me as I go to burn this piece of shit, and yes, I mean literally. Analise is a piece of shit.”

“Logan,” Mason called after him.

He was heading to the kitchen but backtracked. “Yeah?”

“Stay here for a bit. You all need to hear this just so you know what we’re going up against.”

Logan’s eyebrows locked forward together. “That doesn’t sound good.”

Nate grunted.

Mason added, “Because it’s not. Park Sebastian is connected in ways that we can’t fathom, but we have a card on our side.” He grew quiet.

I was perched on his lap, listening, when Logan and Nate both looked at me. Their gazes stopped and settled on me. I felt Mason’s attention before I realized he was staring right at me, too. Those butterflies picked up once more, and I swallowed that lump.

I said, “Okay. What do I do?”

And an hour later, the plan was hatched, but things needed to be smoothed over between Mason and me. By an unspoken agreement, we both got up and headed for his room.

Mason closed the door behind us, and I went straight for the bed. Sinking down on his bed, I picked at my shirt while he stood away from me, studying me.

He asked softly, “Are you sure you want to do this?”

That wasn’t the question. I had to. I was their only in.

I sighed and looked up at him. “Ask me what you really want to know.”

There was an elephant in the room with us, and both of us hadn’t talked about it over the last week. Logan’s ass-kicking put everything on halt, but here it was. Here we were. It had to be talked about before we could take Park Sebastian down.

Mason let out a soft sigh, sitting on the bed beside me. It sunk under from his weight. I waited, expecting his hand to cover my knee, but it didn’t. He sat next to me. His side touched me, but he didn’t reach over. In some ways, that felt like a rejection. I yearned for it. I could relax into it, feeling the weight of his hand and arm over me in bed. He shielded me just by touching me. Without it now, I felt cold.

A shiver racked through me. Goose bumps appeared on my skin, but it wasn’t from the weather.

“Sam,” he started, leaning forward. His elbows rested on his knees, and his head bent over them. He clasped his hands together, forming one big fist, and he reached up, his forehead touching them for a split moment. “Fuck.” He expelled a deep breath. “Why did you lie to me?”

There it was—my deceit.

I shot back, “Why did you lie to me?”

“What?” He shifted, looking at me.

I raised my chin. “You heard me. You lied, too.”

“I lied for your protection.”

“Bullshit.”

“What?”

I felt bad about it—at first. Then, I started thinking, and the anger I shoved down was coming up. Mason was addressing it, which meant all those emotions could finally be dealt with.

I said, “You lied to me, too. You hired security.”

“Sam—”

I ignored that. “You hired a private investigator.”

“I did that for—”

It didn’t matter. I clipped my head from side to side. “No way, buddy.”

His lip twitched up. “Buddy?”

“I was protecting you, just like you were protecting me. And I know you. You always think you have to protect Logan and me. Well, back up because, this time, it was us taking care of you. You can’t do anything. Your football career is like you’re a politician. One wrong move, and you’re done. That means, it was up to us, and you have no room to judge Logan or me about how we’ve been trying to take care of you.” I stopped for a breath before I kept going, “It’s because we love yo—”

Mason slammed his mouth to mine.

That shut me up.

The hunger took over. I was lifting my arms around his neck as he was pulling me onto his lap. My legs opened, straddling him, and Mason swept a hand under my shirt. His touch was addictive. My mouth opened, answering his back. He was demanding. His tongue went in, but mine was there. I was battling him. I wanted as much of him as he wanted of me. Desire and lust took over, shutting my mind down.

All the arguments.

All the heated accusations.

I could protect him like he’d protected me.

All those statements melted away.

It was him and me. We were together on the same page again.

Mason rolled me over and laid me down. His lips were still on mine as he held himself above me. His weight wasn’t on me and I grabbed for him. I wanted it there. That was home to me, but he shook his head. I felt him lifting his head and caught the back of his head. My fingers twisted into his hair. I held him there. I still wanted him. I wasn’t done.

Mason pulled up, lifting me with him. I was moved to a sitting position, my hand still in his hair.

He gazed at me, smiling, raking his eyes all over me. “Sam.”